Minor Guilds:
Graziers
Ninth in Privilege and masters
of livestock and pastoral farming that supports the City’s existence. By the
nature of the products they deal in, the ‘Graziers’ maintain strong solid links
to many of the Lesser guilds, and to a degree they champion their causes when
discussing matters of commerce with the Priori and the Major guilds. Graziers
are a level headed and practical bunch, no doubt a skill obtained from the
virtues of patience within their livelihoods.
They are also the most
superstitious, always making offerings, sometimes in the older styles of
worship, to placate the gods. This predilection is played upon by some of the
Major guilds, who consider the Graziers backwards and brutish. The Bankers
disdain dealing with them direct, while the Clothiers are sometimes openly
critical of their affairs. The Graziers ignore for the most part any Guild
politics, but are intensely loyal to the Signoria and the Priori when a crisis
arises that threatens the well-being and safety of Estera.
Shoe makers
Tenth in Privilege, and another
breakaway faction from the once mighty Clothiers. The ‘Shoemen’ are a major
source of earning revenue for Estera, as the footwear that they craft are a
major export around all of Ethene. Renowned for high quality of almost
legendary status, they too travel widely. Considered by most others as the
happiest of guilds, a value noted even by the distinctly more grumpier
Clothiers, the Shoemen are also renowned for many benevolent and charitable
gifts to the common populace.
A tradition of the Shoemen is
that any wounded traveller or merchant rescued and brought in by the guards
after being waylaid by thieves will awake in his Grand Hospital bed with a new
pair of shoes ready for use. Many of the guilds maintain good friendly
relations with the Shoemen, even the stand-offish Weavers.
Iron workers
Eleventh in Privilege, and with
the ‘Stonesmiths’, committed allies in Guild politics to the Assayers, with
whom they share common goals and ambitions. The ‘Ironmen’ enjoy other degrees
of patronage from some of the other major guilds, but nothing compares to the
continued strength they have with their Assayer friends. Ironmen when they
travel can always bed down for free at an Assayers Lodge, and many new
contracts have been won with Assayer help.
Esterian weaponry is also well
regarded, being light and durable, with reliability rated above intimidation.
The Ironmen are not afraid of tackling some of the more grandiose projects too,
when an architect or a noble comes up with a challenging new concept. The guild
see themselves as progressive, eager to secure more exports for the City, and
have expansionist tendencies and ambitions to gain more prosperity for
themselves.
Stone masons
Twelfth in Privilege, and
allies of the Assayers and the Ironmen, the ‘Stonesmiths’ have a slightly more
refined temperament than the Iron guild. They place great emphasis on their
creativity, relishing in the fact that their creations are monuments to stand
the test of time, and to proclaim the Esterian legacy for aeons to come. As
such, they can take a long time to decide on matters, and are known for their
legendary debating. In an unusual way, this has also led them to make strong
friends with some of the deeper free-thinking Notaries who enjoy scrutinising
all aspects of life.
These strange bedfellows have
produced together some of the most revered philosophy in Esterian history, and
foreign scholars travel from far and wide to just sit and watch the marathon
three or four day debates the two parties can often organise in the long winter
months. The guild are also generous benefactors to the Physicians and stalwart
loyalists with a very conservative nature on where Estera happens to be at any
place in time, rather than where it could be with a more progressive outlook.
Carpenters
Thirteenth in Privilege, the
‘Carpenters’ were properly recognised as a guild quite late, but are now a
sizeable guild regardless. The guild is a creative, quiet, some even say solemn
collective renowned for the lengths it goes to support and nurture it’s own
members and their families. Quietly they are a progressive guild, eager to
build up their share of the export trade, and to acquire new skills and
patterns to produce even better furniture, vehicles, contraptions and
architecture.
Not a wealthy guild but
generous to those they consider true friends, the Carpenters also have an
unenviable role within Estera, a role some say goes quite a way to explaining
why they are often so dour and solemn. In Esteria, it is always a carpenter who
carries out the public, and sometime the secretly private, capital punishments
ordered by the Priori and the Judiciary. As the official City executioners –
even for one of their own found guilty – the guildsmen are well-paid, and ensure
that such treatments are carried out in their typically professional manner.
