THE IMPERIUM v1.01

THE IMPERIUM The pre-eminent power in central Europe, the Imperium is a mighty colossus that spans the continent from the shores of the Baltic to the warmer climes of the Adriatic. From its capital in Berlin, the network of industry, rail and military might is harnessed for the good of its citizens. The Kaiser and his supporters, the enigmatic and powerful Teutonic Knights, are surrounded by enemies but are confident in their ability to marshal their forces and destroy utterly those who would threaten their glorious realm. Let them come and break their strength upon the bulwark of civilisation; the Imperium shall not go shrinking into the darkness like some thief in the night. Blood and Iron! v1.01 THE IMPERIUM

[Decoded on the 21st May 1869 From the files Each of these nations, whilst nominally of the Deuxième Bureau.] an equal partner in the affairs of the Imperium, are in reality subservient to Mme. Ombre, the will of the dominant power of Prussia. Apologies for the unorthodox method of The Prussian King is also the Imperium’s transmitting this information to you, my Kaiser, the absolutist and authoritarian normal contact with the Second Bureau has monarch whose enlightened despotism been interrupted after an encounter with vouchsafes the security of Europe against our Teutonic friends. I have spoken to the the decadent western powers and the Professor as you requested, and liaised with tyranny of the Russian Commonwealth our mutual contact with the Lodge, but do to the east. [Deuxième Bureau Note: Of not have anything to report on the particular course, Agent Renard paraphrases their questions you asked. propaganda here.] I was, however, able to complete the task you The current Kaiser, Friedrich Grunder, assigned me in Heidelberg, and will despatch is lauded as the “Grandfather of Europe” the result through the secondary channel. by the patriotic Imperialists of these four nations – but the monolithic edifice he The watchword, as ever, will be and his forebears constructed is anything “Represailles”. Our usual cipher will suffice but. There are weaknesses that could be this time. exploited by a well-funded and equipped Sincerely, foe, and only by carefully examining the Le Renard nations’ and the Imperium’s history can we hope to exploit. [Deuxième Bureau Note: [Deuxième Bureau Note: The papers Appended to the original report was a hastily arrived via Geneva two days later. We have, scribbled note where Agent Renard requests unfortunately, not had any further contact funds to cover a debt he owes to the local with Agent Renard in Heidelberg. Either he police constable after his last breach of curfew. remains under observation or has been seized Perhaps this oversight caught up with him?] by the Teutonic Knights. Recommendation for further action has been passed to the Bureau NEITHER HOLY, NOR ROMAN Chief. The decoded papers are attached below.] Over one thousand years ago, His Holiness THE CROSS OF EUROPE the Pope crowned the Frankish King Charlemagne Kaiser of the Romans. The Imperium is a super-state that bestrides This act revived the long lost Roman central Europe like a colossus, composed Empire in Western Europe, and after a of the hereditary domains of the Kingdoms four hundred year hiatus, gave Europeans of Prussia, the extensive territories of an “Imperator” once again. This was the Confederation of Scandinavia, the a politically calculated move, granting Royal House of Bavaria and the Austro- Charlemagne the sovereignty he claimed Hungarian Empire. over other European rulers, whilst simultaneously giving the Pope great temporal as well as spiritual power. THE IMPERIUM v1.01

Of course, the reality was rather different On several occasions the Holy Roman from the propaganda. Charlemagne’s Empire fell into civil war, with the “empire” was hardly deserving of the term, various German states and greater powers and whilst unchallenged in his own day, competing with one another for territory, his successors were never truly recognised wealth and divine favour as they sought as Kaisers in the sense that they were ultimate mastery over their neighbours. superior to any of the kings and queens who In the end, a curious form of natural selection surrounded them. No attempt was made to eventually won out. The major dynastic truly revive the traditions and structures houses, who could command greater wealth, of the Roman Republic or its Empire, and military forces and loyalty from their whilst Charlemagne passed into history, subjects (regardless of religious confession – the state he left behind was little different many were to enforce compromises on such from the feudal kingdoms that surrounded issues), absorbed or dominated the latter. it. [Deuxième Bureau Note: Imperium By the time of our Revolution, the Holy propaganda is similarly grandiose in style, but Roman Empire was officially dominated by likewise devoid of substance if you have the the House of Habsburg and the Prussian and wit to see through it.] Bavarian Kings. Nonetheless, the Holy Roman Empire he During the campaigns of the late Kaiser, formed would endure beyond his death, the influence and power of the Habsburgs bequeathed first to his own dynasty and then in Austria was greatly diminished. The