The Imperial College of Archers, Swordsmen and Huntsmen
Through its long history, The Carrodian Empire developed wide tastes in hunting and martial pursuits beyond the those of the simple soldier. The Empire had its military, but the pursuit of martial challenges beyond those of organised warfare grew in popularity, especially among those with the free time to enjoy it, that was the nobility or those for whom money had been acquired through commerce. This started to become widespread after the fall of the Tholain Magic Dynasty, and the expansion of Imperial wealth through trade.
Hunting for sport was a natural progression from the art of the warrior, the challenge was more than just finding food to feed a community, but was set up to pitch a warrior against a different, often more dangerous foe. Hunting became the way in which lives were protected, communities fed and glory was earned. With careful propaganda, this romanticised view of hunting was promoted until it was accepted as true. Such an important activity needed equipment and training, and reasonably-priced support services were born.
The Guild of Archers and Hunters developed against that background. At first, when the Empire was newly formed, the romantic picture was not important - but feeding the people was. It helped that the well off could support hunting by both contributing to organised training with both money and their offspring, and later the funds became available to paint this colourful life as a huntsman. The move in this direction was pushed by the Empire itself early on - it needed more than just farmers to ensure its survival. By at first sponsoring many hunting guilds, eventually it gave rise to a single organisation. This organisation is now the Imperial College of Archers, Swordsmen and Huntsmen, but it took many years to emerge as a teaching and leadership organisation.
Over the years, the role of the College has changed. In its earliest days it was a string of hunting (and, frequently, fishing) guilds. As its member groups slowly became one voice, that message of the glory of hunting became stronger and stronger, and the guilds message became louder to many would-be hunters. As the lands descended into war, it provided weapon skills and a different type of soldier for the Imperial army - soldiers that were expert scouts and could live off the land free of the normal military supply chains. Between the fighting, they refocussed back onto hunting skills and honed their teaching methods. With the decline in the risk of war during the 1400s they've seen their role change in new and different ways again in the different regions of the former Empire.
In the populated lands of Tholain, Cerlain and Antaurus their traditional role continues - they train rangers, scouts and the wealthy, and provide equipment and services to allow them to hunt in the wild stretches of those kingdoms. In the frontier lands of Hebria, Jorlinum and Limia they provide both hunter and tracker services; they've been instrumental in helping protect and guide men searching for minerals to mine in the mountains, and they provide expert men to patrol the borders and deal with incursion by the goblinoid races. This is particularly important in Jorlinum where the northern border is vaguely drawn, and in Limia where wilderness to the west of the kingdom is particularly dangerous.
The guild has a focus on rural hunting, tracking, survival and weapon use in that environment rather than in the military's confrontational fighting styles. It is very supportive of Rangers, professional huntsmen, scouts and trackers, and also takes great care of the offspring of nobles and rich merchants who view hunting as a slightly dangerous (and exciting) hobby.
The guild has facilities in all the major capitals, and also in several of the larger towns across the former Empire. It seems to prefer the smaller, rural towns and cities for its locations, which is unsurprising considering the purpose and focus of the organisation. In contrast to many other Imperial institutions, it has not attempted a migration northwards to the towns and cities of Ticetia and Caldonacia.
Fees: for non-Imperials, fees are 150gp per year, elves receive an Imperial benefit and are charged 120gp per year. Imperials pay 100gp per year to be a member, but only Imperials are allowed the higher ranks - Associate members (from level 5 onwards) cost 300gp per year, and Colonel Ranked members cost 750gp per year.