Warhammer: In the Name of Ashes

Morality and law are like two weapons shaped by social consensus, safeguarding the basic order required for a stably functioning society.

They represent the upper limit of social consensus and are the standards advocated by this social group;

The other one represents the lower limit that social consensus can tolerate. Anyone who dares to go beyond the limit will definitely be punished in the strongest possible way.

The morality of the empire was once the imperial truth advocated by the emperor;

But during the thousands of years of Emperor's silence, Imperial Truth lost its most important guide, and the truth spread across the Imperial lands also lost its resounding voice.

The truth is fading, but the people of the Empire still need guidance.

It was at this time that the faith of the state religion came into being.

It is like a spark, born in the wilderness, going through hardships, but ultimately burning unstoppably across the land of the empire.

It has lasted nearly five hundred years of development, and countless believers and saints have struggled for it.

When the Holy Crown of the Pope was sent to the gate of Terra's Senate little by little by the believers who accounted for one-third of the empire's population, it took five hundred years of continuous death and dedication of millions of people.

The concept of imperial state religion officially replaced the position of imperial truth.

The upper limit of the empire's group consensus is the product of such bottom-up changes.

What about the lower limit?

The laws of the empire are limited by the decentralization of governance and have different interpretations in various planetary worlds in the vast galaxy. It also fails to play a role in protecting the bottom line of human consensus.

To make up for this lack, it is the Throne Court, the Assassin Court, and the Inquisition Court. These three powerful departments are involved in the business of the entire empire, silently guarding the last bottom line allowed for the survival of the human empire.

But this is also not set in stone.

After the Great Heresy in the Throne Chamber, the mainstream consciousness of the Custodes fell into self-blame for the failure of the Emperor's guards;

It happened that the Imperial Guards suffered heavy casualties after the Battle of the Webway, so the subsequent Imperial Guard Marshals all restrained their minions and chose to be trapped in the palace, falling into a long period of recovery and rest.

The Court of Assassins also experienced huge changes. This group of simple people believed too much in the role of violence and ignored the basic role of rules in the political ecology.

The incident involving Supreme Minister Van Dier caused this department with profound foundations to prosper to the extreme in just two hundred years, then turned from prosperity to decline, and finally became a puppet of the Inquisition after losing the trust of all departments.

So, only the Inquisition remained.

This secret organization, which was established by the Emperor and Prime Minister Malcador, after many twists and turns, accidentally became the final guarantee for the empire to maintain its operations.

Its intelligence system originated from the knights errant in the original Great Crusade era, and was eventually handed over to four first-generation mortal inquisitors personally appointed by the Emperor;

Its armed forces were originally composed of eight Gray Knights transformed by the Emperor himself.

This was the origin of the members of the Twelve Councils of the First Tribunal, and also the initial composition of the original Demonic Tribunal.

For the next thousand years, four inquisitors presided over the basic work of the Demon Tribunal. It was originally a private intelligence agency subordinate to the Prime Minister (Prime Minister), the chief of the Ministry of Interior, and later became a private intelligence agency that spanned the entire empire. of behemoth. (After the death of Prime Minister, the Inquisition no longer had the special prestige of its predecessor because the successor Prime Minister was a mortal, and became responsible only to the Emperor himself.)

The Orc War taught the Empire a painful lesson.

As a result, the Tribunal, which initially entered the sight of the empire's ruling class, was able to move from its pure single function of a subspace agency to the dual organization of the Alien Tribunal, which specifically faced alien civilizations.

The war of faith that followed plunged the empire into division for 200 years.

Therefore, in the face of the ideological fragmentation within the empire caused by disputes over the doctrine of the state religion, the Inquisition of Heretics, with the state religion as its main target of surveillance, came into being.

The Holy Hammer, the Fight against Foreigners, and the Fight against Rebellion, the three major orders have now begun to take shape, and the three special forces with the interests of the empire as their core have begun to operate under the banner of the Inquisition.

But as the old proverb goes: when you look into the abyss, the abyss also stares at you silently.

The personnel of the three major branches under the Inquisition are fighting against forces such as chaos, aliens, heretics, etc. that destroy the foundation of the empire. Due to their understanding, learning, and summary of the enemy, they inevitably move towards what the subjects of the empire see. The darkest place.

The forbidden knowledge about Chaos and Aliens has become their counterattack weapon against these enemies, and it has also become an indelible curse rooted in them.

This was the situation Calvin faced. After he truly entered the core circle of power of the Inquisition, these unspeakable taboo behaviors hidden in the dark were also placed in front of him.

It was already dark inside the Angel of Punishment, and in the dim office, only the candlelight of holy oil illuminated the desk at his hand.

Documents marked top secret in scarlet handwriting were placed in Calvin's hands. He sat quietly on the blood-red velvet armchair and repeatedly read these files, which represented top secrets within the Tribunal.

