The Mechanicus Priesthood of Naximus Prime
You can find many common notes about the Machine Cult on the Adeptus Mechanicus page.
Four Facts About the Priesthood of Naximus Prime
- They are Independent and Isolationist. In the years since first contact between the Imperium and the Priesthood of Naximus Prime very few Imperials have been permitted entry past the string of stations that guard the only safe approach of Naximus Prime thanks to the yawning black hole 22-32-Azhdahā . The Priesthood is rigidly independent still believing in a time where Mars and Tera were independent of each other and bucks any attempt at Imperial influence. They are also ethnically Ruwwadi which plays a good part in their hostility even if they are partially removed from their people by their ways.
- They survived ten thousand years of siege. Exactly how many times in the millennia between the fall of Prosperitas to the Archenemy in the Horus Heresy and the arrival of the Prosperitas Crusade the Naximans weathered assaults on their territory is unknown, but this played a great part in their isolation.
- They worship the Omnissiah Ouroboros. The Naximans resoundly reject the divinity of the God-Emperor, and give worship to the Machine God in a form independent of influence, instead giving worship to the Omnissiah Ouroboros the Machine God in the form of a Great Serpent-like entity that (according to them) flows through all code. The Naximan Cult is deviant from many norms of the Machine Cult though exactly how far is unknown, the organisation of the Naximan Cult into a series of 'rings' means that not even Naximan Priests sent out into the wider galaxy (who are often of the out-most Ring) have been fully indoctrinated into the mysteries of the inner ring of the Naximan Machine Cult.
- They build ornate technology with baroque aesthetics. Unlike the brutalist designs of Ferraeus and the smooth lines Castellum, the Naximans spend a lot of time crafting beautiful creations. This is in part one of the reasons (alongside the quality of their work) that Naximan cybernetics are highly sought-after amongst the Imperial nobility, as they are quite beautiful.
The Naximan Mechanicus
Naximus Prime was the last of the Forge Worlds of the Prosperitas Sector to be united with the Imperium. At the far other end of the spectrum from Imperial-welcoming Ferraeus, and neophile Castellum the Mechanicus of Naximus Prime still act as if they live in the Golden Age of Humanity, where the 'Mechanicum' as it was then called was an Empire unto its own.
Unlike those Hereteks who once ruled the world that is now Ferraeus - the Naximan priesthood did not serve the Regency during the millennia of heretic domination of this region, and remained effectively blockaded or under siege for the ten thousand years protected by a narrow warp corridor around the edge of the black hole 22-32-Azhdahā heavily mined and guarded by Mechanicum vessels, post-unification Imperial Forces remain actively unwelcome within this domain, allowed to enter only by the permission of the Council of the Forge.
The result of this cybernetic mastery are Skitarii Legions filled with high quality cybernetic troops that stand elevated in the hierarchy of Naximus Prime and a common aspiration of all menial workers. The entire culture of this world is alien to the Imperium, every strata of society assimilated into the Machine Cult, to outsiders, it is a strange and unwelcoming place, even towards other Tech-Priests, for the world has drifted down its own path in isolation.
Independent, and still thinking of itself as existing in a time when the Mechanicum existed as a separate, and powerful, independent empire. The leading Magos of Naximus have made it clear they see Ferraeus and Castellum as both being overly reliant on the Imperium, simple vassal worlds of an Imperium they either don't know or don't remember existing before their isolation. To the Naximans the other Forges and the Adeptus Mechanicus (a name they rigidly refuse to adopt) are little more than a shade of the once-proud Martian Empire that allowed itself to be cowed by the Imperium.
Naximus is served also by the lush Knight-World of Anaximund Alpha, a fertile bread-basket world, Anaximund’s sole duty is to devote its land-space to producing the crops and raising the animals that feed the ever-hungry worker-populations of the Forges on Naximus Prime. The world is defended by the noble warriors and their war-machine steeds of the Knight Houses – the Knights are bound by the ancient Sidon Protocols, forging a blend of the passionate warlike culture of the Knight House, and the cold logic of the Mechanicum. Or so the Naximan Priesthood would like to believe or those the Anaximundi opinion on the matter differs.
It is cybernetics where Naximus Prime gains its greatest renown and proves its indispensable nature to the Imperium. Thanks to the quality of locally mined metals the bionics crafted by the forges here are better made and more reliable than many others. Though the Machine Cult has always been known for its melding of flesh and machine as a religious principle it has reached a stage the majority of the population have bionic modifications, as a result of the artisan skill possessed by the Cybersmiths of Naximus Prime. It is a sign of wealth and beauty, to the people here to not be melded with the machine is an abnormality – the more subtle and delicate bionics considered ‘pretty’ and the larger, more steel and heavy duty types, considered a sign of strength.
The Forge's guardians are numerous, for in addition to its Tech Guard and the Knights of Anaximund it is protected by the Titans of the Demi-Legio Custodii Incudatem.
Tensions with Anaximund Alpha
The insular nature of the Priesthood of Naximus is not shared by all its subjects, the Knights of Anaximund have always been held by the ancient Sidon Protocols. Effectively enslaved to Mechanicus protocol, the Houses have often been willing to commit to Imperial endeavours when the Masters of Naximus are not, leading to friction. Given that the Houses' war machines are sorely needed by the Crusade, it has become something of a point of contention between Naximus and its subjects. Since the end of isolation the House has begun to question its reliance on a Forge that selfishly hoards its services when it is now able to reach out to other Forges who demand far less of it in exchange for meeting its needs.
