Saints of Iox

The glorious sector of the magnificently sacred Mankind that rules over the stars in His most sacred name, Iox, have had turbulent history. In the midst of the most turbulent times, shortly after the Supernova of Bassenheim Star, Crusade for Nightshores and the holy War of Faith that raged in the area, six inviduals in total ascended into sainthood and claimed their place beside the Emperor of Mankind.

The nature of the Ecclesiarchy's saints is delegant one and filled with bureaucratic politics and zealous faith, making a terrible whirlwind of edicts and declaration before any invidual is actually accepted by the Ecclesiarch as Saint of the Imperium. It is also worth of notion, that even if these people, who now are saints, were originally but a mere human beings, to even suggest such thing can be considered as a great heresy. For who would have the courage to claim Saint Seren on his or her own level? Such ignorance or pride deserves to be punished!

Much of the original information about the inviduals now seen as saints are suppressed by Ecclesiarchy and other Imperial authorities to keep the faith pure and zeal unquestionable.

Saint Seren
Sometimes referred to as the Lightbringer, Candleholder, Bride of Light and Dawn of the Nightshores. Saint Seren is in many ways the single most important character in the history of Iox sector. She is revered throughout the sector; from the low-life's of Lothringen-Eta's hives to the major characters of Adeptus Administratum. Commonly spelled with her byname "the Lightbringer".

Ascension
As it is written in the Litt Tenebras, book about Saint Seren and her ascension, Saint Seren was a canoness of the Adepta Sororitas Order of White Maiden in early M37. By the Imperial edict, that launched the crusade in 028.M37 the Order of White Maiden took part in it and acted as the ultimate shock troops of the crusade. Alongside White Tigers the Order achieved great victories and pushed their way into the heart of Nightshores. Still making further progress, the battlegroup's navigators were misguided by Ruinous Powers, and so the spearhead, adamantine tip of the crusade, ended upon the world of Nineteen-Eleven. This world was occupied by pre-Imperial tech-cults, anarchic and chaotic by nature and truly the enemies of the Imperium. So the spearhead did not hesitate and assaulted the world, but the Titans, long since fallen from the grace of Emperor, alongside the metal-humans driven by the Abominable Intelligence, broke the loyalists's spine and halted their attack.

This became known as the Catastrophe of Nineteen-Eleven and it truly was a catastrophe. Crusade's spearhead was broken, its now mangled tip resided on a world where the warmaster, Alois Carollon, could not get without correct coordinates and so the Sororitas, Astartes and Militarum forces were left without further support on the planet. Continuing their bitter fight against an enemy many times greater in numbers, the loyalists left on Nineteen-Eleven hopelessly tried to reach the crusade's High Command but in vain. It was then, when the Sororitas preceptory's canoness was slain in the fierce counter-attacks and it seemed like all hope was lost.

Alois Carollon tried to figure out a way to get to the spearhead. Most of the other forces of the crusade were already mobilised and waited for orders, but there was no way to contact the forces on Nineteen-Eleven. All their astropaths and long-range transmitters were lost or broken in the midst of the battles.

It was then, on the fifteenth day after the Catastrophe of Nineteen-Eleven, when Alois Carollon had a vision in the middle of the day. Falling into comatose, he witnessed how the Fallen Canoness brought a candle into the darkness and lit it. And it was so, that when Seren lit the black candle, Alois Carollon could see through the darkness and witnessed the horrifying demons and other abnormalities that surrounded him in the Sea of Souls. But he knew then, that he could not be harmed, because the argent wings of the Daughter of the Emperor protected him and so she led the warmaster to the Nineteen-Eleven, and all forces followed him.

Thus the crusading forces joined the fight on Nineteen-Eleven and the heretics of that toxic and filth ridden planet were destroyed. Shortly after the last battles were fought on Nineteen-Eleven, the Gathering of Hope assembled. It contained all major leaders of the crusade and the gathering's point was to decide whether to continue the crusade or halt it there. It was then, when Sain Seren appeared for the generals of the crusade. By her all conquering beauty, she blessed the generals and every one of them got a single feather of her snow white wings. She led the generals and the Imperial troopers across the Nineteen-Eleven, and where ever she went, the streams of toxic were cleansed, fields of radioactive garbage were nulled and the black sky became clear again, and so the Nineteen-Eleven became Saint Seren's Hope and what a beautiful planet it was. Before Seren disappeared from the realm of mortals, a tender kiss was given on the brow of the warmaster to bless his children and their children to ensure that great heroes such he were to overcome the threats of the far future.

Nature as Patron Saint
Saint Seren is the patron saint of the Order of White Maiden, she is the "Red Martyr of the Crusade (for Nightshores)" and therefore patron saint to the world Nineteen-Eleven (aka Saint Seren's Hope) and to the Seren sub-sector (aka Trail of Saint Seren) as a whole. Many Imperial missionaries, navigators, astropaths, prefects and inquisitors have also taken the Saint Seren as their personal patron saint, most notably the inquisitor Ceridwen Lothringen. It is also worth of mention, that the space marine chapter White Tigers honoured the Saint Seren so much, that they renamed their second battle barge after her.

She is also seen as patron saint of navigators, voidfarers, warp travelers and rogue traders. In ultimate she is depicted as "the Guardian of Astronomican", preserving the dwindling light of Astronomican within the Iox sector.

Non-Canonised Saints
A number of promising inviduals have lived in Iox sector that are referred as saints, even if they are not wholly canonised by the Ecclesiarchy. These are generally minor figures of certain regions of planets and even if they are seen as saints in the area, the Adeptus Ministorum does not adhere them as true saints of Imperium, having too little (or too controversial) impact upon the humankind.

Bl. Ceridwen Lothringen
An inquisitor, Master Hereticus and finally Grandmaster Iox, Ceridwen Lothringen lived and acted in the mid-M41 and had just and true reputation.

Ceridwen is to date the only person to whom the Saint Seren have appeared after the Gathering of Hope in 051.M37 and was therefore revered as Touched by the Saint and Lightbringer of Saint Seren during her lifetime. After her death she was however usually referred to as the Successor of the Lightbringer. In early 600.M41 a discussion about Ceridwen's own personal "saintness" was set into flames by Arch Cardinal of Saint Seren's Hope. She was finally revered as "Venerated" in 621.M41 and when the case was brought into light again in 650.M41 she received a title of "Blessed" (Bl.). The Holy Synod has however denied Ceridwen's canonisation for at least three times (655. 691. and 790.M41) due various reasons. She however stays forever as the Successor of the Lightbringer and one chapel is built in her honour on Saint Seren's Hope.