My invented Order of Adepta Sororitas (technically speaking, they are an Ecclesiarchal Prelature Militant ... but that's a separate bit of background) are different in many ways from the Orders of the Convent Sanctorum, even though they are based on Ophelia VII. One of the most significant differences is in their structure and recruitment.
As detailed in the Warhammer 40K wiki, most Sisters of Battle are recruited from the Schola Progenium where the Drill Abbesses identify suitable candidates at an early age. One of the Convents trains and examines them, determining if they are truly suitable to enter an Order of Sororitas and, if so, which one is suitable. The woman (or girl) herself has little choice in the matter, it seems. Members of a particular Order sometimes transfer to other Orders (especially those in the Orders Militant who become too aged or infirm to fight). This is, of course, in keeping with the Imperium's lack of concern for the opinions of its citizens (and consistent with the Imperial Cult's theology of duty and self-sacrifice). It does not, however, seem in keeping with the "recruitment" (a, frankly, inappropriate term) of a religious order, and does not fit with the idea I have of the Order of Our Crystal Lady.
Entering a religious order should be a voluntary action; orders are people practicing a particular faith communally and intensely. This isn't something that can be forced without, essentially, brainwashing. That, again, fits with the Imperium but isn't something I wanted for my Order.
Real-world religious orders are not identical, even those of the same faith. Each have particular theological emphases, liturgical practices, customs and traditions. Feeling drawn to this distinctive character, or (in Catholic jargon) charism, is the reason candidates discern membership in a particular order. In many ways, the relationship is like marriage; a person does not simply wish to "be married" - he or she wishes to be married to a particular person and another person will not do.
I wanted my Order to have a definite charism. I explore this idea in my post on the repentia; the Order educate and help the impoverished and neglected workers of the 'Dust (Industrial) Zone of Ophelia VII, an increasingly-cramped ghetto where ordinary laborers have been squeezed by the expansion of ever-more glorious palaces and temples. They are the protectors and champions of "the little man", building and running schools and hospitals, even hospices for the aged and infirm.
Each member of the Order is drawn to this charism, and so they do not transfer Orders nor do they accept members from other Orders. Members unable to fight remain in the Order, educating or training, or cared for in their dotage. Candidates do not come from the Schola - they come exclusively from the daughters of the 'Dust Zone workers.
Historically, women in the 'Dust Zone did not have even the meager opportunities afforded to the men. With the high value placed on marriage and family by the Imperial Cult (the subject of a future post!) women were discouraged from pursing education or a career. A young woman might work in some menial, repetitive task on the factory floor (in some cases, the smaller hands and limbs of women were used to get into tight spaces in machinery - often with dreadful consequences as that machinery was rarely turned off) until she was married, but then she was expected to stay home and raise a family, building a home to give a stable foundation to the next generation.
Of course, this is entirely in keeping with the Imperial Cult's theology and the Order of Our Crystal Lady does not deviate from it. However, the Order recognizes that education of young girls is advantageous; it not only makes them better wives and mothers, but also opens up other careers to them (allowing them to choose to not marry, or provide for themselves if they are widowed). Because of this, they run schools (segregated by gender) which the workers' children must attend until they are sixteen. Male pupils who show aptitude in a particular discipline may, if they wish, remain in school for a further two years before joining the workforce - this further education enables them to assume managerial, specialist and supervisory roles in the factories.
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| Postulants and two Pedagogues Militant |
At sixteen, female pupils - if they show sufficient piety - may enter the postulancy, a two-year period of discernment for entering the Order. Sequestered in barracks-dormitories within the Order's cloister-fortress, the postulants live a regimented life of prayer, drill, fasting and vigil, participating intensely in the rich spiritual and liturgical life of the Imperial Cult. They wear a simple smock of dark blue as a habit.
As postulants receive martial training (which male students do not - it would be a violation of the Decree Passive) they are sometimes deployed alongside the Order in warzones. They are led into battle by Pedagogues Militant, the skilled veterans of many campaigns who drill the postulants.
