Editing Conservators (section)

==Chapter Customs==
The Conservators have over time adopted a number of eccentric customs and beliefs during their time in the [[Asharn March]].

===All Debts Shall be Paid===

This is the chapter motto of the Conservators, and is a very important component of their philosophy. Early during the rebuilding process, the chapter suffered from an identity crisis. So many new battle brothers being inducted to such a young chapter diluted what little tradition they already had. The Remembrance was a direct response to this, providing some core of history to build on, but for the majority of the chapter it was just stories of a bygone age being told to them by the grizzled survivors, not something that really affected their lives. The marines were instilled with a sense of honor and decency, but at the same time had to reconcile that with their need to loot and scavenge to survive, even if it meant taking things from their allies. This was a sad necessity, something done because the chapter was unable to provide for itself, and when they were strong again in the future they would ensure that all the debts they incurred when taking materiel from other imperial forces would be paid in full, that their debts of honor would be satisfied in the future.

From this the chapter motto came. All debts shall be paid. Often spoken as an oath before a battle, or as a promise to an ally. This mentality took root in the minds of the new marines and they carried it forward, shaping the young chapters traditions around that concept, to a certain extent. While they may have to take some things to survive, they can also give back with what they have. Imperial Guard regiments that fight beside them will find at the end of the campaign that the Conservators have arranged a massive feast in their honor, with all the troopers enjoying free food and drink at taverns and alehouses. If the force is large enough it can become a planetwide celebration of their victory with the officers given cloaks and capes, blades and portraits and great tapestries commemorating the battle. These are given in exchange for the various items that have been scavenged, flak armor and fallen lasguns and expended charge packs forgotten on the battlefield.

Most sacred of all is the gene debt, the debt of honor the chapter incurs when they harvest the gene seed from a fallen brother of another chapter in order to make yet more battle brothers of their own. In general they return the body, gene seed included, to the chapter, but if that is not feasible then they refuse to let it go to waste. To repay a gene debt is among the most serious of affairs, with chapter forces venturing far beyond their own territory to fight alongside the chapter to whom they owe the debt, who oftentimes are never told why the Conservators rushed to their aid. More than a few chapters have been left confused but grateful when several squads of tactical marines from an all but unheard of chapter arrive to fight at their side with little explanation.

This belief can also extend to individuals outside the Imperium, though the chapter is naturally very suspicious of such occasions. Most notably are the chapters interactions with a local Eldar faction who has often been seen on the battlefields of the Asharn March, helping to contain the ork threat without explanation. While contact between the humans and Eldar is rare, should the Conservators meet with the xenos following a battle they feel honor bound to offer the xenos a place by their fire and a share of food as is due to anyone who fights at their side. The Eldar have thus far almost universally refused such offers, if they even stay around long enough to be spoken to after the battle has ended.

===Home Life===
Perhaps most notably is the living conditions of each Conservator. Rather than live in a central barracks or training facility, battle brothers instead live in their normal homes, with their unaugmented families and among normal humans in the various cities, towns and villages across their home planets. Oftentimes Conservators will not leave their homeworld for anything more than a training period on Dekara, or to serve in a battlegroup leaving the March to go to war. Usually the individual marines stay on their worlds of birth for the majority of their career, and as such form deep bonds with the humans who live there. Indeed, the Conservators in general see themselves not as the stewards or defenders of the March, but rather as the citizens of the March who take the expected steps to defend their homeland.

This of course has led to a much more relaxed view of the Astartes amongst citizens of the March. While in the early days they were seen as amazing figures from beyond the stars, almost two centuries of casual close contact have Conservators has all but entirely removed such sentiment. The Astartes are simply members of the community who have a special burden and responsibility to bear. They are to be respected and admired, but they are hardly looked upon with the fanatical devotion that other citizens might look at marines with. Being freshly formed when they took residence within the March, and primarily composed of native recruits due to the die off of initial members, this sentiment is shared by the Conservators, who are among the most humble of marines one might ever encounter. To a citizen of the March, there is nothing at all odd with seeing a hulking superhuman figure tending the bar at their favorite tavern, before he dons ancient power armor and embarks to fight aliens on a different planet. For them it's been a fact of life for generations.

===Becoming a Conservator===
When a Conservator is first inducted into service, he is issued with a set of plate armor and a steel recurve bow as a member of the scout corps. Should the scout actually be deployed off planet into a major war zone, he would be equipped with actual marine weapons, shotgun or bolter, but against the unarmored feral orks which still crop up on worlds across the Asharn March, the powerful bows and explosive tipped arrows are more than enough to deal with them in small numbers. For more substantial threats the bolters are broken out of the armory, but even with interplanetary trade, bolter rounds are still valuable enough to merit cautious rationing where possible.

After completing his time as a scout, earning the augmentations that will make him a true marine, the scout will be sent to work alongside a master blacksmith. This smith could be a human or another Conservator, it matters not so long as their skills are sufficient. Working by firelight with the minimalistic technology available in the March, scout and smith will work together over the course of several days and nights to produce a sword of superior quality, worthy of being carried by a marine, and specially created to suit the fighting style of that Conservator. While a number of sizes and styles of sword are used, each one is of the highest quality possible, and while very well made are usually unadorned with decoration.

Upon completing the sword with which he will serve, the scout undergoes a public ceremony, similar to a knighting, in which he offers his blade to a full battle brother to inspect. Upon deeming the sword worthy, the elder brother will induct the scout fully into the ranks of the Conservators, while attendants clad him in the Mk V armor he will wear in the future. Handing the new marine his sword, the Conservator is now a full member of the chapter.

===Faith===
In keeping with their fairly relaxed worldview in general, the Conservators are not the most devout of chapters by any means. While often comforted by religious figures and services, the chapter makes little attempt to enforce religion upon its members or the people they live with. In the eyes of the chapter, faith is between you and the God Emperor, and nothing really needs to come in the way of that. Generally, the Conservators are dedicated more to the Imperium as a nation than specifically to the Emperor himself. Justifications for actions such as 'The Emperor willed it' or 'for the glory of Him On Earth' will not get very far at all with the chapter, who are very pragmatic in their reasons for doing much of anything. The defense of the people is the most important goal, the Conservators would happily let a cathedral burn while they rescued underclass factory workers.