NAME: The League
I merged many of the elements in the Arrowverse!League of Assassins with the DCU!League of Assassins. But this is one bit of World Building where I added a bunch of stuff that is not in either universe. I liked the DCU having different branches of the League to cover the world. I also elaborated on the priesthood that was present in the Arrowverse but lacking in DCU (I think). I did a massive amount of World Building with the League for my own AU. This organization was a true fusion of the two Universes.
ORIGIN:
The League was an ancient order of Shadow Warriors who were trained to maintain the balance of good and evil. When The League was founded, The Source commissioned the members of the League for the sole purpose of maintaining balance. Over time, the League had supplemented its original purpose. But all facets of the League were focused on this main purpose of maintaining balance. All recruits were trained in it and any children born within the League were raised to respect and uphold the League Code of balance.
The League generally preferred to kill one man or a few men rather than for evil to prevent its spread to others. They consider this one person to be the source of that evil. However, some evils become so large they have their own 'branches' of evil. The League worked to eliminate each branch before taking out the main source of evil. By killing the source of evil, the other people could return to balance.
The League learned to stay in the shadows and remain hidden so that they could move freely in outside societies. Their purpose was greater than a single society. For this reason, they would not let the morality of the Outside World affect their members. Many of their recruits came to them because the outside societies had failed to stop evil. The Outside World did not understand the League Code. Instead, it coldly called the League, the League of Assassins without understanding why the source of evil required death. The Outside World felt justified to judge the actions the League took to protect them. The Outside World resented the League and blinded the rest of society to their true purpose.
That is why the League must remain a secret. They knew that evil would target them if they were known. They also knew that good would target them for similar reasons. They must maintain the balance of good and evil. Their secrecy was held sacred by all in the League. It was a part of their oath. To violate that oath of secrecy was the vilest of crimes within the League because it threatened the balance.
However, the League was vague rumors and whispers in the night to the Outside World. These were the whispers that help those find the League to become recruits. These were also the rumors that many military grunts relayed to their chain of command. All these rumors were dismissed by their higher-ups.
STRUCTURE:
Leader: Ra's al Ghul (the Demon's Head) - Ra's as Ghul was a title and a name. Only one person can hold the title of Ra's at one time. Ra's would choose who becomes Heir. The title was NOT hereditary. The children of the current Ra's would hold the title of Heir temporarily until an Heir was chosen.
Heir: Warith al Ghul (Heir to the Demon) - The formal Heir was the chosen of Ra's al Ghul. Until a formal Heir was named, the children of the current Ra's al Ghul held the title temporarily. This ensured that they were trained to lead the elite of the Shadow Warriors. All children of Ra's were raised KNOWING that they were not entitled to the title of Heir. That the Heir must be chosen by Ra's. This was why Talia al Ghul chose to become Fasir of Alzalil al Ghul, the Demon's Shadows, when her sister was old enough to assume the title.
Faris (Horseman): Faris al Ghul (Horseman to the Demon) - The Faris were special advisors to Ra's al Ghul. They had a special ability to see strategically. They have the valuable ability to communicate clearly. They were trained as commanders (Qayid). The Fasir are appointed by the current Ra's al Ghul and led the various branches of the League. The chosen Heir was often selected from the Fasir. [1] Fasir are trained as Qayid (Command) Elite.
Demon's Fang: Nab al Ghul - Led by the Heir. This is the arm of the League that was sent out on special high-risk missions. The Fasir of the Fang has red shoulder guards. Headquarters were located at Nanda Parbat (Great Northern Nexus). The Demon's Fang consists of all Elite Shadow Warriors ('Afdal). This group consists of Barkih (mage), Wahy (Oracle), Hasub (Tech), Qayid (Command), and Majahid (Fighter) Elites. They are deployed at the discretion of the Heir and Ra's al Ghul. They are often sent for specific missions.
Demon's Shadows: Alzalil al Ghul – Led by Fasir. This is the branch of the League that was used to collect intelligence across the globe from a network of spies imbedded in the Outside World. Headquarters were located at Nanda Parbat (Great Northern Nexus). The Demon's Shadows consists of all members of the Ghurab (Ravens). Ravens are assigned to various locations and collect intelligence from a group of imbedded Alfaar (mice). Alfaar are non-League members who are closely affiliated with the League.
Demon's Claw: Makhlah al Ghul - Led by a Fasir. This is the arm of the League that was responsible for the training of the new recruits. The Fasir of the Claw has green shoulder guards. Headquarters are located at Chiu Monastery, Tibet (near Nanda Parbat, no nexus). The Claw covers the indoctrination and training of recruits. It also covers a large part of the globe (Asia, Russia, India). This branch focused on martial skill. It covered all types of archaic weapons, more modern weapons, and basic technology for communication and transportation. Training and indoctrination are held at Nanda Parbat. This branch of the League has the most members.
