The Affiliates
The Affiliates are an elite gang of veteran Yorkers, all over forty years old, who govern the Iron Gardens from the Blues Note Bar. Perched atop one of the few Iron Gardens skyscrapers, the Bar is decorated with salvaged museum art, stained glass, dark wood, bronze, and copper, resembling a pre-fall gentlemen's club. At a massive stone table in its center, rival gangs settle disputes under the Affiliates' watchful eye. No major power play in the Iron Gardens proceeds without their approval.
Membership is earned through survival. Every Affiliate has lived through at least half a dozen gang wars as a member of other gangs. New members are hand-chosen by Mr. Jackson Bluenote, head of the board, and approved by board vote. The induction ordeal, called "tapping," begins when a current member burns the recruit's name into the private meeting room wall. The recruit is then abducted, hooded, and bound alone in a dark room with no food or water. They must free themselves and find the main room, where the board waits with a tailored suit. Every Affiliate wears a custom-fitted pre-fall suit over concealed heavy leather and metal-plate armor.
Bluenote's last major use of his full influence was the subjugation of the Dons, who attempted to leverage their power monopoly into tribute demands across Old York. He deployed the combined weight of the Affiliates and their allied gangs to bring the Dons to the stone table, where binding treaties were signed. The Affiliates collect tribute, arbitrate disputes, and maintain the balance of power that keeps the Iron Gardens from descending into total warfare.
Membership is earned through survival. Every Affiliate has lived through at least half a dozen gang wars as a member of other gangs. New members are hand-chosen by Mr. Jackson Bluenote, head of the board, and approved by board vote. The induction ordeal, called "tapping," begins when a current member burns the recruit's name into the private meeting room wall. The recruit is then abducted, hooded, and bound alone in a dark room with no food or water. They must free themselves and find the main room, where the board waits with a tailored suit. Every Affiliate wears a custom-fitted pre-fall suit over concealed heavy leather and metal-plate armor.
Bluenote's last major use of his full influence was the subjugation of the Dons, who attempted to leverage their power monopoly into tribute demands across Old York. He deployed the combined weight of the Affiliates and their allied gangs to bring the Dons to the stone table, where binding treaties were signed. The Affiliates collect tribute, arbitrate disputes, and maintain the balance of power that keeps the Iron Gardens from descending into total warfare.
