College of Secrets

The College of Secrets uses the term "college" very loosely. They have no campus to find, no buildings to learn in, and no professors to receive lectures from. This organization focuses entirely on the art of being a Bards. Finding them is a test in of itself, and serves as the first step towards joining their ranks. The training is rigorous for both the mind and the body, requiring you to hone a wide variety of skills. You must learn to entertain, to charm, to spy and sleuth, to outwit and outsmart, and you must learn to kill. The life of a bard requires decades of learning and many do not live into their older years, but those that do become legendary.
Once a person has joined the College they also join the network. The College helps connect bards to clients and vice versa, especially those who are new to the profession, and will help broker deals and contracts between both parties. Bards are free to keep their identify secrets or make them public, both approaches have their benefits and flaws, but those within the college recommend to pick one and stick with it. Far better and easier that way, according to them.
A bard is something of a curiosity even in the courts of the Ruby District, where intrigue is as common as silk. Musicians and troubadours, doubling as spies, exploit their access to powerful nobility to glean secrets for employers who are usually nameless even to the bard. The nobles welcome such entertainers with full knowledge that any could be a bard; the thrill of outwitting a spy is a notion the Vallakian aristocracy can hardly resist. Unfortunately, when they finally realize that a master bard has been among them, it is usually too late.
Within the College network exists the group known as the League of Shadows, who are responsible for networking the Bards and keeping tabs on the whereabouts of all performing Bards.