Pucelle

Legendary women knights who embody the holy virtue of constance and use all hegnhic energies and holy virtue as well as celeste water. They often age out of their virtue by the time they are 19. They wear chain mail and wield longswords. They are devoted to protecting the 12 treasures of their founder, called La Pucelle, who was a peasant woman who became a legendary warrior. They are enemies of blasphemy.

The Legend

During the mid-feudal era of the Galdish Westlands, there was war between feudal Galdish lords, particularly the rulers of Vieux Terre and the then-ruler of Galdun, which included what is now Couronne Epee, and with the king of Dhun. This war was waged for decades, and in the midst of it arose a peasant army led by a young person who is only remembered as La Pucelle, the Virgin, for she is said to have taken a vow of virginity. She, or possibly he or they, claimed to be chosen by Heaven to save the Westlands from Dhun and the heretics there. Hers was something of a rudimentary attempt at a national revolution, expelling foreign rulers who were more cruel than the Galdish lords they were used to as well as a holy quest. It is clear the Galdish King Meurwethen took advantage of her peasant army and her as a symbol of Galdish nationalism, but her holy quest is what drove her. It was her rejection, eventually, of the manipulations of Galdish lords that led to her capture by Dhunnic forces.

At 13, she had her first vision, of angels telling her to fight back against the raids by Dhunnics in her area. She was 14 when she first tried to meet with the (future) Galdish king to offer her support and start her quest. For three years, she was rejected, and in that time, she started to raise and lead her army, which at first she led against raids from the Dhunnic forces. Eventually, her renown was enough to get her an escort to meet the King. In order to travel, she was asked to disguise herself as a man in order not to attract attention. This request appeared to stun her, and she welcomed the opportunity, taking on male garments and never again wearing women's clothes, save for briefly during her trial.

At age 17, she met with the King at his coronation and prayed with him and for his safety. She had another vision at this church, wherein she was told how to defeat the Dhunnics at a nearby siege. He saw in her inspiration, and he declared support for her holy quest to purge the Westlands of heretics, which is how she viewed the Dhunnics. The Dhunnics, like the Galdish, wore Graysonite imagery on their armor and in their flags, but the behavior of Dhunnic knights and soldiers, raping and pillaging and murdering peasants, made her believe them not to be true believers. Any army she led had strict discipline.

For the next two years, she led battle after battle, breaking sieges and bringing victory for the king. At the battle of Les Tours, she suffered a head injury from a crossbow bolt, miraculously surviving. Again, she had a vision, this time of how to fight all evil. This victory and recovery inspired thousands of peasants to join her cause and shifted the war. However, during this time, she saw that Galdish knights and soldiers were no different in their treatment of peasants. She expressed misgivings to her trusted confidants, and she began planning to take her peasants against both sides.

Her misgivings were leaked to the Galdish king, who realized she had outlived her usefulness. He betrayed her by ordering certain forces moved, so that her peasant army was vulnerable. In her first sortie against the kings on both sides, after a famous speech declaring holy war against all kings, she was captured. She was put on trial by the Dhunnics, who declared her a heretic. First condemning her to death, they relented when they saw the discontent among peasants in Galdun and back home in Dhun. They offered to spare her if she gave up war and wore only women's clothing thenceforth. At first, she accepted, but after a night of contemplation, she came out in her male garb. Overnight, she had had another vision, and she told the Dhunnic priests she could not live a lie. She was sentenced to death for witchcraft, heresy, and perversion, and burned at the stake.

Her death inspired peasant uprisings across Jesenya, turning them into a proper revolutionary force, and prolonged the war as Galdun's forces were split between multiple armies. Since then, she has been appropriated by the Galdish rulers as a symbol of nationalism, but in truth, she was so much more than that.

The Order of the White Lily

The Order of the White Lily is the group of rogue knights (meaning they have no loyalty to any crown or country) who honor La Pucelle as their founder. They call themselves Pucelles, and they take vows of virginity and piety. Each is called to this semi-secret order to serve as knights by visions of angels. They start at age 13 as pages, become squires by 14, and knights by 17. At age 19, most leave the order. Only those who are willing to give up their gender and sexuality and become only servants of liberation and holiness remain.

Recruiting Peasants

Only those born peasants, serfs, slaves, or workers will become Pucelles. All are assigned female at birth.

Visions of Angels

At age 13, a child who wishes to be a Pucelle will pray through the night and have a vision of angels. The angels will tell them where to find other Pucelles. Throughout their times as Pucelles, they periodically have other visions of angels, giving them inspiration on what to do next.

