The Burnt Crows
The Saenachaisian militia forces, known colloquially as the Burnt Crows, maintain a standing force of approximately three thousand that are stationed throughout the various realms of Cairne. Each cell is independent of the others, and for the sake of safety, none of them are aware of the others' locations or activities. There is a long standing order that their sole purpose is to cause mischief through subterfuge and maintain the memory of what happened in the public eye. It is not uncommon in any urban area to find graffiti and posters throughout populated areas, though most militias and constabulary services do what they can to keep these pulled down. In the Bechtlarite cities, these activities hold a more sinister role as the Burnt Crows beleaguer not only the military and political forces, but the general public as well, setting fires and kidnapping important public figures from time to time and even making multiple, albeit ill-fated attempts to injure or kill the highest ranking officials. Deep beneath the Bechtlarite city of Armuun, hidden within the twisting catacombs that lay forgotten there, is the central nerve system of the resistance forces, the Bone Cask.
Structure
One of the most dangerous elements of the Burnt Crows is that there is no formal organizational structure throughout their significantly widespread influence, with each individual cell operating without oversight or communication from the others, and generally without any knowledge of one another's existence aside from hearsay and various reports intercepted from the locations where they operate. This allows each element of the Crows at act with impunity and without risk to the remaining independent factions. While this does offer a great deal of misrepresentation and misinterpretation, as well as the Crows being used as scapegoats for many other illicit criminal activities, at it's core even these generally serve as a means to disrupt and slowly weaken The Sovereign Empire of the Bechtlarites , which remains their primary tactic in their attempts to force the Empire to recognize their demands for reparations and justice done for the Blight and the near annihilation of the Seanachaisian people.
Culture
Despite the diversity within the various cells of the Crows and the lack of communication between them, the overall mission and ideals are regularly published by the core elements of the movement in Armuun . These manifestos and propaganda pieces are consistent in their view of the Empire's reluctance to pay a debt that Sighnai Oifrei deems them responsible for paying. With the Seanachaisians remaining without a homeland of their own and their people scattered, and the effects of the Blight still physically affecting every member of the species, she claims that the Becht are among some of the only denizens of Cairne that have not actually suffered due to the calamity they brough upon the world. This disdain and idea that the Becht have escaped justice and have actually benefitted from the aftermath of the cataclysm they summoned is a driving factor among most of the existing cells that are truly following the principals formed at the inception of the Crows.
Public Agenda
The Burnt Crow Manifesto
Behold the Burnt Crows, harbingers of vengeance, inheritors of a legacy soaked in blood and ash. We are the Seanachaisians, a people on the brink of extinction, survivors of a brutal genocide inflicted upon us by the Bechtlarite Empire. We demand justice for the horrors wrought upon our people, for the destruction of our culture, and the devestation of our land.
The Bechtlarites have long reveled in their power, their privilege, and their dominance over all that they survey. They have stolen our homes, ripped apart our families, and left us to rot in the ashes of our past. They have persecuted us, hunted us down like vermin, and tried to wipe us out entirely.
But we have risen from the ashes of our broken past, our souls consumed by a burning desire for justice, for vengeance. We demand reparations for the damages inflicted upon us, for the lands and resources that were taken from us, and for the lives that were lost.
The Bechtlarites will tremble before our fury, for we are resolute in our determination to see justice served. We demand that they acknowledge the wrongs they have committed against us, that they compensate us for their sins, and that they recognize our right to self-determination.
We will not be satisfied until our culture is restored, until the loss of our homeland is compensated, and until our people are free from the yoke of oppression. We demand accountability for the crimes that have been committed, from the lowest lackeys to the highest-ranking officials.
We warn those who stand in our way that they will face our wrath, that we will not hesitate to do whatever is necessary to see justice served. Our path may be difficult, fraught with danger and sacrifice, but we are prepared to pay any price to achieve our goals.
Join us, the Burnt Crows, in our righteous crusade for justice and freedom. We will rise up from the ashes of our broken past and smite our oppressors with the fires of vengeance. The Bechtlarite Empire will tremble before us, for we are the harbingers of their downfall.