"Really, arrogant and brave..."

Putting the read document at hand on his left side as usual, Calvin covered his face with his hands, and a murmur came from the corner of his mouth.

These mortals are conducting taboo research, and there are countless souls of forerunners among them who know the end of the road, but still dare to face it. It shocked him, and made him feel that he was not alone in his thoughts.

"Are they still there?"

Calvin's voice echoed in the empty hall, and the giant in the shadow also responded to his inquiry, awakening from the sculptural silence.

"Now, the three Grand Inquisitors have been standing outside the door for 20 hours after the documents were delivered."

Alan Janus's voice was still calm, just like the content of what he said, with the awareness unique to humans in this era.

"Never left?" Calvin asked.

"They never left, they are waiting for your call."

Alan Janus responded to Calvin's words. He already had a burly body of three meters tall and remained fully prepared around the clock in front of his genetic father.

"No, they're not waiting for a call."

Calvin rejected his eldest son's judgment and later explained it.

Facing the latter's doubtful gaze, he thought for a while and said mockingly:

"They are waiting for my response..."

"They have no authority to enforce our Lord's will!"

Amidst the buzzing of steel armor leaves and servo, Allen stood up with his sword in one hand and walked out the door, preparing to expel these mortals who dared to offend the Primarch.

"No, nothing more terrible than death can scare them. What can they do with a mere sword in their hands?

Let them in. "

Calvin looked at Allen and said with a wry smile at him.

"Your will..."

Allen understood the meaning of Calvin's words. Although he didn't know much about the specific incident, he still followed Calvin's will and walked towards the three people outside the door.

Calvin's brain was also thinking rapidly at this time.

Among the dark side information of the Tribunal, the collection of intelligence and technological data on alien civilizations by the Foreign Order was the work closest to the normal scope in his eyes.

Understanding the enemy and exploring technology beyond his own are tasks that are equally recognized in his native world.

Except for some individual details of designing human experiments, which he had some reservations about, he undoubtedly held a positive attitude towards the overall work direction of the Alien Tribunal.

The business of the Heretic Tribunal is relatively complex. Their internal purge goals often overlap with those of the Demon Tribunal and the Alien Tribunal.

On the contrary, in addition to the above two levels, the harmless research on ideology within the empire occupies the main part of their research work.

In the end, it was his family.

Calvin had very complicated and conflicting feelings about the information given by the Demonic Tribunal this time.

On the one hand, he admired these madmen who tried to understand the secrets of the gods in their mortal bodies;

On the one hand, as a being with a divine soul, he clearly knows that the nature of some knowledge is simply beyond the understanding of mortal physiological capabilities.

How should he explain it to these warriors who face the darkness?

Are they denying the valuable knowledge they have gained over thousands of years based on countless sacrifices?

Or do you support them to linger outside the gate of essence and continue to sacrifice countless brave souls?

This kind of thinking was destined not to come to a result in a short time, and by the time he came to his senses, the three judges in front of him had been standing for who knows how long.

"Sorry... everyone." He looked at the three representatives from the backbone of the Tribunal in front of him, and started the conversation with apologetic words.

"You don't need to apologize. It was our arrival that caused you trouble."

The three judges looked at each other and tacitly expressed their understanding of Calvin's apology.

"Then tell me your reasons for coming."

Waving his hand, he lifted the seat in the corner from the air and placed it behind the three of them. Calvin nodded to them and then continued the topic.

"I don't believe you are asking for my permission, nor am I arrogant enough to think you are trying to gain my support.

Your secret undertakings have been going on for nearly ten thousand years, and the lack of my support will certainly not affect their continuation. "

Calvin seemed to be talking easily and freely about facts that everyone present knew, but behind his words was a torture of the souls of the three people.

As Calvin said: Under the huge institution of the Inquisition, rights are by no means a bargaining chip that can make people obey unconditionally.

On the contrary, when an organization whose spiritual core is to doubt everything is conquered by power, its mission as the last mirror of the empire's self-examination will also come to an end.

Calvin certainly did not want to change this fact, nor could he change it.

Therefore, he is also very curious about the true purpose of the three people.

"You underestimate your own importance. And we just need your support."

After a long silence, the Grand Inquisitor Nathaniel from the Holy Hammer Order spoke first.

The old man with white beard and hair straightened his stooped back, looked at the demigod in front of him who seemed to have stepped out of a myth, and said in a tone that was beyond Calvin's expectation.

“During the Antarctic Charter Conference, the representatives of the Gray Knights Chapter did not deliberately publicize your identity.

But as your direct staff, we were fortunate enough to be specifically informed of your identity before leaving..."

Update, I have a terrible headache. No pretense, no explanation. I will try to ensure full attendance from next month...