The Order of the Glorious Reprisal (Overhaul)

[Servant of Dante]

The Order of the Glorious Reprisal

SUMMARY

• Home World: The planet Delmarus in the Talmion system on the galactic northern fringes of the Garon Nebula in the Segmentum Tempestus
• Main Colours: Black, White, Silver, and Gold
• Specialty: Mid to close range combat, and the use of flame and melta weapons
• Battle Cry: “Swift is the Emperor’s Vengance!” “Faith, fire, and death!” “Victinia, lend us your strength!”
• Patron Saint: Saint Victinia
• Current Strength: 163 sisters
• Traditional Full Strength: 200 sisters

A sister of the Order of the Glorious Reprisal in full Power Armour

THE PENDANT OF SAINT AMURIA

In the one hundred eighty-sixth year of the thirty-sixth millennium, during the warp storms of the Age of Apostasy, a young girl was found the sands of Delmarus’s equatorial desserts. She was badly dehydrated, and remained comatose for a time even after she was taken under the care of the local priest in the town of Reathale, Father Daven Jorothous, just north of the desserts. It is said that her limbs were spread to her sides when she was found, though the Frateris Clergy of Delmarus are much divided on the exact angles at which her arms and legs rested, and the degree to which her joints were bent, from her elbows and knees to the joints of her fingers. A specific set of measurements describing the exact disposition of the girl’s body as she lay unconscious in the sand is known as a Simulacrum Amuria. The only constants among such documents are the two details recorded by Father Jorothous when he took the girl in: that she lay face down in the blistering sand, and that her head pointed to the north. To contradict this, the Figura Incommutabilis, is tantamount to decrying the God-Emperor himself on Delmarus. After a time, the girl regained consciousness, and eventually identified herself as Amuria, though she could not remember how she had gotten lost in the dessert, where she had been going, where she had come from, or even who she was. She spoke of losing a precious amulet, which accounts describe it as a stylized representation of the Imperial Aquila. When asked why it was so precious to her, she could only respond, “I cannot recall.”

Amuria served as Father Jorothous’s lay assistant for several years. Though she initially knew nothing of the Imperial Cult, she came to embrace it zealously. Just ten years after her appearance, her impromptu sermons in and around the town were drawing crowds several times those at a typical service. Faithful from a dozen parishes traveled to Reathale in the hopes of hearing her speak of the Emperor. Some years later, the Cardinal of the Talmion Diocese dies. His replacement, a man named Senic Var, immediately set about wresting absolute control of Delmarus from both the Frateris Clergy beneath him and the Planetary Governer, though his methods were far from overt. With a skilled hand he aligned the governing bodies of the planet to his will, making it his private domain. This was certainly no unheard of in the Imperium. Certainly, if any had the right to rule worlds absolutely it was the anointed clergy of the God-Emperor. However, Cardinal Var was not content with mere power, the vast increases in tithes he enacted funded the construction of vast palaces and gardens for his amusement, while the churches of the Emperor declined in grandeur.

Though she had been only a few years in the Emperor’s service, Amuria had only contempt toward Cardinal Var and his use of the Ministorum’s riches. As time passed the Cardinal grew more and more bold in his personal use of the Emperor’s resources. By the time the his third renovation of his private estates, the church in Reathale was badly worn, only the work of the townspeople had kept it from being destroyed by the dust storms that blew out from the deserts from time to time. As the years passed, Amuria’s contempt slowly turned to rage, till she could, till she could contain it no longer. It is said her sermon lasted for three days. Faithful traveled day and night to reach Reathale, the crowd around her growing till those on the edges could not even hear her voice. When Amuria finished preaching her voice was gone, but the masses had been brought to fever pitch. Immediately they began to march toward the planetary capitol of Keleg, over a thousand miles from Reathal, taking up any arms they could find as they went. Entire towns were swept up in the holy fervor, abandoning their homes to follow the crowds. Frateris Clergy drawn from their parishes preached day and night, honing the rage of the people to a razor’s edge.

