Adepta Sororitas

“With Faith and Fire.”
— First Maxim of the Sororitas
To be a sister of the Adepta Sororitas is to have
a holy and divinely ordained calling to do the
Emperor’s will, to lead the faithful by example and
to punish and destroy the heretic wherever and whenever
it is found. The Orders Militant of the Adepta Sororitas (or
the Daughters of the Emperor to give them their archaic
title), are a powerful and largely independent collection
of religious orders that form the militant wing of the
Imperial Ecclesiarchy, protecting its domains, enforcing
its will, destroying its enemies and defending the faithful.
Each member of this all-female sisterhood is sworn to the
Imperial Creed, relentlessly trained to excel and is utterly
devoted to her Order, her work and the Imperial faith.
The Sororitas is formed into two divisions: the great
Convent Prioris on Terra and the Convent Sanctorum of
the shrine world of Ophelia IV. The Sororitas is further
subdivided into several component Orders. The principle
task of the Orders Militant or Sisters of Battle is to persecute
the Ecclesiarchy’s wars of faith and serve as a fighting arm of
Ordo Hereticus. Members of the Orders Famulous specialize
as councilors, diplomats, teachers and investigators. The
Orders Dialogous serves in translating and understanding
ancient, xenos or heretical texts, ciphers and history.
Finally, the Orders Hospitaller provides skilled
surgeons and physicians to the Imperial military.
Regardless of her Order, each Sororitas sister
is a highly trained and adaptable agent of the
God-Emperor. Each is willing to lay down
their lives for Creed and mankind: strong
of will and firm of purpose. They are also
armed with one of the greatest of weapons in
humanity’s arsenal---faith.
The origins of the Adepta Sororitas lie in the dark days
of the Age of Apostasy and perhaps even before. Their
modern form took shape in the Reformation of Sebastian
Thor that ended the wars of religious schism and gave
birth to Ordo Hereticus. They owe their power in no small
part to Thor’s great Decree Passive that prevented the
Ministorum from raising permanent bodies of “men under
arms”. Following the disbanding of the Ecclesiarchy’s
standing armies and fleets, the Sororitas were given the
task of defending the Ecclesiarchy and Imperial faith from
direct threat. They also form the Chamber Militant of
Ordo Hereticus of the Inquisition, a zealous and utterly
fanatical force of elite soldiers, learned savants and skilled
physicians who are an invaluable part of the Hereticus’s
war on unbelief, witchery and, of course, heresy.
==The Sororitas of the Calixis Sector==
The Adepta Sororitas have several holdings in the Calixis Sector, most famously the Abbey of the Dawn on the strifetorn
planet of Iocanthos. The fortress-abbey stands nominally as
a commandery of the Order Famulous of the Opening Eye under
the Canoness Goneril, and specializes in training novices to operate
within the machinations and intrigues of the Scintillan courts. It also
houses a mission from the Order of the Ebon Chalice, which serves
as an operational base for a force standing ready at the behest of
Ordo Hereticus, under their Palatine Rhiannon.
Less well known
holdings of the Sisterhood include the Sainted Encarmine Hospital
on Tranch, the library-keep of the Sanctum Dialogous on Solomon
(whose contents are forbidden on pain on death to those without
Inquisitorial clearance), and the Shrine of the Seventeen Martyrs
on the agri-moon of Gallowglass in the Malfi system which houses
a commandery of the Order Militant of the Bloody Rose. The
Battle Sisters based here have seen extensive combat in recent
years at the request of the Holy Ordos and the Ministorum. This lead to Canoness Livia petitioning her superiors on Ophelia
VII to reinforce the shrine into a full preceptory of the Order, which was granted despite
quiet opposition by the authorities on Malfi. The enlargement of the commandery has made it very clear
that the Ecclesiarchy is preparing for larger endeavors. The Order of the Bloody Rose maintains a small cloister on Abandoned Hope. An outpost of this size might only house a handful of Adepta Sororitas tasked with maintaining the quarantine of the world, however the small fortress has a good quantity of Battle Sisters. Prol IX and the Library of Knowing on Fenksworld each house a small contingent of Sisters Dialogous. The Adepta Sororitas inhabit the Abbey of Saint Elena’s Mount on the shrine world of the Piety of Seth, offshore of [[Port Calling].
It is unknown why Palatine Rhiannon was sent from
the Convent Prioris to the Calixis Sector. Her mission’s
arrival on Iocanthos was initially considered a slight
on the Canoness General and brought with it many
questions. Only the influence of the Ordo Hereticus
has managed to smooth things over. As yet, the fifty
Battle Sisters have not seen much combat action,
but their presence is reflected in the more aggressive
role that the Order Famulous has recently taken on
Iocanthos, possibly preparing the Nobility for some
Ecclesiarchal goal.
The Adepta Sororitas of the Calixis Sector are governed
by the Convent Sanctorum on Ophelia IV. While the
Convent Prioris has opted to stay out of the daily
machinations of Calixis politics, the leaders of the Convent
Sanctorum has taken a different approach. When they receive
word of false cults taking root, they instruct the Sisterhood to
engage and destroy them. In the Calixis Sector, this has made
the Sisterhood a widely recognized and influential force. It
has also given the Inquisition additional well-trained forces
to call upon when needed, and the Tricorn has frequently
put the additional forces to good use. Among many other
interventions, a trio of Sisters Dialogous aided Inquisitor Drahc Ireel in his purge of a Council of Six recruitment cell
on Sophano Prime, and several squads of Battle Sisters from
the Order of the Valorous Heart in quelling a series of mutant
riots on Sepheris Secundus.
