Children of the Crushing Chains

The cult-like organization of nebulous motives, who terrorize the world at irregular intervals

Structure

Much like a terrorist organization, the Children of the Crushing Chains(CCC) is organized into cells, with each cell ruled by a singular person in charge who is the sole point of contact between the cell and those giving them orders in the higher ranks. As best as can be determined, orders come in to these cell leaders through telepathic means such as sending and message spells, no faces or people are ever seen - a fact which has made tracing things back up the chain of command in the CCC extremely hard for the guard forces, adventurers, and others who wish to root them out and destroy them. If things need to be dropped off to individual cells, such tasks are typically done through intermediaries, dead drops, or mercenaries - paranoia and careful planning is a hallmark even here, as it is everywhere else in the CCC.
The CCC is broken up into "sects", with each "sect" full of various 'cells'(Typically containing anywhere from 6-24 People) that revolve and work around or towards a singular "goal" - and as best as has been determined thanks to past cells that have been found and destroyed, these goals tend to be centered around specific females such as Osmantha the Indomitable, The Wanderer, or others of seemingly no importance and varying power - though rarely, cells have been reported as being active in seemingly random locations such as ruins, fields, abandoned castles, towns, and other places or going after objects that again, do not seem to have any seeming importance or special qualities - stumping many as to their goals or objectives.
From what information has been gathered on their operations, it isn't uncommon for cells working closely in the same sect to be familiar with each other, but it is rare for them to know each others faces generally or be close friends with them, with a few exceptions - generally, they simply know of 'other cells in the area' that they may work with on occasion on missions, though usually these missions are set up in such a way that ensure the two cells never directly interact on them. Instead, they usually coordinate their actions either by relying on the leaders of the cells to get in touch with each other or by going through their "handlers"(Either the Shephards or the Voices, see below) who then coordinate cell activity and give out orders - It's not uncommon for cells in the same sect to have to work together on operations, in which case they will become familiar with each other if the mission requires them to group up to accomplish an objective.

Known Ranks

The Inner Circle: A rank that is only provisionally given by those who hunt the CCC - many ranks are assumed to be inside of this 'temporary ranking', but the existence of the ruling body is something that has only been vaguely implied by the existence and discovery of the 'Auditors' - not one of whom has ever been found or taken alive or dead.
Voice: The mysterious figures that give out orders to the leaders in charge of the cells. Not one has ever been discovered, much less killed or taken alive - they are mysterious figures whose existence has only been hinted at through the conquest of various cells across the decades.
Auditors: A unique rank similar to the "Voices". Whereas the voices are the "voices" of the inner circle, Auditors are their faces - they are the ones who go to the cells in person to audit their performances, and are feared as the "bagmen" of the CCC whose visits spell ill omens. They wield immense power and are fanatically loyal to the inner circle. They are usually dispatched by the inner circle, and not the voices, who usually just inform the respective cells of their arrival and dispatchment. They are EXTREMELY hard to take alive - often heavily enchanted with excellent escape abilities and ways to kill themselves if all else fails.
Shephard: Those who have shown excellence and demonstrated loyalty to the goals of the faith, and recieved a promotion. They are entrusted with more of the CCC's secrets and given reign to direct and command several cells. They are rare, and are always well guarded or personally powerful. Each sect usually only has a handful. They are often entrusted with more knowledge about their 'handlers' - AKA the "Voice" that guides their cell or cells. Some extremely well-trusted Shephards might even be familiar with the higher up ranks in the organization.
Chained: The leaders in charge of cells who direct those under their command and recieve orders from the higherups in the CCC.
Honored Brother/Sister: The rank and file members of the CCC. They are typically given different 'ranks' and/or 'roles' in their respective cells, but these are not uniform and are left up to the discretion of the given cells they work in/under.

Culture

The 'Culture' of the CCC is a thing that varies wildly from sect to sect and cell to cell - some sects might be so devoted to their 'goal' that they push their respective cells to the absolute limit, while other sects or cells might be more laid back, "best-friends" or "family" type groups.

Public Agenda

Strangely, the goal of the CCC is something that has not been conclusively identified - each Sect of the CCC that is found seems to work towards a different goal, though a few common trends have been discovered amongst the cells and sects that have been discovered:

• When the CCC's cells or sects goes after non-object and non-location creature targets, they are invariably female. The CCC has not yet been identified as ever going after a male target.


• When the CCC sets itself up around a creature target, they often adopt a cult-like disposition of offering up ritualistic sacrifices, performing tasks as obedient servants, or other servile positions while venerating the creature as a divine figure, object of worship, or something similar. Wherever possible, they often offer up their lower ranking members as the sacrifices, which they view as desirable and even pleasurable - a 'lucky' experience that the higher ranking members must 'suffer' through and keep living to guide the other members of the faith.


