The Shrine of the Purging Flame

Deadbeats are famously protective of their faith, but this precaution was not borne out of nothing. Since times immemorial, the shores of /morig/ have been the target of raids, attacks, and in the far past, even invasions. Deadbeat has even fought against Deadbeat, usually over matters related to faith.

Recent centuries have seen an increased degree of unification in the Goddess's worship, which is surprising given the contentious nature of Deadbeats. Intensified activity on the Goddess’ part is partly to thank for this, but the Purges also played a role. The Purges refer to a tumultuous period in /morig/ history where the sword arm of the Goddess Faithful began taking a more active role in the cleansing of Goddess-doubting heresy on the island. Those decades saw many a brittle-boned unbeliever fall to the righteous blades, but most agree that the nation came out of the other better for it. Through bloody battles, hunts for the blasphemous and mass executions, weakness was removed from the island. As for the Goddess Faithful, this inquisitorial branch of the faith was formalized into the Shrine of the Purging Flame.

At the start, the Shrine was simply the group of priestesses tasked with fulfilling the roles of judge, jury and executor in all matters related to heresy against the Goddess. Indeed, while foreign faiths from visitors always were encouraged, attacks against Mori are not tolerated in the least. As the larger heretical groups were eradicated, the Shrine turned its eye to more underground movements, which required the development of investigative methods. Then, once the island had been purged from the bulk of its anti-Death blasphemy, the priestesses, at this point known simply as the Holy Ghosts, established a proper intelligence network to sniff out signs of heresy and nip them in the bud, hopefully before harsh consequences are required.

Some see this as an overreach, but the general sentiment is that the Goddess Faithful, with their rigorous training and vows of secrecy in matters related to faith, can be trusted with this power. It helps that with the subtle influence of the Goddess present in the back of their minds, the Shrine has abused this trust minimally in its many years of operation.

In the past century, the Holy Ghosts have begun cooperating closely with the most trusted members of the Deadbeat Navy to expand its activities internationally. The exact scope of those foreign operations is highly classified; /morig/’s non-interventionist policy in matters unrelated to the security of the HoloSea suggests they are limited to intel-gathering and situations directly related to /morig/ nationals and the Mori Faith. Such measures may be taken to rescue a Deadbeat VIP from imprisonment, or push back against instances of subversive anti-Mori propaganda in allied countries. Even for the most serious of those operations, the Holy Ghosts themselves leaving the island is unheard of; agents are picked out from the Navy’s sailors or even trusted foreigners as needed by the requirements of the mission.