Post by Atrus on Jun 28, 2009 22:33:14 GMT -5
Before the site closed for the V2 upgrade I wrote a character who worked for a super-secret arm of the Dai Li. Since then I have formalised a founding of this group, and considering the new Plot ideas being thrown around, I believe this particular would be beautifully fitting imo.
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The Founding
Kakashi Hatake was a loyal but unambitious man who lived in Bai Sing Sei in the early years of the '100 year war'; from unsophisticated yet unempoverished beginnings he became a low ranking soldier in the Bai Sing Sei militia, such a position charged him with the responsibility of civil law-and-order. Not much for soldiering, he did however enjoy the cerebral excercises of investigation that occasionally arose while on duty, usually petty crimes that required little effort to solve, but it gave him inspiration to expand the horizons of his intellect and perception.
He rose in esteem, gaining a reputation over the course of several years as an insightful and diligent individual. In his mid-thirties, he vanished utterly. This was an inexplicable mystery that remained unsolved for a number of years.
During the following years, the militia offices would sporadically recieve cryptic messages of what officers discovered much later were clues to seemingly unimportant crimes that hardly deserved attention; it wasn't until a young common soldier with little time on her hands discovered that while the crimes by themselves were nothing, when they were observed together they formed a more sinister pattern. This soldier brought her findings and her theory to her superiors and was scolded for such wild absurdities.
That was until they recieved another message a few months later; now although all written record of these times regarding this occourence have been completely destroyed- such as the precise details of the crimes, but this pivotal message has been passed from generation to generation of Kakashi Hatake member:
In Moon's shadow doth we take,
The sleepers shadow soon will wake,
A fiery arrow strikes dead true,
Watchman's heart forever rue,
Winters canyon snow piled high,
Youthful voice pronounces nigh.
It was determined with the great assistance from the scolded soldier that a Fire Nation plot was afoot to assassinate the Earth Kingdom King- that members of his own guard were involved. The message indicated that the knowledge of this plot and the plans to counteract it were to be kept silent and that a child would bring word of when the plot was being enacted.
The high ranked officers wanted to arrest the King's guard immediately, however the formerly scolded officer insisted that that would only temporarily inconvenience any master-minds and that their best chance of capturing everyone involved was to heed the message. Finally, the officers reluctantly agreed to keep this event quiet.
The following month, during the new moon, the soldier recieved a visit from a child with a spoken message, simply: Now.
Officially, that night was uneventful and quiet like any other night. The truth of the matter is that a bloody battle took place in the inner sanctum of the Palace. Earth Kingdom soldiers fought Earth Kingdom soldiers; and for a short while, there was complete confusion as to who was to be trusted.
Fortunately, The Sleepers Shadow awoke- Kakashi Hatake revealed himself to the scolded soldier guised as a servant. With his assisstance, traitors and infiltrators alike were singled out quickly and despatched; and with Kakashi's direction, the master-minds, Fire Nation infiltrators, were dragged from their hiding places within society.
Recognising how close the Fire Nation had come to victory that night; the Dai Li (quietly) inducted Kakashi Hatake into their ranks and given the resources he needed to continue his work. Kakashi used these resources to secretly form a small group dedicated to the investigation and erradication of traitors and spies within the Earth Kingdom. Outwardly, he performed his normal work but kept this groups existence hidden even from the Dai Li- it wasn't until long after he had founded it that he finally informed the Dai Li master of it's existence, and only then because a member of the Dai Li had been found to be a traitor.
The group was originally called Sleeping Shadows- but the few members of the group renamed themselves in honour of their founder after he died several years later.
Modus Operandi
The Kakashi Hatake operate now as they always have- in absolute secrecy. It's name does not strike fear into the hearts of those who hear it, for none have heard of it. Only the Dai Li master and a few very select, very high ranked military officials know of it's existence; its pronouncements final, it members beyond reproach, it's power absolute. A message from a member to one of these military officials or the Dai Li master will see an entire company of soldiers ready at their beck and call- although this is extremely rare- for Kakashi Hatake members are trained in subtlety and prefer to report their findings and let the army handle the rest. They are masters of disguise, investigation, infiltration and interrogation- spending their entire lives being someone else; their eyes are sharp and their minds sharper. They are the invisible eyes and ears of the Dai Li. It is these men and women who have held the Earth Kingdom together for so long.
