Been thinking a lot about how strong a psyker Heinrix actually is, plus what he could and couldn't realistically achieve with his biomancy and sanctic daemonology. The 40K psyker system is not exactly a hard magic system and very much subject to "you can do whatever fits what you are writing", but I like myself some guidelines at least for my own writing. So I did some research to get a hopefully realistic picture.
I am disregarding gameplay here (the build you give him and the insane damage numbers you can achieve are, in my opinion, at most dubiously canonical) but AM keeping in mind the kinds of threats the retinue + RT emerge victorious against ingame (even if a lot of those REALLY should have killed you if you didn't have the "named character in 40K" buff...)
Heinrix's Psychic Assignment
For those unaware, the Imperium ranks its psykers based on their level of psychic ability (or lack thereof). This rating goes from Omega (also referred to as Blanks or Pariahs - individuals with a negative presence in the warp that can dampen psychic activity around them) all the way to Omega/Omega+ (probably around where the Emperor resides).
We can already infer the approximate range Heinrix is in based on the fact that he was considered worth training. An individual is considered a psyker and taken by the Black Ships if their rating is at least Iota. However, weak and/or unstable psykers are not worth training in the Telepathica. Instead, these individuals are sacrificed to sustain the Astronomican. Especially due to his training to become a Primaris Psyker, we can thus assume that Heinrix was, at the time, at least above average; Theta or higher.
We can also assume that he was not especially powerful, however. While present day Heinrix possesses an extraordinary amount of willpower and I'm sure ~12 year old Heinrix was not exactly weak of mind, his first manifestation, comparatively speaking, was not very dramatic. While he killed someone, there was no collateral damage, at least not anything spoken of. No Warp breach, no psychic phenomena; just the accidental use of a power he would go on to use in the course of his work. Lastly, we can also assume he was only middlingly powerful because his family kept him alive long enough to hand him over. Black Ships don't show up every day, so unless he got very (un)lucky, it's likely that he would have been in confinement on his home planet for up to a year. The more powerful the psyker, the more unstable they are and the more daemons take an interest (the stronger the psyker, the stronger their presence in the Warp). If he had been actively unstable, I strongly doubt that he would not have been killed before a Black Ship arrived. He'd be a liability.
Because of this, I would put ~12 year old Heinrix at High Theta to low Eta. Not weak, but not extraordinarily powerful. However, his abilities as a biomancer and his notable willpower would have made him an attractive psyker to spend resources training.
An individual's classification can change over time. Considering his Telepathica training, his time in the Guard and his drcades of service in the Inquisition, I am comfortable putting present-day Heinrix at Zeta or even Epsilon level. The feats we see him accomplish ingame, such as being able to stand up against Chaos Space Marines and even a Patriarch (albeit with help), certainly speak to a far above average psyker, arguably with room to grow should he expand his powers of sanctic daemonology.
Confirmed Canon Feats
In my quest to figure out a concrete framework for his capabilities, I first looked to things Heinrix is canonically capable of ingame. Since depending on your interpretation, abilities you can give him through level-up (like super speed) may not be canonical feats, I have divided this section into subsections accordingly.
Please LMK if I forgot or missed anything!
Biomancy (Text)
Boiling blood (Backstory, introductory scene)
Related, he can apparently make people float/hover using his powers (introductory scene)
Mending/closing wounds (mentioned during the monastery)
Dulling/removing pain (mentioned during Commoragh, done on RT after falling down the elevator during the Void Shadows DLC)
Righting injuries such as bones pulled out of sockets (also elevator in Void Shadows)
Slowing or halting own aging (mentioned during bridge dialogue)
Reconstructing his own eye (backstory, but just how damaged it was (gone? Just nonfunctional?) isn't explicitly stated)
Fixing even severe nerve damage (backstory and Commoragh)
Regrowing bones and skin (backstory; the metal plate in the back of his head)
Biomancy (Gameplay)
Iron Arm; reinforcing muscles
Regeneration on self + others
Poisoning others through attacks and psychic powers
Reducing others' speed and strength
Speeding himself and others up
Sanctic (Text)
Protecting (Psyker only?) RT from the psychic shrieks on Rykad Minoris
Word of the Emperor (mentioned in Bridge dialogue)
Sanctic (Gameplay)
Mass heals or damage buff through Word of the Emperor
Ranged Immolate Soul damage that is especially effective against daemons
Summoning a flaming sanctic swords that is capable of producing fire
Resulting Limits and Capabilities
Naturally, these are just snapshots of what he can do. Still, based on this and based on how complicated certain processes would actually be to influence, below is my assessment of what Heinrix can and can't do.
