A Glamour Street Gang
Roderick Robertson
The Windswords are an Insula gang in Glamour, composed of over 200 members, mostly boys between 12 and 20. The affect the dress and mannerisms of Orlanthi, wearing woolen tunics and baggy trousers (even in the heat of a Pelorian summer) and affecting “storm” tattoos and face-paint. When they fight other gangs, they use “barbarian” weapons and armor, especially horned helmets, which are their identifying mark.
The gang is composed of young men from three Insulae (multi-story apartment buildings) – the Immaculate Gardens, the Shimmering Waters, and palm Oasis – in the Shadow Dark neighborhood of Glamour, a section of the city where the Municipales (police) patrol in dozen-man squads, rather than pairs or individuals. The streets around their insulae are their territory, disputed hotly with the gangs from other insulae and other neighborhoods.
The members of the Windswords do not actually worship the Orlanthi Gods, in fact they, like most of the Lunar underbelly, are remarkably atheistic – few attend any religious service at all. Most only know Common magic learned from their parents or the spirits of their Insula before joining the Windswords, though some members have magical items. In this they are similar to other Insula gangs in Glamour.
The gang deals in hazia and cheap beer (brewed in emulation of their Orlanthi namesakes), and runs a protection racket for the small businesses of their Insulae. Their Bulls(best fighters) guard the three insulae, lead forays against rival gangs, and engage in strongarm robbery when all else is quiet. A few (the Alynxes) are second-story thieves, breaking into apartments from by climbing the outside walls or the light-wells.
Membership in the Windswords is open only to the families living in their three insulae. Children as young as six years old can be recruited if they show promise, though the usual age of admittance is ten or so. Girls are allowed to join as Alynxes, Ernaldans (girlfriends, support, and throwers of half-bricks) or Vingans (girls willing to fight in general melee with other gangs). The vast majority of the Windswords are simply “strong arms and weak minds”, and never really graduate above general gang member. The best fighters form the ranks of the Uroxi, while the Gang leaders form the “Ring”.
Renowned Members
Romerdus the Arkat is the leader of the Windswords. He is in his mid-twenties, and holds court in a palatial (for a run-down Insula in a poverty-ridden section of town) apartment in the Immaculate gardens insula. The apartments on all sides of the Arkat’s are held by his most trusted lieutenants. The Arkat made his mark on the gang by conquering the gang’s third Insula in a three-year campaign of terror and economic warfare against the former owners, the Crimson Impalas (a Praxian-inspired gang). The Arkat has a complete suit of barbarian mail armor, including a magnificently-horned helmet, and a sword and spear. He wears the helmet and sword whenever he leads gang activities, but only wears the armor or carries the spear when “at war”.Luciullus Bull-head is the leader of the Bulls and the Arkat’s right-hand man. He is a fearsome fighter, a head shorter than most members of the gang, but built like a Carmanian warhorse. He is so ugly that the facial paint he wears at all times actually improves his appearance! He is not only a feared fighter, but a crafty warleader. His campaigns are solidly planned and he makes sure that each member of his Bulls can perform his part. He only wears a horned helmet, eschewing even a tunic (though he does wear trousers – he is Dara Happan enough to feel ill-at-ease totally naked). He fights with two bronze-banded clubs, though his bare hands are weapon enough if he loses his clubs.
Damandalla Daisy-hair is the Arkat’s girlfriend, and leader of the Ernaldans. She organizes the gang’s parties, and leads the gang’s healing after battles. She is the former wife of the Immaculate Garden’s manager, whom she left for the Arkat. She worships Deezola as an initiate, and has actual healing magic from the Goddess. She owns a magic comb that will smooth the most tangled hair, and a magical bracelet that allows her to sense the feelings of those around her.
Magiye the Claw heads up the Alynxs, the sneak thieves and second-story workers. She is adept at climbing, and looks too innocent to be a thief, an attribute she uses shamelessly when caught. She and the Alynxes tend not to rob the apartments in the Windswords’ insulae – that would be wrong, and everyone knows who they are. Instead, they make a habit of robbing other insulae, sneaking past those gangs’ guards. Magiye wears a pair of metal claws on her hands when she is working – they are equally useful for combat as climbing. In battle, she slashes her opponents with her claws. She keeps trophies of every victory – she bites an ear off her victim and keeps it in a jar of alcohol in her room.