Devotaries of the Reclaimed Soul

"I will seek peace. Through briar and thorn, through love and laughter and pain, I will be whole again."

Part self-help group, part religious organization, the Devotaries have a single goal: to be at peace with themselves. They see that peace as what was taken from them by their durance: the peace of knowing who you are, of where you belong, and of being able to forge your own path. The Durance scarred your soul, and only by obtaining that peace can those scars truly heal and your soul be whole again.

Titles: Devotary, Devotee, Novitiate (for those just joined)

Requirements: Wyrd 5 or lower, Willpower 6 or Clarity 6

Concepts: Wayward soul, fallen priest, religious convert, social worker, altruistic therapist, recovering addict, introspective surgeon.

Joining
The Devotaries are a loose organization at best, so there are few formal attempts to recruit new members. Instead, established Devotaries keep an eye out for Changelings, especially newly escaped ones, who they feel fit the ideals of the entitlement or could benefit from its philosophies. Invitations are usually personal and ideally done by someone the Changeling already knows. There is no penalty for refusing, and those who do are simply felt to not be ready. They may be given another invitation some time later, although few are ever given a third. A Changeling who accepts the invitation must do three things to be fully initiated: meet with the local group, do a good deed to a mortal without their knowing, and work with their mentor for a season. (The mentor is usually the same person who extended the invitation, but sometimes another is chosen based on the personalities involved.) Once those three are accomplished, the Changeling need only exchange the pledge words with her mentor to complete her joining. There is no further ceremony, although some groups of Devotaries have informal traditions that have sprung up around them, such as a celebratory trip to the local bar.

Background
The Devotaries accept any who come to them, and so there are no set backgrounds and all types are welcome. That said, the nature of the Devotaries tends to attract those with a religious bent, whether as a formal creed (Christianity, Buddhism, Wicca) or just general spirituality. Those with an inclination to physical or emotional healing also tend to be attracted to them, such as doctors, social workers, therapists, and the like.

Methods
Most Devotaries seek to reclaim their souls, their selves, simply by finding peace with their new lives. A large part of this is maintaining balance between human and fae nature, which is why a Changeling may lose her membership if her Wyrd grows too high. (Repentance is allowed if she later reduces her Wyrd, as forgiveness is a major tenet of the Devotaries, but she may quickly find herself without a mentor if it happens too many times.)

Although all Devotaries share a common goal, the paths to achieve it are many and unique. One devotary may seek peace by forgiving those who wronged her, up to and including forgiving her fetch and, in extreme cases, even her Keeper. Another delves deep into the Hedge, trying to find the fragments of his soul that the Fae scattered like thistledown. Another may forge a new life for himself by embracing his Changeling nature and throwing himself into running the Freehold. A different devotary may shun her Changeling aspects entirely, trying to live life as if she were human and avoiding any use of Glamour, Contracts, or other fae aspects. In extreme cases, some Devotaries resort to self-flagellation, self-mutilation, or other purification rituals to try to exorcise their fae nature, or try to murder their fetch to forcibly reclaim that part of their soul. All are valid paths, and so long as a devotary affords others the space to find their own way, she will always be welcome.

Organization
The Devotaries are more of a support group than a formal organization, and many of them tend to be modeled on groups like Alcoholics Anonymous. The Devotaries in a freehold will usually meet regularly (every month or two) to talk and support each other in their personal pilgrimages. New Changelings among the Devotaries has a mentor, who they may or may not share with other Devotaries. As the Changeling makes progress the formal mentorship ends (often so the newer member can become a mentor himself), but the informal relationships tend to last a long time.

Mien
There's no real dress code for the Devotaries, although many of them tend to choose simple clothing. The main point is that clothing should be true to yourself instead of being yet another mask to wear. Many Devotaries carry some sort of (nonmagical) trinket to help them meditate or just keep calm, such as a rosary, a string of prayer beads, a worry doll, or a stress ball.

Changes

Devotaries miens tend to grow more subdued, so that their Changeling aspects are less pronounced. Ears are less pointed, faces less angular, limbs more evenly proportioned. Basically, their mien begins to grow (slightly) more like their Mask. The Changeling tells are still present, they just aren't as extreme. Sometimes their clothing starts showing small evidence of mending—patches here and there, or a repaired seam—or long-healed scars will appear on their skin. Devotaries with high Clarity (8+) also tend to have an aura of peace around them, and ones with high Wyrd may even manifest it as a subtle glow or halo. (Ironic, given that a Devotary whose Wyrd grows too high ca actually lose this Entitlement for embracing their fae nature too much.)

Privileges
As part of their joining the Devotaries, each novitiate is given the below token. These are usually crafted to reflect the outlook of individual novitiates, although occasionally their mentor will gift them with one they had used.

Rumors

 * The Devotaries look nice on the outside, but everyone knows all the good cults do. That peace they carry around like a halo, that isn't just New Age feel-good mumbo-jumbo. It's ensorcelment, taking the angst and worry away from the Changeling and putting it somewhere else. No one knows where or why, and the last person who went digging didn't come back.
 * Most Devotaries are decent folks, but then there are the weird ones. The ones that cut themselves, or stick nails into their arms, or draw glyphs on their skin with a soldering iron. They're trying to cut the fae out of themselves. Sometimes, one of them gets a little antsy, wondering why it's not working as fast as they think it should. It doesn't take long for them to figure maybe they need to practice a bit first, try to cut the fae out of some other people, then they'll know how to do it on themselves.
 * Forgiveness figures big in Devotary thought, even up to including the fetch that stole your life away. It's not really talked about, and you only ever hear of it in whispers and sideways glances, but some say it's more than just self-edification. They say that forgiveness is so alien to the True Fae, that if you can truly forgive your fetch—truly, utterly, and with your whole heart, holding nothing back—it breaks the fae magic holding your fetch together. You get that bit of your soul back, you get your life back. But if that's what you want out of it, it's not really forgiveness, and it doesn't work.