The Redeemers

Cleanse the land in righteous fire

The Redeemers

Stroud's Crusade • The Purifying Flame • Soldiers of the Crossing

Fanatical followers of Ezekiel Stroud, moving from town to town with hymnals and gallows. They believe psionics are the Devil's brand, that the Current is corruption incarnate, and that only steel, fire, and faith can cleanse the frontier. Where they go, pyres burn and blood sanctifies the ground.

Symbol & Colors

Symbol: A black iron cross forged from two inverted nails, wrapped with barbed thorns. Sometimes depicted aflame.
Colors: Ash-grey and blood-crimson
Motto: "Cleanse the land in righteous fire"

Philosophy & Doctrine

"Stroud's flock don't bleed. They cut themselves, mark their faith in scars, and call it holy."
— Frontier observation

Core Belief: Psionics are the Devil's brand. The Veil is Hell pressing against the world, and those who draw from the Current are damned—knowingly or not. The only cure is steel, fire, and repentance. Those who confess may be spared (maybe). Those who resist burn.

The Redeemer Theology

  • The Crossing: A spiritual bridge between damnation and salvation that every soul must walk
  • The Veil as Hell: Not a natural force but Satan's influence seeping into the world
  • Psionics as Temptation: The Current offers power but demands the soul as payment
  • Redemption Through Suffering: Pain purifies; the righteous must bear scars as proof
  • The Cleansing Fire: Flame sanctifies, burns away corruption, returns souls to God
  • Authority of Scripture: Stroud's word is law because God speaks through him

The Gospel According to Stroud

"The frontier bleeds because we let corruption walk among us. Every psionic who draws breath is a wound in Creation itself. Every witch, every sorcerer, every mind-twister—they tear the fabric between our world and damnation.

I have seen Hell. It lives beneath the world, pressing upward, and these cursed souls are its fingers reaching through. We must cut them off. We must burn the infection clean.

I do not hate them. I pity them. But pity does not stay the executioner's hand when the disease threatens to spread. Better one soul burn than a whole town fall to corruption.

God gave me the iron cross. I wear it over my heart—the place where they tried to kill me and failed. Every breath I take is proof that righteousness cannot be murdered. I am His instrument, and I will not rest until the land is clean."
— Ezekiel Stroud, from a sermon in Bellhaven

Organizational Structure

The Holy Hierarchy

The Redeemers operate as a militant church with Stroud as prophet, judge, and executioner. Unlike the Consortium's bureaucracy or the Vultures' confederation, authority flows from divine mandate—or so they claim.

The Iron Preacher

Ezekiel Stroud sits at the apex. He is prophet, general, and final arbiter. His word is scripture because God speaks through him. Question him and you question God. His authority comes not from election but from survival—he should have died three times, and didn't. To his followers, that's proof enough.

The Witness Council

Five senior followers who served with Stroud since the beginning. They advise, organize, and carry out his will. Current council:

  • Sister Agnetha: Chief executioner, wields twin iron hatchets
  • Brother Matthias: Quartermaster and logistics coordinator
  • Sister Catherine: (Secretly defected, now hides psionics in her chapel)
  • Brother Silas: Inquisitor who roots out hidden psionics
  • Sister Miriam: Healer and spiritual counselor

The Redeemed

300-500 active crusaders who've taken vows. They wear the scars—literal cuts marking their devotion, reopened periodically as renewal of faith. Mix of true believers, the traumatized, and those with nowhere else to go. All are dangerous; faith and desperation make brutal soldiers.

The Penitent

Former psionics who confessed and were "saved." They're kept in chains, paraded as proof that redemption is possible. Most are broken shells. A few retain enough will to resent their captivity. Stroud occasionally forces them to use their powers "for God"—the ultimate hypocrisy.

The Flock

Thousands of followers, sympathizers, and believers scattered across settlements. They don't ride with Stroud but support his mission—providing shelter, supplies, information. They're the reason the Redeemers always know where psionics hide.

How the Redeemers Operate

Standard Cleansing Pattern

  1. Arrival: Enter town with hymns, immediately establish authority
  2. The Sermon: Stroud preaches for hours, building fervor and fear
  3. The Accusation: Brother Silas identifies suspected psionics (real or imagined)
  4. The Trial: Public accusation, coerced confession, or "test by iron"
  5. The Cleansing: Public execution—burning, hanging, or beheading
  6. The Conversion: Recruit from the fearful and the faithful
  7. Establishment: Leave a "Redeemed enclave" of converted followers

Identification Methods

  • Accusation: Anyone can accuse; settling grudges through religious law
  • The Iron Test: Hold hot iron—if you flinch, you're using psionics to dull pain
  • Dream Inquisition: Brother Silas "reads" dreams (actually just guesses)
  • Association: Knowing a witch, owning strange books, being too lucky
  • Confession: Torture produces plenty of confessions, true or false

Execution Methods

  • Burning: Most common—"purifying flame" for unrepentant psionics
  • The Gallows: Reserved for those who confess and repent
  • Sister Agnetha's Hatchets: For those who resist violently
  • Stoning: Community participation, shared guilt/righteousness
  • The Iron Maiden: Rare, for "especially corrupted" individuals

The Scarring Ritual

Redeemers cut themselves to prove faith. New converts receive a single cut on the palm. Veterans bear dozens of scars across arms, chests, faces. They reopen old scars during ceremonies, bleed together, bind wounds with shared cloth. To them, these scars are holy—proof of dedication. To outsiders, it's self-mutilation dressed as worship.

