Casteviedan Sanctus

“I carry the last flicker of a candle. I revitalize the dying gasp of life across the dark expanse. I am the ghost of dawn that carves streaks of light to break the blight. The brush that paints the black clouds above in shades of white.   Heralded by a mask depicting his skull, I purge myself of lust, pride and ambition. My life is oathsworn in service to Ysand. To be his mortal angel made manifest on this earth. To judge the abhorrent and challenge them in the same way you taught us to do. With a rusted blade of bronze, I deliver absolution to those that defy your will. To oversee the rise of Casteviedo and to further the conquests of our Golden Empire.”

    The Sanctus is a specialized elite of the Casteviedo III Revenant Legion, made with the purpose of overpowering enemy monster units or mystical elements through fanatic devotion.   Handpicked between the most zealous of the Casteviedan soldiers, the few that show the greatest aptitude for magic and hand to hand combat are sent to Shieldbrandt Monastery. Here they are forged into an Inquisitor archetype of assassin, through rigid training and punishing trials that involves submerging themselves beneath water and remaining unflinching until they stand on the brink of drowning.   These tribulations are carried out in full gear, inevitably turning their iron-coated bronze blades’ edges rusty. At the final rite of a Sanctus ascent into an instrument of Ysand’s judgement, the blade is reforged into a falx. Through alchemical oil treatments that are lit alight to engulf the weapon in holy flames, the impurities of the rusted iron layer is licked away by the fire. This method of purifying the bronze weapon both strengthens it and infuses it with magic.       With the bronze metal infused with the residues of sacred oil and iron, the remnants of the rust form an outer alloy on the blade. Now sturdier and attuned to sacred magics, this razor sharp sword was made to stab through the joints of armour, carve through limbs and sever the heads of their foes in wild yet graceful slashes. It also directly harnesses divine magic with no use of runes, though to a lower potency where the Sanctus can engulf the blade in a pale white flame - by force of will alone.   A handcannon of a revolver. This masterwork of steel chambers four bullets to be shot through a tall and stout barrel. It recoils hard enough to send an ordinary man toppling back, as the armour piercing rounds can penetrate through thinner trees and easily punch through heavy plating.   A perfect side-arm to ensure creatures more than twice the size of the Sanctus may learn that death dances with anyone. The larger only make a greater impact when they inevitably meet with the ground.   On the Sanctus belt rests their Tome of Sanctity. A sacred codex bestowed unto them by the Inquisition. This book is distinguished by a snow white leather cover, marked in the center by a golden sun with nine flares. Flares that curve out clockwise and have been described to look like scimitar blades. On the pages of the tome, one may find various rites and spells of the holy and fire schools - themed by magic that have through scripture and tradition been passed down into religious law as righteous, according to Ysand. In recent history, it has also been recorded that some Sanctus who fought with a pure heart and just intent have been directly blessed by Ysand’s divine domain to use the book alone as a spell foci, without requiring a physical source to draw potency from.     A decorated inquisitorial coat with brown leather sleeves stitched upon an olive-green oilcloth body, made from the finest jungle flax. Upon a Sanctus shoulders rests no armour as they are shielded by divine intents alone. Only gold adorned epaulettes shadowed by a tall collar sits firm around their neck. Below it runs a majestic green mantle, all the way down to their ankles.   Along the edges of the coat, the sleeves and the inner tunica, gold bullion embroidery aims to dazzle and make the Sanctus a figure who stands out from the crowd. Yet underneath the wide brim of their inquisitorial hats, an ivory mask crafted in the likeness of Ysand’s skull covers their identity. Standing as a stark symbol of their god’s sacrifice and that of their own they carry out in his name.