The bachelor years after completing your apprenticeship offer a chance to go find the outer reaches of acceptability within the profession. Many find themselves working illicitly, or merely abroad. But not Arvenhale. As soon as his third Flood Season came around, the gnome grabbed himself up his first Apprentice and started doing what he did best.
Before we knew it, the man was bringing in his fourth Longshoreman and presenting them to the Longhouse. Some of the Longshoremen that had been working for a decade hadn't done that yet, it changed almost everything. Here was a little gnome upending the paradigm that had worked for hundreds of years. What was the point? Who would even want to do it? Well, Arvenhale's Apprentices were a fan of the idea. Each one also picked up their own apprentice just before their third flood season.
Arvenhale might yet leave a legacy that is hard to top, but only time will tell.
— The life of a Longshoreman
The Trained Longshoreman is a weird transitionary role in the
The Longshore Guild, the vast majority of Trained Longshoremen stay Trained only long enough for one of their previous Apprentices to reach the rank of Trained themselves. This means that many Trained Longshoreman see themselves as already being a part of the
Lead Longshoremen and only a step away from becoming a
Master Longshoreman. Of course, that isn't exactly true, but the illusion doesn't hurt anyone.
In fact, many Masters hold up the Trained rank as being the keystone holding the guild together. It acts as a narrow point where members see large returns on small amounts of work that bring them closer to their goals of being higher in the guild. And once they've crossed that threshold, they are often so overwhelmed by new types of work and learning that they forget how far away many things still can be.
To Become a Trained Longshoreman
The base requirements of becoming a trained Longshoreman are simple.
A
Longshoreman is expected to train three Apprentices over their entire career. A Trained Longshoreman has taken it upon themselves to train more apprentices than what the guild requires. This shows that they have the capability to keep their wards alive for two flood seasons, and that they have an appreciation for the future of the guild, after all, the only reason to train new members is from an interest in seeing the guild grow and prosper.
This extra work is rewarded by the guild with lower guild dues and more privileges within their local
longhouse.
To Be a Trained Longshoreman
A trained Longshoreman is a step above the regular Longshoreman, but only a step.
A Trained Longshoreman has slightly more respect compared to a regular Longshoreman, but they still get the harder and less preferred jobs. A Key difference being that the masters are more likely to offset specific types of jobs that a Trained Longshoreman isn't fond of, but that isn't a guarantee. The Trained Longshoremen also tend to pick up a new apprentice as soon as they can so that they can work on getting the requirements for becoming an
Lead Longshoreman.
This means that they are often caught between both sides of the job in a way few other ranks are.
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