Repentia
Repentia is a canon status, detailed here on Lexicanum. This article provides additional fanon details and specifics about the position in the Daughters of Verity.
The Order of Our Crystal Lady does not treat Sisters who have fallen short of their strict religious ideals in the same way as other Orders, although they do shun them and separate them from the sisterhood. The Daughters of Verity are a small Order - only numbering a few hundred Sisters - and they value truth and practicality; based in an impoverished area of Ophelia VII and spiritually leading the industrial workers there, the virtues of prudence and thrift are held in high regard. These factors mean they are loath to waste highly-trained Sisters in hopeless charges when other tactics will net better results.
Additionally, in preaching the virtues of diligence, conscientiousness and honesty and against the vice of sloth (essential teachings to keep the manufactoriums of Ophelia VII functioning at full capacity), the Sisters have come to see sudden death in battle as an easy way out. If the Emperor grants it, it is a great blessing; He accepts his daughter's sacrifice in a single instant. But this is not the normal way of serving the Emperor - that is years or decades of struggle, prayer and loyal service; a gradual sacrifice of the self over a whole lifetime. Accordingly, rewarding impious Sisters in such a manner is anathema to their theology.
Because of the small size of the Order and its isolation from the other Sisters of Ophelia VII (although based there, it is not technically part of the Convent Sanctorum) its members are very close-knit. In addition, the Order cannot as easily call on allies from the Astra Militarium and other divisions of the Imperium's armed forces. These factors lead to their unique treatment of Repentia.
Sisters of the Order of Our Crystal Lady who fall into sin and impiety must atone for their transgressions. They are stripped of all iconography of the Order and Ecclesiarchy - they have failed and are no longer worthy of it. Similarly, they may no longer wear the Order's blue habit and black armor - their armor is painted in camouflage tones and they wear a cameoline cloak. In addition to symbolically hiding them from view, this serves a practical purpose - Repentia are lone snipers. Banished to isolated cells, forbidden contact with any other human - including their beloved Sisters - the Repentia spends her time in bitter, lonely exile. She undertakes prayer, fasting and penance, working to expiate her sin. She may not enter combat with her Sisters - she has failed the Emperor and so she is denied even the chance of his greatest blessing. She must sit alone and atone for her sin, suffering the horrible penance of isolation.
She spends time practicing her marksmanship, using the Trinity sniper rifle. When she is deployed for war, it will be hundreds of yards - if not miles - from her Sisters, safely ensconced and camouflaged in a sniper nest with a servo-skull spotter and charged with neutralizing high-value targets. She may even be deployed by the Canoness or the Inquisition on a lone mission of assassination, forbidden from placing herself in danger. The reward of death in the Emperor's service is kept from her, but her life and skills are not wasted.
The Repentia remains isolated until she has expiated her sin. No-one knows how this is determined - the Order is silent on it, but rumors fly that the Repentia herself knows when she is forgiven, that the Crystal Lady appears to her and tells her to return. Perhaps this is true, for no Daughter of Verity (as the members of the Order of Our Crystal Lady refer to themselves) is capable of lying - this is the one sin none of them have ever committed - and when she returns she is accepted back into the Order without question. She rejoins as a novice, wearing white robes, and serves her novitate (usually two or three years) again before returning to her former squad.
The Order of Our Crystal Lady considers other Orders' use of Repentia as close-assault specialists foolish and spiritually-inadvisable (they shy away from the loaded term "heresy", although that may just be diplomacy). This does nothing to build bridges and mend fences between the Order of Our Crystal Lady and the Convent Sanctorum, but - privately - some of the other Canonesses are quietly impressed by Verity's Penitents.
Appointment
A Sister is declared Repentia by the Order after transgressions against a moral or religious code
Accoutrements & Equipment
Sororitas battleplate stripped of all iconography and painted in camouflage, cameoline cloak and a Trinity sniper rifle. Accompanied by a spotter servo skull
Type
Religious, Military
Equates to
Sniper
Length of Term
A Sister remains a Repentia until she has expiated her sin
Related Organizations
