Post by Samira on Dec 19, 2009 15:59:25 GMT -5
DarkRowan Ranks:
Master:
DarkRowan's guildmaster is the dictator of the guild. He holds ultimate power and authority in everything and his guild fears him but is also fiercely loyal to him, in a sort of inside-out way. They hate him but would die for him and would kill anyone who spoke against him in a heartbeat. He makes all the important decisions and rules with absolutes. He is master for life - having waded through a bloodbath to reach his position, he will never relinquish his grip on it until death pries it from him. He punishes any hint of a traitor with painful death but also rewards those who serve him well. He lives in a stone tower perhaps fifty feet high in the middle of the guildcircle.
Follower:
The guildmaster's second in command is called the Follower. When the guildmaster dies, the Follower will take his place, and thus the guildmaster does not ever truly trust his Follower. The Follower advises the guildmaster, helps to enforce his laws, and is in charge of the network of secret spies who report to him to make sure the grip of fear the guildmaster holds over his people remains firm. These spies have no official title and may be anyone in any rank, even a child, and they report anything suspicious or treasonous to the Follower. The Follower is chosen by the guildmaster early on in his status and cannot be dismissed or replaced except in the event of his death. The Follower is usually younger than the guildmaster, in order that he may outlive and succeed him. He lives in a house near the base of the guildmaster's tower.
WarMaster:
The WarMaster is in charge of all the warmongers in the guild - both swords and bows - as well as the warmonger apprentices and messengers. The WarMaster leads all military planning and execution and oversees every detail of the weapons and the warriors. He is also in charge of executions and punishments for lawbreakers, unless for some special reason the Follower or guildmaster wishes to personally oversee an execution. The DarkRowan WarMaster is required to be male - the DarkRowan guild wastes no respect on females - but there have been female WarMasters who disguised themselves as males. This is risky, however, as it is seen as insubordination or treason and is punishable by painful death. The guildmaster always chooses the WarMaster, who is usually in place for life but may be dismissed by the guildmaster. He may not retire unless physically or mentally incapacitated, in which case the guildmaster usually dismisses him before he has a chance to retire of his own volition. The WarMaster lives in the barracks with his warmongers.
WoundBinder:
The WoundBinder is the healer of the guild. They may be male or female and are required to know about plants and cures and other things, as well as having natural healing magic. They are also responsible for knowing as much as possible about poisons and antidotes, as requests for poisons and deaths by poisoning are common in DarkRowan guild. The WoundBinder is not, however, allowed to give or sell poison and may be killed for doing so if caught; some WoundBinders have made a nice profit on the side by selling poisons and antidotes on the blackmarket. The WoundBinder has a house on the banks of the river, as water is necessary for many of their cures, and usually maintains a garden there.
WoundBinder's Follower:
The WoundBinder's Follower is the one the WoundBinder is training. They will succeed the WoundBinder and must learn as much as possible before the WoundBinder's death. They live with the WoundBinder and must obey whatever the WoundBinder tells them.
Warmongers:
The warriors of the DarkRowan guild are called warmongers and are divided into two groups - swords and bows. The swords are those who are primarily swordsmen and the bows are those who are primarily archers. The two groups hold each other in contempt and seldom get along well. Warmongers may be male or female, and though the females are usually badly treated there are many of them. Many warmongers have war magic of some kind. They live in a large barracks with the WarMaster.
Warmonger Apprentices:
Warmonger apprentices are those children who intend to be warmongers and are in training to become so. Usually these are children with some form of war magic for whom it would be pointless to pursue another trade, but there are also those who simply choose - or have chosen for them - that they will become warmongers. Warmongers are more respected than tradesmen in the guild, and so many children aspire to warmongery rather than a trade. Each warmonger apprentice has a specified mentor among the warmongers, a sword or a bow respective to what the warrior apprentice aspires to. This mentor will train them individually and is responsible for their wellbeing and their learning everything they will need to know, as well as training them in the use of their natural magic if they have any. Warmonger apprentices live in a large house annexed on the warmongers' barracks.
Tradesmen:
Tradesmen are those who pursue natural trades such as blacksmithing, carpentry, bakery, butchery, etc. Often they have natural magic for their work but there are always those without. Most tradesmen are male but there are females. They live wherever they please in the guild's home territory.
Apprentices:
Apprentices are those children learning a trade under a tradesman. Often they have natural magic but there are those without. They live with the tradesman to whom they are apprenticed and do whatever tasks he sets them to.
Mothers
Any woman with a child is a mother; her task is to feed the child and care for it until it is old enough to be apprenticed in some capacity or other. Mothers live in normal homes, usually with a husband unless he happens to be a warmonger, wherever they please in the guild's territory. Mothers are not respected, simply because they are female and females are not respected in DarkRowan guild. They are respected only in their capacity as childbearers.
Children
Children are any young not old enough to be apprenticed. Obviously, they live at home with their mothers. Every child must be apprenticed in some capacity, whether as the Healer's Ward, a warmonger apprentice, or a tradesman, as soon as they are old enough.
Gaffers and Gammers
A gaffer is any man too old to carry on a trade or continue as a warmonger; a gammer is any woman too old to bear children or carry a trade or continue as a warmonger. If a woman has no trade and is not a warmonger, she is considered a gammer once she passes childbearing age; if she has a trade or is a warmonger, she may not be called a gammer for years after childbearing passes. Gaffers and gammers are not very well respected in the guild, though their advice is usually heeded, but they are cared for to some extent - their deaths are not considered losses, however.