Recruitment & Psychology

Who Joins the Redeemers?

  • The Traumatized: Lost loved ones to psionics, seeking revenge wrapped in righteousness
  • The Fearful: Join to prove they're not corrupted, earn protection through loyalty
  • The Faithful: Genuinely believe in Stroud's mission, see themselves as holy warriors
  • The Displaced: Outcasts and refugees who need community, even a violent one
  • The Power-Hungry: See opportunity for authority, violence legitimized by religion
  • The Guilty: Former criminals seeking redemption through crusade

Indoctrination Process

  1. Isolation: Separate recruit from family, friends, old life
  2. Fear Installation: Constant reminders of psionic threats, danger everywhere
  3. Community Offering: Provide family-like belonging, acceptance
  4. Scarring: Physical mark of commitment, point of no return
  5. First Cleansing: Participation in execution bonds through shared blood
  6. Authority Submission: Total obedience to Stroud becomes second nature

Breaking Point

Most Redeemers reach a moment where they question. Sister Catherine reached hers when ordered to burn a child showing spark. She faked the execution, helped the child escape, and now lives in constant fear of discovery. Many others push through doubt with more fervor—the louder the faith, the quieter the questions.

Notable Figures

Ezekiel Stroud

The Iron Preacher • God's Instrument • The Unkillable

Appearance: Mid-forties but looks older—years of crusading have weathered him. Tall, broad-shouldered, with a voice that carries like thunder. Most distinctive feature: an iron cross fused to his chest from a failed execution, the metal scarred into his flesh. He wears it exposed, proof of divine protection.

Background: Former circuit-preacher who lost wife and two children in a psionic raid—raiders led by a Mindweaver who made them slaughter each other while he watched. Stroud arrived to find his family dead by their own hands. He tried to hang himself in despair. The rope broke. He tried to shoot himself. The gun misfired. He took it as a sign.

Personality: Charismatic, fiery, absolutely convinced of his righteousness. Speaks with scripture's cadence but wields it like a weapon. Can turn a town against itself in a single sermon. Genuinely believes he's saving souls, even as he burns bodies. The tragedy is that his faith is real—he's not lying, he's convinced.

Abilities: Not psionic (ironically) but terrifying nonetheless. Master gunfighter and tactician. The iron cross incident: during an early crusade, enemies captured him, nailed an iron cross to his chest, left him to die. He survived. The metal fused to his flesh during infection. He wears it as proof God wants him alive.

Survival Record: Hung once (rope broke), shot twice (survived both), burned in Ash Belt flames (walked out scarred but alive). Folk say God keeps him walking. Others reckon it's hate. Maybe both.

"I have died three times and been refused by Hell. I have been nailed to iron and walked away. I have stared into the Veil and seen the Devil's face, and I did not blink. If God wants me dead, He knows where to find me. Until then, I am His hand, and I will cleanse this land or die trying—and dying doesn't seem to stick."
— Ezekiel Stroud

Sister Agnetha

The Weeping Executioner • God's Hatchets

Appearance: Mid-thirties, tall and strong. Wears a nun's habit stained with old blood. Twin iron hatchets blessed in blood hang at her hips. Face scarred from temple to jaw—she did it herself during her conversion, proving devotion.

Background: Former nun whose convent was destroyed by psionic bandits. She was the only survivor. Found by Stroud's crusade, she joined, took up weapons, became his chief executioner. She weeps for every soul she sends to judgment but never stays her hand.

Personality: Gentle when not killing, brutal when the order comes. Sings hymns as she works. Genuinely believes she's showing mercy—quick death is kindness compared to living in corruption. The tears are real. So is the efficiency. She's executed over two hundred people.

"I cry for them because God cries for them. But crying does not stay the blade. Mercy is in the swiftness, not the hesitation."
— Sister Agnetha

Brother Silas

The Inquisitor • The Witch-Sniffer

Role: Identifies hidden psionics. Claims to sense corruption, read dreams, see the Devil's mark. Actually just observes behavior, exploits paranoia, and guesses. Right often enough to seem supernatural, wrong often enough to kill innocents.

Dark Secret: He's a latent psionic himself—minor Seer abilities he suppresses through constant self-flagellation and prayer. Projects his self-hatred onto every psion he condemns. If discovered, he'd burn first.

