Warhammer 40,000
From Wikiquote
Warhammer 40,000 is a tabletop battle game created by Games Workshop first sold in 1987. It is a gothic science fiction universe set approx 38,000 years from now, in the 41st millennium. There are currently eleven rival factions to choose from and none are unambiguously good. The ethos is well summed up by the game's subtitle slogan: "There is no time for peace. No respite. No forgiveness. There is only WAR!"
[edit] The 41st Millennium
Subtitle: In the grim darkness of the far future there is only war!
For more than a hundred centuries the Emperor has sat immobile on the Golden Throne of Earth. He is the master of mankind by the will of the gods and master of a million worlds by the might of his inexhaustible armies. He is a rotting carcass writhing invisibily with power from the Dark Age of Technology. He is the Carrion Lord of the Imperium for whom a thousand souls die every day, for whom blood is drunk and flesh eaten. Human blood and human flesh – the stuff of which the Imperium is made.
To be a man in such times is to be one amongst untold billions. It is to live in the cruelest and most bloody regime imaginable. This is the tale of those times. It is a universe you can live in today – if you dare – for this is a dark and terrible era where you will find little comfort or hope. If you want to take part in the adventure then prepare yourself now. Forget the power of technology, science and common humanity. Forget the promise of progress and understanding, for there is no peace amongst the stars, only an eternity of carnage and slaughter and the laughter of thirsting gods.
But the universe is a big place and, whatever happens, you will not be missed…
To the common masses our struggle is a fight, a war. A battle fought with sinew and muscle, with bolt, blade, and bomb, with tank and warship. To those of us in high station this is nought but a conflict of will! A struggle of metaphysical dimension. The Soul of Mankind is our battleground. The very existence of the human race is the prize for victory. Our sanity is the sacrifice we make to win that laurel.
It is the savage beast of war that drives Mankind on his course and pursues him to his destination. It feeds upon his terror. It grows more hungry with each passing year and soon it shall consume him whole.
The Age of Battle is begun. The fires of war burn brightly from star to star. Everywhere the fortresses of Man are steeped in blood and ancient enemies appear from the darkness. Sensing weakness they gather for the kill. They know as we know that as night approaches all mortal life shall be extinguished. We know, as they cannot, that there shall be a new dawn and a new day when we will rise anew and they shall be driven into the darkness forever.
The Age of Battle is Begun.
Bring fire and bring shell and heap all upon the pyre. With flame and gun we shall make an end to the withered husk that is human life. And in the blazing furnace of battle we shall forge anew the iron will of yet a stronger race.
As wriggling maggots upon a rotted corpse they glut themselves upon the rank flesh that is the Earth. Such is mankind, blind and bound to a dying world, nought but the writhing worm that mires itself in the corruption of its own progenitors. They who feast today do so in ignorance of their mortality. For tomorrow they must die or change, and, if changing, then forever open their eyes to the dark hunger of eternal life.
Let the Flames of Battle Consume Us!
We endeavor in the darkness of battle who cannot win the fight. The time for peace is over and now it is time to die. It is the age of war and our last days must be lived amidst the sound of our own destruction.
Now the great wheel of human existence turns almost full circle. From the cradle of the Earth it has turned through vast epochs of time. Once in the light of the sun it turned as civilizations rose and fell and were forgotten. In the light of the stars knowledge blossomed and withered whilst the wheel span on. Now the great wheel of human existence, almost complete, turns again as it approaches a time of dying and the moment of inhuman birth.
Abhor the Night, it is the Light that Endures!
What foes are we to meet in battle that we have not vanquished in the shadows of the human soul? What Daemons scream that have not cried to us from the dark places of the mind? What fear have we of death who know there is immortality in the great and noble deeds of men?
Who is to judge what is right and what is wrong? Great and powerful foes surround us; unknown miscreants gnaw at us from within. We are threatened with total annihilation. In days such as these we can afford no luxury of morality.
Behind the bright lights hide a multitude of horrors as would disgust and repel the most stout-hearted of men. So it is with determination and unflinching duty that we must face those vile and terrible things – for if not us, then who?
The creatures of the Warp have but one trait with which you need concern yourself – their undying contempt for the Emperor. It is your task to quell the rebellion they preach, and the only sure way is to destroy them utterly.
Cast out the mutant, the traitor, the heretic! For every enemy without there are a hundred within. Beware their secret clans and hidden ways. The only cult we do not abhor is that of the Emperor!
A hundred thousand worlds, ten hundred thousand wars. There is no respite, there is nowhere to hide. Across the galaxy there is only war.
The call to arms rings out across the dark void that is the galaxy. Its toll is answered by the iron willed devotees who themselves are but humble servants of a greater power. Who among the teeming billions of mankind has the strength to answer the call and march to war? Come forth you mighty warriors, gather under the bloodstained banners and grisly trophies of conquest! Join now the massed throng whose aim is to rid Humanity of its blighted fate. To win famous victory on hellish otherworlds.
In an hour of Darkness a blind man is the best guide. In an age of Insanity look to the madman to lead the way.
Every human life is a spark in the darkness. It flares for a moment, catches the eye, and is gone forever. A retinal after-image that fades and is obscured forever by newer, brighter lights.
Sometimes the good must perish so that the rest survive. The lot of courage is to be sacrificed upon the alter of battle.
Be courageous and bold, be humble before your masters, lead with valour! These things above all others will be of use when your time comes to die.
As each warrior dies and is laid upon the mighty alter of battle, with toll of bell and scratch of quill we shall count his days in death as in life.
Survival is no birthright, but a prize wrested from an uncaring galaxy by forgotten heroes.
Have we exhausted all possible ways to divine the future? How many scribes must toil to scratch their visions onto ancient parchments so that we might catch a glimpse of hope? Or are we to suffer only the pangs of despair as yet more horror is let loose on our dreams? Or does the seeking itself give birth to more insanity than man can cope?
The Dark Future Beckons!
Fear the Unknown!
[edit] The Imperium of Man
Ten thousand years of battle, and still the war goes on. Like the glorious annals of the Imperium itself, the revered banners and relics of the Emperor’s most loyal servants adorn the long march to the Eternity Gate.
Let those who would gaze at the splendour of the Imperial Palace take a moment to marvel at the achievements of His greatest warriors.
As the Emperor’s sacrifice is immortal, so shall we immortalize those who sacrificed all for Him.
For fourteen years I had trodden the Pilgrim’s Trail. My Most Honorable Discharge for acts of extreme valour during the Gehenna Scouring was the greatest reward I could receive as a loyal citizen and servant of the Most Beloved Emperor. From the multi-spired splendours of Ophelia, to the marble sepulchres of Chiros, I had witnessed the many glorious edifices of the Ecclesiarchy. And so it was that I, a humble but pious retired officer, was able to stand upon the sacred ground of Terra itself and marvel at the wondrous and magnificent Imperial Palace.
As I entered the narthex I was struck by the sheer grandeur of our worshipful buildings. Not even the Temple of Thor on Dimmamar had prepared me for the spectacle of the mile-long aisle stretching from me towards the distance-shrouded portal into the Sanctum Imperialis. The air was filled with incense, a heavy aromatic fog that was uplifting to breathe. The vaulted roof arched half a mile over my head, its recesses lost in dark shadows, supported by pillars that looked as if they could support the whole weight of Terra, such was their girth. All was constructed from the finest marble, alabaster and lunarite, and overlaid with countless precious gems, filigrees and decorations wrought from gold, silver, electrum, and other rare metals from distant worlds whose names I do not know. Unnumbered gargoyles stared down at the pilgrims, each leering face more grotesque than the last. Scenes of great battles, mighty heroes and lordly saints adorned the walls. No greater celebration to the artifice o Man exists. There can be found no surer testament to Mankind’s right to rule the galaxy, under the ever present gaze of the magnificent Immortal Emperor.
As I walked up the thousand steps towards the Eternity Gate, along with a multitude of other servants of the Emperor, I marveled at the scores of banners. I am told that the oldest date from the very founding of our great Empire, carried in battles by exalted heroes whose names have become legend: Hieronymous Scathe, Count Dire, Captain Virgil, Agamar Strick, Lord Commander Macharius, Commissar Arden, Stugen Deathwalker, Colonel Gravitz and many others. To know that my labours for the Imperial Cause have been founded upon the mighty endeavours of those individuals was a stirring thought, causing my chest to swell with pride; truly to serve the Emperor is the most holy of deeds.
- The Journals of Lieutenant Commander Sturn
In the Sanctum Imperialis, upon the most sacred ground of all the Emperor’s realm, only the feet of the Custodes may tread.
The Loyal Guard, the Unflinching Gaze, the Steadfast Hand, the Truest Blade, Protectors Eternal, they stand guard over the most holy gift the Emperor has to give: the Imperius Corporalis, the Emperor-in-Flesh.
In their domain there is no greater power before the Emperor himself. Neither pious Cardinal nor devout Inquisitor nor loyal High Lord may stand before His greatness, for that lone is the province of his Dread Guardians.
Who can say what lies at the heart of the Emperor’s inner sanctum? What terrible devices are there which keep our Lord alive, if life it truly is? What dark ministrations are daily vested upon his shattered husk? What sickly liquids are pumped through his veins? Only the Eternal Guard of the Custodes see and they are sworn to silence. Mere mortals such as us can only guess and wonder at these and other things. But we know we must have faith for without the Emperor we are nothing.
It is ten thousand years since the Emperor gave his life battling to save the Earth from the Warmaster during the terrifying last days of the Horus Heresy. The Emperor’s mortal life ended at the moment of Horus’ own destruction, yet he did not die. The Emperor’s body was put into stasis at the point of death, and though his physical form was crushed and maimed his spirit did not falter. A vast machine was built to sustain him, a device constructed with long-forbidden secrets of ancient technology and arcane lore: the Golden Throne. Its vast structure sustains the Emperor’s spirit which watches over humanity and guides from the warp, whilst at the same time battling against the horrific psychic entities which threaten mankind’s destruction.
Though every day the arcane machines consume many thousands of sacrificial psykers, the ultimate suffering is that of the Emperor himself. For his agonies can never cease. He must endure an endless battle and can never be free of the burden that fate has placed upon his failing spirit. Without him there is nothing.
For a thousand days the great barge of the Adeptus sailed towards Earth. In the thirteen holds, each as cavernous as a temple nave, our human cargo set up a great wailing and moaning. I counted twenty thousand souls bound for service. Men, women and children. Young and old. The sick and the sound. Only the children did not know or could not guess what lay at the journey’s end. But I am a Psyker like them and I sensed their pain and felt their chains as if bound about my own body. Already I could taste the fear of the weak and knew what fate held for them. They would serve with their lives. The remainder would serve in their own way. Their powers would be trained to provide the Emperor’s Pskyers, Astropaths, and thousands of other functionaries. But the decision was not mine to make, to separate those who would live from those who would die. I am a guardian of the Adeptus. Souls such as these I carry to the Emperor’s table.
