The False Heritage Of The Exorcists - 40K Theories
Вставка
- Опубліковано 1 жов 2024
- The Exorcists are a chapter whose origins are shrouded by the twin veils of secrecy and contradiction. While the identity of their primogenitors has been rumoured to be anyone from the Imperial Fists to the Grey Knights, all data regarding their founding and lineage has been locked away behind an Inquisitorial seal. But is there any way to determine the truth behind the origins of this most secretive of chapters?
Additional narration by Stephanie Swan Quills
/ @stephanieswanquills
Intro theme and additional audio editing by Officio Audiorum
/ officioaudiorum
Additional artwork by Boris Tsui, Tomis JB, Stepyra, Kingmong, Carl Michael, William Liu and Adrián Prado
www.artstation...
www.deviantart...
www.deviantart...
www.deviantart...
/ derritter
www.artstation...
/ adrian4rt
All art property of their respective owners.
Visit Games Workshop's official site here:
www.games-work...
Follow us on Facebook & Twitter & Bluesky
/ 40ktheories
/ 40ktheories
bsky.app/profi...
Support 40K Theories on Patreon or via Ko-fi:
/ 40ktheories
ko-fi.com/remleiz
Or become a channel member to get access to additional perks:
/ @40ktheories
#warhammer
#40K
#warhammer40k
#warhammercommunity
#spacemarine
#spacemarine2
#imperialfists
#greyknights
#exorcists
Really enjoyed that one. :). Of course, I prefer the old lore. But I would. 😂
But Master Baldermort I ask if the Excorsists are a successor chapter of the Grey Knights then shouldn't there be more psykers in the chapter since all Grey Knights were warp touched or psychicly gifted?
Remember that the Grey Knights draw their aspirants exclusively from psychically sensitive candidates. Their geneseed does _not_ bestow any psychic abilities upon them (though it _may_ potentially amplify pre-existing ones). This is even shown with the proto-marine Leetu, whose geneseed is drawn from the same source as the Grey Knights (I.E derived from the Emperor's own genetic material instead of a Primarch).
@@40KTheories I'm actually disappointed with this one, you had on this video the perfect opportunity for making a theory where a current 40k chapter (and most specifically one of the few Psyker heavy ones) could be descended from the survivors of Sul Kontep's Fifth Fellowship (which mind you ended up being formally adopted as Imperial Fists and served under the Imperial Fist commander Evander Garrius), and all that would be needed for it to make sense would be to either say that them being 13th founding is false and they could either come from an earlier founding (and considering what's exposed on the video about their documents being sealed it could be feasible) or that they could have simply been displaced by the warp, reappeared around the time of the 13th founding and quietly added during it as an "official" chapter, and yet you instead chose to use the old and boring Grey Knight route? (which is ironic considering the huge chance for them to also be Magnus's sons).
Are the Exorcists _really_ a psyker heavy chapter though? They're a scout heavy chapter (having two scout companies instead of the usual one), but they don't really have an abnormally high number of psykers when compared to other chapters (such as the Blood Ravens or Silver Skulls).
The problem with the idea of any chapter being descended from the Thousand Sons is the existence of the Rubric. Remember that during the events of Ashes of Prospero, a group of time-displaced Thousand Sons from the time of the Great Crusade emerged into the present day, and their bodies immediately turned to dust upon doing so (much to the amusement of Njal Stormcaller).
Unless Sul Kontep's fellowship later had their progenoids replaced with Imperial Fist ones (we know progenoid replacement is possible as revealed in Pandorax with Epimetheus), I can't see any feasible way for any chapter to be made using loyalist Thousand Sons as a foundation.
@@40KTheories But are we even sure the Rubric even targets the geneseed? let's remember Ahriman recited the names of every member of the Thousand Sons when he casted it (and whether those were the names of EVERY member that ever existed or just those still alive at the time is left ambiguous), so it may just target those that Ahriman named or those that still swore allegiance to the concept of the Thousand Sons Legion (which Sul's loyalists would not), alternatively Sul's force was made up with an extensive number of Inductii, meaning that in the case of the Rubric targeting just those named by Ahriman these guys would be unaffected simply because he never knew about them, see there are many ways a Thousand Sons successor could work without replacing the geneseed simply because the Rubric's effect is so ambiguous on whether it targets it or the individuals.
