"Within me burns the holy radiance of the Emperor made manifest, while your soul festers with the meagre filth of Chaos. I am the light to your darkness, heretic. As sudden dawn scatters the shadows of night, so I and my sisters shall purge all trace of you from this holy place and make it as though you never were."
-Sister Superior Cheandra Lassemer
Background
The Order of the Sacred Rose is on of the major Orders Militant of the
Adepta Sororitas , founded in honor of Saint Arabella by the Ecclesiarch Deacis VI in the 38th Millennium. The order is based on Terra in the Convent Prioris.
History
Saint Arabella was canonised posthumously due to the countless miracles she performed during her lifetime. She travelled the
Imperium of Man serving as a caommander and beacon of faith for many solar decades. The circumstances surrounding her martyrdom are not recorded in any Ecclesiarchal text, but in the 38th Millennium the Order of the Sacred Rose was founded in her name. Many Retributors of the Order are known to pray to Arabella for liberation from doubt and rash action when a cool logical head is required.
Era Indomitus
The order's ability to draw others to their cause has been of crucial value since the Great Rift tore open at the start of the Era Indomitus. The occluding mass of
The Warp Storms has plunged hundreds of thousands of worlds into perpetual darkness. Astropathic lines of communication have been severed by
the psychic upheaval. Billions of distress calls have been lost in the screaming void.
Cut off from the light of the Astronomican,
Navigators are unable to guide voidships between distant stars, and so even those cries for help that are received can rarely be answered with action. The majority of the Sacred Rose's sanctuaries lie deep within the Imperium Nihilus, but few have succumbed to the nightmares unleashed across that half of the galaxy.
The sisters of the Sacred Rose have remained a steadfast beacon of hope, and have fought the enemies of the faith with the same resoluteness of spirit that they have always possessed. Where many worlds were consumed by panic and fear, even before the servants of the Dark Gods fell upon them, those under the care of the order have become bastions of defiance.
Sororitas patrols execute anyone who expresses doubt in the security of the Imperium. At the same time,
Astra Militarum regiments are commandeered by the order, and soldiers showing the slightest hints of mutation are expunged.
On each planet, the Sororitas lead defences against legions of daemons and Heretic Astartes. Yet it is not only their own worlds that they fight to protect. The Sisters of the Sacred Rose have miraculously appeared in multiple war zones across the Imperium Nihilus.
Few question how the Sororitas were able to hear their calls for reinforcement, or how they managed to navigate amidst the darkness and horror. Those that do are told by the sisters that Saint Arabella always provides guidance, even when the Emperor's will is not clear.
Combat Doctrine
When the sisters of the Sacred Rose march to war, they do so in a state of holy grace. Scores of Sororitas advance in perfect tactical harmony, adapting fluidly to the shifting tides of battle. Squads unleash the firepower of the holy trinity with measured discipline. As they do so, they lift their voices, singing lilting hymns in praise of the
God-Emperor of Mankind This symphony of choral worship and roaring weaponry quickly drowns out the screams of dying mutants and the wet tearing of heretical flesh. The sisters press the attack wherever their enemy shows weakness, sending Frag Grenades sailing into gaps in
formations and blasting the exposed flanks of artillery with superheated melta beams.
Where the foe shows strength, the Sororitas stand firm, locking ranks against assaults and cutting down onrushing attackers with deliberate and devastating salvoes. Yet it is their seamless pairing of faith with physical prowess that makes them a truly indomitable force.
Miraculous bursts of speed are factored into redeployment manoeuvres, whilst the spontaneous combustion of nearby foes is relied upon as much as any Chainsword or Bolt Pistol. Assured of the Emperor's providence, the sisters of the Sacred Rose maintain their ineffable serenity as they slaughter all before them.
The Order of the Sacred Rose are often accompanied to war by an inordinate number of Ecclesiarchal followers.
Adeptus Ministorum Priests and their fanatical conclaves flock to the Sororitas, eager to witness the miracles that will unfold. As such, even small missions are rarely short of soldiers.
A core of Sororitas may be supported by many devotees of the Imperial Cult, their prayers and cries of penance intermingling with the battle hymn of the Sacred Rose. Canonesses of the order welcome these faithful auxiliaries, and teach the sisters in their charge that the Emperor has the power to act through the least of His servants.
Saint Arabella herself was known to gather the unwashed rabble to her banner in times of battle, and it is said that the power of her conviction transformed them into armies of indomitable warriors.
Idyll IV Convent
The Order of the Sacred Rose has a convent of roughly 1,000 Sisters based on Idyll IV in the Concordia Sub-Sector led by the
Cannoness Preceptor Arya van Heppel. They hold the sacred oath to guard the world and keep the sacred person of the Cardinal safe. Due to the unprecidented nature of the threat to the sector, the Cannoness Preceptor has responded to
Planetary Governor Cario Valerian Mus's call for reinforcements. Fully half of the Sisters move even now towards the Rift Warzone.
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