Tree-Wrights

As the company in charge of the various tradesmen and craftsmen responsible for turning Great Tree Bark, Great Tree Wood and in rare occasions Heart Wood into functional pieces. the Tree-wrights hold a considerable place within the city.

"Almost everything worth anything in the city is made a wood, means we hold the power, prestige and of course the coin." -81st Grand Master of the Tree-wrights Pink

Public Agenda:

Tree wrights serve the highest bidder though with one notable exception, they do not ply their wares outside of the city without the express consent of The Silver Council. The reasons for this are myriad but primarily it is to maintain technological and magical superiority over any neighboring nations that might seek to take Arbor for it's riches.
Beyond this the public agenda of the tree-wrights is to ensure none sully their name and that anyone working with the treasured materials from The Great Tree do so with the proper training and tools. They have been known to squash a budding craftsmen who attempted to operate without the guilds permission, but given their power reach and influence within other Company Majora few amatuer carpenters stay in business long.

History:

It helps being one of the oldest institutions within Arbor when it comes to making sure the profits keep rolling in for those at the top. The Tree-wrights are the second oldest group to exist within Arbor and can trace lineages of Tree-Wright families all the way back to the earliest settlers. The way they tell it they were the first but don't let the church find out about that. Once established though they began guarding their secrets of how to work with the incredibly hard woods that the tree produced ensuring their continued existence to this day.

Attire / Common Garb / Quirks:

In a general sense there is little difference between the members of the tree wrights and those of high society. They often wear the finest of clothes and smell of the most expensive perfumes, their day to day wear are things most people would save for special occasions. Members of the tree wrights though are recognizable by those who know what to look for, they often carry their enchanted chisels and carving knives on their person and they are easily identifiable by the mark on the handle, the mark of the tree wrights.

Written Description:

Striding down the high street servants flanking either side of them is a person of privilege. They are clothed in the finest clothing from the top of their impressive top hat to the very bottom of their fine custom made shoes. Every bit of this person exudes and personifies wealth, influence and power. Of course it should come as no surprise then that at their hip in a fine black leather holder is a set of woodworking tools with the mark of the Tree-Wrights of Arbor.

Structure and Hierarchy:

The guild is an extremely hierarchical body structured on the basis of the apprenticeship system. In this structure, the members of a guild are divided into a hierarchy of masters, journeymen, and apprentices. Because of the prestige and wealth that can come with being part of the Tree-Wrights new apprentices are almost always from the aristocracy and upper classes though this is not a hard rule and discretion is always up to an individual master as to whom they take as apprentices.

Apprentice

A new person within the guild, these are almost exclusively young people late childhood to early adolescence who will board with the master's family while they are trained by them in the elements of their trade. The apprentice can be expected to be provided with food, clothing, shelter and education by the master, and in return they work for them without payment. In addition because there are so few true masters often times wealthy families will offer a bounty up for any master who would take their children, usually those who do not stand to inherit. This apprenticeship lasts for a period of five to nine years and when the apprentice can successfully produce a piece that impresses the master they are training under.

Journeymen

After their apprenticeship is over the person becomes a Journeyman taking on more challenging work and being paid for it, they may stay with the Master they trained under or seek out a new one to work for but they cannot start their own workshop just yet. To advance to the rank of Master they must create a wonder or add an entire floor to The Living Pillar. The wonder must be something that truly inspires and creates awe in all who witness it the usual tripe will not do. Some of these creations can move, talk or even fight. Let it be known that to make the step to Master is to create truly fantastical magical creations that defy the gods themselves.

Masters

The master is an established craftsman of recognized abilities who takes on apprentices and is allowed to run his own shop. Each of these people can command extraordinary fees for their works but, their creations are some of the most powerful and beautiful in all of Arbor.
Within the number of masters though there is a select inner circle composed of the richest and most highly regarded craftsmen and sitting at the top of these paragons of their trade is the leader of the guild who is voted to lead by the inner circle until their death.

Notable People:

Dahlia Darknoll (Current Grand Master Tree-Wright)

Territory:

Each master is responsible for their own well being and as such they do not control any territory. Though few would dare to anger them as a collective the Tree-Wrights command truly frightening sums of money such that if one were to get on their bad side a visit from someone in a dark alley might not be far behind.

Notable Structures:

The Living Pillar

We bend, we do not break

Founding Date

0

Alternative Names

Treowwyrhta

Leader

Dahlia Darknoll

Distrust

Factory Bosses

-25

Tree-Wrights

-25

The Factory bosses would love to have access to the wood that the tree-wrights have an exclusivity to but have thus far been unable to make the necessary moves to remove that monopoly.