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This is sort of just an info dump about the Christian faction I’m creating. I do plan on expanding on the individual orders & such, but as you can probably tell, I have a penchant for long-winded explanations. I tried to put as much relevant information as I could to help “paint a picture,” so to speak, as I could to try & help others understand as much about my faction as possible. Brackets [] indicate info that is more likely to be changed. I would also like to make this a sort of experiment. I’ve always said that I want my faction & lore to be plausible & implausible in relation to the lore of 40K as a whole. Basically I want it to be that you can either accept that God, Jesus & even Satan exist in the universe of 40K, especially in the way I present how they exist, or you can say that my faction is naive & the existence of these is explained away as a sort of collective consciousness or Warp phenomenon born of the faith of these people. Either way, one thing I love is learning more about the lore of 40K. Feel free to give me tidbits of lore & help me to figure out how to reckon with these things in relation to my faction. Constructive criticism is always welcome, especially when it helps me better understand what does or doesn’t work. I’ll edit this post as I get more information as well as responding in the thread. Just remember that you can’t convince me that God doesn’t exist anymore than I can convince you that He does. Like I said, you can either accept my explanation of how He exists in this universe or you can say “this is likely how the rest of the universe explains it.” Let’s keep it civil & respectful above all else. As always, thank you very much for any & all help & God bless! ****************************************************************************************************** Ordo Celestia is the order militant of the renegade empire known as the Scions of the Golden Kingdom. Ordo Celestia is further divided into several sub-orders: The Auric Order: A version of the Adeptus Astartes. The Royal Army: The main military faction, similar to the Astra Militarum. The Inquisition: Self-explanatory. The Sisterhood: Comprised of Battle Sisters as well as Sisters of Silence. Other sub-orders may exist & these sub-orders are often divided even further. Ordo Celestia & the Scions as a whole are separate from the Imperium of Man. They do not worship the God-Emperor or any of the Chaos gods, instead worshiping what they call the “Overlord of Light” whom they claim is the creator of all things. The Scions are considered the latest incarnation of the ancient Abrahamic religion of Christianity that has survived the Emperor’s purge of all religions as they inhabit a “living” star system which for millennia existed outside the galaxy. This star system, called the Aureum System, is nigh impossible to track & can move itself, as well as its planets, moons, asteroids, etc. anywhere it wishes instantly. There are those who believe that the Overlord of Light may in fact be the star, Stella Aurea, which is the center of this star system. The Scions deny this, proclaiming only that the star is not their God, but is a gift from Him, which He has total control over. The Aureum System seems to exist between the material universe & some alternate reality, separate from the Warp or any other dimension for that matter. The Scions are considered to be as naive as the T’au, believing that they can somehow unite all creatures within the galaxy. Though mostly made up of humans & abhumans, the Scions welcome individuals of all species into their ranks, so long as they are willing to accept their faith. Though mostly peaceful, they have had a military for several thousand years, though it has only become more well-organized & trained since the founding of Ordo Celestia, which was founded more than 400 years ago from the present day (though when the “present day” takes place is up for debate), by a Grey Knight grandmaster who traveled to the System’s capital world Eden, which appeared within Imperial space sometime before the Fall of Cadia. Lord Agamemnon Caustus, former leader of the Brotherhood of Lord Caustus, has been declared Excommunicate Traitoris, along with several other individuals who converted with him. He has since taken the alias of Abraham Shields & is declared the founder & Grand Patriarch of Ordo Celestia as well as founder & supreme grandmaster of the Auric Order. Along with him, other founders include his wife, Sarai Weiss, a Sister of Silence & former member of the Adeptus Custodes, now Grand Matriarch of Ordo Celestia & founder of