Messengers Guild

[to be expanded on as a tie-in to an upcoming lore event]

Members of the Messengers Guild serve primarily the role of information bearers and couriers. Rumour has it that for the right price, however, the guild can do anything you wish.

Being wealthy as they are, the Messengers organisation commands a swath of people, own buildings and resources throughout the entire known world. Only the guild masters are aware of the exact details and the full extent of the organisation's assets.

The Messengers Guild was formed early in the Age of Heroes, when most operations throughout the world at large were carried out by the free agents... or in other worlds, the aforementioned "heroes". Various historical sources claim that it was precisely the earliest Messengers that laid the foundations for the entire epoch and how their work enabled the free agents to roam the lands on noble quests, in search of epic glory or lucrative loot.   Their beginnings were humble, and even though the exact date of the guild's founding has been lost to time, the adventures of the first Messengers are well known, subject to many a bard's tale and historical accounts alike. Before they formed an official alliance, the first Runners were completely independent people who came up with an extremely similar idea at around the same time - rather swift than brawny, these unsuccessful adventurers were much better at roaming the lands than actually completing their objectives. After several were "let go" of all obligations to their current party, they figured they could get rich another way, by bringing much needed supplies and news to all parties, taking advantage of their skills for traversing terrain and disdain for open confrontation.   It took a lot of work, and the early days were anything but glorious. Still, with persistence, it wasn't long before people started to realise the value of comfort and the price of information. High ranking officials started to contract these Runners, meanwhile parties sought their services for scouting and communication. Rich nobles saw an opportunity to leave the safety of their mansions ever more rarely, and artisans even had the idea to send goods by messenger so as not to waste time travelling. As their usefulness grew, so did oversight by their various employers. Some secrets could not be trusted to any random Runner, and the few who took advantage of their position threatened to bring shame to the entire profession, killing it in its infancy. So the most prominent Runners started to work together and formed an alliance, ran by the original three.They established the Messengers Guild, signed various contracts with the prominent forces of the world, and sought to regulate membership, weeding out the bad seeds and guaranteeing the upmost confidentiality.   Over the following centuries, the guild grew in power and prominence, expanding its services into all manners of freelance work. As membership increased, so did a rigorous vetoing process, ensuring only the most qualified and trustworthy individuals could partake. With such growth came the need for a solid infrastructure, and over the centuries the Messengers Guild built a never before seen network of agents and locations, pouring all of its resources into land, buildings, and manpower. In fact, a network of such capacity has never been done since, and tasks that require such level of organisation are usually outsourced through messengers. In time, the guild has formed many alliances and has fought for incredible privileges. Currently, members bare a special status and their role as messengers allows them free passage anywhere. They are a neutral party, unconcerned with the politics of the world, and as such have sworn a sacred oath for impartiality, which in turn grants them immunity to everything and everyone.   Operating out of the biggest cities and key locations around the world, in the current day and age the Messengers Guild is the richest and most affluent organisation in the world. Offering lots of services (as rumour has it, they offer any service for the right price), there is never a messenger too far away, wherever you are.