The Brotherhood

The Brotherhood were a minor religious order who established themselves as a nontheistic belief, that Humanity was perfect, and that all other species were subservient to them. The date of their establishment was unknown, though it is speculated that it predated the Great War, during the time of the Kingdom of Mantle. It is also speculated that the order was at first backed by wealthy industrialists, perhaps in the hope of currying favor to engage them as private soldiers, as the warrior monks of The Brotherhood were often seen sporting advanced armor and weaponry. The identity of The Brotherhood's founder is unknown, and he is simply known as Revelation. Revelation was described as a charismatic man who knew how to draw others to him, and he drew about him 12 men, whom he called his Apostles, to seek support for the order's establishment.

Organization and Activities
The Brotherhood's monastery, known as The Bastion, was established in the far North of the Kingdom, secluded from most settlements. However, they often partook in expeditions named 'Crusades' to seek out and destroy concentrations of Grimm before they became a threat to nearby villages and settlements. These Crusades gained the order the favor of the local populace, who treated them as heroes, while earning the annoyance of the Atlas (then Mantle) military, who saw them as interfering religious zealots who should simply keep to their monastery. However, the military decided not to do anything about this order, as hey did serve as a useful force in protecting the frontier settlements from the Grimm, even if the order's activities did occasionally interrupt their own operations in the region. Relations between the military and The Brotherhood were cordial at best, as there was never any reason for the military to crack down on the organization, given that it had no political ambition, nor any plans to usurp the status quo. It simply existed to destroy Grimm. As the organization's establishment predated even the Academy, this also negated any conflict with the Huntsmen.

Zenith of Power Edit
At its zenith, The Brotherhood boasted a complement of 500 Warriors, all of whom were equipped with advanced power armor. It has been speculated by some that The Brotherhood's level of support from outside the North were strongest at this time, as the power armor and weapons used by the warrior monks generally made use of Dust, and the members of The Brotherhood were also adept at crafting weapons that would eventually become the mainstay of the Hunters. There has never been any evidence of any major group or organization ever supporting The Brotherhood, so the origins of their weapons and armor remain unknown to this day. Some of the order's records do mention that they received early prototypes of transforming weapons from 'supporters' during this time.

The Brothers of the order were further supplemented by servants and Aspirants, who would have to make the dangerous journey across the Wastes before arriving at The Bastion. Those who survived the journey would undergo rigorous training in order to make them fully trained Brothers. Those who failed the trials and were still physically fit would be retained as servants, to allow them to continue to serve the order in whatever way they could. The Brotherhood at this time had no less than 10 settlements in its area of influence, and while they never interfered in the governance of the settlements, these settlements did provide food, donations and Aspirants to The Bastion. Most of the inhabitants of these settlements were adherents to the beliefs of The Brotherhood as well.

Decline
The decline of The Brotherhood can be attributed to the Grimm incident which predated the Great War. When the Kingdom of Mantle banned self expression, this would adversely affect The Brotherhood as their beliefs were now rendered forbidden. Concurrently, this also caused the drying up of Aspirants and donations from the surrounding settlements. This placed a lot of pressure on The Brotherhood's sustainability, as the support needed for the maintenance and production of their weapons and armor eventually ceased as well. By the end of the Great War, and the establishment of the Academies, the Brotherhood had already dwindled, being able to field only half of their strength, a mere 250 Brothers. With the establishment of the Academies, this further sped up The Brotherhood's decline, as potential Aspirants now made their way to Atlas Academy to train. Through it all, The Brotherhood remained steadfast in their calling and duty, to exterminate the Grimm, still constantly launching costly Crusades into the wilderness, and losing valuable men and materials in the process.

Relationship with Atlas Academy
With the conclusion of the Great War and the establishment of the academies, the purposes of the Hunters and The Brotherhood were now in line with each other. Instead of viewing the Academy as a rival, they saw them as allies, and a cordial relationship was established with the Academy. Hunters from Atlas were welcome to join the Crusades of The Brotherhood if they were operating in the area. There may be instances of friendly rivalry between the Brothers and individual Hunters, but they were always friendly and treated each other as allies.

Fall
By the time Aureus Mortis had joined the order as an Aspirant, the once venerable Brotherhood could only maintain a force of 100 Brothers. Their equipment and armament were stretched so thin that every suit of power armor they still possessed were considered treasured relics of the order. Each of the 'Indomitable 100', as they referred to themselves, treated their armor as even more precious than their lives, and The Brotherhood would launch Crusades simply based on rumors of a suit of armor found in the wastes. Through it all, the members of the Order stayed true to their calling of exterminating the Grimm, and this would eventually lead to their downfall. One particularly large and old Grimm, known as "The One Eyed", drew to itself a large host of Grimm, and began to attack The Bastion itself. This would be known to the survivors of The Brotherhood as "The Fall". Beset on all sides by near uncountable numbers of Grimm, the Indomitable 100 fought valiantly, scything down Grimm in the droves. Guns barked out in defiance, swords slashed and hammers cracked, but still they came. The Bastion fell after 3 days of brutal warfare, with the last survivors, bereft of ammunition and strength, making their stand in the Sanctum of the monastery their order called home. As the Grimm horde overwhelmed the last surviving defender, in a final act of defiance, he triggered the remote explosives around The Bastion, destroying it completely. Rubble fell on the Grimm in their moment of victory, crushing them by the hundred. The Brotherhood was no more, and with it fell a light in the darkness of the freezing Northern Wastes.