The Court of Irons
“The Court of Irons,” She started soberly, “Is a cult following The Elder and working towards releasing him and The Warrior from their bonded incarceration. They’re long-standing and very dangerous, but they haven’t tangled with beastial champions for a while.”
Structure
The Court is highly regimented and authoritarian, with different arms rarely mingling and the leaders of divisions taking their orders directly from the High Priest who in turn is said to take orders from the Elder. The largest division of the Court is the Blades, encompassing all of their militaries, with Enforcers and Suppliers also making up a large amount, and Healthworkers, Labourers and Priests making up a smaller amount.
Culture
The Court's goal is to free the Elder and prepare the world for his arrival, with a large part of this goal being ensuring there is no-one powerful enough to oppose him and that they will be strong enough to survive in his new world. Court members are taught to view ordinary citizens as irredeemable weaklings, pitiable perhaps but not worth wasting energy on, with those that are strong being cruel enemies out to stop them. Most Court members are kept away in their bases far away from contact with the outside world, with those that do interact- Blades and Suppliers- being the most harshly controlled and watched by the Enforcers, who are in turn controlled by the Priests.
Like many cults, the Court seeks to severe connections between people so their first loyalty is to the organisation. It does this in a particularly insidious way due to its long existence, which combined with their eugenics approach to 'preparing' for the new world creates a lot of mental instability, especially amongst the Blades. The general approach is that family ties are not that important outside of boasting of your lineage and their accomplishments and how you have met or exceeded them- as part of this full-blooded siblings are not allowed, though half-siblings are, and vicious competition is actively encouraged and reinforced between them. It was only because of the perfect match between Saffron and J's parents that the twins were allowed to be born, and they certainly grew to regret that.
History
According to the Court priests, the organisation has been around longer than Catholicism, though they are obviously a biased source. At least in the last 500 years, someone who knows what to look for has found hints of them dabbling and manipulating at local and national levels.
Priesthood
Priests are not numerous but wield incredible power, taking on the role of educating the children of the Court and controlling the direction of the Court- under orders from the High Priest, of course. Their authority is unquestionable and they are often able to wield some small amounts of magic. Unlike the rest of the Court, their uniform has not changed for a very long time, wearing masks that only show blackened eyes and a cracked shaped smile of black and red, with long dark grey robes with patterns of chains down the arms.
Granted Divine Powers
It is unknown if the mild magic the priests often display is due to the Elder or due to their collection of knowledge over the centuries. The only confirmed cases of him granting powers are his own Champions, and they tend to be more curses than gifts.
Political Influence & Intrigue
The entire Court is essentially about political influence, hence the large number of Blades. They have deep-cover Blades that specialise in subterfuge and manipulation in most of the governments of first and second world countries and a good number of third world countries. Their job is to subtly divert funds and goods to the Suppliers as well as keeping any countries powerful enough to defeat them, especially ones where bases are, divided and distracted.
Type
Religious, Cult
Training Level
Elite
Leader Title
Deities
Divines
Notable Members
