Novice
A postulant who has determined she is called to be a Daughter of Verity and whom the Canoness approves is received into the novitate of the Order.
What are known as "simple vows" are taken by the former-postulant in a ceremony held in the Crystal Cathedral on Sanguinalia. All inhabitants of the 'Dust Zone are invited on this public holiday, and it is a day of joy and merriment - a bright spot in the middle of the cold mountain winter. While priests lead the prayers, it is the Canoness who receives the novices' oaths (made through her directly to the Ecclesiarch as the mouthpiece of Him-On-Earth, not through the Prioress of the Convent Sanctorum and Abbess of the Adepta Sororitas). Here, they are invested with a suit of black Sororitas battleplate. This will be theirs for the rest of their lives, being returned to the armory on their deaths. The suits of armor have been worn by dozens of Sisters before them. Each time they are returned to the armory, they are stripped of iconography and honors, so each novice receives a plain, unadorned suit of armor to wear during her novitiate.
The novitiate lasts two or three years. During it, novices are under the supervision of Novice-Mistresses who are responsible for their growth and education. A novices studies theology, philosophy, history and military science diligently, all within a framework of intense prayer and fasting. If she has some particular aptitude she may receive additional training, eventually becoming a Hospitalier, Machaenix Canonical, or other specialist. Because of its isolation, the Order of Our Crystal Lady fulfills roles normally held by other Orders itself.
Novices wear a habit of undyed, unbleached natural cloth over their plain black armor. When the Order goes to war, they go too. Most of them take rifleman positions in rear-line squads, although the flurry of war can means a novice can quickly find herself in the thick of it. They acquit themselves well - a novice has two years of postulancy behind her (the equivalent of several cycles of basic training in the Astra Militarium) and so martial skill is never in question. The novitiate is not designed to train a woman to fight; it is designed to train her to be a Sister.
Accordingly, the emphasis is on prayer, piety, devotion and faithfulness. Spiritual growth is what the Novice-Mistresses look for in recommending their charges to the Canoness for profession. As with postulants wishing to become novices, the Canoness always accepts the recommendation without question - once a Daughter of Verity has made vows she can neither lie nor be lied to, and so whatever recommendation is not only honest, but made knowing nothing remains hidden within the novice.
Novices make their formal profession into the Order during the Feast of the Emperor's Ascension in the Crystal Cathedral, where their habits are dyed deep blue and the icons of the Order and the Sororitas are affixed to their armor.
Appointment
A postulant becomes a novice by making vows to the Canoness in the the Crystal Cathedral on Sanguinala
Accoutrements & Equipment
Black Sororitas battleplate without iconography. A habit of undyed, natural cloth.
Novice Habit, Battleplate and Arms
Type
Religious, Military
Equates to
Rifleman (private)
Length of Term
Novitiate lasts until the Sister is deemed worthy to make her profession, but generally lasts two or three years
Reports directly to
Related Organizations
Related Military Formations