Rise up, and let our enemies tremble at the sound of our wings!
Ón luaithreach, ardaigh muid!
Assets
While there is no possible accounting of all of the assets available to the Crows, they have shown remarkable ingenuity and inventiveness, and their creativity is often terrifying. These are the remnants of the Seanachaisian people, and prior to the Blight were considered the most masterful and talented artisans and musicians the world had ever seen, and despite the hardships they have endured, they continue to prove that this level of prodigious skill has not been lost in their seditious attempts to disrupt the Empire.
History
- 48 PR - The Crows are founded by Sighnai Oifrei, seven year after the death of her father, Oisin Oifrei at the disaster that befell the attempts at Victory to gain reparations from The Sovereign Empire of the Bechtlarites.
- 49 PR - The Burnt Crows in Armuun , using their significant skill in the art of thievery and subterfuge, began to raid Bechtlarite supply depots, stealing weapons, ammunition, and supplies. They also began to target mines and textile mills, seizing valuable resources and denying them to the Bechtlarites.
- 49 PR - In a daring operation, the Crows infiltrated a heavily guarded armory located within the Western tower of Armuun , stealing dozens of rifles and several cases of ammunition, which they later used to arm their own fighters.
- 51 PR through 55 PR - The Burnt Crows carried out a series of sabotage operations against critical Bechtlarite infrastructure. Mines, resource warehouses, supply caravans of food from The Greenlands Commonage , and several of the smaller workshops and laboratories were crippled or destroyed in an ongoing series of targeted attacks. They would often disguise themselves as workers or travelers, gaining access to vital installations and planting explosives or disrupting transportation to cause maximum damage.
- 52 PR - The Death of Sovereign Jaimus Oraulicli and the Prima Consort Sarah Oraulicli occurs in the The Palace of Glass . The Crows, though use of detailed graffiti claim responsibility for the act.
- 56 PR - In a particularly audacious operation, the Crows detonate large swathes of the roadway between Armuun and The Greenlands Commonage , forcing the trade caravans to reroute though more dangerous routes which they used to raid and steal the contents being transported, mainly food. These goods were then dispersed throughout smaller Seanachaisian settlements with the surplus either destroyed or traded to various criminal entities within the Empire to be be sold back to the Empire at greatly inflated prices. This disruption caused substantial damage to the larger settlements within the Becht territories and inspired the beginning talks of what would eventually become Twilight Downs .
- 62 PR - The beginnings of the spread of the Crows to places outside of Armuun begins to become noticeable. Several over Becht settlements become host to small, fledgling Burnt Crow cells, inspired by the efforts of Sighnai and her people in the capital. Most of these are little more than graffiti and vandalism, but the occurrences being to escalate in number and seriousness as time passes.
- 67 PR - One of the larger satellite cells located in the city of Belarian kidnap a governing official, holding him for ransom with the demands that a statue to Oisin Oifrei be erected outside the governor's villa. The group is located and raided by the Wraith Guard and a bloody fight ensues. The governor is killed during the exchange and all of the Crows slain. The Crows are blamed for the death of the governor.
- 67 PR - Graffiti and leaflets begin circulating through the capital city with the single phrase, "The Empire's hands stained with bloody deceit, claim the knife rests in the Crows feet".
- 68 PR - The public begin to question the Empire's claims about the massacre at Belarian , and several exposes painting the Empire in a less than flattering light are published in The Voice of the Empire .
- 69 PR through 72 PR - Independent Crow activity begins to expand and grow, and signs of the organization's influence begin to appear all over the Empire including many of the smaller outlying settlements and villages. While most of these are little more than youths and idealists that primarily go no further than vandalism and the occasional altercation, several incidents of violent clashes occur in the larger cities within the Empire. All of these end poorly for the Crows who remain woefully outnumbered and outgunned by the well train and well supplied Wraith Guard, the deaths and damage done to the surrounding Becht homes and businesses, as well as the collateral deaths and injuries that occur during the fighting continue to cause the public opinion to turn negatively towards the Guard and the The Bechtlarite Intelligence Bureau .
