Thanatological Society

Knowledge is power. Knowledge of death in all its many forms is the ultimate power. With it, we have reforged the world and made the dead till our fields, work our factories, and fight our wars.
But what do we truly know? What can we fathom of that moment when the eyes go dark, the breath stills, and the heart beats for the final time? What wonders still await us?

The Thanatological Society is a secret society of scholars, necromancers, and philosophers, dedicated to thanatology - the study of death. Though their membership is shielded from public view and the specifics of their activities shrouded in secrecy, the organization itself is fairly known. Their presence in the the Vostor School for Necromantic Advancement is an open mystery, functioning as a sort of scholarly fraternity that seeks new members among promising students. With their expertise on the fundamental mechanics on corpses, death, and necromancy, they are highly sought-after by everything from military R&D to industrialists.
The Society is said to have its root before the true birth of Necromancy, but how much is myth-making and how much is true is impossible to know.
But the same secrecy that shield their members have made them a target for countless conspiracy theorists. They're accused of everything from masterminding the Long War, to creating forbidden Warbeasts, to controlling society through puppets and dupes. There's little evidence of anything like that, and even defectors who chose to speak - and they are few - talk mostly about an organization obsessed with secrets, esoteric ideas, and knowledge. While some of their members are reportedly infamously wealthy industrialists and skilled Necromancers, others are middling, unimportant but curious members of society... As far as anyone knows.
Of course, there's something else going on beyond the surface, a secret society within the secret society: The Hallowed Corpse