Demon's Spine: Shawka al Ghul - Led by a Fasir. This arm of the League was where most of the Qayid (Command) Elite are trained. The Fasir of the Spine has yellow shoulder guards. Headquarters are located at Christ's Church, New Zealand (Major Nexus). This branch of the League has a large geographic area to cover, but much of that area is diverse and widespread by oceans (Oceania, India, Some Asia, Australia, Africa, Middle East). This branch focused on stealth, infiltration, and intelligence gathering through common and electronic means.
Demon's Horn: Qarn al Ghul - Led by a Fasir. This arm of the League was focused on technology and monitoring potential evil sources. The Fasir has blue shoulder guards. Headquarters are in Rome, Italy (Major Nexus). This branch of the League is more focused on the 'advanced' societies (Europe, North America). This branch focused on stealth, infiltration, technology (all kinds), and advanced arms. Members can seek additional training in robotics, cybernetics, engineering, and medical.
Demon's Venom: Daghn al Ghul - Led by a Fasir. This arm of the League was focused on training special gifts to various League members; magic and sight. The Fasir of the Venom has Indigo shoulder guards. Headquarters are located a Lima, Peru (Major Nexus. Close to the Great Southern Nexus. Tiahuanaco, Peru, but it is too public for the League.) This branch of the League covers a smaller population with a great dispersal. This was also the area of the world where extraordinary measures are often needed to combat the evil that festers in this area (Central and South America). This branch focused on poison, stealth, spirits, diversion, infiltration, and magic.
Demon Support: Saeid al Ghul – Each branch of the League has various members in support. They report to the Fasir. The League Uniform indicated that the Shadow Warrior was assigned to Demon Support when the piping down the button stand on the chest of the Shadow Warrior. All other Branches of the League used Black piping. Demon Support used the colors of this piping to indicate the type of support they provide.
The League was a large organization that required quite a few specialized services. Most of the members of the League were insanely loyal to the organization. However, not all members of the organization were fit for field service. This was due to the variety of needs the organization. Many of the field operatives required medical care. Many required cleaning expertise. Some members were not physically able to provide field service. This did not mean that these members of the League were not useful. Every member of the League was useful. Every member of the League was dedicated to their true purpose.
Once they came of age, every member of the League was required to complete initial League training to the best of their abilities. If HIVE were to attack a League facility, they would find that even an old, crippled woman would be a deadly asset to the League. Her function may be to cook, but she was just as skilled and deadly as the rest of the League members. Blue piping is Qayima (Medical). Orange piping is Qut (Food). Red piping is Tanzif (Cleaning). Yellow piping is Sagh (Forging). Purple piping is Khiata (Sewing).
Priesthood: Qas or Qasisa – The Qas had white shoulder guards. Dusan al Ghul was assigned to the priesthood. The priesthood was maintained at Nanda Parbat. A few of the priesthood were assigned to each of the main branch headquarters to provide spiritual guidance to the League members. They were not expected to participate in the hunting activities of the League branch. They were available for data research purposes. They all maintain basic martial skills. But their true calling was to preserve the records and histories of the League. They document everything the League had encountered. Each hunt was recorded with the Qas. Special encounters were also recorded. This added depth to the knowledge of the League. When pursuing a specific type of evil, Shadow Warriors would often consult with the priesthood. The priesthood was also called for Lazarus Pit maintenance, the maintenance of special drugs, and with child-rearing.
Elite: 'Afdal - The Elite were Shadow Warriors who had shown a special skill or achieved mastery in a specific skill type. Their League Uniform would indicate what skill and what level of skill the warrior had acquired. All Elite Shadow Warriors were indicated by the piping on their shoulder guards. The Elite were scattered throughout the branches of the League, but all members of the Fang were Elite. Journeyman Rank was indicated by one pipe. Master Rank was indicated by two pipes. Chief Rank was indicated by three pipes. Critical Rank was indicated by a fourth white pipe and was only found in the Majahid (Fighter) Elite.
