I read somewhere that the Cammona Tong will have a lesser role in the eastern parts of morrowind because of them being a puppet of the hlaalu. So I thought up an organisation with the indoril lands as a base of operation. The idea grew out of an idea for a local faction for the mephalan vales i had Feel free to comment on what you like and dislike about it and wether something like this is actually needed. It may be a bit of a long read, sorry for that, I suck at keeping it brief.

Network of the secret arts (but cool dunmeris word)

History

The network of the secret arts, abbreviated to “the network”(again imagine cool dunmeris word) is not so much a crime organisation, as it is a secret society that acts outside the bounds of rigid Indoril Law and morality. This makes it officially an illegal organisation, but it still counts members in all levels of Indoril society.

The network harkens back to a cult of Mephala that kept practicing daedric traditions in secret after the tribunal rose to power. At their conventions they schemed against the new order in resdayn and thought of ways to undermine it in any way possible to lead resdayn back to serving the daedra.

The indoril as well as the temple purged them again and again, but each time some members escaped, and the network re-emerged more cautious than before. While the purely religious aspect survived among the velothi of the mephalan vales, the actual organisation became something new.

Members

Members use changing aliases and wear spider-masks and uniform robes at conventions to hide their identities. They became more and more cryptic towards each other and hid their true motivations. All the secrecy led to the actual goal of the society being muddled beyond recognition.  

This turned the organisation into what it is now: A secret society that enables people willing to break laws and traditions to connect with likeminded individuals. It’s a place to share ideas and secrets as equals, regardless of your standing in the heavily segregated indoril society. Though there is still an internal hierarchy. The only common ambition shared by all members of the network is the expansion of its influence.

 Arguably the most powerful subgroup within the network today are young indoril nobles, cynical and pragmatic. Eager to save their crumbling house they are willing to look past tradition and honour to deal with commoners, cutthroats, and societal rejects. They think of the network as a tool to take advantage of niches the indoril administration cannot reach by legal means. In their eyes they are martyrs that gamble their souls wellbeing away for the greater good.

Then there’s the crime syndicates. They use the network as a common ground for negotiations and greater organisation among each other. They try to gain connections among velothi administrators and indoril nobility alike to protect themselves from the law and recruit goons for their gangs.

Followers of daedric cults are a big group within the network, but their fractured nature makes them rather weak. Obviously most members still hold Mephala in reverence as the prince is still the patron deity of the society, but worshippers of other daedra became more and more over time. There are still those that wish for a revival of the old tribunal, but even among the followers of the good daedra this sentiment dwindles. Many see this struggle as a lost cause and try to group themselves with other daedric cultists to strife for more religious freedom. Among these there are a lot of telvanni sympathizers working hard to sabotage house Indoril so the telvanni can expand their grasp.

Then there are the ALMSIVI abiding velothi, trying to better their lives. Some may try to get more support from the nobility for their village or try to convince mobsters to go easy on them. Others are in it for their personal gain, trying to get in good with whatever group they seem fit for that purpose.

The network also has limited connections outside the indoril lands. Other House Dunmer and foreigners are also among the members of the network, though they are a minority. They follow their respective ambitions(Housepolitics, Thievesguild, Mages Guild, twin lamp, Empire Interests etc.)

Traditions and practices

The Network meets in secret locations and practices old daedric rituals before starting the actual meeting. During the meeting any member may walk up to the stand and talk to the congregation. It’s standard practice to speak rather ominously and never reveal the true intent of your words. Secrets are shared to cause certain things. It’s not uncommon to sprinkle lies in your speech.

While most meetings have a ceremonial touch, some are outright feasts. There the members can mingle among each other and share information they don’t want to reveal to all people present. At the highest festival all members meet up in the great temple of mephala wearing nothing but their masks for an orgiastic exchange.

They change their aliases depending on what rank they have,who they think listens and what they try to represent. This way one person can have many personas, each for a different purpose. There is a plethora of different codewords used by the society. Some are universally understood among all members, others are specific to different subgroups or just the higher ranks.

Very few of these words and phrases are intended for use outside of their conventions, but they still have ways to reveal themselves to each other as members if the situation calls for it.

How each member helps to expand the networks influence is vastly dependant on their public position. Some might not even break any laws, just write suggestive pamphlets/books/papers. But any kind of rogue behaviour is on the table. Theft, smuggling,, kidnapping and even murder are all used by the members of the network. The most common tool of the network is blackmail, as dealing with secrets is their daily bread.

Despite all the aliases and codewords, many members will figure out the identities of other members. Especially since you need a guardian to join. While it is protocol not to reveal you identity to your ward, it is often not hard to guess who brought you in and for what purpose.

It is still courtesy to act as if you don’t know even if it takes a silly amount of acting. Acknowledging each other’s membership outside of conventions is either a sign of immense trust, a necessity, or a threat.

Organisation and Hierarchy

To join the network you have to be contacted by a high ranking member, who will give you a risky task to fulfil to prove your loyalty to the network. After doing so, the person giving the orders will convene with other members to decide whether the execution was sufficient. Then the would-be member is tasked to seek a remote place, from where they will be kidnapped and brought to their first convention.

These newcomers will only be informed about conventions by their guardians. Most of these conventions are hosted by one or sometimes two guardians to coordinate their wards. The locations are randomly chosen. The guardians don’t show up themselves. There is only the most basic amount of ceremonial character to these meetings.

If you serve your guardian well, they might consider making you an actual member. The guardian will invite the initiate to an actual convention hosted by the higher ups. There the membership will be made official and the ceremonial robes will be given to the initiate. It is in the initiates own responsibility to network with other members. They are free to share dead drops so other members they connected with can relay invitations they got. If the initiate does not network, they are dependent on their guardian alone. Though the guardian will not invite their ward to bigger conventions that often to keep them within their control.

To rise to the rank of guardian, the member must gain the approval of eight guardians. If this number is reached, other guardians can not object. As a guardian the member will be taught a basic understanding of the secret calendar the network uses to schedule their conventions. They use complex algorithms to hide the regular nature of their meetings. They also determine what kind of meeting (->who is to be invited) through these algorithms.

Above the guardians there are the priests. To become a priest you either have to be chosen by the high priesthood to be taught the algorithms to calculate the holidays of the network, or figure out the algorithm yourself(almost impossible). On holidays, a great number of guardians and members are invited, but never all of them. The high priesthood decides which are left out and which are allowed to bring their wards and how many of them. (It still up to the guardians if they forward the invitation to their wards).

The high priesthood consists of eight chairs. If one chair is empty, the priests vote among themselves a new high priest. If there is a tie between priests, the high priests choose which one gets the chair. They are taught the highest algorithm which calculates the high priesthood meetings as well as the highest holiday.

Apart from these different tasks and responsibilities, the ranks are officially equals. But since the higher ups wield more power by being able to exclude people from meetings, their voices carry more weight and lower members try to appeal to them.