7th Sea The Jennys' Guild.pdf

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The JennysÊ Guild

The Vendel League, Book 2

Introduction

his infidelities or proclivities. This threat kept many men

in line, and the girls policed their own to see that no women

accepted his ÒtradeÓ and broke with the guild. As no one

pays much attention to the whereabouts of prostitutes, it is

not widely known how ruthless JennyÓs girls were about

keeping the terms of the pact. Many forgotten and

desperate women were found in rivers after breaking with

the orders of the underground guild. While the guild was

being set up to make the lives of these desperate women

better, Jenny took the long term view. Women who

wouldn't fall in with this design for their own betterment

had to be sacrificed for the benefit of the others.

The guild began in 1598 with Jenny Malone. Jenny was a

prostitute arrested for the killing of an abusive customer. It

was deemed self defence, which was a landmark in itself,

and she was acquitted in an Avalon court. However, this

legal victory was only the catalyst for her other

accomplishments. The man she had killed was a minor

noble. He had been disgraced a long time ago, yet his

family fought to protect their name. All her life Jenny had

believed that the system was made by and for the nobility.

So she was more surprised than anyone else when she

defeated them in the court. She had fought

Soon word passed to other cities of how

Jenny was creating a safe environment

for their kind of trade. Her ideas

were adopted first in Avalon and

then all over Thah. Eventually

they came to the attention of the

early Vendel guilds. The jenny

organisation was still underground,

but recognition by the new Vendel

League would give them their chance for

legitimacy. By 1613, the League wanted to

take on the Vodacce, but needed more money and power to

hard, for she was fighting for her life,

but she had no doubt she would

loose. The best she had hoped for

was to be executed with dignity

knowing she had tried everything.

Winning changed her life. The

rules were not written the way she

thought they were. The law did not

always protect the nobles. More

importantly she realized that one person can

make a difference. She realized she could change her life,

and the lives of others for the better. All she needed was a

do so. JennyÓs girls had acquired a good quantity of both,

as well as a lot of interesting secrets. All they wanted in

return was a chair in the League. It didnÓt take the Vendel

long to decide, and in 1614, JennyÓs guild became The

JennysÓ Guild.

plan, and the will to see it carried through.

To other prostitutes she had become a figurehead.

Galvanized by her empowering victory Jenny gathered as

many girls as she could and formed an unofficial guild.

There were other abusive customers in the city she worked

in. The only way to make the streets safe for women like

her was solidarity, and a little blackmail. With all the girls

sharing information, Jenny created a small-scale spy ring.

Any customer who abused a girl in any way, or even treated

her unfairly, was made known to all the prostitutes of the

city. He quickly discovered he would have to leave the city

to find willing girls.

In extreme cases Jenny's girls would see to it that the wives,

Organisation and Goals

The guild today has a simple structure. It has no

apprentices or Journeymen. A girl is either in the guild or

not. The only way to join the guild is by working for it.

Few women turn to prostitution because they want to, and

testing for mastery of the craft is difficult (and more than a

little intrusive). So power in the guild is generally based on

seniority. It is accepted that younger girls must defer to the

mothers or sisters of the man in question became aware of

elder women. After all, it is comforting for the younger

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women to know they will not be alone and cast out when

their looks fade. They know there is a career path open to

them. Few rise to become madams and guild house owners;

there are only so many places. However, there is always a

need for cooks and nannies.

While the guild doesn't use the same ranking system as the

others, it does mark its members. There are no guild pins,

but there are many ways to recognize a guild member. This

is not just so members can recognise each other, but so that

their prospective customers can as well. As such, they have

become the symbols of the jennyÓs craft, even non-guild

employed as servants and cooks. Only when a visitor

inquires about 'that young man over there' is a deal and price

reached. This way the customer thinks he has gained a

special deal. Even so, this has led to rumours of the guild

trading in young boys and offering any debauchery for the

right price. It is a rumour the guild doesn't mind as it brings

them customers for services it already offers, and lets them

know who these 'exotically inclined' clients are.

