polytopia-crime (January-2025)

True Order: Catastello Gangs

...While the many senators and politicians of the Imperius elite battle one another with bickering and meaningless insults, it is illegal for them to physically confront each other, as that is something that unregimented and unorganized barbaric tribes would do. Things may seem peaceful if it is kept this way, but power is easily coveted, and the many sleazy politicians within the Imperius command will gain it through terrible measures. Propaganda and suppression is one of their common and least harmful ways to gain more popularity with the commonfolk... but fear and gang violence, sponsored by the very senators that preach for peace and order, is a typical way for politicians to "indirectly dispose" of threats without the extreme costs or taboos of an assassin. The Imperius men that do the will of these corrupt senators are none other than the dreaded "Catastello Gangs", glorified criminals and mafias found in the streets and backwaters of Imperia, driven either by gold or fanatic political belief. If an Imperius citizen says something wrong about a politician, spreads dangerous news or supports another, they will find themselves battered on the floor thanks to the intervention of a Catastello ganger.

They are a very popular unofficial policing force that have minimal costs while being twice as effective, due to the fear that they bring across Imperia. However, due to the fact that many senators love employing them to earn power and popularity... it's only natural for them to come into blows so that the politicians don't have the "dishonor" of directly hurting another. Catastello Gangs were hired and indoctrinated in such huge numbers one time, that two great Imperian senators eventually had an all out gang war in a city. The entire place was burned and looted by the less organized gangers whilst they fought each other, the magnitude of the incident equal to a genuine civil war.

...in the end, only the two senators remained