Children of the Cathedral

The Children of the Cathedral (commonly abbreviated CoC) were a widespread religious cult that the Master established as a cover for his activities and to spread his philosophy.

Doctrine
The beliefs of the Cathedral's Children base on the belief that the nuclear holocaust (referred to as the Holy Flame, the Sacred Fire), invoked by human greed, corruption and selfishness was a chance to begin anew. It is the proverbial light that nearly destroyed humanity. The Master is the antithesis, the Dark God, waiting in the Darkness below (quite literally), leading his children into a new era of peace and unit.

He brings about the Unity, through which the Nexus of Rebirth will be reached, during which all the worthy ones will be baptised in the holy FEV and become the next generation of humans. When everyone reaches this next stage of evolution, the Age of Peace will come, when there will be no more war and no more suffering.

The Children believed in expanding their influence through all possible means. Nightkin would assault cities assisted by Cathedral cultists, while loyal servants would head into the wastes and estabilish hospitals and offer healing to the body and the spirit. The Master's plan was to unify all and bring them into the glory that is his master plan.

The Hidden Face
The Children of the Cathedral were more than a creepy but altruistic cult. The entire religion was elaborated by the Master to cultivate a pool of normal human operatives in the wastes and to prepare the world for his coming. In 2151 Morpheus, a leader of a doomsday oriented cult and a former member of the Rippers, a familiar gang of inbreds, was found by the Master's spies, and pledged his followers to him, forming the future core of the Children. Every person the CoC converted to their faith was one more person who could willingly be dipped in FEV. The CoC doctrine largely echoed the Master's own thoughts on humanity, specifically in mankind's inadequacy to live in civilization and the urgent need for drastic evolution. All Children eagerly awaited their chance to be baptized in the great baptismal font to the north - the vats of FEV in the Military Base.

The Cathedral was held by nightkin, elite super mutants equipped with Stealth Boys to make them semi-invisible. Underneath the Cathedral was the seat of the Master's power: the Los Angeles Vault. A vault with no number, the LA Vault was meant to serve as a demonstration of the Vault technology by the Vault-Tec company. It was used during the war but evacuated soon after, leading to the formation of Adytum and the other Boneyard communities. The Master eventually discovered the abandoned Vault and moved in. From there, he plotted his grand scheme for the evolution of humanity through FEV until the Vault Dweller destroyed him in 2162. With the loss of the Cathedral, the Master and the Military Base (also destroyed that same year by the Vault Dweller), the Children disbanded.

Hierarchy
The lowest ranking members of the Cathedral cult were Initiates, used as menial workers or indoctrinated cannon fodder, used against the enemies of the cult whenever Nightkin involvement was deemed unnecessary. An initiate that has completed his assigned tasks could be elevated to the rank of Scribe or Scholar, the latter tasked with spreading the gospel of the Holy Flame and sent as healers throughout the wastelands to build up support for the cult and prepare weapon stockpiles for the imminent invasion. This lowest ranking group is commonly referred to as Acolytes.

Servitors were the "officers" of the cult, who have undergone intense brainwashing and indoctrination in the Inner Sanctum of the Cathedral and whose faith is unquestioned. They are given vital assignments and considered trustworthy enough to know of the true foundation of the cult - the Master. A separate caste, the High Order, grouped Servitors who were tasked with the most delicate of assignments.

Elders were the leaders, ensuring that Cathedral operations ran smoothly, sometimes operating in the field (as was the case with Jain). The most well known figure is certainly Father Lasher, who disciplined the members of the cult and was a firm believer in not sparing the prod.

The Children of the Cathedral were led by a man called Morpheus, who was one of the first men converted by the Master to his ideology. A devout, intelligent and loyal man, Morpheus was tasked with overseeing the Children's operations and ensuring the indoctrination. He answered directly to Richard Moreau.

Locations
In order to spread their message, The Children ran a number of hospitals in various places around the wastes. The largest was in the Water Merchants' section of the Hub where young children handed out flowers to visitors and free medical care was available to anyone who was wounded. Jain, an important Child of the Cathedral, resided in the Children's Hub hospital.

The Children also maintained a small, ragged clinic in the ghoul city of Necropolis where two Children provided medicine in exchange for money until they were forced to leave when the Vault Dweller eliminated the super mutant garrison at the water shed. Finally, in Junktown, a doctor from the Children would move into one of the buildings after 80 days from the start of the game.

The main Children of the Cathedral operation, though, was in the actual Cathedral. Located somewhere in the Boneyard, the ruins of Los Angeles and a few miles south of Adytum, the Cathedral was home to High Priest Lasher, a sadistic priest, and High Priest Morpheus, the human leader of the Children. According to Morpheus, there were thirteen such High Priests in charge of delivering the Master's gospel to the Children. Dozens if not hundreds of worshipers could be found in and around the Cathedral, either on some pilgrimage or just preaching the word of the Holy Flame.

Appearances in games
The Children only appeared in Fallout and were destroyed and disbanded over the course of that game's events. They have not appeared in any other Fallout game to date, but are mentioned in Fallout 2.