Guilds are the formal associations of tradesmen and crafters throughout the world. A Guild ensures standards ranging from quality of training to quality of services. The Guilds have created several methods and procedures to control the quality and prices of items throughout their specific area of control. If one wishes to practice a trade, be a merchant of goods, or a member of a service industry, they need to be a member of the respective Guild. If they are not, they will not be allowed to practice the trade or craft openly. The Guilds will find ways to enforce this and all of their rules for the specific industry. It is also possible for Guilds to strike members from their rolls and blacklist them if the Guild feels that the former member has broken their rules in some way or failed to meet their contractual responsibilities to the Guild.
Guilds are funded by their members. This is done through guild dues and by the percentage the Guilds receive for negotiating or otherwise providing their members with contracts or assistance.
Guilds also ensure that there will be a trained workforce for the specific trade, merchant, or servicing industry by the use of the apprentice system. The apprentice system takes a child and teams that child up with a master of the trade, craft, or servicing industry. It is the job of that master to teach the child the skills that will be required to succeed in the industry. Once the child completes their apprenticeship, they are elevated to a journeyman level in their industry. There they will work for a master until they can open or start their own workshop, merchant establishment, or become a master of a servicing job.
Duration of the Apprentice System
Apprentice 3 to 7 years
Journeyman 1 to 10 years
Once a member has reached the status of Master in a Guild, it is possible to join additional related Guilds through examination, sponsorship, or by serving additional apprenticeships.
The identification symbols of the Guilds that are worn by its members are called Guild Badges. They can be as ornate as any set of arms for a knight or noble person.
Guild Badges use the same tinctures as the standard Alquennas heraldic college of arms. These badges also use the same charges and additional charges as the standard Alquennas Heraldic College of arms. All guilds will use only one type of shield shape and that is the Lozenge. A Lozenge denotes a non-military association within the Alquennas Heraldic College of Arms.
It is common practice to display a group of Guild Badges in a joined Lozenge shape if the wearer is a member of more than one guild. The wearer’s primary guild would be at the top point of the Lozenge with any subsidiary memberships denoted below it.
An example of a multi-guild badge can be seen in the badge of Clarissa ath Kent:
The following is the current guild badges for the living world of Alquennas.
The Guilds of Alquennas are divided into the following categories:
