Once upon a time, the Beholden Guilds were an essential force in upholding the spiritual and planar wellbeing of the mortal world. Their ability to investigate, exorcise and expel intrusive entities and lingering souls through academic analysis and arcana elevated the Church of Sanctity to new heights of influence.

As time passed, the investigative side of the Guild began to suffer from a poor reputation. Incorrect assumptions and intrusive practices alienated them from local law enforcement. The question eventually came on what the purpose of these specialist investigators was if Exorcists could simply be hired directly from the Guild.

With this shift, many of the Guild branches were abandoned in favour of a more centralised system. From the Church of Sanctity, the Beholden Guild would act as a training and distribution site of Exorcists as requested by local enforcement.

Few branches of the Beholden Guild remain, with Vye being one of the very last in all of Essepa. This is largely due to a lack of required expenditure and the stubborn nature of the recent leaders of the investigative branches.

Even still, the leaders of the Beholden Guild, also known as the Celestially Sanctioned, keep a close eye on Vye.

Investigative Branch

These days, the only local branches of the Beholden Guild are the investigative branches. These are led by a Foresight, the rank fulfilled by oracles, prophets and diviners. They not only act as the directors of the branch, answering only to the Church of Sanctity, but also as a specialist detection system of other planar threats intruding in their region. They also manage the rest of their team of investigators.

This system usually recieves very little funding from the Church anymore, primarily achieving it from private funding or, occassionally, from local governance. They also must request, and often pay for, Exorcists, Guardians and Curse Breakers from the Church.

Other Branches

The other central, and still very much functional, branch of the Beholden Guild is the Exorcising branch. Led by the High Clerics, they train and dispatch Exorcists to deal with cases they deem necessary.

The Beholden Guild also employs use of Guardians and Curse Breakers occassionally, agents that operate on their own discretion and recruit their own replacements.

Cathar - Former Guild Leader

Cathar was once one of the most prominent Guild Leaders for the Beholden Guild. Operating from the Vye branch of the guild, many of his decisions began the schism between the branch and the Church of Sanctity that would later grow to effective ostracisation.

Due to this, he secured the economic future of the branch by creating various handbooks, manuals and other publications. Sold throughout Essepa, the royalties of these provide Vye's Beholden Guild with additional funding to sustain themselves and their work.