Shadow Dancers
The Shadowdancers are a clandestine revolutionary group in Hanaq that aims to put an end to Esperanto. Esperanto chooses to deny and suppress their existence, but will stop them at any cost.
The Shadowdancers operate in small and discreet regional chapters called Troubadours.
History
The Shadowdancers originally were a disparate collection of bards and their adventuring friends who believed that they had heard a Hymn of Courage, which, according to legend, could be heard in the air one night and gave hope to the weak and powerless. This created a veritable wave of political upheaval that swept the entirity of upper Hanaq.
Many of these bards were from Cicili, a planet with a rich history of bardic occult magic. Some even claimed a Cicilian wrote the Hymn. These bards were inspired to create the movement in light of Esperanto's attempts to erase various cultures. Further fed up with the treatment of Esperanto's government to the fading cultures of Hanaq and the corruption of the Hejmen nobles, The Shadowdancers launched a series of color revolutions that caused Incursion.
Now, some bards of Cicili, especially today, view the entire organization as an offensive perversion of their culture, and its true the movement has indeed far outgrown its initial trappings, the founding bard's influence has undeniably shaped its presentation.
Ideological Factions
Shadowdancers are united in their desire to see the fall of Esperanto, but don't agree in how that will look like. Disagreements surround whether a wide spanning culture is still a worthy endeavor for whatever replaces Esperanto are common.
Mirroring an old Cicilian bardic traditions of many of the members, some Shadowdancers chose to identify as Red or Blue.
Blue
The Blue ideology advocates for change from the bottom up, with communities organizing themselves into new structures that can resist and ultimately overthrow Esperanto.
Red
The Red ideology favors a direct approach to revolution. They argue that Esperanto must be dismantled by targeting its leadership, specifically by seizing power away from the nobles of Hejmen. Their goal is to replace the current power structure with a network of mutual aid, though there is significant disagreement within the faction about what this new system should look like.
Crimson
A subset of the Red ideology that takes a more extreme stance. They advocate for using any means necessary to accelerate tensions within Esperanto, believing that both kingdoms and republics must fall. Their vision for the future is radical, suggesting that the "New World" might not need traditional governmental structures at all.
Ivory
Historically, the Ivory faction believed that only the awakening of a chosen one who enters the Holy Land could bring about Esperanto's downfall. They saw Divine Magic as the key to stopping Esperanto, a controversial stance given the general fear and mistrust of Divine Magic in Hanaq.
Ivory Shadowdancers are effectively banned within most Shadow Dancers troubadours. The mere accusation of being associated with The Ivory ideology is a serious matter.