No secret history of a magical otherworld existing alongside our own is complete without government meddling. After all, a government will seek to know all of the goings-on within its borders, and eventually, it will stumble across magical elements that the population doesn't know about. What that government will decide to do with its newfound access to the magical world depends heavily on the government in question - exploitation, experimentation, diplomacy, declarations of secret war, and so on.
The United States government never went through this process of discovery. It knew about the magical world well before it gained its independence from Britain in its revolution. Its founding fathers were members of secret orders, hidden lodges, and occultic brotherhoods which sought to understand the world that existed alongside our own. When the nation came into its own, and its government began to crystallize, it needed a bureau to handle supernatural (or thaumaturgical, as was the preferred term) matters. Thus, born in the fledgling America was the first instance of the Pentagon.
The Baltimore Club
At the time the Pentagon was being formed, America's premier organization of thaumaturgical practitioners was a group called the Baltimore Club. As the name suggests, they were headquartered in the city of Baltimore, in part because it was a place of power for the entity known as the Raven, and in part because it was a well-established port city to which the thaumaturgically inclined members of Europe's scholarly and noble populations could easily travel. With the establishment of Washington D.C. as the nation's new capital, the decision to build this new thaumaturgically-focused bureau on the existing framework of the club seemed obvious.
The Baltimore Club originally operated with a hierarchy quite similar to that of other occult groups. Prospective members would be invited from those who already showed inclinations towards study, magic, the occult, religion, and other pursuits that would lend one experience in matters of thaumaturgy. These prospective members would be reviewed by senior members of the club and initiated in secret ceremonies. This initiation would mark them as "novitiates", the lowest of three ranks within the club. Novitiates were allowed their own research, and limited access to the large libraries of ancient lore that the club had amassed, but were not freely given information, especially in regards to more powerful or dangerous elements of thaumaturgy or the secret world. After ten years of membership (and assuming one was in good standing), a novitiate would automatically be promoted to the rank of Oblate, which was considered the core body of the club. Oblates had access to the club's entire collection of occult works, and were trusted to be able to handle themselves. They were still subject to disciplinary action in cases of major breaches of conduct. The highest rank in the club was that of Master, which could only be attained if one was nominated for candidacy by two existing Masters and elected to the rank by a 2/3rd majority of existing Masters. In practice, new candidates were only nominated after making contact with the entity known as the Raven, a feat which all other Masters would immediately become aware of. Accordingly, elections of new candidates have all passed unanimously, with the election serving more as a formality to recognize the induction of a new equal in thaumaturgic standing.
When the formation of the Pentagon began, the Baltimore Club was not brought into its fold without controversy. The fledgling Pentagon did not want to be bound to any supernatural entity (loyal in service to its new country as it was), and the Raven was none to keen to relinquish its partnership with the Masters of the Club. Disagreement and poor communication between the two groups kept relationships uneasy for years. The Pentagon eventually made its move under the cover of war, using the chaos of the Battle of Baltimore (part of the larger War of 1812) to launch two concurrent raids on the Baltimore Club's main headquarters and the personal residence of one its Masters, where much of the Club's upper membership happened to be taking refuge. The surviving members of the club were told that the attacks had been perpetrated by the invading British, and bereft of leadershup, the remnants of the Baltimore Club were absorbed into the Pentagon's ranks. Not all of its former members accepted the story of a British attack, but being pressganged into service and fed propaganda was enough to abey a potential revolt.
The Early Years
The Pentagon, having absorbed a mass of new, thaumaturgically-capable members, was overdue for a restructuring. To help ease the transition for its new members, it reformed its ranks into a hybrid of the Baltimore Club's hierarchy and a military chain of command. The new ranks were:
- Novitiate. Much like in the Baltimore Club, Novitiates were not entrusted to much of the secret knowledge held by the Pentagon.
- Novitiate, Second Class. After four months of service as a Novitiate, promotion to Novitiate, Second Class was automatically given.
- Novitiate, First Class. After eight months of service as a Novitiate, Second Class, promotion to Novitiate, First Class was automatically given.
- Oblate. This was the standard rank held by most members of the Pentagon, attained after review and promotion from Novitiate, First Class. Promotion was not given automatically, like in the Baltimore Club, but required vows of loyalty to the organization and a test of thaumaturgical potential. Any who were not sufficiently talented in the thaumaturgical arts were denied promotion, and often sought to leave the organization, with little success.
- Exarch. Similar to a military lieuteniant position, Exarchs were tasked with leading squadrons of Oblates during thaumaturgical operations.
- First Exarch. First Exarchs served the same function as Exarchs, leading their own squads. However, they were also entrusted to make judgement calls in the thick of battle, and issue orders to other Exarchs, so long as those orders did not contradict other orders given by higher ranking officers.
- Magister. Similar to a military captain position, Magisters lead whole forces of operatives while in the field. Magisters are the highest-ranking position that regularly see operational action.
- Lictor. Lictors do not issue commands, and hold their position in the hierarchy as a way to remain unbound by the orders of Magisters and Exarchs. Lictors are elite operatives, highly skilled in thaumaturgy, who answer only to the highest ranking officers of the Pentagon.
- Thaumaturge Minor. The upper echelon of Pentagon command. Only the most talented and devoted operatives reach this position, after promotion from Magister or Lictor.
- Thaumaturge Major. The singular leader of the Pentagon. The Thaumaturge Major earns their position through cunning, talent, strength, and tenacity, and are a force to be reckoned with.
These ranks have remained unchanged until modern day. The Pentagon is habitually a tradition-bound organization, and its rank structure has settled into the bedrock of the organization.