Almost a year after Amuria’s sermon in Reathale, the hoard of men and women, came into sight of Keleg. That evening, the assembled Ministorum Priests declared the people Frateris Militia, and decried Cardinal Var as a heretic and a blasphemer. In a panic, the Cardinal attempted to order the Planetary Defense Force to disperse the rabble outside his city, but a delegation of Delmarus’s senitor Frateris Clergy had had words with the PDF’s commanders, and the Cardinal’s frantic commands fell on deaf ears. The next day Amuria led the newly anointed Frateris Clergy to the Cardinal’s estates on lake Kellegog to the south of the city. Though the expansive gardens and villas were razed to the ground, the Cardinal was nowhere to be found. Senic Var had sealed himself inside the Cathedral in Kelleg, but Amuria would not allow the Frateris Clergy to bring him out at the expense of such a shrine to the God-Emperor. With the help of the local Frateris Clergy she blocked all entrances to the Cathedral. Just eighteen hours later, Var was caught attempting to escape through the Cathedral’s catacombs; he was beheaded publicly the next day. Had Delmarus not been isolated from the Imperium at large by the warp storms of the Age of Apostasy, there might have been some issue with the execution of a Cardinal by his underlings, but by the time the storms receded 300 years later those who might have been guilty were long dead and enshrined in local legend.

After the execution of Senic Var, Amuria returned to Reathale where continued her unofficial ministry for over six decades. The small town saw significant growth from those who wished to hear her speak, and from the burgeoning number of pilgrimages traveling into the deserts in search of her pendant. The whole of Demarus mourned her passing, and when contact with Terra was reestablished at the end of the Age of Apostasy the Cardinal on Delmarus petitioned the Ecclesiarch to canonize Amuria, which he did, along with several hundred other champions of the Ministorum that had lived away from the light of Terra during the Age of Apostasy. For almost 3500 years her feast day has been a planet wide celebration and more, culminating in vigil masses in every church, chapel and cathedral in the Diocese.

FOUNDING OF THE ORDER OF THE GLORIOUS REPRISAL

In 003.M38, a combined force of the Order of the Martyred Lady and the Order of the Valorous Heart where traveling to a system to the galactic southwest of Bakka, in response to reports of a Dark Apostle operating in the area, a possibility that the Prioress did not take lightly. The sisters force consisted of a Preceptory of the Order of the Valorous Heart, 800 sisters strong. They were accompanied by a Commandery of 100 Seraphim of the Order of Our Martyred Lady, led by Canoness Commander Vendela, a Seraphim in her own right. While en-route, their transports’ Astropath intercepted a message from an Imperial Guard regiment in the far south of the Segmentum, within the fringes of the Garon Nebula. They were pinned down on a Maiden World by a tribe of Eldar Exodites, saying that they had been ordered to secure a landing zone for a larger purification force. The reply from Segmentum Command stated that there was no record of the regiment’s “supposed deployment,” and that further resources would not be rerouted to their position. Canoness Commander Vendela was outraged by the casual disregard for both the lives of the guardsmen, and the Xeno filth which they fought, but the Dark Apostle still demanded their full attention. However, in the days that followed, it became apparent that the rumors of a Dark Apostle were false, though the chaos cult itself was still a very real threat. Vendela immediately detached her Commandery from convoy, and made for the source of the message. The Canoness Prececptor leading the Order of the Valorous Heart’s sisters, still focused on the chaos uprising, sent just five squads of junior sisters, led by Palatine Gracinthi, to support the Seraphim.

Vendella’s Commandery, accompanied by Gracinthi’s newly formed Mission made best speed to the source of the guardsmen’s message. By the time they arrived, only a fraction of the original Imperial Guard force remained. The sisters deployed regardless, pushing back the Exodite advances and holding a landing zone while the guardsmen evacuated. By the time every sister had been withdrawn from the surface, several dozen lay dead, including a full squad of Vendella’s Seraphim. The Canoness Commander withdrew her forces to the nearby planet of Delmarus, it being the largest Imperial population within a hundred light years and a Cardinal World. Of the original 5,000 guardsmen deployed to the Maiden World, scarcely 300 remained. The acting Colonel of the regiment wished to simply disband the remaining troops and remain on Delmarus, but Vendela would not allow it. The Emperor had delivered them and they would continue to fight in His name. She had them loaded onto a transport and sent to the nearest Imperial Guard garrison for reassignment.