to others. In time, the autocratic emperors Austrian claims to Northern Italy were who ruled it lost their overwhelming power. bloodily repudiated, and Napoleon I Each major city and province, as well as invaded Austria itself on several occasions. some bishoprics and petty kingdoms, were The pressure was maintained by his afforded the right to elect their Kaiser upon successors during the ill-fated reign of the death of his or her predecessor. Thus, “Emperor” Joseph, when the marshals the Holy Roman Empire became a multi- narrowly defeated Austria at the Battle layered and complex state of Free Cities, of Austerlitz in 1805. [Deuxième Bureau Principalities, Domains and more besides, Note: Although the subsequent defeat at Jena, all ruled by their own noble dynasties and despite the death of the Prussian King, was a with an overlord of their own choosing. major setback.] THE GREAT CONFLAGRATIONS THE RISE OF HEINRICH OTTO Such a complex mixture of feudal and With Habsburg power humbled, and the semi-democratic systems was sure to Prussian king dead, the French marshals create tension and division. As some wrongly believed that the power of the great houses grew in power (in particular Holy Roman Empire had been dealt a the Habsburgs of Austria) and influence, crushing blow. Of course, as we now know, others waned and grew envious. Throw that confidence was misplaced. into this mixture the heady emotions of reforming religion and you have a tailor In 1806, outraged electors demanded the made recipe for war and violence. abdication of the Habsburg Kaiser Franz, v1.01 THE IMPERIUM whose failure to defeat the French marshals military minds of the day: Blucher, had badly damaged confidence in the Clausewitz, Gneisenau, Scharnhorst and already weakened Austrian military. The more. These individuals were to form abdication of a Holy Roman Emperor was the Kaiser’s “braintrust” for a stunning not entirely without precedent, but it was a intervention in European affairs. dramatic turn of events that paved the way First, however, the Kaiser had to build up for the rise of a completely new leader. his military might after its bludgeoning With the death of King Friedrich Wilhelm at the hands of the French Grand Armée III at the Battle of Jena, the Prussian not two years earlier. Major new military crown had mysteriously passed beyond factories were established, with millions of the House of Hohenzollern to the, at that Marks invested in all manner of military point, obscure German aristocrat Heinrich designs. Across the territories of the Holy Otto. It has proven impossible to determine Roman Empire, a massive network of exactly how the succession was decided, but railways spread like some strange living his apparently limitless source of wealth thing, connecting every conceivable area and boundless determination to see Prussian in a world-class transportation network. glory restored no doubt inspired much of [Deuxième Bureau Note: Quite apart from the support. [Deuxième Bureau Note: There the military applications of swift lines of are Teutonic files on his succession, or at least supply and communication, the rail network that’s what Agent Renard’s source at the local served to make swift civilian transportation Lodge tells him.] from all the areas of the Empire practicable for the first time. Indeed, Agent Renard When the time came to choose a successor to reports that to travel on the Imperium’s high- Kaiser Franz, the new King Heinrich Otto, speed connections between Berlin and Vienna was the clear favourite. He was invested is quite an experience.] as Holy Roman Emperor on Christmas Day 1807. This was a meteoric rise out of Dwarfing all his other projects, however, comparative obscurity; so concerned was was the dramatic decision to revive (at the continent with the on-going French least publicly, more detail later) the famed Civil War that his coronation made only a Teutonic Knights of the Germanic past. few ripples in the international press. That Almost overnight, a whole infrastructure was to change. [Deuxième Bureau Note: of Lodges, Commanderies and fortresses Agent Belette in London has made it a habit to were established throughout the Holy study newspaper reports; she is attempting to Roman Empire under the new terms of create an analytical theory of deduction using an Imperial Charter for the Knights’ such things.] use. Whole factories worth of military material, some of it highly experimental, THE COMING STORM ended up in the hands of the new Teutonic military machine: the Ritterorden. Within a few short months of his confirmation as Kaiser, Heinrich Otto [Deuxième Bureau Note: It is believed embarked on a major program of military that the 1808-09 period saw the first reform, ably assisted by the major Prussian European use of a motorised suit of personal THE IMPERIUM v1.01 armour, strong enough to withstand modern Berlin as the “Protector of Europe” and weaponry but light enough to be practical in the “Guardian of the Fatherlands”. Present a military setting.] at the coronation were the German and Austrian princes and Electors, who oversaw With his new military base, Kaiser Heinrich the transition of total power to their new Otto had a military powerbase unparalleled