Litany of Hate
Spoken before battle by the sons of Sigismund
- Spoken by
- Black Templars
- Refrain
- “No pity. No remorse. No fear.”
Context
When the Black Templars muster for war, they do not pray for the Emperor's mercy upon themselves — they pray that no mercy be given to His enemies. The Litany of Hate is voiced through helm-vox before drop-pods strike home, intoned in unison across continents. It is not a curse but a discipline: a steadying of the heart against pity, against doubt, against the small mortal voice that asks whether perhaps the heretic could be reasoned with. The Litany answers: no.
Sigismund, the first High Marshal, is said to have spoken its first lines at the gates of Terra. Ten thousand years on, his successors still kneel before the Black Sword and recite it word for word.
The Litany
Hate the heretic. Drive him from your sight.
Hate the witch. Burn what she has touched.
Hate the alien. Suffer not its breath.
Hate the traitor. Hear no plea, grant no peace.
Pity is rust. Mercy is rust.
Only hate is steel.
Only hate endures.
By the Sigismundic Throne, I make my hate eternal.
Response of the brotherhood
“No pity. No remorse. No fear.”
Have you sworn an oath fit for the Black Templars?
Speak your vow at the shrine