"Your trust in us is not misplaced. I will do my utmost to ensure the survival of my brethren, and, if the worst should come to pass, make sure that their gene-seeds are preserved."
Morrigan moved up behind the Sanguinary Priest. "Well-spoken, Brother. Though, let us hope it does not come to that." The Assault Marine once more clutched the collection of recovered Corvia at his belt.
The skulls of the Corvia, small avians native to the forests of Kiavahr, were worn as potent totems which hung from chains from a Raven Guard's belt or battle-plate. These fetishes represented an individual warrior's honour, and when one fell in battle, a fellow Battle-Brother would recover the Corvia from their fallen brethren and continue to carry it in battle, and thus, carry their fallen brethren's honour until such time that they could return to Kiavahr to bury the small avian skull in the soil of their Legion's homeworld. "I did not survive the counterinsurgency operation on Lux Majoris only to then be laid low by foul, filth-covered xenos scum."
For the Raven Guard, the claiming of a fallen warrior's Corvia went hand in hand with stripping the deceased of all equipment, Legion trappings, and the harvesting of the all-important gene-seed. "While I recognize the import of your role, Zorael, I, for one, hope your medicae services are not needed." He clapped the Blood Angel heartedly on the back. "May you be crippled by boredom and your reductor rust from disuse."