The Age of Apostasy

Of all the internal catastrophes to befall the Imperium, few match the horror of the Age of Apostasy, the Reign of Blood, when the tyrant Goge Vandire seized control of both the Administratum and the Ecclesiarchy and ruled as a mad god-tyrant over the realm of mankind. Wielding the authority of two of the Imperium's greatest institutions, Vandire unleashed a reign of purges, executions and paranoid slaughter that consumed untold billions.

Vandire's madness knew no limit. He declared himself the voice of the Emperor and murdered any who questioned his divine right, until whole sectors groaned beneath his terror. Among his instruments were the Brides of the Emperor, a warrior-sisterhood of fanatical devotion whom he wielded as his personal executioners, ignorant of the truth of his corruption.

His downfall came through faith turned to reckoning. Brought before the living Emperor upon the Golden Throne, the leader of his warrior-sisters beheld the truth at last, and the blade that had served the tyrant struck him down. From the ashes of his reign rose the Adepta Sororitas, the Sisters of Battle, reforged in penitence and zeal to ensure that no such heretic-tyrant would ever again defile the Emperor's name. The Age of Apostasy ended, but its scars marked the Imperium's soul forever.