The Zhantarim

An illusive organization, few know how far exactly the reach the Zhantarim and especially their leader, an entity known only as the Collector extends. Many common folk live through their entire lives without ever encountering the Zhantarimi in the flesh. That is primarily because an ordinary peasant or craftsman is unlikely to posses an item or a piece of information that the Collector would be interested in.
Ever since their creation, the Zhantarim have stuck to the shadows, attempting to recover various magical items, designated by the Collector himself. Many Zhantarimi agents will take to brokering information alongside their primary objectives as a way to ensure a somewhat reliable income, even though it is not usually directly involved with their tasks. Regardless of what it is they are currently doing, as long as the dealing is involving their primary goal, the agents of the Collector will put on their signature masks, which have become known as one of the organization's symbols.
Not many know, what exactly it is they are trying to achieve. Some would claim that greed is all that motivates the Zhantarim, while others will quickly point out that the Zhantarim are simply trying to protect the people from dangers, inherently brought on by the items they collect. Whatever the truth is, you are better off knowing that regardless of what you think you know, the loyalty of the Zhantarimi to their leader is unwavering, which is largely the reason the organization has stayed secret for so long.

Structure

The secrecy of the Zhantarim manifests both towards the outside world as well as the members themselves. An ordinary Agent will usually know only of a few of the other members, operating in the same area, but will not even know their identities. The agents are, however, always linked to a Contractor, who stands higher in the hierarchy and distributes tasks among his agents. Another higher position within the Zhantarim are the Inducers. They scour the world for potential candidates to be taken on as new members of the ever-growing organization. All the Contractors and Inducers answer to the Speaker, who is the only person in direct contact with the Collector, and prepares the individual assignments before distributing them between the contractors.

Public Agenda

The goals of the Zhantarim are shrouded in mystery. Some believe that they simply collect for the sake of satisfying their leader's voracious desire amass magical paraphernalia, while others put forth more noble theories, suggesting the Collector attempts to retrieve and lock away items, which could potentially serve as weapons of destruction in the wrong hands.

Assets

It is hard to asses the possessions of the Zhantarim, as this information is only available to those leading the entire organization. However, it should be noted that it seems that the organization will seemingly expend great resources to obtain a high-value target once they have set their sights on it, which suggests extensive sums of gold and other currency at their disposal. Their discreet methods do often allow for a more economic approach towards achieving their goals.

History

The organization surfaced only after the Exodus, which would suggest they took the place of other such secret orders, which were perhaps too decimated by the Withering to continue their operations.

Contain in Silence.

Founding Date

9 A.E.

Type

Secret, Brotherhood

Demonym

Zhantarimi

Leader

The Collector

Location

Terratus