Master:
DarkRowan's guildmaster is the dictator of the guild. He holds ultimate power and authority in everything and his guild fears him but is also fiercely loyal to him, in a sort of inside-out way. They hate him but would die for him and would kill anyone who spoke against him in a heartbeat. He makes all the important decisions and rules with absolutes. He is master for life - having waded through a bloodbath to reach his position, he will never relinquish his grip on it until death pries it from him. He punishes any hint of a traitor with painful death but also rewards those who serve him well. He lives in a stone tower perhaps fifty feet high in the middle of the guildcircle.
Follower:
The guildmaster's second in command is called the Follower. When the guildmaster dies, the Follower will take his place, and thus the guildmaster does not ever truly trust his Follower. The Follower advises the guildmaster, helps to enforce his laws, and is in charge of the network of secret spies who report to him to make sure the grip of fear the guildmaster holds over his people remains firm. These spies have no official title and may be anyone in any rank, even a child, and they report anything suspicious or treasonous to the Follower. The Follower is chosen by the guildmaster early on in his status and cannot be dismissed or replaced except in the event of his death. The Follower is usually younger than the guildmaster, in order that he may outlive and succeed him. He lives in a house near the base of the guildmaster's tower.
WarMaster:
The WarMaster is in charge of all the warmongers in the guild - both swords and bows - as well as the warmonger apprentices and messengers. The WarMaster leads all military planning and execution and oversees every detail of the weapons and the warriors. He is also in charge of executions and punishments for lawbreakers, unless for some special reason the Follower or guildmaster wishes to personally oversee an execution. The DarkRowan WarMaster is required to be male - the DarkRowan guild wastes no respect on females - but there have been female WarMasters who disguised themselves as males. This is risky, however, as it is seen as insubordination or treason and is punishable by painful death. The guildmaster always chooses the WarMaster, who is usually in place for life but may be dismissed by the guildmaster. He may not retire unless physically or mentally incapacitated, in which case the guildmaster usually dismisses him before he has a chance to retire of his own volition. The WarMaster lives in the barracks with his warmongers.
WoundBinder:
The WoundBinder is the healer of the guild. They may be male or female and are required to know about plants and cures and other things, as well as having natural healing magic. They are also responsible for knowing as much as possible about poisons and antidotes, as requests for poisons and deaths by poisoning are common in DarkRowan guild. The WoundBinder is not, however, allowed to give or sell poison and may be killed for doing so if caught; some WoundBinders have made a nice profit on the side by selling poisons and antidotes on the blackmarket. The WoundBinder has a house on the banks of the river, as water is necessary for many of their cures, and usually maintains a garden there.
WoundBinder's Follower:
The WoundBinder's Follower is the one the WoundBinder is training. They will succeed the WoundBinder and must learn as much as possible before the WoundBinder's death. They live with the WoundBinder and must obey whatever the WoundBinder tells them.
Warmongers:
The warriors of the DarkRowan guild are called warmongers and are divided into two groups - swords and bows. The swords are those who are primarily swordsmen and the bows are those who are primarily archers. The two groups hold each other in contempt and seldom get along well. Warmongers may be male or female, and though the females are usually badly treated there are many of them. Many warmongers have war magic of some kind. They live in a large barracks with the WarMaster.
Warmonger Apprentices:
Warmonger apprentices are those children who intend to be warmongers and are in training to become so. Usually these are children with some form of war magic for whom it would be pointless to pursue another trade, but there are also those who simply choose - or have chosen for them - that they will become warmongers. Warmongers are more respected than tradesmen in the guild, and so many children aspire to warmongery rather than a trade. Each warmonger apprentice has a specified mentor among the warmongers, a sword or a bow respective to what the warrior apprentice aspires to. This mentor will train them individually and is responsible for their wellbeing and their learning everything they will need to know, as well as training them in the use of their natural magic if they have any. Warmonger apprentices live in a large house annexed on the warmongers' barracks.
Tradesmen:
Tradesmen are those who pursue natural trades such as blacksmithing, carpentry, bakery, butchery, etc. Often they have natural magic for their work but there are always those without. Most tradesmen are male but there are females. They live wherever they please in the guild's home territory.
Apprentices:
Apprentices are those children learning a trade under a tradesman. Often they have natural magic but there are those without. They live with the tradesman to whom they are apprenticed and do whatever tasks he sets them to.
Mothers
Any woman with a child is a mother; her task is to feed the child and care for it until it is old enough to be apprenticed in some capacity or other. Mothers live in normal homes, usually with a husband unless he happens to be a warmonger, wherever they please in the guild's territory. Mothers are not respected, simply because they are female and females are not respected in DarkRowan guild. They are respected only in their capacity as childbearers.
Children
Children are any young not old enough to be apprenticed. Obviously, they live at home with their mothers. Every child must be apprenticed in some capacity, whether as the Healer's Ward, a warmonger apprentice, or a tradesman, as soon as they are old enough.
Gaffers and Gammers
A gaffer is any man too old to carry on a trade or continue as a warmonger; a gammer is any woman too old to bear children or carry a trade or continue as a warmonger. If a woman has no trade and is not a warmonger, she is considered a gammer once she passes childbearing age; if she has a trade or is a warmonger, she may not be called a gammer for years after childbearing passes. Gaffers and gammers are not very well respected in the guild, though their advice is usually heeded, but they are cared for to some extent - their deaths are not considered losses, however.
