The Guild System

On Riterra there exists a system where Maestros and their Resonators can organize themselves into company-like entities known as Guilds. Typically a guild will have a structure similar to a business with various positions being filled by qualified members of the guild.

Guilds themselves can be created for any purpose, but to gain the most benefit, they should be registered with the government. Official registration gives the guild many perks such as being recognized as a body by the government giving their members certain protections depending on the nature of the guild when it is registered.

For example, Unwavering Hearts is a medical focused guild who bring aid to communities raved by disaster or otherwise lack the medical infrastructure of their own. They're offered protects against malpractice claims and the like due to the nature of their work.

An example of an unrecognized guild would be the Red Resistance. They are organized like a guild, however most people don't know they are not officially sanctioned by the government due to their active role in anti-governmental propaganda.

One of the biggest perks of running a guild that is registered with the government is the huge subsidies afforded to them for taking out contracts with the government. These may be provided by Maestro Affairs Offices, and may involve offering protection to smaller towns and villages where scherzando may be targeting or even assisting in subjugation of large Scherzando. Other contracts may be other tasks like first responding to the sites of natural disasters, or providing security for high attendance events such as Nationals, or World Tournaments. Some more mundane contracts can also offered such as educating young maestros within smaller towns, or even simple community service.

Since the government foots the bill for the man hours spent, it's highly lucrative to work as part of a guild - even administration positions are paid for by the subsidies, giving older, experienced maestros who may not be cut out for the more laborious positions a spot to help in society through these guilds.

The Registration Process

In order to register for a guild there is a requirement of at least five Maestros and ten Resonators. There's no cap to the number of resonators or maestros, however every member must be in good standing from a tax perspective - if their dues haven't been paid for the year their own pay will be garnished until their taxes have been appropriately paid for the year. This typically is not an issue due to most guild-seeking maestros being traveling maestros who already get their taxes paid with the work they do with the Maestro Affairs Offices. Most of the time, it's the competitive battlers who struck out and didn't have any prize winnings to tax that end up in this situation.

A 10,000 note registration fee is required to be paid up front to prevent people from just opening guilds for no reason. Additionally the capital is required up front - it may not be paid for using credit.

Once the registration has been filled out and the fees paid, the application will be sent to the senator's office for the continent the applicant is registering for. At which time a Senatorial Maestro and Resonator will be sent to interview the applicant in person.

Additionally any property they wish to register as a Guild Hall may be inspected.

Other Benefits

Probably one of the biggest things that is offered to Guild Leaders is a little loophole where Young Adults (15-19) can be treated as full Adults (20+) for the purposes of voting in elections as well as the ownership of land. This is by design and a big draw that gets young blood into the talent pool and helps infuse the whole system with innovative up and coming maestros. It's not uncommon for Guild Leaders to eventually hand off their reigns to another younger maestro and head into government work themselves.

As a guild grows its fame, just being part of that guild can give the members unintended perks, such as certain restaurants giving a percentage off a meal or preferred lodging at big hotel chains. The more exclusive of guilds wear their name like a fashion statement, garnering attention wherever their members happen to be. Such guilds advise their members to be on their best behavior, as removal of rank is a very public and embarrassing ritual that paints a large black stain on their record - prestige is important to most guild leaders and having their good name be tarnished by an unruly member is no laughing matter.

Finally, a lot of guilds offer more permanent lodging to their members, usually once a guild gets big enough they may choose to erect a sort of hotel or apartment complex for their members, allowing them to stay in a space they can personalize while also being safe amongst a population that is usually like-minded.