Chapter 1 : Second Life

"I offer my life to the Emperor, I pray that he accepts it. I offer my strength to the Emperor, I pray that he straightens it... I offer my body on the battlefield altar, I pray that he will grant me a noble death. I pray for his protection, for I offer all that I am."

Planet Omin Paradise

Ultramar sub-sector

Omin Paradise. A small isolated planet located on the edge of the Ultramar sub-sector. A world mostly covered with temperate forests and rocky mountains where a rich flora and fauna has developed. A planet so small that it was discovered only 700 years ago by a human pilgrim named Omin. The latter, seduced by the beauty of this planet, decided to spend the rest of his life there. A fervent servant of the Imperium, Omin had a temple built there to the glory of the Emperor, which he named Temple of Chtonidus Primus, in homage to his late master of the same name. Upon his death, Omin was buried in the temple's crypt, where he would rest forever. Shortly after, the temple was taken over by the Adepta Sororitas and transformed into a monastery responsible for welcoming young novice nuns in order to train them in the laws and learnings of the Imperium and prepare them to become future Sisters of Battle.

Surrounded by the forest still sleeping under a fine rain, in the middle of a large open and grassy space, stood the old and venerable monastery of Chtonidus Primus, the gray stone composing it aged by time but nevertheless still solid. Inside was a large rectangular central courtyard, adorned with perfectly trimmed hedges, and in its center proudly enthroned a large marble statue representing the aquila, the two-headed eagle with outstretched wings, the ultimate symbol of Empire.

From the bell tower, the highest tower of the sanctuary, recognizable by its conical roof, resounded with a regular rhythm the tinkling of the bells, announcing the beginning of this new day and the imminent beginning of the first annual prayer of the day.

As all the young novice nuns had finally arrived, gathered in the chapel under the watchful gaze of the older sisters, one seemed to be missing, and all guessed which one, not being the first time that she had been distinguished by her lateness.

In one of the deserted corridors of the monastery, a lonely young woman ran as fast as she could, a grimace of embarrassment contorting her face. She was late again, she knew it and still dreaded the sermon she was about to undergo.

She was 16 years old. Dark brown hair styled in a perfect bun behind her head. A pretty and delicate face of a teenager. Shy hazel eyes. Little pink lips. Her name was Irina.

Like all her sisters, she was dressed in the regulatory dress of the novice nuns of the sanctuary. An immaculate white tunic, a long white chasuble reaching to the ankles, a small white collar and a white veil covering her hair and the back of her head. The color white was the color of novices, symbolizing the virginity of their apprenticeship within the Imperium. The white color stood out from the outfit of the older sisters, which was black as night and only had a white collar.

Around her neck, like all the others, she wore a small iron aquila which she was never to remove, lest she be pitilessly driven out of order. The last novice who had dared to remove her aquila had been severely beaten by the superior sisters before being ruthlessly expelled from the sanctuary. Irina had witnessed that day and had never been able to forget it. The Aquila was the symbol of the empire, a testament to unwavering faith in the God-Emperor and his divine will. This faith, Irina had, of course, and she would never question it. The Emperor was the light that guided humanity in this galaxy of darkness, and his brave and powerful legions protected humanity from xenos, heretics and demons of all kinds who polluted this universe with their unholy presence.

It was at the age of ten that Irina decided to devote her whole life to the service of the Imperium. At only seven years old, she had been orphaned and lived as a homeless person on planet Earth. She had been forced to fly to eat and survive, sleeping under bridges or in squats, in the cold, snow or rain. And finally, one winter evening, when Irina, too weak, had collapsed in an alley of the capital and was struggling against the cold not to die despite the exhaustion, she was noticed and found by a man. A young soldier of the Imperial Guard.

The latter perceived the distress of the young girl, but also her will to live in her eyes. The soldier finally helped the girl and saved her from certain death. This is how Irina, for the very first time in her life, left her home planet to be brought to Omin Paradise and entrusted to the sisters of the temple to become one herself. Since that day, Irina lives in the temple. She never saw that Imperial soldier again, but in her heart she still remembered his name... the name of her savior and the one who had given her a new reason to live... Mahyar.

As she thought back to her hero, her cheeks blushing slightly, Irina didn't really care where she was running. But she was quickly brought back to reality when in her tracks she was stopped short by her sudden collision with someone else. Panting and nervous, Irina swallowed when she saw that it was the Mother Superior of the monastery, Mother Amarinde, recognizable by her severe face, her pointed nose, her round glasses, and her outfit sporting the iron aquila, but also the imperial crosses on her shoulders.

A little sheepish and intimidated, Irina bowed to greet her and ask for forgiveness, holding her imperial prayer book tightly against her.

_ "Sister Novice Irina. Once again you stand out for your intolerable delay. I come to believe that you are doing it on purpose." said Mother Amarinde very coldly, letting her anger be felt at each syllable.

This time, it was the highest authority in the temple who had decided to pick her up and reprimand her. Irina felt even more ashamed.

_ "Forgive me, Mother Superior." answered young Irina humbly, knowing that it would be useless to try to justify herself.

