Hammer and Anvil
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This article is about the Relic; for the Novel by James Swallow, see Hammer and Anvil (Novel). |
The Hammer and Anvil is a sacred relic of the Order of Our Martyred Lady, the Order Militant of the Adepta Sororitas devoted to Saint Katherine.[1a]
History
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The following paragraphs contain spoilers for: | Hammer and Anvil (Novel) |
The relic's appearance, and exact nature, is a closely guarded secret, and rumours abound as to both. Some believe it was a weapon created by the Emperor himself during the Horus Heresy; others that it is a repository of knowledge more vast than any library in the galaxy, or a device capable of redirecting the flow of time, created by rogue Mechanicus adepts in the employ of High Lord Goge Vandire.[1a]
The relic's official home was the Sororitas convent on Ophelia VII, but in secret the Order sent it on a pilgrimage around the galaxy, as a means of re-consecreting Sororitas sites.[1a]
The Hammer and Anvil was on Sanctuary 101 when the Imperium encountered the Necron race for the first time, when an army arose from stasis and destroyed the Shrinehold. As the stronghold fell, its Canoness sent one of the novices, Sister Decima, into the desert to hide it.[1b]
The relic was eventually recovered by Magos Tegas inside the Necron Tomb on the planet, where it had been cached years earlier. Examining it closely, he was bewildered to find that it was a "mere" book, of sermons written in Saint Katherine's own hand, without any hidden archeotech or forbidden knowledge. Sister Miriya commented that Tegas's reaction merely proved that the Mechanicus was sorely lacking in the faith in the Emperor that the Adepta Sororitas regarded as their greatest strength.[1c]
After the Necron presence on Sanctuary 101 was beaten back, a reading from the Hammer and Anvil, which had survived the battle, was used to re-consecrate the rebuilt convent.[1d]
Known Passages
- "Once, a Novice Cantus came to me, troubled and uncertain. A slip of a girl, only a few strides down the eternal path leading her to the Golden Throne. She asked me a question. She asked me how we can ever truly understand what faith is. I told her that there is no coin to measure what we feel in our hearts. There are no scales upon which we might weigh the faith of one woman against another. There is only duty and blood. There are only deeds and words. There is only the service to the God-Emperor, and the price that demands from each Sister can only be known by Him. But know that whatever fears must be faced, whatever hardships endured, that price is forever worth its full cost."[1d]