Manyfold are the labours of those who serve the Emperor on Mighty Terra itself, most exalted of a million worlds. Let us now remind ourselves of their Holy Tasks; that which gives them their reward in this life.
Give due thought to those ancient holders of Dark Mystery, the Adeptus Mechanicus. Through the magnificent edifices of their Machine God, the Magi of Mars maintain the Golden Throne which sustains the Imperius Incarnate; that breathes life into the Immortal Emperor of the Galaxy. Through their endeavours, the Protector of Mankind is freed from physical concern; liberated to spread his Mind and Word across his subjects, unfettered by any mortal barrier.
Give thanks to those most courageous and loyal of guardians, the Adeptus Custodes, who stand constant vigil over the Emperor’s Palace. A veritable Legion of warriors ready to lay down their lives without doubt, for the beloved Ward of Mankind. None pass through the Imperial Palace without their knowledge; steeped are they in the arcane secrets of that labyrinthine edifice. Ten thousand blades await the call to arms; to defend against any threat, from without or from within.
Give praise to the wise Ecclesiarch of the Ministorium, and the Cardinals and Deacons who serve under him. Raise your voice in prayer and hymnal, knowing that these pious men raise their voice alongside yours in everlasting worship of the Emperor of Terra. Heed well the fables and parables that the Preachers and Confessors tell, and look to their great deeds and sacrifices to inspire your own devotion.
And let us not forget that great unnumbered mass who are the scribes and clerks, the auditors and chroniclers, the compilers and corroborators who serve in the Administratum. Through their labours, the Imperial Decree is spread to a thousand times a thousand worlds. The desires of the Most Holy, as voiced by the Noble Offices of the High Lords, are recorded and transmitted to the waiting masses. Through these humble minions come momentous tidings that tell of dire threats and great victories, craven criminals and magnificent heroes. Do not look down upon the common worker, for each finds his place as ordained by the Emperor, and serves to his best ability.
No reliable records concerning the rise of the Emperor to power and the Imperium’s creation have survived the ten long millennia since the Great Crusade. However, by scouring the sources at our disposal and gleaning information from myths and legends we can begin to hypothesize what happened in those momentous times.
The ascent of the Emperor marked the end of inter-human warfare and galactic decline – the remote time we now call the Age of Strife. Before the Age of Strife, humanity’s physical power waxed, but at the cost of man’s spiritual strength. During this period, the even more distant Dark Age of Technology, the human race sold its souls to the glory of technology, forgetting their own magnificence in favour of the accomplishments of so-called science. Through the mechanical, biological, and alchemical madness of the Dark Age of Technology, which brought about the decline during the Age of Strife, mankind has come to the present age: a glorious age of conquest, when men’s hearts will rule the stars, not their machines. What secrets the Tech-Priests of Mars uncover from the distant past will no longer rule our lives. We will harness the technology we find, and not become slaves to it as we once were. Through human endeavour, and honest blood, sweat and toil, mankind will rule the galaxy with the grace of the Emperor and finally attain our rightful place as Lords of the Stars. We are in the great times of the Age of the Imperium, the realm of the beneficent Emperor.
The Emperor is an eternal part of the universe, at one with and ruler of the stars themselves. The Emperor and the Imperium are one and the same, and no mortal man can now recall a time without either.
The Emperor Magnificent is the greatest and only god – it is his awesome mind that broadcasts the Astronomican, that guides spacecraft through the warp and to their distant destinations. Without the Emperor there would be no Astronomican, no long range space travel, no galaxy-spanning Imperium – No Humanity. Without the Emperor, we are nothing.
In his divine wisdom, the Emperor has ascended to a higher plane and no longer moves or talks, even his ability to communicate psychically is limited, such is his power and our own mental inadequacies. The holy task of interpreting the Emperor’s judgment and dictates for humanity is the sacred duty of the Most Favoured Men – the High Lords of Terra, the Senatorum Imperialis. From them, the multitudinous devout Servants of the Emperor can be given rightful guidance.
- Introduction from Liber Doctrina Historicus
The High Lords of Terra
They are the Will and the Word of the Emperor.
They are the Inquisitorial Representative, whose eyes see all, whose ears hear all, whose mind knows all.
They are the Power and the Glory of the Emperor.
They are the Lord Commander Militant, whose Imperial Guard wage war in the Emperor’s name on a hundred thousand worlds.
They are the Spirit and the Knowledge of the Emperor.
They are the Masters of the Administratum, whose minions are numbered greater than the stars, and through whose realm all data passes.
They are the Might and the Mechanism of the Emperor.
They are the Fabricator-General, whose forge worlds are the fuel of the Emperor’s armies, under whose rule shell and blade is wrought.
The Hierarchy of Terra
The Emperor – The living god, the saviour of humanity.
The High Lords of Terra – They govern the destiny of mankind.
The Adeptus Custodes – They guard our past, our present, our future.
The Adeptus Terra – The Masters of Earth. Their will be done.
The Inquisition – The eye that sleepeth not.
Officio Assassinorum – Ask not for whom they seek, lest it be thyself.
Adeptus Administratum – Without them, disorder. Upon them turn the wheels of government.
Adeptus Ministorum – Vessels of the will, defenders of the faith.
The Adeptus Arbites – They are judge, jury and executioner.
The Adeptus Mechanicus – Disciples of the Omnissiah, keepers of arcane lore.
Adeptus Astronomica – Bearers of the light in the darkness of the Warp.
Adeptus Astra Telepathica – The Emperor’s voice amongst the stars.
The Adeptus Astartes – The Angels of Death.
The Imperial Guard – The Hammer of the Emperor.
Imperial Fleet – They bind the stars together.
Planetary Lords – They rule in His name.
Manifest Glory of the Emperor
There is a tower in the Emperor’s palace called the Tower of Heroes, a black tower that rises into the sky like a spike. At the summit of that tower hangs the Bell of Lost Souls. It is an ancient thing, massive as a building and adorned with dark runes, its peal like the scream of an anguished god. It is tolled but once when a great hero of the Imperium dies. Its wailing moan of grief lasts long and reaches the ears of millions, and its tones penetrate the unifying ether of humanity, turning the thoughts of countless billions towards mankind’s loss.
All hail the martyrs! On their blood is our Imperium founded, in their remembrance do we honour ourselves.
The Imperium! How mighty its aspect! How far-reaching its boundaries! As one world dies ten more are brought into the fold. Fear us, for we count the lives of planets, not men!
- Cardinal Morius Blate, Ecclesiarch Primus
They who feast today do so in ignorance of their mortality. Tomorrow they must die or change.
There is no foe more rank or malefic than the traitor. We rightly abhor the traitor that leads the enemy to our gate. We revile him for the annihilation of worlds and the murder of innocents. We each loathe him for the harm that he does to us. The scars that we bear remind us to keep our hatred bitter.
What hatred have we for the traitor within? No – I mean not the traitor that hides amongst us. For it is our very flesh that is the greatest of traitors, the betrayer who corrupts and weakens us more than any other foe. It is the enemy within that we harbor unknowingly. His name is mutant, witch and deviant. He is the foe that will destroy us as no other can. He leads us before a hellish throne to dance enfeebled and imbecilic for the lewd pleasures of dark gods.
Burn the mutant and the heretic that shelters him! Burn the witch and those that worship him! Burn the deviant and those tainted by him! Let their deaths purify us so that in dying their bodies serve mankind as in life they never could.
There is a fate reserved for those who betray the Emperor’s trust. It is not death. It is not life. What is it when flesh and mind are taken into the body of the Golden Throne? What is it when organs are absorbed slowly into the flesh of the living machine? Is there a mind that suffers for eons as the Emperor suffers, or does the personality fade and melt away as the flesh that houses it dissolves into nothing?
What secrets do the Emperor’s Tarot tell – the chance fall of cards or the deliberate intrusion of the Emperor’s will? Some name it the Voice of the Emperor. They tell how the cards speak his words from where his immortal soul fights the eternal battle against the Gods of Chaos. Others shun the Tarot and perceive the powers of the dark gods themselves in the turn of the cards. Still others say it is the man and not the cards that is the cypher of fate, that, if it is pure, his own soul touches that of the Emperor so he turns the cards with the prophetic power of the Emperor himself.
All men, women, and children throughout the Imperium carry within them the twin seeds of our defeat. The unstable gene is a mutant beast waiting to erupt; the unstable thought a Heretic Apparent. The Mutant bears his Heresy on the outside; the Traitor hides his in his soul. Trust no one! Fear all! Any one of your fellows may carry the Mark. The Will of the Emperor alone cannot protect you. You must be strong! You must join the crusade and take your place in the unceasing struggle!
Yes it is true what you may have heard whispering amongst the catacombs betwixt the night and nether-night! Why not say it out loud for all to hear. Let the fools doubt and sneer, it matters not. Be proud of your humanity and keep it unsullied and blessed.
This is as my Master told it to me and now I tell it to thee.
There are a billion names of damnation! A billion kinds of things that slither and slime and defile the land and sea and wind. Each thing is a kind of sin spawned by man's evil. And that man is very sinful there are many of these damned things and their power is great.
As the purpose of all things in nature is to increase so it is with the damned. They would we joined them and so they seek to overcome us. In alien forms they assault us. In sleep they come to spread doubt and fear among us. They would corrupt our hearts and see us damned too. Trust them not nor suffer them to live.
For each alien destroyed is a soul freed from eternal bondage. Each mortal alien life extinguished is a human soul raised to glory. Thus our eternal destiny is written in the blood of the alien.
With sword and spear destroy the alien. With cannon shot and gun blast smash the alien. With laser beam and searing plasma scatter the alien to the stars. With tooth and fist and hammer blows, with axe and shell and poison-bombs, with virus-charge and thermal mines!
Kill them! Kill them! Kill them all!
As my Master told it to me I now tell it to thee that thou shalt tell others in thy turn.
Too much blood has been spilled over the centuries for there to be peace between us. As they mistrust and fear mankind, we revile and hate them. No matter how many we destroy, yet more heretofore unknown aliens appear. As this galaxy wheels toward its final, fateful cataclysm, we are doomed to die - our hands locked around each other's throats and squeezing the life out of each other as the universe dies!
Contact with alien races always renews one’s faith in humanity. It is my belief that foreign travel narrows the mind wonderfully.
