Index Imperialis: Order of the Sacred Scroll (IG 2020)

[Lysimachus]

Origins:

During the 38th Millennium, the Ecclesiarch Deacis VI decreed that two new Orders Militant of the Adepta Sororitas would be created. One of these, formed on Terra itself within the walls of the Convent Prioris, was the Order of the Sacred Rose. This Order was founded to honour the memory of Saint Arabella the Liberator. One of the earliest missions dispatched by the Sacred Rose was sent at the behest of Deacis himself to Threskeia VI in the Malatoth Sector of the Ultima Segmentum.

The Threskeia system had the unusual honour of being the site of both an Adeptus Ministorum Shrineworld and an Astartes Chapter Homeworld (see Inq.ref:AdAst394:Emperor's Blade). For millennia, Chapter and Church had been intrinsically bound together. They fought as one to free the Malatoth Sector from the clutches of the hated Word Bearers Legion and from that time forward had been perfectly united in their devotion to the Imperial Creed. However, during the dark times of the Age of Apostasy, the Emperor's Blade had broken many of its ties with the Ecclesiarchy, even standing against Goge Vandire as part of Sebastian Thor's Confederation of Light. From this time forward, the Chapter no longer displayed the unquestioning loyalty and obedience to the Holy Church that it had in ages past. Deacis, while still serving as a Cardinal, had personally experienced the unwillingness of the Emperor's Blade to follow the Church's lead. He found this situation entirely unacceptable, but was unable to chastise the Chapter because of the autonomy allowed to the Astartes.


The Ecclesiarch's response was to send a full Commandery of the warrior sisters of the Sacred Rose. Ostensibly his goal was to strengthen the defences of the Malatoth Sector, but Deacis true intent was more subtle. He knew that the Order and Chapter would inevitably have to work closely together and believed that as they did so, the fine example of faith and fidelity set by the Sororitas would gradually influence the Emperor's Blade and bring them back more fully under the aegis of the Ministorum.

Homeworld:

Threskeia VI is a temperate world of wide oceans and craggy mountains, deep forests and fertile river valleys. It was the final planet reconquered by the Malatoth Crusade in the 34th Millennium. In honour of this victory, the Ecclesiarchy claimed the world as their own, constructing on the site of the last great battle a colossal shrine praising the Emperor for his beneficence. At the very heart of this vast building, in an ancient stasis field, is a fragment of scroll that had been carried by the Crusade from Terra itself. It contains writing believed to be penned by the Emperor's own hand and it is from this incalculably holy relic that the Order of the Sacred Scroll takes its name, officially being declared a Lesser Order in it's own right late in the 39th Millennium. The Order's Convent-fortress is built as an adjunct to the great shrine itself and also connects to a massive, circular curtain wall built by the Sisterhood to defend the holy site.


While this imposing edifice is the greatest of the Ministorum's shrines, over the millennia grateful pilgrims have built countless other churches and temples across Threskeia's surface. The largest of these have become administrative centres as well as places for worship, populated and ruled by the Emperor's faithful devotees. Other, smaller shrines minister to the needs of the planet's widespread agricultural and fishing communities. Whether farmers or fishers, the people are ascetics, living lives of hard physical work, self-denial and piety. The fruits of the labour of these devoted workers provide for the Adeptus Ministorum's needs across dozens of systems.


The space of the Threskeia system is invariably busy with vessels. Aside from the mighty warships of the Emperor's Blade and the bulk haulers that carry Ecclesiarchy supplies away, a constant stream of ships brings countless thousands of Imperial citizens making the pilgrimage to the great shrine every year. The Order of the Sacred Scroll carefully vet these visitors to ensure that no unworthy person enters its hallowed grounds.

Beliefs:

The Battle Sisters of the Sacred Scroll share most of the beliefs of their parent Order. Like the Sacred Rose, they consider themselves solely as conduits for the Emperor's divine will. This frees the Order's warriors of any sense of self-aggrandizement or chasing after personal glory. Instead they bear an aura of serenity and grace, a confidence that whatever happens the will of the Emperor will be accomplished.