The guild is also careful with any children born into it.

Most forms of contraception in 17 th centaury Thah are not

particularly reliable, but some Jennys want children of their

members use them. However, any working girl that isnÓt in

the guild joins up if she knows whatÓs good for her. These

symbols are well known and also warn the customer that the

woman has the back up of the organisation, and any

misdeeds will catch up with him eventually. The signs

always use red somewhere, and vary from country to

country. In Avalon the girls let one of their shoulders go

bare, revealing a flash of red underwear. In Castille the

ladies use heavier make up than most, but also carry a red

fan. In Eisen she carries a red handkerchief tucked into her

belt. The Montaigne Jenny paints her nails and lips a very

bright red, or allows the customer to see the red garter she

wears. The Vendel girls all wear small vivid red hats. In

own as well. All the children are brought up rather well

with education and good living conditions. In fact a good

proportion of the guildÓs income is spent on the children of

its members. These children are encouraged to find

different careers, but not dissuaded from the path of a Jenny

if they truly want the life. As mentioned above, there is a

place for men in the ranks, as both sexes serve as servants

and messengers as they grow up. Many are keen to serve

and return some of the investment and care they received

growing up. Every child remembers the home they first

knew wherever they find themselves. This gives the guild

more eyes and ears in many more places. One thing that

never happens is children being allowed into the 'working

Ussura, jennys tie their hair with a red ribbon, or for the

richer Jenny dye the fur edging on their coats red. There is

little guild activity in Vodacce (see later) so they use a

mixture of all the symbols, but sometimes also wear an

ankle chain of red beads. Women visiting other countries

should be aware of these symbols too, in case they are

mistaken for a lady of ill repute. Most fathers and husbands

of any nationality hate to see their daughters or wives wear

red at all for this reason. So red has become a risqu colour

for a woman to wear, which sometimes makes it very

fashionable.

What many people are unaware of is the amount of men

areas' of the house. The guild does its best to protect their

innocence. However the main reason is to ensure no

debauched patron sees them and decides he wants to pay for

them.

One of the greatest secrets of the guild is its connection to

Sophia's Daughters. Membership in the secret society is

one of the best ways to ensure advancement in the guild.

Few working Jennys are members themselves, but the

ranking member of any guild house usually is. Even if the

madam is not a daughter, they are aware there are certain

things they must do that are not directly for the guild. The

daughters use associate members more than full members as

who work for the guild. Many sons born to members are

kept and looked after in the guildhouses. When they are

grown they join as full members and work as guards and

bouncers for the bordellos. Some actually go into

prostitution themselves. There is a market for young men

from both noblewomen and men, but this service from the

guild is kept very quiet. These male jennys are theoretically

agents. The wider range of such members makes them

more useful in gathering information. In general the

daughters do not have more agents within this guild then

anywhere else, but they do have more members here in

highly placed and powerful positions. It is true to say the

daughters own this guild, but not all its members.

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Locations

their feelings known in some terrible way. Avalon Jennys

are among the warmest in Thah, often conforming to the

'tart with a heart' stereotype. Something about the Glamour

that infuses the isles makes everyone happy with their lot in

life, no matter what it is.

Highlanders are known to feel similar to the Vesten about

prostitution. So while there is a sizable population of

working girls, the highlanders don't talk about it. As the

clans have few towns there is not so much trade for a jenny.

Those that work in the highland towns are often exiles from

their family lands. This is not as harsh as it sounds. In

The main chapterhouse of the guild is in Vendel, and is a

grand building worthy of housing such a powerful guild.

This should come as no surprise, given the amount of

prostitution in the world, and the leverage its secrets can

provide. However, it is an administration centre and

contains no working Jennys. There are plenty of other

brothels in Vendel, and indeed all over Thah. Prostitution

has existed long before the Jennys' Guild after all. What the

guild did was bring together the hundreds of brothels and

bawdy houses that existed across the nations. There is at

their homelands the only clients could well be family

members. They may marry their cousins up there, but

having a hooker in the family is a different story.

