Editing Black Augurs (section)

== 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.