This attitude gels remarkably well with that of the Emperor's Blade, who similarly view themselves as a tool, a weapon in the hand of the God-Emperor with which he metes out divine justice and vengeance. When the Order first arrived in the Threskeia system, they were deeply suspicious of what they saw as the Chapter's disregard for the Ecclesiarchy's dictates. However, as time passed, they came to see the depth of the Astartes devotion to the Imperial Creed. It quickly became clear that any seeming reticence was not an act of heresy or rebellion, but rather a determination to ensure that such orders were in full harmony with the Church's own doctrines. The Sisters could not in all honesty argue with this cautious approach, indeed if their own original forebears had been equally wary then Vandire's Reign of Blood might have been avoided.

Organisation:

The Order of the Sacred Scroll remains at approximately Commandery size, consisting of around two hundred Battle Sisters. This number obviously fluctuates with combat losses and the arrival of new recruits from the closest Schola Progenum. These warriors are supported by a coterie of other Ecclesiarchal agents, including Sisters of the Orders Hospitaller and Dialogus. The Order also maintains a motor pool of Rhino and Immolator transports, as well as Exorcist battle tanks. Finally, although they are not housed within the Convent-fortress itself, Threskeia VI has many Imperial priests and preachers who are always eager for the opportunity to fight alongside the Order, bringing with them the varied and frightening combat prowess of their personal Battle Conclaves.


Over the last millennia, particularly when losses have been great or Progenum recruits few, the Order has sometimes followed the example of the Emperor's Blade and recruited directly from Threskeia VI itself, as well as the young children of devout pilgrim families. This has led on occasion to the unusual situation of fleshly brothers and sisters serving concurrently in Chapter and Order. This is considered a huge honour to the family involved and the siblings are viewed as destined for great service to the Emperor.

Combat Doctrine:

When the squads of the Order go into battle they are calm, resolute and well prepared both strategically and spiritually. This translates into a combat doctrine that focusses on tactical harmony, fluidity and discipline. Officially the Order's primary purpose is the defence of Threskeia VI and most of its units are equipped for that role. If they must advance, never for the Sacred Scroll the wild, fervour-blinded assaults of some Sororitas. Instead, long range units such as Retributors and Exorcists will lay down a thunderous hail of suppressing fire, allowing bolter armed squads to move carefully forward into ideal positions. The Order's few Dominion squads move up in support, ready to obliterate any counterthrust with their massed special weapons.


This well organized way of making war, plus the Order's disinterest in gathering glory or battle honours for itself, mean that the Sacred Scroll tend to work well with most other Imperial forces. Unsurprisingly, this is especially true of the devout yet tactically-minded Astartes of the Emperor's Blade. All too often a Mission of several squads will be assigned to act as an auxiliary when one of the Chapter's Battle Companies goes on campaign. It has even been the case that when a smaller but no less vital situation requires the intervention of a kill team, individual troopers selected from Chapter and Order will form a mixed squad, seamlessly blending together and enhancing their overall effectiveness by their differing strengths and skills. Veteran Battle Sisters, who have fought beside the Emperor's Blade in this way more than once, often paint the right arms of their armour black to show their unity with their 'brothers'.

Battle Cry:

The serenity and grace of the Sacred Scroll is reflected in their war cries. Battle Sisters do not enter battle with challenges or insults, but rather with voices raised harmoniously in choral verses that honour the God-Emperor. It has been especially noted by battlefield observers that when the Order fights alongside the Emperor's Blade Chapter, the combination of the Sororitas' soprano and contraltos with the contrasting deep bass of the Astartes produces a masterpiece of vocal praise as beautiful as that heard in any Cathedrum, inspiring all the loyal servants of the Imperium that hear it.

[Trokair]

Another Sister article, there are quite a few of us in the gauntlet.

 

If the Order is supposed to work well with the Space Marine Chapter then I would push their founding date back a bit. It takes a lot of time for the trust to build between military organizations (as opposed to individuals). Especially if the Marines distanced themselves from the Ecclesiarchy in the past, an initial level of distrust would be appropriate as you said but that would lengthen the time for the two to cooperate to develop the trust.

 

A good catalyst might be a crusade that the Order joins and the Chapter sends a squad or two in support of the crusade.

[Lysimachus]

That's a good thought, I guess I could push it back a little? The Sacred Rose were created in m.38, so I guess I could move the Sacred Scroll back to late m.38/early m.39?

