Act 103: Eternal IV

"The Circle of Unity is structured around a Council of Elders, a Privy Council, and a subordinate parliament. The members of the subordinate parliament call themselves parliamentarians. Many of them have deep ties with the nobles of various countries, and some are nobles themselves, such as Anlek, Grand Duke Xifahe, and that Marquis Yuxi. The Circle of Unity's lower-ranking members are too numerous to count, but most parliamentarians actually have only loose ties with the Circle of Unity. They gain more from the Circle of Unity than they give in return—which is also one of the Circle of Unity's methods of winning people over. They possess evil Black Magic, unknown channels for gathering information, ways to plant aides, and routes for circulating illicit goods. For example, they are behind the slave trade that has continued despite the prohibitions in Cruz, Saint Osore, and Eluin. Although these illegal activities have long been forbidden by law, regrettably, they are quite popular among the nobles. As a result, they have become breeding grounds for evil. The Cultists use such methods to tempt you and our already filthy nobles into degeneracy, making it the bond that ties them together and slowly corrupting them. A few nobles become core members. I think Anlek is one of them."

Shido felt somewhat saddened as she listened. This was different from what she had imagined the circle of nobles to be. It was hard for her to imagine that a Cultist of the Circle of Unity might be hiding among her friends. She could not help frowning as she asked, "Mr. Brando, is everything you said true? How could this..."

"Shido, you haven't seen much of the world, so you don't know how sinister it can be. Most of what Brando said is true. The Empire's nobles... sigh."