Nine Knives

Whispered above in taverns and tap houses and never spoken about in the criminal underworld, the Nine Knives are as much a legend as they are a very real and dangerous organization. Whether the myths about them are more fact than fiction is up to the individual to decide but those who have dealt with the cabal know their power is real. The Nine Knives is a criminal organization with roots in the provinces of Exdora. Mainly their deal in underground trade, smuggling, black markets, and fencing. However, they have many other avenues of business including much darker practices, assassination, political tampering, and human trafficking.

Unlike lesser criminal organizations the Nine Knives doesn’t often get its own hands dirty. In fact if there is a group of criminals operating out of a city it is very likely that they are playing a tribute to the Knives to be allowed to conduct their business. Even the lowest ranking members of the Nine Knives are feared by the criminal underworld, after all going against the legendary group is a recipe for disaster. Those that go against the Nine Knives often vanish, their businesses left untouched, and soon after a new group of criminals will step into their place. Usually ones that have no qualms about loyalty to the Nine Knives.

While to the criminal underworld the Nine Knives is a very real and present threat to the rest of the world the Nine Knives is little more than a myth. The organization goes to great lengths to ensure that while the threat of the Nine Knives is felt, actual proof of the group's activities is hard to find. Members come and go like shadows and everything is done through proxies and middle men. Those lucky enough, or unlucky enough, to stumble upon the group's activities are quickly silenced. Much of the organization is shrouded in mystery even from its members. Its members don’t know how many are in their ranks, the organization's true goals, and beyond their own cell’s structure little about the organization hierarchy. A cell is run by a Copa who oversees a number of Fledglings, Blades, and Shadows. Copas answer to the Knives, of which there are nine as the organizations moniker suggests. The identity, location, and purpose of the Knives is unknown, some even postulate that the nine Knives that run the organization today are the same that started it hundreds of years ago. Whether this is true or not, the organization is more than happy to let that particular rumor circulate.

The Nine Knives was started some time during the prohibition of High King Laslow ll. During this time in Exdorain history the kingdom was engaged in an extended conflict against the elven nation of Mio'Tirion to the south. The conflict caused a closure of the southern border with the kingdom of Havenrock. As the conflict drew on many luxuries grew scarce, in particular dwarven spirits and ales produced in the south and imported in. With large sections of Atardec embroiled in the conflict alcohol in general became difficult to come by. This is when a group of nine opportunists began the work of smuggling large quantities of alcohol into the kingdom. This group grew greatly in power during the conflict and eventually its power grew and overtook many smaller criminal groups that worked the docks along the smuggling routes.

After the conflict with Mio'Tirion ended rather than faltering as their main export became common again the Nine Knives doubled down on their grab for power. Using the allies they gained during the conflict they began to expand their power, first out of port cities, then across all of Exdora. Any criminal gangs they couldn’t bully into submission they destroyed and regrew their network anew. Within 100 years the Nine Knives had most cities infiltrated. Then the unthinkable happened. Almost overnight mention of the Nine Knives vanished. They simply seem to disappear. Their operations continued but not under their name, at least not publicly. Ever since the Nine Knives have pulled the strings of criminals across the kingdom from the shadows, never allowing enough of their presence to be felt to confirm their existence but never allowing the world to forget about them.