It is uncertain how, or
when, the Black
Templars ceased to field
Librarians, for with their
disappearance, much of
the Chapter’s history was
also lost. Outsiders
suggest that, as the
Chapter came to worship
the Emperor as a god,
they took his decree at
the Edict of Nikaea to
disband their Librarius
divisions as holy law.
Others whisper that the
Black Templars’ geneseed
has somehow
deteriorated, or that their
Librarians were slain
during a great war in the
Chapter’s history. Some
scholars point to the
Black Templars’ final
battle to end the Catelexis
Heresy of M34, and the
apocalyptic psychic
death-screams that tore
through the Warp after
the slaying of the
Cacodominus, as another
possible explanation.
Whatever the truth, the
Black Templars have
come to accept the loss of
their Librarians as part
of the Emperor’s divine
plan. If the Emperor
decides to once again
bless the Black Templars
with Librarians, they will
embrace it, but until that
day, they will wage battle
without these powerful
warriors at their side.