Anti-League

Flag of the Anti-League.

The **Anti-League** is a naval organisation operating out of Whitecrest as a member of the Crestian Syndicate. Initially founded to oppose the League of Whitecrest on the sea by Stefan Heath, a disgruntled former merchant forced out of business, the Anti-League also carries out smuggling and acts of piracy. They serve as the naval force of the entire City-State of Whitecrest, which has recently fallen under Syndicate control.

They were previously the main target of Operation Swordfish by the now-scuttled Crestian Navy. Most countries consider the Anti-League an active pirate group and will attack them on sight.

## History

### Founding

Born in the Market District, Stefan Heath was an ordinary trader from the City-State of Whitecrest. He had a small merchant fleet of three ships to his name, and was a decently wealthy man. While he planned to live out a prosperous and tranquil life, he soon became a target for the League of Whitecrest, the country's governing body.

Heath found himself charged with phony charges of smuggling and assisting the criminals of the Eastern Districts. He was subsequently imprisoned in 1192 AW, with his entire mercantile operation being taken over by the Gill Family, which controlled the League at the time. Soon after, Heath was released, now homeless and bankrupt.

the disgraced Heath found residence in the Port District, living in poor conditions amongst other people like him. Other merchants, sailors, and craftsmen had their lives stolen from them by the various families of the League, who continued to hold an iron grip over their economic monopoly. With a widespread sense of dissent and disgruntlement being present among these men and women, they were like a stack of dry hay. Stefan Heath would he the spark.

Extremely charismatic, even by a merchant's standard, Heath convinced many of the others to join him on a struggle against the League of Whitecrest. In early 1194 AW, they attack Whitecrest Docks at night, stealing four ships from the Grand Navy of Whitecrest and fleeing into the open ocean. Despite the Crestian Navy giving chase, they ultimately lost Heath and his band of pirates amidst a storm.

The four ships set course for the Sylvir Cluster of islands, under the control of the corrupt Count Karadoch II. In exchange for regular payments, Karadoch would house the four ships in secret. Safe for now, Heath gathered his band of misfits, who together formed the Anti-League. It styled itself as an organisation that would oppose the regular League of Whitecrest in any way necessary.

### Rise

With their base solidified on the Sylvir Cluster, the Anti-League used its four warships to target Crestian trade. Specifically, they only targeted ships running the flags of the League's major families, and left small merchants alone. For their specific targeted piracy attacks, the League of Whitecrest added the Anti-League to a target of Operation Swordfish, going so far as to make them the primary target.

Before long, other disgruntled merchants from the city began donating to the Anti-League, giving them money or supplies. People flocked to the Sylvir Cluster as an illegal naval community began to flourish. Sailors, craftsmen, woodworkers, shipbuilders, and more ensured that the Anti-League could enter naval combat, sustain damage, and still find themselves with a functional ship. The Anti-League sunk or captured dozens of Crestian tradeships and warships, as their fleet began to grow. By the start of the 13th century AW, the Anti-League fielded a fleet of nearly twenty ships, many of them converted mercantile ships. Despite repeated protests by the City-State of Whitecrest, the Kingdom of Fühlgart failed to act on the growing piracy situation on the Sylvir Cluster, as the regular payments to both Karadoch II and the larger kingdom increased exponentially.

In 1200 AW, with the Anti-League at the height of their power, they joined the Crestian Syndicate at the behest of Edmond Heyer. Besides their role as pirates, they also became smugglers. The Anti-League experienced a shift in policy, choosing to become a transporter and supplier for the Syndicate via disguised mercantile ships. Piracy became steadily less and less important to Stefan Heath, who received the lion's share of his profits from his smuggling business to the city.

When Fühlgart entered a civil war, the Sylvir Cluster came under the control of Arno von Neuesfeld, admiral and now-exiled Duke of Neuesfeld. In the wake of the civil war, the newly established Republic of Fühlgart failed to retake the islands, which soon became de-facto ruled by von Neuesfeld. The admiral formed the Free Fühlgartian Navy from the remnants of his fleet, a privateer group inspired by the Anti-League to combat the new Republic. The Free Fühlgartian Navy and Anti-League got along well, initially allowing the Heath and his pirates to prosper. However, the Free Fühlgartian Navy soon became dominant over the isles, with many members of the Anti-League joining them instead. The FFN had looser rules on what ships to attack and was more of a loose cannon, allowing some of the more rogue-like members of the Anti-League to finally find their calling now that Heath had shifted to smuggling over raiding.

Eventually, Heath sold all warships to the FFN, as he began operating a fleet exclusively of disguised merchants' vessels. The Anti-League abandoned the Sylvir Cluster, returning to Whitecrest, where it began operating out of the Port District. With harbormasters and guards paid off, contraband destined for the various groups in the Crestian Syndicate were arriving on ships in broad daylight, with not so much as an inspection taking place on the goods. The Anti-League began to flourish quite openly, with its existence known to the League of Whitecrest, though there was nothing they could do to keep their subordinates in line when it came to the bribes they received from Heath.