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'''Goge Vandire''' was the trigger to the [[Age of Apostasy]] that nearly tore the [[Imperium]] apart. He became known as a megalomanic, and at the end, almost completly insane. He reached the important position of [[High Lords of Terra|High Lord]] of the [[Administratum]] by the use of assassination and threats, and later manipulated the [[Ecclesiarch]] [[Paulis III]] to secure control over the [[Ecclesiarchy]]. Vandire later declared Paulis a heretic and murdered him, assuming this position as well.
In later years, he became more and more paranoid and increasingly easily angered, as well as turning into a drooling fool. At the end he was executed by Dominica, the leader of his own bodyguard of , the [[Adepta SororitasSisters of Battle|Brides of the Emperor]].
==Early Life==
==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 worshipping the Emperor. Vandire immediately flew into a furious rage (which was normal), but his advisors 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 [[Adepta SororitasSisters 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 "honor" 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 favor. 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 the 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.
==Resistance to Vandire's reign==
It was at this time, over seventy years after San Leor, that Vandire learned of a serious threat to the reign of the Ecclesiarchy. The planet [[Dimmamar]] had openly declared Vandire to be a traitor, and long-banned rituals of worship of the Emperor were being reinstated under the umbrella of the so-called Confederation of Light. The leader associated with this new resistance movement was known only as [[Age_of_Apostasy#Sebastian_Thor|Sebastian Thor]]. Some High Lords feared he may have been a daemon seeking the destruction of the High Lords, or worse- the Imperium itself.
After a month of debate, the council of High Lords of Terra was unable to agree upon a suitable response to the rebellion. Vandire himself remained silent on the matter, and would simply stare blankly during meetings, surrounded by his retinue of Brides. Three months after the initial discovery of the Dimmamar revolt, over eighty systems had joined the movement; the number would have been higher if not for the military might of the Ecclesiarchy itself. Eventually a powerful, handpicked fleet of Ecclesiarchy forces was sent to devastate Dimmamar and destroy all life on the planet. The fleet did not make it, however, as it was destroyed by a sudden, massive warp storm; the region of space where this occurred is still regarded as being haunted, and is known as the [[Storm of the Emperor's Wrath]].
With the destruction of the fleet, the entire sector which included Dimmamar erupted into open rebellion. Vandire's handpicked sector officials were lynched, and still more reports came to the High Lords of this mysterious man, Sebastian Thor, who was revealed to be simply a normal, pious man who claimed to be having visions granted by the Emperor himself. Thor's Confederation of Light swelled to over five million strong in just one year, and this army began to slowly make its way towards Terra. Planet after planet were swayed to join his Confederation of Light- even worlds still tightly gripped by Cardinals loyal to Vandire.
The [[Fabricator General]] of the Adeptus Mechanicus ordered several regiments of Tech Guard to attack Vandire's Ecclesiarchy Palace on Terra; this force was joined by Space Marines from several chapters, including the [[Imperial Fists]], [[Black Templars]], [[Soul Drinkers]], and [[Fire Hawks]]. The assault on the impenetrable fortress that is the palace was difficult- not only due to the fortifications themselves, but also because the Brides of the Emperor had been expanded to a force of over 10,000 elite warriors. The campaign to remove Vandire from power bogged down into a lengthy siege.
Deep within the Imperial palace, eternally guarding the Emperor's body, stand stands the [[Adeptus Custodes]], or aka Custodians. To keep themselves completely pure of heart and mind, they voluntarily cut themselves off from the outside world, and, during the bloody reign of Vandire, they remained so. However, they learned of the assault upon Vandire's palace, and became aware of the events that had led to the invasion. Utilizing secret passages known only to their order, a small contingent of Custodians was able to reach Vandire's inner sanctum, but was prevented by the Brides from seeing him. The Custodians requested a parley, and were granted the request, but, despite lengthy negotiations, were unable to convince the Brides to renounce their oaths.
The Centurion leading the Custodian band then made one final attempt to convince the Brides of their error. He eventually persuaded the leader of the Brides, Alicia Dominica, along with her bodyguard to follow him through the labyrinth of passages into the presence of the Emperor himself. It is unknown what transpired there (the Brides have been sworn to utmost secrecy), but Dominica was filled with righteous anger, as she had finally become aware of Vandire's evil. She returned to the Brides, spoke to her sisters of the treachery of Vandire and the perversion of their order; the order returned to their old name, the '''Daughters of the Emperor'''. A ceasefire was reached with the invasion force.
Dominica then went into Vandire's inner chamber, where he stood alone with his galactic map, feverishly barking out orders to commanders and scribes who had abandoned him. She pronounced him a traitor -
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 defense.
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.
