Tideweavers
The Tideweavers were one of the Seven Great Guilds of the Orethan Dominion, distinguished by their mastery of water crystals and their broad civic role as healers, farmers, and water managers. According to A History of Rislandia, they numbered approximately 45,000 water-shapers at the height of the Dominion and were governed by a leader bearing the title The Current Master.
Overview
The Tideweavers operated as one of the crystal guilds of the old empire, wielding water crystals to shape, purify, and direct water for the benefit of Orethan society. Their symbol was a blue wave on a silver field. They shared their headquarters in the city of Aquilae with the Windcallers' Brotherhood, a proximity that reflected their complementary roles in managing the natural world.
The guild maintained close ties with the Church of the Great One, with Tideweaver practitioners working alongside priests in Church-operated hospitals. This partnership made them central figures in the healing arts of the Dominion.
Role and Achievements
The Tideweavers' contributions to the Orethan Dominion spanned several domains:
- Healing arts: Guild members served as healers in Church-operated hospitals and, during the exodus, provided medical care alongside church healers for injured and ill refugees.
- Agriculture: The guild designed and maintained extensive irrigation systems that sustained Orethan farming across the empire's territories.
- Water management: Tideweavers oversaw purification efforts and flood control, making habitable regions that would otherwise have been vulnerable to seasonal inundation.
These irrigation systems, once maintained by guild expertise, broke down following the Great Sundering, contributing to the broader collapse of Orethan infrastructure.
The Night of Shattered Crystals and Dispersal
When the Night of Shattered Crystals brought imperial violence down upon the guilds, the Tideweavers and the Windcallers' Brotherhood fled Aquilae together by wind-ship before soldiers arrived. Many guild members subsequently escaped to distant lands or went underground. According to A History of Rislandia, approximately 5,000 former members across all seven guilds were counted among the refugees who eventually joined the exodus led by Jory Malaky, though the text does not specify how many of these were Tideweavers specifically.
Notable Members
Tyndri Silverveil
Tyndri Silverveil is identified in A History of Rislandia as a former master in the Tideweavers. No further details about Silverveil's tenure or specific role within the guild are provided in the source.
Legacy
The collapse of Tideweaver-maintained irrigation networks following the Great Sundering had lasting consequences for the lands of the former Dominion. The guild's healing traditions survived in part through the exodus, where Tideweaver members and church healers together tended to the refugees. The long-term fate of the guild as an institution after the dispersal is not addressed in A History of Rislandia.