Let me follow in the path of The Lady Resplendent.

Let me find the footpath laid by Saint Adia the Penitent, for her fate is
what I aspire .

Let me seek in her story the conviction to hold my oath above my

sentiment.

Let me find in her story the courage to carry myself to higher standard .

Let me draw from her example the endurance to marshal through trial .

Let me endeavour to carry my faith through tribulation .

Let this mark bear my shame , hope , aspiration and determination until
such a day as my heart once again aligns with my faith .
Saint Adia the Penitent
Adia was an Auxilian field nurse in the crusade's early years, back when there was still a world outside the city
worth fighting for. She is said to have been blessed by Iomedae from birth, owing to her hair having a radiance to
it reminiscent of elysian light.
During the Fadalern campaign, at the battle of the Twinned Ridges, the front line was pushed back so far that it
neared the casualties drawn back from the shield wall. Wounded men would struggle back to their feet to grasp
shields as the wall neared breaking. Seeing the circumstance Adia realized that remaining with the wounded, as
was her oath, would not change their fate. If the wall fell then no matter her bandaging, all would be slaughtered.
So she broke her oath, grasped shield and sword, strode to the wall, and lent her strength of faith to it.
The battle turned soon after, many referring to the inspiring sight of a courageous nursemaid standing fast
against the legions of hell as what prevented a rout. And as many of her fellows, inspired again by her, joined the
crumbling line this affect was spread wide.
Though the battle was eventually won, the complete absence of aid for the fallen and wounded for several hours
meant losses were exceedingly high. In the final counting it was estimated that hundreds died from wounds that
could have been bound.
This meant with all certainty that Adia, and the rest of her order, was in no uncertain term oathbreakers. But yet
the Lady Resplendent did not revoke her blessing from them for it was also certain even more lives would have
been lost if they had cleaved fast to their vows.
Adia was grief-stricken for weeks following the battle, her faith challenged by conflict. What does one do when
oath, belief, and necessity most certain do not align?
For Adia the path became clear to her in prayer. She took on The Oath in Claret and joined the ranks of the
Shield Sisters, for if the righteous path were to join the wall then she would remain there. But in contrition for her
the conflict she would brand herself upon her neck, above the gorget-line, so that the shame of failure and
honour of determination would always be visible. Not to let such be forgotten until the day that she could regain
her purity through righteous action in service to faith, crusade, and oath alike. Whereas some would see this
burden as being undeserved, Adia saw not herself as a victim of fate but as one who bore contrition willingly.
Her purity of faith and conviction brought many strengths to the wall and she served there with distinction for
neigh on a decade. After battle, when those of the shield would rest, she would join the nursemaids in caring for
the wounded. Attempting thus to carry both oath and vow in heart.
During the battle of Tedrim's Farm she met the Honour in Crimson. The wall had been outflanked and though it
never fell it was whittled away from the sides until none stood but Adia, guarding her fallen comrades with her
life. She held their foes at bay for neigh on an hour until reinforcements came. The Shining Swords charged
through all that stood before them and the enemy was routed.
As the enemy fled and a measure of calm came to her position, Adia fell to her knees and began applying
bandage to one of her sisters who lay not two feet behind her. As she did, she prayed and soon collapsed, dead
from her injuries.
Eighteen were the wounded she had given her life to safeguard, and all lived to rejoin the wall at later date. Adia
was canonised two weeks later, and her story engraved upon a bust in the Halls of Honour.

Many have since drawn inspiration from her example and sought to find strength in penitence. Though she is
now seldom invoked she is seen as the patron saint of righteous penitence. An order was founded in her name,
consisting of nursemaids who bore armour and blade in order to extract wounded from the very front of the line.
The order numbered a few dusin members at most and slowly dissolved following The Proclamation of Bastion.
Her relics are her Shield, Censcer, Branding iron, Prayer chain and Skull.
Terms

