ENGINES OF PENANCE!

once he was a proud and holy man of the church lorded and applauded wherever he went but this was before his form his failure he had fought on the front lines for three decades or more forever buoying up the faith of all who surrounded him his sermons were a thing of power and purpose and filled all around him with righteous zeal but that was before his encounter with chaos on the day he saw the skies turned to fire the land royal and quiver the very air he breathed was accurate and thick on that day when the lord of change erupted into reality when its birthing screeched pissed the heavens and made his mind collapse on that day he succumbed to the most human of all emotions the most simple of drives fear and survival returned tale and fled desolate and confused terrified but he was found later his ignominy known his reputation forever shattered he wept uncontrollably he shuddered like a doe in the teeth of a wolf he was temporarily broken and that was then and this was now now he stood a huge room made from black marble from its floor to its highest rafters darkly foreboding he felt so small as he looked up at her a cannonness of the holy order of our martyred lady his friend his doom he was brought forward harshly by the two sororitas at his sides as if he would run now where could he go even if he wished to the cannonness looked down as he stopped without pause for the moment she proceeded the bile dripping off every word she intoned the accusations have been read the evidence has been heard your deceit and cowardice are tested without a shadow of a doubt you are guilty have you any last words before i pass judgment he knew it would avail him lord and contrary to his will his mouth opened and he began long have i served the emperor all my life i have faced those things few others could i have striven mightily in the name of the emperor you of all people know this my past my deeds i had one moment of weakness one instant of doubt does the one act wash away all that i have done in his name does it count for naught i am but a man a man alas no longer for you are now less than nothing you are a traitor and your defense is the greatest of shames the most overwhelming of evidence the most cardinal of sins you convict yourself further by its utterance some who come before me i am almost tempted to indulge in that greatest of all weaknesses clemency but not for thee for we were both at the scholar progenium we rose together and thus do you admit that you were once a shepherd of humanity a lord of the emperor's light a prince of the church so you who knew of the emperor's light knew of his virtue sung his name in psalm and holy song you turned your back on his light you who knew him best loved him least you betrayed him thus you are the basest of things most wretched of all for you knew and still turned from him i am ashamed to know you i am ashamed that you still draw the same breath as me i am ashamed that you still live thus do i pass judgment the word seemed to echo back at him and he saw the sneer on her face that they elicited never before had he seen her face take on such a countenance when did dressing him it stung as much as her words the hate and loathing in her eyes with each word his head lowered his shoulder sagged further he was broken you will be taken from this place and interred in an engine of penance so you can still serve as an example an example of what happens to the abhorrent to those who indulge in the sin of weakness you will end your days in pain and suffering and the knowledge that you will never be accepted into the light of the emperor upon your final death for even the god emperor of mankind will take no pity on your soul he was then led away as she nonchalantly just waved her hand as if dismissing something beneath her contempt continued after the law welcome gentle listener i'm voldemort and i wish to introduce you to the forces factions and war gear of the warhammer 40k universe the grim darkness of the far future and today we come across one of the elements of the game that can be rather controversial the gothic horror despite always having a deeply comedic element to the hobby lore and game this has now been matched by what many called the grim dark element the horror implicit in nearly all factions well except perhaps just perhaps the orcs tower and eldar but certainly not tukari or darkelda are a hasten to add for today we are to discuss the engine of penitence of the adeptus sororitas the sisters of battle and there are few objects of war gear that epitomize the grimdark more than these horrors but for the basics let us lean on existing wisdom to quote engines of penance beneath many cathedrals and sanctuaries there exist vast dungeons lined with the krisiaki's myriad torture devices these dread machines are reserved for those who are sinned against the emperor and through arcane technologies they transform the agony of their victims into a devastating weapon penitent engines to be a pilot of a pennant and engine is to have committed a terrible crime one so heinous that other punishments are deemed too lenient many of the unfortunate sentence to a pilot a penitent engine were once members of the ecclesiarchy priests fallen from grace or sisters who have caused the death of their fellows one so judged is wired into the crucible of a penitent engine where torment amplifiers are spliced to their synapses and chemical injectors are implanted into their spines from that point on the hapless individual is subjected to endless suffering their mind stripped of all thought except physical pain and spiritual guilt the pain itself driving the penitent engine's actuators and servos penitent engines charge towards the faux heedless of danger knowing that only in death theirs or the enemies can absolution be earned the arms of the engine mounted with enormous framers blaze a trail of fiery destruction as it thunders forwards upon reaching the enemy the chemical and synaptic inputs pumped into the pilots are altered causing them to see their own face in the faces of their foes slashing before those before it each a reflection of their unfathomable guilt they rampage through the enemy's battle lines leaving death and carnage in their wake some engines bear adamantine tooth buzz blades that are capable of creeping through plated tank armor while others mangle flesh and pulverize bone with lashing swings of their multi-headed flails penitent engines are often deployed beside the ranks of the order's militant the sisters of battle consider it their sacred duty to witness these great machines in the fires of combat observing the actions of their fallen brothers and sisters as their tone for past sins every enemy stained by a penitent engine's brutal stampede approves the righteousness of this form of punishment mortifiers aside from the unthinkable act of outright heresy there is no greater sin amongst their diplo sororities than when i repent flees from battle the sole duty of these sisters is to atone for