Inquisition (Warhammer 40,000)

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The Inquisition (aka The Holy Orders of the Emperor's Inquisition) is a secret organisation in the Warhammer 40,000 universe. They act as the secret police of the Imperium, hunting down any and all threats to the stability of the God-Emperor's realm.

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[edit] Formation of the Inquisition

The foundation of the Inquisition is shrouded in mystery, although it is believed that the organisation came into being either during or directly after the Horus Heresy. The Inquisition was believed to have been created by the Emperor of Mankind shortly before his internment within the Golden Throne.

There were originally only two Orders within the Inquisition, but a third (the Ordo Hereticus) was added after the events of the Age of Apostasy.

[edit] Ordos of the Inquisition

In early editions of Warhammer 40,000, The Inquisition was a single entity with a single secret offshoot, the Ordo Malleus.

Today, the Inquisition is divided into a series of organisations known as Ordos. Each Ordo is responsible for assessing and combating a threat to humanity.

As of the 41st millennium, the three Major Ordos are:

  • The Ordo Malleus (Daemonhunters, or Order of the Hammer), concerning itself with destroying daemons and other servants of Chaos.
  • The Ordo Xenos (Alien Hunters, or Order of the Aliens), seeking out and eliminating alien influence and corruption within the Imperium.
  • The Ordo Hereticus (Witch Hunters, or Order of the Heretics), focusing on stopping the actions of heretics, traitors and rogue psykers within the Imperium.

[edit] Ordos Minoris

Subordinate to the Major Ordos are several smaller organisations, known as the Ordos Minoris. These 'minor Ordos' are significantly smaller than the main three, and are often formed to combat specific, rather than broad, threats:

  • The Ordo Sicarius is tasked with investigating and controlling the Officio Assassinorum.
  • The Ordo Sepulturum is one of the smallest of the Ordos Minoris, formed during the 13th Black Crusade. Their focus is the relatively new threat from Plague Zombies.

[edit] Role of the Inquisition

The Inquisition is immensely powerful, and the only individual that is exempt from their scrutiny is the Emperor himself. If he has good cause, an Inquisitor may demand any service from any Imperial citizen, up to and including the High Lords of Terra (The Adeptus Custodes who guard the Emperor's palace and person are exempt, as their duty to the Emperor is clear and unchanging. When it comes to the Adeptus Astartes, Inquisitors often show some discretion and ask).

Inquisitors also have absolute power to judge supposed heretics, mutants, untrained or rogue psykers and the like, with no appeal save the intervention of another Inquisitor. Practically all possible verdicts are ultimately death sentences, although the means by which they are achieved differ. Traitors, the worst grades of offenders, are considered irredeemable and will be quickly executed. Heretics may be redeemed, often after considerable amounts of torture, and may receive absolution through death in service to the Imperium. This service may consist of arco-flagellation, conscription into Imperial armies, becoming the operator of one of the Ministorum's Penitent Engines or, in the case of penitent psykers, joining the retinue of an Inquisitor.

Young psykers who have not worked against the Imperium or used their powers much will usually be repeatedly tested, and if they are young, strong and pious enough, may be taken in by the Black Ships of the Inquisition and become a Sanctioned Psyker or even an Inquisitor. The requirements are strict however, and many will be found wanting and promptly executed. Another possible fate for those who fail the tests is to be used to power the vast psychic beacon of the Astronomican (an ultimately fatal experience) or even sacrificed to sustain the lifeforce of the Emperor Himself.

If a world is the subject of extreme heresy or corruption, an Inquisitor may call down the verdict of Exterminatus. Many question the necessity of such acts, but the Inquisition feels it is fully justified in performing them, and in fact would be in error if it did not.

[edit] Organisation and operation

The basic unit of the Inquisition is the individual Inquisitor with retinue. Each Inquisitor travels the Imperium as his duties, studies, interests and local events direct him, and seeks out threats to the Imperium wherever he goes. When one is found, the Inquisitor will usually deal with it personally if his resources permit. If they do not, the authority of the Inquisition allows him to bypass the often unwieldy power structures that would hinder effective halting of such a threat by directly requisitioning military force, Officio Assassinorum aid or whatever else they may require, and applying them where needed. To allow this to happen safely and without abuse, the Inquisition gives each appointed Inquisitor an Inquisitorial seal. This is a rosette, signet ring or similar adornment bearing the Inquisitorial logo, and gives the bearer all the powers of the Inquisition, including the authority to requisition troops, call upon all the Chambers Militant and more besides. The seal usually doubles as a decoder for encrypted Imperial documents up to extremely high levels of security clearance and may have similar perks. The crime of forging an Inquisitorial seal carries some of the worst punishments the Inquisition can call down on transgressors.

