The Dornian Heresy - The Bolter and Chainsword

their divinations and predictive
abilities through readings of the
Emperor‟s Tarot are used to inform
strategy. It is also common for
companies to be drastically reorganised
on the eve of battle based on how the
cards fall, even if it flies in the face of
what is known of the enemy or
expected battlefield conditions.
Despite disdain for this practice from
outside the legion, it has proved to be
divinely inspired on countless
occasions. Even when it has led to
catastrophic defeats, these are borne
with stoicism as the Will of the
Emperor.
Because of the dramatic changes in
organisation from battle to battle,
squads are not assigned to Assault,
Tactical or Devastator specialties.
Instead, marines are expected to be
proficient each of the roles. Their
designation on the battlefield is
displayed by coloured votive cloths
draped from shoulder pauldrons, with
sergeants proudly displaying their
colours on richly embroidered back
banners. Such ostentatious displays
not only help to identify the squad‟s
position to their officers, it also acts as
a spur to inspire their allies to evergreater
acts of valour.
Their role as guardians of the Imperial
creed, enforcing and, where necessary,
checking the power of the Ministorum,
requires the legion‟s strength be
distributed thinly across the galaxy.
For this reason, Word Bearer grand
companies are composed of less than
five hundred brethren each, perhaps
half the size of that found in most other
legions, the better to cover the vast
distances involved. Their fleets are
accompanied by ramshackle civilian
transports packed with zealots eager to
martyr themselves for the cause, as
well as regiments of Frateris Militaris.
Encased in matt-black carapace armour
and wielding powerful hellguns and
purging flame weaponry, the grimfaced
Frateris endlessly strive to
emulate their Astartes superiors.
Beliefs
Belief in the Emperor as divine is the
guiding light of the Word Bearers.
They understand better than most the
threat from the Ruinous Powers, and
that mankind is beset on all sides by
malign forces that would seek to
destroy or enslave it. Only through a
deep understanding and acceptance of
the Emperor‟s Light can the Imperium
hope to survive, and to that end they
help to spread His Holy Word to the
furthest corners of the galaxy.
Though it is routine to carve the words
of Lorgar into the ceramite of their
power armour, some initiates choose to
sear large passages of the holy texts
into their flesh so that they will never
be without the words of their primarch.
This practice is often taken to extremes
by chaplains, with a rare few covering
their entire bodies, heads and even
their tongues with the sacred script.
This is done with a red hot stylus and
the sap of the Black Jula bush, a plant
native to Colchis. Because of the
super-human regenerative capabilities
of the Astartes constitution, even this
potent scarring will fade over time, and
just as faith must constantly be
renewed, so too must the devotional
script branded into their skin.
Homeworld
Colchis, long-isolated from the wider
human galaxy, was reborn with the
37
arrival of Lorgar. His presence
brought back not only a new era of
piety, but drew the attention of The
God-Emperor Himself to their world.
In the thousands of years since it was
embraced by the Imperium, Colchis
has become a focal point for the
Adeptus Ministorum. The holy places
and temples of the Covenant have been
expanded, and now there are a
multitude of cathedrals, basilicas and
shrines to the saints, and through them,
the Master of Mankind.
Pilgrims flock to Colchis in their
millions, but the holiest site, the place
where the Emperor first set foot on the
world, is forbidden, because on that
spot was built the legion‟s fortressmonastery.
From there, protected by
adamantium walls as strong as their
faith, the Word Bearers ensure that
their compact with the Imperium is
kept. Engraved upon those walls, just
as it is engraved upon their souls, is the
credo that Lorgar adopted on returning
back to Colchis after seeing the
Emperor entombed within the
Astronomicon: “The Emperor protects,
but we must also protect the Emperor.”
Gene-Seed & Recruitment
Like their faith, the gene-seed of the
Word Bearers is pure, with all implants
Despite all their interventions, his body was tearing itself apart. He called out
to the Pantheon of Chaos to save him; his great work was not yet complete.
Lorgar had been blooded, pushed to take the lives of innocents. He had been
primed for blind, credulous belief. Having passed inspection by the hated
Emperor, and in possession of a whole legion of Astartes, he was ripe for
disillusionment and enlightenment to the true powers of the divine. All the
intricate plans, all those years of work... All ruined by the incompetence of an
apothecarion implantation servitor.
Through the agony, and eyes clouded with rheum he dimly made out a presence;
Lorgar. He tried to speak, to convince him of the majesty of the Chaos Gods,
but his trachea had swollen closed against the breathing tube. He tried to reach
out to the tray of chirurgical equipment to slash open the fool‟s throat, but he
had been firmly restrained to prevent his violent muscle spasms. As the
Larraman‟s cells began to curdle the blood in his veins, he heard the final,
unknowing insult.
“I am sorry, my brother, but fear not. No one will ever be allowed to forget
your loyalty and service to the creed. You will forever be remembered as
Master of the Imperial Faith.”
Trapped inside his meat prison, begging for release, Kor Phaeron howled.