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I was prompted to write this by the Liber Unity Project, but as it turned out to be basically a personal project I decided to post this in a new thread. More to come on events after the Fall of Cadia Here's a PDF form of the below, a bit nicer looking +++++ Order of the Weeping Heart All information current as of just prior to the Fall of Cadia, 999.M41 Home World: Azrithine, a Minor shrine world near Dimmamar Main Colours: Black, White, Red Order Type: Order Minoris split from Order of the Valorous Heart Specialty: Screening of Ministorum and other Imperium officials, execution of those judged heretical Battle Cry: “Remember your duty, remember your sin!” Current Strength: 97 sisters Traditional Full Strength: Around 140 sisters FELICAENE THE HALLOWED “Remember Canoness Felicaene, who righted our faith and led us from self-righteousness into penance and communion with the Blessed Emperor” Sister Felicaene of the Order of the Valorous Heart was promoted to the rank of Canoness Preceptor in 121.M38. At the time, her Canoness Superior, Ahena, cited her “tactical acumen and devotion to the principles of the Adepta.” The recent revelation of the false-saint Basillus’s heresy made Felicaene’s principled beliefs all the more valuable to the Order, and she served as a senior advisor to the Canoness Superior for over twenty years. Throughout her life, Felicaene placed great stock in the Sororitas’s role in maintaining the Ecclesiarchy and preventing the events of the Reign of Blood from repeating themselves. In her eyes, Basillus was the Sisterhood’s failing. If he had been revealed as a false prophet before his rise to power, tens of thousands of Astartes would have been saved. As a Canoness Preceptor she placed increasing emphasis on screening members of the Ecclesiarchy, using her influence within the Valorous Heart to have extensive, invasive background checks performed on priests assigned to the Dioceses of the Cardinals Astral Ministra. This eccentricity, as many saw it, was tolerated by the Sororitas and Ministorum at large, even though it seldom revealed anything of note. In 143.M38, Felicaene suffered a mortal wound during the eradication of a nascent Khornate cult. Her right arm was severed, and she spent several days in a coma as she received a cybernetic replacement. At first, she seemed unchanged, but as time passed her sermons became more critical of the Sororitas’s view of themselves as the unblemished paragons of human purity. She reminded her sisters of the mistakes of the Reign of Blood and placed the blame for the Abyssal Crusade squarely on the Adepta’s shoulders. In light of this, she felt it was necessary for the Sororitas to devote the larger part of their resources to screening Ministorum personnel. She believed that Daughters of the Emperor must not only life faithfully in the way all of the Imperium should but must also continually repent for the horror of Vandire’s reign. Felicane’s convictions caused a good deal of friction between her and her fellow Canonesses. They saw her as seeking forgiveness for that which was long forgiven. Some called her an overzealous nuisance, while others said she had gone insane. However, there were those within the Valorous Heart with whom her message resonated, and many such sisters requested to be assigned to Felicaene’s command. As unusual as this was, the Canoness Preceptor was able to accept most of these disciples since their former commanders had little desire to work with such extreme views. As she became more strident in extoling her beliefs, Felicaene’s efficiency as a commander suffered. She led her followers in ritual self-mortification and prayer, and often refused to work with military elements outside the Sororitas on the grounds that they had not been properly screened. Though her military acumen carried her to success most of the time, many of Felicaene’s peers felt her actions were unbefitting of her station and that she was wasting Adepta resources. ---------- Excerpt from Canoness Preceptor Felicaene’s Feast of Saint Lucia Sermon, 147.M38 The Sisterhood on San Leor was co-opted by a heretic and reveled in heresy and debasement; only the intervention of the God-Emperor Himself saw it returned to His light. As surely as this salvation condones the Adepta’s continued existence, so sure is it that this salvation is not, and can never be, a vindication. We, who called ourselves the Daughters of the Emperor, were blinded by our own hand, and ate from the palm of an apostate. Thus, all present and future Sisters of our Orders must dedicate their lives to penance for what is passed—that which can never be repaid—and vigilance so that it may never come to pass again. Yet within the last millennium the power of the Ecclesiarchy saw fully thirty Chapters of the Adeptus Astartes cast into the Eye of Terror by a warp-tainted demagogue to face certain doom and corruption. The power of the Adeptus Ministorum was once more wielded against the will of the Emperor, under the eye of the Sororitas. We must remember, lest our sight be again shrouded by hubris: we, among all the Emperor’s servants, have wounded Him most deeply. We, among all the Ministorum’s missionaries, were charged with looking for the rot within. For us, duty till death is insufficient. Only when we make our every service a bloody penance, every victory a mortal sacrifice, can we call ourselves fit to gaze up into His light. ---------- FOUNDATION IN REGRET “We beg the Emperor’s forgiveness in prayer and in deed, that we may be found worthy to serve him” These issues came to a head with Felicaene’s sermon on the Feast of Saint Lucia in 147.M38. Her public condemnation of the Sisterhood saw her brought before Canoness Superior Ahena of the Order of the Valorous Heart. The Canonesses of the Order called for her censure and the stripping of her rank. The Canoness Superior had not yet acted on Felicaene’s behavior because of her sizable following. In removing the Canoness Preceptor from her post she risked making an ideological martyr of her. In Ahena’s view, Felicaene was still an adequate Canoness with a sharp mind, and the stripping of her rank seemed likely to cause further disruptions within the Order. However, the pressure from her other Canonesses had become too great and she was forced to act. Seeking a higher authority, she brought the issue to the Prioress of the Convent Sanctorum. In doing so, Ahena sought to shift away from herself any ill will for the punishment handed down and minimize disorder within the Valorous