[EU - EP - PC] Blackrose Cartel (RP guild)

OneWithTheShadows

About the guild

The Blackrose Cartel is an old organization rooted deeply within Argonian culture and history. It originates from Echo of Silence, a secretive brotherhood that reveres Sithis and whose priority is the defense of Black Marsh and Argonians. However as the years passed, the Cartel grew in ideology and numbers. From an enforcing branch of EoS to a full-fledged unlawful network, it now welcomes any who can align themselves with their code, given by the "Rule of Five". As of now, members of the Cartel engage in profitable activites that obey its precepts, though it is not afraid of getting its hands dirty to the shared benefit of its members and Black Marsh.

"Rule of Five:

Never hurt any innocents or children. To do so is to provoke the Echo of Silence.


Never dishonor The Cartel's history and teachings. To do so is to provoke the Echo of Silence.


Never betray The Cartel or its secrets. To do so is to provoke the Echo of Silence.


Never betray your brethren. To do so is to provoke the Echo of Silence.


Never disobey the orders coming from the Echo of Silence. To do so is to provoke the Echo of Silence.


To provoke the Echo of Silence is to demand death from the Dread Father".

Lowest ranking members of the Blackrose Cartel are known as Candidates, who aren't yet official members of the cartel, but are taken into consideration and given various tasks, tests and puzzles in order to prove that they are the right people for the organization. If they pass all tests, they are then invited into the Blackrose Cartel and become Enforcers.

Enforcers do the Cartel's "dirty work" across its area of influence and operate at certain cities or parts of the region in small crews led by the Brothers. The best Enforcers get promoted to Rogues.

Above them in the hierarchy are the Acolytes who are Rogues aspiring to thrive into the Cartel's rank structure and are learning the connection between The Hist and Argonians, as well as Cartel's history. Acolytes may also aid the crew which they belong to on certain tasks or missions.

Brothers are former Acolytes who have shown that they know the Cartel's history very well, and even more importantly - that they understand its valuable teachings. They lead small crews that operate in certain cities, and are taught by members of Echo of Silence to understand "the code" and basics of Sithis' religion.

Lower ranking members of Echo of Silence are known as EoS Agents, and they teach the Brothers in various matters. Agents are taught by EoS Nameless in deeper understandings of the Argonian culture and history. Agents also coordinate the actions of the Brothers and their crews.

High ranking members of Echo of Silence are known as EoS Nameless and they serve as priests of Sithis. Leader's advisors are known as EoS Emissaries.

The leader of The Blackrose Cartel is also known as Master of Scion and overlooks on all of the actions within the Cartel serving as a High Priest of Sithis. The city of Stormhold is under his direct protection. To move up in the Blackrose Cartel, you need to have at least one member of higher rank to vouch for you, and if you want to advance in the Echo of Silence, all members must agree on your promotion.

Lore

Now - Aedra and Daedra.


Before - The Void.


After - The Void.

The men and mer races of Tamriel worship Aedra and Daedra as their true Gods, but what is divinity? Who wove the fabric of creation in the first place? The Master of The Void, Lord Sithis.

Only few remember this, but one race lives in dedication to the Dread Father - Saxhleel of Black Marsh, mostly known as Argonians. Sithis has never forgotten this, and thus during the Mythic era, Sithis' presence manifested in Black Marsh to show he hasn't forgotten his most loyal Saxhleel worshippers. The Dread Lord gave them a very powerful magic artifact to be used to aid Black Marsh, should some serious threat arise to it and its people. Because of the artifact's appearance, the Argonians gave it the name of "Black Rose". The artifact was offered to a selected few who proved worthy of Sithis’ blessing and various clues also suggest that it was used in many places across the Marsh. Some say the Artifact was used for defeating invading armies while others claimed it could be used to move large stones, enabling Argonians to build stone buildings; the most famous of which are the stone pyramids known as 'Xanmeer'.

With reduced need for outside help or intervention, the Black Rose made Argonians able to become a powerful and autonomous civilization. Sithis also bestowed certain secret powers to the bloodlines of those who were there when He came for the purpose of ensuring that the colossal power of The Rose could only be utilized for extreme defensive purposes. Those Argonians formed an occult secret society to preserve their legacy, a brotherhood that echoes the powers given by the lord of nothingness – a family named "Echo of Silence".

After Sithis' visit, many Argonians wanted to live where their Lord appeared, and thus built a town named Blackrose after their Lord's artifact. On the exact location of the apparition, a big temple was built in honor to Sithis, and in the middle of it stood the Black Rose. Members of the Echo of Silence naturally became powerful citizens of the city, leading the city from the shadows, and exerting influence outside of it.

With their newly gained authority, and lusting for a more direct and far-reaching grasp on their power, Echo of Silence created Ithisskk'uth-Sanssl'an (Jel for 'Touch of Silence'). It served as an enforcement branch of EoS which operated in Blackrose city and beyond, instructed to use any means necessary to complete their mission. Breaking the law and representing a huge influence within the underworld earned them the nickname of 'Blackrose Cartel'. The Echo of Silence gave them six tenets known as the Rule of Six in order to prevent them from becoming mere bandits without values or principles that would stain their divine heritage.

In 11th century of the First Era, various non-Argonian pirate lords became aware of the Marsh's treacherous nature, making it ideal for their bases. At first they offered gifts to local Argonians wherever they came, so locals allowed them to be in Argonia, as long as they didn't enter the cities nor disturb them. But in 1E 1033, Empress Hestra ordered for the head of “Red Bramman” (the most notorious of these criminals) to be brought to her and stop his intensifying bandit activity.

