HBW/Eirus/Marcandria/Factions/Castigian_Cabal.html

@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 title: The Castigian Cabal
 description: 
 published: true
-date: 2024-08-18T18:47:13.259Z
+date: 2024-08-18T17:46:36.612Z
 tags: game-master, castigian cabal, cabal
 editor: ckeditor
 dateCreated: 2023-01-23T20:52:16.031Z
@@ -18,10 +18,10 @@ dateCreated: 2023-01-23T20:52:16.031Z
 <p>&nbsp;</p>
 <h2>Members</h2>
 <p>The Castigian Cabal is comprised of individuals from diverse backgrounds across the entirety of Marcandrian society. Members can be found in various positions, including nobles, merchants, artisans, and individuals from other factions and organizations. Membership in the Cabal is an additional commitment that individuals undertake alongside their existing roles and positions. A noble will continue to fulfill their noble obligations, and a mid-ranked member of another faction will carry out their duties within that faction without relinquishing their responsibilities. Their value to the Cabal lies in utilizing their existing influence and resources to further the Cabal's agenda. They strategically leverage their positions to subtly manipulate events and people in favor of the Cabal's goals.&nbsp;</p>
-<p>The Castigian Cabal can be divided into three groups:</p>
+<p>The Castigian Cabal can generally be divided into three groups:</p>
 <ol>
   <li>The actual Cabal members themselves, who have accepted an invitation into the organization and is partaking in their schemes. They have typically joined after the Cabal's promised some specific reward that the member will receive once the Cabal's reached their goal usurping the positions of power in Marcandria, to bring the nation under their control. This promise could be a title, political position, a position in another faction, land, or wealth. The promise can also be non-power based, such as promising revenge on someone the member holds a grudge over. Cabal members hold the titles of Veiled Initiate, Vailed Magistrate, Veiled Hierarch, and Nightseer, creating a hierarchical organizational structure.</li>
-  <li>Those the Cabal has coerced into cooperation, typically by threatening their lives and livelihood, as well as the lives and livelihoods of those they care about. They may be people who denied an invitation into the Cabal, or be people the Cabal has deemed not worth even trying to recruit but who hold key positions the Cabal wishes to control. The Cabal is very thorough in their handling of those they coerce, quick to follow through on threats when there's any sign of disobedience, and always making sure they maintain control over weaknesses – things the person holds dearest – to make sure they are kept in line and do the Cabal's bidding.</li>
+  <li>Those the Cabal has coerced into cooperation, typically by threatening their lives and livelihood, as well as the lives and livelihoods of those they care about. These are typically people who denied an invitation into the Cabal, or are people in key positions which the Cabal seeks to control. The Cabal is very thorough in their handling of these, quick to follow through on threats when there's any sign of disobedience, and always making sure they maintain control over weaknesses – things the person holds dearest – to make sure they are kept in line and do the Cabal's bidding.</li>
   <li>Servants of the Nightsinger, sent to aid the Cabal's endeavors and assist where necessary to ensure the Cabal's goals are met. These are Shadowsworn Concalians, loyal to the Nightsinger, and are referred to as Shades and Veiled Enforcers by the Cabal. Veiled Enforcers act as the Cabal's military force, performing services such as assassinations and security measures. The Shades perform surveillance and intelligence gathering, and additionally act as the Cabal's information network. Communications between Cabal members goes through these Shades, with a system set up so that each Cabal member, and each Shade, only knows the minimum information about other Cabal members, typically limited to each member only knowing exactly what they need to fulfill their role. The Cabal knows very little about the origin of these servants, not even what they are or whether they have motifs beyond assisting the Cabal. For the Nightsinger, these servants are a way for her to subtly steer the Cabal, with the Nightsworn Concalians that serve these roles having been given their own promises by the Nightsinger for fulfilling these roles (General motives for the <a href="/HBW/Eirus/Concalian-Empire/Concalian_Factions/Nightsworn_Concalians">Nightsworn Concalians</a>, as well as their motives for assisting the Cabal's endeavors, can be read about on <a href="/HBW/Eirus/Concalian-Empire/Concalian_Factions/Nightsworn_Concalians">their faction page</a>.).</li>
