Tear the Veil, Inherit the Earth

The Circle of Shadow is something of a nefarious organization that was created, crafted, and designed by Necromancers and those Magi that practice the necromantic arts of Animation. Initially, the group was supposed to be just a sort of repository for information regarding ghosts and the world of the dead, but over time this basic principle has mutated into something a little more unusual.

History

The Circle of Shadows is a recently created organization, having been creating in the 1800s and originating in London. It was created by the Necromancer Lord Giles Wrynn, for the express purpose of understanding the world of the dead, documenting the dead and the undead, and protecting other Necromancers. In the 1900's the organization fell under the Leadership of Martin Brambury, man of low birth in England, who came upon a startling revelation. That revelation was that since the power of Death touches everything in life, the Necromancers should be able to utilize their powers over everything in the world of the living. This theory was unable to be tested, despite many years of effort on Martin's part. This revelation lead to another: if the touch of death on all living things was insufficient for the Necromancer to control everything in life, then the power of Death must be expanded on thereby allowing greater influence over and access to the world of the living.

Martin then decided that the only way to accomplish this goal was to remove the barrier which kept the Shadowlands separate from the Skinlands. Martin believed that if they could break the Veil, the surge of necrotic energies and the positive energies of life would blend and meld, and the Necromancers would gain mastery of both the worlds of the living and the dead. Further, with the union of the two worlds, there would be no more living and no more dying. The two states of being would exist all at once, at the same time, thus bringing to pass a prophecy uttered by one of Martin's contemporaries: “The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.”

Purpose & Goals

The purpose of the Circle can be boiled down to a simple guiding precept, but the organization also seeks to protect its members from others, and especially to protect Necromancers from vampires who have typically killed Necromancers as soon as they have been recognized as such.

• Tear the Veil - The Veil is the metaphysical wall which keeps the lands of the dead and the lands of the living separate. The Circle continues to look for ways to rend this veil as a means of allowing more of the necrotic energies to spread.
• Guard Your Fellows - The Circle's rather unorthodox goals, combined with their powers over the dead mean that others may come gunning for them. Circle members are obliged to help other Circle members, to shelter and protect one another if asked to do so.

Ranks & Hierarchy

The Circle doesn't really have a hierarchy, its membership having never grown large enough to require the sort of hierarchy that other organizations have. Instead, each members refers to one another as Wisdom and they are lead by the Primus.

Benefits of Membership

The Circle contains some of the most potent Necromancers in the world, albeit those with a bit of a twisted perspective on the world and their place in it. One can count on a fellow Circle member when one is hunted by the living or the dead, and the Circle only requires its members conduct research in how to tear the Veil.