Akritai

**Faction Overview**:

**Mantra**:

"Ever watchful, we are the Emperor’s Eyes. Ever ready, we are the Emperor’s blade."

**Beliefs**:

1.       The Emperor is all powerful and we are their ultimate safeguard.

2.       The Desolation brought our decline. We may rise again but as long as we draw breath, the empire shall not fall.

3.       Abroad, we see all, we hear all. We are the strings which allow the Emperor to puppeteer those beyond our borders.

**Goals**:

To protect the Empire, personified through the Emperor’s being. Safeguard what the Empire currently possesses and be the means of the Empire’s revival once the conditions are right. Until that day comes, protect the Empire’s interest and balance out the competing forces across the continent.

**Divisions**:

·      Hecil : Expat spy network

·      Mesreen: Caravan born spy network

·      Sicarii: Imperial spy detail.

**Ranks**:

-         Rank 1 – Ránen [Errant] (1 Renown): Ránen are dragged out of the dredges of the Liefin society. Generally recruited from one of the nine slums surrounding Nova-Tirothil, the most dedicated, devout, and sturdy souls are given the opportunity to escape their fate and rise above the misery that would define the rest of their mortal lives.

The most daring are offered a desperate choice; to join the ranks of the Hecil. They must leave all they know behind and become displaced with their family in a foreign land where they will be scorned, mocked and cast aside as mongrels. Then, should they survive and carve out an existence for themselves, they will be forever indebted to the Akritai, and will have fulfill their orders to the letter, often serving as dead drops or offering their homes as safe havens for higher ranking agents. The only thing ensuring their loyalty is the knowledge that despite their dire straights, their odds of etching out a decent lifestyle for themselves are better then they have ever been. That, and the knowledges that a fate worst than death awaits those who would betray their pledge.

The more pragmatic are offered a different gamble. They are offered the chance to become Akritai members of the Mesreen. They take to the roads far from home, leaving family and friends behind, joining a Mesreen where they will wonder perilous trade routes for five years. Those who survive their ordeal will be allowed to keep whatever they have managed to barter for themselves (they can also keep what they have stolen if they aren’t caught, as jeopardizing the reputation of a Mesreen for personal gain will lead to a swift execution). Should they complete their five year task, they shall earn fifteen hundred gold pieces for themselves and their families. Should they perish along the journey, their families will earn a minimum of three hundred gold pieces, and an additional three hundred for every year the Ránen served the Mesreen. Earning four times as much as the non-Akritai members of the Mesreen, these Ránen must maintain contact with the Hecil in the towns and cities they visit and on occasion, support ranking Akritai on their missions.

Ránen are the lowest rung and the staple of the Akritai network, whose foundation is built upon the enormous number of agents they command across the continent.

No formal identification is given to the Ránen. Hecil are given a number of code phrases which can be used only once for identification. Mesreen dispatched to contact Hecil are given before hand a specific code word to make contact. Often, a Mesreen is tasked with delivering to a Hecil a new series of code words to maintain contact.

-         Rank 2 – Cenda [Observer] (Hecil: 25 Renown – Mesreen: 15 Renown): The Cenda are Drawn from veteran Ránen.

The  Ránen Hecil who have proven their worth and ambition, and survived the tests of loyalty will be granted the rank of Cenda. Very few Hecil make it up to this rank as the Hecil Division’s strength lies in quantity over quality. Still, some Akritai missions in foreign lands require additional support which can only be provided by crafty and well connected individuals. Accordingly, Cenda Hecil are often families who were able to achieve a certain degree of success and connection through their own means. When recognized, these families will be granted resources by the Akritai to secure or improve their position. In exchange, they will be expected to mobilize all available resources to support any Akritai operation in their city/town. This is the ultimate rank a Hecil can ever occupy.

