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History
In 1722, amid the burgeoning Industrial Revolution and the dawn of the Age of Enlightenment, a group of ambitious young men from noble and wealthy families convened at the University of Bologna in Italy. It was a period of radical change, with societies transforming under the weight of scientific advancement and industrial expansion. Across the continent, people began to challenge the status quo and the traditional power structures of monarchy and church, favoring reason and empirical evidence. The university itself was a thriving hub of intellectual fervor, with its students passionately debating the merits of democratic ideals and the equality of all men. However, this group of young men held a starkly different view.
Believing in the inherent superiority of their own class, they rejected the democratizing spirit of the Enlightenment. They argued that privilege was not an accident of birth, but a sign of intrinsic superiority, that the wealthy and powerful were better suited to rule because their experiences and abilities were more valuable. This belief system was a perverse interpretation of humanism, asserting the worth of the individual but only within a strict hierarchy based on wealth and lineage. They started meeting in secret, sharing their beliefs and developing their own interpretations of the world's unfolding events. These meetings eventually solidified into a structured society, and they called themselves the Veil Weavers.
The name was symbolic of their mission: they sought to weave the veil of reality itself, subtly manipulating events and individuals to maintain the power and privilege of their class. Over time, this mission would expand and evolve, but at its heart, the Veil Weavers were born out of a fierce rejection of the Enlightenment's egalitarian spirit, a shadowy counterpoint to the luminous hope of the Age of Reason.
Spreading of Ideals
By the time of the Gordon Riots in 1788, the Veil Weavers had already begun their covert operations to extend their influence across the continent. Operating under the guise of academic exchange and scholarly camaraderie, the Weavers subtly interjected themselves into England's intellectual circles. The riots against Catholic influence in England served as a perfect catalyst for the Veil Weavers to step in, arguing for the preservation of the monarchy as a means to maintain stability and order.
As professors and academics traveled from Bologna to other European universities, including Oxford, they brought with them the ideals of the Veil Weavers. They carefully chose individuals who held promising potential, those with power, intellect, and a like-minded vision.
However, the rapid growth and broadening reach brought its own challenges. The international expansion caused internal disputes within the Veil Weavers. Disagreements over ideologies, methods, and the direction of the group's mission stirred turmoil. Yet, the core belief in preserving a 'natural order' of societal hierarchy underpinned the unity of the Veil Weavers.
When the Peterloo Massacre took place in 1819, the Veil Weavers saw it as a grave reminder of the chaos that could ensue when the lower classes rise against the established order. It was this event that cemented their resolve to spread their influence further. In the following decades, the group stealthily infiltrated the academic institutions of France, Germany, and eventually the emerging power across the Atlantic, the United States, thereby furthering their mission to maintain a stratified society, globally.
Order from Chaos
The Veil Weavers had long been a fixture within the intellectual circles of Europe when the ripples of global change began to reach their shores. With the American Civil War in 1861 and the later Spanish-American War in 1898, they found themselves bearing witness to seismic shifts in power dynamics and societal structures. However, these events were not seen as a call to adapt to a changing world, but rather as threats to the world order they held dear.
In the same era, the Indian Rebellion of 1857 echoed across continents, amplifying the Weavers' fears. They began to perceive threats not just within their European sphere but worldwide. They realized their Euro-centric influence was insufficient to curb global shifts, and so, their worldview began to shift, too.
This period saw a profound transformation in the Veil Weavers. They pivoted from being a Euro-centric, university-based fraternity to a global cabal with tendrils reaching into every sphere of power. Their expansion began covertly, embedding members in various colonial administrations, merchant companies, and native collaborator classes across Asia and Africa.
During this period, the Veil Weavers came to adopt Social Darwinism as their guiding philosophy, an ideology that provided them with a pseudo-scientific validation of their existing beliefs in hierarchy and power. They began to assert that the ability to seize and maintain power was the ultimate measure of one's worth.
This era marked a dark turn in the Veil Weavers' ethos. They began to openly support sexist, racist, and imperialist ideologies, justified under the banner of Social Darwinism. Eugenics, as a concept, fit neatly into their beliefs, and they started influencing the powerful to produce offspring that would uphold their ideals.
The Veil Weavers, once a group of privileged young men at a prestigious university, had now transformed into a global shadow organization, operating from the sidelines yet influencing the very direction of societies and nations. Their transformation was complete, and their influence, deep-rooted and wide-ranging.
Discovery of the Multiverse
In the year 1941, deep within the academic confines of Stanford University, a group of young and curious students stumbled upon an enigma that would forever change the trajectory of the Veil Weavers. The students, drawn to the allure of Spiritualism that was quite popular at the time, decided to experiment. Guided by ancient texts and cryptic occult symbology, they intended to bridge the gap between the living and the deceased. Little did they know the gravity of the breakthrough that awaited them.
Their experiment hinged on the power of an extraordinary Solar Crystal. This crystal, radiant and potent, was believed to possess supernatural capabilities, which the students hoped would facilitate their communication with the other side. As the students initiated their experiment, an unexpected event occurred. Instead of opening a pathway to the afterlife, the powerful energies emitted by the Solar Crystal tore a small rift in the fabric of reality itself. The students found themselves staring into not the realm of the dead, but into a completely different reality – an alternate universe.
News of this extraordinary discovery quickly made its way through the clandestine network of the Veil Weavers, reaching their innermost circles. The implications were mind-boggling; the potential, limitless. For the first time, the Veil Weavers glimpsed a reality that transcended even their grandest ambitions – a vast, uncharted expanse of alternate realities. And they knew they had to make this power their own. The stage was set for the Veil Weavers to ascend to an entirely new level of power and influence, opening doors to endless possibilities and countless realities.
Power Begets Power
The decades following the Stanford discovery marked a significant shift in the Veil Weavers' methods and objectives. Harnessing the powerful fusion of technology and occult magic, they developed the ability to traverse the boundaries of realities. This new capability marked the beginning of their expansion from a global cabal into a multi-dimensional consortium.
As the Veil Weavers ventured into these new dimensions, they found a multitude of alternate Earths, each with its own iteration of their society. Many were mirror images of the Veil Weavers, while others shared similar yet subtly different characteristics, shaped by the unique trajectories of their respective realities.
In the spirit of their shared purpose and origins, alliances were forged among these dimensional counterparts. Each society operated from the shadows, subtly influencing the course of their realities, and in union, they began to shape the direction of the entire Multiverse. The influence of the Veil Weavers, now a confederation of trans-dimensional power brokers, grew exponentially.
Simultaneously, the Veil Weavers continued to adapt and evolve. As they mingled with their counterparts, they absorbed new philosophies and strategies, adjusting their methods to suit the unique challenges of each reality. They expanded their scope from eugenics and societal manipulation to include inter-reality diplomacy and multiversal strategy.
By the 1970s, the Veil Weavers had become something far more complex and powerful than their founders could have ever envisaged. They were no longer just a secret society operating in the shadows of one world, but a sprawling, multi-dimensional network of societies, working together to shape the destiny of countless realities. The reach of the Veil Weavers was now truly infinite, spanning across dimensions and timelines, forming a tapestry of influence that touched every corner of the Multiverse.