Techno

Denied
Management have agreed that you seem to be a decent guy and good fit for ???, however the character you have presented is rather basic and could be performed on Civilian without any difference to if it was a ???.
You are free to reapply whenever and are encouraged to do so.

Accepted
Management have reviewed your app and determined that you have developed a good character as well as are a player we believe would be suitable to be within ???. We will query you further on how your character will interact and act whilst on the server to determine its suitability in its current state.
Request the ??? role on the discord and provide this post as proof.

Accepted
Management have reviewed your app and determined that you have developed a good character as well as are a player we believe would be suitable to be within ???. We will query you further on how your character will interact and act whilst on the server to determine its suitability in its current state.
Request the ??? role on the discord and provide this post as proof.

Denied
Management have agreed that you seem to be a decent guy and good fit for ???, however the character you have presented is rather basic and could be performed on Civilian without any difference to if it was a ???.
You are free to reapply whenever and are encouraged to do so.

The Hunter's Black Lodge

GoI-0432 ("The Hunter's Black Lodge") is an anomalous criminal cult primarily active in the post-Soviet states. Known as "The Hunter's Black Lodge" (or simply the "Black Lodge"), GoI-0432 has been linked to extortion, murder, robbery, gambling, prostitution, human trafficking, drug trafficking, weapons trafficking, and underground fighting rings. While these activities are not inherently anomalous, the anomalous capabilities of GoI-0432 has had an aberrant effect on their practice.
The Foundation first became aware of the Black Lodge in the early 1990s after receiving a tip from informants in INTERPOL. Further investigation uncovered GoI-0432 related documents from the recently dissolved GRU Division "P", later corroborated by former members. It appears that GRU Division "P" was unable to fully contain or neutralize the threat presented by the Black Lodge, with one source describing them as a "hydra" - the organization thought neutralized on several occasions only for it to reappear months later, "stronger than before".
Victims of the Black Lodge have been discovered impaled, penetrated by large organic spines - the decedents commonly showing evidence of ritual cannibalism.

Foundation Report
Known as "The Hunter's Black Lodge" (or simply the "Black Lodge"), GoI-0432 has been linked to extortion, murder, robbery, gambling, prostitution, human trafficking, drug trafficking, weapons trafficking, and underground fighting rings. While these activities are not inherently anomalous, the anomalous capabilities of GoI-0432 has had an aberrant effect on their practice. These anomalies include:
- The trafficking and distribution of anomalous pharmaceutical agents, primarily in the form of the anabolic-androgenic steroid "Гнев". The intravenous injection of Гнев triggers anomalous levels of muscle and bone growth. Continued and/or excessive use will result in Proteus-Cronenberg syndrome and/or death. Analysis suggests that this substance is harvested from the adrenal gland of an unidentified species of animal and has thus been classified as SCP-2408-2A.
- The trafficking and distribution of "Похоть", a potent narcotic and increasingly prevalent "club drug". Normally sold in small, glass vials, it is administered to the body through insufflation into the sinus cavities (injection has been found to be universally fatal). Substance triggers various sensory hallucinations, increased heart palpitations, increased sexual arousal, and feelings of euphoria; studies have shown the substance to be more addictive than heroin. These effects are non-anomalous (the substance likely created with profit in mind) but the substance itself appears to be derived from the spinal fluid of an unidentified species and has thus been classified as SCP-2408-2B.
- The trafficking and distribution of biological agents, including pathogens and toxins deemed anomalous by the Foundation. The creation and distribution of "Красная Смерть" represents an exceptionally high level threat. Already classified as SCP-███, information regarding the "Red Death" is presently only available on a need-to-know basis.
- Victims of GoI-0432 have been discovered impaled by large organic spines or completely torn apart. Cadavers display injuries suggestive of attacks by several different animals such as bloody hoofprints, wounds consistent with goring by a horned or tusked animal, and teeth-marks indicative of a large, lupine organism.

The Foundation became aware of GoI-0432 in wake of the USSR's dissolution, when many anomalies and documents relating to anomalies were transferred to Foundation control by GRU Division "P". The existence of GoI-0432 would be further corroborated by former members of GRU Division "P". It appears that they were unable to fully contain or neutralize the threat presented by GoI-0432 and its associated anomalies, with one source describing the apparent destruction of the organization on several occasions - only for it to reappear months later, seemingly strengthened.
___________________________________________________


Agent S████ was not equipped with a recording device due to the delicate nature of the mission. Instead, information was transferred to the Foundation via dead drop. Agent S████ entered the nightclub at 2100, 01/25/1995, equipped with a SIG Sauer P226. He is observed being approached by a bouncer, which Agent S████ proceeds to follow after a short conversation. An agent inside the nightclub reports seeing S████ being escorted to an upstairs VIP suite overlooking the main floor. Agent S████ does not exit the nightclub until 0800, 01/29/1995. A message would later be delivered to the dead drop site at approximately 2100.
The Foundation would henceforth receive biweekly mission reports from Agent S████.

Missive 02/04/1995
Possible GoI-0432 front:
ul. ██████ 94
GELENDZHIK
Krasnodarskij kraj
353465
RUSSIAN FEDERATION

First job was gunrunning. More damning evidence against Abraxas Arms. Not a lot to report beyond that.

In a lot of ways, the Black Lodge is like any other Bratva. They're thugs, plain and simple, and mostly driven by greed. They're also nastier, which speaks volumes; you can't get much lower than the Bratva - they discarded any trace of honor they had left in Siberia.
The Great Mothers are certainly something you don't see in the world of organized crime. The боевик call them hags, crones, witches, and the like (though not to their faces). The Sarkic influence is clear with them. Twelve in number, they refer to each other as "sisters" - priestesses or some such. All wear the same outfits - a black sarafan, a stained leather apron, and a red and white shawl covering the shoulders and hair. Always bare footed. A lot of ink work too. They aren't karcists but they still wield a great deal of clout over the Black Lodge.

Missive 03/10/1995
"Criminal underground" has a literal meaning for the Black Lodge. There's another world beneath Moscow. Abandoned soviet bunkers. The Metro-2. Forgotten crypts. But it runs so much deeper than we knew. There's something downright ancient below. Suffice it to say, I think Moscow was built atop a Sarkic temple.
There's a dungeon. Rusted torture equipment. Pre-revolution. Maybe a relic of the Time of Troubles. Regardless, it looks like the Sarkicites are continuing the tradition. It's not nearly as deep and ancient as that wretched temple. Might be worth researching what buildings used to exist in the general location during the 17th century.

I don't know much about these places yet. Information seems to be on a "need to know" basis. But I think I've found a weak link in their chain - one of the Great Mothers; let's call her "Five".

Five shows signs of senility; she's gentle, friendly, and more importantly naive. I've been able to glean some fairly significant intelligence from her (but can't say how much truth there is to any of it).

According to her, the Black Lodge is something both new and old. Like the other Bratva, it began in the gulags of Siberia - during Сучьи войны. Avgust Iosava, father of Otari, appears to have been responsible for the Black Lodge's resurrection in '51. Something he encountered in the Siberian wilderness after leading a successful prison break. And that's when the witches sought him out. Guided him. Showed him "what he had forgotten" - I asked what she meant by that but her mind wandered elsewhere.

She seemed happy to have someone listen to her; a chance to feel nostalgic about the old ways. She told me to take this "secret" and handed me several old and frayed documents; scriptures but not the originals, notes she must have transcribed from their primary sources. Fragmented but something I think the researchers would like to see. Going to write this all down.

Five also told me about Moscow's lost history. In another time, it was known by a different name - "Orok's Fall"; a Sarkic settlement - and where the Saint of War sacrificed himself, "for the blood of gods and tyrants". Never cared for this city. Guess there was always something sinister here.

As she described the ancient city, her terminology was unusually anatomical in nature. Referring to different locations as the "heart", "lungs", and "skull" of Orok's Fall.

 
Missive 04/18/1995
I am making a special request to have my name, as well as what I've done (you'll know it soon enough), removed from the final report. If I successfully complete my mission and come out of this alive then I request the immediate application of amnestics.
Most of my targets have been degenerates and criminals. Potential rivals and the like. But this was different. And Otari, that sick fuck, wanted us leave a different kind of message. There are other Sarkic cultists in Moscow; non-Black Lodge. I'm talking oligarchs. Government officials. One of them sent word that someone in the Ministry of Internal Affairs, a man named ██████ █████████, wanted to crack down on the Black Lodge and was searching for allies among the few straight players left in this city.

Target the family. A wife, a daughter. Don't kill them. Make an example. The sort of scars that'll never heal.

 
Missive 04/22/1995
Spoke with Five again, still trying to clear my head of what happened. She's not like the others and I'm beginning to question just how senile she really is. When she speaks of me, and her faith, there is a tone of regret.
I asked her more about Sarkicism (don't worry, I didn't say the "S-word"). And, when she tells me about Ion, I feel like a child again - listening to my baboushka talk about Jesus and the old prophets. Whimsical, and like her, skipping over the parts that involve glorified torture and murder.

I'm no researcher, historian or theologian or whatever. But I think these cults, this "Sarkicism" didn't begin this way (but I suppose that goes for most religions). Five talks about honor, friendship, virtue, and liberation. The gentle reindeer folk of Adi-um against the evil Daeva. She's old, but I take it the faith changed long before her; maybe she has begun to interpret the texts differently. Maybe she's wrong, seeing good under layers of madness and atrocity.

I can relate. It's always the same. Another failed revolution. Regardless, I suspect Five is an aberration. Perhaps that is the reason she's confided in me. The others talk about the Great Mothers, say they can see things. At times I wonder if she knows who I really am.

And then my training tells me to eliminate her. I think I'll ignore that training for now. Besides, no point taking out a source like her. Not yet at least.

P.S. The arena. It isn't just for initiation. Blood sport disguised as ritual; or maybe ritual disguised as blood sport. Six enter; only one comes out. A lot of folks willing to pay to see and bet on it. Many wear the skulls of beast and the clean suits of billionaires. Five's not a fan; it's like listening to people complain about the commercialization of Christmas. I know the Black Lodge has been classified as Neo-Sarkic but the Great Mothers are pretty clearly Proto-Sarkic - they're traditional, celebrate the high holidays, and still think in terms of some greater good. The rest only care about how to make themselves stronger, wealthier, etc. Otari has an animal cunning to him but he is hardly an intellectual - nor does he appear to be a karcist (or at least, the term hasn't been thrown around at all).

 
Missive 05/06/1995
Five let me in on a little secret. Otari has a brother by the name of Mikhail. Same father; different mother. And he's that half-dead thing in the cell.
Apparently Otari and Mikhail have somewhat of a rivalry, but that isn't why Mikhail's been imprisoned and defaced; Five was vehement about that. It seems that Mikhail volunteered for some sort of ritual.

Things are getting pretty fucked up here. Not sure if it's the drugs or not. I'll leave a vial with this report. I'm seeing things. The angles in the club, and everything below, are wrong. The architecture gives me a headache if I stare at it too long. Yesterday I woke in a bathroom stall with a half-eaten woman.

The whores at Red Lanterns - they look human one moment then the next, well, I know 'monster' isn't really appropriate in this line of work but not sure how else to describe them. They stare at me with feral, hungry eyes. Five once called the them Rusalki; I thought she was just being figurative but now I'm not so sure. They slither off into the backrooms with fresh meat tailing behind; they'll be back an hour later, looking satisfied - but the men that go in don't ever come out.

And when I watch the pit fights. There are things in the audience that aren't entirely human. There are sounds I can't explain; like a heartbeat, sometimes roars - something from deep below, where all the blood and corpses go.

