Order of the Sacred Grove

"Sisters! The slit-nosed xenos scum are coming for us! They come to kill us and maintain their infection of this beautiful world. Look to the trees. Look to your wargear. In the Emperor's name, burn them to ashes! Burn their ashes to smaller ashes! Are you ready? Then go and kill!"

- Anonymous Sister Superior rallying the troops during the Cytherian Campaign.

The Order of the Sacred Grove is an Adepta Sororitas minor Ordo Militant founded in 678.M39. Founded in memory of the nameless billions that supported the Imperium's war effort rather than one specific individual, the Order is less famous than many due to its lack of a venerated figure to associate with and its small number. It is associated with the Order Prioris but is based on the Shrine World of Gacontay, which itself doubles as an Agri World. The Order has 2000 members.

Doctrine
The Order sees itself as a protector of the rural worlds of the Imperium, be they Agri, Garden, or Paradise. The fact that the latter two planet types are usually a great place to relax and unwind are not a factor in this decision, officially. Agri Worlds are vital to the Imperium as they produce the food that many worlds cannot. This makes them a favoured target for enemies seeking to undermine the Imperium, while many are easy targets due to their lack of fighting strength. The Order of the Sacred Grove resolves to keep such worlds alive and while they cannot protect every world, they will fight to the death to ensure the survival of any planet they are stationed on. To honour this commitment, the Sisters wear predominantly green armour. They also wear red cloaks and blue shoulder pads to reflect the diverse nature of plant life in the Imperium. In many environments, this pattern also serves as camoflague. However, Sisters are insistent that their colour scheme is not camoflague. The Order is less strict than many others and tends to resent outside interference. It will work with others but does not like any meddling with its internal affairs. Those who do try to interfere are often found burnt to death, apparently in accidents. The Order believes that to protect the farmers and gardens of the Imperium, it has to know them, and so permits some limited fraternisation with native populations, though Sisters are ordered not to be over-friendly or hostile. The Sisters of the Order therefore project a rather aloof image, as they try to understand the local populations yet remain separate from them. Most native populations do not have a problem with this, as the Order's protection makes up for any incidents that do occur.

However, if the Order discovers a heretic or indeed any form of traitor to the Imperium, they are as vicious as any other agent of the Ecclesiarchy. Many of those sentenced to death are dealt with on the spot, but some are taken back to Gacontay to be tortured and killed in the Agri World's environment. Some are poisoned by fungi spores, others fall into lakes of acid, and some suffer even worse fates. As the Order believes that Agri Worlds are sacred instruments that are overlooked, any discovery of an enemy within is met with a feeling of betrayal. Others are convered into Arco-Flagellants, condemned to spent the rest of their life as a murderous living weapon. It has been noted that the Order is sometimes more brutal towards heretics from rural worlds than other Imperial organisations, to the point that several Ecclesiarchs have expressed concerns that the Order may actually be a bit too zealous in its approach. As a result, the Ecclesiarchy sometimes stations other units with the Order, such as Confessors and Crusaders, to keep an eye on the Order and moderate their approach, in an unusual role reversal. However, some of these individuals are just as fanatical and the overall result is just the same.

Tactics
Similar to the Catachan Jungle Fighters, the Order of the Sacred Grove prefers to fight in dense vegetation, such as forests, but is willing and able to fight in any environment. In light of this, the Sisters use a relatively large number of Flamers, more so than even other Order Militant units. They are also fond of ambushes and guerilla warfare, but as their power armour and wargear are more suited to direct combat, they are always ready to close with the enemy and see the fear in the eyes of the heretic or the alien. Some Canonesses and Palatines prefer to engage in direct combat immediately, but  these are rare. When in forests or other terrain, the Sisters either secure their cloaks to their armour or remove them altogether to avoid it snagging or getting damaged. The Order's focus on guerilla and ambush warfare means that it does not usually employ Laud Hailer. While these sonic weapons can devastate enemy resolve and inspire the Sisters to greater deeds, they also give away the position of the caster. The Order also uses machetes and close combat weapons designed for jungle use, such as replica Catachan Fangs.

Although the Order is eager to punish heretics and sinners, it does not possess any Penitent Engines since putting down a heretical rebellion in 456.M40. While it has asked for some to be built, the consignment was lost in a warp storm. To compensate for this, the Order been authorised to use a large number of Arco-Flagellants as a substitue way of punishing those who have turned from the Emperor's light. However, the inability to deploy a walker vehicle with flamer weapons has meant that the Sisters have to use either flamer equipped infantry or Immolators in all cases, which has proved detrimental in some cases. Some members have suggested that the Order could use the Sentinel walkers of the Imperial Guard as a stopgap, but the Order believes it is inappropriate to use non-standard Sororitas vehicles, especially when the Guard need them more. It has also been pointed out that Sentinels need a loyal, healthy pilot, so are not suitable substitutes for Penitent Engines. As this situation has persisted for nearly a century, however, some members believe that Penitent Engines are no longer needed and the Order should focus on what it has. Indeed, the Mechanicus points out that other Orders need the walkers more, since they are engaged in heavier fighting, and so they have priority.

