"I can pulp your flesh and snap your bones in less than a second and without so much as lifting a finger. What is the power of technology compared to that?"

— Vel'Cona, Chief Librarian of the Salamanders

Librarians are the psykers of the Space Marines who survive a Chapter's rigorous screening and training to bend the powers of the Warp to their will for the benefit of their fellow Battle-Brothers and in service to the Emperor of Mankind. Beyond their psychic functions the Librarians of the Astartes are also expected to record the great deeds of their Chapter and maintain the Chapter's storehouse of ancient lore, the functions from which they received the name for their position. Librarians are often isolated from the rest of the Chapter, as they possess the psychic abilities the Space Marines are often expected to abhor and purge in most other beings, but particularly in other humans. Space Marine Librarians are expected to use their abilities to serve the various companies that comprise their Chapter, however their actual place in the Chapter's order of battle is with the Librarium. As the name suggests, the Librarium is a place within a Space Marine Chapter's Fortress-Monastery where the Chapter's vast knowledge base, gathered over millennia of hard-fought battles and participation in successful Imperial Crusades, is stored.

Space Marine Librarians generally serve their Chapter in one of four capacities or ranks. The Librarium is led by the oldest and most powerful Astartes psyker who bears the rank of Chief Librarian. The Chapter's most potent battlefield psykers are the Epistolaries, and the Chapter's psychic communications and the Librarium's records are maintained by the Codiciers and the Lexicani (sing. Lexicanium), respectively. Within the Space Wolves' Librarium is an armoured room for controlling the fortress-monastery's defence systems.

Contents 1 History 2 Psychic Abilities 3 Recruitment 4 Librarian Ranks 5 Combat Doctrine 6 Appearance 7 Notable Librarians 8 Sources

History Edit

The Imperial records concerning the origins of the Space Marine Librarians are murky and mired in legend rather than hard facts like much of the history of the Imperium's early days. However, according to the chronicler Saphrus the Ancient, during the Great Crusade of the early 31st Millennium the Emperor of Mankind held a great Imperial conclave, the Council of Nikaea, on the newly-terraformed planet of the same name, to determine whether human psychic powers and the practice of psychic sorcery presented a danger to the newborn Imperium of Man and its people. Within the Imperium there were those, like the Thousand Sons Space Marines Legion of the Primarch Magnus the Red, himself a powerful psyker, who had an extremely high rate of psychic mutation and regularly used psychic abilities and sorcery to expand the growing Imperium's reach across the galaxy. Others, such as the Space Wolves Legion of the Primarch Leman Russ and the Witch Hunters known as the Sisters of Silence, held that all psykers, even those who were Astartes like the Thousand Sons, represented a grave threat to the human race. The Emperor invited the advocates of both sides to attend the conclave and at the Council on Nikaea they argued each other to a standstill. It was only the intervention of a contingent of Space Marine Librarians from the other Legions besides the Thousand Sons that presented a compromise. Their proposal was that while the Imperial education of psykers to best serve humanity should be made a priority, the conduct of psychic sorcery would be outlawed as an unforgivable heresy, since psykers were simply tools who could serve Mankind for good or ill, but the powers of sorcery could only be gained by treating with the foul denizens of the Warp whose malevolent intentions were often manifest. This compromise was made law without a provision for rebuttal, and the Edicts of Nikaea have stood for ten thousand years as the official policy of the Imperium on the use of psychic powers. Some Primarchs accepted the ideas of Magnus in their own Legions, while others like Leman Russ refused to deal with what they saw as dishonourable deception and unnatural witchery and outlawed all psychic powers as simply sorcery by another name. Today, in the 41st Millennium, each Chapter remains vigilant to ensure that new recruits will not taint the gene-seed of the Chapter through mutation. However, the psyker mutation is often encouraged, and these Astartes are then inducted into the Chapter's corps of Librarians.