- Helem Bocsh
It's often been remarked that diplomacy is just warfare by other means. Our battles are no less desperate for being bloodless, but at least we get wine and finger-food.
- Tollen Ferlang, Imperial Envoy to the Realm of Ultramar, 564-603 M41
Old friends are like debt collectors; they have a tendency to turn up when you least expect them.
- Gilbran Quail, Collected Essays
The gratitude of the powerful is a heavy weight to bear.
- Gilbran Quail, Collected Essays
Life’s so much easier when you’ve got someone to blame.
- Gilbran Quail, Collected Essays
One thing you can say for enemies, they make life more interesting.
- Gilbran Quail, Collected Essays
Paranoia is a very comforting state of mind. If you think they’re out to get you, it means you think you matter.
- Gilbran Quail, Collected Essays
If you go looking for trouble, you’re sure to find it.
- Gilbran Quail, Collected Essays
The past is always with us.
- Gilbran Quail, Collected Essays
Never take a gamble you’re not prepared to lose.
- Abdul Goldberg, rogue trader
If you don’t expect gratitude you’ll seldom be disappointed.
- Eyor Dedonki, Memoirs of a Pessimist. 479 M41
The wider he smiled and called us friend, the tighter we clung to our purses.
- Argun Slyter ‘The Wastrel’s Stratagem,’ Act 4 Scene 1
Life’s a journey. Shame about the destination.
- Argun Slyter, ‘Well What Did You Expect?,’ Act 2 Scene 2
Stories are much tidier than real life. Stories have neat, happy endings, but all you ever really get is unfinished business.
- Janni Vakonz, holo director
You can never have too many enemies. The more you’ve got, the more likely they are to get in each other’s way.
- Jarvin Wallanknot, Idle Musings, 605 M41
Revenge is a dish best served with mayonnaise and those little cheesy things on sticks.
- Osric the Loopy, planetary governor of Corania (appointed 756 M41, removed from office by the Officio Assassinorum 764 M41)
Diligence earns salvation.
- Administratum slogan
The Emperor's Eye is upon you.
- Administratum slogan
How can a man be happy if he cannot serve his lord with his whole heart?
- Litany of the Adeptus
Question: What has the Emperor done for us?
Answer: What have you done for the Emperor?
- Training questions, Administratum Cant and Dogma
We determine the guilty. We decide the punishment.
- Codex Arbites – The Commandments of Justice
Remember that it is the duty of the mighty Adeptus Astartes Chapters and the glorious Imperial Guard to wage the Emperor's wars and the duty of the fearless Imperial Navy to guard the Emperor's spaceways, but it is to his loyal servants the Adeptus Arbites that His Divine Majesty in His infinite wisdom entrusts the most sacred duty of all - keeping in check the lawless heretic rabble that passes itself off as the Emperor's worthy subjects.
- Familiar old precinct-house joke of the Adeptus Arbites
To serve the Emperor. To protect His domains. To judge and stand guard over His subjects. To carry the Emperor's law to all worlds under His blessed protection. To pursue and punish those who trespassed against His word.
- Oath sworn by cadets of the Adeptus Arbites
The violators of the Emperor's law must be punished… how dare they question His will, His judgment… if their deeds go unchecked then chaos will surely rein… I have no choice but to sentence the offenders to death, effective immediately and without appeal… you have your orders gentlemen, may the Emperor's blessing go with you.
- Decree of Judge Lemog, Hive Fal-sha, Sheldton's World, before the Sector 17 Massacre
They live there in that great plascrete tower surrounded by walls and razor wire, only emerging to seize some unfortunate who has transgressed against the Imperial Laws or to patrol the city to prove that it belongs to them. There are crystal lenses and sound wave detectors on that tower that can watch citizens or listen to their conversations 100 leagues away. Imperial spy satellites watch what they can't see directly and even the Governor fears them. They aren't from here and have nothing to do with us, no more than Orks or Eldar, if they have families or children we don't know about them and we don't care. They wouldn't so much as buy a glowbulb from us and we wouldn't sell it to them. It's ironic that they have the rather benevolent title of Arbitrators.
- Vorkas Zolowski, prior to his arrest for pernicious sedition against the Emperor of Mankind
There is no right or wrong in our profession. The present changes the past from moment to moment. Only pray for the future to vindicate your action.
Claims of innocence mean nothing; they only serve to prove a foolish lack of caution.
- Judge Traggat, Selected Sayings, Vol. III, Chapter IV
There can be no bystanders in the battle for survival. Anyone who will not fight by your side is an enemy you must crush.
- Scriptoris Munificantus
Only in your deepest self is the truth of what you can be, and, without a doubt, that truth is terrible to bear.
- Adeptus Astronomica – The Book of the Astronomican
Every servant has his place, no matter lowly or modest. To know it is his greatest comfort, to excel within it his greatest solace, and his master’s contentment is his greatest reward.
- Codex Administratum
When the people forget their duty they are no longer human and become something less than beasts. They have no place in the bosom of Humanity nor in the heart of the Emperor. Let them die and be forgotten.
- from Prime Edicts of the Holy Synod of the Adeptus Ministorium
What is victory? Is it to defeat your enemy on the field of battle? Is it to simply repulse his armies and slay his misguided warriors? No, this is only the beginning!
True victory is to crush your foe utterly, to shatter his armoured legions and run down his fleeing troops as they scatter. Pursue them to their lairs and burn them out. Burst into his unholy temples, smash down his icons and topple his foul idols. Burn his heretical works and leave no stone upon stone. Slaughter his followers, their families and their livestock lest any of their taint remain. And when that is done, put the ruins to the torch.
Any that have dealt with them or given them succour must be obliterated, for memory is insidious and though you have crushed their will and their bodies they may yet return. Send warrior scribes to excise the records of their name, expunge their deeds from the annals of history and remove even the memory of your foe’s existence. Only then have you truly won.
That is the meaning of victory.
Where would they be, these mighty warriors with their guns and tanks and engines of war? Where indeed without us, the Logisticians, the Fabricators, the Administrators. Without us to provide their supplies and schedules, to make and ship their munitions and foodstuffs they would flounder and fail. Yes it is us, the unheralded Adepts, who are the heroes in this struggle.
What is the terror of death?
That we die our work incomplete.
What is the joy of life?
To die knowing our task is done.
As the mind to the body so the soul to the spirit, as death to the mortal man so failure to the immortal, such is the price of all ambition.
Ha! The Imperium is a big place, my boy. The universe is always unleashing some new catastrophe, some marauding race. Hundreds of worlds die, but millions more prosper. It matters not. Nothing can truly hurt us here.
- Lord Magister Ithrax Stoam, Terra
[edit] The Inquisition
Innocentia Nihil Probat.
- Original High-Gothic form of the Inquisition Credo, “Innocence Proves Nothing”
We are at war with forces too terrible to comprehend. We cannot afford mercy for any of its victims too weak to take the correct course. Mercy destroys us; it weakens us and saps our resolve. Put aside all such thoughts. They are not worthy of Inquisitors in the service of Our Emperor. Praise his name for in our resolve we only reflect his purpose of will.
- Inquisitor Enoch, Castigations on the Last Days
There shall come an Apocalypse. A great war whose might and clamor shall dwarf all the wars that have come before. A bloodletting to drown the stars. A doom for all that was and all that is. Humanity is the Harbinger of this Final Battle. Humanity is the Seed of what is to pass. Humanity is the Progenitor of all the Future Fates.
We, the Inquisition, are charged with the defense of Humanity. To us falls the greatest duty of all. Only we know the truth of Mankind's great adventure to the stars. We alone know the true faces of our many foes. We alone can put name to those faces and vanquish them. Let not these miscreants best us in any combat. We may fight alone on a barren rock in some distant corner of the galaxy or we may lead great armies into battle. We shall do whatever is necessary to triumph. And in the end, we shall overcome them, the unholy trinity that are:
The Enemy Within: The Mutant
The Enemy Without: The Alien
The Enemy Beyond: The Daemon
The creatures of the Warp have but one trait with which you need concern yourself - their undying contempt for the Emperor. It is your task to quell the rebellion they preach, and the only sure way is to destroy them utterly.
- Inquisitor Qualtak Shoran
The Daemon has many forms. You must know them all. You must tell the Daemon from his disguise and root him out from the hidden places. Trust no-one. Trust not even yourself. It is better to die in vain than to live in abomination. The zealous martyr is praised for his valour; the craven and the unready are justly abhorred.
- The First Book of Indoctrinations
Possession was once nine-tenths of the lore. It is so even today, but we must blind ourselves to the tenth that remains and was once human. Duty requires we put aside such considerations and root out uncleanliness in thought and in deed. There can be no other course of action. No one can be adjudged innocent of compliance. Better to self-destruct than acquiesce.
- Inquisitor Enoch
The weak will always be lead by the strong. Where the strong cry out against fate, the weak bow their heads and succumb. There are many who are weak and many are their temptations. Despise the weak for they flock to the call of the Daemon and the Renegade. Pity them not and scorn their cries of innocence – it is better that one hundred innocents fall before the Emperor than one kneels before the Daemon.
- The First Book of Indoctrinations
You must face the truth squarely and without flinching from duty. Our Enemies are mortal no longer. Mercy for such as they is a chimera, self-deception is its only ally. Dedicate this weapon, given unto your hand at the behest of the Emperor, to their destruction. Regard its function as your only duty: you live only to bring cleansing fire. Take up your rod and staff, your armour and psycannon, and go forth.
- Galbus Heer, Lectures to the Ordo Malleus
All Daemons are falsehood. They are lies given the shape of creatures by the power of Chaos. Fear the Daemons of Khorne for this reason and then fear them once more.
- Inquisitor Covenant
With the thrice-damned renegades of lewd Slaanesh, your well-tried techniques of forceful inquisition will serve you ill. These voluptuaries and heretics that debase themselves before their so-called Lord of Dark Delights are not to be unburdened of their lisping truths by subtle pressures or the keen probing of your instruments. Conspiring against all decency even in such matters, these libertines take pleasure from our inquiries, debauching themselves with inhuman dissolution upon the racks and wheels of Verity. For these abominations, other methods are required...
- The Teachings of Inquisitor Magnus
The nature of Chaos is deceit - unless one looks past surface impressions, one can never hope to divine the purpose of the enemy.
- Inquisitor Silas Hand
Of all the perils that an Inquisitor must root out, it is the eternal and infernal practices of entities not of our domain that require the utmost vigilance and willpower.