Notable Engagements

 * 253.M40-  A detachment of Order encountered the Ork Warlord Kogoz while stationed on the Garden World of Robocu. The realists of the Order knew that 70 Sisters could not hope to hold the line against a full Ork holy war alone, but also realised that the paltry PDF regiments would be just as hopeless. After ordering the Governor to send a distress signal, the Sisters retreated to the woods and groves of the north-east continent, where the majority of the Waaagh!'s transport craft had landed. The Sisters harrassed the Orks for weeks, killing Nobs and Warbosses whenever one tried to penetrate the wooded areas of the world. Flames and bolt rounds killed Ork upon Ork, while the greenskins were sought out the Sisters as each Ork hoping for status aimed to take them out and bring the severed heads back. Eventually, Big Mek Sacnew pinpointed a Repentia squad's hideout using his newly developed Kustom 'Eet Sensor and teleported himself and several Flash Gitz into a cavern deep in the forests. Sacnew quickly killed all the Repentia and interrogated the Mistresses for information on the rest of the detachment. However, the Mistresses committed suicide at the earliest chance rather than betray their comrades. Even if they had not died, they would not have been able to help the xenos as they genuinely did not know the locations of the other members of Order. Eventually, Kogoz decided to pull back from the rest of the planet to concentrate on finding and killing the humans who were killing Orks in the hundreds. The rest of Robocu wasn't much of a challenge anyway, the defenders being rather puny and predictable. Apart from a few rebellious Nobs, the entire Waaagh! descended on the forests of the north-east continent, though Kogoz had ruled out orbital bombardment as he claimed "I want to see these humie gits thrashed up close, good & proper. Ya hear me, ya useless grotz?" With millions of greenskins, including Squiggoths, coming after them, the Sisters prepared for one last stand as they knew that they were all about to be martyred in the Emperor's name, barring a miracle. As Mega-Armoured Nobs and Flash Gitz led the charge, Sisters fell by the dozen, but the detachment refused to yield. Palatine Quenda and some of her Celestians held the line in front of an ancient vox-station, ready to take the Orks with her as she breathed her last. It was at that moment that drop pods of the Deathwatch Space Marines and 5 regiments of the Imperial Guard landed on the planet, guided by the vox-station, and pushed the Orks back. Quenda and her surviving comrades were relieved of duty and sent up to the Space Marine cruiser above Robocu, after one of the last Sisters scored a lucky shot with her meltagun that killed Kogoz. The Sisters were credited with saving the other continents of the world by forcing the Orks to concentrate on them and also for killing many of the Waaagh!'s elites.
 * 842.M40- 500 Sisters joined an unofficial crusade to purge a Chaos Cult known as Ebb and Flow. The Tzeentchian group had seized control of several systems in Segmentum Pacificus and the Ecclesiarchy & the Inquisition aimed to take back all the worlds lost before the group could seize even one more planet. As the High Lords of Terra were taking too long to respond, the Ecclesiarchy and the Ordo Hereticus decided to bypass them. This meant that the crusade was not as strong as it could have been or, in the view of some, actually legal. As per their speciality, the Sisters landed on the Jungle World of Gargarea and flushed the Cultists out. Leaving the world, the Sisters were assigned to the Hive World of Achara. Although Achara's terrain was not the sort the Order was suited to, the Sisters resolved to bring the light of the Golden Throne back to the world anyway. While the Imperial Guard contigents launched blitzkrieg assaults and the Space Marines took vital communication and armoury sites, the Sisters cut off Gargarea's food supply. However, the Sisters took the brunt of an assault by a group of Horrors and Screamers that materialised amongst them. Many Sisters were wounded and some killed by the Daemons but Canoness Xitang's Acts of Faith blinded the enemy and allowed the Sisters to banish them back to the Warp.
 * 753.M41- The Order aids the Catachan Jungle Fighters trapped on Cytheria. The Catachan main force had been defeated by the Tau during their Third Sphere Expansion, with only a few units left. The resolute fighters had been carrying out guerrila attacks on the Tau in the hope that the Imperium would send a force to rescue them, retake the world, or both. Additionally, the world was a vital Mechanicus research facility. 1000 Sisters, half the Order, and several agents of the Ordo Xenos (e.g. Eversor Assasins) travelled to Cytheria to aid both the Guard regiment that inspired them. They also hoped that retaking the Mechanicus facility would get the nearest Forge World to finally deliver the Penitent Engines they wanted. Joining up with various Catachan groups, equivalent to one regiment out of the original seven, the Sisters aimed to cut off the Tau supply lines and retake the facility. However, their green armour, normally an aid to camoflague, made them stand out in the red flora of some parts of the planet, allowing Tau Pathfinders and Sniper Drones the chance to pick them off. However, the Sisters countered this by deploying Rhinos and Immolators to provide enhanced protection to their comrades. Any infantry still on foot wrapped their red cloaks over their armour to blend in better. Inspired by the fact the Imperium had not forgotten them and that many of the Tau's heavy fighting vehicles had left the planet, the Jungle Fighters launched an offensive and killed several Ethereals scattered around the planet. The Tau, although desperate to avenge the fallen leaders, found themselves drawn towards the Order, finding them an unusual intermediary between the relatively normal Guard and the powerful Space Marines. The Order's armour units eventually broke into the Herzen Ridge communications facility. Meanwhile, the Order's transport, the Inquisitorial Black Ship Scuta and its support fleet, attacked Tau colony ships around the planet and stood by to provide air support.Together, they retook the planet and left it ready for resettlement by the Mechanicus.

