Eaters of the Lotus

The Eaters of the Lotus are a Chinese secret society of sorcerers in the martial arts / cyberpunk / fantasy roleplaying game, Feng Shui by Daedalus Entertainment.

Background
The Eaters of the Lotus are a secret society of eunoch sorcerers who are active throughout Chinese history, pulling the strings of power during the times when a weak or incompetent emperor rules or the central government's power weakens. Sometimes even setting up a parallel government run by their accomplices, collaborators, and enforcers.

Among the time periods where the Eaters of the Lotus are known to have been major players is the 1st century (Han Dynasty), the 7th century (Tang Dynasty), and in the 20th century (Hong Kong). It was founded by Gao Zhang, a court eunuch in the Han Dynasty who is also a talented dark magician.

He is an incredibly powerful sorcerer who has invented spells and formed alliances with various rulers of the demonic realms. Gao Zhang brought in all the palace eunuchs into the organization and those that refused were either falsely accused of crimes and then executed or they were simply assassinated.

The Eaters of the Lotus use the services of demons, mercenaries, bandits, and female sorcerers. Often they have used ghosts, demons, evil spirits, walking corpses, ogres, and hopping vampires to terrorize those who oppose their rule. Any area which rises against them finds itself invaded by monsters and it will end once the rebels submit at which point the Eaters of the Lotus offer their exorcism service. A magical version of a protection racket.

After learning about the Chi War and the Netherworld, the Eaters of the Soul became a participant in the conflict. They want to preserve the rule of the Eaters of the Lotus, having learned that later on reformists will end their rule. Gao Zhang also wants to expand his empire down the timestream, creating an eternal empire of sorcerers.

Organizaation
The Eaters of the Lotus have a hierarchy with its founder Gao Zhang at the top, assisted by a ruling council, and then two lower ranks below them. It is further organized into divisions in charge of specific type of operations and activities.

Hierarchy

 * Gao Zhang: He is the "Center of the Lotus".


 * Petals of the Lotus: The ruling council which creates the long-range plans, approves the rewards of honor and ranks, and is in charge of distributing the resources. It has 8 members, each named after one of the dark reflections of the Eight Trigrams. All are eunuchs and 7 of them are sorcerers, one is not a sorcerer but a brilliant ex-general.


 * Thorns of the Lotus: Members at this level are expected to be able to operate without being supervised directly, use their own initiative, and execute orders as given to them.


 * Vassals of the Lotus: They are controlled by the Thorns, and are neither allowed or expected to show any independence.

Divisions

 * Water Division: It's the bureaucracy in charge of organizing training, maintaining the supplies, collecting and distributing the resources, and maintaining the lines of communication. It includes the Petals of the Lotus and most of the high-ranking Thorns. They are also have one of the internal security branches, the Pillars of Heaven.

experiments. After the discovery of the Chi War, they also are in charge of the exploration of other Junctures, future history, and the Netherworld.
 * Metal Division: Their duties originally was fortune telling and conducting sorcerous


 * Wood Division: It's in charge of the spies and runs one of the internal security branches, the Silent Eyes.


 * Fire Division: Which is in charge of the expansionist force which consists of troubleshooters, supernatural terrorists, strike forces, recruitment teams, and mobs of hired muscle.


 * Earth Division: They are in charge of infiltrating the imperial army and thereby turning it into an unknowing asset of the Eaters of the Lotus. It is also their responsibility to hire mercenaries (both private warriors and bandits).

Recent Events
The detonation of the Chi Bomb by the revolutionary Jammers in the dystopian cyberpunk future, had unforeseen devastating consequences in both their time period and in the timestream itself. The Eaters of the Lotus in the 1st century are trapped in that period, unable to play a role in the Chi War anymore. Elements of the Eaters of the Lotus who wee present at other time periods, are still able to participate in the Chi War.

In the 7th century, is where the Eaters of the Lotus not trapped in the 1st century have established their main base of operations and are rebuilding their forces. Due to necessity, the Lotus are accepting both uncastrated sorcerers and female sorcerers into its ranks, though only the castrated sorcerers can reach the top ranks.