Frida Evangelina

While the primarchs were the children of the Emperor they were also the children of Erda, a perpetual who not only contributed her genetic stock but also her skill as a geneticist to the Primarch project. Erda’s dissatisfaction with the Emperor’s vision for the future was legendary, as it resulted in the scattering of her sons. She was flawed in more ways than one and could not bring herself to toss the child she had poured more of herself into than the others; the primarch Frida. While Erda herself was spared punishment the primarch she had protected was taken from her and cast further into space than her brothers in retribution.

Diaspora Fleet
Frida’s stasis pod was given to a giant generation ship fleet leaving human space behind. Generation ships travel many hundreds or even thousands of years to reach their destinations, the original occupants of a generation ship would grow old and die, leaving their descendants to continue traveling. Diaspora Fleet consisted of approximately 20 Urdu-class generation ships, each approximately the size of a modern ark mechanicus. Accommodations were designed to be squalid but could support a hive-city’s population. Diaspora Fleet was one of the Emperor’s many plans for humanity and was something of a fail safe if humanity destroyed itself on the path he laid out for it.

Frida was placed among a batch of stasis pods that housed technical experts that the generation ship crew could awaken to help with issues and skills that devolved over the generations. Several navigators were included in these stasis pods and they made use of a mysterious artifact known as the “Serpent's Tail” to guide them in their jumps.

As her pod was not labeled and it took many generations for it to be discovered and only when the fleet’s elders collectively decided to open it to ask who she was was she truly “born”. Frida was a mystery to the fleet; a precocious child who grew quickly in both body and mind “born” from an unmarked stasis pod.

Youth
Frida grew up aboard Diaspora Fleet and was raised by the communal education system they had. She was raised by an elderly couple (Juan and Abigail Evangelina) who had never had children due to a genetic deficiency but Frida was distant from them. In terms of education and athletics she was beyond the measure of her peers, effortlessly mastering subject after subject. This made some fawn over her but others grew jealous of her talent. By the time she was a teenager she already dwarfed the rest of the crew but had become so vital to the fleet in terms of her technical ability that no one could fault her for her clearly abnormal genetics. The only one who could match her mind was Gabriela Mastache, an abhuman mutant with a prodigious talent for academic endeavors. Gabriela tormented Frida in her youth, besting her in everything but physical challenges. The two were bitter rivals in their educational cresh and fought like cats and dogs for top marks.

While Frida was not cruel, she was demanding and was an absolute perfectionist. Even as a child she obsessed over things flow regulation figures for the ships engines, fleet legal codes, astro-navigation courses, and food production figures. She began to come to the elder council that ran the fleet with suggestions almost daily and they grew so annoyed with her constant critique of their decisions that she was banned from their presence.

Frida became the center of a gang who followed her lead, supported her reforms, and acted as her muscle. These “Saints”, as they became known, had a reputation for being as violent as they were loyal to her. While initially they tormented Gabriela, Gabriela soon formed her own gang known as “The Sinners” and the two frequently clashed.

The War of Saints and Sinners
As Frida grew into an adult in her own right her voices could not be so easily suppressed and her various critiques, evaluations, and reforms reached the wider population of the fleet. She had calculated that, even with good fortune on their side, the rate of loss of vital supplies would ensure the fleet would not reach its destination. Though the ships and their systems were working, the inefficiencies of humanity made the Emperor’s perfect systems work less efficiently and they would surely fail before they reached their fabled home.

Even Gabriela had to agree with Frida’s general observations but she would constantly poke holes in her mathematics. Only when Gabriela and Frida stubbornly accepted the fact that only a unified front would allow their reforms to pass. The two eventually developed a begrudging friendship based on ruthless criticism of each other’s academic endeavors and a shared contempt for those who could not understand their brilliant work. Those who espoused Frida’s doctrine were imprisoned, beaten, or worse by the fleet security forces. Frida and Gabriela’s words had the benefit of truth and rigorous scientific examination on their side and soon a sizable part of the fleet supported her reforms. Because of this a schism soon formed in the fleet; there were those who supported the reforms and those who wanted the stability the Elders provided. A war broke out on every deck of the ships in the fleet and the death toll is said to have reached 10% of the fleet's entire population. On one side was Frida, her Saints, Gabriela and her Sinners, and those who supported her reforms while they were opposed by the fleet’s security forces and those loyal to the elders. Frida did not kill the elders however when she finally fought her way to their secure chamber: she offered them retirement rather than death in the name of peace within the fleet. Six of the eight refused out of vanity, one committed suicide, and the last bowed to her. This last elder, Delilah, was a wise woman who was of over 300 years of age and possessed a mysterious talent for prophecy. In exchange for sparing her Delilah gave Frida an heirloom: a mirror said to reflect the past, present, or future of those who gaze into it.