Faced with a Xeno foe her sisters could not hope to exterminate on their own, Vendela sent a report to the Prioress on Ophelia VII and awaited further orders. During this time the sisters learned of the legends and acts surrounding Saint Amuria. Many of the sisters took interest in the legend, and the Delmarian Frateris Clergy were eager to teach any who would listen. Eventually, the Proress determined that a force large enough to purge the Xeno population of the Maiden World could not be spared. Apart from being Xeno, they appeared largely innocuous, while a thousand immediate threats to Mankind appeared daily. Still infuriated by the Xeno presence, Vendela argued with the Prioress, much to the shock of all who heard. Eventually, the Prioress granted permission for Vendela to remain on Delmarus to keep watch over the Maiden World, though she would not be swayed to send the forces required to exterminate them. Pacified but not content, Vendela set about finding a location for a convent for her sisters. Many of her Seraphim wished it to be built in Kelleg, near the Cardinal’s palace and cathedral, while Palatine Gracinthi and many of those under her preferred a location along the equator, near a popular route for pilgrims searching for Saint Amuria’s pendant. Eventually, Vendela determined that the convent would be built in the deserts, but further in than most pilgrims ever ventured. All eventually agreed that the harsh environment and relative seclusion would be boons in prayer and penance, with the added benefit of being close at hand should pilgrims in the deserts need protection.

As the decades passed, the already subtle differences between the sisters of the Order of Our Martyred Lady and the Order of the Valorous Heart on Delmarus grew less. After almost 70 years on Delmarus, Vendela contacted the Prioress of the Convent Sanctorum at the behest of her Sisters Superior, requesting that the sisters on Delmarus be allowed to form a new Order Militant. The Prioress gave her blessing, and preparations moved forward. Twenty-three months later, all was ready. Just weeks before the scheduled mass marking the new order’s official founding, an aged Vendela died in her sleep. A new sister from those on Delmarus was hastily chosen to be the order’s first Canoness: Sister Superior Alexius of the Order of the Valorous Heart. In memory of their departed Canoness Commander, Alexius moved the date of the founding to coincide with Vendela’s funeral. Thus, 70 years after the sisters arrived on Delmarus, the Order of the Glorious Reprisal was founded.

DELMARUS

Delmarus is characterized by fertile but dry farmland in the mid-latitude regions, brutally hot desserts around the equator, and small polar ice caps. There are few large bodies of water; however, most of the population is concentrated near the planet’s largest freshwater lake, Kellegog, in the northern hemisphere. The capital, including the palace of the Planetary Governer, is in the city of Kelleg along the western bank of its namesake lake. Delmarus is also a Cardinal World, seat of the Diocese that encompasses the Talmion System and several others nearby, though most are sparsely populated at best. The Cardinal’s palace and attendant cathedral are located on the shores of lake Kellegog, in the heart of Kelleg. The convent of the Order of the Glorious Reprisal is located some miles into the deserts almost directly south of Reathale, well south and west of Lake Kelegog. This site was chosen both for its distance from major population centers and for the harsh environment it provides, as well as its proximity to traditional pilgrimage routs of those searching for the pendant of Saint Amuria.

ORDER ORGANIZATION

As with all the orders militant, the Order of the Glorious Reprisal is led by a Canoness. Unlike many other orders militant, the traditional second to the Canoness is the most senior Superior of the order’s Seraphim, who goes into battle with the armour and weapons of Seraphim Superior Vendela, the Instruments of Reprisal, the most prized relics of the order. Beyond this the structure of the order is very much like any other, excluding the Sister-Captain of the Dawnhammer, her Adjunct, and the Sister-Commanders of the Herald of Vengeance and Repentance in Death, all of whom are outside the normal command structure.

COMBAT DOCTRINE

The Order of the Glorious Reprisal possesses few vehicles, and because of this the sisters hold them in high regard, especially the order’s blessed Exorcist tanks. Though the sisters of the order exult in the chance to meet their foes face to face and blade to blade, they act as the tactical situation requires through strict discipline, iron will, and an insurmountable faith in the Emperor. They detest being beholden to any outsiders, even other branches of the Ecclesiarchy, and, by the same token, are not inclined to hold others in their debt. First and foremost, the sisters of the Order of the Glorious Reprisal despise the witch, the mutant and the heretic in all their forms, even those condoned by the Imperium at large.

PRESENT ACTIVITIES

The sisters spend the bulk of their time in prayer, contemplation, and training in and around their Convent. The order also patrols many of the major pilgrimage routs in the deserts, and secures any individuals with psychic ability until a black ship arrives to take them. The Dawnhammer keeps an almost constant watch over the Maiden World the order is tasked with observing, though in 2000 years not a single xeno has attempted to leave or land on the surface. Although the bulk of the order remains in and around the Talmion system, forces of all sizes are called off in support of faraway campaigns, or at the behest of the Ordo Hereticus, much to the dissatisfaction of the order.

