++ The Dark Council - A Word Bearers Community ++

[DarkApostle7]

i hope that im not late but here is my 64th host

 

The chapter of the TEARS OF ETERNAL SORROW

 

 

Grand Apostle Daroqus' origins begin on Calth where at the closing stages of the underworld war, the chapter of the flayed hand was wiped out when Ultramarines flooded a cavern withtoxic and radioactive water.In the late 39th millenuim a small group of  treasure diggers dug into a cavern which had been left untouched for thusands of years.As the diggers broke through the cavern wall they quickly came across the frozen for of siege captain Daroqus, attempting to sell his armour for profit they woke Daroqus and unleashed a knew hell on the Imperium.Daroqus snuck aboard a ship and killed crew until they took him into the eye of terror, after being left stranded in the eye for years he was gifted by visions, these visions guided him to sicarus.Upon landing the members of the dark counsil first rebuked Daroqus' claims at being a legion member but when Daroqus presented the Black Mace they finally let Daroqus rebiuld his decimated chapter although this time with a new name - The Tears of Eternal Sorrow.

 

hope you like this short intro to my chapter, im undecided if i should  start my own form/post/plog on this, anyway i have wanted to share this for so long and now i have plucked up the courage to finally do it, thanks!

[tikhunt]

i hope that im not late but here is my 64th host

 

The chapter of the TEARS OF ETERNAL SORROW

 

 

Grand Apostle Daroqus' origins begin on Calth where at the closing stages of the underworld war, the chapter of the flayed hand was wiped out when Ultramarines flooded a cavern withtoxic and radioactive water.In the late 39th millenuim a small group of treasure diggers dug into a cavern which had been left untouched for thusands of years.As the diggers broke through the cavern wall they quickly came across the frozen for of siege captain Daroqus, attempting to sell his armour for profit they woke Daroqus and unleashed a knew hell on the Imperium.Daroqus snuck aboard a ship and killed crew until they took him into the eye of terror, after being left stranded in the eye for years he was gifted by visions, these visions guided him to sicarus.Upon landing the members of the dark counsil first rebuked Daroqus' claims at being a legion member but when Daroqus presented the Black Mace they finally let Daroqus rebiuld his decimated chapter although this time with a new name - The Tears of Eternal Sorrow.

 

hope you like this short intro to my chapter, im undecided if i should start my own form/post/plog on this, anyway i have wanted to share this for so long and now i have plucked up the courage to finally do it, thanks!

Always happy to have another member take up enlightening the galaxy (one Daemon possession at a time).

[Tenebris]

Order of the day. Check the following facts/aspects of the Word Bearers geneseed. Comment if anything should be added or removed. This is a discussion on the genetic specifics of the Word Bearers geneseed, not about the tactics or the traits of the legion, just of its biological template. Provide the title of the resource if you recall where the fact was written. 

 

Word Bearers:

• ashen skin
• dour demeanor
• heightened need for belief in a higher entity
• clannish character
• zealotry

[MaliGn]

Patrician features

Dark hair

- Anthony Reynolds word bearers omnibus.

[Terkael]

Belief in a higher power
Zealotry
-Betrayer
Lorgar is musing to himself about the flaw in his sons geneseed that make them slavishly devoted to him. In a way I believe that this makes them eager to follow any of Lorgar's beliefs. This even applies to many of the Word Bearers that were born on Terra.

[The Steed of Champions]

^{I run the 26th Host}

 

^{The Chapter of The Spoken Word}

 

^{Led for centuries by Daibogal the Ascended, the 26th host follows many core tenets set out by Lorgar. Scriptures from passages are written in unholy script upon blessed power armor, litanies of hatred pour from the tongues of Dark Apostles, and cultist rabble give praise to those blessed by the dark gods.}

 

^{I plan on starting up a thread soon for army pics and more extensive backgrounds. Most of it is developed but I'm new to posting so it may be some time before I get around to it.}

 

^{“Blessed are those who walk in step with the wicked and the damned! Bless us, O Gods of Chaos; we yearn to tread amidst your holiest of children! Death to the false emperor! Glory unto chaos!”}

