Order of the Obsidian Mirror

Order of the Obsidian Mirror
Battle Cry	"Think on your Sins"
Founding	Unknown
Daughters of	Order of the Ebon Chalice
Homeworld	Zimovkiysk II
Strength	Full
Allegiance	Imperium
Colours	Black, Purple, and Crimson

"The supreme art of war is to subdue an enemy without fighting."

– Sun Tzu

A game of roll on the Order Creation Table resulted in an Order Dialogous that is an unholy fusion of Alpha Legion and Night Lords. Fighting via subterfuge and terror, these are the sisters of The Order of the Obsidian Mirror. Very much a WIP, so feel free to join in.

Overview

The Order of the Obsidian Mirror is of the Orders Dialogus. The order was founded for a crusade and drew many of its initial members from the Order of the Ebon Chalice. Their homeworld, Zimovkiysk II, is a shrine world dominated largely by cold weather, leaving much of the planet covered in expanses of arctic and subarctic biomes. They don't rule it, they do offer their advice to its government.

While much of the Order of the Obsidian Mirror is ostensibly non-militant, it nonetheless possesses a fighting force thanks to its specialization in military intelligence, covert action, and psychological warfare and are noted for their use of terror tactics to cow an enemy into submission with minimal effort expended. Given that their modus operandi requires a good deal of knowledge about their enemy, their motives, and their operations combined with their unwillingness to cut corners and do everything methodically they are not viewed well by the Ecclessiarchy; the fact that their organization structure is unique and highly flexible and they put a great deal of veneration into their Canoness Superior who had vanished off to Emperor knows where (they insist she still lives and has not replaced her position) does little to help them in that regard.

They are currently engaged in shadow wars across the Eastern Fringe, primarily with the Alpha Legion and agents of the T'au Empire known as the Black Caste.

Lore

Origins

A battle sister of the Obsidian Mirror

The seeds of what would become the Order of the Obsidian Mirror began with a joint venture between the Order of the Ebon Chalice and an Order Dialogus known as the Order of the Sacred Oath. The Order of the Ebon Chalice was involved with several campaigns as part of the Agrippa Crusade, and required the aid of the sisters Dialogus in order to properly coordinate communications between the various preceptories across the sector. This was accomplished through the use of sisters dialogus that accompanied each force as well as specially-selected battle sisters who could be relied upon to provide concise reports of each engagement.

As the campaign ground on, several discrepancies became apparent to the sisters involved with this venture. While the crusade was well-led on a tactical level, on a strategic level, it was rife with inefficiency and poor strategy. The man in overall command of the crusade, Chapter Master Agrippa of the Omega Serpents chapter, seemed to be directing Imperial forces directly towards heavily fortified enemy zones when other, even when other, more strategically viable attack vectors were available. In addition, there were scattered reports among Imperial forces of teal and silver-armored Astartes moving behind enemy lines, seemingly unconcerned by the fighting.

In the face of this knowledge, Canoness Donatica launched her own clandestine operations to discover the truth. Redeploying the battle sisters and dialogi under her command into specialized infiltration teams, she sent her forces behind enemy lines to uncover the truth. Whatever forbidden knowledge they discovered in these nighttime raids is uncertain, but it was enough for the sisters involved to break away from their respective orders and form the Order of the Obsidian Mirror. Ever since that fateful campaign, the sisters of the Obsidian Mirror have hunted the Alpha Legion across the Eastern Fringe, waging a deadly shadow war that few outside of the Order ever hear of. In order to combat the masses of cultists employed by their enemies, the sisters of the Obsidian Mirror have become masters of psychological warfare, utilizing stealth, precision, and raw terror to subdue their foes. Any who survive are swiftly imprisoned for interrogation by the sisters dialogus, who expertly extract information from the unwilling.

Structure

Since the disappearance of Canoness Donaticia, the canonesses of the various preceptories operate as an executive council, with no Canoness Superior in overall command of the Order. Though they share intelligence with each other, each of the preceptories operate with a high degree of independence, allowing them to quickly respond to threats as they develop. The Canonesses Preceptory only gather to discuss matters that affect the entire order, or when a threat is detected that requires a response from the entire order.

