The Gearwrights

With the sack of Olethros Secunda, the largely localised cult of the obscure and un-canonized Saint Callum Gearwright has been scattered amongst refugee populations of Subsector Secundus. Though the ‘Saint’ has had small followings elsewhere, this leads to an explosion of the sect amongst the Imperial laity who listen to demagogues preaching a cult of caring and solidarity. In the face of the wanton slaughter of Archenemy Cults and the dirges of the Ashen Cults, many lowborn flock to the sect and join in worship of the God-Emperor and veneration of the messages of their newfound patron Saint.

The response to this unsanctioned Sect, the Gearwrights, is mixed amongst the Imperial hierarchy, with many nobles were concerned about the equalitarian and anti-establishment undertones in the preaching of the apostate sect. The Ecclesiarchy response is oddly mixed: with the Sorors of the Order of his Sanguine Tears refusing orders to punish this deviance, and choosing to focus upon greater concerns, while many Priests oppose the sect openly, condemning its teachings loudly at the guidance of the Governors of the Sector. But other Priests, and even some Nobles, show sympathy to the Gearwrights, seeing their anti-establishment teachings as directed against not against all of the governing bodies, but, rather, to the failings of the Great Houses and Ecclesiarchy in the Prosperitas Sector; some even openly uplift the sect, and there are rumours of petitions for canonization of the Saint being sent to Terra.

The apostate Cardinal-Emissarius Ignatius Grulge, who rejects his laicisation and excommunication by the Ecclesiarch on Terra, and now openly speaks of his followers as a part of the proscribed Temple of the Saviour Emperor the Fidelis Militia raised by him has begun to call itself the Fidelis Templar (though it is unclear how many of his army, are aware of his laicisation and excommunication) has a far more violent reaction. There are rumours of massacres of the followers of this sect in Subsector Secundus, with Grulge brooking no challenge to his primacy by the uplifting of an uncanonized Saint by the sect. The Templars that follow him pursue this sect as ruthlessly across Subsector Secundus as they would any heretic or archenemy cult.

And yet, despite the Temple faction’s brutal response, there is a general feeling of good fortune amongst the population - as the faith does not erupt into something malign - and more and more the Saint is embraced, and the belief grows.

A spark of hope, however small, has been lit.

OOC: It is more than possible for a player character to be or convert to being, a Gearwright: this newborn sect has no legal backing by the Ecclesiarchy, and the Ordo Hereticus are likely to be critical of membership of it as a result – but many characters met Cal before their martyrdom, and have seen stranger things. Though the sect might not actually reflect their words, accurately, of course.

In legal terms, under Ecclesiastical law, the Gearwrights are a heresy until such a time as it is formally recognised by the Ecclesiarchy. However, for that process to occur, the Sector requires a Cardinal, of which It currently has none, while Nivalis is held by the Temple of the Saviour Emperor. This could make membership somewhat problematic for an Inquisitorial Agent who isn’t at least subtle about it. Their relationship is even more complicated, because Callum Gearwright was known to the Inquisition, and many Inquisitors believe that without proof and canonization, the sect is walking a very dangerous line by worshipping them as a saint.

The Gearwrights are mildly anti-establishment and lean towards a liberal belief system - they have seen the atrocities committed by the Imperial state against faithful citizens, and believe their Saint would agree with them. Oddly, this has resonance with many lowborn and the rare liberal/progressive members of the State and the Imperial Hierarchy, who do feel the Sector has suffered way too much, and that Hermione Durovera is too fond of the Gauntlet over the Velvet Glove.

Known Gearwrights suffer an additional external threat in the form of the Temple of the Saviour Emperor, which has openly targeted members of the Sect.

It is possible, as a side note, for characters to be members of the Temple of the Saviour Emperor, but this is a sect actively hunted by the Ordo Hereticus, and would align a character against the rest of the player party - most likely leading to their eventual retirement from being playable.