Guild of the Sacred Journey
From Edge of Darkness Wiki
 Lords of Summer p. 134-137 | |
| Wyrd | ●● |
|---|---|
| Clarity | ●●●●● |
| Seeming |
Fairest |
| Preqs |
Drive ●● Expression ●● Streetwise ●● |
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While every freehold is an independent entity, commerce, negotiations and diplomacy between freeholds is an important part of changeling life. Open only to the Fairest, the Guild of the Sacred Journey is a noble order of messengers and couriers bound by strict oaths to complete their missions to the very best of their ability. While their duties usually involve carrying messages or small packages from one freehold to another, changelings also regularly ask them to deliver messages or packages to other members of the same freehold, or occasionally to mortals who may be completely unaware of anything about changelings or the fae.
Although they are under no obligation to agree to make any particular delivery, once a Sacred Courier agrees to do so, she is sworn to make the delivery to the very best of her ability. Guild members are free to refuse to accept deliveries, but should have good reason for doing so if the delivery is urgent and involves transporting something from one freehold to another. However, accepting or refusing to transport anything from one member of the same freehold to another or from a changeling to a mortal is purely at the discretion of the guild member.
Mien
A few Guild members are masters of disguise who attempt to blend into whatever social group they are in. Most, though, dress in an obvious and often ostentatious manner designed to impress others and let them know that the Sacred Courier is someone important. Impractical clothing is frowned upon; no matter how impressive they may be, stiletto heels are outright foolish for a messenger-by-trade.
Couriers of the Guild of the Sacred Journey undergo minimal changes to their mien. They all wear the token that is their badge of passage, the winged sash (see below). In addition, at high levels of Wyrd many develop small suggestions of feathered wings, half-visible like a hologram, that sprout at ankles or wrists or temples when the Sacred Courier invokes Glamour.
Courier's Wings Sash ●●● (Privilege)
The greatest privilege a Sacred Courier receives is their grant of immunity. As long as the guild member is in the process of carrying a message, no changeling is supposed to attempt to harm or actively restrain her. In addition, upon being elevated to the status of a full member of this Guild, the changeling is given a winged sash of duty, which glows faintly but vividly when the member is on duty.
This token is a royal blue diagonal sash trimmed with silver and adorned with a badge consisting of four silver wings. Anytime someone asks the changeling to deliver a message or package, the changeling can choose to activate this token. Once activated, the token provides the changeling with a sense of how to go directly to the person the delivery is intended for. The guild member cannot locate the person on a map or clearly tell someone else where the target is except by pointing and giving general information such as near or far. However, this token allows the changeling to have an intuitive sense of the target's location. The guild member can then walk, drive, or travel via a trod directly to the target. If the target is dead, has been returned to Arcadia or is in some similarly inaccessible location like the Shadow Realm, this token cannot be activated. Also, the client giving the message or package to the guild member must know precisely who they wish to have it delivered to. This token cannot be used as a way to locate someone who is either unknown or who the client only briefly glimpsed. It can only be used to find someone the client has either met or communicated with sufficiently to know who they are. However, the client need not know the target's name.
Action: Instant
Drawback: Until the changeling manages to deliver the package or message or to at least communicate with the target and tell her that he has something for her, the changeling suffers a -1 penalty to all actions that are not directly related to delivering this message or package. Actions such as bribing someone for information about the target or fighting one's way past guards preventing the guildswoman from getting to the target count as actions related to making the delivery. However, unrelated actions like picking someone's pocket or getting into a fight with someone the changeling dislikes do not count. The only other way to remove this penalty is to find the target's location and then spend 2 points of Willpower.
Catch: Anyone can use this token, but doing so without the requisite Glamour expenditure or Wyrd roll increases the penalty to unrelated actions to -3. In addition, the character is mentally compelled to complete the delivery and will not stop until the message or package has been delivered.
Joining
This small but prestigious noble order is widely considered to be a very competitive path to prestige and renown for Fairest, so the Guild is every selective of who it allows in. Anyone meeting the minimum qualifications can petition to join the guild. However, prospective members then face extensive interviews to determine their honestly and loyalty. Guild members also question the prospective member's associates to gain a better understanding of the changeling's character and competence. Only skilled and dedicated changelings whom the Guild truly trusts to fulfill their obligations are allowed to join. The ceremony for welcoming a new member of this entitlement is as elaborate and filled with ceremony as all of the rest of the Guild's formal meetings.
Upon joining, new members are apprenticed to an older guild member. Apprentices are not allowed to accept or make their own deliveries. Instead, they accompany their masters on deliveries and work as their master's assistant in return for being taught the details of belonging to the guild. Apprentices are instructed in proper diplomatic protocols as well as methods of rapid and unobtrusive travel. Mentors also do their best to hone both the apprentice's memory and observational skills.
The reasoning behind the Fairest-only membership is generally explained as a necessity of diplomacy. During the Guild's early days, it was difficult to convince potential clients of the order's trustworthiness. As the story goes, the Guild selected only Fairest after a time in the interest of ensuring every member could convince a client of their earnestness; in addition, being selective about seeming helped promote the Guild's public image as an elite organization while still remaining free to serve any Court. Some outsiders have openly called this explanation a steaming pile of toad shit, but the Guild's rule remains intact.
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