The HoC (House of Cards) keeps their roster at a strict 55 members (52 cards, 2 Jokers, 1 Arbiter). Each Suit has the normal 13 cards a piece, the 2 Jokers rule over them, and the Arbiter (meant to represent the 'rules' card in your typical deck of playing cards) is the final say on the interpretation of their doctrine as well as disputes between Suits. They cultivate contacts and allies outside their own organization, both mortal and supernatural, and use them to appraise and subtly influence the social climate. Only the Face cards (and sometimes 10s) have the power to qualify as a full-blown wizard, with most other Numbers ranging anywhere from Focused Practitioners to Minor Talents. When a recruit is sorted, he/she is placed in a suit based on what they can do, and given a rank based on how well they can do it (decided by the Arbiter). Face cards don't really do a lot of leg work, and typically interact only with Numbers of their own suit, and occasionally hobnob with the other Faces. Each Suit operates independently of the others, which can lead to agendas interfering with each other, which in turn causes a generous amount of slights and grudges. They do forge alliances between each other when agendas align, as well as when instructed by the Jokers or facing a common threat/enemy/Suit. As mentioned previous, they signed on to the Accords a very long time ago, and should any Warden or other Council member come snooping or trying to 'recruit', the HoC will simply throw the Accords in the White Council's face, dredging up the Council's dirty laundry for the entire supernatural community to see. They do also follow the Laws of Magic, with as much fervor as the Wardens do, if not more so in some cases. Whenever a member becomes suspect, the HoC will often covertly arrange for their unknowing suspect and a Warden to cross paths, and let the professional sort it out. Those who are innocent will come back in one piece (most of the time), and if not... well... you know how that ends.
Background:
When Merlin sat down all those years ago and hammered out the Laws of Magic, and established the bureaucracy of the White Council, he created another organization. This one was a bit more clandestine, and their sole purpose was to keep tabs on the White Council, making sure it's leaders did not abuse their power or steer the Council in a direction Merlin did not intend. They did their job rather well for a time, subtly bumping the Council here and there, but for the most part they functioned as intended (due in no small part to the wizard's inflexible mindset). With their job fairly well in hand, they soon began to bicker amongst themselves. Some believed they should come forth and expose their existence to the Council, while others said they should remain covert and continue to steer the Council from the shadows. With no definitive mandate one way or the other from their doctrine, the argument dragged on until all sides couldn't quite remember why the argument started in the first place or what exactly they were supposed to be doing besides maintaining status quo. So they decided to get back to what they do best, but forgetting who they were supposed to be influencing, they simply decided to cover all their bases and watch everyone.
