vizn3r/warhammer40k-lore huggingface dataset:
Adeptus Mechanicus - Classiarii: The Skitarii forces of the Adeptus Mechanicus take a variety of forms. On warships and Explorator vessels operating within the Koronus Expanse and the Calixis Sector, specially-programmed Skitarii are a necessity, for they serve as the members of boarding parties, security personnel and bodyguards where other forms of Skitarii would be impractical.Within the Mechanicus territories of the Calixis Sector, these warriors are known as Classiarii, a term of obscure meaning within the ancient traditions of the Calixian Mechanicus, believed to mean "mariners."Nigh-impervious to vacuum, fitted with thick, implanted armour, and equipped with an array of implanted weaponry designed for void combat and combat in the cramped enclosures of a starship, a Classiarius trooper is literally built for ship-to-ship combat.
Adeptus Mechanicus - Venatorii: The Venatorii were created in the wake of the War of Brass that devastated the Skitarii Legions of the Lathe Worlds, leaving entire Forge Worlds of the Calixis Sector with virtually no troops left.The reigning High Fabricator started a discreet rearmament drive throughout the Calixian Forge Worlds. The more military minded Tech-priests were moved into position to help replenish the fighting ranks.It took many Terran years to bring this grand plan together, but once everything was in place, the High Fabricator found himself with a new force consisting of some of the best-trained and best-equipped troops in the Calixis Sector.Dubbed the Venatorii, the new hunters were a force that was to remain separate to the recovering Skitarii forces of the sector and act as the true elite of the Lathes. With their unique organisation and frightening red armour, the few outside of Mechanicus circles who were aware of their existence soon began to call them the Crimson Guard.
Adeptus Mechanicus - Techmarines: Techmarines (or Fraters Astrotechnicus as they are known to the Mechanicus) are chosen from the ranks of the Space Marine Chapters for their technological aptitude. After being inducted into their Chapter they are sent to Mars for many standard years of training, and when they come back, they serve the same role with their Chapter as an Enginseer does with the Astra Militarum, maintaining and repairing their Chapter's weapons, equipment, vehicles and space vessels.Although they are not officially part of the Adeptus Mechanicus, they are considered "honorary members" of the Mechanicus by both their Chapter and the Adeptus Mechanicus itself. Their Power Armour is modified to accommodate their cybernetic enhancements and their armour's back packs are upgraded with several servo arms or Mechadendrites.Their armour is painted the rust red of the Adeptus Mechanicus, but their Chapter badge is retained and displayed on one of their shoulder plates, so as not to anger the Power Armour's Machine Spirit. Techmarines are able to wear full servo harnesses, which are huge harnesses armed with servo arms, Plasma Cutters, and Flamers.They are commonly accompanied by a full retinue of Servitors, including Gun Servitors, Combat Servitors, and Tech Servitors. They bear a Power Axe with the Adeptus Mechanicus Cog Mechanicum sigil on the head, as both a symbol of their office and as a weapon.Iron Fathers - The Iron Hands Space Marine Chapter has closer ties to the Adeptus Mechanicus than is normal for the Adeptus Astartes, and like the Mechanicus their Astartes consider flesh to be weak, while cybernetic implants are more spiritually pure. The Iron Father fulfills the role of a Techmarine, a Chaplain and an officer in an Iron Hands company.Iron Priests - The Iron Priest is the Space Wolves' equivalent of the Techmarine. Iron Priests look after the many technical systems in the Space Wolves' fortress-monastery on the world of Fenris, The Fang. They supervise engineering projects and all the other complex technical tasks undertaken every day. The skills of these grim and taciturn artisans are both respected and feared by their fellow Space Wolves, most of whom view the mechanical and scientific arts as a dark and frighteningly arcane sorcery.
Adeptus Mechanicus - Adeptus Mechanicus Minoris Ranks: Amongst the standard ranks of the Tech-priests there can be found several minor orders of Tech-adepts who are dedicated to more specialised functions. These Tech-priests are considered to belong to what are known as Minoris ranks within the larger, overall hierarchy of the Cult of the Machine. Some Minoris ranks include:
Adeptus Mechanicus - Acuitor Mech-Assassin: An Acuitor Mech-Assassin is part of an order of Adeptus Mechanicus, located within the Lathes in the Calixis Sector, that are dedicated to the art of death. They are only answerable to the Magisters Samadhi of their own order, and usually move according to their masters' will without scrutiny. The Acuity Set of the Lathes, less formally called the Mech-Assassins, are trained in the art of stealth, able to move within plain sight amongst the lay folk throughout the sector, hidden from scrutiny beneath heavy red robes.These executioners are pulled from across the Lathes and beyond, and instructed in secret fortresses scattered throughout the Calixis Secotr. Most candidates who are chosen have proven both faithful and capable of using the skills of the Adeptus Mechanicus to deadly effect. Through the mentally recorded data-tracts left by their founder, Magos Samadhi, the Mech-Assassins believe these cogitations guide them to the targets of their wrath and aid them in making short work of those who oppose the Lathes.
