My idea with this post is that it occurs sometime after Cain has taken the Torredon Subsector for himself.
Inquisitorial Report: C45173436 - The Gentle Heresy
Author: Inquisitor Solran of the Ordo Hereticus
Thought for the day: "A moment of laxity spawns a lifetime of heresy."
Subject: The Gentle Heresy
Moral Threat Grade: Ultima
Clearance Level: Red (1)
It is with great trepidation that I compile this report. However, I will not be negligent in my duties to the Imperium and the God-Emperor of Mankind.
This report concerns that realm of falsehoods and heresy known as the Cain Protectorate and the threat that they represent to the greater Imperium.
Everything starts with the man known as Ciaphas Cain, the Black Commissar (I agree with Inquisitor Vail on the stupidity of that nickname. All Commissars wear black! It's part of the standard uniform for Throne's sake! I swear someone in the Munitorum got lazy.), the so-called 'Liberator', the heretic who first organized the disparate elements of Slawkenberg's heretic cults into the formidable enemy they are today.
It was thanks to Cain's leadership that Slawkenberg was able to rebel against Imperial authority and remove the Giorbas family, the approved Planetary Governors, from power. Caiphas Cain; most likely with the aid of his fell patrons, has grown the Slawkenberg rebellion from a single world into a force that has claimed almost the entirety of the Torredon Subsector.
Due to the multitude of threats that the Imperium has faced throughout the Damocles Gulf and greater Lithesh Sector, Cain's rebellion has largely been ignored. More pressing matters such as the Tau Empire, awakened Necron Tomb Worlds, and remnants of Hive Fleet Behemoth have held the attention of Sector Command. In fairness, though I am not a member of the Ordo Xenos, I can recognize these are all massive threats to the Imperium's control of the Sector. The need to deal with them is far more imminent.
However, my fellow Inquisitors, I fear we are making a grave mistake.
My spies on Slawkenberg have sent me a great deal of information on the Cain Protectorate (thoroughly reviewed for signs of subversion of course, with my agents being regularly switched out and interrogated for hints of corruption). From my analysis of the forces under Ciaphas Cain's command, I have come to realize that what they lack in numbers, they more than make up for in quality (and it nauseates me to admit this).
The standard soldier of the United Slawkenberg Army (USA) comes equipped with power armor, lasguns that outpower Imperial Guard equivalents, and some form of mysterious technosorcery that lets USA detachments speak with their central command on Slawkenberg! Their physical abilities far surpass what the standard Imperial Guardsman can match, likely due to the Khornate influence that runs rampant among their ranks. Their regular soldiers are equipped as well as our own most elite Imperial Guard units.
That Cain has managed to equip his soldiers so well despite the small size of his realm implies an industrial and economic capacity that far outstrips what its initial size would imply. As well as advances in technology that imply the hereteks under Cain, known as the Bringers of Renewed Greatness (Borg), have long since abandoned the regulations imposed by the Adeptus Mechanicus, and likely turned to foul Warp sorcery alongside other heresies. Or, per my discussions with Inquisitor Vail, STC fragments.
Their combat doctrine differs greatly from standard Imperial protocol. From recordings of battles against the Cain Protectorate, it appears that the USA practices both ranged and close combat formations. Their soldiers are often equipped with chain weaponry of some form, chain glaives or chainswords being the most common. Once more, this is evidence of their corruption by Khorne, for the followers of the Blood God are often known for their love of close combat. Standard Imperial Guard Regiments, while equipped with bayonets or knives, only rarely carry specialized close combat weaponry; being a privilege to earn rather than a right.
The USA also seems to work well with the Protectorate Navy, with the commands being closely linked. This enables the USA to have frequent arial support in their combat operations. The contrast with the Imperium is significant here, for the separate commands of the Guard and Navy were created by the wisdom of the Primarch Roboute Guilliman following the disaster of the Horus Heresy.
The Protectorate Navy is another oddity. Rather than relying on the firepower of larger ships to win engagements, the Cainites prefer to let their flaships hang back and allow their fightercraft to do the bulk of the fighting. At first I thought that such a tactic was because their ships were too weak to do any real fighting. But after reading the reports of various naval engagements the Protectorate have been involved with, I have been forced to reevaluate my stance. Eldar corsairs, Ork warfleets, pirates, and even Tyranid splinter fleets have all fallen to Cain's navy.
