Devotee of Excellence

The Red Tower shimmered in the early morning light, silhouetted against the glowing blue, red, and yellow of the skystone. Lines of pure light shone through cracks, bathing the mesa and the town perched on its top with golden light.
There was nowhere else in the Valley with as much light, regardless of how the skystone turned.
Elbert stood on the third story of the tower, waiting for the drums to begin. He clutched a thin wooden flute, the first instrument created entirely by his own hand, harvested from the redwoods on the southern foothills with tools that Elbert had himself created.
With the Creation of this instrument, Elbert had finally been elevated from apprentice to journeyman, and this would be the first time he played with the full order, or at least all those who were in the Red Tower’s commune at the time.
His master sat on a rough wooden stool beside him, a silver flute hanging at ease in her wrinkled fingers, white hair blowing softly in the breeze. Elbert’s Gift had been that of wood, but there were times when he longed for any other, particularly precious metals. The instruments capable of being made with silver, gold, and bronze were far more beautiful and stately than a common flute, fiddle, or dulcimer. You couldn't even achieve full creation with the stringed instruments, you had to rely on one with the Animal Gift for the strings.
The first slow drum beats of High Summer Morning Song echoed through the hills, felt rather than heard at first. Deep in the caves below, the Stone Gifts had begun to play their carefully carved drums, and the caves carried the rhythm for miles. Musicians, standing ready on each floor of the tower, took a deep breath and prepared to join the rhythm.
Work in the surrounding buildings came to a stop as the rest of the artists turned away from their tasks to listen. Half-made pots were left on the wheel, hoes placed on paths, and ingots left heating on red hot coals.
In the second level, still underground, the Great Harp began to flex its taut strings. Apprentices, journeymen, and masters each playing a single string, some as thick as ropes. The Concertmaster of the Red Tower stood in the center of the cavern, conducting them all.
The string section on the ground level of the tower took up their parts of the piece. One by one the melody was carried up the tower through the brass, plucked, and wind instruments before dissolving into complicated counter harmonies, each carefully following their parts of the song. The song continued for seven minutes before each section, starting with the Great Harp and ending with the Drums, dropped out at their appointed time.
Each artist below returned to their task, lightened by the song of summer. Even the plants seemed to stand taller and greener, and the sun, peeking through a great chasm in the skystone, gleamed even stronger.

The Devotee of Excellence is a collection of creatives focused on Creation in its highest form. People of every Gift who desire to focus on their craft come to the Red Tower to join the Devotee of Excellence. When an everyday citizen of The Valley hears of the Red Tower, their mind is immediately drawn to the traveling bards trained in the community. While that was how the Devotee of Excellence was founded, every craft has been brought into the fold.

Structure

When someone discovers that they have The Gift, they have to decide if they are willing to pursue becoming a master of that craft. If they want the best training possible, they come to The Red Tower and The Devotee of Excellence. However, that isn't a guarantee that a master will choose to train them.
Some masters take on multiple apprentices, while others only take on one at a time.
Apprentices work for many years before their masters deem them to be competent in their skills. They become Journeymen and are given a special red cord, signifying their achievement. Many journeymen then leave the Red Tower and return to the communities that they came from.
Some take on the Journeyman name and travel the valley, bringing their skills with them to communities that would otherwise lack someone of their caliber.
A few continue to return to the Red Tower every year, improving their skills and, eventually, becoming masters. While some masters continue to travel The Valley, all masters must be training or searching for an apprentice.

Culture

The Devotee of Excellence doesn't have an official membership roll. Instead, those living in the Red Tower and representing the organization in the wider Valley must always strive to improve their skills. If someone rests on an achievement or is caught slacking in their tasks, they are shunned. However, this is easily rectified when that individual shows that they have begun working once again.
However, as a member of the Devotee of Excellence begins to age and is unable to continue their work at the level they are provided for and kept comfortable for as long as they want to remain at the tower. This is also the case when individuals become sick or are otherwise unable to continue working because of an accident sustained during their work.

Assets

The Red Tower

The Devotee of Excellence's complex is a small, bustling city built on a Mesa in the south-west scrublands. In the center of the mesa stands The Red Tower. It was built from the Redstone indigenous to the area and stands only four stories high. However, it descends three stories below the surface into the echoing caverns found below. These caverns and the entire tower are extremely resonant. Sound, especially rhythms and the pluckings of the Great Harp, are carried through the caves and released in the surrounding hills. The music can be heard for miles when the full orchestra is playing.
Tower Floors Underground
1. Drums

One of the few musical outlets available for the Stone Gifts and one of the most exclusive focuses of the Red Tower. Many of the drums are carved from stone, with only a few created with wood and animal hide. Found in the lowest caverns beneath the Red Tower, these drums are carved from the very stone of the Mesa. The beats from these drums echo and thrumb through the caverns that honeycomb the Mesa.

2.The Great Harp

Mainly staffed by those of the Animal Gift, the Great Harp is built in the largest of the caverns beneath the tower. The Great Harp can only be played with a full complement of musicians. These strings, largely made of gut, are stretched between holes carefully carved into stone. The largest strings take a journeyman/apprentice combo to play, and masters play the smallest. These strings are haphazardly placed based on resonance, not aesthetics.

3.Bells, Gongs, Cymbals, etc.
Wood and Metal Gifts make up most of the musicians in this group.
Aboveground
1. Plucked Strings
2. Bowed Strings
Wood and Animal Gifts make up most of the musicians in these two groups.
3. Brass
Metal Gifts are the only musicians in this group.
4. Woodwinds
Metal and Wood Gifts make up most of the musicians in this group.

The Forges

Five blacksmith forges sit on the mesa, each run by a different master of the metal gift. These masters have each focused on a single art form. Some are much larger than others. The largest, which forges farm tools, sometimes uses the forge of the smallest, which forges household implements such as plates, cups, and utensils. The three other masters forge weapons, equipment for ships, and jewelry.
The Red Tower has its own forge for the forging of instruments.

The Gardens

Below the mesa, scattered along the stream that runs along the northern edge of the mesa, sit plots of land that have been carefully cultivated for generations. These garden patches can grow giant ears of corn and summer gourds big enough to carve into a coracle.
There are also orchards with nut and fruit trees.

History

The Devotee of Excellence was founded by a group of bards who wanted to dedicate themselves to the art of music. As time went on, they founded a music school far from the major population centers of the valley so that they could focus on the process of Creation. However, living as far from civilization as they did made it more challenging than expected to pursue their art, so they began inviting others from around the valley who were dedicated to their crafts.
Wood, Grass, and Flower Gifts were invited to grow produce. Earth and Stone Gifts were invited to build homes, and Animal Gifts were invited to raise animals. As they continued to work together and strive for the perfection of their disparate crafts, they named themselves The Devotees of Excellence.

Alternative Names

The Red Tower