The Silver Torch

As one of the most fervent religious and political sects in the nation, the Silver Torch represents the very beliefs many outsiders fear when they think of @Thrane. Born as a secret society at the start of the Last War, the Silver Torch presently includes several outspoken individuals who proudly claim membership. Only its “inner circle” of leaders maintains absolute secrecy.
The Silver Torch believes in the Silver Flame and seeks to turn, punish, or eliminate unbelievers. Its members (called Torchbearers) have no faith in the modern government, which they believe has strayed from the path of ideological purity by compromising with other nations and organizations that have little or no faith in the Silver Flame. Sect fanatics ostracize anyone who is not human. The state does not exile a citizen for voicing such opinions, but those who openly profess loyalty to the sect are watched closely in case they should choose to act on their bigoted or dangerous beliefs.
When the Silver Torch is outraged, one can expect a mob armed with torches and pitchforks in the streets shortly thereafter. On several occasions, the theocracy’s defenders have raided Torch meetings, but eliminating this one sect would call into question the very existence of many others. The theocrats routinely disavow any connection to the Silver Torch, even as they accept its existence.
Torchbearers use propaganda to gather new members. They prey on Thranes who have suffered unduly during the war as well as disenfranchised youth looking for trouble in all the wrong places. They claim that the Treaty of Thronehold should not apply to Thrane, since it does not swear fealty to the Galifar line. Others maintain even more ridiculous beliefs, such as the notion that the faithful should retake and purify the Mournland. Moderate Thranes have little patience for the Silver Torch but hold them up as an example of the perils of zealotry and proof that the nation’s theocracy is not as rabid or hostile as its enemies would make it seem.
Thrane’s government abides by the Treaty of Thronehold for the most part, but old hatreds still smolder. Wise heroes can play a role in preserving peace by stopping the Silver Torch and similar sects that endeavor to fan the flames.
The Torchbearers’ intolerance and use of propaganda, coupled with their rights as protected citizens of Thrane, make them difficult for adventurers to deal with. Torchbearers use the law as a shield and are more likely to attack heroes with words than swords. Adventuring parties that include nonhuman members might run afoul of the Silver Torch through no fault of their own. The sect might send spies to watch them and report on their activities. If the adventurers appear to act against the will of the Silver Flame, the Silver Torch might alert the local theocrat or distribute literature professing the dangers of allowing “swordwielding infidels who call themselves adventurers” such free rein within Thrane’s borders.

Type

Secret, Religious sect