The League of Merchants
The remnants of the Second Republic
mega-corporations can be found among the many guilds of the Merchant
League. It is the League which controls
high-technology: invention, manufacture and distribution. It is
the guilds who pilot noble starships and repair Church think machines.
If any one of these factions were to anger
them, a League blockade would quickly end the argument. While the
guilds are numerous, only five have risen to intergalactic prominence
and regularly travel the jumpweb in the
employ of nobles, priests or other guildsmen.
| The Muster (Chainers)
Professional soldiers, these mercenaries
are essential to most military operations throughout the
Known Worlds. Even the
Brother Battle rely on their orbital artillery
support, and most noble houses have hired them to either assault
their rivals or quell rebellions. But soldiery is not the
only labor this guild contracts; they specialize in
all sorts of trained help: contractors, cooks, cargo handlers,
bounty hunters, etc. In fact, it's very dangerous
to
hire trained
labor without contracting this guild -- their
enforcers ensure that they get the largest and juiciest contracts. |

|
| Charioteers
(Wheelers)
Star pilots and merchants marine, this
intrepid guild is what most people think of when they imagine
the Merchant League, for it is the Charioteer merchants with
their exotic,
traveling medicine shows who are most often seen by the commoners.
They own the star lanes - literally. Without their secret
jumpcode technology, travel through jumpgates would be
impossible. In addition, the best pilots come from this guild. |

|
| Supreme
Order of Engineers
High technology is rare in the Dark Ages,
and most people fear it, for as the Church teaches, it
is the symbol of human hubris which brought down the Republic.
Few dare to
delve into its secrets anymore, and those that do are considered
mad -- like the Engineers. These strange technicians often
modify their bodies with cybertech, becoming
more machine than human. While they creep out the commoners and
disgust the priests, everyone knows just how valuable their
lore is in maintaining intergalactic power and
communication. |

|
| Reeves
(Grayfaces)
Somebody's got to do the paperwork, and
this job is left to the Reeves. They do it quite well.
So well that they are the de facto bankers of the Known
Worlds and probably one of
the richest factions in the universe - although few realize just
how rich they've become through their loans to noble houses.
Just about everybody owes the Reeves, and when one
comes calling on favors, few dare deny him. |

|
| Scravers
If you can't find what you're looking
for legally, chances are the Scravers can get it -- for a
price. Scravers specialize
in all sorts of activities normally viewed as anti-social
(but often fun): illicit tech redemption, gambling, black market
goods and even thievery. Of course, they deny it
all, hiding behind the guise of a salvage and reclamation guild.
Since they possess blackmail on just about every major
official -- even bishops -- little is done against
them.
|

|
|