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Despite Vandire's noble campaign to rid the Imperium of the Ecclesiarchy's undue influence, his own reign proved to be far worse. He quickly proved to be thoroughly insane, and would take great delight in torturing anyone, regardless of guilt or innocence, claiming he was 'purifying their soul'. It is said that he would fall into trances where he would mutter to himself or even shout out loud, and would claim that he had been receiving messages from the Emperor; these communications would be followed by extreme violence against his subjects.
Vandire's network of spies was quite extensive. His audience chamber contained a sophisticated map of the galaxy, which he would use to order attacks on any planet he felt was not fully under his control. The Imperial military was all too willing to aid him in his attacks, and atrocities were routinely carried out without question. The enslavement of entire populations, virus bombings of innocent worlds, even the use of planetary defense defence lasers to melt polar ice caps (thereby drowning the world's population)- all were done in Vandire's name without question.
However, some portions of the Imperium remained free of the horrors of Vandire's reign. The Space Marines and Adeptus Mechanicus maintained their own small, semi-independent states within the Imperium; for example, many Marine chapters rule over their own home planet(s), virtually independent from the central government of the Imperium. Vandire's tyranny was not felt in these enclaves. By the same token, these very powerful military forces of the Emperor steered clear of Vandire, allowing him a free hand everywhere else in the Imperium.
==Discovery on San Leor==
During one of his many briefings, Vandire learned of the existence of a secret cult on the planet of [[San Leor]], which was dedicated to worshiping worshipping the Emperor. Vandire immediately flew into a furious rage (which was normal), but his advisers insisted on continuing their briefing. He was told that this sect, which had previously managed to remain hidden from the Ecclesiarchy, was an all-female group known as the [[Sisters of Battle|Daughters of the Emperor]], which dedicated itself to mastering ancient martial skills. Vandire's rage was suddenly abated, and he decided he would grant them the "honorhonour" of a visit.
Upon arriving on San Leor, a truly massive procession (said to be "miles long") brought Vandire to the Daughters' temple. The Daughters refused him entry, stating that they did not recognize his authority. Rather than fly into a rage, as he normally would, Vandire calmly stated that he would prove that he held the Emperor's favorfavour. The Daughters allowed him entry to their temple, wherein he made a short prayer, and ordered one of the soldiers in his entourage to shoot him. After an initial hesitation, the soldier did as ordered; however, Vandire was not harmed. There was a bright flash of light and the laser blast was dissipated.
Unbeknownst to both the entourage and the Daughters, Vandire carried the [[Rosarius]] of the Ecclesiarch, a sacred badge of office which contains a powerful energy field generator. The Daughters believed that he had been saved by the grace of the Emperor, and immediately swore loyalty to Vandire; they were renamed as '''Brides of the Emperor''' and were trained by the best Imperial military officials to be Vandire's elite bodyguard. Vandire would later secretly brag to his scribes about the gamble he took; he had hoped that the Daughters would not know of the Rosarius or energy fields.
Sebastian Thor eventually became the new Ecclesiarch, and brought great reforms to the organization which finally ended the Age of Apostasy. He permanently moved the much of the organization to Ophelia VII, as a sort of dual capital along with Terra. This would prevent another incidence of a High Lord taking control of the Ecclesiarchy, and aid in dissemination of Ecclesiarchal dogma. [[Dioceses]] were diminished into smaller areas, so that a single Cardinal would not have control over a very large area, and also increasing the overall number of Cardinals, something which would further dilute power.
One notable change was the '''Decree Passive''' of the High Lords, which declared that the Ecclesiarchy could have ''no men under arms''. Thor complied with this, and all military functions of the Ecclesiarchy were disbanded, except for one - the Daughters of the Emperor remained, but were renamed the Orders Militant of the [[Sisters of Battle|Adepta Sororitas]] (aka Sisters of Battle). As "women under arms", they did not violate the decree; while the spirit of the decree may not have been followed, Thor believed that the Ecclesiarchy should have some military force of their own, so that it would not be completely reliant upon other Imperial military forces for its own defensedefence.
A less noticeable yet very important development was the creation of the [[Ordo Hereticus]] within the [[Inquisition]]. This order of the secretive Inquisition is tasked with watching over the Ecclesiarchy and ensuring that its dogma and decrees conform to accepted Imperial standards, as well as preventing Cardinals from assuming too much power or otherwise going against Imperial policy. This mandate has since expanded significantly to include hunting down other internal threats to the Imperium, notably mutants, rogue [[psyker]]s, and "[[heretic]]s" (anyone deemed to be not in accordance with Imperial dogma). The Adepta Sororitas often work alongside the Ordo Hereticus, as they frequently share goals, notably in hunting heretics.
