The Scarlet Veil

The Scarlet Veil is structured around a hierarchy of masked initiates known as the Veiled, with the highest-ranking members known as Red Sisters or Red Siblings regardless of gender. At the top sits the Flamebearer, a high priestess or priest chosen by divine vision and erotic revelation. Each temple is autonomous but follows the traditions passed through sacred oral rites and the Codex of Unbinding. Ritual leaders are titled Whisperers, dancers as Embers, and confession-takers as Listeners.

The Scarlet Veil cultivates a culture of radical vulnerability, body reclamation, and emotional truth. Members believe that shame is an inherited poison that must be burned away through sacred rites of passion, movement, and confession. Masks are worn not to hide, but to liberate. All genders, sexualities, and body types are sacred, and the dance floor is a holy space where divinity is evoked through physical expression.

Outwardly, the Scarlet Veil seeks to deconstruct societal shame, protect the vulnerable from coercion, and inspire emotional authenticity. They provide sanctuary to outcasts, sex workers, victims of abuse, and those navigating desire and identity. Their temples often double as places of healing and liberation, but some fear their ecstatic rites and subversive teachings.

• Age of Binding: Ziralei dances alone beneath the first moon, weeping fire into the sea. The first mortal joins her in sacred dance and is freed from shame.
• Era of Silence: The Scarlet Veil is persecuted by empire-churches who view their rites as blasphemy.
• The Reign of Masks: Underground temples flourish, spreading among the oppressed and enslaved. The Codex of Unbinding is compiled from whispered memory.
• Current Era: The Scarlet Veil is semi-legal in some cities, openly embraced in others, and outlawed entirely in conservative or rigidly pious regions.

Key myths include The Dance of First Fire (Ziralei's descent into the mortal world to awaken desire), The Shattering of the Mirror (a tale of confronting internalized shame), and The Veil Torn in Scarlet (the origin of the masked rites). These myths emphasize the reclamation of selfhood through ecstasy, truth, and sensual vulnerability.

According to the faithful, Ziralei revealed her rites to the First Dancer in a moonlit dream shared between planes. The religion spread orally, carried by wandering performers and shamans. No original scripture exists; the Codex of Unbinding is a collected memory of many voices.

The faithful believe the world is layered in veils: of fear, of expectation, of shame. Beneath these lies raw divinity, accessible through ecstatic revelation. The body is a temple, the dance a key, and desire a divine compass. The moon is seen as Ziralei’s eye, ever watching those who dare reveal their true selves.

• Shame is not born, but given—and can be cast off.
• The body is sacred.
• Vulnerability is strength.
• Dance is prayer.
• Desire is divine when freely chosen.
• Masks are not lies, but doors.
• Confession is healing.

Consent is the cornerstone of all rites. Coercion, manipulation, or forced participation are the gravest sins. The Scarlet Veil teaches that truth must come from within, and that self-denial breeds corruption. Self-love, bodily autonomy, and honest expression are celebrated. Sins are viewed not as moral failings, but wounds to be tended.

Daily rites include masked dancing, moon-gazing, journaling desire, and intimate confession. Major holy nights are held during full moons, marked by open rituals of dance, shared storytelling, and guided emotional release. Offerings include poems, locks of hair, whispered secrets, and crafted masks.

Daily rites include masked dancing, moon-gazing, journaling desire, and intimate confession. Major holy nights are held during full moons, marked by open rituals of dance, shared storytelling, and guided emotional release. Offerings include poems, locks of hair, whispered secrets, and crafted masks.

Clerics and paladins of the Scarlet Veil may invoke:

• Flame of Revelation (reveals hidden emotions or illusions)
• Sanctuary of the Veil (creates a safe emotional space)
• Dance of the Unbound (grants supernatural grace and charm)
• Moonlit Confession (compels honest speech under moonlight)
• Ecstatic Flame (radiant damage tied to emotional intensity)