As for the Exorcists the most i knew about them was about their possession rituals which would require a highly capable Librarius to accomplish safely, hence why i thought that Librarians would be an important part of the chapter if only to prevent any "accidents" (though personally i prefer to believe that Sul's forces would go on to become the predecessors of the Blood Ravens simply because it could explain why they have so many Imperial Fists relics without being from their geneline).
Theoretical: Exorcists are where non psychic or not good enough Grey Knight potential aspirants are sent.
Rejects all.
GKnights only recruit psykers. Non psykers are never even considered
It would make sense that the Ordo Malleus would employ more than one daemon hunting chapter. There's a chance, no matter how small, that the Grey Knights could get wiped out.
Or that a radical inquisitor would create a chapter to test a pet theory. It worked and the Exorcists were considered too valuable to discard.
Grey Knights are ultrapuritans. Radicals decided they wanted their own private army daemonkiller chapter.
the exorcists seems more of grey-knights on a budget. Grey-knights are a hyper-specialised force, very resource hungry. it makes sense to create chapters like the exorcists
I have always liked the idea that they were actually created from Word Bearer geneseed
Now that you've said it, it kind of makes sense. The Imperium would strive to keep secret any loyalist elements of traitor legions.
Same. It'd make sense from two angles. The summoning is so frequent that it means that the daemons are somehow drawn to them specifically and think "okay, new dinner/puppet." Only one group I know of that summons daemons on an industrial scale short of Dark Apostles in the Black Legion. And I'd imagine the geneseed would give off a certain "scent" in the warp.
It also ties in with the borderline Xanthite view of the Plutonians. What better prison for a daemon than one of flesh, flesh that the daemon would be called to?
@@oldeskul
Like how Guilliman hid the Anchorite away.
@@terminallove3531 Yup.
@@oldeskul
I wonder what will happen to the Anchorite now that the secret is out.
The Exorcists being IF successors might not be kept secret for the sake of the Exorcists, but for the sake of the Fists.
The practices of the Exorcists would likely sully the esteemed reputation of the Imperial Fists, and may cause some strife with some... _ahem..._ more _fanatical_ chapters.
Oh I like that idea!
Yep. 100% agree. The BT would absolutely not stand being related to such a chapter.
Man GW really pissed off Remleiz when they turned them into Imperial Fist Successors. It's been years but the hate is still there.
Is it really that obvious in my tone of voice? 😅
@@40KTheories no I haven't watched the video because I'm in class but I know for years you complained about it. AND I FOR ONE AGREE WITH YOU ABOUT IT WHY WOULD YOU MAKE THEM A IMPERIAL FIST SUCCESOR??
@@40KTheories Oh no not at all
you watched the video psychically or something?
@@KingLich451 I felt the touch of khorne upon the youtube thumbnail.
Simple test for them: belchers gland
Agreed
Counterpoint, Primaris IF have their missing organs back.
At most, I would expect the exorcists to be a project of someone knowledgeable of the grey knights, but for them to be GK descended themselves you'd need to see crazy abundant psy talent among them.
Grey Knights are all psykers because they only accept psyker aspirants. It's not necessarily in the geneseed.
Wrong, all Grey Knights aspirants are psykers, GK gene seed does not introduce psychic powers to non-psykers. That is the Blood Ravens and Thousand Sons.
With this much secrecy, who is to say that the Exorcists are something else altogether? There are so many sources trying to pull the reader somewhere else and maybe throwing them off their trail. Still, keeping such a secret of a Chapter that is stronger against Chaos than others is a means of keeping your Ace In The Hole up your sleeve.
👍👍 "Grey Knights Successor Chapter" is now my writing prompt for today, cheers 😃!
