Capital: Nicosia, Cyprus
Government: Criminal syndicate
Notable Territories: Cyprus
Population: Believed to employ around 500,000 people worldwide.
Goals: Profit (?)
Faction Colors: None specified.
History:
A criminal organization affiliated with Amalgam, the isle of Cyprus has grown increasingly prominent in the eyes of international investigators seeking to curtail the spread of dangerous, illicit technology across the globe.
Approximately fifty years ago, a startling discovery was made in ruins beneath the island's surface: towering statues and hidden passageways, a whole new potential chapter of human history ready for the taking. Scholars and scientists flocked from world-over to the so-called "Bardos Ruins", each eager to make their mark, to pen their chapter in find of the century...
But the headlines had attracted the attention of yet another, unexpected party.
The excavations proved to be nightmarish, plagued with accidents, scandals and unforeseen difficulties. Tools and equipment went missing or were sabotaged. Important personnel were kidnapped and held for ransom. Local officials slow walked or outright refused to issue appropriate permits.
Enthusiasm and optimism were gradually smothered under a wave of muck and bad press, drowning out the nature of the groundbreaking discoveries taking place just beneath the surface...
And as the cameras clicked off, the public's eye turning elsewhere, those in the shadows stepped in.
Those whose silence could be bought left, their pockets as heavy as their conscience.
Those who refused soon joined the ruins below in the dark depths, never to see the light of day ever again.
It was not long before the dig sites were taken over by a different kind of men: ones cradling machineguns.
In only a few short years, Cyprus' economy began an unexpected shift, becoming increasingly known for its extremely high quality electronic components and drug manufacturing processes.
An "economic miracle" from an island that had, until then, been known mostly for exporting fruit. Over the next ten years, they aggressively expanded into every market possible, trying to force themselves into supply chains across the globe with cheap, reliable, cutting edge and highly plentiful goods that brought competitors to their knees.
Cyprus began to be called the "Bardos Cartel" for its increasingly strong-armed tactics and market consolidation, somehow always managing to be one step ahead of the competition...
And in the process made itself some powerful enemies.
While local government officials were happy to deride the Cartel in public, few trade protections were put in place against their goods as frustration and anger began to mount in boardrooms across the world.
The boiling point arrived on Christmas Day, two years ago.
An assault was launched on the Cartel's main microchip production planet in Limassol by Ravens hired by Turkish competitors, eager to teach the upstarts a lesson - and to save their own failing businesses from being chewed up and spat out.
What records remain of this event (all footage was confiscated by the Cypran authorities) are garbled and difficult to obtain, but none fail to mention the sight of towering colossi that rose from the ocean depths... or the sounds of shearing metal as the attackers were torn limb from limb, as easily as if they were children's toys.
On the surface, Cyprus is a prosperous paradise, one of the wealthiest and safest per capita in the entire world. In truth, its government is little more than the mouthpiece of the Cartel, and all power rests squarely in the palm of one man.
Yes - the stranger whose arrival in Cyprus changed its inhabitants destiny, the first to set foot into the Bardos Catacombs in untold hundreds of years, and whose presence is always felt, yet rarely seen...
The man known only as "Mr. Sulfur".
Government: Criminal syndicate
Notable Territories: Cyprus
Population: Believed to employ around 500,000 people worldwide.
Goals: Profit (?)
Faction Colors: None specified.
History:
A criminal organization affiliated with Amalgam, the isle of Cyprus has grown increasingly prominent in the eyes of international investigators seeking to curtail the spread of dangerous, illicit technology across the globe.
Approximately fifty years ago, a startling discovery was made in ruins beneath the island's surface: towering statues and hidden passageways, a whole new potential chapter of human history ready for the taking. Scholars and scientists flocked from world-over to the so-called "Bardos Ruins", each eager to make their mark, to pen their chapter in find of the century...
But the headlines had attracted the attention of yet another, unexpected party.
The excavations proved to be nightmarish, plagued with accidents, scandals and unforeseen difficulties. Tools and equipment went missing or were sabotaged. Important personnel were kidnapped and held for ransom. Local officials slow walked or outright refused to issue appropriate permits.
Enthusiasm and optimism were gradually smothered under a wave of muck and bad press, drowning out the nature of the groundbreaking discoveries taking place just beneath the surface...
And as the cameras clicked off, the public's eye turning elsewhere, those in the shadows stepped in.
Those whose silence could be bought left, their pockets as heavy as their conscience.
Those who refused soon joined the ruins below in the dark depths, never to see the light of day ever again.
It was not long before the dig sites were taken over by a different kind of men: ones cradling machineguns.
In only a few short years, Cyprus' economy began an unexpected shift, becoming increasingly known for its extremely high quality electronic components and drug manufacturing processes.
An "economic miracle" from an island that had, until then, been known mostly for exporting fruit. Over the next ten years, they aggressively expanded into every market possible, trying to force themselves into supply chains across the globe with cheap, reliable, cutting edge and highly plentiful goods that brought competitors to their knees.
Cyprus began to be called the "Bardos Cartel" for its increasingly strong-armed tactics and market consolidation, somehow always managing to be one step ahead of the competition...
And in the process made itself some powerful enemies.
While local government officials were happy to deride the Cartel in public, few trade protections were put in place against their goods as frustration and anger began to mount in boardrooms across the world.
The boiling point arrived on Christmas Day, two years ago.
An assault was launched on the Cartel's main microchip production planet in Limassol by Ravens hired by Turkish competitors, eager to teach the upstarts a lesson - and to save their own failing businesses from being chewed up and spat out.
What records remain of this event (all footage was confiscated by the Cypran authorities) are garbled and difficult to obtain, but none fail to mention the sight of towering colossi that rose from the ocean depths... or the sounds of shearing metal as the attackers were torn limb from limb, as easily as if they were children's toys.
On the surface, Cyprus is a prosperous paradise, one of the wealthiest and safest per capita in the entire world. In truth, its government is little more than the mouthpiece of the Cartel, and all power rests squarely in the palm of one man.
Yes - the stranger whose arrival in Cyprus changed its inhabitants destiny, the first to set foot into the Bardos Catacombs in untold hundreds of years, and whose presence is always felt, yet rarely seen...
The man known only as "Mr. Sulfur".