Undercover: Amazon River Sun reporter infiltrates Amazon cult vowing to destroy Monks

An unidentified cult member stands before an idol
Photos by Persephone Bolero

 

By Persephone Bolero-Trenton 

AMAZON — I was approached a couple weeks ago by a trio of hooded individuals calling themselves “Os Guardioes da Besta.” They claimed that the corporeal reality we know is an illusion created by the Monks to imprison us, and they vowed to destroy them and set us free.

They asked if I’d be interested in joining their crusade, but when I asked for details on how, exactly, they planned to annihilate the Monks, they could provide no further information. I was told that it would be foolish to publicize their plans, and if I joined, they said, they would reveal their battle plans.

I said I would consider joining. I expected that I’d never hear from them again, so I was quite surprised when two of them arrived at the Amazon River Sun offices, including the male leader. They said they were pleased with the article I’d written about them and handed me a cookie.

 

The cult members when they first approached me

 

I wasn’t hungry, but they were insistent that I eat it. It was clear they were trying to drug me, but I also knew that if I was going to learn more about this curious bunch, I would need to go along with it. So, I ate the cookie, and soon lost consciousness under a deluge of hallucinations.

When I awoke, I learned they had removed my clothing and dressed me in their hoods and black robes. (I had been wearing an adorable tie-dye blouse and crimson shorts, which was never able to recover.) I’m not sure what else may have transpired while unconscious and disrobed. As far as I could tell, they only switched my clothing.

 

The cult's ranks have grown

 

They then told me to meet them at 1 p.m. near Deep Drop on Thursday, July 2, where I would undergo some kind of ceremony in which I’d be given my new name. Included in the ensemble they gave me was a pentagram pennant. I decided to place a hidden camera in the pentagram and shoot photos of the secret meeting.

On that day, I was surprised to find that their influence had grown. There was about a dozen hooded members of this cult that had come to receive their new name. 

We were ushered into a secret cave. The male leader of the group then sat before a pool of lava. We were told to cut our hands — I only pretended to do so — drop blood into the pool of lava, and pledge allegiance to their cause. This would, the leaders said, free us from the prison the Monks had trapped us in.

 

The secret cave had many strange carvings

 

The pledge was as follows: “I shall turn not from salvation! I willingly submit my fire unto HIM, who delivers us into eternal paradise. Upon my blood, I swear to serve the Great Mapinguari Beast as Guardian and Keeper—to never lie, never betray, and remain forever loyal. Beneath this cloak of honor, I renounce my identity, my name and face to remain hidden.”

During this ceremony, in which I was given the name “Tutelary,” I surreptitiously triggered the camera I had hidden on me pendant.

After we’d all been given our names, they had us play a game in which one of us had been secretly designated the Monk. The Monk would they “kill” us off one-by-one until his identity was uncovered. Each round, players had the opportunity to “kill” one person they believed to be the Monk, and his identity wasn’t discovered until almost all had died. Anyone who was “killed” could not speak for the remainder of the game.

I was among the first to be suspected of being a Monk and killed by the group, which makes perfect sense. Of course, the woman who has been writing about the evils of the Monks for literally fucking years would be the Monk. Right??? It didn’t take me long to determine who the Monk was, but unable to speak, I was left to watch as the group slaughtered themselves one-by-one while the true Monk, who turned out to be the one named Stallwart, remained hidden. 

The leaders who conducted the ceremony.

 

I suspect the drugs they’d given us during the naming ceremony led to the group's completely irrational choices, and I believe the point of the game was a carefully crafted psychological tool to instill in us a sense of helplessness before the machinations of the Monks. The cult’s practices would thereby provide the only path to safety and salvation.

Whatever the case, I was never able to discern that the leaders of this hooded sect had any concrete plans to war against the Monks. Nor did I ever recover my stolen outfit. I did, however, get some pretty good drugs. So, maybe it was all worth it.