Adeptus Mechanicus - Reclaimator: The most-skilled and certainly least trusted of the Adeptus Mechanicus functionaries are the Reclaimators. It is their task to redeem raw materials from old and damaged systems, to scavenge parts and be tasked with the endless cycle of minor repairs needed to keep a starship flying or a hive's infrastructure from collapsing under its own weight. By necessity, a Reclaimator's skills begin to stray into a higher understanding of machinery and technology than most and many learn to worship the Machine God in a fragmentary and superstitious manner, marking them apart from others of the Mechanicus.Reclaimators themselves are often sent into dangerous or unsafe areas with little direct supervision, and they scavenge and salvage a good deal more than their masters know. As a result, most Reclaimators have a well-deserved reputation as suspicious, shifty characters who sell their skills and the items they retrieve or repair for a good profit on the black market. Many have links to criminal gangs and more than a few are willing to resort to robbery and even murder to build up their spoils if they think they can get away with it.
Adeptus Mechanicus - Secutor: Some Tech-priests are drawn to the path of the Secutor through a fascination with the unique and intellectual challenges warfare provides, while others feel themselves drawn to the intricacies and beauties of creation and destruction, or the sacred art of weaponsmithing. Others simply see this path as a means to an end, either for the protection of the Machine Cult, the furtherance of their own independent researches, or some other, hidden agenda.Regardless of the reason for their vocation, a Tech-priest skilled in such destructive arts as the Secutor is an invaluable ally for an Inquisitor, and makes for a singularly lethal Acolyte. The only downside to such an association is that the Inquisition can never be fully sure where the Tech-priest Secutor’s loyalties lie -- even more so than others of their kind -- or what ancient and dark secrets they may themselves possess.
Adeptus Mechanicus - Techsorcist: Created by Magos Eremor in the latter half of the 36th Millennium in response to the reappearance from the Warp of the Space Hulk Fatum Posterus, within the Calixis Sector the Techsorcists have long been on the frontlines whenever heretical technology has been found. Some Forge World Tech-priests develop an interest in analyzing corrupted Machine Spirits. Unusually for Tech-priests, Techsorcists are capable of intuitive thinking, speculation, and improvisation, and are famous for their lateral and often unorthodox process when strict logic and standard procedures fail.This is an invaluable tool for an Inquisitor trying to understand his foe's weaknesses. In the service of the Inquisition, a Techsorcist performs all the typical tasks of a Tech-priest, but has a deeper understanding of how Chaos mutates and adapts technology. Within the Calixis Sector the ranks of Techsorcists have swelled as the demand for trained daemon-hunting Tech-priests has grown. A trained Techsoricist, if not several, are in the employ of nearly every Ordo Malleus Inquisitor in the sector.
Adeptus Mechanicus - Knight Houses: Thousands of standard years before the rise of the Imperium, Mankind reached out to the stars and settled many far away worlds. Among the apparatus of colonisation were formidable war machines known as Imperial Knights, which existed to protect the settlers from any threat. These small combat walkers are one-man versions of a Titan. However, a Knight is smaller and less capable in combat than even the smallest class of true Titan utilised by the Titan Legions, the Warhound-class Scout Titan. Knights normally deploy in squadrons comprised of several of these war machines. These ancient battlesuits stand thirty to forty feet tall, are protected by nearly impenetrable Ion Shields and armed with a devastating array of heavy weapons. Imperial Knights are colossal war machines that tower over the battlefield.The strongholds constructed from the remains of ancient Terran colony starships are ruled by the descendants of the first human settlers of those far-flung worlds, mighty warriors who enter combat in their towering armoured battlesuits and who are sworn to protect and guard the Imperial citizens who inhabit their worlds. The descendants of the early pioneers who settled their respective worlds were found in the knightly houses of the Imperial Knights.Known formally as the Questoris Familia, these dynasties of Imperial nobility evolved from the need to protect the early human settlers of the Knight Worlds from indigenous species discovered on their alien planets. These proud and haughty warriors can trace their bloodlines back to Terra itself and are known as nobles. Over the millennia, the pilots of these massive war suits have established a rich culture, with noble houses each sworn to the defence of their homeworld, and bound by oaths of fealty to the Golden Throne of Terra and the Adeptus Mechanicus of Mars.
Adeptus Mechanicus - Centurio Ordinatus: The Centurio Ordinatus, a section of the Mechanicus' Divisio Militaris, is the Adeptus Mechanicus organisation responsible for the development, maintenance and operation of the mighty Ordinatus war machines. Every individual Ordinatus is a unique construction and named for the Imperial world on which it was first employed or built.Each Ordinatus is a unique weapon that is designed for a specific purpose or for a particular battle. This explains why the Ordninatii Tech-priests that operate these massive war machines of the Machine God are configured using special augmetics to aid their intended purpose.
