Introduction
Secret societies in Arc have a heritage that dates back to the last Vannic emperors. They are organisations that straddle the worlds of Arc's streets and the highest echelons of power, they consider themselves far removed from the city's thieves and petty criminals, but everywhere they have existed they have exerted a corrupting influence on Arcish life. Some equate themselves to the various knightly orders of the city and the former empire, others view their role as fighting for the continuation of elite rule. Some were affiliated to the now exiled nobility, others were linked to the banks and the guilds. The Dahova are closely connected to one another through kinship, blood, fealty and obligation and observe a complex set of rules and customs which regulates relations between different Dahovic Houses and prevents all out war. The Dahova police criminality in Arc more effectively than the city's beleaguered guards do, they ensure that the schemes of their own social tier are (for the most part) carried out without too much hindrance from the Justiciars, and they keep a close eye on new entrants to the city's criminal rackets, ensuring that rising criminals either work for one of the houses, or are eliminated before they can pose a threat and disrupt the equilibrium of Arc's streets. Most importantly, however, the rules that govern the workings of each house ensure that either the house's existence is little more than a rumour on the city's streets, or that Dahovic Houses hide in plain sight as charitable organisations with no connection to crime at all. Arc's emperors and protectors have made frequent use of the houses, hiring them for assassinations, using them during times of unrest to control Arc and its empire, borrowing money from them when banks viewed the monarch of the day as too unreliable to lend to. Wiser rulers, advised well and resourced with robust treasuries try to avoid having strong ties with the Dahova, but this is often impossible as they rapidly infiltrate the royal and protectorate households as soon as a successsor is announced, sometimes fighting brief wars between each other to ensure access to power. The term 'Dahova' came from the phrase 'Dehof' in Vannic, which means 'the bond of my brother'. Dehof was a phrase that Vannic knights would say to one another as they mounted for battle, meaning that each had the bond of their brother, or their brother's undying loyalty until death. The Dehovic Houses chose this phrase to remind their members that loyalty and secrecy were paramount, and at each initiation ceremony a new member of a house pledges that their life may be forfeited if they are disloyal. Dehovic Houses have been known to persue traitors across Aestis, and those that turn on their masters often flee to
Mordikhaan in order to survive, taking many of the practices and techniques they have learned in Arc with them.
The Five Main Houses
Westrun
The House of Westrun is thought to be situated at the Novarum House, a large fortified townhouse at the north end of the Dures Road. The wealth of the Westruns comes from the trade in rare gems (often stolen), particularly the priceless Vaurim stones. Westrun is ruled by the Brother Signet, who always appears before his underlings wearing an ornate wooden mask. For centuries, those that knew of the existence of the House Westrun were baffled as to the origins of its wealth and power, as it didn't seem to engage in the criminal activities of its peers. One of the closest guarded secrets in Aestis is the source of Westrun's immense resources; the lords of Westrun collect and trade in Vaurim gem stones, items of incomparable beauty and (for those who know how to wield them) immense power. The Vaurim gems are the products of the Sundering (though nobody is exactly sure where they originate from). Vaurim gems sometimes have buyer in Aestis who are wealthy enough to afford them, but more often, they are sold to entities from other realities who have no other way of seizing them than to negotiate with mortals.
Hyderman
The Hyderman secret society is an extension of the Hyderman family, one of the few noble lines who abandoned the rest of the noble class during the era of the Lunar and Twilight Kings, and joined with the banks and the merchants who destroyed the nobility when the Arc Empire collapsed. The Hyderman dynasty backed the Protectors and avoided the fate of their peers (though the surviving nobility, scattered across the Arclands, hates and despises them), and whilst the family lives in the open as part of Arc's wealthy mercantile class, there is a hidden, secret side to its activities. The Hyderman family is led by Myande Hyderman, who prides herself on having enough influence amongst the banks of Arc that no major financial decision is taken in the city without her permission. The wealth and power of the Hyderman family comes from the extortion of the powerful. The family uses blackmail, threats of violence and poltiical influence to ensure that the merchant and banking class pays them its due.
Altracas
If the Hyderman faction is close to the banks, the Altracas faction is closest to the Protector of Arc. The Altracas secret society acts as an unofficial and unacknowledged branch of the Protector's government, carrying out espionage, kidnappings, assassinations and sabotage across Aestis at the Protector's behest. Some Protectors in the past have been reluctant to engage the services of the Altracas society, often feeling uncertain about their motivations or the limits of their power. Others, like the current Protector in the year 295, Droskun Arrand, have been more inclined towards conspiracy and value the secretive power that the Altracas faction brings. Wise Protectors approach the faction with care, and those who have been reckless in their dealings with Altacas in the past have found themselves the pawns of the faction's clandestine games.
Orivan
The Orivan have the final word on the streets of Arc and tend to enforce the will of the other societies in the alleys, dockyards and marketplaces of the great city. Centuries ago it was agreed between the Dahova that feuding between them could not be allowed, and therefore only one society should be given the role of clandestinely policing the criminal gangs of the city. The Orivan ensure that the interests of all five are upheld, and at the same time the society engages in the smuggling of dimensional creatures for the infamous blood pit fighting rings from Taeor. The Orivan facion also benefits from the wealth extracted from the poor in the Oboline, as it controls much of the enforced labour that debtors are subjected to.
Cartacas
The sphere of influence of the Cartacas secret society is smaller than that of its contemporaries. Cartacas is the weakest of the five societies and its power principally extends to the control of the
The Azure Chamber. This enables the faction to rig votes in its favour and to make sure that it is able to influence the main legislative body in the city. By controlling the chamber, the Cartacas faction compensates for its inability to control the Protector. The lords of Cartacas know that a strong chamber can easily control a weak Protector.
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