Warhammer 40K: The Noble Houses Of The Navigators
We have talked about the noble Navigators–but theirs is a storied tradition, and this week we are bringing you a look into the houses of the Navis Nobilite, completely voluntarily per our Imperial mandate.
Join us today Loremasters and Loremaster-initiates, for a completely voluntary look into the storied traditions of the Navis Nobilite, but first a mild retraction for regrettably implying that the humans in possession of the Navigator gene are classified as mutants–this is an archaic classification only adhered to by a few segments of the Imperium, notably the Administratum, Departmento Munitorum, Inquisition, Militarum, Local and Planetary Governments, Adeptus Mechanicus, Astartes, Custodes, and Sororitas, and the Ecclesiarchy. But outside from these few regulatory bodies, Navigators are considered–by the Navis Nobilite–to be fully human with all the attendant rights and responsibilities.
In adherence with a compulsory writ from the Nobilite, we are voluntarily providing an in-depth look into the houses and tradition of the fully human Navis Nobilite.
Imperial Navy vessel emerging from the Warp
The Navis Nobilite
The Navis Nobilite is an ancient organization predating even the Imperium by several thousand years, and is comprised of a unique form of Human called Navigators who have the unique ability to navigate spacecraft through the warp. The Navis Nobilite are part of the Adeptus Terra and Imperial Fleet. As is often the case with ancient orders that have a monopoly on meeting one of humanity’s needs–they eventually became a hierarchical order, full of Great Families who wielded power and influence on par with the feudal Houses of the Knights. The Nobilite’s Great Families formed a broad union known as the Navis Nobilite and were collectively powerful enough able to weather the Age of Strife and eventually merged into the Emperor‘s Imperium.
The Houses of the Nobilite are often literal as well as metaphorical, with many Navitgators residing in large fortress-estates, which are like fortress-monasteries but much less Spartan. They collectively have four broad categories:
- Magisterial Houses are those most closely related to the original Navigator families, they are the wealthiest and most traditional and will have holdings in the Navigator’s Quarter on Terra. Due to the maintenance of their bloodlines, they are less susceptible to the symptomatic mutations of being a Navigator.
- Nomadic Houses have relinquished their properties and have taken entirely to spaceborne lifestyles; they are perhaps the most skilled of Navigators but have difficulty relating to planetary cultures.
- Shrouded Houses have somehow lost their status in relation to other houses and exist in a state of decline; sometimes referred to as Beggar Houses by other Navigators. Individual Navigators have little support from their own families, making them quite resourceful, while their Warp Eye often becomes more perceptive.
- Renegade Houses are those families that have been rejected by the Paternova either by turning from their ancient traditions or have been exiled due to conflicts with other houses. They are unable to maintain their genetic purity and often suffer the most mutation but can also benefit from new strains that might occur.
The Paternova
The great leader of the Navis Nobilite is the Paternova–a leader hand-selected from the most powerful Navigators in the Nobilite. The Paternova rules from the Palace of the Navigators. His position is far more than just one of leadership, he is able to somehow control, or amplify, the warp sight of the other Navigators. Without him, Navigators would suffer a considerable reduction in their ability to navigate the warp, with some losing the power altogether. When this happens warp travel becomes far more unstable. As the Paternova never leaves his Palace he, and the Navis Nobilite as a whole, are represented in the Senatorum Imperialis by the Paternoval Envoy.
The Navigator Houses hold a unique position within the Imperium; they are not answerable to Imperial authority, but tend to toe the line because of the mutual benefits each side receives. Furthermore, members of the Navis Nobilite are compelled by ancient and binding oaths to serve with the Adeptus Mechanicus for a set duration in return for the Techpriests‘ services, serving the Imperial Navy and Merchant Fleets.
This autonomy does not however, protect the Navigators from the agents of the Inquisition. The Ordo Malleus has been assigned jurisdiction over the Navigators, to ensure the taint of Chaos is not able to take hold. Given the slightest reason, the Inquisition will ruthlessly purge any offending parties; goods and assets are seized, midnight raids on Navigator palaces are followed by arrests and a purging of those seen as tainted; their fate to be burnt as heretics or locked away in Inquisition torture chambers. As such, the Navis Nobilite are all too willing to tackle this problem internally.
With all this in mind, the Navis Nobilite are a storied part of the Imperium’s history. Predating even the Emperor’s great work, the Navigators of the Imperium are a boon to humanity, which they are also a full member of.
Navis Nobilite Security
The Navigators maintain their own heavily armed security forces, mostly designed to protect the Navigator Houses and guard the Navigator’s Quarter on Terra. In times of war the great wealth of the Navigators allows them to gather mercenary armies that can rival a Planetary Defense Force or System Defense Fleet.
Learn of the Houses of the Navis Nobilite
