The heretek magos of House Sinekai are driven by one goal – to push the boundaries of science by whatever means they choose, free from the restrictions of the Adeptus Mechanicus. House Sinekai specialises in unorthodox and outlawed projects, from the genetic manipulation of animals to create chimerics to experimentation with machine intelligence.

Magos Pust’s chief area of expertise is the creation of gholams and chimerics. These creatures can vary in size from tiny, delicate doll-like cherubim to enormous lumbering hybrid beasts created from the fusion of xenos genetics. Inspired by the work of the legendary Fabius Bile, Pust believes that somewhere among the genetic stock held in House Sinekai’s dark menagerie lies a unique combination of parts that will lead to an unstoppable super-soldier, which can then be sold to the highest bidder. Unusually for the Dark Mechanicus, Pust is jovial, with a wry sense of humour. He loves his work and performs his experiments with a sense of glee and enthusiasm that many find disturbing. Pust long ago forfeited the use of his legs, using the nerves to control a walking contraption. This walking chair has delicate synthetic hands and is capable of performing complex operations, as well as allowing Pust greater mobility when traversing the pens of the menagerie.

Magos Echidnia is Pust’s frequent companion, though the pair are very different in both appearance and personality. While Pust is loud, bloated and jovial, Echidnia is silent and cold, her withered body seemingly comprised of nothing more than dust and rotted cable. Even by the standards of the Dark Mechanicus, Echidnia is a twisted genius, and her frequent inventions are far beyond the scope of most other heretek’s understanding. One of her first innovations was to transplant her nervous system into a cyber-scorpion, which is capable of detaching from her body and scuttling away to act independently. Recent inventions have included the Psychopath class of murder gholam and the terrifying Silica Animus. Magos Echidnia demonstrates a remarkable lack of concern for the maintenance of her physical form, indeed on several occasions her body has been apparently completely destroyed – during dangerous experiments, once by gunfire and several times by simply falling apart due to neglect. Yet her continued presence at the head of House Sinekai has lead to speculation that she has found a form of immortality: her consciousness preserved in various inconspicuous cyber constructs waiting to be restored to a fresh body. The flock of small birds and the multitudinous beetles that are always present around her adds further fuel to this speculation.