Heart. The Prioress spoke to both Ahena and Felicaene behind closed doors. After a period of deliberation, she agreed that censoring the Canoness Preceptor and her followers was not a viable solution. She judged Felicaene’s beliefs to be more inconvenient than inadmissible, as the Adepta did have a mandate to keep watch for corruption within the Ecclesiarchy but agreed that her disruption of the Valorous Heart’s operations could not continue. To this end, she announced the creation of a new Order Minoris, to be led by Canoness Felicaene, and comprised of any Sister of the Order of the Valorous Heart that wished to be transferred to it. There was some disquiet among the Canonesses of the Valorous Heart that Felicaene’s punishment was not really a punishment at all, but no major incidents occurred. The Prioress, Ahena and Felicaene eventually agreed to call the new Order the Weeping Heart, and placed its convent on Azrithine, a minor shrine world in the galactic vicinity of Dimmimar. Being near the birthplace of the great Saint Thor, who played such a large role in ending the Reign of Blood, pleased Felicaene, and the Prioress was satisfied with sending her troublesome sisters to the other side of the galaxy. By the date of departure from the Ophelia system, 139 sisters had requested transfer to the Order of the Weeping Heart. They boarded a long-range troop transport, which followed Imperial Navy supply lines till it reached Azrithine. The construction of the Order’s convent began shortly after. RECRUITMENT “By His hand the Imperium was born, by our blood we purify His church” Unbeknownst to both Felicaene and Ahena, the Prioress planned to taper off the flow of new Sisters to the Weeping Heart over the coming years. The troublesome Felicaene and her followers and would fade to nothing, far from Ophelia VII. In not telling the Canonesses her plans, the Prioress ensured that Felicaene would take her leave quietly from the Convent Sanctorum. What she did not plan for, however, was her own death. Just 16 months after Felicane’s departure, the Prioress took ill. Her condition continued to worsen despite the best efforts of the Orders Hospitaller, and she passed away just weeks later, taking her plans for the Weeping Heart with her. A replacement was quickly selected, but she was oblivious to the circumstances of the new Order’s founding. Thinking that her predecessor had intended for the Weeping Heart to endure, the young Prioress assigned them recruits as she did any other Order Militant. However, she found that an unusual proportion of Sisters assigned to the Weeping Heart ended up executed in disciplinary actions. This was due to the Order’s unique tenants, draconian even by the Adepta’s standards, and their eschewing of the Oath of the Penitent. Sisters that would have otherwise been consigned to the Sisters Repentia, where they would at least serve once more on the battlefield before their death, were executed outright. The Prioress’s solution was to select Sisters who seemed predisposed to the Weeping Heart’s way of thinking to assign to them. This reduced the mortality rates among newly assigned Sisters. Since it’s founding, the Weeping Heart has received varying amounts of support from the Convent Prioress. During the tenures of Prioresses especially unfriendly to the Order’s cause, its numbers shrank as low as 50 Sisters, while at times of high recruitment within the Adepta, it swelled to almost 200. However, for most of its existence the Order has maintained roughly its original size. Some Prioresses have taken advantage of the Weeping Heart’s tough discipline to dispose of those Novices they deem disobedient, but not so much that they do not complete their Novitiate. Such Sisters cannot cause trouble for the more prominent Orders Militant while assigned to the Weeping Heart, where they will either adapt to the Order’s way of life or find their life forfeit. Of course, such matters are relative, the most disobedient Novices to complete their vows among the Adepta has the discipline of the Astra Militarum’s best, and faith to match. AZRITHINE “The worlds of the Imperium are beyond number, yet each looks to Terra and its light makes them holy” Geologically, Azrithine is similar to Terra before the Age of Strife. It is covered in large proportion by salt water seas and boasts a number of substantial continents. The climate is predominantly temperate, with arid and tropical patches. Perhaps this similarity was what prompted its use as a shrine world, although a minor one. Its location to the galactic southwest of Dimmamar also lends it some small amount of import within the Imperial Cult. During the Thorian Reformation, the planet was chosen as one of the numerous new Cardinal Worlds, overseeing a portion of space that used to lie within the Diocese of Dimmamar. While a shrine world in name, Dimmamar hosts many material production facilities under the purview of the Adeptus Munitorum. Complete kits are produced for Astra Militarum regiments in the galactic vicinity, all stamped with the mark of the shrine world. Of especial note is the massive complex of printing presses and book binders in the northern hemisphere that specializes in religious texts devotional icons, including the ubiquitous Imperial Infantryman’s Uplifting Primer. ORGANIZATION “Like moths to a flame we gather in the Emperor’s light, for only He can part the galaxy’s darkness” As is usual for Adepta Sororitas Orders, the Weeping Heart is lead by a Canoness Superior. As a small Order Minoris, it has no need for additional Canonesses, though usually one or more of its sisters hold the rank of Palatine. Since the Weeping Heart does not use the Oath of the Penitent as other Orders do, it lacks a Mistress of Repentance. Since the Order’s primary concern is the purification of the Ministorum and various other Imperium organizations, many of its military actions take place in confined spaces. As such, the true combat veterans of the Order are its Celestians, well equipped for urban, and even indoor, firefights. The Weeping Heart’s Seraphim, on the other hand, often find themselves of limited use in the Order’s Missions. Instead, the Seraphim are comprised of those Sisters who exemplify the Order’s values and serve as spiritual guides for their fellows, though that is not to say they are not veteran combatants. Their skills are invaluable when the Weeping Heart takes to the field in open battle. A LIFE PENITENT “Brand your souls with the sins committed in Vandire’s Reign of Blood, for our Sisterhood shall never be forgiven” The Sisters of the