Occasionally a matter will surface that requires more lengthy study and debate than a normal Inquisitorial case. In such cases, Inquisitors may hold Apotropaic studies. These studies usually gather between one and three Inquisitors. Larger meetings known as Apotropaic Councils or Conclaves will gather at least eleven Inquisitors for debate and study of an important issue, or they may be called to ensure communication within the members of a faction or philosophical grouping of the Inquisition. Quite rarely, a so called "High Conclave" or Apotropaic Congress may be convened, but only by an Inquisitor Lord. These will often gather dozens of Inquisitors for weeks of debate on many related topics. Usually, it is at conclaves and meetings of this sort new Inquisitors will be appointed. It is also during such meetings that the Inquisition polices its own ranks, as no other organisation has the authority to do so.

Inquisitors with a certain degree of seniority (usually several decades of field experience) will often take on apprentices from various sources. These apprentices are often known as Interrogators, though there are several other ranks of apprenticeship. When his master deems him ready, an apprentice Inquisitor may be elevated to the rank of full Inquisitor. Normally, this requires the consent of at least three other Inquisitors or an Inquisitor Lord, but in extraordinary circumstances, such as the untimely death of his master, an apprentice may become an Inquisitor without these formal approvals.

Very senior Inquisitors may become Inquisitor Lords. This largely honorific rank is bestowed by invitation from an existing Lord only, and requires the approval of two other Lords to be officially bestowed. The latter requirement is largely a formality, however, as Lords are few and far between and the odds of one Inquisitor being personally known to more than one is vanishingly small. Lords have a few extra powers within the Inquisition itself, but the title is mostly an acknowledgement of extraordinary servants of the Emperor and the position they have within the Inquisition.

Part of the nature of the Inquisition's work requires numerous undercover operations (depending on the individual Inquisitor, of course). Particularly dangerous or sensitive missions may require the Inquisitor and his crew to operate without even the remit or knowledge of local planetary authorities; in some cases, the Inquisitor may fake the deaths of themselves and their crew in order to move their mission forward invisibly. At times like this, Inquisitors operate under a mandate known as Special Condition, which means that the Inquisitorial team, to all intents and purposes, no longer exists. The normal Inquisitorial ]I[ symbol of office is replaced with a somewhat altered ]I[ that has a dagger-like point at the end and is colored a distinct blue shade, with a winged skull prominent near the top of the sigil; it is presented only when recruiting members to the team who can be trusted not to jeopardize the mission. (NOTE: this was featured most prominently in Dan Abnett's book, Ravenor Returned.)

[edit] Morality

The Inquisition is broadly broken down into two schools of thought; that of the Radical and that of the Puritan. To the Radical 'the ends justifies the means' in every instance, whether through the employ of Exterminatus, daemonhosts, or alien weaponry. By contrast, the Puritans adhere strictly to Imperial doctrine and typically persecute their more unorthodox brethren.

The main tenets of the Inquisition, beyond the Radical/Puritan divide, can be defined below:

Puritans

  • Thorianism - These members of the Inquisition believe that the Emperor will some day be reincarnated. This is the most 'radical' of the Puritan idelogies due to the possible upheaval that could result should the Thorians actually be able to summon the Emperor into a new form, as Believers and Unbelievers turned upon each other. Named after Sebastian Thor, thought to be an avatar of the Emperor.
  • Monodominance - This philosophy holds that man can only survive in the Galaxy at the death of every other creature, be it alien, mutant, or even psyker (which would potentially harm the Imperium, seeing as all galactic communication and long-distance travel is psychic in nature). They are arguably the most extreme of the Puritans.
  • Amalathianism - The conservative philosophy of Puritanism. It advocates unity between Imperial organisations and lack of tumultuous change. It was at the birth of this philosophy, on Gathalamor, at Mount Amalath, that Lord Solar Macharius was spurred on to his grand conquest of nearly a thousand worlds.