the Sisterhood; Hestia, a former member of the Adeptus Mechanicus, now Forgemaster of Ordo Celestia; Zauriel Weiss, a former chaplain of the Grey Knights; Nathaniel Holt, a former general of the Astra Militarum, now Lord Commander of the Scions’ Royal Army; & Maeve Davenport, a former member of the Adepta Sororitas, now Sister Superior of the Sisterhood. Among them were several Abhumans formerly associated with the Imperium as well as several Xenos. The current spiritual leader of Ordo Celestia & the Scions as a whole is a man named David Shields, the son of Abraham Shields & his wife Sarai. David’s conception & birth should be impossible, given Abraham’s status as an Astartes as well as Sarai being barren. Those who witnessed the birth of David, estimated to be around 5000 individuals, almost immediately converted to Scionism. While most of the witnesses were Humans & Abhumans, at least a few of every species of Xenos were counted among the 5000, all of whom began to preach the word of Christ to their own kind. While some left with Abraham & his followers to the Aureum System, many remained within the galaxy, claiming that they had been given a mission to spread the word. Each of these individuals found varying degrees of success & failure among their own kind. The few Ork Scions were wiped out quickly; Drukhari Scions were subjected to torture, though the Homunculi assigned to them noted that they survived without the need to inflict pain & the screams of these victims provided no sustenance; the one Genestealer, a creature named Galamoth, took its cult to the Aureum System, where they would find ways to serve the Golden Kingdom. Most interesting is what became of the Human witnesses. The Inquisition first attempted to silence the witnesses, but found their inquisitors who interrogated them would too often convert & found their numbers swelled while the Scions were being repressed. This led to the Inquisition changing tactics, opting instead to convince their faithful that the Scions’ “God” was simply an aspect of the God-Emperor & their denial of this fact was because the God-Emperor revealed himself as such as it was the only way they would be convinced of his divinity. This seemed to work as the number of converts dropped, at least until a radical inquisitor from Ordo Hereticus began agitating the Scions, against the will of the Inquisition. [As for the T’au witnesses, it is known that those captured were sent to reeducation camps, though little else is known of their fates…] For four centuries, the Witnesses would spread the word that “the Light will return” & indeed it did. 400 years after vanishing, the Aureum System would reappear in the galaxy somewhere in Imperium Nihilus, heralded by a brilliant golden light that could be seen, not just across the entire galaxy, but even into the other dimensions. The Warp, the Ghostwind, even the darkest crevices of the Webway & Commoragh could see & feel its light! Soon after, Ordo Celestia launched its Lucis Adventus Crusade, a campaign to conquer twelve star systems that would be added to their “Golden Kingdom.” This would last seven years, by the end of which the Scions would indeed have complete control of every planet in these twelve systems. Unfortunately, over the next [9] years following the end of Lucis Adventus, the Scions would lose control of many of the worlds they conquered, causing several of their star systems to be thrown into anarchy. 6 years after Lucis Adventus, the Scions would only have 4 of their 12 conquered systems under their full control. Of the remaining 8 systems, compliance was more than 50% in 5 systems & less than 50% in 3 systems. Worse yet, around this time Ordo Celestia would be dragged into a war with the Imperium after an Imperial inquisitor of [Ordo Xenos] was accidentally killed on a Scion controlled world. [3 years later, a survivor of the first assault against the Scions] would come forward & reveal that the war was initiated by an extremist Inquisitor, named Morgott Voltairian, who had the Imperial Inquisitor killed in order to trick the Imperium into fighting the Scions. The Imperium & the Scions would sign the “Cruxis Treaty” putting an end to the full-scale war between them, however these two still clash often. The main purpose of this treaty is to prevent open war between the two sides & even allow cooperation when their agendas align, however they will fight each other when their goals oppose. Other such treaties have been made by the Scions with other entities such as the T’au Empire, the Asuryani & even [some] Necron Dynasties, all with the hope of keeping civilians as safe as possible.