 

Maybe it could even be one of the earliest assignments of a Commandery from the Sacred Rose to watch the EB, and over time they became the Scared Scroll (again, that's if my understanding of how new Lesser Orders are created is correct?)

 

That would give more like 2,000+ years for them to become friends?

[Ace Debonair]

Beliefs:

 

?????

I'd look at making their views fairly closely aligned with your Chapter if they're very close allies. If they're both strong in their faith, then their views have to more-or-less align harmoniously for them to get along well.

 

Of course, they don't have to start out so closely aligned - as you've said, there's plenty of time for each faction to influence the other.

 

 

Recruitment:

From Schola Progenium as usual, but also accept female children from the pilgrims that come to worship at Threskeia's Shrines. Not common but has happened that these have been the fleshly sisters of boys chosen to join the EB.

I think that might be a typo, or perhaps I'm just too tired to make proper sense of it.

 

 

[Lysimachus]

Yep, I think they'll both be fairly standard Imperial Creed, with the Marines being slightly more following their own interpretation of it (because they can get away with that!) but it will be close enough that they can come to respect and work closely together?

 

Not sure if I've written it badly, but it's saying that as both Chapter and Order recruit from the Shrine World and/or visiting pilgrim families, it's not impossible for a fleshly* brother and sister to end up serving in Chapter and Order respectively?

 

 

 

*as in literally same family, same parents - as opposed to spiritually, in which sense they're all brothers and sisters anyway! :lol:

[Ace Debonair]

Ah, so I was just too tired to make sense of it.

On the other hand, I learned a new word today!

[Lysimachus]

Standard Sister

Sister Superior/Celestian

[UtariOnzo]

Now that's a purdy colour scheme, and interesting background with shared gene-heritage between the Order and the Marine Chapter. I assume it'd be exceedingly rare when a brother and sister are both inducted to the respective forces, but could such a thing be considered an omen of sorts for each of them? Marines also live vastly longer, and far more isolated (in distant campaigns), lives so it'd be interesting if these siblings ever got the chance to speak again.

[Lysimachus]

Thanks UtariOnzo, and yep I figured it would be pretty unusual, maybe only happened a dozen times or so (very unusual in 1.5/2k years of recruitment). Definitely something seen as a special honour, both for the recruits and their family. More often than not they'd never see each other again, just eventually get a message that the other was killed, but guess it could have occurred that they both lived and progressed to be veterans or even officers. Astartes naturally live longer, true, but I'd imagine that a capable SoB could be given rejuvenat treatments to extend their usefulness?

 

Actually, I'm quite tempted to make the Astartes Intercessor Sgt and Sister Tac Sgt in my Kill Team one of those unusual sibling pairings...

[Dizzyeye01]

Looks like you've got a decent skeleton to work off of. The one thing that caught my eye was the relationship between your chapter and the order here and how that could possibility be built upon. Maybe the Order was sent to protect pilgrims officially however the route was close to the area which the Emperors' Blades operate, meaning that the Order could watch the chapter in case they turned traitor. Think of it like a contingency/political move by the ecclesiarchy. Then after some time, a greater threat comes up with the Emperors' Blades moving in to intercept but also request aid from the Order of the Sacred Scroll. The Ecclesiarchy demand the Order stays to protect the Pilgrims but the order decides that the threat is the bigger problem and help the chapter. The threat is dealt with but the Chapter has suffered fairly heavy casualties due to the war. Cementing the relationship between the two chapters, the Order allows the Chapter to take recruits from the Shrine World. This in turn weakens the Orders relations with the Ecclesiarchy but builds in the strong bonds with the Chapter.

 

Hopefully that makes some sense. Feel free to use whatever bits you feel like are useful. Good luck on the path 

[Lysimachus]

Thanks ThePariah, I've included some of the ideas above in the Origins, although I should clarify that the Chapter's relationship with the Shrineworld is much older, millennia before the Order (or even the SoB in general) were ever formed?

 

 

Anyway, I've updated the OP with a start on the Origins section, I'm not sure whether to continue that part with how they went from Sacred Rose to Sacred Scroll, or maybe that could work equally well in the Homeworld section?

