Webrin

The Webrin is a criminal sect which has operated for centuries in Anrel, Harthera and the major port cities of the world. It is thought to have originated in the Anrelplugin-autotooltip__small plugin-autotooltip_bigAnrel Isles

Anrel [ANN-rel], or the Anrel Isles, is the most northerly island group in the Natorn Archipelago. It consists of three major islands and numerous smaller ones. The largest, colloquially if infrequently called Mainland, is divided between the kingdoms of Trésard and Narette. The island Isles, where it operates as a criminal guild, enforcing paid membership on any criminal gang. It also has aspects of a mystery religion, with members initiated into secret rituals said to give them magical powers over their subordinates. This serves the Webrin heirarchy, since more senior members are respected and feared.

Rather than being a single criminal organisation, the Webrin are a collective of criminal gangs, with common codes and traditions for regulating inter-gang conflict. The primary purpose is to resolve disputes, often violently and bloodily, but without attracting the attention of authorities.

The wider society of Webrin Fathers is called the Compact, partly a territorial agreement to divide regions amongst themselves, known as The Bounds. Turf wars between Webrin Fathers are discouraged, at least as far as overt violence is concerned.

Webrin members are initiated via pseudo-religious ritual, in which they are bound with oaths and must make some form of sacrifice. Webrin members in each city are under the control of a Webrin Father (who may be male or female), who co-ordinates crimes and thefts to order, and ensures a healthy profit whilst not overwhelming the city authorities to the extent of reprisal. Webrin criminal members must tithe a certain proportion of their earnings to the Father, in return for a degree of protection from the law, and other benefits. Many Webrin gangs help with training, injury, and even care for those few who manage to live to old age.

The inner circles of the Webrin are reputed to have a deeper mysticism, rumoured to be linked to worship of the The Nameless in Anrel, or the shamanic blood rituals of ancient Junda religion in Hartheraplugin-autotooltip__small plugin-autotooltip_bigHarthera

The Hartheran Union, commonly named Harthera, is an imperialist maritime nation state dominating the northeast of Anásthias. It is one of the two great powers of the modern epoch, arguably the most technologically and militarily powerful nation in the world, only matched by the vast size and wealth of its neighbour, viridviridOrorrMEOrorrOrorrOrorrOrorr.

The origin of the Webrin is uncertain, but it may have its roots in paramilitary groups in Harthera who disinterred and burned corpses in newly conquered Hartheranplugin-autotooltip__small plugin-autotooltip_bigHarthera

The Hartheran Union, commonly named Harthera, is an imperialist maritime nation state dominating the northeast of Anásthias. It is one of the two great powers of the modern epoch, arguably the most technologically and militarily powerful nation in the world, only matched by the vast size and wealth of its neighbour, viridviridOrorrMEOrorrOrorrOrorrOrorr lands. These groups adopted pseudo-mystical rituals and symbols, possibly adopted or half-remembered parts of Junda shamanic lore.

These groups were shunned by the regular military, and in peacetime led shady lives on the fringes of society. Their network may well have been the first of the Webrin.