Agent S████ was declared MIA on 05/28/1995.
On 06/04/1995, after much deliberation, raids were conducted against multiple Black Lodge sites, including the Red Lanterns nightclub. During the assault, SCP-2408-1 were directly observed undergoing transfiguration. Despite their aggression and anomalously augmented combat prowess, the SCP-2408-1 threat was thoroughly neutralized through the use of incendiary armaments (with the Foundation unexpectedly suffering only minor casualties). As operations continued, it grew readily apparent that the Black Lodge had provided minimal manpower - a mere fraction of its total population in the region.

Sarkicism is a religious/philosophical system that encompasses a variety of traditions, beliefs, and spiritual practices largely based on teachings attributed to “Grand Karcist Ion”, its deified founder. Adherents practice ritual cannibalism, human sacrifice, corporeal augmentation, thaumaturgy, and dimensional manipulation. Highly secretive, the general public appears to have no direct knowledge of their existence; the one exception being the CotBG, who views them in apocalyptic terms. Organic manipulation has allowed certain Sarkicites to achieve anomalous states of being, transcending the physical limitations of baseline humans. Disease is viewed with reverence and Sarkic shrines have been discovered with offerings of swollen lymph nodes and tumorous growths. Sarkic cults treat contagions as consecration, a means to "cull the weak" and purify the masses, and thus actively seek to ensure their spread.
The Foundation divides known Sarkic cults into two distinct strands: Proto-Sarkic and Neo-Sarkic. Proto-Sarkic cults can be found in insular communities throughout Eurasia's most isolated regions, its followers generally poor (if self-reliant) and hostile towards outsiders. Such groups eschew modernity, display acute technophobia, and are bound by superstition and taboo. In contrast, Neo-Sarkic cults are cosmopolitan, publicly embracing modernity and showing no apparent qualms with technology; their public lives differing little from others of their culture and social status. Adherents are primarily affluent families, rich in history and scandal.

Ultimately, it is believed that the Foundation only knows a fraction of what Sarkicism is and what its followers intend. Based on the available information, the speculated goals of Sarkic cults represent an SK-class dominance shift, including the possibility of an XK-class end-of-the-world scenario.

The Old God
Yaldabaoth (also known as "Važjuma", "God-Eater", "Devourer", "His/Her Undulating Vastness", "The Great Winnower", "The Womb of Chaos" and various other epithets) is regarded in Sarkicism as the principle power in the universe. Neo-Sarkites appear to admire this entity but Proto-Sarkites (and all discovered scripture thus far) describe it as the true enemy of all people. Translated fragments of the Valkzaron suggests that Ion had somehow usurped control of this cosmic entity, wearing the flesh of the Old God as a sort of armor and crafting from its body a kingdom. This is contradicted by recently discovered scripture which suggest that Ion merely cast down the "living gods" of the Daeva, weaker avatars of the Archons - the children/servants of Yaldabaoth. The continued mortality of humanity and the absence of "paradise" ultimately imply that, were Ion real, then he had failed to achieve his goals.
As with all things related to Sarkicism, it is difficult to discern reality from myth - most especially when myth contradicts. Proto-Sarkites view this entity with fear and disgust, regarding it as both the creator and destroyer of all life and the progenitor of the gods. As more sects are discovered, the diversity of interpretation grows readily apparent.

Yaldabaoth is portrayed as both destroyer and incidental creator, "feeding" upon gods, worlds, and stars, while "exhaling life" into the cosmos (which will evolve, grow, and eventually be harvested again). Life is thus a natural byproduct of the Old God's existence; unguided by intelligence and spreading through a process not entirely dissimilar from panspermia. Sarkites believe this entity has turned the multiverse into an altar with our existence, and the existence of all biological lifeforms, being brought into reality for the singular purpose of sacrifice.

"Blind" and driven solely by instinct, Yaldabaoth is depicted as being accompanied by otherworldly entities known as "Archons" (or "Vultaas" among certain Proto-Sarkic cults). These beings are described by Sarkic texts as faceless manifestations of primordial chaos, their true forms inconceivable to the human mind. Gnostic and Mekhanite scripture would mention the Archons as well, describing them as "terrible and rapacious angels".

Some Sarkic cults hold that the Archons, along with Yaldabaoth, do not originate from our universe, let alone the multiverse. These cults believe that these entities begin in the Void and that their colossal physical bodies are vessels for these profane spirits. Because their consciousness is tethered to the Void, they know only hunger and will consume all things in their desire to feel whole - spreading like a cancer across the multiverse. The Archons are frequently referenced as having some relationship to the stars and the growing darkness that exists between them but little else is known about this connection. Sarkic art and iconography typically depicts Archons as red or black and vaguely cephalopodic.
___________________________
Klavigar Orok

A figure of reverence and supposed disciple of Ion. Associated with strength, war, violence, wilderness, hunting and, seemingly in contradiction, loyalty and revolt. Epithets include: the Horned Beast, the Brute Lord, and the Pale Hunter. Described as being of unnatural physical strength, Orok was the product of alchemical and thaumaturgical experimentation on slaves. Enthralled to Matriarch Aśvighoṣa, the ruling Daeva in the city of Jel, Orok served as a personal guard and pit-fighter.
It is written that Ion, when taking the city of Jel, entered the palace of Matriarch Aśvighoṣa (presumably, the highest authority in the city). He requested that the matriarch should leave and take with her a message to the "Daeva of Daevas", lest she suffer retribution. Refusing his ultimatum, the matriarch ordered Orok to destroy him. It is written that Orok hesitated, his "runes of bondage [setting] his starved soul aflame so that his body became spirit"; turning to his matriarch, he struck Aśvighoṣa, his fist imbued with the very power she had forced upon him, and reduced her body to "cinder and ash and heavenly starlight".

Orok is typically depicted as a large and muscular cyclopic man wearing a loincloth. His symbols include a two-headed axe, a one-eyed skull, a hunting spear, fractured bones, a closed fist, and a bull elephant.
_______________________

Out Of Character Information
 
 
 
 
 

The Hunter's Black Lodge

GoI-0432 ("The Hunter's Black Lodge") is an anomalous criminal cult primarily active in the post-Soviet states. Known as "The Hunter's Black Lodge" (or simply the "Black Lodge"), GoI-0432 has been linked to extortion, murder, robbery, gambling, prostitution, human trafficking, drug trafficking, weapons trafficking, and underground fighting rings. While these activities are not inherently anomalous, the anomalous capabilities of GoI-0432 has had an aberrant effect on their practice.
The Foundation first became aware of the Black Lodge in the early 1990s after receiving a tip from informants in INTERPOL. Further investigation uncovered GoI-0432 related documents from the recently dissolved GRU Division "P", later corroborated by former members. It appears that GRU Division "P" was unable to fully contain or neutralize the threat presented by the Black Lodge, with one source describing them as a "hydra" - the organization thought neutralized on several occasions only for it to reappear months later, "stronger than before".
Victims of the Black Lodge have been discovered impaled, penetrated by large organic spines - the decedents commonly showing evidence of ritual cannibalism.

Foundation Report
Known as "The Hunter's Black Lodge" (or simply the "Black Lodge"), GoI-0432 has been linked to extortion, murder, robbery, gambling, prostitution, human trafficking, drug trafficking, weapons trafficking, and underground fighting rings. While these activities are not inherently anomalous, the anomalous capabilities of GoI-0432 has had an aberrant effect on their practice. These anomalies include:
- The trafficking and distribution of anomalous pharmaceutical agents, primarily in the form of the anabolic-androgenic steroid "Гнев". The intravenous injection of Гнев triggers anomalous levels of muscle and bone growth. Continued and/or excessive use will result in Proteus-Cronenberg syndrome and/or death. Analysis suggests that this substance is harvested from the adrenal gland of an unidentified species of animal and has thus been classified as SCP-2408-2A.
- The trafficking and distribution of "Похоть", a potent narcotic and increasingly prevalent "club drug". Normally sold in small, glass vials, it is administered to the body through insufflation into the sinus cavities (injection has been found to be universally fatal). Substance triggers various sensory hallucinations, increased heart palpitations, increased sexual arousal, and feelings of euphoria; studies have shown the substance to be more addictive than heroin. These effects are non-anomalous (the substance likely created with profit in mind) but the substance itself appears to be derived from the spinal fluid of an unidentified species and has thus been classified as SCP-2408-2B.
- The trafficking and distribution of biological agents, including pathogens and toxins deemed anomalous by the Foundation. The creation and distribution of "Красная Смерть" represents an exceptionally high level threat. Already classified as SCP-███, information regarding the "Red Death" is presently only available on a need-to-know basis.
- Victims of GoI-0432 have been discovered impaled by large organic spines or completely torn apart. Cadavers display injuries suggestive of attacks by several different animals such as bloody hoofprints, wounds consistent with goring by a horned or tusked animal, and teeth-marks indicative of a large, lupine organism.

The Foundation became aware of GoI-0432 in wake of the USSR's dissolution, when many anomalies and documents relating to anomalies were transferred to Foundation control by GRU Division "P". The existence of GoI-0432 would be further corroborated by former members of GRU Division "P". It appears that they were unable to fully contain or neutralize the threat presented by GoI-0432 and its associated anomalies, with one source describing the apparent destruction of the organization on several occasions - only for it to reappear months later, seemingly strengthened.
___________________________________________________


Agent S████ was not equipped with a recording device due to the delicate nature of the mission. Instead, information was transferred to the Foundation via dead drop. Agent S████ entered the nightclub at 2100, 01/25/1995, equipped with a SIG Sauer P226. He is observed being approached by a bouncer, which Agent S████ proceeds to follow after a short conversation. An agent inside the nightclub reports seeing S████ being escorted to an upstairs VIP suite overlooking the main floor. Agent S████ does not exit the nightclub until 0800, 01/29/1995. A message would later be delivered to the dead drop site at approximately 2100.
The Foundation would henceforth receive biweekly mission reports from Agent S████.

Missive 02/04/1995
Possible GoI-0432 front:
ul. ██████ 94
GELENDZHIK
Krasnodarskij kraj
353465
RUSSIAN FEDERATION

First job was gunrunning. More damning evidence against Abraxas Arms. Not a lot to report beyond that.

In a lot of ways, the Black Lodge is like any other Bratva. They're thugs, plain and simple, and mostly driven by greed. They're also nastier, which speaks volumes; you can't get much lower than the Bratva - they discarded any trace of honor they had left in Siberia.
The Great Mothers are certainly something you don't see in the world of organized crime. The боевик call them hags, crones, witches, and the like (though not to their faces). The Sarkic influence is clear with them. Twelve in number, they refer to each other as "sisters" - priestesses or some such. All wear the same outfits - a black sarafan, a stained leather apron, and a red and white shawl covering the shoulders and hair. Always bare footed. A lot of ink work too. They aren't karcists but they still wield a great deal of clout over the Black Lodge.

Missive 03/10/1995
"Criminal underground" has a literal meaning for the Black Lodge. There's another world beneath Moscow. Abandoned soviet bunkers. The Metro-2. Forgotten crypts. But it runs so much deeper than we knew. There's something downright ancient below. Suffice it to say, I think Moscow was built atop a Sarkic temple.
There's a dungeon. Rusted torture equipment. Pre-revolution. Maybe a relic of the Time of Troubles. Regardless, it looks like the Sarkicites are continuing the tradition. It's not nearly as deep and ancient as that wretched temple. Might be worth researching what buildings used to exist in the general location during the 17th century.

I don't know much about these places yet. Information seems to be on a "need to know" basis. But I think I've found a weak link in their chain - one of the Great Mothers; let's call her "Five".

Five shows signs of senility; she's gentle, friendly, and more importantly naive. I've been able to glean some fairly significant intelligence from her (but can't say how much truth there is to any of it).

According to her, the Black Lodge is something both new and old. Like the other Bratva, it began in the gulags of Siberia - during Сучьи войны. Avgust Iosava, father of Otari, appears to have been responsible for the Black Lodge's resurrection in '51. Something he encountered in the Siberian wilderness after leading a successful prison break. And that's when the witches sought him out. Guided him. Showed him "what he had forgotten" - I asked what she meant by that but her mind wandered elsewhere.

