Vestis Doloris

The Vestis Doloris is the hair shirt associated with the secretive and little-known religious order known as "The Nameless." This group, operating under the authority of the Hierarch of the West, believes that the path to God in Heaven lies through the abnegation of the self and devoted service to the Church. They employ pain to break down and destroy the ego, striving to eradicate all traces of personal identity. In its place, they adopt a collection of carefully curated personas, which they call upon in service to the Church, assuming whatever identity is necessary to accomplish their missions. The Nameless function as an intelligence agency for the Church in the West, infiltrating secular institutions and governments to uncover secrets and expose sins, so that the Church may enact correction.

Other penitent orders within the Church also employ hair shirts, and the Nameless often conceal themselves among their ranks when not actively deployed as spies. However, not all hair shirts are created equal. The Vestis Doloris is carefully crafted to inflict constant, unignorable pain, serving as an ever-present reminder of the sins of the flesh and the necessity of self-abnegation.

Semita ad Puritatem per Dolorem est

Like all hair shirts, the Vestis Doloris is woven from coarse hair - typically that of a goat. The resulting fabric abrades the skin, causing rashes and open sores when worn against bare flesh, which, in the case of the Vestis Doloris, it always is. Fine wires are threaded through the weave, sliding across the skin to open shallow cuts. These wounds weep blood, and many of the Nameless must confront and banish pride when they see how much blood their garment has absorbed. The Vestis Doloris is designed to be cinched tightly around the body to maximize discomfort; several belts and buckles along the trunk of the garment serve this purpose.

To the Nameless, the Vestis Doloris is more than a tool of mortification - it is spiritual armor, deflecting the temptations of the flesh and warding off the sins of selfhood. In its painful embrace, they feel the grasp of God in Heaven upon their souls and know that, when at last they are freed from this corrupt mortal realm, they will join the Divine Choir.

Sub Imperio Dei

At times, in the service of God, the Nameless must imperil their souls and remove the Vestis Doloris. This most often occurs when they must embed themselves in a role where the presence of the garment would reveal their true purpose and jeopardize the mission. These moments are difficult for the Nameless, who often feel vulnerable and adrift without the garment's embrace. Most will wear an abbreviated version if possible - a belt of goat hair with metal thorns woven into the fabric, cinched tightly about the waist - but some missions preclude even this. Still, there is always a way to suffer, and the Nameless know them all. Whatever substitute they employ, they will don the Vestis Doloris again as soon as it can be done without compromising their mission - even if only for a few brief moments.

et solus Deus in Caelis manet

The Vestis Doloris is an essential instrument in the spiritual practice of the Nameless. Through it, they surrender themselves wholly to God in Heaven. The pain is nothing - only God matters. And when the self is gone, when all that remains is God in Heaven, then true service to the Divine and the Church may begin. It is a bloody path to Heaven, but the sacrifice of the self ensures that no temptation, no sin, can bar the way to salvation.