RITUALS IN REPRISAL

Sisters of the order have penned some of the most complex harmonies ever produced in praise of the Emperor. Each sister has some vocal skill, and hymns of praise and supplication can be heard almost constantly in and around the order’s convent on Delmarus. Complex battle hymns are begun before each engagement, each squad contributing a unique harmonic line to the whole of the melody. Once secrecy is no longer necessary, the hymn is broadcast out of the vox amp in each sister’s power armour, and from the laud hailers of their vehicles. The lengthiest of these hems stretches for over eight hours, a glorious account of the final battle of Saint Victinia, penned by her Adjunct, Blessed Sister Niteelan. Each Sister knows dozens of arrangements to be sung in and out of battle, but among the most prevalent phrases voiced by the sisters of the order are, “Swift is the Emperor’s Vengeance!” “Faith, fire, and death!” and “Victinia, lend us your strength!”

The sisters of the order believe that all who oppose the Emperor are doomed to fall. Even more, they believe it is their sacred right and duty to deliver the Emperor’s vengeance onto their foes, thereby fulfilling their doom. Past a minor offence, which is still reason for penance, there is no room for compassion. Repentance from a fallen sister is only accepted in extraordinary circumstances. Therefore, when a sister of the order commits a serious offence against the Emperor and their order, they are not cast out as a Sister Repentia; rather, these former sisters are pressed into service in the furthest depths of the Dawnhammer or one of the order’s transport vessels. They traditionally load torpedoes or preform other dangerous tasks. If their ship is boarded, these sisters in exile will be the first to respond to the enemy assault, fighting with repair tools and autopistols. Those who survive may be reinstated as full members of the order.

RECRUITMENT

The people of Delmarus, having been faithful servants of the Emperor even before the sisters’ arrival, quickly formed close ties with the sisters. After the founding of the order, a peculiar custom developed among the planet’s people, especially the residents of the planetary capital, Kelleg. The firstborn child, be it a boy or a girl, is sent to a Schola Progenium somewhere in the Segmentum, regardless of the status of the child’s parents. While this practice is nominally voluntary, some families have been pressured into sending their infant child away, or even run out of the city by armed mobs. Some of the male children grow into Missionaries, Priests, and other Eccelsiarchal servants. A portion of this number chooses to return to their birth world, though they know it not but by name. Those female children deemed worthy of the Orders Militant are watched closely by the order, and are brought back to Delmarus the order’s representative at the Convent Sanctorum upon completing their vows of sisterhood. The close ties between the order and the general populace has fostered a deep hatred for anyone with psychic abilities. Any such person is held in the deepest dungeons of the Imperial Governor’s palace under the guard of a full squad of sisters, augmented by the Witch Hunters of the local priesthood - that is, if the witch survives the mobs long enough to be arrested.

SISTERS OF THE VOID

Like many of the orders on the Adepta Sororitas, the Order of the Glorious Reprisal maintains several small transports for transport from one warzone to another. These tiny ships are particularly vital to the order since they are often the sole source of void transportation available, due to the low numbers of outside ships which pass through the Talmion System. Before the Battle for Delmarus in 516.M38, the order maintained five lightly armed transport ships. A sister of the order served as the Captain of each of these ships. These Sister-Captains had little to no previous experience with the minutia of void travel, but the small size and non-combat role their ships held meant this was seldom a problem. During the Battle for Delmarus, the Sister-Captains of the order took their ships into combat alongside the outgunned and outmaneuvered Imperial Navy on several occasions. In the final confrontation of the Imperial and Chaos fleets, all the Sister-Captains’ ships were destroyed, along with every Imperial Navy vessel save the Dawnhammer. The Dawnhammer was saved through the heroic actions of Sister-Captain Victinia, who ordered the Dawnhammer’s Captain to retreat while she rammed and boarded the enemy flagship (see Roll of Honor). In return, after the chaos warband had been broken and driven back into the Garon nebula, the Dawnhammer was left on permanent detachment with the order.

To properly care for such a gift, the order sent one sister away to an Imperial Navy academy to be trained as a Captain (see Order Organization). Upon returning to Delmarus and taking up her position as Sister-Captain of the Dawnhammer, she selected another able sister to receive Naval training and serve as her Adjunct and eventual successor. This practice has persisted through the millennia to the present. The Sister-Captain and her Adjunct denote their training by emblazoning the emblem of the Imperial Navy upon the left sleeve of their robes. The sisters who command the order’s other ships are trained by the Sister-Captain, and hold the title Sister-Commander. On the battlefield, the Sister-Captain, or her Adjunct when acting as the Sister-Captain’s proxy, lead with the authority of a Palatine. The Sister-Commanders, senior members of the order in their own right, may act as Sister Superiors in combat situations. In addition to the Dawnhammer, the order currently boasts two armed transport vessels.

