The Bloodhawks
The Bloodhawks, originally known as La Maior Rasa or “The superior blood” are a cartel of organized crime families that slowly grew out of a Svanesse noble court roughly 300 years ago. Founded by Calisto Vega, the bloodhawks trace their lineage back King Armando, who briefly held the throne before being dethroned by King Ciereon during the kingdom's fight for independence. Seeing their fall from grace as a temporary setback, the families of the Bloodhawks see their ‘criminal’ activities as reclamation of the spoils of a kingdom they helped create.
Currently, the various families have sprawling networks of gangs and outfits throughout Svain. Their operations cover a wide range of activities, including illicit gambling, racketeering, extortion, trafficking, fencing, and piracy. In addition to their direct control over their various members, the Bloodhawks are considered to be actively involved in all matters of local and regional politics. Their members and contacts are routinely found in nearly every sector of the Svanesse economy - from the merchant guilds, the Cedonian guard, the Navy, and even the Senate.
La Maior Rasa
There are currently five families that control the major activities of the Bloodhawks. Each family has territory in Cedonia that they operate, as well as branches outside the capital, and often focus one one aspect of their criminal enterprises more than the other. In the early years of the La Maior Rasa, many of the families were often at war with one another as much as they were with the local authorities. After the Sassatrian War, La Orden “The Warrant” was established as a neutral body to settle disputes between the various families. Since its inception, La Orden has only lost its legitimacy once, during the brief reign of Rafael Câmara. During his brief time as La Capa “The boss”, Rafael managed to institute a reign of terror against the Royal throne, and enact a brutal series of retributive assaults against his rivals and the Svanesse authorities, culminating in Dia Los Gerras, or “Day of a thousand talons”. For his trouble Rafael set the groundwork for the independence of Sapabel. Nonetheless, after Rafael was assassinated, many of his co-conspirators were arrested, or killed in the attempt. La Maior Rasa managed to reorganize under a new La Orden, despite the heavy losses, and have persisted in reasserting their influence in Svain since that time.The Baretto Family
The Baretto Family trace their history back to the city of Tucendara, and are believed to have had a heavy hand in the attempted rebellion from Svain early in the kingdom’s history. Despite their failure in doing so, they’ve managed to maintain a stronghold in city, and are a major player in the local economy. Currently led by the aging Capa Cesar Baretto, the family's activities have focused heavily on racketeering and piracy, with their connections to the shipwrights and merchant guilds based in the city. More recently, though, the Baretto’s have established a strong network across the Godsdeep in Porto Ansia after ousting a rival Capa, as part of a personal feud. Fresh off their relatively recent conquest, the Barettos in Porto Ansia (led by Cesar’s grandsons Diego & Hugo) are eager to cement their control over the region, and build their network to equal anything in Svain.Cold War
Despite their 300 year existence, the Kingdom of Svain has only recently acknowledged publically the legitimacy of the Bloodhawks, insofar as they are pervasive and substantive threat to the authority and stability of the kingdom.
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