Innistrad is such a fascinating place. Not only do vampires enslave humans, but humans have found ways to enslave vampires
Iirc, the Midnight Duelists are a branch of the cathars beneath the Avacynian Church, operating primarily in Nephalia, the coastal province. And I just. Oooh. The picture the stories + the cards for Innistrad paint of the genuine STRUGGLE and CHAOS and HORRIBLE SHIT happening everywhere in Innistrad, as everyone struggles to survive (or contend with their very nature - such as when it comes to vampires or werewolves), it is so fascinating.
that being said I feel like the response to slavery shouldn't be more slavery, tho. But the Avacynian Church is far from depicted as a solely good thing lmao, the soldiers, cathars, inquisitors, etc underneath it are always doing messed up shit like this
According to former Lunarch Macher, it is commonplace for infants to be abandoned at nearby places of worship, and for the church to raise these children, and of course, those children often grow up to serve the church. Macher was one such orphan, and he became the head of the Avacynian Church - that is what it means to be a Lunarch, after all.
Inquisitors are hired hands intended to help solve problems with vampires or devils hunting/hurting people, yet, in Avacyn's absence, they blindly killed and cut down people suspected of lycanthropy and heresy without the typical trials. This, iirc, hasn't even stopped, really - the Avacynian Church lives on in Avacyn's death, it is just more fractured than ever, and people have turned to Sigarda and their more local churches. That's overall a good thing - but reverence for Avacyn remains, her statues were hand-repaired all across Innistrad to showcase humanity's resolve and intent to protect itself even in her death, and her church's soldiers march on in her name. So, the inquisitors... are almost certainly still doing this.
Innistrad is just such a fascinating place to me because of this. There is SO MUCH GOING ON, ALWAYS. And it's really hard to ever point the blame at any one thing or person, because the stakes are SO high, SO bleak here, that the only answers you have to the problems are, in and of themselves, likely going to cause more problems.
What a mess of a plane. I fucking love it. Horrible place, probably worse than actual hell, but I love it