Weeping Heart believe that, in addition to the normal, pious life expected of any Ministorum servant, the Sororitas must remain forever penitent for their actions in aiding the apostate Goge Vandire during his Reign of Blood. The Emperor, through Saint Thor I, allowed them to continue to serve His church, but this did not cleanse the Daughter of the Emperor of their crimes against Him. In seeking the Emperor’s continual mercy, the Sisters of the Weeping Heart scour the Imperium, especially the Ministorum, for those corrupted by greed, doubt, xeno influence or the taint of the Dark Gods. In addition, they fill their remaining hours with prayer and self-mortification, allowing themselves few indulgences even the strict standards of the Adepta. These traditions include the morning, mattin and vesper prayer services performed by all Orders. The sisters’ diet is minimal: enough to maintain their physical condition but uninteresting and unchanging. It consists mainly of breads made with nutrient-paste flour, with enriched water providing what the bread cannot. The Order’s robes are of rough make, produced on Azrithine itself, and the sisters practice ritual flagellation, which in rare cases has led to permeant physical impairment or death. The sisters’ bodies are often covered in scars from this practice, which they see as a reminder of the Sororitas’s eternal debt to the Emperor and a mark of their dedication to Him. Since the sisters of the Weeping Heart hold the Sororitas to be eternally guilty, they have a low view of the Oath of the Penitent. All sisters must be penitent at all times. In effect, they view all sisters as Sisters Repentia. Because of this, any sisters that are judged to have failed grievously in that which is expected of them are executed, rather than taking the Oath of the Penitent. The Oath is likewise never taken voluntarily, as such an act is seen as superfluous. The bodies of executed sisters are burned alongside those of heretics, and their equipment destroyed. True to their conviction, some sisters of other Orders have compared the sisters of the Weeping Heart to Repentia, their conduct in battle showing some of the same abandon in the face of death, though still tempered by proper discipline and strategy. Unlike the Convent Prioress, which is decorated in gold and stained glass like a cathedral unto itself, the Weeping Heart’s convent is sparingly appointed. The walls are made entirely of unadorned stone, and its narrow windows are filled with thick sheet of tinted glass. The convent’s chapel is the one exception, it is as richly decorated as any other, but only the upper half of the room. A large statue of the Emperor sits upon a high pedestal behind the altar, visible only if the viewer’s head is tipped upward. Statues of various Imperial Saints, including Saint Dominica and her companions, ring the room, likewise elevated. The sisters keep their eyes downcast during prayer services, for fear of seeing even the toes of the golden effigies. Only on the Feast of the Emperor’s Ascension or those of the Founding Saints do they look up in joy at their golden silhouettes. Doing so at any other time is a grave offense. Outside of the chapel, the convent contains many icons of the Emperor. In all cases, within the convent and without, these are treated as the Emperor’s personal presence. They are greeted reverently before anyone else and sisters of the Order will not speak with their back to them. Sisters have even been known to severely beat non-Sororitas who’s behavior they deem unfitting when in the Emperor’s presence. ---------- Exerpt from the Diary of Sister Mathei of the Order of the Cleansing Water Once, I treated a Sister of the Order of the Weeping Heart—they were aiding the Regiment I was attached to. Her sisters brought her into my tent with barely a word, though a few of them had holes in their armour too. She, the patient, was wounded badly. Some sort of energy weapon had pierced her gut and she was losing blood. I was able to stop the bleeding and sterilize the wound, fortunately it was mostly self-cauterizing. What truly shook me what I saw when I removed her armor: her skin was covered in welts, bruises and scars, some of which appeared to be decades old. I had seen flagellants before but nothing quite like this. Then I cut myself on her breastplate. At first, I thought I had missed an entry wound, but the inside of her armour was lined with a series of dull spines. I could see where they had abraded her skin as she fought. The patient made a full recovery and was returned to her sisters. She thanked me for saving her life, but when I asked about her scars she said, “I offer up my body to the Emperor so that my soul may be fit to fight in His name.” ---------- COMBAT DOCTRINE “We must know the vile and the obscene, for surely it knows us who walk in His light” Since they devote their resources to eliminating heresy and corruption within the Imperium, the Weeping Heart fights very few open engagements. Most military actions they take are pinpoint strikes or assassinations. The Canoness and her Sister Superiors do extensive intelligence gathering to identify targets and plan for their elimination. Because of this, the Order is most comfortable working with a carefully laid plan and the element of surprise. As these plans often lead to fighting in urban spaces or indoor complexes, Missions are usually made up of several small squads, often spearheaded by a unit of Celestians. The Order’s Dominions and Retributors seldom form dedicated units of their own, and its Seraphim are often found guarding points of egress or launching assaults through elevated windows. Traditionally, the Celestians of the Weeping Heart are the Order’s true combat veterans. They are selected for both their ability at range and in melee and serve as the weighted spear tip of the Order’s surgical strikes. Since the Seraphims’ combat roles are limited, they are selected for their fervor and dedication to the ideals laid out by Canoness Felicaene. Often, such sisters are among the most extreme in their daily practices when compared to sisters of the Orders Majoris. Souls beyond number fight and die for the Emperor and His Imperium each day. The sisters of the Weeping Heart view death in battle as simply their duty as a servant of the Emperor. However, since they constantly seek penance for the events of the Reign of Blood, simple duty is not enough. With the help of local craftsmen, they weld strips of metal spines to the inside of their armour. The number and arrangement of strips varies from sister