Adeptus Mechanicus - Legio Cybernetica: The Legio Cybernetica is one of the oldest sub-branches of the Adeptus Mechanicus and is responsible for deploying fully autonomous robots for both combat duties and support tasks intended to aid Imperial armed forces in the field. The Legio Cybernetica can trace its lineage the time before the birth of the Imperium of Man when Mars was the capital of an independent interstellar empire ruled by the Tech-priests of the Cult Mechanicus. Its members regard themselves as an elite within the ranks of the Mechanicus, as they have a long history of serving the will of the Emperor of Mankind.However, many of those within the Legio broke faith with the Emperor during the Schism of Mars, siding with the traitorous forces of the Warmaster Horus and fighting alongside his Traitor Legions throughout the Horus Heresy. When this conflict ended, the Traitor cohorts of the Legio Cybernetica fled into the Eye of Terror, where they remain to this day, warped and twisted by their exposure to the power of Chaos.The remaining Loyalist elements of the Legio Cybernetica pledged themselves anew to the Imperium and its members took binding oaths of loyalty more terrible than any taken even by the Astartes. Over the millennia since the Heresy, the Legio Cybernetica has regained the respect and admiration of the rest of the Adeptus Mechanicus as well as the other myriad Adepta of the Imperium.
Adeptus Mechanicus - Collegiate Extremis: The Collegiate Extremis is the judicial branch of the Adeptus Mechanicus. It is similar to the Adeptus Arbites in function: traitors to the Omnissiah are prosecuted and their crimes analysed. At its head is the Lords Dragon, an ancient cabal orchestrating the Collegiate, perhaps of Archmagi Veneratus of whatever divisiones of the Mechanicus serve in the Collegiate.The main leaders of the Collegiate Extremis would, in theory, be on Mars, and each Forge World would have a Lord Dragon of its own to command the local members of the collegiate, but this is based on circumstantial evidence. The Collegiate's will is enforced on Forge Worlds by attached Skitarii Provosts, as they are known, and the Magos Juris carry out their will across the galaxy. In many ways the Collegiate Extremis serves as the Mechanicus' own internal variant of the Imperial Inquisition.
Adeptus Mechanicus - Auxilia Myrmidon: Within the Calixis Sector, the undisputed centre of power within the Lathe System is the Auxilia Myrmidon, a seeming sub-organisation of the Skitarii Legions, composed of elite Tech-priests known commonly as the Siege Engineers or the War Savants. This Mechanicus sect exists to study the art of destruction with the ardent fervour that their fellows mighty apply to the creation of machinery or the recovering of lost archeotech.Legend has it they came to the sector during the earliest days of the Angevin Crusade (322-384.M39) for reasons of their own, and have since remained to defend the Cult Mechanicus’ possessions there. Myrmidons are expert killers, weapon masters and destroyers. At the behest of the ruling Archmagos of the Forge Worlds, they are sent to accompany Explorators in investigating finds in the most dangerous sectors of space and retrieve the most hazardous xenos-specimens, whilst others are tasked to hunt down Mechanicus Renegades accused of the foulest techno-heresies and terminate them with extreme prejudice.A Secutor is the first rank in the Auxilia Myrmidon presumably as the standard trooper, and is also the first Adepts Minoris rank in the Divisio Mandati. other members of the sect operate their vehicles as drivers, known as Myrmidons, who also serve in the Ordo Reductor. A platoon leader of a unit of Secutors or Myrmidons is known as a Centurius. A Tribune (commonly known as a lieutenant in the stand Imperial armed forces) commands a century; a Magnus (also known as a captain, and perhaps an Adept Majoris) commands a cohort, with a Colonel-priest having control of a battalion and a Magos Commander in charge of an entire Legion of the Auxilia Myrmidon.
Adeptus Mechanicus - Divine Light of Sollex: The Auxilia Myrmidon is not the only militant Mechanicus faction in the Calixis Sector, and since the 8th century of the 41st Millennium a highly mystical tech-sect based at the forge facilities on the Death World of Haddrak in the northern rim of the Adrantis Nebula has grown to prominence and increasing power.The Divine Light of Sollex, as they call themselves, are zealots in the Machine God’s cause, as coldly fanatic and savage in their way as any Redemptionist of the Imperial Creed. To them, the preservation of the arcane mysteries of the Machine Cult from those who would misuse them are of far greater worth than petty wealth, worldly power or the lives of their fellow men, or even other members of the Cult Mechanicus.
Adeptus Mechanicus - Disciples of Thule: The Disciples of Thule are another sect of the Cult of the Machine that operates out of the Calixis Sector. Their overall spiritual leader and guide is the Archmagos Paracelsus Thule. Many centuries old, Thule's fleet, which disappears out beyond the edge of Mankind's domain for solar decades at a time, is vast and many Explorator Adepts and Magos have served under his tutelage over the years, passing on his teachings to their juniors in turn.Thule's instruction centres on identifying pre-Imperial human technologies and sets the goal of finding the relics of Mankind’s glorious past above all other concerns and risks. This lack of caution makes Thule and those following him something of a radical faction within the Cult Mechanicus, but a powerful and influential one in the Calixis Sector.Thule's disciples centre their studies entirely on analysis and investigation, valuing the acquisition of knowledge above all other concerns. They disdain physical confrontation and are often so wrapped up in cogitation they fail to notice what is in front of them. Some Inquisitors appreciate this curiosity in their Tech-priests, finding it preferable to the narrow thinking and conservatism many others of their kind demonstrate, even though curiosity almost always carries its own dangers.