Liberum Cogitatio Experimenta Hello, and welcome to the Liber Astartes' Thought Experiments! In this thread, we will explore our DIYs in ways designed to challenge and invigorate us. We will explore the concept of a DIY, including its inception, its conclusion, and everything in-between or outside, using periodic exercises that will ask you to think of things you otherwise might not have. You will travel along the infinite lines of 'what if?' and perhaps uncover something new, something hidden, something wonderful. How far you go with these experiments is up to you. Anyone and everyone is invited to participate, whether you already have a DIY, of any kind acceptable under the B&C's rules, if you are interested in creating one, or even if you just feel inspired to let your creative juices flow! I will present various, weekly experiments that we will all tackle. Each of us will select one of our own DIYs with which to answer these experiments. You will post your responses, your thoughts and findings, in this thread, receiving support and C&C from others and collaborating in kind. What you create in this thread does not need to be anything you keep or hold onto. The purpose of these exercises is simply to get you to think along lines you might not otherwise have done so. To visualize your DIY differently than you already have, and perhaps to find something new of worth or value in it. Hopefully, what we do here will provide you with inspiration, either in what you create or because of what you have created. As such, you are encouraged to explore ideas and concepts deliberately contrary to the very basics of what you will have already decided for your DIY. I hope you will have as much fun exploring these concepts as I know I will. If you do update your own articles or other creations with something that arose from within this thread, whether by being inspired by a particular exercise or by enjoying a particular creation of yours, anything at all that originated from this thread really, let us know! We would love to hear a success story, and it lets those in charge see what kind of an impact our threads are having. Now that you've been introduced to what this thread is all about, let's get down to it! ExperimentA Narrative Shift A Hero's Fall A Progenitor's Judgement The Final Days A Breaking Point A Red Alliance A Bond Of Blood A Derivative Original An Unshaken Faith A House Divided A World Burns Of Different Blood A Different Time An Unexpected Battlefield A Sudden Change Where Were You Re-Evaluating Interests A Galaxy of Possibilities New Blood Up to Chance Sharing the Limelight

Foreword: This is probably going to age like milk, but the new(ish) Leagues of Votann faction has caught my imagination, and when the muse hits - well, you know the drill. This is tagged as proto-canon, since we know very little of what the faction is about so I try to limit it to what we do. I hope you find it enjoyable. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ A Quick Question. He'd offered the question when he was granted the audience. The Lorekeeper had insisted, his thick white beard kept in place with braid locks. "Only the one question. The mighty Votann of our Kin has a great deal to consider!" Mikal remembered standing before the face, power filling the chamber with electrostatic force, making his own short beard become rigid. The braid locks were not just for show then. He felt the great weight of intellect bear down on him, an impression of engrammic brows heavy with abstract thoughts which did not fit mortal understanding, a remoteness of intellect in the chill presence of the icy blasts released from macro-conductors, cycling the hyper-cool fluid. Even his breath formed ice crystals in the cryptovault, the great bastion of the Votann. He cleared his throat. Mikal... It was just one, quick question. Mikal! "Wha, whu?" Mikal snapped open his eyes, gazing at the stars above a planet he didn't know. He shuffled his body, feeling the plating of his combat suit grind and shift against something behind him. Ah yes. His bike. The bulky hover-machine matched his uniform, rounded plates of hard plasteel and ablative ceramic. It was odd to see it sitting on the ground, resting on the levitators. It wasn't as sleek as the bikes of the Aeldari, but nowhere as brutal as those of Orkish buggies. It was practical, serviceable and importantly, it would function on any of the Hearthworlds, where heavy machines relying on friction would be snared by the hight gravity that produced Kin like he. His boot was knocked again by a solid kick. "Are you with me yet?" The question was different to the one he'd asked, but no less pertinent. he looked up into the round, hairless face of Oda, her long blond hair tumbling out of her collar and over her combat suit. "What time is it?" he pulled the long dustcoat from where it lay over him as a blanket, reaching for the Korthshot, the lightweight, multi-purpose weapon common to the Herrkyn Riders. He checked it over, another machine which would work in any gravity environment. Antiquated by virtue of the Votann Idiosyncrasy, it kept pace with human or alien