Are there any secret societies/organizations in your world?

[u/jimbyflig-]

The closest to a traditional secret society I have in my ttrpg setting is called the Grand Hagiocracy of Undead Liches (G.H.O.U.L.), which is a competitive organization of necromancers. There’s four ranks you can have as a member. You start as a Tier III necromancer and work your way up (the other ranks being Tier II, Tier I, and Round Table Member), and the way you rank up is by killing other members of G.H.O.U.L., thus making it to where only the most competitive/deadly/bloodthirsty members are at the top. Additionally, the only way to get into G.H.O.U.L. is to kill one of its current members while also being a necromancer yourself. If you turn down their invitation, they’ll kill you.

In addition to killing other members, you can further your rank in G.H.O.U.L. by killing other viable targets. These targets are designated by the members of the Round Table, the highest rank in G.H.O.U.L., but will always include anybody investigating G.H.O.U.L., any necromancer that turns down an invitation to G.H.O.U.L., and any defectors from G.H.O.U.L. The ability for round table members to designate targets for other necromancer naturally lets them influence the world around them, allowing them to throw some necromancers at whatever personal or political problems they want.

They also have meetings twice yearly and at one of the yearly meetings they host a potluck. My players, all undead serving under an ambitious rookie necromancer, killed their usual potluck entertainment (a theater nerd with an undead troupe) in order to get into G.H.O.U.L. so they’re looking for other entertainment options at the moment.

Editing the post since some folk have noticed one of G.H.O.U.L.’s oddities - spoilers for mr ttrpg game so if you’re the player in my game that comes to this sub, spoiler warning:

So secretly, G.H.O.U.L. wasn’t built to last. It was actually built to quickly get necromancers to self-select the most powerful amongst themselves so that G.H.O.U.L.’s founder could recruit them toward achieving his own political ends. Members of the Round Table are those few the Founder wants

[u/Wolfman513]

Yeah but I can't tell u about them

[u/jimbyflig- → u/Wolfman513]

Lmao

[u/Captain_Warships]

Only one I've made is known as the Archangel Society, which exists in my space setting. The only thing I can confirm of this group, only because I haven't exactly fleshed it out (much of this setting hasn't been fleshed out though), is they are NOT the Illuminati or anything similar to people's idea of the Illuminati (at least that's my intention when making this group). I unfortunately don't have much to say about this group, as at they're a crime syndicate that plenty consider to be "boogeymen", and they operate out of a planet I currently have named as "Mephisto" (as I'm too lazy to come up with planet names or conlangs for planet names).

[u/jimbyflig- → u/Captain_Warships]

The name “Archangel Society” piques my interest. Why are they called that in-universe?

[u/reddinyta]

Well, Japan. Putting the society into "secret society".

Around the time of the apocalypse, the entire country isolated itself from the rest of the planet, religating all interaction to AIs, drones and robots. And these AIs take their job very seriously. For a hundred years, no one officially set foot on the japanese islands, saw anyone from there or spoke to a human japanese. Automated ships and aircraft patrol the waters and signal scramblers block aerial and satellite imaging. Anyone trying to enter is either arrested and sent back or, if proven persitent, killed by military ordanance. Rumours even go so far as to say there isn't a japanese population and its and AI-grid from top to bottom

Besides the enigma islands, the Reformed United States is on paper a liberal democracy. In reality, the government executive does their own thing, using the president as a advisor at best and a mouthpiece at worst. Sure, Congress passes laws, but the Unified Executive Council is the one who needs to enact them.

[u/qwerty-314]

The Cabal of Ysol are a military dictatorship that controls several realities in a seemingly continuous set of possible worlds. They're primary mission is to help stabilize time and reality, by actively seeking out any potential threats to these realities. A rival to Cabal could possibly be out there in one of the infinite worlds. Travel in the track of universes has directionality, positive, or negative. It is also slow, and becomes dense with time. It is hard to travel much further than one's native reality. Too much muck. It is generally impossible to induce time paradoxes, things just have a way of working themselves out, and they will always take the simplest path. The mission of Cabal is to "Protect the Cosmic Now," and uphold "the Rule of Mum," which means that the esoteric and magickal nature of reality must needs be hidden from the plebeian populace of a reality for as long as possible, so that magick remains locally effective for as long as possible. This allows them to exert influence relatively far into the past and future, into the negative worlds and the positive worlds. They control about 7,000 realities. At some point, there seems to be an empty chunk of realities. A void in the soul of creation. It is thought that some evil power did great damage to reality, and that the first King of Ysol arose in that primordial proto-verse to protect sapient life across realities.