Dawnhammer (Sword-class Heavy Frigate) the only ship to survive the Battle for Delmarus in 516.M38

Herald of Vengeance (transport)

Repentance in Death (tr ansport)

ROLL OF HONOR

186.M36 - Amuria is found on the fringe of Delmarus’s equatorial desserts.

257.M36 - Amuria dies in her sleep in her home in the village of Reathale.

500.M36 - Saint Amuria is canonized along with several hundred other Saints of the Age of Apostasy.

003.M38 - Victinia leads 150 Seraphim of the Order of Our Martyred lady, along with 50 Sisters of the Order of the Valorouus Heart led by Palatine Gracinthi to rescue a regiment of Imperial Guardsmen stranded on a Maiden World near the Talmion System.

032.M38 - WAAAGH! Gorthung enters the Talmion system. Canoness Commander Vendela leads the defense of Delmarus, turning the tide against the greenskins, and personally slaying scores of orks.

073.M38 - The Order of the Glorious Reprisal is founded on the day of Canoness Commander Vendela’s funeral.

074.M38 - The sisters fight their first major engagement after the death of Seraphim Superior Vendela, ambushing an Eldar scouting force. The foe is annihilated, but at no small cost to the newly founded order.

116.M38 - Battle for Delmarus -The Chaos Lord Mronthrouk the Revealer launches a crusade in the name of Tzeentch out of the Garon Nebula. Within weeks the chaos war fleet approaches Delmarus. Only a few Imperial Navy vessels respond to the order’s calls for help, and the paltry armaments of the order’s transports are not nearly enough to match the weapons of the traitor fleet. With one of the order’s five transports destroyed and reinforcements caught in the currents of the warp, Canoness Alexius convinces the Captains of the Imperial Navy to conduct one final, desperate defense of Delmarus. During the ensuing void combat Saint Sister Victinia, Captain of the transport Resolute Shield rammed her vessel into the heretic flagship amid a thousand brilliant fires, allowing the Imperial Navy frigate Dawnhammer to escape. The Saint then led her crew into the maw of the waiting chaos cultists and Rubric Marines, cutting a trail of divine vengeance through their midst. She overloaded the ships reactor, sundering it and breaking the back of the fledgling chaos crusade.

188.M38 - Sister-Captain Victinia is canonized by Ecclesiarch Decius VI and the Holy Synod and is named the patron saint of the Order of the Glorious Reprisal.

573.M38 - The order fights several skirmishes with Dark Eldar raiders in the wake of Chaos Lord Mronthrouk’s crusade.

554.M40 - A ship emerges from the warp just outside the Talmion system. Its passengers and crew have been corrupted and possessed by the daemons of the warp. The sisters of the order fight to contain the heretics until the Imperial Navy arrives to dispose of the tainted vessel.

681.M41 - An uprising led by a chaos cult begins in one of the outlying settlements on Delmarus. The sisters carry out a purge of the region and the cult is destroyed, but not before several dozen sisters are killed and over a thousand acres of farmland burn.

Late 700s, M41 - Margrettia is born

857.M41 - Sister Margrettia is made Superior of Squad Dominus, Sister Fieleen is among the first new sisters assigned to her care.

935.M41 - Celestian Superior Fieleen is named the Canoness of the order at the age of 97.

951.M41 - Sister Raedia is assigned to Squad Dominus, fresh from her vows.

994.M41 - Canoness Fieleen is killed by a Khorne Lord of Skulls in close combat. Sister Superior Raedia is named the Canoness of the Order of the Glorious Reprisal at the age of 59, making her the youngest Canoness in the order’s history

RELICS OF VENGANCE

Instruments of Reprisal: the arms and armour of Seraphim Superior Vendella of have come to be collectively called the Instruments of Reprisal. Despite numerous repairs they shine just as brightly as the day the Delmarian Commandery was founded. Their original detailing and coloration has been painstakingly maintained throughout the millennia, and they are currently bourn into battle by Seraphim Superior Katelien.

Edge of Faith: Power sword

Majesty’s Rebuke: Plasma pistol

Wings of the Martyr: Seraphim jump pack

Armour of Vendella : Power armour

Teeth of Vengeance: Thus was named the gilded Eviscerator of Canoness Alexius upon her death. Each succeeding Canoness of the ord er has etched a personal mark into one of its shining ceramite and adamantium teeth. Canoness Raedia is the current bearer of this weapon.

