1. Birthright Mindset

As far back as he could remember, Cardamine was woven into his identity. It was common place to see infants presented with tiny ceremonial doses. Their first akin to the ancient baptisms of the secular Christian churches. Everyone spoke of Cardamine in reverent terms such as “the orange breath of Sirius flows through you.” This among other daily affirmations helped Santiago associate it with purity, purpose, and destiny. Questions like “Why do people suffer?” or the more common “Why do some go without?” were always answered with one simple doctrine: suffering is the veil of those unenlightened; Cardamine lifts those who accept.

2. Commune Life

Many days were regimented around ritual: chants, meditation, small deliveries to the needy. All children able to speak and walk were included, typically tasks would include minor roles in ceremonies – helping teach from early on that service and devotion were intertwined with survival. All aspects of daily life would double as moral lessons about transcendence, loyalty, and the sanctity of Cardamine. Discipline within the commune was framed as spiritual guidance, never viewed as punishment. Rarely was one scolded for a mistake, these were used as opportunities to purify the spirit.

3. Religious Indoctrination

Most sermons taught that the outside world misunderstood and/or persecuted them unjustly. Many stories of corrupt officials, greedy merchants, and overly violent law enforces were the hallmarks that were framed as tests of faith. The children were taught smugglers were simply missionaries - those brave enough to carry the gift of Cardamine beyond Malta. Santiago came to admire the cunning and stealth and viewed them as tools of salvation. The commune instilled a belief that morality was tied to faith: an act was righteous if it spread enlightenment and immoral if it hindered it; regardless of societal law or conventional ethics.

4. Sensory and Emotional Conditioning

Like the commune the slum streets helped shaped Santiago in his youth. The various smells of the markets, the neon glow of the Cardamine labs, and the chants echoing through narrow alleys. All were intertwined with ideas of divine purpose. Any emotional high from Cardamine were framed as glimpses of transcendence – thus making the substance a source of both comfort and spiritual authority. The children of the commune would often compete to demonstrate their devotion to the orange breath of Sirius.

5. First Mission & Apprenticeship

As a teenager, Santiago faced the first real test of his faith. The elders of the commune entrusted him with a small delivery of Cardamine to a neighboring slum. Determined, nervous, and just a wee bit anxious he navigated the narrow alleys dodging various patrols. Each challenge was to be seen as a divine trial. The mere thought of successfully completing the mission ignited a spark within him: a sense of purpose tied to action, not just merely doctrine.

It was during this mission that he first encountered his future mentor – Beltramo. They had been contracted by the commune to follow and observe Santiago. Instead of getting reprimanded for his eagerness, this man recognized his passion and offered to teach him the finer arts of transportation, negotiation, and evasion. Under this guidance, Santiago learned to move goods unseen, to read the various moods of clients, and to calculate the risks. These skills were framed as sacred tools for spreading enlightenment to all of Sirius.

Beltramo’s recommendations to the elders ensured the door had been swung open for many more deliveries for Santiago. One of these deliveries is where everything fell into place for Santiago. Meeting a young strung out addict living in the slums. Instead of simply handing over the Cardamine, Santiago took the moment to speak about the transcendence, the orange breath of Sirius, and the promise of the commune. Santiago broaden the mindset of the addict into believing that the Cardamine was more than just a daily aspect of life that they needed. It was his first “convert” of his fledgling missionary work, and it helped cement his belief that “smuggling” wasn’t theft or crime – it was holy labor, a channel for the salvation for all of Sirius. These early deliveries to other slums is what helped Santiago realize he needed to more and thus a Missionary he became.

6. Leaving Malta

By his early twenties, Santiago earned the full trust of the commune and the quiet respect of the missionaries of the commune. His reputation for discretion and conviction made him a favored courier among those who still cloaked their work in faith. Yet, to Santiago, the narrow slums of Malta began to feel a lot less like home. Everything started to feel like a proving ground, needing bigger and better dramatics than the last. Pushing what law there was to the limits.

He often spoke of visions during high-dose rituals - flashes of distant stars, nebulae shimmering in orange light. The Elders at first took them as a once kid being too eager to prove himself. Yet Santiago did not give up; he couldn't shake what he was seeing. In the end the Elders couldn't argue with his persistence - they took his visions as omens, signs that he was meant to carry their mission beyond the cradle of Cardamine's birth. When the time would came they would not forbid him from leaving; they anointed him to speak for them outside of Outcast controlled space.

Carrying the commune's blessing and his first independent shipment of Cardamine, he departed Malta aboard a patched freighter. He knew that to the rest of Sirius, he was just another Outcast smuggler chasing profit through the Border Worlds. In his own eyes, he was something more: a missionary of of the orange breath, spreading the gift of transcendence to those still bound the veil of ignorance.

Every world he touched was another altar. Every deal, another sermon. Though the credits flowed easily enough, Santiago told himself the same truth he'd been taught since childhood - he wasn't peddling vice. He was indeed delivering salvation to the rest of Sirius.