She seemed happy to have someone listen to her; a chance to feel nostalgic about the old ways. She told me to take this "secret" and handed me several old and frayed documents; scriptures but not the originals, notes she must have transcribed from their primary sources. Fragmented but something I think the researchers would like to see. Going to write this all down.

Five also told me about Moscow's lost history. In another time, it was known by a different name - "Orok's Fall"; a Sarkic settlement - and where the Saint of War sacrificed himself, "for the blood of gods and tyrants". Never cared for this city. Guess there was always something sinister here.

As she described the ancient city, her terminology was unusually anatomical in nature. Referring to different locations as the "heart", "lungs", and "skull" of Orok's Fall.

 
Missive 04/18/1995
I am making a special request to have my name, as well as what I've done (you'll know it soon enough), removed from the final report. If I successfully complete my mission and come out of this alive then I request the immediate application of amnestics.
Most of my targets have been degenerates and criminals. Potential rivals and the like. But this was different. And Otari, that sick fuck, wanted us leave a different kind of message. There are other Sarkic cultists in Moscow; non-Black Lodge. I'm talking oligarchs. Government officials. One of them sent word that someone in the Ministry of Internal Affairs, a man named ██████ █████████, wanted to crack down on the Black Lodge and was searching for allies among the few straight players left in this city.

Target the family. A wife, a daughter. Don't kill them. Make an example. The sort of scars that'll never heal.

 
Missive 04/22/1995
Spoke with Five again, still trying to clear my head of what happened. She's not like the others and I'm beginning to question just how senile she really is. When she speaks of me, and her faith, there is a tone of regret.
I asked her more about Sarkicism (don't worry, I didn't say the "S-word"). And, when she tells me about Ion, I feel like a child again - listening to my baboushka talk about Jesus and the old prophets. Whimsical, and like her, skipping over the parts that involve glorified torture and murder.

I'm no researcher, historian or theologian or whatever. But I think these cults, this "Sarkicism" didn't begin this way (but I suppose that goes for most religions). Five talks about honor, friendship, virtue, and liberation. The gentle reindeer folk of Adi-um against the evil Daeva. She's old, but I take it the faith changed long before her; maybe she has begun to interpret the texts differently. Maybe she's wrong, seeing good under layers of madness and atrocity.

I can relate. It's always the same. Another failed revolution. Regardless, I suspect Five is an aberration. Perhaps that is the reason she's confided in me. The others talk about the Great Mothers, say they can see things. At times I wonder if she knows who I really am.

And then my training tells me to eliminate her. I think I'll ignore that training for now. Besides, no point taking out a source like her. Not yet at least.

P.S. The arena. It isn't just for initiation. Blood sport disguised as ritual; or maybe ritual disguised as blood sport. Six enter; only one comes out. A lot of folks willing to pay to see and bet on it. Many wear the skulls of beast and the clean suits of billionaires. Five's not a fan; it's like listening to people complain about the commercialization of Christmas. I know the Black Lodge has been classified as Neo-Sarkic but the Great Mothers are pretty clearly Proto-Sarkic - they're traditional, celebrate the high holidays, and still think in terms of some greater good. The rest only care about how to make themselves stronger, wealthier, etc. Otari has an animal cunning to him but he is hardly an intellectual - nor does he appear to be a karcist (or at least, the term hasn't been thrown around at all).

 
Missive 05/06/1995
Five let me in on a little secret. Otari has a brother by the name of Mikhail. Same father; different mother. And he's that half-dead thing in the cell.
Apparently Otari and Mikhail have somewhat of a rivalry, but that isn't why Mikhail's been imprisoned and defaced; Five was vehement about that. It seems that Mikhail volunteered for some sort of ritual.

Things are getting pretty fucked up here. Not sure if it's the drugs or not. I'll leave a vial with this report. I'm seeing things. The angles in the club, and everything below, are wrong. The architecture gives me a headache if I stare at it too long. Yesterday I woke in a bathroom stall with a half-eaten woman.

The whores at Red Lanterns - they look human one moment then the next, well, I know 'monster' isn't really appropriate in this line of work but not sure how else to describe them. They stare at me with feral, hungry eyes. Five once called the them Rusalki; I thought she was just being figurative but now I'm not so sure. They slither off into the backrooms with fresh meat tailing behind; they'll be back an hour later, looking satisfied - but the men that go in don't ever come out.

And when I watch the pit fights. There are things in the audience that aren't entirely human. There are sounds I can't explain; like a heartbeat, sometimes roars - something from deep below, where all the blood and corpses go.

Agent S████ was declared MIA on 05/28/1995.
On 06/04/1995, after much deliberation, raids were conducted against multiple Black Lodge sites, including the Red Lanterns nightclub. During the assault, SCP-2408-1 were directly observed undergoing transfiguration. Despite their aggression and anomalously augmented combat prowess, the SCP-2408-1 threat was thoroughly neutralized through the use of incendiary armaments (with the Foundation unexpectedly suffering only minor casualties). As operations continued, it grew readily apparent that the Black Lodge had provided minimal manpower - a mere fraction of its total population in the region.

Sarkicism is a religious/philosophical system that encompasses a variety of traditions, beliefs, and spiritual practices largely based on teachings attributed to “Grand Karcist Ion”, its deified founder. Adherents practice ritual cannibalism, human sacrifice, corporeal augmentation, thaumaturgy, and dimensional manipulation. Highly secretive, the general public appears to have no direct knowledge of their existence; the one exception being the CotBG, who views them in apocalyptic terms. Organic manipulation has allowed certain Sarkicites to achieve anomalous states of being, transcending the physical limitations of baseline humans. Disease is viewed with reverence and Sarkic shrines have been discovered with offerings of swollen lymph nodes and tumorous growths. Sarkic cults treat contagions as consecration, a means to "cull the weak" and purify the masses, and thus actively seek to ensure their spread.
The Foundation divides known Sarkic cults into two distinct strands: Proto-Sarkic and Neo-Sarkic. Proto-Sarkic cults can be found in insular communities throughout Eurasia's most isolated regions, its followers generally poor (if self-reliant) and hostile towards outsiders. Such groups eschew modernity, display acute technophobia, and are bound by superstition and taboo. In contrast, Neo-Sarkic cults are cosmopolitan, publicly embracing modernity and showing no apparent qualms with technology; their public lives differing little from others of their culture and social status. Adherents are primarily affluent families, rich in history and scandal.

Ultimately, it is believed that the Foundation only knows a fraction of what Sarkicism is and what its followers intend. Based on the available information, the speculated goals of Sarkic cults represent an SK-class dominance shift, including the possibility of an XK-class end-of-the-world scenario.

The Old God
Yaldabaoth (also known as "Važjuma", "God-Eater", "Devourer", "His/Her Undulating Vastness", "The Great Winnower", "The Womb of Chaos" and various other epithets) is regarded in Sarkicism as the principle power in the universe. Neo-Sarkites appear to admire this entity but Proto-Sarkites (and all discovered scripture thus far) describe it as the true enemy of all people. Translated fragments of the Valkzaron suggests that Ion had somehow usurped control of this cosmic entity, wearing the flesh of the Old God as a sort of armor and crafting from its body a kingdom. This is contradicted by recently discovered scripture which suggest that Ion merely cast down the "living gods" of the Daeva, weaker avatars of the Archons - the children/servants of Yaldabaoth. The continued mortality of humanity and the absence of "paradise" ultimately imply that, were Ion real, then he had failed to achieve his goals.
As with all things related to Sarkicism, it is difficult to discern reality from myth - most especially when myth contradicts. Proto-Sarkites view this entity with fear and disgust, regarding it as both the creator and destroyer of all life and the progenitor of the gods. As more sects are discovered, the diversity of interpretation grows readily apparent.

Yaldabaoth is portrayed as both destroyer and incidental creator, "feeding" upon gods, worlds, and stars, while "exhaling life" into the cosmos (which will evolve, grow, and eventually be harvested again). Life is thus a natural byproduct of the Old God's existence; unguided by intelligence and spreading through a process not entirely dissimilar from panspermia. Sarkites believe this entity has turned the multiverse into an altar with our existence, and the existence of all biological lifeforms, being brought into reality for the singular purpose of sacrifice.

"Blind" and driven solely by instinct, Yaldabaoth is depicted as being accompanied by otherworldly entities known as "Archons" (or "Vultaas" among certain Proto-Sarkic cults). These beings are described by Sarkic texts as faceless manifestations of primordial chaos, their true forms inconceivable to the human mind. Gnostic and Mekhanite scripture would mention the Archons as well, describing them as "terrible and rapacious angels".

Some Sarkic cults hold that the Archons, along with Yaldabaoth, do not originate from our universe, let alone the multiverse. These cults believe that these entities begin in the Void and that their colossal physical bodies are vessels for these profane spirits. Because their consciousness is tethered to the Void, they know only hunger and will consume all things in their desire to feel whole - spreading like a cancer across the multiverse. The Archons are frequently referenced as having some relationship to the stars and the growing darkness that exists between them but little else is known about this connection. Sarkic art and iconography typically depicts Archons as red or black and vaguely cephalopodic.
___________________________
Klavigar Orok

A figure of reverence and supposed disciple of Ion. Associated with strength, war, violence, wilderness, hunting and, seemingly in contradiction, loyalty and revolt. Epithets include: the Horned Beast, the Brute Lord, and the Pale Hunter. Described as being of unnatural physical strength, Orok was the product of alchemical and thaumaturgical experimentation on slaves. Enthralled to Matriarch Aśvighoṣa, the ruling Daeva in the city of Jel, Orok served as a personal guard and pit-fighter.
It is written that Ion, when taking the city of Jel, entered the palace of Matriarch Aśvighoṣa (presumably, the highest authority in the city). He requested that the matriarch should leave and take with her a message to the "Daeva of Daevas", lest she suffer retribution. Refusing his ultimatum, the matriarch ordered Orok to destroy him. It is written that Orok hesitated, his "runes of bondage [setting] his starved soul aflame so that his body became spirit"; turning to his matriarch, he struck Aśvighoṣa, his fist imbued with the very power she had forced upon him, and reduced her body to "cinder and ash and heavenly starlight".

Orok is typically depicted as a large and muscular cyclopic man wearing a loincloth. His symbols include a two-headed axe, a one-eyed skull, a hunting spear, fractured bones, a closed fist, and a bull elephant.
_______________________

Out Of Character Information
 
 
 
 
 

The Hunter's Black Lodge

GoI-0432 ("The Hunter's Black Lodge") is an anomalous criminal cult primarily active in the post-Soviet states. Known as "The Hunter's Black Lodge" (or simply the "Black Lodge"), GoI-0432 has been linked to extortion, murder, robbery, gambling, prostitution, human trafficking, drug trafficking, weapons trafficking, and underground fighting rings. While these activities are not inherently anomalous, the anomalous capabilities of GoI-0432 has had an aberrant effect on their practice.
The Foundation first became aware of the Black Lodge in the early 1990s after receiving a tip from informants in INTERPOL. Further investigation uncovered GoI-0432 related documents from the recently dissolved GRU Division "P", later corroborated by former members. It appears that GRU Division "P" was unable to fully contain or neutralize the threat presented by the Black Lodge, with one source describing them as a "hydra" - the organization thought neutralized on several occasions only for it to reappear months later, "stronger than before".
Victims of the Black Lodge have been discovered impaled, penetrated by large organic spines - the decedents commonly showing evidence of ritual cannibalism.

