Horusians

Horus was weak. Horus was a fool. He had the whole galaxy within his grasp and he let it slip away
- Ezekyle Abaddon

Within the Xanthites there are those whose beliefs go even further, and are known as Horusians. The Horusians look to the Primarch Horus who was a mighty being invested with immense Chaos power, and see an opportunity wasted. They believe that a new Horus could be created, invested with great energy from the Warp, but one who would unite all of Mankind for its betterment, rather than enslaving it to Chaos. Most other Inquisitors consider the Xanthites, and particularly Horusians, to be walking along the edge of a precipice. Xanthites are commonly seen amongst the Inquisition as arrogant and dangerous, toying with powers they do not fully comprehend. Puritanical Inquisitors have a particular loathing for Horusians, who they see as the most dire heretics with their belief that they can create a new Emperor. However, as one of the oldest philosophies of the Inquisition, and including among their number some of the most learned and powerful Inquisitors, it is a brave or rash Inquisitor who will stand alone against the Xanthites. Most often, as was the case with Xanthus himself, a cell of Inquisitors will form a common cause against a particular Xanthite in an effort to expose his perceived heresies and to deal justice.

Their dealings with daemons and the Warp leads many Xanthites and Horusians to become members of the Ordo Malleus, and they quite frequently build up associations with Chaos cults. They have been known to create sects of their own which are concerned with unraveling ancient mysteries and delving into arcane lore and knowledge.

Despite the pogroms of the 35th millennium, Horusian ideals have waxed and waned in popularity ever since the founding of the Inquisition. The Horusian ideal is quite simple, and yet also unpalatable for many Inquisitors, even those with a resurrectionist outlook. Their assumption is that somehow the powers of Chaos that manifested themselves in Horus might be harnessed for the creation of a Divine Avatar, or perhaps in the process of transferring the Emperor's soul from its current form into the body of a living god.

Considered radicals except by themselves, the Horusians are few in number but fanatical in their cause. They tend to be older Inquisitors, frustrated by the lack of answers provided by other resurrectionist theories and therein lies the danger. Chaos and its power can never be viewed as a quick route to success, for in that direction lies damnation.

Quite apart from the normal anti-resurrection arguments, many Inquisitors view Horusians with suspicion, out of fear that their dabbling with possession and Warp intrusions endangers those around them and the Imperium in general. However, the most experienced Horusians are well versed in the perils of the Warp and Chaos and so are numbered amongst the most proficient and dedicated daemon hunters in the entire Inquisition.

Like all such philosophies, the Horusians must tread a path along a precipice of dedicated service to the Imperium and the fulfillment of their researches. It is a path that most have trodden wisely, but not all Horusians have remained faith and, perhaps like Moriana ten thousand years ago, succumbed to the lure of the Dark Powers.