A video i made in tribute to the Adepta Sororitas, Sisters of Battle.
Audio used in this video is "For the Craftworld" from the Dawn of War 2 official Soundtrack.
Credit goes out to the artists who created these great pictures.
Adepta Sororitas
History:
The Adepta Sororitas date their founding from the 36th millennium, and more specifically from the later events of the Age of Apostasy. The majority of their initial influx was recruited from the pre-existing Brides of the Emperor, the all-female bodyguard force employed by Goge Vandire. Loyal to the Emperor, the Brides (initially called the Daughters of the Emperor, but renamed by Vandire) were misled by the insane Vandire into fulfilling his own designs. When the truth of the matter, and Vandire's corruption, was revealed, the leader of the Daughters executed Vandire in his own audience chamber. The Daughters of the Emperor were at a loss after this event, and so the Ecclesiarchy took the opportunity to recruit and indoctrinate them into the newly formed Adepta Sororitas, the Ecclesiarchy's all-female military, circumventing the Decree Passive's strictures against the Ecclesiarchy possessing an armed force.
The Adepta Sororitas has its origins on the world of San Leor. An order known as the Daughters of the Emperor, an all-female cult dedicated to worship of the Emperor, had been discovered there by members of the Ecclesiarchy. Goge Vandire, the High Lord of the Administratum (and also Ecclesiarch of the Adeptus Ministorum), decided to pay a visit to San Leor and recruit the Daughters into his own private army. The Daughters, at first, refused to accept his authority. Vandire decided to show them that he was blessed by the Emperor - he instructed a soldier in his entourage to shoot him, which after a brief hesitation, he did. However, thanks to the protective field generated by the Rosarius of the Ecclesiarch (which no one but Vandire himself was aware of), Vandire was not harmed. The Daughters took this to be a sign, and swore allegiance to Vandire virtually on the spot. They became the Brides of the Emperor, and were Vandire's most loyal followers.
During the Siege of the Ecclesiarchal Palace, the Adeptus Custodes, the praetorians of the Emperor himself, tried to approach the Brides and convince them of Vandire's treachery. In a last ditch effort to convince them, the Custodes took Alicia Dominica, leader of the Brides, and her chosen bodyguards deep into the Imperial Palace where they stood before the Emperor himself. What happened there remains unknown - Dominica and her companions were sworn to secrecy - but it became clear that the Brides, who reverted to the title of Daughters of the Emperor, had been awakened to the evil that Vandire represented. Marching into his audience chamber, Dominica paused only to condemn Vandire for his crimes before she beheaded the power-crazed dictator. Reportedly, Vandire's final words were "I don't have time to die - I'm too busy!"
After this episode, the Decree Passive was proclaimed by newly appointed Ecclesiarch Sebastian Thor. Under the literal interpretation of the decree however, the Adepta Sororitas were not obligated to disband because the decree made only explicit mention of "men 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.
Trained to the highest levels possible and possessed of a phenomenal belief in the Emperor, the Sisters would go on to engage in Wars of Faith, bringing the light of the Emperor to parts of the galaxy that had fallen into darkness.