El Santón
Frida Evangelina was declared to be “Fleet Captain” and given unilateral authority over the fleet. She gained the nickname “El Santón” from her Saints. While this literally means “The Saint” it can informally refer to someone with a lot of power who may not deserve it. Upon her insistence, a council of elders was formed as an advisory council to her. These “elders” were no longer the “oldest” but were the “wisest”, chosen from among the people of the fleet. Foremost among her counselors were her academic rival Gabriela, a young saint by the name of Diego Deluna who also served as her personal bodyguard, the elder seer Delilah, and many of her saints. Under their guidance the fleet prospered; Evangelina’s reforms and repairs made surplus where there had been scarcity, boosted morale where there had been despair, and improved their speed so that they might some day reach their destination.

Manifold Worlds
Frida spent many long hours gazing into Delilah’s mirror and saw many things. During these years she wrote a mysterious book of visions she had and titled it, “Manifold Worlds Within Me”. While it does not record everything she saw it is believed she saw some of the events (or at least snippets) of the Horus Heresy, her own future, and the early years of the Emperor’s life. Many of her visions are vague and ominous, something that likely did not help her already suspicious mind. While the other primarchs eventually met their father, the many visions she recorded of the Emperor was as close as she ever got. Many who study Manifold Worlds believe the Emperor was aware of Frida viewing his past and spoke directly for her benefit while others regard it as merely confidential.

The first person who took Frida’s visions seriously was a priest by the name of Yasmine Cadaval. Her faith was that of one long forgotten to most but she recognized the truth in Frida’s visions. Around her text and the teachings of the Emperor they had with them she began to work on holy texts that reflected them. Yasmine would become known as “Yasmine the Hierophant” and her works, “The Emperor’s Tithe” would serve as the foundation for much of the faith that the colonists would follow. It contained the Manifold Worlds but also added commentary and interpretations on her visions.

Secret Knowledge
Many little things that Frida saw in Delilah’s mirror pushed her to explore the ship’s systems deeper for more information to satisfy her growing thirst for knowledge about the Imperium she had left behind. As Evangelina had been given unlimited access to the ship’s information she was able to view historical records and even technical schematics. She sifted through them with Gabriela’s help and together the two geniuses made fantastic discoveries that dramatically helped the fleet’s chances of reaching their destination.

Hidden within the databases were her gene-father’s plans for his legions and their armaments. The data had been heavily encrypted and had been set to trigger after a number of years after the ships had arrived at their destination. The marines were to be made in order to protect the fledgling fleet and her own genetics were to be used (her stasis pod providing a stable backup sample if she had died). Unable to implement the plan prematurely due to the lack of supplies, she formed her Saints into an elite cadre of troops patterned on the legionnaires in her father’s database to act as the fleet’s primary military force.

The Xenos Plague
Diaspora Fleet traveled farther than any other Imperial vessel ever had and, as such, they encountered lifeforms none before them had either. While they were closer to humanity’s domain they encountered few xenos species that paid them any attention but in time they had to fend off raiders several times a year. This only got worse as time went on and the foes they faced grew more and more alien to them. Prior to Frida’s Saints the fleet merely had their security forces and weapons controlled largely by machine spirits and the small cult of tech priests who had gone with them. The newly trained Saint cadres quickly became experts in repelling alien borders, manning ship weapons, and even fighting xenos in void-suits while anchored to the hull. Many were the battles and often Frida herself would fight alongside her Saints but, in truth, her greatest use was as a force commander. In her absence Diego, now the general of her Saint cadres, took command.

While Frida herself was not a psyker, she saw their value and employed the few in the fleet freely as part of her Saint Cadres. A particularly powerful psyker by the name of Carmelo Valerio was her “Lieutenant of Psykers” and acted as something of an advisor on such matters. Carmelo was much younger than Frida and the primarch treated her like a little sister or daughter while Carmelo learned from Frida and regarded her in an almost maternal fashion. Carmelo would later change her name to “Carmelo Evangelina” after Frida adopted her years later.

