The Black Hand (Mano Negra) is a secret society, a Circle of Serbia, whose members “kill people through time”. It is known only by its name and a greeting: “welcome to Russia of the Black Hand”.
| Type | Secret society |
| Founding event | Assassination of Franz Ferdinand (1914) |
| Spanish entry | Mano Negra |
Description
No insignia, seat, password or sign of recognition is known, nor any chapters or factions.
Territory
Its root is Serbia. All of Russia is presented as its territory, so that “Russia” and “the Black Hand” can be named as one threat. “Some say it is also associated with Montenegrins who speak of a secret organization.” It was stated as a sure threat that “the Black Hand will hold us in the ocean”.
The assassination of 1914
Its founding act is the assassination of Franz Ferdinand in 1914. Of the conspirators present, three did nothing on the day despite knowing its importance, and two acted; “several hesitated right up to the moment”. The rule drawn: the inert presence of those who do not act gives impetus to those who do, and the outcome is reversible: “if you move them, those two may not have the impetus, because maybe the other three don’t even show up”.
Killing through time
Altering who is present at an event alters whether it happens. The Black Hand can thus intervene in a historical event without appearing in it; its weapon is coincidence. Its method is not recorded.
Pursuer and identity
It acts as a threat and pursuer, suspected of following a company’s steps. “He is part of the Black Hand” is both accusation and identity. A group of companions stated: “we became the Black Hand”; whether by initiation, recruitment or impersonation is not recorded.
Unrelated material
Two things recorded under the name have no established link to it: a black stone kept in a small coffer inside a chest, also called “filarteria” or “stone of the Apocalypse”; and the Black Death, which took “millions”, about half the population.
Open questions
- Its numbers, leadership, hierarchy and aims beyond killing are unknown.
- How it holds a ship in the ocean is unknown.
- The link of 1914 with Apis and Sarajevo circulates only as third-party gloss.
- In-world, its nature is a matter of suspicion: “the Black Hand is something”.