 

 

 

 

Edited February 19, 2015 by TheSteedofChampions

[tikhunt]

^{I run the 26th Host}

 

^{The Chapter of The Spoken Word}

 

^{Led for centuries by Daibogal the Ascended, the 26th host follows many core tenets set out by Lorgar. Scriptures from passages are written in unholy script upon blessed power armor, litanies of hatred pour from the tongues of Dark Apostles, and cultist rabble give praise to those blessed by the dark gods.}

 

^{I plan on starting up a thread soon for army pics and more extensive backgrounds. Most of it is developed but I'm new to posting so it may be some time before I get around to it.}

 

^{“Blessed are those who walk in step with the wicked and the damned! Bless us, O Gods of Chaos; we yearn to tread amidst your holiest of children! Death to the false emperor! Glory unto chaos!”}

 

 

 

 

 

Oh fellow Brother, True-believer, Chosen of Lorgar I welcome you back to our grand cause and eagerly await to inspect the Zealotry of your Host.

 

Brother Tikhunt

[The Prophet]

The Red Wind adds it's prayers to this cause!

Dark Apostle Nabukad Ussar of the 32nd Host have ordered the construction of the Kerberodium. Now ready, it will walk the Eightfold Path screaming the Word throughout the galaxy.

(Here's a few more pictures.)

[Augustus b'Raass]

^^That thing is fantastic! More pics please, of more and other angles!

[The Prophet]

^^That thing is fantastic! More pics please, of more and other angles!

 

Thanks!

 

Just follow the link under the second picture and you will find more angles.

Edited February 26, 2015 by The Prophet

[Lord Asvaldir]

That is a sweet conversion! What parts did you use to make it besides the forgefiend?

[Augustus b'Raass]

He's up for sale now.

 

http://www.forgeworld.co.uk/Images/Product/DefaultFW/large/mhara-gal-CS.jpg

Edited March 1, 2015 by Augustus b'Raass

[Tenebris]

Chapter of the Broken Seal

 

The Chapter of the Broken Seal is one of the most ancient and revered formations in the XVIIth legion, heralding the vision of a humanity united in soul and body since the last days of the Unification Wars. The Chapter earned its name due to the roles in which its astartes were typecast, namely guard duty, the defense of the imperial installations after a Compliance as well as the shock infantry doctrine which is synonymous with the XVIIth legion. They were the seal placed upon a world, to be broken only in dire need, heralding the ultimate verdict of the Emperor, death to those who opposed his vision.

 

The fortunes of this chapter of the XVIIth Legiones Astartes shifted as the legion was reunited with their primarch, Blessed Lorgar, who identified in the space marines of the Broken Seal some of the most spirited guardians of his Word. Christened anew as Word Bearers the XVIIth persecuted the campaigns of compliance and militant crusading with unyielding zeal, the Broken Seal, due to its ancient glory and prestige, still very much at the front of the Great Crusade effort.

 

After the chastisement at Monarchia the Chapter of the Broken Seal was suspected to be the last remnants of the "old guard", pogroms and decimation stalked its ranks but the astartes of this host knew that there was ill blood to be purged from the Word Bearers legion and as more and more space marines were replaced by Colchisians so did the essence of the chapter shift again, now in harmony with the will of their father.

 

As a predominantly a sentry detachment, the Broken Seal stood guard on several worlds under the aegis of the XVIIth legion. On this worlds the astartes proved to be capable taskmasters and builders for even now, after more than ten thousand years after the Great Crusade some of their works like the "Tower of Dalan" and the "Ossuary of Zekun" stand vigil as icons of imperial might and the lost glory of mankind. Yet as the allegiance of the XVIIth legion moved toward the worship of the Pantheon so did the space marines of the Broken Seal subvert many a population to the new creed thus boosting considerably the hosts of the Word Bearers with willing supplicants and dread armies of cultists. 

 

As a seal placed upon a document, the chapter of the Broken Seal was unmovable on defense and when the seal was broken to pry the secrets of the document it sealed, the Broken Seal marines revealed their guarded secrets in a theatrical display of sorcery, martial might and occult practices, leaving no secret unknown to the beholder, no word lost to the hearer. 

