Introduction to The Banners

What is a banner?

Megacorporations, criminal empires, even the Symposium itself - these things are of little note before the Banners. To call them merely alliances is too small. They are vast networks of money, enterprise and military power that ultimately pull the strings of Libertan society. Hoping, plotting, declaring war all in the name of achieving their own enigmatic goals.

Who are the banners?

The Ea Syndicate

The Ea Syndicate rose from a mysterious beginning, led by a figure without a history, Bel. Today they are the most powerful criminal guild in Libertan space.
It was not a rise without blood, tears or death. In their wake comes many feuds, and even wars. The fleets of the Syndicate have been mustered to defend their right to exist many times. Yet Bel's foresight led them to greatness, building a home of the dispossessed and the angry.
From headquarters on the hostile planetoid of Icelus, the Syndicate controls every transaction in the mid-system, and dominates lawful trade and criminal undertaking alike. They assure the high that people demand arrives on time, and cut the throat of any rival. There is only one rule, enforced with vicious vengeance. A deal is a deal.

Kirin Triumvirate

"The Kirin cries for the blade of grass." These are the words with which Azure Dragon founded the Triumvirate. The Kirin rules the inner solar system with a gentle caress. Never interfering quite enough for too many to notice them. Their power is in the control of the sun itself, yet so few realise it.
The history of the Triumvirate lays in the first colonists who came to the sun, seeking wealth or a new beginning. For so long they laboured, seeking their own right to exist, free from corporate control. Yet every inch they took, they lost another. Vermilion Bird saw what had become of these valiant people, and so turned to their sisters and asked they reach out and give these people a hand of friendship. Ultimately, they exist to protect their chosen people. The Solare have prospered under their guidance. Together, the Dragon, The Bird and the Tiger are a mothering hand. Yet to underestimate their iron will would be foolish. A mother defends her young.

Two Headed Council

Innovation, progress, profit: the cardinal rules of the Council. Two princes ruling an empire of factories. Over generations the Council has prospered, grown, and led the way. With control of The Codex, limits are not something the Council understands, and the question is not should we - but can we?
The union of the great houses of De Boeck and Brehane created the Council. Together they pooled their resources, each already a magnate in their own right. And from that foundation, the Council has rarely looked backwards.
Drugs, starships, weapons - the Two Headed Council will provide anything for the right price. But sometimes the price is higher than you are willing to pay.

Tokyo Financial Services

Debt is always repaid, whether you consent or not. Tokyo Financial Services is the greatest monetary institute in the history of humanity. A fusion of bank, investor and government treasury that long ago left the control of man.
There is one directive - make money. TFS is led by a Machine Intelligence created with the simple mission to regulate the economy, a mission which Sss still carries out despite the passing centuries. Some would argue that to compare it to any other banner would be foolish. For Tokyo so far eclipses them that no competition could be made.
Yet, in every way Tokyo Financial Services is a banner. It has followers, loyalty, assets, and values. Its aims may be enigmatic, but in the end it is no less driven by success than any other faction.

Danu's River

From the river of the mother flows the water of salvation. So say the priests. Few Banners could inspire such fervent loyalty as Danu, for the River is not simply a political bloc. Led by figure who claims immortal godhood, Danu, and who rules the hearts, minds and eternal afterlife of her followers. They call her their goddess, and she does not disappoint them.
The River did not wear down the mountain all at once. The priesthood has grown for centuries, always present just below the notice of those who cared to look. Strategy built them a great empire - one farm at a time. Until they revealed themselves, owner of all of them.
Everything green flourishes under the touch of the River. They have grown to control the supply of food to every settlement of The Core, and life itself is their business. To give oneself to the River is not simply a vow of loyalty, but a life of its own. Avowing all else for the service of Danu, and taking up the tools of a gardener.