The Vindicate
A Coterie of the Heralds of Dust
In stark contrast to the emotion of their name, the Vindicate approach their mission as all Dustmen, in quiet unemotional drive, unfettered by the fears of normal mortals. Their methods of tracking down and releasing undead to True Death are humanitarian and gentle in appearance. Dherzil Kane alone still clings to the hatred of his past, unable to quench his emotions and become a true Dustman. However, he maintains the facade, this alone securing his leadership of the Vindicate.
The Vindicate opposes the views of the common Dustmen, in that they believe undead to be an abomination to the philosophy of their faction. How can the Dustmen teach the power of the path to True Death, when these wayside creatures hover between Life and Death giving concrete proof to the power of Unlife? They command the respect of mortals, who see Death so easily as the end of everything, and the fear of immortals who want to believe that Death is the beginning. Stuck in this eternal intermediate state, the undead are a strong adversary to the beliefs of the Dead. So think the Vindicate, anyway.
The ultimate goal of the Vindicate is to free the Dustmen of this unnatural truce with their adversaries, and thus free the faction of its philosophical block to True Death. The ultimate goal leads directly to their lich factol. Releasing him to True Death is the force that drives the Vindicate to action. Most Vindicates are of a martial slant, like their founder, and active hunters of the Unliving. Though they all still see their own deaths as an event on the road to True Death, their mission is of such importance that none want this Death to end too soon. They see their work as a burden, yes, but a necessary one to freeing the Dustmen of their unnatural obligation to the Unliving.
The chant among those with some dark of the group is that Factol Skall has caught wind of the movement and seeks to end it, soon, before it conflicts with his own plans. Kane has already thwarted two well conceived ambushes, intent on taking the Vindicate’s leader on to True Death. One involved a group of Xaositects, who were believed by the Vindicate to be in the direct employ of Skall. The second attempt caught a Hardhead in the crossfire, placing Kane’s head on a wanted poster. The Vindicate have recently taken an underground role in their mission to ease the Unliving into True Death, and the chant there is that they plan to reveal some juicy bit of dark about the overall plans of the Dead’s Factol and high-up men. Where they came across this information, or exactly how they plan to use it is still unknown.
Source: Ragboy (aka Paul Wolfe)