 

As a military formation the Broken Seal carved a reputation for using vast hosts of cultists and daemons in battle, deploying the space marines of the host only when the enemy was already hard pressed by this fearsome auxiliaries and thus exposed to the finishing blow. While not adverse to the subtle forms of astartes warfare the Chapter of the Broken Seal always advocated the shock infantry doctrine and the predominance of tactical cohorts is still very much a fixture of this formation nowadays. 

 

In outlook as well as in faith the Broken Seal is a very traditional, orthodox congregation of warriors and believers of the Word. Ancient legion ranks are maintained, the cohorts restored after every battle and its officer ranks clearly under the thrall of the Dark Council of Sicarus. True to the icon which represents them, the chapter of the Broken Seal strives to be always intact, pure, unyielding, and unbroken, until the officers feel that the time is right to break the seal and spill the "secrets" of the chapter.

 

This "secrets" come in many forms. As an ancient formation the Chapter of the Broken Seal has the access to most of their legion wargear but it was also expanded with the help of the Warpsmith covens with daemon engines, fearsome gene-altered battering rams and other sinister amalgamations of daemon, machine and soul. The "secrets" revealed once the "seal is broken" are manifold. The most common are specialists which range from deadly assault troops to shadowy Havoc cohorts, but some "secrets" are also of the more esoteric nature such as intricate rituals and manifestations of sorcery and divine magic. 

 

It is said that the Broken Seal are the sentries of the XVIIth legion, that they are the unmovable object which the Dark Council puts between them and the enemy and this is often the case, but the Broken Seal is still a herald of the Word and many a world witnessed its "secrets" once the "seal is broken". 

 

The act of "Breaking the Seal" is an obscure ritual which involves divination, fasting and ritual sacrifice. The aim is to augur the exact time when the "secret" should be revealed and which "secret" it will be. Usually the "Breaking" happens several times during a battle, the sorcerer covens always attentive to the whispers and the will of the Pantheon, but it can be also decreed by the Dark Apostle when he feels that the time is nigh for the final, theatrical display of the true might and nature of the Word. This "Higher Secrets" or in the parlance of the chapter the "Higher Mysteries" are often sanctioned by the Dark Council beforehand and usually take the shape of transdimensional rituals which result in many fantastic and unnatural events. An example of such a "Higher Mystery" is the "Secret of Faban" which was revealed on the imperial world of Peronicus II. The ensuing ritual engulfed the planet in a localized Warp Storm which then consumed or rather "abducted" the two billions of imperial citizens in a vast ritual sacrifice to the Pantheon. This revelation later led to a full scale daemonic incursion of the Peronicus sub-sector, only stopped two dozen years later by the intervention and the sacrifice of a Grey Knights strike force. 

 

Currently the Chapter of the Broken Seal is conducting rearguard operations in the Cadian sector, often in coordination with the Chapter of the Unturned Page and other traitor forces. It is said that a "Grand Mystery" will be revealed soon and this event is eagerly awaited by the Chaos hosts present in the region. Rumors say that the revelation of a "Grand Mystery" was enacted only twice before, always ensuing into a nigh unstoppable daemonic incursion and the highest form of veneration of the Pantheon, a "Jihad of the Listeners" or ku'valrun in ancient Colchisian, the ancient from of holy war practiced by the southern tribes of Colchis. 

Edited March 2, 2015 by Tenebris

[Bearingtheword]

Dammit Prophet!  You always come up with the coolest conversions.....Always!

Anyhow, I'm back.... can't believe I was so busy with other stuff for nearly two years..... Great to see so many new faces among the Brethren!

And loving the fact that there are so many new goodies from FW to start working on....

So to make it official:

I've been working on my version of the XXXIVth host of the XVIIth Legion, Led by Dark Apostle Marduk and Coryphaeus Kol Badar....

I think I have a link to the gallery here on B&C in my sig (along with my SW Company).... Time to get cracking on it once again!

