I'm not certain if there is already a topic on this or not, but are the Gremlins a part of an empire? I mean, it seems like they are, if you think about it.
Two examples are:
-Follow the rules and show respect for your leader.
-Don't follow the rules and suffer the consequences.
The Gremlins themselves take orders from King Tinkinzar, who is believed to be the mastermind behind the vision of the Clockworks themselves. Common gremlins never see the king, and only the Crimson Order are known to ever be in the presence of the King. They do appear to have a ranking system, as Tenderfoots, Ironclaw, and Darkfang seem to be sequential. The Gremlins themselves are believed to be those responsible for the upkeep in the Clockworks, and carrying out repairs. Deconstruction Zones are where Gremlins will tear down existing parts of the Clockworks in order to create new areas.
We know only of two members of the Nine.
Warmaster Seerus
Herex (No longer part of the Nine)
And as such, I will give you background on them.
Warmaster Seerus: Although he seems rather strict and a bit maniacal, appears to be a rather level-headed leader, and not very sadistic towards the Gremlins themselves. Seerus himself is not known to have killed any lower-ranking Gremlins. Seerus is also the genius who designed the Roarmulus Twins. His only appearance in-game is in OCH, outside of which he is only seen on monitors. The harshest he has ever really treated the Gremlins is by calling them "Mongrels", which based on their animalistic appearance, may not be such an insult. He appears to be more of a drill sergeant type, keeping the Gremlins in order. Seerus is suspicious of Herex, and even developed a special device to keep Herex's assassins away from him; the Dark Retribution. Retribution meaning a punishment believed to be deserved, strengthening the belief that Seerus isn't quite such an unfair leader after all.
Herex: Is believed to be insane, corrupted, and even believed to be possessed by the Swarm. He, unlike Seerus, is responsible for the deaths of many lower-ranking Gremlins. A special Scenerio room has a message saying "The others must never know. Silence them. -H" with several dead gremlin bodies. It is believed the "others" he is referring to is the Crimson Order, meaning he may be hiding something from them, or even betraying them. In Compound 42, it is believed that he had ordered the execution of Gremlins involved in the project. He has since broken away from the Crimson Order, and is likely seen as a traitor.
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So there's your history lesson. Personally, from what I've gathered, King Tinkinzar may not be as evil as many think. I'm sure if people invaded your planet and started slaughtering your people, you'd want to destroy their place of operations, too (Haven). The Gremlins themselves are seemingly under a "follow the leader" type of command, with traitors being hated. However, during OCH, a traitor Gremlin, who wanted to flee to Emberlight, is seen imprisoned. The fact that he wasn't simply killed on sight may reinforce the idea that Gremlins may even have a law system. It seems that the Gremlins are very close-knit most of the time, and work together to achieve goals. They are believed to build the new levels of the Clockworks.
So, in short, the Gremlins are not a corrupted band of wild animals out to kill each other. It seems they have a stable idea of who is in charge, and the whole species shouldn't be seen as bad simply because they had a corrupted leader at one point (Herex).
Stuff to consider:
Emberlight hasn't been destroyed yet, though it appears it would be extremely easy do to the sheer numbers of gremlins they could order to the location at such a depth. This may reinforce the idea that Seerus isn't out to kill, but to control.
We have yet to see the rest of the Nine. Perhaps King Tinkinzar isn't completely crazy. In a way, Cradle DOES belong to him. And if a bunch of knights invaded a place that I've worked insane amounts to build and maintain, I'd want to kill them as well.
So don't hate; appreciate. ᵁˢᵘʳᵖ ᵗʰᵉ ᵏᶰᶦᵍʰᵗ ᶫᵉᵃᵈᵉʳˢ⋅ ᴰᵉᵃᵗʰ ᵗᵒ ᴴᵃᵛᵉᶰ⋅
Thank you both for giving me insight on the Gremlin way of life. Many questions have been answered in only two posts. Although, one question remains...is Herex male or female? Wonder if we'll ever find out.
Desna refers to him as a "he" in the mission briefing to Compound 42. Therefore Herex is male.
Considering we have never seen Tinkazar it is possible he may not be alive, rather that the 9 keep democratic order in his absence while allowing the average gremlin populace to believe he is alive in order to keep them in line.
Ok. So the answer to this thread was posted.
The Gremlins do have an emperor, his name is Tinkinzar. He is to great colony (Gremlin underground city, location/population unknown) what Adolf Hitler is to Nazi Germany. Ruling its people with an iron fist, Tinkinzar usually lets the crimson order (the gestapo equivalent of SK) to his biddings, whether or not it is silencing his enemies or hunt down potential threat.
Of course, emberlight is the only place a Gremlin could go if they are fed up with Tinkinzar's oppression. And emberlight has ever since been a needle in Tinkinzar's eyes. But for whatever the reason, he still can't find it in the clockwork, give kudos to the Gremlin exiles.
I don't think most Gremlin follow rules, they are living in a 'dog eat dog' society. Where only control and power mattered, and any Gremlin will capitalize any opportunity they get to back stab their comrads and get to a higher position of power.