Its a collective of chosen shadowy figures who meet in the protected inner sanctum of guilded halls under the veil of darkness. They have signed in blood to uphold their one mission and one mission only; to protect the source of their wealth and power at all costs.
Sounds like somehting from Star Wars but its not!
In my time here I have experienced varying degrees of competence and capability amongst the locals mostly leaning to the mid to lower end of the spectrum with some exceptions.
However, when it comes money or power and even loss of face, their ability to pull off the impossible through shameless scheming, collusion and cunning knows no bounds.
To answer your question though, simply put, they are the Dark Force!