40K Lore: The Inner Workings Of The Inquisition Part Two
Today Loremasters, we continue our discussion of the inner workings of the Inquisition. This time we turn our gaze towards the Radicals of the Inquisition and their sometimes heresy-adjacent worldview.
The Inquisition is legendary for the fear, surprise, and ruthless efficiency with which they dispatch the enemies of the Imperium. However, among their arsenal are myraid weapons, including a fanatical devotion to the Emperor, but there are those who believe that the best weapons to fight the enemy are the enemy’s own weapons, unclean and heretical they might be.
Of course we would never wish to insinuate that the Inquisition are anything other than upstanding heroes to humanity who would never, for a moment, even think a heretical or traitorous or traitorously heretical thought. But there are those whose methods might seem…extreme to those who lack the wisdom, foresight, and vision to see how best to protect humanity.
Though certainly not the firepower.
These are the radicals of the Inquisition, and today we will be talking about them. No Loremaster-initiate Crenshaw, we will not be talking about the illicit use of xenotech weaponry, nor will we be talking about the practical use of a daemonhost, and we certainly will not be discussing what can and can’t be requisitioned under the auspices of the Inquisitorial Rosette.
Radicals are a political and philosophical faction of the Inquisition. Setting themselves apart from the more conservative Puritans, the pragmatic Radical Inquisitors follow the Imperial doctrines in spirit, believing that the ends justify the means, and find little value in adhering to convention too closely. They often try to fight fire with fire, using Chaos or xenos weaponry, employing Daemonhosts, or committing other acts that would be deemed heretical by their more conservative brethren. Their experimentation with these forces often leads to them being branded heretics, or succumbing to the very power they sought to control.
No, Loremaster-initiate Crenshaw, being labeled a heretic does not make one ‘cool’ or a rebellious. Being labele a heretic gets you hunted by the Inquisition and the Emperor’s Justice. As one might expect with radical ideas, there are many fractious ideologies that have led to the founding of several often-competing subfactions.
One of the most radical of factions are the Horusians. They believe the power of Chaos that manifested in Warmaster Horus might be harnessed for the creation of a Divine Avatar, or perhaps can serve in the process of transferring the Emperor‘s soul from the Golden Throne into the body of a living god that the Warp should not be meddled with. Some Horusians believe that Horus might have succeeded controlling the Warp had he not been stopped by his brother Primarchs are heretics and should be hunted down at all costs for their most blasphemous heresy against the Emperor. The ranks of the Horusians typically consist of older Inquisitors who are frustrated by the lack of answers provided by the other resurrectionist theories.
Then there are the Xanthites, named after Inquisitor Lord Zaranchek Xanthus, executed as a heretic in the 32nd millennium. The most overtly Radical grouping within the Inquisition, it advocates the use of Warp-based weaponry, such as daemon possessed swords, daemonhosts, and generally turning the power of Chaos against itself lasguns, which are perfect for stopping Daemons of any stripe. It is the ultimate goal of Xanthites to harness the power of Chaos for mankind, believing that it can not be defeated as it is merely a reflection of humanity itself. However they believe that those energies and powers created by Chaos can be turned back for the benefit of humanity, rather than being an enemy.
Apparently we’ll have to continue the rest of this lecture at another time, Loremasters. The entirety of the file has been redacted, and we’re apparently under Inquisitorial Investigation. Again. Loremaster-initiate Crenshaw, do not say a word.
Editor’s note: our Loremasters have been placed on a temporary hiatus, in the mean time, please reread your copy of the Litany against Heresy as a precaution. Thank you.