 </ol>
 <p>The actual Cabal members, particularly those with the title Veiled Magistrate and upwards, will typically also have servants or mercenaries working for them. Depending on the situation, these may be kept entirely in the dark regarding the Cabal's operations, acting as a convenient front to avoid suspicions. They are alternatively given a very limited insight into that particular member's endeavors, being given generous pay in return for loyalty, and for not asking unnecessary questions. Those in the latter group are also rather openly told that any lapse in loyalty or secrecy will be retaliated against harshly. These servants, and the Cabal members themselves, are fully made fully aware that even the slightest betrayal or lapse on secrecy is punished harshly, with the Cabal having no qualms with murdering entire families and burning their holdings to the ground in order to avoid being exposed publicly.</p>
@@ -29,11 +29,13 @@ dateCreated: 2023-01-23T20:52:16.031Z
 <p>&nbsp;</p>
 <h2>Beliefs</h2>
 <p>Those who become members of the Cabal are heavily indoctrinated into their Cabal's beliefs. This includes their enigmatic guide – the Nightsinger, whom they themselves hold next to know knowledge about – who they credit with being the one whose opened their eyes to the so-called “hidden truths” of the world, ultimately making them realize how irredeemably unjust and unfair the current world order is. The Nightsinger is thus seen as a patron of hidden wisdom, who exposes the flaws and hypocrisies of the world and its existing power structures, and as a guide who guides them to an envisioned better future. The Cabal's ultimate goal is to topple the existing power structure and replace it with this envisioned future—a future they believe to be fair and just, albeit one where they must hold the most crucial positions of power to maintain this supposed fairness and justice. Unbeknownst to the Cabal itself is the fact that the organization's very founding was a result of the Nightsinger's subtle machinations and manipulative words, and that to her the Cabal is but a convenient tool she created in order to reach her own goals.</p>
-<p>The members of the Cabal sees the current world order, and its instututions, as a pervasive corruption that plagues all. It is a structure that perpetuates inequality, injustice, exploitation, and widespread suffering, for all except those who created and perpetuate it. A system where the hardworking who deserve better are pushed down while their superiors claim the rewards. Many of the Cabal's members harbor a deep sense of having personally been slighted by the current status quo, and that they've been denied something they believe themselves to rightfully deserve. Their view can often be rather twisted, as they can often themselves be in rather privileged positions, but still believe their efforts have made them deserving of more than what they've been given. The Cabal has fostered such a deep disdain for the current status quo that its members believe that only by completely dismantling the current system and institutions can a new structure be built – a fairer structure where all are given what they justly deserve. Or at least, what the members of the Cabal believe everyone deserves. The Nightsinger, through her masterful machinations, has managed to engrain this though of injustice so deeply into the Cabal's members that they extend their grievances not only to the people in positions of power, but to also be the fault of the very deities themselves, including Marcandria's Diostri. Society is according to them a reflection of the deities' wills and teaching, &nbsp;and as such, the root cause of the festering injustice that permeates it is also to be attributed to these deities.</p>
 <p>&nbsp;</p>
 <p>&nbsp;</p>
 <p>&nbsp;</p>
 <p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p>&nbsp;</p>
+<p>The Castigian Cabal comprises individuals who worship, devote themselves, or follow (depending on their level of devotion) an enigmatic goddess known as Shar—whom even they themselves hold next to no knowledge about. To them, Shar represents the revealer of hidden truths and the patron of hidden wisdom, and to be the one who opened their eyes and exposed the flaws and hypocrisies of the world and its existing power structures. It was ultimately through her subtle machinations and manipulative words that the Cabal was formed. Their ultimate goal is to topple the existing power structure and replace it with their envisioned future—a future they believe to be fair and just, albeit one where they must hold the most crucial positions of power to maintain this supposed fairness and justice.</p>
+<p>The Cabal firmly <s><strong>believes that the current system, encompassing both society and the world's workings, is deeply flawed and unjust</strong></s>. They <strong>perceive it as a pervasive corruption that plagues all.</strong> Many members of the Cabal harbor a <strong>personal sense of injustice, believing themselves to have been unjustly denied something they rightfully deserved (members section)</strong>. This denial could manifest as the denial of a prominent position,<strong> the struggle of a hardworking individual who remains impoverished while their superiors thrive in wealth, or any other situation where they feel the status quo denies them what they perceive to justly deserve</strong>. In their eyes, the <strong>current structure perpetuates inequality, injustice, exploitation, and widespread suffering, for all except those who created and perpetuate it</strong>. Only by <strong>first completely dismantling the current status quo can the construction of a new structure be built—one that is brighter, more just, and more fair</strong>. <strong>Through her masterful machinations, Shar has convinced the Cabal to place blame not only on those they perceive as upholding the current societal order but also on the very deities they worship. According to the Cabal's belief, society is seen as a reflection of the deities' wills and teachings. As such, the root cause of the festering injustice that permeates society is attributed to these deities. Consequently, the Cabal regards other deities, including the Diostri, as architects of the corrupt status quo.</strong></p>
 <p>Shar has effectively convinced the Cabal that only unwavering commitment and absolute loyalty to their cause can pave the way to their envisioned future. They view half-measures and compromises as destined to fail, which is why they advocate for the complete dismantling of the current structures, regardless of the cost. They believe that one must be willing to go to any length, employing any means—no matter how gruesome or sinister—to achieve their goals. Progressing toward their objectives necessitates substantial sacrifice and immense cost, even to the point of compromising ones own morality. The necessity of this uncompromising position is why they believe no one else has ever been able to, or will ever be able to, correct the current corrupt structures. The Cabal is firm in the belief that they alone can bear this burden—that they are the only ones with the will required to do what is needed. Traversing the darkest paths, stained with blood, is seen as necessary to achieve their ultimate goal: the dawning of a new era characterized by their envisioned fairness and justice. In their perspective, all the sacrifices, terrible deeds, and inflicted suffering will be justified once their new age comes to fruition—for the suffering they have to inflict will be finite, whereas the current system, if remained unchanged, will continue to perpetuate suffering for all eternity.</p>
 <p>Operating from the shadows is a fundamental principle for the Cabal, mirroring their enigmatic patron, Shar. Even they realize that they'd stand little chance should the rest of society unite against them—hence why so much of their efforts are designed to pit their adversaries against one other. They consider secrecy of paramount importance, even among their own ranks, to safeguard their endeavors from adversaries and to make sure the extent of their schemes are never discovered. Consequently, most members possess minimal knowledge of their fellow associates. This anonymity serves to shield the Cabal as a whole in the event of a member's compromise or betrayal. Furthermore, they believe subterfuge and manipulation to be their most effective tools, whether it involves persuading individuals to join their cause or covertly forcing their support or unknowing contribution to their efforts. This does not mean they are beyond utilizing more direct approaches, such as coercion—be that threatening someone's assets, wellbeing, or the wellbeing of their loved ones—to gain the support of people who are otherwise unwilling to cooperate.</p>
 <p>The shadows grant the Cabal the ability to—according to themselves—perceive the truths of the world. They believe that people's true nature is most evident when they believe themselves to be unobserved. Likewise, the Cabal perceives the injustices of the current order to be most noticeable when it believes it operates without scrutiny. By skillfully manipulating events from the darkness, the Cabal believe themselves to be able to witness individuals' most vile and self-serving tendencies, reinforcing their belief in the inherent corruption of the current order, while also exercising their influence while remaining unseen.</p>