- 77 PR - Several high ranking executive officers from The Bechtlarite Intelligence Bureau are captured when Sighnai Oifrei leads a raid upon a convoy returning from the Troughfoy Military Academy . The fighting is fierce, but when the smoke clears five officers and a handful of agents are taken and held hostage an an unknown location below Armuun .
- 77 PR - Leaflets containing detailed illustrations of the captives begin to circulate through Armuun demanding the return of several Crow captives, a large amount of military assets and supplies, and a lock of Sovereign Jaimus Oraulicli II's hair.
- 78 PR - After refusing to negotiate for over a month, one of the kidnapped agents is found dead propped against the gates of the The Palace of Glass with a warning letter claiming that more deaths will follow and their demands will escalate if the Crows are not taken seriously.
- 78 PR - After three more bodies turn up over the following weeks in various public locations throughout the city, at the behest of Sovereign Jaimus Oraulicli II the demands are met by The Bechtlarite Intelligence Bureau with the supplies and goods, including the lock of hair delivered into The Bonescrap . The captives are released into the commercial district two days later, naked and half starved.
- 78 PR through 85 PR - Following the embarrassment and humiliation of the Empire at the hands of the Crows, Candor Ralech doubles down and doubles patrols in all majors cities and as many outlying settlements as he is able. At the same time, The Bechtlarite Intelligence Bureau begins to recruit heavily utilizing a propaganda campaign in which Becht authors and playwrights are hired and granted significant compensation to begin to flood the entertainment markets with stories and pulp fiction that presents the Wraith Guard and The Bechtlarite Intelligence Bureau as exciting professions filled with heroes and adventures to entice younger citizens into an interest in enlisting.
- 86 PR - A small group of Crows attempts to sabotage the construction of Twilight Downs using an explosive that, had it been successful would have likely obliterated all of the effort made thus far and claimed nearly all of the lives of the residents and workers. A team of junior Wraith Guard agents caught them at the outskirts while on patrol and in a violent but quick altercation, the Crows were defeated and the explosive confiscated and dismantled. The junior agents are hailed as heroes and public opinion of the Crows plummets.
- 89 PR - Candor Ralech is found dead in an alley in the industrial sector of Armuun , shot twice through the head. Two days later following the promotion of Lance Heathcliff to the position of Nonpareil , Candor's badge of office is found pinned to the door of The Ocularium with a note that reads, "Best of luck, Love, SIghnai."
- 90 PR - As news of Candor Ralech's death spreads, public opinion of the Crows falls further among the Becht people, and recruitment numbers for people enlisting with the Wraith Guard and positions within The Bechtlarite Intelligence Bureau reach an all time high.
- 90 PR through 96 PR - Direct attacks within the capital go quiet as opposition number increase significantly across the Empire. While the independent cells are still active elsewhere, rumors circulate ranging from the death of Sighnai to the disbandment of the Crows altogether. However, many people report sightings of the iconic Seanachaisian roaming the Eastern Wastes during this time, though none of them are substantiated.
- 100 PR to 112 PR - Slowly, starting with the poorer sections of the capital and moving inward, publications begin to surface throughout the Empire in the form of a newsprint publication called "Whispers in the Rookery" that tell stories of Seanachaisian refugees and their struggles. The stories are masterfully written, generating strong emotional responses and, over the years, a growing sympathy for the plight of the Seanachaisians. As the stories continue they slowly begin to turn in a way that gradual enough that the majority of readers do not notice, and the tales within begin to hint at undertones of violence, oppression, and abuse against the Seanachaisians that the popular reader base had come to enjoy reading about and had formed emotional bonds with. Public opinion of the Empire slowly dwindles of the twelve year period, and Lance Heathcliff , Nonpareil begins to suspect a brilliant and subtle propaganda campaign. He attempts to trace the source of the publications, but due to the popularity and, by that time wide reach of the publication, he is repeatedly unsuccessful. This is further hampered by the death of Sovereign Jaimus Oraulicli II .
