The Sisters of Mercy are an order of nuns which are part of the Church of St. Olwyn.
They were formed in the year 401 as part of the reorganisation of that church. The order is
restricted to women who have taken an oath of celibacy. They are skilled healers and midwives and in a major
emergency each member of the order knows how to set up and run a field hospital.
The other skill they are
famous for is the ability to co-opt whatever manpower and resources is needed in order to achieve
their worthy missions. No Lord will refuse aid to a Sister, as to do so is to invite retribution in the form
of a visit from a more senior Sister who will remind him of his duties and responsibilities as a Lord.
The ultimate sanction is a visit from the Abbess herself who will probably need to be convinced
that the Lord has seen the error of his ways by means of a large donation to the order. Failure to
placate the Abbess generally means that she will let the whole realm including the Court know what
she has a low opinion of that Lord. Only a very few foolish individuals have ever let things get that far
in the history of
Cambria.
The Sisters sometimes travel in pairs but frequently travel alone. Only the most depraved and evil
of criminals would think of attacking a Sister. In a city such a person would almost certainly
be sanctioned by the Thieves Guild. Part of the reason for this is that the Sisters will treat
anyone of whatever race, religion or alignment and respect the confidentiality that that entails.
This does not mean that the Sisters wont take the opportunity of reminding criminals of the
error of their ways and the likely consequences of their lifestyle. They will even treat
monstrous humanoids which explains why some of the servants at their abbey are grateful orcs
and goblins.
The Sisters have provided their services at every major battle fought by the Cambrian Army.
In theory it is the
Church of St. James's role to provide healing for
the army but they would be the first to admit that they could not cope without
the Sisters volunteering their services. Some Lords sometimes quibble over the Sisters
healing the enemy as well but enlightened generals have known that every war could
end in peace negotiations where goodwill is a great advantage.
One of the current aims of the Sisters is to provide hospital services in the major towns
of Cambria as well as the cities and the
Church of St. Olwyn is close to securing
the money to build a hospital in
Brimmingstone.