In the field, the battle sisters of the order often deploy in cell structure, allowing them to operate autonomously whether they are embedded in a civilian population or behind enemy lines. Often disguised to blend in with the local populace, sisters of the Obsidian Mirror are skilled in sabotage, assassination, and stirring up dissent, and can spend months or even years on assignment, furthering the order's goals through their covert actions. That being said, the order is still fully capable of waging open warfare, and many operations end with a full-scale assault.

Penance is a major focus of the Obsidian Mirror, though how they fulfill it is very different from other orders. They have numerous arco-flagellants and penitent engines formed from the ranks of prisoners they bring back to Zimovkiysk II, which provide a crucial role in distracting and tying down enemy forces, allowing the agents of the order to outflank and infiltrate enemy lines. Additionally, the order's sisters repentia are treated differently than in other orders, being treated more like expendable agents than crazed berserkers. Repentias in the order are often given the most dangerous jobs where survival is not expected, and may even be used for suicide attacks.

The order often works closely with local civilian contacts, who usually have no idea who they're working with. However, the most useful and loyal of these may be turned to permanent service to the order. Additionally, they maintain close relations with both the Adeptus Arbites and the Inquisition, sharing intel with the two organizations and combining when the situation demands it.

The opening of the Great Rift has decentralized the order even further, with several preceptories cut off from each other in the Dark Imperium. This has led to doctrinal diversification in the order, as several preceptories have been forced to adapt to their local circumstances and recruit from local populations rather than relying on the Schola Progenium.

Zimovkiysk II

Zimovkiysk II is the homeworld of the Order of the Obsidian Mirror. It orbits a young class F star near the outer edge of its habitability zone. The world is marginally smaller than Terra but possess the same surface gravity and a similarly strong magnetic field that shields the world from the ravages of it parent star and gas giant neighbors' radiation.

The atmosphere is ideal for human life, though the average temperature of the world hovers only barely above the freezing point of water. Only the equatorial regions are free of permafrost year round and experience a moderately warm summer. The sub-tropics and mid-latitudes are generally covered with taiga and boreal woodlands, though due to the planets intensely active geology, volcanic springs are plentiful and act as oases of life throughout the frigid landscape that dominates the vast majority of the planet.

The planet is inhabited by nearly a billion souls, however most of them are transients moving through the trade route the system sits along, pilgrims that have come to visit many shrines and cathedrals that dominate the wintery landscape, and wealthy nobles wishing to partake in the reputed rejuvenating powers the more blessed springs are believed to have. The world is peaceful, thanks in part due to the extreme effectiveness of the local Adeptus Arbites "lead" by the Order of the Obsidian Mirror.

Facilities of the Order are scattered across the planet, but the main fortress covenant is completely isolated from anyone not directly involved in the Order's activities. Located on a small sub continent surrounded by ocean, the fortress is protected by miles of minefields, and towering rings of walls bristling with weaponry both terrestrial and orbital. On the island itself massive domes hide the Sister's activities from prying eyes located in the sky's above. The domes also have different biomes for training purposes. They keep an isolated prison on a polar island, probably buried deep beneath the surface. it's cold enough that most equipment that isn't specialized to deal with the extreme cold has problems and surrounded by miles and miles of ice that's been swept bare by the gale force winds. Given they like to accumulate data, I doubt that most prisoners they take would be executed on the spot, which is probably more of the norm in other Orders. Death is of course a mercy to anyone who gets dragged into there. 'Rura Gitmo'

Allies and Enemies

Syurpriz motherfuckers

The traditional enemy of the Obsidian Order is the Alpha Legion, who they have been hunting since the days of the Agrippa Crusade. However, they are not above fighting other enemies of the Imperium. In particular, they have recently begun hunting agents of the T'au Empire who seek to subvert Imperial rule. T'au stealth teams and Obsidian Mirror strike forces have found themselves engaged in a deadly game of cat-and-mouse on the worlds bordering the Damocles Gulf.