to sister, though they are often added to or rearranged to mark significant events or achievements in a sister’s life. The spines are dulled to prevent severe injury, at least over the short term. When the armor is worn, they cause abrasions in the skin as the sister moves and fights. In addition to pain, this eventually leads to bleeding which exacerbates blood loss in a wounded sister. This makes simply wearing their armor a very real, very physical act of penance. Any loss of combat efficiency is a small price to pay to be worthy to fight in His name. The Immolator is perfectly suited to the Weeping Heart’s style of combat, and they use it extensively. Rhinos are used only when larger Missions are deployed, or when an oversized squad is deemed necessary. The Order does not possess an Exorcist, as such relics are assigned to Orders that participate in full-scale warfare. Although their operations usually require taking the target by surprise, the Weeping Heart’s vehicles are almost always fitted with Laud Hailers for use in clearing obstructive traffic in hives. STANDARD OPERATIONS “Even on hallowed ground we stand eternally vigilant, lest the Enemy hide in our own shadows” The sisters hold three prayer services daily, one after each meal. Meals, such as they are, are also taken together. This basic schedule is not much different than then that held by the Orders Majoris. Sisters away from the Convent maintain this basic schedule, often visiting local chapels, shrines or cathedrals for their prayers. In their time outside of prayers and meals, the Sisters perform their duties as watchers of the Ministorum, screening personal stationed in the galactic vicinity. From time to time they also investigate Imperial officials outside the Ministorum; this has included Adeptus Astartes chapters on rare occasions. The Weeping Heart also performs the more traditional duty of guarding Azrithine’s holy sites. The Order is far too small to station a sister at every such place on the shrine world, instead posting a single sister at each of the planet’s major cathedrals and significant or vulnerable shrines. Some members of the Ordo Hereticus find the Order’s investigative experience valuable, recruiting sisters for their cells. However, even self-proclaimed Puritans often find the sisters’ penchant for flagellation and tendency to scrutinize their masters perhaps too closely onerous. MAJOR EVENTS “Think not of the profundity of the present, but prosecute each Mission with the surety of His righteousness” 112.M38 Survivors of the Abyssal Crusade emerge from the Eye of Terror 121.M38 Sister Felicaene promoted to Canoness Preceptor in the Order of the Valorous Heart 143.M38 Canoness Preceptor Felicaene mortally wounded leading a purge of a nascent Khornate cult 146.M38 Felicaene refuses the assistance of a group of Dark Angels, arousing their suspicion and almost causing a firefight. 147.M38 Felicaene’s Feast of Saint Lucia Sermon 148.M38 The Order of the Weeping Heart officially founded 496.M38 The Order executes a priest at Denashin’s Redoubt, an asteroid-based penal colony for cult behavior outside the Imperial Cult. Three months later they execute his replacement on the same charge. This prompts an investigation by an Ordo Hereticus Inquisitor, who discovers a genestealer infestation among the convicts. In their first full-scale deployment, the Weeping Heart leads the purge of the colony, eradicating the Xenos threat. 551.M39 In a rare display of force, fully one-hundred Sisters of the Weeping Heart aid the Astra Militarum in putting down a rebellious planet, but the Order suffers significant losses during the campaign. After their transports were destroyed in a rebel raid, a Mission of thirty sisters was forced to march over fifty kilometers to another fortified position. Their armor’s internal spines caused significant bleeding during the extended march, and 13 of their number collapsed from blood loss and exhaustion before they reached their goal. 781.M39 Inquisitor Xelthene of the Ordo Hereticus recruits two Weeping Heart sisters to assist her in her work. Just months later they kill one of the Inqusitor’s psyker Acolytes. The exact circumstances of the killing are unknown, but both Sisters are executed by order of Inqusitor Xelthene, with whom the Order has had no subsequent contact. 300.M40 During the Aschen War, while the holy world of Dimmamar is in revolt, the Order of the Valorous Heart deploys to the region to defend the birthplace of Saint Thor. In an extreme exercise of authority, the Canoness Superior of the Valorous Heard claims direct command over almost half of the Order of the Weeping Heart, merging them with her forces for the duration of the campaign. This was technically within her power since the Weeping Heart had been formed from the Valorous Heart. By doing so the Canoness Superior pre-empted any friction between the two Order’s command structures, but generally alienated the remainder of the Weeping Heart’s forces. Because of their severely stunted numbers, those sisters not commandeered by the Valorous Heart remained on Azrithine, preparing the world for a possible invasion in the event that the Imperium’s forces failed to contain the cult on Dimmamar. A few minor Missions were launched from Azrithine to the rebellious Cardinal World, but the Order’s diminished strength prevented any major offensives. 840.M40 The Weeping Heart investigates and eventually eliminates the Cardinal of the Azrithine Diocese, on charges of impiety, greed and obstruction of the Emperor’s Will. This investigation was sparked when the Cardinal attempted to shield one of his subordinates from the Order’s interference. The killing of a Cardinal attracted scrutiny from the Prioress and the Ecclesiarch himself, but the Weeping Heart was able to present irrefutable evidence of heresy on the part of the Cardinal and sustained only a slap on the wrist, as well as a temporary drop off in new Sisters from the Convent Sanctorum. 727.M41 A major power plant explodes on Azrithine, causing widespread panic and mass blackouts. In the wake of the hysteria, the Weeping Heart interrogates and executes scores of workers and administrators involved with the plant, though some outside the Order believe the explosion to have been accidental. Azrithine’s power grid never fully recovers from this loss of archaeotech. 999.M41 Cadia falls, the Great Rift opens, and all contact with Terra and Ophelia VII is lost. FIGURES OF NOTE “Hold the Emperor’s martyr’s in your heart, for their souls stood strong though their bodies fell” Canoness Felicaene: Canoness Preceptor of the Order of the Valorous Heart. Her extreme ideology led to the Weeping Heart’s founding and guides its traditions after her death. Canoness Ahena: Canoness Superior of the Order of the Valorous Heart who promoted Felicaene to the rank of Canoness Preceptor and brought her before the Prioress of the Convent Sanctorum, leading to the Weeping Heart’s founding. Canoness Shrivien: Current Canoness of the Order of the Weeping Heart as of 999.M41 Bassilus: False prophet who’s scheming caused the Abyssal crusade. The return and eventual vindication of its survivors would influence Felicaene’s thinking.