Adeptus Mechanicus - Ordo Reductor: The Ordo Reductor is a sub-organisation of the Adeptus Mechanicus that developes, manufactures and operates siege weaponry. There is a sizable portion of the Ordo Reductor staffed primarily by Myrmidons of the Auxilia Myrmidon. It is claimed that these Myrmidons are located on the Mechanicus fiefdom in the Calixis Sector known as The Lathes; the Myrmidons are masters of the mysterious Ordo Reductor, and are said to be towering and fearful figures decked out in blood-red and black robes, bearing the forbidden weapons of a bygone age.Even wilder legends speak of this place as the home of mech-assassin covenants and the dread Magister Samadhi -- beings whom most Magos consider no more than a dark myth. Some even speculate that the Panopticon's rulers are members of a secret order known as the Lords Dragon, an ancient and powerful cabal of Archmagos tasked with policing the Mechanicus itself.
Adeptus Mechanicus - Duties Within the Imperium: Besides scientific research and maintaining the Imperium's machines, there are many important duties that the Adeptus Mechanicus performs in order to keep the Imperium of Man functioning on a day-to-day basis. These include:Caretakers of the Generatorium: The advanced technology of the Imperium requires power and this power is supplied by Generatoriums, large, nuclear fusion-based power plants. The creation and operation of the Generatoriums (power plants) containing the Generatorium are the function of the Adeptus Mechanicus and the information behind their operations and construction are closely guarded from outsiders.Caretakers of the Genetorium: Like the Generatorium, the Genetorium is vital to a planet's survivability. The Genetoriums provide a list of all plants and animals that are either on a planet or will be introduced to the planet to make it habitable by Mankind. A Genetorium is normally run by a Magos Biologis and plays a vital role in the Inquisition's activities. Their duties also extend to searching for genetic impurities in baseline human populations and in the hunting down of dangerous human mutants like rogue psykers.Caretakers of the Librarium: All of the knowledge in the Imperium is stored in the vast Librariums of Terra and Mars. Along with the Administratum, the Tech-priests store, guard, and reproduce what knowledge they can attain. In the Age of the Imperium where stagnation is the rule, knowledge has truly become power.Caretakers of the Manufactorium: As with the Librariums, the Tech-priests administer and protect the manufactoriums of the Forge Worlds that ensure that the Imperium is provided with the goods and machines that ensure its survival.Caretakers of the Astartes: All Space Marine Chapters are expected to pay a tithe of 5% of their gene-seed every year to the Adeptus Mechanicus so that the Mechanicus' Tech-priests can monitor the health of each Chapter and facilitate the Founding of new Chapters from existing gene-seed lines whenever the High Lords of Terra decree that the Imperium has a need for new Chapters of the Adeptus Astartes.
Adeptus Ministorum - Adeptus Ministorum: The Adeptus Ministorum, more commonly known as the Ecclesiarchy, is the official state church of the Imperium of Man, which maintains and promotes the worship of the Emperor of Mankind as the one, true god of Humanity.It is a massive organisation that guides the worship of trillions of people on numberless worlds and across great divides of distance, language, and culture. The core of the Ecclesiarchy's spiritual and temporal power is the Cult Imperialis, also known variously as the Imperial Creed or Imperial Cult.The foundation of the Cult Imperialis is the belief in and worship of the Emperor as a divine being, the power of the Emperor to intercede in matters spiritual and temporal, the power of prayer to bring about a change in mortal circumstances through the intercession of the Emperor, and the divine right of Mankind to rule the stars. The Adeptus Ministorum also administers and spreads the Imperial Cult throughout the territory of the Imperium.Though any Imperial religious cult or sect must ultimately adhere to the core theology of the Imperial Creed, the possibility for conflicting interpretation means that in practice the Cult Imperialis is an agglomeration of many differing schools of theological thought. Whilst agreeing in essence, cults and sects across the galaxy often differ on particular tenets of belief or modes of worship. To many the Emperor is a god of war, to others a saviour and bringer of light, and to some a stern judge of the dead.Inevitably, simple differences of emphasis of faith can become points of hostility and even the cause of bloodshed. Many merciless and savage wars have resulted time and again over such fine points of theological doctrine. Although the interpretation of particular dogmas of the Imperial Creed varies across the many worlds of the Imperium, any extreme deviance from its strictures and theology is considered heresy and dealt with great severity by the Ecclesiarchy or, in extreme cases, the Ordo Hereticus of the Imperial Inquisition.The Cult Mechanicus, whilst actually a very different religion from the Imperial Cult, is tolerated by the Ecclesiarchy under the terms of the ancient Treaty of Mars which allowed the Tech-priests of the Red Planet to maintain their faith in the face of the atheistic Imperial Truth. After the Imperium was transformed into essentially a theocracy in the early 32nd Millennium, the Adeptus Mechanicus agreed to a theological compromise with the Ecclesiarchy which saw the Emperor officially as the Omnissiah or physical embodiment of their Machine God. However, rampant distrust between the adherents of both Imperial faiths continues to simmer just beneath the surface and the Ecclesiarchy and the Mechanicus often view each other as political rivals.The Adeptus Ministorum is based on Holy Terra, its urban Ecclesiarchal Palace covering nearly all of the southernmost continent of Antarctica.