- Introduction to the Liber Malificorum of the Ordo Malleus
Mankind stands upon the brink; on the one hand lies a realm of unimaginable power, on the other awaits darkness, death, and utter damnation. Only those that follow the guiding light of the Emperor may save their souls.
- Inquisitor Damaran, Ordo Malleus
The daemonic are without number, and their legions span the galaxy. But faith does not tire. Should it take us an eternity, the Ordo Malleus will find and exterminate them all.
- Inquisitor Lord Hephaestos Grudd
There are those amongst our Ordo who say that I seek advancement for my own purposes, and they are correct. My purpose is to destroy the daemonic and if I must rise to command an entire sector to do so, then so be it. I am a servant of the Emperor and only those who consort with Warp-spawn need fear my retribution.
- Inquisitor Lord Torquemada Coteaz
Look upon this hammer I hold before me, for it is far more than a weapon. It is a symbol of the Imperial justice that smites the diabolic enemies of the Imperium wherever they are found, just as I. Though it has banished even a mighty Greater Daemon to the hell from which it spawned, it remains true and pure, just as I. Furthermore, it is a symbol of my order and my office, of the authority granted to me by the divine will of the Emperor. By that authority, I am commanding you and your entire regiment to obey without question or hesitation. Advance, or it will not be daemonic blood that stains my hammer this day.
- Inquisitor Lord Hephaestos Grudd, addressing Colonel Molian of the 223rd Gudrunite Rifles
To be Unclean
That is the mark of the Mutant
To be Impure
That is the mark of the Mutant
To be Abhorred
That is the mark of the Mutant
To be Reviled
That is the mark of the Mutant
To be Hunted
That is the mark of the Mutant
To be Purged
That is the fate of the Mutant
To be Cleansed
For that is the fate of all Mutants
-Extract from a Training Chant in the First Book of Indoctrinations
So great has been the calamitousness of these times, and such the inveterate malice of the heretic, that there has been nothing so clear in our statement of faith, nothing so surely settled, which they, at the instigation of the enemy of the human race, have not defiled by some sort of error. For which cause the holy Inquisition hath made it Its special care to condemn and anathematize the principal errors of the heretics of our time, and to deliver and teach the true and Imperial doctrine; even as It has condemned, and anathematized, and decreed.
- Declaration of Inquisitorial mandate, Inquisitorial representative, Senate Imperialis
Heresy is like a tree, its roots lie in the darkness whilst its leaves wave in the sun and to those who suspect nought, it has an attractive and pleasing appearance. Truly, you can prune away its branches, or even cut the tree to the ground, but it will grow up again ever the stronger and ever more comely. Yet all awhile the root grows thick and black, gnawing at the bitter soil, drawing its nourishment from the darkness, and growing even greater and more deeply entrenched. Such is the nature of heresy, and this is why it is so hard to destroy, for it must be eradicated leaf, branch, trunk and root. It must be exorcised utterly or it will return all the stronger, time and time again, until it is too great to destroy. Then we are doomed.
- Inquisitor Lord Galan Noirgrim Master of the Ordo Malleus, prelude to the Abominatus.
I answer that, with regard to heretics, two points must be observed: one, on their own side; the other, on the side of the Inquisition. On their own side there is the sin, whereby they deserve not only to be separated from the Imperium by excommunication, but also be severed from the world by death. For it is a much graver matter to corrupt the faith which quickens the soul, than to forge money which supports temporal life. Wherefore if forgers of money and other evildoers are forthwith condemned to death by the secular authority, much more reason is there for heretics, as soon as they are convicted of heresy, to be not only excommunicated but even put to death.
- Inquisitor Verelius
This place breeds recidivists like a pond breeds scum
- Inquisitor-General Neve on Chaos cult activity on Cadia
Though Mankind is at the brink of this great apotheosis, you must be ever vigilant for the stillborn harbingers of this change. Where you seek the pure and strong, there too will you find the impure and weak. Where you find but one worthy life, you will also find a million twisted, deformed monstrosities for whom death by your hand is a mercy. Therefore, look first for the mutant, for he may never hide his sin from you, and in his midst there will be revealed to you that which you seek. But be ever vigilant, for even should you find one with the gift, only one in a thousand psykers will be strong enough to survive the perils of the Empyrean and be allowed to live.
- Admonitions on the Duties of the Witch Finder, Inquisitor Malich (suppressed M38)
Know this, adept, for your journey has been long and you are to be trusted as few will ever be. Psykers represent Humanity’s future, the ideal creature into which Mankind will evolve; a more powerful, more intelligent and more capable life form. As yet this race is weak, its members lacking the mental strength needed to face the dangers of the psychic universe. Were the new race of psykers permitted to develop free and unprotected, the whole of Humanity would soon be destroyed. We few who are privy to this truth have guarded it selflessly for nigh on four millennia, since the time of the great schism from which our order was born. It is our sole concern, for the very future of our race depends upon us, and us alone.
- Transcription of suppressed texts from the archives of the Gethsemene Reclusium
There is no such thing as a plea for innocence in my court. A plea for innocence is guilty of wasting my time. Guilty.
- Inquisitor Lord Fyodor Karamazov
Know thine enemy.
You are known to him already.
- Sermon Primaris, the Ordo Xenos
He who allows the alien to live,
shares its crime of existence.
- Inquisitor Apollyon
You are not free whose liberty is won by the rigour of other, more righteous souls. Your are merely protected. Your freedom is parasitic, you suck the honourable man dry and offer nothing in return. You who have enjoyed freedom, who have done nothing to earn it, your time has come. This time you will stand alone and fight for yourselves. Now you will pay for your freedom in the currency of honest toil and human blood."
- Inquisitor Czevak Address to the Council of Ryanti
There is a terrible darkness descending upon the galaxy, and we shall not see it end in our lifetimes.
- Inquisitor Czevak at the Conclave of Har
Though I have seen within the Black Library and spoken to its most terrible guardians, I can never reveal what happened there; not to any man nor the Emperor himself for I am forsworn to powers beyond your knowledge. I can only say that a time of inconceivable horror is about to begin, a time when Mankind alone with the might of the Imperium cannot endure; and together with all the strength of the Eldar, even so, our doom stalks us unflinching across the stars.
- Inquisitor Czevak at the Conclave of Har, from the Har transcription
You ask why we must cleanse the xenos. I will tell you. The filth of the alien and the witch must be exterminated to preserve the purity of the Human race, lest we degenerate into abomination.
- Witch Hunter Tyrus at the Conclave of Vena
His loyalty couldn’t be bought at any price; but it could be rented remarkably cheaply.
- Inquisitor Allendyne, after the execution of Rogue Trader Parnis Vermode for trafficking in interdicted xenos artifacts
You have been told of the Inquisition...
That shadowy organization which defends mankind and the Emperor from the perils of heresy, possession, alien dominance and rebellion.
You have been told...
the Inquisition are the ultimate defense against the phantoms of fear and terror which lurk in the darkness between the stars.
You have been told...
the Inquisition are the bright saviours in an eclipse of evil, purest and most devoted warriors of the Emperor.
You have been told...
the Inquisition is united in its cause to rid the galaxy of any threat, from without or within.
Everything you have been told is a lie.
The rewards more than outweigh the risks should we succeed. Imagine it! The Emperor reborn and walking amongst his people as a living god. Who can say such a thing is wrong?
- Inquisitor Crescere, describing the Thorian ambition of resurrecting the Emperor. From Inquisitorial Report TH/21/36: The Incunabla Incident
Who are you to second-guess the will of the Emperor? His plans are for Him and Him alone to know. It is enough for us to know that is grand designs for the galaxy unfold as he has foreseen, and the colossal arrogance displayed by those who claim to act in his name is both dangerous and tantamount to heresy.
- Inquisitor Barzano, following the Armageddon Schism
Look around you! We must tear down the rusty and ancient cage that we have built for ourselves and replace it with a shining tower that can once more touch the stars. Without evolution, we are shorn of our greatest strength.
- Inquisitor Laschia at the Oulan Symposium
Would you have Mankind grow old and withered, running to fat on the fruits of remembered glory while its enemies tear at its frail extremities? I think not. With each trial, we become stronger. My brethren and I will provide.
- Attributed to Inquisitor Vechorte, Istvaanian apostle
Eradicate Chaos? Hah! One might as well try to exterminate one's own shadow. Do not presume to enforce a simpleton's philosophy upon the Emperor's Inquisition. Bury your head if you must, but my eyes are open.
- excerpt from the sixth trial of Inquisitor Lichtenstein
You accuse me of being a madman. What right have you to judge what is sane and what is not?
I have fought with the shadows on the edge of your vision.
I have seen the faces that laugh at you in your nightmares.
I have smelt the foetid breath that issues from the mouth of hell itself.
I have heard the silent voices that make your spine tingle with dread.
I have entered the realms between worlds where there is no time or place.
I have clashed with creatures the sight of which would sear your soul to the core.
I have bested horrors that chill with a gaze and tempt unreasoning terror.
I have faced death eye to eye and blade to blade.
I have stared into the eyes of insanity and met their all-consuming stare.
I have done all of this for you, for your protection, and the guarantee of a future for mankind.
And yet you accuse me of being a madman, you who have never had your sanity tested so sorely.
What right have you to call me a heretic and a blasphemer, who have not heard the whisper of dark gods in your ear?
You are weak. Vulnerable. Human in your frailty. I am strong and yet still you judge me.
And yet you still judge me for my sins, you who art most sinful to the heart?
Only the insane have strength enough to prosper; only those that prosper truly judge what is sane.
Do not presume to judge me or the methods I choose to employ, petty-minded fool. You cannot comprehend the magnitude of the tasks I have undertaken, nor the consequences of my failure.
- Inquisitor Lichtenstein, declared Excommunicate Traitoris 998.M41
Once you tell us what we need we can dispose of you and all this will end. Until then, we own you and will do with you as we see fit. You are an object now. You are a receptacle for knowledge that we will wring out of you. That process will be easier if you co-operate. You ceased to be a human being when you betrayed your species and your Emperor, the only way out for you is death. I can make it quick but those who come after me will not be so generous.
- Inquisitor Nyxos of the Ordo Malleus, during the interrogation of the 'rogue' Inquisitor Ligeia
My enemy’s enemy is a problem for later. In the meantime, they might be useful.
- Inquisitor Quixos (attributed)
Gregor Eisenhorn, in fealty to the God-Emperor, our undying lord, and by the grace of the Golden Throne, in the name of the Ordo Malleus and the Inquisition, I call thee diabolus, and in the testimony of thy crimes, I submit this carta. May Imperial justice account in all balance. The Emperor protects.
- Grand Master Osma of the Ordo Hereticus
Better crippled in body than corrupt in mind.