The Liber Unity Project With the Bolter and Chainsword diversifying to include the many armies and fans of the 40k universe, we have an opportunity to explore grand ideas. Many of you will have seen the fourth Collaborative Chapter Creation Project, which is currently underway in the Liber Astartes sub-forum and which is exploring bringing an official (but unloved) GW Chapter to life. My plan is this - we take that concept and expand it further. I will be creating threads in each of the sub-forums for us to create a DIY Chaos Warband, a DIY Xenos Race, a DIY Sisters Order and a DIY Imperial Guard recruiting world. Between now and December, we will create these forces, before detailing a campaign in which these forces feature. Rather than a situation where we have multiple DIY Chapters in one place, we will instead show the breadth of the Liber, and how all parts of the 40k universe can be explored and detailed. This first post will serve as an opportunity to collate our progress and (in the latter stages of the project) to coordinate our progress as we detail the campaign. Collaborative Chapter Creation Project IV Collaborative Astra Militarum Creation Project Collaborative Adepta Sororitas Creation Project Collaborative Xenos Creation Project Collaborative Warband Creation Project In the short term, if you are reading this and want to participate - then by all means, get involved! Spread the word and help showcase the best of the Liber's creative spirit!

=][= Space Reserved for Model Pictures =][= "The Emperor Protects most those who Protect themselves." ~ First Tenet of the Iron Creed Background and Origins: "Do these people - good and faithful in their praise of Him - not deserve the protection of the Church?" ~ Cardinal Ebritius von Lochlane, taken from his collected Missives to the Cardinals, 062.M40 The Glastheim Rifts have long been a site where corruption and heresy fester under the surface. The malevolent forces within the Rift cannot directly overpower the Imperium's forces, but instead seek to subvert them, sowing dissent and treachery in the hearts and minds of formerly loyal citizens. During 031.M40, Ebritius von Lochlane, a Cardinal of some repute within the local branch of the Eccelsiarchy, hatched a daring plan to bolster the will and loyalty of the faithful around the Rifts. Under his guidance, a cluster of stately cathedrals were constructed on key worlds along the southern edge of the Glastheim Rifts, each one a gilded and proud monument to the glory of Him on Terra. Once these cathedrals were completed, Ebritius paid an official visit to the comparatively isolated world of Zhelnyka, where he had a vision of The Emperor and undertook a solitary pilgrimage into the mountains there. When he returned to civilisation two days later, he carried with him an old white robe, which he stated was the lost robe of Saint Ashla the Pure, whose tomb he had discovered in the mountains. Ordaining the construction of another church - one topped by a tower of polished metal, as he claimed The Emperor had instructed him to make. With this underway, von Lochlane decreed his cathedrals part of a traditional Pilgrimage route, leading from beyond the Rifts towards Holy Terra. Whether or not von Lochlane had truly beheld a vision of The Emperor quickly became a moot point. Pilgrims flocked in their billions to visit these holy sites and pay their respects to the remnant of the beloved Saint Ashla. Fiendish cultists sought to infiltrate the ranks of the faithful, but were rooted out by the vigilant priests and publicly destroyed to the roars of approval from the pious. Cardinal von Lochlane, using these displays to demonstrate the level of danger that could befall the faitfhul on their pilgrimage, rallied enough support that a sanction mandating the creation of an Order of the Adepta Sororitas was passed. Their mission was simple - protect the pilgrimage routes, and eradicate any and all traces of heresy to be found around the Glastheim Rifts. Orginally taken from and trained by a small convent associated with the Order of the Sacred Rose, these newly ordained Battle Sisters took the name "The Order of the Iron Tower", after the sacred site where Saint Ashla's robe had been found. Even while the Order was in transit to the Rifts, Cardinal von Lochlane, aided by the masses of pilgrims, continued to travel the circumference of the Glastheim Rifts, building churches and cathedrals on auspicious worlds as they did so. By 456.M40, thanks to the tireless work of the devoted and faithful, a complete circuit of holy sites was established around the perimeter of the Glastheim Rifts, and the numbers of devout citizens who prostrated themselves at the cathedrals of the Glastheim Pilgrimage continued to grow almost daily. Recognizing the need for the Order of the Iron Tower to remain highly mobile to protect this densely populated realm, the Ecclesiarchy under von Lochlane and his successors had forged strong bonds with a naumber of spacefaring allies. Most obvious of these was the attachment to the Dalchebor Rogue Trader dynasty, whose founders shared a distant heritage with Cardinal von Lochlane himself. It was eventually agreed to loan the Order the Dalchebor's Flagship, the King's Gambit, for the purpose of transporting the Adepta Sororitas in exchange for favourable trade rights on the shrine worlds of the Glastheim Pilgrimage. Alongside the Rogue traders, the priests made sure to make an ally of Forge-World Valstrax, the largest and most capable Mechanicus-held planet in the Glastheim Rifts. Putting aside small yet faultlessly constructed churches for the worship of the Omnissiah on many of the shrine worlds around the Rifts and conducting additional sermons with a decidedly Mechanicus-friendly bent, the Cardinals won the respect of the Valstraxi. In turn, their Forge World supplied the Order of the Iron Tower with a purpose-built manufactorum-vessel named the Argent Victory. This mighty