Board Thread:Role Plays/@comment-24147026-20160605220338/@comment-5999656-20160605224042

Far from home.

Zanipher "Daybreak" Hei'An was very far from home. Although this was by no means her first visit to Vacuo, that ominously named kingdom, this was the first time she was here on an actual mission, one for the Dragons no less. It had been less than three years since her own induction into the Nine Dragons of Vale, a shady upstart organization which had dared to do what others dismissed as completely impossible: establish a criminal governing system.

Any network needed powerful, unmovable leaders who could spin public opinion with mere word choice, train new intelligentsia to maintain constant progress, and most importantly, control and direct their members. After the replacement of the long-absent First Dragon, a former soldier who embarked on a long journey, with a brilliant but immensely deceptive mastermind mistress, the organization had pushed itself to overcome their limitations and expand their boundaries to become quite possibly the greatest network of crime in Vale. And how had they done this? Not by ruthlessly pounding every source of opposition that emerged, but rather by forging truces, alliances, armistices, you name it. Whatever it took to coexist, keeping the common goal in mind: the accumulation of wealth.

Eight. They had eight Dragons so far, having recently convinced the longtime vigilante Master to become one of their highest ranked leaders. Each Dragon controlled his or her own sector, focused around a specialty which they honed before offering it as a service to the crooked buyers who could match their hefty prices. Economies of scale. By giving every faction within the network the freedom to specialize, the Dragons as a whole could amass nigh-unmatchable strength. This came in handy those few times they failed to convince prospective allies to come to their side. But these situations were few and far in between.

Yes, they had enough Dragons by now, Zanipher had thought, but founder Gala had already named the organization prior to recruiting the current members, meaning that they had to search for the final Head of their Nine to maintain the same repute they had been building up. A quick canvassing of their home kingdom yielded no viable candidates, as they were either not powerful enough or lacked the specialty requirement to be a Dragon Head. Instead, the Daybreak Syndicate had located a promising individual in another kingdom. A young thief who had somehow been able to galvanize the pickpockets of the cities into a force to be reckoned with, this man seemed the perfect fit for the role.

"Neil Huong," Zanipher said out loud, musing on the name. Her highly trained men had been able to locate his whereabouts for this night, and his objective as well. Brilliantly done, but it was to be expected of the triad spies. Now her next move was to intercept the candidate and present him with an ultimatum which she personally thought couldn't be refused. Access to the most cutting-edge technology, nearly limitless crude manpower, not to mention the services of every faction allied with the Nine Dragons. When she'd been presented with this choice after leaving Beacon, by an old friend on top, she'd jumped at the offer.

At the moment she sat in the backseat of a sleek black sports car piloted by one of her men. There were six such cars planted around the Dust shop, ready to pursue but currently merely observing the activity outside. They would give the Street Runners the luxury of making off with their heist before confronting them, not just as a show of courtesy but also to witness their skills firsthand.

Zanipher saw a shape quickly flit across the street, catching only a glimpse of purple hair before the shape vanished. It was unusual for high-ranking members to participate in field work themselves due to escalated risk, but Zanipher did that herself. A working man was someone she could respect.

"Keep the engine off. Onc they've exited, be prepared to pursue immediately."