The Scarlet Crusade: The faith-militant of the Iomedean church. With the religion being as militaristic as it is, it used to be by far
the largest official branch of the church. These days, with the complacency that the ward endows, they have fallen second to the
Orders Hospital that du good works and provide healing and medical aid to the poor.
In the time immediately following the discovery of Kingsbridge, the crusade had as its primary goal to strike at the worldwounds so
as to stem the tide. As more and more of these assaults failed the aspiration changed to safeguarding the remaining landmass that
at the time was under the overlord's rule. This too however turned out to be untenable as the abyssal hordes ever seemed
innumerable. Eventually even the hinterlands were abandoned for the safety of the now warded city and the crusade lost much of its
focus. Their ideals and training did not lend itself well to guard duty and eventually these tasks were taken over by the Madonian
Brotherhood. The remaining crusaders joined were folded in under the Templar order and now focus mainly on guarding the inner
sanctum and ferreting out heretical activity within the city's walls.
Originally there were some thirty distinct ordos within the crusade but most of them have either been dissolved or entirely forgotten
in the centuries since their zenith. A few are mentioned below:
Ordo Inquisatora is an order that focusses on heretical behaviour of non-demonic origin.
Ordo Investiga, also referred to as the Hexenhammers by some, investigate and eliminate threats of demonic insurgence. Many
cults, covens and corrupted have had their skull-like helmets as their last sight. Kassiah belongs to this order.
Ordo Hospitalia provides aid to the poor.
Ordo Sanctus Guards the inner sanctum and investigates direct threats to the temples, though such events are mercifully rare.
Ordo Clypeum, better known as The Shields, serve as the personal bodyguards of the overlord. They do not answer to the normal
hierarchy of the crusade.
Ordo Sanguinalia comprise most of the priests and monastics who tend to the faithful and perform rituals and services, in layman's
terms this would be the priesthood.
The Shieldstern was the main line infantry of the crusade of old. This is where the tactics and traditions of the Shield Wall has its
origin. They did not specifically dissolve as such, but rather their ranks slowly migrated to other orders until the order itself was
renamed Ordo Sanctus following The Proclamation of Bastion.
The Shining Swords were a heavy cavalry formation during the old wars, the hammer to the Shieldsterns anvil. Many of their
members rode upon celestial steeds reared directly from the Heavens. Though a few survived until Bastion, far most met Honour in
Crimson during The Battle of Red Plains when they charged the enemy line in a last attempt to buy time for the rapidly crumbling
line to retreat. Their sacrifice is legendary enough that they are used as a term for the complete abandonment of personal safety or
comfort in service of a greater goal.
The Oath in Claret: This is the set of vows that all crusaders and templars of the Iomedean faith take. Most orders have variations to
these or variations of importance among them. Many also have traditions of Lent, an additional vow that every templar makes
forsaking some particular action, luxury, or behaviour. As examples The Ordo Hospitalia often have vows of personal poverty, The
Shieldstern vowed to train at least three hours every day and so on.

The Red Dawn: An old term for the way the sun looks on the morning following a particularly bloody battle. Most often used to
mean victorious battle but can refer to any battle with many casualties compared to the number of combatants.

Honour in Crimson: A martyr's death. Life given willingly and knowingly in service to the greater good. This comes in variations of
sanctity, from the simple soldier's death to the canonizing of a saint.

The Proclamation of Bastion: This was the reformation that changed the Scarlet Crusade from being a forward army to being a
defensive force. Many of the orders, traditions and tactics were changed during this time and man records were lost in the process.
Some still bear wounded pride from what can ultimately only be described as the failure of the crusade. The term 'crusade' does ill
fit a defensive force, but the crusaders were so thoroughly outnumbered that it was eventually determined rather to safeguard the
city than stride against doom itself.
Bastion was the decision of High Marshal Mericious of The Shining Swords, later known as Saint Mericious the Conflicted, who
disappeared three years later on an expedition to investigate a rumour of a small group of refugees surviving outside the city. It is
not known what exactly happened to him, but the refugees arrived two weeks after he left and spoke of a knight who saved them
from certain death no less than five times only to disappear after every battle. Church canon says that he was killed on his way to
them but that his will to uphold his oath was so strong that he manifested to protect them. He is seldom venerated these days, as the
patron saint of refugees is not very relevant for a city who has closed its gates to such.