The Guildmasters’ Council of Abyros

Purpose & Mandate

The Guildmasters’ Council is the only table where the Eight sit as equals. It exists to uphold the Descent Accord, regulate access to the Breach, arbitrate inter‑guild disputes, and coordinate citywide responses to arcane crises. It is not a throne—Abyros has none—but a pressure valve that keeps the city from detonation.

Composition

  • Voting Seats (8): One per ruling guild: @Pyrelords , @Frostveil Covenant , @Stormbind Pact , @Thunderborn Order , @Luminara Ascendant , @Mindspire Synod , @Venomshade Kin , @Caustic Coil .

  • Non‑Voting Observers: Marshal of the @Wardens of Descent , one Archon delegate from the @Arcspire Collegium , and the Breach Custodian (rotating Warden specialist).

  • Honor Guards: Each Guildmaster may bring up to two attendants; weapons may be carried sheathed only.

Chamber & Security

  • Site: The Accordium, a neutral rotunda built into the inner containment ring around the Breach. Floors are set with synchronised time‑lock glyphs.

  • Wards: Anti‑compulsion lattices, anti‑scry veils, and resonance dampeners. Overt magic requires the Marshal’s assent.

  • Custody Line: Crossing the inner gold‑inlaid circle unsummoned is grounds for immediate Warden restraint.

Session Types

  • Conclave (Open Docket): Scheduling, tariffs, expedition disputes. Public gallery limited to ranked delegates.

  • Closed Session: Doctrine or security matters; gallery cleared; Collegium and Wardens remain.

  • Crisis Session (Red Sigil): Breach anomaly, mass emergence, or citywide threat; summons override standing quarrels.

  • Tribunal: Formal judgement of Accord violations; chaired by a rotating triad of Guildmasters.

Procedure

  • Quorum: 6 of 8 seats present.

  • Motion: Any Guildmaster may place a Motion; second required from a different guild.

  • Vote: Simple majority for logistics (e.g., descent timetables). Supermajority (6/8) for sanctions, Warden deployments, or shutter activation.

  • Objection Rite: A single Formal Objection per guild per lunar cycle pauses a vote for one day and triggers fact‑finding by the Wardens and Collegium.

  • Speaking Order: Rotates by most recent verified Dungeon Depth Record; deepest guild speaks last.

Powers

  • Set descent schedules and floor clearances within Accord limits.

  • Levy relic tariffs and adjudicate salvage claims contested between guilds.

  • Authorize Warden deployments, cordons, and Zone Lockdown around the Breach.

  • Issue ceasefire decrees and binding dueling protocols for inter‑guild conflicts inside city bounds.

  • Suspend a guild’s gate priority or market licenses for Accord breaches.

Limits

  • Cannot seize guild‑owned districts or internal property.

  • Cannot conscript Collegium students or abrogate Collegium trials.

  • Wardens retain field override in immediate containment emergencies.

  • The Descent Accord supersedes all council bylaws; equal access to the Breach must be preserved.

Sanctions Ladder (Accord Enforcement)

  1. Censure: Written rebuke, public record.

  2. Fine: Guild Marks / Relic Credits assessed to restitution.

  3. Quota Cut: Reduced descent slots for one cycle.

  4. Priority Loss: Removal of gate/market priority and auction rights.

  5. Embargo: Citywide restrictions on guild trade for a set term.

  6. Warden Trusteeship: Temporary Warden control of the guild’s descent liaisons.

  7. Accord‑Breaker Writ: All guilds authorized to act in concert until compliance restored.

Rituals & Symbols

  • Bearing of Seals: Session opens as each Guildmaster sets their seal into the table’s ring; wards calibrate to signatures.

  • The Silent Minute: Names of the week’s fallen delvers are projected as light within the rotunda; no voice speaks.

  • Dawn Tuning: Weekly sunrise session aligns barrier lattices; Pyrelords and Frostveil traditionally lead alternately.

Standing Committees

  • Descent Board: Rotating schedulers who allocate expedition windows and floor lanes.

  • Relic Jury: Cross‑guild appraisers mediating salvage and provenance.

  • Mutation & Stability Panel: Collegium and Coil physicians auditing resonance/mutagen thresholds for rank C+.

  • Civic Incursions Desk: Wardens + district envoys coordinating responses to Dungeon spill events.

Council Calendar (Typical Cycle)

  • Moonday: Open Conclave—logistics, tariffs, permits.

  • Firesday: Relic disputes & auctions under jury oversight.

  • Stillday: Mutation & Stability hearings (rank audits).

  • Stormday: Training‑ground incidents & duel rulings.

  • Sol’s Dawn (First of month): Dawn Tuning and oath renewal.

  • Darkfall (New Moon): Closed security briefing on deep‑floor anomalies.

Adjudication Tools

  • Witness Sigils: Oath‑bound memory projections (Mindspire protocols).

  • Resonance Prints: Collegium validation of spell events.

  • Breach Ledger: Warden‑kept descent logs; falsifying entries is an Accord felony.

Political Fault Lines (Ever‑Shifting)

  • Mireforge vs. Solspire: Mutation ethics, radiance burnings of “unstables.”

  • Thornveil vs. Everyone: Assassination jurisdiction and “trial by @Crimson Bloom ” outside @Thornveil l.

  • Zephyrium vs. Drumspire: Airspace and sonic‑hazard complaints during drills.

  • Cryospire vs. Pyrelords: Heat‑stress damages to containment and arena trespass during magma duels.

  • Mindspire vs. All: Use of memory edits as evidence.