Unlike most Adepta Sororitas, the sisters of the Obsidian Mirror have a strained relationship with the Ecclesiarchy, as they often seem to pursue their own enigmatic agenda rather than responding to the requests of the Ministorum. Regardless, they maintain a close relationship with the Inquisition, who value their skill at subterfuge and in turn, provide many boons for the order.

Emblem

The emblem of the Obsidian Mirror resembles a round disc with bladed teeth around the perimeter and a black mirror in its center. In essence, a mirror of obsidian that cannot be picked up barehanded without it slicing your fingers off; representing that one cannot look into the darkness as they do without being armored by faith and guided by the proper knowledge. It doesn't look even slightly heretical! That's heresy!

Characters

Canoness Superior Donatica

Badass Canoness Superior, hero of the chapter

Disappearance

Sister Erilaphia Donatica was the Canoness Superior of the Order of the Obsidian Mirror, bearer of the Book of Ask'ent, a book supposedly written by Sebastien Thor on the nature of Daemons and the Warp, and holder of the Mirror of the Night, was visited one night, by strange figures. Their pale faces contrasted with their lurid clothes. They moved with ethereal grace. Donatica is reputed to have looked up from here desk, having been tirelessly studying the Book of Ask'ent, when the young Sister informed her of the visitors. Donatica is said to have been irritated by the interruption, but when she saw the figures, she went white. The lead figure is said to have declared, in slightly halting Gothic, "We shall perform the Dance. Then you will come with us."

The performance was beautiful, and all were entranced by the fluid movements of these visitors. when it was over, the leader beckoned to Donatica. Donatica grimaced, her legendary stubbornness and loyalty to her sisters nearly overcoming her curiosity. But, as she left with the figures, she said "Fear not sisters, I will return. nothing will stop me."

Molyotov Samsonova

Legendary Field agent, known for her fondness for explosions, playing the femme fatale in infiltration missions and cybernetic eye.

Canoness Alzbeta Batoriova

Leads the military wing and is known for her bloody and ruthless tactics. She is sometimes known as the Bloody Canoness.

Sister Superior Grushenka Doevstoy

Head of the intelligence division of the Order of the Obsidian Mirror, Sister Superior Grushenka Doevstoy is a spymaster with few peers. She regularly engages in shadow wars with the enemies of the Imperium that are never heard of. Her's is a life bereft of fame or glory, but her victories end enemies before they even become threats. Although her presence on the battlefield is rare, when she takes to the field, she does so with ominous grace, carrying her Laud Hailer of Terror to remind the enemy that there is no mercy and no hope before the sisters of the Obsidian Mirror.

Writefaggotry

These are just place holding titles, feel free to change them if its your stuff

Think On Your Sins

Subcommander Tybalt adjusted his lapel pin one final time before stepping out onto the podium. As much as he was concerned for Baltae’s health, Lord Baltae, despite being the popular figure head of the faith, was less the people person. Tybalt, on the other hand, relished the crowd. He looked out at the masses, and up at the monument of faith, newly completed behind him. He felt a surge of joy at the thought of his eternal master and the majesty of the holy one.

“My friends, Mordrii, brethren. Today we have completed a great step in securing the domain of he who lords over all. Today we have taken another step in our crusade. What is behind me is not simply the largest icon of faith ever constructed in our system, but also the a key component of the planetary defense grid. With it, we are now safe from Imperial reprisal. Our Lord Khorne watches over us from his skull throne.

Death to the False Emperor! Blood for the bloo...”

The cry died on his lips as the blood drained from his face. The voxes set up in the square before the icon of the bloody one began an earsplitting shriek. The screens behind him went static. Frantically Tybalt made motions to cut the feed, but it was too late.

On the screens appeared the aquilla, the shrieks of the voxes resolved into a baritone “Think on your sins”.

Silence.

The feeds turned to shots of the icon from the air, though Tybalt could see no aircraft in the area. “Think on your sins,” resounded a second time, before a bell tolled.

There was a horrendous explosion behind Tybalt, who turned to see the icon’s floors beginning to collapse upon themselves.

