Overview
Marsh Silas is a Lieutenant-Captain, commanding Bloody Platoon, a unit in the 10th Kasrkin Regiment based in Kasr Proelium. A soldier since the age of 14, and having risen from the rank of private to become an officer and a Hero of the Imperium, he's had over a decade of military experience. Tough, courageous, and valorous, he's a "soldier's soldier," gung-ho and eager for action. His rugged appearance and plain speech masks a growing intellect and capacity for strategic thought; he's a competent commander who devises plans that maximizes damage inflicted on the enemy and minimizing exposure to his own troops. He is a humanitarian individual, devoted to saving lives, breaking down social barriers, reforming military law, and improving the quality of life in the Imperium of Man.
Character & Personality
Marsh Silas was once a complacent individual, accepting his simple role in life with few questions. Illiterate, unaware of the wider galaxy outside his homeworld, he was contented to fulfill his duty as a non-commissioned Cadian Shock Trooper. Gruff, judgmental, and highly skeptical of any deviation from the Cadian way of life, he was nonetheless was dutiful soldier and dedicated to his comrades.
However, over the course of the series and interaction with different circumstances and people, compelled by his own natural desires to become a better individual, he has evolved. In the current story, he has become more empathetic, and more so, strives to find a balance between warm and cold empathy. His obligation to defend and lead his friends has blossomed into a full-fledged desire to uplift and protect the disenfranchised soldiers of the Astra Militarum and, eventually, the citizens and other denizens of the Imperium of Man. Having learned to read, write, and orate, he has embraced education and seeks to create new programs to provide different life skills as well as soldiering techniques for others. Although he struggled with his fear before, Marsh Silas has become a highly courageous, valorous, and gallant individual, even as he assumed an officer's commission. He does not order his men to commit a task he wouldn't commit himself, he leads from the front, and, ever resourceful and problem-solver oriented, takes great care to devise stratagems that are logical, effective, and minimize risk to his forces. Above all, his increasingly humanist ideology is apparent as he drops his judgement towards non-Cadians, non-soldiers, Abhumans, and other individuals who reside in the Imperium of Man. He seeks equality and wants to break down barriers between different factions in the Imperium. Marsh vehemently opposes the decadence of the nobility, despite his own restored noble status, and desires to crush corruption both in the Imperial Army and in the Imperium's byzantine political mechanisms and institutions.
Altruistic, Marsh Silas despises corruption, greed, selfishness, power-mongering, and power abuses, and more so, the people who entertain these aspects. However, as vehemently opposed as he is, Marsh Silas blames not the people behind it as much as the societies and cultures that has been forced upon them. He tries to see the people behind them as gone astray and wants to lead them back to more moral lives united with the masses. However, Marsh Silas's empathy only goes so far, and his righteousness can make diplomacy and politician connections difficult. Although there is great risk that he may be accused of treason by the power-wielders, he makes it his mission to end these illicit practices and improve the institutions for the people. As well, his plans to humanize military and political stratagems, essentially united strategy with humanist ideology creates friction not only with those power-mongers, whom Marsh refers to as 'The Bosses,' as well as many colleagues on his level. Often, they are of a more practical mindset and are mission-oriented, but Marsh often strives to find a balance between their motives and his own, often creating unity and cooperation between multiple groups, another of Marsh's key initiatives.
Although surrounded by many comrades and followers that grows over the course of the series, Marsh Silas often feels lonesome in his travels. Even if his struggle to create good is a heavy weight on his shoulder, it is not a burden. Yet, he often feels as though he bears it alone or with only a few others. The loss of family, friends, and his lover, has created traumatic gouges in his mind, body, and spirit which he has sought to fill by devoting almost every waking hour to others. There is little he reserves for himself, often practicing philanthropy when possible. Although he has learned to process his grief, at times he grows angry, and at others, finds someplace quiet and alone to contemplate and heal. He has a stellar memory which is as much a tool as it is a curse, and he suffers from post-traumatic stress when unoccupied from his work.
Despite his high ideals and morals, Marsh Silas hasn't forgotten his roots. No matter how far he rises, he is still a plain-speaking, straightforward, down-to-earth, and humble individual who appreciates home, friendship, and family above much else. As well, he will forever and always be a soldier, and chooses to meet his challenges and obstacles head on.
