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Mournival

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The Mournival was the advisory council of four captains of the Luna Wolves Legion, the authority of its members second only to Horus himself within the Legion. Even so, it carried no official weight, was considered to be outside the command structure and was a position purely internal to the legion. At the end of the Great Crusade, it was composed of Ezekyle Abaddon, 'Little' Horus Aximand, Tarik Torgaddon and Garviel Loken.[1a]

Origin and History

There is perhaps conflicting information given on the origin of the Mournival; Garviel Loken states that it has existed since the earliest era of the Legion - at least for 200 years,[1a] but is later told by Tarik Torgaddon that it was created as an offshoot of the informal warrior-lodge that existed within the legion.[1c] Captain Serghar Targost later claims that the warrior-lodge was created after the Luna Wolves' first visit to Davin[2]. If this is correct then the Mournival could only have existed for approximately 60 years.

According to the iterator Memed, the word 'mournival' is an old Franc word for having 4 royal/court/face cards in your hand in a card game. This is often considered to be a winning hand.[1a]

Their duties were to advise Horus in all aspects of warfare and diplomacy, to provide political posturing when he required it, to watch over the moral shape of the Legion and to guide its philosophy.[1b]

Each member was marked out by the bearing of a variation of the moon symbol, branded on the helm above the right eyepiece. The last pre-Heresy Mournival possessed the following luna symbols:[1a]

  • Abaddon - Full Moon
  • Torgaddon - Gibbous Moon
  • Aximand - Half Moon
  • Loken - New Moon

Shortly after the Ullanor Crusade, and Horus's elevation to Warmaster, Captain Hastur Sejanus commissioned the making of four silver rings, each representing one of these phases, for himself and the other three members of the Mournival. However, Sejanus's ring was accidentally destroyed, after the silversmith was killed by Captain Serghar Targost, and it is unknown if the other three were ever given to Abaddon, Torgaddon, and Aximand.[4]

As Horus was corrupted by agents of Chaos, the Mournival was divided - Abaddon and Aximand followed their beloved Primarch, while Loken and Torgaddon remained loyal to the Emperor. With the deaths of the loyalists at Isstvan III the brotherhood of the Mournival was interrupted for the first significant time in its history.[2]

Some time after the Battle of Isstvan III, Horus Aximand proposed that two new Mournival brothers be recruited. After some discussion, and a proving in the field, he and Abaddon settled on inducting Falkus Kibre and Grael Noctua into their ranks.[3a]

Known Members of the Mournival

Known iterations of the Mournival included:

Other members who served at unknown points included:

Additional Information

  • Those elected to the Mournival are said to be considered the greatest Captains by their peers, and to ideally each posses markedly different but complimentary personalities.[1d] In this regard they can be considered in the light of the Four Humours, particularly as this language and phrasing is used in the novels. From characterisation and description given in the texts, it can be seen that Torgaddon represents the sanguine, Abaddon the choleric, Aximand the melancholic and Loken the phlegmatic.
  • Loken's predecessor, the 'perfect Captain' Hastur Sejanus is described as being tempered evenly in all respects.[1d] According to the theory of humourism, perfectly balanced humours create the ideal personality.
  • It may also be of interest to note that, in ancient Egyptian mythology, the sky-god Horus has four sons of different nature who are said to collectively make up his soul.

Sources