Masqued Guildas
The Masqued Guildas are an enigmatic kleptocracy based in Eastern Empresario (the former Dominican Republic). These masters of deception are ruled by a shadow council, the Mascarada Cabala, based in the opulent walled coastal city of Nueva Esperanza (the former Santo Domingo).
The Mascarda Cabala is led by the Honoured Navagadorex and includes five Guilda Chefes and a supporting Conselheirex (council). Together they control important trade routes that span the Antilles Archipelago, leverage a network of spies, and shape perceptions to ensure they have an upper hand during negotiations and conflict.
Masqued Guildas citizens (‘guilders’) are skilled at espionage, gene-crafting, and cibernetic enhancement. Perpetually plotting, the Masqued Guilda’s greatest threats often come from within as each Guilda Chefe attempts to outmanoeuvre each other.
Masqued Guildas Map, 2467 CE
Masqued Guildas Factions
The Masqued Guilds in 2467 CE is led by five Guilda ‘Chefes’ and the Mascarada Cabala. Together they control Empresario and Windward Islands Empresa trade routes.
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Masqued Guildas History
The Masqued Guildas control a network of island trade-ports and a fleet of swift vessels designed to evade and manipulate adversaries. Their loyal sea captains, the Falcão Do Mar, utilise their advanced sensors, secret communication methods, a network of informants, lethal techno-tricks, personal guile, and flamboyant style to remain one step ahead of pyrate gangs, Kongress Hunting Parks, roaming privateers, and Seablight Entities.
Hundreds of sloops, cutters, packet boats, merchant airships, and blockade runners transit Nueva Esperanza each day carrying precious trade goods and important messages destined for Antilles Archipelago ports and fleets. These sleek vessels are armed with an assortment of fire traps, smoke screens, sensors, and telecommunication jammers. Sprays of Saviour Flame discourage Kongress Hunting Packs from getting too close. It is an unwise pyrate that engages a Masqued Guildas vessel without a cunning strategy and a powerful fleet.
A unique dynamic exists between Masqued Guildas merchants (predominantly from the Windward Islands Empresa and Azora Guilda), Hopesail Confederacy factions, Pyrate Republic ports, and independent enclaves. Antilles Archipelago islanders react to an approaching Guilda vessel with a mix of fear, suspicion, awe, greed, and delight. The Masqued Guildas and the Mascarada Cabala have an ominous reputation as shapeshifters, torturers, and child eaters. These odd masked sailors are tolerated, however, as they offer unique bounties and information.
The Masqued Guildas also maintain trade relations with nations across the Atlantica, and support Portrasila in the War of the Mexicano Succession.
The Emergence of the Masqued Guildas
At the turn of the 25th Century, Empresario was ruled by the Familia Dynasties, a close-knit group of hereditary nobles that rose to power following Seablight’s planetfall. They lived in towering nuarchospires protected from Seablight by Saviour Flame. The Familias were authoritarian and controlled most aspects of island life. It was in the 2410s CE that masked trade-based guild leaders, the Chefes, began to emerge across Nueva Esperanza industries. They wore masks that concealed their faces and went by Saintly names drawn from the Canônex Cristãx O Igreja religion, an Un-Raptured Denunciation Christian denomination.
The Chefes slowly replaced some of the Famílias’ representatives in trade and politics. Alarmed, the Familia Doms paused their rivalries and retaliated. Guilda trade offices were raided, masked leaders executed, and face concealment outlawed. This brutality turned masks into a symbol of rebellion against the Familia Houses. Sailors and industrial workers began to conceal their identities en masse and change their names to unisex Canônex Saints. A coded language, vocal augmentations, and cryptic sigils were developed to brew dissent.
It was in 2415 CE that The First Navagadorex emerged from the shadows and led a rebellion against their Familia Dynasty overlords.
Origin of the First Navegadorex
Conflicting stories have been told about the origins of the First Navegadorex. The most popular suggests they were a young noble of Família Cottae that fled Empresario after insulting a powerful Capitão. Traversing the Antilles Archipelago in search of Ancestor gadgets, the young noble discovered a lagoon surrounded by seven ruins. The Navegadorex-To-Be heroically defeated the blighted entities guarding the lagoon and discovered a Golden Tablet of Knowledge. Depending on the story being told, the Tablet either illuminated the noble with the ability to shape-shift, or to befuddle opponents through psychic hypnosis. The Navegadorex returned to Nueva Esperanza with the Tablet and began to create a network of spies with the goal of undermining the Família.
The First Navegadorex steadily influenced the workers of Nueva Esperanza to wear masks and change their names in defiance of the Familia. In 2415 CE The First Navadorex was nearly assassinated during a Familia raid through an act of treachery by a trusted councillor. In retaliation, Guilda agents struck back during the Fiesta de Santo Domingo of 2416 CE. Seven Família patriarchs were garrotted at the Saint’s Lunch Massacre. The Familia fell into disarray.
The chaos that ensued provided The First Navegadorex an opportunity to escalate violent action against the Familias. Several nuarchospires were set ablaze and more Capitãos were murdered. The island’s capitol building, the Familia Palace, was captured and renamed the Casa Da Guilda in late 2417 CE. Their leader was proclaimed The Honoured Navagadorex.
The Honoured Navegadorex focused on purging malcontents in the following decade, removing reminders of the Família, and establishing new leadership. The Mascarada Cabala was formed and rigid customs introduced centred around masked identities. The Blessed Primatex, leader of the Canônex Cristãx O Igreja faith, was added to the Masqued Cabala, unifying the island’s religion with its political power. The Honoured Navegadorex next founded the Windward Islands Empresa to consolidate Guildas trade, and created the role of Mestre Comerciante. Merchants were sent throughout the Antilles Archipelago and across the Atlantica to establish reliable trading partners and source unique goods.