Psychic AbilitiesEdit

Librarians of Codicier rank and above make use of their psychic abilities in combat. These include the ability to project their consciousness above the battlefield so that they can get a bird's-eye view of the combat in a ritual that commences with the recitation of the Litany of Sight Beyond Sight. Doing so opens a wound on their forehead exposing their psychic Third Eye, which allows them to view locations that would normally be obscured. Librarians can channel psychic energy (often through Force Weapons) to deal greater damage than a normal mêlée attack would allow. They can also read the minds of others, unless they are protected by psychic shields. Some Librarians are sensitive enough to determine the last thoughts of the dead before their souls were absorbed back into the Immaterium and they can even see the emotions that have strongly influenced a place. Librarians are capable of telepathic communication across vast distances and can also read the ever shifting tides of the Warp, allowing them to sometimes demonstrate the capability of forseeing probable futures through limited displays of precognition. Other psychic combat abliities commonly used by Librarians include the following powers:

• Smite - Lethal bolts of Warp-powered lightning leap from the Librarian's fingertips, tearing his enemies apart in a ferocious burst of raw psychic energy channeled through the Librarian's own central nervous system.
• Force Dome - Reaching out with his mind to draw on and shape the power of the Warp, the Librarian erects and shapes a barrier of shimmering psychic force around himself and his companions.
• Machine Curse - The Librarian uses the power of the Warp to psychically torment the Machine Spirit of an enemy war engine which can damage or disable that vehicle.
• The Avenger - The Librarian draws on the ancient legends of his Chapter to call forth from the Immaterium a destructive avatar of roiling flame. This psychic construct moves forward, its form given shape by the Librarian's mind, leaving only destruction in its wake.
• The Quickening - One of the most potent psychic abilities available only to Librarians of great power and skill, the Quickening allows a Librarian to rip open a small portal in the chaotic tides of the Immaterium and project his physical being forwards in the timestream, so that to an external observer the Librarian seems to act so swiftly as to defy the vision of his foes.
• Null Zone - The Librarian turns the full force of his mind upon the foe, using the power of the Warp to peel away their own layers of mystical protection and leaving them more vulnerable to the weaponry of his Battle-Brothers.
• Might of the Ancients - The Librarian draws on the deadly powers of the Immaterium to temporarily increase the already superhuman density of his skeletomuscular system and heighten his physical strength to unimaginable levels, to vanquish the foes of the Emperor of Mankind. This ability is most useful to the Librarian when used during mêlée combat.
• The Gate of Infinity - A modified version of the same psychic technique used to produce the effects of the Quickening, the Librarian focuses his mind and creates a corridor of safe passage through the Immaterium, his own personal Webway, that allows him to cross great distances instantaneously, essentially teleporting across an intevening distance in the real world.
• Vortex of Doom - In a moment of pure desperation, the Librarian unleashes the full force of his psychic talents and rips open a tear in the fabric of reality between the material realm and the howling destruction of the Warp, unleashing devastating psychic energies that utterly consume his foes. This power is extremely dangerous, as the Librarian making use of it can easily lose control of the Warp vortex created, unwittingly unleashing it on friend and enemy alike until it has run its course.

Off the field of battle, the Librarians are responsible for maintaining and adding to the sacred records of the Chapter, attending to the Chapter's annals and the collective knowledge of their fellow Astartes built up over long millennia of service to the Emperor.

Recruitment Edit

The Aspirants and newly-implanted Neophytes of all Space Marine Chapters are screened by the Chapter's Librarians for signs of psychic capability. Those who possess the potential to become a Librarian are then forced to undergo the same trials and sufferings all other Space Marine Neophytes of their Chapter face, but they also have to learn to harness their powers and protect their minds from the daemonic dangers of the Warp. As Space Marines are far stronger mentally and physically than an ordinary man, their flesh is ideal for daemons to inhabit as a daemonhost. For a Librarian, each day is a long walk along a narrow path which, should they stumble or stray, leads only to madness, possession and the deaths or destruction of all that they hold dear. The training within a Chapter to become a Librarian is very difficult, as new Librarians must not only be strong enough to survive the rigours of their training, but possess enough mental discipline to fend off the daemons and entities of the Warp, as these creatures see the enhanced form and mind of a Librarian as a great prize through which they could work much evil in the material world.

