The Space Marines of Warhammer 40,000 are known as the fierce combat machines with big guns that crush any opponent. However, there are chapters that do not live for fighting – or at least not only for that. One of them even keeps a diary, albeit … somewhat questionable.
The Tome Keepers are a successor chapter of the famous Ultramarines. They are not one of the original chapters but originate from a later foundation. Their heraldry features an open book.
Although they are superhuman warriors like all Space Marines and still stronger fighters than any normal human could be, their true mission is to gather and preserve knowledge.
Among the Astartes, the Tome Keepers are somewhat like the history nerds and surprisingly empathetic, especially for Warhammer standards. Their inclination to preserve actually comes from the people they protect.
A multitude of new chapters has emerged from the Ultramarines. This is what the Smurfs
, as they like to be called, look like:
The Guardians of a Fleeting World
The homeworld of the Tome Keepers is the planet Istrouma (for the nerds among you: It is located in the Segmentum Pacificus). The majority of the planet’s surface is uninhabitable, as enormous radiation makes it a deadly place.
Nevertheless, around 8 billion people live on the “dark side” of the planet on a large continent – but only with a life expectancy of about 30 years. Even for human standards, that is a fleeting lifespan.
The inhabitants of Istrouma have therefore developed the tradition of documenting their lives and stories in books that are stored in large libraries. The Tome Keepers, who were assigned to this planet later on, have become living legends for the people there due to their long lives.
After the people of the planet welcomed the Space Marines so warmly and showered them with all sorts of honors, the Tome Keepers swore an oath to protect these traditions at all costs.
Knowledge that Shortens Eternal Wars
As a result, the Tome Keepers have not only become fighting protectors but also historians and chroniclers. They do not only record what happens on Istrouma, but everything – especially what happens in battle.
The importance of knowledge to the Tome Keepers is evident in their doctrine: Every brother carries a book with him, which he fills with knowledge about the battle after a fight. Accordingly, the Tome Keepers do not rely on sheer firepower but on tactics that combat the enemy as efficiently as possible.
Similarly, the Iron Hands, one of the strongest chapters in Warhammer 40,000 also operate this way – however, the knowledge of the Tome Keepers is accessible. Reports suggest that their records have already helped the Imperium drastically shorten devastating wars through knowledge.
The diaries of the Tome Keepers are so important to them that they are to be recovered together with the gene-seed whenever a brother falls.
Devoted Preservers of Knowledge
Unlike most other Astartes, the Tome Keepers have a significantly closer relationship with humans. How much the Space Marines feel connected to the people on Istrouma is revealed by their mutual perceptions of one another:
- As the people on the planet live very short lives while Space Marines feel as if they live for “eternity,” the Tome Keepers feel as if their path to their ancestors is blocked.
- At the same time, the people often do not see the Space Marines as holy warriors but as living dead because, in their understanding, they should have been dead long ago.
However, the collection of knowledge also has a downside, especially in a world that thrives on faith. The chapter has, therefore, a chronicle that offers a sober, objective, and undistorted view of the Imperium of Man. Accordingly, their relationship is tense.
Nevertheless, the Tome Keepers do not keep their knowledge secret, and they strictly follow the Codex Astartes, which are the rules that apply to Space Marines. A very different chapter handles knowledge and humans: A chapter of Space Marines is so secret that all “normal humans” must die if they hear about it.
