garret wrote:i was wondering how does a chapter chose chaplain.
Are they space marines who are the most devoted or are they the oldest members?
please and thank you.
How long is a Peice of string?
No, seriously, it all depends on a Chapter by Chapter Basis.
Ultramarines will tend to Recruit the Oldest and Wisest Marines (aka those who are about 20 by standard Ultramarine Standards)
Blood Angels recruit those who are able to near conquer the Black Rage, as they are the only ones who keep the Death Company in Check
Dark Angels recruit only the most Pious of the Deathwing, as they are Interrogator Chaplains, charged with Making the Fallen repent.
But, I must admit, I know most about the Wolf Priests of the Space Wolves.
As you know, a Space Wolf Pack never receives new members, for in this way, the members of the Pack Bond as Brothers, accruing a Sixth Sense, fighting with the Cunning and Ferocity of the Wolf Pack. As such, it is only natural for the Older Packs to have fewer members. These "Long Fangs" as they are known (because the Canis Helix causes abnormal Canine growth with age) are veterans of countless battles, more experienced than the lesser Marines of other Chapters 10 times over. As such, they are the most level Headed and Wise of the Legion. As such, sometimes Pack members are reduced to a Single member, at which point they might become responsible for training the fresh recruits, or just show a wisdom and clarity of thought exceptional even for a Marine of that Experience.
In the latter case, a Current Wolf Priest selects and asks the Long Fang to join the ranks of the Wolf Priests, to help Preserve the Cult of Russ and the Chapters Genetic Heritage.
Of course, this can often be difficult, because Wolf Priests are the final authority in most disputes between the Sons of Russ, Even a Wolf Lord, even the Great Wolf, will seek counsel from the Wolf Priests in matters of grave importance. As such must be utterly Impartial and therefore it requires a severing of all pack ties, taking a new name. For the Long Fang this is a difficult choice, for if his Brothers have been slain, he feels he is betraying their memory, sacrifice and the Oaths of Loyalty that bonds them. It is even more Difficult if his Pack is Still Alive, for again, the feeling that he is betraying his brothers he has stood by for centuries. The Wolf Priest will often counsel the Long Fang at this time, and eventually, most relent, knowing that rather than betraying them, they are doing them the greatest honour, for they put their personal wishes aside in order to ensure the Survival of the Sons of Russ, the Space Wolves, The Emperors finest Space Marines.
He is mourned for, and lauded greatly, as though he were a Fallen Brother, for his Sacrifice is no less than that who was slain doing The Emperors Will.
So it is that a Long Fang becomes an Apprentice, learning the Rites of Initiation, the Techno-Magic of the Geneseed, the Spiritual Litanies that have ensured the Survual of the Wolves of Fenris since before the Dawn of the Imperium of Man.
-to many points to bother to count.