- 113 PR - Sovereign Margaret Effron is elected into office and the publications continue, however it seems that many of the independent cells have begun to wind down by this time, likely losing momentum due to the long period of apparent inactivity coming out of the capital city.
- 114 PR - 121 PR - The propaganda campaign continues but is increasingly countered by the actions of the new Sovereign, Margaret Effron. Her efforts in office are hailed as revolutionary and the people love her for it. Her continued efforts to relate to, not only her people but Cairne as a global community becomes increasingly more difficult to criticize and even within her inner circle it is said that Sighnai Oifrei herself is even overheard to admit she respects the woman. These years are relatively peaceful aside from propaganda, and the occasional incursion or altercation by the independent elements, but even those are lessened significantly. Lance Heathcliff continues his efforts to crack down on the dissident order of the Burnt Crows as his manpower and resources are vastly increased. The Order of Objectie representation, seeing his increasing successes in small arrests all over the Empire due to the expansion of his resources, further increase the budgetary overhead of the office of Nonpareil , granting the position a near carte blanche access provided the needs are justified in the pursuit of the security and safety of the Empire and its citizens.
- 121 PR - Lance Heathcliff is rushed to the Benevolent conclave in Armuun after fainting in his office. His situation deteriorates rapidly from an unknown ailment that the Benevolents cannot seem to identify. That evening he slips into a coma and passes in his sleep.
- 121 PR - Mere days after the death of Lance Heathcliff , a fire breaks out in the Benevolent conclave where his body awaits autopsy. The body and all records are destroyed, along with significant damage to other sections of the facility, leading to it being torn down completely. The loss is met with a great deal of speculation concerning the possibility that the Crows were involved, but no claim to the death nor the fire is made publicly.
- 121 PR - Geraldine Fulton is promoted to the position of Nonpareil at the suggestion of several members of the Order of Objective Representation and several inside, high ranking executive officers within the Bureau itself. Her coronation goes through without interruption, but she swears to continue the work of her predecessor and bring down the Crows once and for all.
- 125 PR - A raid upon the an isolated location in The Bone Cask led by Geraldine Fulton , run in conjunction with several other raids upon independent cells in outlying locations leads to a large number of arrests and captures, as well as tremendous losses for the Crows. Due to the unexpected move, the devastation is almost entirely one sided. The move is hailed as a massive victory against domestic terrorism in The Voice of the Empire and Geraldine is awarded a medal of valor for her planning and execution of the operation.
- 125 PR through 137 PR - The Crows, reeling from the losses go to ground and are nearly forgotten save for the occasional slogan or art graffitied across walls or vandalism done in the outlying communities that are claimed to have been dine in the name of the Crows. During this time it is believed that a substantial and largely successful effort was made by Burnt Crow operatives to infiltrate a large number of Bechtlarite offices and infrastructure, using the supposed belief that they were defeated as a smokescreen to mask this brazen attempt to regain a foothold in places their presence would be least expected.
- 139 PR - Sighnai Oifrei is approached by the enigmatic Phaedra Cadence and offered terms of a temporary alliance in which the resources of The Order of the Black Flame would be made available to the Crows in their efforts in return for a favor to be named at a later date. Sighnai, wary but desperate, accepts the terms and immediately goes to work to prepare for an offensive against the Becht.
- 143 PR - Her operatives now nestled securely in some of the most delicate and important aspects of the Becht political and economic machinations, Sighnai prepares to execute a plan that has been nearly a decade in the making. She is asked to halt her plans by Phaedra Cadence and await further instructions from the head of The Order of the Black Flame . Sighnai is furious and argues the matter to little effect, as Phaedra remains unmoved and unfazed by her attempts to coerce and intimidate the strange woman. Eventually she settles and decides to take it up with the head of Phaedra's Order.
- 143 PR - Sighnai meets with Erebus Kane ,and while the details of that conversation remain a mystery to all but her and Erebus, it is recorded that her countenance upon leaving the conversation was shaken and pale, and she appeared to be terrified. She gave no further argument or disagreement in the matter, and instead put her resources to use monitoring the newly appointed Headmaster of The University of the Lighted Way , Airtam Morenthall .
