The Sherlocks are a secret society, at least three hundred years old, devoted to “seeking Ancients who have answers and power” and to “opening secrets”. Without seat or insignia, they have become a regional power whose mood shapes the politics of Caldero.
| Type | Secret society |
| Age | At least 300 years |
| Spanish entry | Los Sherlocks |
Description
A Sherlock’s only recorded bodily trait is “that eye”, which sees beyond the veil of reality, the Sherlock’s task.
Organization
“I am not the only Sherlock. We have shared ourselves out,” says one member. Power and responsibility are divided among houses. They are present in this city, Caldero (gathering in taverns) and the city Félix. The only recorded member is Titi Frame.
Activities
- Knowledge: deep, probably dark magical research; seeking the Ancients.
- Politics and trade: aims “not only economic”, dealings with several parties, a claimed voice and vote on “the liberation”, and their own force, the beetles, who are the Red Guard.
Membership carries reputation: a candidate can be “the stain on my résumé”. Whoever seeks the Ancients or to see behind the veil must go through them.
Present state
They are passive, waiting for Terren to arrive, but “they are doing things, yet are on the brink of civil war”.
Conflicting accounts
- One account records “she is Sherlock”: a single antagonist who plots from House Cromas and collects arms. All other accounts speak of “the Sherlocks” in the plural. Whether Sherlock is also a person’s name, or that figure is a distorted echo of the plural, is unresolved.
- Spellings Sherlock’s and Charlots are both recorded.
Open questions
- Whether the eye is organ, implant, gift or tool, how it looks and how it is obtained, is unknown.
- Whether the Red Guard is subordinate, ally or offshoot is unknown.
- The sides and cause of the threatened civil war, “the liberation”, and who the Ancients are, are not stated.
- How one joins, and where the city Félix lies, are unknown.
- A prophecy, “Sherlocks are the keys”, circulates; its speaker and meaning are unknown.