Fated
Who Take All They Can and More
To the Fated, the multiverse belongs to those with the strength to take it. Destiny and the will of the gods are poor excuses used by folk too weak to go after what they want -everyone makes their own fate. At the same time, nothing's free. It takes work, dedication, and sometimes blood to seize greatness. The Fated are an ideal faction for those who have amassed wealth and power but want more. As a Taker garners knowledge and experience, they should want to set their goals higher than a coin in his palm and a crown on his head.
Some of the more important things in life can't be taken at the point of a sword - for example, happiness, respect, and friendship. All that matters is that a Taker goes after whatever it is they seek with unwavering determination. Dealt a bad hand by fate? Don't waste time crying in your ale about how unfair the multiverse is - on the contrary, it's as fair as could be. Absolutely everything's out there, just waiting to be claimed why those with the strength to take it and the will to hold it. But remember, nothing is ever free.
There's no inherent malice in the Fated's philosophy. It takes more than material wealth to provide for one's needs, and not everything worth having can be taken by force. Respect and happiness, for example, must be earned (or bought). Still, Takers are branded as callous and selfish, if not outright feared, and they never offer assistance willingly unless it benefits them in some way.
Factol Rowan Darkwood (human archmage) holds the reins of the Fated in his tightfisted grip. "Duke" Darkwood, as he's sometimes known, is a commanding presence whose every step is an implacable stride toward his next prize. With brutal efficiency, he exploits the financial stranglehold his faction has over Sigil, richly rewarding informants for secrets that might give the Fated leverage over the other factions.
Goals
The faction lacks defined goals across its networks. It has a number of jobs that have to be performed and will do what it can to protect its own, but the goals are to each individual in the faction.
Some are in it for the money, community, and lust. Others want the power associated with coin. A select few have higher goals not shared openly.
Role in Sigil
Secure in the Hall of Records, the Fated cement their role as the tax collectors of the Cage. Their ruthless debt collection efforts and aggressive foreclosures earn them a heaping share of animosity. They have bad blood with the Harmonium, who view the Fated as wrongheaded and dangerous, and Factol Darkwood and Factol Montgomery of the Society of Sensation are bitter rivals.
The Hall of Records was founded as the Tzunk College of Academic Arts eight hundred years ago by the Oerthian mage, Tzunk, who died a few years later in the City of Brass. The Fated immediately took it over, using it for their own purposes. As such, the Fated have taken on much of Sigil's clerical work, maintaining the treasury, taxes, licenses, debts, and most importantly general records. Anyone can request records across Sigil for the right price, and that price is often new knowledge.
Factor Helena Aren oversees the Office of Records and Information. She's an arcanaloth and somewhat successful merchant, having worked her way through many of the faction's offices before becoming Factor, though she's believed to be a hider of many darks, making some suspicious of her being in charge of record keeping. She ensures that the hall has nearly anything and everything that an aspiring cutter would be looking for, from censuses, tax records, deeds, histories, plays, and more.
Factor Rayl Whitespoon the cansin in charge of the Sigil Citizen Academy for Excellence. The academy is for the best and brightest youths of Sigil. Rayl has a strong conviction in the importance of education to ensure the continued prosperity of the Fated and Sigil. She primarily oversees the academy's administrative side, leaving teaching to more qualified individuals.
Factor Ik'phus is the Maeluth in charge of the Office for Fraud. He simultaneously oversees investigations into Fraud from sources outside the Fated, as you can't let some berk in on your territory. He also oversees a committee on how to best defraud Sigilians. His current answer is cutting educational costs to increase profits, decrease teachers, and let the children run wild. It's not like their parents would find out.
Factor Aram Oakwright is a stout male dwarf, very resolute in his work for the Office for Planar Trade. He helps oversee trade across planes, negotiate deals, ensure loans are not defaulted on, helps sell and buy property, and so on.
Finally is the City Treasury & Revenue Service. This is generally overseen by the Factol, Duke Rowan Darkwood. This handles the collection of taxation from business profits and property ownership, though many Takers attempt to steal a bit off the top when the Office for Fraud isn't looking.
Once wealth has been gathered, it's used to be redistributed across Sigil to ensure public works and services stay functional.
Faction History
The Fated were formed from the collapse of Tzunk's College of Academic Arts after his death. They've maintained a strong appearance in Sigil ever since, taking place in the occasional war or riot until the Faction War a decade ago, started by Duke Rokan Darkwood, lusting for the power of the Lady of Pain.
The Fated were as surprised as every other faction when they were invited back, having started the war, and maintained general thievery and conniving attitudes while exiles in Ysgard, however their tax practices, filing systems, and other administrative work were imperative to the functionality of the city.
Being the ruthless debt collectors and keeper of records means they are in no way in a deficit for enemies, or friends. The Faction War was able to begin because of an alliance between Alisohn Nilesia (Factol of the Mercykillers ) promise to provide inmates for troops.
Sensate and other factional spies have always tried infiltrating the ranks of takers, and always will. It's the risk of being a cutter among the Takers.
Factol: Duke Rowan Darkwood
Headquarters: Hall of Records, Clerk's Ward
Aligned Plane: Ysgard
Members: Bullies, moguls, warlords
Epithet: Takers
Faction Attire: Takers dress in ostentatious outfits marked by heavy embroidery. They sport elaborate hairstyles, and each member carries an hourglass of golden sand—a reminder that time is money.
Allies: Mercykillers
Encounters: The Security Deposit Box revealed a plot of involving many Fated members, including Duke Rowan Darkwood, Factor Helena Aren, and Factor Aram Oakwright. They were hoarding originator tech, and there's evidence that Darkwood blackmailed Wedding Planner Thalias
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