Foundation Report
Known as "The Hunter's Black Lodge" (or simply the "Black Lodge"), GoI-0432 has been linked to extortion, murder, robbery, gambling, prostitution, human trafficking, drug trafficking, weapons trafficking, and underground fighting rings. While these activities are not inherently anomalous, the anomalous capabilities of GoI-0432 has had an aberrant effect on their practice. These anomalies include:
- The trafficking and distribution of anomalous pharmaceutical agents, primarily in the form of the anabolic-androgenic steroid "Гнев". The intravenous injection of Гнев triggers anomalous levels of muscle and bone growth. Continued and/or excessive use will result in Proteus-Cronenberg syndrome and/or death. Analysis suggests that this substance is harvested from the adrenal gland of an unidentified species of animal and has thus been classified as SCP-2408-2A.
- The trafficking and distribution of "Похоть", a potent narcotic and increasingly prevalent "club drug". Normally sold in small, glass vials, it is administered to the body through insufflation into the sinus cavities (injection has been found to be universally fatal). Substance triggers various sensory hallucinations, increased heart palpitations, increased sexual arousal, and feelings of euphoria; studies have shown the substance to be more addictive than heroin. These effects are non-anomalous (the substance likely created with profit in mind) but the substance itself appears to be derived from the spinal fluid of an unidentified species and has thus been classified as SCP-2408-2B.
- The trafficking and distribution of biological agents, including pathogens and toxins deemed anomalous by the Foundation. The creation and distribution of "Красная Смерть" represents an exceptionally high level threat. Already classified as SCP-███, information regarding the "Red Death" is presently only available on a need-to-know basis.
- Victims of GoI-0432 have been discovered impaled by large organic spines or completely torn apart. Cadavers display injuries suggestive of attacks by several different animals such as bloody hoofprints, wounds consistent with goring by a horned or tusked animal, and teeth-marks indicative of a large, lupine organism.

The Foundation became aware of GoI-0432 in wake of the USSR's dissolution, when many anomalies and documents relating to anomalies were transferred to Foundation control by GRU Division "P". The existence of GoI-0432 would be further corroborated by former members of GRU Division "P". It appears that they were unable to fully contain or neutralize the threat presented by GoI-0432 and its associated anomalies, with one source describing the apparent destruction of the organization on several occasions - only for it to reappear months later, seemingly strengthened.
___________________________________________________


Agent S████ was not equipped with a recording device due to the delicate nature of the mission. Instead, information was transferred to the Foundation via dead drop. Agent S████ entered the nightclub at 2100, 01/25/1995, equipped with a SIG Sauer P226. He is observed being approached by a bouncer, which Agent S████ proceeds to follow after a short conversation. An agent inside the nightclub reports seeing S████ being escorted to an upstairs VIP suite overlooking the main floor. Agent S████ does not exit the nightclub until 0800, 01/29/1995. A message would later be delivered to the dead drop site at approximately 2100.
The Foundation would henceforth receive biweekly mission reports from Agent S████.

Missive 02/04/1995
Possible GoI-0432 front:
ul. ██████ 94
GELENDZHIK
Krasnodarskij kraj
353465
RUSSIAN FEDERATION

First job was gunrunning. More damning evidence against Abraxas Arms. Not a lot to report beyond that.

In a lot of ways, the Black Lodge is like any other Bratva. They're thugs, plain and simple, and mostly driven by greed. They're also nastier, which speaks volumes; you can't get much lower than the Bratva - they discarded any trace of honor they had left in Siberia.
The Great Mothers are certainly something you don't see in the world of organized crime. The боевик call them hags, crones, witches, and the like (though not to their faces). The Sarkic influence is clear with them. Twelve in number, they refer to each other as "sisters" - priestesses or some such. All wear the same outfits - a black sarafan, a stained leather apron, and a red and white shawl covering the shoulders and hair. Always bare footed. A lot of ink work too. They aren't karcists but they still wield a great deal of clout over the Black Lodge.

Missive 03/10/1995
"Criminal underground" has a literal meaning for the Black Lodge. There's another world beneath Moscow. Abandoned soviet bunkers. The Metro-2. Forgotten crypts. But it runs so much deeper than we knew. There's something downright ancient below. Suffice it to say, I think Moscow was built atop a Sarkic temple.
There's a dungeon. Rusted torture equipment. Pre-revolution. Maybe a relic of the Time of Troubles. Regardless, it looks like the Sarkicites are continuing the tradition. It's not nearly as deep and ancient as that wretched temple. Might be worth researching what buildings used to exist in the general location during the 17th century.

I don't know much about these places yet. Information seems to be on a "need to know" basis. But I think I've found a weak link in their chain - one of the Great Mothers; let's call her "Five".

Five shows signs of senility; she's gentle, friendly, and more importantly naive. I've been able to glean some fairly significant intelligence from her (but can't say how much truth there is to any of it).

According to her, the Black Lodge is something both new and old. Like the other Bratva, it began in the gulags of Siberia - during Сучьи войны. Avgust Iosava, father of Otari, appears to have been responsible for the Black Lodge's resurrection in '51. Something he encountered in the Siberian wilderness after leading a successful prison break. And that's when the witches sought him out. Guided him. Showed him "what he had forgotten" - I asked what she meant by that but her mind wandered elsewhere.

She seemed happy to have someone listen to her; a chance to feel nostalgic about the old ways. She told me to take this "secret" and handed me several old and frayed documents; scriptures but not the originals, notes she must have transcribed from their primary sources. Fragmented but something I think the researchers would like to see. Going to write this all down.

Five also told me about Moscow's lost history. In another time, it was known by a different name - "Orok's Fall"; a Sarkic settlement - and where the Saint of War sacrificed himself, "for the blood of gods and tyrants". Never cared for this city. Guess there was always something sinister here.

As she described the ancient city, her terminology was unusually anatomical in nature. Referring to different locations as the "heart", "lungs", and "skull" of Orok's Fall.

 
Missive 04/18/1995
I am making a special request to have my name, as well as what I've done (you'll know it soon enough), removed from the final report. If I successfully complete my mission and come out of this alive then I request the immediate application of amnestics.
Most of my targets have been degenerates and criminals. Potential rivals and the like. But this was different. And Otari, that sick fuck, wanted us leave a different kind of message. There are other Sarkic cultists in Moscow; non-Black Lodge. I'm talking oligarchs. Government officials. One of them sent word that someone in the Ministry of Internal Affairs, a man named ██████ █████████, wanted to crack down on the Black Lodge and was searching for allies among the few straight players left in this city.

Target the family. A wife, a daughter. Don't kill them. Make an example. The sort of scars that'll never heal.

 
Missive 04/22/1995
Spoke with Five again, still trying to clear my head of what happened. She's not like the others and I'm beginning to question just how senile she really is. When she speaks of me, and her faith, there is a tone of regret.
I asked her more about Sarkicism (don't worry, I didn't say the "S-word"). And, when she tells me about Ion, I feel like a child again - listening to my baboushka talk about Jesus and the old prophets. Whimsical, and like her, skipping over the parts that involve glorified torture and murder.

I'm no researcher, historian or theologian or whatever. But I think these cults, this "Sarkicism" didn't begin this way (but I suppose that goes for most religions). Five talks about honor, friendship, virtue, and liberation. The gentle reindeer folk of Adi-um against the evil Daeva. She's old, but I take it the faith changed long before her; maybe she has begun to interpret the texts differently. Maybe she's wrong, seeing good under layers of madness and atrocity.

I can relate. It's always the same. Another failed revolution. Regardless, I suspect Five is an aberration. Perhaps that is the reason she's confided in me. The others talk about the Great Mothers, say they can see things. At times I wonder if she knows who I really am.

And then my training tells me to eliminate her. I think I'll ignore that training for now. Besides, no point taking out a source like her. Not yet at least.

P.S. The arena. It isn't just for initiation. Blood sport disguised as ritual; or maybe ritual disguised as blood sport. Six enter; only one comes out. A lot of folks willing to pay to see and bet on it. Many wear the skulls of beast and the clean suits of billionaires. Five's not a fan; it's like listening to people complain about the commercialization of Christmas. I know the Black Lodge has been classified as Neo-Sarkic but the Great Mothers are pretty clearly Proto-Sarkic - they're traditional, celebrate the high holidays, and still think in terms of some greater good. The rest only care about how to make themselves stronger, wealthier, etc. Otari has an animal cunning to him but he is hardly an intellectual - nor does he appear to be a karcist (or at least, the term hasn't been thrown around at all).

 
Missive 05/06/1995
Five let me in on a little secret. Otari has a brother by the name of Mikhail. Same father; different mother. And he's that half-dead thing in the cell.
Apparently Otari and Mikhail have somewhat of a rivalry, but that isn't why Mikhail's been imprisoned and defaced; Five was vehement about that. It seems that Mikhail volunteered for some sort of ritual.

Things are getting pretty fucked up here. Not sure if it's the drugs or not. I'll leave a vial with this report. I'm seeing things. The angles in the club, and everything below, are wrong. The architecture gives me a headache if I stare at it too long. Yesterday I woke in a bathroom stall with a half-eaten woman.

The whores at Red Lanterns - they look human one moment then the next, well, I know 'monster' isn't really appropriate in this line of work but not sure how else to describe them. They stare at me with feral, hungry eyes. Five once called the them Rusalki; I thought she was just being figurative but now I'm not so sure. They slither off into the backrooms with fresh meat tailing behind; they'll be back an hour later, looking satisfied - but the men that go in don't ever come out.

And when I watch the pit fights. There are things in the audience that aren't entirely human. There are sounds I can't explain; like a heartbeat, sometimes roars - something from deep below, where all the blood and corpses go.

Agent S████ was declared MIA on 05/28/1995.
On 06/04/1995, after much deliberation, raids were conducted against multiple Black Lodge sites, including the Red Lanterns nightclub. During the assault, SCP-2408-1 were directly observed undergoing transfiguration. Despite their aggression and anomalously augmented combat prowess, the SCP-2408-1 threat was thoroughly neutralized through the use of incendiary armaments (with the Foundation unexpectedly suffering only minor casualties). As operations continued, it grew readily apparent that the Black Lodge had provided minimal manpower - a mere fraction of its total population in the region.

Sarkicism is a religious/philosophical system that encompasses a variety of traditions, beliefs, and spiritual practices largely based on teachings attributed to “Grand Karcist Ion”, its deified founder. Adherents practice ritual cannibalism, human sacrifice, corporeal augmentation, thaumaturgy, and dimensional manipulation. Highly secretive, the general public appears to have no direct knowledge of their existence; the one exception being the CotBG, who views them in apocalyptic terms. Organic manipulation has allowed certain Sarkicites to achieve anomalous states of being, transcending the physical limitations of baseline humans. Disease is viewed with reverence and Sarkic shrines have been discovered with offerings of swollen lymph nodes and tumorous growths. Sarkic cults treat contagions as consecration, a means to "cull the weak" and purify the masses, and thus actively seek to ensure their spread.
The Foundation divides known Sarkic cults into two distinct strands: Proto-Sarkic and Neo-Sarkic. Proto-Sarkic cults can be found in insular communities throughout Eurasia's most isolated regions, its followers generally poor (if self-reliant) and hostile towards outsiders. Such groups eschew modernity, display acute technophobia, and are bound by superstition and taboo. In contrast, Neo-Sarkic cults are cosmopolitan, publicly embracing modernity and showing no apparent qualms with technology; their public lives differing little from others of their culture and social status. Adherents are primarily affluent families, rich in history and scandal.

Ultimately, it is believed that the Foundation only knows a fraction of what Sarkicism is and what its followers intend. Based on the available information, the speculated goals of Sarkic cults represent an SK-class dominance shift, including the possibility of an XK-class end-of-the-world scenario.

