Wildguard
Wildguard, spanning over one-hundred years of expeditions through the dangerous forests of the Wildlands, founded by the Good King himself; they're the first organized and officially approved Protector's Guild. Wildguard's unsettling exploits have made them near synonymous with both success and insanity, rigorous with their recruiting and training; only the best and most promising Protectors can hope to apply to the guild and scrape by on their first trial to becoming a recruit.
As the name implies the Wildguard headquarter, a large citadel, is situated on the forest edge that defines the "border" between Kotengar and the Wildlands; their members at bay for any danger that would venture out of the forest. Perhaps due to their low member count and certainly due to the nation sized border that is in need of protection; multiple Protector's Guilds as well as Red Badges (the Vinian Army) are currently also protecting the lands surrounding the tenebrous woods. The involvement of Vinian officials has been causing conflict with the Wildguard, as many of the core laws of Protectors were established after the ancient guild's founding and the fact that the organization was created by the Good King himself; Wildguard independence is being disputed as the Crown seeks to claim its citadel and perhaps some of its members.
What could motivate this group consisting solely of some of the most prominent and most powerful Protectors to risk their lives in the cold monster filled untamed forest of the Wildlands remains a mystery to non-members. Some romanticize that the Wildguard are still pursuing their unending quest to find the Lost Queen and others claim that they are jealously guarding the mythical Garden of Aether, both of these have been dismissed as mere speculation, a persisting rumor on the other hand seems to be more truthful;
A greater danger is concealed within the woods, one that even some of the greatest Protectors dare not to approach.
The current leader of Wildguard is Master Solen Calagor, a man of honor and with a profound dedication to protecting the commonfolks; he was given his role fifteen years ago after the previous leader went on a perilous mission deep within the dark woods. Despite his abrupt debut as Guild Master Solen has quickly garnered a reputation as a strong and dependable leader, a common belief is that no other allied guild will ever see his face; for he will always be leading the charge on the frontlines.
Structure
As with most Protector's guilds the internal structure of Wildguard is quite simple, it goes as following:
Guild Master, in charge of every major decision the guild has to make whether they are economic or military in nature.
Officers, separated into a few roles depending on the individual speciality, they act as advisor to the Guild Master and are usually the most direct link a regular member has with the leader of their organization. They're in charge of maintaining the internal order of the guild and as such are usually the ones recruiting or dismissing members of the guild.
Captains, leaders of expeditions, while they may not have direct power over regular guild members they can choose who will go on expeditions alongside themselves. A portion of their contract's rewards is transferred to the guild treasury.
Vice-Captains, as the name suggests they are the assistants to their respective captain, they are usually acting as an on-site Guide; charged with having as much information as possible on any given subject as well as performing mundane tasks for their group.
Master Artisans, smiths and crafters of various kinds, these are considered the best artisan within the guild and operate within the Wildguard's citadel; they are funded directly by the guild treasury.
Members, regular members are expected to be part of expedition teams and as such are permitted to use a small portion of the guild funds to complete tasks that are directly related to their duties as Protectors such as repairing their armors, it is considered good etiquette for a member to ask their captain before obtaining guild coins in such a way.
Recruits, new members that haven't proved their mettle yet, they don't have access to the guild treasury nor do they regularly to the Wildguard Master Artisans.
Artisans, from cook to mason to armorsmith, artisans are commonfolks employed by the guild.
Novices, new artisans and potential recruits, they perform roles that are otherwise not filled by the other ranks, such as guards, messengers, smith assistant etc.
It is evaluated that Wildguard possess slightly more than three-hundred people of the Member rank and above but if counting all ranks possesses well over four-thousand people solely within the citadel's reach; all of them are martially adept.
History
Wildguard was founded a hundred and eight years ago with the mission of finding the Lost Queen Alethea within the Wildlands; which remains their sole expedition that completely failed despite them trekking regularly throughout the perilous forest. Through their more than a century old history, Wildguard endures as the first line of defense for Kotengar against the strange and ferocious monsters of the Wildlands. Despite their garnered reputation the Vinian Crown has been making constant demands in the last fifty years for the guild to become part of the Great Kingdom and to merge with the Frontier Shield; claiming that the latter guild was also created by the Good King to protect the commonfolks after the current established laws were set. While this is true factually, Wildguard publicly argues that they can protect more people as an independent organization and also points out that the grand majority of guilds are also free of any bound to any nation by design; the Crown argues back that the Good King (the founder of the guild) publicly wanted the dissolution and the merging of the two guilds before his death. Debates regarding the future of the organization are ongoing and many nobles have taken sides for the complete disbanding of the guild as many of their family members were killed in dangerous missions that they deem unnecessary.
Wildguard regularly sends two expeditions per week in the Wildlands, some to find lost ruins and treasures, others to protect important caravans heading toward Luren; due to their admirable success rate they are extremely expensive to hire. Notable missions include:
The Colmyr Trek, achieved twenty years ago by Master Solen Calagor himself (an Officer at the time this expedition had as a goal to deliver important goods to Tarandel and Colmyr which are situated on the opposite side of the Wildlands.
Kingslayer, in the early days of the guild they were tasked by their founder to dismantle the king of Garm, a well known dictator who acquired his title in an ancestral duel to the death with the previous monarch; after sieging the capital with a hundred Protector another challenge to the throne was issued, the "king" could choose any of the hundred members in his duel. A descendant of a Wildguard's Recruit now holds the throne of Garm.
The Long Night, achieved sixty-three years ago, this mission had as a goal to create a crude map of the paths between the two Great Kingdom nations of Kotengar and Luren; this took well over three months.
A Brave and Secure Future
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Guild, Adventuring
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