Librarian Ranks Edit

• Lexicanium - A Lexicanium (plural: Lexicani) is a young Space Marine Librarian who has generally not yet seen combat and is still learning to fully control and make use of his psychic powers. Most of the time, Lexicani are found within a Chapter's Librarium, maintaining the vast amounts of information the Chapter has gathered over years of conflict and Crusade. With more training, Lexicani can become Codicers and be given significant combat assignments, able to harness their powers with greater clarity. Lexicanium Librarians are often distinguished by their lack of a Psychic Hood and helmet, and they usually appear very similar to their fellow, non-psychic Battle-Brothers except for the blue Power Armour that all Librarians are required to wear by the Codex Astartes as a sign of their status.
• Codiciers are Space Marines Librarians who have enough control over their psychic powers to go into combat. They usually receive further training to become Epistolary Librarians, so they can use multiple psychic powers in combat. They also usually do not wear a Psychic Hood to augment their abilities, but rather devices more useful than that of their Imperial Sanctioned Psyker counterparts who serve in the ranks of the Imperial Guard.
• Epistolaries are powerful Space Marines Librarians and their primary role, when not making use of their gifts on the battlefield, is that of the chief psychic communications officer of their Chapter. Even on the battlefield an Epistolary can send and receive psychic messages. Epistolaries have more mastery over their psychic powers than other, lesser-ranked Librarians, which allows them to use their abilities more often in combat than Codiciers or Lexicani. Epistolaries wear a Psychic Hood to augment their defensive abilities, carry a Force Weapon into combat and also have access to the full Armoury of their Chapter.
• The Chief Librarian is the strongest and most psychically attuned Librarian of a Space Marine Chapter, who all other Librarians in the Chapter report to, take instruction from, and respect. The Chief Librarian is the Master of the Librarium and is a living encyclopedia of knowledge due to his unrestricted access to the most ancient and potent texts of the Chapter. He is also the Chapter's single most talented psyker, stronger than even the Epistolary Librarians. Chief Librarians often lead forces or assist the Chapter Master in battle. Chief Librarians also spend a great deal of time training their lesser Codicier and Lexicanium Battle-Brothers in the dangerous ways of the Warp.

The role of the Librarian is different in the non-standard Space Wolves Chapter. Instead of Librarians the Space Wolves have Rune Priests, who serve both as the Chapter's Librarians and as its Chaplains. It is the Rune Priests' duty to keep the knowledge of the Chapter’s history, reciting the great sagas of old. The entire history of the Chapter is passed through these sagas; therefore the responsibility of keeping and passing on the knowledge is a heavy one. The Rune Priest's duty as a Librarian is carried out using the traditional shamanistic rituals of the Space Wolves' homeworld of Fenris. One of the most common powers displayed by a Space Wolves' Rune Priest is to be able to summon a storm across the battlefield, covering the army's advance.

Combat Doctrine Edit

Librarians are psychically-charged Astartes who are trained to use their abilities on the field of battle, as both weapons and as precognitive tools. The Librarians use a device known as a Psychic Hood to suppress their enemies' use of psychic powers and to augment their own; the hood's wires tap directly into the brain and act as an extension of the wearer's consciousness, allowing him to detect nearby manipulations of the Warp and to channel them through a series of crystals designed to augment the Librarian's willpower and thus make him more resistant to an enemy psyker's manipulations of Warp energy. When deployed, a Space Marine Librarian's psychic might exceeds even that of the Eldar Farseers in sheer brutality, though their abilities lack the sheer mental grace and accuracy that defines the fey Eldar species. Librarians wield potent Force Weapons, which are psychically-charged Power Weapons that allow the Librarian to enhance each strike with rippling psychic energy.

Appearance Edit

A Librarian of a Codex Astartes-compliant Space Marine Chapter wears blue Power Armour with the Chapter badge on the left shoulder plate and a horned skull (the symbol of the Librarium) on the right. Most wear a white robe over their torso which typically bears a stitched symbol of their rank (usually that of a Codicier or Epistolary). Most carry scrolls and copies of ancient texts with them, either as badges of office or as references of wisdom. Almost all Librarians above the rank of Codicier wear Psychic Hoods, the arcane apparatuses which contain crystals that can amplify the wearer's abilities and strengthen their control over them, as well as enhance their resistance to the psychic abilities of others. Some Librarians go to battle in Tactical Dreadnought Armour - better known as Terminator Armour - which is painted and decorated in the same manner as their fellows clad in normal Power Armour, and also includes a Psychic Hood. Because of the sheer size of Terminator Armour, those suits worn by Librarians are modified to carry special Warp-sensitive crystals (similar to those fixed within Psychic Hoods) inside the finger tips and palm, so that a Librarian can still use his powers while encased within the protective suit. However, a Librarian in Terminator Armour may wish to simply use his Force Staff to manage and exert his power, and wield a ranged weapon in his free hand.