Ever since the siege of cthonia book I started believing they’re the legacy of the Thousand Sons the Imperial Fists took on
The Fifth Fellowship, i wish more people took them into account since some of them did survive and joined the Imperial Fists (in fact this whole video feels like a missed opportunity since the Exorcists were the perfect "Imperial Fists" successor to speculate about being in actuality Sul Kontep's boys).
I does make some sense that they're Sons of Dron after the Horus Heresy novels
Khorn- Dorn! Join us!
Dorn-......no.....
I think they Word Bearers and no amount of new lore will change my mind.
I still think GW making them Imperial Fists successors was one of the worst and most boring decisions they've made. How to kill anything interesting about a chapter 101
As in those with sticks so far up their rears (metaphorically speaking) that not even the best apothecary can remove them?
With the Imperial Fists and their successors sharing several well known gene seed flaws, it should be obvious whether or not they are Imperial Fists successors. The fact that their lineage is questioned at all strongly suggests that what whatever the Excorcists are, they aren't simple Imperial Fists successors. If they aren't Grey Knights successors, perhaps they have chimeric gene seed which is a mix of Imperial Fist and Grey Knights. Or perhaps they descended from traitor legion loyalists that fell in with the Imperial Fists during The Heresy (presumably via an unknown second founding chapter).
An interesting theory. The Exorcists are an interesting Chapter to speculate about for sure. I look forward to the next one
Equal parts stubborn and secretive. Must be chimeric between the dark angels and the imperial fists
I maintain that the exorcists are loyalist word bearers
Exorcists - Loyalist Word-Bearers, Silver Skulls - Loyalist Iron Warriors, Blood Ravens - Loyalist Thousand Sons. I also feel like at least one of the Raven Guard Successors (Probably the Carcharadons or Death Spectres with an outside chance of the Raptors) might well be loyalist Night Lords.
The power of the Emperor compels you.
Im making a custom chapter as a full primarius successor of the exorcists. Always great to see more lore
Word Bearers maybe?
In the end, they are responsible for Huron Blackheart getting away alive from Badab, so fuck'em, seriously.
Glad you gotten this video out today. It's a great birthday present to me.
Happy Birthday! ^^
Thanks bud @@40KTheories
Sad that the Grey Knights would have been the new Legion that Magnus the Red would have inherited if he had accepted the Emperor's offer to sacrifice the Thousand Sons to earn his forgiveness.
I like the idea of them being Word Bearers successors. Color scheme, similar iconography, even the tones of certain characters seem closer to that of Word Bearers than the stoic or zealous Imperial Fists and successors. As well, the Word Bearers are surprisingly free spirited. They have the technical knowledge and experience in exorcising daemons and fighting them and whose to say a few Word Bearers wouldn't find a reason to want to turn on their daemon allies.
It would make for a good reason to cover them up with an Imperial Fists lineage. I do still like the idea of them being Imperial Fists, just not as much and I do think that knowledge of them being Imperial Fists isn't unreasonable to be kept to the first company. They are a chapter that are clearly doing something wrong in their practices and them being in connection with the Imperial Fists could make the Imperial Fists look bad if their practices were made available to the wrong people
We know because of 'End and the Death', that Dorn has endured extreme mental torture by Chaos and over come it. So it makes sense Exorcists are of Dornan heritage.
Bear in mind that this resilience demonstrated by the Exorcists (as per their index astartes article) is also stated to be an anomaly, with no other Imperial Fist successor chapter demonstrating anywhere near this level of resilience against Chaotic influence.
I hate this retcon by black library.
You and me both.
I can just feel the seething anger behind that otherwise-neutral tone…
I posted this on on another Exorcists video already. My take is that they are:
1) An official Grey Knight successor chapter (kept in secret by order of the Inquisition) but disguised as an Imperial Fists successor chapter on paper.
OR
2) A Chimeric Gene-seed Chapter composed of Grey Knights and Imperial Fists.
Your thoughts
I get the feeling that you arent the biggest fan of Rogal Dorn.
Nah, Dorn himself is fine.
