#9 The Order of the Blood Drenched Rose
The Order of the Blood-Drenched Rose is known throughout the mortal realms for its furiously violent and excessively blood-thirsty vampiric mercenaries. These Soulblight knights have their own code of what they call ‘honour’ although they appear willing to fight for any cause that will provide them with plenteous fresh blood. They are also motivated by their refusal to submit to Nagash and are particularly enthusiastic when their employer’s aims are in opposition to those of the so-called Supreme Lord of the Undead.
One particularly renowned Paladin of the Order was engaged by the Chaos Lord Moh’sheh, Deacon of the Everchosen to fight a campaign against a branch of the Blisterskin Flesh-Eater Court. The Order of the Blood-Drenched Rose saw an opportunity to thwart the will of Nagash, and the Khornish Despoilers were amused by the spectacle of the blood-thirsty knights. However, the Slaves to Darkness forces abandoned their mercenaries to be overrun by a swarm of ghouls. The Soulblight Paladin ended up fighting the Blisterskin archregent in an extraordinarily vicious and bloody single combat, for Abhorrent Ghoul Kings are utterly detested by Soulblights such as the Order of the Blood-Deneched Rose. In the end the Paladin overcame the archregent, but in their struggle he had somehow become infected by the Flesh-Eater Curse.
It was with good reason that The Paladin was considered the pinnacle of chivalric nobility according to the honour code of the Order of the Blood-Drenched Rose for he was indeed a being of phenomenal willpower and self-control. By massive mental effort The Paladin was able for many years to suppress the effects of the Flesh-Eater Curse and hide his new nature from his brethren. Nonetheless, his occasional episodes of ‘eccentricity’ gradually became more frequent, and did not go unnoticed by his brothers and sisters in the Order. Eventually, he realised that if he remained among the Order, the abhorrent aspect of his nature would inevitably be discovered - and certainly not tolerated. So to protect his secret, he informed the Order that he was embarking on a noble quest to the city of Glymmsforge to found a bogus religious society by which he would undermine the will of Nagash even within the realm of Shyish. The Order approved the quest despite its unorthodox nature for the Paladin’s eccentricities had somewhat diminished his popularity.
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In Glymmsforge, he declared himself ‘The Apostle’ and founded ‘The Society of the Sanguine Rose’, adopting the blood rose of Barfunweltz Cemetery as its symbol. After years of practice in the Order, it was not hard for The Apostle to hide his true nature from the naive mortals of the free city. The Blisterskin curse passed onto him all those years before proved a potent boon for an aspiring cult leader for it projected delusions into the minds and souls of those about him. As the Apostle was able to maintain a measure of control over his curse, those who fell under his thrall did not become full, flesh-eating mordants, but rather utterly devoted, unquestioning disciples. They literally believed every word he said and every doctrine he taught - even if they were contradictory or changed from one day to the next. Thus The Society of the Sanguine Rose grew very swiftly into a large sect of mortal believers completely under the semi-abhorrent Apostle’s control.
When Liesel Sommer brought about the Apostle’s downfall at the hands of Lord-Celestant Thaddeon Ven Denst, he just had time to pass his vampiric curse on to his most faithful clergyman. This Bishop however did not possess the willpower of his Lord and emerged a true abhorrent with traits of the Blisterskin bloodline, yet with a delusion entirely centred on that created by the False Apostle. Thus the degenerate and cannibalistic mordants of the Flesh-Eater Court of the Sanguine Rose believe themselves to be the continuing Society of the same name, persevering in its good deeds in faithful hope of the return of their beloved Apostle.
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