The Wargs

The Wargs are a rogue-like band of thieves and footpads found throughout the central stretch of Sanctimonia, from the Vale to Karak Zigil. They are renown for acts of brazen lawlessness, disregard for all institutions, crimes against king and country, as well as crimes escalating to, though particularly rarely, murder. From isolated dens within the forested lands of Sanctimonia, through the mountains, or even in your local towns in the seedy taverns, the Wargs have managed to dig themselves into what seems almost like an invisible network of communications and travel for stolen goods, property, information, and leverage. The origin of the Wargs is almost as shadowy and murky as their own actions, probably deteriorated over word-of-mouth; some say that The Wargs follow ancient rites and blasphemies, that tie into ancient legends, giving them control over hounds and the ability to possess their forms.

The Warg is a mythological beast written in the historical record only in the form of legends. In the East, they are seen as great terrible beasts, of a particularly evil nature, that thrive on the deaths of those they run down and kill. Throughout the Dragon Coast, and areas further North (and some speculate validation in myths from even Brython) that the Warg is a similar beast, derived from divine forces, to claim the toil and efforts in the life of man, and feed it to their godly patron, to usher about the end of ages. In times past, the term Warg in the Dragon Coast dialects, have been used to denounce things as evildoers, outcasts, and criminals, as derived from these legends; why the Wargs have taken up this moniker, and the various creeds they have, is a great mystery to those who follow, and study their actions.

Though the Wargs have very little association with anything outside of their insular group, they have a deep seeded and time tried network of information and travel distribution, throughout central Sanctimonia, as well as pawns and fences outside of their borders, within towns and regions where the Sanctimonian legal system may not be able to adequately reach. On several occasions however, the Wargs have used these networks to affect political influences in areas that dissatisfied them, or on very rare occasions, for no conceivable reason for a group of thieves. One of the most well known escapades of the Wargs is the kidnapping of a high noble daughter in southern Sanctimonia; though great panic struck the hearts of those attached to the girl, and the house that was also burglarized, she left behind message that she had contacted them in means of transport away from the life she was leading, and her arranged marriage. Though the payment was not great, and the dangers equally vast, the agents were never caught, and the girl was never found.

Even more mysterious is the initiation and or contracting of new agents within the Wargs, as there seems to be no written record, or any hints to how new members may be brought into their ranks. One would assume simple word of mouth from one agent to another, but how could an organization as vast as this travel simply through means of verbal-in person interaction? More so than this, there are many different types of candidates who are revealed through the few Warg members caught and tried, some spanning even to foolhardy berserkers, and intellectual mages. As well as differences in practical skill sets and abilities, in those captured, there seem to be a variety of faiths within the Wargs, though what little has been taken in and can be determined religious, is very small, and may in fact be used as a ruse. In addition to the anomalous recruiting policy, there is also an added mystery of their kinship, and or loyalties. They are deeply connected through bonds of fellowship, unto the point that even under pain of death, very little can be extracted from any of them.

Great questions abound about the origins of the Wargs, and with no found written records, and no evidentiary statements provided by members who are caught, there is little to go on other than the history in the criminal record, and what can be determined through what is known. The usage of the name Warg provides some perhaps, murky, water to begin with. Though it does set them apart as brigands and rogues, how far does that title go? In addition to this, what of the rumors about their own abilities, and the factual evidence marking them as expert thieves, as well as capable agents of a sleuthing nature?

The first true ties to the Wargs, can be found almost one-hundred ninety-one years ago, only a decade after the fall of Shar’s Tower, when one isolated city, had an issue of people who were not upon the census, violating the isolation, moving to and from the town. This would later become a further issue, when goods would disappear, and the symbol of a hound drawn on the doors of their Townshend gates. They would take the term Warg when their territory would meet its fringe on the Dragon Coast, when such an attempt happened in the same age with such events happening with their sturdy cities and hearty villages; more so than even this, their great vessels upon the coastlines were subject to such robbery and trespassing. Their symbol seemed to naturally work with their actions when alongside the term Warg, and so the sands of time have branded them with that name.

Great questions abound about the origins of the Wargs, and with no found written records, and no evidentiary statements provided by members who are caught, there is little to go on other than the history in the criminal record, and what can be determined through what is known. The usage of the name Warg provides some perhaps, murky, water to begin with. Though it does set them apart as brigands and rogues, how far does that title go? In addition to this, what of the rumors about their own abilities, and the factual evidence marking them as expert thieves, as well as capable agents of a sleuthing nature?

The first true ties to the Wargs, can be found almost one-hundred ninety-one years ago, only a decade after the fall of Shar’s Tower, when one isolated city, had an issue of people who were not upon the census, violating the isolation, moving to and from the town. This would later become a further issue, when goods would disappear, and the symbol of a hound drawn on the doors of their Townshend gates. They would take the term Warg when their territory would meet its fringe on the Dragon Coast, when such an attempt happened in the same age with such events happening with their sturdy cities and hearty villages; more so than even this, their great vessels upon the coastlines were subject to such robbery and trespassing. Their symbol seemed to naturally work with their actions when alongside the term Warg, and so the sands of time have branded them with that name.

The Wargs are an organization that has stood the test of nearly a century, thriving off of their thievery and ability; a select and reclusive few, there are few things that these figures have in common, but they all find themselves brought together under these tenants, established by the current leader of the group.

-Steal only excess, do not steal what a person needs to live.
-Shed only excess, do not draw blood more than what is needed to survive.
-Resist only excess, do not embezzle from the Order.
-Cooperate in excess, do not do a brother wrong.
-Prepare in excess, always be prepared for any situation you may be succumb to.
-Learn in excess, never fall prey to arrogance and sloth.
-Lust without excess, do not pursue excessive sexual conquests.
-Revel without excess, retain composure and sensibility at all times.
-Contact without excess, do not communicate contracts with others unless secure and necessary.
-Suffer unto thy excess, do not compromise the brotherhood unto pain of death.

