Syndicates began forming after the Second Uprising to fill the power void that was created in the lower Castes. After many years of bloody fights between smaller gangs and local crime bosses, it was obvious that a more centralized kind of control was necessary. Thus, the five most important gang lords came together to create the Five Syndicates.
Each of them annexed the smaller gangs in their area of influence, sometimes with bribery and other times with intimidation. If none of these methods worked, the unruly gang was wiped out in brutal and very public displays of raw force.
The most famous of said demonstrations was the
Norton Street Bloodbath, where the gang of one of the remaining independent crime lords, Skalls, was eradicated. Although the Syndicates didn't directly participate in this one, it was clear that they were the ones that orchestrated it.
Although they are crime-oriented organizations, the Syndicates function as a type of authoritarian government for the lower Castes. They control all kinds of business transactions that are executed in their districts, they are responsible for housing and debt collection, even for the distribution of food and other commodities.
They have formed their own kind of police, in essence ruthless thugs who patrol the streets, making sure everyone adheres to the Syndicate's orders. The Syndicates have a love-hate relationship with the
Conglomerates, as they are deemed useful by the latter for enforcing some kind of order in the lower Castes, but at the same time they are distrusted and feared.
Some of the Syndicates try to create the impression of being more legitimate in hopes of expanding their operations to the higher Castes, but without much success until now.
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