Initially, the Kakashi Hatake operated within Bai Sing Sei, but the natural progression of investigations and time has taken its members beyond the cities walls and into the vast lands of the Earth Kingdom.
The Order
There is no set heirachy within the Kakashi Hatake; members are selected from a young age like Dai Li candidates and trained by the handful of members who choose to teach the new generation of Kakashi Hatake.
There are no identifying insignias amongst the members- such things can lead to members being discovered. Should members ever have to meet en mass for some reason, they identify each other with a call and response of Kakashi Hataki's pivotal message.
Generally, members do not associate with each other for risk of discovery.
Ideology
Even a group like the Kakashi Hatake whose loyalty to their nation is unmatched, is often times at ends with the ideologies of individual members. In the earliest days of the groups inaugeration, definitions were easily made: One was either an enemy or an ally of the Earth Kingdom.
But time and political views have given birth to a number of ideolodies amongst the members.
The first and most dominant are the Totalitarians. These men and women are the most rigid in their oaths to protect the Earth Kingdom; their loyalties lie with their nation and the figure-head of it, The King. All who oppose the Earth Kingdom or the King are traitors or enemies and are hunted down as such.
The next significant ideology but less common are the Medians. These men and women, believe in keeping the status quo; the Earth Kingdom is in no need of change, or that change is necessary but it is not yet time for it, and they will ensure that the status quo is kept. In keeping with this ideology they are similar to Totalitarians in that they are loyal their nation and its figure-head.
A newly emerging and less popular ideology is Underhand. The men and women of this ideology are generally frowned upon by their stricter brothers and sisters; while they are as loyal to their nation and just as stict in keeping to their oaths as any Totalitarian and Median, they see that the current methods the Earth Kingdom Government is employing are not fair for the poor and empoverished. As such, they will often-times use their influence to assist these poor people- the same poor people who have time and again tried to rise up against their better-offs. It comes as no surprise that members of this ideology are commonly investigated by their brothers and sisters, as they walk a fine line between naive compassion and treason.
-----------------
The Founding
Kakashi Hatake was a loyal but unambitious man who lived in Bai Sing Sei in the early years of the '100 year war'; from unsophisticated yet unempoverished beginnings he became a low ranking soldier in the Bai Sing Sei militia, such a position charged him with the responsibility of civil law-and-order. Not much for soldiering, he did however enjoy the cerebral excercises of investigation that occasionally arose while on duty, usually petty crimes that required little effort to solve, but it gave him inspiration to expand the horizons of his intellect and perception.
He rose in esteem, gaining a reputation over the course of several years as an insightful and diligent individual. In his mid-thirties, he vanished utterly. This was an inexplicable mystery that remained unsolved for a number of years.
During the following years, the militia offices would sporadically recieve cryptic messages of what officers discovered much later were clues to seemingly unimportant crimes that hardly deserved attention; it wasn't until a young common soldier with little time on her hands discovered that while the crimes by themselves were nothing, when they were observed together they formed a more sinister pattern. This soldier brought her findings and her theory to her superiors and was scolded for such wild absurdities.
That was until they recieved another message a few months later; now although all written record of these times regarding this occourence have been completely destroyed- such as the precise details of the crimes, but this pivotal message has been passed from generation to generation of Kakashi Hatake member:
In Moon's shadow doth we take,
The sleepers shadow soon will wake,
A fiery arrow strikes dead true,
Watchman's heart forever rue,
Winters canyon snow piled high,
Youthful voice pronounces nigh.
It was determined with the great assistance from the scolded soldier that a Fire Nation plot was afoot to assassinate the Earth Kingdom King- that members of his own guard were involved. The message indicated that the knowledge of this plot and the plans to counteract it were to be kept silent and that a child would bring word of when the plot was being enacted.
The high ranked officers wanted to arrest the King's guard immediately, however the formerly scolded officer insisted that that would only temporarily inconvenience any master-minds and that their best chance of capturing everyone involved was to heed the message. Finally, the officers reluctantly agreed to keep this event quiet.
