Women's Temperance Lodge

"Travelers! Heed our warning before progressing further.
The Etoile Capital City is the pinnacle of our shared culture, the path of Progress, the shining beacon that lights the future for all of us. Yet before you lies the beating heart of blackest night that the Principality has continually strove to overcome. 
The hedons and wanton rakes in the so-called Scarlet Block seek to revert the times. They are lures encased in glass fronts, with the promise of animal carnality in exchange for a tepid Florin. Those who would seek their services willingly surrender the mantle of Progress, a return to animal nature, of mere rutting without purpose or vision.
We beseech you! Turn back now and look towards the future, where the dawn of Reason and Morality may overcome the bait of simple lust and depravity. Though you may not by yourself be able to change the Scarlet Block, with your help and our collective will, we would see Progress overcome, and the common man able to once more take up the mantle of Progress without the bait of harlotry and filth.
Signed
Alexia DeMiral
Founder of the Women's Temperance Lodge"
--A flyer posted on a public board near the Scarlet Block. These flyers are everywhere; this one has been defaced with what appears to be a woman's lipstick kiss mark over DeMiral's signature.

Structure

The Women's Temperance Lodge is a loosely organized set of chapters, each led by a chapter head, all reporting to the Founder of the Lodge, all women. Membership is open to all women who wish to join.

Public Agenda

The Women's Temperance Lodge has a public agenda of stamping out vice and activities that inhibit the 'Progress' of the Principality of Etoile. With the suppression of brothels and gambling halls, it is hoped that those involved will instead further the technological and social advancement of Etoile.

Assets

The Women's Temperance Lodge has no real assets of its own, but the wealth and power of the noblewomen that count themselves Lodgers lends it considerable resources that it can tap.

History

The Temperance movement came about as a result of social problems that occurred in the Etoile Capital City soon after its construction. Easily the largest city to have ever been built or populated, problems associated with high population cities began to rear their heads, with 'comfort halls' becoming a euphemism for a combined gambling hall, brothel, and drunkard's den. Though none of these were novel or new concepts, the concentration of people in the Capital soon created a concentration of vice activity unlike any that had been seen prior. The official response from the Principality of Etoile was that of tepid neglect; the Princeps apparently had more pressing concerns, and the nobility more often made use of the services of the comfort halls than railed against them.
In response, the Temperance movement to push back against vice began, led particularly by the highly placed women of the Capital nobility. Though the activities of the halls were legal on their face, the members of the Women's Temperance Lodge are attempting to change the public perception of morality to try to starve the comfort halls out of business. The fervor exhibited by many Lodgers has resulted in considerable pushback from other sections of the public, especially those who profit from the continued prosperity of the comfort halls.

Progress Overcomes

Founding Date

712

Type

Political, Activist

Alternative Names

The WTL

Demonym

Lodgers

Location

Etoile Capital City