The origins of the Guild date back to the year 67AF when Joseph of Norhault founded the Toolcrafter's Guild. It was he who first began to standardise and catalogue much of the means of construction in the Empire, and was the first outside of the Guild of Mages to be allowed access to the ancient magical Artefacts that had been carefully recovered after the Race Wars.
However, Joseph did not just work with magical items. With the personal permission of the Emperor, he was allowed to study with the master Artificers of the Legions, and so gained a great deal of insight into the construction of military arms. The work of the Toolcrafter's Guild at this time served to greatly improve the equipment to the Legions, and was integral to the advancement of the military might of the Empire.
However, the Cataclysm brought about the complete destruction of the Toolcrafter's Guild. Without the backing of the Legions, and without the patronage of the Emperor, the organisation broke up into fragments, as each Master explored their own paths of study, and found new paymasters.
It was not until the later years of the Dark Age, and the years just before the rise of the Pendragon, that the craft of manufacturing arms would rise to prominence again. At the behest of the Master Magician Merlin, a smith known as Waylan forged the great sword Excalibur. Legend has it, that in exchange for his service, Merlin granted the man a span of years greater than that of any normal human.
After the death of the Pendragon, slain by his own son Mordred, Merlin returned the blade to Waylan, and bid him re-forge it into seven swords that might be scattered throughout the lands, until the time of the Pendragon might come again. It took many days for the wizard to persuade the smith to agree to this, and it is said he wept even as he broke apart the mighty weapon which had been his greatest creation.
Iin 1096 the Guild of Weaponsmiths was formed by the master Weaponsmith Augustus Trickley. Since this time, the Weaponsmith's Guild has changed its name to the Armourer's Guild and, in 1100, the Guild recognised the independence of the affiliation of Archers and Crossbowmen in their ranks. This allowed for the formation of the Archers Guild, and freed the Master Smiths to concentrate further upon the practice of weapon craft.
The Armourer's Guild recruits members from all over Erdreja. The guild will take on any hopeful Armoursmith and/or Weaponsmith and train them in the craft. In keeping with the traditions of the past, the Guild also teaches the craft of warfare to its members. This is not just an exercise in swinging a sword but also adapting their skills to get the best results in any martial confrontation. The philosophy of the Guild is that to understand the weapons that they might make, they must also be proficient in their use.