The Old God
Yaldabaoth (also known as "Važjuma", "God-Eater", "Devourer", "His/Her Undulating Vastness", "The Great Winnower", "The Womb of Chaos" and various other epithets) is regarded in Sarkicism as the principle power in the universe. Neo-Sarkites appear to admire this entity but Proto-Sarkites (and all discovered scripture thus far) describe it as the true enemy of all people. Translated fragments of the Valkzaron suggests that Ion had somehow usurped control of this cosmic entity, wearing the flesh of the Old God as a sort of armor and crafting from its body a kingdom. This is contradicted by recently discovered scripture which suggest that Ion merely cast down the "living gods" of the Daeva, weaker avatars of the Archons - the children/servants of Yaldabaoth. The continued mortality of humanity and the absence of "paradise" ultimately imply that, were Ion real, then he had failed to achieve his goals.
As with all things related to Sarkicism, it is difficult to discern reality from myth - most especially when myth contradicts. Proto-Sarkites view this entity with fear and disgust, regarding it as both the creator and destroyer of all life and the progenitor of the gods. As more sects are discovered, the diversity of interpretation grows readily apparent.

Yaldabaoth is portrayed as both destroyer and incidental creator, "feeding" upon gods, worlds, and stars, while "exhaling life" into the cosmos (which will evolve, grow, and eventually be harvested again). Life is thus a natural byproduct of the Old God's existence; unguided by intelligence and spreading through a process not entirely dissimilar from panspermia. Sarkites believe this entity has turned the multiverse into an altar with our existence, and the existence of all biological lifeforms, being brought into reality for the singular purpose of sacrifice.

"Blind" and driven solely by instinct, Yaldabaoth is depicted as being accompanied by otherworldly entities known as "Archons" (or "Vultaas" among certain Proto-Sarkic cults). These beings are described by Sarkic texts as faceless manifestations of primordial chaos, their true forms inconceivable to the human mind. Gnostic and Mekhanite scripture would mention the Archons as well, describing them as "terrible and rapacious angels".

Some Sarkic cults hold that the Archons, along with Yaldabaoth, do not originate from our universe, let alone the multiverse. These cults believe that these entities begin in the Void and that their colossal physical bodies are vessels for these profane spirits. Because their consciousness is tethered to the Void, they know only hunger and will consume all things in their desire to feel whole - spreading like a cancer across the multiverse. The Archons are frequently referenced as having some relationship to the stars and the growing darkness that exists between them but little else is known about this connection. Sarkic art and iconography typically depicts Archons as red or black and vaguely cephalopodic.
___________________________
Klavigar Orok

A figure of reverence and supposed disciple of Ion. Associated with strength, war, violence, wilderness, hunting and, seemingly in contradiction, loyalty and revolt. Epithets include: the Horned Beast, the Brute Lord, and the Pale Hunter. Described as being of unnatural physical strength, Orok was the product of alchemical and thaumaturgical experimentation on slaves. Enthralled to Matriarch Aśvighoṣa, the ruling Daeva in the city of Jel, Orok served as a personal guard and pit-fighter.
It is written that Ion, when taking the city of Jel, entered the palace of Matriarch Aśvighoṣa (presumably, the highest authority in the city). He requested that the matriarch should leave and take with her a message to the "Daeva of Daevas", lest she suffer retribution. Refusing his ultimatum, the matriarch ordered Orok to destroy him. It is written that Orok hesitated, his "runes of bondage [setting] his starved soul aflame so that his body became spirit"; turning to his matriarch, he struck Aśvighoṣa, his fist imbued with the very power she had forced upon him, and reduced her body to "cinder and ash and heavenly starlight".

Orok is typically depicted as a large and muscular cyclopic man wearing a loincloth. His symbols include a two-headed axe, a one-eyed skull, a hunting spear, fractured bones, a closed fist, and a bull elephant.
_______________________

Out Of Character Information
 
 
 
 
 

The Hunter's Black Lodge

GoI-0432 ("The Hunter's Black Lodge") is an anomalous criminal cult primarily active in the post-Soviet states. Known as "The Hunter's Black Lodge" (or simply the "Black Lodge"), GoI-0432 has been linked to extortion, murder, robbery, gambling, prostitution, human trafficking, drug trafficking, weapons trafficking, and underground fighting rings. While these activities are not inherently anomalous, the anomalous capabilities of GoI-0432 has had an aberrant effect on their practice.
The Foundation first became aware of the Black Lodge in the early 1990s after receiving a tip from informants in INTERPOL. Further investigation uncovered GoI-0432 related documents from the recently dissolved GRU Division "P", later corroborated by former members. It appears that GRU Division "P" was unable to fully contain or neutralize the threat presented by the Black Lodge, with one source describing them as a "hydra" - the organization thought neutralized on several occasions only for it to reappear months later, "stronger than before".
Victims of the Black Lodge have been discovered impaled, penetrated by large organic spines - the decedents commonly showing evidence of ritual cannibalism.

Foundation Report
Known as "The Hunter's Black Lodge" (or simply the "Black Lodge"), GoI-0432 has been linked to extortion, murder, robbery, gambling, prostitution, human trafficking, drug trafficking, weapons trafficking, and underground fighting rings. While these activities are not inherently anomalous, the anomalous capabilities of GoI-0432 has had an aberrant effect on their practice. These anomalies include:
- The trafficking and distribution of anomalous pharmaceutical agents, primarily in the form of the anabolic-androgenic steroid "Гнев". The intravenous injection of Гнев triggers anomalous levels of muscle and bone growth. Continued and/or excessive use will result in Proteus-Cronenberg syndrome and/or death. Analysis suggests that this substance is harvested from the adrenal gland of an unidentified species of animal and has thus been classified as SCP-2408-2A.
- The trafficking and distribution of "Похоть", a potent narcotic and increasingly prevalent "club drug". Normally sold in small, glass vials, it is administered to the body through insufflation into the sinus cavities (injection has been found to be universally fatal). Substance triggers various sensory hallucinations, increased heart palpitations, increased sexual arousal, and feelings of euphoria; studies have shown the substance to be more addictive than heroin. These effects are non-anomalous (the substance likely created with profit in mind) but the substance itself appears to be derived from the spinal fluid of an unidentified species and has thus been classified as SCP-2408-2B.
- The trafficking and distribution of biological agents, including pathogens and toxins deemed anomalous by the Foundation. The creation and distribution of "Красная Смерть" represents an exceptionally high level threat. Already classified as SCP-███, information regarding the "Red Death" is presently only available on a need-to-know basis.
- Victims of GoI-0432 have been discovered impaled by large organic spines or completely torn apart. Cadavers display injuries suggestive of attacks by several different animals such as bloody hoofprints, wounds consistent with goring by a horned or tusked animal, and teeth-marks indicative of a large, lupine organism.

The Foundation became aware of GoI-0432 in wake of the USSR's dissolution, when many anomalies and documents relating to anomalies were transferred to Foundation control by GRU Division "P". The existence of GoI-0432 would be further corroborated by former members of GRU Division "P". It appears that they were unable to fully contain or neutralize the threat presented by GoI-0432 and its associated anomalies, with one source describing the apparent destruction of the organization on several occasions - only for it to reappear months later, seemingly strengthened.
___________________________________________________


Agent S████ was not equipped with a recording device due to the delicate nature of the mission. Instead, information was transferred to the Foundation via dead drop. Agent S████ entered the nightclub at 2100, 01/25/1995, equipped with a SIG Sauer P226. He is observed being approached by a bouncer, which Agent S████ proceeds to follow after a short conversation. An agent inside the nightclub reports seeing S████ being escorted to an upstairs VIP suite overlooking the main floor. Agent S████ does not exit the nightclub until 0800, 01/29/1995. A message would later be delivered to the dead drop site at approximately 2100.
The Foundation would henceforth receive biweekly mission reports from Agent S████.

Missive 02/04/1995
Possible GoI-0432 front:
ul. ██████ 94
GELENDZHIK
Krasnodarskij kraj
353465
RUSSIAN FEDERATION

First job was gunrunning. More damning evidence against Abraxas Arms. Not a lot to report beyond that.

In a lot of ways, the Black Lodge is like any other Bratva. They're thugs, plain and simple, and mostly driven by greed. They're also nastier, which speaks volumes; you can't get much lower than the Bratva - they discarded any trace of honor they had left in Siberia.
The Great Mothers are certainly something you don't see in the world of organized crime. The боевик call them hags, crones, witches, and the like (though not to their faces). The Sarkic influence is clear with them. Twelve in number, they refer to each other as "sisters" - priestesses or some such. All wear the same outfits - a black sarafan, a stained leather apron, and a red and white shawl covering the shoulders and hair. Always bare footed. A lot of ink work too. They aren't karcists but they still wield a great deal of clout over the Black Lodge.

Missive 03/10/1995
"Criminal underground" has a literal meaning for the Black Lodge. There's another world beneath Moscow. Abandoned soviet bunkers. The Metro-2. Forgotten crypts. But it runs so much deeper than we knew. There's something downright ancient below. Suffice it to say, I think Moscow was built atop a Sarkic temple.
There's a dungeon. Rusted torture equipment. Pre-revolution. Maybe a relic of the Time of Troubles. Regardless, it looks like the Sarkicites are continuing the tradition. It's not nearly as deep and ancient as that wretched temple. Might be worth researching what buildings used to exist in the general location during the 17th century.

I don't know much about these places yet. Information seems to be on a "need to know" basis. But I think I've found a weak link in their chain - one of the Great Mothers; let's call her "Five".

Five shows signs of senility; she's gentle, friendly, and more importantly naive. I've been able to glean some fairly significant intelligence from her (but can't say how much truth there is to any of it).

According to her, the Black Lodge is something both new and old. Like the other Bratva, it began in the gulags of Siberia - during Сучьи войны. Avgust Iosava, father of Otari, appears to have been responsible for the Black Lodge's resurrection in '51. Something he encountered in the Siberian wilderness after leading a successful prison break. And that's when the witches sought him out. Guided him. Showed him "what he had forgotten" - I asked what she meant by that but her mind wandered elsewhere.

She seemed happy to have someone listen to her; a chance to feel nostalgic about the old ways. She told me to take this "secret" and handed me several old and frayed documents; scriptures but not the originals, notes she must have transcribed from their primary sources. Fragmented but something I think the researchers would like to see. Going to write this all down.

Five also told me about Moscow's lost history. In another time, it was known by a different name - "Orok's Fall"; a Sarkic settlement - and where the Saint of War sacrificed himself, "for the blood of gods and tyrants". Never cared for this city. Guess there was always something sinister here.

As she described the ancient city, her terminology was unusually anatomical in nature. Referring to different locations as the "heart", "lungs", and "skull" of Orok's Fall.

 
Missive 04/18/1995
I am making a special request to have my name, as well as what I've done (you'll know it soon enough), removed from the final report. If I successfully complete my mission and come out of this alive then I request the immediate application of amnestics.
Most of my targets have been degenerates and criminals. Potential rivals and the like. But this was different. And Otari, that sick fuck, wanted us leave a different kind of message. There are other Sarkic cultists in Moscow; non-Black Lodge. I'm talking oligarchs. Government officials. One of them sent word that someone in the Ministry of Internal Affairs, a man named ██████ █████████, wanted to crack down on the Black Lodge and was searching for allies among the few straight players left in this city.

Target the family. A wife, a daughter. Don't kill them. Make an example. The sort of scars that'll never heal.

 
Missive 04/22/1995
Spoke with Five again, still trying to clear my head of what happened. She's not like the others and I'm beginning to question just how senile she really is. When she speaks of me, and her faith, there is a tone of regret.
I asked her more about Sarkicism (don't worry, I didn't say the "S-word"). And, when she tells me about Ion, I feel like a child again - listening to my baboushka talk about Jesus and the old prophets. Whimsical, and like her, skipping over the parts that involve glorified torture and murder.

I'm no researcher, historian or theologian or whatever. But I think these cults, this "Sarkicism" didn't begin this way (but I suppose that goes for most religions). Five talks about honor, friendship, virtue, and liberation. The gentle reindeer folk of Adi-um against the evil Daeva. She's old, but I take it the faith changed long before her; maybe she has begun to interpret the texts differently. Maybe she's wrong, seeing good under layers of madness and atrocity.

