++INQUISITORIAL DOSSIER - CLEARANCE LEVEL: PRIMUS [ACCESING CONFIDENTIAL/SENSITIVE ORDERS]++
++SUBJECT: ORDER OF THE HOLY HESTIAS OF THE DIVINE PRINCESS LIGHT++
++COMMON DESIGNATION: THE HESTIA ORDER / THE HESTIAS++
I - OVERVIEW
The Order of the Hestias is a unique and highly specialized Order Militant of the Adepta Sororitas, singularly devoted to the service and protection of Her Imperial Highness, Princess-Regent Aurelia Aeternitas Primus. They function as a hybrid organization, blending the martial prowess of elite Battle Sisters with the intricate duties of a royal household. To serve within the Hestia Order is to accept a dual creed: that the most sacred battlefield is the threshold of the Regent's chambers, and the most profound act of worship is the flawless execution of a domestic duty. Their zeal is legendary, often unsettling even the stoic Adeptus Custodes with whom they share their vigil.
II - ORIGINS & FOUNDING
The contemporary Hestia Order is a reconstruction, a fervent reinterpretation of a pre-Heresy institution. The original Hestias were a secular household staff established by Malcador the Sigillite to provide Princess Aurelia with a semblance of normalcy. They were artisans, tutors, and companions.
Following the Heresy and the millennia of the Emperor's silence, fragmented references to this "Order of Hestias" were discovered within the Sigillite's archived ledgers by the nascent Ecclesiarchy. Lacking the full context and viewing the past through a lens of zealous faith, the Adepta Sororitas reconstituted the Hestias not as mere servants, but as a holy order of warrior-handmaidens. Their founding charter, based on these incomplete records, tasks them with the "sacred duty of attending to the person of the Divine Heiress, to guard Her light, and to maintain the sanctity of Her hearth."
III - DOCTRINE & BELIEFS
The core belief of the Hestias is that Princess Aurelia is a living saint, a divine entity second only to the God-Emperor Himself. They view her as the embodiment of hope, purity, and the compassionate heart of the Imperium. This veneration translates into a unique doctrine where service is sacrament.
The Liturgy of Service: To the Hestias, there is no distinction between polishing the Regent's chalice and cleansing a traitor's soul with holy fire. Both are acts of ultimate devotion. Preparing a meal is a ritual of nourishment for the Imperium's hope; tending to the gardens of the Golden Tower is to cultivate the very future of Mankind.
The Sanctity of the Hearth: They consider the Golden Tower to be the "Hearth of the Imperium," with the Princess as its eternal flame. Their primary role is to be the guardians of this hearth, repelling any spiritual or physical taint that would seek to diminish its light.
Zealous Intolerance: While they present a face of serene competence, the Hestias harbor a fanatical intolerance for any perceived slight against the Princess-Regent. Their wrath, when roused, is swift, absolute, and terrifyingly personal. Often ending with the execution of those wh odared to insult the Princess.
IV - ORDER ORGANISATION
The Hestias maintain a structure that mirrors both a traditional Sororitas Order and a royal court.
Canoness Matron: The supreme commander of the Order, who acts as both a formidable military leader and the chief chamberlain of the Princess's household.
Palatines of the Threshold: Veteran Sisters who command the guard details within the Golden Tower. They are masters of defensive warfare in confined spaces.
Dominions of the Veil: Elite bodyguards who serve as the Princess's direct handmaidens. They are trained to be almost invisible, anticipating the Regent's every need while remaining poised to kill at a moment's notice.
Celestians of the Sacred Arts: Veteran warriors who have also mastered a specific domestic craft (Master of the Wardrobe, Keeper of the Gardens, First Chef of the Royal Kitchen). These titles are considered as prestigious as any military honour.
Hestian Battle Sisters: The rank-and-file of the Order, all of whom are trained to the highest standards of the Adepta Sororitas while also being proficient in their assigned domestic duties.
[REDACTED: Canoness Matron and Princess-Regent] Chastisers of the Sacred Name: A small, clandestine kill team operating outside the main command structure. Answering only to the direct, sealed orders of the Canoness Matron or the Princess-Regent herself, the Chastisers are the Order's ultimate sanction. They are tasked with purging any who would dare to insult the Regent's holy name or, most sacredly, with hunting down and executing any Hestia proven to have betrayed her vows. They act only upon irrefutable proof, and their sentences are carried out with silent, inescapable finality. [REDACTED: THEY HAD BEEN USE THREE TIMES SINCE ARRIVING AT THE GOLDEN TOWER]
The structure of the princess's inner court and her personal handmaidens.
Domina Cubiculi (Mistress of the Chamber): Oversees the Regent's private apartments; custodian of wardrobe, regalia, and the veil‑oath.
