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Organizations

The feudal system may be the basic structure of Saromatian society, but that doesn't exclude other ways that people organize themselves. Tourilac has trade guilds, and the idea is spreading to Garonne and beyond. Knightly orders offer prestige and sorority. Noble ladies may belong to elite clubs, and the disciples of the Sorceress often hang together in cabals for mutual support and continued education. Less savory societies also gather, in the bustle of the cities, under the green roof of the forest, and in the halls of unscrupulous rulers.

Trade and Craft Guilds

The Merchant's Association of Tourilac controls a good deal of the wealth that flows through that town. Their influence over the Council of Judges is well-known. Assorted trade guilds are organizing, trying to seize a piece of that pie for themselves as well. They have an uphill struggle - Tourilac is less of an industrial center than it is a trading post. The Potter's Guild is by far the most successful, as Tourilac pottery is a highly-prized commodity.

Joyeuse has tried to apply the concept of guilds to itself, but in the typically slapdash manner associated with that city. Quarrels within guilds caused fragmentation - the Guild of Singers became the Guild of Minstrelsy and the Jongleur's Guild, for instance. Guildmembers occassionally quarreled, until "gang" might be a better word than "guild" to describe the situation. The City Founders are now trying to stomp out the practice.

To outsiders, it may seem that dwarves formed craft guilds long ago. In truth, most dwarven family clans eventually come to hold specialties in some art or craft and become known for them. Whereas human guilds claim to emulate family, dwarven families are guilds.

Knightly Orders

The Knights of the Road were founded by Queen Sibille in 475. They have small holdings along Saromatia's road system, and are charged with keeping the section of road that runs through their fief safe and in good order.

The Baroness of Soustons created the Knights of the Coast in 465, as a reward for the knights who had assisted her in battling sirens. Today, these warriors ride in sleek little skiffs rather than on rhacos, sailing along the city's Grey Cliffs and killing any sirens or nests that they find.

The Order of the Plume is an unofficial group based in Garonne. They hold no sanction from the Queen. Members, identified by a rhacos tail feather worn prominently on one's helm, swear to uphold chivalric values and generally act in a romantic manner.

The Spears of the Maiden are all men, sworn to the service of the Warrior Maiden. Spears often serve as honor guards at the Warrior's temples. They have also all sworn chastity, as they are devoted to the goddess and no other woman. They do not generally appreciate spear jokes or double entendres.

Social Clubs

The Vezias Association of Honored Alumnae theoretically consists of anyone to have graduated from either the Old University or its sister schools. In reality, most of the alumnae who care about it have never left Vezias, remaining as scholars-in-residence. The Association is mostly a boon to Vezian scholars who have had to move away. It provides assistance in getting letters and scholarly communiques back and forth to the absent alumna and her collegues "back home."

Salons are becoming popular in more cultured areas. Regulars show up to drink a little wine and discuss whatever topic the hostess chooses. Top-notch hostesses are in great demand, and her regulars consider themselves an elite group. Young noblewomen attend them to get noticed by their superiors, perhaps becoming invited to become a lady-in-waiting.

Magical Cabals

The Elemental Brotherhood is formed almost exclusively of men. All members are elementalist mages of some sort, who have received their powers from one of the Elemental Lords rather than from the Sorceress. Their powers are usually nearly identical to those of the Lords' priests, but the elementalists claim they are no such thing. The clergy of the Sorceress are not pleased with these claims, and the two groups are in conflict.

Helping Hands is less a group of mages and more a group for mages. They can be found at most temples to the Sorceress, as well as in the cities of Garonne, Tourilac, and Vezias. Started by a sorceress who lost her vision to buy her Gift, Helping Hands mages magically interview mundane servants. Those suitable as mages' assistants are placed with Gifted seeking assistance, subject to the requesting mage's approval.

Dark Mirror is a "by invitation only" sorority for mages. They favor seers and oracles (the group's name is a reference to a common scrying device), but magic users of all specialties can be found within the group. Members provide one another with aid and information. Only those with something to offer other members of Dark Mirror are invited to join.

Villians and Rumors of Villians

The Wild Hunt is rumored to be a collection of devotees of the Forest Maiden, pursuing human prey on nights of the new, full or crescent moon (accounts vary). Some claim the hunters are priestesses; others say wood nymphs; still others say it's nothing but bandit attacks with a legend attached to them.

It is whispered that a collection of necromancers lurks out there, ready and willing to do terrible things to the bodies of the dead. No one has a name for them, and it seems to be an omnipresent legend in Saromatia. Of course, no one's actually seen scores of graves disturbed and the corpses removed. But then, in a place like Joyeuse, no one would notice if they were...

With trade beginning to boom in Tourilac and Soustons, crime cannot be far behind. No organized crime has been recognized yet, although the tactics of some of the merchant princesses are not too far off from that.

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