Originally a loose confederation of thieves and assassins, the guild was formally organized by the charismatic Joran duCharleroi and transformed into a tight-knit family of underworld shadows. Following Joran's failed attempt to control his son, his son Garlin in fact took over the guild. He summarily changed it from a den of sin and vice into a clearing house for information of all kinds on all kinds of people. This network of spies and informers has made Garlin far richer-- and far darker-- than his father could've ever dreamed.

Located in Naridale, the College of Magical Arts is built on the site where sages say all magic flows. Built nearly 300 years ago, the College was intended to be a place where magic could be taught to the masses, where people could come and learn not to fear magic but embrace it. Instead, it became a place where wizards grew more powerful, sages grew more knowledgeable, and where bards and storytellers came to learn an otherwise dying art. Some more rural people, in fact, have come to see the College as a place where forces beond their understanding are used to keep them down at the bottom of the chain. (This, of course, is pure dung.)

Currently, the College is headed by the Dragon Goddess Aernath, who has been headmistress either openly or from behind the scenes since its creation nearly three centirues ago. Under her guidance, the College has expanded a half-dozen times, with each new section being built by the primal magics that flow from beneath its foundations. Instructors include Shasta Rameikos, Darrin Trailsong, and, since the near-destruction of the Puristan Order, Laren Rameikos.

A group of companions and adventurers who crossed the lands in search of treasure and adventure. The core members of the group were Darrin Trailsong, Shasta Rameikos, Allisyn of Amitir, and the enigmatic 'Desert Fox' of Tasmil. Along the way and through the years, the group was host to a number of other adventuring men and women; to this day, there is still a group of individuals who use this name as their own. (It is rumored that the Desert Fox, long thought dead, still runs with the group and is the reason that the name is still in active use.)

The day the College of Magical Arts was founded in Naridale and the day that many modern calendars begins. Those present at the Founding Day ceremonies include Shasta Rameikos, Darrin Trailsong, Aernath, Zhaga, the mer-queen Corene, the Elven Queen Keryl shea Silverleaf, the mayors and leaders of three score cities and towns, and the avatars of Amitir, Aelstra, Beth'Arora, Sjenniar, and a half-dozen lesser powers.

The Four Nodes of the world are what keep the elements in control and in perfect balance. Without one, the precarious balance between the four elements will shift and a number of natural disasters would be spawned. It was with the Nodes that Chaos had hoped to regain the power once lost to him and return to the heavens as a full-fledged god. While the Nodes were lost, the Avariel island of Tanathel was nearly consumed by both wind and the sea; likewise, Firespit Volcano became active again for the first time in nearly a hundred years.

The Puristans are an order of mentalists (read: psions) of great power who live reclusively in the hard-to-reach Keep Shiatar. Founded by Minlor Puris and now led by Laren Rameikos, the Puristans have long stood for knowledge for the knowledgeable, as opposed to the College's mandate of knowledge open to all. It is this theory, perhaps, that has led to the dwindling of the Order throughout the years. Following the Chaos War, Laren has slowly begun to abandon the narrow vision of the ancient Puristans, especially in light of the death of most of the Order's members during the war, and is now on an active quest to find new members to restore the strength of the order.

These rings are the single most sought after possession on Garidon. Each ring, crafted in the earliest days of the Puristans, carries from one to three pure wishes. Many have gone dormant over the years, their magics spent, but the merest rumor of one is enough to bring even the most paranoid thief out of hiding. During the Sword Quest, Garlin was ready to run on Ailen to capture a Puristan Ring from her-- even though he had used one years earlier to restore her wings to her.

The Swanmays are a sorority of female rangers and druids who keep the forests of the fae safe for the magical races. Based in the Free City of Swanspoint, the Swanmays are solely responsible for partolling the borderlands around Swanspoint and keeping unwanted intruders on the paths away from the city. Each member is granted a small feather token of pure silver which grants a number of powers to the bearer, including the ability to shapechange into the form of a swan. Currently, this group is led by Miriam, who was guided into the leadership role by her mother Kynna.

For some odd reason, the Swan is the hub of all major activity in the world. This bar and inn, owned by Darrin Trailsong and his wife Ailen Arrowshaft, is the only inn in Naridale and a convenient waystation for anyone travelling through the northern half of the world.

Besides Darrin and Ailen and their family, the Swan boasts three other curious employees: Dragon, the cook, who is indeed exactly what his name would imply; Lindsay, head barmaid and Ailen's confidant in many things; and Aurora "Rory" Tabor, hiding princess of a noble house of the fabled Northern Continent. Each has their own reasons for being at the Swan, reasons that only Darrin and Ailen know and secrets that will not be betrayed.

The inn itself was imported from Marnet-by-the-Sea some decades ago as a gift to Darrin by Shasta Rameikos for services rendered as personal musician. Once it was put together, the bard immediately set his energies toward repairing the dilapidated structure. To that end, he chose the cherrywoods around Naridale as the scheme for the remodeling effort, using that wood for the floorboards and walls; oak for the bar; and white birch for the paneling behind the new stage. After a year of work, the Swan reopened to fireworks above Lake Narilan.

Over the course of the last few decades, the Swan has become known as a gathering place for heroes of all kinds. From the early days of the Rise of Assassins to well beyond the Second Chaos War, the inn's reputation as a place of greatness has been repeatedly strengthened by the occassional presence of Shasta-- who only tends to appear when dire dangers are about to befall the entire land. By the looks of things, this isn't about to change.