Radicals

  • Xanthism - The most obviously Radical grouping within the Inquisition, it advocates the use of warp-based weaponry, such as daemon possessed swords, daemonhosts, and generally turning the power of Chaos against itself. Named after Inquisitor-Master Zaranchek Xanthus, executed as a heretic in the 32nd millennium.
  • Horusians - A sub-sect of the Xanthites, this sect wishes to create a new leader for humanity, much like the puritan Thorians. Both factions strive for a powerful, god-like figurehead to lead the Imperium into a new golden age. But the Horusians view the might of Horus as a wasted opportunity; believing that should the limitless power of Chaos be harnessed and bound into a great leader of men, Humanity could once more become united a crush all before it. Needless to say, even open-minded members of the Inquisition view the Horusians as dangerous in the extreme.
  • Recongregationism - The Imperium, after millennia, has become decadent and corrupt according to this philosophy. To remedy this, Recongregators consider that the Imperium should be rebuilt, lest it stagnate further and collapse under the pressure of countless threats from both without and within.
  • Istvaanism - To this ideology, conflict is desirable to further progress through strife. It holds that mankind has made its greatest achievements after periods of conflict, such as the Horus Heresy, or Age of Apostasy. It is the place of the Istvaanians to strengthen mankind through adversity, and so follow a 'survival of the fittest' doctrine. The philosophy is named after the Istvaan III virus-bombings that initiated the Horus Heresy.

[edit] History

Inquisitors have been a part of the Warhammer 40,000 universe since the first edition of the game, Rogue Trader. However they have had a higher profile since the release of the 54 mm miniatures game Inquisitor, which is a narrative game, based around warbands which often comprise of an Inquisitor and his henchmen. The creation of Inquisitor was followed by a great deal of information about the Inquisition, and the organization attracted the interest of fans. This led to the creation of Codex: Demonhunters and Codex: Witch Hunters, both based around armies led by Inquisitors (of the Ordo Malleus and the Ordo Hereticus, respectively).

[edit] Famous Inquisitors

  • Inquisitor Lord Torquemada Coteaz — infamous adversary and destroyer of daemons; his name is a homage to Tomás de Torquemada.
  • Inquisitor Czevak — one of the few non-Eldar to gain access to the infamous Black Library.
  • Inquisitor Jaq Draco - Main character in the Inqusition War Series. Gained access to the Eldar Black Library and stole the Book of Rhana Dandra.
  • Inquisitor Gregor Eisenhorn- An Amalathian member of Ordo Xenos, he was the infamous inquisitor who orchestrated the downfall of Quixos the Bright and Pontius Glaw using a stolen daemonhost named Cherubael, a former tool of Quixos. He seemingly vanished soon after the downfall of Pontius Glaw.
  • Inquisitor Lord Fyodor Karamazov - A staunch Amalathian, Karamazov habitually judges and does battle from his massive Throne of Judgement and is generally hated by the Ecclesiarchy and Thorian inquisitors for his actions on Salem Proctor. His name is a reference to Fyodor Dostoevsky, Russian author of the novel The Brothers Karamazov, which contains a parable entitled The Grand Inquisitor.
  • Inquisitor Kryptmann of the Ordo Xenos — Tyranid expert, saviour of the Imperium in the Hive Fleet Behemoth crisis, and the first discoverer of a full 82 alien species (all of which he subsequently deemed a threat to the Imperium and ordered eradicated). Authorised the largest single act of genocide the imperium has ever inflicted on itself by destroying all worlds in the Tyranid's path.
  • Inquisitor Gideon Ravenor — previous acolyte to Gregor Eisenhorn, powerful psyker, and author of many famous texts such as the 'Spheres of Longing'
  • Inquisitor Mordecai Toth - Featured in the Dawn of War real-time strategy game. Wielder of the daemonhammer "God-splitter".
  • Inquisitor Commodus Voke - Ancient and famous Thorian leaning towards Monodominant save for his very powerful psychic abilities. Lived to be extremely old due to being extremely difficult to kill. Arrogant and open with his position and fame he was a sometime ally of Eisenhorn. A legend in his time a testament to his ability is the fact that he fought an uncontained daemonhost in a psychic duel and was not obliterated outright.
  • Inquisitor Amberly Vail of the Ordo Xenos - Featured in the Ciaphas Cain series, she acts as the editor of the Cain Archive. It has been suggested that her relationship with Cain is more than profesional

[edit] References

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

Warhammer 40,000 Articles
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