Order of Our Martyred Lady

"I will die when the Emperor is ready to accept my soul, and not a moment before."

- Sister Repentia Aemillia, Order of Our Martyred Lady

The Order of Our Martyred Lady is one of the Orders Militant of the Adepta Sororitas, or the Sisters of Battle, founded in honour of Saint Katherine by the Ecclesiarch Alexis XXII (the long-lived successor of the great reformer, Sebastian Thor) in the 38th Millennium when the location of the Adepta Sororitas' primary convent was split between Terra and Ophelia VII, creating, among others, the Order of the Bloody Rose. Katherine was regarded as Alicia Dominica's second-in-command. Her order was originally entitled the Order of the Fiery Heart, in reference to Katherine's fierce persona, but so deeply did the Battle Sisters mourn her death that they renamed themselves the Order of Our Martyred Lady, and for many centuries thereafter they wore only black.

Order History
The Order of Our Martyred Lady was once known as the Order of the Fiery Heart. Like their fellow Adepta Sororitas Orders Militant, the Sisters of the Fiery Heart could trace their origins back to the teachings of the Daughters of the Emperor during the Age of Apostasy in the 36th Millennium, but soon small variances began to manifest amongst the newly founded Orders as the persona of the different founders asserted themselves. The Order of the Fiery Heart reflected the vengeful nature of their first Canoness and eventual patron Imperial Saint, Katherine. She led her Order for many decades, enforcing the Emperor's will and prosecuting the wars of the Ecclesiarchy across the galaxy. Within her lifetime she was declared a Living Saint for performing legendary acts and led her Order to countless victories. Eventually, Katherine met an ignominious end when she was murdered by the Witch-cult of Mnestteus. So deeply did her Sisters mourn Katherine's loss that they renamed their Order the Order of Our Martyred Lady.

The Order once operated a convent on the desolate, wind-swept world of Sanctuary, known as Fortress-Sanctuary 101. In 897.M41 the convent and all the Sisters of Battle within were destroyed by the awakening of the Necrons who had made Sanctuary one of their Tomb Worlds. Twelve years later in 909.M41, Canoness Sepherina made a pilgrimage to the site of the massacre. Her task was to reconsecrate the hallowed ground of the former convent, which still bore the scars of the Necron attack. She erected a single statuette of their patron saint Katherine for each slain sister, to stand eternal vigil over the site of her sisters' martyrdom. By the time of Sepherina's pilgrimage, the bodies of the slain Battle Sisters had yet to be returned from Inquisitor Hoth, who was studying them to learn more about the Necrons' weaponry, much to the chagrin of their Order.

