The Postal Service
The Postal Service is an elite society within the Sainthood of Ashes whose Postwalkers carry mail between settlements, proving that civilization endures beyond each town's walls. Founded by Matriarch Rowan Marcos shortly after her ordination, the order was originally titled the Order of the Mailman and drew hundreds of faithful to the steps of the Ziggurat for its public announcement. The motto is simple: "The mail must go through."
Postwalkers are counted among the finest warriors and hardiest members of the Sainthood, selected and personally blessed by the Matriarch herself. They travel solo or in small groups through hostile territory, carrying massive leather mail bags with false bottoms. The public charge is the delivery of letters. The three secret charges, known only to members and the Matriarch, are far more ambitious: teach literacy wherever possible, deliver seeds hidden in the false-bottomed bags to remote Sainthood outposts for agricultural expansion, and smuggle enslaved Iron Slaves to freedom.
The clothing each Postwalker wears is specially hemmed with extra fabric that can be let out to fit a freed slave. They carry supplies, gear, and maps to safe houses for those they liberate. Outsiders see a mail carrier who fights like a soldier and reads like a scholar. They do not see the seeds worth more than a year's wages concealed beneath the letters, or the routes memorized to safe houses that exist on no public map. The Postal Service operates in plain sight, and its deepest work remains invisible.
Postwalkers are counted among the finest warriors and hardiest members of the Sainthood, selected and personally blessed by the Matriarch herself. They travel solo or in small groups through hostile territory, carrying massive leather mail bags with false bottoms. The public charge is the delivery of letters. The three secret charges, known only to members and the Matriarch, are far more ambitious: teach literacy wherever possible, deliver seeds hidden in the false-bottomed bags to remote Sainthood outposts for agricultural expansion, and smuggle enslaved Iron Slaves to freedom.
The clothing each Postwalker wears is specially hemmed with extra fabric that can be let out to fit a freed slave. They carry supplies, gear, and maps to safe houses for those they liberate. Outsiders see a mail carrier who fights like a soldier and reads like a scholar. They do not see the seeds worth more than a year's wages concealed beneath the letters, or the routes memorized to safe houses that exist on no public map. The Postal Service operates in plain sight, and its deepest work remains invisible.
History
Corebook Era
The earliest public records describe the Postal Service as a group true to its ancestral name, taking information from township to township. The work was daunting, as most individuals could not survive alone in the wastelands, yet Post Walkers made most of their journeys without escort or guard. They accepted supplies and temporary board as payment for delivering information and personal letters, but refused monetary reimbursement for their efforts. Remaining simple in their means, they were most often seen carrying just their basic supplies, a weapon or two, and the Service's iconic parcel bag.
Each member was described as an elite survivor in the wasteland, a veteran of countless journeys and an able negotiator, often able to enter even the most well guarded and closed settlements to offer a chance to communicate with the outside world. While Post Walkers did not seek to travel with others, it was not uncommon for travelers to follow them as a means of protection. Some members reveled in the company; others refused to allow anyone to follow them into the wastes.
