The Ferrymen

The Ferrymen are a group of bandits, primarily operating in Cymru. The Ferrymen were formed on 18th of April, building a tower in the former town of Istanboulder.

They are primarily known for their trapping tactics, vaguely religious beliefs and claims of working toward an equal society.



"There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow men, true nobility lies in being superior to your former self." -  D. Doug

Propaganda
“To the downtrodden, labourers and toilers of the world,

''

We present a chance to at last put an end to those who would only provide for themselves and to finally rebalance the scales of society. Those who turn their noses up at the common man, and spit as they work tirelessly from the comfort of their own filled coffers. Our roster focuses upon community and the protection of the honest working man or woman. We as a group strive to ensure that the widening divide between the wealthy and the poor is abolished; giving all a chance to provide for a greater society. Until this great societal imbalance is put to an end, all on the opposite side of the scale, providing nothing will be targeted. Those being merchants, bankers or of sufficient rank, will either have to pay their way fairly, balancing the scales rightfully so. If not, they will be put to work forcefully to finally toil away alongside the good working man; for they are fundamental pillars of society.''

''

If you are one of the many that work tirelessly on a day to day basis, yet receive nothing in return except for snotty, unjustified comments by the lounging nobleman. We invite you to join our band recognized as the Ferrymen, where you will no longer have to endure the hardships of this unsparing society.”''

- Propaganda Pamphlet produced by the Ferrymen

Initiation
To become fully integrated into the band, one must first:

Become credible, members of our roster shall not point to others for the problems of the world. They shall strive towards the solving of problems, acting upon their own accord. To humble oneself and to become integrated, they must remove one finger from their offhand so they can no longer point said blame and direct it onto others; also a sign of loyalty. This act is also to ensure the loyalty of the fledgling member.

Become fair, no man who is truly fair will hold entirely onto their precious mina, nor their bourgeois artefacts, or items or value. They should instead share a percentage of their own monetary value with those at the other side of the scale, creating balance and ultimately fairness. To exhibit their fairness, during their integration all members should either share some of their wealth with another on the other side of the scale. That or take mina or items of value from a particularly intemperate merchant, or nobleman to provide for somebody less fortunate.

Become judicious, it is expected that those fully integrated into the community show good judgement and greater understanding. Nobody is truly shown to be capable of fine judgment until put into a demanding situation, in which they must choose between one thing or another; ending in the correct verdict. During their times on the roads, it is inevitable that they come across a particularly caustic and unwilling noble, or merchant. The member must judge the wastrel of whether to remove the eyeball of the individual for looking down upon those below them. It is a plain as day problem, with a demanding, yet faithful verdict.

Traditions
''Despite the majority of noblemen, merchants and whatnot staging their kind to be excessively rapacious, spite-ridden and a disgrace to society. Not all are unforgivable. We, the Ferryman offer redemption to those who show compassion and self-reproach upon death. Each and every person in the band carries a Ferryman’s coin, the passage to the seven skies: Upon demise, the unfortunate one will rise on the opposite side of a lake to their rightful layer of the seven skies, where a boatsman will only allow you aboard his boat if you can pay his toll. The toll being a singular ferryman’s coin, most will remain on the ill-fated side for eternity, gazing on for everlasting reflection on how they should have lived their lives differently.''

''The Ferrymen are enlightened, merciful folk, all being in possession of at least one of these coins. So when a scandalous, wicked noble or merchant wallows in the jaws of death, said Ferryman may grant them passage through to the seven skies. It is the purest form of mercy, where the Ferryman will place their coin into the mouth of the man or woman at death’s door. They may choose to keep the coin in their mouth, granting them passage to the skies. But most will not plead, but instead endure their last moments of their life still ill-natured, spitting the coin out and nullifying this final act of mercy.''