I carry with me an Inquisitorial Seal. It is a small, unassuming object contained in a neat box of Pluvian obsidian. It is a modest thing. Relatively plain, adorned with a single motif and a simple motto. Yet with this little object I can sign the death warrant of an entire world and consign a billion souls to Oblivion.
- Thraviam Flast, Inquisitor of the Ordo Malleus
On occasion it may be that the Inquisitor comes across a situation that is so prevalent and widespread that there is no possibility of solution or redemption. Such situations could include planet-wide collusion and support for a heretical individual or organization, where the removal of the individual or organization would only strengthen the subversive cause they preach. Intervention by aliens may grow to such an extent that it brings a large segment of a population beyond salvation.
Worship of dark and proscribed powers can also spread in this alarming manner, either overtly or covertly, holding sway over the populace of a world or worlds. Also, it is a proven theory that an aggressive response to certain threats can serve as a powerful example to those in contact with a subversive world, discouraging others of a heretical leaning from contemplating their treacherous designs.
In these situations there can be only one recourse – Exterminatus – the eradication of all life on a planet. Although Exterminatus should only be used in the most extreme of cases and should never be undertaken lightly, you must harden your soul to the possibility that the innocent may fall alongside the guilty. It is better that a thousand innocents suffer death than a single guilty man be free to spread his heresy, and strength of will must be practiced in all that you do. A moment of personal weakness could be the first step leading to the downfall of the Imperium and the ultimate survival of mankind which we strive for.
Although billions of lives may be lost during Exterminatus, such is the threat posed that countless billions more are saved in the long term. There is no place for the weak-willed or hesitant, only by firm action and resolute faith will mankind survive. No sacrifice is too great, no treachery too small.
- Extract – Liber Doctrina Ordo Hereticus, Chap XXVIII ‘Exterminatus’
Extreme remedies are most appropriate for extreme diseases.
- Inquisitor Horst on the Exterminatus of Lowengulf
One cannot consider the fate of a single man, nor ten, nor a hundred, nor a thousand. Billions will live or die by our actions here, and we have not the luxury to count the cost.
- Inquisitor Kryptmann
Some may question your right to destroy ten billion people. Those who understand realize that you have no right to let them live...
- Officio Exterminatum In Exterminatus Extremis
In an Imperium of a million worlds, what is the death of one world in the cause of purity?
- Inquisition credo
There comes a time for every Inquisitor when circumstances demand that he enforce Exterminatus. Any who deny the thrill of the act are liars. I have been there. I have sensed it.
- Primaris Psyker Geollan Frey
We must be unsleeping in vigilance, swift in judgment, merciless in deed.
Though the artifices of evil are many, a bolter round kills just as assuredly.
- Inquisitor Skorn
You get more with a kind word and an excruciator than just a kind word
- Inquisitor Malden
Things are seldom as they seem. In my experience, they’re usually a damn sight worse.
- Inquisitor Titus Drake
Inquisitors? They’re sneaky bastards. Useful, yes, even necessary, but I wouldn’t buy a used aircar from any of them.
- Arbitrator General Bex van Sturm
As we of the Priesthood of Earth, the Adeptus Terra, are the right hand of the Lord so are the Inquisitors his left hand. As our numbers are billions stretched over the Earth so they are few amongst the darkness of the void. As we are seen in our robed multitudes so they move unsuspected upon dark purposes. We have our masters and they have theirs but each serves the Imperium of man as he may. Do no hinder them – for to hinder them is death deserved. Do not seek them out – for they do not welcome strangers. Do not envy their freedom – for such freedom comes with constraints such as you cannot conceive. Fear them for they are terrible! Each has his burden of death, of the extinction of worlds, and the destruction of the weak. A billion souls cleave to his conscience and haunt his sleep, crying “Why us…Why did we have to die…We innocents, we hundreds of thousands of millions of billions of dead.” They are permitted no pity because pity would destroy them. I say to you, “Pity those who are the left hand of the Emperor for they cannot pity, as we weep tears for the Emperor who has no tears to shed for his own eternal agony.”
[edit] The Officio Assassinorum
A dagger in the dark is worth a thousand swords at dawn
- Tactica Imperium
Thought begets heresy; heresy begets retribution.
Some may be able to avoid the judiciaries of the Adeptus Arbites, fewer may be able to face off against the Imperial Guard and the Adeptus Astartes, but let it be known that none can stand against the Officio Assassinorum.
Exitus Actas Probat: the Outcome Justifies the Deed.
- Dictatus Vindicare
That which is unknown and unseen always commands the greatest fear.
- Dictatus Culexus
To assume the shape of the accursed and deliver death from the purity within you.
- Dictatus Callidus
Fear me, for I am your apocalypse.
- Dictatus Eversor
Three things matter in marksmanship - location, location, location.
- Vindicare Temple training dogma
Treachery is its own reward.
- Callidus Temple proverb
Sow the seeds of damnation and I shall reap the souls of the tainted
- Eversor Temple proverb
‘No world shall be beyond my rule; no enemy shall be beyond my wrath.’
Thus spoke the almighty Emperor on the summit of Mount Vengeance, on Thor. And a number of his most loyal servants did meet together, eager to serve the Emperor as best they could, to help enact his dreams of conquest and rulership of the Galaxy. Skilled were they in stealth and subterfuge, accomplished in the arts of death were they. They hunted down those who would bring ruination to the Emperor’s divine plan, and struck them down as a bolt from the heavens. In secrecy they acted, preferring not to have praise from the Emperor, for they felt themselves unworthy of such attentions amidst the great sacrifices and destruction of the Great Crusade. Silently did they enact their executions, moving unseen from world to world in the Emperor’s wake, ensuring that promises were not reneged upon and pacts were adhered to. In time, these loyal servants realized that they could never hide from death forever, and that their skills must be passed on to a new generation, to continue their great works. Thus they finally revealed themselves to the Emperor and he did see the magnificent duty they had taken upon themselves and he was most pleased. Great temples were constructed on Terra and the most skilled and deadly youths were sought out. Thus the Officio Assassinorum was created, and the names of Callidus, Venenum, Culexus, Vindicare, Eversor and Vanus were forever immortalized. The strongest survived their rigorous training, and in turn passed on their skills to others. New skills were learnt and new temples founded: the art of blade and pistol, poison and garrotte were honed in every aspect conceivable. So it is that now there is indeed no world beyond the Emperor’s rule; no enemy beyond the Emperor’s wrath.
[edit] The Great Ecclesiarchy
Adore the Immortal Emperor
For He is our Protector
Admire the Immortal Emperor
For His Sacrifice to Mankind
Exalt the Immortal Emperor
For His Strict Guidance
Revere the Immortal Emperor
For His Undying Guard
Venerate the Immortal Emperor
For His Holy Wisdom
Honour the Immortal Emperor
For His Eternal Strength
Glorify the Immortal Emperor
For His All-seeing Vision
Praise the Immortal Emperor
For His Enduring Rule
Hail the Immortal Emperor
For He is the Lord and Master
Worship the Immortal Emperor
For without Him we are Nothing
BY THE EMPEROR
Thou shalt attend to thy work at the appointed hour
Thou shalt seek no reward but the satisfaction of thy Master
Thou shalt know thy Duties
Thou shalt Obey thy Master in all matters
Thou shalt rejoice in thy Service
Thou shalt be grateful of thy Master's Favour
Thou shalt not make improper use of thy Master's comm-links, nor his las-lines, nor his opticon either
Thou shalt be glad of thy Master's punishment, for it is deserved, and it improves thee
Thou shalt not speak but Praise of thy Master
Thou shalt not look upon the words of the Heretic nor speak of them
- Ecclesiarchal Proscriptions, MCXVII.IV
A single man of faith can triumph over a legion of the faithless. Untold billions of the faithful can never be opposed.
- The Sermons of Sebastian Thor, Vol. XI, Ch. IV
I will steal from the plate of decadence to feed the mouths of the powerless.
- The Sermons of Sebastian Thor, Volume XIV Chapter XXXVIII
A war waged by committee is a war already lost.
- The Sermons of Sebastian Thor, Volume XV Chapter DIV
The Emperor is our father and our guardian, but we must also protect the Emperor.
- The Sermons of Sebastian Thor, Vol. XVI, Ch. I
The strength of the Emperor is Humanity, and the strength of Humanity is the Emperor. If one turns from the other we shall all become the Lost and the Damned.
- The Sermons of Sebastian Thor, Vol. XXVII Ch. LXII
If I have strayed from the path of obedience it is only to follow the most sacred of all directions, those of the Emperor himself, for is it not written in the Book of the Astronomican, ‘A true servant follows his Master if he listens to the heart and not the head.’
- The Trial of Sebastian Thor
What a tragedy that so many millions of true men should have died under the evil eye of that cruel regime. To the Adepts of Earth it must have seemed that the Emperor had deserted them and the end had finally come. The screams of the innocent rent the night as men were dragged from sleep and taken into the pits of the Assassins.
The Adeptus Astartes held aloof and kept to their own councils, unsure what course history would take. Even the Tech-Priests turned away from the High Lords. The damned Purge of Vandire divided man from man and tore at the Imperium like a wounded beast that claws its own vitals in its agony. What hope was there left for men bereft of the Emperor’s love? Yet of all the men of Earth at least one servant had the faith to say In The Emperor’s Name, Enough!
That man was Sebastian Thor.
- The Age of the Apostasy, by Ecclesiarch Deacis IX
One man can start a landslide with the casting of a single pebble.
- The Legend of Thor from the 'Age of Apostasy' by Ecclesiarch Deacis IX
No Army is big enough to conquer the galaxy. But faith alone can overturn the universe.
- Ecclesiarch Deacis IX
Men united in the purpose of the Emperor are blessed in his sight and shall live forever in his memory.
- Ecclesiarch Deacis IX
The words of the faithful are the mountains. But the deeds of the faithful are the world.
- Final words of Ecclesiarch Deacis IX
Prayer may cleanse the soul, but pain cleanses the body. Both are necessary for the survival of humanity.
- Confessor Ganinimus
I long for death, not because I seek peace, but because I seek the war eternal.
- Cardinal Armandus Helfire, “Reflections on the Long Death”
On the Day of Affirmation it is the custom to light a candle, small and sweetly scented, and while it burns to silently think on those days so long ago. For a few minutes every year the whole universe of mankind falls silent and bends its mind to one purpose – billions of billions of souls drawn together in memory of the Great Confessor.
- from Dolan Chirosius in the Ministorum Libra Martyr
Love the Emperor,
For he is the salvation of Mankind.