Easy
Mending non-complicated wounds such as flesh wounds and uncomplicated breaks. Easy on himself and others.
Accellerating someone's metabolism or immune system, to promote wound healing, expelling poisons or killing infections. Easy on himself and others. This would likely sap a lot of the person's energy as their nody is being made to expend energy at a rapid rate.
Sensing his own and other's physical state. Determining if they are unwell would likely be trivial; determining what exactly is causing it would need more time.
Accelerating someone's heartbeat (basically how blood boil works).
Sensing the presence of the Warp or daemons.
Shielding his mind or other's minds against daemonic influence (the block may be harder to uphold against stronger daemons. It also gets harder to upkeep the more people he is shielding).
Obviously channeling power through his force sword.
Medium
Mending more complicated wounds such as internal bleeding or organ damage. Mending non-clean breaks. This not only requires understanding and locating the source of the damage, but also expending power pretty precisely in order to fix it. He can do it, but not in the middle of combat: He likely needs some time to focus. He can likely apply a temporary fix even during combat, however this fix would only be upheld through continuous use of his powers: A bandaid, not a true cure to the issue.
Repelling or banishing daemonic influence. This heavily depends on the daemon in question, but would likely require a considerable battle of wills.
Strengthening/reinforcing muscles. Especially as a split-second decision.
Super speed. Since this is considered biomancy, I assume he would be doing a lot of changes in people's leg strength. Far from trivial, especially if you consider that you would also need to be able to think faster to keep up with your own speed.
Killing bacterial infections. I doubt he could do anything against viral infections outside of aiding the immune system. However, with time and focus, he could likely find and kill bacteria in an organism. Finding the right ones is another story, but I think it's possible.
Hard
Any neural or nerve manipulation on himself. This is VERY precise work and it's honestly shocking and impressive he can do it at all. It likely requires a lot of focus and precision and a strong understanding of biology.
Undoing warp mutations. While possible, it'd likely once more require very precise knowledge of the area of the body and how all the muscles, blood vessels, organs, ... are meant to look and sit. This would likely take hours of focused work and take a lot out of him.
Banishing daemons that have entered into realspace.
Halting or slowing his own aging. Aging involves a ton of different processes; manipulating it likely requires constant upkeep. I believe he could also do it for others, but it'd require weekly, if not daily, maintenance sessions.
Changing his own or others' appearance. While ex. changing hair color would be easy, changing facial or body structure would be much more tricky.
Probably Impossible
Fixing wounds where ex. shrapnel is stuck in the body. Biomancy cannot remove the shrapnel; he'd need tools to do so before he could heal the person.
Massively altering someone's biology. I doubt he is powerful enough to actively mutate someone (without killing them). This includes extra limbs, organ fuckery, etc.
Brain damage. The brain is simply too complex. Even if he could reconstruct it, he could not reconstruct the affected memories or motor functions.
Reanimating a dead person. If regular medicine could nit bring them back, I doubt he could either. He may be able to temporarily (while he upkeeps the power) restart their processes, but if they are already braindead this would essentially be a zombie puppeteered by him.
So about the Sanctic Daemonology...
Bigger lore nerds can correct me, but to my understanding, sanctic powers are NOT innate in the way biomancy/telepathy/... are. They must be learned, and it is considerably difficult to do so. His sanctic powers should thus be far less advanced than his biomancy.
Also, from my understanding, psykers can learn powers outside of their specialty / natural aptitude. However, it is difficult to do so and depending on the source, it is only possible to learn easy powers of other disciplines. So Heinrix could (and likely would) pick up minor telepathy to help with interrogations, for example.
