Bran

Summary
"There is nothing left in my life but death. Since that is the case, I intend to be good at dealing it." -Gladiator Bran.

Bran was a Space Marine of the Stone Giants Chapter, a mere Assault Marine and a small player in that Chapter's treason, was a gladiator on the planet Jacobia, where he made a good tally of kills, and is now a member of the retinue of Jax Tiro, where he remains to this day.

Essential Information
Name: Bran

Homeworld: none (formerly Adirio, formerly Jacobia).

Chapter: Stone Giants

Rank: Inquisitorial Servant (renegade)

Status: Renegade, Alive.

Stone Giant
As a Stone Giant, Bran was unremarkable, merely a battle brother in the Fifth Company's second Assault Squad, noted for his skill but little else; he was not a strongly strategically minded warrior, his marksmanship and intelligence ratings were both average, and in general, Bran seemed content to be told where to go and what to kill. When Chapter Master Vortigern began swaying his brothers to his cause, Bran joined him after only a short amount of consideration, not because Vortigern's words made him particularly enthusiastic, nor because he was particularly angry about the loss of his family. He simply followed his leader, as he had been trained since induction into the Stone Giants to do. It is this simplistic attitude that led him to follow his Chapter Master, and this perhaps that gave him his apathy towards the man's cause.

Renegade
Bran was among those evacuated after the Chapter declared itself apart from the Imperium. He watched the planet Adirio burn from afar, and afterwards his heart turned to stone: for the first time he realised how much he had loved his home, and to see it destroyed like this was a heavy blow. Afterwards, he no longer cared about Renegades, or honour, or redemption, despite the fine words of Captains Caedmon and Camlin - to him, it was men like them who had seen his home burn, and his own blind unthinking following that had let them. Thus, his decision was made. Along with 30 other Marines, Bran left his remaining brothers, seeking to make a new life for himself. He wandered for a long time, eventually making his way to the underground arenas of Jacobia.

Gladiatorial Career
Jacobia is a world rife with Gladiatorial combat - usually mech-gladiators - and a massive trade in gladiators has sprung up. Upon his arrival on Jacobia, Bran challenged the champion Gladiator of one of the arenas to a fight, and quickly slew him - the man was skilled, but he was no Astartes. After that, the former Assault Marine became a gladiator, and spent his time fighting any opponent that came, in the interim retreating to the small chamber he made his from his Gladiatorial fees: what purpose the room served was the subject of many rumours; most guessed it was either a shrine to some Chaos God or another, or a chamber where Bran can self-mortify, to punish himself for his heresy. The truth is less romantic than this; it was a simple room with a mattress where the Marine could meditate to himself.

Tiro
Inquisitor Jax Tiro found Bran whilst on Jacobia looking for aid to stop the Chaos invasion of Sanctatum. He offered the Space Marine a place in his retinue, feeling that he might need the aid of a Space Marine against the many enemies he would no doubt make. Bran accepted the offer the Inquisitor made, seeing no real reason not to - one fight was as good as any other.

He accompanied the Inquisitor on his journey to recruit many forces for the Imperium, though he was always mindful of his status as a Renegade. To avoid overt suspicion, he repainted his armour black, and removed any markings that might show his status as a former Stone Giant. He was fortunate not to encounter any members of the Brotherhood of Peace during the war.

He was present at the final battle with the Daemon Prince Halor, whom he fought against. Though the Daemon was stronger than the collected Marines he fought, Bran had a hand in striking him down, though he lost an arm in the process.

After the battle, he remained with the Inquisitor, deciding that "the best fights are with you".

Skills
Bran was an Assault Marine, experienced as a Devestator and skilled with a Chainsword. He is capable of ending most fights quickly, and the only foes who can truly stand up to him are Mechno-Gladiators, and even they fall swiftly.

Personality
In his time as a Gladiator, he learned to play up to the crowd, prolonging a fight as long as necessary to gain their approval; he has never, however, taken a fall for money, though the offer has been made more than once. He has a sense of honour, but little else; a foe dies swiftly or not at all, but there is no banter, no humour. When asked for quotes, he simply said either "good fight" (meaning he found the fight challenging) or "easy fight" (meaning he found it too easy). If he said anything else, no one heard him.

As part of Jax Tiro's retinue, he is taciturn at best, and has swiftly returned to the quick, clean killing of his time as a Space Marine in the service of the Emperor. He also always has sound tactical advice from a squad-to-squad basis that Tiro has learned to rely on.