The religious wars brewing in the Drusus Marches have
led to increased Sisterhood activity and recruitment in the
sector, particularly in an expanded presence of the Orders Militant. Escalation began with the mission of the Order of the Ebon Chalice on Iocanthos having its dormitories built
and filled nearly over night.
The Orders Militant are not the only ones increasing their
influence in the Calixis Sector. The Order of the Opening Eye has offered its services to most of the noble houses on
Scintilla and Sepheris Secundus and has even returned to
Malfi in limited capacity. Virtually all the members of House Krin have a Sister Famulous at hand when negotiating and
handling trade, prompting other trading families, such as the
Cestelle Alliance, to do the same. Thus far, no Sororitas sisters
have been seen with members of the DeVayne Incorporation
nor with the Machenko Dynasty, though the aides for those
merchant entities have been no less skilled. The discussions
between DeVayne and House Krin in 813.M41 regarding the
purchase rights of generations of Sepheris Secundus’ serfs
was said to be almost hostile in tone as the advisors almost
broke protocol to speak directly to each other.
Legatine Christal, from the Abbey of the Dawn,
is often away from her Iocanthos fortress and
has been spotted in recent years re-establishing
a mission on Malfi and arranging a marriage
between Friedrich Krin of House Krin and
Josi Cestelle of the Cestelle Alliance on
Scintilla. It is rumored that the Legatine
even officiated at the actual ceremony and
blessed the union on behalf of the Order.
Seraphim have traditionally been in short supply in the Calixis
Sector due to the demand for them to fight in holy wars elsewhere
in the Imperium. The Calixis Ecclesiarchy has placed great faith in
the Frateris Militia to manage alone, but with holy wars brewing
in Protasia and 47 Kapella, this issue may be revisited. Only two
of the Orders Militant currently have ready Seraphim squads: the
Order of the Bloody Rose and the Order of the Valorous Heart.
If the stories and rumors are accurate, Celestians have
accomplished many of the more miraculous events in the history
of the Sisterhood. From the Last Stand on Gallowglass to the
Purifying of Lind, stories of the Celestians are found everywhere,
each one telling nigh-impossible tales of divine feats of bravery
and honor. In more recent times, many of these same acts of
selflessness have been repeated by the Celestian squads, so there is
evidence to support the stories. One of the more interesting things
that has gone unnoticed outside of the Sisterhood itself is that the
majority of the new Celestians in the sector come from the Order of the Valorous Heart. While there is no apparent explanation for
this, Canoness Constance has used her Celestians to great effect
in the escalating conflicts on Protasia and 47 Kapella.
While the majority of the Sisters Repentia in the Calixis sector
have traditionally come from the Orders Militant, an increasing
number from the non-militant Orders are willingly taking up
the oath to atone for information they have seen or heresies they
have witnessed but failed to prevent. It has been speculated that
the recent activity of the Tyrant Star may have something to
do with it, but these rumors have been largely discounted. As
more and more Sororitas are pressed into service, an increasing
number of Sister Repentia are serving alongside acolytes
of the Ordo Hereticus as a means to fulfil her vow.
The Order Sabine is a minor Order of the Adepta Sororitas in the Calixis sector, mostly populated from the ranks of the Order Famulous. It works hand in hand with the Missionarius Galaxia to prepare worlds long lost to the Imperium for re-integration. This Process can take generations as Sisters Famulous arrange royal marriages and act as court advisors. When the Missionarius Galaxia arrives on the world the leadership is primed to simply accept the coming of the Imperial Creed without struggle. 
The sisters of the Order Vespila have earned the name ‘dark sisters’ because of their association with the death of beloved Ecclesiarchal clergy. Cardinal Kregory Hestor petitioned the Order Hospitaller to populate this Order within the Calixis Sector. Tasked with the internment of bodies, the Order Vespila’s grey shrouded ceremonial robes are synonymous with the death of priests. It is unknown why Cardinal Hestor felt it so important to be certain that the bodies of the faithful were properly buried, but rumors abound that he has secret knowledge of a prophecy regarding a long dead saint. When an Inquisitor needs the Sister’s macabre skills he calls upon the Ecclesiarchy to provide him with the graveyard guards of the Order Vespila.
Tasked with the care of holy relics reclaimed from the clutches of renegades and heretics, the Order Pronatus is subtly influential within the Ecclesiarchy of the Calixis sector. They can be found on many shrine worlds, tireless working to purify the stain of the Warp from artifacts recovered on crusades. Inquisitors will occasionally recruit the skills of an Order Pronatus sister when they feel their acolytes may need to deal with unholy devices.
==The Role of Sororitas Acolytes==
Owing to the close ties between Ordo Hereticus and the Adepta Sororitas, it is not an uncommon practice for Sisters to serve the Holy Inquisition for some part of their vocation. Inquisitors, for their part, value Sororitas Acolytes for their skills, the power of their faith and for their incorruptibility---particularly when confronted by the spawn of the warp and their debased servants. Sororitas chosen by their superiors for independent or detached service in this way are often among the most capable and self-sufficient of their noviciate class, deemed strong enough to endure the rigors and perils of such duty. Often returning to the Sororitas even firmer in their convictions and honed in their skills. During any “downtime” between deployments with the Holy Ordos, an Acolyte Sister will return to her Order to spend time fasting, meditating and training. She will also offer a full report under examination to her superiors. Sororitas that survive long-term duties with the Inquisition are a very valuable asset for the Adepta in their war against heresy and faithlessness, and are often destined for high rank.