Ephrael Stern
 Ephrael Stern after the events on Parnis | |
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| Title(s) | The Heretic Saint The Thrice-Born The Daemonifuge |
| Homeworld | Antigone's Harbour |
| Born | c. M41 |
| Active Period | M41 - Present |
| Species | Human |
| Gender | Female |
| Occupation(s) |
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| Affiliation(s) | |
Sister Ephrael Stern, also known as the Thrice-Born, was promised before birth to the Sisters of Battle, and raised at the Saint Sabbat Schola Progenium on the planet Antigone's Harbour. She was submitted for consideration by the Arch Drill-abbot of the school and was accepted by Sister Patricia from the Order of the Holy Seal.
Contents
History
Daemonifuge
Sister Stern excelled as a novice, and took her Oaths of Adherence together with five hundred other novices at the Ecclesiarchal Palace on Terra. She was chosen to join the Order of Our Martyred Lady. After this she was stationed on Ophelia VII where an exemplary service record led to her being elevated to the rank of Seraphim in record time. Three years later she was ordained as a Sister Superior.
After this she was sent to the world of Parnis for an investigation into the lost convent of the Orders Pronatus. There, the lost convent had been shaped into the Screaming Cage by the once-imprisoned demon they studied, their bodies and minds linked so that their suffering would be shared, but inadvertently their faith was shared as well. When Ephrael Stern fell in battle while free of the taint of chaos, the 700 souls saw their chance and used their combined might to heal her, strengthen her and make her faster, and pour their knowledge into her. Only Sister Stern returned, the sole survivor of the forces sent there, with her sanity stretched to the limit.
For four years she was held in a cell in the Convent Prioris on Ophelia VII so that her nature could be determined, until she was attacked by a Sister controlled by a chaos demon to silence her before that could happen. Ephrael killed the Sister with her bare hands, setting events in motion once more.
The Inquisition sent in Inquisitor Silas Hand to investigate what happened on Parnis, taking Stern with him. During this investigation the Sisters in the Screaming Cage finished their work and poured the last of their secrets on how to fight chaos as well as their power into her. Inquisitor Hand sacrificed himself to defeat the demon Asteroth, and once again Sister Stern was the sole survivor of the expedition. Stern was hunted by the Ordo Malleus as well as chaos powers, such as the sorcerer Ahriman, who she died a second time to escape from, stabbing herself in the heart to escape his grasp. Buried, she was revived by the gift given to her by her fallen sisters, a light of the warp but not of the warp. Ephrael finally embraced her power and defeated a Culexus Assassin, overwhelming its abilities with her own. Ephrael Stern was last seen traveling with an Eldar known as the Pariah to the Black Library, using her abilities to access the webway. Though the Ordo believes she presents an extreme danger to the Imperium, and has issued orders for her destruction, some members of the Ordo think she might be Mankind's greatest hope since the Primarchs.
Indomitus Crusade
Imperium Nihilus
Ephrael Stern alongside her Harlequin companion Kyganil appeared again in the Imperium Nihilus, fighting her way from world to world trying to redeem herself and discover the Black Library to preserve the knowledge of the fallen Sisters within her. On the world of Parastas she battles Daemons while seeking a relic known as the Skull of Saint Aphrania. After defeating the Great Unclean One Thylissix, she discovers the skull only to have it crumble in her hand. Falling into despair, she then experiences a vision that she interprets as symbolizing the death of the Emperor and the fall of the Imperium.[3a] Afterwards, she meets with the Ordo Xenos Inquisitor Dagover and his retinue, who reveals that he has been seeking her for over a century.[3b] After preserving Exterminatus on Parastas, they leave on the Inquisitorial Black Ship Iudex Ferox.[3c]