The Inish on the other hand are more than happy to make up

for the highlanders. They dislike the Avalon fashion for

Sidhe, wanting their ladies willing, human and able to

drink. Inish bawdy houses additionally always serve as

inns. They just have a very sociable atmosphere in the

taproom. This makes many foreign visitors fail to realise

that they are not in a local tavern. It is one reason the Inish

have such a reputation for hospitality and friendly women.

But be warned. Any Inish Jenny knows full well how to

defend herself from a drunken man, and how to charge him

least one brothel in every town (even Vaticine city!) and all

of them are willing to assist their sisters in the guild.

Unfortunately, few have any resources beyond food and a

place to stay.

In larger towns where there may be many different Jenny

houses (and sometime even rival ones) the guild maintains a

separate office for guild affairs. Such an office is usually

small, given the fact it is not Òrevenue generatingÓ for the

guild. It is also strictly for guild business and not a doxy

house. It therefore often surprises people that the guild

house in any large town may contain not one working jenny.

The guild was very lucky, as it began life with an

infrastructure already in place. Each brothel sees to its own

extra when he is insensible.

affairs and sends its tariffs on to the guild. Each house is

therefore its own small barony, making each one quite

individual. So the best way to describe the array of bawdy

houses across Thah is to break them down into the

traditions and attitudes of the individual nations.

Castille

The men of other nations are very glad that the women of

Castille also make some of their dark seductive passion

available for sale. Castillian Jennys are known as the most

amenable to more exotic styles of passion, if the man can

handle her. They are among the most gaudy, wearing more

garish clothes and make up than other Jennys. Castillain

Jennys are also renowned for their wild and passionate

dancing. Jenny houses in Castille echo long into the night

with wild guitar music and exhaust their patrons with

energetic and erotic dancing.

Avalon

The rise of glamour and the power of the nation has made it

less likely for a women to turn to prostitution to earn a

living. However, the guild and its members flourish here as

they do in any other nation. Women who have a little Sidhe

blood are among the most sought after. So many Avalon

Jennys use make up and clothing to give themselves a more

Eisen

Here in the broken lands of Eisen, the guild is at its

strongest outside Vendel, for all the wrong reasons. There

is no more respect or pride to being a jenny here than

anywhere else, but the war has left many women without

homes and husbands. While many managed to carry on

ethereal and elfin look. It makes them very obvious to spot,

and rather exotic, but they are as welcoming as any other

Jenny, carrying none of the coldness of the Sidhe into their

personality. It is unknown if the Sidhe find the jenny's

copying of their style offensive, or even if they understand

what the Jennys are doing. Perhaps one day they will make

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their familyÓs businesses, many more were left hungry and

alone. So Eisen has more Jennys than any other country.

Here the guild is strong from sheer numbers.

Due to the large number of women doing the job out of

desperation, there is a plan in Eisen to help them get out of

the profession. The guild has no need of membership, and

worries and rarely get the opportunity to indulge that sort of

decadence. However a few nobles (often patrons of

organisations like The Black Tabards) maintain secret

courts in Montaigne and continue the worst excesses of

Leon's court to preserve the 'old ways'.

Since the revolution the common jenny finds herself in an

most madams in Eisen houses allow their girls to save up

and set up other businesses of their own. In this way the

guild hopes to increase its power base within the other

guilds. After all, the ex-jennys who become carpenters or

traders always remember who they owe their new living to.

odd position. The work itself was always considered a part

of Montaigne culture. Almost as if they had too much style

and romance to confine just to marriage. While the

revolution wants to see women earning a living, Jennys are

to them a mark of decadence and servility. No new free

citizen of the republic should have to earn a

living selling her body. So Jennys have to be

very careful about their customers. Accepting

work from a noble has got more than one jenny

executed for Òuncitizenly behaviorