"There is stamping. There is roaring. There is chanting. Chests are pounded and throats bellow. You sing of consumption, of having, of being, of sharing and being shared."[1]
The Sanctified are a cult that has risen to prominence among Albion's outcasts. They reside on the flotilla of abandoned ships that drifts on the Quiet Sea, just past the Avid Horizon.[2]
The Sanctified worship the Masters of the Bazaar as saints, despite the fact that only a few of the Masters departed for the High Wilderness in the Sunless Skies timeline.[3] They are a jovial bunch who heartily join in the cults' communal feasts[4] and gorge themselves on food[5] and wine.[6][7] Their rites serve to keep despair at bay.[8]
The leader of the Sanctified, the Jolly Anchorite,[9] is a scarred and ruddy-faced man[10] who resides in an enormous salvaged seashell.[11] While even he does not recall all the names of the Saints, he is still willing to teach initiates as many as he can in his bellowing voice.[12] His initiation process is rather improvisatory[13][14] and reckless,[15] but includes the addition of biblical significance[16] and bits of the history of the Masters.[17]
The Curator Saints[]
"Eleven or Twelve be their number. Crowned be their heads. All hail. All hail."[18]
Below is a list of the Sanctified's names for the Masters.
Mr Wines seems to only be considered the King of Saints on account of its bounties of wine.[20][26] The names of the Saint of Tapers and the Saint in the Glass are not spoken by the Sanctified.[25] Curiously, Mr Stones does not have an epithet. The statues that guard the Avid Horizon, built in the image of the Masters, are referred to as the Saint of the Lock and the Saint of the Key.[27]
↑Aboard the Flotilla, Sunless Skies"Here, among abandoned boats on the Quiet Sea, the similarly abandoned and forgotten of Albion have made their homes. The cults share this space; for warmth and for shelter. Some boats are covered, others converted into makeshift anchorages, refectories and cells."
↑Ask about the Cult of the Sanctified, Sunless Skies"We are but humble acolytes of the Saints. They came among us long ago – before we departed for the Skies in our folly. Most abandoned them, but we pray to let them know that not all have forgotten their names. [...] Perhaps they'll even rejoin us, if enough learn their names and recite them here at the Gate."
↑Dine at the feast, Sunless Skies"At the end of the day, the acolytes gather for a feast. If you were cynical, you might suggest this was the only reason the sects banded together."
↑Dine at the feast, Sunless Skies"A fork in each hand, you abandon yourself to your appetites. The tablecloth runs with wine and juices, as do your clothes and your chin. You eat as if famished. Religion is hungry work. The Sanctified look on admiringly."
↑The crowning of the saints, Sunless Skies"The Jolly Anchorite bursts with excitement as you present the gemmed chalice. He bids you lay the spices upon a cutting block and returns carrying a trinity of bottles: Old London vintages. "To learn the names of our final three, you must indulge!""
↑Give a confession, Sunless Skies"There was despair when they came to that place. But it was in error, for there the saints thrived. Look at us now without them. We follow their path. One day we too shall be free of it."
↑Aboard the Flotilla, Sunless Skies"The Sanctified, the loose collection of souls who follow the Jolly Anchorite, are communal, fraternal, jovial."
↑The Jolly Anchorite, Sunless Skies"He roars as you approach. "Come to receive more learning? If you wish to know our mysteries, you must learn the names of the Saints! As you progress in our rituals, the names shall be revealed to you!" He claps you heartily on the back. "Very few know all the names. I myself have lost some of them.""
↑The crowning of the saints, Sunless Skies"He bids you lay the spices upon a cutting block and returns carrying a trinity of bottles: Old London vintages. "To learn the names of our final three, you must indulge!" You gulp your way through the swirling scarlet depths of the chalice."
↑Give an Offering, Sunless Skies""Captain, stay your hand, as I shall stay mine," he implores, not looking, as he raises the knife and brings it down in the cloth, just above your stoker's head. The Anchorite roars with laughter. "And there we have the Saint of Blades and the Masquerader Saint!""
↑Give an Offering, Sunless Skies"The dim light diminishes ("For they came from a place of wild light to a place where there was none.") as the Jolly Anchorite gets to work."
↑ 19.019.1Provide for a Feast, Sunless Skies""Here, throw another skewer on the flame. [...] There! [...] the Saint of Flesh. And for my last trick—" He produces an apple [...] and proceeds to munch heartily. "I'll throw this one in for free: the Paradisal Saint. Here, take a bite.""
↑ 20.020.120.220.3The crowning of the saints, Sunless Skies""To learn the names of our final three, you must indulge!" You gulp your way through the swirling scarlet depths of the chalice. [...] "There now. All shall be well. You have met the last of them: the Saint of the Silk Road and the Saint of Chalices, and the Crowned and Crimson: the King of Saints!""
↑Provide for a Feast, Sunless Skies""Here, throw another skewer on the flame." His cabin is smoky from the smouldering meat. "There! The Saint on the Pyre, and the Saint of Flesh.""
↑Give an Offering, Sunless Skies"The Jolly Anchorite [...] implores one of your stokers to lie with [...] his feet between a tallow candle and a rusty blade. [...] "And there we have the Saint of Blades [...]""
↑Give an Offering, Sunless Skies"The Jolly Anchorite rolls out the bombazine over a slab of pale stone. [...] "Captain, stay your hand, as I shall stay mine," he implores, not looking, as he raises the knife and brings it down in the cloth, just above your stoker's head. [...] "And there we have the Saint of Blades and the Masquerader Saint!""
↑ 25.025.125.2Recite the litany of the dead, Sunless Skies"It's true. They were lost before the rest. The Saint of Tapers and the Saint in the Glass. We never speak their names. One we have hope of seeking, the other is gone. That saint will not be with us again."
