Order of the Dawn

A Battle-Sister of the Order of the Dawn.

The **Order of the Dawn** is a minor order Pronatus. Although they are a non-militant order, they are called upon for interrogation of heretics, witches and xenos. They have a deep respect for relics and want to learn more about chaos relics to further their knowledge of the Imperium. Exceptionally skilled at interrogation and getting to the truth, they are rarely duped by their subjects. They were chosen to fill the ranks of the Order of the Dawn due to their curiosity, thirst for knowledge, and unwavering faith in the Imperium, and they believe that, with the right questions, answers can further the order's knowledge of chaos, chaos relics and worshipers.

The Sisters of the Dawn is a fairly young order that was created because Kaeli Sector needed their skills to further the knowledge of the church. Seeing the mystery of many relics of Sanctus proper that have been collected by the Red Crusaders and other Space Marines near the Sector, they were sent to investigate and find answers as to how the relics, such as the Holy Grail and Nurgle crystals, work and document that information.

They are highly skilled in information gathering, whether from friends or foes and often travel with members of a local militant order called the Order of the Damsel du Loc. In most instances, the Sisters of the Dawn will do the talking and interrogation. At the same time, the Sisters of the Order, the Damsel du Loc will capture unwilling subjects or just stand guard to intimidate the target.

Eventually, when a task force would be formed to find, interrogate and destroy the Sisters of the Night, the Order of the Dawn would work closely with a more significant number of Sisters Repentia, Sisters of the Order of the Damsel du Loc and the Order of the blazing horizon, they would form a complete team called **The Chosen**. Only the best of each order would be assembled to end the mockery that is the Slaaneshi warband, the Sisters of the Night.

## History

 File:Aurora 3.png
The Sisters of the Order of the Dawn were created to fill a need in the Kaeli system as they were on the far edge of the Imperium, and there were many relics on many planets in this system that were poorly understood or even shrouded in mystery. Also, the planet Zargoth, in the nearby Sanctus Sector, was a planet that was believed to hold many chaos relics that could be retrieved and studied to increase the knowledge of the Imperium. The planet of Aurora was chosen to be the homeworld of the Sisters of the Order of the Dawn due to its geographical position in the Kaeli Sector and its climate. Under the frozen layers of ice, it was believed that sprawling tunnels filled with lost relics existed. This is where the convent of **Premiere Lueur** was built, and the Sisters of the Dawn called this convent home.

The planet was plunged into darkness half the year, and on the day of the arrival of the Sisters, who came to this world to settle and build their convent, it was the first day of Dawn. This is where the name of the Sisters took its roots. Festivals were celebrated by the people, for the Emperor's light had finally dawned on their homes. Over the years, the planet's inhabitants, including the Sisters, developed cold resistance and something akin to night vision as the light never went past the thin rays of Dawn.

Years of service to the Emperor were well rewarded, and Sisters were chosen to become Sisters of the Dawn on Aurora. All were happy to serve and took great pride in the knowledge they acquired for the Imperium. Being on the harsh climate of Aurora, some of the Sisters were slightly less pleased to be chosen for the Order of the Dawn but most Sisters were excited about the possibilities of the System and all the wealth of knowledge they would share with the Imperium.

## Organisation

The highest Ranking Sister of Battle is the Canoness. She has risen through the ranks based on merit, the wealth of information she had gathered and shared and deeds during interrogations and battle. She also must have affinities for politics and diplomacy. She wears white fur on her shoulders when she takes part in interrogations or battles.

The Sister Superiors are the commanding officers of the Sisters of Battle and report to the Canoness. They also rise based on merit but are rarely affected by politics. If a Sister shows interest in rising higher in the ranks one day, she can be mentored by the Canoness, who chooses her successor.

A Sister of Battle who shows great promise and leadership skills and has shown steadfast devotion to the Emperor can be chosen to wear the jewel of succession, a relic found on Aurora when "The Great Thaw" took place. This jewel is said to be blessed by the Emperor. The Sister of Battle who wears this jewel on her gauntlet is known as the "Blessed". The title "The Blessed" appears after her name. Sometimes, no one is blessed for centuries at a time. It is scarce to have a Sister be "blessed" such is the nature of the Order.

The Order of the Dawn also works near Sisters Hospitaller of the Order of the Blazing Horizon, Sisters of the militant order of the Damsel du Loc and the Order of Repentia.

Under these ranks are ordinary Sisters of battle who have no other title than Sister.

## Doctrine

The Sisters of the Dawn believe in the Sanctity of the Emperor, and they are zealous in their worship of the Emperor. Because they are not an order militant, they do not often see combat until recent years, where a new task force had been created to stop the mockery of the daughters of the Emperor, the Sisters of the Night.

