Program File # 5: The Blackwoods

FrozenFyre reporting in

Again, my ambition to pick up the pace on these articles has been delayed, mostly due to the outbreak of war between Zion and the Machines. This has severely coloured my opinion of the Machines who I had at least thought tolerable until now. I could understand their wanting to sanction us for building a secret base, but declaring war simply because we want to defend ourselves is beyond reason – something I thought a machine would be capable of. So Agent attacks and proximity alarms have hampered my reports somewhat. But before I go on I must end my tirade by admitting that several machine allied redpills have remained amicable and even helpful to me and my research I only hope this war works out for humans, whatever their allegiance. Well it appears I am safe for the moment, so to work!

Henceforth, quotations shall be italicised and supposition shall be in bold.

The gang

The Merovingian maintains a place deep in the recesses of the Matrix, known only to a few and accessible to fewer. It is a prison, housed in an impenetrable forest where night never ends, where the walls themselves listen and whisper your doom. It is called Blackwood. The Blackwood gang takes its name from this horrible place, as its founders claim to have escaped from Blackwood together.

This gang are the true power in Richland, controlling two of the largest districts and keeping another under control through their former partner gang the Bells. The claim of the founders to have escaped from Blackwood seems to have been verified, which puts the gang’s leaders on the same scale of power and ingenuity as Ookami and Malphas who also escaped to lead a rebellion, though that ultimately failed. The gang are very distinctive in their bronze jackets and general toughie look, filling the streets of Mara and Magog intimidating anyone who might have the idea of crossing them.

The Token

The Blackwoods wear Onyx Rings, perhaps as a symbol of decadence or maybe to add an edge to their right hooks.

The Turf

The Mara neighbourhood is located in the north area of the Slums, just south of the waterfront industrial area and west of Achan (an area well known as a cesspool of vice). Mara is not so licentious as Achan, but it compensates with a culture of violence. Of all the neighbourhood of the Slums Mara may be the one most saturated with exile gangs. Mara is also a gateway neighbourhood for several destinations. Bridges span from Mara to the City’s Downtown and across the waterway to Westview. In addition, Mara is one way to reach the Uriah Industrial Park, an area that has evolved into a dangerous “free fire zone” since the truce. Many groups use the warehouse area as a place to settle their disputes with violence, and to reach it they must travel through Mara, meeting other redpills and exile gangs, each ready to draw blood with little provocation.

Magog has a bit of spillover gang activity from the nearby Mara neighbourhood to the north but is overall a better area. Magog is home to the city’s largest concentration of writers and poets and is widely thought to be an eccentric area to which crackpots gravitate.

While to it’s inhabitants Mara may seem like a gang infested slum, largely due to the Blackwoods no doubt, to those in the know it contains many places of interest and to those willing to brave the streets it does offer a fair amount of places to go. The most civilized spot is the Mara Congregational Church where local residents can go without fear of gang abuse. The building is large and impressive, one of a few churches in the city. Right next door is the Hypercube monument, made of interlocking squares situated in the middle of a plaza which is almost constantly free of exiles. This may be partly due to the proximity of Mara Central, a hardline which has become a popular spot for redpills to meet, converse and duel on what is mostly considered neutral ground. Outside interference is always unwelcome so gangs avoid it, making the area safe for humans, which is ironic since most residents fear the redpill “culture.”

Another attraction for redpills is Debir Court, where Neo first did battle with the resurrected Smith. The story of the battle is legend among the awakened and many will travel there to party, duel, or try and catch sight of the Oracle who occasionally strolls by. A place that draws humans, awakened or not, is the Polyvinyl nightclub. A music focused club it features a bewilderingly lengthy set of stairs designed to keep people in and it’s emblem is a giant rotating LP behind the DJ stand, for music lovers willing to risk the streets this is the place to go. The last draw to Mara is the Eber Casino, which again draws redpills not only for the gambling, but to hunt the exiles dwelling below.

Magog is a different story, with fewer exiles and much less to draw the eye. largely composed of houses with the odd bar or shop dotted around. How it evolved into a writer’s corner I don’t know, but it certainly adds character to an otherwise dull part of town. The only other interesting marks are the Mjolnir Monument, rising like a fist into the sky – whether there’s any connection with the Hovercraft is unknown to me, it seems unlikely, but then Roger’s Way was named after an ancient Zion hero so it’s possible I guess. The only other thing I can think to note is that, despite their powerbase being in Mara, the gang’s leadership reside in Magog – perhaps after a more comfortable life behind the battle lines or maybe there’s more than I can see to Magog.

Rank and File

The ranks of this gang have been rather difficult to track down, though with bloodthirsty exiles it is quite often a tad tricky. The difficulty lies with the gang controlling two neighbourhoods and some members seem to belong in Mara, when they are mostly found in Magog and others hardly seem to pop up at all. I would put it down to a combination of restructuring the gang and out of date sources. I will list what I have, though I cannot guarantee an official ranking scale here. The names mostly seem to be based on prison slang or are associated with prison, I haven’t been able to source all the terms, but it would seem appropriate.

The aptly named Killers of the Blackwoods are just as dangerous, or more so, than most gang’s leaders.

Convicts make up most of the Blackwood’s inner Magog population. They keep the Juvies in line but are always ambitious for more power.

(As I haven’t found any information on “Juvies” I assume that my information is either incorrect or outdated)

Keeping a gang like the Blackwoods in line requires a strong, iron grip and the Aces provide just that. A Blackwood Ace is never to be approached without caution and only if no other course of action is feasible.

