The Promethean Brotherhood is a compact of hunters that first appear in the book Witch Finders. They hunt down witches not out of a desire to protect humanity, but to steal their power for themselves. Using the latest in computers, technology, and cryptography, the group continues to process the contents of the scroll; the ability to keep the powers long-term comes from several details included in the writing the Brotherhood has yet to understand. Although the group occasionally experiments on or mistakes another supernatural creature for a witch, magically-gifted humans continue to remain their main focus.
History
The origins of the Brotherhood begin in England in 1867. Jacob Hite, the frustrated apprentice of a master mage, sought to develop powers for himself; however, the processes and rituals eluded him. An archeologist, he had the luck to head an excavation in Macedonia that uncovered a papyrus scroll written in Linear B. Something in him compelled him to take the scroll and translate it; it uncovered an ancient, lost ritual, dedicated to the goddess Hecate, that could possibly sacrifice a witch and transfer the power to another. Deciding he had waited enough, he waited until the right moon phase to perform the ritual on his own master. It worked, but it was short-lived; his newfound power lasted only a week.
Hite gathered a number of other followers that also sought powers. They killed scores of witches and magicians with the ritual, but the results, while long-lasting on occasion, were always temporary. Decades after Hite's death, the group changed its focus from experimental killing of mages to attempting to translate the subtleties of the Ritual of Hecate. They continue to make progress, occasionally taking the occasional witch to experiment their new knowledge on.
Organization
The central headquarters for the Brotherhood is currently in Vienna; many of the members are former apprentices, family members, or others closely associated with a witch or mage. Academic members curious about magical powers are also frequent members, and of course, the occasional random person curious about magic and the power it brings. Most of the members are in Europe, but membership in the larger North American Cities has grown quite a bit. The current head of the organization is Dr. Alexander Hite, a descendant of the founder.
There are three main schools of thought within the Brotherhood. The Orphic Temple practice old religions, rites, and ways in hopes of improving their connection to the Ritual of Hecate. The Cautionaries think that modern witch-hunting draws too much attention and the Brotherhood should wait until the ritual is perfected to perform it. The Experimentalists, living up to their name, perform bizarre and often insane rituals on witches in hopes of improving their chances of having the ritual remain permanently.
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