vessel was designed to fabricate entire sections of cathedrals and churches for ease of construction on worlds where such resources were scarce. Finally, the influx of devout citizens inspired great faith in many of the regiments and navies of the Glastheim Rifts. In particular, Battlefleet Albanastra is made up largely of the descendants of pilgrims who settled in the Glastheim Rifts, for whom the glory of the Church is something they hold dear. The Cardinals who came after von Lochlane made a point of impressing upon Battlefleet Albanastra the importance of safeguarding the Glastheim Pilgrimages, and the devout officers were only to happy to agree, lending a portion of their fleet to transport and escort the Order of the Iron Tower along the pilgrimage routes. Some of these ships accompany the Argent Victory, and others act as an escort for the King's Gambit. The rest defend a Naval Transport vessel dubbed the Spirit of Albanastra, where the final contingent of Adepta Sororitas dwell. Early History: "War is our shrine, and our guns our chorus - so stand, and sing with us!" ~ Canoness Aragi, Order of the Iron Tower, before the battle of Byrnfeldt Hive, 249.M40 A Battle Sister of the Order of the Iron Tower The Order of the Iron Tower has had a battle-worn and turbulent history since arriving at the Glastheim Rifts. The Sisters have often been at the forefront of what has been dubbed "The War of Faith" by the Eccelsiarchy - pitted against the insidious plots and corruptions instigated by the heretics in the heart of the Glastheim Rifts. The heretics have proven to be persistent, planting the seeds of rebellion through artifice and cunning. Coming before Imperial citizens in the guise of devout, beneficent servants of their 'Great Gods', making false promises of salvation and glory to ensnare the weak-willed, and turn them, by degrees, to the cause of Chaos. The Order of the Iron Tower, from their earliest days, has shown no mercy to the corrupted. They quickly came to specialise in hunting down and exposing these heretical and deviant cults. The Order swiftly came to discover that even Shrine Worlds - and even worlds on the Pilgrimage Routes - were not immune to the seductive whispers of heresy. And yet despite the Order's perpetual vigil, these dark cults would sometimes muster their strength and take hideous action - making pacts with fell powers, razing or defacing religious sites, murdering those they could not corrupt and besieging settlements that clung to the true faith of the God-Emperor. Such brazen heresy could only meet with one fate - the violent retribuition of the righteous. The Order of the Iron Tower fought tooth and nail to cast down each and every blasphemous uprising. In the early years, the Order often found themselves fighting alone as the resolve of the pilgrims or citizens they stood to defend wavered and failed. And yet, sometimes those who fled would come back. Inspired by the absolute resolve of the Order of the Iron Tower, pilgrims and Imperial citizens alike that found their courage would charge into the fight, often with only the shirt on their back for protection, and hurl themselves into the ranks of the enemy with zealous fury. Those that chose to stand and fight alongside the Sisterhood were honoured in the aftermath, and those that died in the attempt were given a martyr's burial. It was these times, where the Sisters bore witness to the flight of cowards and the fall of the valiant, that shaped the creed of the Order of the Iron Tower. In their hours of need, the only miracle the Sisters witnessed was the miracle of human courage. Thus, the Order decided, it was the miracle of courage that was The Emperor's true gift to His people, and the means by which He judges them. Divine Intervention was not inexplicable salvation at the last minute, but rather it was the shipment of arms and armour that had arrived the month before the enemy attacked. It was the preacher whose impassioned sermon inspired a quatermaster to open the door to the armoury. It was the retired Guardsman who rallied those around him for one last charge. Though the Order of the Iron Tower speak openly of Him on Terra and his obvious Divinity, they warn people against the expectation of miracles. That The Emperor had, in His wisdom, built the Imperium for His people across the galaxy was in itself a miracle beyond equal. That the enemy could be overcome by those with the will to stand and fight was proof that The Emperor watches over His Imperium. The simple act of fighting in His name was to show true devotion to The Emperor. This creed, though at first mockingly derided as "miracles in the mundane" by detractors, quickly caught on within the Order. The impassioned sermon given by Canoness Aragi in the hours before the battle of Byrnfeldt Hive saw the loyalists within the city muster in their near-entirety and march to war with the Sisterhood, turning what would have been a brutal, protracted guerrilla combat action into a complete rout in the favour of the Imperials. Over time, what has come to be known as "The Iron Creed" by religious figures around the Glastheim Rifts has gone on to define the character of the Order of the Iron Tower. Those that follow the Iron Creed are steadfast, courageous and resolute even in the face of annihilation. The Iron Creed caused something of a stir amongst local Ecclesiarchical circles, and was the source of much intense debate amongst theologists for many years. However, the Order's absolute dedication to the Church, proven over several centuries of servitude, and their willingness to fight even the most heinous of foes with neither respite nor hesitation has earned the Order of the Iron Tower the respect of the clergy around the Glastheim Rifts. One quirk of the Iron Creed that often stays within the Order is a distrust bordering on emnity with the Space Marines. Though the Glastheim Rifts are protected from invasion by the so-called 'Silver Circle', an alliance of Space Marine Chapters, the Order of the Iron Tower have little tolerance for would-be protectors who waste the majority of their time focusing on battle with aliens instead of eradicating the Great Enemy lurking within the Rifts. Nevertheless, with a history spanning several centuries of hard-fought battles against the most perfidious and twisted of foes, the Order of the Iron Tower remains not only a bastion of Faith, but a true shield against the darkness around the Glastheim Rifts. Recent History: "We cannot promise divinity, but we can promise intervention." - Canoness Abithara, 067.M42 In the