Merchants

The Merchants Guild is an alliance of various professional and trade guilds. Only those with official membership in or license from one of the guilds within it are recognized as true merchants or tradesmen.

History
The first guilds developed early in the history of the Realm, when tradesmen importing and exporting goods banded together for mutual protection against banditry and piracy. Originally, they were only an alliance of convenience, but time and tradition solidified them into true societies with strict hierarchies, social structures, and many systems of support built in. Soon, other professions were modeling themselves after the early Merchants' Guilds, forming societies of mutual support that helped to protect livelihoods and preserve the secrets of the professions.

During the Consolidation, these guilds faced a great many challenges to their existence. When the Lord of the Springs came to Dav, he dictated the Law of Giving - that is, the law that all were to give up one-third of their income to the Order. Many wealthy merchants, furious at this burden, packed up and fled Lithmore for Vavardi, burning their warehouses behind them. Some, however, stayed behind, in spite of the increasingly vicious condemnation of the wealthy and those who would value wealth over spirituality. It was at this time that the guilds formed a loose alliance to protect themselves. This alliance chose the name the Merchants Guild in honor of the earliest guild in the land.

While the guilds have, in the intervening span of time, maintained their independence from one another, in this day all members of guilds belonging to the greater Merchants Guild recognize one another as brothers and sisters, and all will answer the call to help out a fellow guild member.

Members of the Guild now enjoy a much more peaceful coexistence with the Holy Order than they previously did. They're recognized now as being vital to the prosperity of the Kingdom and the Order, as the economy is based around their contributions and they make a point of tithing generously.

Guilds in the Merchants Guild Alliance

 * Bakers' Guild
 * Carpenters' Guild
 * The Alliance of Tailors and Weavers
 * Cobblers' Guild
 * Stone Masons
 * The Guild of Physicians and Surgeons
 * The Brotherhood of Scriveners, Scholars, and Educators