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The
1816 Society
In 1815, the greatest volcanic eruption
in recorded history took place at the Tambora volcano
in Indonesia. The next year, summer never came. Europe
was wracked by storms, snow and other extreme weather,
and millions of people began to believe that the apocalypse
they had been expecting at the turn of the century
had finally arrived.
It was amidst this climate of darkness and fear that
a group of Fantasts in Geneva spent the summer interfering
with things best left asleep, and something both subtle
and uncontrollable was unleashed upon the world. It
was then, in Geneva, in that long, cold summer, that
the founding members of the 1816 Society saw what
their fellows had done, and decided to pull together
to fight it.
The resolve of the group strengthened over the following
years when those involved in awakening the darkness
that lingered beneath Lake Leman began to die one
by one, and the society worked quickly to further
it’s understanding of the occult in order to
put down what had been disturbed that summer. They
finally succeeded in 1825, when the darkness that
had been threatening the world was sealed back beneath
the lake where it belonged. Soon after, the group
packed up and moved to America, settling in New London
where it has continued in its policies of education
and preparation ever since.
At the core of the 1816 Society is the firm belief
that humanity cannot rely on the Eldritch to protect
it from the things that threaten it. They found no
help in 1816, and they believe that, were the same
thing to happen today, they would find themselves
undefended again. Because of this, the 1816 Society
spends most of its time in libraries, or acquiring
new books of arcane lore and knowledge for its libraries,
furthering its understanding of Magick and preparing
for the day when humanity must once again stand up
and defend itself.
Day to day, they keep themselves out of most of the
dealings of the Eldritch, responding only to rumours
of Demons, Abominations and the like. Mast scholars
and magicians, it is thought that the society is still
led, at least officially, by the ghost of Emmanuel
Tate, one of the society’s founding members.
Emmanuel spends almost every moment in his study,
deep within the Reverie in the bowels of their historic
Chapter House.
In reality, most of the day to day running of the
society has fallen at the feet of Christian Middleton,
a young but exceptionally well-read Fantast and master
of Hermetic Magick.
In order to join the 1816 Society, potential members
must have the support of at least one existing member,
and undergo rigorous tests of learning and skill.
Despite this, the society is known to have at least
two other Chapter Houses in other parts of the world,
one in London, and one in Geneva that constantly watches
the lake for signs that the darkness beneath it is
once again shifting. With membership numbers across
the world over three hundred, and membership at the
New London Chapter House reaching just over a third
of that, the 1816 Society is easily the largest Fantast
organisation in New London. |