The next few hours were a fiasco. The broadcast had been seen worldwide. Resistance movements were suddenly again active in regions thought pacified. Or perhaps they had been, he thought, remembering the piles of heads he’d had made. The fear of death had quelled the partisans, but now they seemed to wish it. They threw themselves at the military, as if to exhaust bullets with bodies. Reports were coming in that regional commanders were going missing or being found headless, the sign of the aquilla carved into their bodies. As a result, it was with great gladness that Tybalt got into bed, a respite for a few hours. The reprisals would gladden the blood god. It was then that he noticed a lump on the bed. He squinted at it. Baltae’s lifeless eyes stared up at him.

“Think on your sins.”

Xeno Relations

The water caste diplomat had been sitting in the café for longer than he thought he would, his contact form the imperial bulk grain transport was late but not extremely so. This was how he served the Tau Empire, meeting with riffraff and space trash, gleaning tidbits of information about shipping patterns, commodities shortages, troop movements and fleet postures. Paying informers and sneaks, men who were motivated by petty greed rather than the Greater Good. This man had sent a message through channels saying he had something big and demanding ten times his normal payment, and now the man had the gall to be late. Slightly enraged, the tau emissary beckoned for the server to order another drink, as he did so he noticed the three women entering the restaurant. They were seemingly not different from the thousands of spacers coming and going on the space station but something slightly unnerved him about them. Again beckoning for the server the Tau stopped mid-gesture as two of the women moved to cover the exits while the third made a direct path for him. “Good afternoon Xeno, we have much to discuss”

Subject H

Sister Yketrina managed to leave the cell and seal the door behind her before her shock overtook her and she sunk to the floor, incredulous and, though she’d never admit it, terrified.

From when they’d captured Subject H, she’d known that they were gazing into the depths, but she’d fallen into the obsidian pool of unwanted knowledge.

She’d been part of the Divisio Hydra operation that had captured Subject H, remembered the elation. It had been the first successful operation in the three centuries of attempts and the particular mission had taken years and involved hundreds of agents, infiltrators, false double agents, and analysts. The only other operation of similar difficulty was the on-going Operation Lion, but that was only because the former 1st Legion was so guarded and powerful. Fighting the Hydra, on the other hand, was layer upon layer of subterfuge, and even then the enemy usually was able to commit suicide before they could be questioned.

It had taken months of work to get anything out of him but ‘I am Alpharius’, new techniques adapted from interrogating the cultists to get details of the cell. But even then, she couldn’t shake the feeling that something was being held back, so onwards Yketrina pushed. She convinced him that 2 and 2 was 5, that there were five lights on the ceiling. She began getting bits of personal life, childhood memories, stories of operations long past in a stream of babbling from the nearly broken rogue astartes, but still there was something Subject H was hiding.

It had taken a while to find compounds that would interfere with the astartes nervous system, but they’d finally done it. At first she’d been afraid that they’d not work, so slowly did they take effect. Then came the wild sounds of hallucination and then did she begin the interrogation. It was slow going, but the truthseer acknowledged that boundary was gone. She wasn’t sure what she’d expected, but it had certainly not been this:

“It was for The Emperor, it has always been for The Emperor.”

Operation Black Fist

Operation Black Fist as it was titled, was one of the greatest achievements of the Order. With Canoness Donatica having only recently left with some Eldar Harlequins, the order was in dire need of new leadership to grasp the reigns, and a new achievement to show they could survive without their believed canoness.

