Resistance

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The Freedom Fighters (collectively known as the Resistance) are a group of like-minded humans, passives, wicks and a few galdori who strive for racial equality and an end to galdori oppression. Led by a man named Jon Serro, the resistance has chapters in every major city and town in Anaxas, even (it is rumored) in Brunnhold's Stacks. The resistance headquarters is in a secret location known only to those "in the know."

Goals of the Resistance

The long-term goal of the resistance is to topple the galdori plutocracy and take power out of the hands of the sorcerers. The more palatable side of the resistance champions racial equality, and dreams of a world where humans, wicks, galdori and passives live together in harmony.

On the darker side of the resistance, more covert objectives include upsetting the galdori economy, destroying places of magical research, causing mayhem in the ranks of the Seventen, destroying grimoires, and assassinating high-ranking galdori who threaten the well-being of humanity. This faction of the resistance has been criticized as being overly zealous.

Organization of the Resistance

PLEASE NOTE: The information contained in this section refers to an extremely secretive and well-guarded society. Unless your character is in the resistance, you cannot assume your character knows this information.

Resistance operatives are called "cadets" (among a variety of other names). They are generally recruited by friends or they seek out the resistance through information provided by people in the know.

The resistance is broken up into small "cells" of about twenty people; each cell has a leader, and most of the people in a cell tend to live or work in the same general area. (This is not always the case.) Most cells have members that perform these duties: a designated lookout, an obtainer of materials, a skilled spy, a marksman, a lockpick, a "nice guy" (or someone who has a safe house), a master of disguise, a wick (for the occasions when magic is necessary), a code writer/breaker, and a leader who plans jobs. The leaders of each cell occasionally commune with one another to coordinate attacks and strategic activities.

The cell leaders all report back to the leader of the resistance, Jon Serro. Jon Serro himself assumes many different identities and lives in many different places.

The resistance is said to have a base of operations known as the How; this is technically not true, though it is widely believed even by resistance operatives. In truth there are dozens of "Hows" all over the city, and in other cities. These underground chambers serve as safehouses and have entrances that are extremely well-hidden, usually only accessible through civilian houses, hidden trapdoors, secret passageways or storm cellars. There is said to be one particular How that is of great importance to the resistance, but no one knows where it is or what it contains.

The disjointed nature of the resistance is exactly what makes it so difficult to kill off. The operatives in each cell know each others' code names, but usually they are ignorant of each others' real names, and no one knows the real names of the leaders of each cell. In addition, they are generally ignorant as to the identity of other cell members, though they may know the code names of people who occasionally help their cell out. Even if an informant managed to penetrate the resistance, he or she would be largely useless until they had garnered enough trust to be let in on the high-level plans.

The resistance employs a number of outside operatives, usually low-level, who do specific jobs that the cells cannot. One example is Oxidus, an information gatherer from Bastia who, although not technically part of the resistance, can be persuaded to do jobs in exchange for favors.

Public View of the Resistance

Many humans consider Jon Serro something of a mythological figure or folk hero. The resistance has had a positive impact on human society overall, raising morale and helping humans in need. They function as a charitable organization that will harbor humans who are being hunted by the law, and often humans in financial peril or danger find themselves with unexpected help. The resistance gives many humans hope.

However, the public is still wary of the resistance, although it is very wide-spread in the city and other locations. Some of the methods employed by Jon Serro and head assassin Alyssa Pierre are questionable to many, including rumors of torture, as well as the targeting of galdori civilians. Many believe the resistance to be too violent and unpredictable, some even going as far as to say that the freedom fighters are just as bad as the galdori.

The resistance will generally help humans and wick criminals if they are being pursued by the galdori government. Because of this, they are known as Anaxas' unofficial law enforcement - they will help banish repeat criminals rather than see them executed for their crimes.

The wick community of Anaxas is generally neutral to the resistance. None of the major tribes are currently invested in the resistance, though many individual members have joined, some even drifting from their tribe to do so.

Galdori Involvement

There are a few galdori who have become involved with the resistance. Jon Serro is famously opposed to this, but most higher operatives of the resistance are glad when galdori choose to "cross over," mainly because their magical abilities can be quite helpful. Though these galdori rebels are faced with much mistrust within the freedom fighting ranks, they can hope to earn the trust of the cadets. Galdori members of the resistance are often double agents, pretending to work for the good of galdori society while secretly aiding the rebels. One notable galdor in the resistance is Johann Ceres.

Galdori Society's Reaction to the Resistance

The galdori government is now well aware of the resistance, due in large part to the increasing amount of resistance-related incidents and violent encounters; the actual size and scope of the resistance is unknown to them. A new facet of the Seventen called the Oculus Task Force has been given the job of weeding out resistance cells, capturing key players and gathering information. This is markedly different from the former approach by the Seventen - namely, kill anyone connected to the resistance after a brief attempt at extracting information - and represents a sea change in leadership.