Cities of Sigmar Lore: The Convent of Her Lady's Silent Sigmar

Hi everyone, I hope you are well. I've been wanting to create a new series of articles detailing the lore of Vasarian life in Age of Sigmar, focusing in on the places and the people who inhabit the city. This blog post will detail The Convent of Her Lady's Silent Sigmar--a militant order of priests, nuns and inquisitors who form the elite fighting force of the city.

The Convent was founded by the Arch Bishop of Vasaria an undetermined time ago; it's main objectives were, and still are, to patrol the streets of Vasaria and execute criminals on sight, act as inquisitors and carry out interrogations and also to defend the city and represent the Queen on the battlefield. They also carry out more secretive and elite missions, which will be looked at below. 

Anskelia the Anointed

At the time of the arrival of Sigmar's Child, Anskelia is the last in a long line of Descendents of the Arch Bishop. She commands the Convent, acting second-only to the Queen herself. As the years have gone by, most to take the title of Anointed have lived and died not without heroics but without much interest; Anskelia, on the other hand, is said to bear a resemblance to the Queen in her younger days, her skin is told to be cast in ash and woven with silk. She is a silent and graceful figure, though she does often come into conflict with Sigmar's Child due to their conflicting obsession with bodily remains. That brings us to...

(In my force, she counts as an Anointed of the Phoenix Guard.)

Inquisitors

Units in the Convent are often lead by small groups of Inquisitors; it is the role of an Inquisitor to lead their peers in prayer, interrogate hostages and carry holy relics and warding flames into battle. Among these aforementioned relics often consist of the remains of saints and other venerated individuals of Vasaria, though these remains are often splintered into various pieces across the units in the Convent so that they cannot achieve true burial. These remains often grant the members of the Convent with holy protection, giving them the ability to shrug off wounds that would usually kill a man. However, the disturbance of these bones has also given rise to attacks from Nighthaunt across the city, whether from crypts or from the remains themselves--these restless spirits return to attack and regroup aspects of their corporeal forms. This has put the Convent at odds with Sigmar's Child on several occasions, as the Stormcast Eternal's enmity towards casual worship and respect of Nagash is unrelenting. It is theorised by some heretics that this tendency to carry holy relics and parts of corpses owes to the Convent's unnatural pale skin, as if they have been marked by Nagash himself.

(In the army, the Inquisitors fill in the command roles in units of Phoenix Guard.)

Martyrs

Martyrs fill out the bulk of the Convents forces, made up of younger nuns and bishops and holy men. Despite their armour, Martyrs are drawn from all genders, their armour simply reflecting that of the Queen's herself. Only the bravest of Martyrs show their true, ashen features, most choosing to march blindfolded, guided only by faith, or instead, wrapping their features in disturbed burial shrouds which often accompanied the loose remains the Inquisitors carry. 

(Martyrs count as regular Phoenix Guard in my army.)

Her Lady's Silent Sigmar

Her Lady's Silent Sigmar is the complex of cathedrals and churches and statues which populate the heights of Vasaria. In these walls, members of the Convent are found meditating, training or preparing artefacts and relics for display. Very few are allowed to see inside Her Lady's Silent Sigmar, and those who do are often fought off by crazed monks and ghostly apparitions before even seeing a single Martyr.