The Doves of Estoya

Honor among thieves...

The Doves of Black and White are not just a criminal organization, they are the criminal organization. Hiding under the names of guilds and gangs, The Doves have their grip firmly wrapped around the criminal underworld in Estoya. They run it like a business, and each smaller group under their wing acts as a contractor. Oh! You need a thief, an assassin, a quick fix? They know a guy. Need muscle, a forger, a con artist? They know someone for that too.

Doves are not lowly criminals. They are professional criminals. They may start in a small thieves guild operating in one or two neighborhoods, placing their base of operations in a sewer. They may be a freelance assassin or a member of a smuggling ring with vague and unknown leaders pulling the strings. It's a common conspiracy in Estoya. Those who are caught by the law can never truly point out who it is that runs the organizations they are a part of. They simply have an alias, maybe some ladders or a description of a voice. Even those among these small organizations are not aware that the doves are the ones behind all crime in the nation.

One day the lowly criminal gets noticed. They receive ornate letter, a summons, fretted with gold. The gold twists and turns across the envelope forming the shape of a white dove. They come face to face with those who run the show, and are offered a role to play in their grand scheme. No more scraping for bread from the local bakery. No more robbing those who barely have any money as it is. The risks are high, but the rewards are even higher.

The Nest

The Doves are an elite criminal organization that maintains power over all crime in the nation of Estoya. No crime occurs without them knowing about it and usually no crime occurs without their say-so. New organizations are either killed, paid off, or bought out by The Doves and brought into the many subsidiary organizations under their command.

Each dove is skilled in their field, and decent enough in others. Each follows a clear set of instructions, usually acting autonomous from the whole. Doves rarely communicate with one another and even when they do, it usually happens without either knowing about it. to speak of the doves or claim you are one of them quickly leads to your death.

Only The Black Doves are privileged enough to know who is under their banner. The black doves are those who land in The Calhurst Prison Colony to the southeast of Rouxsgate. Those who enter cannot leave without the king's say so. It isn't known how such an organization could operate with its leaders locked away, but it operates like a well oiled machine.

Taking Flight

The Doves of Black and White are considered a myth in Estoya. No evidence can point to their existence and even the most avid theorists can't make a convincing enough argument for why they believe. Those who join often don't realize they are joining until they receive their summons.

According to the legend, the doves simply watch. Most crime is usually of their design. A murder of passion here and there, a serial killer on the rise, or an orphan stealing some food are minor exceptions and usually handled by the law or the doves themselves, in some cases. They set up crimes and watch them unfold, tasking smaller groups to carry them out. They watch for potential, and when they find it, a test begins.

The potential member is tasked with a special crime, handed down the ranks. It's a difficult crime, one that requires true skill. Succeeding leads to the summons, a carefully worded letter with a golden dove in full view.

Bruon's Tailoring

The letter congratulates the member, and tells them to meet at a specific location. They are to leave right that second, saying nothing to no one. They are then told to burn the letter, harvest the gold from it, and purchase tailored formal wear from a specific tailor. They obey, of course, and disappear in the night, never to be seen or heard from again.

Bruon is a half bred Tablin who looks like a deer on two hooved legs with a vaguely dwarven face and strong, dexterous hands. She owes much to the Doves, who saved her from starvation and even waved the loan she took out to purchase her shop in exchange for free services. In many ways, she is a dove herself, though she has never committed a true crime.

Bruon is a well-known tailor in @The Roux District. She is the go to tailor for many Noble Houses in the nation. When someone approaches her, laying small chunks of melted gold on the counter, she knows exactly what it means. She doesn't know why, but she knows who sent them and to put all else aside and make the customer presentable. The new member is given the finest garments, soft and perfectly fitted. Their gold is claimed and placed into a large jar that serves as her savings. The gold supports her family, her children. Once, it would have absolved her debt, but she would never quit, even if she wanted to.

Earning Your Wings

Meeting with the black doves can be complicated. Locked behind the enchanted walls of Calhurst, they project themselves to the location of the meeting, always arriving an hour late to test the new member's patience. When the illusions appear, they appear without any defined features. The faces are obscured, the bodies clothed in the same vestments as the new member.

They talk for many hours, often till the break of dawn. They discuss who The Doves of Black and White truly are. They discuss their history, their secrets, and their craft. They discuss the jobs the new member will receive as well, and the member is given their first tasks.

The member is taught how to use The Thief's Closest Friend, the same ritual of illusion the Black Doves use for the meeting, making them appear as shadows. The ritual is relatively easy to perform, and will serve the newest member well as they go out and fulfill their purpose.

by Carlotta Novello

Expedition Demeter

Doves come in many shapes and sizes and each of them could be in the organization for different reasons. The Grand Illusion became a secondary priority when the expedition was announced.

Even the leader of the doves and various members of his inner circle were released from calhurst to join in secret. Many individuals who were a part of the grand Illusion, whether they be at the top as a Black Dove or at the bottom as a lowly criminal, joined the expedition. Those who did were immediately made doves as a courtesy for their sacrifice, by Tarver's own hand.

