Pilgrims of the Endless Road

The Pilgrims of the Endless Road is an order of changelings dedicated to perfecting themselves.

Background
"I will kneel at the altar of my own weakness no longer."

In stark defiance of those who fear their own failure, the Pilgrims travel along an endless road of self-improvement, seeking the impossibility of perfection. Holding to a philosophy of strict self-control and striving, the Brothers and Sisters constantly train their bodies and minds. Due to this highly self-focused work, the order lacks the political power of many other entitlements. Its members generally lack a desire to gain converts or change the world.

Organization
There is no formal organization in the Pilgrims, as their path is deeply personal one. However, members of the order are usually willing to help their comrades; when a Pilgrim identifies a weakness in himself, it is to another Pilgrim that he turns for training. Additionally, the entitlement has a yearly gathering of members in the region, wherein they will strive against and encourage one another.

Joining and Membership
Prerequisites: No Attribute at 1, Resolve 3, Wyrd 3 Title: Brother or Sister

As mentioned in the background, the order does not seek out converts. Rather, one who is impressed by a Pilgrim may ask to join the order. Those who display physical addictions, mental obsessions, or other such failings must shed them before being considered. Next, an aspirant is run through an array of tests, from stamina to combat to riddles; this allows the changeling to hone in on a weakness on which he will later be tested. The aspirant is given a month to train in that weakness before being tested again. Those who pass are allowed entry. Those who fail are told to train further, being allowed to retest in two years’ time.

Due to the view of overcoming weakness and confronting one’s fears of imperfection, most of the order’s seasonal courtiers are from Autumn, whose views of understanding and control resonate with the entitlement. In terms of Traits, a focus on Resistance Traits is rather common, while the overall spread is often even, with several rated at two to four. The same view is taken toward Contracts. Social Traits are often neglected. Opinions on Wyrd vary; those who view it as a measure of power try to increase it as much as possible, while those who focus on the downsides try to avoid increasing it too greatly.

Mien
Pilgrims of the Endless Road display an unsettling perfection — no hairs out of place, no uneven stubble, no calluses, everything is symmetrical. They seem altogether too perfect to be real.

Privileges
The Pilgrims of the Endless Road, upon joining the order, gain access to the support of their colleagues if they choose to seek it out, and most develop low-level Allies or Contacts with their fellow Pilgrims.


 * The Perfected Body: Upon becoming a Pilgrim, a member of the Endless Road must choose a second kith blessing, which may not be from the same seeming of which the character is a member; this kith is taken to balance out a former flaw. A character’s second kith will affect her mien, but never to the same degree as her primary kith. If the Storyteller is using any of the optional rules for blended kiths from Winter Masques or Rites of Spring, the kith granted by the Perfected Body does not count towards any maximums imposed by these rules.