Pationa

Biodata

Background / History

Adoption and Confinement

Chris Tempatio found Pationa after an encounter with an Aeldari fleet during an off-world voyage. He adopted her and subsequently never left Nostramo. Pationa herself had known from birth that she was different, possessing power and charm originating in the Warp 11 25.

Chris initially intended her to continue the family bloodline, but abandoned that intention by the time she was sixteen. He instead kept her secluded in a luxurious secret chamber for more than a decade, regarding her as his private possession and most perfect collection piece. He painted her portrait himself and concealed the chamber's access chip inside it 11 12.

When Curze's rise threatened the nobles, Chris asked Pationa to infiltrate the “old bat's” circle and kill him for the family. She gave no answer, leaving the chamber after a gentle look at her adoptive father 12.

Leadership of the Tempatio Family

Pationa began taking over family affairs while Chris withdrew from public life. Her administration met no opposition within the household. Curze nevertheless found her apparently spotless record suspicious and ordered the Council of the Long Night to investigate both her and Chris 19.

Chris's earlier children had all died after Pationa's arrival, although the investigation found normal causes of death. No responsibility for those deaths was established. By this point, Pationa occupied the family head's study, while Chris was confined in the chamber that had once held her 19.

Chris had become severely wounded and physically degraded through his pursuit of pleasure. Pationa visited him before the nobles' meeting and acknowledged his renewed instruction to kill the Bat of Eternal Night. He died in her presence 20.

Confrontation over the Evernight Code

Pationa led Quintus's nobles during their meeting with Han Mingxuan and Curze. She challenged the Evernight Code's extreme punishments and its separate treatment of nobles, invoking the principle that the law should not punish the multitude 20 21.

When Curze's authority silenced the room, she redirected the challenge toward Han Mingxuan, hoping to exploit a mistake in his understanding of the code. Han instead explained that greater privileges carried greater responsibilities: nobles could claim the general populace's protections only by surrendering their titles, resources, and privileges 21 22.

Pationa responded by kneeling, kissing Han's hand, and pledging the Tempatio Family's full support and entry into the general populace. Han exempted her from the charges read against the other nobles, although the family was subsequently ordered to lead payment of the imposed 95-percent fines and taxes 22.

Attempts to Approach Han Mingxuan

After Curze departed Quintus, Pationa visited Han under the pretext of asking questions about the code. Han had Sevatar explain its provisions and resolved her remaining questions over a three-hour visit. Pationa was privately baffled that her Warp-derived charm failed to enthrall him 24 25.

Han retained her family's influence as a means of stabilizing the Upper Hive. Privately, however, he instructed Sevatar to kill her if Han began pursuing perfection or extremes, and to attack Han himself if he tried to interfere. He tolerated the risk because he believed Pationa might become useful in the future. Her subsequent visits during his seclusion were refused 25 28.

Exposure and Withdrawal

During preparations for Nostramo's relocation, Pationa realized that Han did not know about the Night Haunter's plans and wondered whether a rift existed between father and son. The Night Haunter immediately identified her as a Warp creature and threatened to turn her into a carpet if she plotted against them. He admitted that he did not understand how she remained so stable in realspace 33.

Pationa later withdrew from public life, officially because of poor health, and her family did not participate in migration preparations. Curze's investigation confirmed her illness. Han attributed it to Necron technology blocking the Warp and psychic power, and refused to eliminate a known threat only to risk an unknown replacement 47.

Punishment by Slaanesh

During Nostramo's evacuation, Slaanesh addressed Pationa in the family's secret chamber. It condemned her failure to secure any share in the devotion, hope, sacrifice, and other emotions flourishing on the renewed world 48.

Although Slaanesh found its own resulting disappointment and sorrow novel, it did not spare her. Declaring that its palace needed a lamp, it caused Pationa to vanish before she could refuse 48.

Appearance

Pationa is repeatedly described as unnaturally perfect, with an elegance that inspires admiration while concealing an oppressive presence 11 19 20.

• Hair: Long and white 20.
• Eyes: Purple 20.
• Features: Full red lips and slender, white-jade-like fingers 11 20.
• Clothing: A purple-red noblewoman's gown and sapphire necklace at the court meeting; another purple outfit during her later visit to Han 20 24.
• Scent: A pleasant fragrance resembling fermenting oranges 20.

Personality

Pationa maintains a gentle, composed manner, presenting herself as a dutiful daughter and polished noblewoman. She assures Chris that she will accomplish whatever the family requires, while her smile at his death leaves her actual feelings concealed 11 20.

She is calculating and adaptable in political confrontations. When pressure against Curze fails, she targets Han; when Han defeats her legal argument, she promptly submits. Her outward humility contrasts with her furious private insults toward him 21 22.

Her confidence in her charm makes Han's indifference genuinely puzzling to her. She also watches for divisions she might exploit, but becomes visibly frightened when the Night Haunter exposes her nature 25 33.

Abilities & Skills

Warp-Derived Charm

Pationa explicitly identifies the Warp as the source of her power and charm 25.

• Inspires intense obsession and humility in Chris, while her presence leaves the servant Giesen sweating after a brief audience 11 19.
• Expects Han to become enthralled, but produces no apparent effect on him 25.
• Suffers when Necron technology blocks access to the Warp and psychic power 47.
• Remains unusually stable in realspace; the mechanism is unknown even to the Night Haunter 33.

Administration and Political Maneuvering

Pationa capably assumes control of the Tempatio Family and becomes the nobles' principal spokesperson 19 20.

• Uses legal arguments to challenge class-specific punishments and threaten noncompliance 21.
• Preserves her position by pledging support when resistance becomes untenable 22.
• Retains substantial influence among Upper Hive nobles, which Han considers useful for maintaining order 25.

Pleasure-Inducing Pastries

Pationa serves Chris pastries that cause overwhelming satisfaction and pleasure 11.

• A single pastry leaves him convulsing on the floor and nearly fainting.
• The ingredients and mechanism are not explained 11.

Relationships

• Chris Tempatio — Adoptive father and former captor. His possessive devotion eventually gives way to her control of the household; she witnesses his death 11 12 19 20.
• Han Mingxuan — Political opponent to whom she publicly submits. He resists her charm and keeps her alive as a potentially useful, known threat 22 25 47.
• Konrad Curze — Investigator and adversary. He distrusts her unusually clean record and later proposes eliminating her 19 47.
• The Night Haunter — Recognizes her Warp nature and explicitly threatens her against exploiting his family's affairs 21 33.
• Sevatar — Explains the Evernight Code to her and receives secret orders to kill her if she begins corrupting Han 24 25.
• Slaanesh — Her master and eventual punisher, taking her away to serve as a palace lamp 48.

Trivia

• The Night Haunter recalls no person named Pationa in his original timeline, making her appearance in this world another reason to question her origins 20.