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==Overview==
Rune Priests are often referred to as '''gothi''' amongst the Vylka Fenryka, as well as sometimes being referred to as, pagan shamans,ice-shamans{{Fn|10b}} or [[Casters of Runes]].{{Fn|8}} Rune Priests are combat [[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]], channelled 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 (Fortress-monastery)|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 the [[Stormseers]] of the [[White Scars]], 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|10a}}