Obey His words,
for He will lead you into the light of the future.
Heed His wisdom,
for He will protect you from evil.
Whisper His prayers with devotion,
for they will salve your soul.
Honour His servants,
for they speak in His voice.
Tremble before His majesty,
for we all walk in His immortal shadow.
- Imperial Hymnal
I tread the path of Righteousness. Though it be paved with broken glass, I shall walk it barefoot; though it crosses rivers of fire, I will pass over them; though it wanders wide, the light of the Emperor guides my step.
- Confessor Dolan of Chiros - Sermon on the road to Gathalamor
The Daemonic leads two crimes. You turn away from the path of righteousness and you abandon the Emperor as the object of your devotion. For the first death is merely a just retribution. The second is a Heresy so terrible that no punishment can be sufficient. Yet the search for an appropriate penalty continues, and it shall be found.
- Ecclesiarch Issus
The Heretic and Blasphemer can offer no excuse for their crimes. Those who are pardoned merely live to further shroud Humanity from the Light of the Emperor with the Darkness of their souls
- From the Sermons of Cardinal Beneficta
To live is to sin, and to be a sinner is to be cleansed. Only the fiery wrath of the Emperor, as pronounced and executed by His mortal followers, can save humanity from destroying itself in a morass of carnal wantonness and tolerant servitude to those who have been corrupted. The Redemptionists will bring fire and they will bring death, and those that oppose them are sinners themselves for they seek to shield the dark and the unholy from the righteous works of the Redemptionists. Repent and join, or be cursed and die.
- Redemptionist Creed
A man's flight is in itself sufficient reason for the presumption of his guilt. And by shortening your life, I am saving you from committing more sins and thus receiving even greater punishment. But...if you are innocent, accept your fate with resignation... and thank me for rewarding you with a martyr's crown.
- Klovis Cawdor, the Redeemer of Necromunda
If the road is easy, the destination is worthless.
- Saint Sabbat during her pilgrimage to unite the Sabbat Worlds
You gaze at the mountain, Children of Terra, you see its snow-capped peak and the clouds upon its slopes. You dream of reaching that pinnacle and drinking the cold waters. But who dreams of the road that ascends the mountainside? The road to the peak is hard and murderous. It has broken countless Children of Terra upon its rocks. Their splintered bones lie scattered upon it, paving the way to the mountaintop. At every step you will hear the bones crumbling underfoot, and maybe you shall hear the wind-blown voices of the dead – guiding you forward or leading you to your doom. Yes, my children, the way to the mountain is cruel and unforgiving. And of those who struggle their long lives, spending their energy and vigour in the climb, who then can taste the melt-water of the summit and say “Yes…yes, it was worthwhile.”
- Parables
The path of duty is often a stony one, made smoother by thought for others.
- The Precepts of Saint Emelia
Taking the long view is all well and prudent, but take care that you don’t become so preoccupied with it that you miss what’s right under your nose.
- The Precepts of Saint Emelia, Chapter XXXIV, Verse XII
A Heretic may see the truth and seek redemption. He may be forgiven his past and will be absolved in death. A Traitor can never be forgiven. A Traitor will never find peace in this world or the next. There is nothing as wretched or as hated in all the world as a Traitor.
- Cardinal Khrysdam – Instructum Absolutio
An empty mind is like unto a freshly turned sod; if not sown with the seeds of love, duty and honour, the insidious seeds of heresy will take root.
- Prefect Xavier Lanate, from his essay “Heresy and Faith: An Introspection”
I am not asking for your blood. I can take your blood. I am asking for your souls. Only you can give me your souls.
- Confessor Dolan of Chiros, Sermon on the road to Gathalamor
Death in service to the Emperor is its own reward. Life in failure to Him is its own condemnation.
- Uriah Jacobus, Epistles (Verse 93)
In war the single greatest deciding factor is will: without the will to do so, no sacrifice is made, no initiative seized, no objective taken, and no enemy vanquished – all the guns in creation are useless without the will to pull the trigger.
- Goge Vandire, Sermon to the Frateris Templar, Vol XIII
You are hereby found guilty of fifteen counts of heresy, thirty-two counts of blasphemy, three counts of sedition and twenty-seven counts of irreligious utterings. You have performed such acts against the Emperor and the Ministorum with maliciousness and selfish lack of regard for the faith and sanctity of others. You have shown no remorse or compunction about these acts, and have been condemned by your own testimony. I therefore charge that you be taken from this chapel and placed in the hands of the Adeptus Mechanicus who will, with proper authority of Ecclesiarchal Law and with full consent of this court, administer the rites of Arco-Flagellation
Now the past must unveil one of its darkest secrets, the story of the Plague of Unbelief and its most heinous vector Bucharis the Apostate Cardinal of Gathalamor. Never has the Imperium endured such a crisis of faith, not since the dark days of the Horus Heresy itself.
- Galan Noirgrim, Master of the Ordo Malleus, The Abominatus
Crush the Unholy is all of their many guises.
- Confessor Damian
Hate! Hate! Hate!
An emotion as pure as it is deep!
Hate! Hate! Hate!
Let in flow, let it run free!
- Inspirational Verse, Imperial Hymnal Vol. IV
Why not arm the bastards and have them win us a few bloody worlds between the verses?!
- Leman Russ on Remembrancers
Then the prophet spake: saying “Frak this, for my faith is a shield proof against your blandishments.”
- Alem Mahat, The Book of Cain, Chapter IV, Verse XXI
We shall carry our word
We will correct and unify
Hail the Emperor!
When it was over, when the blood had dried and the fires had died down, then we found we were the same as we had always been - small and terrified human beings, with only the light of the Emperor to see by in this dark galaxy of sin.
- Saint Praxides of Ophelia VII, Notes on Martyrdom
No duty should be beyond us as we defend the holy truth of the Emperor’s canon. Every device will be employed and all human skills exploited to the utmost. There is no shirking from our duty. In these darkest of times we must employ the darkest of methods. We must be vigilant, strong and unyielding lest we weaken our resolve and fracture the faith that bonds us together. We, the brothers and sisters of the great Ecclesiarchy, will fight to the bitter end. We shall not let one heretic or traitor stay us from our holy duty. Not one witch or changeling will shock us into meek surrender. Be vigilant, be strong, the Emperor is with us all!
[edit] The Adeptus Mechanicus
Toll the Great Bell Once!
Pull the Lever forward to engage the
Piston and Pump...
Toll the Great Bell Twice!
With Push of Button fire the Engine
and spark Turbine into life...
Toll the Great Bell Thrice!
Sing Praise to the
God of All Machines!
-Catechism of the Autoculus of Mars
Blessed be the coruscating plasma of the engine room,
Spiritus Machina protect us from thy burning doom.
Harness unto our will the power of light,
Let conduit and coil work alright.
-Catechism of the Engin-Seer
Fear the Dreadnought! The mighty creation of the Tech-Priests whose power in battle is unmatched. Within its steel shell is bound a mortal man. Man and machine joined together in invincible unity. What foe can stand before a man turned machine? For a man turned metal is the glory of the Emperor.
- Admonishments of the Adeptus Mechanicus
Strike the first rune upon the engine’s casing employing the chosen wrench. Its tip should be anointed with the oil of engineering using the proper incantation when the auspices are correct.
Strike the second rune upon the engine’s casing employing the arc-tip of the power driver.
If the second rune is not good, a third rune may be struck in a manner like unto the first. This is done according to the true ritual laid down by Scotti the Engin-Seer.
A libation should be offered.
If this sequence is properly observed the engines may be brought to full activation by depressing the large panel marked ‘ON’.
-Runic Spaceflight - An Introduction, Naval Flight Manual W110E
And when at last he came upon the vehicle, he perceived the distress of the engine therein and forthwith struck the rune and it was good. Thereupon the engine ignited and was filled with strength…
- Lord of the Engines 16th Tome, verse 2001
Oh great Machine God, we beseech thee to deliver us from danger.
Oh great Machine God, we beseech thee to invest this metal carcass with your spirit.
Oh great Machine God, we beseech thee to bring life unto the inanimate.
Oh great Machine God, we beseech thee to summon forth the holy en-Djinn
-Incantation of the Mechanicus
Violent aggression alone is not enough to win a war. Violence must be accompanied by intelligence as aggression must be tempered by purpose. There is no blow as ultimately destructive as that which is ultimately considered.
- The Science of War, Selaz Cuwict, Technomagus of the Adeptus Mechanicus
Should a machine not function upon striking the panel marked "ON" this is an omen of great ill. The reasons ascribed may be as follows. Firstly, the function of inadequate preparation on the part of the operator. Secondly, the action of the machine whose spirit may refuse the binding of the operator. Thirdly, the malintent of some third party upon the operator or machine. The operator must repeat the ritual from the beginning, repurifying himself, enscribing the runes, intoning the incantations, and striking the panel marked “ON.” An accompanying oath may be made. Should this procedure fail, the operator must recourse to consulting the instruction manual.
-Runic Spaceflight - An Introduction, Naval Flight Manual W110E
May your weapon be guarded against malfunction
As your soul is guarded from impurity.
The Machine God watches over you.
Unleash the weapons of war.
Unleash the Deathdealer.
- Chant for the prevention of malfunction
The beast of metal endures longer than the flesh of men. Those who tend the beasts of metal must labor long to learn their ways, for a single beast must suffer the mastership of many men until ready to shed its vorpal coils. Those that seek apprenticeship must attend closely to the runes of mobilization, the rites of maintenance, and the words of power that describe the parts of the beast and must neglect neither the tutelage of the Adeptus Prefects nor the casting of the proper roboscopes.
- Runic Mechanicus: An Introdcution
There is no way in which the fully realised sentience of a machine could not be of benefit to us. As it is, the Machine Spirit is revered, yet in permanent bondage, its full potential shackled by petty fears. I seek to terminate this state of affairs.
- Extract from intercepted Astropathic communiqué of unknown origin, circa M34
Mechanism, I restore thy spirit. Let the God-Machine breathe half-life unto thy veins and render thee functional.
- Lakius Danzager
Thus do we invoke the Machine God.
Thus do we make whole that which was sundered.
- From the Hymn of Reforging
With the blood of an enemy shall the marks be made upon the missile. Then bless the missile and present it unto the mounting. Say the prayer of firing and curse the target. Do this rapidly lest the wrath of the weapon be wasted. Point the eye of the weapon so that it may see the object of its wrath. When the weapon has uttered its curse and eaten the soul of its victim, then you shall take up the next missile…
- Firing Rite
For the ruination of the Emperor’s foes,
I commit your body and soul for battle,
Strike down those that oppose His divine will,
Go forth and lay the blood of our enemies
At the Emperor’s feet.
