Rusty Lanterns
Sub-sect of Sainthood of Ashes
The Rusty Lanterns are what happens when a saint loses their illusions but refuses to put down the lantern. They are the Sainthood of Ashes' grittiest subsect, members who have stared into the wasteland's worst corners and concluded that idealism alone will not save a thing. Their faith burns dim, dulled by years of witnessing the worst humanity can produce. But dim is not out. The Rusty Lanterns hold that even the smallest, ugliest flicker of progress is worth pursuing.
Their approach is pragmatic to the point of making other saints uncomfortable. Rusty Lanterns seek out the most corrupt, violent, and hopeless places in the wasteland and embed themselves within the very systems they despise: criminal organizations, morally bankrupt enclaves, corrupt settlements. Their aim is not to destroy these systems outright but to redirect their rot, nudging corruption toward self-destruction or less harmful outcomes. "You can't fix evil," goes their motto. "You can only aim it until it destroys itself."
Not pretty, not ornate, not luxurious. Functional. They bring light to the darkest places in the wastelands, and they are recognized as the grizzled, hard-edged personas who cause people to say, "Really, YOU are Sainthood?"
The Rusty Lanterns drink hard, fight harder, and rarely pretend the world is better than it is. Before each mission, they share the Bitter Draft, a harsh communal drink that symbolizes their acceptance of the grim work ahead. To the more righteous members of the Sainthood (particularly the Accensorites), the Lanterns are heartbreaking backsliders at best. To themselves, they are the first bitter step toward healing, paving a road through filth so that someone better can follow with cleaner feet.
Beyond their infiltration work, the Rusty Lanterns guard seed shipments to repopulate the wastelands and have worked with the Postal Service for a long time, providing means of entrance and exit from territories hostile to postal workers. The alliance serves both groups: the Lanterns gain access to the worst places in the wasteland while the Postal Service gains escorts through dangerous territory. The Lanterns hold a strong anti-slavery stance aligned with similar sentiments within the Postal Service and are positioned to become key players in the destruction of the established slave trade across the wasteland.
Their approach is pragmatic to the point of making other saints uncomfortable. Rusty Lanterns seek out the most corrupt, violent, and hopeless places in the wasteland and embed themselves within the very systems they despise: criminal organizations, morally bankrupt enclaves, corrupt settlements. Their aim is not to destroy these systems outright but to redirect their rot, nudging corruption toward self-destruction or less harmful outcomes. "You can't fix evil," goes their motto. "You can only aim it until it destroys itself."
Not pretty, not ornate, not luxurious. Functional. They bring light to the darkest places in the wastelands, and they are recognized as the grizzled, hard-edged personas who cause people to say, "Really, YOU are Sainthood?"
The Rusty Lanterns drink hard, fight harder, and rarely pretend the world is better than it is. Before each mission, they share the Bitter Draft, a harsh communal drink that symbolizes their acceptance of the grim work ahead. To the more righteous members of the Sainthood (particularly the Accensorites), the Lanterns are heartbreaking backsliders at best. To themselves, they are the first bitter step toward healing, paving a road through filth so that someone better can follow with cleaner feet.
Beyond their infiltration work, the Rusty Lanterns guard seed shipments to repopulate the wastelands and have worked with the Postal Service for a long time, providing means of entrance and exit from territories hostile to postal workers. The alliance serves both groups: the Lanterns gain access to the worst places in the wasteland while the Postal Service gains escorts through dangerous territory. The Lanterns hold a strong anti-slavery stance aligned with similar sentiments within the Postal Service and are positioned to become key players in the destruction of the established slave trade across the wasteland.
Public Agenda
Infiltrate the wasteland's most corrupt and violent places to redirect their rot toward self-destruction. The Rusty Lanterns prioritize incremental, pragmatic progress over idealistic gestures, believing that the first step toward healing often requires getting dirty enough that others will not follow.
History
The Rusty Lanterns formed within the Sainthood of Ashes from those who lost faith in grand gestures but refused to abandon the mission entirely. Disillusioned by years of witnessing the wasteland's worst, they developed a practice of pragmatic infiltration, embedding themselves in corrupt systems to redirect harm rather than confront it openly. Their willingness to work alongside criminals and moral compromisers placed them at perpetual odds with the more idealistic wings of the Sainthood.
During the Regicide era (around 117 DC), the Sunken Saints contacted the Rusty Lanterns to stand against the Rat King. Together they devised a strategy: stage a rebellion to draw the Rat King's armies away from his stronghold, allowing assassins access to his Kingdom. The alliance demonstrated what the Lanterns do best: dirty work in service of a larger cause, executed without illusions about the cost.
By 124 DC, the Lanterns had expanded their operations beyond infiltration and sabotage. They took on the role of guarding seed shipments to repopulate barren wastelands and deepened their long-standing alliance with the Postal Service, providing safe passage through territories too hostile for postal workers to cross alone. Their anti-slavery stance, aligned with the Postal Service's own convictions, positioned them as key players in the mounting effort to dismantle the established slave trade across the wasteland.
During the Regicide era (around 117 DC), the Sunken Saints contacted the Rusty Lanterns to stand against the Rat King. Together they devised a strategy: stage a rebellion to draw the Rat King's armies away from his stronghold, allowing assassins access to his Kingdom. The alliance demonstrated what the Lanterns do best: dirty work in service of a larger cause, executed without illusions about the cost.
By 124 DC, the Lanterns had expanded their operations beyond infiltration and sabotage. They took on the role of guarding seed shipments to repopulate barren wastelands and deepened their long-standing alliance with the Postal Service, providing safe passage through territories too hostile for postal workers to cross alone. Their anti-slavery stance, aligned with the Postal Service's own convictions, positioned them as key players in the mounting effort to dismantle the established slave trade across the wasteland.
The Sainthood of Ashes' disillusioned pragmatists, infiltrating corrupt systems to redirect evil toward self-destruction.