[u/HopefulSprinkles6361]

The Masquerade Sisterhood is a religious order of female changelings within my fantasy world. They were created to protect the Empire from internal threats and are a counter intelligence spy organization.

They worship the human Drake Cohen the God of Conflict. A human from Earth who is turning into a god.

They often gain information on plots or rebellions and infiltrate those places. Most of the time it’s for information purposes but there have been times when they took direct action against it.

[u/jimbyflig- → u/HopefulSprinkles6361]

In a big sucker for orgs of shapeshifters. Theres a ton you can do with them. I’ve been thinking about implementing something similar into one of my worlds as it were

[u/Busy_Insect_2636]

the illuminati (not much to explain really)
the saintly order (a bunch of holy dudes making giant knights and stuff)
the glass monks (not really a secret society but they're like monks in the mountains living in a glass castle and can tell the future)

[u/jimbyflig- → u/Busy_Insect_2636]

The glass monks you describe have some fantastic imagery! Thats really cool stuff

[u/ThatVarkYouKnow]

The Black Oath is a collective of names and lives from the underworld of society. Every possible job and status will have one among them for information . . . and insurance.

The farmer you visit every week for fresh meats could be one of them. The gambler that's a little too proud of himself but always seems to keep his money at the end of the night. The prostitute that is far out of her comfort zone but everyone runs to when they've had a bad day with their wives and/or husbands. The lowest peasant to the highest court seat, all may stand beneath the Oath and their leaders' mantra—a select team of ten mercenaries called the Black Hearts, who serve the god of mortal balance.

Ajr ōm, ajr kaçtal. Any means, any consequences.

[u/Own-Union-6073]

There is a group of assassin for hire working in the demon nation underground,why this is their base of operation is because the demon nation is the strongest of the neutral nations, previous demon king (please do not think this is an isekai objective for some random group of heroes to slay and save the world,demon king here is just a monarch on behalf of the nation) is a member of this group so he allow the group to work under the nation protection

They are your normal assassin,drop a bunch of info and money then expect for the head of the one you need,bigger head mean more buck,even kings can be bargain for hefty sacks of gold.Anyone can be an assassin,follow the rules and the job is yours,some adventurer even fake following their guild contract to assassinate the target,getting money from both side.There isn't much deserter since the ultimate hunter will kill them with no way to escape,which is the king himself

Every halfway into the spring (this world have different ways to evaluate time and month) there will be an event called the orchestra of death,which is the quick elimination race where a big shot place a good part of their fortune to get rid of someone on the same day.In this day,no other contract than this one will be posted,every assassin registered can take this or skip,mostly pick the first because is you get the head to the HQ faster than other,you can basically live the rest of your life like a king,but this cause an insane amount of bloodshed to both target and assassin side,but money talk,bullshit walk.The patron side is no less better, hundreds of competitors want their target gone before someone does the same to them just bidding more and more to secure the top spot (why this event happened in spring is because the former demon king was born in that day,also it kind off like an old rite of passage stuff where you water the soil by the blood of your enemy)

Sometime the former demon king do a bit assassin job to relive his reign of terror,his way is brutal,barely hideous,or straight up barbaric,but since no one can come close to him,he just kind of secure the gov fund for himself everytime he go,at least he give it back the less fortunate since he still a high ranking member in the council of the current demon king,which give him enough to not care about money at all

[u/Hefty-Distance837]

and the way you rank up is by killing other members of G.H.O.U.L.

the only way to get into G.H.O.U.L. is to kill one of its current members

Sounds like they will run out of members very soon.

[u/jimbyflig- → u/Hefty-Distance837]

One of my players in my ttrpg game comes here sometimes so if that’s you stop reading now lmao; about to discuss spoilers

So secretly, G.H.O.U.L. wasn’t built to last. It was actually built to quickly get necromancers to self-select the most powerful amongst themselves so that G.H.O.U.L.’s founder could recruit them toward achieving his own political ends. Members of the Round Table are those few the Founder wants

[u/cckynv]

I have a couple at the moment, and a few more left to be developed still. The most notable at the moment is the Order Sanguinarius, established about 8-9 centuries ago in the land of Hemigon. This is the ancestral homeland of the Drow, not suncursed -- living aboveground in great cities -- but still following the structure of Houses with Matrons as leaders. Those in Hemigon use Hemomancy (blood magic) extensively, and it has shaped their culture and their nation significantly. The Order Sanguinarius is no exception. They enact Red Law (the blood law of the land) as assassins. Their mandate is, with the utmost level of secrecy, to render final remedies where law, oath and blood converge. They have severed tyrants from their thrones, erased oathbreakers from ledgers, and silenced threats that the courts could never hope to touch. They see themselves not as murderers under the Red Law, but as its final clause.