weapons by virtue of special munitions. He broke it open and checked the six cylinders, each unspent primer winked at him from the rims of the .60 calibre shells. Satisfied, he struggled to his feet, shrugging the long leather jacket over his shoulders like a cloak. Oda ignored his question. "The League of Iron has reported Greenskin activity near Hellfire Pass. Theyn Raldrik wants us to outflank them. "Hearthkyn afraid of getting shot up are they?" he offered a wry smile. "Anything else?" "No Mikal, the answer hasn't come," she smiled at him and retired to her own vehicle, beginning the warm-up process. It was the second anniversary of his request to the Mighty Votann. Plenty of time yet. The varying warble of levitators and aero-turbines lifted the Herrkyn aloft, the throttle almost begging him to release it to cut over the plains ahead as the outriders left the gully providing them with shelter. The tall tufts of grass sheared and spattered him, spilling chlorophate across his face, as he buzzed across, eyes thankfully protected from the acrid wetness by sturdy goggles. The column of smoke from the Ork patrol was as good as a signal flare. Three waggons pelted for the pass, the only gap in the Kurpesh foothills, each vehicle transporting a cantankerous mob of the brutish troops. Mikal opened up the engine of his bike with a throaty roar, angling the levitator discs to kick him into a strange catapulting gait which threatened to pitch the bike over, but the gravity here was nowhere near as punishing as home, so he rammed the machine forward, into the fray. He levelled his Korthshot, over the handlebars, tactical relays aligning the weapon and autosense to compensate for the jink and bob of the bike now the terrain had roughened. He sighted a pugnacious wretch manning the Big Shoota atop the waggon, and boom the noise rolled over and past him, purple-red gore erupting from the neck of the beast, the oversized skull and piggy red eyes locked in a look of wonderment as it bounced over the carapace of Mikal's bike. He heard Oda laughing as she bombed past him, putting a thunderous shot into the engine block of the second wagon, watching a torrent of oil and greasy slime cover the driver. He slewed the vehicle towards Oda, but the Herrkyn was faster, sawing back on her reins and lifting up and over the ramshackle machine. The latter found a ditch, and slammed into the earth with a crunch, spilling brawny Orks everywhere in meaty confetti. Mikal zoomed past, tossing a handful of krak grenades into the bunch. Their howls and bawdy bawling dwindled as the Riders sped on. Between them, Oda and Mikal pulled up to the second vehicle, the female rider angling for a double strike. Mikal closed with the waggon, Oda firing rapidly to cover him and he slung the grapnel, a clang-clunk announcing it had purchase. He heaved back, savagely wrenching the handlebars, and the solid adamantine claw bit hard into the front fender of the wagon, but the vehicle was too heavy and the Ork driver too keen for a shunt, as he laughed and cackled, the shootas and sluggas of the boyz inside now beginning to thump and careen around him, rattling his body with every strike against his combat suit. "Oda!" She gunned in, snagging the line between him and the waggon with a tow hook, and both bikes heaved together, ripping the front axle away from the left side of the clumsy vehicle in a shear of protesting metal. Mikal cut the line, just as it twanged taut, and the whipcrack snapped back at the Ork driver, making him recoil as his vehicle ploughed a rut into the earth before tipping over, almost in slow motion, and beginning a long bounce and tumble as it toppled end over end in a crumpling, mangled mass. A fireball blossomed into the air with the crackle of cooking off munitions. "One to go!" Oda called over the comms line. "No, peel off!" "What?" "Peel, Oda, now!" Sigils of the League of Iron painted green across his visor and a moment later, brilliant yellow and red hornets painted a pattern all over the Ork waggon as the weapons of E-13B, CMC-17 and OCR-13 spoke. Cannon fire, las and plasma weapons cut in, reducing the trukk to molten slag, still grazing along the land as a sloughing bullet, until it crashed harmlessly into the mouth of Hellfire Pass, effectively blocking it. The remaining Ork tumbled out, brawling and shooting, but the Hearthkyn and their Theyn responded, raining death on the bestial foes with their Boltshots. Oda slowed to a crawl, allowing Mikal to catch up. He holstered his gun as they made formation, a sedate promenade describing a wide arc to keep them clear of gunfire. She had her finger to her ear, receiving a comms transmission. "Mikal? The Votann has answered," her blue eyes were wide with awe. "You are called." It meant another trip to the Hearthworld, to get his answer in person, the pilgrimage was traditional. He grinned, meeting her gaze. "Oda...I have a quick question for you..." She revved the throttle and her blonde plait loosed out behind her head in a golden rope. "You'll have to catch me!" He grinned as she whooped and flew away. Some answers were worth waiting for.