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Utharian Factions: Sisters of Solace

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Imperial Guard:


Blue Tigers
The Kings Own Rifles

Adepta Sororitas:

The Red Tear
Sisters of Solace


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Bio:


The Sisters of Solace, officially titled "Las Monjas de Santa Johanna" (The Sisters of Saint Johanna), are an elite order of combat medics in the Utharian military.

Uthar has been a star system at war for as long as any being amongst the stars can remember. In its most recent aeon, it was a nesting ground for countless ork tribes for millennia until its recent and accidental discovery by Imperial Astropaths. Since then, after a crushingly successful conquest against the ork worlds, the Imperium-loyal Utharian Monarchy holds a firm grip on this tiny cluster of worlds. A grip that many would see loosen. From persistent pockets of ork tribes, to separatists, to alien pirates, to an apocalyptic invasion by the Ruinous Powers, Uthar's military has never been at rest long. Amongst the countless scores of dead is an equally countless score of wounded, and thus grew an ever-rising need for skilled medical staff.

It was very early in Uthar's Imperial history that a displaced convent of non-militant sisters found its way to the system. This small but faithful band of cloisters were not even a blip on the radar until a fateful encounter. Their tiny, secluded monastery found itself in the centre of a battlefield, as Utharian loyalists set out to crush one of the Royal Crowns many would-be usurpers. The sisters, who, in their isolation, had practised and mastered a self-taught medical art amongst themselves, came to the medical aid of the loyalists. Impressed by the mountain of wounded they were able to rescue over the course of the battle, the loyalist commander drafted them into Royal Army.

Since then, their breakthroughs in medicine and their exotic techniques have spread across Uthar. Yet in all their many years of servitude, no doctor could ever seem to match them in the craft. Their order grew ever in number as the decades went by, as did the demand for them. Soon, nearly every detachment of the Royal Army had the Sisters of Solace working in their medical bays and field hospitals. They achieved somewhat of a legendary status amongst the Utharian people; and the number of both civilians and soldiers that could owe their lives to them grew larger by the day. The order became a cultural symbol across the system, and was the centre of a great deal of folk tales, art, propaganda, and even sexual fetishism amongst some less dignified rings of culture.

It was after the invasion of Epherium Wretch that the Sisters of Solace began combat training many of their members. The need for elite medics on the battlefield was horrifyingly high, and so was the need for soldiers. They were a tremendous boon to the dwindling morale of the Imperial defenders, and the sight of their blue robes and white armour plates were like a sign from Saint Casta herself to wounded men.

Despite their militarization, they never broke from their age-old traditions. Each sister elected into the order is given a new name, and learns the native language of their original home world. Despite the great deal of romanticism (and sometimes fetishism) the Utharian people have for the Sisters of Solace, they are, in actuality, strictly chaste. They are also in excellent physical condition, both from their expert medicinal techniques and from their harsh fitness and training regimes. There has never been an unhealthy sister amongst them. Because of their superb health, they have been known to serve in the military for incredibly long periods of time; before either dying or becoming too old and returning to their monasteries to train new recruits. The longest serving member to date is Sister Superior Lucía (pictured above), who is over 183 terran years old without genetic modifications, and has over 58 confirmed kills (one of which was a chaos space marine) and saved over 982 lives. She has earned the nickname "Everyone's Mother" amongst Imperial Guardsmen for her motherly attitude and unflinching vigilance in her duty as a field medic.

Yet veteran sisters like Lucía have become less and less in number since the Epherium War, as the conflict's death toll climbs ever higher. The majority of the sisters seen on the battlefield are of a much younger caste, and just like every other Imperial faction in Uthar since the invasion, few ever live long enough to see their 30th year.

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Factions of Uthar, part 4.
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Comments3
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Cyberheinrich's avatar

Not gonna lie, I was concerned when I saw their name. 🙂 Jokes aside, it's a great name, and your art is very good. Great to see an older Sister, and the blue/white combo is great: works particularly well for a Hospitaller order turned militant. The write-up is good and fits well in canon. All around very nice work.