Adeptus Ministorum - The Adeptus Ministorum: In the early 32nd Millennium, in recognition of its unprecedented political power over the minds of Humanity, the Temple of the Saviour Emperor was officially recognised by the High Lords of Terra as the state religion of the Imperium of Man. It also became an official adepta of the Imperium's government as the Adeptus Ministorum, wholly separate from the Adeptus Terra.A few centuries later, the Ecclesiarch Veneris II received a seat on the Senatorum Imperialis and joined the ranks of the High Lords of Terra, and after 300 Terran years, this seat was made permanent. The power of the Ecclesiarchy continued to grow, increasing its hold over the minds and beliefs of the Imperial citizenry. Those who wouldn't follow its teachings were declared unbelievers, ostracized, and on occasion even executed.The vast territories of the Imperium were organised into different dioceses led by the Ecclesiarchy's cardinals. These powerful religious and political figures were responsible for the hordes of Imperial missionaries and preachers that were released to tend to the spiritual needs of the faithful on hundreds of worlds.Lavish shrines, impressive temples, and majestic cathedrals dedicated to the God-Emperor were built throughout the Imperium. Millions of religious pilgrims soon began making their way across the galaxy to visit particularly important religious locations, such as the world where a particular Imperial Saint had performed their most famous miracle.In time, the sheer number of pilgrims who arrived on certain worlds became an economic activity in and of itself for the Ecclesiarchy and entire planets were dedicated to worship and directly ruled by the Adeptus Ministorum as so-called "Shrine Worlds." Particularly important Shrine Worlds might become the religious seat of an entire diocese stretching across a sub-sector or sector and so a cardinal would take up residence there. These planets became known as "Cardinal Worlds."
Adeptus Ministorum - The Confederation of Light: The only threat to the Ecclesiarchy's spiritual and political dominance in the Imperium was the Confederation of Light. Based upon the planet Dimmamar, this penitent faith's ideals of poverty and humble living clearly contradicted the teachings of the Ecclesiarchy.The orthodox view of the Temple of the Saviour Emperor was that sacrifices of wealth and money to the Adeptus Ministorum in taxes, tithes and other gifts were necessary to enhance the citizens of the Imperium's access to salvation and ensure that the Emperor's light reached every corner of the galaxy through His Missions.Politically, the Confederation of Light also held that the state church should stand apart from the politics of the Imperium, providing spiritual succor to the peoples of the galaxy, but not serving as the dominant force in the governance of the Emperor's realm. Such a position was a direct threat to the political power of the Ecclesiarchy, which had become the most powerful component of Imperial government, transforming it largely into a theocracy by the end of the 35th Millennium.The Confederation proved too difficult for Ministorum agents to infiltrate, and the Ecclesiarchy turned to violence, supported in this effort by the unanimous vote of the High Lords of Terra, who declared the onset of the first War of Faith, largely to ensure that Imperial political stability was not damaged by the emergence of religious plurality and possible religious violence between different sects.The entire Confederation was declared heretical and the forces of the Astra Militarum, the Navis Imperialis, and thousands of fanatical zealots from the church's Frateris Militia were unleashed upon it, bent on its destruction. Only a few cells and hidden shrines of the Confederation managed to survive and the power of the orthodox Ecclesiarchy over the minds of Humanity, for better or worse, was made unassailable.By the end of the 33rd Millennium every civilised Imperial world was furnished with its own cathedral and the coffers of the Ecclesiarchy were filled with the offerings and tithes from the teeming billions of the God-Emperor's faithful.This wealth was squandered in building increasing numbers of larger and more lavish cathedrals and to fund more Wars of Faith intended not to save the souls of Humanity but to secure the Ecclesiarchy's position of political power within the Imperium and the wealth of its prelates.
Adeptus Ministorum - Reign of Blood: The Age of Apostasy in the 36th Millennium was one of the most destabilising periods in Imperial history after the Horus Heresy, beginning during the long struggle between the Ecclesiarchy and the Administratum for ultimate political power over the Imperium.The High Lord Goge Vandire, the 361st Master of the Administratum, was a power-hungry tyrant who eventually gained direct control over the Ecclesiarchy as well as the Administratum by usurping the office of the ecclesiarch.This made him the single most powerful individual in the Imperium since the Great Crusade, and allowed him to place his own rule above that of the Emperor. His time in power became known as the "Reign of Blood," consisting of massive purges of the Ecclesiarchy, and the killings and assassinations of countless perceived Traitors, Heretics and conspirators.This period was eventually ended by the future Ecclesiarch Sebastian Thor's reborn Confederation of Light, an ancient sect of the Imperial Cult based on the previous Confederation of Light's banned teachings that sought to end Goge Vandire's corruption of Imperial theology.The end of the Reign of Blood resulted in a major reformation of the Ecclesiarchy, the creation of the Imperial Inquisition's Ordo Hereticus to police those enemies of the Imperium who lay within its own structures and the creation of the Adepta Sororitas to serve as both the Ecclesiarchy's new military forces and the Chamber Militant of the Ordo Hereticus.
Adeptus Ministorum - The Plague of Unbelief: The "Plague of Unbelief" is considered to be a part of the Age of Apostasy by Imperial historitors, although it occurred several solar decades after Sebastian Thor's ascension to the position of ecclesiarch and subsequent reform of the Adeptus Ministorum along the theological lines of the Confederation of Light.The main perpetrator of the Plague of Unbelief was the traitorous Apostate Cardinal Bucharis, who for a time controlled vast swathes of the Imperium under his heretical rule until he was finally brought to the Emperor's justice by the Space Wolves Space Marines and a betrayal by his own enraged people.
