The Church

"You have the potential to rend the flesh of the world and carve it as you please. Come to me, my Child, and let the Church sharpen your blade."

The Church of the Unpleasant is a small but influential cult located in the Dead Heart, as well as a network of tunnels underground that reach as far as the Center Ring. The cult generally targets people who have suffered abuse of some kind, and leads them into unhealthy coping mechanisms. While its members will never want for food, drink, or shelter, they are still very much in a group that endorses causing pain and suffering. Many of its members are the outcasts of the Inner Ring, while most of its victims are those that live in the cusp. 

The patron god of the Church is Tocsin, God of Suffering. Tocsin's motifs are:

- Shadows (and the things that thrive in them)
- Blood (and the spilling of it)
- Black Leather (related to one's suffering)
- Scratched Crosses (as in crosses carved into a surface with feverish scratchy motions)
- Peeled/Torn Skin

The Church often hosts voyeuristic torture parties where the provided entertainment is unwilling sacrifices strung out over hours of food and drink, song and dance. While inflicting pain on others is tribute, senseless murder is not. Killing their sacrifices is counterintuitive to their goals as a group. Think "Dionysian celebration for sadomasochists".

Cultists tend to have one or more symbols of Tocsin on their person at all times. While most of the cultists are human, some have rather visible abnormalities, such as extra limbs or inhuman features. That said, the longer the cultists remain within the tunnels, under the growing influence of Tocsin, the more monsterous they can become. Most often, this means physical abilities- members may be able to contort themselves more than they could before, or find themselves with animalistic strength or agility. This spreading influence actually helps the already-abnormal members of the cult feel more welcome; they are normal here. They are among good company. 

Important figures within the Church are:
- Father Unplesentrye, Sister Widow, and Sister Misery, the founders of the cult
- Kasper Unplesentrye
- Valley McLaughlin, Little Sickness, and Brainmeat
- Willow (not listed)