If a child ignores or refuses, or if one leaves the Order peacefully or reasonably, they are blessed with protection against infernal attacks and left alone.

Pages

Traditionally, they leave without a word to their families and go to the secret Keep of the White Lily. There, they are taken in and given shelter, clothing, and food. Their worldly possessions are put away, and they begin training. As pages, they serve in the Keep.

Squires

At 14, they are made into squires and taken with Pucelles on their journeys and missions, learning the arts of holy war.

Knights

At 17, if they are worthy, they take a vow to fight blasphemy and be constant in their faith, innocence, and resistance to evil. For the next few years, they travel the Westlands and fight heresy and evil where they find it.

Ascension

At 19, they go on a pilgrimage to the village Rameurs, where La Pucelle was born. There, they pray in the country church she went to growing up. Usually, they have a vision of angels and are told what to do next, which is usually just a revelation of what was already in their hearts. Most leave the order at this point, becoming regular knights-errant. Some, however, shrive themselves of gender and sexuality and all yearning for worldly things. They take a deeper vow of virginity, faith, and devotion, and they become full-fledged Pucelles.

Pucelles are not expected to ignore their desires. The angels who come to them know that those who will ascend are already agender and asexual. Those they choose who do not ascend either are not ready to accept themselves or simply are not one or both, but were chosen to train them for other tasks.

Powers

As Pucelles, they gain certain holy powers:

Rallying

The banner of the White Lily, which they all carry, can rally and inspire the oppressed to fight back. They gain the power to lead them in battle and the insights needed to do so successfully.

Virtues

As embodiments of the virtue of constance, they gain bonuses to routine work. They always wake up when they need to, and they never forget a responsibility or promise (meaning if they fail at it, it is not because they could not remember it). And they are protected from stravomenos entirely as long as they remain constant.

Choosing

Like shieldmaidens and matrons, Pucelles can choose someone else for whom they will take damage.

Ancestors

All Pucelles are connected to previous Pucelles in an ancestral chain via Aemoa. They draw only faith and piety from this connection, but it makes their faith very potent.

Bonding

Pucelles create a bond with other Pucelles in order to share information, protect one another, and trade skills. They do this via a combined use of yahas, banaru, and euergasia. This takes the form of working together, reciting holy scripture, and making vows of love and support.

Healing

The blood of a Pucelle is imbued with curacion and can heal, at the rate of blood loss equal to wounds healed (i.e., a mortal wound is healed by losing a fatal amount of blood).

The Four Points of the Cross

The four points of the Graysonite cross represent these values, each of which Pucelles fight for:

• Justice: a Pucelle will not let an injustice go unanswered if she can help it. For this purpose, she wields her sword. Her sword cleaves evil.
• Equality: a Pucelle will fight for equality of all mortals, against oppressors. For this purpose, she wields her shield. Her shield repels evil.
• Truth: a Pucelle will not tolerate false witness or dishonest use of faith. For this purpose, she wields her bow. Her bow pierces evil.
• Peace: a Pucelle fights not to prolong war but to defeat it and bring peace. For this purpose, she wields her banner. Her banner banishes evil.

Faith

A Pucelle without any armament at all still has her faith. Her prayers do not go unheard, though they are not always answerable. Still, the call of a Pucelle's faith can repel demons and undead, soothe the distressed, and repel infernal powers. Her prayers can soothe prisoners and captives, even free them, and will grant soldiers release from fear if their cause is just, and release from service if it is not.

Inventory

Pucelles carry only possessions needed for their holy quest:

Armor

Pucelles dress in plate-and-chain armor like their namesake. They carry a capeline helm and a kite shield, though they often do not wear their helmet. Their shield is blessed with constancy (it is hard to break), the strength of their innocence, and a defense against iniquity. They wear regular male garb otherwise.

Sword

The sword of a Pucelle is blessed to give it constancy (it is hard to break), the strength of the Pucelle's piety, and a blade as sharp as justice.

Crossbow

Pucelles carry crossbows and bolts, the weapon that nearly killed their founder. These are blessed to give them constancy (they rarely fail on them), the power of truth.

Lance

Because their main two weapons are holy, they keep a few wooden lances for mundane combat situations.

Chalice

All Pucelles carry a blessed chalice which holds celeste water, which they use to make holy any object, ground, person, etc. that they need to.

Banner

The banner of a Pucelle bears the white lily. It rallies and inspires the oppressed to fight, and it is blessed with constancy (it does not fade or fray), the brightness of the Pucelle's kindness, and the vision of peace.

Steeds

Pucelles ride white horses, which come to them after their ascension.