Cenda Mesreen are veterans of the service, those who have satisfactorily completed their first five year tour and volunteer for extended service are generally granted the rank of Cenda. Hence, they become responsible to maintain Hecil contacts along their route and manage Ránen Mesreen. On occasion, they can also be assigned supporting roles in higher risk missions run by Minna or even Cuptamo. For the added risks and responsibilities they undertake, the Cenda Mesreen are offered the opportunity to either receive higher pay or to take along their families with them on the road. Given the dangers Mesreen have witnessed as Ránen, and the fact that very few of them care to reunite with their families given rampant infidelities (on both sides) that took place during their first tour of duty, very few Cenda Mesreen choose to bring their family along with them.

Much like the Ránen, no formal identification is given to the Cenda. While code phrases can still be used to identify Cenda agents, often both Cenda  Hecil and Mesreen tend to recognize each other from their time in service. Hence, the Cenda rank tends to operate more closely to a traditional spy network.

-         Rank 3 – Minna [Infiltrator] (Heru Mesreen: 40 Renown or Tyav-Mesreen: 1 Renown): Mesreen recruited at the rank of Ránen who achieve the peak of their service will attain the rank of Minna (commonly referred to as Heru Mesreen). These are elite operatives in their own right who have acquired knowledge of multiple trade routes and are the prime collectors of information outside of Liefin. On rare occasion, Heru Mesreen can be asked to participate in intelligence or covert operations. However, their service is only called for in this regard by exception when the operation’s failure could be catastrophic or it’s success critical. Oftentimes, the worth of the knowledge accumulated by a Heru Mesreen is deemed to be worth much more that the outcome of any single operation. Heru Mesreen typically manage contacts on their routes for the Hecil and and guide the actions of the Mesreen. Granted a remarkable level of autonomy, the Heru Mesreen’s judgement is depended upon to identify changes along their route, stemming both from the influence of the polities and non-native entities. The loss of a Heru Mesreen is keenly felt across the entire Akritai. Should that loss be the result of nefarious actions, those responsible will feel a fitting end that only the Sicarii are capable of offering. Should a Heru Mesreen betray the Akritai, the treatment offered by the Sicarii would be deemed merciful compared to what is reserved for the traitor. In the entire history of the Akritai, there has only been one traitorous Heru Mesreen. Though his name and family have been forgotten to the ages, all of the Akritai know of his outcome.

Tyav-[Minna] Mesreen [Select Mesreen] do not originate from the dredges of society. They are often talented individuals who stem from the artisan or merchant class and have manifested a potential which sets them above their peers. On occasion, low born nobles or nobility outcasts may find themselves granted the Rank of Tyav-Mesreen. Once recruited, these individuals undergo a year of selection and tradecraft training to become Tyav-Mesreen. They are then sent on routes to perform high risk infiltration missions where they will be asked to acquire information from various sources. They may also be called upon to perform more aggressive operations such as sabotage, sackings or abductions but these are generally performed in support of, or as part of a distraction for higher level operatives. Tyav-Mesreen will either make a name for themselves at that rank and reach higher echelons or will perish and be forgotten. No compensatory payment will ever be made to the family of a fallen Tyav-Mesreen.

Akritai at the rank of Minna are the first to receive an official means of identifying themselves. Each Minna is given a coin press which will leaves a singular individualized mark on a coin. This mark, which bears some resemblance to the crest of the Akritai, possesses some imperfections which serve to identify the specific agent. This makes it harder for anyone trying to forge a Akritai mark to successfully deceive the one receiving the coin. This also facilitates the identification of a contact. An Akritai agent tasked to meet a counterpart will be given either a sample of the mark or a description of its imperfections. When meeting the contact, they will exchange a coin of a pre-agreed upon value and examine their marks. If the supposed agent’s mark does not match the sample, the Akritai will know they are dealing with an imposter. It is customary for Akritai agents to deface the mark of another agent once their identity has been confirmed. This ensures that the mark cannot be copied and forged in the future.

