All the preceding information leaves the question: what Wraith in her right mind would do that sort of thing, and how could they do it for long without falling face-first into Oblivion?

Of course, any other Wraithly group could claim its share of sneaky dealings, brutal behavior and outright sadism. The Masquers, the Haunters, the Monitors and the Spooks are prime examples of institutionalized inhumanity. And that's not even mentioning the less pleasant - read "soulforging" - sides of the Artificers and the Hierarchy...

But the Solicitors seem to have the corner on those markets. And they routinely go a lot further than the the other fellows could ever dare. So one can only wonder what sort of trick the Cabal has up its sleeve: they can't all just be sadistic freaks... can they?

The answer is deceptively simple: perfectly sane individuals will do the most horrible things imaginable if they can justify those actions to themselves, or to others. And the Solicitors - knowing this all too well - are happy to provide their Apprentices and Novices with a number of compelling reasons to do the things they do.

Some example justifications can be found below. Some of them may sound horribly familiar...

Desire:

"It's not so bad a thing, really. We deal with the desires of others, day in and day out. What is so wrong with recognizing our own desires? What is so wrong with using what we have to bring them about? So long as our ambition does not go further than our place, no harm is done."

Greed, covetousness and plain old ambition color the actions of many in the Cabal. While they are told that what they do is sacred, they have no real moral code to adhere to. There are rules and laws, of course, but these only really apply to conduct amongst other Solicitors - not towards others outside the Order, or their own persons.

So, if most of what they do revolves around the ambition of others, then what harm could there be in exercising a little of their own? Some desire wealth, others temporal power, still others forbidden knowledge or certain things that only one with their powers could hope to attain. And so long as they put the interests of the Cabal ahead of their own, or - more commonly - find a way to satisfy both at once, no one cares to raise an eyebrow at their criminal impulses.

Duty:

"There's a bright, brilliant new Underworld coming, and we're the ones who are going to make it happen. Revolution is always messy, sometimes even brutal. But the ends will justify the means. They will. You'll see."

Hopes on the blazing glory of the future, hands in the bloody guts of the present, these Solicitors have their eyes on a far-off prize that they see coming closer every day. They rationalize their actions as being necessary to bring forth the Day of Desire, and maybe make the occasional joke about omelettes and cracked eggs.

That the eggs have names and faces might give them some pause, at least to start with. But once they get used to the struggle those things become nothing more than little blips. One day, it will all be worth it - all of it.

Devotion:

"Master Robbins is the greatest of our Order. I care not what others say, nor what they may do to me for saying it. I care only what he says, and when he cares to look upon me from afar, and send word of his pleasure at my humble deeds, then I would suffer a thousand thousand times in his service."

There are those who aren't complete unless they're doing - and being praised for - what a charismatic leader asks of them. When such people get caught up in the thunder and glory of the leader's grand vision, they will do anything in his name, no matter how wrong or amoral it may seem. Such concerns get thrown out the window in exchange for the praise, however fleeting, of their brilliant, beautiful master.

There are a lot of these in the Cabal. As a result, many Solicitors cultivate a cult of personality around their person as soon as they have the Status to do so - sometimes even before they really should. Whether this is seen as presumption or wisdom depends on whether they keep the Cabal's favor, or lose it...

Divinity:

"Desire wills it, and so it must be done. Any who hesitate are lacking in faith. Any who openly question are apostates and heretics. And any who oppose are Hir enemies, and therefore mine as well.

"Where do you stand?"

There's little more frightening than a religious zealot, except for a religious zealot who thinks his God/dess told him to make a mark chuck your Fetters into a blast furnace. Such Solicitors are so assured that what they are doing is blessed, and they blessed for doing it, that they will do anything they are told to do - anything at all. And they will do these things with a zeal rarely seen amongst the sane.

If some of the Cabal had their way, every Solicitor would be like this. But then, if every Solicitor was like this, one can only wonder if heresies and schisms would wreak havoc within the ranks.

Of course, that's provided it hasn't already started...

Diversion:

"You should have seen the look on its face when everything came crumbling down around it. With one word... one word... I revealed just how deeply I'd wrapped it up. Then it watched - helplessly - as its last Fetter screamed and died because of its own, unwitting actions. And then it fell down into a Harrowing, and it was so gone it couldn't even scream...

"That has to be the most rewarding two years I've spent. Now... what new plaything can you offer me?"

And then there are those Solicitors who really couldn't give a spent mark about any of the above. Maybe they believe in what The Book says, and maybe they just pay it lip service so the Keepers won't get on their backs. But what really motivates them, deep down, is the fact that they're not only being allowed, but encouraged, to play with other Wraiths' unlives as though they were toys.

This is where the sadists, the gameplayers, the unhinged and the (in)human monsters tend to wind up. Duty? Enlightenment? To hell with all that - they just want to hear someone scream in pain. They want to hurt people. Break people. They want to be the knife that cuts.

And there are many of them within the Cabal. Maybe a few too many...

Degradation:

"Walking through filth, I discover what it truly means to be pure. Twisting the desires of others, I discover what it means to truly understand my own. And in both, I understand Desire all the more..."

Much like the boy in Hell who was ordered to clean an endless cavern full of horseshit with a tiny shovel, the Solicitors who follow this idea spend their time happily looking for the pony.

Of course, that's putting a much more amusing face on the situation than it calls for. The Solicitors do horrible, terrible things, and those who tend to flock to this rationalization are often up past their knees in them. But they see what they do as a quest towards self-discovery: one that, Desire willing, will bring them closer to Hir.

This lot is closely related to the 'Divine Orders' side of things. But where the aforementioned zealots think they already know what's going on, these Solicitors are still trying to find out. And they're not afraid to get their hands dirty doing it, especially if they're crawling on them through the filth.