Castle Adwick
The current capital of Arilaand. Also currently the location where Fractured Thrones is set.
The capital of Arilaand is usually a safe, prosperous place, run by the ruling House, with the presence of their soldiers and House bannermen. Oftentimes, this is all that is needed for life to run smoothly and peacefully, no matter the place - but all that changes when a nation is thrust into war.
Hoping to hide from what is to come, and the ravages of war, many refugees, and even more people just seeking safety, have piled into the capital. This has caused a problem of overpopulation, and even worse, inflation. Prices for goods and services have skyrocketed, making survival on the streets even with a business a challenge. Soon, poor folk with no real craft skills, find themselves at an impasse. They are too poor to travel, too poor to pay for meals, and the only outlook is starvation. This is when a man is at his wits end, and makes a choice.
Guilds and Factions
There were two major clans that resided, hidden with Castle Adwick and its city. It is to these illicit groups that the desperate man turns, in order to survive. King Gavus has done all that he can to attempt to distribute what was needed to fix the local economy - but with the war with the Theozzian Empire, it did not last. These groups gained traction and members, all thanks to the fires of war. Their crimes can vary from robbing stores, to mugging passersby, raiding caravan’s outside of town, fighting over turf, making craftsmen pay protection, to outright murder. They are a thorn in the side to the ruling class, and of course, the common man trying to scrape by. While the Guard does all it can to isolate and track down these clans, they have thus met with no success.
The Brass Skulls
This faction has since dissolved, most of its members executed and the remaining scattered across Arilaand. All information presented here should be taken in its past tense. The Brass Skulls were a group of thieves, cutthroats, and brutes, commanded by Genkir Stensk, a grizzled human ex-mercenary who is from Gradia. A man of strength and ruthless command, he is one of the few who are known to have spent time going with madmen from the guilds of Gradia to the far North, and made it back. Upon a tragedy of sorts that cost him most of his company, and a bounty on his head for a crime he never committed, he fled far into Arilaand, looking for work. Unfortunately, the land he came across was torn by war, and no one had the coin to hire. He wound up turning to petty crime at first - and then as more and more decided to join him, he organized them. They began raiding merchant warehouses in the city, and selling the goods in nearby towns for double the price, as the only source. At times they would collect protection money from the craftsmen, protecting them from their foes, and dealing with domestic issues for coin - while also bribing an already thinly spread guard to look the other way. Upon coming across a caravan to rob outside of town, Stensk and his men were surprised to find the caravan was actually filled with imperial men - men who weren't ready to be discovered. This group of scouts were mercilessly killed, and their armor taken - instead of being sold, Stensk felt it would be a better statement to melt it down, and have them made into skulls. They use these creations to identify one another quickly, and the name The Brass Skulls were born. The name quickly spread, and why, thanks to the outer village...adding to the reasons why the guards look the other way.The Black Serpents
The Black Serpents are another clan hidden within the alleys of Castle Adwick looking to survive and control the flow of coin. While the Brass Skulls focused on the surface...the Serpents look underground. The sewer systems underneath the Castle are enormous, with twists and turns that could take you from one end of the city, to another. They utilize this thanks to the initial discovery by Quevven Tanor. This individual made his way to Adwick under unknown circumstances, and is probably one of the most secretive people within its walls. While the Skulls blend in on the streets, the Serpents use the sewers to pop up near their targets, hit it, and quickly disappear before the guards can even find them. This allows their primary source of income, Serenity, to be quickly distributed before their trail can be followed. While this chemical is difficult to produce, it is far from impossible, and they have the coin to do so. Between seizing caravans, the ingredients they need from doing as such, and private, special smuggling lines, the Serpents are able to produce enough serenity in a few weeks to supply every addict in Adwick at once. It is a severe problem in the poor quarter, and keeps entirely too many at the whims of Tanor’s group. Oftentimes they found themselves at odds with the Skulls, fighting over storefronts, caravan targets, and warehouse raids. It was not uncommon for them both to show up and wind up clashing in broad daylight. While this may seem foolish - most of the guard is bribed anyway, and they tended to stay out of small disputes. The Serpents identify themselves by wearing almost all black, hiding their faces to prevent identification. This makes them especially hard to deal with at night, as they are no stranger to careful, quiet movements, and completing their nefarious tasks in the darkness. It is whispered that the Serpents, however, are in the employ of a powerful individual in Adwick, but there isn't a soul alive who can say for sure. At least, not anymore.
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