- 143 PR through 160 PR- The quiet observation of the Headmaster continued on until Sighnai and her Crows were called upon directly by Erebus Kane to make their way to Airtam in the small settlement of Hearde , and to extract her from a potentially dire situation. Sighnai did as she was asked and despite the danger and horror of the scene they found there, were successful in the extraction, as well as in the saving of a large number of Bechtlarite civilians. Though very few are aware that their lives were saved by the Burnt Crows, Sighnai, despite her disdain for the Becht could stand by idle and watch as innocent civilians were torn to shreds by a horde of the undead. Sadly, this selfless act went largely unnoticed by the Empire.
- 161 PR - With Erebus and Phaedra content that Sighnai had ho0nored her end of their agreement, the Crows begin their offensive, their sleeper agents moving in a well timed and precise strike against the Becht. Fires break out throughout the city of Armuun and the fire brigades are called out but find their water carts drained and their horses untethered, the alarms sabotaged, and key locations within the city blocked off via a series of timed explosions that severely damaged the roadways within the city. Fights break out between the Crows and the Guard as the night rages on, and the number of casualties are extremely high, both in civilian lives and those of both sides of the actual fighting. It is believed that Sighnai sent a small contingent of operatives to attempt to grab the Headmaster from her home in the middle of the fighting, but the operatives were slain in the process and all, including the Headmaster are believed to have perished in the fire. Many believe that the Crows played a role in the death of Geraldine Fulton that night as well. Though her death was reported as a suicide, though many eyewitnesses claim otherwise. The attack against the Becht continued unabated through the night, and come morning, the streets and buildings were crowded with manifestos and graffitied slogans. The destruction was fairly widespread but managed to be contained by the crippled fire brigades by the following afternoon. This heralded the return of the Crows in full force, and as news spread, sparked a revival of the independent cells as well.
- 162 PR - Over the course of the year, The Works Of Airtam Morenthall begin to be seeded into the general population of Armuun . The citizenry is quite taken by the publications and public favor in the Empire once more begins to wane. Coupled with the failure of the infrastructure of efficiently handle the events prior, many look to the new Nonpareil , Barbara Graves with higher than normal expectations, and The Bechtlarite Intelligence Bureau in general with a very low opinion.
- 162 PR - Working swiftly, Barbara Graves , working in conjunction with their Culvarkt allies in in the The League of Steam begin to track down the printing operation that is publishing the journals. They are successful eventually, delving deep into The Bone Cask and eventually discovered the location, but while they are successful, the fight to escape with the remaining journals following their destruction of the Crows printing press in a bloody and costly one.
- 162 PR - In a shocking turn of events, Sovereign Margaret Effron makes a public announcement that the remaining journal entries will be verified through a neutral third party and released as is to the public by the Empire itself. she promises a new era of transparency and honestly in light of the events of Geraldine Fulton and the corruption she brought into the Bureau. Much to the surprise of Sighnai, she also offers a grudging thanks for the part she played in rooting out the corruption within her Empire, and claims that she wished that circumstances were different between them, musing that together they might had been able to achieve great things for both of their people, but after the mayhem caused in the name of the Crows that followed, she must adhere to her principals and her first priority with is to her people. Sighnai is visibly shaken by this statement according to those around her.
- 163 PR through 171 PR - The Crows within Armuun go quiet, doing little more the restarting the propaganda publications that are once again met with great public approval. Several of the independent cells continue their endeavors, and while several disruptions and attempts to damage the Empire succeed, the damage is minimal.
- 171 PR - Sovereign Margaret Effron passes quietly, and Sighnai spreads the word that the day is a day of armistice in honor of the the first and only Sovereign to fully seem to understand and respect the plight of the Seanachaisians.
Ón luaithreach, ardaigh muid! (From the ashes, we rise!)
Founding Date
The month of Frigus, 48 PR
Type
Illicit, Terrorist group
Alternative Names
The Crows
Demonym
Crows
Leader
Parent Organization
Location
Related Species
Related Ethnicities
Comments