For as long as human civilization has existed, so to have the Secret Societies, beings attuned to or born of the Outland who do not belong among the mundane beings that make up a majority of the Earth's population. Existing apart but occasionally intersecting, Secret Societies have always held their secrets close and kept their numbers small. With Nightfall approaching, Secret Societies are increasingly being forced from the shadows, having to determine what is in their best interest and picking allies they might otherwise wish dead. The apocalypse makes for strange bedfellows indeed.

In addition to a description of the active Secret Societies, this section will provide a sample list of canons that will AU into said society particularly well. The lists here are all general, specific clans, families and organizations within those lists will be filled out by players and in-game.

CANDLES
Those who bear Flames are known as Candles, bearers of light that will beat back the coming darkness. Candles are the newest of the supernaturally gifted, their powers manifest without warning and can take any number of different forms, often related to the personality of the wielder. Candles are the primary reason for the formation of Daybreak Academy, their emergence signifies that the prophecy is soon to come to pass and the world will be plunged into darkness and horror untold. Candles began surfacing about 20 years ago and the number of new Candles seems to double on a yearly basis. While still making up the merest fraction of the population, there are enough that some trends have emerged in their identification - most Candles manifest their Flame some time between the ages of 12 and 14, Flames reflect the bearer's personality but can become more standardized and homogeneous if the Candles all train under the same master, and all Candles, regardless of the form their powers take, can generate radiant light from their bodies which can destroy undead that come within range, so long as the Candle is of sufficient strength.

Sample Canons: Any; Candles have such broad and varied powers that just about any canon will fit them.


CONTRACTED
Among the least trusted of humanity, Contracted are those who have sold something, typically their immortal soul, for daemonic power. Contracted can be extraordinarily powerful, unpredictable and dangerous, their bond with a daemon makes them immediately suspect and even the most intelligent or reasonable among them are viewed with suspicion and disdain - how smart can one REALLY be when there is a body of evidence suggesting how bad an idea it is to deal with daemons. Contracted typically manifest fell power based on the daemon they contracted with and their own personalities, making them just as varied in form as that of Candles. Although much rarer, a number of Contracted have actually made pacts with Fey. These pacts tend to be more benign (Fey being less openly malicious and more capricious and chaotic) but they are mistrusted for a far simpler reason, Fey magic doesn't really ever work right and is extremely dangerous, who in their right mind would accept such a deal?

With the coming Night, a number of Contracted have come to Daybreak Academy to offer their services, as many do understand the dire threat to their existence that is approaching. While they are tentatively permitted on the grounds, all Contracted are kept under guard at all times and have severe restrictions on classes they may take and places they may visit at all times.

Sample Canons: Puella Magi Madoka Magica, Blue Exorcist, Bayonetta


HUNTERS
Hunters are somewhat unique in that they typically draw members from other Secret Societies. They have no unifying abilities or powers, some Hunters are in fact completely normal humans who have stumbled into (or, more often, had their life ruined by) the Supernatural. Hunters dedicate their lives to stalking and slaying Outland monsters and other Secret Society members who present a major threat to humanity at large. They typically work alongside the Rune Guard, who have supplied them equipment for generations and often have aligning goals.

With the coming Night, many Hunters are congregating in Daybreak Academy to impart their knowledge and help humanity survive.

Sample Canons: Bleach, Blade, Castlevania


LYCANTHROPE
Lycanthropes are accursed beings, their bodies are said to be inhabited by a Blight that drives them into frenzied rage driven by the light of the moon. Lycanthropes are for all intents and purposes living humans, but at night, especially at times when the moon is full, they are prone to transform into bestial half-man half-animal creatures. This form is often unstable, and can cause the human vessel to lose control. Lycanthrope is a general term, specific creatures have their own name such as Werewolf, Werebear, or Weretitan. Lycanthropes typically congregate in packs or clans of others that share their species. Lycanthropes vary in philosophy, some choosing to embrace the bestial rage while others attempt to deny and control it. Lycanthropes pass on their affliction through their tainted bite, if they bite a victim while in beast form they will begin to contract the disease, which will fully take effect over the course of about a month, culminating in an involuntary transformation at the full moon. It is possible, through powerful magic rituals or Runic treatment, to reverse the curse during its incubation period at considerable risk to the target, but only before the first transformation, after which there is no going back. Lycanthropes also pass their affliction to any children they might sire, despite being cursed they are still living beings capable of bearing children, although a human host is liable not to survive birthing a Lycanthrope child as they often emerge fully transformed. Natural Lycanthropes tend to have much greater control over their affliction, and can often transform more or less at will.

Lycanthropes have their own prophesies regarding Nightfall, with some celebrating it as the moment they will transcend their current form and become whole and others viewing it as a great existential threat to their remaining humanity. Those that oppose it work willingly with Daybreak Academy, turning their powers to fight against the coming darkness in exchange for Academy resources being devoted to helping them retain control during the Nightfall. Lycanthropes working with the Academy are required not to spread their curse to any humans in exchange for Academy resources. Candles bitten by a Lycanthrope would likely retain their powers even in a Lycanthropic form, which would make them extremely dangerous.

