Ishgard

A bastion city-state atop the northern mountains of Eorzea. It is located roughly near the center of Aldenard.

Ishgard is accessed across a long bridge, where one must pass the Gates of Judgement and then climb the Steps of Faith.

The Knights of Ishgard are fighting a holy war with an ancient race of dragons, and are currently refusing contact with those they call ‘unbelievers.’

Faces of Mercy

Faces of Mercy is a group of assassins and ne'er-do-wells from Ishgard. They are known to haunt the mountain passes close by to the Black Shroud in Coerthas, and at least one operative is known to be in Owl's Nest from time to time. The group is well connected within and without Ishgard. They are known to have connections to the High Houses, and at the very least House Dzemael, as well as to the Maelstrom in Limsa Lominsa. They may be bandits and the like, but their connections often give them the seal of approval.

Faces of Mercy is known to be secretive even among its own members. Each member knows only the names of three others, and one among them is the person who introduced them to the Faces. As such, it is exceedingly hard to track down and prosecute very many members - if you catch one, you must make absolutely certain their contacts or any other member of the Faces will not find out about it, or they can take countermeasures.

Not much is known about the actual acts of banditry and assasination among the Faces of Mercy. In fact, the only proven activity so far is the infiltration of the Dzemael Darkhold guards - by virtue of already being in the service of House Dzemael - and organizing search parties to loot the dungeon of its treasures.