HEROINES OF THE ORDER OF THE GLORIOUS REPRISAL

Canoness Commander Vendela: Canoness Commander and Seraphim of The Order of Our Martyred Lady, and the first leader of the sisters on Delmarus. The sisters of the order even onto the 41st millennium revere her, while her armour and weapons are some of the order’s most sacred relics.

Palatine Gracinthi: Led the Mission of the Order of the Valorous Heart that originally accompanied Vendela to the Talmion system. She is said to have played a significant role in picking the location of the Convent on Delmarus.

Canoness Alexius: The first Canoness of the Order of the Glorious Reprisal; a native of Delmarus. She led the fledgling order through the crusade of Chaos Lord Mronthrouk and her Eviscerator is the traditional weapon of the Canonesses of the order.

Saint Sister-Captain Victinia: Through her heroic actions she became the hero of the Battle for Delmarus, an Imperial Saint, and the patron saint of the Oreder of the Glorious Reprisal, even though she was not a native Delmarian

Blessed Sister Niteelan: Sister-Captain Victinia’s Adjunct. After the Battle for Delmarus she penned “Ode to the Saint,” an epic eight hour canticle glorifying her lost friend who became the patron Saint of her order.

Canoness Fieleen: Raedia’s predecessor, she was killed attempting to slow a rampaging Khorne Lord of Skulls during an extended mission outside the Talmion System at the behest of an Inquisitor of the Ordo Hereticus.

Canoness Raedia: The youngest Canoness in the order’s history and a native of Delmarus, she has earned the respect of the sisters under her command.

Seraphim Superior Katelien: Current bearer of the Instruments of Reprisal, she is a shining example of the strength and grace of the Seraphim. As is traditional, Katelien serves as Canoness Raedia’s second in command.

Veteran Superior Margrettia: She has lead the nineteen other sisters of Squad Dominus for over a century. This was the warrior who trained the Canoness, and the Canoness before her. Her fervent belief and long decades of service make her and invaluable asset to the order.

Sister Captian Elenius: The current Sister-Captain of the Dawnhammer, she has the difficult task of keeping the order on good terms with both the Adeptus Telepathica and the Navis Nobilite, even though she herself shares her sisters’ abhorrence of the mutant and the witch, while at the same time keeping careful watch over the Maiden World the order is obliged to observe.

Sister Saethein, Adjunct to the Sister-Captain: At barely thirty years of age, she was a strange choice for the position of Adjunct, but Saethein has yet to give Elenius reason to regret her selection of her proxy and eventual

Successor.

Sister Superior Urthale: As the order’s representative at the Convent Sanctorum on Ophelia VII, she is responsible for tracking the progress of Demarian children throughout the sector, especially those training as Novices of the Adepta Sororitas. When their training and vows are complete, she conducts those Delmarian children that have taken vows as a sister militant back to Delmarus, with the permission of the Prioress of the Convent Sanctorum, and, on occasion, she has selects sisters not born of Delmarian parents to serve in the order. Whatever their origins, Canoness Raedia trusts sister Urthale’s judgement.

NOTABLE SISTERS OF OTHER ORDERS

The Order of Serenity: Three Sisters Hospitaller of the Order of Serenity from the Convent Prioris are stationed on Delmarus to care for the sisters of the order. Sister Angeli, a surgeon with years of experience treating battlefield injuries, is assisted by sisters Quelen and Bellena.

The Order of the Gate: Sister Melaen Relthi reports on activities in and around the Talmion System to her superiors on Ophelia VII and serves as the Planetary Governor’s advisor, guiding him in the ways proscribed by her order.

The Order of the Holy Word: Sisters Yejei and Erthall of the Order of the Quill are on Delmarus to study the legends of Saint Amuria. Sister Yejei claims to be composing her own Simulacrum Amuria, which has upset some of the Delmarian priesthood due to her offworld birth.

OTHER FIGURES OF NOTE

Saint Amuria: Found as a young woman in Delmarus’s equatorial deserts, she became a preacher and eventually began the revolt that toppled the corrupt Senic Var. Much of the theology of Delmarus centers around her legend. Pilgrims travel from across the planet to walk the deserts south of Reathale where she lived in hopes of finding her lost pendant. Of especial importance to the learned of the Delmarian priesthood is the position in which Amuria lay when she was found, a description of which is called a Simulacrum Amuria.

Father Daven Jorothous: The priest in the town of Reathale during the Age of Apostasy that cared for Amuria when she was found, and taught her the tenants of the Imperial Creed after she recovered.