[Lysimachus]

Started adding to the Homeworld section. Finding it tricky to avoid bringing up the EB too much, but it's also a nice opportunity to add some more detail about their recruiting world that there simply wasn't space for in their IA?

 

Any thoughts on this, or anything else, are very welcome!

[Lysimachus]

Added a start on Beliefs and Org

[Lysimachus]

And some Combat Doctrine fleshed out a bit. Getting there, but I'd like to add a little more. If anything above sparks off any ideas, please let me know?

[Aqui]

Good to see you Ly ^_^

 

A few thoughts/questions:

 

The "Big 6" date back to M36, so you could make your Order a little older than M38.

 

Regarding the Age of Apostasy. Marine Chapters did get involved, but not at the behest of the Ecclesiarchy, but of the Imperium at large (some Chapters with greater influence mainly, plus the Administratum didnt like the Ecclesiarchy having so much power and influence) The Ecclesiarchy wouldnt have any (direct) control over Marine Chapters at all. I'm also not sure why a Chapter would follow the Ecclesiarchy in terms of beliefs. I havent looked at their Liber entry yet, so it might be explained there though.

 

Another thing. A Space Marine Chapter and a Sisters Order sharing a planet. I've never seen anything like that in official lore, and there's nothing to stop it of course, but both the Sisterhood and the Marines are very territorial. That and the designation of Marine planets state that they are for Marine strongholds/recruitment only regarding tithes etc. It would be interesting to see more on why they share a planet. If a Chapter and Order were to be so close, it'd make sense to maybe be on nearby worlds or one be on a moon or something.

 

In any case, it's good to see the Sisterhood being taken up by so many lately ^_^

[Lysimachus]

Thanks mate, nice to have your comments!

 

Am I not right in thinking that the 2 Rose Orders were formed later, mid m.38?

 

As to the other points, yes it's probably worth reading the IA:EB first! I know it makes this article feel slightly... disconnected(?)... if you don't have all that extra info, but I didn't want to fill up 1,000s of words just repeating everything that has already written. My solution was to put the link in fairly early in this article, in the hope that if people had questions they'd look across? I'm not sure it's the best way, but it's the best way I could think of!

[Aqui]

I took a brief look at that last night, but as it was approaching 4am, I think I'll need to take another one :lol:

 

I'll make some new comments once I have :)

[Bjorn Firewalker]

Another thing. A Space Marine Chapter and a Sisters Order sharing a planet. I've never seen anything like that in official lore, and there's nothing to stop it of course, but both the Sisterhood and the Marines are very territorial. That and the designation of Marine planets state that they are for Marine strongholds/recruitment only regarding tithes etc. It would be interesting to see more on why they share a planet. If a Chapter and Order were to be so close, it'd make sense to maybe be on nearby worlds or one be on a moon or something.

Years ago, I thought of doing the same, wondered how I could justify this, when I realized the majority of Chapter planets should have an Order Militant based on them. Why? The Inquisition would want to keep an eye on all Chapter planets, and monitor them for signs of heresy and Chaos corruption; if any Marine showed ambitions to become Horus II, the Order would serve as an instantly usable weapon the Inquisition could deploy against the renegades and traitors.

 

Where would the Order be based? On places like the Isle of the Iron Masters (an AdMech enclave on Fenris, described in William King's Space Wolf novels) and other places where the Sisters could be supported by the greater Imperium, while isolated from potential corrupters in the Chapter planets.

 

At least that was my justification for basing an Order Militant AND a Chapter on Catachan.

Edited April 5, 2020 by Bjorn Firewalker

[Lysimachus]

I'm sure the various Imperial factions; AdTerra, Ecclesiarchy, Inq would be very happy with that idea, but it'd be a tricky one to get the Astartes Masters to agree to?

 

One point to bear in mind in this specific situation is that the EB don't actually claim Threskeia VI as their Homeworld? They recruit from it, just like many Chapters recruit from a variety of worlds, but their official Homeworld is Threskeia IV (a lifeless ball of rock in the same star system, on which their Fortress Monastery is built). It's a technicality, but an important one to keep in mind?

[Lysimachus]

And finally, added Battle Cry section.

 

I'm going to leave this for a day or two to see if anyone has any comments or suggestions, then (assuming we can pick when we want to move on to Challenge 2, I'm not sure what the final decision is?) I'll start getting my brushes out!