Pre-Volume I Timeline
Silas was born on the Fortress World of Cadia in 950.M41 to parents Dayton and Faye Cross. Dayton was a low noble of an old soldier family, but had risen to command one of the home regiments on Cadia; Faye had been his regimental sergeant major before they had wed. Although both of his parents were warm, he was subject to abuse by his grandsires, causing strife in the Cross Manse. He began military training at age 3 in his home of Kasr Polaris. Brutal, exacting, and demanding, he nonetheless persevered despite the harsh details proctored by his Commissars and drill abbots. He won distinctions in discipline, marching, marksmanship, survival skills, and hand-to-hand combat drills. He struggled in the classrooms; functionally illiterate, he had to rely on his strong memory and close friends reading from their manuals. Tragedy struck at age 10 when his father was murdered; with his mother, Silas was shipped to Macharia, a militarized-Hive World in the Cadian System, by his grandsires. There, he completed his training and at 14, returned to Cadia and joined the Youth Army with his old instructors and fellow trainees. He served with distinction in the Youth Army, still under the supervision of Commissar Ghent. Although the 540th never rose to fame, they still made a mark as they fought ambushing Aeldari, war-hungry Orks, Traitor Guardsmen, and heretical cults. At age 18, his age of majority, the regiment was nearly wiped out by Traitor Marines. He and the survivors were elevated to Cadian Shock Troops, some of the best and most inspiring conventional troops in the entire Imperium. He was honored several times with various decorations and promotions, though the loss of old friends made them feel hollow.
He spent 6 years in the 1333rd Cadian Regiment, a light infantry regiment attached to the Cadian Interior Guard to extinguish heretical cults. Already a corporal by the age of 18, Silas was noted to be a harsh, demanding figure who drilled his fellow soldiers intensely. Some of these men, often old friends, balked at such treatment and disparagingly referred to him as 'Marshal Silas.' Of course, Silas conducted tough training in order to forge stronger soldiers and the fruits of their labor became apparent as his squad routinely survived difficult encounters with the enemy. What was once meant to mock him became an honor, and over the years, his nickname was shortened to 'Marsh Silas' or just 'Marsh,' which almost everyone from the officers on down refer to him by. A joke spread that nobody knew his surname and Silas, remembering his abusive grandsires, was quite pleased by the notion.
Silas's noble blood entitled him to an officer's commission but his disownment by his grandsires prevent such ascension. Yet, he continually toiled and worked hard, embracing the life he had been trained since youth to live. By his own merits, he rose to the rank of sergeant and commanded his own squad. His friend, Ellery Overton, rose to command their platoon, and through his influence created Marsh Silas as his second in command. Marsh took up the role of platoon sergeant eagerly and quickly. The 1st Platoon of the 1st Company became quite noted for their efforts, due in no small part to Marsh's hard-charging mentality and vigorous devotion to duty. The motto, 'First to spill blood, first to shed blood,' was adopted by the men. Although having suffered a difficult life as well as the perils of soldiering in a galaxy ridden with war, Silas grew to love his post. A small cog in the machine doing his part to serve the God-Emperor and the Imperium by smiting enemies with lasguns and bayonets proved to be a simple and fulfilling life, even if it was dangerous, low-paying, and the food was bad. At least there were good men to fight alongside with and plenty of lho-leaves and tabac for his pipe.
Current Timeline
Since the year 974.M41, Marsh Silas had a tumultuous but lifechanging experience. Befriending an Ordo Hereticus Inquisitor named Barlocke, his worldview was challenged and expanded by his mentorship. Although Barlocke perished in the hunt for a rogue psyker, his ideals struck true with Marsh Silas. He resolved to grow as an individual, embraced education from his friend and then-commanding officer, Seathan Hyram, experienced romance and love with Junior Commissar Lilias J. Carstensen, and resolved to take a more humane approach in leadership and training of his men and Whiteshields. Although he has made mistakes and has suffered great losses, Marsh Silas has grown into a humanitarian idealist who strives for military reform in the treatment of soldiers, from better pay and mandatory literacy classes to protections from abuse and outlawing of certain punishments. He has founded a school for his late love, Lilias, teaching her tenets of inspiration, duty, and humanism in the officer and Commissariat corps, and along with the surviving soldiers of Bloody Platoon, has joined the 10th Kasrkin Regiment, one of the elite special operations units and supreme guard of Cadia. A tactful leader, rising political star, expert swordsman, brave leader, and paragon of reform, Marsh Silas continues to climb the military-political ladder as he gives shape and form to his ideals to benefit the trillions of souls through the Imperium of Man. Having earned one of the Astra Militarum's highest awards, he is now considered a Hero of the Imperium, and a Knight of Cadia.
Other Notes
- Marsh Silas prefers to smoke from a pipe made of ebony; the pipe was inherited from his father.
- He has a satchel which he called a 'kit bag;' it contains a variety of items.
- A psycho-spiritual fragment of Barlocke the Inquisitor is embedded in his mind as a familiar.
- His favorite meal is a rice dish with butter and crushed herbs.
- Silas's noble status has been restored and he is stylized as a 'Knight of Cadia,' as well as several other worlds in the Cadian System.
- Silas lives in Kasr Sonnen with his best friend Hyram's family.
Wargear
- Mk. 2 Hellgun
- Custom Ripper Pistol/Barlocke's Silence (semi-automatic/automatic machine pistol with integral suppressor, extended magazines, laser/light module, and a red dot sight)
- Lathe-pattern shotgun (rotary magazine, suppressor, red dot sight, laser/light module)
- Power Sword
- Trench Knife (with adamantium knuckles and skull-crusher)
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