The Treasures

Twelve treasures, relics of La Pucelle, are protected by the Order around the Galdish Westlands. They do not use these, unless times of crisis require and allow it. A Pucelle lives near each one to keep an eye on it:

• The Five-Cross Sword: a sword drawn from an altar before a famous battle of La Pucelle, it bears five crosses across the blade. It is a holy weapon that can only be wielded by a Pucelle. Kept under an altar in the Cathedral of St. Cateraine.
• Graysonite Ring: a ring inscribed with the name of the Graysonite Messiah and three crosses. It gives holy protection to any who wear it, repelling infernal powers. Kept in a cottage by the River Limon, the longest river running through the Westlands.
• Peasant's Mail: chain-and-plate mail with jaseran, brigandine, gauntlets, light greaves, and armguards. Very strong armor that is impervious to infernal attacks. It is "white harness" in that it is not adorned. Kept in the Church at Vrai Fils, a country church where she prayed before her execution.
• Peasant's Clothes: her tunic and leggings. The tunic is homespun and bears a faint mark of cross. The leggings match the tunic. They have not been worn by anyone else, but it is clear they bear holy power. Kept in the square in Le Jardin, the town where she first donned men's clothing to travel to meet the king.
• Maid of Heaven Shield: the shield marked with her brothers' blood. They died bearing it, and she took it up in battle. Repels infernal energies. Kept in the Cathedral in La Portiere, the church where she watched the coronation of the Galdish king.
• Maid's Capeline: the helmet she sometimes wore, with a hole where a crossbow bolt penetrated. Repels infernal energies and prevents instant death. Kept in the city of Dore, capital of Orre, where she first entered battle and broke the siege.
• Selle Blanche: the saddle she used on her steed, a white horse named La Roche, the Rock, as he was her foundation. The saddle will only allow a Pucelle to use it, and it gives any horse it is on protection from infernal energies and endurance and fighting bonuses. Kept at Tombe Vide, the monument to La Pucelle in the cemetary where her family is buried.
• De Lys: her specially made banner, a field sewn with lilies, bearing on it two angels. Made of white boucassin, the name of the Graysonite Messiah's mother is upon it, and it is fringed with silk. When flown, it inspires resistance in the oppressed and grants fighting bonuses to peasants, workers, and slaves. Kept in the library of the University of Legere in Legere, the city of lights.
• Martyr's Feet: her boots, worn leather boots, which can only be worn by one prepared to sacrifice themself for the good of all. Kept at Fabian, the town where she was captured and stripped.
• La Chevalure: a lock of her hair, taken when she cut it all off to appear as a man. This lock has never deteriorated in any way. It is rich brown in hue. Anyone who carries it may appear as the gender they desire to be seen as. Kept in the village of Rameurs, where she was born.
• Maiden's Blood Arrow: the arrow that pierced her helmet, a crossbow bolt stained with her blood. None have ever been able to use it or carry it for very long. It is powerfully holy and many miracles are associated with it, including La Pucelle's survival. Kept in the top room of the highest tower of the citadel Les Tours, the city of th battle where she was wounded by the arrow.
• Cendres: ashes from her burning. They cannot be borne except by the most holy, and if they touch evil, it will burn as she did. Kept in a small leather pouch in the dungeons of the castle at Champ de Char, where she was burned at the stake.

Martyrdom

Any Pucelle who is martyred joins the ancestral chain of Pucelles and has a special holiness that can be channeled by all Pucelles.

Heresy

Pucelles define heresy as the sin of false faith in one of the Divines of the Holy Shield, though first among them is the Mother of Heaven. Mostly this means the misuse of the faith by the ruling classes.

Gender and Sexuality

All Pucelles are assigned female at birth. When they ascend, they renounce the ideas of gender, taking on male garb and haircuts while answering to feminine pronouns (or whatever, really). If asked their gender, they will answer that they are neither man nor woman, for all are one in Heaven. They take vows of virginity. If they break such a vow, they are no longer a Pucelle.

Persecution

They are seen as (not incorrectly) upstarts and rebels who seek to overthrow the ruling classes, and as such, they are often denounced as terrorists, witches, or demons. They are often killed by powerful men. They grow stronger when ridiculed for their faith.

Skills

Common skills include

• Tactics
• Strategy
• Warcraft
• Organizing
• Riding
• Smithing
• Woodcrafting
• Reading/Writing
• Farming
• Sewing
• Cooking
• Politics
• Oratory
• Travel
• Survival
• Hunting

Stats

Modifers from base of species/nation:

PRO +6
ATH +3
STR +4
AWA +3
WIL +5 Faith +13
ROG / Deception -6 Stealth -3 Read People +3