Editing LeviathanTempest:ChapterOne (section)

=== Humanity ===
The largest barrier between a Leviathan and a normal human life isn't the risk of unwanted transformation. While such incidents are horrifying for onlookers, they are sporadic. Comparatively, the Wake is inevitable. The neatest explanation of the Wake is that it is a region surrounging all Leviathans which triggers instinctual responses of fear, servitude, and awe in normal humans. While its effects don't quite reach the level of mind control, it nonetheless presents a near-insurmountable hurdle to having normal social interactions. Humans in the presence of a Leviathan feel uncomfortable and anxious. Their teeth are on edge, and the hair on the back of their neck stands up. They lower their voices unconsciously. More importantly, from a moral standpoint, they ''give way'' to the Leviathan, both physically and socially. In a face-to-face conversation, a Leviathan is essentially constantly bullying his audience. 

Imagine what it would be like to never receive a contrary viewpoint or unexpected refusal. More than that, imagine what it would be like to speak to people who were, you knew, certain (on some subconscious level) that they must appease your whims. Members of the Tribe make people uncomfortable, and there's not much they can do to prevent it. As a Leviathan grows more powerful, the Wake becomes more oppressive and widespread - permeating first his home and then his neighborhood. Children no longer play on the street. People lock their doors and neglect their yards. The cops don't come around. Families move away. Worse are those for whom the Wake becomes an irresistable lure, breaking their will and causing them to respond with slavish devotion to the Leviathan. Called Beloved, these unfortunates have their personal world rewired to revolve around their new obsession - either with fanatical worship or, far more often, confusion and terror. The Beloved retain their presence of mind and just enough of their will to know that they are experiencing some sort of traumatic breakdown, but they have no idea what it is that draws them to the Leviathan. Some become stalkers. Others are far more pitiful, lingering around the subject of their obsession, equal parts frightened and captivated.

On occasion, a human whose will is snared by the Wake will resist being broken. Perhaps instinctual hatred and terror overwhelm the impulse to worship and obey, or perhaps a strong mind responds to pressure with outraged resistance. Regardless, devotion is replaced with obsessive hatred of the Leviathan whose Wake touched them, as well as animosity for the Tribe as a whole. No less fanatical than the most devoted Beloved, these strong souls dedicate themselves to the annihilation of the Tribe. In ancient days, the Tribe called them Nebrodids, but the more common label in the modern world is more evocative of their drive - Ahabs. An Ahab is a dangerous enemy of all Leviathans; their will insulates them against the Wake, while their fanatical drive makes them relentless and unpredictable. Most will be satisfied with nothing less than the complete and total extinction of the Tribe.

While much could be said of the sins committed by members of the Tribe making use of their miraculous powers, the Vestiges, the fact is that the average Leviathan is far more likely to abuse the Wake. In place of a storm that devastates a city, a Leviathan can begin to simply take what he or she wants from others, never having to feel the sting of denial. The ensnared hearts of the Beloved are even more susceptible to an immoral Leviathan, who can compel them to give up their comfort, lifestyle, even their very lives, to please the focus of their obsession. These little betrayals are less obviously evil than some wrathful outburst of divine power, but more likely to slowly push a wedge between a Leviathan and humanity. It is more common for a member of the Tribe to descend into depravity with numerous small concessions to necessity. 

Strangely, some humans are completely unaffected by the Wake. Called Atolls, they seem to be entirely untouched by the pressure created by a Leviathan's presence, and contact with them can serve as a momentary respite from the Tempest. The allure that they have to members of the Tribe cannot be overstated. The sound of an Atoll's voice, or a touch of their hand, offers a momentary relief from an otherwise inescapable sense of anxiety and tension. Leviathans have likened contact with an Atoll to a massage or a long bath - something that seems to allow them to step outside of the hardships of their life and relax, if only for a moment. Members of the Tribe will often go to any length to secure this contact, and the result can become horrific. An unscrupulous Atoll can manipulate a needy Leviathan, while a desperate Leviathan might kidnap and imprison their "soulmate" to retain access to the addictive comfort of respite. The Atoll's immunity to the Wake only exacerbates the problem - they are one of the few people that can simply deny a Leviathan. The Wake is a powerful tool, yes, but its power often means that a Leviathan is desperately underprepared for socializing on an even keel.

==== Cults ====
Those humans that become the Beloved of a given Leviathan have a tendency to congregate. After all, their whole lives have begun to revolve around a shared experience of a particular person. They'll spend time around the Leviathan, and that often means spending time around one another. The trend of this association is the formation of a Cult. The "echo chamber" of ideas and sensations that a group of Beloved experiences leads them to greater and greater reverence and focus on the Leviathan whose Wake ensnared them. They've encountered other people who are ready and willing to spend hours discussing what they feel, and can compete with one another for the Leviathan's attention or regard. Eventually you get a group whose devotion to the Leviathan is absolute and whose viewpoints are reinforced (and policed) by their fellow Beloved. This is a Cult. As long as the Leviathan spends time addressing the Cult, making them feel like part of a unified group, their devotion and focus become powerful tools. Receiving prayers and devotion provides the Leviathan with mystic power, while the mundane resources of a group of devoted individuals can lighten the burden of everyday necessities and desires. 

Cults are not limited to the merely everyday, however. A Leviathan that wishes to do so can shape his or her Cult, like any other society, imposing sanctions and requesting service. As long as the progression is gradual and the Leviathan remains "in touch" with the Cult, his or her followers can be forged into a more dangerous tool. Simple devotion can be replaced with elaborate rituals and sacrifices, while obsession can be turned outwards into violence. As a Cult grows, it can insinuate itself into positions of authority, or even overtake a small community - many "quaint little towns" in the world's remote corners are ultimately ruled by an insular Cult at the center, all working for the benefit of their "god." Even in a large city, the Cult's influence can become pervasive - policemen can be turned, and lawyers, and businessmen. A careful Leviathan can end up with "agents" operating at many levels of society, robbing his enemies of any hope of safety.

The greatest limitation of a Cult is that, no matter the intent of the Leviathan at its core, the structure is predicated on the intimidation and negative pressure created by the Wake, reinforced by harsh internal strife. Even the mildest and most fulfilling Cults are imposing on the wills of the participants, and most powerful Cults are ruthlessly violent in the pursuit of the will of the Leviathan. It is the nature of the Wake, and perhaps of the Tribe, that they do not have positive and self-affirming social relations. This effect infuses the Cult. The violent obsession that drives a cultist differs greatly from a mild and psychologically satisfying religious conviction. The Cult becomes a tool by which the Leviathan may indulge his or her vices, and its members begin to revel in the transgressions they commit. While the traditional model of the cult is the hidden religious conspiracy, a more apt modern parallel is a terrorist organization - indoctrination, manipulation, and violent fanaticism. Unsurprisingly, when Leviathans come into conflict, it is usually their cultists that become casualties of the conflict. Their utter devotion and apparent willingness to do whatever is asked of them offers an easy way past the horror of violence and acknowledging moral responsibilities. A cruel Leviathan might spend the lives of his cultists indulging his most grotesque and brutal impulses while claiming no personal stake in their actions.