The Wargs were formed after the fall of Shar’s tower, when a group of bandits came together, seemingly overnight, with a unique bond shared between them; each of them sought their own way, each of them thrived within the chaos brought about by the fall of Shar’s tower, and were fueled by it. This band would thrive together in the time following their joining, and together working as a cohesive unit, would manage to set up their own dwelling in the wilderness, by thieving from the isolated cities.

From this place, their most secure of positions, they would socialize and befriend one another; in addition to this, they would come to find unity within their band, acceptance, and their group would form a mighty bond. This group whose chaos was fed in a world that mirrored the very same; however, there was an underlying element that also played into their group. Some more than others, had been given a particular gift, and had fostered this gift well enough to thrive alongside it.

The gift that they possessed was that of Nazu, the goddess of lunacy and prophecy, who had become tainted through her study of the Imprisoned Chaos Gods known as the Stars; these beings exist outside of the linear flow of time, as being of rudimentary intelligence and pure, infinite potential. Experiencing the trauma of non-linear time, and seeing all things throughout time at once, the mortals whose souls have made contact with her may partake of her madness.

This is what causes insanity in the world of Aeria, however, in the case of these men, they are perhaps the few to have survived their touches with her insanity, while perhaps some of the cases were only minor.

This combination of their chaotic ways in a chaotic world, alongside their experience with true madness, gave them a magnificent gift. In the hollow in which they made their dwelling, under the ground in a small cave network, even after they had fully set themselves in, something had changed. In what seemed to be almost a drug-induced stupor, the room shifted, the reality around them shuddered and jolted, and almost as if a ghast had found its way into their space with the intent of ripping their souls from their bodies and then passed by. All but two men were brought to their hands and knees by this happening, and those two were the ones to see the source of this world-breaking anomaly, a door. A door had appeared in the far section of the cave in the deepest wall. The two approached slowly in the chaotic, tumbling world, as their minds sought to end the damage being wrought upon them all.

As the two reached the door, they worked together to open its stone form, revealing a new chamber therein. Within the chamber there was only an empty space, save a pedestal upon which a great treasure did rest.

This treasure was a dagger, with a shining steel blade and a bronze grip of what appeared to be a woman covering her eyes. The dagger hummed out this chaotic force, and something within them churned, and they knew it would continue to do so until one of them had taken hold of it. The one man was a strong, hardy, experienced soul, while the other was younger, spry, but not as much so as his elder. The older man told the younger to stand back as he approached, slowly but surely, and took the great treasure in his palm.

As he did, the torment stopped, and as he released it, it did not return. Those within the main chamber caught their breath, and regrouped around the item.

Upon examining the item, they could tell they stumbled upon something not of this world. This mighty thing churned their minds in the most pure manifestations of chaos that they had ever experienced; never before had any of their minds been pushed to that level of extreme. In addition to the raw force supplied by the dagger’s arrival, as the man touched it, he could feel all of that power course into him, and focus on him alone; while in his hand, he felt his mind expand, he felt himself drift both beyond and remain in his form, he felt the pain in his head grow but as well his tolerance was still able to withstand the forces imposed upon him.

They concluded that no mortal powers could explain what this dagger was, so they turned to explanations that lie beyond the mortal world, and they believed they promptly found the answer: they alone had found the divine relic of a god, and true they were beyond what they could hypothesize at the time.

They had found the Tower of Nazu, as they had themselves been drawn together by the potent forces they worked within, so had the Tower been drawn in and helped bind them together. With this powerful totem in their possession, they had found their prior difficult night terrors and vague, wild visions to both be more manageable. If someone were to hold this dagger on their person, they would find that though they experience the wild bearing of chaos upon their being, their ability to see beyond what mortal men can see is multiplied greatly. Just as well, such is the power of the dagger, they thought to never strike anyone with the dagger unless it was one they truly wanted to destroy; for when their eyes fell upon that blade, and the unadulterated power that it carried therein, they had no problem believing that dagger would destroy whomever it was able to fully strike.

Within the years since its inception, the organization has grown. Taking in new members, fostering a proper creed, and under the leadership of the old man who was once the younger man who had witnessed the arrival of the dagger, the Wargs have become a potent organization within Sanctimonia, and perhaps their greatest weapon, aside from the Tower of Nazu, is their secrecy. For within their ranks do they find the means to thriving that they need, those that are brought in are only the most trusted, and those who find their way in find that they do not wish to turn away. There are no invitations into the organization, only those drawn in by the power of the dagger and the chaotic forces of the world, who can recognize and foster their function, can become one of the Wargs.

The group has a simple codename system, where a member will construct a diabolical name, following a suffix supposing rank, like so.

Footpad: Those with potential whom the Wargs watch and consider for induction into their order.
xxx-Jal
Rogueling: Probationary status within the Warg Organization, usually a short lived period between a Footpad's induction, and the completion of their third assignment.
xxx-Tal
Rogue Brother: A full fledged member of the Warg Society, including a majority of members.
xxx-Kei
Rogue Knight: A greatly skilled member of the Warg Society, with repute and history in roguery.
xxx-Nul
Rogue-Sage: A vastly experienced Rogue-Knight, who comes to be inducted into the higher workings of the Wargs. Usually oversees the running of Warg Safehouses and Operations within an Area.
xxx-Bal
Rogue-Seer: The Grandmaster of the Warg Order.
xxx-Bah

Also, the rumors of being able to turn into dogs or hounds are completely and utterly false.