The Ragged Goons
The Ragged Goons are a rogue faction of outcasts, scavengers, and scale-exploiters who thrive on the chaos of Iridia’s fringes. Born in the wake of a catastrophic scale experiment in Arc 131, they reject the sanctity of Irion’s relics, viewing the scales as tools to be stripped and wielded. Their history is one of reckless raids, bloody rivalries, and a stubborn refusal to bow to the world’s order—a legacy that endures even as their numbers dwindle in the Arc of Corruption.
Origins: The Spark of Defiance (Arc 131)
The Goons trace their roots to a disaster in Triz Valley, where a botched attempt to harness a Hidden Scale conduit unleashed wild magic, leveling a quarry and displacing dozens. Exiled by the Council of Or, the survivors rallied under Ruk “Splinter” Varn, a tinkerer who lost an arm to the blast and forged a prosthetic from scale shards. Declaring the scales theirs to claim, Ruk led his band into the Mountains of Triz, clashing with Gurdalk’s Gang and stealing traps to craft their first weapons. This marked the Goons’ ethos: take what works, consequences be damned.
The Ink-sane Six – Leaders of the Ragged Goons
In the warped depths of the Verdant Divide, where even light thinks twice about staying, the true nerve center of the Ragged Goons festers and flourishes. Known across campfires, bounty ledgers, and half-burnt prophecy scrolls as The Ink-sane Six, this squad leads with brilliance twisted through madness, and madness scribbled in stolen ink. Their banner is torn parchment. Their anthem is whispered coordinates and explosive laughter. Their maps? Usually cursed. Occasionally edible.
They dwell within The Cartocrater—a resonance-scarred chasm carved from a fractured scale conduit, where geography goes to weep. From here, they chart campaigns, raid temples, and invent new ways to defile cartography. Cities tremble when the Six are spotted—if you’re lucky, you’ll see their maps before your walls collapse.
The Bone Marshal
A skull-faced strategist with armor stitched from ceremonial shards of a defunct Redemptious Myphos sect. His mane of cobalt fur rises like a war banner in fog. He doesn’t command with shouts—he taps maps with a claw and calamity follows. Said to dream in invasions and wake to predictions. Once blinked, and a fortress surrendered.
The Pale Scholar
Wrapped in scrolls and sagging sanity, this ex-Veiled Canticle scribe recites events that haven’t happened yet. His beard carries inkstains older than some cities. Famous for the phrase: “This isn’t a plan—it’s a prophecy with poor handwriting.” Claims compasses scream when he's near. No one’s disagreed twice.
The Rusted Thaumaturge
Molten sigils burn along his damp bandages. His coat—a salvaged relic from a ghost-ship’s apothecary—smells faintly of regret and formaldehyde. Exiled from Scholar’s Rift for “weaponizing bad ideas.” His spells often work, just not as intended. Built a candle once that screams in four languages. Still carries it.
The Crowstrider
All spikes and silence. Goggles hide eyes no one’s confirmed exist. He walks like a forgotten trap resetting itself, always sideways, never straightforward. Believed to think exclusively in pressure plates and proximity hexes. Speaks only to maps, traps, and Shriekbeak. Occasionally hums. It’s unsettling.
The Scythe Lass
A woman of exposed ribs, morbid wit, and elegant violence. Her curved blade is treated more like punctuation than a weapon. Once fought a weather witch and won the forecast. Her hat has its own bounty. Frequently mistaken for dead—uses that mistake to great effect. Has opinions about your bones.
Shriekbeak
The team’s winged warcry. Not a pet. Not a mascot. A prophetic, screeching avian horror with a beak full of threats and feathered spite. Speaks in cryptic map-borne riddles like “Turn thrice at the echo’s echo” or “Follow the toothless sun.” Believed to be older than several religions. Eats ink. Judges decisions. Bites ankles.
Together, the Ink-sane Six don’t lead the Ragged Goons by virtue of rank—they lead by being the only ones mad enough to map madness and survive it. Where they go, plans unravel, coordinates combust, and the world reconfigures itself out of sheer nervousness.
They don’t follow the lines.
They redraw them—with blood and laughter.
Creed and Culture
The Ragged Goons live by a creed of chaos over control, survival over tradition. They lack formal structure—leadership falls to the boldest or bloodiest until toppled—and their tools reflect their rough ingenuity.
- Philosophy: The scales are resources, not relics. Power belongs to those who seize it.
- Weapons:
- Mark of the Goon: Members scar themselves with scale dust, creating glowing, jagged tattoos that flare near a scale’s resonance—an alert system and badge of loyalty.
Key Tales
The Raid on Mohinders (Arc 135)
In Arc 135, the Goons targeted Mohinders, the suspended city atop Eldeviérs Shell, seeking its stockpile of scale essence. Led by Ruk Splinter, they scaled the spire with stolen grappling hooks, braving jungle depths and Iridian guards. They siphoned essence into crude canisters, but a Rattlepack surge cracked the Shell, crashing part of the city and killing half the raiders—including Tessa “Blastjaw” Korr. The survivors escaped with enough essence to arm themselves for years, cementing their infamy.
The Clash with the Scalebreakers (Arc 149)
The Goons’ rivalry with the Scalebreakers erupted at Batès Lamina, where both sought the sacred red scale’s power. The Goons aimed to build a massive Splintergun cannon; the Scalebreakers, led by Veyra Tidescale, sought to shatter it. In a lake battle, Ruk’s Rattlepacks met Veyra’s geysers, ending in a stalemate when the Followers of Irion drove both off with resonant chants. The Goons retreated with scraps, nursing a grudge against their foes.
The Chorus Gambit (Arc 151)
As the Shattered Chorus wailed in Arc 137, the Goons exploited the chaos, raiding weakened settlements. In Arc 151, Ruk targeted The City of Or, planting a stolen Resonance Anchor from the Veiled Canticle to amplify the Chorus and disrupt the dwarves’ forges. The plan backfired—the surge awoke a monstrous Iridian that crushed Ruk and scattered his band, ending his reign.
The Goons Today (Arc 152)
Ruk’s death fractured the Goons, but their spirit persists in scattered crews. Kez “Rattleskin” Dray, a goblin deserter from Gurdalk’s Gang, leads a brutal remnant near Triz Valley, rigging Chorus-charged traps. Their raids have scarred Mohinders, cracked Batès Lamina, and rattled The City of Or, while the Merchants Guild quietly trades for their loot. Rumors swirl of Ruk’s glowing tattoos hinting at an Iridian rebirth, or a hidden essence cache in the Mountains of Triz.
Legacy and Impact
The Ragged Goons are Iridia’s untamed edge—a foil to the reverence of the Followers of Irion, the zeal of the Scalebreakers, and the order of the Veiled Canticle. Neither heroes nor villains, they’re survivors scrapping by in a world of corrupted scales and fading resonance. Their tales of grit and ruin echo across Iridia, a testament to the cost of defying its magic.
Last Updated: Arc 152