Conclusion
That was a lot of yapping, but I hope my thoughts were interesting and maybe helpful! At the end of the day, psykers can do anything the plot needs them to (especially if they push themselves) but this should be a fairly realistic assessment of what Heinrix would be capable of. Feel free to correct me though - I'm still figuring this out myself.
I've always been curious to hear how you picture Heinrix's timeline—from his homeworld right up to the Inquisition. The Kasballica and the Administratum obviously factor in there somewhere, but what's your take on the sequence? How do you think those organizations drifted in and out of his life?
Amazing question, thank you so much 💖
I used information from Heinrix's writer Olga (unofficial) and from his dialogue in the game and my personal head canon.
Childhood
57 years ago (according to Olga, he is 57) Heinrix was born on Guisorn III. Since he says he belonged to "a branch of one of the noble houses", it sounds to me like it wasn't a super important house or, at least, that Heinrix hadn't been some kind of crown prince. But that is just my interpretation and head canon.
Heinrix is raised as a noble and trained to become an Imperial Knight Pilot one day. He also learned dancing (again, according to Olga) because of his noble upbringing (but he can't sing or cook).
He has 2 younger sisters (again, info from Olga). We don't know if they are trained to become pilots like Heinrix, but my head canon is that they do - at least once Heinrix is exiled.
He adores and loves his sisters dearly, but I am not sure about his parents. He does try to excuse their reaction, but he only says later he misses his sisters and doesn't mention his parents. I initially took that as a sign the relationship between them had been cold, but it might be quite the opposite, especially because they had a deep, loving relationship; it was hurting him so much that he still tries to distance himself from them, not allowing himself to think much about them. If they had also been harsh and cold, I think he might have had an easier time criticising them for how he was treated.
At 12- 13 years old (Olga), his powers manifested, and he got his Knight pilot augments removed, resulting in a paralysed arm and parts of his cranium missing (he still has his eyes; he loses the other later). I think his right arm is the one paralysed, and that his augment had been placed on the left side of his skull (because the connections are crossed - left brain side is responsible for right side limbs). Just because I think his implants would have been meant to improve his already dominant right hand (of course, could easily be the opposite, just what I went along with).
From what I have heard, even though psykers are considered part of the tithe, Knight Worlds might be more inclined to outright kill them, however. So I think Guisorn III might not be that traditional in this regard. Maybe the love of his parents also saved his life. I can imagine that having a known psyker in their family was not really helpful for their standing - killing him and trying to cover up what happened could have been better for them.
Prison
After his vivisection, Heinrix gets thrown into prison. I very much doubt they would simply keep him in the castle or house's dungeon; instead, I think he gets thrown into a specific psyker prison. Everything else would be too dangerous.
I have this idea that the prison is built over/near an ocean so they can drop the building with the psykers inside it if something happens. He hears the ocean and the constant crashing of the waves against the shore, but doesn't see much in his little cell. I have a bit written about it here in my one-shot "Accursed".
I imagine he is alone in his cell and doesn't really see other inmates. He is also not getting any visitors - neither his parents nor his sisters. His little sisters wanted to see him again, but they had no way to reach him, and for his parents, he was basically dead.
To keep himself sane, and because it brings him a little comfort and normality by following his routines, he would try to continue his training. Going through what he had learned, mental exercises, but also practical ones, warm-up, and movements for sword fighting, even if his dominant arm is not moving. He works hard; he doesn't want to forget, and he doesn't want to give up. Like his later self, young Heinrix is determined and strong-willed - and now also praying fervently. Not just because it was part of his training and protocol; now he believes it, desperately seeking a new purpose, answers.
Black ship
The black ship arrives - he is still a child or adolescent, so I think he doesn't spend that long in prison, maybe 0,5 - 1 year. Since I believe he was still a teen when he arrived on Terra, I don't think he spent that long on the black ship either - again, maybe 1-2 years. He was quite lucky that way since this could easily have taken much longer.
This would also mean that wherever Guisorn III is located, it isn't that far away from Terra (the black ship would likely not go directly to Terra until he was lucky and they were already "full", but visit some more worlds on their tour). I am not that familiar with the different segments; it could be located in the Calixis sector, and that is also my head canon, but of course, it doesn't have to.
