Gleaners of Rontra
The third holy order of the Rontrans has little to do with the foundations, and its members spends their time in small farming communities. Called the gleaners, they take their name from the poorest of the poor. At harvest time, after the reapers cut the wheat and take it be stored, gleaners come in and pick up the small pieces of grain dropped in the process. They live off these scraps; a more wretched people cannot be found in any countryside.
Rontra’s order of gleaners are mendicants, living off what they are given by nearby farmers. They settle on the outskirts of rural communities and ponder the nature of Rontra’s teachings, while protecting the land from evil incursions—natural and unnatural alike. The order came into existence on the uncivilized fringes of society long ago, when the greatest threat to farmers were roving bandits who raided them for food. The gleaners were warriors inspired by Rontra, who rose from farm communities and drove off bandits in exchange for food. Eventually, they coalesced into an order and now they are respected, if little heard from, members of the faith.
It is not an easy mantle to wear. The gleaners have no property or families, and often live rough, without roofs of their own. Eventually, they become tied to the land they protect. While there are certainly traveling gleaners seeking out rural communities in need of aid, by the end of their careers (should they live long enough), they invariably settle in a single region.
Joining the Gleaners
Anyone who has a love for common people, and is prepared to take up arms to defend them and their lands, might make an appropriate gleaner. Fighters, rangers, barbarians, and monks (especially monks who practice the way of the four elements) are all likely to become gleaners, and more than a few rogues have joined as well. It is unheard of for those who require books and other trappings of civilization, like wizards and bards, to become gleaners, as it is a calling that requires poverty. Gleaners do not have titles, and many abandon their names. They are simply called “friend” or “brother” by those they protect. Admission to the order does not require any rite of passage; a person is simply called to serve the order and takes on the mantle of gleaner.
Type
Religious, Holy Order
Parent Organization
Related Myths
