Editing Temple Tendency (section)

===Hierarchy===
The Temple Tendency is mostly an organisation arranged by bloodlines, but is largely decentralised. It is funded by donors from noble families who rarely know each other, but are linked through the itinerant priesthood that moves between them.

Those priests are referred to as '''Shade Priests''' or '''Vandirian Apostates''' by the [[Inquisition]], but they simply refer to themselves as the "True". The Shade Priests lead double lives as travellers, merchants or pilgrims, which gives them the cover to move from location to location and minister to the local faithful. They are usually the illegitimate children of the noble families, taken at an early age and taught the doctrines of the faith in secret, but occasionally they might be a subverted member of the Ministorum itself.

In addition to ministering to the noble families, the Shade Priests sometimes have authority over assassination cells made up of secret members of the faith from various backgrounds. These cells are given free reign to roam and work against the Ecclesiarchy wherever the opportunity arises, so long as the veil of secrecy is maintained. Whether they are aware of any upper workings of the Temple Tendency is debatable and many cells will work alone, choosing and executing their targets without any further encouragement. The freedom to kill when they choose is considered by the Tendency to act as a sort of proving process, presumably to sort out the competent killers from the enthusiastic fools, after which the Shade Priests will take them on board and give them more focused tasks.

The Shade Priests are overseen by the '''Pontifices''', who are shadowy figures that mirror Ecclesiarchy cardinals, they have authority over each subsector who answer to a single '''High Priest of the True''' who oversees the Temple at the sector level. The Calixis Sector Pontifices have lost contact with branches of the Temple Tendency outside of their sector, so it is unknown whether the agency has any higher authority above them such as a mirror-Ecclesiarch or if it exists as independently operating cells.

The Temple Tendency has a number of hidden chantries located in various locations often wherever they are sponsored, be it in the basement of a noble family estate or in the depths of a void trading vessel, oftentimes the chantries were once the original sacred places of the Temple of the Saviour Emperor carefully preserved and protected from prying eyes. Despite being hidden in secret locations, a lot of wealth gets thrown into their construction so that they act as a gilded reminder of the greatness that the temple used to have and wish for again. These temples are protected by '''Chantry Guards''' who are an echo of the '''Frateris Templar''', long since forbidden by the Reformation decree. 

The Chantry Guards themselves are fanatics drawn from the military retainers of the faithful noble families. Rendered  mute by the voluntary removal of their vocal cords so they cannot share the secrets of the cult. They "speak" in an ancient sign language that is said to date back to the origins of the Imperium itself. ''(Note: the [[Sisters of Silence]] and the [[Space Marines]] both used varying forms of battle-sign during the [[Great Crusade]])''. The Chantry Guards are equipped with some of the best arms and protections available, with gilded plate that is the equivalent of best quality carapace armour, are implanted with synthetic muscle grafts to improve their capability as warriors, and chem-gelding to render them immune to temptation and coercion.

It says a lot about the "might and majesty" that the Temple wishes to return to if the Chantry Guards are only a ''mere echo'' of the foot soldiers of the Temples standing armies back in the day ''(additionally, the [[Seraphim Squad|Seraphim]] of the modern [[Sisters of Battle|Sororitas]] were said to fight in the "ancient way" of the Daughters/Brides of the Emperor, indicating they were more common than they are now and giving more hints as to the wealth and power of the Temple in its glory days)''

[[Category:Warhammer 40,000]]