Notable Campaigns

 * Massacre at Sanctuary 101 (897.M41) - On a world in the Vidar Sector located in the Eastern Fringe of the galaxy, the Order of Our Martyred Lady had founded a fortress-convent designated Sanctuary 101. The isolated convent had the misfortune of being the Imperium's first recorded contact with the Necrons, where the Battle-Sisters were massacred by Necron Raiders. Video logs recorded a furious battle between the valiant Sisterhood and the Necron Warriors, but little of worth was displayed as there appears to have been an artificial disruption introduced into the recordings. Subsequent investigations into the site of battle revealed nothing more than the mutilated corpses of the Adepta Sororitas, eviscerated in a hideously surgical manner. No signs of the true nature of Sanctuary 101's undying attackers were ever found.
 * The Martyrdom of Praxedes (991.M41) - Canoness Praxedes of the Order of Our Martyred Lady reinforced the Regiments of the Imperial Guard serving the Cardinal World of Okassis, soon after the start of the Second Tyrannic War. As the Tyranids of Hive Fleet Kraken assaulted the Ecclesiarchal Cathedral, the combined fire of the Order's Retributor Squads and Exorcist tanks obliterated the first wave of Tyranid biomorphs, but the second managed to breach the fortress-walls of the cathedral. As Tyranids poured through, Praxedes confronted a Hive Tyrant. During the fighting the Canoness was dealt a mortal wound, but even as her blood ebbed away, she summoned the strength to land a final blow, caving in the hideous beast's skull with a thunderous strike from her Power Mace. With the Tyrant's destruction, the swarm lost all connection to the Hive Mind and thus all direction, with the biomorphs turning on one another in a cannibalistic rage. The Sisters of Our Martyred Lady wasted no time in pressing the assault, determined to avenge the death of their beloved Canoness. The remaining xenos were swept aside, buying enough time to evacuate the Ecclesiarchy's remaining priests before the Tyranids launched their next wave of attacks.
 * The Purging of the Saint Garrat Scriptorum (Unknown Date.M41) - It is believed that it was the Order of Our Martyred Lady, acting in concert with the Witch Finder Inquisitor Tannenburg of the Ordo Hereticus, who descended upon the Saint Garrat Scriptorum, dragging hundreds of Adeptus Terra scribes screaming to the excruciation chambers of Nemesis Tessra and burning down the scriptorum. When the Adepts lodged a formal complaint with the High Lords of Terra, they were silenced when Inquisitor Tannenburg produced three hundred specimen jars; each contained the preserved remains of a scribe, their previously hidden mutations uncovered for all to witness.
 * Third War for Armageddon (998.M41) - The Order maintained a strong presence within the Armageddon System, with its base of power at the Sanctorum of St. Katherine, which was built within the high walls of Hive Tempestora on the world of Armageddon. Then the largest Ork WAAAGH! ever raised, led by the Warlord Ghazghkull Mag Uruk Thraka, assaulted the planet and began the Third War for Armageddon. In the initial Ork assault, the Battle-Sisters' positions were attacked by large Ork submersibles which emerged from the Boiling Sea. Caught unawares by the audaciousness and sheer ferocity of the Greenskins' attack, many of the Battle-Sisters were slain. The Battle-Sisters were the front line of defence for Hive Tempestora, but their battle lines soon were overrun. This enabled the vile Greenskins to take control of the hive city's underhive within only a few hours. With each successive wave of Ork attacks, the Sisters were continuously pushed back, until finally they found themselves with their backs to the great armoured doors of their Sanctorum. It was there that the Battle-Sisters made their final heroic (but futile) stand against the encroaching Ork hordes. This day became one of the darkest within the Order's history as their battle lines crumpled and they were scattered. Those few Sisters that survived the final assault attempted to form their lines again but were cut down by the massive green tide of Orks. After an hour of savage fighting, no humans were left alive as the vile Orks took Hive Tempestora and the Sanctorum. After this defeat, the Order could barely field three whole companies. The loss of their Sanctorum and the many valiant Sisters who had fallen was acutely felt throughout the rest of the Order -- many Novices began questioning their faith in the Emperor. Those Battle-Sisters that remained recovered quickly, swearing mighty oaths of vengeance against the foul Greenskins and vowing to retake Hive Tempestora, no matter the cost. But before they could do so, the surviving Sisters of the Order were spread across the rest of the planet to help solidify key Imperial positions. Their presence proved pivotal in preventing the Orks from overrunning several areas of Armageddon.