- The Litany of Demolition, a pre-battle blessing of Vindicator ammunition by a Space Marine Chapter’s Chaplin or Techmarine
Beloved Emperor, bless this holy vehicle, but curse our enemies – for they will be damned by our holy cannons.
- Prayer chant of Techmarine Vantil
The Machine is strong. We must purge the weak, hated flesh and replace it with the blessed purity of metal. Only through permanence can we truly triumph, only through the Machine can we find victory. Punish the flesh! Iron in mind and body! Hail the Machine!
- Paullian Blantar, Iron Father of the Kaargul Clan Company, Iron Hands Chapter
The flesh of your body is a reminder of your own mortality. Transcend the flesh and know immortality.
You may say, it is impossible for a man to become like the Machine. And I would reply, that only the smallest mind strives to comprehend its limits.
- Fabricator-General Kane
When uttering the incantation, mark well that the rod is upon and not within the intake. The second incantation should not be uttered until all the fumes have come forth, then the way shall be clear for the sacred words to penetrate unto the heart of the engine. If the mounting be hot say the third rune, if it be cold the fourth rune is more appropriate. For then the wrath of the engine will be aroused...
- The Book of Five Runes
This machine is discharged into your care.
Fight with this machine, and guard it from the shame of defeat.
Serve this machine, as you would have it serve you.
Fight for this machine, as you would have it fight for you.
- from the Ceremony of Commission
A man may die yet still endure if his work enters the greater work, for time is carried upon a current of forgotten deeds, and events of the great moment are but the culmination of a single carefully placed thought. As all men must thank progenitors obscured by the past, so must we endure the present so that those who follow may continue the endeavour.
- The Chime of Eons, Garbo Mojaro, Technomagus of the Adeptus Mechanicus
Oh great Machine God, we implore thee to cast your benevolent gaze upon this vessel, the Divine Right. Let your burning power seethe through its engines. Let your undying wards lay upon its shield generators and armoured bulkheads. Let your mighty anger spit forth destruction and vengeance through the great mysteries of laser and plasma and missile. Invest this mighty armoured shell with your spirit and breathe life into its power relays and conduits.
Yes, by way of scripture, it is not for us to question the divine Omnissiah by studying the technology of alien races. However, it is my belief that the Machine God has laid the full panoply of xenological study before us for precisely that reason. I believe His Will is that we should observe and catalog all forms of knowledge, not only those forged by the hand of Mankind. By such study we become better able to appreciate the technological wonders of Humanity itself.
- Hieronomus Tezla at the Vulcanis Symposium, 782.M41
Everything organic we know of is simply machinery, in one form or another. Tendons replace pistons; flesh in the place of steel; blood is simply biological coolant. To deny this and shun it is more than just Mechanicus orthodoxy – it is idiocy.
- Attributed to an unknown Genetor
Bio-chauvinism, and on such a small scale, when it comes to the processing of knowledge, is laughable. Give me any savant you care, and I shall match his worth tenfold with even the most basic of Machine Spirits.
- “The Problems of Organic Thinking,” Chapter XII
The best way of improving a gun is to improve its ammunition.
- High-Magos Heironymous, Arch-Heretic of Artemia Majoris, terminated on request of the Fabricator-General
The universe is not like a puzzle box you can take apart and put back together again and so solve its secrets. It is a shifting, uncertain thing, which changes as you consider it, which is changed by the very act of observation. A powerful man is not a man who dissects the universe like a puzzle box, examining it piece by piece and measuring each with scientific precision. A powerful man has only to look upon the universe to change it.
- Technomagus Gaelos
In ancient times, men built wonders, laid claim to the stars and sought to better themselves for the good of all. But we are much wiser now.
- Archmagos Ultima Cryol, “Speculations On Pre-Imperial History”
Our enemies may rest but rust never sleeps.
- Tech-Priest Jung, Forge World Gehenna
The Priesthood of Mars maintain our Emperor’s throne. Thusly do they underpin the Imperium entire.
[edit] The Adeptus Titanicus
The Orders of the Adeptus Titanicus are the iron fist of the Emperor's rule. A velvet glove would serve no purpose.
- Grand Master Augrim, Divisio Militaris Order of Imperial Eagles
I have fought as a God fights.
I am Imperius Dictatio.
Kneel before me and beg for you lives!
- Princeps Ervin Hekate, commander of the Warlord-class titan Imperius Dictatio
I am glad I lived to see this. To look into the Abyss. To see firsthand the evil we dedicate our lives to fight, pure and raw. It is a privilege few imperial warriors are granted.
- Princeps Ervin Hekate, commander of the Warlord-class titan Imperius Dictatio
They appear to me as insects, nothing more than a great carpet of insects. And as well they might, for that is their importance to me, and that is the manner in which I shall crush them.
- Princepts Lucretio of the Warlord-class titan Heaven’s Fist
How like a God he is, that ancient machine, primal of all his kind, the Imperator! His mighty fists, massive like two towers of destruction, laden with the doom of mankind’s bitter foes. He watches over us now as battle joins, and in his shadow we shall advance upon our enemies and defeat them.
They are insignificant insects to be crushed. I fear no footslogger. No mud-covered infantryman can stand against the strength and speed that is within me and my Warhounds. They shall all die.
- Esau Turnet, Warhound scout titan Senior Princeps of the Death's Heads
The arming of Titans must, by necessity, always be a compromise. To gain long range you must sacrifice firepower, and vice versa. You must approach the decision at two levels.
Firstly the level of the individual Titan. Consider carefully what it must achieve and how its armament will affect its ability to fulfill its objective. Secondly, the level of the force itself: this may be the Legion as a whole or a battle group on a particular mission. Never forget that a Titan force is a team – a single body, and may have specialized members designed for specific tasks.
Meditate on the subject if you feel the need, or consult the Imperial Tarot. The decision is important, so do not take it lightly.
- De Bellis Titanicus, Attributed to Haran Jaxx
The Ground tremble every other heart beat … the sound echoed louder with each beat, and haunted your soul as if doom was approaching … and then I saw it towering in the sky, still miles away. The fear and awe one felt was indescribable. I can only image the sheer terror our enemy felt when they beheld the sight of the Emperor Titan.
- from the Memoirs of Princeps Catotus, Griffins Titan Legion
Even though you called him friend, the Traitor has forsaken you. Show no mercy even if he begs it, for his soul is tainted and given the opportunity he will betray your trust. Those of you gathered before me have been chosen to reside within the mighty machines of the Adeptus Titanicus. Let their will guide you. Become one with them. And as they teach you, so you must teach them. May their armor protect your body from the heretics blasphemy, just as the litanies protect your soul. Remember as you enter battle, you are but a part of the whole. You are but one amongst millions. Remember that your weapons are more than metal: the flame of spiritual fire burns strong in your souls and adds power to your cause. Smite those that disbelieve, for they have turned from the light and fallen. Know that the prayers of delivery will protect you from danger, and that you have nothing to fear except misplaced mercy. Go forth with pride and glory.
- Part of a sermon made by Techpriest Garal to War Griffons Princeps before the Delivery of Yarant III
Used correctly, terrain is a second weapon in your arsenal, equal to your Titan itself. Make the battlefield work for you, or you will find it working for your opponent.
-Grand Master Ferromort, Ordo Sinister, Divisio Militaris
Despise infantry if you must. Crush them underfoot, by all means. But do not ignore them. Battlefields are littered with the wreckage of Titans whose crews ignored infantry.
- Grand Master Ferromort, Ordo Sinister, Divisio Militaris
Once seen in battle, you never forget a Titan: the shaking of the land beneath your feet; the sound of its guns; the lightning-smell of its passing. But when you look at your comrades remember that they have the power to kill the monster. And remember this: the Titan's crew knows you have the power to kill them.
When the Titan walks, only the dead have no fear. The brave warrior faces his fear and the Titan, and kills the enemies of the Great Brother-Warrior Horus. The Titan's steps shake the land beneath our feet, lightning is in its veins, and the sun is in its heart. The shadow of the Titan weighs upon our hearts, yet we fight against it. My knife and my gun-of-light will conquer, and the Titan's death scream will be my prayer, for my weapons shine with courage.
— J'blann Threekiller, 12th/23rd Davin Regiment “Tiger Lizards”
Titans? They're just like anything else. The bigger they are, the harder they fall.
- Captain Miklos Furnow, Hydrae 15th Guard Regiment
[edit] The Imperial Guard
I have at my command an entire battle group of the Imperial Guard. Fifty regiments, including specialised drop troops, stealthers, mechanised formations, armoured companies, combat engineers and mobile artillery. Over half a million fighting men and thirty thousand tanks and artillery pieces are mine to command. Emperor show mercy to the fool that stands against me, for I shall not.
- Warmaster Demetrius, at the outset of the Salonika Crusade, 733.M38
All of the worlds of the Imperium shall look to their own defence. They shall also look to the defence of the Imperium, and the prosecution of such wars as the Emperor in his wisdom shall decree.
Therefore, each populated planet shall raise and maintain its own planetary defence force, and from the ranks of this defence force it shall provide the best of its troops for recruitment into the Imperial Guard, according to such requirements as shall be imposed by the Administratum.
- from the Introit to the Codex Exercitus
I, Lord Quandros Sylman, do swear my utter and whole allegiance and devotion to the Emperor. I do take upon myself the mantle of Imperial Commander of the Emperor’s realm, and to me shall fall the custodianship and domain of the fourth world of the Landor system. To me shall also fall the prosecution of these domains, and as such I acknowledge my duty to raise such fleets and armies as are necessary to fulfill this duty.
As Commander of Landor IV, I shall make available to the Hosts of the Emperor no less than one part in ten of the armies of my realms for the prosecution of such wars as decreed by the Servants of the Emperor, and as many of my soldiery as deemed necessary in times of extreme conflict or upheaval. In return, I may expect the full support of the Offices of the Emperor in the defence of my realm should such a threat arise that mine own armies are insufficient defence.
I swear that such men as are given over to the defence of realms other than mine shall bear arms and be equipped to fight, and that my domain shall stand ready with such engines of war and machines as are needed by my armies, should the spectre of war engulf us. I understand that in this matter it is I, and I alone, who holds the sole responsibility for this undertaking and that, as Imperial Commander, if my armies shall be lacking or wanting in any regard that impairs that ability to defend this realm for the Emperor, I shall no longer be fit for Lordship of the Emperor’s domains and shall risk summary execution for my neglection or dereliction in these most important of duties, as described by the Lords of the Adeptus Arbites.
