Veiled Society
The Veiled Society is a secret society of influential citizens who try to control the city's destiny from the shadows. They try to advance their own goals, or rather those of their master, and expand the power base. To do this, constant recruitment is crucial.
Recruitment in the shadows
The Society avoids attention wherever possible, which is why a membership drive in the Ravenspire Gazette is hardly an option. Their goals and methodologies are also hardly publicity compliant. This makes searching for capable new members very difficult, especially considering that these new recruits are always a potential risk to the Master's and the Society's plans.
To protect the existing members during the recruitment process, they resort to masquerade balls, invitations, secret meetings, and the like to recruit, and dangerous to illegal initiation tasks before the new recruit even meets the lowest members of the society. Recruits are chosen based on their status, skills, and most importantly, their ambitions. The more unrealistic the ambitions, the more likely an invitation will be granted.
Temptations and leverage
At first glance, the Veiled Society doesn't have much to offer. There is no impressive seat, no club to which only members have access. Not even girls to impress. What there is, however, are the vague promises of power and influence somewhere in the future, once the master's goals have been achieved. There are a few small favors that the other members of society will do. Most importantly, there is the possibility of pressuring one's enemies or really harming them.
Veiled Society pressure tactics can take many forms, and of course, there is one point that is never addressed during recruitment. The moment one joins the society, it will begin to gather leverage against the recruit. This can be the daughter, the wife, the central piece of one's corporate empire, or even just the favorite horse. In the worst case, one's own life becomes just that leverage to ensure that one continues to participate, even if one has finally seen through what paths the Society is willing to take.
What happens at the meetings stays there
There are only a few principles from which the Society does not deviate. On the one hand, it is absolute obedience to The Veiled Master, on the other hand, absolute secrecy about what happens at the meetings.
However, since illegal practices are often carried out at the meetings, one always takes a great risk with the new recruits. Therefore, The Veiled Master has come up with a very treacherous system of ensuring the loyalty of the new recruits in case of doubt through fear.
To this end, at the next meeting or ritual, the newcomer is willingly allowed to go first, while his illegal actions are meticulously documented. In this way, there is no turning back after the first meeting at the latest. One's own social existence depends on it. Even if The Veiled Master likes to talk about loyalty, his cult is rather held together by fear. But this fear is still more than effective at the moment.
Oph, sounds like I wouldn't want to wind up with these guys, anyone who uses all that leverage against you is certainly not a good friend! Great Org Dav, enjoyed the read.
Thank you very much! Glad you enjoyed it!