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From Warhammer 40k - Lexicanum
→History
Officially, there were no secret societies within the [[Adeptus Astartes]], not least because the [[Emperor]] disapproved of them, feeling that they were dangerously close to the [[cult]]s that he had outlawed after the adoption of the [[Imperial Truth]].{{Fn|1a}} Nevertheless, according to [[Space Marine Captain|Captain]] [[Serghar Targhost]], the Lodge Master for the [[Luna Wolves]], some form of these fraternities had existed in almost every Legion for thousands of years, since before the [[Unification Wars]].{{Fn|1b}}
Approximately sixty years before the war with the [[InterrexInterex]], the [[Luna Wolves]] and the [[Word Bearers]] participated in a joint undertaking to subjugate the world of [[Davin]], ruled by a fierce warrior society organized into a series of quasi-religious cults, each of them centred around the veneration of "totem" animals. The Davinites were fierce enemies, worthy of the Legions' admiration, and the [[Space Marines]] could not help but adopt their customs. Before long, similar lodges could be found in the other Legions, forming tight-knit fellowships between "elite" warriors.{{Fn|1a}}
Several of the Legions' more strait-laced officers, such as [[Garviel Loken]] of the Luna Wolves{{Fn|1a}} and [[Nathaniel Garro]] of the [[Death Guard]]{{Fn|2a}} refused to have anything to do with the lodges. Loken's friends, [[Space Marine Captain|Captain]]s [[Tarik Torgaddon]] and [[Horus Aximand]] both defended their membership in the lodges, arguing that even super-human Astartes needed a place to speak their minds and feel the kinship of their brothers, regardless of rank or unit affiliation. After attending a lodge meeting, Loken was somewhat assuaged, but still had misgivings: the lodges were, after all, a secret institution, and secrecy was anathema to a military organization.{{Fn|1b}}