I can relate. It's always the same. Another failed revolution. Regardless, I suspect Five is an aberration. Perhaps that is the reason she's confided in me. The others talk about the Great Mothers, say they can see things. At times I wonder if she knows who I really am.

And then my training tells me to eliminate her. I think I'll ignore that training for now. Besides, no point taking out a source like her. Not yet at least.

P.S. The arena. It isn't just for initiation. Blood sport disguised as ritual; or maybe ritual disguised as blood sport. Six enter; only one comes out. A lot of folks willing to pay to see and bet on it. Many wear the skulls of beast and the clean suits of billionaires. Five's not a fan; it's like listening to people complain about the commercialization of Christmas. I know the Black Lodge has been classified as Neo-Sarkic but the Great Mothers are pretty clearly Proto-Sarkic - they're traditional, celebrate the high holidays, and still think in terms of some greater good. The rest only care about how to make themselves stronger, wealthier, etc. Otari has an animal cunning to him but he is hardly an intellectual - nor does he appear to be a karcist (or at least, the term hasn't been thrown around at all).

 
Missive 05/06/1995
Five let me in on a little secret. Otari has a brother by the name of Mikhail. Same father; different mother. And he's that half-dead thing in the cell.
Apparently Otari and Mikhail have somewhat of a rivalry, but that isn't why Mikhail's been imprisoned and defaced; Five was vehement about that. It seems that Mikhail volunteered for some sort of ritual.

Things are getting pretty fucked up here. Not sure if it's the drugs or not. I'll leave a vial with this report. I'm seeing things. The angles in the club, and everything below, are wrong. The architecture gives me a headache if I stare at it too long. Yesterday I woke in a bathroom stall with a half-eaten woman.

The whores at Red Lanterns - they look human one moment then the next, well, I know 'monster' isn't really appropriate in this line of work but not sure how else to describe them. They stare at me with feral, hungry eyes. Five once called the them Rusalki; I thought she was just being figurative but now I'm not so sure. They slither off into the backrooms with fresh meat tailing behind; they'll be back an hour later, looking satisfied - but the men that go in don't ever come out.

And when I watch the pit fights. There are things in the audience that aren't entirely human. There are sounds I can't explain; like a heartbeat, sometimes roars - something from deep below, where all the blood and corpses go.

Agent S████ was declared MIA on 05/28/1995.
On 06/04/1995, after much deliberation, raids were conducted against multiple Black Lodge sites, including the Red Lanterns nightclub. During the assault, SCP-2408-1 were directly observed undergoing transfiguration. Despite their aggression and anomalously augmented combat prowess, the SCP-2408-1 threat was thoroughly neutralized through the use of incendiary armaments (with the Foundation unexpectedly suffering only minor casualties). As operations continued, it grew readily apparent that the Black Lodge had provided minimal manpower - a mere fraction of its total population in the region.

Sarkicism is a religious/philosophical system that encompasses a variety of traditions, beliefs, and spiritual practices largely based on teachings attributed to “Grand Karcist Ion”, its deified founder. Adherents practice ritual cannibalism, human sacrifice, corporeal augmentation, thaumaturgy, and dimensional manipulation. Highly secretive, the general public appears to have no direct knowledge of their existence; the one exception being the CotBG, who views them in apocalyptic terms. Organic manipulation has allowed certain Sarkicites to achieve anomalous states of being, transcending the physical limitations of baseline humans. Disease is viewed with reverence and Sarkic shrines have been discovered with offerings of swollen lymph nodes and tumorous growths. Sarkic cults treat contagions as consecration, a means to "cull the weak" and purify the masses, and thus actively seek to ensure their spread.
The Foundation divides known Sarkic cults into two distinct strands: Proto-Sarkic and Neo-Sarkic. Proto-Sarkic cults can be found in insular communities throughout Eurasia's most isolated regions, its followers generally poor (if self-reliant) and hostile towards outsiders. Such groups eschew modernity, display acute technophobia, and are bound by superstition and taboo. In contrast, Neo-Sarkic cults are cosmopolitan, publicly embracing modernity and showing no apparent qualms with technology; their public lives differing little from others of their culture and social status. Adherents are primarily affluent families, rich in history and scandal.

Ultimately, it is believed that the Foundation only knows a fraction of what Sarkicism is and what its followers intend. Based on the available information, the speculated goals of Sarkic cults represent an SK-class dominance shift, including the possibility of an XK-class end-of-the-world scenario.

The Old God
Yaldabaoth (also known as "Važjuma", "God-Eater", "Devourer", "His/Her Undulating Vastness", "The Great Winnower", "The Womb of Chaos" and various other epithets) is regarded in Sarkicism as the principle power in the universe. Neo-Sarkites appear to admire this entity but Proto-Sarkites (and all discovered scripture thus far) describe it as the true enemy of all people. Translated fragments of the Valkzaron suggests that Ion had somehow usurped control of this cosmic entity, wearing the flesh of the Old God as a sort of armor and crafting from its body a kingdom. This is contradicted by recently discovered scripture which suggest that Ion merely cast down the "living gods" of the Daeva, weaker avatars of the Archons - the children/servants of Yaldabaoth. The continued mortality of humanity and the absence of "paradise" ultimately imply that, were Ion real, then he had failed to achieve his goals.
As with all things related to Sarkicism, it is difficult to discern reality from myth - most especially when myth contradicts. Proto-Sarkites view this entity with fear and disgust, regarding it as both the creator and destroyer of all life and the progenitor of the gods. As more sects are discovered, the diversity of interpretation grows readily apparent.

Yaldabaoth is portrayed as both destroyer and incidental creator, "feeding" upon gods, worlds, and stars, while "exhaling life" into the cosmos (which will evolve, grow, and eventually be harvested again). Life is thus a natural byproduct of the Old God's existence; unguided by intelligence and spreading through a process not entirely dissimilar from panspermia. Sarkites believe this entity has turned the multiverse into an altar with our existence, and the existence of all biological lifeforms, being brought into reality for the singular purpose of sacrifice.

"Blind" and driven solely by instinct, Yaldabaoth is depicted as being accompanied by otherworldly entities known as "Archons" (or "Vultaas" among certain Proto-Sarkic cults). These beings are described by Sarkic texts as faceless manifestations of primordial chaos, their true forms inconceivable to the human mind. Gnostic and Mekhanite scripture would mention the Archons as well, describing them as "terrible and rapacious angels".

Some Sarkic cults hold that the Archons, along with Yaldabaoth, do not originate from our universe, let alone the multiverse. These cults believe that these entities begin in the Void and that their colossal physical bodies are vessels for these profane spirits. Because their consciousness is tethered to the Void, they know only hunger and will consume all things in their desire to feel whole - spreading like a cancer across the multiverse. The Archons are frequently referenced as having some relationship to the stars and the growing darkness that exists between them but little else is known about this connection. Sarkic art and iconography typically depicts Archons as red or black and vaguely cephalopodic.
___________________________
Klavigar Orok

A figure of reverence and supposed disciple of Ion. Associated with strength, war, violence, wilderness, hunting and, seemingly in contradiction, loyalty and revolt. Epithets include: the Horned Beast, the Brute Lord, and the Pale Hunter. Described as being of unnatural physical strength, Orok was the product of alchemical and thaumaturgical experimentation on slaves. Enthralled to Matriarch Aśvighoṣa, the ruling Daeva in the city of Jel, Orok served as a personal guard and pit-fighter.
It is written that Ion, when taking the city of Jel, entered the palace of Matriarch Aśvighoṣa (presumably, the highest authority in the city). He requested that the matriarch should leave and take with her a message to the "Daeva of Daevas", lest she suffer retribution. Refusing his ultimatum, the matriarch ordered Orok to destroy him. It is written that Orok hesitated, his "runes of bondage [setting] his starved soul aflame so that his body became spirit"; turning to his matriarch, he struck Aśvighoṣa, his fist imbued with the very power she had forced upon him, and reduced her body to "cinder and ash and heavenly starlight".

Orok is typically depicted as a large and muscular cyclopic man wearing a loincloth. His symbols include a two-headed axe, a one-eyed skull, a hunting spear, fractured bones, a closed fist, and a bull elephant.
_______________________

Out Of Character Information
 
 
 
 
 

Okaaay.. after like 30 minutes reading. [For those that wanna skip lore, just scroll to the OOC stuff]
+1
I feel that this iteration of Sarkics has direction. 
There is enough source material to ground this group in reality as there is reasoning behind their actions. 
A regular fight club could bring attention to surface, hell it might even pacify the surface for at least a few moments.
  The reintroduction of a second hostile GOI gives the Foundation another target to go for. Specifically the Health Anomaly. As well as such an anomaly would be a welcome addition.
  If recruitment into this GOI is stringent as it claims, HoEAs would have interesting interviews at the very least. 

The Hunter's Black Lodge

GoI-0432 ("The Hunter's Black Lodge") is an anomalous criminal cult primarily active in the post-Soviet states. Known as "The Hunter's Black Lodge" (or simply the "Black Lodge"), GoI-0432 has been linked to extortion, murder, robbery, gambling, prostitution, human trafficking, drug trafficking, weapons trafficking, and underground fighting rings. While these activities are not inherently anomalous, the anomalous capabilities of GoI-0432 has had an aberrant effect on their practice.
The Foundation first became aware of the Black Lodge in the early 1990s after receiving a tip from informants in INTERPOL. Further investigation uncovered GoI-0432 related documents from the recently dissolved GRU Division "P", later corroborated by former members. It appears that GRU Division "P" was unable to fully contain or neutralize the threat presented by the Black Lodge, with one source describing them as a "hydra" - the organization thought neutralized on several occasions only for it to reappear months later, "stronger than before".
Victims of the Black Lodge have been discovered impaled, penetrated by large organic spines - the decedents commonly showing evidence of ritual cannibalism.

Foundation Report
Known as "The Hunter's Black Lodge" (or simply the "Black Lodge"), GoI-0432 has been linked to extortion, murder, robbery, gambling, prostitution, human trafficking, drug trafficking, weapons trafficking, and underground fighting rings. While these activities are not inherently anomalous, the anomalous capabilities of GoI-0432 has had an aberrant effect on their practice. These anomalies include:
- The trafficking and distribution of anomalous pharmaceutical agents, primarily in the form of the anabolic-androgenic steroid "Гнев". The intravenous injection of Гнев triggers anomalous levels of muscle and bone growth. Continued and/or excessive use will result in Proteus-Cronenberg syndrome and/or death. Analysis suggests that this substance is harvested from the adrenal gland of an unidentified species of animal and has thus been classified as SCP-2408-2A.
- The trafficking and distribution of "Похоть", a potent narcotic and increasingly prevalent "club drug". Normally sold in small, glass vials, it is administered to the body through insufflation into the sinus cavities (injection has been found to be universally fatal). Substance triggers various sensory hallucinations, increased heart palpitations, increased sexual arousal, and feelings of euphoria; studies have shown the substance to be more addictive than heroin. These effects are non-anomalous (the substance likely created with profit in mind) but the substance itself appears to be derived from the spinal fluid of an unidentified species and has thus been classified as SCP-2408-2B.
- The trafficking and distribution of biological agents, including pathogens and toxins deemed anomalous by the Foundation. The creation and distribution of "Красная Смерть" represents an exceptionally high level threat. Already classified as SCP-███, information regarding the "Red Death" is presently only available on a need-to-know basis.
- Victims of GoI-0432 have been discovered impaled by large organic spines or completely torn apart. Cadavers display injuries suggestive of attacks by several different animals such as bloody hoofprints, wounds consistent with goring by a horned or tusked animal, and teeth-marks indicative of a large, lupine organism.

