LORE The Explorer's Guild

Kuno

Django Jane
Original poster
FOLKLORE MEMBER
Posting Speed
  1. One post per day
  2. 1-3 posts per week
  3. One post per week
Writing Levels
  1. Intermediate
  2. Adept
  3. Advanced
  4. Prestige
  5. Adaptable
Preferred Character Gender
  1. No Preferences
Genres
Fantasy, Sci fi, Romance, Historical, Modern, Supernatural
The Explorer's Guild of Cairo




On the Northern outskirts of Cairo sits the Guild’s headquarters. Most know the hypostyle hall where the Guild conducts its buildings as Winged Towers, a pseudonym attributed to the jaunty red flags affixed to the inner pillars that flap about much like a bird's wings. Originally built fifty years ago under the careful direction of the first Guildmaster, the Winged Towers is as much an ode to the golden heyday of Egypt as it is a sad reminder of how much modern Cairo has changed. For while the white pillars of Winged Towers stand tall, cracks have emerged; the building stands as one of the few hypostyle halls left in the city, the rest having been destroyed or torn down during the war.

History points to Meketre II as the muse behind the Explorer’s Guild. Forty years ago, after the erection of the divide between Nubian and Persian controlled Egypt, Mekertre II found himself in an unfortunate state of precarity. A historian and a scholar, the man and his work were centered in Northern Cairo, while his family and loved ones were, unfortunately, caught on the southern end of the divide. His solution? After three years of intense diplomatic talks with Persian and Nubian ambassadors, Meketre founded the neutral entity of the Explorer’s Guild, an organization dedicated to the international pursuit of archaeology and geography.

Maintaining the balance of impartiality has not been without its challenges. But for the most part, both Nubians and Persians share a healthy respect and love for knowledge, and as such are content to uphold the fragile status quo they’ve established within the Guild. Assignments, or projects, are either eked out by the Guildmaster or pursued by individual members. Projects can come from anywhere: Isfahan, Ubasa, fledgling lords from the West or enterprising minds from the East. Compensation comes from any who undertake any of these outside assignments. While steady funding is provided from the shah, lack of projects in the past years accompanied with dwindling active members has put the Guild into a slow decline.

The Guild is not an exclusive club. Any able-bodied man or woman with a knack for scholarly endeavors is invited to join, albeit there is a natural pecking order established to recognize rank, experience, and positions of leadership amongst Guildmates. For the purposes of the role-play Enterprise, two senior members have been chosen to oversee the Guild's newest project.



MOBEEN TIR

The Guild has amongst its ranks many talented artists and scribes notable even beyond the sphere of Cairo's influence. Mobeen Tir was already an established cartographer from Tehran when he found his way into the Winged Towers.

It has been seventeen years since that time, and as a senior member of the Guild, Mobeen has helped to keep the organization buoyed both by his talents and his reputable crafts. The 40 year old is of a remarkably fastidious character, bordering somewhat on perfectionism. Due to his somewhat reclusive nature, he is often paired on complex projects with Sokkari Selassie, one of the very few Guild members he is known to share a natural camaraderie with. His main abode is in Cairo, though he often travels back home to Persia to visit family.




SOKKARI SELASSIE

House Selassie of Timbuktu is as grounded and stalwart as a baobab tree, and it comes as little surprise that their youngest child has come to embody the house heraldry. Sokkari hails from one of the lesser noble families of Nubia, which has served doubly as a boon to her.

First, in that she escapes the strain of political pressure so often weighing on highborn children; secondly, in that she has retained full autonomy to pursue matters of education rather than be bound into the insular life of Timbuktu. Sokkari has not been back home since she left at age 17, and she has no intention of returning anytime soon.

Sokkari is one of the few Guild members serving full-time at the organization's behest. While her work as an archaeologist is exceptional, her main source of employment is serving as a conciliator, a sensible enough tongue aiding greatly in negotiating with businessmen and smoothing over ruffled feathers with disgruntled natives. Her mastery of many languages makes her exceptionally marketable. Nevertheless, Sokkari hopes one day that there'll be less need for her spoken words and more for her written words.



 
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