Information Bureau

Without embelishment, this organization started as a band of bandits - a group of disgruntled military officers that got stranded along the border territories and felt abandoned by their state in one of the many periods of unrest. The fact that they even made it out of their alive is a comendable achievement and turned them into a valuable chess piece on the imperial set of the power struggle.   Enemies of my enemies sometimes make for the best friends who can spy on the enemies of the enemies for you and make sure you will not be surprised with any of their plans. All they needed was a slightly better PR once the fight for the throne was over and there you go - the establishment of an official spy network was created. The agents of the information bureau are a force to be reckoned with and with the right imperial seal they can request access to any building, any person, any resource they want.   As the title suggest, they gather information and they will stop at nothing to get it. Torture is one of the accepted manners of extraction and many people who end up in the bureau's dungeons never emerge. And if they do it is mostly in pieces.   Not many people agree with the existence of such an organization and do not consider its members as honorable servants the way other ministries and deparments of the palace are viewed to the public, but try to say these sentiments aloud and keep your head on your neck, we double dare you.   While controversial and feared by many, it is to no surprise that sucha group of people exist because even the emperor wants to keep his head on his royal shoulders, preferably while still sitting on his throne. And for that you need to get information before anyone else.