The Black Thorn Sect

Dark father! Eternal Mother! Grant me the strength of tooth, talon and claw. Grant me the wrath of the raging river and the trembling earth. Grant me the focus of the stalking beast and the will of the crushing stampede. In your names, let none survive. - Black Thorn cultist

The Black Thorn Sect is a secretive coalition of disaffected individuals who believe that the mortal races have become too great in number, and that the ecosystems they systematically alter and destroy to serve their purposes is nothing short of an attack on that which is sacred to them, nature itself.

Structure

On the lowest level, an individual is identified and recruited into the Black Thorn Sect by more experienced members, usually Chosen. These recruits are referred to as 'thorns' and are tasked with waging the sects guerilla war against civilisation.

Thorns are often recruited from the more remote regions of the world, but it is not uncommon for Greenwardens of the The Emerald Enclave to be persuaded or outright indoctrinated into the more radical ideology of the Sect.

The sect will also recruit from other maladjusted folk that live in the wild, including mutants and Lycanthropes.

At the higher echelons, the sect is more organised. The more experienced and ultimately zealous members will congregate regurlarly, holding seances and rituals to to summon wrathful Fey creatures or to worship their gods.

Individuals who prove themselves loyal to the ideology of the sect are elevated to be 'chosen', and are rewarded with esoteric knowledge as well as having some knowledge and influence over the sects ongoing broader operations and efforts. Chosen are responsible for recruitment, spreading the ideology of the sect, and relaying the orders of the elders

The elders of the sect are a shadowy council of seers, witches and recluses. Rarely, they will choose to elevate a chosen to elder status if they display the right level of wisdom and aptitude. Not much is known of them, although there are boundless rumors and superstitions among the sect that they are malign Fey creatures, ancient Elves or other such entities.

Elders will use familiars to communicate with the chosen to gain information or to relay orders, making them organised a little more akin to a militant guerilla operation in comparison to the The Emerald Enclave.

Culture

The sect take their ideology seriously, and sect members tend to behave in an almost cult-like fashion, full of fanaticism.

Due to the savage nature of the sect, and the reverence of wild spirits, the sect is rife with Lycanthropes and zealots that revere chaotic or even malign fey entities.

Ritual sacrifice is common, and sect members will gather in secret on auspicious days to indulge in psychedelic, savage ceremonies.