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| Pedagogues Militant |
Most postulants determine life in the Order is not for them - they return to their families, either at the end of the two years or before. Others, however, are called to the Order and, with the Canoness' approval, join as novices. The Canoness never refuses to allow a postulant to enter the novitate because of immaturity, unsuitability or any other flaw of character - the only reason ever given is that the postulant has lied about being called. The Daughters of Verity (as the Order sometimes call themselves) not only place a high value on truth but seem to have an innate ability to know when it is spoken to them and when it is not.
Postulants are received formally into the novitiate in a ceremony held in the Crystal Cathedral (the Order's main temple) on Sanguinalia (the feast of the Emperor's Ascension; the highest holy day of the year). All inhabitants of the 'Dust Zone are invited on this public holiday, and it is a day of joy and merriment. While priests lead the prayers, the Canoness receives the novices' oaths (made through her directly to the Ecclesiarch as the mouthpiece of Him-On-Earth, not through the Prioress of the Convent Sanctorum and Abbess of the Adepta Sororitas). Here, they are invested with a suit of black power-armor. This will be theirs for the rest of their lives, being returned to the armory on their deaths. The suits of armor have been worn by dozens of Sisters before them. Each time they are returned to the armory, they are stripped of iconography and honors, so each novice receives a plain, unadorned suit of armor to wear during her novitiate.
The novitiate lasts two or three years. During it, novices are under the supervision of Novice-Mistresses who are responsible for their growth and education. A novices studies theology, philosophy, history and military science diligently, all within a framework of intense prayer and fasting. If she has some particular aptitude she may receive additional training, eventually becoming a Hospitalier, Machaenix Canonical, or other specialist. Because of its isolation, the Order of Our Crystal Lady fulfills roles normally held by other Orders itself.Novices wear a habit of undyed, unbleached cloth over their plain black armor. When the Order goes to war, they go too. Most of them take rifleman positions in rear-line squads, although the flurry of war can means a novice can quickly find herself in the thick of it. They acquit themselves well - a novice has two years of postulancy behind her (the equivalent of several cycles of basic training in the Astra Militarium) and so martial skill is never in question. The novitiate is not designed to train a woman to fight; it is designed to train her to be a Sister.
Accordingly, the emphasis is on prayer, piety, devotion and faithfulness. Spiritual growth is what the Novice-Mistresses look for in recommending their charges to the Canoness for profession. Once again, the Canoness always accepts the recommendation without question - a Daughter of Verity can neither lie nor be lied to, and so whatever recommendation is not only honest, but made knowing nothing remains hidden within the novice.
Novices make their formal profession into the Order during the Sanguinalia feast in the Crystal Cathedral, where their habits are dyed deep blue and the icons of the Order and the Sororitas are affixed to their armor. They then join squads of experienced Battle Sisters and live in the main barracks-dormitories rather than those reserved for the novices.
Initially, I included novices in my army because there was one edition of the Sisters' list which allowed them - armed with bolt-pistol and chainsword, they were led in large squads by Sister Superiors. They were poor fighters, but made up for it in numbers. This was the period of games design when many armies had this sort of thing - Cadian whiteshields, Chaos cultists and so forth. That option disappeared, but I had already made a large squad of these models, including two Sister Superiors with mortar boards - the symbol of an English grammar-school master - on their heads!
In revising and expanding the history of the Order of Our Crystal Lady, I wanted to explore the idea of recruitment and membership. I have never liked the idea that raw-recruits would be sent into the most dangerous sort of combat (hand-to-hand) or used in the delicate mission of scouting (as they are in the Marines). Rather, raw-recruits would be carefully led and shepherded, kept behind the lines initially so they can learn skills in a less-dangerous environment than the front.
The models I initially made as novices - Mordheim Sisters of Sigmar novices with chainswords and bolt pistols - would become my new postulants. I have converted some of the unpainted models to carry lasguns. I will count the models as Astra Militarium infantry, which seems reasonable given their level of training, with Pedagogues Militant as their officers.Novices will be represented by normal Sisters models with icongraphy shaved off and their robes painted buff / cream. They will be scattered throughout the army, or perhaps deployed in a unit led by a model representing a Novice-Mistress.
Let me know what you think of the ideas, the background, and my painting! And, if you have any questions (and there are lots of questions because there are things I have deliberately left unanswered!) just ask 'em in the comments!
=][= Danforth Laertes
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