The Judiciary consequently closely support and mentor the guild, and often
provide them with their most lucrative contracts, while many say that
truthfully, the Carpenters share the pacifism of the Physicians.
Wine
Merchants
Fourteenth in Privilege, a
small guild and quite well-connected with the Priori, the ‘Winemen’ are also
legendary explorers and adventurers. It is said often at the harbourside inns
of Telia that one in three ships belong to a Wineman. It is also one of the few
guilds that actively encourages women to rise to prominence within the guild.
Like the Assayers and the Weavers, the Winemen provide the Priori with
considerable information from what its members learn on their seafaring
travels.
The guild is also capable of
sponsoring merchant caravans too, much to the annoyance of the Clothiers, who
dislike the ‘new money’ within the City’s economic sphere. For their part, the
Winemen prefer to remain detached from the Guild politics, only bothering to
participate when the affairs concern them directly. However, to other minor
guilds, and some of the more friendly major guilds, they provide an invaluable
source of new contracts and enterprises from the many contacts that they make.
The astute Notaries consider the Winemen a key asset in the possible future
expansion of Esterian export trade on a wider stage throughout the rest of
Ethene, and the Notaries are often right.
Inn Keepers
Fifteenth in Privilege, the
‘Innsmen’ are a riotous bunch, not too respectful of the Major guilds and their
members, and are often called to account and fined for the scandalous behaviour
found at the City’s feast days. And yet, on a par with the Assayers, they are
renowned benefactors to the common folk of Estera. The guild has a thin
influence outside of the City’s domain, as they only have a few franchises on
the major junctions on the land’s highways, many inn keepers preferring to
remain independent.
Loyal to the City of Estera,
they do however clamour and argue for every right they believe they should
have, and can sometimes upset the careful machinations of the major players in
Guild politics. The Physicians see them at best as gruff poltroons and at
worst, have often tried to raise City ordinances to restrict the Innsmen
trading. Unbeknown to them, the Innsmen often invest substantial coin in the
outlying hospices to ensure that they can continue to run. There’s a quip heard
in the company of Innsmen that ‘two flagons gets one poultice for a Physik’.
And of course, the Notaries know all about the secret patronage.
Mill Workers
Sixteenth in Privilege, the
‘Millsmiths’ are a cornerstone of the infrastructure of the City. With their
windmills and water-races, the guild provide considerable logistic support to
the City fathers in ensuring the common folk are fed and watered, and that the
City’s sewers flow freely. Not as devout as the Physicians, nor as
superstitious as the Graziers, the Millsmiths fall quietly somewhere in
between. The guild keeps itself to itself, it participates in some of the
debates in the Guild politics, but it doesn’t seek favours or patronage. It
does maintain friendly ties with the Graziers and the Bakers – indeed, it was
the Millsmiths who quietly petitioned the Signoria and the Priori that the
Bakers should be awarded their own guild status.
The Millsmiths have no real
wealth as all their capital is invested in its properties, and plays no real
part in the City’s export trade. Yet without their presence, their diligence
and devotion to their endless tasks, the City would founder under famine,
disease and starvation. The Millsmiths greatest threat to it’s quiet
contentment comes from the Stonesmiths, who eagerly hanker after re-designing
and re-building their windmill towers and the waterwheel houses. As threats go,
this is perfectly manageable for the hushed Millsmiths. They generously support
the Physicians when they can, and the Assayers with their schools, and will
often – surprising other guilds when they do – stump up the extra coin needed
for an under-funded merchant caravan, regardless of whether it’s run by a
Clothier, a Weaver or a Wineman.