~BtW

[TDF]

I have no models, but I have written several pieces for Inspirational Friday about the Word Bearers.

 

Dark Apostle Kanan Raam raised up the Chapter of the Radiant Star from the ashes of Terra and reformed it into the 47th Host. Some may scoff at his idiosyncratic approach to strategy, choosing worlds to despoil according to the songs of the warp, but the Astartes of the 47th know there is no more obedient servant to Dark Gods. The seeds he sows may not bear fruit for a hundred lifetimes, but when they do the crop is magnificent to behold. The destruction of the Krucias Sector is proof enough of that.

[Petitioner's City]

 

Order of the day. Check the following facts/aspects of the Word Bearers geneseed. Comment if anything should be added or removed. This is a discussion on the genetic specifics of the Word Bearers geneseed, not about the tactics or the traits of the legion, just of its biological template. Provide the title of the resource if you recall where the fact was written. 

 

Word Bearers:

• ashen skin
• dour demeanor
• heightened need for belief in a higher entity
• clannish character
• zealotry

 

 

In Talon of Horus, Khayon mentions in response to Sardar the Word Bearer that:

 

"His eyes were green, rare for the desert clans of Colchis, who were near uniformly as dusky skinned as most Tizcans, and shared the same darkness of iris." To put in context, earlier he said that his Tizcan mother 'had dark eyes and skin the same rich caffeine shade as myself and Itzara.'

 

I guess Colchisian Word Bearers will be dark-skinned? Obv this isn't to do with the gene seed, but it is interesting to think about.

[Gubnutz Da Grim]

Ok, Brothers I am in this.  I played WordBearers back in 3.5.  Loved them.  I played them in an escalation build with 500 points a month fully painted or you could not field.  Loved the army and topped it out at around 2500 points.  Moved on, sold the force(something I have done too many times to count) but always had a soft spot in my heart for them.

 

Digging through the bitz box today for a bit of inspiration and I found 32 WB shoulder pads in bare metal condition.  Looks like a WB force is in my future.

 

So I have the following that will be used for the force

 

Dark Apostle(will be kit bashed from several sources)

5 Terminators with various and sundry weapons

40 cultists from the DV set

2 Hellbrutes from the DV set

15 Chosen from the DV set

2 Lords from the DV set

40 Bloodletters

40 Horrors

9 Flamers

200 or so Plaguebearers(most are painted as I am a Deathguard player to the bone when not pursuing those that would spread the Word)

14 bases of Nurglings

2 SoulGridners

Great Deamon of Tzeentch

Bloodthirster x2

8 Bloodcrushers

4 Great Unclean ones

 

I realize I will need some Actual marines for the force but all in good time.  It should be said that I hardy ever play anymore but like to build and paint.  No idea on a viable list as I have not played since 6th edition first started so there is that.  Will work some fluff up and get some pics of WIP stuff as I have some time to get to the desk.

 

Gub

Edited March 20, 2015 by Gubnutz Da Grim

[Bearingtheword]

 

 

Order of the day. Check the following facts/aspects of the Word Bearers geneseed. Comment if anything should be added or removed. This is a discussion on the genetic specifics of the Word Bearers geneseed, not about the tactics or the traits of the legion, just of its biological template. Provide the title of the resource if you recall where the fact was written. 

 

Word Bearers:

• ashen skin
• dour demeanor
• heightened need for belief in a higher entity
• clannish character
• zealotry

 

 

In Talon of Horus, Khayon mentions in response to Sardar the Word Bearer that:

 

"His eyes were green, rare for the desert clans of Colchis, who were near uniformly as dusky skinned as most Tizcans, and shared the same darkness of iris." To put in context, earlier he said that his Tizcan mother 'had dark eyes and skin the same rich caffeine shade as myself and Itzara.'

 

I guess Colchisian Word Bearers will be dark-skinned? Obv this isn't to do with the gene seed, but it is interesting to think about.

 

 

This is one of a handful of contradictions that I also have noticed with the fluff. Not sure if it has to simply do with the differences between the writers visions or perhaps with the age of the individual Word Bearer. In the stories that focus on the legion in the latter years (The Omnibus) they are mentioned as being ashened skinned, while in the HH they are as you mention above. Fluff wise it could be chalked up to exposure to the warp, perhaps?? 

