Honored Matres: the Sisterhood's dark mirror

The Honored Matres were a powerful and militant faction of women who emerged from uncharted space as formidable rivals and sinister reflections of the Bene Gesserit Sisterhood, some fifteen centuries after the death of God Emperor Leto Atreides II. Sharing some Bene Gesserit roots but transformed by their long absence, they sought not subtle influence but absolute control, conquering through sexual enslavement, intimidation, and the destruction of entire worlds. (Heretics of Dune; Chapterhouse: Dune)

Origins in the Scattering#

During the departure of countless people in the Scattering, the Bene Gesserit sent out many exploration and colonization teams from within their own ranks, and nothing was heard of them again. Some, it was later discovered, survived and thrived in numbers and power, but their experiences and their dealings with other groups from the Scattering triggered fundamental changes in their beliefs, customs, and objectives. According to the evidence of Reverend Mother Bellonda, the Honored Matres were formed in the Scattering by the Sisterhood's Reverend Mothers who had been sent out in these groups, together with the Fish Speakers who had once served Leto II. (Heretics of Dune; Chapterhouse: Dune)

Return to the Old Empire#

The Matres eventually fled back into the Old Atreides Empire from the Ones of Many Faces who hunted them. They established a base on Gammu and took control of an increasing number of planets, and in time the Honored Matres attacked the Bene Gesserit Keep there in an attempt on the life of a Duncan Idaho ghola designed by the Bene Tleilax as a weapon against them, initiating the War of the Sisterhoods. They made Junction the capital of their war of conquest. Their return marks the last great era on the Dune timeline, roughly five thousand years after Paul Muad'Dib. (Heretics of Dune; Chapterhouse: Dune)

Customs and ideology#

While some Bene Gesserit ideologies remained part of the Honored Matre identity, the Matres incorporated outside customs and philosophies that set them sharply apart from their ancestral origins, often placing them at odds with the Sisterhood. Key among these was their view of control. Where the Bene Gesserit used subtle and often deceptive methods to keep their place within an existing balance of power, the Honored Matres sought to supersede the status quo and seize absolute control over all other groups. This required the enslavement or destruction of every rival power broker. (Heretics of Dune; Chapterhouse: Dune)

The most effective method the Honored Matres used to infiltrate and overwhelm other groups was a form of sexual enslavement. During their evolution in uncharted space, they perfected sexual intercourse into a narcotic process. Through carefully crafted skills, a practitioner could coerce an outsider, typically male, into total subservience. Performed often and upon the right individuals, this allowed them to conquer many groups in uncharted space and to build a formidable military and resource base. (Heretics of Dune; Chapterhouse: Dune)

Leadership and culture of violence#

The Honored Matres hungered for intimidation and violence, a trait that pervaded their entire culture and was evident in their frequent use of assassination to gain power. Leadership was held through the absolute control of a single member, who typically rose to the top by killing the previous leader and any colleagues in her way; this was the established rite of ascension. As a result the title of leader changed frequently, and loyalty between Honored Matres was conditional at best. (Chapterhouse: Dune)

War with the Bene Gesserit#

Seeking Bene Gesserit skills such as cellular control, the Matres continued their violence, destroying planets and civilizations with Weapons stolen from the Ones of Many Faces. Returning to the core of the Old Empire during the leadership of Mother Superior Alma Mavis Taraza, they wrought havoc to instill fear and seize absolute power. They ultimately attacked the planet Rakis, killing Taraza, and when Supreme Bashar Miles Teg led a last suicidal defense designed to draw their rage, they destroyed the planet and its sandworms. Though most groups of the Old Empire were conquered or infiltrated, including the Bene Tleilax, the Bene Gesserit mounted strong resistance, owing in no small part to their immunity to the enslavement skills of the Matres and to the efforts of Miles Teg and one of the Duncan Idaho gholas. One of the Honored Matres, Murbella, joined the Bene Gesserit during this period. (Heretics of Dune; Chapterhouse: Dune)