I think he would again try to practise, but it is even more difficult here because there is even less space and the prisoners are slightly sedated, so he is tired and often exhausted. At first he was happy to not be alone anymore in the cell and even met some other psyker inmates from Guisorn III, but he wasn't able to connect with them as he had hoped for, and soon already wished to be back in his lonely cell, as the sounds he heard and the suffering he had to witness were nearly driving him insane.
Sanctioning
He arrives on Terra and gets sanctioned. We don't know how long it took, but there is a Primaris psyker in the novel Witchbringer who spent 5 years there. But it doesn't mean that everyone takes that long. I would not expect it to be faster than 3 years. So 3-5 years is also my head canon for him.
So he would be around 17-21 when he passed his trial and was sanctioned.
I do think during the years he would have managed to heal his paralysed arm and maybe, seeing that he had potential and was already training, he would also have received further sword training during this time, with the idea to form him into a battle psyker or even primaris psyker, though he only ever mentions becoming a psyker/sanctioned and never that he had been a primaris psyker.
Administratum
"There was a time during my earlier years of service when I performed the duties of a secretary in charge of logistics reports at a local Administratum office.".
The question is what he means by earlier service - to the Inquisition? Maybe back when he was a simple acolyte, he was sent there working as a spy? But somehow I doubt that; Xavier wanted him for his powers, as a torturer, and why would he "waste" him then in the Administratum when other people would be better suited? At least, Heinrix doesn't really strike me as a professional undercover agent.
"No. First, I was accorded the status of a psyker fit for service in the Imperial Guard, where I then spent several years."
So I do think he means his service in the Guard. Maybe there was a time when the fighting was over or paused, and the Guard supported the planets' administratum because they relied on it for resources, etc. I don't think he spent a long time there; my head canon is 6 months to a year.
Imperial Guard
I am not sure whether any stable battle psyker is becoming a Primaris psyker or not; at least, it is my headcanon that he's fighting with both his powers and a sword already. He has the knowledge from his childhood, and I think it might be a bit late if he would only pick it up again years after joining the Inquisition. So I picture that happens earlier.
Since psykers are usually despised and hated, it would have been difficult for him to find friends in the Guard; while we know he was and is able to heal himself to some extent, I think it is more difficult with others; for example, he says when we first meet him that "...And extracting blade shards from a person's stomach is beyond my powers." We do see him heal a dislocated or broken arm easily, so I think he could have been helping with healing to some extent at least. It could have helped him earn some respect and acceptance.
One head canon I have is related to the pendant he wears. We usually assume this is his rosette, but it has the symbol of the Ecclesiarchy, not the Inquisition/Ordo Xenos. While I have heard from Inquisitors that they apparently can have their rosettes look like they want, and we know Heinrix's rosette was formed from a dagger (it is tradition in his conclave, as Xavier mentions), I do think it would not really work if he went ahead and showed someone his rosette. All they would see is the symbol of the Imperial Church, basically.
So I don't think his golden pendant is his rosette, and that his actual rosette is the one people can recognise as related to the Inquisition/Ordo Xenos. I had the idea that during his time in the Guard, he survived a massive bombardment/attack after taking cover in a church, and in the ruins he also found that symbol there. He keeps it as his psy focus, and his faith in the God-Emperor was even strengthened.
I also think that he is so opposed to the Aeldari that it is more than just normal Imperial and Inquisitorial dogma/brainwashing (even in the Ordo Xenos). I have the feeling it is a bit more personal. This is why I wrote this oneshot "Suffer not..." where he is on his last mission that also brings him the attention of the Inquisition.
During his service, I think he would have come into contact with different regiments of the Guard again, or at least with planetary defence forces. I can imagine that he occasionally relied on their support during his missions.
Joining the Inquisition
Eventually, Xavier notices him, and he joins the Inquisition as an acolyte. I do think he spent 3-7 years in the Imperial Guard, and since he said he spent decades in the Inquisition, that should be at least 20 years. I imagine he was 25-29 when he joined.
