And it slides aside, revealing a hand, an arm, a shoulder, the arm a glinting, metallic thing, its planes like the facets of a gem, its wrist and elbow wondrous weaves of silver cable, pinned with flecks of fire, the hand stylized, skeletal, a Swiss toy, a mechanical insect, functional, deadly, beautiful in its way...

Benedict's mechanical arm, Sign of the Unicorn

The Guild is responsible for the creation of mechanical devices, such as Benedict's arm, that function in Amber and throughout shadow. The members of the Guild call their work 'science', and, while sanctioned by the Queen, are not directly controlled by the crown. The members of the Guild are not generally of royal blood, but are generally from the Shadows around Amber.

The Guild is highly secretive about their art, though many Guild Artifacts can be found throughout Amber and the Golden Realm. It is known that Artificers, as members of the Guild are often called, start their study as Apprentices, and after many years of study are moved up throughout the ranks of the Guild. The leadership of the Guild is unknown to the general public, and rumors abound about these 'Masters'. Even the lower level members of the Guild know nothing about the Masters that run the organization.

The Artifacts created by the Guild tend to be clockwork in nature. The Guild is often called upon to replace lost limbs with mechanical substitutes. In addition the Guild has created a set of mechanical guards which serves as another layer of protection around Queen Dara. The Guild is also thought to be in possesion of the last quantities of the Gunpowder of Avalon, though it not believed that they know the secret of its creation.

Very few of the Guild's creations take on the appearance of intelligence, and the few that do, appear to be clumsy automatons. They are known to have created some mechanical calculators which have proved very useful to the seafaring industry. It is also rumored that the Guild has been working on new mechanical naval vessals, as well as aerial devices. The power and abilities of the Artificers tends to grow in rumor, however.

Another common creation of the Guild, which is now beginning to see more use, is the powered printing press. There are several in operation in Amber, and at least a few more in the Golden Realm.

The Guild has two primary facilities which it works out of, though many other smaller facilities exist. The main Guild stronghold is in the mountains of Kolvir, outside the city borders. The Guild is also very strong within the Golden Realm of Juniper, where they have at least one other fortress. In addition, it is rumored that the Guild have several secret workshops located throughout the Golden Realm, their locations known only to the upper echelons of the Guild membership.

Notes on Membership in the Guild

Joining the Guild is difficult and has become even more so in recent years. To join the Guild one must first find a Guild Artificer to apprentice to. This is difficult as the Guild is fairly secretive about its membership. To find a master craftsman to study under, one must usually travel to a Guild headquarters and petition the Guild for permission to apprentice. Once accepted, the Apprentice must spend years (generally two, though this seems to vary) working for the Guild craftsman assigned to them, establishing a bond of trust, and proving themself worthy of membership in the Guild. No secrets of the Guild are revealed to the Apprentice during this time.

For the entirity of this initial apprenticeship, the Apprentice will not even see the Craftsman's face, as it is always hidden by the ubiquitous metal masks that the Guild members always seem to wear while serving their duties. It is even removed that the Guild wear their masks within the confines of the Guild Headquarters so as to protect their identities from each other.

If after this initial Apprenticeship, the student is trusted and deemed worthy, they are initiated into the Guild as the lowest rank of Guild member, still with the rank of Apprentice. They are presented with a mask and robes, and rumors say that the Apprentice is given an implant of some kind, as a sign of membership in the Guild. They say not all implants are visible, so you can never be sure who is in the Guild and who is not. In some cases though the change is obvious, and one of the Apprentice's limbs or hands is replaced with an artifical one. It is said that in some cases an Apprentice can even have an eye replaced, though many believe this type of operation is beyond the current skills of the Artificers. The majority of Artificers, it is believed, have some Guild appartus installed inside of them, out of sight - an invisible sign of membership.

From this point on, the Apprentice studies in the Guild and slowly learns its secrets as they move up the ranks and work for the Guild. It is rumored that even those in the Guild don't know how high the ranks go, and what the finals secrets of the Guild are. One thing that is known is that there are no former members of the Guild. Once you are initiated you are a member for life, or until the Guild no longer needs you.