Armourers
Seventeenth in Privilege, the
‘Harnessmen’ are an aggressively progressive guild keen to make a name for themselves
and to gain greater renown for Esterian armour. Probably one of the more
elitist of the lesser guilds, it’s common knowledge that they look down upon
the Hidesmen and their leather armour wares, but that’s entirely
understandable. The Harnessmen see themselves taking the glories and honours of
the realm of warfare to a new age, and there are tensions within the guild
itself sometimes as members vie with each other for noble patronage. The guild
leadership see this as healthy competition to ensure that the guild itself
reaches new heights of craftsmanship, and is continually encouraged to maintain
that aspect by their Clothier friends.
Their share of the City’s
export trade remains low however, as Esterian armour, being well-made and
properly fitted, is also expensive, and the guild is not yet wealthy enough to
gain the mentoring of some others like the Bankers. Work tends to meet specific
contracts, while the Hidesmen can make enough of their wares to maintain
adequate stocks. Some military observers say that the widening gap between the
two fails to meet Estera’s own provisions, but new ventures are underway as
some Harnessmen have made the approach to combine trade with their Hidesmen
brethren.
Military
Leather Workers
Eighteenth in Privilege, the
‘Hidesmen’ are a young guild and one of the more militaristic, often the
members seeking active service on military campaigns in Telia or on its
borders. Their export trade is slowly growing, but their foreign markets are
limited to the less advanced tribes, and those states with limited resources.
Hence the guild is not that wealthy, and they refrain from making any
beneficial donations to other guilds or to the general populace. Resolute,
frugal and loyal, the Hidesmen are steadfast in the defence of the City, and
the Innsmen enjoy their presence, as they would, being the Inn Keepers best
customers.
New leads with some of the
friendlier Harnessmen have started to develop however, in the aim to provide
the Esterian military with some new composite armour for its infantry. There is
great promise in such a venture, as it’s been rightly seen as a potentially
valuable export. There are some that say that this initiative is all the work
of the Clothiers – but the smart money says it’s the Bankers encouraging the
new approach. The Notaries will neither confirm nor deny either story.
Key makers
Nineteenth in Privilege, the
‘Keysmiths’ are a small guild even quieter and more insular than the
Millsmiths. Their trade provides a growing fraction of the City’s exports as
their renown improves, but the Keysmiths have had the unfortunate luck in
having a few contracts turn out bad. The Winemen stepped in at the last moment
for the most recent failure, and were underwriters to ensure that the guild got
it’s proper payments. The Keysmiths try to play their part, but are so often
overlooked, and their political clout is minimal. They enjoy some occasional
mentoring from the Judiciary, the Bankers and the Assayers, who each have their
own specific reasons to see them gain a greater market presence, but some of
the other major guilds – especially the haughty Clothiers and the aloof Weavers
– barely acknowledge their representation in the Guild Chamber at all.
Despite all that, and the
changeable levels of wealth held by the guild, the Keysmiths provide important
support to the Physicians, and have a number of schools now, including the
first ever college for young women within Estera. However, they are not
renowned for their religious support, and as yet, the guild doesn’t even have a
patron saint.
Bakers
Twentieth in Privilege, the
Bakers are the youngest guild, rightly recognised now for their sterling
efforts to feed such a substantial population as Estera continues to prosper.
The Bakers are another guild who actively encourage women to join and gain rank
within its membership. Still finding its way in Guild politics, the Bakers tend
to side with those who think of the common folk, and support the more
beneficial agendas. Some other guilds, especially the Clothiers, who seem to
resent the growing range of new guilds, also consider them to be pacifists, but
Bakers can often be found outfitting and equipping field kitchen wagons that
accompany the Telian military forces. The ruling classes have noticed this
fact, and learnt that a well-fed army is always more reliable than one that
relies on forage alone.
Some say that the Bakers are
the new breed of trade needed within the City, one that can ensure it has its
base firmly lodged amongst the people, while still able to be noticed outside
the City’s domains. The Bakers enjoy good friendly ties with the Graziers and
the Millsmiths – their guild sponsors – and are one of the few who encourage
the Keysmiths to attend the Grand Sessions in the City’s Guild Chamber.