Battle of Bardonian Fort Lee
There has only been 1 war that the Ferrymen have fought in and it is still currently happening. This war is mostly known as the Ferrymen-Anti Bandit league/Bardonian war. This conflict was started almost the second the Ferrymen gained good gear when they started killing a Uldarashian called Rusiam. Afterwards they went to Bardonia as they heard of their power and strength, this was because they wanted to show the world their power by defeating the proud and mighty Bardonians. The first attack came at April 17th around 12pm EST when they entered New Dorasterrock the Bardonian capitol and killed a few residents before leaving the city and going to outside the walls. A Bardonian host of about 6 soldiers and volunteers that were online went to New Dorasterrock to help with the battle that would soon start on April 18th 1-2am EST. When the Ferrymen uncharacteristically retreated the Bardonian officer ordered to give chase, the Ferrymen withdrew all the way to the construction site for the new Bardonian Fort Lee and battle began, the Bardonians although had the numbers advantage of 6v5 the Ferrymen had the gear advantage as all 5 of their members had netherite prot 4 gear whilst the Bardonians had mostly diamond. The battle lasted about 2 minutes with the Bardonians winning a Pyrrhic victory by losing 4 soldiers but they stood their ground and managed to retrieve the lost gear from the 3 dead Ferrymen.

First Battle of Istanboulder/Charge of Stone
In this battle multiple Sewer Mafia members and several Niedene Spirits lead a raid on the Ferrymen tower at Istanboulder using only stone axes and wielding no armor except the skin of Greentomato in honour of him. Although all of the attackers were quickly defeated and killed many Ferrymen reported to have died or have weakened armor. Soon after the first engagement, words of an upcoming war declaration from The Ferrymen on Bardonia spread quickly. As a response to the hearsay, choochie15, a citizen of Vraelea, was requested to claim a Dalatra's Ring around The Ferrymen's tower by Mobius, the leader of The Anti-Bandit League and Grand Lieutenant of Bardonia, and Chancellor Uni. The funds were sent from the Bardonian treasury and not long after, a claimed ring encircled The Ferrymen and their tower. Thanks to the distraction caused by the Sewer Mafia and attention to building on their own land, the Ferrymen did not notice this.

Before Bardonia could accept or create a war request of their own, a lands war was declared out of nowhere by ViewedMarquis, Theios-Essukdal's Grand Bashar, with the land of Jirn. This influenced a meeting that was being hosted by Uni at the time to switch from a talk of tactics to a rallying call of war. Nations agreed to unite under a single banner for this next upcoming battle which would decide Rathnir's future.

In response to this, the Ferrymen began to prepare for the upcoming battle. An advertisement was placed calling for enlistment into their ranks, offering looted gear to those who joined. Their ranks more than doubled on the eve of the battle. A wall and other defensive structures were added around their original tower.

Second battle of Istanboulder/Battle of Ferrymen
On 4/20, at 7:53 EST, the battle of Ferrymen commenced. The Coalition of Bardonia, TE, Uldarash, Viodoxa, Aurlûnor, and many more, gathered in a small stonebrick fort to the southeast of the Ferrymen fort, a large structure of netherrack and wood. Unic0rnb0i organized the fighters into 4 groups of 5-10 people each, as it was noticed from the Ferrymen's youtube that they'd often lure people into groups of 4-5. The Ferrymen brought more players from wherever they come from to assist in the defense. When the war started, the coalition waited for about 30 minutes before attacking. Many Ferrymen sat between their fort and the coalition outpost, one with a large herd of angry dogs. The coalition eventually attacked out, they encircled the fort, and many minor skirmishes occurred. The first large exchange happened in front of the front gate of the fort, which was left open by the Ferrymen, but the attackers never forced their way inside, and the Ferrymen placed blocks in front of the gates to block their way. They broke off more. The longest chase of the battle happened with The60th, who was chased by many soldiers until he was cornered in a river and killed. The coalition sustained many more deaths at the hands of the smaller force of Ferrymen. There was significant fighting in the forest to the north, northeast, and to the south.

After the battle ended, the Ferrymen had more kills and kept their fort defended. The coalition returned to their outpost, called Area420, and grabbed their stuff and fled. The Ferrymen then surrounded this outpost, and as people left, killed them. Unic0rnb0i was notably chased and then killed for the first time in PVP during this conflict. (almost all of this was copy/pasted from the wiki page called the Ferrymen war).