Word Bearers and their Executions

[Whit]

So, I was reading up on my Word Bearer's fluff in preparation for a short story I hope to write, and I came across an interesting tedbit on Lexicanum. Essentially, it said that in the event of a Dark Apostle's death, his chief commanders are executed for allowing him to fall. My question is, who does this entail? Is the Coryphaues made an example of? Would the First Acolyte be apointed as the new apostle, or thrown to the pyre as well, and what if the Dark Apostle becomes a dreadnought? What do you think would happen then?

 

Discuss, or answer, either is good.

[AbyssKnight]

Hmm....

 

Looking through the Lexicanum article on the Word Bearers, I don't see where that is said. Did you see it in a different article?

 

Based on Black Library fiction, it is certainly not the case that a First Acolyte or Coryphaus would necessarily be put to death for the loss of a Dark Apostle. The role of a First Acolyte is to become a Dark Apostle, either by sucession if the Dark Apostle dies, or by being considered worthy of by the Apostle he is serving under (graduation, so to speak) and the Host is split between them (probably not evenly, of course).

 

Of course, if the Dark Apostle died, and the First Acolyte then becomes the new Dark Apostle, it is now within his power to command the death of any member of the Host he so chooses. If the previous senior officers (Coryphaus, Icon Bearer, company commanders, etc) are culpable in the death of the previous Dark Apostle, refuse to acknowledge the sucession, or for some reason considered untrustworthy by his replacement, he could have them killed as punishment/expedience.

[Whit]

I read it in the Dark Apostle article. It just mentioned 'senior captains', and this term is ambiguous enough to be interpreted in several ways. The article lists 'Dark Apostle' as a source, I think I'll give it a read.

[Argon]

I interpreted it as being the Aspiring Champions of the squads. It could also mean the Coryphaus, as that Host had taken severe losses and merged into Jarulek's Host.

 

Also, you should go read Dark Apostle. It's a very good read.

[AbyssKnight]

Okay, looking over the Dark Apostle article is see the comment you are referencing. It is rather interesting. As a note, while the novel Dark Apostle is listed as a source for the article, it is not listed as the source for that particular statement.

 

As I mentioned before, Black Library fiction (by which I indeed meant Dark Apostle, Dark Disciple, and Dark Creed) does not bear out this rule. But this may be because the dead Apostle's First Acolyte was approved by the Council of Sicarus to ascend to become a Dark Apostle in his place. If the Acolyte was considered unworthy, not ready, or also killed; perhaps the Host's captains would have been killed as implied by the article.

 

I would imagine that since the article actually specifies the Host's "Captains" are killed, the Coryphaus would be included, but the First Acolyte would not be. The Acolyte, if not considered worthy of taking over as Apostle of the Host himself, would probably be assigned to a new Apostle to serve as Acolyte (see Dark Creed for an example of an Acolyte being transfered in from outside the Host).

 

It is interesting that you mention the Apostle becoming a dreadnaught, as such a thing also happens in the BL series. The first Apostle of the 34th is now a dread, the Warmonger. His Acolyte, Jerulek, is Apostle for the first book. Jerulek's Acolyte, Marduk, kills and replaces him as Apostle for the next two books. Now, considering the level of injury necessary to result in being entombed in a Dreadnaught....I would imagine the consequences should be the same as allowing the Apostle to die. But, both his Apostle (Jerulek) and his Coryphaus (Kol Badar) seem to have survived his internment.

[Lexington]

This seems like a very good way to encourage Hosts to go rogue.

 

"Huh, so I guess Dark Apostle Marmaduke got iced by an errant plasma missle."

 

"Hoo. Yeah. No denying that one. Hell of a mess he left behind. So...what do we do?"

 

"Well, we can go back to Sicarus, where the Council of Mustache-Twirling Jerks will have us put down. Or we could, you know, hit Tijuana for awhile."

 

"Yeah, I'm going to say Tijuana. For ideological reasons."