 

I think that is how I would do it, if I were to build a Heresy era force I'd do them with dusky skin whereas my M40 are a sickly grey/white....Just my rambling thoughts on it..

 

On an entirely different note, I think I'm going to try running my 34th Host using the Crimson Slaughter SR's.  "Prophet of  the Voices", with my "Dark Apostle Marduk" (running as a sorc) utilizing his burgeoning psychic abilities while running with a murder of his Possessed brethren sounds very Word Bearer to me....as does the thought of summoning in some daemons with the chance of perils greatly reduced.  Downside is the loss of VotLW on most choices. Hopefully it will be effective and fluffy feeling when played.... If not, well I can always go back to playing them using the reg 'dex.....or be extremely heretical and run them "counts as" using the SW 'dex (.00001% chance of that happening lol......)

 

~BtW

 

 

 

[Tenebris]

After a long time of ponder and messy attempts at countless color schemes as well as looking at what inspires me most in the Chaos faction I have decided, without a remit or second chances, that I will dedicate myself to the Word and the XVIIth Legion. Here is why:

 

Those who know me or have maybe read my rather lengthy introduction on my profile know that I am a devout follower of the Thousand Sons, them being my first love in Warhammer 40k and my favorite legion. While I love their background I have found myself much constrained by their dedication to Tzeentch and their rather bland color scheme, especially disturbing since in my club we play a host of "blue" armies from Death Skulls to Ultramarines and Alaitoc... which was a major deterrent why I avoided to paint and play them.

 

My guess was that Black Legion being the "main" or rather "the true" Chaos legion, by being born in the fires of the Slave Wars and the product of the odyssey in the Eye, was actually the best legion to play and paint but again I have found myself very hard pressed to make it look and to stand out from the other constant in my area, black painted armies. I also lead the Planet Killer community but I confess I have found much frustration with impersonating the Black Legion both on tabletop and in the "roleplay".

 

Now onto the confession. My heart always sung at the mention of the Word Bearers, here, plain in sight, I admit it. The reason for that are several and very valid. The first reason is their lore and the superb penwork of ADB but also of Reynolds and others. I have a feud with the fans of Battle for the Furious Abyss due to the ruination it had on the representation of the XVIIth legion, but so I have a grudge with Know no Fear and similar books. The reasons for the plentiful discussions I had on the board are simple, the Word Bearers are not the punchbags, they are actually the Chaos equivalent of the loyalist Ultramarines. The empire builders, pen-pushers, administrators and general intellectuals of the Chaos legions, understood maybe only by the Thousand Sons but in truth cardinal for the faction and for the understanding of Chaos. 

 

The second reason is that I love the "traitor red" color scheme. I paint on commission at a good tabletop standard and the Word Bearers scheme is one of my best shots at painting. It always comes clean and simple and I have replicated it with success on various Blood Ravens, Flesh Tearers and other "carmine" armies. The unassuming battered steel trim and the tokens of colors with the parchment and bone, combined with the green eye lenses, makes for an outstanding scheme and looks austere, deep. I don't have the words to depict why I like the "carmine" color so much, but lets just say it has a resonance within me.

 

The third reason why I have decided for the Word Bearers is my character itself. I am a soon to be master degree in laws, I am a prolific reader, writer, poet and student of everything I have in my reach or at a click of my mouse. I devour information, never slaked by it, always looking for more. I also love to speak, and I do still attend to rhetoric lessons and I have a love for theology, mythology and history, but above all for philosophy. My efforts are unremarkable since I never applied to any publishers or applications for writers but believe me when I say that I write and read a lot. The Word Bearers, in this case even more than the Thousand Sons, are what I consider the learned legion. They are not just warrior zealots, but they are all very cultured marines. I believe that a Word Bearer would study countless texts during his life, he would participate in hundreds if not thousands of debates on the matters of spirit and philosophy and most important than all, they are the very definition of law, law as a codified morale, law as a vision, as a guiding light. Faith requires the law to support it, law requires faith to guide it and this is a firm belief I hold dear (though I agree that many positivists would disagree with me, but this is academics) and the Word Bearers are the legion on which you can bet that they would respect this truth as the highest of their ideals. 

