A Historical Guide to the Secret Societies of The Secret World

The Dragon

The Secret World's Dragon secret society is "the art of chaos." The Dragon seems to be the most secretive of all the societies, willing to stay in the shadows while the other secret societies destroy each other. They believe in a balance in the universe and do not usually take the path of force, though it is sometimes necessary. Manipulation, deception and patience are the weapons that will win them their world.

In our research to find a historical inspiration for Funcom's fictionalized Dragon society, we were amused with how many real life secret groups used "dragon" in their name in a pretty unworthy way. There's the Dragon society, the most secret senior club at Dartmouth College which refuses to list their society in the Dartmouth yearbook (yawn). Then there's the Red Dragon Society at NYU that does horrible, world changing acts such as the wearing of red pins and stealing things off teacher's desks (double yawn).

But when we really searched we finally found a group that we could legitimately point to for Funcom's inspiration. It's the Japanese paramilitary group, the Black Dragon Society, which, like its Japanese ancestors the Ninja, was secretive, manipulative and deadly.

Founder of the Black Dragon Society, Ryohei Uchida

During the Russo-Japanese war, The Black Dragon was formed in 1901, by Ryohei Uchida, to push Russia out of Asia. The Black Dragon Society believed in a unified Asia that would halt powerful western advances. While the Black Dragon Society initially wanted to stay away from criminal activities, they soon began carrying out assassinations and sabotage.

Another reason we think Funcom's The Dragon Society reminds us of the historical Black Dragon Society is its use of manipulation. The Black Dragon Society excelled at waging psychological warfare and distorting the truth through propaganda. It helped unify the Chinese gorilla forces to fight against the Russians and even opened a school for espionage.  Spy School!

The Black Dragon Society eventually expanded its power and by the 1930's had agents in Ethiopia, Morocco, South America and the United states and contacts in the Muslim world and even certain Buddhist sects. Plus they're the group that holds the Kumite fighting tournament that Jean-Claude Van Damme is a part of in the cinematic masterpiece, Bloodsport, and we can't see Funcom overlooking that.