Moirae Schism - The Moirae Schism: The tech-creed of the Forge World of Moirae was based on the prophetic wave calculations of a triad of tech-mystics enshrined within Moirae's colossal data-looms who believed that they had discerned a series of predictive patterns within the micro-fluctuations of the Astronomican's beacon. They believed these so-called Gematric patterns contained the words of the Omnissiah from which the skein of future history and humanity's destiny could be read.The Moirae Tech-priests compiled the fruits of their apocalyptic divinations within encrypted archives, copies of which quickly spread through many of the Cult Mechanicus' sects. These radical teachings included, among other visions and interpretations of the Emperor's will, veiled references to the future overthrow of Mars and the fusion of the Cult Mechanicus and the Ecclesiarchy into a unified state religion for the Imperium.Such claims were treated (unsurprisingly) as dark sedition by the Mechanicus authorities on Mars and civil war was quickly sparked between the traditionalist and radical elements. One of the first casualties of the conflict was the Forge World of Moirae itself, which was reduced to a cinder by the Fabricator-General's rectification fleet.But by this time the schismatic creed had spread across the galaxy. Conflict between the advocates of the Moirae doctrine, Martian orthodoxy and other opposing radical groups would continue to flare up intermittently throughout the next millennium before the schism was finally ended and its surviving adherents brought back into the Cult Mechanicus' fold.The disruptive creed quickly gained influence, both within sects of the Mechanicus' priesthood as well as a number of Skitarii regiments and Titan Legions, causing untold harm before being transmitted even further afield to Space Marine Chapters with close ties to the Adeptus Mechanicus -- and in this the Iron Hands were no exception.At that time, the majority of Whirlwinds Hyperios in service had been constructed according to the STC data held at the Forge World of Moirae. The rogue Tech-priests of Moirae utilised a hidden digital cipher insinuated into the machines during their construction to cause them to power down upon receiving the relevant code, which led many Space Marine Chapters to distrust the Hyperios to this day, refusing to deploy it in battle, despite its STC imprint being known to the vast majority of Adeptus Mechanicus Forge Worlds and Adeptus Astartes forges.Of all the battles of the Moirae Schism, none were so expansive or long-lasting as the prolonged naval engagement over the nebula space fields of the Gulf of Black Shadows. There, mining wars between rival Forge Worlds escalated to massive fleet battles. It is estimated that the wrecks of over ten thousand starships -- from mining craft to vessels of war -- floated between the gas clouds.Yet the battle was far from over, for within the floating graveyards, salvage crews continued the war for centuries, fighting each other in desperate boarding actions, each side seeking to reclaim valued technology. Entire robot maniples were recovered by opposing sides, and reprogrammed to attack their former controllers.Another relevant campaign fought during the schism took place on the world of Ghosaris, where the Adeptus Custodes intervened and crushed an army of the Dark Mechanicum without mercy, deploying Venerable Contemptor Dreadnought Uriaxes. It is unclear what ties, if any, there were between the Moirae schismatics and the Dark Mechanicum.Towards the end of the Schism in the 35th Millennium, a radical sub-sect of the Moirae creed known as the Xarisians indulged in rampant techno-heresy in the attempt to win the civil war that split the Adeptus Mechanicus.Hunted down as Hereteks even by the members of their own creed, the dark adepts of the Xarisians were slaughtered and their malefic technologies destroyed. However, one of their creations -- the powerful Laser Destructor known as the Diamonas -- survived the war, and it is said that many bitter battles have been fought amongst the Fallen Houses of the Chaos Knights for its possession.