Navigator's Guild
The Navigator's Guild is a powerful and (ostensibly) politically neutral guild that holds a near-monopoly on the art and science of navigation within the Manifold Sky setting. Every major nation and almost every Skystation possesses at least one guildhall dedicated to servicing the Guild and it's far-reaching interests.
Structure
Trainee are the foundation of the Navigator's Guild's internal hierarchy, with trainees serving under experienced navigators until their trade education can be completed. Once a trainee earns an official Navigator's certificate, they become fully-fledged navigators and begin to rise through the ranks of the Guild based on further training, seniority, and number of assignments successfully completed. After around a decade of experience, a skilled navigator can take assignments as an instructor at a guild hall, eventually ascending to chapter master based on seniority and the success rate of navigators trained under their charge. Finally, after around two decades of experience, a navigator, trainer, or chapter master may serve on the Guild Board of Trustees, directing the guild's policies and activities via consensus with their peers.
Public Agenda
The Navigator's Guild is very nearly the sole provider of an essential service in the Manifold: guiding air travel within the unusual and difficult to traverse geometry of the Manifold Sky, whether by air, sea, or sometimes even land. The Guild makes exploration, trade, warfare, and various sciences possible through the proper application of expertise, technology, and courage. To these ends, the Guild stands ready to provide their services in an impartial, expeditious, and professional manner to any individual or group who is willing to compensate the Guild for their efforts and abide by the Guild's terms of service.
Aside from it's primary role, the Navigator's Guilt has a lot of influence on the culture of most sentient species. The Guild has established Guild Pidgin as the most popular international auxiliary language, broadcasts large-scale Cube Conquest (board game) tournaments, and publishes The Guild Gazette via print and RadNet distributors throughout the Manifold Sky setting. Navigator's Guild Credits are a nearly universally accepted international reserve currency, giving the organizaiton exceptional control and insight over the global economy. Basic actuarial and scientific instruments, such as maps, meteorology systems, and even the Manifold Standard Calendar, are direct products of the Guild or its influence in the broader international system.
Assets
Almost every major settlement possesses a Navigator's Guild guildhall, including (and especially) skystations. These guildhalls serve as recruitment centers, educational facilities for new navigators, living areas for navigators on-the-go, and hubs for job assignment. The guildhalls also serve as physical monuments to the all-encompassing reach of the Navigator's Guild, as they exist in nearly every polity and stand in contrast to the lack of any visible competitors. The oldest and largest guildhall is located in Silkenvault, though the administration of the Navigator's Guild currently operates out of a private skystation in the Medial H/Northern F inflection layer called the Castle of Aurorae.
The Navigator's Guild fields an armada of N3 "Honeyguide" Air Cogs to carry out its eponymous function, with various aerostat freighters, tenders, and parasite carriers on hand to fill various niche roles within the organization. Autogyros - including the special purpose NG-1a "Green Conure" NavGuard Fighter - and auto-armor units are employed by NavGuard personnel when danger is expected.
History
The Navigator's Guild was founded during the Age of Exploration in response to the discovery of other cubes in the Medial Tesseract, and has existed in some form or another since the first formal expeditions were sent to adjacent cubes by the nation of Voxelia. Some of the first people to posit a five-dimensional nature to the Manifold were mathematicians under the employ of the Guild, and since that time, no other professional organization has come close to challenging the near-monopoly of the Guild.
Demography and Population
While the Navigator's Guild draws its ranks from every species, nation, and ethnic group, New Voxelian and Elovisian humans currently make up the majority of its membership. The adventurous Rostran subcultures have represented a significant portion of the organization's populations ever since the invention of aerostat flight, and many of the greatest Navigators of all time - such as Eqai Voiranoi - have been Rostrans. The Guild is careful to stress that it favors no social group over another so long as the precepts of the Guild are upheld and any given Guild member is capable of attending to their appointed duties.
Military
The NavGuard serves as the military arm of the Navigator's Guild in the rare cases where force must be used to vouchsafe the lives and equipment of Guild personnel.
Technological Level
In addition to possessing advanced dieseltech airships, skystations, computers, and auto-armor at their disposal, the Navigator's guild is also responsible for directed cultural advancements which serve to further reinforce their monopoly, such as the creation of the Guild Pidgin trade language and the near-universally accepted Manifold Standard Calendar.
Religion
While the Navigator's Guild holds no official religious beliefs, many members of the guild pay respects to the House of the Unexpected. The cult of Cosmeon draws the most followers from among the ranks of the Guild, as she is the matron of navigators within the Unexpector faith. Other common faiths include Rostran Esotericism, especially pertaining to the spirit Ixaumosana, and Knappism.
Foreign Relations
Officially, the Navigator's Guild enforces a strict policy of political neutrality, favoring no nation over another in terms of either recruitment or assignments. Any group in good standing with the Guild may employ the Guild's Navigators, who will not balk at reasonable navigational duties and will show absolute impartiality and confidentiality with regard to the nature of their clients' travels. At the same time, the Guild also claims the unlimited right to defend itself, its personnel, and its equipment from injury at the hands of other factions, with sanctions such as loss of service or indirect trade embargoes being levied upon repeatedly unruly customers.
We Know The Way
Type
Guild, Professional
Capital
Alternative Names
The Guild
Demonym
Guildsman/woman, Guild Member
Ruling Organization
Government System
Meritocracy
Currency
The Navigator's Guild issues Navigator's Guild Credits (NGC) as a form of universal trade currency; any nation housing a guildhall can convert to and from Navigator's Guild Credits to facilitate international trade.
Subsidiary Organizations
Location
Official Languages
Related Traditions
Related Ranks & Titles
Related Professions
Controlled Territories
Manufactured Items
Related Items
Organization Vehicles
Notable Members
Related Plots
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