Magos Faustinius

Magos Dominus Faustinius of Mars commanded the Ark Mechanicus Caestus Metalican on an expedition to the Necron tomb world Silva Tenebris. The Archmagi presented the assignment as an honour, though it functioned as a salvage trial. Faustinius is characterised as difficult to shock and prone to dark humour, and Videx and Scaevola regard him as retaining too much that is human, so they repeatedly attempt to determine his decisions for him.

During the expedition Faustinius contended with the Necron tombs, an uprising of hereteks (Adeptus Mechanicus members who pursue forbidden technology) aboard his own vessel, and the question of whether the knowledge on the world justified rousing a dormant Necron dynasty. The outcome was Exterminatus, the sanctioned destruction of an entire planet. Silva Tenebris was destroyed so that the Necrons could not recover it, and the Caestus Metalican returned to Mars.

Mars had dispatched him as a test of judgement. He returned as a Magos who had chosen destruction over acquisition, a departure from the usual purpose of Explorator expeditions, which seek out and recover knowledge for the Cult Mechanicus. Faustinius remains in service. Whether the decision alters his conduct on later expeditions has yet to be established.