Breakers

Those who work on the many ships owned by the Chambers of the Icerunners Guild are collectively called Breakers. The title comes from those who brave the Sea of Black Ice to carve off the bergs, but has become used for any of the ocean going sailors employed by the Guild.

Initiation trials

To be accepted onto a ship, one must be vouched for by an existing breaker, and prove themselves worthy to the captain of the ship.
Each ship will have its own form of initiation trial, usually involving extended tests of strength, endurance and constitution. The specific challenges may include hand to hand combat with another crew member, tests of strength or endurance through long exposure to extreme environments and challenges.
These physical tests are often accompanied with tests of mental fortitude, such as puzzles designed to check the aspirants ability to think under pressure and stay focussed under physical duress.

Mine trial was brutal. They had me sit in the icehold, in the dark so long i couldn't feel myself no more. Then, with my fingers like splinters and my head all gone to shadow, they brought me blinking and stumbling up on deck.
They'd ined up the biggest and hairiest of the shadowkin on their crew - each of them an iceberg unto themselves and grinning at me with their tusky maws. And between them there was this pile of rope the width of my arms, all coiled and tangled up in knots, and hardened with frost.
I had to untangle that Preserver-forsaken mess while them hairy bastards all beat upon me, kicking and shoving and laughing. I could barely stand by the end of it, and hardly managed to get even a couple of yards straightened out. I dunno what it was, but seems like it weren't the untangling that was so important.
Anyway... here i am. A breaker of nearly 40 moons now. I've fought Frostbacks on the Ice, and got lost in the tents of Kukutana. I got high with the shrooms of the Ferment, and I seen the spires of the Gleaming City itself!
There ain't nothing the Choosing coulda given me better than any of this. But you gotta prove yourself if you want it. You think you're ready?

Career

Career Progression

Breakers within the relatively safe Silver Chamber can eventually prove themselves capable enough to progress to the Gold, or even Black chamber - swapping onto the bigger crews who land the more lucrative contracts and expeditions.
Others may advance to captain their own crew upon the retirment of a previous captain. Other more entepeneurial breakers may amass enough wealth to build their own ship from scratch.

Payment & Reimbursement

Each crew of breakers is employed by one of the Chambers of the Icerunners Guild. The crew collectively own shares in any shipment they help deliver. Captains and shipowners will have a larger share, with the largest share paid as tithe to the coffers of their Chamber. The rest is shared equally amongst the crew.
The physical wealth itself, in coin, crystal or other goods, is held within the coffers of the Guild at Runners End. The Guild keeps records of all shareholders across the Guild, Chambers and Crews and a Breaker can draw upon this at any port through dealings with the local Isulo harbour master.

Other Benefits

While at sea, a breakers life is one of hard toil under sometimes brutal conditions. But at any port where the Guiold holds sway, they have access to luxurious accomodation run by the Guild itself and can spend the coin they have earned in any way they see fit.
Many have bought their own personal properties across multiple ports. If they survive that long, Breakers with 10 years of runs between The Sea of Black Ice and the Gleaming City will have amassed enough wealth to see them through a long and very comfortable retirement.

Perception

Social Status

Across the world, Breakers are seen as intrepid indivuals who have braved a life of danger. They are respected, but also thought of as slightly uncouth or even dangerous to meddle with. There is a wariness that many have when dealing with them.
In the many ports where they operate, they often have separate or distinct areas where they congregate, and they will tend to socialise amongst themselves. this aloofness adds to the mystery and wariness in which they are treated by others.

Demographics

Breakers can be employed at any port along the reaches, and they come from a multitude of ethnicities. Their origins in the Sea of Black Ice means that there are many of the shadowkin in their ranks, but also many who have escaped the confines of the Protectorates for a life of freedom on the open sea. This includes many of the disaffected who fled after the failed Kaltstad Rebellion.
Other members have come from the Deepkin from Novalucca, or goblinkin refugees from Uferbrech. There are even kin from the deserts of Ardi-Kokufa, or those from the Shimmerlands.
The only prerequesite is a willingness to brave the dangers of the sea, a loyalty to Crew, Chamber and Guild, and the fortitude to pass the trials.

History

The first breakers were formed by an intrepid wanderer from the protectorates, Marq D'Or, who spent his early life after his release from Refuge exploring the Sea of Black Ice.
He formed close ties with the tribes of Shadowkin, called the Koroza, who hunted the frostbacks there. He lived with them for many years and from them he learned the arts of navigation by moons and stars, and the blood magic techniques they use to carve and manipulate the ice.
It was a hard life upon the ice, and Marq and some of those of the clan he had formed close friendships with, agreed to embark upon a new life. They could see the wars on the mainland between the Protectorates and the Dawncrag goblins, and Marq had convinced them of a new path they could forge, to protect themselves from the Protectorate's aggression, while maintaining their freedom.
Together, they built the first of the Icebreaker ships at the settlement that would become Runners End, and with the first crew of Koroza and some old friends within the Proitectorates, made the first ice run between New Lafaelle and the Empire of Novalucca - signally the start of a long and propersperous trade route to be known as the Silver Reaches.
The crew of the first ship dubbed themselves Breakers, with Marq D'Or given the title First Breaker.

Famous in the Field

• Marq D'Or

Related Locations

• Runners End

Used By

• The Icerunners Guild

Related Materials

• Black bergs