Masks of Power
The custom of wearing masks emerged in Nueva Esperanza at the turn of the 25th Century at the same time as the rise of the First Navagadorex. These masks take on many forms, from simple cloth that covers half the face, to spectacular full-face masks bejeweled with gold and silver.
Wearing masks is controlled by specific rules and customs. Indentured servants and slaves working for the Masqued Guildas wear hoods but may never cover their faces, on pain of death. In closed door Guilda business and social discussão events, rank and file guilders reveal their faces to their superiors. This pattern continues upwards among all trades and personal events. In the highest echelon of the Masqued Guildas, the quarterly Reunião of the Mascarada Cabala, it is claimed that the Guilda Chefes reveal their faces, while the Honoured Navegadorex remains masked.
The true reason for the Masqued Guildas practice of mask wearing is far more sinister, and remains a secret known only to the Mascarada Cabala.
Saintly Naming Conventions
Successive members of the Cabala take the name of their predecessor, which are drawn from unisex Canônex Saints. For example, Chefe Leonor V is named after the Patron Saint of Safe Travels and is the fifth head of the Desouza Guilda. Chefe Dusko III is named after the Twilight Moon Saint and is the third to rule the Oreleans a Braganza Guilda. The current Honoured Navagadorex is the third of Their Name. Regular assassinations keep the wheels turning at the highest levels of the Mascarada Cabala. With many assassinations kept secret and identities concealed, each Chefe’s number is likely to be inaccurate.
Masqued Guildas Appearance
Masqued Guildas social culture is focused entirely on the skilled wearing of masks. Guilda citizens wear a variety of masks in public, only removing their masks in carefully controlled private meetings and events.
Members of the Masqued Guildas favour hoods, cloaks, and face masks that conceal their identity and display their Guilda’s colours. In addition, Guilders will use contact lenses, cosmetics, and gene-splicing to change their complexion, further adding to their mystery.
Revealing one’s face is done in a hierarchical manner. Slaves and servants are uncovered and always lower their face to their superiors. Guilders of the lower ranks reveal their identity to their family, peers, and the Conselheirex behind closed doors. The Conselheirex defer their identity to Guilda Chefes, who in turn only reveal their face in private to the Mascarada Cabala.
Masqued Guildas Demeanor
The Masqued Guilds are mystery personified to outsiders. As part of their ancient Familia heritage, Guilders are prone to hosting elaborate social activities. These elaborate events are used to form political relationships, secure mercantile trades, and gauge their competitors. Guilder social influencers act as agents of the Conselheirex to observe weaknesses in others and report these details to their patrono. Tight-lipped and secretive to foreigners and competing Guildas, a Guilder will only relax behind closed doors among family and peers.
Masqued Guildas Language(s)
Guilders are well educated and predominantly speak Portrasila (a Portuguese-based languages spoken within the Federação do Portugal, Brasil, e Angola). They may also be familiar with Lengua Karibeño due to their Westward-facting mercantile relatrionships. Many Guilders knowledgeable in Eastrican, Northern Creole, and Southern Creole, particularly members of the Windward Island Empresa, DeSouza and Azora Guildas. In addition, each Masqued Guilda has developed a unique and complex language of words, codes, signs, symbols, and physical movements that convey information. These languages constantly evolve every few years, in an attempt to stay ahead of competing guilds.
An updated set of words, codes, and signs are revealed to privileged guilders at the annual Mascara Festival. Those who share this critical information with outsiders are punished with death.
Masqued Guildas Occupations
The Masqued Guildas operate by a strict vertical hierarchy. Each guilda is led by a Guild Chefe who is guided by a coterie of councilors. Serving each coterie are the land-based Cartazes Factors as well as the maritime Falcão Do Mar.
Each Guilda employs hundreds of unmasked clerks, servants, laborers, and slaves. They are forbidden to hide their faces, and those caught doing so are punished with death.
Masqued Guildas Religions
The majority of Masqued Guilda members follow Canônicex Cristãx O Igreja, a Post-Rapture Proclamation Christian faith. The Cristãx is led by a Blessed Primatex appointed by the Mascada Cabala. Followers of this religion worship a Pantheon of Star Saints.
Masqued Guildas Arms and Armour
Members of the Masqued Guildas favour short and thin blades, including vibro daggers and monofilament rapiers. They may also be equipped with advanced Ancient energy pistols.
Guilders wear armour that range in quality from simple medieval robes to advanced shape-shifting materials, such as the perception-influencing Shroud of the Masque. The Falcão Do Mar will wear light-weight ballistic cloth while at sea, and change to heavy plate armour and advanced armour while on land.
Masqued Guildas Cultural Skills
Masqued Guilda members are likely to have a range of physical skills, including Climb, Disguise, Dodge, Grapple, Hide, Jump, Language, Literacy, Listen, Melee Weapon, Parry and Stealth. Guild elite may also be skilled in Etiquette, Fine Manipulation, Insight, Martial Art, Perform, Ride, Sleight of Hand, Sense, Spot, Status and/or Strategy,
Masqued Guildas Cultural Items
Critical to every Masqued Guilder is their personal mask. These masks range from simple half-face veils to intricately adorned full-face masks with in-built sensors and communication suites.
Guilders are also likely to carry silver coins, jewels, a Guilda trade certificate, and a ceremonial dagger.
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