Shadow Warriors: Eadi - All recruits were indoctrinated into the League. Each recruit goes through a series of tortures to help condition their mind and body to their new way of life. This includes sensory deprivation, food deprivation, psychotropic drugs, use of pain, reward/punishment cycles, and verbal repetition. Each Shadow Warrior, once indoctrinated, was trained to be skilled in the use of ranged weapons, bladed weapons, light weapons, unarmed combat, heavy weapons, and modern weapons. They were trained in basic communication technologies, mechanical maintenance, medical treatments for self and ally care, and chemical and drug fabrication. The indoctrination phase takes approximately one month. The basic martial and field skills training takes an additional five months. Trainees were then sent to one of the branches for an additional six months under the guidance of a mentor to gain additional martial and field experience. It was only after one year that the trainee was considered a fully trained Shadow Warrior and assigned to their first branch in the League.
LEAGUE UNIFORM MARKINGS:
Like any organization, the League had a ranking structure and organization. Since most of their members wore a mask in the field, they required a visual way to determine who had what purpose.
BASIC UNIFORM:
The basic League uniform was a solid flat black. It included; solid knee-high leather boots, knee pads, elbow pads, thigh guards, forearm guards, upper arm guards, arm guards, chest plates, stomach ribs, shoulder pads, a hood, and a mask that covers the nose and mouth. Their various protective plates served to shield the warrior from bullets. The flexible cloth portion of their league uniform protected against blades, most smaller caliber rounds, and reduced the impact of arrows.
COLORS:
The basic League uniform stayed black for all Shadow Warriors. The only color on a League Uniform would be on the shoulder guards, the piping on the shoulder guards or the piping on the button stand running down the chest.
HIER: Uniform was mostly Black with Red Shoulder Guards. Elite piping for Qayid (or Wahy for Nyssa).
FASIR: Shoulder pads and mask showed the color of the branch command.
Demon's Shadows was Gray.
Demon's Claw was Green.
Demon's Spine was Yellow.
Demon's Horn was Blue.
Demon's Venom was Indigo.
QAS: Shoulder pads and mask showed White for Qas.
SHOULDER PIPING: Elite were marked with the piping on their shoulder pads and mask with the color of their Elite Title
Majahid (Fighter) Elite: Piping is RED. A journeyman is one pipe (1 year). Master is two pipes (3 years). Chief is three pipes (5 years). Critical is four pipes (7 years, the last pipe is white. Only White piping is allowed to be Elite Guards to Ra's).
Hasub (Technology) Elite: Hacker or Master Builder of Technology: Piping is BLUE. A journeyman is one pipe (at the completion of Advanced Field Training). Master is two pipes (3 years).
Qayid (Command) Elite: Strategic or Tactical analysis. Piping is YELLOW. A journeyman is one pipe (at the completion of Advanced Field Training). Master is two pipes (5 years).
Barkih (Mage) Elite: Magical skill. Skill level varies with the magician. Piping is ORANGE. A journeyman is one pipe (1 year under Master). Master is two pipes (5 years solo in the field).
Wahy (Oracle) Elite: The sight. Trained in the Ruya. Piping is PURPLE. A journeyman is one pipe (after Advanced Field Training). Master is two pipes (5 years). Wahy defers command of all teams. Excluded from taking command of any mission. Usually hunted alone, but were advisors on larger hunts.
BUTTON STAND PIPING: The Demon Support were marked on the Button Stand Piping that runs down the chest of the League Uniform.
Qayima (Medical) Support: Medical Emergency Medical Technicians or Medical Physicians. The piping was BLUE. Physicians were two pipes. All other medical-trained personnel are one pipe.
Qut (Food) Support: Food preparation and acquisition. Piping was ORANGE.
Tanzif (Cleaning) Support: Cleaning detailed items to include scrubbing the bathing pools, training rooms, and laundry. Piping as RED.
Sagh (Forging) Support: Forging weapons and armor and acquisition of supplies for forging. Piping was YELLOW.
Khiata (Sewing) Support: Sewing and mending League uniforms and piping designations and supplies. Piping was PURPLE.
ASCENSION TO HEIR:
Once the current Ra's al Ghul had chosen an Heir, the Heir must complete several tasks before they can be ready to ascend to the title of Ra's al Ghul. Ra's the chosen Heir must accept his new title and as ready to start their tasks when Ra's declares: 'Wing ta leo wo chey' [A tale to be told, begins thus...]. This usually happens in a formal ceremony.
Oath: The Heir must proclaim a new oath to the League and maintain the balance of good and evil. This was the same oath that they would proclaim a second time when ascending to the title of Ra's al Ghul.
Outside Ties: The Heir must personally sever all ties with the outside world. The Heir may bring their blood family and close friends inside the League. But any who remain outside the League must die. Ra's al Ghul does not age like normal humans. They should not be recognized outside of the League. [2]
Challengers: The Heir must kill all rivals to their position of Heir, even if they are within the League. This was to ensure a clean line of ascension and loyalty to the one Ra's al Ghul. This rule has become the focus of the current Ra's al Ghul because of his experiences with Damien Darhk.
