Consortium Bank

Based in Elricia. Underneath the Consortium Grand Bank in Elricia is The Vaults, a labyrinth running deep under the city. The highest levels of the Vaults are genuine banking safe rooms, but lower levels are home to the sinister elements of the Guild.

The Consortium is, on the face of it, a collection of banks and merchants. The Consortium has chapters over the entirety of Narador, especially in the cities. Elricia, however, is where the Consortium is strongest. Strong Consortium chapters are home to a Regulation Committee, made up of trade guilds, merchant guilds and banks, meeting to discuss market regulations.

History
When the Empire of Chalois built the city of Elricia, with the intentions to use the city as a primary trading hub, it needed a group to oversee trade in this city. The Consortium was what the Empire created to do this. The Consortium grew rapidly in wealth and power and eventually established the Consortium Bank. The Bank lent money to businesses and nobles, which in turn made the Bank richer.

Gradually, the nature of the Consortium changed. If a noble refused to pay the loan or interest owed to the Bank, the Consortium would fund rivals of the noble. This included funding claimants to lordships, on the condition that the money owed was repaid once the noble was overthrown. Eventually, the Consortium began using espionage and subterfuge to control nobility.

It isn't known when the Consortium established the Committee of Shadows. Nor is it known when they embraced the sinister aspects of their present situation. By the time of the overthrow of the Chalois Empire by the provinces, the Consortium had its current structure and nature.

Silav Vede at one point had dealings with the Consortium, as did his fellow rebellion leader Julius Brisk, who was at one time offered membership to the guild. As a result, some scholars believe the Consortium helped finance Vede's rebellion. The Consortium then gave financial assistance to the newly independent provinces of Kirandur and Cendall. The interest alone on these loans made the Consortium substantially richer.

Regulation Committee
The face of the organisation, the Regulation Committees exist in most of the major cities in Narador.

Regulation Committee Ranks
- Chairman

Chairs the regulation meeting and oversees trade. This is exclusively a member of the Consortium, usually the head of the chapter. In Elricia, this position is held by the Guildmaster themselves.

- Committee Member

Attends the regulation meetings. The head of a bank or guild. Usually a Consortium member, but not always. If a civilian becomes a member, The Consortium cajoles and blackmails them to control them.

- Associate Member

Owner of a business which abides by Consortium regulations. Committee Members are chosen from associate members. In areas of considerable Consortium influence, traders who are not associated with the Consortium are harassed, or priced out, until they join or are forced to close.

Consortium Guild
Sometimes referred to as 'the Guild' by its members, this is the other side of the Consortium. An order of spies and assassins, the Guild uses a mixture of subterfuge and banking loans to control and influence many powerful people.

The Guild is made up of two different branches, the Hands and the Eyes. Each branch is headed by a Doyen, who answers to the Guildmaster. It is possible for members to work as part of both groups.

The Hands are assassins and occasionally bodyguards. They are trained specialists. The Hands are the smallest of the two branches.

The Eyes are spies and occasionally thieves. They help keep the Consortium in positions of powerful influence across Narador.

Committee of Shadows
The ruling group of the guild. The name is a reference to the Regulation Committee. They meet in the Vaults to discuss guild business. The committee of shadows is made up of the Guildmaster, the Doyen and the Shadows.

Guildmaster
The head of the entire Consortium. In the heart of the Vaults is the Guildmaster's Study, from where the Guildmaster oversees Consortium affairs. The current Guildmaster is Steffan Pottrich.

Doyen
Lieutenants of the Guildmaster. Responsible for the Hands/Eyes. They oversee the various networks, assigning missions to Agents. The current Doyen are Cateline Prieur (Eyes) and Iden Cynfyn (Hands).

Shadow
Any noticeable guild member (Oathman or above) can become a Shadow. More often than not, Shadows serve as spymasters to powerful rulers. They have a say in the running of the guild via the Committee. Not all Shadows actively take up their role on the Committee, since they are spread out across Narador and have their own affairs to tend to. Though all Shadows are allowed to be part of the committee, in most cases only the most powerful Shadows in their regions take their positions, Shadows still report to the Doyen and absentee Shadows are required to write full reports of their activities. Shadows focus on the big picture; issues of geopolitical importance, leaving Agents in their charge to run the day-to-day operations.

Guardian
An optional, but highly important rank. Guardians are in charge of training and teaching the children of the Consortium. Agents who have passed their prime often opt for this role if they believe they can no longer be effective in the field. In this sense, the Guardian rank is a quite comfortable retirement option. This is only  available to Agents, however. The Guardians have a fixed position on the Committee of Shadows, held by the Shadow Guardian. The Shadow Guardian oversees all training.

Agent
The most trusted members of the Consortium. Agents are expected to run spy rings or groups of assassins. Occasionally, a Doyen or the Guildmaster might request an Agent to carry out a personal mission.

