The Order of the Pariah has an ambivalent reputation in
the Horizon. On the one hand, their work with the sick and
the poor on Coriolis is greatly lauded, but at the same time,
people whisper about their bloody war crimes during the
Portal Wars and their crusade against dissidents in their
home system, Zalos.
On Coriolis, the Order is known as the
Samaritans. They run a hospital, a sanatorium
for the hyper sick, a poor house, several soup
kitchens and a renowned medical school. The
medical students become neophytes of the Order
and their education is heavily influenced by the
faction’s religious views, but all the students are
offered generous scholarships for the duration
of their training. When they graduate, they are
often offered employment by groups who are
otherwise less than friendly towards the Order,
a good indication of the quality of the school.
The Samaritans appear the perfect believers,
helping their fellow human beings out of the
kindness of their hearts. This reputation is kept
intact on Coriolis thanks to the Samaritan part
of their work – the memories of the Order’s
involvement in the atrocities of the Portal Wars
are not something the station’s mainly Zenithian
population keeps alive.
The council representative for the Order of the
Pariah is Sister Almas, headmaster of the medical
academy. She is just and resolute, both as a teacher
and as a politician. Her students claim that she
never sleeps, but instead spends her nights before
a statue of the Martyr, deep in prayer.
THE MARTYRS
Outside of Coriolis, the name Samaritans is
frowned upon. Here, the Order is known as the
Martyrs and have an entirely different reputation.
Their symbol, the martyr’s crown, stirs feelings
of unease in almost everyone. Stories from the
Portal Wars speak of the Order as fanatic Martyr
worshippers, merciless in combat and without
any concern for their own lives. Their enormous
monastery cruisers are said to have carried both
crusaders and flagellants into battle, a rumor
that is still prevalent.
The Order of the Pariah is of Firstcome descent,
and worships the Martyr (the icon commonly
known as the Judge). They were an active party in
the Portal Wars, and closed their home system,
Zalos, at the end of the war, not opening it until
many years later, when the Consortium dispatched
the Legion to demand passage. This
pattern is now repeating itself – Zalos has been
closed once again since one of the Emissaries
proclaimed itself the Judge incarnate, a sacrilege
according to the Order. It is likely only the
fact that the space station at Xene is owned
by the Foundation, and thus by extension the
Consortium, that has kept the Order from showing
their more aggressive side in the Kua system
as well. A certain amount of fear always arises
when their ships dock at Coriolis however, their
hulls depicting cataclysmic scenes of war, and
the dockworkers whispering about onboard
ossuaries filled with the sacred bones of martyred
warriors.
THE ORDER’S BIONICS AND FLEET
Another reason for concern is that the Order possesses a
unique form of biotechnology that, among other things,
enables the creation of the animate suits of armor their
elite holy warriors use. The first reports of this armor came
from Bulletin correspondents who smuggled information
out of Zalos about the Order’s relentless hunt for religious
dissidents. The technology has again become a topic of discussion
on Coriolis as more and more people expect the day
when the Legion will turn their weapons against the Order
is fast approaching. How large a fleet the Order commands
is unclear, but given the fact that the Consortium has yet
to order the Legion to open the route through Zalos with
force, it is thought to be of considerable size.
The holy warriors of the Order cover themselves in
adaptive armor that makes their bodies stronger.
The armor also “learns” from hits taken, adjusting
itself for better protection, which means you generally
only get one shot at taking down a Martyr warrior.
This has spawned the saying “Like the first hit
on a martyr”, describing an action that has no effect.
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