Balnearia‑Primus (Mistress of Baths & Physic): Leads the intimate attendant cadre; responsible for balneary rites, therapeutic massage, physiurgy, hair and nail care, post‑stasis muscle care, and presentation.
Curators of the Gilded Chamber (Mistress of the Holy Chamber): A meticulous and silent cadre responsible for the physical sanctity and upkeep of the Princess-Regent's personal chambers. Their duties, which they consider a form of meditative worship, include the cleansing of the rooms, the laundering and perfuming of her linens and robes, and the maintenance of the chamber's delicate environmental systems. To be a Curator is to be entrusted with the Regent's most vulnerable space, and they perform their tasks with a ritualistic precision, ensuring her sanctuary remains a place of absolute purity and peace.
Celestian of the Sacred Arts (Mistress of Nourishment and Virtuos): Oversees kitchens (chef‑corps and cooks), larders, linen‑vaults, reliquary care; trains service detachments, household galley staff, and quartermasters. Also keep the Princess's numerous gardens and soon-to-be farms.
[REDACTED: Canoness Matron and Princess-Regent] - Sorores Consortiae (Mistress of the Inner Sanctum): May volunteer—never compelled—to serve as the Regent's private companions for a single night or term, acting as trusted confidantes and intimate partners. All companionship is oath‑recorded, consent‑led, null‑screened, and Hospitaller‑supervised for safety and dignity
Core principles (threefold cord)
Mutual Consent: Both the Princess and the Sister must explicitly invite/accept.
Sanctified Privacy: Everything occurs under the Seal of Hestia—absolute discretion.
Non-Instrumentality: No favors, no leverage. Companionship is never currency.
When they serve
Companion Hours: Evenings designated by the Chamber-Mistress; never during alarms or state duties.
Alternative Care: Music, reading, quiet meals, massage and recovery rites, meditative prayer (Princess refuse to pray)—intimacy is optional and never presumed.
Hard Boundaries: No recording implants; no political discussion; no weapons beyond ceremonial dirk; immediate "Candle Out" safeword triggers Custodes/Lionguard entry.
[REDACTED: Sister Agatha Dolaria-Current Princess's companion-Princess loves hearing her sing and tea. Intimacy- [Unknown] - "By the Quiet Seal, I am yours for this night."]
V - WARGEAR & LIVERY
Armour: The Hestias wear a unique variant of Sororitas power armour. The ceramite plates are rendered in pristine, immaculate white, symbolizing the purity and divinity of the Princess. This is worn over a crimson battle dress, representing the sacred blood she spilled for the salvation of Mankind and the Emperor.
Iconography: Their primary symbol is a single, gentle flame burning within a golden halo, often displayed on their left pauldron.
Wargear: They utilize the holy trinity of Sororitas weaponry—the bolter, flamer, and melta. Their weapons are often master-crafted and ornately decorated. It is not uncommon for high-ranking Hestias to carry ceremonial power blades, their hilts styled after ancient household keys or ornate hearth implements.
VI - FINAL ASSESSMENT
The Order of the Hestias represents an anomaly within the Imperial structure. They are a fusion of absolute domesticity and absolute lethality. Their unwavering, fanatical loyalty makes them perhaps the most reliable guardians the Princess-Regent could ask for. However, their profound zealotry and their interpretation of service as scripture make them unpredictable and a source of quiet consternation for the more pragmatic elements of the Imperial hierarchy, including, at times, the Princess herself. They are a perfect, if unsettling, reflection of the 41st Millennium's soul: a beautiful, gilded instrument of faith, honed to a razor's edge for a time of unending war.
++INQUISITORIAL DOSSIER - CLEARANCE LEVEL: PRIMUS [ACCESING CONFIDENTIAL/SENSITIVE ORDERS]++
++SUBJECT: THE LIONGUARD ADEPTUS ASTARTES CHAPTER++
++COMMON DESIGNATION: HER PRIDE / THE GOLDENHEARTS++
I - OVERVIEW
The Lionguard is a newly founded, all-Primaris Space Marine Chapter created with the sole, sacred purpose of serving as the personal protectors, sworn swords, and Praetorian Guard of Her Imperial Highness, Princess-Regent Aurelia Aeternitas Primus. Operating directly under her authority and outside the standard Imperial chain of command, they are an anomaly in the structure of the Adeptus Astartes. Their loyalty is not to a world, a sector, or even the Imperium as a concept, but to the person of the Regent herself, whom they view not as a commander, but as the living heart of humanity for whom they would gladly die.
II - ORIGINS & FOUNDING
The Lionguard were founded in the nascent days of M42 by direct decree of the returned Primarch and Lord Commander, Roboute Guilliman. Established as a non-Codex compliant legion numbering well over a standard chapter's strength, their creation was an extreme measure born of the Lord Commander's personal trauma from the Horus Heresy and his unyielding insistence that the Princess-Regent, the Imperium's greatest asset, be protected by a force of unparalleled might and singular devotion. Forged in secret by Archmagos Belisarius Cawl, the entirety of the Lionguard is composed of Primaris Marines drawn from the stable and resolute gene-stock of the Primarch Lion El'Jonson.