Cardinal Senic Var: The corrupt Cardinal of Delmarus toppled by a revolt led by Saint Amuria and the Delmarian Frateris Clergy.

Ecclesiarch Decius VI: The Ecclesiarch who canonized Saint Victinia in 188.M38.

[Servant of Dante]

Edited the post above. This post is just to bump this thread up with the other active ones.

[Frater Cula]

Hey, Servant,

 

Thanks for sharing your Order!  Here's my constructive criticism:

 

I'm not sure that a Sororitas order would split off after 400 years of isolation.  At the point of their founding, the Order of the Martyred Lady might already be a millenium old (founded M37).  Any long-lived organization will have strong traditions handed down to keep its identity intact.  If I'm not wrong (and I may be), can you think of more reason why the Order would split off?

 

How does the theme of vengeance/reprisal affect other aspects of the Order?  Does it affect their relationship with other major Imperial organizations?  Are they especially prone to seek out particular hated enemies, even when other priorities demand their attention?

 

The Ecclesiarchy canonized Victinia as a Saint; what is the Order's relationship with the Ecclesiarchy otherwise?  The Sororitas are the Ecclesiarchy's standing army as well as the Ordo Hereticus's Chamber Militant.  What demands do the Ecclesiarchy make in return for their favor, and how does your Order feel about it?

 

Other, minor thoughts:

 

What is fertile but dry farmland?  Can you give an example on Earth of what you mean?

 

You may want to move "Talmion Battlegroup" to after "Order Organization" so you don't have to explain the Sister-Captain command structure twice.  It might make a good sidebar.

 

Finally, if you can stand it, take another editing pass.  There are a few paragraphs where I think you accidentally a word.  *grin*  And there are some spelling issues: who's->whose, bourn->borne.

[Servant of Dante]

Responses in red. Thanks! I really do appreciate it.

Hey, Servant,

Thanks for sharing your Order! Here's my constructive criticism:

I'm not sure that a Sororitas order would split off after 400 years of isolation. At the point of their founding, the Order of the Martyred Lady might already be a millenium old (founded M37). Any long-lived organization will have strong traditions handed down to keep its identity intact. If I'm not wrong (and I may be), can you think of more reason why the Order would split off?

This is something to think about. My thought was that it had to do with the independent ideology of the natives of Delmarus. They would have petitioned the Canoness of the Order of our Martyred Lady for permission I assume. Since they are a minor and relatively insignificant outpost, I don't have an issue with 400 years.

Even though we deal in millennia in 40k, 4 centuries is still a long time. Like I mentioned, they don't receive many novices from off world, so that would contribute as well.

How does the theme of vengeance/reprisal affect other aspects of the Order? Does it affect their relationship with other major Imperial organizations? Are they especially prone to seek out particular hated enemies, even when other priorities demand their attention?

This aspect honestly grew out of my love for cc, learned from my blood angels. They are not Flesh Tearers, but they will hunt down an enemy even when it is not strictly necessary. Although, it really is necessary to hunt down every last heretic in the Emperor's galaxy, right? While I know I used the word bloodthirsty, I don't mean in an especially grotesque way. Simply an insatiable drive to destroy their enemies. Their independence and reluctance to take orders from outside the Order probably has a larger effect on their relations with the Imperium at large.

The order's highest, immutable priority is the defense of the Talmion system, beyond that, they especially hate the mutant and the witch. I would imagine that they would be upset if they had to leave off the pursuit of an enemy because something else was "more pressing"

The Ecclesiarchy canonized Victinia as a Saint; what is the Order's relationship with the Ecclesiarchy otherwise? The Sororitas are the Ecclesiarchy's standing army as well as the Ordo Hereticus's Chamber Militant. What demands do the Ecclesiarchy make in return for their favor, and how does your Order feel about it?

Canonizing a Saint is NOT a favor. I feel very strongly about this. It is (I assume, from what I know from the present day source material, ie. the Roman Catholic Church) an ordered investigative process that takes a good deal of time and requires strong evidence of saintliness. I will say that my standards for Victinia are probably lower than those of the Catholic Church. Victinia was recognized as a Saint because she WAS one. There is no debt to be repaid, except to the Emperor for his grace.

I know the Imperium is characterized by bureaucracy and corruption, but I will not bend on this point. In fact, if the Ecclesiarchy had expected something in return beyond the continued faith and loyalty of the Order, they where sorely mistaken. The sisters would not understand it, and if there was some condition to Victinia's canonization, they would have seen it (rightly, if I may say so) as an affront to the God-Emperor of Mankind, and refused. Emperor heretic pretenders to the title of Ecclesiarch.

