Ten Guilds, One College

Ten Guilds, One College is a book gifted to Siebern Kuiper by Lysiphoia upon their visit to Chalimar Palace.

## Description

A collection of reports on the ascension of the High College of Claxinns and the declines of the ten guilds left in its wake, it is bound in thick leather with a decorative piece of polished glass set into the front cover.

## Research

### Completed by Siebern Kuiper

*From the time of the Second Gift, when Divinus first taught the peoples of Ahlus the secrets of magic so that they would be able to create, shape and manipulate the world around them, the Principal Races have been long facinated by its study and chronicling. To this end, Ten Guilds were set up, not at first intending to serve as competing institutes but rather focusing on separate aspects of the magical spectrum. Of particular sanctity to Divinus was the school of magic to which he granted his name, and the Three-Eyed Light was held in high regard by the two Guilds of Magic that focus on the study of Divination - the Guild of the Seventh Lily and the Guild of the Fallow Aster. Among the Ten Guilds these two would flourish most prosperously - for Kings and Queens could naught resist the power and foresight that having a mage versed in such abilities brought them. Those trained at the Guild of the Crimson Blossom and the Guild of the Wistful Willow proved ever-potent when it came to times for conflict, while the Guild of the Golden Grain saved many a life during long Whiterose months.*

*In 414AG, the half-elf Cadyr Claxinns grew disenfranchised with the ten established Magical Guilds of Ahlus, and so set out to establish for himself an eleventh, his views shared with a small collection of novices and acolytes. Seeking guidance via his talent with divination magic, he settled the lands to the north of Ester Bay in southwestern Ahlus. In time, his teachings and that of those that followed him would grow in popularity and find itself tied to the minor realm of Astedia. Astedia came from (and maintained) a humble status for much of its existence. Built up around the isolated College of Claxinns, the first true Astedians were guides that walked the roads between Inverden in Gawylthlan, the various towns of the Duchies of Tynd and the dwarven fortress-city of Mol Boramm. Sharing the northern shores of Ester Bay with the researchers, they lived a mainly subsistence-orientated existence for generations, tredding out into the surrounding lands to farm, hunt and on occasion aid in the navigation of caravans passing through. The residents and visitors to the College required resources for their experiments and studies, and so the small village soon established itself into a notable tradepost between the major settlements surrounding it. Guided by envoys from merchant guilds operating in the Duchies of Tynd the settlement expanded to that of a moderate town over the course of the next century as the local population swelled with the flow of goods, coin and trade. The means by which the College of Claxinns became known as the High College of Claxinns can be found within the engrossing tome by Merric Lathalas titled 'Treachery and Sorrow: The Story of Count Hillen Daydraft.'*

*Deep within the mines of the Spirit Caverns under the southern Ironfangs a curious discovery was encountered by the dwarven colony of Mol Boramm. After miners reported their companions vanishing for days at a time, only to return raving of places fantastical, horrifying, mystical and abyssal alike, they discovered a mighty cache of what would be eventually refined into Wayfinder Stones - the novel substance refined, amplified and seemingly perfected by the efforts of Virric Liatumal and the Inner Sanctum of the High College of Claxinns. This discovery would be tipping point for a series of scales in the histories of Ahlus, but for now we will simply focus on that of the Ten Guilds. The discovery in the Spirit Caverns would accelerate the decline of the Ten Guilds in a manner unconsidered by most - military conquest. In turn, each of the Realms in which the Guilds were located would fall to the might of the Astedian Empire, and each would have their assets and occupants seized by the High College of Claxinns who had played a pivotal role in the Astedian Ascension. Forced into capitulation, the Guilds went from competing with the High College to subordinates of it in a matter of years.*