All young adults who are Juvenals – or Apprentices — or those who appear to be this age are generally called ‘prentices, as the guild system in place reinforces it, and the long-held traditions of preparation and defense that have been baked into the culture over the years make it a necessity. It is during this time that a young person is prepared to take their place in adult society. Marriages are arranged, one’s future is bargained for, the trade or craft you will enter is laid out for you. Most impactful is the Guildwage, a fee that will be used to pay some Master to take you on as an apprentice and teach you the things you will be doing the rest of our life.

A Typical apprenticeship is four to five years, but it is not uncommon for Apprentices to find a way to buy out of their original and buy into a different one that fits their needs and goals and desires. It is a hard time, full of competition, often filled with great cruelty or incredible kindness. There will be Dances and masquerades, and of course there are the flings and fresh loves – and for many, getting married in this period is a thing that is desired and happens – while others will only look forward to earning enough to begin forging their own path and becoming Grand masters.

Guilds – as well as Circles, Posses, and Syndicates – control most aspects of life, and the only ones who can escape it are shepherds and farmers and such. For many, who cannot take the normal process, there is the goal of Apprenticing to a Master or Grand Master of the Adventurer’s guild. Save for Wizards, who will take them but be very grumpy about it because nearly all of them trained at Akadia and think that such should start while one is still a child, or a Youth at the worst, because there is simply too much to learn and so many bad habits to unlearn, many who set forth on the path will begin in such a manner – but some will come to it later. Coming to it later can grant additional skills that may be of value and use when one least expects it.

Guilds & Backgrounds

While not everyone is fortunate enough to be able to move to a guild, the vast majority of people of means do enjoy such, often leaving their small Steading, Hamlet, or Village to apprentice in a Town or City. In doing so, you can take a background that reflects your time as an apprentice – but only if you completed the five years of apprenticeship and became a novice within the Guild.

This would mean starting out older. For most Adventuring guilds, Apprenticeship is only three years long.

A list of the Guilds follows.