Editing Conservators (section)

===Becoming a Conservator===
When a Conservator is first inducted into service, he is issued with a set of plate armor and a steel recurve bow as a member of the scout corps. Should the scout actually be deployed off planet into a major war zone, he would be equipped with actual marine weapons, shotgun or bolter, but against the unarmored feral orks which still crop up on worlds across the Asharn March, the powerful bows and explosive tipped arrows are more than enough to deal with them in small numbers. For more substantial threats the bolters are broken out of the armory, but even with interplanetary trade, bolter rounds are still valuable enough to merit cautious rationing where possible.

After completing his time as a scout, earning the augmentations that will make him a true marine, the scout will be sent to work alongside a master blacksmith. This smith could be a human or another Conservator, it matters not so long as their skills are sufficient. Working by firelight with the minimalistic technology available in the March, scout and smith will work together over the course of several days and nights to produce a sword of superior quality, worthy of being carried by a marine, and specially created to suit the fighting style of that Conservator. While a number of sizes and styles of sword are used, each one is of the highest quality possible, and while very well made are usually unadorned with decoration.

Upon completing the sword with which he will serve, the scout undergoes a public ceremony, similar to a knighting, in which he offers his blade to a full battle brother to inspect. Upon deeming the sword worthy, the elder brother will induct the scout fully into the ranks of the Conservators, while attendants clad him in the Mk V armor he will wear in the future. Handing the new marine his sword, the Conservator is now a full member of the chapter.