Editing Eyes of the Emperor (section)

==High Command: The Vardhana and the Council of Ten==
[[File:Acharyawarrior.jpg|200px|thumb|A warrior of the ''Acharya'', one of the gene-descendants of the Council of Ten.  He wears a white robe as a sign of the wisdom he has inherited from his sires, and would lead a squad of ''Satria'' or ''Wesias'' brothers in battle.]]
''If there are ten brothers, nine wicked and one virtuous, let them be in council together that the nine may learn from the one.''

- Sayings of the Vardhana


From their creation, the Eyes were ruled by the '''Council of Ten'''.  Although these mysterious warriors were among the most famous servants of the Imperium, they carefully cloaked their identities behind code-names and claimed to have been the same ten Astartes that fought for Hektor in the Unification Wars.  Regardless of the truth of the matter, Master Silence later disclosed that the Council at the time of Ullanor consisted of:

* '''Kamal Kulkarni''' or '''Master Scroll''' was the leader of Nineteenth Squad and the spokesman of the Council.  His soft voice and languid manner in civilian settings belied a cold cunning.
* '''Surya Narang''' or '''Master Scalpel''' served the Legion as the head of the Legion's ''medicae''.  He was well-known among the other warriors of the Sacred Band, and in contrast to the rest of the Eyes was always eager to share medical knowledge.
* '''Shresth Nibhanupudi''' or '''Master Forge''' was trained in the forge-fanes of [[Mars (Hektor Heresy)|Mars]] itself shortly after the signing of the Treaty of Olympus Mons.  Due to his mastery of the machine arts and proud history, Shresth came to hold dominion over the many Techmarines of the Eyes of the Emperor.  He and his direct gene descendants were not members of the ''Wesias'' caste, but claimed responsibility for "guiding" their younger brothers.  Shresth was considered by many Magoi to not only have an extraordinary understanding of the Machine Spirits but also to have gone far on the Quest for Knowledge.  By the time of the Heresy, he had become almost entirely mechanical in form and fused his body with a suit of Terminator armour.
* '''Madhukar Jain''' or '''Master Termite''' supervised the Legion's Castra.  Although the Eyes built few large-scale fortifications, they had many hidden fortresses and caches in their areas of operation.
* '''Bala Misra''' or '''Master Cloud''' took command of the Legion's fleet strength.  He maintained close relationships with many Forge Worlds and his correspondence with Magoi on the effort to match the needs of the Eyes with the technical possibilities of warship design is one of the few substantial written records in the Legion's history.
* '''Nilam Tamboli''' or '''Master Brush''' supervised the intake of new Aspirants into the Legion.  He was pitiless but soft-spoken.
* '''Damodara Mhasalkar''' or '''Master Rat''' was charged with overseeing the Legion's ''Frumentarii''.  Unlike in other Legions, in which intelligence-gathering activities were subordinate to the Victualary and broader logistical concerns, the Eyes put great store in their spies and scouts.  He maintained close ties with the [[Rogue Traders (Hektor Heresy)|Rogue Traders Militant]] who preceded the Great Crusade.
* '''Sanjit Chowdhury''' or '''Master Leopard''' had overall operational control of the Legion.  Although he deferred to the other Council members on overall strategy, Chowdhury was a gifted planner and military leader who could be relied upon to achieve the goals of the Legion.
* '''Somchai Metharom''' or '''Master Owl''' commanded the Legion's Victualary and his command of supply made him one of the most influential members of the Council.
* '''Phirun Soun''' or '''Master Silence''' was one of the most mysterious and powerful individuals in all of the Legiones Astartes.  As a boy he was taught by the ancient Lièrén brotherhood in the lands to the south of the Emperor's Himalazian dominion, before being inducted into the Space Marine Project.  To the frustration of his trainers, the boy remained true to his vow of silence - but the same mental discipline gave him the strength to withstand daemonic temptation as his psychic powers matured.  When his prodigy became clear, Phirun was taken out of the general pool of recruits and personally mentored by Malcador the Sigilite.  He emerged from his training as one of the Imperium's strongest psykers and an outstanding warrior.  Despite his vow, the other Council members welcomed Phirun into their ranks as the Chief of the Legion's Librarus.  He would eventually be stripped of this honour and cast down into the ranks of the ''Satria'' after the Council of Nikaea, but bore the dishonour with his customary stoicism.

Nominally above the Ten was the Primarch, Shakya Vardhana.  But the Vardhana's mind was little inclined towards the day-to-day direction of the Legion.  On his first meeting with the Council of Ten, the Vardhana informed them that they were to continue their work as they had before his rediscovery.  The Primarch would intervene in the operation of the Legion sparingly, directing the Ten to use Marusthali as a training world and gathering his chosen cohort of Disciples to carry out missions of his own choosing.