Aboard the Iudex Ferox, Dagover and Stern discuss their next steps. At Kyganil's advice, they decide to find Yvraine of the Ynnari. Entering the Webway, they are able to find Yvraine and learns about the return of Roboute Guilliman. Yvraine agrees to help Stern investigate her vision of the Imperium's end, provided Kyganil seek out a Solitaire. Stern then prays and receives a vision of her next destination: the Forge World of Severitas on the other side of the Great Rift. Upon arriving at Severitas, the group helps rescue a force of the Order of Our Martyred Lady under Canoness Macrina from a Heretic attack. Stern is recognized by one of the older Sisters and quickly condemned a heretic. Fighting between Stern and the Sororitas is only avoided due to the intervention of Inquisitor Dagover.[3c]
Stern and Dagover agree to fight the Chaos forces on Severitas alongside the Sisters, believing they are led by a powerful Master of Possession. The Chaos forces launch an attack on the central Cathedral to the Emperor with both Daemons, Daemon Engines, and the reanimated corpses of fallen Sisters. Stern is able to use her massive psychic powers to beat back the attack and realizes that she is the main target of the enemy attack.[3d] The Imperials fall back to the Cathedral as Stern vows to eliminate Varak Ghar, the Word Bearers Master of Possession, alone. Using the mass sacrifice of his Cultist followers, Ghar is able to bring his temple to the Chaos Gods to life and uses it to capture Stern.[3e]
Ghar reveals he knows who Stern is and that she would arrive, intending to corrupt her into a saint of Chaos as his forces launch a final attack on the Imperial Cathedral. Stern is however able to use her faith in the Emperor, not the Warp, to massively empower herself and unleashes her fight. Ghar sacrifices the remaining millions of his followers to fuse with his fortress and attempts to crush Stern. However the Saint is able to destroy the nexus at the center of the fortress which holds Ghar, obliterating him. The blast of the destruction of the heretical fortress decimates the remaining traitor forces.[3f]
After the battle, Dagover is overcome with terror at the realization that Stern's power is far too great for him to control. He decides to leave before Stern returns, fearing her power and future. The surviving Sisters of Battle find a wounded Stern and after aiding her kneel before their new Saint.[3g] Afterwards, she recovers aboard the Sisters of Battle Cruiser Iron Penitence. Her visions speak of a "nothingness" and heads towards its prophesized location strongly implied to be the Pariah Nexus.[3h]
Pariah Nexus
Ephrael Stern appeared again during the War in the Pariah Nexus as part of the Indomitus Crusade. Commanding a portion of the Order of Our Martyred Lady and Order of the Bloody Rose, she proved to be a constant thorn in the side of Illuminor Szeras, who was not able to understand or counter her faith-based power. Indeed, her power of faith was unable to be suppressed by the Pariah Nexus, giving the Imperials a vital edge in the conflict.[2] Her seeming immunity to the pariah effect has frustrated the Cryptek Szeras most of all, who seeks to understand the source of her power.[4]
Wargear and Abilities
Stern wields a bolt pistol and a power sword named Sanctity.[4] But even without these weapons, she is an extremely formidable fighter. Since her strange rebirth, she has displayed powerful supernatural abilities such as strength and speed above that of any other Battle Sister. She also can unleash bolts of purifying lightning at her foes. Most disturbingly, when slain she can return to life.[4]
Images
Trivia
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Special Issue: Hammer Time!
- Warhammer Monthly 63 included stories of its Warhammer 40,000 characters in Warhammer Fantasy settings (and vice versa), including Ephrael von Stern an amnesiac sister of the of the Sisters of Sigmar who is sent to find her memory, allying with Silas Handschaff (Silas Hand) as she locates the find the Chaos cultists who killed her matriarch. Unleashing the cleansing fire of Sigmar at Silas' death, pledging to go herself to the pit at the heart of Mordheim and cleanse the city of Chaos.[5]
Sources
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- 1: Warhammer Community: Heroes, Heretics and a Squirrel (posted 04/04/2020) (last accessed 4/2/2020)
- 2: Psychic Awakening: Pariah - Battle of the Gates
- 3: Ephrael Stern: Heretic Saint (Novel):
- 4: Codex: Adepta Sororitas (10th Edition), pg. 28
- 5: Warhammer Monthly 63 – Hammer Time: Ephrael von Stern: Sister of Sigmar
Uncited
- Daemonifuge (Graphic Novel Series)
- The Inquisition (Background Book), pg. 82
- Background information: Villainy & Infamy - GW UK website (archived from the original 8 July 2008, last accessed 11 February 2026)
