The Order of Jaran (a.k.a. "The Jaran Order", "The Jaran", "Children of Jaran") are a criminal society that is based on a tradition of assassination, intimidation, theft, and violence. With roots in the former Arakan Empire, and physically unable to mount a conventional military army, the Jaran developed a form of asymmetric warfare transforming the act of political assassination into a system of survival and defense against their foes. They trained highly capable sleeper commandos (trained in languages, science, trade, and so on), who would covertly infiltrate enemy positions and remain undercover. If Jaran civilians were facing pogroms or their forts faced imminent attack, the Jaran Order were activated to prevent an attack.
The Jaran use their well-known skills for political goals without necessarily killing; for example, a victim, usually high-placed, might one morning find a Jaran dagger lying on his pillow upon awakening. This was a plain hint to the targeted individual that he was not safe anywhere, that maybe even his inner group of servants had been infiltrated by the assassins.
The Jaran are often despised as "warriors without honor", because of their willingness to use guile, disguise and deception. According to many leaders, they are despised because:
They travelled in disguise to other territories to judge the situation of the enemy, they would inveigle their way into the midst of the enemy to discover gaps, and enter enemy castles to set them on fire, and carried out assassinations, arriving in secret
It wasn't until c.1848 CE that the Jaran received respect for their activities after it was written by one general:
"The Jaran believe confrontation is required for growth, on the personal as well as the cultural level. War is the Jaran way of life."
The Order of Jaran is by its nature sexist and often misogynistic. In 1933 CE, one Jaran Master wrote:
"For generations my ancestors fought proudly as warriors against the Magistrates. Now, that woman tarnishes the very name Jaran..."
In an effort to achieve the rank of Jaran Warrior, must fulfill training in 16 disciplines:
- spiritual refinement
- unarmed combat
- sword techniques
- stick and staff techniques
- spear techniques
- throwing weapons techniques
- firearms, pyrotechnics and explosives
- disguise and impersonation
- stealth and entering methods
- horsemanship
- water training
- tactics
- espionage
- escaping and concealment
- meteorology
- geography
Leaders of the Jaran Order often communicate in a secret text, which only those trained in the Jaran ways are able to understand:
With the end of the Second Great War in 1901, and the beginning of what believed would be a "thousand years of peace", the Jaran began to move away from their conquering warrior past, and, over the next few years, the Jaran slowly transformed into a less clan-based, more mercenary-oriented culture. After a disastrous conflict against Arakan Imperial forces, many Jaran abandoned the warrior traditions entirely, believing pacifism would be their only path to joining the international community. Jaran who clung to the "old ways" were exiled, much to the displeasure of the Django-ito and the Ziklag, where it was believed they would eventually die out.