Callers for the Brimstone Cities stand out from their counterparts for a variety of reasons. Their sisterhood was one of the last “churches” to be adopted in the Post-Burnout and their values are more of a compromise than a natural evolution. Furthermore, they are by far the most “metal” religious group operating in America, and maybe in all of history. 

Although they were officiated as a new Great Clan in 2036 (Check This), the Brimstone Cities were far from a coherent entity. After their initial conference with the Guild and F5, they set up a congress, with representatives from each of their settlements, to iron-out the details. One of the main issues was how to “jumpstart” their national religion and what their Callers would look/act like.

More than fulfilling the responsibilities of a Great Clan’s church, the leaders at the committee were most concerned with their image as marauders. In the eyes of almost every Burnout-survivor, the marauder was the epitome of ruin and senseless violence— exactly what statebuilding efforts in the 30s were trying to move away from. At the same time, they were unwilling to move away from their new alliance’s identity as marauders. For many, marauding had brought them together and laid the foundations for their cultures. Retracting, or even trying to supplement this identity would be impossible. Aside from building unity between their settlements, the Brimstone Cities knew that their future lay in “marauding-style” endeavors: controlling waterways and producing heavy weapons. But how to work towards these constructive goals with an identity that was viewed as inherently destructive? 

Name, a representative from Wheatland, Indiana proposed that juxtaposing themselves with the Blue Column could give them credibility. By developing a Great Clan that had key differences from the Blue Column, they could make a distinction between “good” and “bad” marauders. Name, who at this point was good friends with Annaline Colbert, believed that one of the most sensitive issues that the Brimstone Cities could address was gender-equality and the overall treatment of women within the alliance. This was an issue that the Blue Column had addressed in an infamously barbaric and sexist manner. Many of the factions who had interacted with the Column during the Burnout had had women and girls taken as sex-slaves or worse (the Vintages, Alphas, and Ruinous engaged in similar activities on a smaller scale). And many more groups were also aware of how Martin had ordered many of these slaves to be massacred once his Column settled. If the Brimstone Cities were to do something to radically empower women, they could easily put themselves in stark contrast with their rival. 

Having an all-female clergy seemed like the natural option. Gender had never been a real issue with the first-gen Callers, mostly because they wanted to keep the pool of potential apprentices as large as possible. A woman-only system would stand out from the other faiths, while serving as a subtle jab at most Pre-Burnout priesthoods. By enshrining women as the designated holy-figures, the Brimstone Cities (at least publically), showed a genuine commitment to equality. 

This “performative” intent for the new priesthood lingered and resurfaced in later discussions about the finer points of the religion. The basic tenets had already been established in the conference where the Brimstone Cities were officiated, now they had to create a distinct identity and style to “reach” the average citizens. This responsibility was divided between Vivian “E-Line” Jetson and a Caller who only referred to themself as “Pilgrim”. Pilgrim had been trained in Verdance and later studied under the Callers in various Cities of the Guild. E-Line was a priestess from F5 who was extremely involved in the spontaneous “concerts” that took place in the Strets. They needed to develop rituals, practices, and mannerisms that anyone from the Passage-Lands could recognize as holy, while incorporating distinct aspects from the Strets. After weeks of touring the Clan’s territory, intense discussion, and several jam-sessions, Pilgrim and E-Line had decided that rock music (and it’s various subcategories) was the way to go for the following reasons:

• The technological barriers involved. Electric guitars, keyboards, microphones, amplifiers, speakers, and anything else needed for rock could only be produced by the artisans in the Strets. The hard-to-replicate atmosphere and experiences would further reinforce the “holiness” of the performances.
• Aggressive nature of performances. This would help to reaffirm and encourage the Brimstone Citie’s identity as marauders. 
• External perception. Ideally, outsiders would come back from a Brimstone Cities ceremony with the takeaway that there was a handful of women being treated with absolute reverence by a horde of violent [horned-up] men. 

The high cost and volume of their equipment limits “true” Metal-Priestesses to large convoys and pilgrimages. Similarly trained “strummers” will accompany smaller groups, typically without any electric accompaniments. The training and responsibilities of a Priestess are substantially more than other Callers. To begin with, they must have the requisite literary and argumentative ability to be a Caller in the first place. Next, they develop the skills and technique to perform highly technical pieces on a complex instrument (or several) while orating. Senior Priestesses work like Pre-Burnout DJs; they have a deep understanding of how to manipulate light, sound, and special-effects to achieve desired affects. While Callers in other factions have similar responsibilities for their performances, the Metal-Priestesses have the most technical concerns.