As of 595.M41 this tension begun to become more strained as the Houses loyalties have been sorely tested by the unknowable nature of the Tech-Priests. Their Knights subjected to modifications for experimental purposes regardless of their station, their deployments by the Magi increasingly erratic. Perhaps what holds the subject-Knights from declaring outright that they are breaking from Naximus is that the only trade route to their world is guarded by Naximan fleets and defence stations and the ever-present threat of the Naximans sending the Titans of the Demi-Legio Custodii Incudatem to enforce their will on rebellious Knights. Keeps such rebellion at bay.
The Cult of the Ouroboros Omnissiah
At the center of the Naximans 'alien' culture to the wider Machine Cult is the veneration of the Machine God. Unlike other worshippers of the Omnissiah as a diety independent of the God-Emperor or not, the Naximan Machine cult does not venerate something that is depicted as human, the Ouroboros Omnissiah - a giant serpent with a cog-toothed spine eating its own tail is a presentation of what the Naximans believe to be called the 'perpetual force' the cycle of energy transfer without loss that symbolises for them the purpose of the Quest for Knowledge that they undertake, for the Naximans it is simply not enough to understand the world, for they must reach a point they are close to their God and perpetual energy is theirs to master and claim. This has driven an attitude of experimentation that leaves many Naximan Magi willing to incorporate non-standard augments to reach towards this perpetual goal.
Serpent imagery is recurrent in the Naximan culture and appears in that of the culture on its subject-world of Anaximund Alpha this entity exists, according to Naximan doctrine 'within the wires' and it is perhaps this particular veneration for circuitry that has born the attention to detail they demonstrate in crafting their Forges output.
Beyond this very few know the full extent of the mysteries of this sect of the Machine Cult, because of the rigid 'ring' structuring of the Naximan culture (see below) most of those who are sent out into the wider Galaxy have yet to be inducted into its deeper mysteries. This is in part because the Naximan's are well aware of the curiosity in their ways held by the other Tech-Priests of the Sector and the Inquisition and is cautious never to send those who know its greatest secrets away from the safety of protection. The Cult of the Ouroboros Omnissiah jealously protects its secrets from prying minds.
Rank and Organisation amongst the Naximan Priesthood
What is understood of the Naximan hierarchy is that it does away with any specific Master in exchange for a council of the Central Ring of the Machine Cult the so-called Magi-Satraps (singular Magos-Satrap) who rule the multiple Forge Fanes of their homeworld and its moons. The only non-Magi granted this title is the ruler of Anaximund's Knight Houses who is granted the title 'Princeps-Satrap of Anaximund' despite not having membership of the Priesthood. On occasions the Council has been known to 'appoint' a Fabricator-Šâhanšâh of Naximus to represent it, but such an individual is a faceless title representing the interests of the Forge rather than a true ruler of it.
Beyond the Central Ring of the Cult, the majority of ranks are recognisable to those outside of Naximus, the post of 'Magos' remains unchanged and most of the collegia exist on Naximus, though its Magi tend to be highly focused on achieving their tasks and a high number of deeply philosophical Magi focus on unravelling the mysteries of the universe rather than production and output. Until the arrival of the Prosperitas Crusade Naximan Tech-Priests only had to supply themselves and as such their world has only recently begun to produce to export to the wider Prosperitas Sector again via various trade agreements cut with House Vilas-Lobo.
Naming Traditions of the Naximans
Most Naximan take two parts, drawing from Semitic roots - these are often hyphenated. A direct result of the influence of the native Ruwwad culture of the original settlers of Naximus Prime with which the Magi make no attempt to hide their cultural ties to. Indeed Ruwwadi-Captained vessels are more warmed welcomed by Naximus (at a distance) then other vessels.
Older and more senior ranking Tech-Priests draw from an older tradition of Naximan naming draws from a root in the alphanumeric serial number designated to their augmetic chassis when they achieve the ranks where they are able to craft one. This serial number is recorded as a prefix before the chosen name of the Priest. Such traditions are rather archaic and only practiced by the higher tiers of Naximan society or by those who seek to achieve status.
Notable Priests of Naximus
Magos Secutor-Navpati Amytis-yâzdah is an extensively modified Secutor (war-priest) of the Naximan Mechanicum. The Magos Secutor-Navpati commands the Naximan Warfleet and holds rank equivalent to an Imperial Admiral. In 593.M41 she was responsible for collaborating with General Adora Astara to launch the Third Battle of Henlock. Her command extends over the Demi-Legio Custodii Incudatem and - in theory - the forces of House Qureshi, plus extensive Skitarii maniples. It is said she is a terror to behold, her chassis incorporating multiple armaments otherwise forbidden to the Imperium.
Aspbed-Princeps Setareh Korrami currently leads the Naximan-aligned Demi-Legio Custodii Incudatem from the Reaver-class Titan Falx Omnissiah. A stern veteran of two hundred years of combat, she is aging, and considered to be reaching the end of her service life as she becomes increasingly blended with her God-Machine and it becomes hard to distract her from the manifold