Silver Falcon Guild

Silver Falcon Company
Type	Mercantile conglomerate
Leader	Central Board
Headquarters	Karka, Tirione
Goals	Profit, resource extraction, shipping
Scope	Global
Structure	Regional branch offices led by Authorized Representatives, reporting to the Central Board
Members	Merchants, mercenaries

The Silver Falcon Company is one of the largest of the Tirionite conglomerates, in control of a great deal of the resource extraction and shipping from the colonies.

Location

The Silver Falcon Company was founded in Karka, Tirione, where its imposing headquarters remain. The company also maintains a sizable office in Nionegrast's old town, as well as exclusive use of part of the city’s docks. While the company has representatives or branches in many ports in the Chaska Sea, Avaris is home to the largest outside of the Tirionite sphere of influence.

Company ships are commonly seen in the Chaska, transporting raw goods from the Tirionite colonies, particularly Nionegrast, to the metropole. Vessels flying the company's colors may also be seen in the Kilche Sea, as the company maintains trade routes from Tirione to Tarkuus and Kea Racha, particularly Pela Huban. While individuals associated with the Silver Falcon Company may be found further afield and in other parts of the world, this is less common and is often the result of secretive company interests.

History

The company formed in Y9529^*, originally as a merger of multiple mining companies focusing on the Banai Mountains. The company quickly saw the opportunities presented by Tirione's new colony of Nionegrast, rapidly moving to establish a presence in mining and logging operations in the overseas possession. Through what many saw as underhanded methods, the Silver Falcon Company grew to become the preeminent interest, besides Tirione itself, in the direction of the colony; many see the company as largely responsible for the beginning of the charter system. Since then, the company has grown by absorbing its competitors and beginning forays into new areas.

Interests and activities

While its primary concerns remain resource extraction and shipping, the Silver Falcon Company has interests in other realms, many of which it is highly secretive about.

Within Nionegrast, the company makes heavy use of the charter system, buying the rights to vast amounts of land, setting up hastily built towns, hiring workers under highly exploitative agreements, and removing as many natural resources as possible to be shipped to Tirione. Though the workers almost always highly resent the company for their conditions, they have little other choice without leaving Nionegrast entirely - most of the colony operates in a very similar manner.

Nearly all employees of the conglomerate are considered independent contractors, bound to the company only for the duration of their contract. However, these contracts are frequently constructed in such a way as to leave the individual dependent on the company at their termination, leading to cycles where signing a new contract is seen as the only viable option. Full employees of the Silver Falcon Company, that is to say, administrators of varying levels, rarely leave the company’s service.

Though none have been able to conclusively prove any links, necromantic materials tend to become much easier to acquire on the black markets after the Silver Falcon Company arrives and establishes itself in a new port.

Though the company deliberately makes it very difficult to trace, operating through networks of independent contractors and shell entities, they are closely involved with the Khapeshan magical relic trade. Many ancient Khapeshan magical items that are found elsewhere in the world can be traced back through the Silver Falcon Company if one is persistent enough, especially those magical items that are banned from being removed from the country.

The company is one of the extremely few organizations outside Kantarr and the Arrajan Wilds to be experimenting with the use of gunpowder based weapons.

More recently, the company has begun recruiting ambitious mages from institutes of magical study around the Chaska Sea, and particularly from the Apsium Magical Institute in Tirzah. The activities of these mages are unknown, as they are rarely seen after joining the company.

The company is wealthy and powerful enough that it can and does field its own navy. Though primarily used as escorts for merchant vessels in pirate-rich waters, the company has been known to engage in gunboat diplomacy on occasion.

Alongside the other Tirionite conglomerates, the Silver Falcon Company is a strong influence on the state’s parliamentary government, which frequently takes its cues and makes decisions based on the advice of company administrators.

Notable individuals

The Silver Falcon Company is led by a shadowy group known as the Central Board. Very few have any interaction with the Board directly, and even fewer know their names or where they might be found. Instead, most company activity is directed through individuals called Authorized Representatives who receive instructions from above and delegate through their own network of administrators. Each major region of operation has its own Authorized Representative, who is appointed from lower administrators when required.

Known figures

• Artin Warder, Authorized Representative in Nionegrast. In Y9976^* Warder hired a group of adventurers to investigate creatures around the town of Treivica, up the Copper River from Nionegrast.

Relations

The Silver Falcon Company is closely involved with the governments of Tirione and Nionegrast.

Recently the company has faced issues related to an increased presence of devotees of Milani interfering in company operations. Particularly in the Nionegrast charter towns, Milanite evangelists have been attempting to influence workers to resist the company and seek better conditions, sometimes through violent means.

The company maintains excellent relations with Tarkuus, where they purchase large amounts of spices and drugs to ship to cities around the Chaska Sea.

Relations between the company and Khapesh can be strained at times, due to the company’s under the table involvement with the banned artifact trade. At times Khapeshan officials have been bribed to look the other way, particularly prior viziers of Naqada and Haware, but these figures have since been removed from positions of power.

The Philiraki giants consider the company little better than Eiklendish raiders, and have been known to destroy company ships that venture too near their shores.