“The truly strong need not shout; they can destroy with the merest whisper.”

The forward operating base was in disarray, the shell-shocked soldiers cowering in the rubble amongst the remains of their fallen comrades. Since the previous night, wave after wave of Cultists had been bombarding the small group of buildings that the Children of the One True God were occupying. The call had gone out to the main battalion for reinforcements but they were many hours away and, in the ensuing chaos, the Children’s front line had been reduced to a dozen remaining soldiers.

As the massed ranks of Cultists prepared for yet another frenzied assault, the few remaining Faithful were beginning to question their orders from the Prophet, such was their fear of failure at the hands of the blasphemous horrors of the Cult of the Dragon. Their eyes, wide with panic, darted between each other and the roiling mass of Cultists only a few hundred feet away. One of them dropped his weapon and fell to his knees, arms outstretched towards the heavens, and he shouted a prayer to the One True God to send them some sign of hope.

It was into this scene that Michael Abdul Shahid stepped, alongside an elite unit of Crusaders. A wave of optimism spread around the group at the appearance of one of the finest soldiers of the Children of the One True God. A few of the Faithful openly wept at this timely gift from the Holy One. Shahid stood at their centre, silently looking at each of them, one by one, saying nothing. He knew from experience that his presence alone was enough to rally the remaining troops and fill them with the strength of the Prophet.

As they slowly got to their feet and turned to face the enemy, Shahid, still silent, strode to the front and raised his monumental blade above his head. He strode out towards the onrushing Cultists, flanked by his Crusaders and the newly invigorated ranks of the Faithful. His mind was perfectly calm and full only of thoughts of the divine righteousness of his mission as he cleaved through the torsos of the first wave of Cultists.

Concept art by Iwo Widuliński

Michael Abdul Shahid is an elite soldier who commands a unit of his fellow Crusaders into battle in his specially adapted Frame, engineered to protect his vital organs that were traitorously wounded by a former UNM colleague before he saw the light and gave himself to the Prophet. Shahid’s legendary bravery over countless battles commands total loyalty from the units under his command, and gives him the appearance of total serenity, even when meting out violent retribution to the blasphemous.

He declines to equip helmet armour to his Frame to better see both his brothers and sisters, and his enemies, faithfully relying on the protection of the Prophet. His many displays of bravery in the name of the Holy One are evidenced by the gold seals and purple sashes that adorn his Crusader armour and cloak.

Shahid’s modified Crusader armour is equipped with a powerful heavy flamer, giving him moderate ranged capability and a useful crowd control tool. He also carries the legendary Sword of the Prophet, a weapon that radiates etheric power. He is able to decimate anyone or anything in close combat range with a combination of balletic swordsmanship and righteous fury.