The Ordo Sepulturum, also called the Ordo Sepultura, is an Ordo Minoris of the Inquisition. This Ordo is one of the smallest and newest of the Ordos Minoris, formed during the 13th Black Crusade. The focus of the Inquisitors who comprise this Ordo is the relatively new threat presented to the Imperium of Man by the emergence of the Plague Zombies, the Nurgle-spawned Zombie Plague and the Poxwalkers. The Ordo Sepulturm's Inquisitors are particularly dedicated to combating the Death Guard Traitor Legion and all the myriad diseases and plagues it has unleashed on the Imperium since it became a more active force in the galaxy following the resurrection of Roboute Guilliman, the Lord Commander of the Imperium and the birth of the Great Rift.
History[]
The Inquisitorial Rosette of the Imperial Inquisition
One of the smallest and most specialised organisations within the Inquisition, the Ordo Sepulturum operates around the Eye of Terror and the Great Rift and is dedicated to investigating a specific threat -- the Zombie Plague. Although occurrences of Plague Zombies have been recorded across the Imperium for many millennia, it is in the wake of the Plague Fleets of the Chaos Champion Typhus, the Herald of Nurgle, that they have grown in number to the point where they present a threat to the Imperium in their own right. Before Abaddon's 13th Black Crusade, the incidence of Zombie Plague around the Cadian System dramatically increased. This was noticed by several agents of the Inquisition who were soon in communication, and within a few standard years several more Thorians, most notably Inquisitor Aghastri, were investigating the Zombie Plague and the Ordo Sepulturum was formed.
As a combination of both a Warp-based Chaos infection as well as an actual physical malaise, the Zombie Plague has always been on the agenda for Thorians to study, but its unpredictable nature and sporadic occurrences meant that it took luck or a tremendous amount of patience to capture Plague Zombies for investigation. With the advent of the Eye of Terror-related epidemic in the wake of the 13th Black Crusade, the formation of the Great Rift, and the Plague Wars, Inquisitors that had previously been thwarted in their missions to achieve specimens were suddenly confronted with a plethora of test subjects.
The Zombie Plague physically degenerates those it infects -- and infection can occur in many ways, including psychically -- but maintains a portion of the life essence of the victim even after physical death occurs. The parallels between the Zombie Plague and the operation of the Golden Throne have not been overlooked. The increased study of the Zombie Plague has lead many Thorians to believe that in its unaltered form it may well provide several clues to the nature of the Emperor's life-in-death, but all forms of the "faith virus" so far examined have undergone mutation.
Much more rare is the Obliterator Tech-virus, which again is a Chaos-born contagion that combines elements of physical corruption with mental disruption. Allowing the psychic manipulation of technology, the Obliterator virus makes it possible for humans to interact and meld with machinery, not only on the physical plane but also on the psychic and spiritual level, making it another area of intense interest to the Inquisitors of the Ordo Sepulturum.
Notable Inquisitors[]
- Inquisitor Aghastri - Aghastri was a Thorian Inquisitor who intently studied the the Zombie Plague. Before Abaddon launched his 13th Black Crusade there was a high incidence of Zombie Plague outbreaks around the Cadian System. Noticed by several of his Thorian peers, Aghastri was instrumental in the formation of the Ordo Sepulturum for the express purpose of studying the Zombie Plague.
- Inquisitor Bastian Caius - Bastian Caius was an Inquisitor active in the Cadian Sector at the end of the 41st Millennium. In 999.M41, he participated in the Reclamation of Kathur, where he hoped to gather enough data on the reasons for outbreaks of Plague Zombies in order to fight them better. Inquisitor Caius died during the Reclamation while fighting a Daemon Prince of Nurgle, the very being responsible for the outbreak on Kathur two solar months earlier.
Sources[]
- Codex Heretic Astartes - Death Guard (8th Edition), pp. 18-19
- Inquisitor: The Thorians (Specialty Game Sourcebook) by Gav Thorpe, pg. 20
- Cadian Blood (Novel) by Aaron-Dembsky Bowden