Sample Canons: Werewolf: the Apocalypse, Attack on Titan


MAGES
Mages are the primary practitioners of Magic. Typically confined to a few families steeped in magical heritage, Mages, guard their traditions zealously, fighting underground wars for dominance and putting their lives and their knowledge on the line for the chance of greater power. Many magical academies still exist in underground (figuratively and often literally) spaces inside some of the greatest, oldest universities. Mages are under strict laws to hide their power from mankind, as such power is said to only be for those who are of worthy pedigree to wield it. Mages who share their power are often shunned and reviled, with the great mages of history being held up as prime examples of what is not to be done. Hoarding and acquiring more power is paramount to Mage society, while there are a number of taboos intended to check Mage obsession and tendancy to act foolishly when offered a path to power, the culture is such that many will break them, going so far as to embrace daemonic pacts or Blighted undeath in pursuit of personal might. Today, the general unspoken rule is that a human who witnesses magecraft is to be killed immediately, the power of magic is unfit to be beheld and wielded by lesser men who would only use it to do great harm.

With the coming Night, the Mages have (mostly) agreed to a (relative) peace, acknowledging that there are far graver concerns. Most notable is that the Mages have deemed the threat so great that they are sharing their magical knowledge with select groups that show proper aptitude in hopes of surviving the Night. The Administration of Daybreak Academy has been taking advantages of these offerings while they exist on the table, but remains prepared to quarantine those Mages that inevitably return to their wars.

Sample Canons: Fate/Stay Night, Harry Potter, Little Witch Academia


RUNE GUARD
The Rune Guard are comprised of a number of consortium and guilds that have passed down traditions of Runic Inscription. While Mages are generally more familial and hereditary focused, Rune Guard seek out potential candidates through their information networks, taking on skilled tradesmen and soldiers to welcome into the fold. The Rune Guard often operate as organized mercantile or mercenary groups, Some focus on suppressing Outland incursions or involving themselves in the frequent clan wars of the other Secret Societies, while others focus on on selling their Rune-inscribed crafts to the other Secret Societies. The more militant-leaning Rune Guard are known for their inscribed armor that gives normal humans dramatically increased combat and defensive potential. Rune Armors are often custom-fit to the wielder, standing ten to twelve feet tall and following the movements of the wielder's arms and legs on a grander scale.

With the coming Night, the Rune Guard have begun working closely with Daybreak Academy, offering their services without complaint. Being by far the most grounded of the Secret Societies and already pre-disposed to keeping order (as it is good for business), the Rune Guard see the preservation of mankind as their foremost imperative and have united to provide equipment and training to all who come to the Academy.

Sample Canons: Mobile Suit Gundam, Eureka Seven, The Vision of Escaflowne


TAMERS
Tamers is a catch-all term applied to Mages and Candles who specialize in the creation of Familiars. Tamers are notable in that they tend to eschew the typical Mage's lust for power, instead favoring companionship and personal growth with their Familiar much at odds with the typical Mage. Candle Tamers often have a great deal of solidarity and shared experience with Mage Tamers, in both cases they tend to share temperament and outlook. Some Mage Tamers have created their own families and covens apart from normal Mages and they tend to be more welcoming and accepting of outsiders in general.

Tamers are generally cooperating with Daybreak Academy and many students and staff are Tamers.

Sample Canons: Digimon, Pokemon, Persona


VAMPIRES
The Vampires are said to have originated with a curse born of the outland among some of the first humans. Their vulnerability to sunlight drives them into the darkness, where they must prey upon humanity to survive and procreate. Immortal in undeath, many Vampires constantly struggle against their baser hunger to retain the humanity they once possessed. Others, however, embrace the hunger, casting aside their humanity and living only for their desires and feeding upon those whom they have determined to be lesser. Vampires tend to congregate in small covens and clans, with each clan having their own peculiarities, predilections and powers. They play elaborate, often fatal games of drama and politics, sating the boredom of living death with extreme thrills to set what blood they retain aflame. Vampires are in almost every circumstance incredibly dangerous, the primary saving grace being that they tend to be more dangerous to each other than to mankind. To propagate themselves, Vampires must "Embrace" a human victim, draining their blood fully and killing them, before infusing them with their own blood to enact a fell Resurrection. New Vampires spawned in this manner will gain abilities related to that of their host, which further enforces the clan organizations found within Vampiric Society.

With the coming Night, some Vampire clans have reached out to Daybreak Academy. There is a recognition among the humanity-infused clans that Nightfall, and the subsequent eradication of humanity or human society, would spell an end to their existence, as well as the acknowledgement that the feral Vampire clans will revel in the eternal night and turn their heightened power upon mankind with glee. They feel this is the best way to maintain their necessary status quo and, perhaps, to decimate the feral clans, should they be so lucky. The aid of the Vampire clans is welcome to Daybreak Academy, but the administration keeps contact with students outside of controlled settings extremely limited. It is speculated based on what is known of the Embrace that Flames would retain their powers as Vampires, which would be catastrophic in the hands of any Vampire clan should the Night be survived.

Sample Canons: Vampire: the Masquerade, Hellsing, Blood+


WATCHERS
Watchers are the official organization of the Seers, those the ability to peer into the murky depths of the future or past and extract visions of what has been and what is to come. Seers are exceptionally rare, although they have become more common as Nightfall approaches. Having seen Nightfall's approach, they've amassed a great deal of resources which they have used to prepare. The Watchers run Daybreak Academy, and while they are often a mysterious group, they are respected both on Earth and in the Outland. While Seers run and dicate the course of the Watchers, it accepts other members due to the infirmity of Seers and the need for the Watchers to enact larger-scale agenda. Many members of Secret Societies vie for their members to join the Watchers, being in the presence of a Seer is a great honor whether you hail from Earth or the Outland and proximity to their knowledge can be a great boon to anyone cunning enough to grasp it.

Sample Canons: Final Fantasy XIII-2, Full Metal Panic!, The Mallorean