Minna are also given a code name that they will use when exchanging correspondence within the organization. This provides them with plausible deniability if they are ever caught carrying a compromising letter or must send a message without compromising their identity.

-         Rank 4 – Cuptamo [Deceiver] (25 Renown): The Tyav Mesreen who distinguish themselves through their service will eventually be promoted to Cuptamo Mesreen. These agents have generally served on multiple trade routes over numerous years and have participated  in countless missions. Having achieved a significant amount of experience, the Cuptamo will no longer be assigned with a specific Mesreen but will operate in regions where they will exploit all resources at the disposition of the Akritai including Hecil, Mesreen and their own contacts which they’ve cultivated over the years. These agents take on a wide variety of missions including false flags, dead drops, honeypots, bang and burn, chicken feed, cut-outs, timed drops, and assassinations just to name a few.

Cuptamo Sicarii is the starting rank for members of the Imperial spy detail. Only rumors exist about these agents included where they are recruited form, what their training is like, how long they stay at the Cuptamo rank, and what their missions are like.

-         Rank 5 – Effírië Tirista [Death Watch]: Effírië Tirista is a rank solely assigned to full members of the Sicarii. Nothing else in known about the Sicarii, though they are rumored to be supremely loyal to the emperor and extremely competent at whatever task they undertake.

-         Rank 6 – Cundo [Lord]: There are four Cundos in the Akritai, each one responsible for the management and operations of each branch of the service:

·      Cundo Hecil

·      Cundo Mesreen

·      Cundo Tyav-Mesreen

·      Cundo Sicarii

-         Rank 7 – Heru Ettirno [Spy Master]: As the founder of the Akritai, Illifir Denumano is the first and only Heru Ettirno the organization ever had. It is unclear whether anyone will ever rise to succeed him or, given his unnaturally long life, if he will ever vacate the office he created.

**Activities**:

“What’s the difference between a a Liefin Dog and a rabbit? One is a vermin that can’t stop breeding and the other is delicious in a stew!”

-         Common joke about Liefin Citizens in the Kingdoms

The Akritai are in large part Liefin’s primary forgein spy service. While the Sicarii’s jurisdiction knows no bounds, the remainder of the service is precluded from operating internally. Contrary to the spy service of other polities, the majority of the Akritai operate in a largely unsotisficated fashion. They rely on their large numbers to have eyes and ears spread throughout the different polities. Given their spread, most Akritai will passively collect information about their whereabouts and transmit it to their superiors through the Mesreen trade routes.

While it is acknowledged by rulers and their security services that some Liefin expatriates in their kingdoms or in the Mesreens are spies, Liefin’s limited power and its perceived benigness is generally enough to discourage them from actively trying to route out the spies or to ban the very practical Mesreens from traversing their borders. Moreover, much of the information collected by the Mesreens serves to adapt their routes and traded goods to the needs and desires of the various polities.

When information of particular value is uncovered by the Hecil or Mesreens, higher ranking agents can be dispatched to either confirm it, further their collection on it or act on it. Given that the Akritai derive part of their success from their discreetness, they will carefully weigh the potential gains from a risky operation against the possibility of having their involvement uncovered.

The one exception to this lies when a deep sleigh is committed against Liefin or the Emperor. In the rare occasions where a polity either purposefully draws the ire of the Emperor or threatens the Empire’s holdings, the Akritai will dispatch the Sicarii to rectify the situation. Though they employ a variety of means only limited by the scope of a mortal’s imagination to reach their ends, their efficacy and ruthlessness has earned them a mythical reputation that has even the most powerful ruler question his motives for upsetting the now reduced polity.

Ultimately, the Akritai’s success is enabled by their ability to play the long game and not fall victim to the pressures of the immediate. They are bidding their time until the conditions are right for the Empire to retake its rightful place as one of the premier powers of the known world.