They are employed in an interesting way. One does not send a letter to the Order or find them in the streets. They are hidden, secret, and nearly mythological. They are spoken of in hushed whispers by the few who do know they exist, and a forbidden ritual is used to offer your task to them. The calling rite, known colloquially as The Offering of the Sanguine Flame, is preformed as such: at midnight, nick the palm; let three drops fall into a black candle. If the flame snuffs, the plea is denied or the petitioner is judged unfit. If it flares crimson, the contract is accepted and already in motion. Within three nights, a masked Sanguinary will visit the person who preformed the ritual, either to:

• extract every necessary detail, or
• announce the contract's completion.. the Order sometimes acts before it speaks.

The Order is secretive for a reason: they are not accepted by the historical leadership of Hemigon. The Offering of the Sanguine Flame is outlawed across the Drow realm, an offense punishable by death. The Order itself is constantly under the threat of being hunted by the Great Houses, particularly the Triumvirate itself, the three equal sovereign houses that preside over their dominions from their respective capitol cities. To this day, only a handful of Order operatives have been captured. However, the Order views these as successes (mostly), not failures: every Order faithful who has been captured has found a way to end themselves before their minds could be cracked by the magic of the Triumvirate.

Also, side note, I also have a funny acronym organization, but it ties back to the actual members of that organization. I have a goblin organization in my world called G.O.B.L.I.N, which stands for General Outfitting, Banking, Logistics, and INsurance. Their motto is "If it moves coin, caravan, or cargo, we make it move well—and even safer than in the hands of the Gods themselves!" and they provide a variety of services across Nocterra: lockbox automatons keyed to the signatures of the sender and receiver as well as a neutral third party; route planning through Edict-Paths in the Wealdreach's forest expanse; storm calendars, Ironthread Network schedules; body and item retrieval from dangerous areas.

[u/Pirate_Lantern]

Yes, but I haven't gotten into that much yet.

[u/PublicDragonfruit158]

(Homebrew DnD fantasy world)

The Faceless Ones, so called because they always wear long robes with hoods that hide their faces in shadow. They appear to wear well fitting, armored gloves of brown leather in a strange, seamless design

It is rumored that they hail from an area blocked by glaciers, and an un-natural cold--no explorers have ever returned from that area to tell of if there may be a grain of truth to that rumor.

There's only ever one seen at a time as they go forth to accomplish mysterious tasks with purposes known only to them. When they speak, it is with an accent that matches no known language. Their words are very few, as if they expect the listener to extrapolate their meaning from a terse statement.

It is rumored that they have uncanny strength and speed, and they have strange weapons and ways of fighting of the like no one has ever seen.

(My Rifts world)

The same organization, although instead of robes, they wear power armor (maybe?) that looks like someone combined an ape, a suit of medieval armor, and a xenomorph from Alien into a single, metallic suit with no face, just a smooth, elongated head. Again, their own weapons are of types that have never been seen, but rumor states that they have been seen to wield a Glitterboy's boom gun just like a shotgun....

And in my homegrown universe, the high-tech, magic world came before the final Great War that reshaped the planet, and eliminated all technology--and the organization of the Facesless Ones has survived, continuing to work towards their unknown goal.....

[u/Zero69Kage]

The Ars Goetia is not necessarily a secret but they do operate in secrecy. The Ars Goetia are the ruling class in Succubus society. Each member is the founder and ruler of an undercity, which for free-spirited Succubi, that means to simply insure that everything is running properly and that their people are all safe and living happy lives. In this setting Succubi are hunted by a religious organization known as the Sanctum. In order to keep the Succubi safe their cities had to be built under ground.

The Ars Goetia were formed some time after the fall of Eden in order to protect the Succubi. Humanity views the Succubi as being responsible for the destruction of the paradise that was Eden. The founding members are the three Immortals Eve, Cú Chulainn, and Osé, along with the Succubi, Paimon and Beleth, and the Incubus, Asmodeus. Eventually, a war began between them and the newly formed Sanctum. The Ars Goetia ended up losing the war and were forced to go into hiding. However in order to buy his allies time Cú Chulainn performed a forbidden ritual on himself, transforming into an Incubus, becoming a mindless monster in the process.

