Rainwalkers

The Rainwalkers are those who work to bring the Rain and Shadow back to the wastes. They try to help those who are lost in the wastes by providing shade and water: two of the main things that you really need. If you're looking for water, the Rainwalkers are those you should ask.

Public Agenda

They work to bring the clouds back to the wastes, to spread life and cooling rain to the arid lands once again. They pray to the sky and the missing clouds to bring the rain back.

Mythology & Lore

The people of the old world, before the wastes, were too irreverent of the good life they had. They flaunted their success in the face of their God and took credit for their bounty themselves, instead of giving credit where credit was due. Their God, offended but still amenable His flock, pressured them by giving less and less rain. But! What did the people do?? They tried to fix the lack of rain themselves, instead of realizing the error of their ways and prostrating themselves before the might of the God of Rain!!! How blasphemous!!!
In righteous fury, the God left His flock to waste away in a rain-less wasteland. See now how you grow without Him? How you eat without Him? How you live without Him? He is the reason we lived, and the reason we will die! Our only hope is to remain loyal, and show that we have learned the error of our ways!
(Not all of the Rainwalkers are this evangelistic, but the ones that are are certainly the loudest)

Tenets of Faith

The Rain is the substance that this world thrived on.
The world will decay further into rot and ruin without water.
We will find the rain again, and bring it back to replenish the life in this world.

Ethics

Because most of their religious centers around finding the rain again and giving it to the people, the general day-to-day acts of the Rainwalkers generally include being walking water tanks/camels. Even the most cruel, vile people know that they ask for and receive water and shade from the Rainwalkers when they are in their most dire need of it. In this way, the Rainwalkers truly do bring rain to the people.

Worship

All Rainwalkers wear hoods. Thus, they bring Shade where ever they walk. While the majority of the wastes still are just wastes, at least the one area that they stand in is more shaded than the rest.
All Rainwalkers carry a source of water. This is generally from the ocean, or Lake Dong (FREAKING LINK THE THING WHEN YOU FIGURE OUT HOW TO HAVE MORE DRAFT-SECRETS. DONT FORGET TO LINK IT, YOU FOOOOOOOOL), the last remaining potable water source on the continent.
Some Rainwalkers have left the continent to try to find where their God has gone. Other Rainwalkers may disagree with this, and would rather try to remain faithful that the God will return. But, they cannot disagree that bringing back the rain is their main tenant, and actively bringing the God back will fulfill that promise.

Political Influence & Intrigue

Because of their selfless acts, they are generally protected when they travel. Roving bandits and gangs do not raid caravans of Rainwalkers. Those that do must quickly hide their ill-gotten water, because the other gangs will quickly go after them if they hear they harmed the Rainwalkers.

Sects

The Overshadows work in settlements to build Shaded areas for the people within. They work with business owners to build awnings off their buildings, and work with city officials to build large shaded gathering areas so that people don't need to hide in their homes from the heat all the time. They dream of a day when their shade comes from trees and vines and foliage instead of metal and wood. They wear mottled white and grey hoods, like the shadows under a trellis.
The Sootheseekers are those who left early on when the Wastes were still new. Unhappy with waiting around, or treating the symptoms of the waste, they tried to go after the cause: their God leaving them. They are full of angry people, vengeful people who want answers for their abandonment. They have traveled the wastes for a long time, always searching. They do not wear hoods, but still consider themselves part of the Rainwalkers.
The Sky Worshipers are the loudest of the bunch. Their light blue hoods are flowing and thin for the heat, not really providing the shade they were intended for. They love to incite great excitement among the settlements they travel too. Because of course, everyone wants rain, and everyone would do anything to get it back! They recruit more people to the cause of the Rainwalkers, and maybe recruit a little coin as well.
The Hooded Ones do not speak. They wear tight grey hoods, like Hijabs. They wander the wastes for lost souls and bring them back to life with water and shade, and eventually back to a main settlement as well. While many people may have run into the Hooded Ones, very rarely can they say anything other than "They literally saved my life!"
The Shadrein are famous for their caravans from the frozen north to the arid south. They are named for the shade they provide from their caravans, and the reins of the wagons that are forever in their hands. They do not allow non-Shadrein to travel with them, as to do so would stir the wrath of the gangs. While Rainwalkers are protected because of the service they provide, they need to remain neutral with their help. Thus, the Shadrein are seen as more callous than the rest, and more avoided. They wear light grey-green hoods, like the tundra scrubbush where they travel frequently.

Rain from Shadow.
Shadow from Us.

Founding Date

Unknown, they kind of popped up after the wastes did.

Type

Religious, Organised Religion

Alternative Names

Hooded Ones, Sootheseekers, Shadrein, Overshadows, Sky Worshipers

Deities

• God of Farming and Water