I think the Exorcists were victims of GW's rapidly deteriorating writing ability/care the the company's IP and history.
Love the Exorcists
good day can i ask whats the name of the song playing in the backround?
The Space Marine theme from Dawn of War 2
thank you @@40KTheories
Always excited to see you post! Great vid :D
Maybe they are imperial fist gene-seed, spliced with grey knights gene-seed, and maybe word bearers. A triple mutant that by all rights would be harder to corrupt then even grey knights. As their rituals, dorns warp proof, psychic power of grey knights, and faith of the word bearers would be the ultimate deamon killing combo. That is cost effective if not heretical
Could an Exorcist be possessed by a Demon of the Emperor? What would such an Astartes even be transformed into?
In hindsight, making the Exorcists a 7th legion successor DOES make sense. After all only a fist would do something so self flagellating as allowing themselves to be possessed as a way of "defending" against the newly emerged threat of daemons in the galaxy at the close of the Heresy.
Given the possession therapy sounds like an Imperial Fist endurance trait it sounds like it could be connected to Dorne but I wonder if they’re a chimeric mix with another chapter?
Never liked the idea of them being associated with the Knights. For all their strength the Knights have been portrayed as being kind of dickish, and the Exorcists seem mire dedicated than dickish.
Why would the Grey Knights have a successor chapter? They're the most secret chapter in the entire imperium, and trying to keep them hidden almost resulted in a culling of the Space Wolves in The Emperor's Gift. Populations of planets were purged to remove any possible eyewitnesses. So why would you have a successor chapter? It's a major threat to their secrecy.
Kinda same, best theory is some inquisitor wanted some GK, somebody said they can't exceed a chapter, and so he rules lawyered the second guy by making a successor chapter.
@@wetzel4806 but if the Grey Knights are secret and officially don't exist, why do they have to comply with the Codex? they were created by Malcador as a contingency. I always assumed that the numbers that the Grey Knights have isn't because they're actually complying with the Codex and more because their aspirant selection process and implantation process is even more stringent than that of normal space marines and they're always fighting the most extreme of chaos enemies
So, although The Exorcists (on the record) stem from Imperial Fist Gene-Seed, CULTURALLY SPEAKING, their names and customs would appear to be VERY Colchisian.
Btw Colchis was the homeworld of the World Bearers and its entire culture is derivative of veneration to the Dark Gods and the primary language of the planet was a bastardized form of the Dark Tongue.
(Not to mention The Exorcists’ color-scheme and heraldry looking eerily similar to the Word Bearers).
These similarities are all done on purpose, and if you missed that, I can’t help you…
I'm fully aware of what Colchis is, don't worry. Though the detail of (superficially) similar colour schemes seems kinda irrelevant, given that the Word Bearers only painted their armour red _after_ they had turned traitor (as in when they secretly dedicated themselves fully to Chaos, as their armour was originally grey prior to this). So if anything that detail would be little more than a coincidence, much like how the Hawk Lords have the purple and gold armour synonymous with the Emperor's Children despite being Ultramarine successors.
As an aside, the Nemesis Marines (22nd Chapter - "Ultramarines"), are just NOT of that stock either.
Oh? I thought they were formed from the remnants of the legion's destroyer units?
Or did that change?
@@40KTheories No, exactly correct.
But they were not "liked" and always kept separate - essentially due to the NBC type of weaponry they wielded.
Theres interesting numerics and other hints about them.
Thinking more along the lines of the "forgotten" Legion, hinted as being perhaps "adopted" or suffused within Ultramarines at some point after/during the Rangdan wars.
IInd (2nd) Legion, #22 Chapter.
@@40KTheories I draw some parallel with numerology and Tarot.
22 = 2 X 11. (Note, 2 and 11).
2 = High Priestess, "hidden meanings" and much more of course .
11= Justice in the Major Arcana .... And you see Nemesis Chapter (40k+ current era) , wears the symbology of the Scales of Justice imposed over a skull motif.
