The Syndicate

The Syndicate refers to the Syndicate of Bronze, a federation of Immortal governed micro-nations which was eliminated by the Tallet during the Great War. Prior to the Great War there were twenty one micro-nations within the Syndicate, spanning an area which reached almost to the World's End mountains in the west, to the Circle's lands in the north, Kushan in the south, and the deserts in the west. Today most of the micro-nations have reestablished themselves without their Immortal leaders while the eastern and northern provinces have joined the Circle.

## History

### Formation

As one can see looking at the world, not all Immortals were created equal at the time of their appearance more than two thousand years ago. Some quickly accessed their situation and set to work aggressively subjugating the people around them. Some formed teams and worked together to build new civilizations. Some took to wandering the world, either listlessly or on grand adventures. Some chose to live among the people they wandered into and lead quiet lives.

### Classical Era

No one knows which category the Immortals of the Syndicate truly fell into. As the great nations begin to rise in power in the Post Classical Era however, an Immortal seemed to crop up in each of the small nations in the region as a leader. Many of these nations operated with a form of republic where the Immortal ruled as a king but with the aid of a council of mortals. These generally civilized nation-states were widely regarded as poor and primitive, their people using primary bronze implements and mud-brick construction until the end of the Great War. However, these peoples guided by their Immortals left behind a legacy of democratic ideals, literature, poetry, and some of the most advanced architecture in the world.

Visitors to the ancient cities before their destruction spoke of piped and running water, drawn from the ground by gigantic windmills, of houses that were pleasantly cool in the summer and stayed warm with minimal heating during the winters.

The Syndicate itself operated via a council of each ruling Immortal and a "prime" chosen from the elected mortal councils. The Syndicate Immortals, as a result of having more immediate meetings to manage and keep their lands stable, seldom were present at the Council of the Undying.

### The Great War

The battles for the Syndicate against the invading Tallet signaled the beginning in truth of the Great War. Aided only by the Circle, the Syndicate fought the Tallet to a standstill in the middle of their territory and it seemed to many that lease some of the micro-nations would survive the conflict. When the Goran attacked the Circle's homeland however, all hope was lost as the Syndicate could not stand alone.

### Fall

Fueled by missing compatriots and the bloodbaths that were ongoing in the conquered Syndicate nations, many of of the Immortals opted to pull their people back into the lands controlled by the Circle. Massive refugee marches stripped the land bare on their march to exile in the Circle, the Syndicate armies burning everything behind them to leave nothing for the Tallet.

### Aftermath

The civilian populations of the Syndicate settled rather peacefully in the Circle's lands and the armies joined the Circle's in defending against the Goran incursions. It is known that a number of the Immortals went missing at this time, assumed to be captured by the Tallet. A few have since been discovered to have given up on making their own homes in the world and have accepted Gor's permanent hospitality. Many stayed with their armies, fighting in the defense of the Circle throughout the Great War. Many of these Immortals vanished after the war; it is assumed to try to resume living peaceful, non-political lives in secret.

## Military

While the exact military of each micro-nation varied in composition and specialization, the basic threads ran throughout the Syndicate as determined by commonly available materials. The truly unique aspect of the Syndicate military forces is that while most nations had soldiers who specialized into one role, the Syndicate soldier was a generalist who used armor, melee weapons, shields, and bows with equal proficiency, making them extremely adaptable as a fighting force.

Most infantry were outfitted with some manner of bronze sword or axe, which depended on the nation, however most were drilled to use two weapons in melee combat due to the fragile durability of most shields in the Syndicate. The sturdiest of those shields were made of imported wood, but it was more common for the shields to be made of tightly woven wicker and fronted with bronze scales which made a light and effective protection, however they did not stand up under prolonged combat and while good against arrows tended to shred under axe and sword blows.

Secondly, each infantryman almost universally made use of heavy horn bows, using the abundant horn material of the cattle kept by most syndicate nations. These bows were capable of firing great distances, and were typically coupled with hardened bronzed arrow heads. The Syndicate favored barbed arrows throughout their history for both hunting and warfare.

In accompaniment to these arms, each soldier was generally outfitted with bronze helm, bracers, shin-guards and breastplate. The breastplate was typically accompanied with a skirt of hardened leather lamellar. In all, the Syndicate infantry were extremely flexible, fast moving, and moderately durable. The favored tactic was to keep infantry in block formations well-spaced from each other so that if any was engaged directly the other units could provide supporting fire.

The most specialized units fielded by the Syndicate where their infamous scythe chariots. Pulled by teams of the small plains horses which were unfit for mounts, these chariots sported heavy steel blades and typically had javelin throwers or archers in accompaniment to the driver. Extremely effective in the plains of the Syndicate lands, the chariots required most of the materials used in their construction to be imported except for the bronze plating used to armor them.

## Foreign Relations

The Syndicate was a generally peaceful and benevolent region in the world which in all the days of its existence had not entered a full-blown war with any other power. The populous region was rather welcoming to outsiders and was eager to trade. Their fine pottery, woven cloth made of cotton, rich grains, and high quality bronze goods spread through Circle trade networks. The most notable of their trade practices was their hunger for lumber, which grew sparsely in their lands.