The Protectorate Navy's fighter doctrine has proven disturbingly effective. And I worry that we have no counter for it, for our own void craft are inferior in every respect to the Cainite ones.
It is not only their military capabilities and doctrines which are concerning.
When one thinks of the typical world conquered by Chaos Cults, there is a certain image that comes to mind. One of fire in the streets, roving bands of manic cultists hunting down hapless people to use in foul rituals, cities that crumble as temples to the Dark Gods made from the bones of the innocent rise ever higher, anarchy as all forms of law and order perish, the Warp slowly corrupting everything in its path. And if the cults have their way, an eventual fall to transform into a daemon world.
But that is not what the worlds of the Cain Protectorate are like.
And I use Slawkenberg as my primary example.
Slawkenberg, by all rights, should be a nightmarish world on the brink of total collapse since its rebellion against the Imperium of Man.
Yet by all accounts it is thriving. In fact, Slawkenberg is doing better than a great number of Imperial worlds by comparison.
Slawkenberg's economy has gone through several periods of immense growth and does not seem to be stopping. Its industry and agriculture have grown by leaps and bounds. The population has experienced an exponential rise. Trade flows in from the other worlds of the Cain Protectorate. Compared to the simple pleasure world it was before, it has become a political and economic power. Were it still part of the Imperium, the current Slawkenberg would have been an invaluable local capital for the sub-sector.
This is in stark contrast to what the world was like under the Giorbas's rule. Through my scouring of the old records from before the Slawkenberg uprising, I am forced to admit, those fat dullards mismanaged the world to the extreme. I'm genuinely surprised they managed to hide things from the Administratum for as long as they did as well as they did. Though a large amount of bribes to various nobles throughout the subsector helped.
I must be frank, had the Giorbas been in front of me, I would have had the entire family executed.
During my study of Cain's realm I had the privilege of speaking with Inquisitor Vail of the Ordo Xenos regarding her own experience with the Cain Protectorate. It was during our conversation that I heard the phrase which I now call this rebellion.
The Gentle Heresy.
In order to understand why I use this term that Inquisitor Vail first spoke, I will explain a bit about Slawkenberg's society. That the various Chaos Cults in control of Slawkenberg have not descended into violent civil war against each other is nothing short of a dark miracle. They actually seem to be working together, as impossible as that sounds.
As mentioned earlier, the Khornate cults have control over Slawkenberg's military. Meanwhile the civilian government is run by Tzeentchian cultists. And Slaaneshi cults pervade the schools, arts, entertainment, and many other social facets of Slawkenberg society.
Under normal circumstances, with Chaos Cults so pervasive in every aspect of society, one would expect rampant Chaos worship among the populace, with profane rituals and sacrifices to the Dark Gods performed without abandon.
Yet that is not what happens on Slawkenberg. The pict-recordings my operatives have sent back to me could easily be mistaken for a prosperous Imperial world if there was no context to them.
The people of Slawkenberg appear to be happy and hale, leading otherwise peaceful lives. They seem relatively productive, despite the decreased work hours from the times of the Giorbas. Slawkenberg provides free education, even to commoners of all things! And the hereteks called the Borg host free lectures open to the public without any need to be instructed in the doctrine of the Machine God!
There is no starvation, public order is well maintained, and the world itself remains relatively un-polluted from its heavy industries. There are public funds for the poor, with free food and shelter offered.
Worship of the Dark Gods is barely noticeable unless one goes actively looking for the cults. Even then, my spies have observed the rituals and rites to be so minor that almost no Warp influence can be detected from them.
Most baffling of all is that the so-called 'Liberator' still allows for the existence of a small temple to the God-Emperor within Slawkenberg. And per my spies, though small, there is a dedicated congregation that still attends, along with a previously approved Elccesiarichal priest.
Fellow Inquisitors, I do not think I need to explain why this is all so dangerous to the very moral fabric of the Imperium. But I shall do so anyways.
In many respects, I argue this is even worse than your standard world ruled by Chaos.
On these worlds the heresy is obvious. Upfront. And openly cruel. It is easy to reject except for those who are already too far gone.
In comparison, Cain's realm is a thriving, functioning society that could pass for any peaceful Imperial world. And that is precisely why I have decided to name Cain's betrayal the Gentle Heresy. Because the name sounds ridiculous, unassuming, benign.
The name is a reminder. No matter how gentle or benign, heresy is still heresy.
