Goddsbody [35]

"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) 

"And with the flesh of God pulled from our lips as babes, we will grow to rip it off the bone with our own hands."

The Backwoods are areas of the Inner Ring left overgrown and abandoned. The people who live here are often Martyrs and cannibals, if not outright murderers, and the reputation these areas have gained keeps most of the general public out. Residents of these areas rely on one another for survival, and the Halo's choice to treat the areas as abandoned means acts of violence will be ignored- the only exception being Apostle visits for cult activity. The lack of law enforcement means that a heirarchy of sorts has formed, based on nothing but strength and potential for violence. The current top dog is Arthur McLaughlin, along with his mismatched family. While he has a seemingly limitless capacity for cruelty, he takes a fairly neutral stance, and is not above helping other residents.