• When the CCC sets up operations within areas or around specific objects, they usually do such in a way that does not harm the area or object in question - though they take steps to ensure the location or object is sealed away from outside interference. The areas and objects they focus attention on are often left somewhat 'drained of energy' for a period of time after they are finished, but the damage usually heals over time.


• Though there are exceptions, the CCC does not always make itself a clear and obvious threat in ways that reveal their operations such as obvious deaths, murderous, attacks, and the like. Their means are often more insidious and hard to discover. Some even, to all outside appearances, set up normal lives and open business and begin preparing for long-term habitation near their goal or target - and will then begin running subtle, small-scale nefarious operations in the area to undermine the surrounding area in subtle ways that will likely go unnoticed by most.


• With some exceptions, most sects of the CCC seem to go to great pains to hide and/or 'clean up' their efforts so as to not reveal themselves or their actions to the people at large in the areas they operate in - whether out of practicality or an actual desire to spare noncombatants, is unknown.

Assets

The assets of the CCC are unknown, but presumed immense - the money they can funnel into their various sects across Zheng-Kitar has proven seemingly infinite, as they have funded countless businesses, long-term establishments, and even full-scale archelogical unearthings and excavations without much of a dent in their funding.

History

The history of the CCC is unknown - its nature as a secretive, cultish organization means that there has been historically few opportunities to find their individual CELLS, much less records of their history.

We bear the blessed burden.

Founding Date

Unknown. Likely between 3800-4000 ASK.

Type

Illicit, Terrorist group

Alternative Names

The CCC, The Chainchildren, The Chaincult

Demonym

Chained

Sects of the CCC

The CCC, as a massive organization that has been identified by most Zheng-Kitaran government as a terrorist group, has many sects operating under their umbrella - the sects that have been identified are listed below, alongside their areas of operation, goals, and known activities and goals.
Additionally, they are given a threat level ranking from "D" to "S", with "D" being a very low-scale threat and "S" being massive, high scale threat - additionally, "-" and "+" are modifiers to those ranks indicating slightly above average or below average threats for the given ranking. These ranks were issued by The Rasmanthus Guild.

Sect Name: Cult of the Solereaper
Target/Goal: The Wanderer
Threat Level: S+
Known Activities: The Cult of the Solereaper is extremely dangerous - they venerate the titanic Husk of Void known as The Wanderer and have managed to create some kind of occultic bond with the titanic beast, such that they are able to summon and invoke its presence in partial, minor ways. They have used this power to invoke its presence in several border towns and cities, which has universally resulted in the total razing and destruction of the population center in question as the full leg, arm, or in one case, the entire lower torso of The Wanderer, nearly five miles tall, was summon into a large population center for one minute and flattened it into pulverized grassland.
Area of Operation: Extremely varied. They have been spotted everywhere from The Narixian Empire to the Kingdom of Seoghar, though they have not been spotted at or south of the Yudao Rainforest, which seems to be a 'cutoff' point of sorts for them. They are more populous on northern mainland Zheng-Kitar, Hyeojiin Island, and the Jugeum Union.

Sect Name: The Sons of Guezhan
Target/Goal: Naiara Zaragoza
Threat Level: B
Known Activities: They seem to have made it their primary objective to accomplish the goals of the Kassau Matriarchy and Naiara Zaragoza through incredibly hostile militant acts of terrorism designed to bring all men into the fold of Kassau as slaves, and occasionally other tasks asked of them by Naiara Zaragoza. Notably, they have been denounced publically by the Matriarchy and Naiara herself - but many suspect they yet retain close ties with Naiara Zaragoza behind the scenes.
Area of Operation: The Kassau Matriarchy and most neighboring countries.

Sect Name: Cult of the Heatstealer
Target/Goal: Osmantha the Indomitable
Threat Level: B-
Known Activities: Unknown - though their presence in the city-state of Axiom has been confirmed, what exact illegal activities they have been up to have not been identified. They have regular dealings with Osmantha the Indomitable, but the secretive nature of these dealings makes it hard to identify what they are up to.
Area of Operation: The City-State of Axiom

Sect Name: The Favored of Fianna
Target/Goal: Unknown. Believed to be an Ustanan woman of unknown identity that the Sect refers to only as "Our Lady in Repose".
Threat Level: C+
Known Activities: Minor but potent acts of terrorism, occult summonings, and ritualistic sacrifice in and around the cities of the Ustanan Concord. The sect has demonstrated intricate knowledge of Concord Military strategies and the inner workings of Ustanan noble families, as they have evaded the reach of both on numerous occasions.
Area of Operation: The Ustanan Concord

Sect Name: ???
Target/Goal: The Ruined City of Ssarizzax, former capital of the continent-conquering tyrant Cao Lu.
Threat Level: D
Known Activities: They have not been conclusively identified - they hide themselves well, and seem to be protected by the Lamia and other monsters that reside in the Yudao Rainforest where the ruin is located. They seem to be uncovering the ruined city bit by bit in search of something.
Area of Operation: Yudao Rainforest