Slawkenberg hides its heresy beneath a veneer of compassion, success, and a gentle demeanor.
Many worlds throughout the Imperium are not nearly so prosperous. An overwhelming amount of our population live in abject squalor, if not outright enslavement. And honestly, that's putting it mildly.
The easy, plentiful life on Slawkenberg would attract many who have the misfortune to be stuck on a Hive, Feral, Rad, Death World, or the many other planets across the Imperium with less than ideal living conditions.
The ignorant masses of the Imperium would be easily swayed by the Gentle Heresy. For it hides its corruption well under the guise of 'Liberation'.
And then, there is the Arch Heretic himself. Ciaphas Cain. The man behind this madness, this Gentle Heresy.
This Warmaster of Chaos has shown something more terrifying than his force's military strength; his heretek's technological capabilities, the power and stability of his realm, or even the disturbing level of enticement his realm provides to those ignorant of the danger.
Ciaphas Cain's greatest weapon, with which he pursues his Gentle Heresy against the Imperium and all servants of the Golden Throne, is his charisma.
And I fear with it, we have another Horus Lupercal in the making.
Go on. Laugh.
Laugh at me. Call me a fool. Say I am paranoid. That I blow things out of proportion.
After all, compared to Abaddon the Despoiler, Caiphas Cain doesn't even count as half of a spec of cosmic dust. He rules one subsector at the very fringes of Imperial space in a region wracked with warp storms and beset by countless other threats.
Yet, this seemingly ordinary man, with no psychic potential, no augmentations, has managed to wrest control of an entire subsector away from the Imperium all while maintaining his realm's stability. He acquired invaluable STC fragments such as the Panacea (of which Inquisitor Vail's retrieval was a God-Emperor granted blessing).
He displays a masterful use of propaganda, uniting the cults of Slaanesh, Tzeentch, and Khorne underneath his banner by spiting the fourth, Nurgle. In doing so he shows his intellect by taking the fractious nature of Chaos and using it to his own advantage.
Cain has even managed to rally Chaos Space Marines to his banner, most being World Eaters, though a few others are from a variety of Traitor Legions and fallen Chapters. He even titles himself Warmaster of Chaos; and has proven more successful than most others who have claimed that title.
And Cain has managed to do something Abaddon has not.
He has won the love of his subjects. Something Horus Lupercal had in spades. And something Abaddon will never have; for the heretic Astartes may respect him, and mortal slaves follow him out of fear, but none love him.
How much of the Imperium followed Horus in his Heresy not because he conquered them, but out of love for him? An ugly truth we try our best to suppress to the modern Imperium, but one we of the Inquisition are all too aware of.
With permission from higher authorities on Terra, I have been able to look at ancient pict-recordings of Horus Lupercal during the Great Crusade. After studying his speech and mannerisms at various rallies, public events, diplomatic campaigns, and Imperial Compliances; I've compared them to pict-records of Ciaphas Cain's own public appearances.
What I've seen deeply disturbs me.
Cain does not look like a servant of the Dark Gods. He continues to wear the uniform of a Commissar, absent any traditional Imperial symbols. His looks could be considered conventionally handsome. If he had remained true to his oaths to the Golden Throne, I have no doubt Cain would be used as a posterboy for the Imperial Guard's propaganda department.
Cain often deflects praise, heaping it on others. He downplays his own role in events. He displays the mannerisms of a humble, reasonable, and affable man.
Cain offers many worlds generous deals. He gives away priceless resources as though they mean nothing to him, and asks for little in return.
When insulted he can smile it off and create some self-deprecating joke to get the whole room laughing. But amazingly enough, always with him, never at him. (And that smile… that Emperor damned smile of his! I had to send several women and a couple of men to the penitence chambers because of it!)
But when he speaks, truly speaks, there is a fire in him. Cain is able to capture the attention of everyone within his vicinity. Even I found myself momentarily awed by his rhetoric. I can only imagine how easily the naive masses of the Imperium can be swayed.
My fellow Inquisitors, this is exactly how Horus Lupercal operated.
Horus was more than just a general. As a Primarch, he possessed a charisma and capacity for leadership and politics that was nigh unparalleled, save by his fellow Primarchs.
And now I see it again in Ciaphas Cain, the 'Liberator', the Arch Heretic of Slawkenberg, leader of the Gentle Heresy (I refuse to use the term the Black Commissar).