The Foundation became aware of GoI-0432 in wake of the USSR's dissolution, when many anomalies and documents relating to anomalies were transferred to Foundation control by GRU Division "P". The existence of GoI-0432 would be further corroborated by former members of GRU Division "P". It appears that they were unable to fully contain or neutralize the threat presented by GoI-0432 and its associated anomalies, with one source describing the apparent destruction of the organization on several occasions - only for it to reappear months later, seemingly strengthened.
___________________________________________________


Agent S████ was not equipped with a recording device due to the delicate nature of the mission. Instead, information was transferred to the Foundation via dead drop. Agent S████ entered the nightclub at 2100, 01/25/1995, equipped with a SIG Sauer P226. He is observed being approached by a bouncer, which Agent S████ proceeds to follow after a short conversation. An agent inside the nightclub reports seeing S████ being escorted to an upstairs VIP suite overlooking the main floor. Agent S████ does not exit the nightclub until 0800, 01/29/1995. A message would later be delivered to the dead drop site at approximately 2100.
The Foundation would henceforth receive biweekly mission reports from Agent S████.

Missive 02/04/1995
Possible GoI-0432 front:
ul. ██████ 94
GELENDZHIK
Krasnodarskij kraj
353465
RUSSIAN FEDERATION

First job was gunrunning. More damning evidence against Abraxas Arms. Not a lot to report beyond that.

In a lot of ways, the Black Lodge is like any other Bratva. They're thugs, plain and simple, and mostly driven by greed. They're also nastier, which speaks volumes; you can't get much lower than the Bratva - they discarded any trace of honor they had left in Siberia.
The Great Mothers are certainly something you don't see in the world of organized crime. The боевик call them hags, crones, witches, and the like (though not to their faces). The Sarkic influence is clear with them. Twelve in number, they refer to each other as "sisters" - priestesses or some such. All wear the same outfits - a black sarafan, a stained leather apron, and a red and white shawl covering the shoulders and hair. Always bare footed. A lot of ink work too. They aren't karcists but they still wield a great deal of clout over the Black Lodge.

Missive 03/10/1995
"Criminal underground" has a literal meaning for the Black Lodge. There's another world beneath Moscow. Abandoned soviet bunkers. The Metro-2. Forgotten crypts. But it runs so much deeper than we knew. There's something downright ancient below. Suffice it to say, I think Moscow was built atop a Sarkic temple.
There's a dungeon. Rusted torture equipment. Pre-revolution. Maybe a relic of the Time of Troubles. Regardless, it looks like the Sarkicites are continuing the tradition. It's not nearly as deep and ancient as that wretched temple. Might be worth researching what buildings used to exist in the general location during the 17th century.

I don't know much about these places yet. Information seems to be on a "need to know" basis. But I think I've found a weak link in their chain - one of the Great Mothers; let's call her "Five".

Five shows signs of senility; she's gentle, friendly, and more importantly naive. I've been able to glean some fairly significant intelligence from her (but can't say how much truth there is to any of it).

According to her, the Black Lodge is something both new and old. Like the other Bratva, it began in the gulags of Siberia - during Сучьи войны. Avgust Iosava, father of Otari, appears to have been responsible for the Black Lodge's resurrection in '51. Something he encountered in the Siberian wilderness after leading a successful prison break. And that's when the witches sought him out. Guided him. Showed him "what he had forgotten" - I asked what she meant by that but her mind wandered elsewhere.

She seemed happy to have someone listen to her; a chance to feel nostalgic about the old ways. She told me to take this "secret" and handed me several old and frayed documents; scriptures but not the originals, notes she must have transcribed from their primary sources. Fragmented but something I think the researchers would like to see. Going to write this all down.

Five also told me about Moscow's lost history. In another time, it was known by a different name - "Orok's Fall"; a Sarkic settlement - and where the Saint of War sacrificed himself, "for the blood of gods and tyrants". Never cared for this city. Guess there was always something sinister here.

As she described the ancient city, her terminology was unusually anatomical in nature. Referring to different locations as the "heart", "lungs", and "skull" of Orok's Fall.

 
Missive 04/18/1995
I am making a special request to have my name, as well as what I've done (you'll know it soon enough), removed from the final report. If I successfully complete my mission and come out of this alive then I request the immediate application of amnestics.
Most of my targets have been degenerates and criminals. Potential rivals and the like. But this was different. And Otari, that sick fuck, wanted us leave a different kind of message. There are other Sarkic cultists in Moscow; non-Black Lodge. I'm talking oligarchs. Government officials. One of them sent word that someone in the Ministry of Internal Affairs, a man named ██████ █████████, wanted to crack down on the Black Lodge and was searching for allies among the few straight players left in this city.

Target the family. A wife, a daughter. Don't kill them. Make an example. The sort of scars that'll never heal.

 
Missive 04/22/1995
Spoke with Five again, still trying to clear my head of what happened. She's not like the others and I'm beginning to question just how senile she really is. When she speaks of me, and her faith, there is a tone of regret.
I asked her more about Sarkicism (don't worry, I didn't say the "S-word"). And, when she tells me about Ion, I feel like a child again - listening to my baboushka talk about Jesus and the old prophets. Whimsical, and like her, skipping over the parts that involve glorified torture and murder.

I'm no researcher, historian or theologian or whatever. But I think these cults, this "Sarkicism" didn't begin this way (but I suppose that goes for most religions). Five talks about honor, friendship, virtue, and liberation. The gentle reindeer folk of Adi-um against the evil Daeva. She's old, but I take it the faith changed long before her; maybe she has begun to interpret the texts differently. Maybe she's wrong, seeing good under layers of madness and atrocity.

I can relate. It's always the same. Another failed revolution. Regardless, I suspect Five is an aberration. Perhaps that is the reason she's confided in me. The others talk about the Great Mothers, say they can see things. At times I wonder if she knows who I really am.

And then my training tells me to eliminate her. I think I'll ignore that training for now. Besides, no point taking out a source like her. Not yet at least.

P.S. The arena. It isn't just for initiation. Blood sport disguised as ritual; or maybe ritual disguised as blood sport. Six enter; only one comes out. A lot of folks willing to pay to see and bet on it. Many wear the skulls of beast and the clean suits of billionaires. Five's not a fan; it's like listening to people complain about the commercialization of Christmas. I know the Black Lodge has been classified as Neo-Sarkic but the Great Mothers are pretty clearly Proto-Sarkic - they're traditional, celebrate the high holidays, and still think in terms of some greater good. The rest only care about how to make themselves stronger, wealthier, etc. Otari has an animal cunning to him but he is hardly an intellectual - nor does he appear to be a karcist (or at least, the term hasn't been thrown around at all).

 
Missive 05/06/1995
Five let me in on a little secret. Otari has a brother by the name of Mikhail. Same father; different mother. And he's that half-dead thing in the cell.
Apparently Otari and Mikhail have somewhat of a rivalry, but that isn't why Mikhail's been imprisoned and defaced; Five was vehement about that. It seems that Mikhail volunteered for some sort of ritual.

Things are getting pretty fucked up here. Not sure if it's the drugs or not. I'll leave a vial with this report. I'm seeing things. The angles in the club, and everything below, are wrong. The architecture gives me a headache if I stare at it too long. Yesterday I woke in a bathroom stall with a half-eaten woman.

The whores at Red Lanterns - they look human one moment then the next, well, I know 'monster' isn't really appropriate in this line of work but not sure how else to describe them. They stare at me with feral, hungry eyes. Five once called the them Rusalki; I thought she was just being figurative but now I'm not so sure. They slither off into the backrooms with fresh meat tailing behind; they'll be back an hour later, looking satisfied - but the men that go in don't ever come out.

And when I watch the pit fights. There are things in the audience that aren't entirely human. There are sounds I can't explain; like a heartbeat, sometimes roars - something from deep below, where all the blood and corpses go.

Agent S████ was declared MIA on 05/28/1995.
On 06/04/1995, after much deliberation, raids were conducted against multiple Black Lodge sites, including the Red Lanterns nightclub. During the assault, SCP-2408-1 were directly observed undergoing transfiguration. Despite their aggression and anomalously augmented combat prowess, the SCP-2408-1 threat was thoroughly neutralized through the use of incendiary armaments (with the Foundation unexpectedly suffering only minor casualties). As operations continued, it grew readily apparent that the Black Lodge had provided minimal manpower - a mere fraction of its total population in the region.

Sarkicism is a religious/philosophical system that encompasses a variety of traditions, beliefs, and spiritual practices largely based on teachings attributed to “Grand Karcist Ion”, its deified founder. Adherents practice ritual cannibalism, human sacrifice, corporeal augmentation, thaumaturgy, and dimensional manipulation. Highly secretive, the general public appears to have no direct knowledge of their existence; the one exception being the CotBG, who views them in apocalyptic terms. Organic manipulation has allowed certain Sarkicites to achieve anomalous states of being, transcending the physical limitations of baseline humans. Disease is viewed with reverence and Sarkic shrines have been discovered with offerings of swollen lymph nodes and tumorous growths. Sarkic cults treat contagions as consecration, a means to "cull the weak" and purify the masses, and thus actively seek to ensure their spread.
The Foundation divides known Sarkic cults into two distinct strands: Proto-Sarkic and Neo-Sarkic. Proto-Sarkic cults can be found in insular communities throughout Eurasia's most isolated regions, its followers generally poor (if self-reliant) and hostile towards outsiders. Such groups eschew modernity, display acute technophobia, and are bound by superstition and taboo. In contrast, Neo-Sarkic cults are cosmopolitan, publicly embracing modernity and showing no apparent qualms with technology; their public lives differing little from others of their culture and social status. Adherents are primarily affluent families, rich in history and scandal.

Ultimately, it is believed that the Foundation only knows a fraction of what Sarkicism is and what its followers intend. Based on the available information, the speculated goals of Sarkic cults represent an SK-class dominance shift, including the possibility of an XK-class end-of-the-world scenario.

The Old God
Yaldabaoth (also known as "Važjuma", "God-Eater", "Devourer", "His/Her Undulating Vastness", "The Great Winnower", "The Womb of Chaos" and various other epithets) is regarded in Sarkicism as the principle power in the universe. Neo-Sarkites appear to admire this entity but Proto-Sarkites (and all discovered scripture thus far) describe it as the true enemy of all people. Translated fragments of the Valkzaron suggests that Ion had somehow usurped control of this cosmic entity, wearing the flesh of the Old God as a sort of armor and crafting from its body a kingdom. This is contradicted by recently discovered scripture which suggest that Ion merely cast down the "living gods" of the Daeva, weaker avatars of the Archons - the children/servants of Yaldabaoth. The continued mortality of humanity and the absence of "paradise" ultimately imply that, were Ion real, then he had failed to achieve his goals.
As with all things related to Sarkicism, it is difficult to discern reality from myth - most especially when myth contradicts. Proto-Sarkites view this entity with fear and disgust, regarding it as both the creator and destroyer of all life and the progenitor of the gods. As more sects are discovered, the diversity of interpretation grows readily apparent.

Yaldabaoth is portrayed as both destroyer and incidental creator, "feeding" upon gods, worlds, and stars, while "exhaling life" into the cosmos (which will evolve, grow, and eventually be harvested again). Life is thus a natural byproduct of the Old God's existence; unguided by intelligence and spreading through a process not entirely dissimilar from panspermia. Sarkites believe this entity has turned the multiverse into an altar with our existence, and the existence of all biological lifeforms, being brought into reality for the singular purpose of sacrifice.

"Blind" and driven solely by instinct, Yaldabaoth is depicted as being accompanied by otherworldly entities known as "Archons" (or "Vultaas" among certain Proto-Sarkic cults). These beings are described by Sarkic texts as faceless manifestations of primordial chaos, their true forms inconceivable to the human mind. Gnostic and Mekhanite scripture would mention the Archons as well, describing them as "terrible and rapacious angels".