Again, she had taken too long to get out of bed, wash and dress. This slowness was almost like an illness in her, and it made life in the temple difficult for her. Being late to pray to the God-Emperor was more than frowned upon. Not a sufficient reason for a lifetime banishment from the order, but sufficient to be criticized for a flagrant lack of seriousness. But despite all the blame and punishment she had received during her apprenticeship here, Irina had never felt the need to run away. On the contrary, she loved living here despite the harsh laws of the temple. The sisters had become his new family and his new guides in his life within the Imperium. And even more, she wanted to pay her debt to that soldier, Mahyar, who had once saved her and thank him for this new chance by becoming a future Battle-Sister within the Adepta Sororitas. But to achieve such a goal, it would have to correct certain shortcomings, such as this mania for delay.

Mother Amarinde then took her firmly by the arm and forced her to accompany her. Irina winced slightly as she felt Mother Superior's strong grip, but followed without resistance.

_ "Let's go. We've wasted enough time as it is. All are waiting for us in the chapel." Amarinde commented, annoyed.

_ "Y... Yes, Mother." stammered Irina.

_ "Besides, in case you have forgotten, it is your turn today to sing the gospel to our emperor." Amarinde told her.

Irina gasped in anguish. She had completely forgotten that detail. At the end of each morning prayer, one of the novices, a different one each day, was chosen to sing the gospel, dedicated to the immortal emperor, to close the ceremony.

As she was taken by the Mother Superior, Irina then noticed, towards the central courtyard of the sanctuary, a group of Imperial Guardsmen marching in the intensifying rain and beginning their daily morning patrol. A garrison of imperial guards was permanently at the temple to ensure the protection of the nuns. In general, the guards did not mingle with the sisters and never intervened in their work, contenting themselves with monitoring and protecting the premises in the event of a possible attack by heretics or xenos. But as the rain continued to fall, the sun's rays began to break through the gray clouds, indicating the imminent return of good weather.

After a few seconds, Irina was finally brought to the temple chapel. No sooner had she entered than all eyes fell on her. She could feel the heavy judgment of the senior sisters, as palpable as stones in her mind. Some novices showed annoyed or wry expressions towards Irina, and others were more apologetic, even sometimes quietly amused by the annoyance of the senior sisters.

The novices had gathered in perfect rows on the square of pews arranged around the altar decorated with candles, with a large iron aquila at its center. The walls of the chapel, also pristine white, were dotted with banners of the Imperium, as well as beautifully carved columns supporting the structure. A large stained glass window stood on the far wall, letting the sun's rays filter through and depicting the silhouette of the Emperor, standing, almighty and raising his sword, while an aquila of light shone above him, deploying wings of fire like a glorious phoenix driving away the darkness.

Without wasting any more time, Mother Amarinde indicated to Irina her place among the other novices, and Irina went there without delay and in the greatest silence. Mother Amarinde then came to take her usual place, among the elder sisters, and after a minute of total and profound silence in the chapel, the first words of prayer for the glory of the Imperium began, quickly accompanied by all the sisters, books in hand and open on a specific page, whose words in more than perfect unison resonated in harmony in the chapel.

While saying the words of the holy prayer in the Imperium, Irina occasionally cast a quick glance around her. In one corner, she could notice a lone Servo-Skull hovering silently six feet above the ground thanks to its anti-gravity field generators, its cybernetic right eye glowing with that synthetic red glow. This Servo-Skull was here as a kind of witness and recorded all the prayers without exception, as well as the confessions of the sisters when they wished to speak. Each time, Irina had wondered to whom this skull could belong when he was human.

She also looked at the other novice sisters all around her, all concentrating on their recitation of the prayer. The oldest of them was not more than twenty years old. At 16, Irina was the youngest of all the temple novices. The older sisters were between thirty and forty years old, while Mother Amarinde was over fifty.

Once the prayer was over, Irina left the rows to go down the steps and come to kneel just in front of the altar, the great iron aquila towering over her with its tall stature and the rays of the sun filtering through the stained glass coming to cover her like a light curtain. Singing the gospel to the emperor was an honor for a novice, and Irina could feel it, her heart pounding but managing to calm down, despite all the eyes on her and the silence so loud you could hear a pin drop. .

Blowing softly in concentration, Irina closed her eyes, joining her hands in a prayerful position, as everyone else did. No book needed this time. The gospel had to be memorized and any mistake made in even the smallest word was severely punished.

Irina had prepared her voice inwardly, then once fully focused and sure of herself, began singing the gospel, in praise of the immortal ruler of mankind.

_ "Immortalis deus hominum

Vexillum sancti luminis

Audi voces nostras

Vos qui auditis et videtis omnia

Eicite tenebras immundas

Et deduc nos in gloria tua…

Tibi gloria, tibi gloria

Tu immortalis imperium

Aquila ignis, aquila fidei

Tu et legionum sanctarum

Tibi gloria, tibi gloria…"

Every time she sang those words, Irina felt that same lump forming in her throat and had to hold back the tears from springing up in the corner of her eyes. She was not sad, quite the contrary. She was beyond happy and the strength and powerful symbolism of those words took her to heart. It was an honor for her to sing them to the glory of her God-Emperor, even if the latter did not know her name at all. Living to serve him was already a lot to her, and she hoped she could do more one day by fighting in his name on the battlefield as a true Battle Sister. For her, it was obvious. When she was a child, luck had not saved her from death. The will of the Emperor had sent this imperial soldier to find her and lead her on the path of salvation. The absolute ruler of mankind had given her a chance to do something glorious with her life, and she would.