@@40KTheories btw. Love your channel mate 👍
I would go so far as to say, that numerically 2 + 11 = 13.
Additionally, 1st Dark Angels, having been granted certain favourites, could be called (for want of a better term), "The Emperor's Own", so to speak AND the 2nd {redacted}, could be "The Empress (Erda's) Own"
Oh, I don't buy this... these seem to be loyalist Gal Vorbak.
This video skould have just been all of Remleiz rants from videos in one compilation 😂😂
I’ve always said that the Exorcists lore reads like bad Fanon
Since the onset of the Cicatrix Maledictum and Guilliman's return, haven't the Grey Knights come out of the shadows, so to speak? And if not, why do the Exorcist even know about the GK in the first place? And under what umbrella do they fall?
Yes but also no. GW seems unable to decide whether they are or not.
Why would the Grey Knights need Successor Chapters? They aren't limited by the 1k Battle Brother limit.
Best headcanon is some Inquisition rules layers and limboing across red tape.
When in doubt, Alpha Legion...
This is a lie!
Maybe....
Just put a meme marine or an angry marine that could work
what is stopping them from using Cawl's tech to upgrade first born grey-night gene-seed into primaris grey-knight gene seed ?
We don't know what Grey Knights geneseed even is and it's very likely that knowledge was not part of the Sangprimus Portum. Thus no Grey Knights Primaris
I say lost legeon GS
Ah one of the cursed 13th foundation
The Exorcists are the back up plan to the Grey Knights. They use different methods to achieve similiar results.
With all of the various differing origins my mind immediately went to the idea of them being a long running Alpha Legion covert operation. I know it's really changes in lore over time, but it almost sounds like everyone thinks someone else vouched for them, but no-one has ever bothered to check, and now so much time has passed that no-one really knows the truth anymore. After all, they're a chapter that forces initiates to get possessed by demons, and keep a bunch of spare possessed failed aspirants around in unknown numbers, which just screams Chaos to me.
They literally look like Word Bearers! The skull emblem is what Word Bearers used back in Horus Heresy, you can see it on Zardu Layak. They use the same writings, color scheme, mantras to expell demons, even the geometric seals. Maybe just borrowed knowledge.
Bear in mind that the skull emblem is also the same one used by modern Librarians (as shown here atop the armour of this Ultramarine Librarian www.warhammer-community.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/BX6NVEy8GfzHZyMa.jpg )
@@40KTheories Indeed it is but that skull was used on Zardu Layak's bodyguards and himself. He was a master of possession and his bodyguards were the strongest Gal'Vorbak with blades which scared even Greater demons.
Nice and interesting video!!
This is one of the lore changes that just chaps my ass. They are now and always have been and always will be Grey Knights successors. I still appreciate the video. My anger is directed at GW for screwing it all up, not you for talking about it.
old lore MUCH better !
Currently, the secret that the Grey Knights exist WAS one of the biggest kept secrets in the Imperium. It seems that the secret has long been opened up.
#WaluigiForSmash
You can hit the Pub with the Exorcists, they are fun , we are Dorn's reject sons :P
Thank you.
#ForTheEmperor
No mention of their religious nature and potential connection to the word bearers? For shame.
If the Exorcists are from Grey Knights stock shouldn't they be all psykers?
Not necessarily, since the proto-marine Leetu (whose geneseed is also derived directly from the Emperor instead of a Primarch) wasn't a psyker. Grey Knight aspirants are selected exclusively from psychically capable candidates, rather than such abilities being endowed to them via their geneseed.
👍 👍
I believe if the Grey Knights were the primogeniture chapter of the Exorcists then they should have more pyskers in the chapter. Because that's one thing that is made abundantly clear in Grey Knights lore is that all of them have psychic powers. But these little mysteries make good conversation points in lore discussions.
The Grey Knights are all psykers because they only recruit psykers. They go through a process called "The Unlocking" that can amp up psyker abilities of them a weak psyker to the standard they need. It's not coming from the geneseed.
