The Clock

Early generations of the Clock focused on maritime lifts and shipboard thefts. Over a century the guild spread along trade routes and experimented with occult means to coordinate distant cells. An exploratory contact with a deepwater intelligence presence altered their trajectory. That presence taught them rudiments of distance-linked suggestion and a method to send fragmented impressions along tidal psychic currents. This knowledge raised the value of the Clock's services but also created a dependency. Forty years ago Thief General Freeman consolidated the guild, establishing the Pocket Watch initiation and codifying the Hands system. The Clock then expanded to a global medium size, embedding itself in elites and ports. In the last two decades cracks have appeared. A pair of high-ranking Hands fell under stronger kraken-driven mind influence. Their changes in policy and covert attempts to centralize control have sparked clandestine infighting. The story told inside the Clock is one of danger and necessity: some members want to sever the kraken link and return to older methods. Others believe deeper integration promises unmatched reach and profit.