ruler. Within a month, the new Kaiser in Europe, and a cadre of intensely loyal had appointed a new head of government: officers and personnel that reached far Reichskanzler Wilhelm von Ostenberg, beyond his official home in Prussia. At a and had summoned a new elected advisory Council of Ministers, summoned by the chamber, the Imperial Diet and Senate. Kaiser in the spring of 1809, Heinrich With all in place, Kaiser Otto was ready to declared his intentions to centralise the unleash his plans for conquest. Holy Roman Empire. No longer would it be a weak alliance of THE PRUSSIAN WARS states, united only by shared culture and 1810 dawned in blood and iron. The language. Instead it would be a close union Imperium’s Navy began with an of strong powers, with a unified central overwhelming bombardment of the government and military. His vision for Scandinavian coastline. Thousands died the future was highly persuasive for the in the first few hours of the new year as the ministers present, so too was the obvious first stage of the Kaiser’s plan unfolded. strength of the Teutonic Knights who Rumours of war had been circulating all the accompanied him. previous winter but had started to dwindle In fact, the coming of the Imperium was when the Kaiser departed for his New Year something of a coup d’état. The Austrian holiday in the Black Forest. Unbeknownst Habsburgs were placed under close to the outside world, however, the Kaiser arrest by elements of their own military, had kept well abreast of news thanks to his supported by the Teutonic Knights’ high-speed rail network. Austrian Commandery. The Bavarian King Almost overnight, the huge Imperium Ludwig was presented with the declaration military machine, the Reichswehr, had after the fact, made aware of his subordinate swung into action. Units moved from status without his consent; a fact he took garrison to jumping off points by armoured with magnanimity given the circumstances. train – the latest Imperium innovation [Deuxième Bureau Note: The Teutonic that provided headquarters, barracks and Knights frequently use blackmail and supply for entire regiments. These were manipulation where outright intimidation is loaded onto special invasion barges, pre- unnecessary. It is highly likely that many of laid with rail tracks and ferried across the ministers of the smaller states, as well as the Baltic. [Deuxième Bureau Note: Has many of the lesser German princes were leaned Agent Chenille managed to secure those barge on heavily during this time.] blueprints yet?] On the 1st August 1809, Heinrich Otto was The Confederacy of Scandinavia’s armed crowned Kaiser of the Imperium. With forces were ill-prepared for the sudden rapturous applause he was acclaimed in v1.01 THE IMPERIUM onslaught, and they were not the only managed to acquire from the period. It ones. Barely hours after the news of the appears, however, that the Teutonic Knights Imperium’s northern invasion had flashed were at least aware of his mania but chose to around the world’s consulates than the allow it to run its course. Why they would do roar of the Imperium’s guns were heard such a thing remains, for now, a mystery.] in new places. The rumble of artillery and The French Civil War petered out as tank engines filled the air as the Austrian the Imperium’s invasion unfolded. The regiments of the Reichswehr sprang into Imperialist position in Spain collapsed, as action – this time attacking North Italy. did the Royalist cause. Patriotic Frenchmen Without prepared defences, Venice and and women rallied to the Republic in its Lombardy were both forced to give way, time of need, whilst in Italy the normally falling back on more secure positions as the fractious Italian States formed their Austrian army made steady headway. emergency League. Only in the pacification Kaiser Heinrich was still not done. Barely a of Scandinavia did the Imperium achieve few months had passed to allow for the re- success, and even then, at a cost in men and deployment of certain units before a third materiel far greater than expected. front was opened to take advantage of the In 1812 the Kaiser compounded his error by fragmented and disordered state of France. launching yet another invasion: the Russian This time the Reichswehr and Ritterorden Offensive had begun. forged over Mosel into French territory, striking at Republican forces in East as well END IN SIGHT as the few Imperialist and Royalist bastions they encountered. The Russian Offensive that unfolded in 1812 was a disaster from the start for Everywhere, across all these fronts, the the Imperium. Whilst whole swathes of suddenness of the Imperium’s onslaught Polish and Russian territory were seized served to embolden their forces and weaken in the opening months, by the winter of the resolve of their opponents. By the end that year the whole operation had bogged of the year, Imperium arms had won all of down in the terrible weather. More and Scandinavia apart from stubborn resistance more troops had to be withdrawn from the in the far north, pushed Republican France other fronts to stabilise the territory gained back to the Marne and besieged Paris, and against repeated counterattacks, leaving almost brought Venice to heel. the other territories poorly