His augments had to be removed - likely so they would not hold him back and he would be more powerful. Now, I am not a native speaker, Heinrix says: "When the Lord Inquisitor took me out of the Guard, he had me remove the augments installed in psykers when they become sanctioned." And that does sound like he himself had to do it.
I am not sure if the wording would allow that Heinrix might go to a chirurgeon to get it removed. While I can imagine it was also a test, I think there was some sort of time pressure that led Heinrix to remove it himself, because no one else was available to do it for him. Because, for a test, I doubt Xavier would waste such a rare resource (biomancy seems to be rare, at least based on a lore check in the game) just to see if Heinrix can vivisect himself. He could have tested his powers or resolve in different ways.
That is also a one-shot I eventually want to write, because I also imagine it had to do with something Xenos, maybe even Aeldari related to foster his hate, but in any case what @lordcaptains had written here is quite excellent.
He said it took him years to repair his eye and that he could see as well as before. He started it somewhere after joining the Inquisition, it doesn't sound like it happened right away. "But I decided I would be more useful if I could start to look more like a human again".
It almost sounds like an excuse for his power usage - and I have written about this before; for him as a torturer, there was no need to look more human, quite the contrary. He might have already had a career in mind, but I think it was a mix of trying to be more than just a torturer, which I think he didn't quite enjoy, and also for himself, to feel better, to have a bit of control over his life again. But that is something that clashes with what he was told - that pain is inevitable, that you should not wish for a better lot for yourself - only to serve. So I think it makes sense that he was focusing on this thought, that he is doing it to serve better, until eventually he believed it himself.
Ah - and I think his last name, "van Calox", was given to him by the Inquisition. I saw on a post (sorry, I don't remember who it was) that van Calox might have resulted from Calixis Sector + Ordo Xenos, and I like this idea, and his name fits it very well. I can't imagine someone would have already, during sanctioning, given him this name - there must have been many deaths during the sanctioning, so I doubt they would go through the trouble. I would rather expect them to give psykers just numbers.
I also like to add, and no offence to those who see it differently, but I don't like when Heinrix is compared with a dog - he is loyal, yes, and of course he has to follow Xavier's orders. We all would want to survive; though I think it is also more personal because he is both his teacher and also the reason Heinrix has received what he perceives as a better and more honourable role. And he had allowed Heinrix to heal himself and to start his career. It is no surprise Heinrix is thankful and maybe even sees a stern father-figure in Xavier. It doesn't look to me like Heinrix had a lot of good connections to the other acolytes or other people in general - aside from Emelina, who was supportive.
Both xenos and cultists will frequently call Imperials who believe in the Emperor "dogs". So it comes up a lot, but while I don't think Heinrix is very ambitious and seeks to become a leader himself, we even see in the game that he is not just following Xavier's orders. He doubts him, does not follow all his orders (like with the Guard on Footfall), and even challenges his authority (at the end and even if not romanced). He is not simply a dog that follows loyally Xavier until the bitter end. That he also tries to excuse Xavier's actions is even why I think he wasn't looking forward to replacing Xavier and only does it at the end (depending on RT's action) because he feels it is his duty.
Kasballica
It sounds like Heinrix was active in the Calixis sector - he mentions the baroness there (I do think that part is true, since he is usually not outright lying, but as he said, it was a fling and I am sure she started it), and when Hieronymus talks about his home world, Heinrix directly asks if it was located in the Calixis sector.
The Kasballica is also present there, and with him being in the Ordo Xenos for sure, he had run-ins with them too and then, of course, in the Koronus Expanse. While it seems he was busy travelling and working mostly alone, he had been several times to Footfall (at least 2 times he had visited the Liege) and knows about Ryzza. He also says that they have the Kasballica monitored.
Koronus Expanse
Around 10 years ago (a bit less, I think unofficial info from Owlcat if they haven't changed their mind about it was 5-8 years or so and Achilleas also said he had the "accident" that burned him 5 years ago) Xavier + his retinue came to the Expanse to investigate claims about tech-heresy (Amarnat) but then found a lot of other issues, including the cult.
