Editing Black Augurs (section)

=Summary of Legion XIV=

Sorcerers, warlocks, magician, and witch doctors. These are just some of the names Black Augurs are known by. 
They use fast and brutal tactics, favouring ambushes and any way they can get an upper hand on their foes. Hostages, destruction of civilian infrastructure, and massacres to antagonize their opponent are never out of the question. The legion is known not just for their sorcery and psychic power but also for their lust for power. The Black Augurs are raised from the world of Ostium, who was once ruled by sorcerous meritocracy, where anyone who could scheme or fight their way to the top could control all those below them without question. The Black Augurs have inherited this vicious ambition through their Primarch alongside his psychic ability. The entire legion is constantly competing within itself, every legionnaire scheming to take the position of his superior, from the lowliest acolyte to the Voidwatcher himself.  

==Legion Disposition==
The Fourteenth legion is most bizarre not for its sorcery, size, or even its system of organization, but for its almost complete lack of the trope of brotherhood that is pervasive in all it's sibling legions. Instead the Black Augurs have an almost childlike concept of power and highly isolationist tendencies. 

The Black Augurs live to gain power. The legion inherited a meritocratic mindset from their Primarchs homeworld of Ostium where everyone is expected to try to advance in society through any means necessary. Because of this every Augur believes he is pitted against not just the foes of the Emperor but also every single one of his battle brothers at any given time. Every marine must constantly be trying to advance his status within the legion, be that through training relentlessly to earn battlefield honour, studying ancient tomes to glean new and powerful sorcerous ability, or scheming endlessly to usurp his superiors position. This mentality of constant conflict has bred the Voidwatcher's sons to be on constant guard to the point of paranoia but also means that each Black Augur marine is constantly improving himself past the point of another legion's in whatever is area of expertise is. 

The legion also views the standard Imperial citizen as an expendable resource, something to be used and discarded once they're usefulness is finished. This disdain comes from the fact that not only do most citizens not try to move past their station, and are therefore either lazy or weakwilled, but also because they do not possess even rudimentary psychic skills. This also bleeds over into some of their brother space marines, legions with lower numbers of psykers are viewed as unworthy to be sons of the Emperor and only those with a high population of them are viewed with any respect. This is, of course, with a few exceptions.

==Legion Tactics==

The Black Augurs generally specialize in sneak attacks and ambushes, where they can put their precognitive abilities to best use. During the Crusades they preferred to use trickery and some diplomacy to conquer worlds. When that failed it only required one or two engagements to break the spirit of a worlds defence in the face of an army of seemingly magical superhumans. They most commonly preferred to fight in close quarters, (jungles, underhives, etc.) where their psychic abilities and quick reflexes could prove most useful. They were also known to use unscrupulous and "dishonourable" tactics such as hostage taking, execution or torture of civilians to lure out guerillas, and outright massacres to put down civil disturbances. They also proved adept at channeling the ruinous powers and summoning daemons when the time of the Heresy came, something that many of their loyalist brothers had long feared.

''' Sorcery '''

The vast majority of the higher ranking members of the Black Augurs practice sorcery to some degree and to truly excel in the legion one must immerse themselves in it. Powerful psykers known as the Vates act as the legions Librarians and Captains. The Black Augurs have many arcane rituals and practices that they claim channels their psychic abilities. Chanting and burning of incense in combat, inscribing ruins and esoteric symbols directly onto their armaments, and focusing on a single thing to discern prophecies from it or destroy it with gouts of warpflame. They can channel a huge number of psychic powers with their disturbing incantations and sorcerous rites. All can project visions of doom and death into the minds of their enemies to demoralize and confuse as well as cause intense pain in the minds of individuals or small groups. The more powerful can project visions of unimaginable horror and the future death of all their opponents hold dear directly into their minds, often causing them to go mad with grief or anguish. Many high ranking Vates can project blades or projectiles of invisible psychic energy, cleaving or blasting their foes with a flick of the wrist. The most powerful of the Vates as well as the Primarch himself can channel their will so fiercely into another's mind that the strong willed will often black out and the weak's brains boil out of every orifice or explode. 

''' Augury and Foresight '''

Some Black Augur marines can simply channel their combat focus into being able to predict the very near future, dodging bullet and sword swings and knowing when to fire on an enemy behind cover can both come to Black Augur when he enters a trance like battle focus. The things most often used to discern the farther future are the black void of space, storms (solar, thunder, cosmic, etc.), large groups of animals, and the patterns of explosions and debris. The elite terminators called the Haruspices (Haruspex singular) even claim to be able to discern the future in the blood and viscera of their enemies and so use almost exclusively massive power glaives to produce as much of these two things as they can. 

