The Bartolara Healers Guild
“When the world bleeds and mercy is but a whisper, the Bartolara Healers Guild stands as an open hand, mending what war has broken, asking nothing but the chance to give hope where none remains.”In a world torn by war, plague, and shadow, the Bartolara Healers Guild stands as one of the few enduring sanctuaries of mercy and compassion. Founded by the legendary healer Clararton Bartolara, this guild is devoted to the preservation of life above all else, offering healing and comfort to any who seek it, regardless of allegiance, faith, or station. From the heart of the Free City of Bartolara, the guild’s blue robed healers travel into battlefields, desolate ruins, and plague-ridden lands, guided by the unshakable belief that every life is worth saving. Their open-palm emblem has become a symbol of peace, recognized even among warring factions as a mark of trust and safety. The Bartolara Healers Guild is more than an order of physicians and clerics, it is a living testament to the conviction that compassion can endure, even when the world around it falls into darkness.
Founding And Philosophy
The Bartolara Healers Guild was born from the vision of Clararton Bartolara, revered throughout Domen Aria as the Vir Doctus, “the Wise Healer”, and namesake of the Free City of Bartolara. Her belief was simple yet radical for a world steeped in blood and vengeance: no life was unworthy of healing, and no conflict too dire to offer aid. While her mortal death is recorded, myths persist that Clararton’s spirit lingers, guiding the hands of healers who invoke her name. Her Mercy Bell in the Hall of Quiet Bells has never rung, a sign, some say, that her soul has not yet departed or that Alacrita herself holds her essence in trust.“We bind what is broken, we calm what is burning, we lift what is sinking. We do not strike.”
Structure
The guild retains its own titles and ranks, separate from that of Bartolara. They include:
Palm Seekers: Initiates and apprentices who learn triage, herbalism, medicine, divine healing, and the ethics of The Quiet Hands Codex.
Hands Of Mercy: Full healers trusted to work unsupervised and lead teams in the field. They are certified to lead a triage circle, administer complex care, and invoke stabilizing rites.
Wardens Of Truce: Diplomats and skilled negotiators who secure Mercy Accords with warring factions to allow safe passage and establish neutral healing zones during conflicts or disputes.
Archivists Of Pain: Lorekeepers of the Archive Of Pains, tasked with recording and cataloging cures, remedies, treatments, plagues, curses, and worse, ensuring that knowledge is never lost.
The Seven Needles Of Mercy: A steering council each mastering a different sphere of healing magic or practice. Each Needle represents one sphere, Body, Mind, Spirit, Alchemy, Thaumaturgy, Midwifery, and Pestilence.
The White Palm: The current leader of the guild, elected from the Seven Needles for life, or until they step down. The soft spoken supreme coordinator, never a monarch, always a servant. The current Palm is whispered to carry Clararton’s original wound.
Culture
The culture of the Bartolara Healers Guild is built upon principles of compassion, neutrality, and shared knowledge, reflecting Clararton’s vision of a sanctuary for all. Members live by the belief that every life is sacred and that healing is both a calling and a duty. Violence is forbidden, healers carry no weapons and rely instead on wards, protective charms, and diplomacy to safeguard themselves and others.
The guild places great importance on cooperation across faiths and disciplines. Clerics of Alacrita, Alegria, Zarus, Piatra, and other life-aligned deities work side by side with herbalists, alchemists, and non-divine healers, fostering a culture of mutual respect and learning. Knowledge is freely shared and meticulously preserved in the Archive Of Pains, which is treated as both a library and a sacred text, containing the accumulated wisdom of generations.
Healers are taught to see themselves as servants of life, not as arbiters of justice or politics. This neutrality has become an integral part of their identity, treating all wounded, regardless of allegiance, is not just a rule but a deeply ingrained value. Compassion rituals, quiet reflection in the Stillwater Garden, and communal healing circles are common practices. They believe in the balance of body, mind, and spirit, often incorporating prayer, meditation, and natural remedies alongside magic.
Despite their pacifism, the guild’s members possess a quiet resilience. Many endure long campaigns in war zones or disease-ridden lands, returning scarred yet unwavering in their vows. Their azure-and-white robes and Mercy Bells symbolize hope to the people of Domen Aria, signs that someone, somewhere, still believes in mercy even when the world does not.
“They healed me… knowing I’d return to the battlefield against them. I cannot understand them. Maybe that is why they terrify me.”
Public Agenda
The public agenda of the Bartolara Healers Guild is to preserve life, alleviate suffering, and provide healing without discrimination or expectation of reward. They openly declare their neutrality, refusing to take sides in political conflicts or wars, and instead focus on serving all who are wounded or in need, whether peasant, soldier, or king.
Their primary goals are:
- Free And Universal Healing: Offering medical care, magical restoration, and guidance to anyone, regardless of wealth, faith, or background.
- Field Aid In Crisis Zones: Establishing temporary healing tents and sanctuaries in war-torn regions, plague outbreaks, and disaster zones.
- Preservation Of Knowledge: Recording remedies, cures, and techniques in the Archive Of Pains to ensure that life-saving knowledge is never lost.
- Promoting Peace Through Mercy: While they do not interfere in politics, their presence often encourages ceasefires or safe-passage accords, as both sides trust the guild’s impartiality.