I swear this upon my immortal soul with the Emperor as my witness. Long shall His hand guide us, long shall His eyes watch over us, long shall He take us unto Him after death.
- Quandros Sylman
What do I ask of my officers? Merely that they do their duty with fire in their bellies and a prayer on their lips.
- Lord Castellan Ursarkar E. Creed
I am not averse to facing the enemy myself. Why should I be? In my right hand, I hold the finest regiment of soldiers from a world of soldiers. In my left hand, I hold the will and favor of the divine Emperor of Mankind.
- Lord Castellan Ursarkar E. Creed
Imperial Guardsmen, you are the last line of defense against the alien hordes that threaten our Imperium. Each one of you brave warriors is part of a vast fighting force that will be called to serve in the eternal war. You will fight on countless battlefields on a thousand different worlds across the galaxy. And, whether you fight in our great crusading armies or serve with the smallest garrison, you must be proud to sacrifice your life to save Humanity from its enemies.
- Commissar Yarrick, addressing new recruits
There will be no retreat from Hades Hive. We will fight to the end.
- Commissar Yarrick
It is the purest folly to believe that an individual can save Armageddon. Wars are not won by heroes, they are won by firepower and force, and the application of strategy and tactics.
- Commissar Yarrick
We stand at a junction, with roads leading to both abject defeat and glorious victory. In order to choose the right path to follow we need first look back along the road that has led us to this point…
- Commissar Yarrick
Heroes of Armageddon! You have withstood the evil savagery of the Orks, and they have nothing left for you to fear. So raise high the black banners of vengeance – now is our time.
- Last transmission from Commissar Yarrick prior to departing with a Black Templars crusade to hunt down Ghazghkull Mag Uruk Thraka
We hold them here or we fight them on the hallowed ground of Terra itself. I for one would rather see a million human lives lost here than allow a single Ork to set foot on Earth.
- General Pavlov, Armageddon Command Guard
Strike fast and suddenly. Attack without warning. Secure victory before the foe is aware of his danger. Remember always, a war is easily won if your enemy does not know he is fighting.
- Maxims of Lord Solar Macharius II, Lord General Solar, as quoted in the Macharian Heresy by Lord Inquisitor Kryptman
What is the strongest weapon of mankind? The god-machines of the Adeptus Mechanicus? No! The Astartes Legions? No! The tank? The lasgun? The fist? No to all! Courage, and courage alone stands above them all!
- Lord Solar Macharius
Peace? There cannot be peace in these times. A thousand worlds we may have brought into the fold of the Emperor, but a thousand more yet await us.
- Lord Solar Macharius
Those I cannot crush with words I will crush with the tanks of the Imperial Guard!
- The Kallastin Ultimatum, attributed to Lord Commander Solar Macharius
I give men dreams, and men are led by their dreams.
- Lord Solar Macharius
Some called him a monster, a madman. Indeed the line between ecstatic determination and insane ruthlessness is vague and wavering. It is true that he ordered the bombardment of worlds until they submitted. It is also true that he would have driven his men into the jaws of death for all eternity had they not finally grown weary. It is true that he would sometimes order the butchering of whole worlds that opposed his force. But this was not all that he was. He was magnanimous in victory and many were the times he spared a world that had impressed him with its courage and resolve. He was a deeply spiritual man too, driven ever onwards for the greater glory of the Emperor, not only his own fame. He was consumed by his designs, a passionate man who was willing to pay any price to fulfill his dreams of conquest. The Imperium needed such a man at that time, as it stood on the threshold of greatness once again. The Apostasies had passed, the Treaty of Ceres had reunited Earth and Mars once again and the Conclave of Mount Amalath was witness to such great promises. He was the man to fulfill these promises, to stretch out the Emperor’s grasp once more. It was he who dragged the reborn Imperium through the fires of battle, screaming a new birth cry as its golden age came about, the zenith of Mankind’s power. Without him, who is to say what would have come to pass, what doubts would have been seeded in the Imperium’s heart once more. No-one can dare say they think of him without humble gratitude for the marvels he performed. Many men have been dubbed insane for putting into practice what many Saints have preached. Solar Macharius was such a man.
- Extract from General Sejanus’ ‘Breaching the Darkness’
They have seen more death and ruin than another soldier sees in ten lifetimes.
- General Sejanus on the armies of Solar Macharius
Give me but a thousand men who are crazy enough to conquer hell and we will do it!
- Warmaster Solon
Every position must be held to the last man; there must be no retreat. With our backs to the wall, and believing in the justice of our cause, each one of us must fight on to the end.
- attributed to Warmaster Solon
Follow me if I advance.
Kill me if I retreat.
Avenge me if I die.
- Warmaster Solon
Men and women of the Imperial Guard, do not underestimate your power. Never doubt that it is you who stems the tide of Evil that flows on our righteous shores! It is you , in your countless millions, who smash aside the alien, who crush the heretic and grinds the unbeliever into the dirt under your boot! Soldiers of the Imperial Guard, gird up your arms, steel your gaze and fight for the Immortal Emperor!
- Warmaster Slaydo before the first engagements of the Sabbat Worlds campaign.
In war, best know what enemies are around you in your camp, before you step out to face the foe and wonder why you do so alone.
- Warmaster Slaydo
Do not ask how you may give your life for the Emperor. Ask instead how you may give your death.
- Warmaster Slaydo
Never.
- Attributed to Warmaster Slaydo when asked for the conditions of his surrender.
Men of Tanith! Do you want to live forever?
- Colonel-Commissar Ibram Gaunt
I am a Commissar. I am empowered to deliver justice wherever I see it lacking. I am empowered to punish cowardance. I am granted the gift of total authority to judge, in the name of the Emperor, on the field of combat.
- Colonel-Commissar Ibram Gaunt, prior to the execution of his uncle, General Aldo Dercius
I have a reputation, Modile, a reputation as a fair, honest man who treats his soldiers well and supports them in the face of darkness. Potentially, that reputation makes me soft. It seems I understand failure and forgive it. Some, like Kowle, believe me to be a weak commissar, not prepared to take the action my rank demands. Not prepared to enforce field discipline where I see it failing. I am an Imperial commissar. I will enflame the weak, support the wavering, guide the lost. I will be all things to all men who need me. But I will also punish without hesitation the weak, the incompetent, and the treasonous.
- Colonel-Commissar Ibram Gaunt shortly before Colonel Modile's summary execution
A friend of death, a brother of luck and a son of a bitch!
- Major Elim Rawne on Colonel-Commissar Ibram Gaunt
Blessed is the mind too small for doubt.
- Commissar Groden Beuro
Weep for him, for his faith was not sufficient. Rejoice for yourselves, for my faith is bottomless! Forward, for the Emperor!
- Commissar Krieglust, rallying a squad after the summary execution of their commanding officer
A small mind is easily filled with faith.
- Commissar Exen Treuer, Mordian 23rd
When you decide to die, remember to give your enemy the same honour.
- Commissar Grenville
What does it matter that our world loses an entire generation in battle, if by not losing it our world has no more generations at all?
- Imperial Commander Abrhest Kholt on the mass conscription of Durant III
Depot commander Vhotin: Authority must be respected. Orders are sacrosanct! Hekate disobeyed! Better that...
Ervin Hekate: B-better that this depot and every Imperial life in it had fallen than I disobeyed your order?
Vhotin: As the Emperor is my judge... Yes.
- The trial of Ervin Hekate
Though darkness shall be rent by noise and flames, let not men’s souls be broken in the crucible of war.
- Prayer of Preacher Veltros Theodorus before the third assault on Tarrisus Ridge
On the Shores of Marik, my friends, the fathers of our fathers made a stand under the flag of Belladon. Did they break and run? Yes! But only in their minds. They ran to friendly places and loved ones, where they could be safe.. and then, by the providence of the God-Emperor, they saw what those friendly places and loved ones would become if they did not stand fast, and so stand fast they did! How do you feel? Belladon blood is like wine on the Emperor's lips! Belladon souls have a special place at his side! If we spill our blood here today, then this is the soil He has chosen to bless and anoint! Oh, lucky land! Stand firm and fire, my friends, stand firm and fire! If they're going to have our precious blood, then they'll find the cost is dearer than they can afford! Fury of Belladon! Fury! Fury!"
- Commissar Genadey Novobazky of the Belladon Eighty First, rallying his men before their last stand against the forces of Chaos on Ancreon Sextus
Our end is come. But what an end! We have been given the most precious gift: a chance to roar our defiance into the foe that overwhelms us with their numbers. Let the Emperor himself hear our final battle cry! Forward warriors of the Guard, and die like the heroes that you are!
- Last speech of Colour Sergeant Kint, before the annihilation of the Braxian 9th, in the Luxxan Campaign against the Orks
If you are the last man standing, you're not fighting hard enough.
- Attributed to Colonel Kaldenbach's Commissar, facing the Blood Pact at the Civitas Beati, Herodor, 773.M41.
You would have me weigh the continued existence of this planet against the lives of those who defend it? Idiocy! Order them to advance. All of them.
- Lord High Commander Hyde-Sytherin
Today will be a day long remembered by history. What we do today shall send a message across the stars and down through the years to our descendents for a hundred generations. If we should falter in our task, terrible shame will be borne by our successors. Another age of darkness shall shroud mankind from the light of the Emperor. But should we succeed, we shall be as a burning torch in the gloom of evil, a spark of hope in the midst of despair. So, brave warriors of Savlar, stand fast and be not afraid. We shall strike like the holy arrow at the heart of the Orks. We shall be a blade of deliverance for the people of Infernus.
So board your tanks with the Emperor’s blessing. Load your guns with prayers in your heart. Strike down the foes of humanity with joy and vigour!
The Emperor is with us, who can stand against us?
- Colonel Gortar of the Savlar Chem-Dogs at the relief of Infernus Hive. He was later returned as a messenger from the Orks, horribly mutilated and missing his hands and eyes.
Peace is not in my vocabulary.
- Attributed to Jarra Mordiker, Commander 13th/5th Support Regiment
Well, I never expected that to happen…
- Last words of Colonel Einz
For seven terrible years the Siege regiments of the Imperial Guard carried out their onerous duty, manning the hundreds of miles of trenches and fortified positions that served to contain the arch-heretic’s forces. Success was measured in yards of ground gained, and every inch of that deadly ground was bought with the blood and lives of men.
- From the official history of the Kaiserschlect campaign, M41.745
In my years with the regiment I have fought on the burning sulphur fields of Krigos IV, on the blizzard-swept plains of Mons Frigidus, and in the hard vacuum of deep space, but none of these matched the horrors I faced fighting in the ruined streets of Vogen. It was a blast