Order of Our Martyred Lady - 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 saint, Katherine. Katherine had long been regarded as Dominica's second-in-command, and even before heading her own order had led many successful campaigns against the forces of heresy and Warpcraft.With the Sisters of the Fiery Heart behind her, Katherine engaged in ever more Wars of Faith, seeking out the enemy both within and beyond the borders of the Imperium, and casting upon them the immolating light of the Emperor.She led her order for many solar decades, enforcing the Emperor's will and prosecuting Wars of Faith across the galaxy. Within her lifetime she was declared a Living Saint for performing legendary acts and led her order to countless victories.It was during one such War of Faith that Katherine was slain. Records regarding the events of her martyrdom are sparse and at times contradictory, with the oldest and most reliable account appearing in a charred fragment of parchment known as the Candela Scroll.The legible script on this scroll states that Katherine's death came at the hands of the Witch-Cult of Mnestteus, but there is no indication of what this cult was or how they managed to slay the revered warrior. Ecclesiarchal records do show that word of Katherine's demise sent waves of anguish throughout the Adepta Sororitas, with many orders holding solar weeks-long vigils.Yet the Order of the Fiery Heart took no such action. Every last preceptory, commandery and mission in the order girded themselves for battle, and channelled their grief into an endless quest for retribution. In honour of their fallen Matriarch they became the "Order of Our Martyred Lady," and have continued to seek vengeance ever since.For millennia, the sisters of the order bore armour and weapons of stark black as a sign of their mourning. It was only after their engagements in the Third War for Armageddon that red was introduced into their livery.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 standard 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.