- Training Future Healers: Educating apprentices, herbalists, and clerics from all walks of life to ensure the next generation carries forward their mission of nonviolence and mercy.
“A hand that heals should never learn the weight of a weapon. Our purpose is not to win wars, but to keep the living from joining the dead.”
History
The Bartolara Healers Guild was founded in the early years following the establishment of the Free City of Bartolara, created as a haven for peace and healing in a world marred by war and suffering. Its founder, Clararton Bartolara, a renowned healer and follower of Alacrita, Goddess of Life and Healing, envisioned a community where compassion, neutrality, and the preservation of life would stand above all else.
The guild began as a small circle of dedicated healers and herbalists, working out of simple tents and wooden halls. Over time, their reputation for treating all who came to them, regardless of faith, race, or allegiance, spread across the lands. Their services treating and curing many illnesses, diseases, and curses, secured the guild’s place as the foremost authority on curative knowledge.
In the centuries that followed, the Bartolara Healers Guild expanded beyond the city’s walls, sending Mercy Caravans to battlefields, plague zones, and disaster stricken lands. Their neutrality became legendary, with their azure and white banners signaling safe passage for the wounded. They developed the Archive Of Pains, a vast collection of healing lore, magical remedies, and historical accounts of plagues and curses.
Despite surviving countless wars and political upheavals, the guild has never wavered from its original vow: to harm none and to heal all. The death of Clararton Bartolara is recorded in history, yet myths persist that her spirit still watches over the guild, guiding them in times of great peril. Today, they remain both a symbol of mercy and a reminder that even in a dark and brutal world, compassion endures.
Core Tenets
(from The Quiet Hands Codex) 1. “Our hands shall never strike, but only heal.”: Violence has no place in the heart of a healer, we mend what others have broken. No weapon, no curse, no lethal draught. Defensive wards that calm or shield are permitted, but never violence. 2. “We heal all who come, without question or judgment.”: Enemy or friend, sinner or saint, all who suffer deserve care. 3. “We ask nothing but what is freely given.”: No coin or debt shall bind our aid, gratitude is payment enough. 4. “Where suffering dwells, we shall walk toward it.”: Healers must go where others will not, battlefields, plague towns, or cursed lands. 5. “Sanctuary is sacred, and all within its bounds are equal.”: The open hand of the Guild protects any who seek refuge beneath its banner. Any site bearing the white palm on a field of blue is inviolate. 6. “We share what we know, so that ignorance never claims a life.”: Every cure, every lesson learned must be preserved in the Archive of Pains. All plagues, curses, diseases, wounds, and remedies are recorded, so that future ailments can be healed expeditiously. 7. “Our path is mercy, and mercy is without end.”: To be a healer is to serve life, not glory, power, or vengeance. The Guild’s purpose remains as Clararton set it: “To be a light in the storm, menders in the midst of ruin.”“A song dies on the battlefield, but the Bartolara healers keep the rhythm of breath alive. They are the melody that war cannot silence.”
“All Lives, All Wounds, All Ways.”
Symbol, Colors & Regalia
• Symbol: An open white palm stitched with a thin silver thread, set on a deep blue field, the “hand that neither grasps nor strikes.” • Colors: White (mercy), Blue (calm), Silver (clarity). • Regalia: Loose blue robes lined in white. Field Healers wear short white half-cloaks, easily spotted on blood-dark battlefields. Every healer carries a Mercy Bell, a tiny chime that announces their presence and, when rung within certain consecrated wards, slightly dampens aggression.Oath Of The Open Palm
(recited at initiation from the Quiet Hands Codex) My hands are for binding, not breaking. My words for soothing, not rousing to wrath. I will walk toward the scream and not away. I will lift without taking, mend without marring. I will keep no ledger, demand no coin. Where banners clash, I carry none. Where gods command, I choose mercy. Let my palm be open, my heart steady, and my steps ever toward the hurt and the helpless.Faith And Inclusivity
Clararton was a devout healer of Alacrita, Goddess Of Life And Healing, but she envisioned a guild that welcomed all who sought to preserve life rather than take it, regardless of divine allegiance. The guild is an alliance of clerics, herbalists, thaumaturges, and alchemists who revere diverse gods of life, renewal, and endurance, including:- Alacrita, Goddess Of Life And Healing: The patron of pure healing and curative magic.
- Alegria, Goddess Of Serenity And Happiness: Invoked for calming the minds of the wounded, for creating peaceful sanctuaries, and the healing of elves.
- Zarus, God Of Rebirth And Birth: Called upon during childbirth and when coaxing the gravely wounded back to life.
- Nanoc, Barbarian God Of Survival: His rugged wisdom inspires healers working in harsh lands where strength and endurance keep life burning.
- Ozryel, The Guider Of Souls: He is prayed to when a healer must tend to the dying and ensure they pass peacefully into the next life.
- Bastion, God Of Endurance And Perseverance: Invoked in the long, sleepless nights of battlefront triage and during catastrophic plagues.
- Piatra, Mother Of Stone: The dwarven goddess of stability and resilience, her blessings are sought for broken bones, crushed miners, those buried in rubble, and the healing of dwarves.
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