Soon after, the Imperial Navy were forced to enter Argonia through the Bay and traveled deeper into the swamps than any other foreigners had before, to finally capture and decapitate the redheaded pirate-king in his bandit kingdom, near the modern city of Blackrose. Since Bramman was the first representative of men races to the Argonians, the pillaging and slavery Bramman introduced into the Marsh made Argonians resentful towards the races of men.

With Bramman dead, many of his subordinates aspired to keep making an illegal fortune by robbing and enslaving the locals and also practicing blackmail and extortion activities towards them. In response, the Blackrose Cartel organized a full-scaled resistance against them, orchestrated by Echo of Silence. This was a true display of the Cartel's guerilla tactics, ambushing their supply and raiding their routes. Both sides suffered heavy losses and eventually, rumours of a group of zealous residents wanting to steal the Black Rose surfaced making Echo of Silence intervene before the power was misused. Because of this, the organization decided to become more secretive, necessarily hiding the Black Rose from the general population and depriving the Argonians of its beneficial powers. After a short while, the Cartel organized a coup de grâce operation on the pirates' headquarters, ending the threat once and for all.

When the Second Era started, EoS concluded that enough time had passed since the attempt on the Rose, and they returned it to its official resting place at the Blackrose temple. This was a grave mistake. In 2E 560 another incident occurred, when an unknown Argonian shaman stole the Black Rose and took it to Stormhold, where he created the infamous Khanaten flu - a disease deadly to all non-reptilians. EoS managed to track the extremist fanatic and ended his life, but even after they recovered the Rose the damage had already been done. Most non-Argonians in Argonia died, with eastern Elsweyr and southern Morrowind already affected. Inevitably, House Dres (who ruled southern Morrowind) deemed EoS responsible and commissioned the Morag Tong to kill the leaders of Echo of Silence. Years of spying, counter spying and murder ensued, the Tong hunting down EoS relentlessly and almost succeeding in killing all of the key figures in ambushes, known by some as " The Crimson Skirmishes". Putting up a fierce defense and even killing many assassins, the few remaining EoS members ended up keeping a low profile to cease the growing losses in this conflict.


In 2E 572, the Second Akavir invasion started, forcing Nords and Dunmer, ancient enemies, to make an alliance. In the same year an Argonian Dres house-slave received a vision, her name was Heita-Meen. The Hist finally talked to her, a deliverance after being beaten unconscious countless times, accumulating years of pain and anger under the ill treatment of her slaver. The divine voice whispered in her mind, prompting her to "break off her chains" and to let her "fervor and fury become strength". With this advice, she mustered the courage to snatch up her slavers’ whip as she was about to be punished again, and choked him with it. Despite her success, she realized her freedom was still not complete, her civilization still was threatened by another tormentor, the mighty Akaviris. Like many Argonians, Heita-Meen heard of the Black Rose and wanted to use it in the war.

Carried by the force of the circumstances and her own determination, she resolved to spread the teachings of her vision, and soon, the dormant Echo of Silence answered. They came out of the shadows, reunifying long separated members, to give the people of Argonia the Rose again, considering the Akaviri invasion a threat big enough for it to be used. The rest, is known history.

The Argonians' participation in the battle helped to contribute for the signing of the Ebonheart Pact between Eastern Skyrim, Morrowind, and Black Marsh. An inspirational figure, Heita-Meen was soon after appointed Vicecanon of Stormhold and when the Ebonheart Pact was signed and solidified the alliance, EoS and the survivors of the Cartel decided to spread their influence across its territory and even beyond, to diffuse their ideology - that everyone, no matter of their race and origin, must break their chains and be free.

"The Echo of Silence Code:

Freedom is a lie, there is only Fervor.


Through Fervor comes Strength.


Through Strength comes Power.


Through Power comes Victory.


Through Victory, my chains are broken.



The Truth shall free me!"

Nowadays, Echo of Silence still guards the holy Black Rose, some members are still boasting His divine powers. The Blackrose Cartel on the other hand, remains EoS' day-to-day enforcement branch, establishing connections and bases across the Ebonheart Pact territory, helping EoS making profits and ensuring a firm hand over its areas of control whilst integrating members sharing its ideology as part of a family, it also endeavors to restore freedom and Black Marsh's lost prosperity.

ALL HAIL SITHIS!

Out of character information:

- We are a roleplaying guild but may also participate in PvE/PvP.
- We are based in the Ebonheart Pact and the guild's activities aren't involved in any other alliance.
- Upon joining, you must respect the servers rules.
- For any information regarding on how to join, send me a private message.
- It is highly recommended that people which aspire to join know at least the basics of roleplaying.
- Guild website: http://blackrosecartel.gamerlaunch.com/

OOC Rules:
- IC messages can be written only in "Say" and "Emote" chats. All other chats are for OOC messages.
- It is everyone’s responsibility to maintain a positive atmosphere in guild chat.
- Respect guildmates. Any conflict shall be reported to the guild leader and not be carried out in guild chat. This is to prevent unnecessary drama.

Leader of Blackrose Cartel

Xinz'r

OneWithTheShadows

OneWithTheShadows

Another day at The Rift, but this time, cartel operatives roam around its streets.

OneWithTheShadows

OneWithTheShadows

OneWithTheShadows

OneWithTheShadows

Updated lore and main texts.