CIRCLE OF STARS

**“***There is only one certainty. Every end marks a new beginning.***”**
— **UNKNOWN**

The Circle of Stars (often shortened to just the Circle) were a fanatical cult with extremely close associations to The Undertow, located on southern Esora. They were obsessed by "ascending" via parasite assimilation, to the point they implanted early stages of the parasites into themselves to function as a sort of organic bomb. Despite being unrelated, they had become synonymous with the Undertow as a whole, ruining the faction's reputation and wiping out their subgroups (and other small factions) as they saw fit.

Their reputation was exclusively negative and, while their cause was well-intentioned, their methods were much harsher and more violent than those of other cults like Syndicate of the Assimilated. Recently, the cult had been obliterated and disbanded due to an intervention raid by Dim Sky, including the deaths of four out of five of their leaders. Only around 200 members survived the raid as either refugees or escapees, over a hundred of which were from a recently destroyed Undertow subgroup. As of now, the group is considered completely defunct.

***WORKING ON PUTTING EVERYTHING INTO PAST TENSE AND ADDING INFO. BEAR WITH ME***

## General Information

organization. work on this none of its done

member count was actually at a bit of a lowpoint when they got exploded. highest its ever been was 7k

stole the fish naming from the undertow and did it better i mean what

Circle members can mainly be found near the coastline of southern Esora where Undertow members are, though have been spotted as far north as the outskirts of Chester's Court. There are rumors of small groups of Circle members being sent out to establish the cult's presence in other parts of Esora and even other continents on Kosea, however these are unconfirmed.

Their primary base of operations is a sprawling labyrinth of underground rooms and tunnels that stretch for miles and are extremely difficult to navigate without a map or guide. It's unclear how much of the tunnels are in active use, or exactly how far/deep they go, however they are large enough to comfortably house all of the cult's members without being immediately trackable. Circle members are shown to be able to navigate the tunnels with alarming speed and efficiency, to the point where may get lost even trying to follow them.

## Beliefs

Formed before the apocalypse as a group of doomsayers and conspiracy theorists, the Circle evolved into a cult after the end of the world hit. While originally their views were not nearly so warped, the group's ideals became significantly more delusioned as the leadership switched hands several times over the years.

The Circle viewed the parasites as godlike being that were sent to punish all living things for their corruption, and that becoming assimilated would allow them to be reborn in their unstained image. They wanted to ascend as many people as possible, seeing it as saving them from a world of torment that they refuse to acknowledge, and were actively frustrated or confused when people outside the cult challenged them on this. Circle members' actions were genuinely well-intentioned, as even if it got hundreds of people killed, dedicating one's own life to help others ascend was considered an honorable end goal.

In order to aid in this goal, early stages of the parasites were implanted into all Circle members above the age of eighteen in an extremely dangerous procedure that left a wound that never healed and a critical weak point on the abdomen. This would effectively turn any given adult member into a living bomb which would immediately assimilate upon their death, greatly increasing their ability to help others ascend at a moment's notice. While the aftermath of this procedure was grueling, leaving the affected person in near constant pain and frequently emotionally and mentally unstable, the suffering was seen as necessary to help the cause.

While their methods ended in the deaths of themselves and others, flat out murder was looked down upon by Circle members, as it was seen as denying the person their first and most important chance at ascension (despite the fact the corpses could always be assimilated afterwards).

In addition, it was also seen as bad to interfere with another person's certain death if they were outside of the cult, even if you could've done something to help them live. An example of this belief being broken was when Spoof gave Onyx medication to help ward off the infection, saving his life but going against the cult's standards.

Defectors from the Circle of Stars were few and far between, with less than 1 escapee a year on average. Circle deserters didn't tend to live very long after leaving, as they were unwilling to seek refuge in larger factions and smaller groups would often refuse to take them, if not outright killing them for being from the Circle at all. Additionally, they were unable to rejoin the cult if they wanted and were treated with hostility even by members they were formerly friends with. Deserting was seen as rejecting ascension due to your own selfishness, only to come groveling back after seeing the harshness of the denying world, and was considered the highest offense.

## Leadership

For as long as the Circle has been around, their methods of leadership have varied, though eventually a council like leadership was settled on and has remained that way for over a hundred years.

At the time of their destruction, the Circle was run by an extremely secretive group known as The 5. While not all equally powered, decisions made by them were almost always made in total agreeance, with the different council members further specializing in an aspect of the Circles overall progression (such as assigning groups to go out and ascend smaller factions). With the exception of one, none of The 5 were seen in day-to-day life, and encountering or being summoned by them often signaled your impending ascension.

Currently, the only surviving Circle leader is Nina, as she was absent when the raid took place and did not return after the cult was destroyed.

## Destruction

oooh dim sky raid REMEMBER TO FILL THIS PART OUT

## Trivia

* Circle members gave their own parasites (referred to by them and the Undertow at large as Jorjes) names on occasion. These names were often absurd.