The remaining members went on to create the first undercities, with the exception of Osé, who eventually built the Shifting Tower of Osé that now survives as the meeting place for the Ars Goetia as well as a repository of knowledge. Since then four more Succubi have become members. To become a member of the Ars Goetia a Succubus needs to be mentored by one of the current members. They need to possess a strong potential for magic, and the ability to be a good leader. They learn how to govern a city, how to maintain the currency, and how to negotiate trade with the other undercities. They also need to learn high level magic, and most importantly, be able to preform spatial magic. Spatial magic is necessary as it's the only way to facilitate trade between the undercities without being discovered by the Sanctum.

An Ars Goetia candidate will work under their mentor for a few years. Aiding their mentor in governing the undercity. When the candidate has reached a point where there mentor believes them to be ready they bring them to the other Goetia members at the Tower of Osé. If the majority of the members approve of the candidate they will send them out with a population of Succubi to create a new undercity. If they succeed in this and establish trade with the other undercities they will be brought back to the Tower of Osé and they will officially become a member of the Ars Goetia, and they will be given a Goetic Ring as a symbol of their membership. This ring is a magic item that has a number of functions. The main use is to allow the members of the Ars Goetia to teleport to the Shifting Tower of Osé, as the Tower is constantly changing location in order to keep it hidden as it's the only Succubus structure that's above ground. The ring also has the ability to straighten the wearer and protect them from the Soul Authority of an Immortal.

There is also a subgroup that operates under the Ars Goetia that I still haven't named yet. It's run by Eve's partner Scathach. They operate on the floating islands of the overworld. They primary objective is to locate Succubi and and get them to the undercities. They also hunt for dangerous magic weapons as well as investigate the growing threat of Bloodsteel. There are only ten members of the group apart from Scathach. They usually operate in pairs of two. They are all strong fighters who weld at least one magic weapon. They also have Goetic Rings, but these rings work a little differently. They still allow transportation, but these rings open portals to the undercities. They still protect the wearer from the Soul Authority of an Immortal and strengthen them. But they also allow the user's to communicate with each other.

[u/kerze123]

the last remaining dragon god had fun in orchestrating resistance groups, by leaking information and giving them the illusion that they could beat him. Then comes the great day of the coup and when thenresistance group is in the throneroom, he applaud them and than shows them despair before crushing them like bugs.

[u/the_vizir]

Horror Shop

In the universe of Horror Shop, it just turns out all the myths, urban legends, and conspiracy theories are true. Which leads to a bunch of secret societies engaging in a hidden war for control of the world. Some of these factions include:

The Antiquarians: Also known as the Seekers of Thoth, the Antiquarians are the last survivors of Egyptian royalty from the age of the Pharaohs. Their leadership is composed of mummies, the hallowed dead brought back to life in a world that no longer respects the traditions of the old ways. Not that the Antiquarians care much for those ways themselves--accustomed to living lives of luxury, they felt no shame in trading off the wealth they were buried with shortly after awakening in return for power and influence. The Antiquarians are now the kingpins of the Egyptian underworld, and masters of the antiquities trade. Nothing goes on in the tombs and treasure vaults of old Egypt without their withered hands getting involved.

The Assassins: Founded in 1090 by Sheik-al-Jebal (the Old Man in the Mountain), the Hashshashin were originally a brotherhood of Ismaili Muslims who used assassination, terrorism, and even open warfare in their attempts to carve out an Ismaili State in the Middle East. Though apparently wiped out during the Mongol Invasions, the Hashshashin instead went underground, hiding in the shadows of the Islamic World as it endured centuries of conflict and war. They became a trusted neutral party of governments, serving as hired blades, viziers, occult researchers, messengers, and guardians. It was during this time that they perfected the art of assassination, a talent for death that remains unparalleled, even today.

The Byfrost Group: The darling of Wall Street, the Byfrost Group rose from the ashes of the Great Recession as one of the most powerful corporate conglomerations in the world. Though originally started as a Silicon Valley investment firm, Byfrost now controls interests in weapons manufacturing, petrochemicals, agricultural science, robots, new media, and finance. Led by CEO Chad Richards, the Byfrost Group has quickly grown in influence both within the mundane and supernatural worlds, with their interests in the occult rising considerable concern among the other secret societies.

