Four-Clover Lodge

The Syndicate of Elven slavers bent on subjugating all Non-Elves and enslaving them

Structure

None know the true, exact layout of the Four Clover Lodge, but it is believed to be a massive and possibly continent-spanning syndicate broken up into various "cells", more commonly referred as "lodges", that operate independently and without almost any knowledge of the other lodges. Each lodge is formed of the ranks of the syndicate, who are commonly given the ranks of "Slaver" and "Beguiler" to represent the twin disciplines in the rank-and-file of the Four-Clover Lodge itself...above them sit the Lodgemasters, who are responsible for leading each of the various "Lodges(aka Cells)" that operate across Ea. Typically, it is these Lodgemasters who are the sole beings in the Lodge they rule who have knowledge of any kind of the larger syndicate...which is one of the many reasons the Four-Clover Lodge has endured as long as it has.
Above the Lodgemasters truly little is known, as few opportunities to capture and interrogate such high-level members of the Four-Clover Lodge have presented themselves over the centuries of The Four-Clover Lodge's operation. From what little is known, there exist entities above the Lodgemasters known as "Ciphers"...beings who operate behind cloak and dagger, only communicating through others and dead-drops, never showing their faces...they are the contacts the Lodgemasters speak to so as to receive missions and orders from the Leadership of The Syndicate. As to whom the "Ciphers" serve, there is even less evidence...only one incident in recent history has led to the capture of a Cipher, and from the subsequent interrogation it was revealed that they seem to serve "Chainlords", who in turn perhaps serve the Kingpin of the entire Syndicate.
Generally, each Lodge forms a hodgepodge of other titles to give to its valuable members, such as Treasurer, Master of the Chain, Head Detonator, The Lord of Magic, etc...this is not universal, and the fact that no standard exists makes it difficult to relate Lodges to each other.

Public Agenda

The public agenda of The Four-Clover Lodge is the complete enslavement, capture, torture, and subjugation of all Non-Elves into cattle and slaves, and to fully and truly establish Elven Superiority in such a way that Elves gain control over all life on the Continent, ruling over them as cattle and inferior animals.
To this end, The Lodge at large has become infamous for its night-raids on settlements across the Continent, where an entire cell or sometimes multiple descend onto a city or settlement and capture, kill, rape, and enslave all beings within it...these raids universally target non-elven settlements, and Elves or Half-Elves within these settlements are generally either given the choice to join, have their memory wiped, or die. These raids have given them a terror-inducing reputation amongst the populace of the places they frequently operate and those who know of them, fearing them as terrifying boogeymen for whom no act is too heinous, barbaric, or savage if it is done to a non-elf. Families have been broken up and tortured, children savagely beaten, and entire settlements flensed and sold off at auction by The Lodge, and to many it is the very representation of evil in the world.

Assets

For the most part and with few exceptions, the Lodges of the Four-Clover Syndicate outwardly appear to be rather Hodgepodge and ragtag, and often disguise themselves as downtrodden and down on their luck elves...yet, nothing could be further from the truth. Almost universally, the Lodges of the Syndicate are extremely well-equipped and make their bases in run-down and seemingly small shacks and hovels, yet with massive and sprawling underground complexes where slaves are taken, held, tortured, and broken by the Lodge's master torturers and then prepped for their inevitable selling at the various slave auctions held by the Syndicate several times a month.
They often disguise their well-equipped nature beneath a veneer of poverty and ragtag appearances, but in contrast to this it has been discovered that for the most part, their assets are rarely replenished by the larger organization. Resupplies have been known to happen when circumstances are dire, but Lodges are mostly left to their own discretion and contact is only made for a resupply when a given Lodge has fallen on truly hard times.
As for the larger organization, their assets seem mostly inexhaustible and without end, with the Lodges getting resupplies whenever they run low without delay or decrease in what is delivered...even requests for specific, rarer equipment or items or creatures are not unheeded, and are delivered in short order. Many surmise The Syndicate must have truly impressive funding or

History

Long ago, not long after the beginning of the Age of Heroes when the world had begun to recover from the calamities of the Age of Barbarity, the Elvenwood had begun a humanitarian effort to aid and assist the struggling communities of the outside world, as they had been relatively unscathed by the horrors of the age. This was an incredibly controversial event at the time, and many Elves, particularly the more extremist and elitist ones, decried and were insulted at the very notion of Elves deigning to assist or help Non-Elves with their issues. To them, they should be left to suffer and even made to suffer more...many even argued for an Elven Subjugation of the other races while they were yet weak, but the wisdom of the Elven King, Nerdu'shae Yggdrasa, won out and the Elves made good on their promise for relief aid.
Unhappy with this decision, many of the more extremist and elitist Elves abandoned The Elvenwood and their King and formed The Four-Clover Lodge with hundreds of their most like-minded allies...allies who believed in Elven superiority so heavily that they wished to see all non-elves kneeling before them, clapped in chains and made into cattle to finally realize their own inferiority to them. Thus was the Lodge as a whole formed, and it has stubbornly persisted ever since, both due to the long lifespan of the Elves who make it up and the incredible skill with which they operate.

Elvenkind is the only kind. All others are but meat.

Founding Date

867 AF

Type

Illicit, Syndicate

Alternative Names

The Cloven Syndicate, The Four-Clover Syndicate, The Syndicate

Demonym

Cloven

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