Syndicate

> "They claim to be aristocracy, but perhaps, in essence, human nobility have always occupied the opposite ends of the same spectrum of wealth with highwaymen."
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> — Aedaral, blood elven guildsman
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The **Syndicate** ("Ruler's Collective" in Ravnin), also known as the **Loyalists**, is a quasi-political entity that is mainly made up of Aeonic nobility loyal to the Perenolde crown, who have been stripped of their titles and possessions by decree of the Alliance near the end of the Second War, after the momentous betrayal of one particular Perenolde czar. Ever since, the Syndicate had been actively involved in a major regional conflict known as the Alteraci Civil War, where they aim to restore the rule of the Perenoldes by taking the throne for Aliden Perenolde, the firstborn son of Aiden. Since the assassination of Aliden at the hands of Horde agents, his elder sister Beve assumes leadership of the organization and presumably plans to take the throne for herself.

Their organization was previously supported by the Kingdom of Lordaeron and Clan Iarealt of the Highlands, both purporting the legitimacy of Aliden's claim to the throne. After the fall of Lordaeron and the subsequent conflict between the Forsaken and Alliance in Hillsbrad, most of the group fell back to Clan Iarealt lands, while the rest remained in the Alteracs and operates in the former-Lordaeronian township of Strahnbrad, which they have turned into a makeshift stronghold.

As the war against the Ravnin and Strannik claimants wage on, the Syndicate have grown more and more desperate in obtaining supplies and manpower for their war effort. By the time of Aliden's assassination, they are already little more than a corrupt collection of thieves, slavers, mercenaries and assassins, thriving off off of illegal trade in exotic goods, drugs, slaves and other clandestine wares, distributed through the agents of the Syndicate that had scattered across the land.

## History

### Background

By the second year into the Second War, the Kingdom of Alterac has found itself at the heart of the main battlefield in Lordaeron. The mountain nation was essential to both sides of the war, as it controlled Valery's Pass, a mountain path essential to encirclement the capital city of Lordaeron. The Alliance army had previously won a pyrrhic victory over the Horde during the Battle of Hillsbrad Foothills, and had to retreat much of their forces from the Alterac Mountains back towards Lordaeron and Gilneas.

It is in this situation that Czar Aiden I resolved to negotiate with the Horde. The main reason being seeing that the Alliancial cause is lost, with the elves of Quel'thalas locked in a regional war with the Amani trolls and the Stromgarde reinforcements cut off by the advancing troops of the Blackrock Clan, and considering the strategic position being key to the assault on the Capital City, Alterac may very likely be the next target of the Horde invasion.

When the assistant towards the Horde was brought to light, it was met with apprehension among the Aeonic nobles of the court, including Czarevich Aliden and Knyazhna Beve, who worried that Alterac's withdraw of forces from the combined Alliance force and the kidnapping of mages from Dalaran might arouse suspicion from the Alliance, and would provide them the suitable justification for taking Valery's Pass.

As the Siege of Capital City broke, some Aeonic nobles and court officials, among them Spymaster Jorach Ravenholdt, left Dyvny in anticipation of a possible Alliance invasion, many of them travelling south to avoid the advancing Arathi forces led by Thoras Trollbane, some joining with the Lordaeronian forces in Durnholde Keep. The few closest advisors to the Czar remained in the city, but had evacuated their families to the safety of the north.

After Dyvny fell and the Perenoldes disposed of, the few remaining Aeonic nobles were stripped of their titles and possessions, and exiled from the Kingdom. These nobles eventually found their way west and south, and gathered under the leadership of Aliden and Beve, who were sheltered by Lord Jorach in his own boyarevy.

### The Strannik Insurgency and the Battle of Paschzhkow

During the years that lead to the end of the Second War, the disposed nobles of Alterac had been organizing pockets of resistance against the provisional council of the Alliance. Known as the *Saffron Alteraci* for carrying the orange banners of the fallen kingdom, they had waged a civil war of limited scale against the Alliance occupation.

