The Masked Beetles

The Masked Beetles are secret society of masked heroes within the world of Aedir. Their influences reaches all the known continents, but as of recently their primary focus has been The Veilnum Archipelago due to the rise of the Crimson Phoenix and the Amber threat. As such their numbers have been starting to increase within the Veil. Similar to The Platinum Wish, the group is strangely great at removing their tracks. The largest mystery is the homogeneity of their forces, other then tails that can give away their race, the masks seem to almost strangely wipe away any trace of who they are, snouts are flattened, tusks missing, everything about them is unified, in body and mind.

## Structure

Due to their distrust of old archaic government systems, the Masked Beetles are a pure democracy. In which everyone in the organization gets to vote before they act or make a move. Many of the beetles are split into separate groups, known as "clicks" in which they form effective battle battalions that even rival the Crimson Phoenix's effectiveness.

They are lead by The Tribunal, three ancient members of the Masked Beetles dubbed Ibex, Rosary, and Winged-One. While they function as symbolic leaders, it should be noted that there is no true leadership among The Beetles. As a pure democracy, every member can carry a motion and every member is heard.

The homebase of The Masked Beetles is a strange pearly courtroom dubbed The Beetle Mound. When one makes a motion to The Tribunal they are transported to the mound, the only traces left of them being a pile of beetles in their stead. The true location of The Beetle Mound is unknown, as it appears to exist in a sort of mindscape.

The recruitment process for The Beetles is unorthodox compared to typical organizations, as initiates are not approached by members but are instead found by the collective. To become a Masked Beetle, one must be of pure heart but without purpose, as the collective approaches and takes one to their mindscape and offers them purpose. This is why many great heroes of the realm are not members of The Beetles, as they all achieved greatness without needing the mask.

## Assets

The main asset of a Beetle is The Mask. When one is recruited they are gifted a mask that is tied to their soul. This allows them to call forth beetles from their body that coat themselves and form into the Masked Beetle Suit. This suit wipes away most traces of the being's identity, a dragonborn would have their snout flattened, an orc's tusks vanish and an elf's ears missing. When under the influence of the mask, one will notice a slight personality shift as their mind becomes one with the collective, when they speak multiple voices emit from their mouths and they begin to refer to themselves as "We" or "Us". The mask also allows for a Beetle to commune with the collective through meditation.

The origin of the suit is also clouded in mystery, as due to the secrecy of The Masked Beetles, all their history has been wiped away. All that is known is the suits seems to come of a T'Chai origin, as the chitin armor seems to be derived from ones used by the natives of the many isles of the Veil.

## Public Agenda

As of recent they mainly have been focusing on relief efforts, helping the various refugee and survivors left from various attacks, bringing food, water, shelter and medication. They are quite radical in their beliefs and attempt to force a level playing ground among all the world super powers. This brings them at odds with many of the governments in the world, but due to their influence many know not to mess with the Beetles and their clicks. It is believed that they have plants in most governments and military instillations as they will suddenly out of no where perform large strikes to destroy super weapons with almost surgical precision.

It's unknown when the Masked Beetles began working on dismantling the old systems of government, but many believe it to be at least recent. As reports of these figures began increasing after the torching of Vhana and many times after that. Working to reverse the chaos the Crimson Phoenix and many of the governments in the Veilnum have caused, they have worked diligently to make the world a safer place.

However as of now, times are a changing for The Beetles. One of their ranks named Takeshi Ishinomori, AKA Mind, after seeing the rising conflict and the aggression of Adalla issued a motion with unanimous success to allow The Beetles to reveal themselves to select parties. They can no longer be as efficient in the shadows, the time has come for action.

## Known Members

The Tribunal

The Ranks

## Design and Aesthetic

The Masked Beetles take after the design schemes of Japanese Tokusatsu, mainly taking inspiration from the Kamen Rider series. The Masked Beetles are meant to be "organic" Kamen Rider, with their chitin suits taking from the design of Kamen Rider Shin. When designing a Masked Beetle, have their armor look like it could be their actual skin and don't forget the big bright eyes and the horn(s).