Notable Sisters of Our Martyred Lady

 * Saint Katherine - Saint Katherine is the patron of the Order of Our Martyred Lady. Originally, she was the founder of the Order of the Fiery Heart. She was one of five companions of Alicia Dominica, the patron and founder of the Adepta Sororitas. Known as the Shield Bearer, Katherine was regarded as Alicia Dominica's second-in-command having been the bearer of Dominica's Praesidium Protectiva - a large shield said to contain a shard of the Emperor's own personal Power Armour, and said to be impervious against physical attacks. Katherine was well known for her fiery determination and vengeful spirit, ever leading her Sisters at the forefront of innumerable battles and leading the prosecution of numerous Wars of Faith against Heretics in the name of the Emperor of Mankind. She was the founder of the Order of the Fiery Heart. Her Sisters reflected her vengeful and fiery nature. Leading her Order for many decades, she was declared a Living Saint within her lifetime for performing legendary acts. Eventually, Katherine met her end at the hands of evil men, when she was murdered by the Witch-Cult of Mnestteus. So deeply did her Sisters mourn Katherine's loss that they renamed their Order the Order of Our Martyred Lady. Unknown to her fellow Sisters, sometime before her untimely death, Saint Katherine visited the world of Sanctus Lys in the Palatine Sector. Beneath an Imperial shrine, in a hidden crypt, she interred her golden Power Armour and her legendary sword, the Ardent Blade. These powerful artefacts were found centuries later and retrieved by another Living Saint, Saint Celestine.
 * Ephrael Stern - Known as the Thrice-Born and the Daemonifuge, Ephrael Stern had been promised by her parents before her birth to the Adepta Sororitas. She was raised on the planet Antigone's Harbour by the Saint Sabbat Schola Progenium. The Arch Drill-Abbot of the school submitted the young Ephrael for induction within the Sisterhood and was accepted by Sister Patricia from the Order of the Holy Seal. The Novice Stern excelled at her new monastic duties as a Battle-Sister-in-training. She eventually completed her training and along with 500 other Novices took her sacred Oaths of Adherence at the Ecclesiarchal Palace on Terra. Sister Stern was then chosen to become a member of the Order of Our Martyred Lady. Shortly after her induction into the Order, she was sent to the Ecclesiarchy Cardinal World of Ophelia VII. Whilst stationed there, her exemplary service record helped elevate her to the esteemed ranks of the Order Seraphim within record time. Only three years later she would be ordained as a Sister Superior. Sister Stern was eventually sent on a mission on behalf of the Order, to investigate a lost convent of Sisters of the Orders Pronatus on the world of Parnis. There, Stern and her Sisters discovered what had become of their fellow Sisters. A powerful Greater Daemon of Slaanesh, a Keeper of Secrets named Asteroth, had been freed from its bonds and destroyed the convent. He then took the ruined bodies of 700 Battle-Sisters and forged them, body and mind, into a terrifying construct of living flesh known as the Screaming Cage. Though the fallen Sisters were forced to share their torment and suffering, the daemon failed to take into account that they were also able to inadvertently share their faith as well. As the daemon sought to kill the remaining Sisters sent to investigate the convent, Ephrael Stern fell in battle. Seizing this one chance, the fallen Sisters within the Screaming Cage used their combined powers to bring her back to life -- filling her with the full might of their combined faith in the God-Emperor to combat the Forces of Chaos. Once returned to life, the resurrected Stern was told to flee as the fallen Sisters hid her presence from the daemon and its Chaotic servants. Stern's memory of these events was erased. She was the only one who managed to return to her Order on Ophelia VII, being the sole survivor of the expedition to Parnis, her sanity stretched to the limit. Her seemingly unnatural power made her the object of suspicion amongst members of her Order, with many of her Sisters viewing her as having been corrupted by the Ruinous Powers. Stern was placed within a holding cell for four years until her exact nature could be determined. At this time she was attacked by a Sister who was being controlled by a daemon of Slaanesh to silence her. But the enraged Ephrael managed to defeat her attacker with her bare hands. This set new events into motion. An Inquisitorial investigation, under the command of Inquisitor Silas Hand, was sent to the Order on Ophelia VII to investigate the sole survivor of the Parnis Expedition. Whilst at the Sanctorum, Stern underwent numerous trials to test her purity and her soul for corruption. Not found wanting during these trials, Sister Stern was declared uncorrupted and was reinstated within the ranks of her fellow Battle-Sisters, and granted her former position of Seraphim and rank of Sister Superior. Inquisitor Hand, not fully trusting Sister Stern, nevertheless took her with him to investigate the former convent on Parnis. During the investigation the fallen Sisters of the Screaming Cage finished their holy work -- pouring all of their remaining knowledge and power into Sister Stern to fight the corruption of Chaos. Inquisitor Hand sacrificed himself to defeat Asteroth and banish the daemon back to the Warp. Sister Stern went missing after this second expedition, once again being the sole survivor. Hunted by both the Imperium as well as the Forces of Chaos, Stern remains aloof from both. She even sacrificed herself, stabbing herself in the heart, to escape the foul machinations of the vile Chaos Sorcerer Ahriman of the Thousand Sons Traitor Legion. Resurrected once again by the power of the faith within her, Stern finally embraced her power and used it freely for the first time. She has even been able to use her newfound abilities to defeat a Culexus Assassin that had been sent to kill her by the Inquisition. Her current whereabouts remain unknown.
 * Miriael Sabathiel - Miriael Sabathiel was a former Sister-Superior of the Order of Our Martyred Lady and is the only acknowledged Battle-Sister to have willingly chosen to serve Chaos in the history of the Imperium of Man. Canoness Olga Karamanz tried to apprehend Miriael, proclaiming a desire to help her, but was murdered by Miriael for her troubles. Miriael now serves as a servant of the Pleasure God Slaanesh and is one of his finest and most prized Chaos Champions.

Order Colours
The Order of Our Martyred Lady primarily makes use of black coloured Power Armour and red vestments. Their weaponry is also painted red.

Order Badge
The iconography of the Order is that of a red-coloured ankh, with a white skull placed in the center on the upper portion of it.

Gallery
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