Some Sarkic cults hold that the Archons, along with Yaldabaoth, do not originate from our universe, let alone the multiverse. These cults believe that these entities begin in the Void and that their colossal physical bodies are vessels for these profane spirits. Because their consciousness is tethered to the Void, they know only hunger and will consume all things in their desire to feel whole - spreading like a cancer across the multiverse. The Archons are frequently referenced as having some relationship to the stars and the growing darkness that exists between them but little else is known about this connection. Sarkic art and iconography typically depicts Archons as red or black and vaguely cephalopodic.
___________________________
Klavigar Orok

A figure of reverence and supposed disciple of Ion. Associated with strength, war, violence, wilderness, hunting and, seemingly in contradiction, loyalty and revolt. Epithets include: the Horned Beast, the Brute Lord, and the Pale Hunter. Described as being of unnatural physical strength, Orok was the product of alchemical and thaumaturgical experimentation on slaves. Enthralled to Matriarch Aśvighoṣa, the ruling Daeva in the city of Jel, Orok served as a personal guard and pit-fighter.
It is written that Ion, when taking the city of Jel, entered the palace of Matriarch Aśvighoṣa (presumably, the highest authority in the city). He requested that the matriarch should leave and take with her a message to the "Daeva of Daevas", lest she suffer retribution. Refusing his ultimatum, the matriarch ordered Orok to destroy him. It is written that Orok hesitated, his "runes of bondage [setting] his starved soul aflame so that his body became spirit"; turning to his matriarch, he struck Aśvighoṣa, his fist imbued with the very power she had forced upon him, and reduced her body to "cinder and ash and heavenly starlight".

Orok is typically depicted as a large and muscular cyclopic man wearing a loincloth. His symbols include a two-headed axe, a one-eyed skull, a hunting spear, fractured bones, a closed fist, and a bull elephant.
_______________________

Out Of Character Information
 
 
 
 
 

The majority of the -1s on this are regarding my current lack of activity on Site Administration roles, that is the reason I am applying for O5. Given this position I believe I could be more active in this section of the servers roles once again becoming active within the Site Administration roles. I currently am most active within GOI roles and also occasionally on ISD or Harrow 23 if there are large amounts of GOIs on, if given this position I would become involved with Site Administration roles again. If given this whitelist I intend to be active on the job much more than my other whitelists so rather than judging on my current activity on Site Administration roles judge on the application and my performance on the other roles which I am active on. I have had enough experience on Site Administration roles having only played these roles in V4-5 before I first joined Sarkic Adytum's Wake playing Site Director before becoming both a HoEA and O5 in which I spent all of my time on the server on these two roles varying depending on which jobs were filled at the current time playing HoEA when more GOIs were on and O5 when more Foundation Personell and SCPs were online. Basically a TLDR although I am not currently active on Site Administration roles I intend to do so if given this opportunity.

+1 plays the server
has experience

+1
 
The Group Is A Much Needed Mediator On The Surface Keeping The Different GOIs Under Control As Well As Adding A Much Needed Haste On The Surface Rather Than Everyone Just Sitting Back ANd Relaxing Forcing Them To Keep Moving And Being Actively Performing Tasks. Also A Nice Change From Just Adding GOC Back 100 Times.
 
In Regards To This It Is Not Uncommon For People To Have Management Positions In Multiple Groups, They Do Not Own The Group And Meerly Assist With The Management Of It. If You Check Out The Group Management Spreadsheet You Will See Some Group Owners Be Involved In Multiple Groups As Is Common.

In Game Name: O Axios Taisho
Rank: Plat VIP
Steam ID: STEAM_1:0:155868754
Playtime [Minimum 7 days]: 4 weeks 2 days
Total warns [Maximum 15 warns, exceptions can be made]: 3
 
Why do you wish to join the Sarkic Cults?
I wish to join the Sarkic Cults Mors Deus as I have been within Sarkic a few times in the past before it was removed reaching higher ranks getting to know quite a lot of lore within the different segmets of the Sarkic Cults as well as having had spent a decent amount of time in CotBG getting to know the opposite side of the lore and the connections and contrasts between the groups. Having played Sarkic as my primary RP job on the server having spent most of my time playing on Sarkic jobs than any other. As well as this I really enjoy the Sarkic RP and experience and the way the group is able to interact with other players making it an enjoyable experience for both the Sarkics and those they are involved with. As well as liking the way the Sarkic works on the server as I whole I really like the GOI and believe it is one of the more interesting and significant groups within the SCP Universe due to its interactions and connections to several other anomalous entities and GOIs being a known figure amongst most groups.
What does Mors Deus consist of?:
Mors Deus consists of many former members from organisations such as Governments, criminals such as Info Brokers and GOI branches such as Adytums Wake. From their past lives they became skilled in info gathering, manipulation, blackmail, threatening and other techniques used to get what it is they want as whilst they still follow the 5 core beliefs they primarily wish to gain power in every form of the word. They believe those that do not follow their beliefs are inferior beings who are only useful to be bent to the will of Mors Deus to increase their own power and are otherwise useless living.
What is our SCP-001?:
The Mors Deus SCP-001 is a large portal roughly 30 km tall and 40 km wide allowing Gods to enter our realm to be killed and consumed for the purpose of theopagy to drastically increase the power of those that consume it. It has an incredibly high rate of failure resulting in presumably a god rampaging in our realm causing uncalculable damages. The only counter measure to this is not allowing members of Mors Deus to come close to the portal not giving them the chance to attack any gods that may pass through the portal and prevent them from passing through themselves.
The mayor plans to open up the surface to the foundation , letting them roam freely and cause us problems for us, how can you either stop that from happening, or make the mayor cause problems for the foundation?:
I would attempt to manipulate groups hostile to the Foundation to counteract this on our behalf making them engage these surface units causing damage to the Foundation and GOIs that attack it weakening all forces other than our own and I would attempt to take advantage of this as the Foundation would likely retaliate launching a full attack on surface to wipe out those hostile groups in which we could aid them gaining their trust and loyalty and further increasing the strength of the Mors Deus group.
What RP Groups are you/have you been in?:
Adytums Wake, Black Lodge, Broken Church, Cogwork Orthodoxy, Chaos Insurgency, Horizon Initiative, Anderson Robotics, IJAMEA, MCnD, Oneroi Collective, The Serpents Hand, ORIA, UIU
What can you bring to the sarkic cults?:
I believe having had quite a lot of experience within the Sarkic Cults in the past I could bring this knowledge and experience to Sarkic being able to quickly adapt to the new segment of the Sarkic learning their new playstyle as well as being able to aid others in how to do so ensuring any new players that do not know how to RP as a Sarkic would be able to do so diverse to everyone else whilst still correctly roleplaying as a member of the group would. I believe as well as roleplaying similar to other members within the group I could also make RP more diverse not being a recurring thing getting the same experience from all Sarkics you interact with making the group not get repetitive quickly.
Who is the Grand Karcist and what did he do?:
The Grand Karcist Ion was a slave to the Daeva civilization in 1800 BCE. The Grand Karcist Ion was granted the power Yaldabaoth having complete manipulation over flesh, disease, and living beings. Ion founded the Sarkic Cults known as Nalka granting gifts to who would become his Klavigars. He created an empire of flesh ruling over this domain as his own always increasing his power in aim of apotheosis. As a result of the expansion of Ion's empire a war broke out resulting in the destruction of Adytum, the capital of Ion's empire, as well as millions of casualties. At the end of this war Ion had vanished with his folowers fleeing in fear of persecution.
Do you understand that Sarkics is primarily a passive RP group?
I understand that Mors Deus is primarily a passive RP group whilst still having active RP aspects.
Breaking the Sarkic rules will result in punishment, do you understand?
I understand this rule and will ensure not to break any rules within Sarkic.

In Game Name: O Axios Taisho
Rank: Plat VIP
Steam ID: STEAM_1:0:155868754
Playtime [Minimum 7 days]: 4 weeks 2 days
Total warns [Maximum 15 warns, exceptions can be made]: 3
 
Why do you wish to join the Sarkic Cults?
I wish to join the Sarkic Cults Mors Deus as I have been within Sarkic a few times in the past before it was removed reaching higher ranks getting to know quite a lot of lore within the different segmets of the Sarkic Cults as well as having had spent a decent amount of time in CotBG getting to know the opposite side of the lore and the connections and contrasts between the groups. Having played Sarkic as my primary RP job on the server having spent most of my time playing on Sarkic jobs than any other. As well as this I really enjoy the Sarkic RP and experience and the way the group is able to interact with other players making it an enjoyable experience for both the Sarkics and those they are involved with. As well as liking the way the Sarkic works on the server as I whole I really like the GOI and believe it is one of the more interesting and significant groups within the SCP Universe due to its interactions and connections to several other anomalous entities and GOIs being a known figure amongst most groups.
What does Mors Deus consist of?:
Mors Deus consists of many former members from organisations such as Governments, criminals such as Info Brokers and GOI branches such as Adytums Wake. From their past lives they became skilled in info gathering, manipulation, blackmail, threatening and other techniques used to get what it is they want as whilst they still follow the 5 core beliefs they primarily wish to gain power in every form of the word. They believe those that do not follow their beliefs are inferior beings who are only useful to be bent to the will of Mors Deus to increase their own power and are otherwise useless living.
What is our SCP-001?:
The Mors Deus SCP-001 is a large portal roughly 30 km tall and 40 km wide allowing Gods to enter our realm to be killed and consumed for the purpose of theopagy to drastically increase the power of those that consume it. It has an incredibly high rate of failure resulting in presumably a god rampaging in our realm causing uncalculable damages. The only counter measure to this is not allowing members of Mors Deus to come close to the portal not giving them the chance to attack any gods that may pass through the portal and prevent them from passing through themselves.
The mayor plans to open up the surface to the foundation , letting them roam freely and cause us problems for us, how can you either stop that from happening, or make the mayor cause problems for the foundation?:
I would attempt to manipulate groups hostile to the Foundation to counteract this on our behalf making them engage these surface units causing damage to the Foundation and GOIs that attack it weakening all forces other than our own and I would attempt to take advantage of this as the Foundation would likely retaliate launching a full attack on surface to wipe out those hostile groups in which we could aid them gaining their trust and loyalty and further increasing the strength of the Mors Deus group.
What RP Groups are you/have you been in?:
Adytums Wake, Black Lodge, Broken Church, Cogwork Orthodoxy, Chaos Insurgency, Horizon Initiative, Anderson Robotics, IJAMEA, MCnD, Oneroi Collective, The Serpents Hand, ORIA, UIU
What can you bring to the sarkic cults?:
I believe having had quite a lot of experience within the Sarkic Cults in the past I could bring this knowledge and experience to Sarkic being able to quickly adapt to the new segment of the Sarkic learning their new playstyle as well as being able to aid others in how to do so ensuring any new players that do not know how to RP as a Sarkic would be able to do so diverse to everyone else whilst still correctly roleplaying as a member of the group would. I believe as well as roleplaying similar to other members within the group I could also make RP more diverse not being a recurring thing getting the same experience from all Sarkics you interact with making the group not get repetitive quickly.
Who is the Grand Karcist and what did he do?:
The Grand Karcist Ion was a slave to the Daeva civilization in 1800 BCE. The Grand Karcist Ion was granted the power Yaldabaoth having complete manipulation over flesh, disease, and living beings. Ion founded the Sarkic Cults known as Nalka granting gifts to who would become his Klavigars. He created an empire of flesh ruling over this domain as his own always increasing his power in aim of apotheosis. As a result of the expansion of Ion's empire a war broke out resulting in the destruction of Adytum, the capital of Ion's empire, as well as millions of casualties. At the end of this war Ion had vanished with his folowers fleeing in fear of persecution.
Do you understand that Sarkics is primarily a passive RP group?
I understand that Mors Deus is primarily a passive RP group whilst still having active RP aspects.
Breaking the Sarkic rules will result in punishment, do you understand?
I understand this rule and will ensure not to break any rules within Sarkic.