[Ace Debonair]

This attitude gels remarkably well with that of the Emperor's Blade, who similarly view themselves as a tool, a weapon in the hand of the God-Emperor with which he meets out divine justice and vengeance.

I think that word should be "metes".

 

Unless I've made two word-based mistakes in the same thread, in which case it's the pain glove for me!

 

Beyond that, I've no real criticism to offer beyond wondering more about the logistics of a Chapter and an Order sharing a recruitment world.

 

Since they're both quite closely-aligned in their beliefs, I could see both factions agreeing to share recruitment rights, but I can also see the Order of the Sacred Scroll having to limit their recruitment from Threskeia VI so as not to potentially take all of the best female warriors out of the breeding stock, so to speak, and potentially weaken the Chapter's future pool of recruits.

 

That could potentially be a neat snippet of information to add, as well as pointing out a potential drawback to both factions being so closely bound.

 

Or it might be a boring, un-needed detail - I'll defer to your judgement on the matter!

[Lysimachus]

Gah, don't you just hate it when a silly typo doesn't get caught by spell check because it is, in fact, a word?! Thanks mate, that's a good spot!

 

As to the recruiting bit, yep that's a fair point! I mean, they're only recruiting quite rarely from the populace and/or pilgrims, only when they can't get enough from the Schola Progenum? Plus they're only recruiting for a group 1/5th the size of the Chapter? So it shouldn't be a problem, but I might try to clarify it in the article!

 

Thanks Ace!

[Daimyo-Phaeron Lenoch]

Figured I should poke my head in and see what I can offer.

 

 

The Sisters could not in all honesty argue with this cautious approach, indeed if their own original forebears had been equally wary then Vandire's Reign of Blood might have been avoided.

I appreciate the introspectiveness of this little snippet, with the order recognizing the failures of their ancestors. A minor detail but one that helps make the order a little more realistic.

 

 

Over the last millennia, particularly when losses have been great or Progenum recruits few, the Order has sometimes followed the example of the Emperor's Blade and recruited directly from Threskeia VI itself, as well as the young children of devout pilgrim families. This has led on occasion to the unusual situation of fleshly brothers and sisters serving concurrently in Chapter and Order. This is considered a huge honour to the family involved and the siblings are viewed as destined for great service to the Emperor.

As others have said, I really like the idea that there can be a pair of siblings serving in the two organizations, and support your idea to have the kill-team you plan on making have such a pair.

 

 

The Order's few Dominion squads move up in support, ready to obliterate any counterthrust with their massed special weapons.

Why does the order have few dominion squads? I'm not the most well-versed in the Sororitas order of battle, but what about a defensive posture makes them unfavorable to the order?

 

Battlecry: I love the idea of a lack of battlecry in favor of battlesong. 

 

Color scheme: Why do veteran sisters have a single black arm? Is there some relation to the Emperor's Blades with that marking, or does it represent something else?

 

Nothing to add, really, except lots of praise and complements, Lysimachus. I can't wait to see you bring them to life.

[Lysimachus]

Thanks very much DPL!

 

In answer to your question about the Doms, I figure that as a mainly defensive oriented force, the main body of the Order would be standard BS squads supported by HB Retributor squads and Exorcists? I think Doms (and Seraphim too, come to think of it) would have some use as a counter attack force, but you wouldn't need as many of them just for that purpose? I guess the thinking would be that you could have more melta/flamer girls... or you could have those sisters armed as another Retributor squad, throwing heavy bolt shells downfield and stopping the enemy before they ever got into melta/flamer range?

 

As to the black arms, yep it's a shared honour type thing for those who have fought alongside the Chapter multiple times. I think I'll also include a vice versa thing for the Marines, where they might choose to wear the fleur de lis to show respect to the Order?

[Lysimachus]

So, meant to post this a day or two ago but forgot, I've now moved on to the 2nd Challenge, so as far as the IG is concerned I'm happy with a bronze for this article.

 

That said, I'll probably still come back to it and add other stuff later, so feel free to carry on commenting if something comes to you!!

 

 

I've made a start this weekend on the base coats on the sisters half of the KT, will try to get some pics added to my thread in the WIP forum!