Asking

by Azgaar

The Asking is a militant sect of the Brotherhood founded to find and wipe out agents of the Cult of the Cat for the peace and safety of the people. They're centered in Barony of Ingsdt but have begun to spread out to better counter Cat Cultist activities.

Basic Beliefs

As the baseline Brotherhood with:

The Cult of the Cat is an evil organization led by a shapeshifting demon

Rhoda seeks to bring chaos and disorder to the world

She is the daughter of Damkina and Vitharr

There are some unspokem beliefs that seem inform how the Asking behaves:

It is not their job to police heresy within the larger Brotherhood

The Brotherhood in not a strongly doctrinal organization so Brotherhood members don't think this way

The average Kiendman is not a Cat Cultist

Membership in the cult is usually the upper caste of Kiend society

The Cat and Bird Cultists have been making their lives miserible for centuries

The people who founded the Asking were not religiously motivated

The Foresitter and counts of Ingsdt saw a way to leverage the existing ecclesiastical system to help fight Cat terrorism and extremist that was starting to take hold in the Barony.

Because these are unspoken believes, they're subject to change. Whether the Asking does have good intentions and doesn't abuse their power and doesn't abuse heretics varies from chapter to chapter and person to person. The Asking just doesn't have enough political backing that somebody who was really looking to "cleanse the church" could really do so with impunity.
But the Foresitter did create a parallel policing and power structure within his Barony that might end up coming to bite him in a couple of years since it has a strong ideological base, it's rooted in totally justifiable fears by the common person, and it has its own way of collecting money and gaining power.

Holy Sites, Temples, & Rituals

As the baseline Brotherhood with Ingsdt serving as the location of their main temple and the center of the faith.

Common Motifs

As the baseline Brotherhood with the addition that the Asking uses the symbol of 3 bound arrows to represent its order.

Hierarchy & Leadership

As the baseline Brotherhood with the addition of the parallel Hallowfyrd and Worker branches.

Hallowfyrd

The militant branch serves as an on-the-ground force that does 'regular' policing and when I say 'regular' and 'policing' I really mean that they're looking to respond to Cat Cultist activities in a specific area. It would be similar to fireman vs police; fireman won't give you a ticket but they will help with a fire. In the same way, the Hallowfyrd won't care if you break normal laws in so far as they don't suspect you of doing so in the name of the Cat.
The Hallowfyrd is rooted, held up, and attached to the local parish. There is normally a cohort attached to each parish, with the number of soldiers in that cohort largely dictated by the size of the parish the amount of Cat Cult activity in the area. Normally, the parish provides for the cohort's needs but, in extreme cases where the parish is small and poor and Cat Cult activity is high, the Hallowfyrd will also take donations from surrounding parishes to support the cohort in that area.

Membership

The Hallowfyrd drafts any soldiers who want to become priests and any priests who express interest in becoming soldiers. If neither of the two options are availible, they'll draft from the locals. The ideal is to get soldiers from the community, who are more knowledgable about the area and have pre-existing relationships but they're not above moving people around to fill gaps.

Worker

The Workers serve as spymasters and intelligence gatherers. They're specifically out to find Cat Cult activity and then, if they do find it, to alert the local Hallowfyrd to take care of it. Only rarely do they get into actual fights: they are strictly spies and intelligence gatherers.
Workers are not attached to any specific location: they're wanderers and travel from place to place, as needed. If they find any hint of Cat Cult activity, they're expected to hunt it down, regardless of wherever it leads. Whatever they find is left with the local Hallowfyrd who can either follow up on it themselves or pass it onto the next Worker that might need that information.

Membership

The Works draft from the Hallowfyrd normally but can also draft regular people into their ranks. Beyond that, the process for doing so is a secret: a reflection of that Worker's idiosyncrasies than a formalized process.

Notable Members

Common Theological Questions

What are Invasions?

As the baseline Brotherhood

What is beyond the Mountains?

As the baseline Brotherhood

What are the Divines?

As the baseline Brotherhood