Unrest and Prophecy
The enhanced pace meant they would make it to their destination but it didn't mean it would be a comfortable trip. Between the xenos raids, worsening food-supply, and increased authority Frida imposed on the fleet the people grew less and less content. Frida’s popularity waned and there was general discontent; whispers of rebellion or assassination abounded. When things were at their bleakest and fear had nearly driven the people to madness the old seer Delilah spoke to them and offered them a vision she had:

“Four and four hundred will be the days of hardship but for each day you endure you shall be sustained an equal number of years. You will find the golden fields you seek but those who lead you there will not set foot upon them. Your bounty will be your faith but lies will be as ash upon your tongue.”

The words of the prophet quieted the hearts of the most fanatical and the fleet was brought back under Evangelina’s sway. The wise woman’s words were true though; in four hundred and four days later the ships arrived at their destination but neither Frida nor Delilah would step foot upon the soil of the worlds.

Arrival in Campos de Oro
Beyond the farthest star in the Imperium lay a system known as Campos de Oro (the “Fields of Gold”), a paradise system rich in minerals and possessive of a half dozen habitable worlds. To this Eden had the Emperor sent his wayward fleet and his only daughter. The vision of this wayward system had solidified his plans for the Diaspora Fleet and they arrived just as he hoped they would. The fleet had lost eight of it’s twenty ships during the voyage but the population of the twelve ships were more than enough to establish a thriving colony in the system.

Frida was superstitious though and refused to leave the fleet of now almost empty generation ships. She had led her people here and that means, according to Delilah’s prophecy, she could not set foot on its soil. Delilah had died upon arrival in the system, ensuring her part was true, and the mirror showed her realities where she died or caused some catastrophic disaster by traveling to one of the planets. Due to this superstition Frida managed the colonies from orbit and managed the military affairs of the fledgling colony while Diego acted as her representative when a trip to a planet was required. Gabriela was elected to run one of the industrial worlds despite her failing health and revolutionized its economy. Various local xenos species had taken an interest in the colony and regularly attempted to raid or simply attack the relatively defenseless colonies and corporation between the planets were growing more strained by the day.

Evangelina’s Army
Possessive of her mother’s talent for genetics Evangelina produced her first batch of Astartes using volunteers from the inner circle of her Saint Corps (thus founding the Saints space marine legion). There were many failures but in time she perfected the art after she converted two of the generation ships to their production and training. Diego was the first volunteer and is said to have survived the experience though sheer will alone due to a tragic mistake that happened in the middle of the process that left him blind. It is said that Frida forbade Carmelo for undergoing the process but the primarch’s adopted daughter convinced her and became the first “librarian” of the Saint.

These “Super Saints”, as they were informally called, were somewhat equivalent to Thunder Warriors or even the first marines of the Grey Legions but their quality soon grew. To guide them Yasmine the Hierophant instilled in them a great reverence for the Emperor and, to a lesser extent, Frida Evangelina. Their respect turned to reverence and their love for her turned to fury against her foes.

In time they had been produced in sufficient bulk, had been outfitted with equipment of sufficient quality, and indoctrinated heavily enough in Yasmine’s teachings that she began to deploy them not just defensively against the local xenos but offensively against them. She did this both to capture new ground (creating buffer space) and to inflict casualties in reparation for those they had inflicted on the early human colonies. She led these various Xenos Crusades herself and legend has it that she brought about the total extermination of no less than 12 xenos species. Her acts were helped by Delilah’s mirror and, as she grew older, Frida became more and more obsessed with the artifact. Her closest confidant, Captain Diego Deluna, begged her to forsake the mirror but even his peas could not reach her.

The War Within
Among the colonies there had begun to be inequalities. Some worlds had developed into booming industrial worlds where the tech priest cults thrived while others had remained more pastoral or simply had not advanced as much. A league of three of the most powerful industrial planets in the system formed the “Gremio de Prosperidad” (“Prosperity Guild”) where they leveraged their economic power to effectively rule the system. The guild was led by Gabriela’s two children: her daughter Albina and her son Ramon but the two had inherited little of their mother’s academic skill but all of her resentment towards Frida.

A violent caste system developed between the wildly rich industrialists of the Gremio de Prosperidad and the bucolic farmers of the “outer worlds”. All this happened while Frida was distracted with her various crusades and her obsession with the mirror (which failed to show her this). The marines of her legion attempted to maintain order but Captain Diego Deluna and his command staff could do little to quell the situation without massacring civilians.

