The Grinners
The Grinners began as a small circle trading secret messages through a network of bards and minstrels to undermine an iron-fisted authoritarian rule in ancient Vyrania. In the modern era, as war threatens to spread across the globe, the resurgent secret organization has grown restless as tyranny raises its ugly head again. Contingents of new Grinners have traveled to as many lands as possible to set up a network of secret bases in cities, from which they are presently working their way into the highest echelons of local politics. Their goals are to spread freedom and inspire hope—or, in time, revolution—in the hearts of the oppressed.
Structure
The headquarters of the reformed Grinners is hidden within the capital city of the Republic of Sorna. As the Republic is neutral in the Great War, the organization takes advantage of the strategic location between both factions to gain intelligence and aide the refugees of both sides. There's seemingly no set hierarchy amongst the Grinners, merely people from multiple walks of life all working towards a common goal. This has worked to the bane and benefit of the group. No one has been able to break the organization down, but neither has the organization itself been able to exert meaningful power to create the changes it strives to instill.
Even without a set structure, there are some general rules that seem consistent everywhere the Grinners have been encountered. People with mobile, or otherwise untethered, professions work as spies and informants for operatives planted in cities and organizations throughout the world. The agents working within these systems then apply the intel to the best of their ability, trying to steer events away from escalation or at least work to aide those hit hardest by the ongoing conflict. In the latter aspect, the group is slightly more successful.
Assets
Open Information Network
Bards, entertainers, merchants, and others that are mobile by nature, are recruited into the Grinners to serve as information gatherers and couriers. The collected information is relayed to the intended parties and sympathizers through signals, usually songs with coded lyrics. This is one reason why Grinners are hard to trace as they do not try to pass information covertly, but rather broadcast it in the open to potentially hundreds at a time. Combine that with the intended message changing with every song and it can be understood why their codes are never cracked, only revealed secondhand.
Safe House System
Most major cities in the world, especially those closer to the war front, serve as operating centers for the Grinners. Refugees are secreted from areas of danger and given safe harbor and supplies. Caravans and ships transport people through borders. Secret ways and obscure trails are the allies of any who wish to be hidden, but Grinner safe houses can be in the center of a metropolis as easily as a lonely roadside lodge.
Hidden Agents
Those individuals with a bit more social clout than spies, Grinner agents gain power within the political and economic systems of the world and attempt to make it serve their goals. They may work in merchant guilds and divert goods to feed and clothe those in need. Or they could be under local magistrates forging false documents to ensure refugees can publicly travel without harassment. The only thing that can hinder their plans is when someone above them in command takes notice of the gaps or overrules their secret plans.
History
The Grinners began as a small circle covertly trading secret messages through a network of bards and minstrels to undermine iron-fisted authoritarian rule in ancient Vyrania. The order, being loosely organized and well-hidden, seems to have been disbanded or forgotten sometime during the last millennia as Vyrania's numerous small countries gradually united into largely peaceful nations. The ever-present general corruption that can be found in any kingdom was beyond their scope and oppression by powerful sovereigns thankfully became a rarity few populations faced.
In more recent times, things have changed drastically as war threatens to spread across the globe. The bulk of Vyrania has already been torn nearly in two. The Grinners have somehow resurged as a relevant secret organization intent on trying to stem the tide of the war. The potential for tyranny and abuse grows daily, leading many common people to do whatever small part they can. With the situation in Vyrania so dire, a growing number of new Grinners, many effected by the war themselves, have traveled to as many lands as possible to set up a network of secret centers of operation within cities. While Sorna is considered the de facto hub of the group, major cities throughout Eurra do as much, if not more, in service of the common cause.
Founding Date
Original Founding Date Unknown, 1425 UE (Reformed)
Type
Social, Activist
Location
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