Notable Librarians Edit

Each Chapter has a Chief Librarian, the strongest and wisest psyker in the entire Chapter. A psychically-powerful Astartes often becomes the Chief Librarian by virtue of experience or by demonstrating exceptional self-control and willpower, both vital traits for an Imperial psyker. Below are named some of the most well-known Chief Librarians of the Space Marine Chapters of the Imperium of Man:

• Chief Librarian Tigurius - Tigurius is the Chief Librarian of the Ultramarines, a masterful telepath rumoured to be the most powerful of all known Adeptus Astartes psykers. It is said that he touched minds with the Tyranid Hive Mind and survived - a feat previously considered impossible, as the psychic weight of the Hive Mind would overload the telepath and subsume his soul. His equipment enhances the power of his psychic abilities, doubling their maximum range.
• Chief Librarian Mephiston - Mephiston of the Blood Angels not only survived the Black Rage, but also greatly benefited from it. His gaze is so terrible even the most disciplined heroes would quiver in its line of sight, and he possesses the ability to fly under his own power. He is a close-combat-oriented Librarian, and is perhaps the greatest Space Marine swordsman in the known galaxy.
• Grand Master Ezekiel of the Dark Angel Librarians - Ezekiel is the greatest of all Dark Angels Librarians and has the ability to traverse the minds of his enemies, predicting their moves before they even think of them. His Mind Worm psychic power can cause an opponent's brain to literally melt and the destroyed brain matter then leaks out through the ears.
• Rune Priest Njal Stormcaller - While not officially a Librarian, Njal Stormcaller serves the Space Wolves Chapter as their most senior Rune Priest, the non-standard Chapter's closest equivalent. Njal earned his surname for his ability to summon potent storms through the power of his mind and the observation of the most ancient of Fenrisian shamanistic rituals.
• Ahriman of the Thousand Sons - Although not a Librarian of the Loyalist Chapters, the Chaos Sorcerer Ahriman was infamous for his journeys throughout the galaxy, ransacking vaults and looting any Chaotic or sorcerous artefacts he could get his hands on that would increase his own power or knowledge of the arcane. This caused many custodians of such artefacts, including several Space Marine Chapters, a great deal of paranoia and has resulted in the preemptive destruction of many artefacts to keep them out of Ahriman's hands. Ahriman is also responsible for turning the entire Thousand Sons Traitor Legion into mindless automata whose souls have been fused with their Power Armour through the use of the infamous spell known as the Rubric of Ahriman.
• Sarpedon, Chapter Master of the Soul Drinkers - Sarpedon was the Chief Librarian of the Soul Drinkers, a Renegade Chapter of Space Marines that is currently considered Excommunicate Traitoris by the High Lords of Terra. Sarpedon possesses the unique psychic power known as The Hell that allows him to psychically enter and then project his opponents' greatest fears along with a recent physical mutation giving him extra appendages, manifesting in the form of chitinous spider legs which were unwillingly bestowed upon him by the Tzeentchian Daemon Prince Abraxes.
• Hestion, Librarian of the Salamanders Chapter - This Librarian of the Salamanders Chapter played a valuable part in the first major conflict between the Imperium and the Dark Eldar in the 35th Millennium. He served on the Strike Cruiser Forgehammer when it was crippled by Dark Eldar raiders and taken through the Webway to Commorragh. With no means to call for aid, he saved the ship's complement by sending a psychic signal to the Astropaths of the Salamanders with the stricken vessel's coordinates. During the battle that followed in the Dark City of Commorragh, Hestion smashed many Dark Eldar gunships with a psychic storm and bought time for his Battle-Brothers to destroy the gravitic salvage spars holding the Strike Cruiser in captivity, allowing the Forgehammer to fly free again.

Sources Edit

• Codex: Space Marines (5th Edition), pp. 56-57
• Codex: Space Marines (4th Edition)
• Heroes of the Space Marines (Anthology), "Headhunted" by Steve Parker
• Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader (1st Edition), Games Workshop, Nottingham, 1987