The Kaeiran Underworld (or a short history of organised crime in Kaeir). Little has been written until now of the history and current nature of organised crime in Kaeir. This short outline submitted to the Society of Scholastics and written by a number of members in Port Kaeir and New Tirmaeir, attempts to address this void and provide stimulus for further research. As is well known, the earliest form of organised criminal activities in Kaeir were the infamous pirates of the Mayoralty period that pre-dated the Taltherani conquest of Kaeir. The Mayoralty period may be divided into two periods according to the two separate dynasties of Mayors - the Old Mayors and the New Mayors. Under the Old Mayors, piracy was a major form of defacto trade between Kaeir and the mainland, though the term piracy does not really do justice to the nature of the relationship between Port Kaeir and the Timari mainland during the latter days of Old Timar. The fall of Old Timar also coincided with the rise of the second dynasty, the New Mayors, under whom piracy became particularly rampant, eventually attracting the attention of an expansionist Taltheran. It is suggested by some that the fall of Kaeir to Taltheran was in part caused by the growth of piracy under the New Mayors. In post-conquest Kaeir, the criminal underworld went deeply underground, and it was due to the effort of a select handful of urban lords whom their criminal followers called "Protectors" that the organised nature of the criminal underworld was able to survive the brief but harsh nature of life in the Principality of Kaeir. The key activity of the Protectors, as the crime bosses were now to be called, was smuggling, an activity that remains a major source of income for the criminal underworld today. During the revolution, the Protectors contributed little save for ensuring that supplies were able to reach Port Kaeir during the first few difficult years. As the Republic became established, the Protectors limited their activities to smuggling of goods considered illicit by the Senate, and the regulation of criminal activity in the towns and cities of Kaeir. In later years, the Office of the Inquisitor (formerly the Information Secretariat) tolerated the Protector system, recognising its role in limiting the dangers posed by an uncontrolled criminal underworld. It is quiet likely that agents of the Inquisitor have direct contact with the Protectors. The incorporation of the Dominion of Tirmaeir into the Republic saw a convention of Protectors, in which the territories of each crime boss was clearly defined. According to witnesses to the convention, the following Protectors were recognised (with their corresponding territories): - the Protector of Port Kaeir - the Protector of Kahshaartown - the Protector of Celtelath - the Protector of Celtehar - the Protector of Lokton (the Lokton Protector has traditionally been closely connected with the Port Kaeir Protector) - the Protector of New Tirmaeir - the Protector of Tirmaeir Of the Protectors, it is the Protector of Port Kaeir who is by far the most powerful, controlling the lucrative smuggling of Port Kaeir and able to muster the greatest amount of street muscle. On occasion the Protector of Port Kaeir is known to call himself, and be called the Protector of Kaeir, or the 'Protectors of Protectors'. In terms of organisation, each Protector has a large area of territory under his control, which by agreement with the other Protectors is not contested (and Protectors that do seek to expand into one of the six Protectors' territory is always dealt with harshly). Under each Protector is a series of sub-Protectors, responsible for a district, parish or borough (thus Kris von Northport von Port Kaeir is the sub-protector of the borough of Northpoint, and the junior of the Protector of Port Kaeir). Like most criminal organisations, these small-time crime bosses are sometimes chosen by their superior, or sometimes force themselves on their superior by their sheer strength. Promotion to the rank of Protector is often achieved by a combination of violence, respect, support - a sub-protector that can gain the support of other sub-protectors and defeat their Protector is more often then not recognised by other Protectors simply out of respect. The recent Kaeirean acquisition of Saltrim will probably result in a second convention, in which two more Protectors will be annointed from amongst the ranks of Saltrimi crime bosses. A power struggle of sorts amongst the Protectors of the three ports of Port Kaeir, New Tirmaeir and Kahshaartown has developed over the Rimriver trade, as to whose territory this lucrative trade belongs to. However, criminal involvement in Rimrivertown has been extremely limited by the importance attached to the Rimriver trade by the Senate. Today, the Protectors have little connection to their earlier noble patrons who gave them the protection to survive the days of the Principality. A few houses are suspected to be involved in the criminal underworld, but the risk of discovery and scandal are more than enough discouragement to those less honourable merchant houses. It is assumed that most Protectors maintain an understanding with the local constabulary in certain regards. ---------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, send mail to celandra-off@phoenyx.net.