aftermath of the awakening of the Great Rift, the Order of the Iron Tower have taken an ever-more aggressive fight to the constant lurking spectre of heresy. Stretched thin at times, and struggling to protect the entirety of the Glastheim Pilgrimage route, it is not uncommon to see Sisters of the Iron Tower accompanied by bands of fanatical warrior-pilgrims, dour and steadfast Imperial regiments, or even the techno-savants of the Adeptus Mechanicus as they take to the fields of war. The Order has proven to be a long-enduring thorn in the side of the Blades of Atracia, the Warband of heretics who mastermind the endless cult uprisings around the Rifts. More of these white-clad heretic Astartes have perished at the hands of the Order of the Iron Tower than in battle with any other force. In 009.M42, a shipment of weapons and armour bound for the Spirit of Albanastra went missing. Two months later, the Spirit came across the corpse-strewn debris of the Forge-ship that had made the journey. A dozen years later, the Order of the Iron Tower were alerted to the presence of what appeared to be another Order in the Glastheim Rifts; a force calling themselves the Order of the Light Unceasing. Investigations, carried out discreetly, soon revealed that this "Order" was false. They wore stolen, repainted armour and accompanied the Blades of Atracia on their vile crusade to convert faithful citizens to the worship of the "Great Gods". A careful campaign of misdirection and espionage by members of the clergy eventually brought this false Order to battle as they attempted to sway the world of Mastari to darkness. The Order of the Iron Tower enclosed them, attacking from all sides. As soon as the battle began, the Order of the Light Unceasing abandoned all pretence, sacrificing dozens of converts and even some of their own number to flood the battlefield with a tide of Daemons. Though this bought time for a handful of the imposter Sororitas to flee, most of the Order of the Light Unceasing were wiped out that day. In 188.M42, a rare co-ordinated strike alongside the Warminds Chapter of Space Marines saw the sisters aboard the Argent Victory engage the Blades of Atracia in orbit around the factory-moon of Ausbech, successfully boarding their Strike Cruiser Spear of Truth and fighting a ferocious battle against roughly a hundred Chaos Space Marines and their innumerable serfs and servants. Though victory came at the cost of over three hundred and fifty slain Sisters, the battle culminated in Sister Estelda martyring herself to strike down the Riftmark leading the Blades of Atracia, dealing a truly decisive blow to the heretics' plans and shattering their co-ordination in that quadrant of the Rifts for many years afterward. No matter what perils may yet come, The Order of the Iron Tower stands vigil, their faith still strong and their discipline unwavering. [More to be added at a later date, if needed] Homeworld: "All the strength in the world won't help you if you lack the courage to use it. Stand up, girl. Keep fighting!" ~ Sister Katusa, Order of the Iron Tower, to an aspirant The Order of the Iron Tower do not recruit from a single world, but instead take suitable candidates from the shrine worlds along the Glastheim Pilgrimage route. Each of the fleets the Order accompanies has facilities suitable for the training and development of prospective recruits. Potential recruits for the Order are thoroughly screened at all steps of their training, lest the foulness of corruption lurk within their hearts. The training itself is highly intense, a series of brutal combat drills and trials interwoven with study of the Iron Creed, its philosophies and virtues. Of the worlds the Order draws recruits from, three in particular are known to produce a high volume of suitable candidates for the Sisterhood. In the south of the Glastheim Rifts lays Narrigost, a world that has withstood over a dozen sieges by the faithless and the heretical. Every city is a fortification, and even the churches on Narrigost are designed to withstand siege situations and repel invaders. Sisters hailing from Narrigost tend to be uncompromising and zealous in equal measure, their faith and grit armouring their minds as solidly as the armour that protects their bodies. In the East of the Rifts is Sagitar's World, a mostly-frozen world that was, at one time, owned wholly by the Valstrax Mechanicus. Lost to the Imperium after an attack by the Blades of Atracia, Cardinal von Lochlane spearheaded the reclaimation himself in the final years before his death. Though he claimed the surface for the Imperium at large, von Lochlane bequeathed the mineral wealth of Sagitar's World back to Valstrax, building small churches to the Omnissiah and allowing the Forgeworld to re-open the mining camps that had survived the Heretic's attack intact. Recruits coming from Sagitar's World generally have a greater affinity with machines than their Sisters, and are a Canoness's first choice for diplomacy whenever the Valstraxi are involved. Finally, on the northernmost edge of the Pilgrimage routes is Koruke, a hive world built on a foundation of strict customs that focus on proper veneration of The Emperor. Resolute discipline and a reverence for authority - especially religious authority - are virtually universal traits amongst the people of Koruke, making them excellent servants of the Church. Recruits from Koruke frequently exemplify these traits, staying calm and taking only decisive actions even under fire. With most of the Order's divisions having a mix of recruits from all three worlds, plus more than a dozen others besides, the Order of the Iron Tower has no shortage of recruits. If life around the Glastheim Rifts was anything besides an eternal war of attrition against ungodly forces, the Order would no doubt thrive. Life in the Rifts being what it is, however, the Sisterhood often needs to undertake extensive recruitment drives in the wake of the horrific battles they face on a constant basis. Beliefs: "To fight for The Emperor is to fight with honour. There can be no such thing as an unjust battle fought in His name." - Canoness Sefaya, 922.M40 The Iron Creed, as touched upon earlier, is the collected tenets of the Order of the Iron Tower. Serving as both the Order's religious centre and military guide, the Iron Creed is in many ways the heart of the Order. Even within their creed, however the Order of the Iron Tower is perhaps best defined at their very core by the first line of their creed: "The Emperor protects most those who Protect themselves." Or, in more traditional