Warhammer 40K: Astromancer of the Necrons, Orikan The Diviner
Who was the one Necron in all of Warhammer 40,000 that can say “I told you so” to the Silent King? Say hello to Orikan The Diviner.
The Silent King chose to go into exile for his choice to doom the Necrontyr race. Instead of opting to join his subjects in their 60 million year slumber he traveled the void. Perhaps he should have listened to the one voice that warned him against the biotransference. Who was one among his people who warned him about allying with the C’Tan in the first place — who is Orikan The Diviner?
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Orikan The Diviner
Orikan, also known as Orikan The Diviner, is a Necron Cryptek astromancer, able to calculate the events of the future from the pattern of stars. As a Necrontyr at the time of the War in Heaven, Orikan was the only dissenting voice to the idea of working with the C’tan. His warning was overruled by the Silent King, Szarekh. Orikan was born into a family of warriors but proved too physically frail to be recruited into the Immortals as his father had wished. After failing from the Immortals Temple, he instead looked into the art of mysticism.
It is said Orikan predicted the the Fall of the Eldar, the rise of the Imperium, the Horus Heresy, and the coming of the Tyranids, many thousands of years before each came to pass. He can even divine lesser occurrences such as the destinies of individuals and the movement of fleets. Though his studies are widely used, few amongst Orikan’s Cryptek peers trust him due to the insolence and mocking scorn in which he treats the nobility of every rank, even mighty Necron Overlords. However this is largely tolerated as the benefits of his skills greatly outweigh any offense caused by his manner and Orikan knows the plans of the rivals long before they do, making it almost impossible to best him anyway.
Though he is a skilled astromancer, his predictions are not flawless and unforeseen events can change his calculations. Warp travel is such an event, its turbulent nature defying any prediction. Under such circumstances, he is forced to employ closely guarded chronomantic abilities and travel backwards in time to make sure that his prophesied future events are back on track. When the Imperial Navy dockyards at Helios VI were left standing against Waaagh! Skullkrak due to a timely intervention by the Silver Skulls Space Marines, in defiance of his original prophecy, Orikan traveled back in time and ambushed the Space Marines, ensuring that his original prediction came to pass and his reputation was intact. He takes great care to keep his advanced time traveling abilities from his peers, ensuring that he holds an advantage over them.
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Orikan takes great care to keep his machinations hidden from his peers. A thousand millennia of planning and preparation are about to come to fruition. Once the stars are in proper alignment, Orikan will finally embrace his true destiny; his physical form will become a vessel for celestial energies and transform him into a being of terrible power. The temporal traps he has set throughout the galaxy will activate and Orikan will manipulate time itself to his advantage.
Rivalry With Trazyn The Infinite
Orikan has a long-standing rivalry with Trazyn the Infinite that began from their differing ideologies on the past and their agendas for the future. The two engaged in a ten-millennia-long struggle over access to the tomb of the famed Necrontyr Overlord Nephreth on Serenade. During the many clashes between the two, Orikan was entombed on Serenade as it was subjected to Imperial Exterminatus.
It took Orikan over 100 years to dig himself out, but due to having to constantly reset time whenever he got caught, the process for him was over 2,000 years. The duo were forced to reconcile and join forces when it became apparent that Nephreth’s tomb was a myth set up by a shard of the C’tan The Deceiver, who had manipulated both into freeing him. Using an Eldar gemstone provided by Trazyn, Orikan was able to transform into a god-like being of light to defeat the C’tan Shard. However, despite their temporary alliance, he still swore revenge against Trazyn.
In Service To the Silent King…Again
During the War in the Pariah Nexus, Orikan’s skills were sought out by Szarekh, the Silent King. But the ever-independent Cryptek refused the Silent King’s offer, until the arrival of Vashtorr‘s forces in the region. This development caused Orikan to work under the Silent King, much to Szarekh’s worry as this was likely due to The Diviner receiving some apocalyptic prophecy which caused such a change of heart.
How can you beat a Diviner who can see the future and manipulate time to ensure it comes to pass? How would you even know if he had manipulated time – or you for that matter. No wonder Orikan can best his enemies. And now that the Silent King has seen the Tyranid threat first hand, do you think he’ll listen to Orikan now?
Want to learn more about Orikan and the Necrons? Check out the Lexicanum!
