"Profit is peace, and peace is profitable."
The Intergalactic Merchants Guild (I.M.G.) is the beating heart of galactic commerce — a vast, ancient, and remarkably stable consortium of traders, financiers, industrialists, and market brokers who collectively control the flow of goods, credits, and resources across nearly every known world.
The Guild is neither government nor megacorporation, but something far older and more entrenched — a neutral economic superpower whose members include the wealthiest merchants in the galaxy, from independent star traders to planetary trade dynasties.
While the I.M.G. officially operates under a doctrine of profit through neutrality, its invisible hand shapes wars, treaties, and political outcomes through financial influence alone.
Its motto — though rarely spoken aloud — is simple:
“The galaxy runs on our credit.”
The Guild traces its origins to over eight thousand years ago, when the merchant Rigor Starmancer unified a dozen rival trade clans into a single economic alliance to end centuries of ruinous trade wars.
Rigor proposed a radical system: a shared charter guaranteeing fair trade rights, mutual protection for merchants, and neutral arbitration in all commercial disputes. To enforce this, the Guild established its own fleet, its own laws, and its own enforcement arm, all answerable only to the Baron and High Council.
Over millennia, this pragmatic vision evolved into a sprawling economic empire — one that outlived countless governments, dynasties, and star nations.
Where empires rise and fall, the I.M.G. remains, trading with whoever holds power and rebuilding wherever war brings ruin.
The I.M.G. is led by a figure known simply as the Baron, a title passed exclusively within the Starmancer Family since the Guild’s founding. The current Baron, Tilmond Starmancer, is a Soban male of sharp intellect and icy composure — a master economist, tactician, and statesman.
The Baron's authority is near absolute within the Guild, but his position is not inherited by right — upon the death or abdication of a Baron, a new one is elected from among the eligible Starmancer family members by the High Council.
The Starmancers are more than a family — they are a dynasty of merchants, bankers, and political strategists who have shaped galactic economics for over eight millennia.
The High Council consists of the Branch Managers of every major I.M.G. Branch across the galaxy — each a powerful merchant-lord in their own right. The Council governs Guild policy, trade regulations, and sanctions, and votes on all major decisions affecting the Guild’s neutrality or trade law.
While the Baron serves as the supreme figurehead, the High Council functions as the true machinery of the Guild’s operation — debating tariffs, trade blockades, and membership rights that can alter galactic markets overnight.
Every major world or sector hosts an I.M.G. Branch, a towering arcology or orbital station that serves as a trade hub, embassy, and financial authority. Each Branch:
Issues Guild Credit Notes (the universal currency backed by I.M.G. reserves)
Hosts trade courts to resolve disputes neutrally
Provides mercantile protection and intelligence to its members
Functions as safe zones, protected by Guild neutrality agreements
Branches are considered extraterritorial — no local government, not even the Vandu, can legally violate a Branch’s sovereignty without facing catastrophic economic retaliation.
"Where the galaxy comes to bargain."
Located near the galactic center, Galidraan is the jewel of the I.M.G. — a colossal ecumenopolis (city-covered world) housing over 90 billion inhabitants. Every continent is blanketed in gleaming towers, floating markets, orbital elevators, and trade conduits that never sleep.
Seat of the Baron’s Palace and the High Council Chambers
Location of the Central Guild Bank, the largest financial institution in the galaxy
Headquarters of the Trade Defense Armada
The neutral heart of galactic diplomacy, where deals between empires are signed and fortunes are made
Galidraan’s skyline is a sea of polished metal and glimmering glass, divided into trade tiers:
The Upper Rings: reserved for elite Guild members, embassies, and high-market auctions
The Middle Strata: industrial complexes, financial towers, and commercial spaceports
The Lower City: endless warrens of workers, transporters, and unlicensed traders who dream of Guild membership
Skies are filled with hover-liners, cargo skiffs, and floating marketplaces, while orbital lanes above Galidraan swarm with freighters and luxury liners from every corner of the galaxy.
At night, the planet glows gold and silver — a beacon of commerce visible across nearby systems.
A monumental white and gold tower that pierces the atmosphere itself, serving as both palace and command center for Baron Tilmond Starmancer. The Spire houses the Baron’s private council chamber, the Vault of Ledgers (an AI archive of every Guild transaction in recorded history), and the Echelon Lounge, where only the galaxy’s richest and most dangerous can barter face-to-face.
A planetary-scale trading level — the largest continuous market in the galaxy. Stretching across entire districts, the Grand Exchange hosts trade from every known species and faction. Everything from luxury starships to rare psionic artifacts is bought and sold here under Guild regulation.
Some say even souls and secrets have price tags here.
A fortress-city of shimmering platinum alloy, said to hold half the galaxy’s total wealth in its vaults. The Bank issues Guild Credits, the dominant intergalactic currency, and manages the Interstellar Credit Network that links every major economy.
A vast diplomatic complex where inter-faction treaties and corporate pacts are negotiated under I.M.G. mediation. The Pavilion’s halls are lined with flags of every major power — and guarded by the Guild Honor Guard, elite soldiers who answer only to the Baron.
Beneath Galidraan’s shining towers lies the Undertrade, a sprawling subterranean shadow-market where blacklisted goods, illegal technologies, and forbidden psionic devices are sold — often with the silent approval of Guild overseers, provided the taxes are paid.
Even the Shadow Collective maintains a quiet presence here, protected by the Guild’s neutrality.
The I.M.G. maintains a Trade Defense Armada — a disciplined, well-equipped fleet used solely for defensive operations and anti-piracy enforcement. It rarely engages in war but can cripple entire economies by issuing trade bans or credit freezes, which many factions fear more than fleets.
The Guild’s economic power rivals the Vandu, and its neutrality ensures constant demand for its services — even among enemies. Their data archives and market analytics make the I.M.G. the most informed organization in the galaxy, and their intelligence network rivals that of any government. The I.M.G. also regulates and protects the value of galactic currency exchange rates. 1000 bits = 1 credit, 1000 credits = 1 stack. Most of the galaxy uses bits for small goods and credits for larger, while stacks are used by the wealthy elite and stellar nations.
With the Vandu: Mutually beneficial — the Vandu rely on the Guild for trade stability, though they resent its neutrality.
With the Shadow Collective: Tense respect — the Guild tolerates them so long as profits flow.
With the Iltaran Concord: Cooperative — the Guild brokers psionic artifact trade under strict regulation.
With Others: Neutral until profit dictates otherwise.
The I.M.G. sees war, politics, and religion as variables in a market equation. To them, everything — from peace to bloodshed — has a price, and they are always the ones collecting interest.