Welcome to the Musician's Guild!
How it all started...
Guild Origins
There is a world called Othmyr. And on that world is a Continent called Gathirim. And on the eastern edge of the continent, on the cliffs overlooking an ocean that was once a battleground to the gods, lies the town of Dimaril.
The town came after the guild. A man named Isac Keerith, and his mysterious dark elf friend founded The Musicians Guild decades ago on those same cliffs. Despite its name, the guild mission is not one of entertainment. The guild is more akin to a mercenary guild than a jester's guild. Legends say the guild's rise to fame started when a lone Dwarf arrived to the guild hall (or what there was of one at the time) weeks after the guild's creation.
The Dwarf asked for help rescuing his clan who were all captured by a tribe of fire giants deep in their mountain home. Isac left alone, and 2 days later returned to the guild hall followed by hundreds of singing Dwarves. As a token of appreciation, the Dwarves agreed to build several structures around the area, including the Guild Hall itself, the famous Gull's Breath tavern, and many of the active stables that travelers now make use of.
The following months brought scores of people to the area. The guild's powerful and mysterious reputation drawing in many perspective heroes who grew to know the guild as "The Legend Maker".
In under 100 years, the inhospitable landscape of the Dimarillian cliffs became a safe haven for anyone passing through the area. And the Musician's Guild has established itself as one of the most fomidible forces in the eastern continent, comparable to their neighboring kingdoms of Retina and Alexandria.
A mercenary guild
With a deceptive name
Members of the Musician's Guild are required to practice their chosen instrument(s) once per day. And yet, the members are sent on incredibly dangerous adventures.
It's unclear why the founder, Isac, made it such a defining trait of the guild. Yet it has attracted some of the most interesting, and in some cases powerful adventurers from the continent and beyond.
Join the Musician's Guild!
Life of a Guild Member
Members of the musician's guild must apply at the registrar's office, and then take the oaths in a ceremony in front of several other guild members. Because the purpose of the guild has always been to bring peace to a chaotic world, the guild needs to be sure it's members represent it well.
Oaths:
1. The first oath is to help those who can't help themselves. Standing by while innocent people are hurt is just as bad as hurting them yourself.
2. The second oath is to be kind and respectful to your other guildmates. Infighting is not tolerated. We are all on the same team and should strive to understand and acknowledge each other's perspectives, not constantly challenge them.
3. The final oath is the most important to the name of the guild. Each member makes an oath to practice their chosen instruments once per day. It could be 5 notes and a slap on the guitar, but the instrument needs to be in hand (feet? mouth?) and make noise once per day.
Upon completion of the Ritual of Oaths, the new member is given a guild emblem. This emblem comes with innate abilities such as being able to speak with any guild member at will, and adding minor illusions to the sound of instruments for effect. As the member grows in rank, the emblem grows in power. It's rumored that the highest ranked guild members can channel their emblems to empower many of their allies in battle.
A musician's guild member can accept or refuse any contract they want. Some may be offered to members based on their expertise or years of experience. Others may be posted on a board for anyone to take. But one mission that no guild member can turn down, and is mandatory for all members to fill a quota on, are Van Runs
Van Runs
Are Van Fun
The Musician's guild is located in a normally hostile part of the continent. Monsters and bandits thrive in the open lawless area surrounded by cliffs, rocks, trees, and anything else you could think to hide behind. There aren't many other options for traveling between kingdoms in the area though, and that's where the Musician's Guild comes in.
Most of the Guild's revenue, and the reason everyone is paid so well, comes from merchants who pay the Guild to escort their caravans from place to place. These are Van Runs. The merchants like the Musician's guild because their success rate of guarding caravans is nearly flawless (Isac doesn't like to talk about that one time).
Isac is adamant about making every member of every rank fill a quota of van runs per month. He even does them frequently himself. The idea is that, no matter how powerful a member becomes, they should never forget their roots. Being connected to the people they help is very important to the mission of the guild.