The Illuminati

A new order for the ages

The Illuminati was formed by Bavarian lawyer Adam Weishaupt in the mid-18th century. Originally, they were a group of anti-Papist Catholics who wanted to seize control of the Church and replace its superstitious leadership with an enlightened--or Illuminated--one. The Illuminati managed to infiltrate several organizations as part of their initial quest, from the Church to the government to the Freemasons--and what they discovered through their agents in the Masons shook them to their core: magic was real, a supernatural world existed in the shadows, and humanity was not truly the masters of its own destiny. However, the Illuminati was not as cautious as they could have been, and the Church caught on to them. Pope Pius VII issued a papal bill formally condemning the organization and its membership, and, in 1787, Karl Theodor, Elector of Bavaria, outlawed membership in the order, exiling its leadership

However, as with any good secret society, the Illuminati instead went deep underground, erasing any trace of their organization's existence from the powers that be. Most of the leadership went into exile, leaving Bavaria for the northern German states, Scandinavia, the Low Countries, and, especially the New World. Indeed, by the time of Weishaupt's death in 1830, the centre of power for the Illuminati had long left Europe for the bountiful opportunities of the United States, where the frontier provided them with the perfect opportunity to begin working on their new goals. For no longer did they want to just seize control of the Catholic Church. Instead, they set their eyes on a greater goal: the Veil Treaty, and through them, control of the entire supernatural world.

The Illuminati argues their goal is to "perfect mankind," and mankind cannot be perfected when angels and monsters and dragons rule over them and limit their advancement. They believe reason and intellect should be the driving forces behind our species, unconstrained by morality and "the arbitrary laws of God," and that the ends truly justifies the means; after all, to quote the society's founder, Adam Weishaupt, "the righteous man ought to use all the same tools to do good that the wicked man uses to do evil." Ultimately, the Illuminati desires to create an intellectual, rational, and illuminated dictatorship where mankind would no longer be enslaved to false religions, ideologies, moralities, nationalities, or by those beasts who go bump in the night.

The Illuminati has connections throughout the political, business, entertainment, and supernatural worlds. Their early discovery at the hands of the Church's Holy Inquisition had lead to an order that makes extensive use of secrets, doublespeak, and misinformation. Indeed, they will deliberately create false stories and conspiracies to mislead potential investigators from the truth of the matter--send the media scurrying after a scandalous rumour while the truth is buried on page 7. Their extensive wealth has given them access to the best technology and agents money can buy, and they have cultivated numerous politicians and bureaucrats who are willing to act in the best interest of the hands that hold the coin purse. Likely only the Bilderbergers and Knights Templar have access to more material wealth--though the Bilderbergers are not all that interested in the supernatural world at the moment, and the Templars are a bit too focused on their "greater good" ideals to actually use their wealth to its full potential.

The Illuminati is headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, right across from the National Mall, like a cancerous growth on the heart of American democracy. However, they have cells throughout the world, and agents ready to be deployed to even the most remote regions of Africa, Asia, or Antarctica at a moment's notice. They are headed by the Council of Twelve, also known as the Areopagites, the Tribunal, and the Powers that Be. And at the head of the Areopagites sits the Pyramidion. It's unknown who exactly the Pyramidion is--he never appears in person to the general public, and has taken extensive pains to erase any trace of his existence from the world. However, it is known that he is an incredibly powerful diviner--perhaps the greatest seer alive in the world today--and his visions have helped the Illuminati immensely over the past several decades. These visions have also made him a little... odd. His way of communicating is incredibly casual, and he will casually reference deep secrets as if they were common knowledge, while somehow completely misusing popular culture and slang. He will speak cryptically of his visions, before going on a long-winded ramble about how much he hates the Hashshashin for foiling the Illuminati's plans to make the McRib available year-round. It's unknown who or what the Pyramidion exactly is--most believe him to be a human diviner recruited into the Illuminati at a young age, and thus deprived of normal human development, but others believe him to be a sentient AI, an cyclopes seer from the Mythic Age, a fallen angel of knowledge, or a spirit of prophecy.

Whatever he is, the Pyramidion has helped ensure the continued success and dominance of the Illuminati. Very few organizations can now counter them in terms of power, wealth, and influence.