Notable Members

 * Quenda Kalis- This Sister became famous for her efforts to draw the Ork invasion's attention to her rather than the rest of Robocu. She was deployed as a Sister Superior commanding a Dominion Squad. Promoted to Palatine following the death of her commanding officer, she coordinated the last stand against Kogoz's horde, where she transferred herself to a Celestian Squad, as befitting her new title. Following her escape from Robocu, she wrote about her time on the world and made several suggestions about how to deal with future similar attacks.
 * Xitang- A prominent Canoness. A rather average student from the Scholae Progenium, she was assigned to the Order of the Sacred Grove, with the school administrators jibing that she'd be suited working with 'simple, rustic types'. She led a rather unremarkable career until she took part in a minor operation on a heretical hive world (the name of which has been lost). The Order was working alongside the Black Templars and a complaint was made by Initiate Yanus about Xitang's behaviour. Yanus described how Xitang sometimes got way too close to him and said some rather off-putting statements, which made him feel that he either had to report her or deal with the matter himself. He chose the former, as he wasn't sure what was going on and didn't want to risk killing a faithful warrior of the Emperor over something he didn't understand. Canoness Leah recognised the behaviour as harrassment and found that Yanus wasn't the only one Xitang had approached. She sentenced Xitang to time in the Repentia. During her time with other sinners, Xitang managed to prove herself worthy of forgiveness by engaging several Traitor Guard Stormtroopers at great risk to herself in order to allow the rest of her squad to withdraw and regroup. Eventually, Xitang was allowed back into the main Order and gained several awards and promotions. Once promoted to Canoness, she volunteered to join the crusade against Ebb and Flow. During this mission, she bemoaned the Order's lack of Penitent Engines numerous times and has since been among the most vocal commanders demanding that the Order does something about the problem.

Allies

 * Catachan Jungle Fighters- The Order of the Sacred Grove has always had a rather mixed relationship with the legendary warriors of the jungle. Some Catachans view the Order as an amusing imitation, others see it as a compliment to their methods by the Ecclesiarchy. Certainly, the forests and fields of Gacontay are a lot less dangerous than the jungles & rainforests of Catachan, with many Jungle Fighters visiting Gacontay commenting that the Sisters should try training on their world if they want to be anything like them. The Order has taken the suggestion seriously and Sister of Battle units sometimes visit Catachan for training. As for what the Sisters think of the Jungle Fighters, some see them as an inspiration, others see them as an unclean rabble who have been blessed by the Emperor to carry out grunt work but nothing more. However, all Sisters treat the Jungle Fighters with respect, though whether the Jungle Fighters reciprocate is a matter for individual Catachans. It should be noted that as the Scholae Progenium takes in the orphans of all fallen Imperial military personnel, some Sisters are themselves descended from Catachans, which both increases the bond between the groups and led to some adoption of Catachan customs and values within the Order.
 * Adeptus Mechanicus- Although the Sisters view the rural worlds of the Imperium as vital, they recognise that the Mechanicus has a vital role to play. Unlike some other Orders, members of the Sacred Grove will gladly fight alongside the Mechanicus without reservation. However, the failiure by the Mechanicus to deliver vital Penitent Engines has led to some resentment amongst the members of Order who have to take unecessary risks when a condemened sinner could have taken their place. Some of the Sisters who have a less favourable view of the Mechanicus include Canonesses and Palatines, which could lead to a less friendly relationship in future.

Enemies

 * WAAAGH! Kogoz- As stated, the Sisters fought to defend the Garden World of Robocu from the Orks. The Order has a grudge against Orks as a result and has been known to choose to engage the xenos rather than human heretics when given the choice.
 * Tau Empire- When stationed in the east of the Galaxy, all members of the Order know that the bovine xenos filth known as the Tau seek to spread their unholy existence to every planet they can lay their hands on. This came to a head during the Cytheria mission, where several Sisters captured and tortured a Tau Etheral to death. They recorded this incident and broadcasted it all over the planet. As a result, the Tau decided to focus on killing the Sisters rather than the Catachans, the effect the Order and the Jungle Fighters had hoped for.