107,849
edits
Changes
From Warhammer 40k - Lexicanum
no edit summary
Like the [[Librarian]]s of [[Codex Chapter]]s, Rune Priests are combatant [[psyker]]s, using their psychic abilities to aid their brothers on the battlefield; off the battlefield, they are the keepers of the [[chapter]]'s [[librarium]] and store of knowledge. The major difference is that Rune Priests do not believe their psychic abilities are derived from the [[Warp]], but rather from the animistic spirits of their [[Adeptus Astartes Homeworld|homeworld]], [[Fenris]], channeled through totems and runes on their [[Runic Armour|armour]].{{Fn|2}}{{Fn|3}}{{Fn|4}} These traditions are descended from the shamanistic rituals of Fenris's native tribes, and have remained unchanged for countless centuries.{{Fn|3}}{{Fn|4}}
In a way, the Rune Priests do not consider themselves to be [[psyker]]s at all; during the [[Great Crusade]], [[Leman Russ (Primarch)|Leman Russ]], the [[primarch]] of the Space Wolves, was among the voices in favour of disbanding the [[Librarius]] in each [[Space Marine Legion]] and prohibiting the use of psykers in any of them.{{Cite This}} Yet after the [[Emperor of Mankind]] issued his Decree at the [[Council of Nikaea]], the Rune Priests continued to serve among the Space Wolves, stubbornly insisting that their powers had nothing to do with psychic ability.{{Fn|7}} Much like [[White Scars]] [[Stormseers]] Rune Priests channel their power through the natural powers of Fenris and this serves as a limiting intermediary to protect them from the malign influences of the [[Warp]].{{Fn|10}}
Rune Priests preserve their Chapter's entire history not in written form, but memorize it in great [[Saga (Space Wolves)|sagas]].{{Fn|3}}{{Fn|4}} A Rune Priest who begins his training as a [[Skald]] is usually assigned to a single [[Great Company]] where he is taught its tales. With every new Great Year he joins another Company until he has learned the [[Chapter]]'s full history and can be sent to whichever Rune Priest needs an apprentice.{{Fn|3}}
*{{Endn|8}}: [[The Horus Heresy Book Seven]] pg.234
*{{Endn|9}}: [[War Zone Fenris: Wrath of Magnus]] - pg. 71 ''The Cursed Warriors of Fenris''
*{{Endn|10}}: [[Wolfsbane (Novel)]] Chapter 4
{{SpaceWolves5E}}
