Name: Saint Rexold the Lesser
Patron Saint of: Orks
Feast Day: 14th Julian
Iconography: Usually depicted wearing a crude helm shaped like an ork’s head, his face hidden in shadows. He is often shown in profile extending his right hand whilst his left hand is behind his back clutching an Imperial Crucifix. Green and Red are his colors and the ork-headed helm is his symbol.
Story:
Saint Rexold the Lesser was born Lucius Rexold on the plant of Halcar-Supremus. Son of a low-level government functionary, Lucius seemed destined to follow in his father’s footsteps as a minor administrator. From what little we know of his early history he seemed to be a typical petty bureaucrat — mostly honest, cautiously bribeable and as competent as required.
All this changed when the hated Orks descended on Halcar-Supremus.
At the time, Imperial forces were stretched thin across the Sector. The nearest Space Marine chapter was two months away and major Imperial Guard reinforcements were even further out. Thus, it was up to the local garrison to fend off the greenskin horde. Every able-bodied man was pressed into service, but Rexold somehow managed to avoid the draft and retained a governmental position in a provincial capital.
That city was soon attacked and overrun by the hated orks. Rexold was one of the many refugees hoping to flee the city across a bridge on the eastern side of the city. The Imperial Guard was holding on as best they could and were prepared to blow it up as soon as the first Ork appeared.
In his headlong flight from danger, Rexold got turned around in the blasted urban street and soon found himself surrounded by a vanguard of the ork forces. Spotted by the leader of the group, the orks decided to have some cruel fun with the hapless Rexold and proceeded to casually hunt him through the ruins. At last, they cornered Rexold in a former cathedral. The warlord and his small retinue ventured inside to finish him off.
Like so many fortunate Imperial citizens, Rexold had an easy faith in the Emperor. It had never faced any serious test and he’d merely gone through the motions, blind to the glory of the Savior of Humanity. Now, with the brutish orks defiling the holy church in their efforts to slake their bloodlust on him, Rexold reached deep within himself and pledged his soul anew to the Emperor, begging for forgiveness and escape in return for absolute devotion to the Emperor.
Just then, the warlord let loose a hail of boltgun fire towards the altar that Rexold was hiding behind. None of the terrible rounds found their mark, but the noise and impacts sent numerous vibrations trembling through the shattered structure. The giant statue of the Emperor came crashing down upon the ork leader and his gang, large pieces of masonry crashing down to finish them all off. Rexold was unharmed.
Creeping into the nave of the cathedral, Rexold surveyed the wreckage. His heart lept in exultation, but the sounds of the other orks digging into the cathedral told him that he was not out of danger yet. Looking around for something to use against the orks, he chanced to look down. There at his feet lay the battered helmet of the orkish warlord. A divinely-inspired plan broke forth in his mind.
So it was that when the rest of the orks smashed their way into the ruins, they found their “warlord” the only survivor. Laughing and whooping at the misfortune of his fellows, the warlord lead the orks back out of the cathedral before anyone thought to check for the “hoomie” they had been chasing. The “warlord” began ordering the orks to do some more scouting, directing them towards places they’d already been or which Rexold knew were clear of humans. For several hours he directed his horde on a slow, fruitless search that gave thousands of people the chance to escape over the bridge. In the process, he also came across the corpse of an Imperial Guardsman whose commo gear was still intact. Making a big show of being amused by the “bloopy box” before tossing it away in boredom, Rexold managed to get a message back to the Guard.
As the orks were becoming irritated and suspicious of their “warlord”, he suddenly issued orders for them to go on the attack. The horde surged forward in a burst of pent-up frenzy and everywhere they went, the humans fell back in disarray. The orks met with success after success, driving the humans back towards the bridge and across it. At this point, the “warlord” called up to his superiors and told them to bring up their armor and artillery and cross the bridge to keep up the fight. Rexold had his orks hold the far side to wait for the reinforcements.
Now, the top leader of this horde was a Named Ork called Grunk and he possessed a sort of rude, animal cunning that pops up in rare mutant orks. He brought his men and material up to the bridge but he smelt a trap and the “warlord” didn’t sound or look too familiar. There was a heated debate over the radio until finally Rexold said that he would take his men to the middle of the bridge. Grunk and his crew could cross the bridge. This would prove the bridge was safe (the “warlord” would hardly stand on a trapped bridge now would he?) and Grunk could have the honor of claiming the far side after the “warlord” abandoned it.
Grunk was easily led by his pride and he agreed to the terms. Rexold sent his band to wait on the bridge while Grunk and his command, followed by their most fearsome war engines paraded across the bridge. Of course, as soon as the bridge was loaded down with orkish filth, the Guard blew the bridge obliterating everyone and everything on it.
The loss of Grunk was considered to be a major turning point in the battle for Halcar-Supremus. His loss threw the orks into disarray and gave the Guard the breathing room it needed until reinforcements could arrive. And while Rexold’s body was never found and he was presumed dead, it wasn’t long before stories started coming in about a mysterious man, poorly disguised as an ork, misdirecting orks and giving humans a chance to escape. These reports were numerous enough that Lucius Rexold was elevated to Saint Rexold the Lesser, the Patron Saint of Orcs almost as soon as Halcar-Supremus was liberated.
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