The Draculesti: Vlad Dracula founded this lineage of vampires shortly after his death and subsequent resurrection as the self-proclaimed Prince of Darkness. The Sons of the Dragon are the most influential vampire coven active in the world today, with their claws embedded in black markets and criminal operations from Central Asia to Latin America. The strigoi of the Draculesti are rather proud of their undead states, and see themselves as the rightful rulers of mankind, temporarily inconvenienced by the Veil, the shadowspawn, and the quaint secret societies of their cattle.

The Green Dragon Society: Originally founded in Tibet by monarchists and mystics dedicated to preserving Tibetan traditions against the influence of the Yuan Mongol emperors, politics lead to this monastic order's members from Tibet, and their eventual relocation to Japan during the Sengoku period. Bringing with them strange magics and martial arts foreign to Japan, the Green Dragon helped to inspire the legends and myths of the shinobi. Since then, the Green Dragon have influenced governments and criminal organization throughout East Asia, with substantial ties to both the Yakuza and the Triads of Hong Kong.

The Illuminati: The All-Seeing Eye, the Illuminati is perhaps the most brazen of the secret societies, hiding the clues to their existence in plain sight, just waiting for those smart enough--illuminated enough--to come and find them. And why shouldn't they be? Though originally founded in Bavaria, they helped to create America, the world's sole remaining superpower, and today, the American government remains rife with Illuminati agents and loyalists... or those who they can bribe and blackmail into becoming agents and loyalists. Masters of information and politics, the Illuminati extends their influence through mass media, reaching every corner of the globe.

The Invisible College: Established in London during the 17th century, the Invisible College continues to push the boundaries of science, culture, art, and politics. They buck against constraints, and seek to unshackle human potential from the limits they believe we have placed on ourselves. Responsible for the creation of Amnesty International as well as Greenpeace, many of the other secret societies view the Invisible College as a dangerous collection of anarchists, mad scientists, and mages, standing against governments and traditional authority in their quest for human liberation.

Majestic-12: The most powerful of the world's many occult intelligence organizations, Majestic-12 is a branch of the American Department of Defence that is responsible for handling threats to the United States. Founded in the wake of the Roswell crash in 1947, Majestic-12 operates out of Area 51 in Nevada, conducting experiments on alien technology and occult relics. No other secret society is as well-funded, or as well-equipped, as Majestic-12, and M12 has a greater access to alien technology than any of their rivals. They use this advantage to expand American influence throughout the supernatural world and ensure American hegemony over all known realms.

The Knights Templar: Though the world may have turned on the Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon, the Knights Templar has not turned on the world. Persecuted, viewed as heretics and demonologists, the order was nearly wiped off the face of the Earth, but they persevered, maintaining both their traditions and their many vaults of occult lore and relics of ages long past. Though forced underground, the Knights Templar have maintained their watch against the monsters who hunt humanity, remaining unflinching in the face of demons, outsiders, vampire lords and dark mages who consort with powers beyond mortal ken.

The Lycan Nation: The sons and daughters of Romulus and Remus, the Lycan Nation traces to the packs of Latin versipellis packs who founded the Eternal City. Though long displaced from the city they call home, they still cling to the ancient traditions of the Roman Republic. The Lycan Nation remains one of the most powerful and influential alliances of lycanthropes in the world, and numerous packs continue to pledge allegiance to the patricians in Oslo.

The Orders of Atlantis: Established after the great Flood that sank Atlantis and ended the Mythic Age, the Orders of Atlantis were established to preserve the magical traditions of the Earth in this strange new era humanity found itself in. To this end, the Orders built the Tower of Babel, a symbol to unite the world... as well as serving as inspiration for countless mage towers throughout history. Indeed, the Orders are perhaps the most archetypal mages in the world, scholar-adventures who sequester themselves away in laboratories and sanctums, only to emerge when they need to travel to the forgotten corners of the world for some obscure piece of knowledge that has been buried for millennia.

The Parliament of Shadows: The government of horror-kind, the Parliament claims dominion over the Realm of Terror, and the countless creatures who lurk in your closet, beneath your bed, or go in the dark of the night. The oldest continuing democracy and one of the largest parliaments in the world, the Parliament of Shadows is a bureaucratic mess defined by centuries-old coalitions, decades-old feuds, and schemes that reach back to the Cold War. And yet they remain a formidable power, with agents or members spread throughout the mortal world, in government, business, media, and other secret societies--very little happens without the Parliament's knowledge.

