Marcia Hrodberht

Marcia Hrodberht was a Confessor operating in the late 41st millenium and one of those Ecclesiarchs who have had the honour (and misfortune) of serving alongside the Order of the Sacred Grove.

"I will divide you by zero."

- Marcia's favourite threat. It makes sense to her and a few mathematicians.

Laspistol
Marcia is of the opinion that she is no more important than any other citizen of the Imperium. Therefore, her standard sidearm is a standard pattern laspistol. In case a more substantial argument is required, Marcia will point out that many successful Imperial Guard officers and commissars only use the laspistol as a firearm and are very successful. She also adds that it is easier to get spare parts for a laspistol than for hellguns and bolt pistols.

Inferno Pistol
In case something more threatening than a laspistol is required, such as when confronting a tank, Marcia carries an Inferno Pistol. She sees no contradiction between the opinion stated above and this. Indeed, soldiers of the Cadian 91st all carry laspistols, but some receive more dangerous weapons. The Inferno Pistol proved especially useful when working with the Order of the Sacred Grove as that particular Sororitas group favours heat & flame weapons when operating in dense vegetation.

Stake Crossbow
On occasions, Marcia has had to deal with rogue psykers. For this purpose, she carries a weapon devastating to those touched by the Warp. It also acts as a longer ranged weapon that the above two items.

Powersword
Marcia has received training in hand-to-hand combat. She uses the power sword due to its anti-armour ability and because it looks less complicated to her than a chainsword. The anti-armour ability also compensates for her own questionable fighting skills.

Flak Armour
Again, Marcia prefers to use only what the lowliest citizen gets. She wears her flak armour under her clothes, while sometimes adding a Rosarius as a reinforcement.

Grenades
Marcia often carries frag grenades when going to a warzone. She has expressed a wish to carry psyk-out grenades but has not yet had the opportunity.

Clothing
Marcia's time as a breeding slave required her to wear a long dress and a bonnet. This restricted her movements and her vision. After her liberation, she chose to retain this style as she did not have her own tastes yet. She adapted this outfit with tool belts, armour, and sensor gear. However, this is not always the most practical of outfits in such a hostile galaxy. When the time comes, she will change into an outfit similar to that of the Cadian Shock Troopers: tough, practical, and no-nonsense. Occasionally, she will merge the two styles. She adapts her colours to fit in with the group she is posted with. If they wear purple with yellow spots (a Rogue Trader operating in Segmentum Obscurus), she wears purple with yellow spots. If they wear camouflage, she wears camouflage.

Acts of Faith
Marcia has two notable abilities she believes was granted to her by the Emperor.

Filibuster
A variant of the Holy Edict. Like the usual Act of Faith, this is a pronouncement of judgement that can stun or confuse an enemy, preventing them from doing anything for a few moments. However, Marcia can extend this by speaking for ages non-stop. On one occassion, she caused several mobs of Ork Nobz to grind to a halt as she gave them a lecture on lichen and symbiotic fungi, much to the amazement of both sides of the battle. This does not work on machines but should be able to disrupt the thought processes of most living beings. However, such an Act is also very distracting for Marcia and can leave her vulnerable unless she has backup.

Floccinaucinihilipilification
This High Gothic word roughly translates as 'The action or habit of estimating something as worthless'. Marcia can trick enemies into underestimating either her own or someone else's abilities. For example, she once convinced a squad of Striking Scorpions that they would be charging Scout Marines. In fact, they were attacking Assault Terminators. By the time the Scorpions realised their error, most of them were dead. However, this Act requires a lot of mental concentration and will break down once something is done that compromises the illusion.

Familiy

 * Due to her former status as a breeding slave, Marcia gave birth to a daughter before her liberation. This girl, called Rani, was sent away by the Janitor to stop her getting in the way. Rani has since become a clerk in the Departmento Munitorum but has never actually met her mother again.
 * Some time after, Marcia had another daughter, whom she named Zahara. It is not known who the father is, though many suspect the Janitor. Zahara has since settled on the Jungle World of Gargarea. When the Chaos Cult known as Ebb and Flow seized control, Zahara fought back and worked with her mother when the Order of the Sacred Grove arrived and joined them on Achara, the nearby Hive World. However, Zahara was killed by a Horror, an event that enraged the Order so much that it exterminated the entire city block she died in.
 * Finally, Marcia has had one son, Tirak, who was born during her time with the Armageddon Steel Legion. Again, the father is unknown, though one particular Commissar was known to have been close friends with her. Unfortunately, Tirak chose to join the Tau Empire, believing it to be the most benevolent power of the galaxy. As a result, Marcia led a group composed of Battle Sisters, Vindicare Assassins, and Arco-Flagellants to hunt and kill him no matter what. They succeeded. Marcia has no regrets.

Coworkers
Marcia's relationship with her employers is usually good but some coworkers have reservations.
 * The Cardinal that supervised her training has said that appointing someone as a persecutor of enemies of the state when she herself once endured such torment could lead to accusations of hypocrisy that could undermine her work. Indeed, this has come up multiple times and is believed to be the reason she was assigned to the Order of the Sacred Grove. Since the Order has a very narrow mission statement, she would only be going to select rural worlds where the inhabitants may not have heard of her.
 * However, others claim that the above is nonsense. The Ecclesiarch who offered Marcia the position of Confessor says that Marcia's approach is not hypocritical and even if it was, it would not matter as she is a loyal servant of the Emperor. He claims that the reason Marcia was assigned to the Order was because she was the most devout person availiable at the time. None of these points-of-view have led to violene at any point but Marcia knows it is only a matter of time.

Other

 * Marcia has no time for long-term romantic relationships. Indeed, most people keep some distance from her and see only the Emperor's wrath. Despite this, she has had some short-term relationships, but only the brave approach her or are approached by her. During her time with the Guard, these were usually Commissars and other Priests. The Janitor's initial reports suggest that being constantly raped may have given Marcia a minor phobia of anything that could lead to sex.

By
"Right to be yourself? You can be anyone and anything you like, as long as you do as you're told."

- Marcia whenever a native asks about orientations, demographic issues, and popular culture.

"Innocent? You're wasting my time. If you have been brought to a Confessor, you must be guilty of something. There is no smoke without fire. Parking ticket?"

- Marcia after encountering a backlog of cases on Proa.

"How is the Imperium different from Jomral? In the Imperium, they hate you for who you are- heretics or workshy layabouts. On Jomral, they hate you for what you are- a woman who can read or a man who likes men."

- FAQ answer on scripture sheets Marcia takes with her. This question comes up so often that Marcia no longer answers it verbally.

About
"Doesn't she know that she is behaving no differently from her former oppressors?"

- Various heretical filth.