Dark Apostle - Role: Dark Apostles serve the Word Bearers in the role once filled by the Chaplains of a Loyalist Space Marine Legion. They lead their battle-brothers in sermons and litanies worshipping and praising the Chaos Gods during both peacetime and war.A Dark Apostle of any Word Bearers Host is a seasoned summoner of Daemons who is capable of summoning several in quick succession from the Warp, though at the cost of damage to the Daemon's physical being, thus shortening the amount of time that the Daemon can spend on the physical plane.Dark Apostles are said to be aloof, mysterious and charismatic as well as a step above the battle-brothers of their Host. The only person with equal rank within one of the Word Bearers' Hosts to the Dark Apostle would be the Coryphaus, the primary combat commander in the Host and the person who serves as the bridge between the Dark Apostle and the rank-and-file Chaos Space Marines of the Host.Dark Apostles still carry their ritual Crozius Arcanum as they did before their fall, although the resulting "Accursed Crozius" has long since been corrupted and debased into a deadly icon dedicated to the service of the Chaos Gods. Not only does this make them lethal close assault weapons, it also marks the bearer as receiving the dark favour of the Ruinous Powers, granting him protection from his enemies and allowing him a much deeper connection with the denizens of the Warp.Dark Apostles are said to be served by a senior warleader and an apprentice in each Host they command. The senior warleader is called a Coryphaus and leads the Word Bearers Host in battle. His orders are second only to those of the Dark Apostle. The apprentice of the Dark Apostle is named as the Host's First Acolyte and will inherit a portion of the Host when the Dark Apostle and the Legion's Dark Council see fit to allow it.The oldest and most venerated of the Dark Apostles are those that sit on the Dark Council. These venerable Heretic Astartes were members of the XVII Legion during the initial corruption of the Word Bearers by Erebus and First Captain Kor Phaeron solar decades before the outbreak of the Horus Heresy.They have survived and thrived through the Heresy and corrupted untold billions of mortals into worshipping the Chaos Gods. The Dark Council now rules the Word Bearers from the Daemon World of Sicarus in the name of Lorgar, and only the Dark Council can appoint a new Dark Apostle should one of their number fall.Dark Apostles start their career as a standard Chaos Space Marine and must earn the right through their deeds to be elevated to the rank of Dark Apostle. First, they must show their unfaltering devotion towards Chaos Undivided by earning the Mark of Chaos Undivided. Only such a successful Chaos Champion will be considered for possible promotion.Second, they must earn the favour of the current Dark Apostle of their Host, and become their First Acolyte, serving as the factotum to the current Dark Apostle. If he is not slain in battle, or killed by his master, a First Acolyte will eventually rise to the rank of Dark Apostle.The acolyte can either bide his time and wait for the current Dark Apostle to die in combat, hoping to secure the position by the edict of the Dark Council, or he can be more proactive, and kill his mentor himself and await the Dark Council's appointment as the new Dark Apostle of his Host. In any case, the First Acolyte will need the Dark Council's blessings to become a Dark Apostle, and it is not unheard of for the Dark Council to decide to purge the whole ruling cadre of a Host when a Dark Apostle dies.Usually the untimely death of a Dark Apostle is marked with solar weeks of rituals and ceremonies held in his commemoration, while during that time the captains of the dead Dark Apostle's Host are summarily executed for allowing such a thing to happen.The remains of the Host are either absorbed into the ranks of the Host of a more able Dark Apostle, or a Dark Apostle is appointed from somewhere else in the Legion to become the new leader of the affected Host.Thus, a promising First Acolyte will sometimes be promoted to command of his own Host without inheriting the position of his former master, or slain outright for failing to safeguard his master. The will of the Dark Council is the sole judge in this outcome, and their actions will be directed by the will of the Dark Gods.