The Mechanica Guild

The Mechanica Guild

Purpose: To invent, create and distribute machines that harness the power of magic and enhance it for a specific purpose. Also, to investigate the further blend of magic with natural science for greater effect. This guild also is delegated to construct new buildings, install new mechanica and upkeep all necessary functions of said mechanica in the event of disrepair. The Mechanica Guild also is in charge of the patenting of new inventions, scientific process, and applications of Mechanica.

While the Mechanica Guild is a relatively young fixture of the Guild System (roughly only 250 years old) it has fast become one of the most influential. In the early part of the 4300s the Fey of Dairswyn had begun to notice the curious custom of humans creating intricate devices known as machines. This was initially thought as quaint and charming, with Fey coming from miles around to see these machines and marvel at them. However as more complicated machines began to be created and even some of them producing effects that rivaled simple magic (A human uses a pulley and rope to lift a heavy object just as a Fey would with magic) the Fey began to take notice. They enlisted humans to begin to produce more and more of these devices and in time a thriving economy of machines was created. As time progressed even High Fey began to see the use of indoor plumbing and steam power and with such progress, the city itself was transformed. In the last 400 years or so human-driven technology, from gas lamps, factories and chemistry to bicycles, conveyer belts, and trolley cars have exploded. Today the Mechanist Guild is called out to build building, install the latest and greatest inventions and create wonders hitherto unheard of.

In it’s early days, the Mechanist Guild would only deal in human-based technology. There was no magic crossover. However, as the years progressed, Fey and Humans would work together to devise bigger and better machines, some of which could do fantastical things that magic could not do on its own. Today, nearly every machine in the Dairswyn has a magical component to it. This has even lead to magic being in the hands of humans, for a human can use a machine that creates a magical effect just as a Fey could use magic naturally. A good example of this is the lightglobe. In this, a lumination spell is housed in a specially made (and human-designed) glass globe. Within the globe is a filament (also human-designed) that can intensify the brightness of the illumination spell. Also, lightglobes can be connected to each other and a human need only press a button (thus releasing the already stored lumination spell) into multiple globes that will light and bring illumination to the entire room rather than just over the Fey who cast the illumination in the first place.

In the simplest terms, the Mechanica Guild is taking human ingenuity and harnessing it as only Fey can. Where magic is the miracle, mechanica is the enhancement of that miracle, taking it the extra mile.

Since it was initially of human origin it is not surprising that a large number of humans work in the Mechanica Guild in more prestigious positions. Humans are inventors, engineers, chemists, scientists, electricians and, managers. In fact, the head Mechanist for their Research and Development Department is a human;  Mrs. Wendaly Craythorne of House Craythorne.

This, however, does not mean that humans have complete autonomy in the Mechanica Guild. The upper management of the Guild is still Fey based. Even construction crews (nearly exclusively human) have a Fey Workboss who is assisted by a Fey Engineer (who is assisted and consulted by a Human Engineer). The Guild itself is actually run by Lady Luminessa Ardeo, an Ifriti of House Ardeo who is a brilliant Mechanist in her own right. Lady Luminessa is the defacto leader and has the authority to make all the important decisions. She is assisted by a board of humans that present her with their needs but it is her word that makes the clock tick.

As with other Guilds, the Mechanica Guild has its own Judicial and Legislative departments, as well as departments that facilitate the mass production, distribution, and selling of Mechanica Goods. A Human can go to any Mechanica Guild sponsored store and buy a limited use cold spell housed in a mechanica. The consumer would then use the mechanica and then return to the store to have it charged or to trade it in for a new mechanica (for a fee).

But while the Mechnica Guild has grown greatly in the past centuries they are subject to heavy legislation from the Dair himself who worries that a rampant growth of “human ideas” will only add chaos and trouble to his city. As such, the Mechanica Guild Patent Office is a combined venture with the Mechanica and Arcanica Guilds, overseen by a Seelie board of deliberation. This is due to the pervasive nature of technology and science to the city. Nearly every Guild uses some form of Mechanica and Arcanica and as such it is notoriously complex to get into the Patent Office and have your product seen for review. Inventors prepare and plan for months (even years) in advance to ensure their presentations go smoothly.