Adeptus Ministorum - Conflicts of Faith: The Imperium of Man is pervaded and dominated by religious faith. It is unsurprising that the Ecclesiarchy often bristles at the presumption of other Imperial organisations, taking easy offence to slights to its position and pride.As many in the Adeptus Ministorum see themselves as the keepers of the faith that unites Humanity, they often stray into the presumption of a divine right of authority that extends further than that of other Imperial organisations.Chief amongst those who come into open and occasionally bloody conflict with the Ministorum's more fanatical members are the tech-priests of Mars, and more rarely the Space Marines of the Adeptus Astartes, most of whom deny the divinity of the Emperor, preferring to uphold the original, more secular traditions of the Imperium.The openly deviant faith of both these organisations has nagged at the suspicions of the pious for millennia. Some in their pride and zeal feel that it is their right and duty to see the faith of these bodies brought into line and bound to the authority of the Ministorum. Often the result is disastrous, as both the Astartes and the Mechanicus are fiercely independent and wield great powers of their own. More subtly, the Ministorum constantly flexes its secular influence over the Adeptus Terra to varying degrees.Certainly in the past, certain cardinals and prelates have gone so far as to use blackmail, assassination, and even full-blown civil conflict to enact what they consider the Emperor's holy design. However, any who would see the return to domination of an all-powerful state cult like the Temple of the Saviour Emperor must also fear the Ordo Hereticus and its answer to such hubris and presumption.Heresy from the faith is not simply a matter of mutation, witchery, and trafficking with Warp powers. More subtly, it can be a matter of the specifics of faith and worship. The Cult Imperialis is broad in its accommodation of differing tones of faith.However, on the fringe lurk numerous sects and groups who flirt with heresy and deviate from the Imperial Creed to such a degree that their faith is no longer sanctified. The worst cases are declared as abomination by the Ministorum's authorities.The boundary between sanctified faith and heresy is thin, and many sects cross it simply because the ruling centre of the Ecclesiarchy shifts and leaves them suddenly no longer accommodated within the official orthodox theology of the Cult Imperialis. Countless times over the past ten millennia the Ministorum has gone to war with a part of itself over a point of dogma.
Adeptus Ministorum - The Imperial Creed: The Imperial Creed is the body of doctrines and articles of faith in the God-Emperor which is preached across the Imperium. It is the word of the Emperor as related by His saints, and it forms the core of belief shared by every worshipper across the length and breadth of the Imperium regardless of the form of worship practised on the world of their birth.In practice, the Imperial Creed operates on several levels. In the rarefied atmospheres of the Holy Synod and the Synod Ministra, the cardinals debate endlessly the minutiae of the words of the saints. Arguments about the exact meaning of a particular phrase might rage for solar decades, even standard centuries, causing bitter schisms amongst the various factions as the prelates decry one another as benighted fools, dangerous reformers, or even Heretics.Indeed, there have been many occasions when outright violence has erupted between factions holding opposing views on such interpretations, and in the most extreme of cases the cardinals of neighbouring dioceses have mustered vast armies from the ranks of their congregations and made war upon their erstwhile brothers in faith.Every solar day, the synods disseminate reams of pronouncements and clarifications, of learned texts and annotations of existing ones. The cardinals are expected to preach such tracts to those below them, thus propagating the true word across the Imperium. In practise, no one person can be conversant in such a vast body of doctrine, and huge armies of scholars are employed to identify the relevant passages for their masters and to file the remainder away in the vast archive-shrines of the Ministorum.The second level on which the Imperial Creed operates is at the opposite end of the scale, in the soul of every Human being in the Imperium. The vast majority of the faithful exist amidst unending toil and oppression, where the only alternative to a life of abject servitude is to be shipped out to a far-away war to be slain at the hands of some bloodthirsty alien monstrosity.For many, the act of worship is the only brief respite they have from the brutal reality of day-to-day life in the Imperium, an opportunity to escape the cruelty of their overseers before returning once more to their bitter labours. Of course, those who tarry overlong before the altar are wont to be punished harshly, and many have been condemned to service in the convict armies of the Penal Legions for returning from the shrine a mere solar minute past their allotted time. Nevertheless, reverence of the Emperor as the divine saviour of Mankind is the one thing shared by people across the Imperium.Only those ensnared by the Dark Gods themselves or in thrall to some manner of alien domination reject the Emperor. A person might be the very worst kind of scum, a rebel, a pirate or a slaver of flesh, rejecting all the laws of the Imperium, yet still they will hold true to their belief in the God-Emperor of Mankind.
