Reign of Blood - Reign of Blood Ends: Ultimately, it was not the armies of the Space Marines and the tech-priests that brought about the doom of the High Lord Vandire. It was his most trusted companions, the sisterhood of the Brides of the Emperor.Throughout the Reign of Blood, one faction had remained apart from the bloodshed and devastation of the era. Within the secure walls of the Imperial Palace, the Adeptus Custodes, the guardians of the Emperor Himself, had continued their eternal vigil over the Golden Throne.To escape the anarchy that prevailed in the wider Imperium, and to ensure the continued protection of the Emperor, the Custodians had cut themselves off from the outside completely. Only scraps of information passed through the sealed walls of that most sacred of places in the galaxy, and it was only when the Space Marines and the Adeptus Mechanicus moved against Vandire that the full extent of the treachery perpetrated by the Renegade High Lord became known to them.In secret meetings with the commanders of the Space Marines, the Adeptus Custodes learned of the Reign of Blood and how the Brides of the Emperor defended the traitorous High Lord. The mysterious order advised the Space Marines to continue their attack while they would do what they could.A small contingent of Custodians, led by Centurion Longinus of the Companions, made its way into the very heart of Vandire's domain. Surfacing within the Ecclesiarchal Palace not far from Vandire's audience chamber, they were confronted by the Brides of the Emperor. Calling for a truce and a parley, Centurion Longinus laid down his weapons and walked unarmed to meet the guardians of Vandire.For an hour Longinus made an impassioned plea for the Brides to revoke their oaths, striving to convince them that they were fighting for evil, not the Emperor. However, they were not to be swayed by his arguments, Longinus had only one option left.Leaving his warriors as hostages, the Centurion guided their leader, Alicia Dominica and her personal bodyguard of five female warriors (Arabella, Katherine, Lucia, Mina, and Silvana), into the center of the Imperial Palace itself -- the Sanctum Imperialis, to stand before the God-Emperor upon his Golden Throne.What occurred in this most sacred of chambers is not recorded, but when the Brides of the Emperor stepped through the Eternity Gate once more into the Outer Palace, their eyes burned with unparalleled anger and hatred. Without a word, the Centurion led them back through the dark places of the earth, this time leading them directly to Vandire's Audience Chamber in the Ecclesiarchal Palace.Alicia Dominica spoke of the treachery of Vandire and his depraved corruption of the Ecclesiarchy, but most of all she spoke of his twisted perversion of their own Order. Burning with shame and anger, they renounced the name of the Brides of the Emperor and once again became the Daughters of the Emperor.Alicia Dominica and her vengeful Sisters confronted the corrupt Vandire within his own chambers. The words that she spoke during this confrontation are engraved upon the black marble of her sarcophagus:"You have committed the ultimate heresy. Not only have you turned your back on the Emperor and stepped from His light, you have profaned His name and almost destroyed everything He has striven to build. You have perverted and twisted the path He has laid for Mankind to tread."As your own decrees have stated, there can be no mercy for such a crime, no pity for such a criminal. I renounce your lordship; you walk in the darkness and cannot be allowed to live. Your sentence has been long overdue and now it is time for you to die."With this proclamation, Dominica drew her power sword and held it aloft for all to see. Vandire glanced around the assembled warriors, his brow knitted in confusion. Even at the end, the insane High Lord appeared so divorced from reality that he could scarcely comprehend Alicia's words.Shaking his head slightly, the High Lord whispered his last words, "I don't have time to die...I'm too busy!"The power sword slashed down, beheading the traitorous High Lord in one stroke. It is said that Vandire's Rosarius, which had protected him upon San Leor, now failed him, its gleaming form cleaved in two by Alicia's blow. The Reign of Blood had ended with a blade wielded by the hand of true faith.