Hols

Biodata

Feature	Value
Name	Locke Phillips Pa Jinmesterk Hols 138
Alias(es)	Hols; Hynth; Big Mudball, a nickname given by Clever Git; Child of Destiny 138 218 303
Species/Race	Unique shapeshifting hybrid with constantly recombining genes; not biologically an Ork or any other established life-form, despite identifying as a Squig 139 140
Gender	Initially has no fixed biological sex; later adopts a male Aeldari form at Ovisus’s request 302 324
Affiliation	Companion of the Screw Clan; ally of Ovisus and the Aeldari survivors; protected and blessed by Nurgle 218 328 432
Occupation/Role	Sneaky Boss’s companion and mount; shapeshifting fighter; temporary commander of half the Plague Host; chronicler under Nurgle’s protection 138 328 433
Status	Deceased—killed as a sacrifice to Slaanesh. Sneaky Boss subsequently seeks a way to resurrect him 440

Power Progression

Hols receives no named cultivation rank. His early biological strength is explicitly fixed, while later developments involve combat training and Nurgle’s blessings 140 301 432.

Stage / Realm / Level	Chapter	Notes
Fixed-strength hybrid	140	Can reproduce approximately 80% of an encountered creature’s abilities and strength. His unstable genetic equilibrium prevents ordinary biological growth.
Refined combat instincts	301	Repeated fighting with Sneaky Boss, Nobs, and Slaughter Bosses develops practical martial skill. He effortlessly dismantles Parker Pan’s Void Sweep while holding back.
Strengthened by Nurgle’s blessings	432	Becomes stronger without being corrupted and no longer needs enormous daily meals to survive.
Enhanced endurance and regeneration	435 436	His blessings and shapeshifting let him survive being bisected, temporarily hold off Daemon Calamity, and regenerate even from a tiny remnant of flesh. Soul-targeting sacrificial weapons nevertheless defeat him.

History

Naming and Life with Sneaky Boss

After fighting Cheng Mingrui, Hols demonstrates transformations ranging from Orks and Aeldari to numerous animal forms. He becomes a mount for Cheng, whose Power Armour has been wrecked, and asks only to keep playing with him. Fearful of returning to the Growth Vat, he accepts Cheng’s rules after receiving a promise that he will not be abandoned 138.

When asked to choose a name, Locke Phillips Pa Jinmesterk Hols spontaneously appears in his mind. He feels proud whenever he says it but remembers nothing connected to it. Cheng shortens it to “Hols” and suspects—but does not establish—a connection to the Brainboys’ inheritance 138.

Cheng collects more than a hundred kinds of biological samples from Hols, totaling roughly three kilograms. Hols cooperates happily, treating the procedures as play. Left waiting outside the workshop, he resists Clever Git’s attempts to lure him away until hunger and roasted Squig meat overcome his obedience 139.

Injury and Recovery

Hols later suffers shattered genetic chains and loses half his head and body. With his regeneration disabled, Cheng uses preserved genetic data, squig essence, and micron-scale medical needles to reconstruct him. Following Clever Git’s death, Cheng begins treating Hols as a companion and vulnerable child rather than a tool for increasing his own strength 157.

During Losek’s ambush, Hols adopts an Ancient Aeldari body and attacks the Daemonettes. One severs his arm, damaging his soul as well as his flesh. Cheng removes him from the battle and places him in a Medical Pod; examination reveals that he has lost one-twentieth of his soul and needs another month to recover 173 174 176.

Slaanesh consumes the severed arm and becomes fixated on Hols’s tortured soul. The god subsequently orders Losek to serve Fulgrim, gather Slaaneshi forces, and capture Hols 174 175.

Daft and the Tarrok Assignment

Hols befriends Daft after receiving a roast Squig. Their outings include a high-speed flight to Fertile III and Blood Bowl Squigball, where Hols carries Daft in a giant war-beast form. Their success attracts Gretchin followers, forming a small gang with Hols at its head. Cheng allows the friendship to continue after discovering that these outings explain Hols’s increasing weight 218.

Hols and Daft later help the Kill Team hold the ship’s bridge against Khorne’s boarding forces. During a subsequent Tyranid attack, Hols establishes a psychic connection through which Ovisus enters Sneaky Boss’s mindscape in an attempt to awaken him 226 251.

Before leaving for Octaria, Sneaky Boss assigns Hols to remain in the Tarrok System and supervise Daft’s repairs to the Mighty Big Boss. Hols receives a squad of Special Operations Bosses but protests the separation. He accepts only after Sneaky Boss promises to return and take him on more adventures 259.

Departure with the Aeldari

Hols obtains a small Ork warship and approaches the concealed Flames of Vengeance. Unsure whether to leave the Orks, he consults the voice he calls his father, which assures him that his future is his own to choose. He leaves out of curiosity, not resentment toward his Ork companions 300 301.

His first meeting with Ovisus’s companions becomes a fight when he mistakes Parker Pan and Tyranda’s defensive stance for an invitation to play. After overpowering them, he licks Tyranda’s face to express affection and satisfaction at winning. Other Aeldari demand his death, but Tyranda and Parker oppose killing him without evidence that he intends harm 301 302.

