IN> Organisations of the Damned - The One True Guild of Knappers

[James Walker]

When the Fallen first entered Hell, they were weak and beaten, stripped of everything, even Rites and Attunements. So when Damned started arriving with the ability to make tools and weapons out of stone, the demons swiftly put them to work. Of course, as the most senior ex-Servitor of Stone, Malphas managed to put himself in control of the operation. The other First Fallen still regret this...

For sixteen thousand years the One True Guild of Knappers was Hell's "only" supply of tools, holding a position of power comparable to that currently held by Technology. Whether created by knapping, grinding or polishing, their basc philosophy is that power comes from division - that a single mildly dangerous rock can be split into several far more dangerous knives.

The Knappers supplied and supported any group that insisted that their preferred weapon/tool was the best/only one, and that all others were inferior. For several millennia Malphas and Baal worked in tandem, Malphas creating divisions based on weapon types and Baal driving the groups into conflict to determine which weapons were in fact superior. This strange alliance collapsed once Baal had determined which weapons were most suited to Hell's purposes (much to Malphas' disgust).

The number of weapons created by the Knappers cannot even be estimated. Entire mountain ranges in Gehenna are actually rubbish hills of broken axe and arrow heads, their bone hafts long since mouldered away.

Meanwhile the Knappers had been experimenting with Enchanting. The lack of wood made convential spears impractical; only by enchanting stone hafts to be unbreakable could these weapons be made. Countless relic/0s were created over the eons, and these are still used by Hell's underclasses.

The discovery of bronze was a shock to the Guild, but not a great one. Initially, this merely created a new struggle between those who supported the new weapons and those who preferred the old. Even when bronze had proved its superiority, bronze was too rare and expensive to shake the monopoly of the Guild. When bronze finally ruled supreme, the Guild was in no position to argue, as Belial had ensured his control over the smelting of the fire coloured metal.

Still, the guild was busy with new tasks - building. They took to masonry and architecture with glee, delighting in showing how splitting rocks made them superior to a single slab. Ever greater ziggurats, temples, forts and walls were built - they even build the wall that surrounds Hell. 

Now concrete and steel have replaced stone, and the Guild is a forgotten monster. But it still exists.
Every guildmember is convinced that they, and they alone, are heir to the true secrets of the guild. Part of the guild oath is to punish 'outsiders' who seek to learn the secrets of the guild, so intracine warfare is incessant, justified by the belief that the others aren't real members at all. Constantly jockeying for influence with more powerful members, the rank and file constantly bootlick; and the influence of these yes-men can be seen all over Hell, with grandiose plans intended to overshadow Mt Rushmore lie half-completed, as the work teams begins these tasks and then are pulled off them to begin even more impressive tasks. The Guild has become the laughing stock of Hell, a forgotton dinosaur that only survives through size and momentum. The sharks of Hell circle for the kill. And Malphas? He is well pleased, content that even in its destruction the Guild willembarrass David's Word.


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