The Wolf Priests are the most respected of Space Wolves leaders, having such influence that even the greatest of Wolf Lords step aside at their passing. They are the custodians of the Chapter’s tradition—genetic, spiritual, and physical. The Wolf Priests decide who is worthy to endure the change into a Space Wolf and take accountability for the Brethrens’ headway through the echelons from Blood Claw to Long Fang and beyond. They scrutinize their charges for signs of the Curse of the Wulfen and administer the last rites over a Battle-Brother’s remains should he fall in battle. In essence, the Wolf Priests combine the roles and responsibilities carried out in other Chapters by Chaplains and Apothecaries, yet the rank is far more than the sum of these two parts. To the Space Wolves, the Canis Helix is the direct inheritance of their Primarch, his blood pumping through their veins as his spirit and courage swells their savage souls. The Wolf Priests administer to body and soul as a whole, for to them, both are the same.
In battle, the Wolf Priests serve as living embodiments of all their Chapter stands for: black-armored incarnations of death whose very presence drives their charges onwards to ever-greater feats. Their battle cries resound across the battlefield, filling the hearts of the Space Wolves with savage joy and those of the enemy with unfettered terror. Should a Space Wolf fall, a Wolf Priest is there at his side, the Fang of Morkai ready to extract his progenoid so that his legacy is secured.
Given their role as wards of the bodily and spiritual health of the Space Wolves, it is a rare thing indeed for a Wolf Priest to join the ranks of the Deathwatch. Yet, the Chapter was present at the Conclave of Orphite IV, and the Apocryphon Oath means as much to the Sons of Russ as to any other of the Chapters that ratified the conclave. Space Wolves have been undertaking the Long Watch for millennia, so how might a Wolf Priest instruct and guide his charges if he too has not done so? A rare few Wolf Priests take the Apocryphon Oath, often early in their careers, in order that they might become adept at fighting the many foes the Deathwatch must face. In the ranks of the Deathwatch, the Wolf Priest faces enemies he might never otherwise have encountered, and in so doing earns great wisdom to pass on to his charges on his return to his Chapter. In accepting a Wolf Priest into his Watch Fortress, a Watch Commander gains the services of an individual of unique skill and ability. His knowledge of both the apothecary’s arts and the duties of the Chaplain are of course valuable, but there is far more to it than that. The greatest of Wolf Priests are able to extend their ministrations to all of the Battle-Brothers they serve alongside, inspiring each and every one to epic deeds of courage worthy of the greatest heroes of the Space Wolves and of the Adeptus Astartes as a whole.
