Kroot are a race of humanoid xenos from Pech of Ultima Segmentum, famed mercenaries, known to acquire the genetic traits of others by consuming their flesh. Thanks to this unique aptitude, Kroot can survive in any environment – in frigid cold, in searing heat, or on the surface of the harshest death world. The Kroot carefully preserve the traditions of their kin, perpetuate their genes through the ceremonial consumption of the dead, and fear above all falling into an 'evolutionary dead end' by mindlessly devouring unfit flesh. Guided by Flesh Shapers capable of sensing and selecting the "genetic strands" necessary for a kinband's development, the Kroot spread across the galaxy in their eternal pursuit of evolutionary perfection.
Ra'akhti is a scout, exiled from her tribe for transgressions against their traditions. In their wrath, the Flesh Shapers visited upon her the most dreadful punishment known to the Kroot: she was declared an “Inedible”, a being whose "genetic strands" must not be consumed, and thus whose essence can never be passed on to their kin. Cut off from her tribe and left entirely to her own devices, Ra'akhti was forced to survive in the toxic marshes that stretch across a lower sector of a hive city, where the only bright spot in Ra’akhti’s relentless solitude was her faithful Pech'ra named Yuka.
A chance encounter with an acolyte of the Inquisition proved fortuitous, offering Ra'akhti the chance to continue her life despite her exile. It's difficult for a lone xenos to survive on a human world without the patronage of someone powerful. By joining the acolyte's retinue, and gaining the patronage of an agent of the Golden Throne, Ra'akhti gained access to the world beyond the fringes of the hive city. Though the locals regard her with hatred and the logic of the 'soft-skins' remains baffling to her, Ra’akhti has severed the last ties to her once-close kin and now sets out upon a new trail that may lead her to a new purpose… or utter destruction.