Power Structures
The Council
By the late 1500s, the political landscape was vastly changing as humans gained dominance over society and supernatural populations were rapidly declining through war and conflict. Despite despising each other, Vampyres came to acknowledge that Witches and Daemons could sway the political platform of the world with them if they worked together. While the others were already aware of this, having Vampyres onboard was crucial. Peace treaties between a few powerful clans and covens were forged, and the foundations of the Council were laid.
The premise was establishing a universal supernatural government in the shadow of humanity to oversee the laws of supernatural kind to reduce conflict, war, and exposure. The primary goal of the Council is not to enforce laws on how their own kind lives but to prevent the breaking of the veil that draws human attention and needless lives lost to lawless behaviors that create conflicts and wars.
They foresaw the plight of the dwindling numbers and hoped that in the establishment of boundaries and ground rules, they could stop fighting each other and focus on the real problems in their own communities as human society was rapidly advancing. In time, the Council foresaw that adaptation was necessary and created three chairs for each kind-Witches, Daemons, and Vampyres-that would speak with equal voice for all of their own kind.
In the beginning, the Council was not seen by others to hold any authority. It took over 300 years for the Council to gain enough support and momentum to hold as a governing body by the 1880s. Its authority was established through brute force, employing loyalists of each race to enforce the laws of the Council among their own kind out in the world. Traction came more so from those holding the seats of authority than the Council itself, but so long as the Council held power, how and why mattered little.
Over the years, the Council has punished, imprisoned, and put to true death many supernaturals to make examples of what was allowed and what was not. It was enough to strike fear and respect, and the results spoke for themselves, encouraging more loyalty to form. Despite the efforts, tensions still strongly exist between all species, and plenty still buck against the Council. The Council is not all-knowing, but due to the nature of it not having any specific form of policing force like humans do, anyone could be a lackey of the Council. No one truly knows where each individual's loyalties lie when it comes to being for or against the Council, but it is easily presumed loyalty first goes to their own kind's community, their families, covens, or clans. Thus, there is political weight in one's family, clan, or coven alignment as a whole. It has led to the Council's intention of people governing their own personal communities in accordance with Council law. You may not need to answer to the Council, but you will certainly answer to your community leaders.
Despite this political shift, there are still lines drawn that those of another species may not enforce the laws on others. For example, Vampyres are not allowed to enforce laws upon Covens, as it may be seen as an act of war, and vice versa. This has continued some frustrations, especially when some choose not to enforce the laws, letting situations slide out of their own self-interests and community protection, which can be seen still even at the Council level.
Humans continue to grow as a concern as their technology and society have rapidly advanced. Forensics, CCTV, cell phones, social media, the internet, DNA testing, and other technologies have pushed the boundaries of the veil on supernaturals, leaving the Council restlessly predicting the fall of the Veil in the near future. The Council is still in the deepest of discussions on what that may look like and when or if it is necessary to find humans to sit as new chairs on the Council.
Some highly influential humans are aware of the supernatural, while the majority at large are in the dark with the rest of the human population. It is uncertain if humans would seek to kill supernatural kind like the hunter organizations or if they would seek to live in harmony. They watch the treatment of AI and robotics as examples of human tolerance and acceptance, skeptically.
The Blackbone Society
In the early 17th century, secret societies such as the Freemasons, Rosicrucians, and The Invisible College rose to significant power in human spirituality, politics, and information. While these organizations hold fragments of the truth, one secret organization possessed far greater accuracy: The Blackbone Society.
Allegedly founded by a Daemon or someone with Daemon blood, it sought out gifted humans with independent minds, teaching them knowledge traditionally kept to supernatural kind, including magic. The organization functions as a coven without acknowledging itself as such—or perhaps more accurately, as a cult. It is unclear if the founding Daemon remains a source of leadership, but given that the society has survived into modern times, only growing in influence, many believe the Daemon still exists within it.
The Blackbone Society has been heavily scrutinized by supernatural kind due to its role in awakening humans, which, under Council law, breaches the Veil. However, as it is not classified as a Coven and its leadership remains unknown behind its closed doors, there is ongoing debate about whether it falls under Council jurisdiction or is merely a human matter. Its massive numbers surpass even the largest coven towns, rendering it an untouchable organization standing apart from all others.
Though the society is known to exist, its suspected headquarters or first chapter is believed to be in London. The exact location and membership remain shrouded in secrecy. Operating as a secret society and hand-selecting its members, the Blackbone Society has not drawn much attention beyond that of other famous organizations like the Illuminati or Freemasons. Nevertheless, Supernaturals continue to attempt infiltration, if only to monitor its activities.
The Knights of Judas (The Guild)
As mentioned, there are still humans who have encountered, survived, or lost loved ones to Supernaturals throughout history. While numerous organizations have risen and fallen with the sole purpose of eradicating supernatural kind, The Knights of Judas have stood strong for centuries, passing the torch down through family lineages.
The Knights of Judas is an organization akin to the Knights Templar. Comprised of human mortals, primarily of religious nature, their goal has always been the complete eradication of all supernaturals. They are hunters. By the late 19th century, they rebranded themselves as simply "The Guild," moving away from their overtly religious roots as they are no longer supported by religious intuitions…. directly. Just as they no longer wear armor or carry swords, their methods have evolved with the times.
The Guild operates in a brutal and merciless manner. They often capture supernaturals, keeping them alive and trapped, subjecting them to brutal interrogations to uncover the locations of clans, they call "nests", and covens. They hoard artifacts, books, and other forms of information, either storing them in vaults or destroying them outright. The Guild has systematically dismantled supernatural organizations using informants and by baiting supernaturals they have abusively brainwashed into working for them. To The Guild, no supernatural-be it even a weak, newly empowered witch-is considered human. Morality and ethics hold no place in their operations, and they employ any means necessary to achieve their callous goals.
The Knights of Judas, or The Guild, have a unique talent for recruiting new members. They often target victims of supernatural encounters, surviving families of murders, social media sightings, and other methods to find and train recruits. Members are expected to dedicate their lives and resources to the organization's mission, and anyone showing signs of supernatural tendencies themselves may be baited, exiled, or even killed by their own comrades.
It is through their rigid structure of absolutes that they have survived as long as they have. Disinformation has proven most useful, and in some cases clans and Covens have proven the point in their own manners of lashing out. While there are plenty of "bounties" high on the list of very malicious supernaturals even the Council would prefer to be rid of, most all know that it could easily be them on the list for far less.
The Guild does not outwardly declare themselves. No one will know if their own coworker in the office is a Hunter, nor if they are specifically a hunter of the Guild. The distinction is quite necessary as the Guild might not be reasoned with, but other organizations of hunters and Solo Hunters might be, or have different moral structures the Guild laughs at causing their own human conflicts.
Hunter Notes
It should be mentioned that not all Hunters of any organization including the Guild know the precise way to kill supernaturals. The general idea is with enough bullets, blades and efforts they can take any of them down. But there is still strong superstition that the mass media of methods works, such as crosses, holy water, silver, garlic and more. This is especially true for new hunters.
- Published
- Dec 6, 2024
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