defended. The The Kaiser, however, may well have Battle of Borodino in September 1812 put risked too much. The following two years paid to the main thrust of the Imperium’s were a series of checks for the Imperium’s strength, and the Commonwealth began military. In pushing hard against his its brutal retaliatory march. [Deuxième disunited neighbours, Otto also gave Bureau Note: It is interesting that not a single them reason to unite. [Deuxième Bureau formation from the Ritterorden took part in Note: It is at this point that concerns the offensive.] about the Kaiser’s sanity begin to appear In 1813 military disaster piled on military in the journals, diaries and letters we have disaster. With the disaster of Borodino only THE IMPERIUM v1.01 a few months old, the League of Italian able to bring the various foes his predecessor States launched its own counter-offensive had united to the negotiating table. that gutted a weakened and demoralised As it happens few of his opponents had Austrian army. Once again, the Habsburgs’ the strength or resolution to carry the forces were pushed beyond the Alps and war further. The League of Italian States back into their own territories. In the west, lacked the cohesion necessary to engage unable to land a knockout blow, the French in an offensive operation, and few Italians Republicans could only watch as Blucher’s wished to die in a campaign that would army was outflanked and crushed at the only serve the goals of Lombardy and Battle of Waterloo by British Crown forces Venice rather than their own state. France, under the Duke of Wellington [Deuxième alas, was in no state to do more than cling Bureau Note: The Crown’s intervention on desperately to the newly regained prevented the balance of power in Europe banks of the Mosel. The mercurial Crown, shifting decisively to the Imperium, but by however, was the first to sign a peace treaty that point, in our opinion, the affair was – their short-term objective achieved the largely settled.] British had no desire for a continental Kaiser Heinrich Otto, faced with his war. The Peace with Honour was signed dreams crumbling around him, committed in 1815, with generous terms to the Crown suicide in his hunting lodge in the Black as Kaiser Karl urgently sought to calm the Forest later that same year. In 1814, his European flames. successor, Karl Wolfgang, was elected by With this treaty in place, and with Italy the Diet and Senate as the new Kaiser of the and France signing deals soon after, the Imperium. [Deuxième Bureau Note: It is Russian Commonwealth could no longer likely Heinrich Otto intended his son to succeed force the issue. With the Imperium free to to the position, but after taking his own life he dedicate all its forces to its eastern border, was in no position to contend the decision to such a campaign would be folly. The elect a successor by the Diet and Senate he Russian Commonwealth and the Imperium had founded. The fact that this solution was did not sign their own peace deal, but supported by the Teutonic Knights made it all instead agreed to abide by the terms of a the more likely to succeed.] limited truce. The Commonwealth still PEACE WITH HONOUR has not forgiven the Imperium for the 1812 assault. [Deuxième Bureau Note: We Kaiser Karl Wolfgang served as leader of continue to remind the Russians of this fact the Imperium for only seven years, but in whenever appropriate.] that time managed to drag the new realm back from the brink and forge it into THE PASSING OF THE MANTLE something that could last. Working swiftly, Kaiser Karl did not enjoy his peace long. Kaiser Karl arranged the construction of Scandinavia, the one region which had a massive series of fortifications along the fully capitulated, erupted in revolt in Imperium’s eastern border: the terrifying 1817 and would remain fractious for a Wolfgang Fortresses. With these in place, further three years. It took much of the and still under construction, the Kaiser was v1.01 THE IMPERIUM

Kaiser’s mental energy and diplomatic chosen jointly by the Diet and the Senate. skill to eventually admit the Provisional The Diet itself is an elected chamber, Government of the New Scandinavian much the same as the National Assembly, Confederacy into the Imperium as the but unlike ours it is not a full legislature. It violence petered out in 1820. may debate and pass resolutions, and may remonstrate with the government, but has Upon Karl Wolfgang’s death in 1821, no real power. Political parties are officially there was much mourning throughout the banned in the Diet, although many of its Imperium. A dedicated man of peace with members are linked to associations or clubs his eye on the future, the Kaiser was a much that fulfil the same role. All Imperium beloved monarch who had won the hearts citizens may vote for the Diet. and minds of his disparate peoples. It is a common saying amongst Imperium officials The Senate is a more curious institution. that whilst Kaiser Otto may have forged the Its membership is allotted proportionately Imperium, it was Kaiser Karl who made it. to the member states of the Imperium (Austria, Prussia, Bavaria and Scandinavia) The Diet and Senate elected Friedrich with most of the seats given by the Grunder to succeed