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He gives you an explanation that can be paraphrased as below- it's the same as on the earlier thread.
Eldgar was once a democracy, the only one in a world dominated by monarchy, theocracy and feudalism. The continent thrived under this rule, especially the enormous city at its center, Providencia. However, factions within it soon accumulated great political and economic power, so great that its democratic government had little relevance to the continent's defense, to the rule of law, or indeed to the residents' lives.
In the Collapse of 929, almost fifty years ago, the Eldgarian government finally dissolved. Shockingly, the collapse of the government was not followed by war, by anarchy, or by conquest. Instead, the same powerful factions that had usurped the government's power now absorbed its responsibilities. This has led to a society unlike any that this world or any other has ever seen before.
Eldgar is now ruled equally by four Guilds, each a broad allegiance formed through a common interest. They have their names, but everyone knows them as The Church, The Firm, The Institute, and The Syndicate.
The Church is a religious hierarchy that unifies the worshippers of every known deity into a single hierarchy. Its ranks of paladins, clerics and monks make up a network of soldiers and healers who promote The Church and its mission.
The Firm developed from a continual accumulation of mergers and acquisitions between merchants and mercenaries alike, and now oversees a thousand services once provided by independent businessmen. It is responsible for most imports and exports from the continent, controls a system of farms and manufacturers, and even runs an efficient messenger system to anywhere in the continent. It also maintains a vast network of bounty hunters and mercenaries, and few who cross it can ever escape its reach. It an enormous, amoral bureaucracy devoted to one goal: profit.
The Institute considers itself a university- it is devoted to education and the expansion of knowledge. It would be just as accurate, however, to call it a factory of Arcane magic. Its ranks are composed mostly of sorcerers, wizards and bards, devoted to mastering spellcasting and expanding the power and influence of the Institute. It is also devoted to crafting and selling powerful magical items, which are its main source of income.
The Syndicate, also known as the Thieves' Guild, grew from a petty criminal organization to a ruthless cartel with a monopoly on theft, extortion, and assassination within the continent. It takes its monopoly very seriously- unauthorized criminals are likely to be hunted down by its most brutal enforcers. Despite its criminal origins, it holds a position equally legitimate to that of the other Guilds.
These four Guilds share power in a most unusual way. Any resident of the continent must become a citizen of one of the four Guilds, and by swearing his allegiance he gets taken into that Guild's protection. Guild citizenship is denoted through a magically branded insignia on the back of the right hand. Each Guild's citizenship confers its own set of benefits and responsibilities, including its own taxes and rules. (Citizens of the Church can receive healing from any of their clerics posted across the continent. Syndicate citizens are protected against theft, but are required to give up a percentage of loot from anything they steal).
Of course, nothing about this arrangement is simple. The Guilds often trade, deal and make contracts with each other, but they are also constantly scheming, sabotaging and vying for a greater share of power. Furthermore, the Guilds are far from omnipotent- the continent is large, and the farther from the city one goes the weaker their grasp becomes. Guilds thus often hire their own citizens for quests and oddjobs in the country, which range from recovery of stolen items to enforcement of Guild law.
Think carefully on this matter, and then choose your allegiance.