Oathman
When an Agent believes an Operative is ready, they recommend them to the Doyen. The Agent then makes periodical reports to the Doyen on the progress of the Operative. When the Doyens are happy, the Operative takes an oath in front of the Doyen and becomes an Oathman. Oathmen are the most numerous rank in the guild.

They can serve as middle-men between Agents and Operatives, carry out missions for Agents or, rarely, act independently. Oathmen are not expected to act independently, but they are not forbidden from doing so. Oathmen who have been raised by the Consortium and don't rise to Agent rank often retire to carry out their craft. They then become Associated Members and often, Committee Members.

Operative
First true rank of the Guild. Journeymen and Blackcaps become this when accepted for Guild membership. Operatives work under Agents and carry out missions for them. Operatives are forbidden from acting independently.

Inside Ranks
These ranks belong solely to children who have been given to the Consortium to raise. This is not uncommon, especially in Elricia, as it provides a child a comfortable upbringing with the guarantee of a profession.

Journeyman
Children of 16 are given this rank if the Consortium wishes to train them in subterfuge. They are taught and trained by Guardians to be spies or assassins for the Consortium. When fully trained and ready, the Guardian recommends them for guild membership.

Apprentice
Children over the age of 10 are called this. They learn a craft from trusted Associate members. When the child turns 16, they are either given the guild rank of Journeyman, or become Consortium merchants.

Novice
Children under the age of 10 are called this. They are taught general skills.

Outside Ranks
These belong to people not raised by the Consortium, but who the Consortium has an interest in. They aren't strictly ranks, but are terms used within the Guild for potential Guild members.

Blackcap
An outsider who has done a few jobs for an Agent. When the Agent trusts the Blackcap enough and sees value in their skills, they recommend them for Guild Membership.

Prowler
An outsider who has been noticed by the Consortium, who the Consortium has an interest in recruiting. Lone wolf thieves, assassins and sneaks are sometimes reported to the Consortium by Associate Members. These will be watched by an Operative, and may be offered a job by an Agent.

Current Members

 * Bahram Sinan - The most influential Consortium member in the Great Expanse. He holds the rank of Shadow for the region, being based out of Qufra. Through a puppet, he runs the largest caravan company in the northern Expanse, using it to monitor communications across the region and beyond. He declined to take the post of Doyen, which was instead filled by Cateline Prieur. His reasons for doing this are unknown, but he maintains it was to focus on running his own spy ring. His influence spreads from Herane in the west to Abar, not far from the border of Chalois.

Former Members

 * Lykos the Skull - A merchant who was responsible for the treaty that granted independence to the city of Elricia. He served as the first Prince-Mayor of the city. Unlike most members, Lykos was not an assassin or a spy, just a skilled merchant and diplomat. Despite this, he eventually achieved the rank of Shadow and had his own spy-ring, under the control of his right hand man.
 * Robinet LeBlanc - A member who was the Shadow for Chalois. He served as Spymaster to the emperor of Chalois. LeBlanc was an extreme patriot and revolutionised Chalois by creating the Ministry of Intelligence. He eventually betrayed the Consortium, leading to a huge war of espionage between Chalois and the Consortium.
 * Jean-Philippe Gaultier - An assassin who led the efforts to defeat LeBlanc during the war of espionage between the Ministry and the Consortium. He ended the conflict by assassinating the Emperor and capturing LeBlanc, keeping him imprisoned. He maintained the Ministry, using it to gather military intelligence for the Empire, but remaining loyal to the Consortium.
 * Rosalind Culper - A spy who successfully infiltrated a Hetzudoxian cult that was planning to destroy the Church of Light. She discovered a number of cultists held positions in the Clergy and Order of Valaeron. Under agreement with the Bishop Patriarch of Valaeron, she created the First Inquisition to weed out and destroy cultists across Narador.
 * Kang Tianyu - A wandering scholar from the Southern Isle. He became indebted to the Consortium and repaid his debts by joining. He was incredibly gifted at deciphering coded messages and forging documents. When he was younger, he had trained as a monk in his homeland and he established the School of Eight Limbs within the Vaults, which the Consortium uses to train highly skilled and disciplined monk-spies.
 * Valentia Agricola - An infamous former Guildmaster known as 'the Kingmaker' and 'the Peacebringer'. Through the novel tactic of widespread misinformation, which she spread through her network of bards and heralds. Valentia was ruthless in her pursuit of expanding the influence of the Consortium. Under her rule, the Consortium overthrew the Emperor of Chalois twice, as well as the King of Sovrune. Her rule was responsible for bringing decades of peace to the continent of Narador as she predicted numerous conflicts and preemptively changed regimes and settled disputes between rulers.