Holy Orders of Korak
The Order of Guildmasters
The guildmasters come from the three other holy orders of the Koraketh, and are members of the faith who wish to lead their local guildhalls in matters both spiritual and mundane. A guildmaster keeps their original title, but adds a title among the guildmasters. Guildmasters may continue to rise in their original orders. Only clerics, paladins, or others who receive spells from Korak can become guildmasters.Wright
To advance in the guildmasters, a member must demonstrate broad skill in Korak’s arts, crossing the divisions of the other orders. A novice in this order has no special titles, though she might possess one from one of the other orders. To be named a wright—the church’s term for small guildhall’s leader—the novice must create two items of unsurpassed beauty, associated with the trades of two different orders. A wright coordinates the efforts of all three holy orders, and offers local communities use of the hall. She becomes leader and spokesperson for a small group of the faithful. A wright is addressed as “brother” or “sister,” and this address always comes before his name. Old order titles are omitted; Grand Maker Jason, upon becoming a wright, is simply addressed as “Brother Jason.” This is reflects him putting aside his status to focus on his duties as a wright. When formally introduced, however, he maintains all titles and is announced as, “The Illustrious Master, Brother Jason, Grand Maker and Wright of the Guildhall of Korak.”Master Wright
By creating a third item of unsurpassed workmanship from a trade associated with the order he did not work within to qualify for her office, a wright demonstrates her complete understanding of the three types of trades, and becomes a master wright. Master wrights manage the greatest guildhalls, for this is the apex of power in the guildmasters’ order. A master wright is addressed as “wise brother” or “wise sister.” Like a wright, she maintains all order titles for formal purposes and is introduced in the same fashion.Guildhalls and Artisans
None of the craft orders demand a monopoly on their trades. One does not have to serve Korak to be the village blacksmith. Conversely, one need not be an artisan to worship or bargain for services at a guildhall. Members of the church will provide training and spiritual guidance when necessary, but don’t control a community’s artisans, or ignore people who don’t make things for a living. The average guildhall has perhaps a dozen active members of each order associated with it, though few reside at the guildhall, and many are nominal members. One wright lives in residence. The wright is usually a cleric, and supervises two other clerics in residence, and one or two arcstones (see below). A guildhall usually has one or two local artificers (see below) on their membership rolls, but they rarely live there.Guildhalls of Korak
Koraketh worship in the guildhalls of Korak, also known by members as the Halls of the Grand Wright. Nearly every artisan who worships the gods of the tree belongs to a guildhall. Most who make their living through works of the hand consider their guildhall their “home” church, even if they pay respects to other members of the pantheon. Thus, guildhalls are cornerstones of every community. The guildhalls, and the entirety of the Koraketh faith, exist to do: to work, and make things. The guildhalls aid those who need advice to complete massive projects, and offer supplies when possible. They provide mediation between artisans in professional disputes, make sure apprentices aren’t abused by their masters, and collaborate with community leaders on public works. The Koraketh keep clear of political struggles, and anything else that might distract them from their work. Dedication to actual work in their community, and an intimate involvement in the goings-on of local artisans, make the Koraketh so popular that many towns don’t have individual guilds for coopers, thatchers, masons, smiths, or other trades. Instead they all meet within the guildhalls of Korak, which happily makes space available for such purposes. Korak favors the guildhalls, and goes to them when he walks the mortal sphere, when he’s not wooing Thellyne. Although the Compact forbids him from directly teaching his faithful or giving them great powers to pursue his ends, nearly all the gods communicate with their churches through signs and portents. Thus, Korak delivers guidance as a blind old man, or a young artisan hoping to be taught a lesson or two. In this fashion, he observes the Koraketh and teaches them lessons through parables and hands-on examples. Korak dearly loves those who live for artisanship. He believes Koraketh serve the highest calling any mortal can: perfecting the works of the hand. Therefore, the most powerful of Koraketh receive aid from their god in times of need, and the Forger of Souls always watches over them.Tenets of Faith
Doctrine
“It is the fool who believes himself above work. It is the greater fool who works to no purpose.” —from the sermons of the Most Excellent and Venerable Master, Wise Brother Grathor Twicecut, Supreme Maker and Master Wright of the Guildhalls of KorakThe guildhalls of Korak preach creative and useful work above all else. They say the Grand Wright despises the lazy. Each order in the church has its own interpretation of Korak’s teachings, but all three agree: He loves those who live by the sweat of their brows, and loathes those who sit back and let others work for them. The guildhalls also hold, however, one must not build for no purpose, or simply for the pleasure of building, as it is easy to manipulate one into doing evil with the thing created. Thus, one must always consider who will use his creation—who will carry the sharp sword, or live in the impregnable tower. Those who make and build must be ever vigilant that their creations do not fall into evil hands. Thus, many worshipers of Korak liberate holy sites, cleanse evil-tainted ancient cities, and restore lost homes. There are also those of the church who protect the great works of past artisans to ensure they never fall into evil hands. In day-to-day life, the worshipers of Korak follow these simple laws:
- Never be hesitant to dirty your hands in labor, no matter high you rise, no matter how noble you are acclaimed to be. Every day, work.
