Guild of Shadows

The Guild of Shadows is an organized criminal regulation body, responsible for ensuring the safe and honourable conduct of all illegal activities taking place in faction territory, and in indipentant space. They can be considered the closest thing to a ruling faction in indipendant space, but their lack of centralization renders this title inappropriate. They are seen favourably by Pirates and Civilians alike, as they almost completely nullify the barbaric nature with which their members would otherwise conduct themselves. It is reportedly run by an ever-changing array of seven 'admirals' whose identities are kept a closely guarded secret.

Ideology
The Guild of Shadows, as much as it can be considered unified in a common goal, seeks to bring a degree of safety and fairness to the actions taking place outside of the control of the other factions. They persue their three tenets: Liberty, Subtlety and Integrity. These are considered to be the three most important things to preserve. They divide people into 'Members' and 'Civilians', each one getting different but equal protections from the guild, whilst being allowed to live as they please without fear.

Liberty
The Guild sees the other factions as tyrannical and controlling, and regard ideas such as laws and a unified police force as unnatural and as an unnecessary restriction of personal liberties. It is generally taken, that a person should be completely autonomous, excepting they don't violate the other two tenets. The Guild's control is based on trust and honesty. Guild members are expected to behave according to a strict honour code, to ensure the integrity of Subtlety and Integrity and anyone reported to break this code loses the protections and privelidges that membership affords them.

Subtlety
The Guild defines Subtlety as the idea that one should not interfere with the business of others. It is for this reason they are called the Guild of Shadows, their actions being nearly undetectable to the other factions. This extends to the daily life of their members however, who are bound to never attack civillians except in self-defense and never to use more than the necessary amount of force to solve a problem. It is also for this reason that they are not seen unfavourably by the other factions, as when their presence is detectable at all it is generally for the better.

Integrity
Integrity is the backbone of the Guild's power, and everything it represents. Everything from their rules, to their economy is based on trust and honesty. Integrity is seen as the most important quality for a guild member to posess, and if a member is found to be lacking then their membership is usually forefeit. Integrity is also seen as an important quality in civillians, as they are expected to respect the rights and privelidges of the members and failure to do so may lose them the protection of the guild. This is only usually the case in extreme cases, such as unsanctioned pirate raids or assasinations by non-members. The Guild commands such fear and respect from the populace that their rules are adhered to by the majority of the population, even when they cannot be enforced.

Politics
Despite staying out of the business of other factions, they are still allowed special dispensation by some, and actively hunted by others. As according to the Guild, they don't officially exist, these cannot technically be allied or at war with any recognised factions, but let's be honest they basically are.

They are seen favourably by the Basilica, who seek to impose order on their citizens and the surrounding factions. While the Basilica are vigorously opposed to many of the things that the Guild encourages, Shadow rule is generally seen by the high command to be preferable to the complete chaos of crime and corruption that would otherwise exist in its place. As such, guild members are not considered suspicious by default, and may even be allowed to persue interests that oppose the Basilican ideology on the grounds that guild members have been known to supply important resources such as Ancient tapes and the location of Jethro era relics.

The Nanovacs faction are largely indifferent to the Guild, as the two have not interacted much since their respective foundations. This being said, the Guild's general ideology is more closely aligned to that of the Nanovacs, than it is opposed, despite the Nano's postulation that true happiness can only be acheived by relinquishing freedom.

The Imperia Koldari see the Guild as an absolute evil that seeks to undermine everything their society is built upon. Firstly, the Guild represents a rogue element that exists outside Imperial law, and are considered heretical due to a lack of active devotion to the Koldari faith. Secondly, the Guild encourages many things considered blasphemeous by the Imperia as an example, their command structure is considered a subversion of feudal hierarchy considered 'the natural order' by Koldari doctrine. By the same token, the Imperia refuses to accept the Guild's non-existant status, referencing them officially in many laws and official statements created to actively punish the Guild and its members, this is seen as a violation of the tenet of Subtlety and has therefore drawn the ire of the Guild causing them to retaliate by assassinating key figures and raiding their ships and outposts.

The Drakhenspir and the Guild do not often interact, but because the Guild do not recognise the Drakhenspir hard border (or any border for that matter) their interaction with the Guild is not as uncommon as with other factions. The Guild's code of honour is simply not entirely compatible with the Drakhenspir's own honour codes, and as such the Guild are seen as dishonourable theives and traitors and shown no sympathy by the populace and the elders alike. Due to their lack of control in Drakhenspir territory, the Guild are not considered a threat and as such are not actively persued. Opposition to the Guild is mainly cultural rather than military in nature.