“The bleeding edge of technology cuts through the darkness and reveals the divine”

Moon Ji-ho surveyed the battlefield, his visor’s HUD overlaying the scorched landscape and severed limbs with digital readouts, informing him that the Humanist Rebellion patrol squad that his Cultists had ambushed had been reduced to three remaining Echoes. To his right he saw four Acolytes charging towards the nearest enemy and his AI neural unit showed him an 88% chance of a favourable engagement outcome.

He set his sights on the two Echoes ahead of him; the first was injured and was being tended to by the second. Moon Ji-ho calculated that the optimal strategy was to fire off a grenade and then rush the unsuspecting units. As his bio-arm absorbed the recoil of the phosphorous launcher, his massive bulk was raised into the air by the tentacle-like mechanical limbs that emerged from the powered harness encircling him.

Three of the tentacles darted forward like spiders’ legs, carrying Moon Ji-ho at high speed, his flowing robes billowing around his suspended legs. As he powered through the smoke from his grenade, he found the injured Echo was now little more than a still-steaming mound of flesh and bone on the ground, whilst the other was scrambling to raise its rifle towards him through the damage of its own burns. His free mechanical tentacle flew forwards and crashed into the Echo’s face before it had the chance to fire its weapon, his metal claws tearing through the flesh and bio-matter of the newly limp Echo.

Moon Ji-ho looked at the slaughtered remains of the enemies of the Cult and was pleased. He loudly chanted a prayer to the Dragon in the direction of the three remaining Acolytes and they enthusiastically shouted the words back at him. His neural interface auto-administered a local anaesthetic to his right leg where he noticed a deep six inch gash and his adrenalin was re-balanced so he could begin the long journey back to their temple in a state of calm meditation, ready to pass on the news of this latest glorious victory.

Concept art by Iwo Widuliński

Biomancers are the tech-priests of the Cult; half surgeon and half preacher. They occupy a place of relative reverence in part due to their extreme devotion to body augmentation, and their ability to manipulate technology. They are the walking embodiment of all the Cult strives to achieve – forced evolution without the cloying interference of morality.

Each Biomancer has a unique set of augmentations, but all utilise a powered harness of some kind, usually a series of mechanical tentacles in addition to or in replacement of standard human limbs. These tentacles offer unparalleled flexibility when working, and can be used to pin opponents in combat and literally tear them apart.

In addition to these close-range cybernetic enhancements, Biomancers use medium-range projectiles as a deterrent, favouring the inaccurate but highly-effective phosphorous launcher. This is sometimes housed within the tentacle armature if used in place of a limb, but is sometimes carried like a regular firearm. The phosphorous launcher is a ‘shock and awe’ weapon, delivering incendiary grenades that burn flesh and armour alike, giving the Biomancer a chance to get away or to soften up an enemy before a brutal melee attack.