If Sovanna knew what her fellows planned for her students, it would surely break her graying heart. Her superior, Flamespeaker Borey Ironchime (NE male dwarf demagogue), is the city’s most influential Keeper, responsible for the recent promotion of Sovanna’s art. Borey tirelessly recruits new Keepers from the gangue population and accepts them into the junior ranks of the organization. With an easy smile that never quite reaches his eyes, charismatic Borey effortlessly sweeps his lowborn juniors into his confidence, claiming solidarity and sympathy with their hardships as well as esteem for their true value. Meanwhile, Borey poisons their minds to resent those he depicts as their oppressors, which invariably includes the bloodline of the modernizer- king Anong Arunak. Such performative transgressions confer upon Borey the appearance of a daring, ultra-reactionary truth speaker and strengthen the facade of enlightened inclusivity he portrays upon his gangue followers.
The duplicitous Borey has been carefully indoctrinating gangue to become his disposable weapons against the High King and her supporters in the Sparkforge Collective and Alkenstar. In 4690 AR, Borey’s proudest achievement yet was the clandestine sabotage of Alkenstar’s Gunworks, whereby his saboteurs facilitated the successful theft of Alkenstar’s large-bore bombards by the forces of Ruthazek the Gorilla King. Now Borey frequently sends Sovanna-trained gangue Keepers to raid Alkenstar facilities and assassinate dwarf patrols on assignment in Alkenstar. Their anti-firearm techniques prove invaluable for fighting these personnel and capturing their weapons that Borey then releases to the Mana Wastes’ mutant giants. When these mutant giants attack, more dwarven lives are taken by firearms, which Borey hopes will discredit both these weapons and the Donguni-Alkenstar alliance. Despite the Keepers’ historical contribution in oppressing the gangue, Borey’s patsies, denied status and affection, are tragically loyal to the Flamespeaker who lavishes gifts and praise upon them; rather than risk capture, many zealots would rather carry their secrets to their deaths. If Sovanna knew her students were using traditional Donguni techniques to take Donguni lives, the resultant anguish might drive the old master to follow them into the grave.
