The Emris Adventuring Guild is a revered institution of exploration, knowledge, and martial prowess headquartered in the sultanate city of Shariz. Known across the The Sands of Serrakhan and beyond, the guild was instrumental in charting the forgotten ruins of Osira and recovering knowledge lost to centuries of war, elemental upheaval, and divine betrayal.
Founded in the early Fourth Age, the guild was originally established under the guise of an eccentric noble named Altair Emris—a name which, in time, would prove to be an illusion. In truth, he was Alistair Emrys, a Solir scholar and former advisor to Avatar Lumina, who had fled Itela after her death. As it turns out, he had brokered a pact with Malekith to preserve his life. Forbidden from returning to his now sundered homeland, he was allowed to live out his days in exile within the Serrakhan Sultanate, where he quietly began the founding of the guild.
Origins & History
Though initially believed to be a desert-born noble and academic, Emris was revealed, decades later, to be one of the last true Solir—ancient sun elves descended from the original civilization of Itela. Once a childhood mentor to Talyen, Emris had served as Lumina’s trusted counselor until the moment of her betrayal at the hands of Malekith. When confronted by members of The Sunsations—particularly Kairus the Brass and Losk the Wanderer, who were soon after bound into service as reborn Primarchs of the Sun—his history and cowardice were laid bare.
Following Emris’s mysterious disappearance, his mechanical replica Emr1s served in his place for several years until it too was destroyed by Talyen upon his return (see: The Star of Dawn). Talyen assumed leadership of the guild before ultimately passing the mantle to Professor Henry Endsworth, reforming the institution under its new name: the Sunsations Adventuring Guild.
Structure & Facilities
The guild's central compound is a sprawling adobe citadel nestled in the northern district of Shariz. It contains lecture halls, sand-fighting pits, map chambers, archives, dormitories, and planetary observatories. Its schools are divided into three major orders:
School of the Phoenix: Valuing strength, courage, and honor.
School of the Owl: For scholars, arcanists, and tacticians.
School of the Snake: Home to those who thrive through cunning, stealth, and persuasion.
Each new recruit must undergo the famed Trials of the Sun to earn their place.
The Trials of the Sun
Designed as a rite of passage, the Trials are a harrowing gauntlet that tests a would-be adventurer’s spirit, intellect, and strength:
The Sun’s Token – A pilgrimage across the eastern desert to the Sun Shrine, bearing a golden token of Malekith.
Fangs of the Labyrinth – Delve into the Serpent's Labyrinth and return with the fang of a long-dead serpent.
Trial of Flame and Scale – Survive combat with the ancient Brass Dragon, Jasar, within the guild’s sanctified arena.
Many who attempt the Trials are maimed or killed. Those who endure are changed—respected, hardened, and inducted into one of the three Schools.
Achievements & Expeditions
The Emris Guild has spearheaded expeditions into nearly every corner of Tolria and Osira:
- Charted the Sands of Serrakhan and unearthed numerous Solir ruins.
- Delved through the Burned Woods and discovered the once lost history of Itela before also discovering The Shadowfell through The Umbral Gateway.
- Voyaged to The Earth Realm and learned of their history from Avatar Terra before the Sunsations brokered a trade relationship between the Earth Kingdom and Sultanate (see: Great Northern Voyage).
- Discovered ">The Vale of Everwinter] on the Sunsations voyage through the Earth Realm, aiding ">Lucien Ice] and the druids of the ">Forests of Frostfall] from ">Everwinter] (see: ">Cold-Front Confrontation]).
- Ventured into The Sea Realm, assisting the Unknown and Avatar Typhon in saving Atla from the revenant World Eater Serpent (see: Wrath of the World Eater).
- Treated with the Y’azi Empire and helped the Dragon Emperor Ryujin Hattori defeat The Tides of Khaos while also charting the Y’azi Peninsula, Forlorn Flames of Fyrashan, and northern wastes of Norska).
Its scholars were among the first to identify and classify the ancient world of Osira as it exists in the Fifth age... Helping to recover from centuries of lost knowledge. Notably, the Solace Atheneum was erected as a grand library of collected knowledge from the guild's many exploits and adventurers across the world.
Notable Events
Snake Cult Infiltration: During the early Fifth Age, the guild suffered infiltration by the Snake Cult. Eskel, a trusted Tabaxi adventurer of the School of the Snake, was revealed to be an assassin of the serpent cult who murdered his companion Arian Hamaldor before being killed in Torbah by the Sunsations.
Rivalry with the Order of the Flaming Sun: This militant chivalric order, thought to be unaffiliated, was found harboring Primarch Arkhan escaping from the Temple of the Seven Suns. The guild’s exposure of their ties to the Holy Order of the Sun helped prevent a wider uprising in Shariz.
The Sunsations Reformation: Following the deactivation of Emr1s and Emris’s exposed lineage, Talyen formally disbanded the Emris name and reformed it under a new charter. The Sunsations Adventuring Guild continues the legacy, now sanctioned directly under the Sultanate.
Current Role
The guild remains a cornerstone of the new golden era. Under the aegis of Talyen, the Serrakhanian Survey Corps was formed—an elite unit of explorers and warriors hand-picked from the guild’s ranks to uncover, defend, and preserve the relics of ages long past. Members include Olond Galakin, Tormund Brightblade, Jura, and Eremoz (before his departure to the Unknown).
Their work continues to guide the Sultanate and Osira toward a future shaped by shared understanding, not conquest.
Legacy
The Emris Adventuring Guild helped rekindle the lost light of the Solir, even as its founder was burdened by the sins of his past. Through revelation, reform, and sacrifice, its legacy lives on in the banner of the Sunsations, and the spark of adventure burns anew in the desert winds of Osira.