I warn you all now that if Ciaphas Cain is not dealt with, the Gentle Heresy will spread like wildfire across the Imperium. I fear it has the potential to become the next Horus Heresy.
We must deal with Cain now, before it is too late!
In the meantime, I have a few recommendations that can help to mitigate the damage that Cain can do before he is dealt with.
I propose that a branch of the Inquisition be established for the express purpose of watching over Planetary Governors. Especially considering the atrocious leadership of the Giorbas is what led us to this point. Also, consider how many Imperial worlds throughout the Imperium of Man's history ended up in rebellion simply because their governors proved inept.
I also recommend that the Ordo Militum be strengthened in the Damocles Gulf. Our failure to prevent an incompetent buffoon like Chenkov from rising to his position or Karamazov's mad purges devastated Imperial Guard operations in the Gulf. The aftermath created the perfect opening for Cain to spread his heresy.
All communications within the Damocles Gulf should be heavily monitored for messages of the 'Liberation' that Cain promises to all worlds of the Imperium. We must stay on top of such messages and be ready to suppress them at a moment's notice!
There are also opportunities with which we can delay the growth of Cain's realm. I advise that we attempt to divert either the Tau Empire, Tyranid Splinter Fleets, or Ork Warbands into the Cain Protectorate's territory.
I have also discussed the problem with other Inquisitors for additional aid. I have… issues with some of their ideas.
One scoffed at the notion that the way of life offered by the Protectorate would attract the common masses. They stated that the people must learn to love the whip. They felt a person's station in life was decided by the God-Emperor and any attempt to change that was heresy.
A different Inquisitor stated that we should have Planetary Governors start daily floggings of the populace. And that Governors should select people at random for executions. They believed this would comfort the people by showing them that the Imperium was always watching them. At the same time, this would instill fear in the populace that any attempts of rebellion would be easily crushed. Thus combining a healthy dose of reverence and fear for the Imperial government.
Another recommended that we commit Exterminatus on every world that has even heard rumors of the cause of 'Liberation' that Ciaphas Cain preaches. This brings up uncomfortable thoughts of the Months of Shame.
Overall those Inquisitors I spoke to left me with… thoughts about their continued service (I swear on the Golden Throne I saw one of them trying out a fake beard that resembled Karamazov's!).
I have placed concerns about them on suspicion of being infected with Karamazov's Madness.
I am hoping I can discuss further strategies for dealing with the Cain Protectorate at the next Inquisitorial Conclave with more stable minds.
As I finish this report I cannot help but think back to the insane Inquisitor Fyodor Karamazov's failed reclamation of Slawkenberg. Though he was a madman whose actions crippled Imperial operations throughout the sector, I wish he had succeeded in this one particular instance. We could have shot him afterwards then. For Karamazov's failure and the consequences are a burden that we all must now bear.
And so ends my report on the Gentle Heresy.
This is Inquisitor Solran of the Ordo Hereticus.
The Emperor Protects.
(1): I once saw that Colors were used as clearance levels by the Inquisition. I think it's from the Gaunt's Ghost series. Vermillion was supposed to be one of the highest level clearances. There doesn't seem to be good information about clearance levels for the Inquisition, so I had to make mine up. Red level clearance is a mid to high level clearance. I chose to give the moral threat level a high rank because I felt the point of the post itself was to show how attractive the way and lifestyle of Slawkenberg would be for the people in 40k; and how that can easily lead someone astray. But the information itself isn't super dangerous, since it can't exactly summon daemons or anything.
I hope I managed to write an Inquisitor who acknowledges the threat that Cain's Forces present to the Imperium in more than just a military sense, but rather at the social and spiritual level. Yet, at the same time still filled with all the biases that being an Inquisitor, or really any Imperium aligned character, comes with.
For instance, he acknowledges that most peoples' lives in the Imperium are shit, and that Cain can attract a number of people just by offering them a better life. But not once does my Inquisitor character actually suggest improving people's lives in the Imperium. He just advocates for not making them worse.
My goal for this post was to make an Inquisitor who thinks the Gentle Heresy is actually the next Horus Heresy in the making, and is terrified of all the consequences that will have for the Imperium. Is he right, is he a paranoid fool? That's up to each individual to decide!
Also because I think the Imperium actually naming Cain's rebellion the Gentle Heresy would be hilarious. Imagine people having to take that name seriously.