There. Now you've gone and got me angry. Like, actually, physically upset. Don't worry (if you where). I'll get over it.

It is a good question, though, one I hadn't considered.

Other, minor thoughts:

What is fertile but dry farmland? Can you give an example on Earth of what you mean?

I would say it is rather like the western US, where farming is incredibly common, but requires extensive irrigation. Hence, lake Kellegog

You may want to move "Talmion Battlegroup" to after "Order Organization" so you don't have to explain the Sister-Captain command structure twice. It might make a good sidebar.

I'll look into it. Incidently, how in Terra do you make a sidebar?

Finally, if you can stand it, take another editing pass. There are a few paragraphs where I think you accidentally a word. *grin* And there are some spelling issues: who's->whose, bourn->borne.

Sure. You should (not) have seen it before I did this editing

[Frater Cula]

Sorry!  I didn't mean to upset you. 

 

It looks like I wasn't clear regarding the Ecclesiarchy.  I didn't mean "favor" in the sense that "canonizing Victinia was doing you a big favor"; I meant it in the sense of "we're in their good graces".  You know, in the Imperium, any organization wants to keep up a good reputation and good relationships.  You never know when the Inquisition will come knocking!

 

Even in the modern world, if you're a company who has a big customer, you might go out of your way to keep them happy: overlook little annoyances, give them extra personal service, that sort of thing.

 

Regarding sidebars, I'm pretty new here, but I did find this post, which does discuss sidebars: BBCode Guide

 

Happy purging!

[Servant of Dante]

Sorry!  I didn't mean to upset you. 

 

It looks like I wasn't clear regarding the Ecclesiarchy.  I didn't mean "favor" in the sense that "canonizing Victinia was doing you a big favor"; I meant it in the sense of "we're in their good graces".  You know, in the Imperium, any organization wants to keep up a good reputation and good relationships.  You never know when the Inquisition will come knocking!

 

Even in the modern world, if you're a company who has a big customer, you might go out of your way to keep them happy: overlook little annoyances, give them extra personal service, that sort of thing.

 

Regarding sidebars, I'm pretty new here, but I did find this post, which does discuss sidebars: BBCode Guide

 

Happy purging!

Woops. I didn't even look at your post count till now. Sorry for sending you on an errand that I should have done myself! I'm new to this part of the B&C and I guess I assumed that you where one of the regulars.

 

Thanks for the help!

[Servant of Dante]

Alright, the old has been thrown out, expanded, retconed, expanded, retconed again, and finished :P Here (in the OP) is the current and full fluff for the Order of the Glorious Reprisal.

 

Please let me know what you think, there have been some major changes from the old stuff (if you ever read it)!

[Zhiv]

Pretty spiffy.  I do love me some sisters, and I'll splurge as soon as GW releases them in plastic. If ever.

 

But seeing that I read it and seeing that I noticed few things bothering me....

 

 

186.M36 - Amuria is found on the fringe of Delmarus’s equatorial desserts.

*nom*?

 

003.M38 - Victinia leads 150 Seraphim of the Order of Our Martyred lady, along with 50 Sisters of the Order of the Valorouus Heart led by Palatine Gracinthi to rescue a regiment of Imperial Guardsmen stranded on a Maiden World near the Talmion System.

One 'u' too many, even when accounting for British English.

 

I'd also mention Convent Sanctorum in the summary, as that's the closest sisters have to progenitors.

[Servant of Dante]

Thanks for pointing out the spelling errors :D

 

Yeah I suppose I took it so much for granted that they report to the Prioress of the Convent Sanctorum that I forgot to mention it.

 

Interestingly, both the Canoness Superior of the Order of Our Martyred Lady and the Canoness Superior of the Order of the Valorous Heart would nominally outrank Raedia (as per Codex: Witch Hunters). I suppose there might be an argument for the OML link to take precedent if it ever became relevant.

 

The current Sisters range really is quite lovely, and my carrying case has a satisfying weight to it :P

 

And thanks for the reply! I was a little sad that no one said anything, with how much thought went into this :)

[Beta galactosidase]

Dry climates can improve soil fertility. The deposition of dust (loess) is contributory, by providing highly available calcium, to microbial activity in soils and therefore the humification of organic material and formation of a mollic horizon, which is a highly fertile soil horizon.

 

The plural is Sisters Superior, not "superiors."

[Servant of Dante]

That would be a typo. I do generally say "Sisters Superior"