The Veiled Prophet
The Veiled Prophet Society is one of the most important organizations in St. Louis, and one of the stranger of the chivalrous order of Medieval America - and that's saying something. The Society's history stretches back to an era further than most Americans care to remember in any detail beyond the pastiche provided by the Church. Indeed, the Society claims a pedigree that begins far beyond and before America.
The Veiled Prophet Society and the figure of the Veiled Prophet receded following the Regression, as most frivolous traditions did. However, the imagery of the Veiled Prophet began to re-surface in the 26th century as Cowboy raids increasingly threatened the western fringe of the State. Stories abounded of a veiled lancer that defended the state from the depredations of the Infidel Hordes, an extension of the ancient "masked hero" genre that permeated pre and post-Regression literature.
In the second half of the 28th century, the frequency and fervor with which these tales were told intensified on account of two factors: firstly, the increasingly far-ranging and destructive raids of the Cowboys put fear into the heart of the Missouriman and demanding a hero to right. Secondly, the rise of the white knights of the Klan and their conquest of the Red River Territory inspired a fervor throughout the region, proving that the Cowboys may, indeed, be defeated - and by veiled lancers ahorse, no less.
However, stories would do little to stay the furies of the West. In 2270, the Bailey Family toppled the walls and burned the city to the ground in one of the most brutal sacks in recent memory, and the Veiled Prophet did nothing to stop them. This didn't stop the Missourian refugees from trying to claim otherwise - one particularly popular story was that the Veiled Prophet alone held back 10,000 Cowboys when the wall was first breached, giving countless time to escape the city.
In fact, the Veiled Prophet became associated with the millennial fervor that was sweeping the East - with America's Millennial fast approaching, many predicted that the End Times would begin in earnest, and that America would begin the process of restoring the Empire of Liberty to make way for the Millennial Kingdom. It was predicted that the Veiled Prophet would emerge from occultation and lead the re-conquest of St. Louis and, after revealing his true form (what that was varied from teller to teller), would lead a more general reconquest of the whole nation.
Of course, 2776 came and went. While plenty notable happened in this year (spawned by millennial fervor), none of the apocalyptic predictions came to pass, and the Ride of the Veiled Prophet was no exception. However, it seems that the tales did have a major impact on the psyches of the Missourian court-in-exile, who sought to make the legends reality.
Inspired and aided by the Noble Brothers of the Ark, the Missourians founded (or rather, re-founded) the Society of the Veiled Prophet. The group inaugurated their own Veiled Prophet in secret, though rumor has it that the first was Lafayette Schwartz himself. Possibly, no Prophet was instated at all and the position was left empty, or the costume was only worn by a placeholder for the purpose of ceremonies. whatever the case, the rest of the men arranged themselves into the public-face of the organization, the so-called "Bengal Lancers." The Society were among the groups that joined Lafayette Schwartz in his war to restore order to the wild lands of Missouri.
The group exists through to the current day. Whether or not it continues to be lead by the house of Schwartz is unknown, though considered by many to be unlikely, as the Schwartz's have fallen heavily under the sway of the merchant families of Memphis. Today, the primary goal of the organization is to restore the power of the landed nobility, wresting away control from the merchant clans and the civilized tribes that have risen to prominence throughout the state.
Belief surrounding the Veiled Prophet is highly varied and not in the slightest condoned by the Church. The identity of the Prophet is the most discussed aspect, with guesses ranging from George Washington to Jesus Christ himself, or perhaps the Veil is indeed empty and is inhabited by the Holy Ghost. The most popular (and least sacrilegious) belief is that the Prophet is a manifestation of the Unknown Soldier. After the sack of Washington, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier was found to be empty, leading to stories across the nation of the Unknown Soldier appearing in battles and turning the tide in favor of one side or another. The Cult of the Unknown Soldier is somewhat tolerated by the Church, and there has been serious talk of making the Unknown Soldier a Patriot-Saint. In the case of the Veiled Prophet, it is believed that the Unknown Soldier still leads the Society in secret, and that he will one day emerge and reveal himself to the world.
The Bengal Lancers are some of the finest in Missouri, and continue to do battle with the Cowboy Hordes. The figure of the Veiled Prophet has become something of a boogeyman for the horsemen of the plains, who see him as a demon worshiped by the sinful Eastrons.