Saint Errolan The Obscure

Saint Errolan was an Autarch whose reign ended in martyrdom at the hands of a Humathi warband from Lankst. He was responsible for introducing the worship of Subere in Safelster, and the members of the order founded in his name (who are commonly known as Obscurists) devote themselves to the contemplation of the First Darkness.

While closely allied to the School of Tenebrous Wisdom, the focus of the orderlies of Saint Errolan is more overtly religious than that of their academic brethren. They also take a strict vow of chastity, and the truly dedicated take a vow of silence as well. Individual poverty is also encouraged, but the order itself owns a great deal of land and its senior clerics are well-known for their rich attire, albeit following the order's overwhelmingly sombre colour scheme.

All of the Order's establishments are single-sex; it has comparatively few female adherents and only one nunnery, which is situated a short distance away from Syran. The small Obscurist monastery in the Northside district of the city permits monks more interaction with the world than the order's other establishments, but still frowns upon those who bend their vows. Three other monasteries, including the order's headquarters, are situated outside the city. One of these is in the northern part of Sentanos recently claimed by Naskorion, fuelling rumours that the order and its parent church have formed an unholy alliance with the neighbouring state's leader, Reinard de Faucille.

The Rule of Saint Errolan can appear oddly contradictory to the outsider. Its adherents, although determinedly unsentimental, frequently dour and not uncommonly misanthropic, have an equally strong tradition of countering oppression and championing the weak. The rural establishments are renowned for their fair treatment of the tenants who farm their lands and for their defence of the communities around them in time of strife. This apparent duality is a reflection of Errolan himself, who is remembered as a stern but fair ruler who never forgot his rather modest roots, nor hesitated to defend even the humblest of his subjects.