I was once asked for a little more detailed information concerning Shadow Society, an infamous guild of assassins that I introduce during the story of Just a Little Bird. This question made me realize that while I had made pretty much of work while planning the structure of the Shadow Society hierarchy, very little of this information really sees light during the story itself. Well, I decided to fix that problem… Therefore, here is a quick tour into the mysterious and lethal organization that is the Shadow Society.

* * * *

Shadow Society is a large guild of assassins that sells its high-quality services to any who can afford their prices. They have little interest for what consequences the actions of their assassins might have. The Society itself serves as an organization that provides a network of valuable information, shelter, training facilities and food to its members. In return the Society demands its share from the assassin's incomes and -- more importantly -- absolute loyalty. Higher members of the Society are to be obeyed, all kind of "business" activity must be reported to the local Head Quarters, fellow members must never be harmed. Teamwork is the key to the strength of the Society. Failure to follow the rules of the Society is to be punished by death. Failure to pay a share of the incomes is to be punished by death. Betraying the Society is to be punished by death. Simple rules, but they are enough to inspire the utmost of loyalty from the members.

Each member picks up an "Assassin name", which can be almost anything from flamboyant titles (Soaring Lord, Star-edge, Ronin) to completely innocent names (Paws, Nanny, Fisherman). These names are used inside the Society and their purpose is to protect the true identity of the assassin. Thanks to their assassin names, the members can freely go about their daily businesses in any town without the fear of being recognized as members of the infamous Shadow Society. Usually only partner assassins know each other's true names.

There is a very wide variety of different fighting and assassination styles among the ranks of the Society. Some members prefer simple "poison-in-wine"-tricks, some are specialized in sniper-shooting while others rely on traditional direct assaults to carry the day. Take your pick! The only feature in common among these assassins is the fact that they do NOT joke around. Of course there are a few exceptions of this rule, but in general, members are not here to boast how good they are at their work, they mean business. Society assassins work usually in pairs or in small teams. Their teamwork is fluent and this makes them dangerous.

Members of the Shadow Society are proud of their "honor" as assassins. They are quite ruthless when it comes to dispatching their targets, but most of them refuse to accept missions that involve things like kidnapping or unnecessary torturing of the victim. Fees and rewards are up to the assassin him/herself to decide, but the Society gives each Circle a few guidelines of how much they should demand of their services. As already said, the Society takes its share of the assassin's incomes.

The basic hierarchy inside the Shadow Society is simple. Ordinary assassins are divided into three levels, or "Circles", that determine the member's rank in the Society. And in turn, each Circle has its own sub-levels and sections for assassins specialized in different skills. While basically all members of the same Circle are equals, elder -- and thus, more experienced -- assassins are usually obeyed. An assassin can be promoted to the next rank by many kinds of different reasons, but as a rule of thumb, the higher the status in the Society, deadlier the assassin is.

Third Circle: Cutthroats who are talented enough to catch the attention of the Society and pass the initialization test are allowed to enter the Third Circle. There is no way to apply for membership: the new candidate must be invited to join by another member. Although Third Circles are quite good by general standards of the streets, they are the lowest and least-skilled members of the Society. Third Circles are usually under direct command (and careful observation) of a First Circle tutor.

Second Circle: Third Circle who does well in his/her training is allowed to enter the Second Circle. You could call this status as a kind of "medium level" in the Society, since it is the largest in the hierarchy and consists of rather skilled assassins. Second Circles are no longer in the need of tutoring and observation of the First Circles (or, at least, not constantly), and their further training is up to the assassins themselves.

First Circle: These are elite assassins who have truly proved their worth to the Society. First Circles can afford to demand high prices of their services. They are free to give commands to any Third or Second Circle members. First Circles are usually entitled to the tasks of tutoring younger assassins and scout for new candidates for the Society.

Shadow Lords: Holding a fearsome reputation in the Realm of the Shadows, the Shadow Lords are among the best of the best. Generals of the Society, the Shadow Lords act directly under the orders of none other than the Shadow Lady. Masters of their craft, the Lords are extremely dangerous to any living being. It is often up to them to track down the betrayers of the Society and slay them for once and all. It's said that in order to enter the rank of a Shadow Lord, the candidate must be able to survive through a night in the same room with the Shadow Lady herself… A feat which demands extreme knowledge in the methods of assassination as well as constant vigilance in order to evade the Lady's attempts to slay the candidate. There are rumors that some Shadow Lords have infiltrated the ranks of the First Circle or even Second Circle in order to observe the actions of the lower members without attracting special attention.

The Shadow Lady: The leader of the Shadow Society. She is a legend that is being whispered among the assassins, a mythical person who, some dare to claim, doesn't even exist. The Shadow Lady was one of the founders of the Shadow Society and under her rule the organization has grown to be what it is today. She is rarely seen in person and is usually contented with acting through her Shadow Lords. Not very much is known about her, and some even dare to whisper (never too aloud) that in reality, the Shadow Lady isn't a woman but a man… Or perhaps she is not a human at all…

The Shadow Lady has been inspiration for numerous phrases and quotes used within the Society. One of the most common, "I represent the Shadow Lady", means that the assassin saying it wishes to tell others that he or she is the most high-ranking member present and thus, in command of the operation.