The Mushfakes are vicious and merciless

Goofs have “graduated” from the gang’s activities in Magog and have been brought to Mara to protect the gang’s interests. The Goofs chafe at moving to the bottom of the “totem pole” again, but also relish the increased power.

Bull Dogs have the strength and temerity to keep the Chalk and Oxen in line.

The Oxen are bullish with violence

Chalk have survived time in Magog, and have been brought over to protect more important interests in Mara.

Members known as “Elwop” have been sighted also; I have no information on them

Leadership

It is rumoured that Owl Bangheart and two others engineered the escape from Blackwood and founded the gang in Mara. If this is true, Owl Bangheart must be considered one of the most dangerous and resourceful gang leaders in the Matrix. The best course of action, when dealing with him, is to avoid contact at all costs. Direct confrontation is never advised.

Owl is a leader to be respected, for his escape from Blackwood if nothing else. His gang are a great power in Richland and Owl has kept it under his control for a long time. Only a very few dare challenge Owl and his gang, which largely gave them a feeling of superiority and confidence until the aftermath of the cheat code incident. The Blackwoods were involved in a conspiracy to distract and disrupt Merovingian operations. Often the gang were ordered to group together in large numbers and cause havoc, though they eventually were driven off each time. Eventually Owl himself was captured by the Merovingian, who was determined to stop this plot. The Merovingian eventually extracted, by threatening to return him to Blackwood, from Owl that he had been hired by Anti-M, a member of the elements, to cause disruption to Merovingian forces –Thallia had also been involved in coordinating their assaults. After this he was taken to the Chateaux for some time and when he returned he was a shell of himself. He has since returned to the streets of Magog, but whether the same Owl Bangheart is fully in control of his gang is uncertain.

Thallia watches you closely looking for a weakness she can exploit. Although confined to the relatively poor neighbourhood of Magog she somehow manages to dig out the dark secrets of her neighbours, and she always uses them to her greatest possible advantage.

The gang are often low on resources and work for a price, which is how they wound up in Anti-M’s employ (though she herself was ultimately working for the General) and in the employ of others. I would not class any of these as a leader besides Thallia, who dwells in in the Magog neighbourhood and often uses the gang for her own ends. The relationship is purely business, but she does seem able to call on Blackwoods as and when she needs them so I will put her down as a leader of the gang. Thallia dwells in a classy penthouse, often adorned in a silvery cat suit that both draws you to her and yet warns you away. Such is her personality, alluring yet dangerous. Her main occupation seems to be combating Mercury and finding ways to extort her fellow exiles, using her employees as muscle. Thallia had to make reparations for her part in Anti-M’s plot, which has made it harder for her to fund the gang, though she still seems to have a hold on them.

Allies, enemies and neighbours

I’ve renamed this section because the Blackwoods, and many other gangs share their neighbourhoods and borders with entities that are neither opponent nor ally. The people with the most pull on them have already been mentioned so I won’t delve into them more. The gang have a troubled connection with the Bells gang, but that has already been discussed (see Program file 3) so again I won’t delve further, but there are many other exiles that cross the Blackwoods in different ways. The gang is not involved in any inter gang wars, partly because they are so powerful controlling two neighbourhoods and influencing a third. With this amount of power few gangs would dare to threaten them and all the other significant gangs in the area have battles with each other leaving the Blackwoods relatively free to hold their turf.

However, forming a street gang may give you power but it does not win many popularity contests. Their presence on the streets makes them unwelcome and a select few will inevitably work up the courage to challenge them. The first is Kerton, a young man dwelling in Magog. He hates their presence and hires anyone to thin out their numbers in the hope that they will retreat into Mara leaving Magog free – perhaps he is one of the “crackpots” who wants the area safe for writer’s groups and the like. Someone who would disagree with his goal but like his sentiment is Loripor, a resident of Mara who wants the Blackwoods out of her town and preferably gone altogether. No doubt she likes Kerton killing Blackwoods, but isn’t to keen on him driving them to her neck of the woods. She incites her takers to violence urging them to let the streets run with Blackwood blood. Loripor takes on the guise of a builder and keeps to the alleyways where the gang do not stray. She also has dealings with other groups and offers to trade some very exclusive items to those who can get the right resources for her.

There are other entities in Mara that the Blackwoods seem to have a neutral or even positive relationship with. The first is Sister Margaret, who works with the bluepills in Mara Church – the gang have no presence in the area , again perhaps because it’s close to Mara Central or because she is in the employ of the Sculptress, a powerful exile, but nonetheless they seem generally not to hassle her in any way. Sister Margaret does assignments for the Sculptress and also works to protect the humans she comes into contact with from those foolish enough to meddle with them. The other power in the area is The Oracle along with her guardian Seraph and ward Sati who has an apartment in Mara and occasionally walks the streets. Again, they don’t hassle the Oracle, though few would be foolish enough to try and tackle Seraph, but more than that they are on friendly terms with her. When Sati was kidnapped the gang went on the rampage, at first it was feared they were after the Oracle but it turned out they wanted to find Sati and even offered their aid to Zion. I doubt the Oracle approves of all their methods, has weekly chats with Owl or sends Seraph to help them rough up other exiles but nonetheless it is an advantage to have her on your good side and their care for Sati is a redeeming factor in my eyes.

Conclusion

The Blackwoods are mostly what they appear to be to others, brutal thugs who work for the highest bidder. But nonetheless they have carved out a nice home for themselves in Richland and with the exception of the Anti-M job they generally seem to avoid costly conflicts. They are the biggest power on the streets of Richland, and for that, if nothing else, they deserve your respect.

This would have been impossible without the work of Nicksie, who has my deepest gratitude for her contributions.