- Do not hoard beauty. If you hold the magnificent work of artisans, let others behold it when it is safe to show it. (There is no sense among the worshipers of Korak that it is wrong to hide valuables while traveling, but misers who hoard great works of the hand so that only they can see them are thought to be wicked.)
- Always endeavor to aid goodhearted people with your labor whenever it is useful.
- Demand that your brother be paid fairly for his labor. Pay those who study with you a fair wage, even your apprentices.
- Do not hold any into service against their will— either past their time of contract, or as slaves—for to take a man’s labor is as grave as taking his life.
- Protect beautiful works of the hand. They must be guarded against all those who would steal or spoil them.
Worship
Koraketh Prayers
The most common prayer to Korak is said daily by nearly all his worshipers upon waking, and is simply called the Morning Prayer.“Master Korak, guide my Hand,
Give me strength to lift,
Precision to join,
Fortitude to labor.
“Master Korak, guide my Eye,
Grant me insight to plan,
Knowledge to understand,
Wisdom to teach.
“Master Korak, guide my Heart,
Lend me courage to fail,
Patience to continue,
Hope to succeed.”
Another common prayer is said by an apprentice when binding himself to a master:
“King of the Crucible, smile on me!Masters take oaths to fairly teach and compensate apprentices until they’re ready to become a journeyman, or until cannot meet the required standards of the trade despite the master’s earnest efforts to teach them.
The first master among us was your apprentice;
I follow now, as my master did before me.
I swear to obey,
I swear to work,
I swear to serve,
I swear to learn,
And when I am a master,
I swear to teach.
I bind myself to this oath in your name,
Master Korak.
May your blessings be upon me.”
Priesthood
Saints
Koraketh saints are remembered at the Great Festival, when the heads of the orders bring out the faith’s ornate Roll of the Saints, and read the names inscribed on it. (They say Saint Dorrik Threehelms once worked through the night on his piece for the Grand Festival and missed his own beatification the following morning, by sleeping through it.) They add members of the faith, living or dead, by unanimous vote, just before the Festival. The three decide on the names of those to be beatified before the festival, add their names, and read them to public before the Grand Festival closes. The heads of the orders look for truly exceptional deeds, not craft-skill alone, when they consider candidates for sainthood. Saints might be remembered for cleansing particularly splendid ancient elf or dwarf homes of evil sorcery, for recovering magnificent artifacts, or for saving important, beautiful locations from destruction. When the faithful die defending such creations, people remember them as local martyrs, but martyrdom is never acknowledged by the whole faith; Korak wants his followers to live and work, not just die defending what’s already been made.Sects
The Koraketh have four holy orders, three of which know no boundaries from guildhall to guildhall. The last order is concerned only with the authority of individual guildhalls. The three main orders of the guildhalls are the makers, the builders, and the masons. Those who oversee individual guildhalls are members of the fourth order: the guildmasters. Korak is the supreme authority of the guildhall system: the Grand Wright. The heads of the three cross-guildhall orders gain no authority within individual guildhalls, though the devout respect them as the greatest workers in their crafts.