The Mirror Cracks
As things worsened, Frida’s obsession with the mirror became all consuming and she found herself unable to do almost anything else. However one day when she was visited by Yasmine the priestess saw a foul insect the size of a hand (which was actually a daemon of daemon Tzeentch) feeding on the forehead of the primarch. The priest swatted at it but also accidentally struck the primarch. Frida struck back and dealt mortal wounds to the frail old holy woman but was simultaneously freed from the grasp of the daemon that had been hiding in the mirror. In an instant Frida realized both what the mirror had been and what she had done to Yasmine. The primarch threw the mirror on the ground, shattering it, and rushed to try to save the life of her friend. While she was tragically unable to save her, the primarch swore to atone for her sin and tell the Emperor himself of her crime of slaying a friend.

Frida wasted little time in putting down the rebellions and squashing the Gremio de Prosperidad. As she had done in the past she did not kill Albina and Ramon but offered them a choice; reform or die. While Ramon chose death over dishonor Albina proved more reasonable and accepted exile to one of the worlds in the buffer zone but was later killed by local security forces when she tried to lead another rebellion a decade later.

After suppressing the rebellions and fixing the political system Frida realized she needed wise lords to rule in her absence and so she established great schools of learning and many religious institutions on the industrial worlds. She placed them in the heart of the three industrial worlds that had formed the Gremio de Prosperidad, intentionally taking up great swathes of valuable land and demanding high taxes from those worlds so they would never be able to rise economically again.

A Penitent Journey Home
Frida took three of the remaining generation ships and loaded them with four companies worth of her bravest marines and began the long journey back towards Imperial space. She installed Diego the Blind as regent of Campos de Oro and retired from the position. With him she left eight companies of marines and the remaining generation ships. Frida knew she would not survive the entire trip home; she was already ancient when she embarked on the journey (some estimates put her at over six hundred years old), so she placed herself in a stasis pod in one of the ships so that someday she might repent before the Emperor for the crime of killing her friend and failing to recognize a daemon.

Return to the Imperium & Recent Events
During the 13th Black Crusade reinforcements came from an unlikely place. From deep in space came an unknown legion of marines in strange armor and with even stranger weapons, screaming prayers that invoked not only the Emperor but “Our Lady Evangelina” as well.

The first encounter between the Imperium and the Saints chapter was a tragic mistake; intentions were mistaken, identities unconfirmed, suspicions abounded and diplomacy failed resulting in a blood battle that left many dead on both sides. Once communication had been established the Saints and the Imperium became tenuous allies during the 13th Black Crusade. The Saints want to deliver their “primarch” to the Emperor on Holy Terra but the Imperium doesn’t trust the chapter. The High Lords of Terra have ordained that they go on a penitent crusade for 500 years to prove their loyalty and only then will their request be reconsidered.

Having no choice the Saints, now led by Carmelo Evangelina herself, forge ahead with their penitent crusade in order to grant their primarch the closure she seeks. They are joined occasionally by reinforcements (sometimes up to chapter sized detachments) who make the long journey to Imperial space who aid the chapter in their battle for the recognition of their primarch.

The Sanctified
The “Sanctified” is the collective term for The Saints and their successors chapters. All members of The Sanctified revere Erda as some sort of divine maternal figure, can produce female marines, and follow their primarch's penitent mission.

=Other Possibilities= ''"All the proceeding information was collected and presented by members of Diaspora Fleet, the majority of which was found in the works of Yasmine the Hierophant and Frida Evangelina herself. A faithful Inquisitor knows that lies are easiest to pass as truth if the one telling them is the only one who witnessed them. It is quite possible that all or parts of the above information are the machinations of Tzeentch to get someone close to the Emperor to kill him. While it cannot be denied that The Saints contain unique gene seed information that appears to be from an unknown primarch there are many ways such a situation could have occurred. It may be that Frida Evangelina is one of the unknown primarchs but she was turned traitor by Chaos, that she is an imposter who has laid claim to the title for some nefarious purpose after the real lost primarch was killed (there is evidence to suggest that Gabriela Mastache or even Diego Deluna were the true lost primarch), or that the whole thing is simply an elaborate charade to mislead us. It is also, in the opinion of some inquisitors of the Ordo Astartes, possible that she is telling the truth and denying her the absolution she seeks is a grave disservice to our cause. Faith guides us where reasons faults us and vigilance is the better part of valor so we must keep this potential villain from potentially assaulting our most glorious Emperor. The Ordo Astartes will continue to evaluate, to probe, and to investigate the darkness of this chapter and discover their secret heresies."''

-Inquisitor Pyrrhus Epirus // Ordo Astartes // 999.M41