 

The fourth reason why I have settled on the Word Bearers to be my representing legion both on tabletop as well as in the community it is because I act in my club as in many local events connected with 40k as an advocate of Chaos. I love Chaos, its myriad of facets, its truths and untruths, its role in the 40k mythos and the Word Bearers are indeed the "paladins" of the faction. It was they who discovered the truth first, it is they who dared to look beyond, they who dared to question even the Emperor and none other is more important for the 40k saga as Lorgar himself.

 

Onto the fifth reason, Lorgar. I would lie if I would claim that I have been a Lorgar fanboy, he always looked like the runt of the litter among his mighty brothers, but once this character was given the option to become what he was always meant to be, he became my favorite primarch, overshadowing even Magnus. I admit that I have read "The First Heretic" three times, Aurelian the same, and I am adamant in my claim that no character is so much deserving in 40k than Lorgar. He is what I would love all primarchs to be, not a being wrought to be soldier and locked into this aspect of his creation, but a young, vibrant demigod who dared to seek the truth and who alone of his brothers has found it. I was elated when I heard for the first time a primarch say that he is not a soldier, that he does not like to be one, that there is more to humanity, to life and existence, then conflict and conflict alone. Lorgar is a visionary, a visionary with the drive of a zealot, with the gifts of a warrior king and with the culture of an illuminated being. This echo, or rather this many echoes to the character of the XVIIth legion primarch is what ultimately sealed the deal for me. 

 

Along with that there are many other reasons but I think that the wall of text above is more than enough. I humbly ask to take over some aspects of this community to help it thrive and for your support in my first steps as a Word Bearer. The choice above will resonate across what I do on this board, from my Inspirational Friday contributions to a painting blog, to my participation in the community events like Daemon Forge, Augustus Arena and most important of all, ETL. 

 

Thus I shed my skin and rise anew, anointed with the blood of the faithful, clad in red and bearing the icon of my office, my Accursed Crozius.

 

All hail the Word!

[Uprising]

@Tenebris: I see my influence is spreading. 

[Tenebris]

Hehe, but in truth it has been a long time favorite of mine, the XVIIth legion. I had at some point in my long "career" as a Chaos Lord a warband for each of the traitor legions, of which the Word Bearers were the one (something like 30 models) which I liked most. As it happens so often with people who focus on a single faction, you buy, you sell and you trade in order to keep the creative juices running. It was with the Word Bearers that I really got the "carmine" color right which I then used for several armies I have painted on commission. I still recall the old Scarab Red/Mecharite Red mix which I have used as a foundation. 

 

But in all this I have always kept loyal more to the faction than to a specific legion and me being a sucker for everything related to the mythology of Chaos in 40k the Word Bearers were always there. 

 

I think I will begin a project blog soon, I have an inordinate pile of models to assemble and paint and I will be quite methodical with it. If there is a thing I can say with surety is that I do know how to plan such a project, a courtesy of experience. 

 

And I will offer you a hint too. In my club we have some really oldschool Ultramarines, Space Wolves, Howling Griffons and on and on players who share with me almost all of the editions since the 3rd and they are playing still. With the Word Bearers I allow myself this one indulgence as I do make a clear statement, the scions of Guilliman will kneel before me or they will be swept away by the advance of my warriors. There will be no escape from the Truth!

Edited March 22, 2015 by Tenebris

[BetterOffShred]

I made the same decision about 3 years ago.  I wanted something that wasn't too hard to paint in mass and have look decent, with good lore and lots of opportunity to mix in my like 8000 points of Daemons.  Word Bearers it is :)  

 

There isn't really much you would feel bad about including in a Word Bearers force either.  I don't use any Khorne affiliated dudes unless they are possessed or allied Daemonic forces.. and if I go that route I usually include a sorcerer lord dedicated to Tzeentch to spread the word.  Occasionally I'll break protocol and include a Khorne axe lord on juggernaut, but it's easy to feel good about it.  I even started painting my papercraft warhound in Word Bearers colors..   Love those guys.

