The Gozanal
"Oh, and by the way, Don't Mess With the Gozanal. If you're foolish, they'll kill you. But if you're smart, which you are, you work for me, but careless, we'll kill you. Nothing personal, but you'll be working for them, and I don't want to have to speak with the shapechanger again. Don't make me worried, kiddo."
-Glass from Ixe'atza, representative of the Oozing Eye,
to a client adventuring party
The Gozanal is the only organization of Thyra's underbelly capable of rivalling the Lashgur Clan in scale. It was formed two decades ago by Gata in rejection to the philosophy of the Winterlight Order, a reformist secret order. The Gozanal has been and remains actively planning the complete abolishment of the Thyra Theocracy.
Activities
Recruitment
The leaders of the Gozanal consider it vital to have the support of the lowest class in their attempt at revolution, directly contrasting the acedimic and educated status of the Winterlight Order. For its entire existence the Gozanal have not stopped spreading their cause to the workers in the factories beneath the Cloudmist. Internally, the Gozanal estimate that nearly a quarter of all workers of the Gloomwind are members, while at least another third actively support the Gozanal.
Also high in the priorities of the Gozanal is the disillusionment of the Church. Because loyalty, reverence, or at least indifference to the Church of Altani has been the norm in the minds of Thyra's citizens for so long, seeding a dislike and distrust of the Church and her allies is crucial to the Gozanal's operation. Fliers depicting the laborers neglected of the church are commonplace; Illusion magic used to demonstrate the emptiness of reverence and worship follow next; and feeding and promotion of anti-church sentiments into the press, the literature, the academic study create a more split view on the government, rather than blind following.
Funding
In the higher circles of society, the Gozanal has gained many financial patrons through various fronts. Many 'adventuring companies' and 'property insurers' in the city are tied to the Gozanal, used for collection and laundering of funds. Also quite notably, mass theft on the wealthy houses of the city is used to fund the Gozanal's operations.
Terrorism
The Gozanal are responsible for many attempted attacks on the equinox freighters, train takeovers, and assassinations. It is noted that the purpose of these attacks are just as often to highlight the incompetence of the church as much as impeding the operation of the city.
Government of the Heretic
The Fifth, where the Church's power does not reach, has been used as the center for the Gozanal's operation. Since the founding of the Gozanal, their influence on the chaotic society of the Heretic has grown, and currently has reached the point where the Gozanal essentially function as the government in many districts of the pillar. Gata has used this position to experiment with reformed system that could functionally the Church once its downfall is successful brought to fruition.
Structure
The Gozanal is lead by Gata, a changeling whose influence many members are unaware of. Only within a certain inner circle of the Gozanal's leadership, and among certain well informed leaders of other factions, is her exact identity as the leader of the group known. Even so, she takes on many forms and identities in leadership positions of the Gozanal across the city, giving her more power than even some of her closest realize. She is the founder of the Gozanal and architect of all of its philosophy and actions according.
Beneath Gata are her daughters, who function as spies and agents of the Gozanal. They also often borrow forms from one-another and even Gata herself, causing difficulty for outsiders who seek to figure out the exact inner-workings of the organization.
Hundreds if not thousands of dedicated operatives carry out the all of the various activities of the Gozanal. While a certain few live only as operatives of the Gozanal, gaining reputation among them, most others are workers and the children of workers rationing out spare time they cannot afford to support the revolutionary cause. The details of operations are distributed through word of mouth within subunits, and between units and pillars are coordinated through Gata and her daughters, who use a variation of Maskform to avoid survailence
Beyond these operatives, tens of thousands of laborers have become members of the Gozanal, pledging loyalty to the cause when the outright revolt begins, and tens of thousands more are expected to support the uprising when the time comes, even if they are to fearful to pledge now.
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