Initially, the Sisters of the Order of the Dawn were very strict and zealous in their primary objective, focused on interrogation and discovering the mysterious ways that some relics, chaos or not, functioned and sharing that knowledge. Now, with the new task force to hunt and stop the Slaaneshi warband, Sisters of the Night, the Sisters must use the powerful relics and fighters at their disposition and have a very talented task force comprised of the best Sisters they could spare in the mission to destroy the Slaaneshi warband and stop their recruitment and terror that they have been spreading through the Imperium but mainly in the Sanctus and Kaeli Sectors.

Often, they will hunt with a group of Sisters Repentia and Sister Bethany, the Blessed, for these are the strongest fighters the order of the Dawn have at their disposition. They also accept any outside help as long as the person helping is not an outright heretic, and they pass interrogation. This shows some laxity in the strictness of the order after the creation of the Sisters of the Night. An example is the task force working with Corey Richter, also known as Nathaniel Roth, of the Verum Illuminate and a guardsman named Benjamin Brak.

## Order Appearance

The Sisters of the Dawn wear the traditional power armour of the Adepta Sororitas, but instead of the classic black colour, it is a shiny silver with ice blue shoulder pads and knee pads and an icy blue fleur de lys with ice cycles dripping from it. They wear Navy blue robes, and the Canoness wears a white fur around her shoulders when she appears - either in a political setting, in an interrogation or battle.

The Sisters have a particular mutation of their eyes because the planet has not been touched by light for half a year,; when it is, it is only the thin light of dawn. The Sisters' pupils are larger, and this causes light sensitivity. This causes the Sisters to prefer to wear their helmets at all times, on other planets and when the sun is up. They also have some protective eyewear. Inside the convent, they wear their navy blue hooded robes.

## Campaigns

* **The Brentley Blunder**- The Sisters of the Dawn were tasked with interrogating a dangerous psyker, Brentley, before he was escorted back to the planet Vano to stand trial for his sins. The Sisters, led by Sister Superior Mila, arrived early to the task. Itching to see a little bit of action and understand how the Verum Illuminate's gift for seeking works, Sister Julia and Sister Superior Mila decided to accompany the Seeker as he tried to pinpoint the location of the target in order to secure him for interrogation. Soon, it became clear that the Seeker was not using some sort of technology already known to the Sisters to find the witch Brentley or any kind of relic, as it was always unclear how their Seekers were so successful at tracking their targets. On the day that Brentley was located by the Seeker, Sister Superior Mila, Sisters Julia, Sabine, Belle and Luvia were alone with Seeker Roth. When they came face to face with the powerful Psyker, Julia froze, and the other sisters that accompanied her were yet to arrive in time to take action. Sister Julia froze so severely that the witch was lost again, and the Verum Illuminate refused the assistance of the Sisters of the Dawn on their mission to find the Psyker once and for all. Sister Julia never spoke of why she had frozen when faced with Brentley. The reason was that her mind was compromised by the psyker, and thoughts of chaos and pleasure danced in her mind from that day onward. The Sisters of the Dawn did complete the mission, but Julia's failure was unacceptable, and they counted the mission as a blunder. Eventually, Sister Julia Sansoucy would join the order of Repentia because of the psyker Brentley.

* **The Turning point**- Sister Julia Sansoucy joined the order of Repentia and made a name for herself for surviving so many battles with the order but not being forgiven for returning to the ranks of the order of the Dawn. She grew to enjoy battle and self-inflicted pain as the dormant daemons in her mind warped her values and thoughts. Seeing as the order of the Dawn produced a slightly higher number of Sisters Repentia, Julia's squad from the Merrill mission started trickling in and looking up to her as an inspiration. Even Sister Superior Mila had taken the Oath of Repentance. During a battle on Zargoth, in the Sanctus Sector, Julia finally stopped fighting the dormant message from the Psyker and decided to join the Slaaneshi warband she was fighting with. Once the decision was made and she embraced the ways of Slaanesh, she turned on the High Mistress of Repentia, Delphine, and slew her, taking her neural whip with her. Four other Repentias followed Julia Sansoucy and formed the Sisters of the Night. The five have all been declared deceased.

