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From Warhammer 40k - Lexicanum
→Homeworld
*'''Unknown:''' [[Fall of Kordon]]{{Fn|11b}}
*'''Unknown:''' [[Operation Chronos]]{{Fn|11a}}
==Culture==
===Shadowmasters===
[[Image:RGvsTau.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Raven Guard battle the [[T'au]]]]
The Shadowmasters or [[Mor Deythan]] were a unit of Raven Guard during the [[Great Crusade]] and [[Horus Heresy]]. They were ordinary battle-brothers who had [[Corax|their primarch]]'s ability to '''Shadow-walk'''. It was a quirk of the gene-seed in a few [[Deliverance|Deliverancian]] born Raven Guard that had more than just the standard gene code. One unique trait of the Shadowmasters is that they were completely unknown to their own Legion. The marines were selected for testing "Thermal Technology" which was considered "highly temperamental". Corax and select apothecaries were the only marines in the Legion that knew of the group at the time of the [[Horus Heresy]]. The Mor Deythan acted as an elite stealth team and saboteurs and communicated through [[Stalk-Argot]] while working in concert with the rest of the Legion. The Shadowmasters performed flanking manoeuvres and sabotaged columns of rogue [[Skitarii]] on [[Constanix II]].{{Fn|18}}
===Moritait Protocol===
The '''[[Moritat]] Protocol''' dates back to the Horus Heresy, and sees individual Raven Guard dropped into warzones to train local defenders or pro-Imperial elements in order to wage a local insurgency in support of the Chapter's own war effort. Other chapters that also employ local insurgencies to their own ends include the [[Alpha Legion]] and [[Word Bearers]].
===Culture and Traditions===
====Culture====
The Raven Guard are known for their grim and brooding nature. They are thought to be isolationist, dour and laconic. These traits combined with their preference for secretive and stealth has made them few friends in the wider Imperium.{{Fn|55}} However, due to their history as liberators of slaves, the Raven Guard maintain close ties with mortals, particularly those of their homeworld [[Deliverance]].{{Fn|36a}}
Known cultural traditions of the Raven Guard include the [[Contest of Shadows]].{{Fn|43b}}
====Rites of Shadow====
The Rites of Shadow are a Raven Guard and Successor Chapter silent ritual with ancient roots. Conducted in complete silence, Corspake sign language is used for traditional questions and answers. The Rites teach that the shadow contains both truth and lies, the purpose of each is the separation of one from the other, and glimpsing of verities otherwise hidden. This is applied to one's Battle-Brother's, one's cause, and even one's foes. Once one has completed the rites, they will earn the status of "Shadow". The title holds great respect, but no rank or authority.{{Fn|36m}}
====Corvia====
All Raven Guard during their initiation or as a form of meditation or spirit quest hunt the tiny ravens native to the forests of [[Kiavahr]]. It takes months of training and practice for recruits to sneak up on the small and alert birds, grab them in their bare hands and snap their necks. The skulls of these birds are worn as small totems hanging from a marine's belt on small chains. These totems are known as Corvia and represent a warrior's honour. If a battle-brother falls, one of his surviving comrades will recover his Corvia and carry it, and thus the fallen warrior's honour, into battle until he can return to Kiavahr and bury the small skulls in the soil of the Chapter's homeworld.{{Fn|23}}
====Treatment of the Dead====
Upon death, where practical, the body of a Raven Guard Marine will be stripped of its equipment and trappings (including the Corvia), harvested of its [[gene-seed]] and left for the local carrion birds to feed upon.{{Fn|19}}
===="Wraith-Slipping"====
Described as being a combination of mental discipline and martial art, the process of "wraith-slipping" is to take advantage of one's surroundings to conceal one's presence. This is not a psychic power but rather a collection of disciplines and techniques that the Raven Guard use to conceal their visual and aural presence despite their use of power armour. It is a technique that is described both prior to the outbreak of civil war in the Horus Heresy{{Fn|24b}} and up to the 41st Millennium.{{Fn|21}}
====Corspake====
Corspake is a form of sign language taught to all members of the Raven Guard. This allows them to communicate on the battlefield without having to risk themselves to exposure by speaking or using [[Vox]] technology. Notable signs include The Crowfane; the Feast of Bones;
the Empty Chime; even the Murder Call, which calls for vengeance against the slayer of a great hero. The 2nd Company is known for its prodigious use of Corspake, and none can rise to the rank of Shadow Captain without mastering it.{{Fn|36m}}
==Homeworld==
