Brotherhood of Pure Spirit

Chapter Six 67

Organizations

Angels are classified into orders or “choirs” (discussed in Chapter Three:The Campaign) and organized into larger groups according to what deity they serve.

In addition,several unusual organizations in the mortal realm concern,were started by,or are composed ofangels.These groups—the Brotherhood ofPure Spirit,Council ofWings, Heaven’s Hands,and the Society ofGodsblood—are the focus ofthis chapter.

The Brotherhood ofPure Spirit is a religious cult that believes angels should not be contaminated by consorting with mortal beings.These extremists hunt down and kill angelic crossbreeds (aasimar and half-celestials) and banish the parent angels back to Heaven to be purified.Believing themselves good,they destroy many innocent lives in the pursuit oftheir goals.

Brief History

The Brotherhood dates back about 100 years to Jagrin,a slightly mad cleric tasked with repairing the damage caused by a fallen angel named Tarzakhiel.In researching what Tarzakhiel had done, Jagrin found that the angel once had a mortal lover and mortal offspring.The cleric fixated on this element in the angel’s history,blaming the angel’s fall on this “taint” even though it had occurred years earlier. Jagrin took it upon himselfto eliminate this “threat” to Heaven’s purity and organized a small crusade to slay the offspring ofany angels his group found.Though cast out of his church for his deeds,Jagrin survived long enough to create splinter cults in several different religions,and now the Brotherhood transcends his original faith,poisoning the minds of otherwise good individuals.

The Organization

The cult is organized into cells that are each led by a charismatic (and possibly demented) member ofthe clergy.Any particular cell is usually a secret suborganization within a temple,with members ofone temple’s cell unknown to those ofanother cell except in unusual circumstances.The members ofthe cult act like normal members oftheir faith when not engaged in cult activities and only confide their special interests at cult meetings.Though much ofwhat they do is evil,members ofthe Brotherhood see themselves as redeemers ofangels in danger.While in theory such an organization might be outright evil,because the Brotherhood only recruits members from within good churches,the cult walks a fine line between neutrality and evil.

Members: Unknown.(Most temples are probably free ofthis cult,but its level ofpenetration into otherwise good temples is unknown.)

Hierarchy: Cell-based Leader: Varies Religion: Varies Alignment: LN (most common),N,LE Secrecy: Highly secret (members only know others within their cell) Symbol: Pair ofwhite angelic wings floating above a parapet (representing a barrier between the mortal and angelic world)

Hierarchy

All members ofa cell defer to the cell leader,who may be a cleric ofany rank within the temple.Other members are treated as equals,even iftheir rank or social position outside the cult is very different.In the rare times when cells join together, the lesser-ranked leader defers to the one with the greater rank within the church.Below is a sample cell leader. Balefor (LN human male Clr5) is the survivor ofa cell from another temple in a distant city.He came to his current temple after his old cell was broken and scattered,and decided to begin recruiting shortly after establishing himselfhere.As he was the first person recruited by the leader of his old cell,he feels confident in his ability to lead a cell in the Brotherhood’s “purification” ofangels.

Motivation and Goals

The Brotherhood teaches that the only way to ensure Heaven’s victory is to make sure its followers are pure.Breeding with mortals degrades an angel’s pure spirit and weakens Heaven.To accomplish their goals,members ofthe Brotherhood feel they must purify all angels that have tainted themselves by procreating with mortals and