THE CULT OF THE WYRM:

The Cult of the Wyrm is the antithesis of all that is good. They follow H'roathyll, the Wyrm, and support His bid to topple the Pantheon and rule it. This highly secretive Guild is ruled by a Matriarch named Clia, a delfae woman whose power is immense. Below her are her Right and Left hands, respectively an assassin and a sorceror who represent the main division of the Cult.

All Cultists either work for the Right or the Left, and are commonly referred to as the Right claw of the Wyrm or the Left claw of the Wyrm. They are incredibly secretive, and only meet in groups of threes or fours. These groups are known as cells, and the cell leader receives instructions from one he cannot recognize but whose power is demonstrated. These unknowns are believed to be coordinated by regional heads, who in turn are coordinated by a being known as the Cellmaster, who is the only one in the organization who knows the real and affected identities of every person in the Cult.

The Left Claw of the Wyrm are primarily magic-users, using their powers to subtly alter balances of power in Kingdoms and Guilds and to erase any traces of their existance. The Right Claw of the Wyrm consists of primarily assassins. Both the Right and the Left Claws indicate specialties only; for instance, most Left-Claw members are capable assassins in their own right.

None know where the Matriarch and her Right and Left Hands reside. No Cultist would betray that information anyways, and a cultist who betrays his Guild will be tortured to death...and in death, his torture will continue.

Tested Skills:

The Cult of the Wyrm tests in all magic skills, all combat skills, herbalism, medicine, tracking, and survival.

Entrance into the Guild:

Entrance into the Guild is through recruitment only. If someone wanted to join, they would have to make their actions known, yet somehow remain subtle; a rather difficult task. Those who are approached and refuse are killed; those who accept are brought to the Guild Trial, which consists of a judgement of their hearts. Those who accept merely to escape death are killed; those who embrace the Wyrm are accepted, and are branded with the symbol of either the Left or the Right claw of the Wyrm, right over the heart. None may dissemble before the Trial; those attempting to decieve the Trial will perish.

Advancement within the Guild:

At first one is a cell member. That is as high as the PC will get until they are proficient in four tested skills. Then they must either seize power from the cell leader or they must wait until he dies or is killed. The PC is not permitted to kill the cell leader to sieze his position, for this is betrayal of the guild; however, if he succeeds in gaining more power than the cell leader and becomes the cell leader himself, he may kill the previous leader if the man is disobediant or not properly respectful.

That is the only kind of trial required to advanced to Cell leader, the second level of Guild membership. Next time the unknown instruction-giver comes around, he is informed of the change in balance of power and is judged. Usually the bid is successful, although the unknown may punish the new cell leader for being ambitious. The punishment is painful, but the new leader remains the new cell leader.

The Unknown will monitor the progress of this new change in leadership and if the PC maintains his leadership against similar bids of power, the Unknown will often consult his peers and may decide to bring the PC among them. This requires a Guild Trial. The PC is stolen away in the night, and someone in the cell is installed as the new cell leader. The cell does not know what became of the PC.

The new Guild Trial literally tortures the PC and manipulates his mind until the PC becomes physically and mentally incapable of voluntarily giving away information. He now becomes an Unknown, directing cell leaders according to the whims of his own superiors and sometimes to his own desires.