 

Well played sir

 

-Brett

[SyNidus]

I gotta say, I am liking your reasons and how well thought out they are.

 

Funny you mention law in this. Personally, I don't see them in that light, but I can't say that I am as familiar with their fluff as you are. Hence, my embodiment of law is in the Raven guard and loyalist night lords. It's about justice and balancing of the scales.

 

Nonetheless, kudos for the choice, they certainly are the chaos equivalent of Ultramarines. Perhaps one day if I ever visit Italy, I'll have a game with you, I'll bring my NL/GK and we can settle things the old fashioned way - trial by combat! :p

[Tenebris]

I gotta say, I am liking your reasons and how well thought out they are.

 

Funny you mention law in this. Personally, I don't see them in that light, but I can't say that I am as familiar with their fluff as you are. Hence, my embodiment of law is in the Raven guard and loyalist night lords. It's about justice and balancing of the scales.

 

Nonetheless, kudos for the choice, they certainly are the chaos equivalent of Ultramarines. Perhaps one day if I ever visit Italy, I'll have a game with you, I'll bring my NL/GK and we can settle things the old fashioned way - trial by combat!

 

Indeed the Raven Guard and the Night Lords were the red hand of justice, the executioner. The Word Bearers on the other hand enact the personas of judge, jury and lawyer. You know, a cardinal thing in every belief system is the law, be it the law of the holy scriptures, the rituals, the dogmas or the various precepts, yet we still speak of law, maybe THE law. 

 

When I think Word Bearer I see this marine walking around on a conquered world, trying to understand the local traditions and mores and how to integrate them with the Word and the precepts in it. Chaos being a very malleable concept lends well to "conquer by faith" and the next logical step is the same Word Bearer standing before a crowd and speaking the precepts and the laws which will govern the life from this moment on. This precepts are not just the observation of ritual and rite, but also things which govern a world, ranging form everything, a contract, a bond, or even an execution. The thing is (again positivists will disagree here, but this is an academic argument) that religion and law are just two faces of the same coin. The observation of the religious doctrines is based upon precepts of law (or cult) which enforce the said doctrine. On the other hand the reason for the creation of a legal system is more often than not religion itself. 

 

It is hard to understand this concepts from the view of a 21st century person, but it is like the Word Bearers say, a foundation of society. Tradition leads to morals, morals lead to religion, religion leads to law and law itself enforces tradition. It is a circle which is ever repeating in humanity's history and 40k is no different here. It is also a circle which is often prone to evolution as well as to regression, which usually depends on the orthodoxy or controversy of morals and religion in the first place. 

 

Without sounding offensive but the jurists among us here will grasp what I mean, religion is the sanctioned use of "magic", magic as a ritual which gives the blessing of the sacred to a deed, an act or even a contract (marriage). So the Word Bearers in essence, being the religious crusaders, are the definition of law as the most important thing for a religion. Remember the Word is for them the law, a law which they use to various degrees, which interpret to various degrees, but it is still essentially a law which governs their actions, their thought processes and even their military campaigns or the indoctrination of a subjugated people .

 

By the Word, hence by the law, enforced at bolter point, the Word Bearer place a structure upon a conquered world, this structure then becomes the law for this planet, and by this law order is maintained, religious indoctrination is conducted (at bolter point as decreed by the Word should other methods fail) and by this law a planet becomes a bastion of Chaos, not due to the belief in Chaos itself, but due to the sanction this "holy law of Chaos" is given by the Word Bearers. 

 

Long story short, you are told to sing a praise to Lorgar every day, this order has the foundation in the Word, and the Word is law, sacred law, but law nonetheless. And to finish here, nothing is as integral to human society as law itself, and law is at its strongest when it is the result of a religion, in our case Chaos and the dogma of Lorgar. 

[Bearingtheword]

Well said, Brother Tenebris!  and accurately stated!

~BtW