This is still a
WIP!!! I wanted to get this up here because they'll play a role in
some future events on the horizon and maybe people want to know about them!
If you’re interested in your character being a member of the Alliance,
please post here or send me a PM! This could either be in the same band as my characters (Silas and Olive), or another band. That’s the beauty of a loosely-organized group like this!
Please note:
This is not a group for people who just want to cause violence or chaos! The Alliance is an ideologically-driven group that believes they have right and morality on their side. Please see below for more information!
Name: Alliance of the Blue Star
Name Meaning: The name comes from a bright, blue-lit star that becomes visible above the horizon in northern Connlaoth (but not visible in most of the country), where the mage camps are located. Throughout their long and trying ordeals in the camps, the star came to symbolize their struggle, their time out of life, and was even, in a way, a source of solace.
What: An alliance of loosely associated guerilla bands fighting the government and the military (and sometimes the Church)
Who: The Alliance is made up of mages that have been chased to the margins of society. Almost all members were marked mages before the war. About half are mages are escaped from the mage camps of the north; either those who survived and escaped one of the few uprisings in the mage camps, or otherwise managed to escape the camps.
Symbol: The symbol of the Alliance is a six-pointed star with elongated top and bottom points. Rather than the blue star of the north, the star is red to symbolize war. Whenever one of the bands of the Alliance strikes a target, the red star appears on the site to claim the attack. (The star is of the following shape:
http://bit.ly/1a6fuLr).Motive: The motive of the Alliance is to send a message that the government cannot carry on with their campaign against mages without anyone standing up against them and to strike the government and military as often and as unpredictably as possible. A longer description of the motives of the group can be found in the first post of
this post.
History: The guerilla bands that make up the Alliance were first formed by mages escaped from the mage camps in the north. Though they were now free from the camps, most of these mages still had nowhere safe to go or lives to return to. Though some fled to the tundra to the north, or for the far borders in the west or south out of Connlaoth, many found themselves unable or unwilling to leave behind the fight now that they were free. Poorly equipped, small in numbers, and on the run, they began to orchestrate small, guerilla attacks against the army, knowing they would be slaughtered in open combat. As they continued, they also gained members among mages who had not been in the camps, but had otherwise been run out of society. Despite the growing numbers of mages that had never been in the camps, the philosophy and mettle of the organization was very much forged in the horrors of the mage camps.
Structure: The Alliance has no formal structure of authority. Every decision is made by strict consensus (meaning that all members must agree). When more than one band of the Alliance meets, one or two representatives will be chosen from each band and, again, decisions are made by consensus among the representatives. There is no leader, figurehead, or architect of the organization. (Though within each band, there may be some deference paid to the words of older and cooler-headed members, this does not give them standing above any other member). By operating as a ‘one man, one voice’ and leaderless organization, the Alliance ensures that the capture or death of one or two key members would not greatly impact the organization or its mission. Additionally, unlike typical Connlaothian society, the Alliance gives women equal agency and standing as men. Within the Alliance, bands are fluid and one member could work with one band on one mission and another on another.
(More on consensus decision making.)Views on Religion*: While the Alliance will attack the Church, most bands in the Allaince maintain a strict respect for Angsarism as a religion and many members are religious. Therefore, the Alliance will not desecrate a church or an alter, or attack a religious body or building that has no strategic or military value. Many of the mages in the Alliance have their grievances with the Church, not with the religion itself (and many believe that the Church has ceased to serve the true purpose of the religion). Even though many individual members may have no personal respect for Angsarism as a religion, the ban on unnecessary religious attacks is maintained to keep the Alliance from appearing as wanton terrorists.
Views on Magic*: Opinions on magic are, of course, widely varied in the Alliance. But, as a matter of principle, Alliance members will not use magic for aggression unless it is a matter of life-and-death. Guerilla attacks never involve magic. This comes from the shared idea that their actions are a matter of protest not as mages, but as humans, and that the war is a war on human dignity not just a war against mages. (The assumption being, of course, that mages are people, too!) They are also conscious of the fact that magic-based attacks will further fuel hatred and fear of mages as a whole.
* If someone is interested, I am completely open to someone forming a splinter group(s) that take more radical views of religion and magic. Either by attacking strictly religious targets (that have no military, etc. value) or using magic as a means of attack, or both!Actions: The Alliance carries out
guerilla warfare against the government, military, and Church. Their targets are primarily places, structures, or people of strategic value. (e.g. military outposts and storehouses; bridges, ferries, and passes; churches known to be housing Mordecai or experimenting on mages, etc.) These targets will, from time to time, unavoidably include civilian casualties. While this is considered greatly regrettable (and is avoided as much as possible), it is also considered justified in light of the gross injustices being carried out against much larger groups of people by the government and military.
Members: Constance CarwickSilas GreeneCorey TreyburnLuc Lindon
