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Romps and Reconstruction in Loka: Steam, Magic, and Mysteries in the Frozen Wasteland.
Dec 21, 2024
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Order Dignitas
Overview
The symbol of the Order.
The Order Dignitas began as a sort of club for adventurous and humanitarian faculty and alumni of the Academy of Knowledge and Advancement. A founding member repurposed the ground floor and courtyard of his manor in Noria as a headquarters for the society. It serves as a meeting place for members, and housing for some of the volunteers—Lokans down on their luck, and looking to establish a foothold in the world. Publicly, their mission is to help rebuild society, by offering cheap medical care; tutoring in a few technological subjects, such as physics and chemistry; lodging and food for any who need it; and other such basic services, in the name of “basic dignity.”
However, senior members tend to be ambitious members of the intelligentsia, with an eye on the Whitemarch’s many Svargan ruins. Hiring mercenaries for protection, and sometimes obtaining grants from the Academy of Knowledge and Advancement, they retrieve what technology, scrap, and knowledge they can, then defend their claims—ruthlessly, if deemed necessary.
While they bear a genuine interest in the wellbeing of the public, Dignitas’ senior members are a strange mixture: primarily scientists and humanitarians, but with more than a few anarchists in the mix. Seeing the kingdom as a self-interested, uncaring monolith, and organizations such as Naraka as a corrupting influence, they are mildly notorious for their anti-establishment, sometimes judgmental literature. Known only within the halls of the senior members, their dream is to one day grow to the size of a city-state, declare independence from the kingdom, and create a “pure” society from the ashes of Svarga.
Overall, their scant public image is generally positive: from an outsider’s perspective, they are at best saviors of the impoverished, and at worst, harmless idealists. If you’re in need, their emblem of triangles within circles within triangles can be a welcome sight. However, tales of violence centered around Svargan tech, caused by some of the less-altruistic members, occasionally haunt them.
Solemn Pact of the Order Dignitas
“Whereas we of the Order Dignitas do hereby swear that we shall uphold and honor this pact, though Death Itself do present itself, we set forth the following statement of Purpose for aforementioned Order.
Our Purpose is threefold: to uphold the Dignity of the Common Man; to further the Wisdom of the Scientific Man; and to distill the Purity of all Mankind.
To uphold Dignity is to provide all who are needy with common Necessities; viz., food, shelter, medical care, education, et cetera. Toward this end, we will provide Quartering and Rations to all needy travelers, regardless of Species, Sex, Occupation, or affiliation with certain Parties. Even those of other Organizations which we find distasteful shall not be turned away, so long as they abide in peaceable manner.
To further Wisdom is to take all necessary steps in securing what knowledge we may, from the ruins of our Forefathers. Toward this end, we will be unrelenting in securing Artifacts and knowledge from yonder ruins in the Whitemarch, fearing nor man nor beast in this noble undertaking. We encourage patronage of the Academy, of the Cela, and of the Viramarga, but warn all such Pilgrims to take care to avoid any corrupting influence therein.
To distill Purity is to ensure that we are free from political, religious, tribal, or other Xenophobic influences. Toward this end, it is our fondest dream to invent a new Society from the ashes of the old; we seek to live in Blissful Harmony with the world surrounding, and to trade and interact peaceably with our brothers in Creation; i.e., the persons outside the Order.
Let us ever defend our heritage, history, and future with Dignity, Wisdom, Purity, and Might. Here today sworn, all members of the Order Dignitas.”