The Organization

The Organization
The secret organization is usually contacted by towns or villages afflicted by Yoma, and goes on to dispatch an appropriate number of Claymores to eliminate the target(s). Upon a successful kill, it then sends an agent to collect a large fee for its services. A town that fails to pay will never receive any further assistance, and will be left at the mercy of the Yoma. It has been insinuated that the organization itself sends Yoma to the towns that fail to pay, or at least inform the Yoma that said towns are no longer under Claymore protection. The organization is often strict and harsh; hybrids who break the rules (for example, by killing a human, even accidentally or to protect others) will be hunted down by their fellow hybrids. Claymores who cause trouble or Claymores suspected to be on the verge of Awakening will be sent on suicide missions without their knowledge. Various characters throughout the series suspect the organization of being much more sinister than it appears, though most are either unwilling or unable to act on the matter as it would mean conflict with other Claymores.

The Claymores themselves are culled from the ranks of orphaned girls adopted by the organization, undergoing brutal training and tests to prove their mettle. Those who successfully join the ranks of the 47 Claymores are expected to be unwaveringly loyal to the organization, and adhere to its rules without exception. Those who display any form of outward rebellion, or attempt to betray or leave the organization, are often marked for death. They are either dispatched on suicide missions against Yoma or Awakened Ones beyond their ability to defeat, or killed off by their fellow Claymores. Similarly targeted are Claymores who are partially Awakened, such as Clare or Miria, although the rationale behind this has never been explicitly revealed.

As of Volume 12 of the manga series, following a 7-year time-skip, the organization has modified its modus operandi in response to the Northern campaign, where it lost 24 Claymores to a gathering of the normally-solitary Awakened Ones. Where once it only hunted the powerful Awakened for a fee, a group of Claymores is now permanently stationed in the Northern regions to actively hunt and eliminate them.

The Organization's composition, aside from its Claymores, is relatively unknown. Thus far it has been shown to employ numerous agents that act as handlers for the Claymores, passing on mission details, equipment, and funds to the warriors. These handlers double as money collectors, helping to collect the fees incurred by those who hire the Claymores. Though there appears to be no standard uniform, all handlers are usually identifiable by their all-black ensembles.

Miria hypothesizes in chapter 79 that the current setting of the series is actually a testing ground for the creation of Awakened Beings. She reveals that there is another mainland across the ocean where two massive nations have been at constant war for over a hundred years. One nation, employed nonhuman creatures with tough skin, referred to as the "Dragon-kins". The other nation, in an effort to defeat the "Dragon-kins", created the Organization to develop a weapon to defeat them. The weapon they are trying to create are the Awakened Beings, and Claymores are just one step in the creation process.