Upon the Canoness' departure, the young Doevstoy was searching through the information gathered by their spying servitors, servitors specially designed to overhear whisperings of potential opponents to the Emperor. She happened upon several hundred servitors that were no longer responding. Upon further investigation, she learned that these Servitors were on a planet, called Yltosis. Yltosis was a minor planet of no real relevance. However, it was not to far from the planet Damnos, and this loss of Servitors and the proximity to Damnos set off warning bells in Doevstoy's head. Quickly she relayed the information to the Council that had taken Donatica's place. Action was taken. Molyotov Samsonova was to lead a force of 100 Sisters into the world, and to uncover as much as possible. If it was indeed a Tomb world, then the local Guard and Astartes were to be called. Another Tomb World rising could not be allowed. Yltosis was a quiet Agri-world, with one small city in the south-west. However, upon close inspection, and finding the location of the destroyed servitors, a horrifying discovery was made. Catacombs. Huge catacombs. They were a mere 20 metres below the surface, yet they covered every cube foot down from there. The numbers were uncountable. Sleeping Warriors, Dormant wraiths, an inactive Lord. The Sisters had found something much worse then had been expected. This Tomb World held more than Damnos. Time was short. The local Astartes were alerted, and began to head over. But Sister Samsonova would not rest and let others carry out The Emperors work. With here followers, she entered the Tomb, and found the database. The database was where every single Necron, warrior, Immortal, even the overlord himself, was stored, waiting for a body. They were phased out, and the database would continue to be used as a place to ensure that the lessons learned would not be lost in death. Samsonova began to use her special training, and began to corrupt the database. It was not easy. Technology from the Dark age, viruses, the power of the Omnissiah, all were used in a futile attempt to damage the minds of the still sleeping Necrons. Eventually though, after over a week of non-stop trying, something gave way. It was her. She grew so frustrated by the highly advanced encryptions that gave a new order. Find the Overlord, the Lords, and as many Immortals as possible. Once that is done, destroy the bodies. Totally. The dumbstruck sisters carried out the orders, finding and destroying the Bodies of Living Metal so totally, that even microscopes couldn't find them. Samsonova meanwhile had a new plan. She grabbed her melta bombs, which she carried with her on principal, pulled out her chainsword, and hacked her way into the database. She then, once at the heart of the huge constructio, began placing the bombs down. Carefully. Precisely. If this went slightly wrong, instead of wiping out the Tomb world, the entire Force would awaken. Escaping the slowly recovering shell, she ordered her sisters to the surface. Once there, she detonated. Instantly, the Melta bombs ruptured the database. The warehouse above caved in from the heat, molten slag pouring through the hole in the floor. The database flashed and exploded, incinerating thousands of humans and necrons alike. The smoke was so thick, that the Sisters couldn't see each other. Once it had cleared, the ruined warehouse and database were seen to have fused. The damage done was incredible. The entire Tomb world was corrupted, and the Spyders soon consumed the few surviving warriors, before consuming each other, due to corrupted drives.

Quotes

"Knowledge is power. The tool through which we obtain that power is the question. When used in the right place, at the right time, by the right hands with the right effort it's rewards are immeasurable. When used without responsibility, without restraint, and without training, it can only spell disaster."

"The difference between beneficial inquisition, idle curiosity, and malicious doubt is one beyond the ken of most men and women. To deny those precious few who can is to deny the Inquisition the tools of its trade."

"Just as there are many types of ores, there are many types of faithful. For many, when heated by fervor and then quenched by curiosity, they become brittle and crumble. There are those, however, that become stronger and sharper for their trials when quenched. It is these souls that can be tempered into the weapons of our Order."

Tabletop Rules

Homebrew rules for your gaming pleasure, courtesy of /tg/ Codex Supplement - Faith Militant.

Order Conviction: Blessed Terror

Masters of psychological; warfare, the sisters of the Obsidian Mirror destroy their foe's will to fight, forcing them to flee before the righteous Sisters Militant.

DIALOGUS units in an ORDER OF THE OBSIDIAN MIRROR detachment gain the ORDER OF THE OBSIDIAN MIRROR keyword. Enemy units that take a Morale test within 6” of a unit with this conviction must roll an additional D6, dropping the lowest result. In addition, if an enemy unit flees in the Morale phase, you gain a Miracle die.

Stratagem: From The Shadows

The sisters of the Martyred Heart often send strike teams behind enemy lines to strike at an opportune moment; the better to sow discord in the enemy ranks.

This Stratagem costs 1-3 Command Points. Use this Stratagem during deployment. If you spend 1 CP, you can set up one ORDER OF THE OBSIDIAN MIRROR INFANTRY unit from your army in concealment instead of placing it on the battlefield. If you spend 3 CPs, you can set up two such units in concealment instead. A unit deployed in this manner can arrive at the end of any of your Movement phases – set it up anywhere on the battlefield that is more than 9" from any enemy models. This Stratagem can only be used once per battle.

