Ted did need to practice his cult leader smile. It was the most charming thing about him, all his perfectly white teeth, his lips that were neither too thin nor too thick, and finally, the way he could just fake an emotion with his eyes. There was none of that "not reaching his eyes" type of nonsense, no, he was a good actor through and through.
He had finished the inner workings of the cult by completing the pecking order and fashioning a ceremony that implied the existence of an entire mythology surrounding the concept of light. Of course, said mythology was all in his head and he would have to flesh it out when questioned about it, but it was still something he was very much proud of.
This was how the different ladders went.
STARS were the uppermost stage. Progressing into full-blown human sacrifices was only possible for these people. They had all privileges along with unrestricted access to curated occult books that Ted had chosen from his library to support his cause and his lies.
MOONS were very powerful, too, but they had limited privileges compared to the Stars. They could access a limited amount of occult literature as well, mainly things that were able to get them even more interested in the actual magical aspects of the cult. Ted intended to introduce the more progressed members to some basic spells. Power like that was nothing compared to what he would eventually be able to do, but it was intoxicating enough to get the cultists addicted.
DRAGONS were the third highest level of cultists, and they could only access one single occult book, even though they were the first to get a hold of aforementioned simple spells. Private consultations with Ted and Eknie about the spiritual progress of the cultists could extend to all-nighters and were given out rather freely if the leader ladder had time. To be a Dragon, a cultist had to spend a considerable amount of money, money that Ted did not actually need for any other purpose than to make his sacrifices feel involved and invested in the cult. He knew that there was a certain fallacy, a sort of cognitive bias that made people feel like spending more money and energy after having already spent a lot. Dragons also had the largest maximum amount of divinations they could receive after paying their membership fee, if one did not consider the uppermost ladders that would house people who had more interesting things to think about, anyway.
Then there were WILDFIRES. They had access to divinations, limited access to personal consultations with the leaders, and they could test wearing the symbol of the solar deity if they liked. Just wearing it for a day had no other purpose than to make the cultists associate the sigil with good things and the feeling of having received a great privilege. This was a stage that was especially designed to be a transitory state, with lots of sneak peeks given to advertise the greater rights and perks of the uppermost ladders. It was important for Ted that the very structure of the cult would increase the need of the cultists to move forward. People loved labels, and that was exactly what he was going to give to his sacrifices.
Below Wildfires, Ted had placed yet another transitory stage, called RADIANT BEINGS. They were given brief consultations, and in Ted's opinion, a generous amount of divinations for a meager little fee. Radiant Beings were allowed to wear the special robes of the cult in important ceremonies, not just the regular robe that was to be used in the initiation ceremony. For the stages above them, special robes were obligatory in the ceremonies, as there had to be some kind of a visual marker that would inspire feelings of inferiority among the lesser sacrifice candidates.
SPARKS did not have access to consultations, and neither did they have much to show for their money, but at least they were regularly given tempting divinations about the great, exciting future they would have in the cult. Sparks were allowed to give out the flyers – it was the first stage that Ted intended to utilize in the recruitment process acceleration. To call something a perk instead of a responsibility made it all sound so much better. Ted expected his cultists to climb over each other to get a chance to spread the good word. It was also an interesting level because of the second stage of the initiation ceremony. That was when there would be a general outline of the hidden cultist agenda given to the initiates.
FIREFLIES were the lowest level, and also the stage where the honeymoon feelings were designed to kick in. Starting from a very brief and comparably mundane initiation ceremony, the fresh meat would start to receive an onslaught of humble perks that were supposed to feel like being royalty when compared to what little complete outsiders got out of being in the presence of the cult. The initiation ceremony would start out with the cultist accepting a new name that was to be used as a sort of a secret code to signify that their entire position in society had changed. Fireflies could read announcements given out to the entire cult. They received regular personalized weather forecasts and were allowed to make voluntary donations in exchange for what Ted called blessings. Blessing someone was not considered occult stuff, rather, it was harmless, fun, superstitious play.
Fireflies were sure to question the usage of luxurious robes in what was supposed to be an organization to improve worldly matters. Taking inspiration from every wonky and eccentric gentlemen's club Ted had been in, he had decided to explain the initiation process as a kind of a dedication. If a grown human being could keep a straight face during the pompous ceremony that included crystals, sunlight and lighting a strand of hair on fire, then they were surely committed to the good cause. At least, that was what Ted was going to say to the new cultists.
The cult system was now ready to be used. Some privileged members from the club would skip straight to the upper stages, but this was a calculated move as well. Injustice was a good way of getting the fresh meat hooked on promises of greater power that could change the structures of the cult.