Greenwater

The Ground Up And Neutered tavern lies at the heart of the Bazaar. The establishment as such is very old - though there is no agreement on its exact age - but its exact location has varied over the years, and its ownership constantly changes. It tavern has burned down on at least three separate occasions, but has always been situated in roughly the same part of the district.

The tavern serves as non-violent neutral territory for the rival merchant rings and warring street gangs in the district, and its name is both a wordplay of “neutral ground” and a reminder of what happens to anyone who violates the truce. All factions in the Bazaar respect its status as a safe haven, and this truce extends not only to the tavern itself, but to anyone heading to or from the establishment as well. To help maintain this often uneasy truce, the owners vow to never let the tavern be abused as a sanctuary by anyone, and no one is allowed to spend more than a single night in a row here.

Due to its nature, the Ground Up And Neutered is a good place to visit if one seeks to acquire the services of any of the varied groups who operate in the Bazaar, as representatives of all gangs and rings can be found here at all times. Its almost sacred status within the district also means that outsiders are seen with much suspicion, however, and the localized truce only truly applies to Bazaar residents.

The military Convocation. Controls not only the army and the navy, but also law enforcement and the legal system. The Convocation is divided into the faceless ranks of the soldiery and the refined extravagance of the officers, most of whom belong to one of the old military families of Greenwater. These are the wealthy aristocratic ’social elite’ of Greenwater, classically Victorian and deeming most others as being below them, and most of the military families can trace their ancestry back to the officers serving (and subsequently overthrowing) the king during the time of the Old Monarchy.

The Corps Juridis handles law enforcement and patrols the streets, and the homes of the Militant elite, located in the upscale Highcourt district, are of course kept especially safe. The military families toast to victory and promotion while the common soldiers bleed in the trenches, as endless - and often times ill-defined - conflicts rage on. The Convocation Militant are ensured a position of power within the Guild so long as there are always outside threats, and so the warfare goes on endlessly: constant struggle is part of the status quo of Greenwater, and in truth the Militant do not have more say in it than the Academis do about the rate of actual technological advancement in the city.

Not quite as academic as the (intentionally butchered Latin) name might suggest; at least not anymore. Very result-oriented and technocratic, the Convocation is made up of inventors and engineers, and is responsible for many of the things that make life possible in the city. They operate the Skytowers that keep the air breathable, as well as the Purifactories that make the water drinkable. They oversee the waste Drudges that handle garbage disposal, as well as the railways that allow fast transport within and beyond the city. The Convocation’s power lies in how its activities are essential to everyday life, as the population rely on the Academis in order to eat, drink and breathe.

The ‘heart’ of the Convocation Academis is the city’s oldest and grandest institute of higher learning, known simply as The University. The Academis also effectively control the Corps Necis within the Greenwater army. While the Necis, headquartered in the Fortress Necis just outside Greenwater, are a part of the army, formally under the Convocation Militant, the experimental and high-tech nature of the Corps ensures that the majority of its members are Academis. While the Academis strive to constantly improve things, the status quo tends to itself, and over time the only tangible result is the creation (and eventual destruction) of a variety of Legacy Machines.

Realizing that the five Convocations that make up the Guild don’t have any overviews posted, I figured I’d write up something brief about each of them. Longer descriptions will come, but for now I want the overviews to be ‘out there’. The word “Convocation” is defined as (among a few other meanings):

1. a group of people gathered in answer to a summons; assembly.
2. a formal assembly at a college or university, esp. for a graduation ceremony.

In the Greenwater setting, the Convocations can be thought of as something of a cross between the “ministries” of the Guild and being sub-Guilds themselves. They constantly struggle against each other for power, but unite against any outside threat against the interests of the Guild as a whole.

The Convocation Academis
The inventor Convocation. Technocratic engineers and inventors. Mad scientists and gadgeteers. Steam-powered top hats. Polished brass wrenches. Colleagues and students at The University. Filigreed clockwork. Functionality and results. Experiments and ciphered research notes. Meticulously maintained old Legacy Machines. The robot making tinkerers of the Disciplina Automatis, the Skytower and Purifactory-maintaining engineers of the Disciplina Expurgis, and the mad battlefield researchers of the Disciplina Necis.

The Convocation Militant
The military Convocation. The officers of the military families toast to victory and promotion while the common soldiery die in the trenches. Honor and tradition. Uniforms, grandiose parades and polished medals. Conservative high society among the old military families of the Highcourt district. Idealized heroism and patriotic propaganda. Endless conflict. Duels. The law-enforcing Public Officers of the Corps Juridis, the endless ranks of riflemen of the Corps Peditat and Corps Reconnaissance, the glorious skyships of the Corps Aerora, and the pyromaniacs and steam tanks of the Corps Necis.

The Convocation Mentalis
The secretive Convocation. Conspiring spies and reality-bending Paramentalists. Plotting and scheming. Mystery and ritual. Strange lightning storms over the Academy. Secrets sold to the highest bidder on the Truth Market. Reverence of Machine Spirits. Telepathic interrogators. People disappearing. Cryptic and insane techno-oracles. The secretive machine-monks of the Machiner Collegium, the plague-hunting Exquisitors of the Corps Morbid, and the covert agents of the Oculus.

The Convocation Excuratis
The benevolent Convocation. Doctors and idealist researchers. Roads paved with good intentions. Schools and hospitals. Outplayed in the political power game. Orphanages. Strange medical experiments. Old pre-Guild religion. Playing god. Hope and mercy.

Having replaced the original Convocation Scientifis, the Excuratis isn’t entirely fleshed out yet.

The Convocation Servis
The workers Convocation. Factory and dock workers. Lower class. Gambling. Fight clubs.

While there are ideas for the Convocation Servis, it’s a part of the setting that is still largely undeveloped. Ideas include borrowing inspiration from Soviet or 1800s-style industrial barons and “new money”.

Some scattered wiki updates recently. The Corps Morbid article in particular is worthy of mention.