The Sekbans are a faction bound up with the enigmatic figure known as the Ghost of March, drawing their very name from a disbanded military unit famed of old for the breaking of the Janissaries. Members of the Sekbans are marked out by their striking uniforms, of a piece with those worn by the Ghost's entourage at the celebrated Festival of Candles. Their notoriety swelled following the assassination of Nazif, a perfumist charged with betrayal concerning the Council of the Ninth Life. That event moved the Bostanji Imperial Guard to proclaim a state of emergency, scattering the crowds while the Ghost of March and his followers withdrew into the city and further guards came up against the tumult.
In the wake of Nazif's death, it grew plain that Sharif the Strong Fur, a black cat set over Nazif's former duties, had laid a ban on magic within his realm — likely born of a dread of the volatility and secrecy that attend magical practice. Inquiry into Nazif's ties to the Ghost revealed that the latter had earlier relieved him of his place and stood implicated in sundry incidents linked to the Sekbans. Reports surfaced, moreover, of state armouries breached in step with the Ghost's doings — a hint of some broader uprising or conspiracy that might weld the Sekbans and other underground forces into a single resistance.
More than mere veterans, the Sekbans have become a symbolic alignment with the tradition of their forerunners, taking part in organised underground operations that include illicit gatherings at the Hippodrome, which draw an eclectic company, non-humans among them. The Ghost of March wields his influence from a compound of interconnected buildings within the Undercity, guided by Matilda Manukian, a half-elf well-versed in the navigation of that hidden realm. The Sekbans keep a modern military structure and a mixed membership, non-human recruits included, bending their study to strategic tactics and modern arms, and are supported by training grounds and a curated library of military history.
The faction is bound to Alemdar Mustafa Pasha, a reputedly dead commander who preaches unity among the several groups within the Empire. The Sekbans hold a compound in the Undercity for training and for the laying of plans, styled a "new army," their uniforms recalling old attire or else pieced together of surplus stuff. Alemdar has voiced a wish for collaboration with the Janissaries, notwithstanding past enmity, and has charged outsiders with negotiating the terms of a united front. The Sekbans recruit in earnest those skilled in the elements or in alchemy, and are noted for their tactical bearing and readiness for conflict, while Alemdar would keep up the appearance of a continued rivalry with the Janissaries to mislead others as to their true intent.
Of late the Sekbans have taken on the office of the city's present guard, having risen from the former elite corps of the Janissaries. The faction has undergone a shift to modern ways under the Potasha’s Line, raising up military forces that fall in with the current ruling authority. They are charged with the keeping of order and security in the city, showing their loyalty to the Potasha rather than to any older structure of power. Certain notable members — Sidra al-Najjar, Jean-Zera Mongé, and Gizem Faruki — lately joined a search through the catacombs to find missing Janissaries who had defected. Their descent by way of the Basilica Cistern brought them to face sundry hazards, the undead among them, where they came upon the fresh corpse of a young janissary and thereafter dealt with animated skeletons and a Giant Skeleton, overcoming these threats in the end.
In the course of that errand, the Sekbans had their dealings with Alexander, a janissary defector, who gave them word of other defectors and of the dangers of the catacombs. Having subdued Alexander, they secured his help in mentoring a young person plagued by uncontrollable magic, on the condition that his whereabouts be kept secret. After these encounters, the Sekbans gathered trophies from their battles and delivered them to a bounty broker, receiving compensation for their pains. Jean-Zera Mongé pursued research into the Sekbans' history and its ties to the Janissaries, bringing to light the faction's evolution and its part in the present political landscape. The Sekbans' influence is now woven deep into the shifting powers of the city, and most of all in matters touching the Potasha and the factions without.