Warlord Trait: Wise Foresight

This leader expertly interprets intelligence reports, and often knows their enemy's next move before they themselves know it.

After deployment, but before the start of the first battle round, if this Warlord is on the battlefield, you may redeploy D3 of your ORDER OF THE OBSIDIAN MIRROR units.

Relic: The Visum Mortis

The alien species known as the Hrud appear as naught but shadows, and are nigh-impossible to detect by visual or technological means. When their liquefied remains are inserted into this device, it creates a dark mist which coats those nearby, granting them a measure of the Hrud's natural stealth. As the Hrud are notoriously difficult to hunt, no one knows how the sisters of the Obsidian Mirror always seem to have more cadavers to load into the Visum Mortis, and the uncertain nature of its origins is considered one more reason for the Adeptus Ministorum's mistrust of the Obsidian Mirror.

ORDER OF THE OBSIDIAN MIRROR model only. Once per battle, at the start of any of your Movement phases, you may declare that a model from your army with this relic is activating the Visum Mortis. Remove this model and up to one ORDER OF THE OBSIDIAN MIRROR INFANTRY unit within 6” of it from the battlefield. At the end of your next Movement phase, these units are redeployed anywhere on the battlefield that is more than 9" from any enemy model. The Visum Mortis cannot be activated if there are any enemy models within 6” of the bearer or any other unit you intend to remove with them.

Original Rolls

The Order's colors

Created using the Sisters of Battle Order Creation Tables.

Order Originator: Order Dialogus, Daughters of the Order of the Ebon Chalice

Purpose of Founding: Oddly enough, for a crusade.

Order Flaw: Bad Ecclesiarch Relations

Order Demeanour: No Mercy, No Respite.

Figure of Legend: Canoness Superior Erilaphia Donatica, who is missing but shall someday return!

Order Homeworld: The arctic Shrine World of Zimovkiysk II.

Influence Over Homeworld: Noticeable Influence; the Order advises the local government and Arbites, but rarely condescend to interfering with day-to-day affairs of the world.

Order Organization: Unique Organization; The Order primarily consists of Sisters Dialogus and specialized agents (which are roughly analogous to Inquisitorial acolytes) who specialize in gathering intelligence and neutralizing potential threats before they have the chance to become realized. Their militant arm is small and extremely mobile, placing little importance on holding territory or traditional military objectives.

Order Strategy: Terror combat doctrine; sisters of the Obsidian Mirror usually drop in using stealth jump packs, neutralizing their targets with ruthless efficiency and retreating before the enemy even knows something is wrong. Most of the time, the only evidence of a Obsidian Order attack is when the morning guards arrive at their posts to find their comrades dead and officers or intel missing. These raids also commonly leave booby-trapped corpses behind to further sow paranoia in their wake. On the rare occasion that they take to the field as a full military force, the Battle Sisters of the Obsidian Order are usually accompanied by Sisters Dialogous, who use their Laud Hailers to demoralize the enemy.

Order Divergence/Special Equipment: Modified Jump Packs; the Order uses special jump packs fitted with suppressors to limit the amount of light and sound generated by their use.

Order Method of Worship: Honour the Heroine; the Sisters of the Order look to the memory and writings of the shrewd Erilaphia Donatica for guidance.

Order Size: The Order is at full strength, though, due to their secretive and unorthodox nature, few outside of the Order know what their full strength truly is.

Order Allies: The Order maintains strong relations with the Adeptus Arbites and the Inquisition.

Order Enemies: The Order has an ancient, almost traditional enmity with the Alpha Legion, and the forces of Chaos in general, although the insidious Black Caste of the Tau Empire is rapidly proving itself to be an equally worthy foe. Additionally, the Sisters of the Obsidian Mirror are looked upon with distrust by the Ecclesiarchy at large, and they have extremely few Ministorum agents in their service as a result.

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