The Children of the Void

Orphans of the Cosmos

"On your pilgrimage, you will encounter those who wish to do you harm - to impede you on your journey to find our Father once again. This is to be expected. It is in our nature to begrudge one another our happiness. It is imperative, however, that you remember this:
While we may hurt them, make them beg us to relent - even force them onward, if necessary - we shall not let hate cloud our judgement. These people, however misguided, are our brothers and sisters. We are, every one of us, birthed from the womb of the stars!"

Anonymous, The Tenets of Our Father

Structure

The Children of the Void are governed by a very simple hierarchy, which goes thusly:

The Elders

This cult is always led by two Elders - a man and a woman - who are believed to be the longest-living of the World-Eaters' brood. They command the unquestioning loyalty of all beneath them, and guide their little brothers and sisters on the treacherous road to discover their creators once again.

The Kin

Each Elder has a second in-command, who holds the title of Kin. These are the ones tasked with protecting their respective Elder by any means necessary, and will often do anything to achieve this goal - up to and including sacrificing their own lives, or the lives of countless others.

The Brothers and Sisters

The Brothers and Sisters make up the rest of the Children, and follow the orders of Elder and Kin without hesitation. Each Brother and Sister goes through intensive training and meditation, partaking of the flesh of Spores to bring themselves ever closer to their creators. Those who survive this rite embark on their pilgrimage across the stars, in search of a ship capable of taking them away from Salus and onto the next stage of their Great Journey. These individuals are subject to tests of loyalty from their Elders, and have been known to do countless things in the name of proving themselves, including but not limited to:

- Auto-mutilation and mutilation of their Brothers and Sisters.

- Ritual execution and cannibalisation of The Lost (those unfortunate souls who do not follow the Elder's teachings).

- Use of psychoactive drugs in the presence of Spores, to allow for communion with the World-Eaters.

Public Agenda

The Children of the Void have a simple, unabashed goal - their exodus from Salus, and rediscovery of the World-Eaters, so that they may be consumed by their creators and ascend into godhood. This desire is all-consuming. There is next to nothing a Child will not do to get even one step closer to meeting their Father.

Assets

The Children of the Void are a fringe group, but thanks to a few wealthy benefactors (and military officials who benefit from the cult's continued existence) their equipment is a cut above what one might expect. Typically speaking, a contingent of the Children will wear good quality armour, and at least a few of them will be in possession of Tier II, military-grade weaponry.
The faith's primary deficit is in transport. For obvious reasons, many in Salus don't wish for these people to come into possession of an exploratory vessel. As such, it is often difficult for the Children to make their way from system to system - let alone leave the galaxy.
The exact population of the Children of the Void is unknown, but estimates put their numbers somewhere around nine hundred thousand, with various sects of the faith cropping up like weeds all over Salus with every passing day.

History

The Children of the Void began on the journey over to Salus, with a handful of people advocating the worship and reverence of the World-Eaters due to their quite-obvious existence and the immense power they possess. Naturally, others did not take kindly to this group speaking well of the monsters that destroyed their homes and ate their families, and as such, the group was beaten, shamed and sometimes even murdered into silence. In retrospect, reacting in such a way - while understandable - is likely the reason the cult is so hard to locate today. Over the course of their journey, the Children grew very good at hiding their allegiance, and remain a significant scare in Salus to this day. Occasionally, a factory worker, a soldier or perhaps even a school teacher will be outed, and the fear increases that little bit further. Abaddon commits men and ships to exterminating the cult once and for all, and the Children get even better at slipping into the shadows. It is - and has been - a dangerous, insidious cycle. One that can no longer be remedied, even if the people of Salus wished for it to be.
Perhaps the most notorious incident regarding the Children was in 501 D.E., when The Shattered Spine Inn in Manus was broken into and besieged. The Children's demands were simple. Either the police and military provided a teleportation crystal with enough energy to get them anywhere in Salus, or every last one of their forty-six hostages would die screaming. What followed was a disaster. The officer currently assigned to the case decided it would be tactically-genius to "call their bluff" as it were. Twenty-three disembowelments later, and the police were storming the building. The Children were eventually eliminated, but casualties ultimately totalled around seventy on their enemies' side, with all hostages executed and a fair number of armed police being killed via traps laid throughout the building. The entire situation wound up on Abaddon Central News, and concluded in the presiding officer's resignation and suicide.
Today, the Children are still out there, and no matter how many Abaddon kills, their numbers only seem to grow. Only one thing is certain to the people of Salus, as far as the cult is concerned: They will never stop. Not until every last one of their Brothers and Sisters are dead.

To the Cosmos We Shall Return

Type

Religious, Cult

Alternative Names

The World-Eaters' Chosen

Training Level

Trained

Veterancy Level

Trained