"To be honest, I'm not even certain that the people I know are still alive. I used to work with other acolytes of the Lord Inquisitor, but in the Koronus Expanse, I have been working alone."
So Heinrix spent years alone (at least without other acolytes), hunting the cult but also keeping an eye on the Kasballica.
Already in early act 2 Heinrix tells RT about Achilleas and calls him one of his observers; so maybe Xavier asked him to take him over during their talk on Footfall before Heinrix rejoins RT or even before.
The question is whether that means Emelina was already sent to Phton IV. She could have spent years there before the attacks started, so I think it is possible.
I also count Achilleas among the acolytes Heinrix used to work with but hasn't in the Expanse. Quite possible he only saw Achilleas on Dargonus again after years.
So, that's it so far. I hope that was what you had in mind? Though maybe it got a bit long; sorry.
Again, thank you so much for your question! If you'd like to discuss or share your view, please do!
Tbh i also get heinrix because if i was a biomancer i would abuse the fuck out of it to eliminate annoying or inconvenient bodily functions and sensations. tired? hungry? back hurts? too hot or cold? not anymore. itch in a weird place? not anymore. and also attacking. someone pisses you off? Mega Headache Blast. etc. it would be awesome
Thinking about just how much Heinrix loves his sisters. He cut off their family knight's coat of arms just bc his sisters wanted it as a kid. He still misses them decades later.
in angel exterminatus, fulgrim shows up on the planet hydra cordatus to link up with his boy perturabo. he tells perturabo that he has to tell him about something, but needs the iron warriors to build him a giant amphitheater in order for him to do so. they build him the amphitheater and he comes out wearing heels made out of living slaves, crushing them underfoot, absolutely mogging everyone. he tells perturabo about this cool thing he found and says their legions need to team up and go check it out. after all of this, he is still vague. a raven guard sniper shoots him in the head at some point. this sequence didnt need to be several pages long. youd think a 40k novel would discard the frivolous shit and focus squarely on the bit about fulgrim getting shot at a gathering. but it doesn't, because all of the bloat in horus heresy novels is variable levels of describing fulgrims outfit
Okay, shameless self-promo time. I suppose I should actually talk about my fic x.x
I've been working on "To Wish Upon a Shooting Star", an ongoing Iconoclast!RT / Heinrix fic for about 3-4 months now and it's at 17 chapters! It's a longform slow burn that loosely follows canon progression and focuses on Heinrix and his developing sorta-enemies to friends to complicated lovers relationship with the RT.
I'm especially playing with the contrast of Heinrix to a Rogue Trader who is somewhat inexperienced/naìve and in over her head but who is a genuinely kind person trying to do her best and help people in a grimdark setting. As the story goes on, they are changed both by each other and the world around them: Heinrix slowly learning to live and be happy, and RT struggling to reconcile her ideals with the reality of the world. She leans on Heinrix for a sense of steadiness in the tumult, clawing to retain her beliefs and dreams. Meanwhile, Heinrix painfully attempts to make sense of his feelings and pit them against his duty, knowing full well that whatever they have cannot last and will only end in betrayal and heartbreak.
It's my first ever fic and it's been a trip, but I'm really proud of how it's coming together! I'm especially proud of how I managed to keep a weekly posting schedule on Sundays. ^^
If that sounds like your thing, you can check it out below! I'm still trying to figure out this whole writing thing, so I'm super happy for any and all feedback!
He’d agreed back then for reasons he could not entirely name. An instinct to defuse the situation perhaps, or an unwillingness to take away that bit of comfort by refusing outright. In any case, he had not meant to dwell on it.
And yet despite that, days later, it still surfaced again and again, without invitation, in those idle moments at night.
His dream? He had never thought about such a thing in earnest. The concept felt foreign, almost frivolous. He had his holy duty - what else was there supposed to be? What else was there to his life than his calling? What room was there for-
No, it was sentimental nonsense. She was an idealistic fool, nothing more.
Despite that, the idea had burrowed itself inside his head like a worm, and every time he looked at her across the bridge, it surfaced again, uninvited.
Dreams. Such a bittersweet idea.
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