Union Workers

The Union Workers consists of a loose, underground network of thieves and cutthroats which currently directs its various cells from the main headquarters located in Hidefall in Libaterra. They oppose demons and the Crimson Coalition in particular and have recently begun collaborating with the Grand Alliance and the Magicracy of Alent.

Background

The Union Workers started out as a union of small guilds, bandit groups and city gangs which eventually became more and more integrated until the complete loss of Yamato after the Cataclysm made them pull ranks and finally organize into one body. They've been spreading throughout Libaterra and are slowly integrating themselves into various cities.

They're a powerful underground group that over an untraceable number of years has grown close to the size that national military factions are comparable, although the thieves are spread out, and some of them died in the Battle of Yamato during the Great War. They are closely associated with former Yamato factions, where they provide supplies behind the scenes, usually finding fair merchants and manipulating them to any factions they particularly like.

One of the Union's prominent and more extremist cells, Thistle Grove, separated from the Union in early spring 11 AOE after the rise of the Grand Alliance and the Crimson Coalition which they saw as a threat. Since then the Union and Thistle Grove have been at odds.

The Union took multiple severe hits in late summer 11 AOE, but they are far from being down yet, and they're currently led from Hidefall solely as their other two bases in Steelfall and Etheril were eradicated by the Northern Horde and invaded by the Crimson Coalition respectively. They've decided to work with the Grand Alliance and the Magicracy of Alent against the demons and the Coalition for the time being.

Armor and Emblems

Each branch of the Union has its own symbol, but their flags are all based on a circle of daggers with a sword at the bottom, and coin in the center. Usually the branch's unique symbol follows that to the right, and some of the largest cells have their own symbol which smaller cells around them adopt. This third symbol goes below the first two, and is usually a coded letter or some sort of reference to their own history.

Different cells of the Union have different uniform armors, some have light plate and chainmail for the more bandit/fighting-dedicated cells and branches, to light leathers with minimal enchantment for the magic-inclined and anywhere in between. All have the appropriate flagging symbols on the right paulder or a pad on the right shoulder for that exact purpose.

Organization

Assembly

Overview

A relatively democratic council, called the Assembly, leads the Union from Hidefall and consists of High Masters who all use the name John or Jane Doe depending on their gender.

Naming

None of the Assembly members retain their names. All the women are Jane Doe, all the men are John Doe. They are only distinctive by their title and function. Only the closest, most trusted people to an Assembly member have a chance at knowing their old name. This is partly tradition, partly function.

Functionally, it decreases the risk of a significant leak because the bodyguards of the Assembly also don't have names (or titles, they're completely non-existent personally, and usually at least partly indoctrinated.).

Traditionally, it's seen as a way to make sure that the Assembly members are dedicated and safe. They have to permanently give up their names, even if they retire they don't get them back. Any Assembly member or bodyguard that breaks this is dealt with in a not-so-nice way.

Master Thieves

On the ground to take care of the workings, there are Master Thieves who are a step below the Assembly, and they have a ranking system in the style of a military. They take care of leadership in various cells so that the Assembly can remain uncompromised.

The most important position in the entirety of city level guild operations is the representative of the city to the main power bases of the leaders, which were formerly based in Steelfall, Etheril, and the remnants of those governments along with the entirety of the Alent headquarters acting in a leadership role. Lately the Union has been taking its more prominent members to the hidden city of Hidefall.

Cells

The Union has spread far throughout the world, operating in various underground cells. Each of the Union's cells in each city names itself, after which they create a city-wide emergency council of one master thief per twenty thieves in the entire city spread equally over the cells. The odd ones out either gain other positions in the local management or possibly take the slack with them somewhere else to start another cell if the most important outside position is taken or they're deemed unsuitable for it.

The cells recruit people from all walks of life, including assassins, thieves, wizards and bards, and in exchange for the recruits' loyalty they'll protect and take care of them in return. It's worth noting that many ground-level Thieves don't actually know about most of the Union unless they were born into it, and the Thieves that were born into the Union usually don't speak about it to other Thieves unless they're asked specific questions.

Relations

The Union sells and barters with the Nightstalkers in Maar Sul, and lets them operate unimpeded. They also observe the actions of the Matheson Crime Family from the shadows. In Alent they have a massive intelligence library of reports. Currently, they are revealing themselves to the Grand Alliance and the Magicracy of Alent in a very limited way and aid in the defense of Alent with experienced combatants, supplies, and their cavernously deep pockets, when they're not busy eradicating the inner networks of the Crimson Coalition.

They've been at odds with the extremist Thistle Grove cell which had separated from the Union in 11 AOE. The Union disapproves of the Grove's harsher methods and does what it can to limit the Grove's growing ambitions.

They've grown hostile to the Crimson Coalition after the Coalition forcibly drove them out of Etheril and are doing their best to hamper the Coalition's financial side by any means possible which include letting loose assassins and lawyers. Because of their harsh counterattack on Etheril and the treatment of Baron Jeremiah Seneron, the Union can no longer count on the support of people in Etheril which they've nearly left in ruins.

The Union shows no mercy to any demons and are actively aiding Yamato factions such as the Akai Tora combat the demons in Yamato. The reason they're siding with the Alliance is because that's the lesser of two evils in their view; they know that only with the aid of the Alliance and Alent can the Union fight the Coalition and the demons on equal terms without getting wiped out although they hold no illusion about the fact that Alent and Alliance might try to use them for their own ends.

Although they've had good enough relations with the Order of the Black Rose, they reacted in a hostile manner after the Order seemingly targeted the Union's master thieves in Alent. After a brutal onslaught known as the Alent Gang War during which many Union and Order operatives lost their lives not only in Alent but throughout Libaterra, the two factions have noticed that something is amiss and there might be a third faction pulling the strings in the background.

Notable members

• Dreanne Bark
• Jane Doe (Healer)
• Madeline Emmenson
• Raul Emmenson
• Tara Merrier

See also

• Alent Gang War
• Etheril
• Hidefall
• Steelfall
• Thistle Grove