Order of the Sacred Rose
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The Order of the Sacred Rose is one of the six major Orders Militant of the Adepta Sororitas.
Contents
Overview
The Order is based on Terra within the Convent Prioris[1] and was founded in honour of Sister Arabella[2a] along with the Order of the Bloody Rose by Ecclesiarch Deacis VI in mid-M38[3a]. Their colours are white armour, black cloaks with red linings and red weapons.[3b]. The order strives to emulate their patron saint and her virtues of discipline, even-temperament, and resolute determination. This resolve to stay calm in battle has particularly benefited Retributor Squads, who use her as a role model to avoid doubt and rash action while wielding their heavy weapons.[6]
The Order avows that they are not only devout servants of the Emperor but also conduits of his will. They believe that their words and actions are guided by his divine wisdom and teach that victory comes from faith and faith alone. They wage Wars of Faith to regions long thought lost in the darkness, freeing Imperial planets from the yoke of Xenos or heretics. They establish citadels in the most remote corners of the Imperium. This has resulted in forging a sizable parish in Ultima Segmentum, but like Arabella they bring their faith to bear across the Galaxy.[9]
On the battlefield the Sacred Rose advance in perfect tactical harmony and discipline, adapting fluidly to the shifting tides of battle. They press their attacks wherever their enemies show weakness, and where they show strength the Sisters stand firm. They combine their faith with physical prowess, creating miracles where they may suddenly burst into speed or see foes spontaneously combust. They often go to war alongside large numbers of Ecclesiarchy followers such as Priests or Zealots. As such, even a small mission are rarely short of soldiers. These great armies of the faithful go to war with the Sisters of the Sacred Rose forming their elite core. The Sisters welcome these auxiliaries, believing that the Emperor can work even from the lowliest of his servants. This ability to draw others to their cause has been instrumental since the Great Rift has opened. The majority of their sanctuaries lie deep within Imperium Nihilus, but few have succumbed to the nightmares that have been unleashed across the Galaxy. The Sisters have remained a steadfast bastion of hope, preventing fear and panic from consuming their worlds. They maintain patrols on these worlds that execute any who express any doubt in their security as well as those who show the slightest sign of mutation.[9]
Known Battles
- During a War of Faith against the Demagogues of the Second Halo Schism, the order broke the defenses at the Palace of Radiance, securing a victory which saw heretics burning on pyres twenty meters high.[2b]
- The Order was led in a crusade to purge the xenos and heretics of the Kaurava system by their Canoness, Selena Agna, a mission which brought the order into brief conflict with forces from across the galaxy, including the Blood Raven Space Marines and the 252nd Conservator Regiment of the Imperial Guard. The Sisters were supported by the Living Saint Anais.[4]
- ??? - Combating an invasion of Orks on Typhas I.[9b]
- ???.M41 — The Avignor Uprising
- 835.M41 — Canoness Sariah led a force of Battle Sisters to the Shrine World of Piety, which had been consumed by a Warp storm for two centuries. They found the planet almost entirely corrupted save for the Reliquary of Hope. Sariah led a mission into the labyrinth of the Reliquary, though only she herself and two Celestians returned bearing three pages of the Lexicon of Falsehoods and the left thighbone of Saint Dolan. They left the planet just before the Grey Knights arrived to deliver Exterminatus to the planet.[5]
- 997.M41 — Defence of Valedor. The small force of Battle Sisters were the only survivors of an overwhelming attack of Hive Fleet Leviathan on the planet Valedor
- 998.M41 — Canoness Magda Grace leads a force to aid in the Cryptus Campaign
- ???.M42 - Battle against the Tau Empire in the Chalnath Expanse.[9b]
- M42 - The Prosperine Rift War[12]
Unique Squadrons
- Flamewing Seraphim[7a]
- Prioris Squadron — Are formed from elite Battle Sisters, who guard the Order of the Sacred Rose's convent on Terra. Intense additional training and wide-ranging battlefield experience are the minimum requirements for becoming a Prioris Battle Sister. If the need arises the entire squadron can be requisitioned into serving in a Canoness' personal retinue.[7b]
Order Elements
Relics
Known Members
- Living Saint Anais
- Canoness Magda Grace
- Canoness Sariah
- Canoness Selena Agna
- Canoness Berionne[9a]
- Preceptoress Anjelis Gartayga[11]
- Sister Superior Amity Hope[10]
Related Articles
- Order of Our Martyred Lady
- Order of the Argent Shroud
- Order of the Valorous Heart
- Order of the Ebon Chalice
- Order of the Bloody Rose
- Ecclesiarchy
Sources
- 1: The Inquisition (Background Book), pg. 65
- 2: Codex: Witch Hunters
- 3: Codex: Sisters of Battle (2nd Edition)
- 4: Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War - Soulstorm
- 5: White Dwarf 379 (US), pg. 93
- 6: White Dwarf 382 (US), pg. 101
- 7: Dawn of War: Soulstorm
- 8: Imperial Armour Volume Two (First Edition), pg. 231
- 9: Codex: Adepta Sororitas (8th Edition) pg.28-29
- 10: Shield of Baal: Exterminatus - Sisters of the Saint
- 11: White Dwarf 469, pg. 96
