The landscape of Sallow Heath is a grim wasteland, but functional for its purpose. Many generations of the populace have been brought here, and the living inhabitants conduct final rites, study family history and guard against both the threat of the undead and the incoming surge of the malignant concord. Locally grown food is scarce, but there are those who specialise in the berries from the plants that are able to survive in the harsh wasteland. Most food supply comes from the archduchy in the form of hardy, long-lasting rations and root vegetables that will survive the journey and limited storage. In the settlements of Sallow heath, water purifiers run twenty-four seven to keep up with the demand of the country’s limited living inhabitants. 

Sallow Heath Factions

The Order of the Iron Spade (The Silent Ferrymen Variant)

The blue-collar defenders of the necropolis. While the high-tier scholars wear clean linen robes and dissect bodies in marble halls, the Iron Spades are out in the peat bogs and salt flats doing the heavy lifting. They dig the trenches, consecrate the mass graves of Vane’s poor, and hunt down the ghouls and stitched-abominations that rise from the chemical-soaked mud.

Heavy leather aprons over chainmail, faces smudged with ash, and heavy iron-shod shovels (their war axes) blessed with graveyard soil.

The Crypt-Keepers of the Salt Flats (The Salt-Wardens)

A stern, monastic order dedicated to the preservation of memory and flesh. They manage the endless, glittering white catacombs built into Sallow Heath's natural salt deserts. They believe that a body must be perfectly preserved and protected from corruption until the end of time.

Bleached white robes, veils to keep the salt dust out of their eyes, and weapons made of darkened iron that contrast sharply with the white landscape.

The Scribes of the Final Ledger (The Clerical Bureaucracy)

The legalistic arm of Sallow Heath. They believe death is an absolute contract. Every soul must be accounted for, and every body must match a name on a manifest. They hate the undead not because they are inherently evil, but because they are a breach of contract and messy paperwork.

Ink-stained fingers under heavy iron gauntlets, ledger books strapped to their chests like armour plates, and an incredibly dry, matter-of-fact demeanour.

Sallow Heath Ecclesiastical Military Ranks

The Line & Lower Clergy (Enlisted & Junior NCOs)

Acolyte (Private / Conscript): The lowest tier. Freshly drafted or penal laborers assigned to heavy digging, mass trench-clearing in the peat bogs, and hauling basic supplies under the watchful eye of senior clergy.

Deacon (Corporal / Section Lead): Hardened veterans who enforce liturgical noise discipline, check respirator and ash-seal integrity, and command small fire-teams in the salt flats.

Curate (Lieutenant / Subaltern): Junior field officers responsible for direct patrol inspections of forward sap-trenches and leading minor skirmishes against rising ghouls.

The Mid-Level Clergy (Field Command & Operations)

Rector / Vicar (Captain): Sector commanders who manage specific catacomb complexes or canal-locks. They hold tactical authority and decide when to lock down a crypt against corruption.

Prebendary (Major): Mid-level officers who coordinate multiple trench networks and oversee specialized preservation units or embalming supply lines.

Canon (Colonel): Regimental administrators and rear-line commanders who balance attrition rates, resource manifests, and coordination with the Scribes of the Final Ledger.

The High Clergy (Strategic Command & Oligarchy)

Archdeacon (Major-General / General): High-tier operational leaders who direct the macro-movements of Sallow Heath’s defensive forces across the ash-wastelands and salt deserts.

Bishop (Field Marshal): Supreme commanders of the three ruling factions (Iron Spade, Salt-Wardens, and Scribes). They dictate national security policy and treaty enforcement with Grand Vane.

The Metropolitan / Primate (Grand Marshal): The absolute spiritual and military head of Sallow Heath—the ultimate authority on matters of the dead, state contracts, and continental preservation.

Specialized / Ecclesiastical Orders

Penitentiary (Inquisitor / Provost): Authorized judicial executioners within the military, tasked with hunting down unholy undead, contract-breakers, and spore-infected personnel.

Chantry-Sentinel (Elite Guard): Heavy shock troops clad in white monastic robes or heavy aprons over chainmail, stationed at high-security vaults and border checkpoints.