Editing The Crux

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The Crux (Crux for short) is a clan composed of mainly feline folks operating a mix of legitimate and illegal businesses across Bazit and the surrounding area. Their primary business dealings involve a mix of legitimate businesses, and illegal racketeering operations such as smuggling, fencing, and protection schemes. 

= Operations = 
The Crux operate a number of legal and illegal business under different names or covers. 

== Legal operations ==
*Brinesilk harvesting & refinement
**Ran under the Brinesilk Cooperative
*Controlling a number Street Vendors
*Gambling Parlors

=== Brinesilk ===
One of the most lucrative business operations, the Crux are involved in - and got their name from - is the protection of the Brinesilk farmers. Brinesilk is obtained from harvesting secretions of large crustaceans (hence, Crux) found in the salt marshes directly north of the city, and can be processed into a silk like material that is used for anything from making of sails, rope, and water repellent materials for ships, creating reflective roof coverings to keep water and heat out of buildings, and make durable clothing. Over the last few decades, this has resulted in the Crux owning a sizable share of the Brineflats and the business it generates.  

Starting some decades ago, the group that eventually became the Crux started offering protection to the silk farmers. This protection was a standard "If you don't pay for our protection, something bad might happen"  scheme, and proved to be so lucrative for the group that they soon found themselves owning more and more harvest sites, eventually leading to the purchase and development of refineries. Over time this lead to the consolidation of smaller operations into the Brinesilk Cooperative, which formed the financial backbone for all of the Crux' operations. 

'''Brinesilk Cooperative''' <br/>
The Brinesilk Cooperative is officially owned and run by Dekhart Gondahl, a human man in his mid 40s. Dekhart oversees the daily operations and is the public face of the company. 

The Cooperative owns about 30% of the Brinesilk production found in and around the Brineflats, competing with two major competitors and a handful of smaller harvesters. 

== Illegal operations == 
*Protection schemes
*Fencing
*Smuggling
**Weapons
**Drugs
*Bribes

= Members =
The Crux are a relatively small clan in terms of official numbers, but tend to deal with many more individuals and business in their direct sphere of influence. 

== Structure ==
The Crux operate with a singular leader, simply called Leader, who delegates to a number of different sub-leaders, called Mates, that lead parts of the organization. Each branch of the Crux is called a Pride, with each Pride structured in a way that allows for independent operation in absence of any direct orders from the Leader. Non-members are referred as associates and are more often than not called upon as needed, though longer lasting business relationships occur where profitable.

Every Pride consists of 10 to 20 members and at least one of these roles among its members:
*One Mate, leading the pack. A mate often consults with and takes orders directly from the Leader.
*One Treasurer, keeping tabs on incoming and outgoing funds. 
*One Strategist, responsible for short- and long term planning.
*One or more Spotters, dealing with information gathering.
*One or more Messengers, dealing with information sharing.
*One or more Operators, dealing with contact with associates and other non-members.
*One or more Watchers, dealing with security around the pride.
Roles beyond these come and go as necessary. 

== The Rules == 
There are five general rules that are key to the Crux.
#Secrecy: Never reveal secrets to outsiders.
#Pride: Never violate the family of other members.
#Money: Do not withhold money from the Pride. 
#Obedience: Follow the orders of your superiors.
#Law Enforcement: Do not appeal to law enforcement. 

Violating these rules leads to punishment within the clan, whereas repeated offenses may lead to exile or even death.