* **Becoming the Blessed**- Sister Bethany of the Sisters of the Dawn was sent on a sensitive mission to the planet Sanctus. She was to gain access to the Red Crusaders' vaults and if at all possible, get copies of the original document that the Crusaders lived by. The Sisters wanted to authenticate the document and put to rest the distrust that some had of the Crusaders for rumours told that it may not be the Emperor who had once walked on Sanctus and left Holy Relics. When Sister Bethany arrived, she asked for access to the vaults. After some hesitation, she was granted access up to a certain point. She accepted the conditions of the Crusaders and began her descent to the vault. When she was escorted to a room, she was left alone to start studying various relics. She was fascinated by the items in the room, but this was not her mission. After a cursory look at the different objects, she slipped out of the room and started down the corridor. As she came to the large steel door, she realised that the script would be guarded inside, so she needed to think of another way to gain access.

She started walking back to the first room until she heard heavy footsteps coming her way. She assumed it was the Red Crusaders coming to check on her. She kept walking toward the room where they had left her and caught a glimpse of the Marines advancing. They were not crusaders. She backed herself into a corner and readied her weapon. The first chaos Marine was doused in the flames of her flamethrower. There were so many; she took a deep breath and mumbled a prayer to the Emperor, knowing she would not survive another day. She fought one after the other valiantly, the injuries multiplying as the bodies of the chaos Marines started falling. As she felt her energy drain, she prayed one last time. Her body roared to life, holy light shining in her eyes as the Emperor sustained her and gave her the power to keep fighting. Soon, she heard the sounds of battle from the other end of the corridor; she endured and slew more chaos Marines. When the Red Crusaders finally broke through the attack from the other side, she fell to the ground, all her energy leaving her as the blood pooled around her. She felt herself being carried to a nearby room and felt something wet and warm on her lips. She swallowed and lost consciousness. Later on, she would learn that a Red Crusader named Mathael Drakvard had judged her worthy of drinking from the Holy Grail. Its powers would forever fill her body, and she was granted strength and powers beyond ordinary human capacities. When she returned to Aurora, she was dubbed Sister Bethany the blessed and given the jewel of Saint Svetlana.

* **Taking back the Night**- On a mission to eliminate the threat of the Sisters of the Night, the Order of the Dawn met up with a member of the Verum Illuminate who called himself Richter. Together, they returned to Zargoth to, hopefully, destroy this branch of the Sisters of the Night. When they arrived, they found the ship needing repair near a mountain. Sister Superior Leah and Sister Bethany, the blessed, accompanied by a dozen of the task force Sisters, infiltrated the ship as the Sisters celebrated. They entered the room and slew every one of the Sisters of the Night, including the founder of the Slaaneshi warband, Julia Sansoucy. This was an excellent achievement for the Sisters of the Order of the Dawn, who had only sent a few heretics back to the warp during every battle. This time, they left no survivors.

* **The End of the Daemon**- After the mission to take back the Night, the Sisters, with Richter on board their ship, were alerted to the presence of a Slaaneshi daemon. When they entered the room to attack the daemon, it swiftly took flight and escaped. The Sisters, a guardsman with them and the Verum Illuminate Marine scoured the entire ship in hopes of finding the daemon. When Sister Bethany, the blessed, found the daemon, it had its wings wrapped around the Marine, killing him by injecting drugs into his system via pinpricks in its razor-sharp wings. Sister Bethany grabbed the Eviscerator discarded in the middle of the room and struck the daemon with all her might. The daemon was fatally wounded and disappeared, presumably into the warp, as Bethany's jewel on her gauntlet glowed with power.

* **Siege of Aurora**- Aurora is a frozen world where temperatures are typically bearable but not today. As the Sisters of the Order of the Dawn were preparing to go to the aid of a nearby planet, Sondown, that had fallen to chaos that morning, the Sisters became aware of the temperatures plummeting uncontrollably. Soon, a giant snow beast rose from a snow pile and started destroying buildings and killing people who were running for shelter in the streets. The Imperial Guard arrived to try to contain or destroy the beast while the sisters attempted to determine the source of the unnatural freeze. The planet's surface cracked from the pounding of the beast on the solid ground, and guardsmen and civilians fell into the crevasses. The canoness realised what had happened to Sondown was happening to Aurora. She ordered that fires be lit around the city to try to warm the soldiers because they were dying of cold. The sisters grabbed their flamers and attempted to melt the beast. This is when Canoness Nadja was informed that the vaults and tunnels were under attack also. More Sisters were sent to protect the tunnels, and the canoness sent a transmission for help.

