Guildhall

Overview

Having it's roots in a defunct branch of government, the Messengers Guild was never a simple courier service. Through their initial high level connections and effective strategies through the centuries, the guild grew into the complex and highly successful Guildhall. The Guildhall is comprised of three main pillars: Communications, Commerce, and Medicine.

History

The first iteration of the Guildhall, the Messengers Guild, was established in the Elder Age. Initially a branch of the Grand Council referred to as the Office of Communion, their purpose was to foster trust among the member species by serving as messengers, mediators, and neutral go-betweens. They continued to serve in this capacity with varying degrees of success until about 3500 BCE, the time of the Elven Retraction. In their new role of advisors to the Council, the elves took on more and more of the arbitration and adjudication duties. Thus, the legates and ambassadors were reduced to mere couriers and the Office of Communion was effectively dissolved.

At the beginning of a time that would later come to be known as The Age of the Great Diaspora, there was an ever increasing need for a reliable, trustworthy communications network. The former Officers of Communion would fill this need, and they took their job very seriously.

Structure

The three pillars of the Guildhall are made up of ranked hierarchies with some overlap. For example, the initial rank of all Guildhall members is Runner. The next rank establishes their new station and is the first Rank of Distinction.  For Communications it is Courier, for Commerce it's Trader, and for Medicine it's Medic. Some of the highest ranks span the three pillars such as Bellwether and Harbinger.

Uniforms

The basic uniform worn by all guild members regardless of rank are the chlamys and fibula.  The chlamys is made from a seamless rectangle of woolen or linen material with a border.  It is pinned at the right shoulder by the fibula, a brooch that serves as a safety pin.  It is the sole item of clothing for young messengers until the age of majority.  Adults wear the chlamys as a cape or cloak usually over a chiton or local garb when traveling.  Except in the highest echelons of the guild where draped, loose-fitting robes such as a toga or stolla are most common.  Both the border design of the chlamys and the style and material of the fibula indicate the guild member's station and rank as well as something of their history and current position. Upon attaining their first rank of distinction messengers receive another article to add to their uniform.  Couriers are given telaria, winged sandals, to symbolize swift delivery.  Traders carry a caduceus, a short staff entwined by a carving of two serpents, signifying commerce and negotiation.  Medics receive a petasos, a flat, wide-brimmed hat, representing shelter and succor.  These items are their badge of office for their entire career and receive enchantments at higher ranks.