III - DOCTRINE & BELIEFS
The Lionguard's doctrine is a unique fusion of the Lion's cold, calculating martial pragmatism and a profound, almost chivalric devotion to their Princess.
The Oath of the Pride: Upon their ascension, each Lionguard swears a single, binding oath: to be the Regent's shield, sword, and will made manifest. This oath supersedes all other Imperial laws, including the strictures of the Codex Astartes. They see themselves not merely as soldiers, but as her knights, an extension of her person.
The Princess, The Heart: While they do not engage in the overt, zealous worship characteristic of the Imperial Cult, their devotion to Aurelia is absolute and borders on the spiritual. They do not see her as a goddess, but as something far more vital: the heart of the Imperium, the source of its hope, and the keeper of its soul. To protect her is to protect humanity's last chance for a future. This belief gives them a resolve that is utterly incorruptible.
The Hunt for Shadows: Inheriting their Primarch's nature, the Lionguard are relentless hunters. They view any threat to the Princess—be it physical, political, or spiritual—as a personal quarry to be stalked and annihilated without mercy or hesitation. They are masters of security, counter-espionage, and swift, decisive strikes against those who would dare threaten the Golden Tower.
IV - CHAPTER ORGANISATION
The Lionguard's structure is that of a full Legion, deliberately ignoring the chapter-based limitations of the Codex Astartes. This was a direct command from Lord Commander Guilliman to ensure a force of sufficient size to counter any conceivable threat.
High Castellan: The Chapter Master of the Lionguard, a title that denotes his role as the warden of the most sacred being in the Imperium. He answers only to the Princess-Regent. The first and current High Castellan is Leontus Valeriad.
Paladins of the Inner Circle: The Lionguard's veteran first company, who serve as the Princess's direct bodyguards and honour guard. They are rarely seen outside the Golden Tower.
The Pride Companies: The remaining companies of the Chapter, each led by a Marshal. While their primary duty is the defence of the Sol System and the Regent, they are deployed at her discretion as a swift and terrible instrument of her will.
Librarius Covenant: The Librarians of the Lionguard are tasked not only with their battlefield duties but also with psychically scrubbing and securing any location the Princess intends to visit, hunting for any trace of empyreal taint.
[REDACTED INFORMATION]
The Shadow Triumvirate: Operating in absolute secrecy from even their own battle-brothers, three clandestine sub-orders exist to protect the Princess through methods beyond the conventional duties of an Astartes. These groups answer only to the High Castellan and the Princess herself, their existence known to none outside that sacred chain of command.
The Eyes of the Regent: Masters of espionage and infiltration, these Astartes move unseen through the corridors of power on Terra and beyond. They are the Princess's spies, gathering intelligence on any and all potential threats, from seditious whispers in the Senatorum Imperialis to the machinations of nascent chaos cults.
The Silent Blades: The Chapter's executioners. When a threat is deemed too insidious for open conflict, the Silent Blades are dispatched. They are assassins of unparalleled skill, tasked with eliminating threats to the Princess with surgical precision, leaving no trace of their passage.
The Keepers of Lore: Information is a weapon, and the Keepers are its masters. This small, elite group of savants and analysts collates all data gathered by the Chapter, sifting through mountains of intelligence to identify patterns and predict future threats. They will do whatever it takes to ensure no danger reaches the Princess unforeseen.
V - WARGEAR & LIVERY
Armour: The Lionguard are equipped with a unique variant of Mark X Power Armour, the Mark X-Noverrium S-01 Tacticus Power Armour. While a lighter variant than that worn by many of their cousins, its ceramite plates are reinforced with thin layers of Noverrium, granting it regenerative properties and surprising resilience. The armour is coloured a stark, ivory white with burnished gold trim.
Iconography: Their Chapter badge is a golden lion's head, framed by the Princess's own aureole halo. A slim, inverted sword bisects the image, signifying their role as her sworn protectors and the swift death they bring to her enemies.
Wargear: The Lionguard have access to the most advanced weaponry produced by Belisarius Cawl and the Princess's own hidden forges. Their wargear is often master-crafted and tailored to the unique defensive and offensive operations they are expected to undertake.
VI - FINAL ASSESSMENT
The Lionguard represent one of the most potent and politically sensitive military forces within the Imperium. Their combat prowess is beyond question, and their loyalty to the Princess is absolute. They are a necessary shield in a galaxy of horrors. However, their singular devotion and non-Codex structure make them a potential point of friction with other Imperial institutions. They are a legion unto a single soul, a fortress of faith and fury built around the Imperium's last, best hope. They are her Pride, and they will not suffer any threat to their Princess to endure.