Next on the list of Rakksberg mercenary guilds is the most barbaric and brutal of war-bands: the Scarlet Furies. The guild that has earned a reputation for doing just about anything requiring a strong arm or sharp blade for money had much different origins than the people of the Berg would expect.
Roughly 200 years prior to the events of the Marked Soul Series, a couple in the south of Rakksberg found themselves in a dire situation. Marcus and Rochelle Dirnstad sat in their small country home looking over one of their four children. Their youngest son, Erik, had fallen deathly ill. With no hope in sight, they brought the child to an herbalist, rumored to be a witch. The old woman, a hermit by the name Gertrude, told the couple that she could procure the herbs needed to cure their child, but that they were exceedingly expensive and hard to find.
With little else for options, Rochelle resorted to the only thing she could think of. She picked up her father’s old sword and shield, and began to offer her services as an armed bodyguard. Marcus reluctantly joined his wife, and soon the couple were on their way to paying the witch for the medicine they so desperately required. Rakksberg at this time, especially in the south, was ravaged by bandits that pillaged unsuspecting traders or merchants. As such, the Dirnstad’s were never short of work.
After a month and a half or risking their lives, the concerned parents had raised enough money to pay Gertrude for the herbs she needed to treat Erik’s fever. Unfortunately, the old woman was not what she seemed. After producing a weak tonic of willow bark and nightshade, the woman vanished without a trace. Erik passed shortly after ingesting the poisonous brew, and the family was left with a son to bury without a way to support their remaining three children.
Stricken with grief, Marcus and Rochelle resorted to desperate means to make ends meat. What started as taking payment for guarding a merchant’s wagon from bandits quickly turned to taking coin from those very same bandits to steal and rob and murder. The couple had even started having their children accompany them on jobs that required more muscle than they could manage on their own. Soon, they had begun working more regularly with select bandit or raider, which proved the family’s ultimate decent into barbarism.
Rochelle eventually realized that to make more money, the family would need to expand it’s reach. Marcus agreed a little too willingly, and the couple started bringing others under their employ. At first, it started as temporary agreements for a job or string of jobs, but soon the family found themselves commanding an entire band of undesirables. They had a makeshift headquarters in their home, means enough to purchase weapons and armor, and a makeshift “uniform” of red cloaks and undershirts. All they needed was a name. With Marcus and Rochelle at the helm, the Scarlet Furies began to take the country by storm.
During the short and violent reign of Gareth Foel, the Scarlet Furies thrived. They took the majority of their work from the tyrant, going so far as to adapting the wicked man’s colors and sigil for their own use. Gareth took advantage of the guilds distinct lack of morals, using the group as a makeshift army at times. However, due to the guilds supposed independence from the man, when Gareth was deposed and the High Council was reinstated, the Scarlet Furies managed to escape most of the worst repercussions for their actions during his reign.
Since then, the Scarlet Furies waxed and waned in power over the year, largely depending on the leader of the guild at any given time. Due to the particularly rough nature of the guild, their leaders never seem to hold their seat longer than a decade or so. Even their founders only led the guild for twenty-five years before they we deposed.
The modern day Scarlet Furies are little more than a band of hired thugs and bandits. They will take nearly any job as long as their client is willing to pay up front in advance. Much of the guild uses old and battered equipment, rusted and chipped from long years of service without proper maintenance, and many of its members lack any sort of refined training. They are still a force to be reckoned with, but their current state of affairs pales in comparison to the more orderly guilds of the Berg such as the Knights of the Old Rule or the Wardens. If you need a cheap strong-arm to intimidate a rival or a few armed guards to protect your wagon on the road, you could do worse than the Scarlet Furies but not by much.
I hope you enjoyed the tragic story of Marcus and Rochelle. The mercenary guilds are a key part of the culture of Rakksberg, and now we are beginning to dive into the history of the more visible and influential groups. I hope you have a great day and find a chance to let your magic come to life.