Sister Catherine (Defected)

The Hidden Heretic

Current Status: Formerly on the Witness Council, now secretly opposes Stroud. Runs a chapel in a remote settlement, hides psionics in her cellar, teaches them to suppress their gifts. Lives in constant terror of discovery. Stroud's justice for apostates is worse than death—they're made examples, tortured publicly, broken completely before final mercy.

Contradictions & Hypocrisy

What They Preach vs. What They Do

  • Preach: "We save the innocent"
    Reality: Slaughter just as many innocents caught in purges
  • Preach: "All psionics must be destroyed"
    Reality: Keep Penitent psionics as weapons "for God"
  • Preach: "The Current is Satan's work"
    Reality: Brother Silas uses suppressed psionic abilities
  • Preach: "Redemption through confession"
    Reality: Confessed psionics usually burn anyway
  • Preach: "We bring salvation"
    Reality: Leave terror, trauma, and divided communities
  • Preach: "Love the sinner, hate the sin"
    Reality: Burn both with equal enthusiasm

The Selective Mercy Problem

Stroud occasionally spares psionics if they "confess"—but never the strong ones. A weak Mindweaver who can barely project thoughts might be spared and chained. A powerful Psi-Slinger always burns. The pattern is clear: spare only those who pose no real threat. He claims it's mercy. It's actually pragmatism dressed as faith.

Relationship with Duncan Maddox

To Stroud, Duncan represents the ultimate blasphemy: a man who wields "the Devil's bullets" but refuses to repent, shows no shame, and won't bow to any authority—divine or otherwise. Duncan sees Stroud as both mirror and warning of what happens when conviction curdles into zealotry.

Three Confrontations

They've faced each other three times. Each walked away bloodied. Each knows a fourth meeting will be the last:

  • First Meeting (Bellhaven): Stroud tried to arrest Duncan for cleansing. Duncan shot three Redeemers, escaped. Stroud swore holy vengeance.
  • Second Meeting (Hollow Vale): Duncan hunting a Red Hands cultist, Stroud hunting the same. They worked together—briefly. Afterward, Stroud offered salvation if Duncan surrendered his guns. Duncan declined with bullets.
  • Third Meeting (Current's Bend): Stroud had captured Clara Vey for witchcraft. Duncan freed her. Sister Agnetha nearly killed him. He nearly killed Stroud. Both barely survived.
"Maddox is damnation incarnate—power without righteousness, strength without faith. He could be God's greatest warrior if only he'd kneel. Instead, he chooses Hell with every bullet. I will save his soul, even if I must burn his body to do it."
— Ezekiel Stroud
"Stroud's the most dangerous kind of fanatic—genuinely believes he's right. No reasoning with true believers. You can't negotiate with faith. You can only kill it or be killed by it."
— Duncan Maddox

In-World Reputation

What Settlers Say

  • "They burned my neighbor for owning strange books. She was just a schoolteacher."
  • "Stroud saved our town from a Mindweaver plague. We owe him everything."
  • "I joined because I believed. Now I'm too deep to leave without burning myself."
  • "They're as bad as the witches they hunt. Just got better PR."

What Psionics Say

  • "I'd rather face Ironbrands or Dust Vultures. At least they kill you quick."
  • "They make us confess, then burn us anyway. The confession's just for their audience."
  • "My sister was Hollowborn. They stoned her. She was seven years old."
  • "Stroud calls us devils. But I've seen what he does. Tell me who's the monster."

What Other Factions Say

  • Consortium: "Disruptive to trade, but they do reduce the psionic problem."
  • Dust Vultures: "Hypocrites. At least we admit what we are."
  • Circle of Ash: "They are extinction wearing righteousness as mask."
  • Ironbrands: "Effective but messy. We prefer cleaner solutions."

Current Operations

The Lathrop Cleansing

Stroud is gathering forces for a major assault on Lathrop, believing its ley-line instability is a "doorway to Hell." Plans to burn the entire settlement to "seal the breach." Would kill hundreds—many innocent. Duncan is racing to stop it.

The Defection Problem

Sister Catherine isn't the only one with doubts. At least twenty Redeemers are secretly questioning the crusade. If Stroud discovers the conspiracy, the purge will be internal and bloody. If the conspiracy grows, the Redeemers could fracture entirely.

The Penitent Weapon

Stroud is training the captive Penitent psionics as weapons—forced to use their powers "for God." The ultimate hypocrisy: using the very corruption he claims to destroy. If this becomes public, it could shatter his moral authority. Or his followers might rationalize it. Faith is flexible when convenient.

The Tragic Question

Ezekiel Stroud lost everything to psionics.
His grief is real. His trauma is real. His faith is real.

But does real pain justify causing more pain?
Does genuine belief excuse atrocity?
Can you fight monsters without becoming one?

The Redeemers believe they're saving the frontier.
Their victims believe they're dooming it.

Both sides bury their dead and call it righteous.
Both sides are certain God is on their side.
Both sides might be wrong.