their failings in battle and to run from this fate as an evil which there can be no forgiveness as punishment these wayward repentia are wired into the crucible of a mortifier based upon the same mechanical chassis as a penitent engine a mortifier bears additional neural agonizer arrays and oblique enhancers that amplify the pilot self-loathing exponentially metallic bolts driven into the repenter's bones leave her unable to move or even scream for death while the baffle hood placed over her head prevents her from hearing any words of piety that are spoken in her presence mortifiers are then placed on the front lines of battle where they are driven into a frenzy by the intense spiritual suffering of their pilots the engines lurch forwards with terrifying speed leg pistons firing and contracting in time with the rapid jolt of anguish that shoot through the interred sisters as they bound forwards they spray hails of bolts and torrents of flames from their arm-mounted weapons before launching themselves at their enemy and carving a path of mutilation all joy that would come from seeing heretics torn through shreds is denied to the repentia stripped from their minds and replaced with more pain their only hope of release from the torment from this cruel existence outside of the emperor's light is to find oblivion in death and yet when a mortifier has sustained an obscene amount of damage and the sister within senses that her end is at last approaching the pain of knowing she will die unredeemed sends the machine into a tortured death throw a wild and final whirlwind of destruction to those repentia who not only fled but betrayed their sisters in battle and even worse fate awaits after being wired into the crucible of their mortifier they are further entombed behind thick adamantine casing the sarcophagus protects their tortured bodies from incoming fire and desperately swung blades denying them the release of death known as anchorites the sisters behind these lifeless masks are forced to face their torment in absolute isolation enduring years or even decades of agony before meeting their end end quote as we have heard the engines of pens both modifiers and penitent engines are truly fates worse than death these are not the honored internments into a space marine dreadnought they are a punishment and a curse as bad as any i can think of in the setting although there are always worse out there of course it depends on how deeply you wish to delve into this particular wing of the hobby lore the horror and no other word can be used to describe the fate of those doomed to dwell in these walking tombs these lurching sarcophagi have unrelenting never-ending torture for there is no shred of mercy or clemency or what we would call compassion or humanity in many if not most of the wings of the regime we know of as the imperium one might ask why do people bother to even try to exist in this world is there no place for peter or mercy or hope well the answer to that is simple if you are a player of an imperial faction it is up to you to try to build it you fight for it by making space of victory by holding back the tide of zenos and evil twisted warp corrupted traitors and gods you permit humanity to dream of these things for if the imperium could ever go from being under siege fighting for its very existence every second of every day on a number of theaters of war that are almost as numerous as the stars themselves if you could gain victory enough to go from holding on and holding out to making progress then here is where these things could flourish it is the nature of the unrelenting war that permits the structures of the imperium to exist to go unchallenged if threats were removed as xenos defeated to the last and the least if chaos were somehow pushed back and then somehow eradicated then and only then could the horror of the imperium begin to slacken to be alleviated and a road to the bright future of the dream of the imperium be returned so if you wish to indulge this fantasy of a utopia rising from the ashes of the degenerate corrupt and bloated carcass of the imperium and know this with every battle you fight with each victory you gain with each foe defeated you may just be building a space for that transformation to happen but honestly i would not dream the stream too hard or for too long from the green darkness of the future there is only war and if that ever ends well we then have sumptuous collections of toys instead of gallant and terrible warriors and armies and i for one hope this never happens i have been baltimore your faithful servant i hope you've enjoyed this brief introduction to the engines of penance of the adeptus sororitas the sisters of battle if so then please do consider liking and subscribing if you do then also hit the notifications bell button as i would not want you to miss out now back to the action the canon stepped down the mini stairs from her elevated position of authority upon reaching the black marble floor she was immediately flanked by her two ceremonial guards despite her being more able than any other to defend herself she sighed deeply as the events of the day were sorted compartmentalized and then ostensibly forgotten she would need her head to be clear for the days and weeks ahead the transports had arrived and her order were now ready for embarkation as she approached the door to her inner sanctum she turned and nodded to her guards only one was necessary at her door the other could make the final call go out tell the sisterhood all of the order of the martyred lady that reside here tell them to make haste to the spaceport as previously instructed the guard nodded but then turned the words not quite sinking in until that point she looked at the cannon as for confirmation yes all even the garrison now go as the sister marched down the halls to carry out her orders there seemed to be a spring in her step a buzzing in her more hurried stride it had been many centuries since the entire force had been fielded everyone knew that this order this level of response could only mean a battle of legendary importance and scope the canonist walked inside her sanctum and allowed the door to close before she exhaled long and hard and leaned against the door and whispered to herself for where we go we will need every last sister every last sinew every last ounce of faith for we go to abundance tertius lord emperor have mercy on our souls i hope you all extend your gratitude and thanks to our guest voice actress gremlin girl now no matter what you do today do try to make some time for fun

Channel: Baldermort's Guide to Warhammer

Views: 41,346

Keywords: Baldermort, Baldemort, Engines of Penance, Sisters of battle lore, Adeptus Sororitas Lore, Adeptus Sororitas Pain Engines, Penitent Engines, Moritifiers, Grimdark, Worst Fate in Warhammer 40K, Eclessiarchy lore, Imperial Wargear, IMperial Armour, War, Warhammer Audio drama, Order of Our Martyred Lady Lore

Id: cOt-4aM8ous

Length: 17min 55sec (1075 seconds)

Published: Wed Sep 02 2020