Delilah

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Delilah is the organization run by Cain Hargreaves' father, Alexis Hargreaves.

Motto: "Take whatever you desire"

History (Spoilers)
Started by Alexis' father, Delilah was originally a group founded on the desire to further medical research. Alexis Hargreaves joined the ranks in his youth, and rapidly took control. As he rose to power, Delilah's goals changed from medical enlightenment to achieving successful reanimation, and was forced underground due to outcry from the medical world. Despite that, this goal became the sole drive for Delilah after the death of Augusta Hargreaves, as Alexis pursued her wishes to be revived.

The organization is closely tied to the British government, with most of its high ranking members also holding high esteem in society or positions in the police force. Due to the sheer influence they hold over the justice system, they have never been persecuted for their experiments.

Hierarchy: the Major and Minor Arcana
Delilah is organized into ranks through a tarot themed hierarchy, with Alexis leading the group under the title "Cardmaster". Each member is assigned a card, which determines their rank and importance in the group. An individual's duties within the group correspond with their card title.

Members can rise from minor to Major Arcana. In order to rise in rank, one must undergo an initiation process that tests their willpower. This test is known as the "Ritual of Regeneration". The process is described by Dominic Crehador in volume four:

"The initiate must first cleanse his body, don sacred garments, and then walk down a long hallway... Once they finally enter the vast chamber... They will find the head priest waiting for them. The initiate then submits himself before the head priest and must await his judgement. All of the individual's past deeds are laid bare... so that he can progress beyond what has already taken place in his life. [...] The initiate is forced to begin a journey to relive a past he may not even want to remember."1

The ritual is private only to the initiate and the head priest. The priest will overview the past conduct of the initiate, and if deemed acceptable, he will allow the rest of the Major Arcana into the chamber. After the head priest certifies the initiate's "rebirth", he challenges the congregate of Major Arcana to oppose induction of the initiate. If no one opposes, then the initiate is accepted into the ranks under their new title.

Members can also be initiated directly into the major arcana, as Dominic Crehador is offered the roll of the The Magician throughout most of the earlier volumes.

Crehador and Cain Hargreaves are the only characters in the series that hold card titles in Delilah without becoming members.

Major Arcana

 * Alexis Hargreaves: The Devil
 * Riffael Raffit: The Tower
 * Cain Hargreaves: The Hanged Man


 * Jizabel Disraeli: Death
 * Ida: The Moon
 * Cassandra Gladstone: The High Priestess
 * Octavia: Justice
 * White Owl: The Fool
 * Dominic Crehador: The Magician
 * Xenopia: The Hermit

Minor Arcana

 * Grifford: Ace of Swords

Deadly Dolls (Spoilers)
Several experiments have been run through Delilah in the quest to achieve perfect reanimation. The most notable of these are the "Deadly Dolls", corpses reanimated through constant transfusions of blood. Although the dolls require constant upkeep, many possess supernatural powers in their reanimated state. For instance, Mikaila, a doll of Cain's cousin Suzette, can speak with and control spiders. Another instance of this is the doll Meredianna, who gained psychic abilities upon being reanimated.

Each introduced Doll seems to be a newer iteration of Delilah's reanimation experimentation. Meredianna can only live for several hours without transfusions before her beautiful exterior begins to decay. Mikaila can last longer, but her arms and legs are covered with sores, which she must keep bandaged. Riffael Raffit, Delilah's most successful doll, lasts much longer than either of the other two, masquerading as a human for the majority of the series without being discovered.

Alexis uses these experiments to toy with his son, while also working towards creating the perfect vessel for Augusta to inhabit.

Biblical References (Spoilers)
The organization is named for the biblical woman Delilah. It is only called this after Alexis takes over.