User:Decimus Aurelian/Sandbox4

The Litanies of Ordination are

History
The Book of Nightshade is the revered and sacred tome originally authored by the Chapter's first Chapter Master - Council Master Haydrian Lorc. Originally, it was written as a chronicle of the earliest days of the Night Ravens' existence, and speaks of the various trials and tribulations it first encountered following their inception. Over time, subsequent Council Masters have added to this tome, adding their own personal experiences and battlefield wisdom which created a sturdy but adaptable strategic framework that speaks of the fundamental strengths and abilities of the Night Ravens themselves.

Down the millennia of their existence this tome has come to define the Night Ravens themselves, as the Chapter's character changed profoundly with the onset of their genetic deficiencies which has continue to plague them. This tome eventually became a compilation of personal notes on various tactics and doctrine used by the Chapter as well as a high-degree of blood-bought battle wisdom down the ages. Some alterations to the Book of Nightshade have been superficial, such as the use of shadowmark - the gestural command sign language used by the Night Ravens to communicate on the battlefield - to various changes in close-quarter tactics, martial traditions and warranted additions to Chapter iconography and even language.

Some changes would prove dramatic, with an entire paradigm of culture, tradition and even ideology overwriting what had come before. The outward sign of these changes in the Chapter began to show a development of distinct character in the Night Ravens, far removed from the original patterns of the Codex Astartes that the Chapter had adhered to at the outset of their inception, much of which had become largely abandoned or become so modified and diluted as to be in some cases unrecognisable from their original iteration. This tome also contains the litanies and most sacred rites and core beliefs of the Chapter which are held sacred by all Astartes of the Night Ravens, which go out of their way to follow the wisdom of the Book of Nightshade. This tome is primarily utilised by the Chapter as a supplement to the Codex Astartes.

The Eleven Virtues

 * Faith
 * Loyalty
 * Valor
 * Resolve
 * Discipline
 * Strength
 * Wisdom
 * Erudition
 * Nobility
 * Compassion
 * Propriety

The Cults Orisonus

Five Orison Sub-Cults Exist within the Ordinators chapter. Each studies a way to understand and fight the warpspawn in their own way, and once a Brother-Initiate has proven himself worthy to the members of pne, he may be invited to join. An Ordinator may join multiple if he has the time, but for the average Brother-Initiate, one will likely not find the time to dutifully study with each. The Five Orisons are as follows:

Orisonus Gladius - The Sword - dedicated to the study of how to banish or utterly obliterate the daemons of the warp, warpspawn lifeforms, and even mortal and immortal souls from all planes of existence.

Orisonus Aegis - The Shield - concerned with the study of how to protect the human body, mind, and soul from daemons of the warp within the Materium and during Warp Travel.

Orisonus Umbra - The Shadow- concerned with the study of the nature of the existence of Chaos and how its power spreads and grows alongside other warp entties.

Orisonus Sol - The Sun - dedicated to the study of how to utilize the Emperor’s Light, and to a lesser extent even alien gods power to fight Chaos such as the Eldar gods Cegorach and Isha, to banish the power and influence of Chaos.

Orisonus Turrix - The Tower - an orison only the Arcanii or Inquisitors are permitted to join; dedicated to the study of how to best wage humanity’s war against the Chaos Gods.

The Prayer of Titan
"I am His Sword, as He is my Shield. I am His Wrath, as He is my Zeal."

"Let us speak His word, as He fuels the Fire of Devotion.

Let us fight His Battles, as He fights the Battle at the End of Time.

And let us join Him there, for Duty ends not in Death.

In Vengeance be True, in Valor be Strong."

Excerpts from the Book of the Imperium

 * "The Emperor is the light against which no darkness can stand."
 * "Though the humans of the Adeptus Astartes are the mightiest incarnation of mankind, this does not place the value of an unaltered human any lower than our own. To treat those we are charged to protect as an unworthy burden, rather than our sworn wards, is to defy the will of the Emperor of Mankind."
 * "Compassion towards the innocent and loyalty to mankind is the savior of the Adeptus Astartes, as it is for all humanity. It separates us from servants of Chaos, and guides us in the footsteps of the Emperor himself."
 * "An Asartes who is hesitant to die for any of his Battle-Brothers is no true Astartes at all. He is lower than a beast, for he has become a traitor."
 * "The Faithful Guardsman is the truest and most noble of all Imperials, for he fights knowing his death to be brutal and likely, without the armor or arms of the Imperium's elite troops. He keeps faith for the sake of his species, and it is only by their deaths by the millions each day that the Imperium is protected and maintained."
 * The Guardsman
 * The Adepta Sororitas
 * The Inquisitor
 * The Navigator
 * The Astropath
 * The Tech-Priest
 * The Voidsman

Excerpts from The Book of the Ordinator

 * "Faith, Fury, and Fire shall deliver the warrior against the xeno, the heretic, and the daemon."
 * "Compassion towards the innocent and loyalty to mankind is the savior of the Adeptus Astartes, as it is for all humanity. It separates us from servants of Chaos, and guides us in the footsteps of the Emperor himself."
 * "The place of the Ordinators as Astartes is not to lead mankind, but to protect it - from threats both within and without."
 * "Pain is transitory, yet Honour is eternal."
 * "Fight not for Glory, but for Duty alone. It is only in Death that Duty ends."
 * "Loyalty is its own reward.”
 * "To feel fear only brings shame upon oneself if one fails to defy it. True bravery can only be shown by those who will themselves to act against their own fear."
 * "To cleanse the soul; prayer. To cleanse the body; pain."
 * "Lead by example; an officer of the chapter must be the most willing to charge the breach at the head of the vanguard, to die for his brothers, and to pursue the heretic."
 * "By fire, blade, and bolt alone are corruption and sins burned away."

Excerpts from the Book of the Xeno
"Trust not the alien, for it holds naught but contempt and envy in its heart for you and yours."

"Humanity and the xeno species of the universe cannot co-exist. The existence of one is antagonistic to the nature of the existence of the other. Set yourself upon their kind with blades and bolts if you love thy species."

”Be wary of the Aeldari, for they are fickle beyond comprehensiom. Yet, their psychic power and actions have birthed gods of their own who fight the Great Enemy. Though this would seem to make them potential allies to the cause of the Cult Ordinatum, know you that they would sacrifice a hundred billion innocent humans for the sake of one Eldar. Use them if you can, trust them not - and always be prepared to slay them should the need arise.”

Excerpts from the Book of the Damned
"The fate of the heretic can be naught but merciless purgation."

Excerpts from the Book of the Neverborn
"To truly vanquish the daemon, one must understand the nature and will of the daemon."

"The foolish and the ignorant may think themselves slaves of the Imperium. True slavery is only knowable by the thralls of the Dark Gods, whose lives and souls are forfeit to the hunger of their uncaring, insatiable lords. Only the Emperor may grant liberation to the souls of man in death."

“And lo, you shall stare into the eyes of the Outsiders, and their unholiness shall be laid bare before you. Yet you shall not despair, for your soul is armored with faith and knowledge."

The Six Wards of Bellerophon
[[File:The Ward of Undefiled Wisdom.png|thumb|246x246px| The Warding Glyph of Undefiled Wisdom is said to have been created by a man to learn the language to communicate with seemingly benevolent warp entities in the 500s.M2. Successful in its creation, its purpose was to ensure that any daemon or creature of the warp is unable to lie within sight of the ward. Since the Emperor's Ascension, however, it also allows for the Emperor's Tarot to be read with greater clarity and alacrity. For those who fall asleep bearing it on their bodies, the Emperor often appears in their dreams bearing various messages of various degrees of clarity.
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