The Doves of The Expedition

Those who became doves in the expedition make up a useful network of spies and criminals used by the expedition. They collect information, make contact with criminal organizations met along the way, scout places of interest, and assist the expedition in battle by exploiting and sabotaging their enemies. They are a useful tool, and the away teams of the expedition often find at least one in their ranks.

by thegryph

The Grand Illusion

Every Dove has a different part to play in the grand scheme. Some focus on recruitment, setting up crimes and watching for potential talent during the operation. Some are spies sent to gather information. Some are assassins, fulfilling contracts for The Black Doves. Some start and run the criminal organizations that operate under the doves and others are handlers that relay information and targets across a vast network of runners, serving as the backbone of the organization and an essential tool used to maintain secrecy. Others act as agents, using the illusion to appear before those who wish to hire the doves. It's possible for someone to fill many if not all these roles.

What is the The master plan, the grand illusion? The doves began with Florence Wright, a famous thief who became queen of Estoya. She married Angus Roux after House Roux took the throne from House Harrow. She and her thieves guild were vital in the overthrow, and once she was queen, she worked to change the way crime worked in the nation.

Florence believed that the enforcers of the law, even The Judges of Law and Merit, were never going to properly fight crime on a grand scale. The law operates and investigates with next to no information and even then will only catch the smallest cogs in the machine. This was fine for independent criminals, but those who sought to do great harm for their own gain build sprawling organizations that fed on society.

by JasonTN

Hearts of black and gold

As a response to the thriving criminals, Florence and her husband altered The Doves. They built a massive organization that sought to control the others, using their house's wealth. She called it The grand illusion. Crimes would be reported, a theft, a murder, etc. These crimes were set up by the doves, handed down the line of runners and agents to the ones who would carry out the crime. The theft of a peasant family's life savings, for example, would be reported, but charges and investigations rarely get pressed. Why? The next day the family receive a large sum of money, more than what they lost, from some anonymous source.

Charges are pressed, the thief may well be caught, but something is off about the figure brought out for execution. His face is covered. How strange. He is given his last words, a nice touch for effect, and the illusion of the thief's body disappears when the rope is cut, and the body falls below the gallows. The doves stage these elaborate dramas to ensure crimes never occur.

For one reason or another, it worked. The doves would commit crime, but in the process, make it to where crimes never truly occur. The only people in Estoya who are aware of this illusion are the Rouxs. They dedicate a small fraction of the treasury to pay the doves and their many smaller groups. This has made the doves wealthy, and allows the illusion to live on.

True crime

Just because most crimes don't actually occur in the traditional sense, doesn't mean real crimes never happen. They do, and The Doves place evidence to point judges in the right direction for the criminals the judges are meant to be tracking if they find they cannot manage it themselves. Particularly heinous crimes find both the doves and the judges on the hunt.

The Doves use their agents to mark those who may commit the worst crimes. They seldom take contracts from others. Those who are willing to pay often find themselves hunted, killed, or blackmailed. The Doves reserve the right to refuse these contracts if they find it to be unwarranted. Crimes are refused if the contract lacks a legitimate reason or the target does not deserve it. Regardless of the crime, it is a good idea to only call upon an agent if you have good reason, lest you be killed for wasting their time.

Leadership

Apart from Florence Wright and the current leader Tarver Kines, next to nothing is known about past leaders of the organization. It is not entirely clear what being the leader means. There are so many things at play, it's hard to believe a single person could be behind it all. This is technically true, as the inner circle's members are just as much leaders of the organization as Tarver is.

In truth, the one referred to as the leader is simply the face of the organization. They command loyalty and respect, but they never actually communicate down the ranks like the black doves do. Instead, they are responsible for the larger and more complex operations. It is thought the inner circle votes on the leader routinely, and Tarver just happens to maintain his leadership.

Calhurst

Calhurst was the dove's idea. They use it as a base of operations and often set the various organizations within and outside of the colony against one another to keep up the facade. Doves who are located inside the city are referred to as black doves and those who are outside are referred to as white doves. Both work in tandem to keep the entire illusion running. Is it business or kindness? The doves may seem like honorable criminals but this is not necessarily the case.

While many do have a reasonable sense of morality it is not a requirement for the job and several among The Black Doves do it for the sake of profiting from it. The lowest ranks among the white doves are completely unaware of the Grand Illusion and firmly believe they are committing true crimes. This insufficient knowledge has led them to taking on crimes not called for.

Even in situations where crimes are truly committed, it is usually compensated. Unless a heinous crime or cold-blooded murder occurs, they will not reprimand those kept in the dark, instead just working around it since The black doves maintain a massive fortune due to the economy of Calhurst among many other things. In some cases these crimes are actually encouraged to ensure skills never dull. They do this in full knowledge that they will be compensating the crime.