Kaiser Karl, becoming government or reigning monarch of that the third emperor of the Imperium and nation. A few seats are expressly reserved the longest reigning. Kaiser Friederich for the minor city states and German succeeded the throne in 1821 at the age of princedoms. The most significant bloc in thirty-two, and reigns still today. Under his the Senate are the so-called “Industry- stern visage a whole generation of Imperial Set”, the wealthiest coal, steel and citizens have matured, and it is to him that principally rail barons with sufficient net half a continent of citizens looks. worth to qualify for the short-list. Of all THE IMPERIUM TODAY the world powers, only the Imperium deliberately allows representation for such The Imperium is an autocracy, governed by interests in its assembly. [Deuxième Bureau decree by the Kaiser. In practice, much of Note: Of course, cynically, one could say that the day-to-day practicalities of government the Imperium is the only one to make such are handled by the Reichskanzler Otto von interests public. Of course, this does not stop Bismarck, a Prussian Junker with a similarly the Imperium’s socialist underground from firm commitment to the paternal nature of gunning for such figures, sometimes literally.] the Imperium’s government. A professional Under the wise leadership of Kaiser civil service, based in Berlin, acts as the Grunder, the Imperium has gone from epicentre of Imperial power. Also involved strength to strength. The natural resources at the head of the Imperium’s government of its central European territories have is the Grandmaster Anna von Malberg of been tapped and are constantly exploited the Teutonic Knights, who advises Kaiser to expand the Imperium’s industrial base. and Reichskanzler both on the situation at Millions are trained as soldiers to defend home and abroad. the Imperium, and its defences and military A Council of State governs the country with stockpiles are forever improved upon. the Reichskanzler, and its members are THE IMPERIUM v1.01

The Knight-Luminaries of the Teutonic but it is possible that instead that it would unite Knights make ever more fascinating in fury against any opposing force if it were breakthroughs and discoveries with each known to exist; especially if it were proved that passing year. Indeed, this is the refrain that that force had killed their beloved sovereign.] the Kaiser often repeats at his dwindling At present, none doubt that the public appearance: “For the Imperium and Princess Wilhelmina Grunder is the for progress!” likely candidate. She has served in the To this end, the Imperium’s navy has Reichswehr with distinction and has been adopted a modular railway based system for tutored extensively by her grandfather in changing the loadout of a vessel’s weapons the matters of state. Her current position as and equipment. The Knight-Luminaries an advisor to the Provisional Government have also refined the work of that turncoat of the Scandinavian Confederacy is not Nikolai Tesla to create Arc technology. an accident either, as it places her close Tesla’s defection to the Union over a to some of the most extensive Teutonic decade ago was not the deathblow to the Knight research stations and development Imperium’s technological developments labs. Nonetheless, there are those who that perhaps he might have assumed. At might favour her father Prince Ruprecht, the direction of the Kaiser, Tesla’s facilities although given his failing health as well in Graz were commandeered by Heinrich that is unlikely to come to pass. Ruhmkorff. His refinements to Tesla’s The only possible cause for friction I can work has revolutionised the military might see is in the dissolute but popular figure of the Imperium. These voltaic devices are of Franz Heinrich Schultz von Habsburg, the cornerstone of a new form of weaponry the young nephew of the Austrian Kaiser. hoped to give the Imperium a decisive edge He may be put forward as a candidate by in the forthcoming conflicts. the more liberal sections of the Diet, and AN IRON FUTURE under his weak rule I am sure France could find opportunities. Alas, with the Teutonic The one question that dominates any Knights and Bismarck himself against such predictions for the future is that of the an event we are unlikely to be given such a succession. When Kaiser Friederich gift. [Deuxième Bureau Note: That does not eventually dies then it is likely that the mean we should not try. There are Austrian Imperium would be paralysed with grief for dissident movements who could be encouraged some considerable time. He is not called the with a bit of financial support and a few “Grandfather of Europe” for nothing, and instruments of war… if we are willing to go the love and respect his people hold for him that far.] is nothing compared to the skill and charm which he continues to employ holding the THE TEUTONIC SHADOW Imperium together. [Deuxième Bureau [Deuxième Bureau Note: So much for the Note: It is perhaps for this reason Agent Renard public history of the Imperium. Now Agent counselled against our proposed Operation Renard’s report turns to a weightier subject. Guillotine. With the Kaiser’s death we presume The following paragraphs contain all that the Imperium will