Adeptus Ministorum - Saints: Imperial Saints are those mortals who, by pronouncement of the Ecclesiarchy, have been elevated by the Emperor's grace far above the bulk of Humanity. They are exceptionally holy individuals, and their words and deeds are held to be the direct work of the Emperor Himself.Throughout the ten thousand Terran years of the Age of the Imperium, millions of men and women have been recognised as saints, in many cases long after their death and only after solar decades of consideration by the church. Most are known and venerated only within a specific region, but some, such as Sebastian Thor himself, are known across the length and breadth of the Imperium. Men and women might be declared saints for all manner of deeds, but in most cases they will have performed some great service to the Imperium and the Imperial Creed.In a galaxy riven by war, it should be little surprise that many were great warriors, often the leaders of massive Imperial Crusades that conquered vast swathes of space or liberated Human worlds enslaved by aliens or recidivists. Many were generals or admirals, while others were simple foot soldiers who by doing their duty turned the tide of battle and changed history. Other saints were great teachers or orators, men or women who with a single word or missive could achieve what a million Imperial Guardsmen could not. The writers of the most learned of religious tracts are often made saints, lending even greater weight to teachings preached across countless planets. Furthermore, it is common practice for ecclesiarchs to be declared saints after their deaths, although the "beatification" of less well-respected or beloved individuals may take solar decades or even centuries to come about.Many saints are regarded as intercessors, to whom prayers are addressed and offerings made that they might aid the faithful in some manner. It is held that the saint, being Human but also close to the God-Emperor, might be able to petition the Emperor and bring about some tangible effect.Many saints come to be regarded as able to intercede on specific issues, such as to provide deliverance from aliens, safe passage across the Warp, a successful crop or a warrior's true aim. Given that such a vast pantheon of saints exists, the matters on which they are said to be able to intercede are often extremely specialised.Some regiments of the Astra Militarum, for example, hold that there is a specific saint for every single one of the thousands of marks of standard issue Lasgun.
Adeptus Ministorum - The Sin of the Psyker: A common and often problematic issue for the Imperial Creed is the question of psykers. There exists at the heart of Imperial doctrine a contradiction with regards to those blessed with the psyker's gift or cursed by its touch, depending on one's standpoint.Every Terran year, more and more psykers are born or come into their powers, and the danger they pose to Humanity cannot be understated. Psykers draw the denizens of the Warp to them like blood spilled in the ocean draws sharks, and those who are weak or unprotected by the rite of Soul Binding to the Emperor, can unleash fearsome devastation upon their communities.Some might be consumed by evil impulses and simultaneously find themselves gifted with the power to kill with merely a glance. Others might find their minds turned into gateways to the infernal regions of the Empyrean, through which entire legions of Daemons may vomit forth. Psykers therefore are often said to represent the single most dangerous peril to the very soul of Mankind.At the same time, the Imperium could not exist without psykers. Without astropaths, the scattered worlds of the galaxy-spanning empire could only communicate at the slowest of speeds. Without Navigators, interstellar travel across great distances would be impossible, and without the sacrifice of millions of psykers every year, the blessed light of the  Emperor's Astronomican would not be able to guide them through the benighted depths of the Warp.In addition, the many arms of the Imperium's military use psykers as potent battlefield weapons, including the Librarians of the Adeptus Astartes and the Psykers Primaris of the Astra Militarum. Furthermore, although most would not think of Him as such, the Emperor Himself was the most powerful psyker to have ever lived. Many of the teachings of the Imperial Creed preach against psykers, who are often referred to and condemned as "witches."In truth, although most amongst the faithful feel a deep unease in the presence of astropaths and other "sanctioned" psykers, reality dictates that psykers are part of the grand plan the Emperor has laid out for Humanity.It is the psyker who is not sanctioned, who hides amongst the faithful and uses their powers for ill who is the true target of the Ministorum's ire, and few sermons pass without the congregation being called upon to be ever vigilant for such a threat within their own ranks.
Adeptus Ministorum - Aliens: If the Imperial Creed preaches that Human mutants are filthy and debased, then the alien is entirely beyond the pale. The vast majority of Mankind is kept in deliberate ignorance of the literal existence of aliens, although they are often used as allegorical bogeymen with whom the faithful must have no contact.On more isolated or frontier worlds, the realities of life make some contact with alien races inevitable, for example when the aliens are the only source of certain necessary resources. Some distant colonies actually share their worlds with native aliens, and species such as the Kroot occasionally serve as Imperial mercenaries. On the whole, however, such contact is frowned upon, and openly decried by roaming confessors and preachers.There are some alien species with which any form of contact whatsoever is utterly forbidden, except at the point of a gun. While most of these species would just as soon eat or enslave Mankind in turn, others are noted for their propensity to manipulate and exploit weak-minded fools who seek some advantage in dealing with them. These include amongst many others such vile creatures as the Slaugth, the Krave and the Reek, contact with whom has spelled the doom of many an errant Human merchant and adventurer.
Adeptus Ministorum - Iconoclasm: When the enemies of the Emperor descend upon His worlds, the symbols of Mankind's faith are often the target of the invaders' rage. Even before a world has fallen, terrible blasphemies are enacted upon the majestic cathedrals and officers of the Imperial faith are often subjected to horrific tortures as a warning against further resistance.When an Imperial world falls to the followers of the Dark Gods, its bastions of faith are bedecked with the defiled corpses of its priests, their once graceful façades daubed in unspeakable blasphemy, and the statues of its saints are toppled. Quite apart from such overt iconoclasm, changes in the fabric of a cathedral or shrine have often proved to be an indicator of subversive doctrine.Imperial Witchfinders are adept at discerning subtle changes in iconography that might indicate that a local sect of the Imperial Creed has been infiltrated by outside agents or fallen prey to the rot of heresy. Sometimes, symbols from pre-Imperial religions are placed over those of the Imperial Creed, or the features of statues changed to represent not the saints of the Imperium, but darker prophets.For instance, on the world of Sabulorb, a statue of the Emperor was given additional limbs by the alien-dominated priesthood, while on Fenksworld the authorities of House Vaahkon are ever vigilant for the early signs of yet another apostate cult festering within the dismal hives.