Special Note: Ra's al Ghul could choose to ascend the Heir after their tasks were complete and then retire into the priesthood. This happened rarely, but it allowed an aging Ra's al Ghul to ensure their Heir was not required to kill an old man to ascend to the title. The Ra's al Ghul would take back their old League name.
CUSTOMS:
Challenge: Within the League, a member may challenge the Fasir, Heir, or Ra's al Ghul if they feel that the decision of the League was wrong in that action. It was usually used to resolve a blood debt. However, any member of the League was free to challenge. The result of the armed combat would resolve the issue. Either the dissenting voice would die, or the challenger would win the battle and change the League decision on that matter. It was NOT used to determine ascension to the title of Ra's al Ghul. Only the Heir may challenge Ra's al Ghul to combat to ascend. That was a formal and sacred combat. Not a challenge. If Ra's al Ghul loses, his Heir will place him in the Pit. [3]
Marriage: The League was a CLOSED and SECRET society. Many of the Shadow Warriors were victims of some kind of trauma, but many were raised in the League for any number of reasons. In any society, there must be a way for a formal union to be recognized. Hence a marriage ceremony. I would note that polyamory was accepted in the League. Same with most same-sex relationships. Ra's was married three times to three different women. Likewise, they had no way to annul a marriage or divorce. This was a spiritual connection. A binding of souls. The League recognized that the soul was the bond. It was possible to bond with multiple people. Death does not break the bond. One cannot choose the sex of the soul they are attracted towards.
Soul Bond: The League recognized that some souls were bonded outside of their rites. These souls were 'Bound by the Source'. The League recognized the Soul Bond as an existing marriage created by the Source. They do everything in their power to recognize a Soul Bound pair and to ensure the pair are kept together. Soul Bonds were not common, but can recognized by the Qas through behaviors. A Soul Bound pair would be stronger together and be more effective while together. If they were apart, they would become distracted by the missing part of their soul.
Blood Debt: The League came from an older time. It does not follow the more modern convention that a child was innocent of the crimes of their forefathers. Because of this, the blood debt was an incurred debt by any child or blood relative of the evil member for the crimes of that evil member. This does not mean that those members will be killed. This just means they WILL be reeducated. Too often a child swears vengeance for the crimes committed against their parent, real or imagined. The League was aware of this problem. That was why the blood debt was a serious matter to the League. Blood debt included any relation by blood of the criminal. Any spouse of the criminal. The group owing a blood debt was pulled before an audience with Ra's or his Fasir. Those of legal age (18) or older were given the option of a life of service to the League or death. Those below the legal age are taken by the priesthood to be raised and start service at 18. No other option was given to those with a blood debt. Failure to uphold the option of service meant immediate death.
Death Prayer: The League frequently encountered death. Few members used the Lazarus Pit. Most League members did not desire to live longer. They frequently had very violent and sudden ends. Because of this, the League had a prayer they said to every warrior or ally that fell in battle. It was a part of their spirituality. They did not believe in a single 'God,' but they do believe in an encompassing force that is always present. It was known as 'The Source.' This force was responsible for their charge of balance. It was to this force that they are accountable.
Forgive and have mercy on him (her).
Excuse him (her) and pardon him (her).
Make honorable his (her) reception.
Protect him (her) from the punishment of the Source,
And the torment of the fire.
LEAGUE SAYINGS:
These were some common League sayings that had filtered out into the Outside World. Many of these sayings were used in the indoctrination of recruits.
Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional.
A man cannot live by two names.
Replace evil with death.
_ is alive only in the past. He (She) is forgotten.
It will be done.
He will be forgotten.
NOTES:
[1] The current Ra's al Ghul was a Fasir before being chosen. He led the Makhlah al Ghul, the Demon's Claw. His rival was another Fasir, Damien Dahrk (al Muzlin), who led the Daghn al Ghul, the Demon's Venom. He failed to kill Dahrk before his ascension. Dahrk fled the League with his loyal followers and now acts against the balance of good and evil to oppose the League.
[2] In my AU, the League does not require that the Heir destroy their hometown. That speaks of evil and they are all about balance. That was why family and close friends are brought into the League.
[3] This was why Damien Dahrk was forced to flee after he was not chosen. Even if he killed Ra's or the Heir, he could not ascend to the title of Ra's. He would only incur the wrath of the entire League.
~AU~AU~AU~AU~AU~AU~