| Corvi Helvetia
Let others wage war, for we've a wolf by the ears. | |
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Alligence: |
Switzerland |
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Spymaster: |
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Members: |
Etienne de la Roche |
The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare’s origins remain shrouded in mystery, a word which here means “Switzerland.” Their motives and identities are a matter of much debate. Are they a dangerous league of traitors, intent on sowing seeds of anarchy in every powerful nation? Are they a team of brilliant (if underhanded and eccentric) specialists, attempting to free the world from the shackles of inequality and imperialism? Are they a loose confederacy of American artists, writers, songwriters, performers, costume-makers, crafters, cooks, scientists, scholars, and combat practitioners who decided to create a Steampunk spy crew for the simple joy of it?
The world may never know...
History[]
The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare in its current form is an international paramilitary force (formally named the Corvi Helvetia, or Helvetia’s Ravens) has its origins in the Swiss intelligence service founded following the defeat of Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy by the Swiss Confederates in 1477, in light of the events at castle Grandson in February of 1476. During Charles the Bold’s invasion, he laid siege to castle Grandson on lake Neuchâtel early in the year 1476. Due to the effectiveness of his heavy artillery, it was feared that the castle could not withstand his attack on its own, and so an army was sent to Grandson by the rest of the Swiss cantons. Unfortunately, the ship sent to tell the garrison of the coming reinforcements was unable to approach the castle due to heavy cannonfire, and their attempts at signalling were misinterpreted. As a consequence, the force at Grandson surrendered at the promise of mercy from the Duke of Burgundy, and was summarily executed in its entirety.
The Swiss defeated Charles the Bold in a series of three battles which followed their discovery of the massacre at Grandson - the Battle of Grandson, the Battle of Morat, and the Battle of Nancy, in which the Duke himself was killed.
Knowing that the massacre of the 412 men at Grandson might have been avoided had there been an effective means of passing information to those within the castle, an intelligence force was formed, the scouts whose work had helped the Swiss forces defeat the Duke of Burgundy being among the first members. It was decided that the force would operate out of the mountains of Canton Glarus.
The Corvi Helvetia continued its work until 1798, when the Swiss Confederation was overrun by Napoleon’s armies, and the organization was forced to withdraw to its facility at Svalbard after destroying its headquarters in Canton Glarus. In the following years the Swiss espionage force aided the cause against Napoleon, and at the Congress of Vienna in 1815, not only was Swiss independence re-established, but it was decided that the Corvi Helvetia should become an international organization which would focus its efforts on protecting the sovereignty of all nations by working to thwart any future imperialist efforts. The organization was to remain based in Switzerland - which had, as a part of the Final Act, signed on June 9th of that year, declared and been guaranteed neutrality - and was to be overseen by the Swiss government.
Early in the year 1816, the organization moved to its current location, Drudenschloss, in a remote part of the newly formed Canton of Graubünden. The organization is in its second international generation, including agents from Eastern, Western, and Northern Europe, as well as North America, Asia, and the Middle East.
Members[]
The current incarnation of the Ministry features people with a vast range of specialized skills from forgery to assassination. More recently the strict clandestine nature of the Ministry has lessened somewhat and occasionally these experts can be found at various gatherings blending in among the revelers and sometimes dispensing (or gathering) information.
- Damián Armas
- Etienne de la Roche
- Sebastian Webb
- Jen Anming
- Lorildée Amelia Fontaine
- Simone Laurent
- Cateryn Christle (Cateryn Murnane)
- Zofia Zarczynska (Black Zofia)
- Sorin Dragomir
- Josephine Ackerly
- Svetlana Ivanovna Tarasova
- Sigrid Kunig
- Francois Boumier
Associates[]
There are a number of individuals who, while not being members of the Ministry itself, are linked to the group, in a personal and/or a professional capacity.
- Marie Dubois (Agatha Webb)
- Hunter
- Esmé Guillume
- Asher Callahan
- Camise Oldfield
- Lydia Scuttlefish
- Nils Kunig