| abstract
| - Stormwind Assassins are a neutral guild of elite assassins dedicated wholly to the Alliance’s goals, but willing to do the dirtier jobs. The Stormwind Assassins are one of the oldest surviving organizations on Azeroth. Long before any of the wars, the Alliance faction of Stormwind felt it was unable to do everything it wanted to within the law. One of the leaders, Erwill Youngton, secretly approached a thief in their prisons. Pathonia Shaw had been imprisoned by the Alliance repeatedly for theft. Caught perhaps three times, she was notorious for scores of high profile crimes. Youngton offered her clemency if she agreed to form a society to take care of the Alliance’s dirty work quickly and cleanly. She agreed at once — and added that she would find a way to do it with a sense of style as well. The Stormwind Assassins began that day, with the agreement of Erwill Youngton, she combed the prisons for her fellow thieves to bring into the family, as they were called, and soon built a small force to serve the Alliance. The Assassins were there when the orcs poured from the Dark Portal, taking out stray scouts; yet they found it difficult to make a true dent in the enemy forces because of the Horde’s sheer numbers and the Assassins’ lack of military training. The Assassins work best one-on-one, they quickly discovered, and concentrated more on aiming for the Horde’s leaders. Shaw had been a thief for the thrills and was not necessarily evil. Once she was allowed to do her favorite thing in the world and still get paid for it, she became a loyal Alliance fighter. She made sure to hammer this home in her recruits: one does not steal from the hand that feeds. If the thrill of the stolen goods and the secret kill, along with a steady salary, was not good enough for her thieves, they were not initiated into the Assassins. The message was clear: only commit the crimes sanctioned by the Alliance. Shaw had one other requirement when she built the society: secrecy was a must. The thieves did not normally walk around claiming to be thieves, and they had no reason to do so once they were legitimate assassins either. The leader of Stormwind is the only one with a full list of the Stormwind Assassins, and when one was assigned to be part of a larger operation, as happened in the three wars, her true purpose was not revealed to the other troops. They passed as fighters or scouts, even wizards from time to time, but still did their primary jobs of stealing and killing when needed. Their commanders would know of their secret when needed, but often only the assassin knew of her true reason for being in the field. The population of Stormwind knows the Assassins exist, and the public relations machine has taken their reputation to the extreme: these are glamorous fighters, too talented to serve with the mere warriors in the army; they are stealthy people who work by the night, shrouded in mystery and barroom tales. Some children — even wealthy types — become thieves in the hope that someday they can be Stormwind Assassins too. No one knows who they are, but almost everyone claims to have seen them at work, although this is highly unlikely. Shaw retired 10 years ago and put her grandson Mathias in charge. She had groomed him for the job from when he was an infant, testing his speed and dexterity on a physical level and making sure he understood the difference between doing what was right and doing what was necessary, and how those two do not always mix. The Cathedral of Light understands that the Stormwind Assassins must exist for the good of Stormwind and the Alliance, but the priests do not condone assassination. They choose simply to look the other way. The Stormwind Assassins are based in Stormwind, but often travel to other Alliance-held lands in Azeroth. They have influence in Elwynn, Redridge, and Westfall. They have done jobs in other areas, such as Duskwood and Deadwind Pass, but they almost never go further south. (LoC 168, 169)
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![[RDF Data]](/fct/images/sw-rdf-blue.png)