Ovisus discovers that Hols is the true Child of Destiny, rather than the person she had previously suspected. She shares this revelation with Yriel and publicly swears in Asuryan’s name not to harm Hols and to show him Aeldari art 303.

Hols helps repel boarders aboard the Flames of Vengeance and fights during the assault on Ulthwé. Remaining with the defenders until the final evacuation earns him acceptance among many Craftworld Aeldari. In their Webway settlement, he transports supplies and saves workers from a collapsing wraithbone tower 326 342 372.

Commorragh and Nurgle’s Protection

Hols accompanies Ovisus’s party to Commorragh. During the crisis surrounding the Spear of Isha, Ovisus persuades him to help activate it. At Nurgle’s direction, Hols supplies nearly all his psychic power, opening a Warp breach through which Black Death arrives to fight Daemon Calamity 373 421.

Five years pass in the Warp after the catastrophe that destroys Commorragh. Survivors blame Hols and Ovisus, unaware of the gods’ schemes. Hols continues bringing them clean supplies despite their hostility, rejects Mortarion’s claim that Ovisus is unworthy of his help, and begins longing to return to the straightforward companionship of the Orks 432.

When Nurgle’s army is attacked from both front and rear, Hols offers to stabilize the front. Mortarion entrusts him with half the Plague Host and Black Death. Hols’s defensive arrangements and artillery use help the army advance into Khorne’s territory and establish a forward base for a Webway Gate 433.

Sacrifice to Slaanesh

While escorting Ovisus and the wounded toward safety, Hols is bisected by a silver attacker. He transforms his separated body sections to shelter his passengers and escape, then rejoins them at the gate site. In Krork form, he holds off Daemon Calamity until bombardment from the Reaper Host gives him an opening to disengage 435.

Hols breaks through the attackers surrounding the Aeldari defenders and clears them with a precisely controlled Psychic Storm. While tending to Ovisus, he is stabbed by multiple apparently friendly warriors, including Tyranda. Lucius has possessed them, and their weapons are designed to extract Hols’s flesh and soul for Slaanesh 436.

Sneaky Boss later confirms Hols’s death through Ovisus’s memories and Yvraine’s knowledge. Learning that Nurgle’s forces tried to protect him, Sneaky Boss turns his vengeance toward Slaanesh and considers killing the god as a possible route to Hols’s resurrection 440.

Appearance

• Squig form: Commonly appears as a round, red Squig, with a huge mouth and a happily wagging tail; he often rides on Sneaky Boss’s shoulder 139 174.
• Ancient Aeldari form: Has an elegant, slender physique but initially moves on all fours and fights with his teeth like a Squig 174 301.
• Clothing: Arrives aboard the Flames of Vengeance wearing ragged cloth and scraps of armour. After Ovisus teaches him clothing etiquette, he adopts proper attire and resembles a handsome young male Aeldari 301 324.
• Other forms: Includes giant Squig war beasts, wolf-like creatures, a cheetah, winged beasts, and a Krork. He can alter his size and grow protective carapace during combat 200 339 340 417 435.

Personality

Hols begins life innocent, trusting, and deeply afraid of abandonment. His confinement in the Growth Vat leaves him willing to endure pain as long as someone will play with him. Sneaky Boss’s arrival gives his life a meaning beyond suffering, making Cheng’s instructions especially important to him 138 139.

Raised among Greenskins, Hols regards fighting as play, victory as a reason for praise, and gruesome violence as ordinary. He initially misses sarcasm, social conventions, and the distinction between a defensive gesture and an invitation to wrestle. Food, games, and unfamiliar experiences readily capture his attention 139 301 302 326.

His later experiences make him more aware of hostility and emotional suffering without destroying his generosity. He refuses to measure friendship by how much someone would sacrifice for him: Ovisus’s companionship and the happiness she has given him remain worth repaying. His desire to protect others also leaves him vulnerable to distractions, deception, and attacks from apparent allies 432 435 436.

Abilities & Skills

Shapeshifting

Hols’s genes continually recombine, allowing complete transformations rather than superficial disguises 140.

• Can imitate life-forms he has encountered and understands, reproducing approximately 80% of their abilities and strength 140.
• Selects bodies suited to particular tasks, including mounts, flying beasts, fast-reacting Ancient Aeldari, and powerful Krorks 138 173 417 435.
• Can reshape part of his body into a protective shelter and transport passengers inside himself 433 435.
• Is limited by available space; narrow passages prevent him from using his largest war-beast forms 340.

Regeneration and Biological Limits

Hols rapidly replaces lost tissue, but his original regenerative ability depends on maintaining a delicate genetic balance 139 140.

• Early tissue loss makes him smaller as remaining cells replenish the missing flesh 139.
• Genetic-chain damage can disable regeneration and require cellular reconstruction using preserved samples 157.
• Before Nurgle’s later blessings, he needs food and water and can die from an injury to a vital point 140.
• His constantly active cells initially require food amounting to three times his body weight each day; Nurgle’s blessings later remove that enormous survival requirement 339 432.
• Physical recovery does not prevent soul damage from Slaaneshi attacks 176 435 436.