 A company of Red Crusaders arrived; simultaneously, the task force that had been created to purge the Sisters of the Night also turned back to protect their homeworld. Moments before their arrival, Tzeentchian Space Marines and part of the Slaaneshi warband were reported to be supporting the attack on Aurora. The battle was now on two fronts. Most of the Red Crusaders were sent to the surface to fight with what was left of the guard and the sisters of the Order of the Dawn. The Sisters Repentia, sister Bethany and Grail Knight Mathael Drakvard were sent to the tunnels. As the small army moved through the tunnels toward the cave, they fought some thousand sons, witches, and Slaaneshi sisters. When they arrived at the cave, they were face to face with the source of the freeze and the giant monster, sorcerer Pallas. After fighting two powerful psykers, Bethany and Drakvard approached the sorcerer. Pallas attacked them with memories of their most vile transgressions and shared them with both of them, trying to turn them against each other, but they broke free of the spell. Soon, the Red Crusader Librairian, Verus, arrived to help them against the Tzeentchian sorcerer and her minions. When the duo were about to fall on the sorcerer and purge her, she was pushed into a portal by one of her minions. Her servant jumped in with her, but the others were killed. On the surface, when the temperature started returning to normal, the heretics thought Pallas was dead, so the ones that could get away fled, the others died in battle. Aurora was saved, but the sorcerer was still at large.

## Notable Battle Sisters

* **Canoness Nadja Gordieva**- Nadja Gordieva was the Canoness at the greatest time of change for the Sisters of Battle of the Order of the Dawn. Choosing to grant more leniency to increase morale and satisfy the Sisters who wish to engage in Battle to do the Emperor's bidding. Canoness Nadja Gordieva created a task force that devoted its resources and time to finding and ridding the Imperium of the Sisters of the Night. This new task force was quickly authorised as to put an end to the mockery of the Slaaneshi warband, and this, in turn, would put an end to the recruitment of those who would be open to the ways of Slaanesh.

* **Sister Julia Sansoucy**- Julia Sansoucy was always a little disappointed that she could not do more to prove her faith and devotion to the Emperor. She wanted to fight and purge heretics but was chosen for an order Pronatus instead. She volunteered often to interrogate psykers and other heretics before they were put on black ships or whatever planet they were going to be held in captivity. One day, she convinced her Sister Superior to join the Marines from the Verum Illuminate on a mission to retrieve a high-value psyker. After she had failed to stand against the heretic, she took the oath of Repentia and fought there successfully for many years, but she started enjoying the self-mutilation and battles. After heading into a battle against a Slaaneshi warband. During the war, she embraced the ways of Slaanesh killed the Mistress of Repentia and started her own warband called the Sisters of the Night. It was meant as a mockery of the Adepta Sorroritas. She led the warband successfully for years until she was killed by a chaos hunter named Nathaniel Roth. (She has been declared deceased.)

* **Sister Luvia Savant**- Sister Luvia Savant had an average career with the Sisters of the Dawn until she took the oath of Repentence and joined Sister Julia Sansoucy and became an Haute Maitresse of the Sisters of the Night and eventually, was granted daemonhood by Slaanesh. (She has been declared deceased.)

* **Sister Bethany "The Blessed" Federova**- Sister Bethany had a very illustrious career with the Sisters of the Dawn. She was always reliable and strong. One of the most disciplined and well liked Sisters. Eventually, after the Sisters of the Night were created, she accomplished quite a feat. During an infiltration by a daemon of Slaanesh, she single-handedly sent that daemon back to the warp with the daemon's own Eviscerator and saved a Marine from the Verum Illuminate named Corey Richter ( Nathaniel Roth.) She eventually became Sister Superior of the Sisters of the Dawn.

## Allies

* **The Verum Illuminate**- The Verum Illuminate and the Order of the Dawn had the opportunity to work on a high value target search and escort for the Imperium. The mission was semi successful as the target was found but was killed instead of escorted back to the Imperium.

* **The Red Crusaders**- The Sisters of the order of the Dawn work closely with the Red Crusaders seeing as they are near the Sanctus Sector and often visit Sanctus to gain knowledge on the relics of the Crusaders such as discovering the true identity of the person who had visited Sanctus and left behind the Holy Grail.

* **Order of the Damsel du Loc** - Being in the same system as the Red Crusaders and The Order of the Damsel du Loc, they often work together, especially since the task force to stop the Sisters of the Night was created. The Sisters of the Order of the Dawn and order of the damsel Du Loc, are often paired together on missions and interrogations.

## Enemies

* **Sisters of the Night**- The founding members of the Slaaneshi warband had previously been members of the Order of the Dawn. They had chosen to recite the oath of Repentance and became members of the Sisters Repentia. Eventually, Julia Sansoucy, brutally murdered the High Mistress of the Repentias, taking her Eviscerator and escaped with 4 other Repentias that had taken the oath from the order of the Dawn.

The Sisters of the Dawn vow to destroy the mockery of their order in order to avenge their honour, dignity and their name, all in the name of the Emperor.