Escellsian Basics: Guilds

We've all seen the Covenant, Academy and Underworld groups listed and members having their names colored with their appropriate guild, but what are they really? Why do guilds matter?

Guilds are a series of organizations bound to the duty of helping characters advance. Located in various locations across Escellsia, Guilds are essentially small villages of information, training, rest and community, all resources piled on for character growth. Guilds are the body that ranks characters, either with an in-character ranking proctor that is 2 ranks ahead of the examinee, or a substitute character played by an appropriate Extra account. In addition, while training at a guild a character can attain far more progress in their growth than if they did so at a common landscape.

The guilds differentiate only on what art they stand for. The Academy is there for users of metaphysical energy, like magic or chakra, focusing on mental strength. The Covenant focuses on skilled weapons training and raw strength, relying on brawn over brains. The Underworld is a place of cunning, relying on stealth, speed and raw strategy in order to win its fights. In short, the Academy is for the mage archetype, the Covenant is the fighter, and the Underworld is for the thief. For characters who are mixed in their fighting arts (as most are), there is always the option to train at other guilds, as stated below.

No one is particularly required to join a guild, though it is a necessity for a character to grow in ranks. A guildless character will not be granted a ranking exam at any guild, just like an Academy member wouldn't get an exam at the Covenant or Underworld, etc. Although, this is not to say that a character from the Academy can't train at an Underworld guild facility to get more experience in speed or stealth, or at the Covenant to get better weapons and strength training. This allows for multiple archetypes in one character, so as not to exclude certain features.

The Guild Leader, which can be an in-character or Extra character thing depending on the situation, is there to oversee the guild. The leader cannot be a leader of any Nation, nor order its guildmates to do anything relating to a Nation. The guild leader has the power to expel members from a guild, automatically assign ranks, and overrule the outcome of a ranking exam, all if need be. These leaders are elected every now and then, with a majority vote of the entire members in the guild.