Editing Order of the Obsidian Mirror (section)

==Lore==
===Origins===
[[Image:Obsidian Mirror.png|thumb|right|300px|A [[Battle Sister Squad|battle sister]] of the Obsidian Mirror]]
The seeds of what would become the Order of the Obsidian Mirror began with a joint venture between the Order of the Ebon Chalice and an Order Dialogus known as the Order of the Sacred Oath. The Order of the Ebon Chalice was involved with several campaigns as part of the Agrippa Crusade, and required the aid of the sisters Dialogus in order to properly coordinate communications between the various preceptories across the sector. This was accomplished through the use of sisters dialogus that accompanied each force as well as specially-selected battle sisters who could be relied upon to provide concise reports of each engagement.

As the campaign ground on, several discrepancies became apparent to the sisters involved with this venture. While the crusade was well-led on a tactical level, on a strategic level, it was rife with inefficiency and poor strategy. The man in overall command of the crusade, Chapter Master Agrippa of the Omega Serpents chapter, seemed to be directing Imperial forces directly towards heavily fortified enemy zones when other, even when other, more strategically viable attack vectors were available. In addition, there were scattered reports among Imperial forces of teal and silver-armored Astartes moving behind enemy lines, seemingly unconcerned by the fighting.

In the face of this knowledge, Canoness Donatica launched her own clandestine operations to discover the truth. Redeploying the battle sisters and dialogi under her command into specialized infiltration teams, she sent her forces behind enemy lines to uncover the truth. Whatever forbidden knowledge they discovered in these nighttime raids is uncertain, but it was enough for the sisters involved to break away from their respective orders and form the Order of the Obsidian Mirror. Ever since that fateful campaign, the sisters of the Obsidian Mirror have hunted the Alpha Legion across the Eastern Fringe, waging a deadly shadow war that few outside of the Order ever hear of. In order to combat the masses of cultists employed by their enemies, the sisters of the Obsidian Mirror have become masters of psychological warfare, utilizing stealth, precision, and raw terror to subdue their foes. Any who survive are swiftly imprisoned for interrogation by the sisters dialogus, who expertly extract information from the unwilling.

===Structure===
Since the disappearance of Canoness Donaticia, the canonesses of the various preceptories operate as an executive council, with no Canoness Superior in overall command of the Order. Though they share intelligence with each other, each of the preceptories operate with a high degree of independence, allowing them to quickly respond to threats as they develop. The Canonesses Preceptory only gather to discuss matters that affect the entire order, or when a threat is detected that requires a response from the entire order.

In the field, the battle sisters of the order often deploy in cell structure, allowing them to operate autonomously whether they are embedded in a civilian population or behind enemy lines. Often disguised to blend in with the local populace, sisters of the Obsidian Mirror are skilled in sabotage, assassination, and stirring up dissent, and can spend months or even years on assignment, furthering the order's goals through their covert actions. That being said, the order is still fully capable of waging open warfare, and many operations end with a full-scale assault.

Penance is a major focus of the Obsidian Mirror, though how they fulfill it is very different from other orders. They have numerous arco-flagellants and penitent engines formed from the ranks of prisoners they bring back to Zimovkiysk II, which provide a crucial role in distracting and tying down enemy forces, allowing the agents of the order to outflank and infiltrate enemy lines. Additionally, the order's [[Repentia|sisters repentia]] are treated differently than in other orders, being treated more like expendable agents than crazed berserkers. Repentias in the order are often given the most dangerous jobs where survival is not expected, and may even be used for suicide attacks.

The order often works closely with local civilian contacts, who usually have no idea who they're working with. However, the most useful and loyal of these may be turned to permanent service to the order. Additionally, they maintain close relations with both the [[Adeptus Arbites]] and the [[Inquisition]], sharing intel with the two organizations and combining when the situation demands it.

The opening of the [[Great Rift]] has decentralized the order even further, with several preceptories cut off from each other in the Dark Imperium. This has led to doctrinal diversification in the order, as several preceptories have been forced to adapt to their local circumstances and recruit from local populations rather than relying on the Schola Progenium.

===Zimovkiysk II===
Zimovkiysk II is the homeworld of the Order of the Obsidian Mirror. It orbits a young class F star near the outer edge of its habitability zone. The world is marginally smaller than Terra but possess the same surface gravity and a similarly strong magnetic field that shields the world from the ravages of it parent star and gas giant neighbors' radiation. 

The atmosphere is ideal for human life, though the average temperature of the world hovers only barely above the freezing point of water. Only the equatorial regions are free of permafrost year round and experience a moderately warm summer. The sub-tropics and mid-latitudes are generally covered with taiga and boreal woodlands, though due to the planets intensely active geology, volcanic springs are plentiful and act as oases of life throughout the frigid landscape that dominates the vast majority of the planet.

The planet is inhabited by nearly a billion souls, however most of them are transients moving through the trade route the system sits along, pilgrims that have come to visit many shrines and cathedrals that dominate the wintery landscape, and wealthy nobles wishing to partake in the reputed rejuvenating powers the more blessed springs are believed to have. The world is peaceful, thanks in part due to the extreme effectiveness of the local Adeptus Arbites "lead" by the Order of the Obsidian Mirror.

Facilities of the Order are scattered across the planet, but the main fortress covenant is completely isolated from anyone not directly involved in the Order's activities. Located on a small sub continent surrounded by ocean, the fortress is protected by miles of minefields, and towering rings of walls bristling with weaponry both terrestrial and orbital. On the island itself massive domes hide the Sister's activities from prying eyes located in the sky's above.  The domes also have different biomes for training purposes.
They keep an isolated prison on a polar island, probably buried deep beneath the surface.  it's cold enough that most equipment that isn't specialized to deal with the extreme cold has problems and surrounded by miles and miles of ice that's been swept bare by the gale force winds. Given they like to accumulate data, I doubt that most prisoners they take would be executed on the spot, which is probably more of the norm in other Orders. Death is of course a mercy to anyone who gets dragged into there.  'Rura Gitmo'