In the game: help guilds Also sixers great guilds the guilds guild the six particles council of six
The Six Guilds: the city's great monopolies, their patron Saints, and the particles their members wear.
The Monopolies
There are six guilds. The state grants each one a monopoly over a vital part of city life, in exchange for tithing to the Church and submitting to the Inquisition's oversight. None of them rules the city on paper, but they hold enormous power.
What a guild really owns is the technology of its trade, as a sign that Sepulchre trusts it to use that technology safely. There are doctors in the slums with no ties to Mythos, but their clinics do not have Mythos resources. Not every crafter is Vulcani, but Vulcani have the workshops. A slum crafter makes do with less, or finds other ways in.
Sixers and Yeomen
Guilds work on an apprenticeship model. After the basic schooling of a Sepulchre creche, a would-be member finds a full member to learn from and work for.
Full members are called sixers. They put their guild's particle before their surname: Joe Schmoe becomes Joe vae Schmoe once Mythos accepts him. Contract workers without membership, benefits, or protection are called yeomen.
The Six
Mythos: bioengineering, gene-splicing, cyberware, and healthcare. Patron Saint Vael. Particle vae. See help mythos.
Symphony: entertainment, fashion, news, gambling, vice, Nous, and blood sport. Patron Saint Lyra. Particle lai. See help symphony.
Pegasus: nobody knows. Patron Saint Cinder. Particle unknown, if it has one. See help pegasus.
Vulcani: arms, armour, weapons research, vehicles, and heavy industry. Patron Saint Ferro. Particle kor. See help vulcani.
Sepulchre: the Church, the spiritual authority of the whole city. Patron Saint Marrow, the Prophet. Particle eir. See help sepulchre.
Outriders: salvage, scavenging, and surface runs. Patron Saint Vesper. Particle ren. See help outriders.
Read next: help great houses, help saints, and help life in deshret.
On the Agora: https://agora.underspire.net/t/guilds/31