The Societies of Britannia
The wise, the brave, and the skillful folk of Britannia are often members of various societies, guilds, and orders that proliferate across the land.
The Great Societies
The King formed several organisations to assist his rule, and to continue on after its end. These ‘Great Societies’ were often principally comprised of one or more pre-existing groups who were united in common purpose. The Great Societies continue to be extremely influential today, although not all of them have remained in the original forms. The following is a brief consideration of each of the original Great Societies, and a few examples of some of the more interesting or widely known of their sub-divisions.
The Society of Justice: the Druids
The Druids of the Society of Justice were formed from older groups of lorists and natural magicians to provide a source of expertise and constant discourse on matters of justice. The King also charged the Druids with working to maintain sustainable society in Britannia. In pursuit of these aims, the Druids act as advisers, jurors, arbitrators, and provosts throughout Britannia. Many magistrates in the cities are Druids, or pay attention to the advice of Druidic advisors. Other Druids wander the roads and paths of Britannia, providing advice to smaller communities. In addition to these legal, and semi-legal, tasks the Druids also help to determine the Just Price that Britannians use to value goods and services. The Druids wield significant influence, but rarely exercise it directly; their councils frequently meet in the society’s high halls in Yew to discuss and determine proper policy and to maintain the code of conduct.
The Warden Society
The Wardens are a subdivision of the Society of Justice whose members specialise in travelling the back-roads and forest trails and tending to the needs of the smaller communities of Britannia. Experienced travellers are often asked to teach younger druids and these veterans become the de facto leaders of the society.
The Wheel Society
The Wheels are those Druids who monitor the ebb and flow of commerce and cooperate with farmers, miners, crafters, and merchants to set the fair prices of commodities in Britannia. They are often more scholarly and sedentary than Druids are traditionally thought to be, but their expertise is important in maintaining the prosperity of Britannia.
The Greyhood Society
The Greyhoods are the leading experts on jurisprudence in Britannia. Greyhoods advise the leaders of the city-states about their codes of law, ratify trade agreements between guilds, and serve as magistrates for the most difficult, or public, of trials. There are, almost by definition, no young Greyhoods, but aspiring young jurists within the Druids all strive hard in order to be invited to join this prestigious body.
The Society of Honour: the Paladins
The Society of Honour names its members Paladins, and considers them to be the protectors of Britannian ideals. The Paladins are, by comparison to the Druids, more active and Paladins are often engaged in the suppression of notorious pirates, tyrannical nobles, or criminal guild-members. As well as this, the Paladins also deal with less public, but no less important, matters like making sure isolated communities have trained militias to protect themselves from the depredations of bandits or opportunistic goblins and orcs. Finally, the Paladin act as protectors of precious or dangerous things, the vaults and chambers under their hall in Trinsic hold many wondrous treasures and no few awful ones. The Paladins do not closely regulate the activities of their members; although they do have a strong code of conduct most of the members understand that this stringent code is the source of much of their own ability to perform the deeds that they do, therefore it is a rare Paladin that breaks it.
The Shining Path Society
The Shining Path is a society of idealistic Paladins who believe that reign of the King represented the high point of Britannian society and that modern Britannia, while a good place, is less than it might be. The Shining Path members often travel widely, seeking to be exemplars of the virtues of proper conduct and right action that were so popular during the reign of the King; their deeds also often lead to individual Paladins becoming popular folk heroes.
The First Fleet Society
The First Fleet are a group of navigators, naval strategists, and maritime architects who sponsor and carry out exploration voyages, experimental ship-building projects, port and lighthouse construction tasks, and raids against pirate anchorages. The society has many of the leading captains of Trinsic’s powerful fleet as members and these folk use their influence to thwart the spread of piracy and to keep the sea-lanes open.
The Society of Keeping
The Society of Keeping maintains the vaults beneath Trinsic, keeping the treasures well guarded and the less wholesome things contained behind stout doors and strong wards. Many come to the Keepers to protect those things that are most precious to them, and the society uses the wealth they gain from such commissions to better protect those things entrusted to their care.
The Society of Sacrifice: the Artificers
From their halls in the city of Minoc the Artificers of the Society of Sacrifice are concerned with the continued development of technological innovations. Whether such advances depend on simple mechanics, or the blend of magical techniques with those of industry, matters not to the Artificers as they seek to find new ways of improving the prosperity and quality-of-life of Britannians. The Artificers stoically toil in their laboratories and workshops, and rarely gain the public acclaim of their counterparts in the other Great Societies, leading some to claim that this is why the King gave them their name. Despite the lack of personal fame though, the Artificers have brought many advances to Britannia, the most ostentatious of which are the Forgeborn, living and thinking machine-men, and the wondrous skyships, great vessels held aloft and propelled by powerful elemental essences. Whether it is by building new forms of transport that soar above pirates and bandits, or providing a village with a waterwheel to power their mill, the Artificers go about their business across Britannia and quietly make it a finer place.
The Mechanists’ Society
The Mechanists are occupied with the most reliable and simple of mechanical processes, and how to make them more efficient and useful. Eschewing magical augmentation in favour of purely physical processes, the Mechanists seek to solve basic problems through easily replicable means.
The Society for Aeronautical Endeavours
This society was the driving force behind the projects that lead to functional skyships. They cooperated closely with other groups within the Artificers and no small number of mages in order to achieve their victory over the air and they have significant influence in the Society of Sacrifice as a result of it.
The Society for Excavation and Reclamation
The Society for Excavation and Reclamation believe that understanding the subterranean ruins that are found in many parts of Britannia might offer some useful insights in solving the problems of modern Britannia.
The Spiritual Orders: the Monastics
The Monastics were originally the keepers of the traditions of virtuous action in Britannia. They travelled the land, taught the young, maintained histories, and aided with powers gained from their inner focus and contemplation of virtue. The Society of Spirituality fell into schism though, with some of its sub-societies believing that others had acted without sufficient restraint or humility. The Society of Spirituality could not overcome this great dispute and so broke apart into many different orders. Many of the new orders continued to travel and teach, and to build hostels, schools, and shrines; others felt that such ostentation was ultimately counter-productive and retreated away from such things to contemplate in silence and poverty and to teach only by example.
The Order of Swordhold
The Order of Swordhold is a militant Spiritual Order that is closely linked to the fortress of Swordhold, near Trinsic. The monks of this order often garb themselves in armour and shields to support the righteous actions of the Paladins, but they also use their powers to enchant shields and weapons for those that can persuade or pay them.
The Order of the Apple
The Monks of the Apple are a common sight in many villages, teaching children writing, singing, and history. They also build and maintain large schools and colleges in many cities across Britannia. Many of these schools have their own local septs of the Order of the Apple but they all recognise the authority of the main hall in Avalon, to some degree.
The Poor Monks of Magincia
While not an organised order in the typical sense, the poor monks of Magincia are a popular example of the alternative to the more obvious orders. After the schism of the Society of Spirituality some of the monks moved here to live a simpler lifestyle. They have a number of simple farms and find a place for anyone who comes to them with a desire to live a life of simple humility.