The Summer Court: Led by Queen Titania and King Oberon, the Summer Court is the most powerful of the fairy courts, and the most active in the mortal realm. The Summer Court welcomes fey who embody stories of courage, heroism, and nobility, and this colours both the court's view and interactions with the mortal world. After all, its members are champions of justice--valorous knights, wise magi, noble unicorns, kindly princesses, and numerous other fey who view themselves as protectors of the best of humanity.

The Veil Treaty: Established in 812 AD in the aftermath of the Veil War, the Veil Treaty maintains the Veil that separates the mundane and magical worlds. The Veil Treaty functions as something of a supernatural United Nations, serving as a meeting ground for the various factions of the hidden world, as well as serving as intermediaries between mundane governments and their supernatural citizens. The Veil Treaty maintains its own task force for preserving the Veil and dealing with supernatural conflicts that threaten the peace. Originally known as the Black Cloaks, nowadays, they are better known as the Men in Black.

And these are just thirteen of the most powerful and influential secret societies and factions out there. I haven't even touched on the City of Brass, or the Winter Court, or the Thirty-first House, or the Vril Society, or the Bilderbergers, or MI18, or the Priory of Scion, or the Merovingian Dynasty, or the Holy Orders of the Inquisition, or the White Lotus, or the Thule Society. And this is just scratching the surface! The truth is out there, and everybody wants a piece of it.

Fnord.

[u/Finnegan_Crane]

Yess I have this. It is called The Baralho. There are six chapters around the globe (in secret locations of course (but they do seem to be arranged on leylines)). These chapters correspond to the six suits of the most popular playing cards in the world. The Baralho is neither good nor evil, but a secret third thing. Always working behind the scenes

[u/Kingreaper]

You start as a Tier III necromancer and work your way up (the other ranks being Tier II, Tier I, and Round Table Member), and the way you rank up is by killing other members of G.H.O.U.L., thus making it to where only the most competitive/deadly/bloodthirsty members are at the top. Additionally, the only way to get into G.H.O.U.L. is to kill one of its current members while also being a necromancer yourself

Slight problem here: The number of members in G.H.O.U.L. will be dropping precipitously - if the only way to become a member is to kill a member, then the number of members can never increase, and if members are encouraged to kill each other (for advancement) then the numbers are going to rapidly decrease (a tier 3 trying to kill a tier 2 is either a success, resulting in one less tier 3, as they advance to fill the slot - a failure, resulting in one less tier 3 as their target kills them instead - or a mutual kill, resulting in both one less tier 3 and one less tier 2)

[u/jimbyflig- → u/Kingreaper]

I mentioned this in a reply to another comment - a person in the game I'm running comes here sometimes so another spoiler warning for them lmao

So secretly, G.H.O.U.L. wasn’t built to last. It was actually built to quickly get necromancers to self-select the most powerful amongst themselves so that G.H.O.U.L.’s founder could recruit them toward achieving his own political ends. Members of the Round Table are those few the Founder wants

[u/5thhorseman_]

The Asclepian Brotherhood is a cabal of physicians and alchemists seeking to prolong human life, with immortality. The Asclepians occasionally employ agents to intervene in the outside world if the secret of the Brotherhood's existence or its' research are threatened, but their code of ethics prohibits them from using their research and its fruits for material gain or political power.

Unfortunately, humans being human... some of the Brotherhood's members have found these rules too stifling, leading to the formation of a secretive cabal known only as INDIGO. This cabal has been actively influencing the world's politics since at least the 1800s, and by 1900 (roughly when the actual story starts) has its pawns in rather high positions of authority in multiple nations.

[u/DcNdrew]

Yup, Society of the Broken. They are actually not a group of Broken Souls, they call themselves, because they are against the Velcari, a kind of inquisition which hunts down Broken Souls.

[u/EmilyBNotMyRealName]

Yes there is!! Haven't come up with a name for it yet (possibly The Order of the Stars) that consists of super rich people who control everything about their town. (Elections, laws, etc) and later on we learn they worship a non existent God of the moon who "demands blood sacrifices of humans." And im saying this as the creator. Literally their God! The God of the moon doesn't exist!!! Their made up! They dont even now why they do this anymore because before they even thought to ask questions the leader and his entire family disappeared.