''' Weaknesses and Shortcomings '''

On a more universal scale many members of the legion often suffer from horrific visions while in stasis after a hard fought battle and many neophytes suffer from visions of several of their deaths far in the future while becoming a marine. These visions are not always of the future, many even during the Great Crusade were scenes of cosmic hellscapes and dark creatures that none had ever seen before. The more powerful also speak of dark whispers that persist for days, though the Vates have attempted to suppress these rumours.

While incredibly potent as a tactical tool it is recommended that the common marine try to avoid going into a trance of prescience for too long in battle as they may discern momentary flashes of possible death. This is incredibly painful and distressing to such an extent that more than a few marines have had a vision of their death that is quickly followed by their actual death as a result.

==Legion Equipment==
[[File:Black Augur Revised.jpg|200px|thumb]]
'''Legions Colour and Ornamentation'''

The Black Augurs paint scheme is, obviously, mainly black. The bulk of the marine's power armour is black with a trim of midnight purple as a highlight or accent colour. The iconography of the legion focuses on birds and eyes. Their legion icon is the all-seeing eye inset in a pyramid but many marines choose to depict other symbols as well; including abstract birds (usually owls and ravens), slitted eyes, and numerous runes or hieroglyphs. The marines are actually expected to inscribe the latter onto their armour directly as a means of enhancing their abilities and to prove they've researched the arcane. Many marines carry tomes, scrolls, esoteric totems and icons, and various artefacts on their person at all times.

'''Stryx Pattern Terminators'''

Stryx Pattern Terminator armor, this pattern of Tactical Dreadnought Armor is unique to the Black Augurs' Haruspex formations. Its design bears resemblance to the Aegis Terminator Armor worn by the Grey Knights (as the Armor would go on, ironically, to inspire the armor worn by the 666th Chapter) and the Tartaros Pattern armor, as such it looks like the former, but with the latter's helmet. These suits of armor have a built-in Psychic Hood for defense against hostile psykers as well as Runes engraved into the armor with the intent of amplifying the wearers own powers. Frequently the armor's ranged weapons are mounted on the forearm of the user to accommodate usage of the Legion's trade mark weapon, the Force Glaive.

'''Acolyte Equipment'''

The acolytes standard equipment is not overly different to the standard for the Imperial Army kit in function, being comprised of a set of carapace armour, an autogun or shotgun, an ankle-length black trenchcoat, and a full face helmet. These helmets have become one of the most infamous aspects of the acolytes as it is completely featureless (a smooth black faceplate covers the entire front) and the acolytes are not allowed to be without it during combat. This is officially supposed to promote self sacrifice and camaraderie, but is more often seen as a way to remove an acolyte's humanity and to intimidate enemies.

== Organization ==
''The Black Augurs are few in number, but it's a rare being that has the chance to underestimate them twice.  Count yourself lucky!''

- Hephaestion Horatius, private correspondence

To understand the Black Augurs organization one must understand their Primarch and their history.  The Voidwatcher was born on the a small hive-moon known as Ostium. The entire world ran on a complete and brutal meritocracy. One had to fight for ever position and the ultimate goal of every citizen was to become a member of the Vates, the elite ruling class. The Voidwatcher was "born" into that class and revelled in it's vicious politics and constant struggle for power. He was an ambitious and power hungry man, completely enraptured by the system of violence. He was also an immensely powerful psyker with few rivals in the galaxy. When he discovered his legion he found them to be lacking in the personality and skills he had grown accustomed to. He devised a spell that would strip his legion of what he believed were petty moralities and greatly enhance their psychic abilities. This all came at a cost. The ritual wiped out the majority of the legion in the brutal throes of their ascendence. Their strength plummeted from 110,000 to just over 13,000. This was known as the Decimation, as only one in ten Black Augurs would survive. This ritual, on a much smaller scale, is still used to the present time among new initiates to the Black Augurs. The incredibly high mortality rates have resulted in a complete restructuring of the process to become a Marine. 

''' Acolytes ''' 

To combat the incredibly high mortality rate the Augurs adopted a system of ranks for initiates and every Marine is given an personal apprentice. At entry level, an initiate is classified as a lowly acolyte. They are commonly used as serfs, personal attendants (if one is lucky), test subjects, and cannon fodder. All acolytes are under the jurisdiction of their respective coven's (company's) Vates. A company may have anywhere between 1000-1500 acolytes. This means that there is a veritable army of acolytes within the Black Augurs and offsets the legions small size. Generally they act as support soldiers for the Augurs, preforming sweeping operations in cities, policing actions during conquests, and as a reinforcement in full scale battles. In many cases the Acolytes also serve as vehicle crews alongside one or two full fledged Black Augurs.