The Alliance, under the influence of Lordaeron, wished to establish Aiden's nephew Isiden as the puppet czar of the mountain nation, as this act would essentially guarantee Lordaeron's supremacy over the entire north. However, this action was not well taken by the Ravnin and Strannik nobles, who, assisting the invasion and suffering considerable casualties during the Siege of Dyvny, were expecting the Alliance to return rule to the Ravnin after almost a hundred years of foreign rule.

The signing of the Treaty of Stromgarde largely ignored the requests of the Ravnin officials, and were focused on dealing with the orc captives. The Treaty officially designated Isiden as the successor to Aiden as Czar, and as a result, led to the Zamevlyst Revolt.

The Revolt had severely weakened the Alliance's military occupation, as the Ravnin and Strannik generals no longer supported the interim government. This was seen as an opportunity to regain control of the Kingdom by Aliden. He rallied what's left of the loyal Alteraci nobility and their forces, with the support of Lord Jorach, amassed a small army consisting of loyal soldiers and local peasant militia. Calling themselves the **Syndicate**, the army marched against the Alliance forces stationed in Derezhnev, aiming to retake the province to cut food supplies towards the capital.

With the Alliance occupation stationed mainly in Dyvny and the Stromgarde forces retracted, the agricultural province was severely under-guarded. The Syndicate quickly overwhelmed the defending Alliance forces and established an influence in the region. Alliance soldiers pillaged many villages during their occupation, thus many a wary peasant had joined Aliden's cause after bearing witness to Alliance imperialist ambitions.

News of the occupation of Derezhnev arrived at the provisional government quickly, bogged down by political events surrounding the future of the Alliance and civil unrest caused by the unfavorable results of the Treaty, the Alliance occupation hastily organized a mixed infantry and cavalry regiment of merely a thousand strong, as they were hesitant to devote more troops due to the rising threat of loyalist forces under the command of Valimar Mordis. However, the regiment was completely wiped out by the Strannik riders under the command of Boghdan Wolfskin. The hardy ataman had rallied the remnants of the Ravnin and Strannik soldiers to form a resistance movement, Veter Borea.

The Syndicate had expected the Strannik resistance group to be locked in battle with the Alliance occupation, due to the former being based in the nearby province of Khrushtalev, an easy target if Alliance reinforcements from Lordaeron and Dalaran arrive through Valery's Pass. However, political deliberation back in the Capital City had led to a delay in the organization of a supporting army group and as a result, the Veter Borea launched a surprise assault on the province of Derezhnev, aiming to flush out the Syndicate from the province and gain food supplies for themselves.

With a little more than a thousand rag-clad and poorly equipped men, the Syndicate were to hold out against the charge of two thousand elite horsemen. To make matters worse, the open fields of Derezhnev was the optimal condition for the Strannik to utilize their superior cavalry. Under such a circumstance, Lady Beve quickly organized a defensive around the village of Paschzhkow, where an abandoned chapterhouse upon a nearby hill could serve to deploy an entire battery of salvaged Fire Organs and a company of loyal Streszlky to provide fire support. In addition, Lady Beve ordered hidden beast traps and tripwires be set up in the snow-covered fields leading to the village. Lord Aliden and a handful of knights were on standby in the nearby woods, ready to flank the Strannik forces when necessary.

## Military

The Syndicate's fighting forces are a collection of a myriad of different individuals. Lordaeronian soldiers, rogue knights, mercenaries of war, smugglers and cutthroats and common peasants alike could be seen in the sorry amalgam that could barely be called an army.

Nevertheless, the Syndicate makes use of whatever resources they could get on and would not hesitate to send emissaries wide and far to gain allies in their war against the pretender government and the Ravnin and Strannik claimants. With a lack of equipment and training, the Syndicate relies on their network of guerrillas and assassins to wage a mobile war against the better equipped Alliance occupation.

### **Syndicate Infantry**

* **Syndicate Thieves** - Mere cutthroats and mountain bandits, these unscrupulous fighters are poorly equipped and poorly trained, but their knowledge of the mountain passes makes them the ideal guerrilla fighter.
* **Syndicate Guildsman** - The most secretive and powerful agents of the Syndicate, they oversee the smuggling operations of the organization to keep its war effort funded. In times of need, they also double as assassins and saboteurs, undermining enemy operations using their underhanded skills.