The Witchslayer Guilds
"Witchslayers be a weird bunch... but they keep roads safe, so a little weirdness may be what we need"
Structure
The Witchslayer Guilds are independent Guilds that separated themselves from the New Blood Houses. They initially were funded by and were once subsidiaries of the New Blood Houses, but unlike the old Knightly Orders that were in service to the Old Blood Houses these Witchslayer Guilds wholly separated themselves from them and have no official allegiances to the New Blood Houses. This of course is not ideal to the New Blood Houses, as they'd much rather have direct control over these Witchslayer Guilds, but cannot do so without the possibility of recreating the events of the Great Rebellion and thus not a very profitable venture. Witchslayer Guilds a much needed service in the Freelands: monster hunting. With each Witchslayer Guild being independent of each other and with no official ties to the nobility of the New Bloods or the zealotry of the Holy Order of the Light, it presented an option and opportunity for young adventurers to join and rise through the ranks though at great cost to themselves as individuals.
Culture
Each Witchslayer Guild has their own unique branding and style of monster hunting, but typically the joining process goes beyond a simple contract. Joining a Witchslayer Guild changes not only who you are but what you are in a variety of ways. The joining process itself is known to kill initiates, though the manner varies from Guild to Guild. As such, Witchslayer culture is very exclusive and secretive pending almost cultish in nature. Which tends to cause them to be at odds with the Holy Order of the Light, and under their scrutiny.
Public Agenda
Witchslayer Guilds present themselves as a solution to the void created by the destruction of the more reputable Knightly Orders during the Great Rebellion in regards to hunting monsters. They are a much more affordable service than the Warforged whom only serve the New Blood Houses directly and much less terrifying than the zealotry of the Holy Order of the Light. Their Witchslayers either wander from town to city to see if their services are required, or concerned citizens may seek them out. Secretly and not so secretly these Witchslayer Guilds are known to experiment and mutilate their own members in the name of progress and creating a better Witchslayer, but such practices are ignored or tolerated by the commonfolk who desperately need their help and would rather not get the the Templars involved if they can help it.
Assets
Witchslayer Guilds are businesses dedicated to hunting monsters, they purchase and outfit their members with the necessary equipment and resources to do their job effectively. The Witchslayer Guilds have contacts and contracts with various traders and artisans, part of the price of hiring Witchslayers cover this cost.
History
After the Great Rebellion and the subsequent destruction and deposition of the Old Blood Houses and the Knightly Orders. The New Bloods and their Warforged Army, and the Holy Order of the Light and its Templars seized both economic and political power. The fall of the Knightly Orders, namely the ones dedicated to hunting monsters and protecting the general population, left a void that both these new powers attempted to fill. The New Blood's Warforged Army though great in larger skirmishes and warfare, did not make great hunters of more singular prey. The Holy Order of the Light had the know how and the skill to hunt monsters, but there were not enough of them to deal with the problem in addition to hunting heretics and blasphemers. Thus the New Bloods, from within their own Houses, artificers were promoted and assigned to create a solution to the problem and to protect the general population. These artificers created the first Witchslayer Guilds, which began as subsidiaries and branches of their military much like the Warforged. But as time passed, their influence and power grew allowing them to mostly amicably end their contracts with the New Bloods and become separate entities and powers of their own.
Disbandment
There are only a few Witchslayer Guilds, but they are still going strong. They are not nearly as politically or economically powerful as the nobles of the New Blood Houses or the Holy Order of the Light, but they are recognizable as their own independent forces from those two.
Demography and Population
There are only a few Witchslayer Guilds, with only a hundred or so in a Guild at any given time. Giving them a population of only a couple hundred or so throughout the Freelands. However, most interesting is that the Guild accepts volunteers from any race except Elves: Freelancers, Beastfolk, and Dwellers alike may join. However the joining process tends to be rather fatal as volunteers and initiates from all races are subjected to a series of trials and experiments in order to become Witchslayers themselves.
Territories
The Witchslayer Guilds hold no lands nor territory, but Guild Halls may be found in many of the cities and City States through out the Freelands. The largest Guild Halls may be found in Central City alongside the nobles of the New Bloods and away from the Templars of the Holy Order of the Light in the Imperial City.
Military
The Witchslayers are technically a militant force, but for lack of a better term are better defined as mercenaries more than anything. With men and women alike fulfilling a variety of roles in combat, but at the core gifted the same abilities to give them the edge to hunt monsters, fey, and fiends alike.
Technological Level
The Witchslayer Guilds are at the forefront of artifice research and development, they have many trade secrets they refuse to share with other Witchslayer Guilds and the New Bloods as a whole. They are always seeking an edge to create a better Witchslayer and to outfit them with better equipment or abilities.
Religion
If a Witchslayer is to practice any religion, it is the creed of the Holy Order of the Light. The worship and practice of any other faiths is illegal, heretical, and blasphemous within the Freelands. If a Witchslayer were to be caught practicing any other beliefs, the Witchslayer Guilds cannot protect them from the reach and fires of the Holy Order of the Light.
Foreign Relations
As mentioned, all races save Elves throughout the Freelands are welcome to join or at least attempt to join a Witchslayer Guild. Thus are considered the most "welcoming" of all organizations in the Freelands, which earns them a certain sense of infamy in reputation in the eyes of the New Blood nobles and the Holy Order of the Light's Templars
Agriculture & Industry
None so to speak, they purchase what they need when they need it to outfit their Witchslayers in the field.
Trade & Transport
None so to speak, they pay for what they need when they need it.
Education
Witchslayers that survive the trials and experiments are trained to be the best hunters they can be, the Witchslayer Guild spares no expense in ensuring their investments live long enough to earn a living. With all the time and resources spent to create a Witchslayer, they want to make sure they can perform the tasks they created to do.
Infrastructure
Witchslayer Guilds are not responsible for general infrastructure, that falls to the New Bloods and their various subsidiaries.
DISBANDED/DISSOLVED
"Of Fey and Fiend, With Artifice and Silver, We Hunt and Slay"
9000 - Present Day
Type
Civilian, Knightly Order
Capital
Alternative Names
The New Knightly Orders, the Adventurer's Guilds
Predecessor Organizations
Training Level
Professional
Veterancy Level
Veteran
Demonym
Witchslayers, Guildsmen, Mutants, Magitechnicians, Ritualborn
Government System
Technocracy
Power Structure
Semi-autonomous area
Economic System
Mixed economy
Currency
They use gold, just like everyone else.
Major Exports
None.
Major Imports
None.
Legislative Body
The upper levels of the Witchslayer Guilds, the senior artificers as it were, serve as all government bodies within their particular Witchslayer Guild.
Judicial Body
The upper levels of the Witchslayer Guilds, the senior artificers as it were, serve as all government bodies within their particular Witchslayer Guild.
Executive Body
The upper levels of the Witchslayer Guilds, the senior artificers as it were, serve as all government bodies within their particular Witchslayer Guild.
Official State Religion
Parent Organization
Deities
Location
Related Ranks & Titles
Neighboring Nations
Related Ethnicities
Though the Witchslayer Guilds used to belong to the New Bloods, they separated rather amicably.
They have a somewhat friendly rivalry, they are both "children" of the New Bloods
The Witchslayers have been under scrutiny from the Holy Order of the Light since their inception and are considered somewhat heretical in their eyes.
The Witchslayers care not for the Old Bloods, they fell into obscurity long before their time.
The Witchslayers care not for the Knightly Orders, they know they are their replacements in a manner of speaking.
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