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From Warhammer 40k - Lexicanum
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The '''Officio Assassinorum''' (Office of Assassins) is the Imperial organisation responsible for the recruitment, training, and deployment of elite assassins. The Officio's head, the [[Grand Master of Assassins]], due to the power of his organization and by tradition, is always a member of the [[High Lords of Terra|Senate of the High Lords of Terra]] and, in theory at least, the agreement of the Senate is required for the deployments of assassins. Targets are key figures, such as rebellious Imperial governors, heretic prophets, powerful demagogues, successful alien leaders, etc. The Officio consists of different types of ''temples''; each temple is unique and specializes in its own methods of killing. The heads of individual temples are called ''directors''.
Assassins are recruited at very young age, from the orphans of Imperial servants raised in the [[Schola Progenium]], and from the populations of [[Feral World|feral world]]s. They then undergo ten years of intensive training at the School of Assassins on Terra. From then onwards they live and operate from one of the Assassin temples said to be located somewhere on Terra. They are harshly tested and trained, their senses and resolve heightened with implants. Even after the initial training, the life of an agent of the Officio remains hard and unforgiving. The temples use many exotic types of equipment, such as synskin, a substance that once sprayed onto the body, forms a black outer skin which protects the wearer from the environment and enhances strength.
During the [[Age of Apostasy]], the Officio itself became afflicted by the general corruption of the Imperium, and certain high-ranking members of the Office had utilized the assassins for [[Goge Vandire]]'s own ends. In Vandire's purges, powerful individuals and even the Officio's Grand Master became victims of the assassins. The war within the Officio became known as the Wars of Vindication. Following the Apostasy, it was deemed wise to reorganize the Office, one change being that only the Senate could order an assassination. A section of the [[Inquisition]], the [[Ordo Sicarius]], was created to monitor and control the Officio Assassinorum from that date on.
