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'''Sacristans''' are a type of [[Tech-Priest]] dedicated to the maintenance of [[Knights]]. These are [[Artificer]]s that are inducted from [[Knight Worlds]].Whenever a cargo ship arrives from a [[forge world]] to collect food and resources, it will alsotake a small party of apprentices from the Knight world. These apprentices are drawn from alllevels of society and could be the third son of a Noble, or the offspring of a lowly farmer. Overthe course of their decade-long apprenticeship on the forge world, they are trained in theskills needed to maintain suits of Knight armour and then returned to their planet of originas a fully trained Sacristan. Unbeknownst to the Imperial Knights, however, the trainees arealso indoctrinated into the Cult Mechanicus, providing a network of agents who can furtherthe interests of the Tech-Priests.{{Fn|1}}

The local artificers that maintained the Knight armour during the Age of Strife had alreadyestablished themselves as a vitally important part of each knightly house, and the trainingthey have received from the Adeptus Mechanicus has only served to increase their status.From their first foundation, the Sacristans quickly styled themselves as a priesthood for thehalf-forgotten mysteries of the technology that they knew, and as their power grew, therelationship between them and the knightly houses shifted and changed. Where in the past,the technicians were seen as mere subjects or vassals, the Sacristans soon began to speakwith one voice, and by threatening to remove their services from any house that would notheed their advice, they soon became almost as influential in knightly society as the Noblesthemselves.{{Fn|1}}

In general, this has benefited the knightly houses, for the Sacristans act as something of acounterpoint to the natural arrogance and warlike tendencies of the Knights, and have oftenbeen able to arbitrate between different houses to ensure they do not wipe one another out inbitter feuds. However, this political might is also an important tool for the AdeptusMechanicus, which the Tech-Priests use to try and bend the Knight worlds to their will. Moreoften than not, however, the Knights’ ingrained sense of honour and duty often drives themto follow a course of action that the Adeptus Mechanicus would far rather they ignore.{{Fn|1}}

*{{Endn|1}}: [[Codex: Imperial Knights (6th Edition)]] - — ''The Sacristans''