**History**:

The Liefin Empire always had a spy service serving the Emperor. Since the clash of prophecies and the creation of the desolation which signaled the Empire’s decline, the spy service has continuously reinvented itself. The spy network’s attempt at preventing the Empire’s downfall has led over time to the execution of much of its leaders allowing for newcomers to rise and attempt to safeguard what was left of the Empire‘s former glory. This invariably led to their demise until a Spymaster call Illifir Denumano was promoted at the head of the organization In 435 3E. While his predecessors pointlessly tried to return the Empire to it’s former glory, Illifir came to recognize that the empire had forever changed and could not reclaim its former holdings in the near term. Instead, he saw that the dire situation in which the Empire was left proved both a crisis and an opportunity.

While Liefen lost much of it’s territory and power resources, one thing it had in over abundance was people. Given its relatively weakened status compared to the other Eastern Continental powers, Liefin was in a unique position to export its citizenry both in the form or Caravans and expatriates.

Even in the best of harvest seasons, providing sufficient food to the populace of Nova-Tirothil was challenging. It would therefore be of no surprise to any ruler from other kingdoms that some Liefin Citizens would leave the empire and establish themselves in other cities trying to scrape by a meager existence for themselves. Such individuals could provide a steady stream of information into the Empire and also act as dead drops and safe havens for other agents. Of course, the loyalty of such citizens could never be guaranteed, but with enough precautions in place, these individuals could act as a first layer of a foreign spy network. Thus was born the Hecil.

While some of Liefin’s populace would be amenable to leave the confines of the Empire to live in  foreign lands and serve the Akritai, some would be tied down due to their families or belongings. Recognizing that earning a decent living proved a challenge for the lower rungs of society, Illifir devised a plan to launch numerous caravans for Liefin accross the Eastern continent. While every polity remained suspicious of each other, Illifir deemed that Liefin would not be perceived as much of a threat given that it was located between The Desolation and the Powerful Western Empire. He also acknowledged that while each nation mostly relied on its own production for sustenance, trade between polities would allow for the flow of rare or needed goods.

Of course, any caravan routes would be fraught with peril, be it brigands, monsters or other unnamed hazards. However, once again, Liefin had an over abundance of desperate people. By rewarding hansomly the Liefeneers who returned successfully from Caravan routes and compensating the families for the loss of anyone who perished on the routes, Liefin could field sufficient caravans to ensure the flow of goods in the empire while sustaining a network of trade abroad.

While the establishment of caravan networks was attempted by other polities, these efforts ultimately failed when war or hostilities inevitably broke out between different powers.

While the caravan network officially served to ensure a steady stream of supplies into Liefin, it would also offer the perfect cover for spies to travel through different polities with lessened suspicion. These spies would both acquire information themselves and serve as relays for the Hecil located in different polities. Thus was born the Mesreen (which refers to both the Caravans and the agents who are inbeded within).

While Illifir’s reforms had accounted for threats from abroad with the creation on the Hecil and Mesreen, he remained somewhat weary of threats from within. The declining Empire had come to rely more and more on the Ecclisiarchy of the Unity Church to maintain the control over its populace. While the Emporor was the head of the Church, Illifir feared that without any checks, divergent factions could form within the Church and topple the Emperor. He therefore convinced the Emperor to allow for the creation of a force that would protect the Imperial family from internal threats. This proposal was met with significant protest from the Ecclisiarchy. As a compromise, it was determined that the only elements of the spy network which could operate within the boundaries on Liefin’s territory would be those tasked to protect the Emperor and his family. Thus was born the Sicarii. The task of surveiling Liefin’s population, whether popper or noble, would however remain with the Ecclisiarchy of the Unity Church. The Sicarii have become intimately tied with the Praetorian Guard.

Though now very old, Illifir still lives to this day and maintains his role as Spymaster for the Emperor. Many rumours exist about the nature of his prolonged life but none know whether this is due to lineage, magic, or some more sinister means.