Tome Keepers - Chapter Beliefs: The Tome Keepers' Chapter cult places strong emphasis on the cultural traditions of Istrouma while upholding the teachings that science and reason should prevail over superstition and blind faith. As a whole, the Chapter's warriors are scholars almost as much as warriors. They are considered to be thoughtful, measured, and somewhat humanitarian and compassionate by Imperial standards and will often put civilian lives before their own.The Tome Keepers are a Chapter that is fixated on history. They are comprised of warriors who are also archivists, scribes and librarians charged with maintaining repositories of books and information. The exact reason for this obssession with obtaining and recording knowledge is not well known to those outside the Chapter.However, it has been noted by Imperial scholars that the Tome Keepers possess a higher than usual number of Librarians within their ranks. This could be due to their homeworld's proximity to the nearby white dwarf star, whose radiation could be the cause for so many of the Istroumans suffering genetic mutation and the creation of psykers.Due to the sacred oath the Chapter swore to protect Istrouma's most sacred texts stored within their world's massive library, combined with the short lifespans of the planet's population, the Tome Keepers feel obligated to uphold the traditions of their homeworld.Therefore, every Tome Keeper battle-brother keeps his own account of his deeds and day-to-day activities recorded within their own books for posterity. It is not uncommon for these warriors to carry a copy of these books into battle (as books are not particularly suited to the rigours of war), therefore these symbolic versions of the original are firmly secured on their belts or kept amongst their personal effects.They are updated after each battle, the battle-brother noting down observations on the foe or tactics and strategies that worked particularly well. In this way, the Chapter is able to continue the cultural practices of their homeworld while accumulating vast amounts of knowledge and information on the galaxy's many threats.However, the constant recording of everything they see and experience is often a point of contention between the Chapter and those they often serve alongside, since the Tome Keepers have a tendency to see and record things that others might not want them to. These tomes are unusually uncensored within their own ranks, which in effect strengthens these Space Marines' morality compared to more bellicose Chapters. However, such unsolicited observations could easily see the Chapter come into conflict with other Imperial institutions such as the Inquisition and the Ecclesiarchy if they are not more careful.As of yet, the Chapter has managed to avoid such contentious entanglements. However, it has been noted that in the past, when the Chapter has gone into battle alongside another Chapter of the Adeptus Astartes, they have almost come to blows over a difference of opinion or something done by the other Chapter that they shouldn't have observed.Due to the augmented lifespan of the Tome Keepers, this has also become a source of conflict with the local people of their homeworld, whose culture is shaped by the shortness of their lives. Rather than revering the Space Marines as demigods, they view their Astartes masters as untouchables -- unnatural outcasts whose genetic enhancements upset the normal cycle of life and death. Even the Tome Keepers themselves are conflicted between their duty to serve and their natural place among the deceased.Dreadnoughts are highly venerated by the Tome Keepers, for they have endured hundreds, if not thousands, of standard years of warfare, thereby accumulating vast knowledge and battlefield experience. Though formidable fighting machines in their own right, the Chapter's Dreadnoughts will often offer tactical or strategic advice to the strike force they are fighting alongside and, in some cases, have even led task forces where their field of expertise is of particular relevance.For the Istrouman-born Tome Keepers, Dreadnoughts hold a special significance, for they see them as the ideal balance between death and duty. Upon interment in a Dreadnought's sarcophagus, the battle-brother's book is closed, signifying their passing and enabling their soul to take its rightful place in death alongside their ancestors. Yet through ancient technology and a Dreadnought chassis, their mortal remains continue to fulfil their duty to the Chapter. It is an idealised fate that many Tome Keepers aspire to.