Waaagh! Field and Genetic Catalysis

When imitating Ork creatures, Hols generates a Waaagh! Field and can accelerate nearby Orks’ growth and strength 138 140.

• The catalytic effect is strongest during intense fighting 140.
• Fighting Hols increases Cheng Mingrui’s measured overall combat strength by one-twentieth 139.
• His great strength limits practical use: few clan Nobs can fight him hard enough to trigger the effect 140.
• Experience shared through the Waaagh! Field contributes to his learned combat instincts 301.

Psychic Power

His Ancient Aeldari form possesses psychic power far beyond that of modern Aeldari 301.

• Psychic links: Communicates mentally with Cheng and Ovisus and provides a connection into Sneaky Boss’s mindscape 138 251.
• Shielding and resistance: Coats his body in psychic protection; his Aeldari psychic presence nearly breaks Losek’s Time Magic and reduces its effects on him by at least half 174 301.
• Energy transfer: Supplies psychic power for Cheng’s repair of Sneaky Boss’s Ship and for activation of the Spear of Isha 200 421.
• Brain-bursta: Uses the Ork psychic ability to destroy boarding Drukhari 326.
• Psychic Storm: Directs individual lightning strikes against enemies while leaving nearby allies unharmed 436.
• Wolf-like manifestation: Envelops his Ancient Aeldari body in a psychic beast during his rage-driven assault on Slaaneshi forces 436.

Combat and Command

Hols develops formidable practical fighting skills through repeated battles with the Screw Clan 301.

• Initially relies on pouncing, biting, and tearing rather than formal Ancient Aeldari martial arts 174.
• Counters Parker Pan’s Void Sweep by precisely striking the points sustaining its four attacks 301.
• Uses Krork form most confidently after extensive sparring with Ork bosses and Sneaky Boss 435.
• Commands massed Plague Cannons, destroys enemy artillery, and reorganizes Nurgle’s defenders into a shorter, deeper line 433.
• Remains less adept at anticipating concealed feints and schemes than at answering direct attacks 435.

Perception and Learning

• Quickly understands and reproduces the multidimensional structure of Aeldari music after adopting an Aeldari body 324.
• Interprets vibrations in the Flames of Vengeance as a message that the ship is under attack, astonishing Ovisus 324.
• Acquires historical knowledge sufficient to recognize Fulgrim and the threat he poses 434.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Force-field necklace — Designed by Cheng Mingrui; protects Hols with a thin field requiring firepower comparable to an interstellar warship’s bombardment to breach 200.
• Implanted emergency sphere — Positioned beside his critical weak point. Activates a Stalwart Shield for five seconds when his life is threatened, blocking projectile and energy attacks during that interval 200.
• Emergency teleportation safeguard — Sends him directly to a Medical Pod in Cheng’s workshop, using the shield’s protected interval to allow rescue 200.
• Small Ork warship — Built by Mekboys eager to gain favor with Sneaky Boss through Hols; used for roaming the Tarrok System and reaching the Flames of Vengeance 300 301.
• Improvised weapons — Uses a recovered Chainsword against Ultramarines and seizes Daemon Calamity’s scimitar during their duel 340 435.

Relationships

• Cheng Mingrui / Sneaky Boss — First trusted companion, caregiver, and sparring partner. Cheng’s attitude changes from scientific exploitation to genuine protectiveness; Hols strongly resists separation from him 138 157 259.
• Clever Git — Early playmate who initially fears being replaced as Sneaky Boss’s follower. Gives Hols the nickname “Big Mudball”; Hols later fondly remembers their outings 138 139 218.
• Daft — Close friend through food, flying, and Squigball. Later placed under Hols’s supervision during repairs to the Mighty Big Boss 218 259.
• Ovisus — Psychic friend who introduces him to Aeldari culture and identifies him as the true Child of Destiny. Their relationship becomes strained after Commorragh’s destruction, but Hols continues protecting her 303 324 432 436.
• Nurgle / Grandfather — Life-giving protector whom Hols addresses as “Father.” Nurgle describes himself as Hols’s protector and midwife rather than his father, supports his freedom, and grants strengthening blessings without corruption 328 421 432.
• Mortarion — Regards Hols as a favored brother and prospective ally against the Imperium. Provides clean supplies and entrusts him with command, but unsuccessfully encourages distrust of Ovisus 432 433.
• Parker Pan and Tyranda — Initially fight him, then oppose killing him merely for being different. Tyranda later participates in the fatal ambush while possessed by Lucius 301 302 436.
• Yriel and Eldrad — Protectors of the Aeldari who learn of Hols’s prophetic importance. Yriel positions him during boarding battles; Eldrad witnesses his assistance to displaced Ulthwé survivors 303 326 342 372.
• Slaanesh and Lucius — Slaanesh covets his soul; Lucius engineers the possession-based ambush that delivers him as a sacrifice 175 436 440.

Notable Quotes

“I want to play with you! Playing with you makes me happy! Even when it hurts, I’m happy!” 138

“Friendship shouldn’t be measured like that.” 432

“It’s all right. We’re friends, aren’t we? Things will get better. Once you get out, everything will get better.” 432