The Phobite Brood
An expansionist sect amongst the Vampires of Ymeris, the Phobite Brood is comprised of Vampires which have been created by the powerful Vampire lord Phobosa Linniarital, who is herself of the bloodline of Linniara Istarital, the current ruler of the Midnight Court.
The Phobites are the main proponents of the idea that Vampire rule should be extended beyond the boundaries of the Desolation of Hissh to other lands, whose peoples are weakened by the deprivations they have suffered as a result of the Divine War and disillusioned with the Divines, who are more concerned with fighting one another than with looking after their creation. For the Phobite Brood, these people need to be brought into the fold, where they can be cared for, managed and culled as appropriate under the watchful eyes of new Vampiric overlords.
Additionally, the Phobite Brood believe that by increasing the amount of territory ruled over by Vampires, the greater the strength and influence of their Divine lord Hissh will be on the Material Plane.
Structure
As with most organisations created and run by Vampires, the Phobite Brood is a strict gerontocracy, with the older Vampires having rank and station above their juniors. As the creator of all of the Vampires within it, ultimate authority over the brood lies with Phobosa Linniarital and within the brood her word is law. There are seven younger Vampires beneath her, who are in order of age and therefore authority:
Efialtis Phobosital
Arpaktiko Phobosital
The brothers Exouso and Poniro Phobosital
Apanteona Phobosital
Ktinos Phobosital
Agogos Phobosital
Whilst only the Vampires listed above are considered to be part of the Phobite Brood, each controls their own network of spies and minions who carry out work for them, some of whom have been given a taste of Vampiric power, but who have not been turned into full Vampires themselves. It is believed that Phobosa Linniarital has forbidden any of the brood to create fully fledged Vampires themselves, though whether this dictate has its origins in a desire to fully control the brood, or fear that one of them may try to form their own faction is unclear.
Public Agenda
The Phobite Brood’s main agenda is to expand the area of influence of Ymeris and if possible to bring as much land as possible under the direct control of Vampires. The Brood’s leader, Phobosa Linniarital is aware that direct, open conflict would be a difficult, time consuming task, which despite the fact that she is confident that she and her brood would be able to emerge victorious from, may lead to unforeseen repercussions which might complicate matters.
As a result, the Phobites are content to enact their primary objective on a slower, more insidious timescale, with the hope that they may even be able to bring areas under their influence without the local population knowing until it is too late to stop them.
The secondary objective of the Phobites is to expand the worship of the god Hissh, see below, and if possible expand the area of perpetual twilight created by the Desolation of Hissh, to make more land safer for Vampires to live in.
Territories
Rather than controlling vast swathes of territory, the Phobite Brood have concentrated on securing control of strategic positions from which they will eventually be able to bring large tracts of land under their and Ymeris' influence. Whilst most of these locations that they control are unknown, they are known for sure to control Bleakstone Castle and Castle Thyella within Ymeris' borders. It is believed that some of these locations are within settlements belonging to other political factions, who are unaware that they have one of the Brood living amongst them.
More recently, rumours have begun to circulate that the Brood have adopted the tactic of occupying the ruins of cities and towns that have been destroyed during the Divine War, hoping to establish bastions within them from which they can begin overt expansion more securely and with a semi-legitimate territorial claim. These rumours have yet to be confirmed in any substantive details however.
Military
Each member of the Phobite Brood, like all Vampires, is a formidable opponent in their own right, with the danger they pose both in terms of their physicality and their arcane skill increasing with age.
In addition, each of the Brood has their own network of servants, many of whom can be deployed militarily. Some of the Brood have living humanoid warriors at their disposal, some beasts and some prefer to exclusively use the dead as their soldiers.
Religion
All of the Phobite Brood are ardent devotees of the god of murder Hissh. They wish to see his wellspring of worshippers grow and as much of the world become subject to him and his followers. They also wish to see the Desolation of Hissh, which they regard as Hissh’s vision for a perfect world, spread across Kelbonnar’s Material Plane. Whenever one of the Brood kills, be it for food, sport, revenge, politics or survival, they dedicate the death to Hissh, and thereby, they believe increase his power and influence within the Material Plane.
Phobosa Linniarital is even said to be Hissh's chosen champion on the Material Plane and to have been granted gifts from the god which have increased her power and strength, as well as warping her physical form so that she is marked out from other Vampires as being his anointed.
However, despite their overt dedication to Hissh, beyond that of other Vampires, they do not control the Grand Temple of Hissh within Ymeris. Indeed, the Brood respect it as a neutral space for all Vampires, though they do maintain a close relationship with the priesthood of Hissh there.
Foreign Relations
For the most part, the Phobite Brood has managed to exist without being discovered as a coherent group by the outside world. The actions of its members have been interpreted by most of those who have noticed them as the work of idealistic or aggressive Vampires acting independently from Ymeris, a misconception that the Brood are happy to continue cultivating.
As the Phobites have begun to move more concertedly towards their goals, however, more and more individuals have become aware of them and if such individuals are not properly managed into silence, either through bribes, coercion or death, there is a risk that the Phobite Brood may become known on the wider political stage.
Relations within Ymeris
Within Ymeris, the Brood’s situation is somewhat different. The faction plays an active part in the politics of the Midnight Court and almost all Vampires are aware of them and their political and religious objectives. Indeed, many of Ymeris’ Vampires support what they are doing, but few outside of the Brood actually go so far as to provide active help. Vampires are intensely political creatures, which means that few would willingly go out of their way to jeopardise their position unless they were certain of success. This survivalist outlook is also present on Ymeris’ official policy towards the Phobites, namely that they do not exist. Whilst the ruler of Ymeris, Linniara Istarital is undoubtedly aware of the existence of the Phobite Brood, officially they are not a recognised political entity of the Midnight Court, nor does the Court overtly support their endeavours. However, the fact that Linniara Istarital has not made any effort to restrict the Brood’s activities or sanction its members is proof enough that she, and many others within Ymeris secretly support what they are doing.
Founding Date
From when Phobosa Linniarital created her first Vampire , though this exact date is unknown.
Demonym
Phobites / the Brood
Parent Organization
Location
Related Species
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