Illuminati

The Illuminati are a group of powerful, well-connected individuals who use their knowledge of the supernatural for profit and power and at service of an unknown global agenda.

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The New Order

When the Templar order rebuilt itself, they were heading in the right direction. They realized that holding power was much better when people didn't see the hand behind the throne. Nobody persecutes that which they don't know exists, and that was the tactic used by the enemies of the Templars, such as Vampires and Witch , for centuries. But as the order grew and grew in the Shadows, the Templars forgot how to yield power. They got lost in idealistic pursuits and endless, futile hunts and forgot that the best way to help humanity is to steer them in the right direction. By the middle of the 18th century, many within the order felt that way, and when the Grandmaster showed adamant in sticking to the medieval ways of old, they broke from the order. They called themselves the Enlighted Ones, the Illuminati. The dissident chapter masters, fifty in total, met in Bavaria to set the founding stones of a new order. For a brief moment, it seemed like there could be peace between the new Order and the Old one. But the tree cannot make peace with the acorn, nor can the butterfly make peace with its cocoon. The terms of peace were not acceptable, and soon the Illuminati and the Templars were at war. Eventually, the templars leverage their connections with the very forces that once tried to destroy them, and used Kings and Churches to persecute the Illuminati, forcing them to abandon most of their chapter-houses and possessions in Europe and flea. Across the sea, they found in the British thirteen colonies, a territory so far mostly ignored by the Templars, a fertile ground to lick their wounds and grow.

The American Revolution

It wasn't long before Templars realized the threat the Illuminati still posed, even in exile, and they attempted to capture the leadership who had taken refuge in America. But the survivors of the New World had learned with the past, and knowing how the Templars would try to use the British Empire as the boot to crush them, they used their influence with the colonial officers to feed the already present distaste and suspicion towards British authority. In 1775, the thirteen colonies rose against the British, and an intense conflict that lasted for almost ten years. In the end, Templar backed British forces withdrew, granting the colonies independence, and the United States of America was formed, with the gloved hand of the Illuminati at the helm.

Expanding Business

While templars stuck with their traditions of Knights, Chapter-master and Grandmasters, ceremonies, titles, and investiture, the Illuminati saw fit to cast the mantle of the past into the fires of history, and they restructured their order in a way more fitting for their new home. Without nobility in the United States, titles such as Knights and Lord-Commanders seemed ill-suited. Instead, the Illuminati hierarchy was changed into something that more closely resembles the rising trading companies and corporations. In the following decades, they would often introduce new changes, adapting to the times and the different challenges they faced. As pioneers expanded the borders of the US, they Illuminati expanded with them. And then they opened new branches in Central and South America, Africa, Asia. By 1900, they were international, global. And even Europe, the Templar Stronghold, was part of their network.

R&D

Much like the Templars, the Illuminati spend many resources researching the supernatural. However, unlike their old Order, they did not limit what they learn to what they could use to fight it. Fighting was never a priority. Instead, the Illuminati tried to understand how to harness and control the supernatural for their own ends. With advancements in technology, in 1950 they achieved what Templars judged to be impossible and were able to use technology to operate magical artifacts. The science behind it is as arcane and esoteric as one would imagine, and many templar spies have died trying to obtain these secrets. Holographic runes and laser-drawn arcane circles were now tools at Illuminati disposal, Leylines were converted into information networks connecting their skyscrapers across the globe while remaining off the grid.

Well Connected

As it stands today, the Illuminati have people infiltrated in many governmental bodies and even intelligence agencies across the globe, but more important than their spies, are their members. Many CEOs are part of the order, and many politicians are either a member or owe favors to members. The order itself, through many front companies, has significant shares in holdings, and today, their wealth greatly surpass that of the Templars, and in a way, their influence as well. While the 'crosses' remain a force to be reckoned with, the days where Illuminati had to cower in the shadow of the Temple are long gone.

Novus Ordos Omnia Vincit

Founding Date

1746 a.D.

Type

Secret, Occult