The Pentagon spent much of its early existence stamping out threats on the growing frontier, trying their best to 'civilize' the land as much as the homesteaders and settlers that dotted these sparse borderlands. The Pentagon shunned the idea of recruiting from the people of the frontier, preferring to recruit from urban centers back east, sending their operatives to enforce the will of the federal government. Many of these operatives served under the guise of U.S. Marshals.
The most significant event in the Pentagon's early history was the U.S. Civil War, which saw war edge perilously close to Washington. During the war, the Pentagon stayed fiercely loyal to the federal government, though some individual agents chose to side with their home states and the confederacy and were branded traitors and excommunicated from the Pentagon for their treason against the government. Much of the Pentagon's activity was devoted to trying to suppress the use of thaumaturgical arts on the battlefield, as well as dealing with the multitude of creatures that came slinking out of the secret world to feed upon the misery and dead flesh of the battlefields. Their most successful operation during the war was Operation Corpse Dirt, which saw a full third of the Pentagon mobilized against a Confederate necromancer.
The Pentagon's real rise to power was during the First and Second World Wars. They employed their thaumaturgical arts to aid in intelligence gathering efforts and guide the development of new technologies which turned the war effort in America's favor. During World War II especially, the Pentagon distinguished itself in secret operations against Nazi occult forces. This period was the most the Pentagon had acted in concert with other branches of the U.S. Government, and established an idea in the minds of those who served. While wars between mundane nations flared and burned, the Pentagon fought an eternal, secret war to safeguard all mankind, and America especially.
During this same time, construction completed on an enormous new headquarters, ostensibly to house the Department of Defense, but also, secretly, a new base of operations for the Pentagon. It was, accordingly, a pentagon itself, massive in scale to the public eye, and monumentally more so to the secret organization that operated in its hidden layers. This structure eventually came to bear the name of the organization it was built to house, though the public knew of no such organization. What the public refers to as "the Pentagon" was known to the true Pentagon as Bureau Prime, or more commonly to operatives as just "the Workshop". The Workshop has many layers known to the public, but the bulk of its structure is underground, built in thaumaturgically-reinforced and warded tunnels, comprising a massive complex hidden below the building visible on the surface. In these tunnels, operatives live, eat, work, study, experiment, practice, relax, and are even sometimes buried. In many regards, the Workshop is almost like a miniature city, full of amenities both mundane and thaumaturgical.
The lowest levels of the Workshop are dedicated to storage - repositories of ancient, secret, or forbidden lore; galleries of thaumaturgically-imbued artifacts from every age of history; and, most notably, huge holding areas to contain supernatural entities for further study. Anything the Pentagon cannot kill is brought here to be kept in perpetuity, placed under the stricted security measures the Pentagon has access to. Other, less dangerous entities, most often kept for study, reside in less secure containtment, where they can be easily accessed.
The Pentagon has expanded, building other hidden bases that resemble miniature versions of the Workshop. These structures often serve as regional command posts, as well as temporary storage for dangerous entities and artifacts before they can be shipped to Washington and consigned to storage in the Workshop.
Modern Age
In modern times, the Pentagon is facing a crisis of direction. Some of its members, especially those who served in World War II, see it as their duty to safeguard not just America, but the whole world. To these operatives, pockets of supernatural malice left to fester in other parts of the world only spell future trouble. An outbreak of malicious supernatural forces will not spare America, and safety can only be assured on a global scale. To other members, the original mission of the Pentagon is still paramount - protect the nation, and let the rest of the world worry about themselves. To these operatives, the seeming control that the Pentagon has over the secret world of America is only a veneer, addressing symptoms without understanding root causes. These operatives are especially wary of other groups that interact with America's secret world, especially the Hoboes and the Cryptogrammaton.
Additionally, since the dawn of the Nuclear Age, and especially after the attack on the public levels of the Workshop during the September 11th attacks, the Pentagon is having to contend with the idea that the supernatural might no longer be the greatest threat to humanity. Mankind has finally constructed the instruments of their own potential doom, and the Pentagon is powerless to stop what has been set in motion without revealing their hand. They operate, as they do, behind the scenes, working to further the causes of nuclear disarmament (in every nation except America, of course).
For now, the Pentagon largely bides their time, continuing as they always have, while they await the future with baited breath.
The Significance of a Pentagon
The Pentagon was not the first name used by the organization. The first was "the Ordo Pentanas", but this name was quickly dropped for the much simpler moniker by which the organization is now known.
The focus on the Pentagon as a shape comes from the thaumaturgical beliefs of the organization, which employ a tactic of thaumatugic realization through the use of precise geometric patterns. Within this model of thaumaturgy, prime numbers (2, 3, 5, 7, etc.) hold significant power. In terms of geometric expression, the pentagon provides the best form for stability and safety. Five, as a number, is small enough to avoid become unwieldy, while large enough to allow for a good deal of thaumaturgical working within its boundaries. Additionally, unlike triangles, squares, and hexagons, pentagons cannot tesselate (that is, be infinitely places side by side without gaps or breaks), which drastically lowers the chance of a spell spiralling out of control if not properly bounded. The number seven could also serve this purpose, as it is within a similar range as five, and septagons are also unable to tesselate. However, most operatives have a much easier time correctly inscribing a pentagon - the same cannot be said for septagons. Thus, the pentagon became the Pentagon's symbol of choice.
Pentagonal inscriptions are most often used for binding spells - something the Pentagon's specific practice of thaumaturgy shares with many other occult traditions (consider how often pentagrams or pentacles are used for summoning, binding, or warding). The commonality of this symbol led to members of the organization being known for making it, eventually leading to a common name of "the Pentagon" or a similar derivative for its members. Thus, the name the organization would come to be known by was born.
And that's it for the Pentagon, at least for now. I'm sure I'll spin out some more details in adjacent topics, like Thaumaturgy, and other faction writeups. For now, though, the Pentagon's secrets will remain secret.
-Rabbit.
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