The Craft Orders
All three of the main orders have the same structure. Advancement occurs by merit, and members ascend based on the works they create. Each order uses the following titles and degrees:Journeymen
Apprentices fully inducted into the order become either “makers,” “builders,” or “masons.” They are addressed and introduced by full title (such as “Maker Jason”).Masters
In time, one who creates something of great and lasting beauty becomes a master and is titled as a “master maker,” “master builder,” or “master mason.” He might be called “Master Maker Jason.”Grand Masters
The greatest masters become accepted by all as one of the great craftspeople of a large area. Such a figure is considered a Grand member of the guild, called either “grand maker,” “grand builder,” or “grand mason.” They are addressed as “Illustrious Masters,” and introduced by full title— “Illustrious Master Jason, of the Makers,” for example.Supreme Masters
The most skilled and accomplished masters might unseat the current head of an order and become the supreme members of the guild. The head of the order is either the “supreme maker,” “supreme builder,” or “supreme mason.” He is addressed as “Most Excellent and Venerable Master,” and introduced by that moniker. One cannot be a member of more than one of the three major orders (makers, builders, masons). Once an order is chosen, a member must stay in it or go through a complex initiation, rejecting the old order and joining the new. In any given guildhall, the highest-ranked local member of each order lead their comrades. If there are no particularly powerful or revered members of the order locally, they look to reputable members of the order for instruction in other guildhalls, visiting when necessary for guidance and instruction. The three orders maintain equal status in a guildhall, but even their most powerful members do not determine local guildhall policy. While each order might make policies and religious law for its own members, every guildhall is an independent body, overseen by the local head of the fourth order of the faith, the guildmasters. Anyone can climb in status within the three main orders, if they are skilled craftspeople. Each of the three orders is concerned with a different area of artisanship, as follows.The Holy and Revered Order of Makers
The Holy and Revered Order of Makers is made up of smiths of all sorts (particularly goldsmiths and silversmiths), jewelers, armorers, weaponsmiths, fletchers, and others who craft individual works for the use of heroes and common folk alike. They believe the individual’s tie to beauty is one of Korak’s greatest gifts, and that people should be adorned in jewelry, don the finest armor in battle, and wield the greatest weapons in war.The Holy and Revered Order of Builders
The Holy and Revered Order of Builders is the largest order, and includes coopers, tanners, carpenters, woodworkers, thatchers, farriers, furriers, shipwrights, wheelwrights, and others whose skills are used to maintain communities. If a skill keeps a town running by its very nature, its practitioners join the builders. They believe Korak’s greatest gifts to the mortal races were the simple arts necessary to survive and thrive, and they take great pride in making commonplace things beautiful.The Holy and Revered Order of Masons
The Holy and Revered Order of Masons is the smallest order, and comprises stonemasons, sculptors, locksmiths, glasscutters, and others whose skills are necessary to build massive structures. If a skill helps build a city’s works or some magnificent structure, its practitioners join the masons. They believe Korak’s lessons are best poured into the construction of magnificent temples, halls and castles, to better glorify his gifts.
Works of the Hand
“Works of the hand” is the most common phrase among the Koraketh to describe what they revere. For a time, many religious scholars sought to extend the meaning of building and artisanship to structures made purely of magic, as well as abstractions like culture. While the Koraketh certainly enjoy exploring the metaphysical meanings of “building,” they came to be dissatisfied with the regular aspersions cast on what such scholars began calling “petty crafts,” like blacksmithing. Before long, the Koraketh came to discuss their church in terms of “works of the hand:” physical things made by the hands of mortals, such as buildings, ships, tools, weapons, and so on.
Type
Religious, Holy Order
Demonym
Koraketh
Subsidiary Organizations
Deities
Divines
Related Myths
Areas of Concern for the Four Holy Orders of the Guildhalls of Korak
| Guild | Typical Trades |
|---|---|
| Makers | Crafting Items for Adventurers, Soldiers, or Personal Adornment: Armorsmithing, Goldsmithing, Silversmithing, Bowmaking, Gemcutting, Weaponsmithing, Jewelry, Fletching |
| Builders | Creating Community Improvements and Useful Items for Day-To-Day Living: Blacksmithing, Bookbinding, Carpentry, Cobbling, Cooping (Making Barrels and Casks), Leatherworking, Painting, Pottery, Weaving, Tailoring, Ropery (Rope and Net Making) |
| Masons | Creating Large Monuments and Lasting Structures (and Certain Esoteric Skills): Locksmithing, Sculpture, Stonemasonry, Trapmaking, Architecture, Calligraphy, Runemaking |
| Guildmasters | Any two trades from at least two of the other three orders to attain Wright status |