So heartbreaking, for so loyal and well meaning brothers to fall to such heresy, it makes their necessary extermination such a tragedy, tho admittedly the blatant lie regarding their Grey Knight heritage does make it a lil easier 🤷🏻 =I=
Only the decendents of Dorns line would be so pragmatic as to respond to multiple demon possessions with a simple "No" each time, then yeet the demon out. 😊
Malleus is not pronounced "maylee-us". Its "mally-us", as they're named for the book 'Malleus Maleficarum', aka 'The Witches' Hammer'. Malleus is Latin for 'hammer.'
"Muh-lay-us"
Caramel, pronounces "Cuh-Ra-mul" (the third, forbidden pronounciation)
Alpha Legion is hard at work
One small factor that might be worth considering is that Primaris marines haven't been around that long in the grand scheme of things, so it could be the reason Grey Knights don't have them is simply because they haven't yet found one who meets their criteria for recruitment that also isn't utterly tied down with chapter affairs.
With that said though, The Exorcists are *definitely* Ultramarines, like fucking everyone these days.
I know 9th rolled the clock back, but by 8th edition's timeline at least the Grey Knights have had roughly 200 years to integrate Primaris into their ranks. 🤷♂️
What day is it?
"Today, Sir? Why it's Christmas Day!"
I think the confusion about the Dorn ancestry might be a typo…
the Executioners are a Imperial Fist successor, the author may have written Exorcists by mistake??
Loyalist Word bearers. Learn of the evil, learn its weakness, master the art of killing it.
I struggle to accept them as Grey Knights successors. Even by Space Marines standards, Grey Knights have a low creation rate, and they hardly function compliantly, so why would they ever need a Successors Chapter? Are they Chimeric? Does Dorn blood weaken their super gene-seed? Was someone trying to make an even more superior superior Space Marines? Is every Exorcist a psyker? Overall, I just don't see it. More likely, they are another Chapter derived of Chaos.
When the imperial fists were decimated in the war of the beast didn't they end up with alpha legion gs in their legion ? So exorcist = alpha legion. Fun thought:)
here's a Theory: what if the Exorcists are made using remnant of 2nd/11th Geneseed from the Legionaries the Fists absorbed?
and the Grey Knights Origin is a red herring hidden behind a smokescreen designed to keep it a turbo secret.
Maybe? But personally I find it unlikely the remnants of the two lost legions would have been allowed to retain their original progenoids upon being absorbed into the Imperial Fists and Ultramarines, especially since there is a precedent for progenoid replacement in Epimetheus - who had his original Dark Angel progenoids removed upon being inducted into the Grey Knights and replaced with new ones made using Grey Knight geneseed.
7:57 Sigma. So Skibidi in my Ohio
Has anyone ever noticed how we got a *rainbow coded* "Priesthood of Terra"
I mean, you got the...
•RED - Tech Priests, Adeptus Mechanicus
•YELLOW (with RED sash) - The Chosen, Adeptus Astronomica
•GREEN, Acolytes & Adepts, Adeptus Astra Telepathica
•BLUE - Adepts, Adeptus Astronomica
•BROWN &/or BROWN - Adepts, Adeptus Administratum
The grimmdark future stans Pride lol.
The Imperium is inclusive of who they soul-sacrifice to the corpse of the half-dead Immortal God-Emperor of Mankind!
We're ALL Human after all, Right?
😃👉🏽👉🏽
✊🏽🏳️🌈💀
Could you make a video (or even just a short) covering this, I cannot UNthink it. 😅😂 ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Oh give it a fucking rest.
They are Word Bearer Loyalists and nobody can convince me otherwise
100% from the color scheme, white symbols on thier armor (literally the same as Word Bearers), geometric seals (also the same), Emblem (the same can be found on Zardu Layak).
I never understood why there weren’t more loyal word bearers at least enough to justify a purge like istvaan 3 I mean they literally came up with the idea of the emperor=god surely a good chunk of them would be unwilling to betray god despite monarchia and lorgars persuasion but I guess they were a legion of zealots and sycophants so I guess they could be conned into believing anything just never made sense for me