terms, if you fight to preserve His Imperium, then He will give you the strength to do so. Cowardice is a sin against The Emperor, but to show courage is to praise Him. But to dismiss the above as the be-all and end-all of the Iron Creed would be a mistake - the Creed itself has adapted somewhat over the centuries, as historic battles and influential Canonesses have left their marks on the Order. The Iron Creed has always placed a focus on disciplined combat over blind zeal, but it was Canoness Masuyo in 724.M40 who first penned a detailed sermon on how it behooved the Order to value survival equally to martyrdom, in order show an example of how one should live for The Emperor, and not just how one should die for Him. Masuyo was a great advocate of endurance as a virtue, and stated several times throughout her life that survival was simply a matter of supplies - always preparing for a longer, fiercer fight than you expect to face. After the protracted, casualty-heavy campaign against the Cult of Bliss in 905.M40, this teaching took a stronger hold, alongside the rise of Canoness Sefaya. The Canoness had long been of the opinion that honour had no place on the battlefield, and was more than happy to vanquish heretics through tactics previously considered 'underhanded' by the Order. Setting traps, cutting off supply lines, starving heretics to death or otherwise fighting the enemy where they could not defend themselves. After Sefaya's death in 916.M40 and the eventual promotion of many of her students to prominent roles, the Order of the Iron Tower adopted many of her teachings into their doctrines, pairing the Order's already fierce resolve with a keenly vindictive mindset and greater grasp of long-term strategic planning. In such ways, the Iron Creed has adapted over the centuries. While other Orders will recount great miracles of faith and salvation, made possible by the direct intervention of Him on Terra, the Order of the Iron Tower's history is almost entirely bereft of such examples. The Sororitas of the Iron Tower instead view such miracles as vanishingly rare and precious things, given only to those who enact His will with all their heart, mind, body and soul. Miracles are neither to be asked for nor expected by followers of the Iron Creed - He has already given you your weapons, your armour, your training, and your courage. To ask more of The Emperor would be gross disrespect of the gifts He has already given you. Those who claim to have witnessed miracles - outside of the distinguished ranks of the Ecclesiarchy - are treated with extreme scepticism by the Order of the Iron Tower. The Order's dislike of the Adeptus Astartes partially stems from the percieved preoccupation of the Silver Circle with the xenos surrounding the Glastheim Rifts, but also from the Order's multiple clashes with Heretic Astartes. The warbands that have dwelt in the Rifts over the millennia have been the Order's ultimate foe, but have also caused the Sororitas to view Space Marines as little more than fallible, corruptible, pompous weapons of war, rather than Emperor-ordained Angels of Death. Combat Doctrines: "Afraid? That's natural. But overcoming that fear is the path to victory, and to The Emperor." ~ Sister Superior Purnama to her squadmates, before the battle of Helnist Field, 114.M41 The Order of the Iron Tower is a fairly flexible combat force, equally adept at defending cities or rooting out heretic encampments. Often the Sororitas are accompanied by their numerous allies, be they fanatical pilgrims, sly Rogue Traders or dispassionate servants of the Mechanicus. In most situations, these allies will bow to the whims of the Adepta Sororitas once battle is inevitable, such is the renown of the Order's mastery of combat. Warfare as undertaken by Order of the Iron Tower is primarily conducted as close-range firefights where possible, to better utilise their blessed flamer and melta weapons. However, the Order typically avoids melee combat save for as a last resort. Sisters who have undertaken the vows of penance and become Repentia, or those bound to Penitent Engines, are generally reserved for counter-assualt tactics, or planned ambushes to tie up particularly vicious foes and buy their sisters time to reposition and better entrench themselves against the foe. Organisation: "Sixteen more martyred today. A dozen prospects picked up from the Pilgrim Fleet. No idea how long they'll last." ~ Private writings of Canoness Marel, 335.M41 Thanks to the ancient pacts and accords made in the time of Cardinal von Lochlane, The Order of the Iron Tower consists primarily of three Preceptories, each one assigned to one of the fleets patrolling the Glastheim Pilgrimage. The precise number of Adepta Sororitas in the Order of the Iron Tower is constantly in flux. By the nature of the conflicts they face, every battle is simply part of a larger war of attrition. Few indeed are the battles won without loss of life. With each conflict, the list of the martyred grows, and every woman in the Order is confronted with their own mortality on a near-daily basis. This is, however, offset by the large amount of recruits the Order can draw upon. With more than a dozen worlds serving as potential recruitment grounds even before drawing on willing young women in the Pilgrim Fleets, the Order of the Iron Tower boasts a seemingly never-ending supply of fresh recruits. Besides the main fleets, supplementary garrison forces exist on a handful of key Shrine Worlds, usually consisting of a dozen or less Battle Sisters assigned to the defence of sites of religious significance. Handfuls of Sisters can also be assigned as bodyguards for notable members of the Imperial Clergy, or as safeguards for the Order's numerous allies. At such, the Order's numbers have fluctuated wildly over the millennia. At rare times, the Order has had more trained Sororitas than they had Power Armour for them to wear. At other times, the Order has had over half its' stock of weapons and armour kept ensconced in blessed shrines aboard their ships, awaiting new owners. Regardless of their numbers, the resolve of the Sisterhood has never wavered - cowardice is a betrayal of The Emperor, and the Iron Creed binds the Order to their courage. Battlecry: Call: "Forged in Faith!" Response: "Tempered in War!" --=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=-- EDIT 17/04/2020: Added a handful of quotes, hopefully snappy and suitable enough for the Order of the Iron Tower. As always, thoughts, opinions, criticisms and stern reprimands for doing this all wrong always welcome.