Sisters of Battle

[MSguardsmen]

History
Originally, they were just the militant arm of the Ecclesiarchy. During the Age of Apostasy, Goge Vandire managed to use the Ecclesiarchy to subvert the Imperial government, the Sisters of Battle, as well as the imperial militia known as the Frateris Templar, which became the personal armies of the despot. Eventually the Sisters were convinced that he was in fact a traitor, and the leader of the Sisters at the time executed him. After this episode, Sebastian Thor, the man who opposed Vandire during his reign and replaced him after his death, issued the Decree Passive, forbidding the Ecclesiarchy from having any "men under arms" in their service. The Sisters of Battle were subsequently left as the Ecclesiarchy's sole battle force, since according to the literal interpretation of the decree, they were exempt from disbanding because they were "women under arms." Thor, recognizing the need for the Ecclesiarchy to have some kind of force and internal regulator, allowed them to remain, even if the spirit of the decree was rather blatantly disregarded.
Though not genetically enhanced or cybernetically upgraded like the Space Marines, they do wear similar heavy armour and have the same general unit set-up, although they tend to prefer heat- and flame-based weapons, for the 'purifying' effect of fire. As they lack the extensive biological/technological upgrades that turn an ordinary human male into a superhuman Space Marine, they cannot be considered to be in the same class of "supersoldier" in terms of combat ability and endurance, though their armour and weapons are comparable (and well beyond those of other "normal" humans, such as the Imperial Guard). They also gain powerful faith-based abilities to help them combat their foes.

[Stubber]

Let us not forget that it was the custodes who confronted Saint Dominica, leader of the Wives of the Emperor (as they were called then), and convinced her and a small group to follow them to the Golden Throne where the Emperor bestowed on her an unfathomable truth, which remains a mystery to this day.
She returned to Vandire, the 361st high lord of Terra, and beheaded him.

His last words were famously 'I can't die, I'm too busy'.

Originally Posted by experiment 626

well, the sisters were re-named the 'brides of the emperor' by vandire...
their leader was dominica who was later to found the order of the ebon chalise.

In my defence I was sat in an internet cafe so didn't have access to my fluff stuff.

[experiment 626]

Originally Posted by Stubber

Let us not forget that it was the custodes who confronted Saint (soon to research and insert name), leader of the Wives of the Emperor (as they were called then), and convinced her and a small group to follow them to the Golden Throne where the Emperor bestowed on her an unfathomable truth, which remains a mystery to this day.
She returned to Vandire, the 361st high lord of Terra, and beheaded him.

His last words were famously 'I can't die, I'm too busy'.

well, the sisters were re-named the 'brides of the emperor' by vandire...
their leader was dominica who was later to found the order of the ebon chalise.
during the hight of the fighting, a centurian used the secret tunnels and passageways to confront dominica and her leiutenants. through his calm negotiating he convinced dominica and her most trusted sister to follow him. leaving his men hostage, the centurian led the brides through unknown areas and came to stop before a great portal guarded by two armoured custodians. no one knows what happened after or what knowledge was imparted to the brides, but many believe that they were led before the golden throne itself, and shown the truth of vandire's trechery.
leading her sisters back into vandires throne room and enraged at how they had been mislead, dominica sought out the traitor high lord. her famous words upon announcing his sentance; "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 sentance has been long overdue and it is time for you to die."
with that, dominica beheaded the insane vandire and ended the age of apostasy.

cheers!

[MSguardsmen]

mind you what i wrote was all i had at the time im thankful for all post and i will write them into my own when i get the time and more knowledge to tie it all together

[experiment 626]

Originally Posted by MSguardsmen

mind you what i wrote was all i had at the time im thankful for all post and i will write them into my own when i get the time and more knowledge to tie it all together

no problem!

if you have it, white dwarf 292(US) has a tonne of info on the sisters and their 6 main saints.

cheers!

[Stubber]

That's issue 293 in Europe. My very first White Dwarf and arguably one of the best I have...but there's already a thread complaining about the way WD is spiraling downward.

[Dan296]

the companions of dominica were the ones who founded the main orders.