The black faceless legion of acolytes have earned an almost more infamous reputation among Imperial allies then their masters. Their blind subservience, cutthroat behavior among themselves, and the fact that many of the more known of the Augurs atrocities have been carried by proxy through them mean that allied commanders are hesitant to fight side by side with them. 

''' Apprentices '''

If an initiate manages to survive his time as an acolyte they will be able to take part in an induction ceremony. The induction ceremony involves the implanting of the geneseed and a sorcerous ritual similar to the Decimation then surviving the subsequent psychic turmoil. Those that survive will be given as apprentices to Marines that do not have one. If there is a surplus of apprentices to open Marines they will be given to the Vates instead as he can have as many apprentices as he wishes. The amount of time before an induction ceremony for acolytes is not predetermined and is usually left to the Vates to decide when he should allow one to take place. Generally it is when there are a significant number of marines without apprentices or if there have been several acolytes that have shown promise.

Each apprentice has his own designated Marine and is expected to follow his mentor everywhere, including onto the battlefield. Apprentices act as personal assistants, scribes, and right hands to their mentors. The fate of the apprentice is entirely in the hands of the Marine who he has been assigned and because of this the interactions between the two intended to be highly personal while also being instructional. The mentor will teach the apprentice the sorcerous and battlefield tactics of the legion while the apprentice waits on the mentors hand and foot. It is not uncommon for mentor and apprentice to become very close. Most covens have long traditions of a particular type of sorcery or even names passed down from mentor to apprentice through the ages.

This incredibly close relationship is tempered by the fact that there is no determinate end to an Augurs life as an apprentice. The only way to cease this transitory period is through the death of their mentor, selection by his coven's Vates, or the death of another Marine without an apprentice. This can culminate in a number of different ways. Usually the pair will fight together for some time and train a considerable amount before the mentor presents his apprentice to his Vates. Impressing the Vates will result in status for both the mentor and the apprentice so this is the most popular route. Another option that is less often chosen and never admitted is the mentor and apprentice conspiring the death of another Marine so that the apprentice can take his place. The least common event is the apprentice killing his mentor. The apprentice is highly unlikely to forfeit such a valuable source of knowledge and a vehicle for upward movement and the mentor is, as a teacher, more powerful than his student, making challenging them a risky proposal. 

''' The Covens '''

The coven is the standard unit for groups of Black Augurs pre and post Heresy.  It contains a Vates, the equivalent of a captain, a number of Marines and their associated apprentices, and numerous acolytes. Pre-Heresy they function similarly to a standard legion company but post heresy each coven went their separate ways as was supposedly mandated by the Voidwatcher before his departure. 

These post-Heresy covens became the equivalent of warbands, some going so far as to take new names and colours (though these are very few), scheming and gathering resources separately. However, once every 15 solar years the covens are expected to meet at the secret location of their legion homeworld of Ostium. This event is intended to allow some cross pollination of ideas among the covens as well as share information about their various region of the galaxy. These events are highly political and ritualized, with lesser covens trying to curry favour among the more powerful. There are frequent assassination attempts and power plays among the Vates in attempts to elevate their status.

==Legion Fleet==
*''' The Folly of Man, Gloriana Class Battleship, Black Augurs Flagship '''
The flagship of the Black Augurs was given to the legion upon the discovery of their Primarch but quickly became nearly unrecognizable, rather like the Augurs themselves. Much of the interior was restructured to be furnished as libraries, sanctums, and arcane laboratories for the new Augurs and the Voidwatcher. The Imperial iconography on the exterior was seen to be almost blasphemously defaced to depict the esoteric symbols endemic to the legion.

This transformation changed little of the armaments of the ship and the Folly of Mans guns, while standard, became notoriously associated with atrocities even before the Horus Heresy. After their fall to Chaos the Augurs battleships armaments were upgraded with the legions newly freed sorcerous powers. One of the most notorious of these new weapons was a specific ritual known simply as the Wail. This ritual, requiring the sacrifice of no less than 100 non-essential crew, let loose a psychic wave made of pure despair from the ship. While it had no effect on machines it wracked the minds of the enemies crews with visions of their torture, death, and the loss of everything they hold dear. Causing the crew to collapse to whimpering heaps is a potent tool in ship to ship combat and frequently routed entire battle groups sent against the Folly of Man.