The Ruby Serpents

The Ruby Serpents are a family of organized gangsters and mobsters. Their main goals are to strive for and to obtain large sums of magical power, typically through illegal an immoral means. This group of wrongdoers is positioned in Z'da Muniv, a large island that is near the southern pole of the world, Z'da Muniv is famous for the large amount crime that goes on under the High King's nose, and has a long history of attempted colonization efforts, only to be quickly shut down by the folks who are already living there. This is one of many crime families that is able to exploit the lack of substantial government or legal bodies, to obtain large sums of economic and magical wealth. They are revered as a high family, and are ones that you do not cross paths with.

The Serpents leader, Riklu started the family in the 2nd age, as a means of gaining more magical wealth in preparation for the High King's attempted colonization efforts of his home town. This created a large amount of social support from many small towns and large cities, widely wanting to remain independent from the High King. This support eventually lead to the high amounts of members and their large scale political power and influence when it comes to magical or colonial matters.

> "That of which we do not control, we do not understand. If we do not understand, then we lose control. Without this control, anything can impact our weakened state." ~Riklu Thomirhos (The Guild Godfather)
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## Relationships

### Enemies

"House Aedrie", "Midnight Blades", "The Dragon Slayers", "The Steel Shields", "The Tea Mongers"

## Dogma

The aims of The Ruby Serpents are as followed:

* The Acquisition and Coveting of Magical Goods and Items
* The Opposition to the High King & All Colonial Efforts
* The Unification of Z'da Muniv, and All of it's Peoples
* The Preservation of The Godfather's Power

Through the efforts of the High King's colonization and invasions, The Ruby Serpents remained stoic in their thought procedure all the way until their disestablishment.

## Description

All members of The Ruby Serpents typically wore fancy ware: suits, tabards, dress coats, fine shoes, bowler hats, dress pants, and other similar styles of clothing. The clothing was not typically oriented towards any specific race or gender, and most members wore similar styles of clothing either provided to them by The Ruby Serpents themselves, or was brought in by the initiates.

All members learned a form of Thieves Cant, this was used to communicate in stressful or otherwise dangerous environments with those who knew the language itself. This was a large code that usually told of simple ideas, such as Danger, Loot, Directions, and Safety.

## Organization

### Initiation

Initiates were expected to not be apart of The High King or any of his affairs prior to joining The Ruby Serpents. In addition to this, members would have to apply through a Fencer or a Recruiter for the guild, for a specific position that they were looking for. Typically, education or experience on the main topic of which the position is requested of is most likely required, or otherwise needed in some form or another.

### Titles

Sometimes The Ruby Serpents are referred to as "Freedom Fighters" or "Revolutionaries" by the local peoples. Other's call them "Bankers". Depending on how they are interacted with in the specific area on the island is how they are referred to as.

### Hierarchy

The Ruby Serpents have the following ranks from lowest to highest: Recruit, Brute, Collector, Cleaner, Mafioso, Ruby Hand, and Godfather.

### Structure

The Ruby Serpents was structured so that each rank had a specific task or goal. While each one was lower or higher than another in the chain of command, each of them had specific goals that had to be completed. The list is as follows:

* Bandits
* Collectors
* Cleaners
* Silencers

Each rank had a specific task, usually detailed by their name.

Bandits were the lower two ranks of the guild, Recruits and Brutes. The two ranks were usually assigned to destroy stuff, antagonize debtors, or directly combat invading forces from The High King. Normally when a Collector is out during their task, a single or a group of Bandits are dispatched with them to ensure that debtors pay what is due.

Collectors have the intention and goal to collect any amount of information, debt, or otherwise property of The Ruby Serpents. This can be best exemplified by their Debt and Tax collectors, which are usually accompanied by a crew of Bandits, who will visit debtors to ensure income into the family. Collectors also serve as recruiters or fences, selling off goods or giving loans out. In addition to recruiting new potential members into the family.

Cleaners have the intention and goal of destroying any evidence or publicly-frowned-upon deeds that are committed by The Ruby Serpents. This can include Janitorial, Forging, or Framing deeds. These deeds are usually a way of keeping the public view high of The Ruby Serpents. Usually, Silencers are accompanied by 1 or 2 cleaners, to ensure no large amount of evidence is spilled.

Silencers are the final circle upon which the guild operates on. They consist of both Mafioso's and The Ruby Hand. These are usually under the direct order of The Godfather, and carry out assassination missions or kidnappings. These are usually discrete, and unseen by the public eye. They are usually accompanied by a team of Cleaners to ensure that nothing gets seen in the public view.

### Notable Members

* Tordir "Bruce" Glurohick, Oldest Living Member and Crimson Janitor
* Riklu Thomirhos, Godfather
* Zhitshiss Oszeeh, Past Ruby Hand
* Aethrekhuass "Rainstorm", Current Ruby Hand

## Spells

* Crimson Dart
* Guilt Trip
* Perceived Justice

## History

### Founding

The Ruby Serpents was founded at the middle of The 2nd Age, in the wake of the scale colonization efforts committed by The High King. They were created by Riklu Thomirhos and his band of followers after The Battle of Frostwell. This was met with a positive public view of being against The High King, which lead to their large political and economic control over Z'da Muniv.

### 2nd Age

They were founded in the 2nd age, and originally were going to disband after The High King stopped their invasion attempts. However, through the 2nd age, time and time again The High King kept up with his attempts, and even after he died, his successor tried even more. This lead to the idea and actual faction of The Ruby Serpents to remain all through the course of the 1000 years that they had been through. Their leader kept alive through many magical items and spells of immortality through age.

There were many important battles during this time, such as The Skirmish of Whitewater, which lead to the many deaths of civilians by the hand of The High King.

### 3rd Age

Near the beginning of the 3rd age, the Godfather of The Ruby Serpents, Riklu Thomirhos, was assassinated. Tordir "Bruce" Glurohick was his killer, after a drunken debate leading into a physical fight, the two isolated members had killed each other. Riklu dying first, of mortal wounds; then Tordir later of blood loss and shock. Quickly after the deaths of the 2 oldest members of the guild, The Ruby Serpents fell into chaos over power and who took what position, which lead to their disestablishment.

## Relations

The Ruby Serpents were at odds with many different factions at the time of The High King. This is mainly because of the many factions they were against were allies with The High King and aided in their attempts at colonization, infiltration, and invasion.