In the game: help house kadesh Also kadesh
House Kadesh: the truest believers in the city, who carve their faith into their own flesh.
The Blood of the Faith
On paper, everyone in Deshret is faithful. They tithe, wear their seals, pray, and nod along at the sermons. For most, that is all of it. Not for House Kadesh. If Sepulchre is the body of the faith, Kadesh considers itself the blood.
Written on the Skin
You can spot a Kadesh on sight, because they literally wear their faith on their flesh. The seals other people ink as tattoos are carved into Kadesh skin, and every act of devotion leaves a mark, from brands to deep ritual scars. When a Kadesh is splintered, tradition says they take up their athame on the first day of their new life and carve every mark back onto their flawless skin, one by one, over hours. The marks only multiply the longer a Kadesh lives. That is why the oldest of the House tend to be grotesque, scarred beings that look like something that was once human.
Crusaders
Kadesh have long served Sepulchre as clergy and as inquisitors. They fast while others feast. They walk unarmed and unarmoured through the worst parts of the city to preach. They are the crusaders and the flagellants, and likely masochists and sadists too, obsessed with pain and suffering for their beliefs. Still, in a city like Deshret, belonging to a House this devout has its perks.
Bastards of House Kadesh take the surname Creed.
Read next: help sepulchre, help seals, and help great houses.
On the Agora: https://agora.underspire.net/t/great-houses/40