Among the many wicked, destructive and corrupted coalitions that formed in the great Merinos, the Goodletter's pact was probably the least likely to form. And yet here it is, wreaking havoc and slipping our grasp.— Merinos bureau of private investigation's (MBI) director Brian Sonlevi
The Goodletter's pact is an unofficial alliance between one of the prominent mafia of the
Merinos City, and a tribe of scholars from the
Great Library. While numerous evidence of the alliance's existence were found over the decades of its existence, none of its prominent figures have ever been brought to justice.
Beginnings.
First activities
As is often the case for unofficial organizations, the origins of the pact are blurry. A criminal organization's business is by definition hidden from the law, and unrecorded in most archives. Not to mention, before the alliance's activities were identified by investigators, several cases were probably passed as isolated Perrot and drug trafficking when the Goodletter's pact was in fact steering the wheel.
The first official mention of the Goodletter's pact as a potential major merinian cartel occurred in a press release in winter 5505 AR. However, it is likely the oganization was active for several years before that.
Origins of the alliance
If the date when the alliance began its activities is uncertain, the mechanism by which the alliance formed is even less clear. What would cause a scholarly tribe dedicated to tending the library and uncovering its forgotten knowledge to join forces with an undeground trafficking cartels?
Several hypotheses exist regarding that origin story. Some investigators are in the belief that several distinct criminal organizations both in and out of the library simply coalesced, out of shared interest. This however doesn't match well with the library's inner workings: you can't really get criminal cartels in a tribalistic structure.
Another hypothesis, popularized by the epic novel
Two Fronts (written by merinian novelist and journalist Jigg Donbarrak), is that a secret tribe hiding deep in the library uncovered some unspeakable secret, and resorted to hire the mob to control the spirits they had unleashed. While very popular among the population, this hypothesis is not regarded as very serious by the various merinian police forces. J. Donbarrak has herself admitted not having factual backup for the story in an interview:
I mean, I'm just ahead of my time! Usually, wicked and criminal groups are turned into novels and legends a few decades after they stopped being active. Only thing is I did it while they still are!— J. Donbarrak interviewed by The daily block, 5548 AR.
Finally, the hypothesis considered most likely by the merinian police forces, is that the modern alliance structured itself around... a wedding. Whether it was out of love or shared interests, prominent members of the two parties most likely got married, forcing otherwise separate entities to become allies.
TC
This was a really interesting take on the Alliance Challenge! I very much enjoyed reading through the article, and your world is just so unique and fascinating :)!
Thank you for your appreciation :)