Adeptus Ministorum - Adeptus Ministorum Hierarchy: The priests of the Adeptus Ministorum are members of a rigid ecclesiastical hierarchy which includes the following offices, from highest-ranking to lowest:EcclesiarchArch-CardinalCardinalPontifex (pl. Pontifices)Arch-DeaconDeacon (Dean)FirebrandsDrill AbbottConfessorPreacher
Adeptus Ministorum - Ecclesiarch: The ecclesiarch is the high priest of the Imperial Cult and is based in a fortress within the Ecclesiarchical Palace on Terra.Elected by the Adeptus Ministorum's ruling Holy Synod of arch-cardinals, the Ecclesiarch's main concerns include the pursuit of the Ministorum's interests in the Senatorum Imperialis, the preparation and launch of new Imperial Crusades and Wars of Faith, and ensuring the continued religious devotion of the Imperial citizenry.The ecclesiarch has held a position as a ruling High Lord of Terra since the mid-32nd Millennium, and is always one of the most influential voices on the Senatorum Imperialis.
Adeptus Ministorum - Arch-Cardinal: The arch-cardinal is the official who stands at the top of the Ministorum's hierarchy leading a Sector Synod, which is more often than not more of an idea or principle than a rigid structure or chain of command.Though an arch-cardinal is the head of the Sector Synod and commands (or at least has substantial influence over) each of the dioceses in the sector, the true power of the Ministorum rests in the hands of the individual Diocesan Synods, often known by the world (or location on that world) where that diocese's cardinal resides.
Adeptus Ministorum - Cardinal: Central to the Ministorum's power within a sector of Imperial space are the dioceses, the demesnes of the faith, each of which is under the command of the cardinals of the Sector Synod. Some dioceses can encompass more than one world or even an entire sector in the case of the church officials granted the extremely powerful rank of Cardinal-Astra.This division allows the Ministorum detailed control over the sub-regions within a sector as well as giving individual worlds or specific problems direct attention. Each cardinal of the Sector Synod is a powerful individual in his or her own right, having risen to their lofty position through standard years of sacrifice, devotion to the God-Emperor, and most importantly, cunning and relentless politicking.Each cardinal maintains their own diocese on the world on which they reside, more commonly referred to as their seat of power -- the centre of the cardinal's authority and base of operations within their archdiocese, from which they rarely if ever leave.
Adeptus Ministorum - Pontifex: A pontifex (pl. pontifices) is a priest who ranks between the ruling cardinal and the parish preachers of a diocese and whose authority extends over several parishes to serve as administrative go-betweens in large dioceses between the needs of the local preachers and the administrative apparatus of their ruling cardinal.
Adeptus Ministorum - Arch-Deacon: An arch-deacon is a senior Ministorum priest who is subordinate to a cardinal and helps to oversee the daily functions and duties of the Creed Temporal. This branch of the Ecclesiarchy oversees the astronomical wealth flowing into its treasuries, wealth which is rendered by the faithful as their right and proper offering to the Imperial Cult in the service of their souls' salvation.It is the arch-deacon's duty to administer to the logistics of the diocese, coordinating the construction and maintenance of its cathedrals as well as countless other institutions such as Shrine Worlds, pilgrimage sites, reliquaries and retreats.Each arch-deacon is responsible for the distribution of as much wealth as an Imperial sector governor or the patriarch of a wealthy interstellar merchant concern, and they are often the subjects of bitter jealousy from such secular lords of the Imperium.
Adeptus Ministorum - Deacon (Dean): A deacon, also called a dean, is an intermediate rank of Ministorum priest tasked with secular duties for their sector. Below the arch-deacons are those Ministorum priests known as deacons and deans, who are responsible for the distribution of the resources passed down to them from the Sector Synod, as well as the actual collection of dues from the faithful.
Adeptus Ministorum - Firebrands: Firebrands are groups of fanatical, zealot priests of the Ministorum. Groups of zealots and militant preachers often serve an important purpose in rooting out heresy. Cells of these fiery individuals pray and recite litanies together, often during combat.These Firebrands must be handled with care by whatever controlling entity (be it Ecclesiarchy or Inquisition) puts them in the field, as Firebrands are just as likely to report the existence of a heretical enclave as they are to incinerate the city block where the enclave is meeting.
Adeptus Ministorum - Drill Abbot: A Drill Abbot is a member of the Ministorum and a decorated veteran of the Imperium's wars who works tirelessly at converting the orphans of martyred Imperial servants into driven and dedicated fanatics prepared for the trials of Imperial life.Drill abbots run the Scholas Progenium, brutally effective institutions which every Terran year produce untold numbers of future planetary governors, commissars, Adeptus Arbites Arbitrators, Navis Imperialis officers, Storm Troopers and Inquisitors.