The Associations are essentially the mercantile equivalent of the Guilds (see below), although their political influence is weaker, and their acceptance of foreign members is viewed with deep suspicion. They are permitted to elect a Master to sit on the Council of Guilds, but their voices tends to be lost amidst the more numerous Guilds. The officially recognised Associations are:
The Guilds of Syran are officially recognised and highly respected organisations, and their membership is restricted to skilled craftspeople and artisans. Each elects a Master to sit on the Council of Guilds, which has an increasingly important role in the government of the city. The pre-eminence of the Ancient and Sanctified Guild of Vitrifacture is widely accepted, but this reflects the traditional significance of glassmaking in Syran rather than its economic and political muscle. Each guild jealously guards the secrets of its craft, often granting them to members in the form of Common Magic. Some notable guilds are listed below, but this is by no means an exhaustive list.
A number of mercenary companies operate within the city, but they are tolerated rather than welcomed, and their loyalties are uncertain. Some are merely uneasy alliances of convenience, but a few have formed communities strong enough to benefit from a guardian. Examples of the latter include:
A small and essentially static group of noble families constititutes the ruling class in Syran. Most have long-established and impressive domiciles within the city, and for this reason they are commonly known as the Houses. In addition to these seats of power, the Houses also tend to have rural mansions and extensive estates in the surrounding countryside, as well as numerous smaller dwellings within the city for the use of their agents and minor family members. They also command armies of servants, and literal armies of personal guards.
Most Houses have a guardian, which usually grants its benefits to all family members; these benefits are often extended to some guards and retainers as well, in return for their sworn allegiance. These entities are typically represented on the heraldic arms of the House. Examples include the black boar of House Lazaran and the eagle of House Adamarl.
A number of military, monastic and healing orders have establishments in and around Syran. Members of the military orders are often (but not always) Knights. Those of the monastic orders may generally be considered Scholars and most of the Hospitallers are Healers, but there are always exceptions. For full descriptions of the indigenous orders, see the individual keywords.
Each District maintains its own regiment of guards to patrol the streets and defend the walls. Most full-time members are fiercely loyal to their regiment and their fellows, and many ex-guardsmen retain this sense of devotion after moving on. The guards of the Watch have at least a nominal loyalty to that organisation as well (see below), but most favour their regiment instead.
Regimental guardians are common, providing most members and some ex-members of the regiment with an additional source of defensive magic. Like the Houses, these entities are frequently represented in a heraldic device as part of the regiment's arms.
Although these clandestine organisations are not all illegal per se, they are regarded as dangerous and/or subversive by the secular and religious authorities. Numerous organisations use the name of Arkat to dignify their ambitions, or to conceal their real nature. The idea that the true heirs of Arkat still exist is very popular and persistent rumours of their exploits abound. The most consistent and coherent stories refer to the groups listed below, but even these remain elusive, and may be purely fictional.
Syran has an unusually large number of Wizardry Schools, and all but one are native to the city. Each has strong links to a particular Church within the Ecumenical Communion, but only one draws its membership exclusively from its parent body. Full descriptions of the schools can be found in their individual keywords.
Numerous criminal organisations operate within Syran, engaging in a variety of dubious activities, but two in particular have grown large enough to merit special attention. These syndicates demand secrecy and command loyalty from their members, deter or eliminate smaller rivals and extort protection money from legitimate businesses. They are also the local face of Lanbril, and are rumoured to offer specialised Common Magic of their own in addition to the thief god's more familiar talents.
The major syndicates also exercise a certain amount of political influence, and are rumoured to have connections in some of the Houses. A third group has recently emerged as a rival to the established syndicates, but it has yet to threaten their domination of the city's shadier side. The two main syndicates in Syran are:
Unlike the regiments, from whose ranks its members are drawn, the Watch is a city-wide organisation with a unified command structure. The Commander of the Watch is a largely political role, and it is the lieutenants in each district who are responsible for paying the guards wages and for enforcing discipline in the ranks.
Loyalty to the Watch is rare, and the post of Commander is often viewed as a poison chalice, but successive holders of the office have managed to create a core group of devoted followers. These individuals are often despised by their regimental brethren, but have formed a separate community and are said to benefit from the protection of a guardian of their own.