The following month, during the new moon, the soldier recieved a visit from a child with a spoken message, simply: Now.
Officially, that night was uneventful and quiet like any other night. The truth of the matter is that a bloody battle took place in the inner sanctum of the Palace. Earth Kingdom soldiers fought Earth Kingdom soldiers; and for a short while, there was complete confusion as to who was to be trusted.
Fortunately, The Sleepers Shadow awoke- Kakashi Hatake revealed himself to the scolded soldier guised as a servant. With his assisstance, traitors and infiltrators alike were singled out quickly and despatched; and with Kakashi's direction, the master-minds, Fire Nation infiltrators, were dragged from their hiding places within society.
Recognising how close the Fire Nation had come to victory that night; the Dai Li (quietly) inducted Kakashi Hatake into their ranks and given the resources he needed to continue his work. Kakashi used these resources to secretly form a small group dedicated to the investigation and erradication of traitors and spies within the Earth Kingdom. Outwardly, he performed his normal work but kept this groups existence hidden even from the Dai Li- it wasn't until long after he had founded it that he finally informed the Dai Li master of it's existence, and only then because a member of the Dai Li had been found to be a traitor.
The group was originally called Sleeping Shadows- but the few members of the group renamed themselves in honour of their founder after he died several years later.
Modus Operandi
The Kakashi Hatake operate now as they always have- in absolute secrecy. It's name does not strike fear into the hearts of those who hear it, for none have heard of it. Only the Dai Li master and a few very select, very high ranked military officials know of it's existence; its pronouncements final, it members beyond reproach, it's power absolute. A message from a member to one of these military officials or the Dai Li master will see an entire company of soldiers ready at their beck and call- although this is extremely rare- for Kakashi Hatake members are trained in subtlety and prefer to report their findings and let the army handle the rest. They are masters of disguise, investigation, infiltration and interrogation- spending their entire lives being someone else; their eyes are sharp and their minds sharper. They are the invisible eyes and ears of the Dai Li. It is these men and women who have held the Earth Kingdom together for so long.
Initially, the Kakashi Hatake operated within Bai Sing Sei, but the natural progression of investigations and time has taken its members beyond the cities walls and into the vast lands of the Earth Kingdom.
The Order
There is no set heirachy within the Kakashi Hatake; members are selected from a young age like Dai Li candidates and trained by the handful of members who choose to teach the new generation of Kakashi Hatake.
There are no identifying insignias amongst the members- such things can lead to members being discovered. Should members ever have to meet en mass for some reason, they identify each other with a call and response of Kakashi Hataki's pivotal message.
Generally, members do not associate with each other for risk of discovery.
Ideology
Even a group like the Kakashi Hatake whose loyalty to their nation is unmatched, is often times at ends with the ideologies of individual members. In the earliest days of the groups inaugeration, definitions were easily made: One was either an enemy or an ally of the Earth Kingdom.
But time and political views have given birth to a number of ideolodies amongst the members.
The first and most dominant are the Totalitarians. These men and women are the most rigid in their oaths to protect the Earth Kingdom; their loyalties lie with their nation and the figure-head of it, The King. All who oppose the Earth Kingdom or the King are traitors or enemies and are hunted down as such.
The next significant ideology but less common are the Medians. These men and women, believe in keeping the status quo; the Earth Kingdom is in no need of change, or that change is necessary but it is not yet time for it, and they will ensure that the status quo is kept. In keeping with this ideology they are similar to Totalitarians in that they are loyal their nation and its figure-head.
A newly emerging and less popular ideology is Underhand. The men and women of this ideology are generally frowned upon by their stricter brothers and sisters; while they are as loyal to their nation and just as stict in keeping to their oaths as any Totalitarian and Median, they see that the current methods the Earth Kingdom Government is employing are not fair for the poor and empoverished. As such, they will often-times use their influence to assist these poor people- the same poor people who have time and again tried to rise up against their better-offs. It comes as no surprise that members of this ideology are commonly investigated by their brothers and sisters, as they walk a fine line between naive compassion and treason.
