Regime Type: The Zhorin Board, a shadowy council of five merchant-princes known only by codenames.
The Zhorin Syndicate is a powerful, hybrid merchant-military faction that emerged from the vacuum left by the Empire’s faltering control of the Tuzbair. Originally an Imperial chartered trade guild specializing in desert logistics and hazardous materials transport, the Syndicate has transformed into a mercantile war machine—equal parts private army and trade consortium. Their dual role allows them to fund and fight, often buying influence faster than any sword can win it.
Emblem: A black scorpion curled around a stylized coin
Colors: Gunmetal grey, brass, and desert red
Motto: “Profit through Power. Power through Profit.”
Saltspire Bastion, an immense, fortress-city built into the mineral cliffs at the western fringe of Tuzbair. Its outer walls are embedded with uranium waste-glass bricks that glow dimly at night—a demonstration of wealth and a warning of radiological deterrence.
The Zhorin Board, a shadowy council of five merchant-princes known only by codenames (e.g., “Vulture”, “Lantern”, “Glassmouth”).
Enforcers: Mercenary warlords and ex-Eastern Detachment officers called “Bondmasters”, each commanding a Trade Phalanx—disciplined troops and logistics caravans armed with experimental tech and brutal counterinsurgency tactics.
Rather than destroying enemies, they prefer to indebt them—buying their loyalty, towns, and eventually their souls. The Syndicate's most feared weapon is not a bomb, but a contract.
Ashveil – The Wraith of Logistics
Role: Head of Covert Operations and Smuggling
Personality: Elusive, calculating, and whisper-voiced. Ashveil is known for orchestrating massive arms trades without a single bullet fired. Prefers silence and shadow, with operatives who move unseen across the Steppe.
Notable Trait: Always appears veiled in ash-colored silk, with a perfumed smoke trail masking their scent.
Giltfang – The Gilded Closer
Role: Supreme Trade Negotiator and Diplomatic Envoy
Personality: Charismatic and flamboyant, with an unnerving smile that never fades. Giltfang disarms rivals with wit, then bleeds them dry in deals that leave entire settlements in Syndicate debt.
Notable Trait: Wears golden jaw and teeth caps, rumored to be forged from former adversaries’ heirlooms.
Thornmark – The Oath-Scarred Marshal
Role: Commander of Internal Security and Contract Enforcement
Personality: Stoic, brutal, and methodical. Thornmark’s justice is cold, impersonal, and exacting. Oversees the Bondmasters and ensures no contract is ever broken without consequence.
Notable Trait: Carries a ritual dagger to carve marks onto betrayers' arms—each mark meaning a different breach.
Red Scrip – The Ledger Oracle
Role: High Treasurer and Debt Architect
Personality: Soft-spoken, eerie, and borderline prophetic. Red Scrip speaks of markets like others speak of weather—inevitable, divine, and cruel. She is said to know every unpaid debt in the Uly by heart.
Notable Trait: Keeps her left eye covered with a crimson coin-shaped visor; rumors say it sees future debts.
Cairnjack – The Scavenger Lord
Role: Overseer of Battlefield Recovery and Salvage Fleets
Personality: Gruff, darkly humorous, and fearless. Leads mobile scrapyards and scavenger convoys that descend on battlefields hours after conflict. Considers corpses “revenue opportunities.”
Notable Trait: Wears bone charms and chains collected from “unclaimed assets.” Keeps a cairn stone from each battle.