The Black Seagulls

The Black Seagulls is a collection of rogues and other criminals that operate around the Arrival Coast, deeply infiltrated within the people and structures of the Costituencies to bring justice and equity to the region in their own way, applying the laws of the Centrum Pact or filling their blanks. The gang is notorious for the kidnappings of the sons and daughters of the elites.

The Inspiration

"Beware, children, of the black feather: many of us, good and bad, have vanished with the coastal winds" _{A common saying in the coast of Secundus}

Fearful of the many strange elements found after establishing themselves, the settlers coming from the Southern Expedition soon created stories to explain the events happening in their new surroundings. One of these stories talks about a child, whose mother was left out when the Leviathan sailed to the New Continent, who asked a large, dark-feathered tidecrosser, to bring them back with her. Feeling their grief, the giant seagull took them to its nest to raise them as their own, but the child attacked the bird instead. The child was lost, with only some cloths under a black feather as a reminder.

The Method

The doings of the Black Seagulls have always the same purpose: take the objective's most precious thing and use it to extort them, mainly to force a change in their actions. This includes theft, spying and, most importantly, kidnapping. Once the client has been reached, or in uncommon cases, finds a member of the gang, the clients inform them of the situation and pays the suggested price. After a period of investigation of the target and their routines, the object or person is replaced by a black feather as the only proof of the happening. The taken object, document or person is carefully safeguarded until the target gets to do what the client wants. If the target resists, after a month the items are sold, the information is revealed to the general public, and the kidnapped is tortured until death, and continue attacking the target. A fair compromise has almost always been reached in cases with children involved, and murders by the Seagulls are extraordinary unlikely.

Structure

Due to their characteristic elusiveness, the gang is extremely decentralized: no base, no common financial reserves; only the crest and the ideology as common elements. However, there is a defined hierarchy within the organization, with four groups divided between an Inner and Outer Circle.

The Outer Circle

The Hatchlings are the rookies of the gang, not considered full members yet. They assist the Inner Circle with the communciation and logistics, providing them with everithing needed for a case, while training their abilities under a desgnated superior. To become a Hatchling, the aspirant must be perceptive and stealthy enough to find and take the crest of a member, and be seen worthy by them.
Former Inner Circle members (and veteran Hatchlings) that have stopped their activities to pursue another career or by loss of their abilities become Unfeathered.They are free to do what they desire, but they are expected to assist anyone from the gang when asked. If their current work alligns with the basic principles of the gang, they get preferential treatment and a price discount.

The Inner Circle

Once they honed their skills to their maximum capacity, the Hatchlings "grow" to become Seagulls, fully recognized members of the gang. With their new rank, Seagulls can get their own missions and private stashes, as well as train new members. Since the training to get the rank is hard and unforgiving, there are only around a hundred of Seagulls in total, everyone of them a valuable prize for a law enforcer.
Above the Hatchlings and Seagulls is the Tidecrosser, leader of the gang. The Tidecrosser works as a "first among equals" with the Seagulls, and cannot intervene in the work of any member unless there is a strong deviation from the gang's principles. The Tidecrosser has the possesion of one of the earliest and most famous infused steel blades, the dagger Grey Talon, and only them are allowed to kill the kidnapped. To become the Tidecrosser, one of the Seagulls has to successfully kidnap a child from the highest echelons of power, normally from the Council of the Central Authority.

Currently, (436 ASL) there is no Tidecrosser; last aspirant was captured just after taking the young Prince Acaymo of Sextus in the Grand Exposition of 435.

Public Agenda

No Son of the Leviathan can be unfairly treated by a superior or any other authority, unless the actions are justified by law. _{Centrum Pact, Chapter I, Article 2.1}

Heavily inspired by the early stages of the Centrum Pact, and later demoralized by the inaction of the population, the first Tidecrosser decided to become the embodiment of what he found was the most essential parts of the document: stop any unjust action by any means possible. To pursue their goal, no mission offered can be rejected. However, due to the nuances within what is just, payments can range between nothing for totally justified cases to exorbitant prices for very ambiguous cases (mostly political manouvers)
It is important to detail that the Black Seagulls follow the principles behind the Pact, not the Pact itself; the gang has no remorse when breaking the law to work. This violation of the legal/religious dogma has angered the Pact Zealots, who work tirelessly to put an end to the gang. In return, any mission targeted towards a known Pact Zealot is slightly cheaper.
Outside the Zealots, the gang' support ranges from high (common folk) to quite low (normally targeted elites), but very few desire the complete end of the Black Seagulls.

Assets

Every member has their own set of assets, kept to themselves unless its lent to another member for a case. It is considered that every Seagull has enough waealth accumulated to have a confortable life for a long time. Also, the gang has an unspecified amount of magical energy, since the Grey Talon has kept its properties all this time.

Type

Illicit, Gang