Solas is held together by four kinds of group: the Church that rules the Blessedland, the Demiurges it exiled, the Marcions it destroyed, and the Disciples who live beside the Colossi. Between them walk the Couriers, the Church's hired explorers, and the player's party is made of Couriers and people who have been pushed out of these groups. This article is the overview; each major group has its own page. How the groups line up in time is in Timelines.
At a glance#
| Group | Home | Leader or figurehead | Attitude | Main sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Church of the Blessedland | Blessedland, Trinity Yard, Katib Sacred Tower (outpost) | Proxy Higgins; Overseers such as Sprenger and Eckhart | Guards the Pillars and the Seals; hunts heresy | ItemData 10031, 70042; UIQuest 30609, 30617-30619 |
| Demiurges | Edith (exile) | High Priest / Pontifex Vaillant (condemned); Elena (leader) | Wants to return and put the Church on trial | StoryDialog story 99 rows 728-731; story 4; UIQuest 30408 |
| Marcions | Katib (destroyed) | Patriarchs and Witches; the last Marcion Witch | Past/present/future reincarnation faith; left curses and rituals | ItemData 10013-10015, 70051; UIQuest 30502-30517 |
| Couriers | Glenn's Carriage; Exilium (banished) | Overseers command | Explore the Dark Mist, seek the Grave | UIQuest 10102; ItemData 10055, 10012 |
| Disciples of Solas | Around each Colossus (Heggem, Adamina...) | Local leaders (Ramones in Heggem, the Holy Father in Adamina) | Follow their Colossus; pray; migrate | SiteInfo 100, 200; ItemData 70001 |
| Siflers | Roam; scavengers of the dead | None | Loot, trade, and fear the Demiurge elite | ItemData 10017, 10054, 78001 |
| Pagans | Hidden among tribes | Worship Logos | Use Sendril rituals against Church purges | TrophyData 67310, 69509 |
| Ichthyosauria clan (Ebbinghaus) | Inside the beast (Ichthyosauria) | Lord Ebbinghaus | Protect the beast and its Soul River; forget to endure | StoryDialog story 9 rows 2546-2597 |
The main groups (summary)#
- Church of the Blessedland. A hierarchy built around the four Holy Pillars and a single leader, Proxy. Its sub-orders are the Overseers and Bishops, the Sanctifiers, the Takola, the Knights and Warriors, the Investigators and Proxy's attendants; Couriers are attached to it but disposable. Who is who is in Church of the Blessedland#Overview.
- Demiurges. A scholarly priesthood that studied the Colossi and was exiled to Edith after its leader Vaillant was condemned. His successor Elena rallied the exiles with a Marcion white-dust ritual and a plan to judge the Church. See Demiurges and the playable hero Elena.
- Marcions. The people of Katib, who believed in a cycle of past, present and future lives. The Church destroyed them; the Seal needs Marcion blood to open, and Norwood is one of the survivors. The Witch who volunteered to open the Seal is the red-haired Teresa (inferred from UIQuest 10508 and 30509). See Marcions.
- Couriers. Explorers hired to find the Colossal Grave. Terrence and Viola are Couriers; the Ascetics are a self-mutilating branch (ItemData 70005). See Couriers.
Local peoples#
- Disciples of Solas. Tribes that live under one Colossus and follow it, trading with passers-by. Heggem's miners fused with their tools (ItemData 70001, 70002), Adamina's people turned to Sendril to survive (StoryDialog story 2 rows 290-292), and the game's trophy text calls the wandering ones users of Colossus crystals (TrophyData 69503).
- Siflers. Scavengers who search corpses and ruins; they treat letters in a dead man's pocket as treasure and sell gamble chests from the "royal treasury" (ItemData 10017, 78001). Their respect for the owner of a certain invitation hints at a hierarchy above them (ItemData 10054). There is an achievement for finding them all (Achievement 12002).
- Pagans. A loose alliance of tribes that fled Church purges and built crude Sendril rituals; some secretly worship the Daemon Logos (TrophyData 67310, 69509).
- Ichthyosauria's clan. Followers of Lord Ebbinghaus who live in the beast's body; the Scavengers' original job was to keep the drinking water free of parasites (ItemData 70068). A "ship of madmen" crew, the Scavengers, and the Heggie creatures are also part of that society (StoryDialog story 9 rows 2546, 2587-2597, 2666).
- Samarosa. An older civilization with its own script. Viola's bracelet and a stone slate carry it, and a companion hunting for more slates wants to decode the bracelet's inscription (ItemData 10046, 10051, 10052; StoryDialog story 99 rows 2192-2210; the speaker is not labelled in the table, and ItemData 10046 ties the bracelet to Viola).
Hidden mechanics#
- Faction flavor is tied to drops, not only dialog. Most faction detail is spread across material and trophy item texts. For example, Takola are only named on the Empty Smoking Pot and the Blinding Smoke formula (ItemData 70043, 79018), and the Sanctifiers on the Extinct Torch and Fragment of the Creed (ItemData 70042, 70044).
- The Church's own research notes are collectibles. The Experiment, Interrogation, Meeting Minutes and Secret Record documents (UIQuest 30513-30518, 30612-30619) are the clearest view of the Church's decisions. The list is in Documents#Katib (18 documents) and Documents#Blessedland (20 documents).
- Faction items vanish on a new Journey. Key items that mark faction events (Sand Glass, Gate key, Sifler Stone, Eckhart's Cane Sword and others) have
GamePlusRemove = 1and are removed when a new Journey begins (New Game Plus#What carries over and what is removed;structdata/fs_itemlist.lua:137-148; ItemData 10012, 10042, 10071, 72105).
Trivia#
- Several achievement titles name factions directly: "Demiurge's Destruction" for defeating Elena, "Deicide" for Edith, "Wisdom" for finding all Documents (Achievement 10012, 10005, 12003).
- Elena's "Enigma" outfit text says the Demiurges gave that title to only a few figures who dared explore taboo (StorySkin 7001).
Sources#
kit/tables/SiteInfo.jsonl100, 200;ItemData.jsonl10012, 10013-10015, 10017, 10031, 10042, 10046, 10051, 10052, 10054, 10055, 10071, 70001, 70002, 70005, 70042-70044, 70051, 70068, 70073, 72105, 78001, 79018.StoryDialog.jsonlstory 99 rows 728-731, 759-761, 2192-2210; story 2 rows 290-292; story 4; story 9 rows 2546-2597, 2666.UIQuest.jsonl10102, 30408, 30502-30519, 30609, 30612-30619;TrophyData.jsonl67310, 69503, 69509;Achievement.jsonl10005, 10012, 12002, 12003;StorySkin.jsonl7001.- Code:
reference/lua_src/luascript/structdata/fs_itemlist.lua:137-148.
Categories:Lore