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I suppose it would be theoretically possible for the Emperor to have daemons, given his Warp footprint. Just not sure if Celestine being a daemon is in any way supported by canon, though it would certainly explain why she can't be killed.

In-story, of course, to suggest the Living Saint is a daemon would be heresy of the highest order.

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Been a while since I read it, but in the lead up to Guilliman’s return, the sourcebook did seem to suggest that. I think it was a self description as a “failed experiment”.

Sort of, maybe, but probably not.

It is unclear where faith powers originate, but a major theory is that they are chanelling the warp power of the Emperor, who is becoming a Warp god. This means Celestine could be more of a sorceror rather than a daemon. To become a daemon prince, she would need to develop an immortal soul, which... maybe she has? She can revive from a mortal level of harm, but she may still fall prey to old age. Too soon to tell.

There’s also the argument that whatever is powering Acts of Faith, it’s not coming from The Warp. That’s based on Sisters of Battle being largely unaffected by the Pariah Nexus, where psykers in particular have a pretty awful time.

Is it supernatural? Yes. Absolutely. But it could be coming from a different dimension to our own and The Warp.

Not a popular bit of conjecture and I’m not claiming it’s especially supported. But it is something to consider.

The same claim has been made for the Legion of the Damned, and it's still a mystery (events during the Webway War excluded).

Yes, Saint Celestine is a daemon, if by daemon you mean an entity from the warp that is sustained by the warp. In the Rising Storm books and specifically the one about the Fall of Cadia, there is a little vignette about an unnamed female (though it's clearly hinted to be Celestine) slumbering in an unnamed place (i.e. the warp) and being called from her rest. In the process, she notes that every time she does so, she loses a part of her herself and a little bit of color fades from her vision or her surroundings and eventually it will all be gone. That to me seemed to hint that for whatever reason even Living Saints are not eternal and eventually will be used up even if that process is incredibly long by the standards of humanity.

The debate about Acts of Faith has been ongoing because GW itself has been inconsistent. In the Rising Storm, when the Cadian pylons are activated, warp phenomena such as daemons are weakened and some daemons are banished back to the warp, and at the same time Celestine's light also dimmed, implying that her power was also warp derived. However the Pariah Nexus has those with strong faith being unaffected by the null zone aura at least for a time, while psykers struggled mightily since the warp was so becalmed and blocked.

My personal headcanon is that Acts of Faith are ultimately warp derived as they are still supernatural effects but they are being "pushed" from the warp side by a god-scale entity (i.e. by the Emperor) whereas a psyker is trying to reach the warp from the materium to scoop warp energy for their abilities. Since a psyker is a smaller entity than a god, they struggle, whereas the god is powerful enough to push through their effects despite the Necron null zone. That is how I would explain why other supernatural effects such as Plague Marines (who should not be alive simply due to biology making their bodies non-functional) don't just keel over and die in a null zone. They are being sustained by the blessings of Nurgle so again the supernatural effect is being pushed from the warp side by a god.

Iracundus wrote:
Yes, Saint Celestine is a daemon, if by daemon you mean an entity from the warp that is sustained by the warp. In the Rising Storm books and specifically the one about the Fall of Cadia, there is a little vignette about an unnamed female (though it's clearly hinted to be Celestine) slumbering in an unnamed place (i.e. the warp) and being called from her rest. In the process, she notes that every time she does so, she loses a part of her herself and a little bit of color fades from her vision or her surroundings and eventually it will all be gone. That to me seemed to hint that for whatever reason even Living Saints are not eternal and eventually will be used up even if that process is incredibly long by the standards of humanity.

The debate about Acts of Faith has been ongoing because GW itself has been inconsistent. In the Rising Storm, when the Cadian pylons are activated, warp phenomena such as daemons are weakened and some daemons are banished back to the warp, and at the same time Celestine's light also dimmed, implying that her power was also warp derived. However the Pariah Nexus has those with strong faith being unaffected by the null zone aura at least for a time, while psykers struggled mightily since the warp was so becalmed and blocked.

My personal headcanon is that Acts of Faith are ultimately warp derived as they are still supernatural effects but they are being "pushed" from the warp side by a god-scale entity (i.e. by the Emperor) whereas a psyker is trying to reach the warp from the materium to scoop warp energy for their abilities. Since a psyker is a smaller entity than a god, they struggle, whereas the god is powerful enough to push through their effects despite the Necron null zone. That is how I would explain why other supernatural effects such as Plague Marines (who should not be alive simply due to biology making their bodies non-functional) don't just keel over and die in a null zone. They are being sustained by the blessings of Nurgle so again the supernatural effect is being pushed from the warp side by a god.

Had not heard that first bit before. Sounds like the Saints are Stormcast Eternals being reforged. Emperor as Sigmar confirmed?

Yes, she's a daemonic entity- but of Order/ faith/ good whathaveyou.
The smoking gun is the Fall of Cadia. 'Member the ancient Necron pylons that kept Chaos at bay? Well, Abaddon got foot troops to destroy those and Daemons could come in. But behold- in their darkest hour the saint appears!...
So, she was just waiting for the right time? Nope- she was held back, same as other daemons.

Emperor uses refined warp energy to give Sisters of Battle magical powers(including even ones living saints utilizes)

I've always figured that was the case, she's a "daemon" but only in the sense that she's created from the hopes and prayers of people rather than their darker desires. Kinda the same way the humans in the Tau Empire are slowly creating a minor warp god of the Greater Good.