fracture and then collapse, v1.01 THE IMPERIUM he could surmise or conjecture about the real each Rite has its own Master, with the history of the Teutonic Knights. Please be Grandmaster acting as head of the Knights aware that as of it’s writing, he was still and serving at the right hand of the Kaiser. trying to gain access to some of the records of the Most members of the Teutonic Knights are Lodge. He had promised to communicate any not privy to all of its secrets. The rank and further findings to us but after several months file will often be no more than what they without update we must presume that no such appear: patriotic citizen and burghers of illumination will be forthcoming.] the Imperium’s towns, worthies who have The Teutonic Knights are the power behind joined the Knights out of national sentiment the throne in the Imperium and have been and local pride. The Lodges they join are since the accession of Kaiser Heinrich usually attached to the Lesser Rites and Otto in 1806. Whilst ostensibly the same are of little importance save for the charity organisation as the medieval knights who work they do throughout the Imperium. crusaded in Eastern Europe, the present Nonetheless, they act as gateways into a far Knights appear to have only a distant more dangerous world. connection to that organisation and may in Those who demonstrate a greater loyalty fact pre-date them if the information I have to the Knights may rise higher in the encountered is correct. [Deuxième Bureau ranks and are in time trusted with greater Note: Certainly, Heinrich Otto’s rise owed secrets. Unfortunately, we know few details much to the work of the Teutonic Knights, about either the process of initiation or the even before he had officially re-established nature of the secrets, but it appears from them. Reconstructing a conspiracy over such a their record thus far that the Knights have historical gap does lead to a certain degree of been committed from the start to creating, paranoia. One could almost see their guiding maintaining, defending and supporting hand behind every evolution of the Holy the Imperium. To what ultimate end it is Roman Empire and the Germanic people if difficult to guess. [Deuxième Bureau Note: one were not rationally inclined to dismiss As remarked on earlier, it is telling that they such illogical fantasies.] did not support Heinrich Otto fully during the The Teutonic Knights, at least in public, Prussian Wars. While they did not actively are a patriotic organisation committed to encourage his self-destructive course, they the defence of the Imperium and loyalty to certainly allowed it to happen.] the reigning Kaiser. They are to be found In practice, the guiding hand of the across the Imperium, with each nation Teutonic Knights can be found across the hosting its own Commandery (a Knight length and breadth of the Imperium. From fortress) as well as Towers and Lodges in the Lodges who slowly form and influence most major urban centres. Each of these public opinion and local politics, right up to institutions is a member of one of the six the Knights-Luminary who act as scholars, “Rites” of the Knights: the Prussian Rite, researchers and designers on behalf of the the Austrian Rite, the Scandinavian Rite, Knights or else the government itself or the Bavarian Rite, the Luminary Rite other major industries. The Knights as an and the Lesser Rites. As is to be expected, entity have much wealth invested in the THE IMPERIUM v1.01 greatest industries within the Imperium, sending Agent Belette and Agent Orques to and their financial ties across the country attend to the matter, or do we leave him in are used to good effect to influence or direct place to frustrate the Crown?] developments and even policy. Dissidents, Socialists and those who oppose Beyond the borders of the Imperium, the preferred Teutonic policy often find Teutonic Knights sustain a formidable themselves incommoded in some fashion. intelligence network which informs the I have encountered reports of bribery, Council of Masters back home. These blackmail, salacious rumours leaked to the agents, sometimes Knights-Luminary local press as well as outright intimidation, acting as visiting professors or else beatings and murder. Such gangs represent, members of the Ritterorden under the at a small scale, the level of influence guise of mercenaries, infiltrate and observe, enjoyed nationally by this organisation. sometimes acting to eliminate or counter Such acts are not undertaken by the normal threats to the Imperium before they emerge. rank-and-file of the Lodges and appear to Within the Imperium, similar duties fall to be the preserve of a certain subsection of certain members of each Lodge or Tower, the Knights, colloquially referred to as the which act as centres and safe-houses for “Geheimgesellschaft” [Deuxième Bureau the purposes of counter-espionage and Note: Ironic that such a name should be so the more thuggish acts undertaken by the publicly known and feared! Not that they Knights. [Deuxième Bureau Note: Our would appreciate the joke. It is possible that sources have confirmed that Georg Stieberis Agent Renard’s visits to the Lodge were too is the Teutonic man in London. Is it worth frequent for his own good.]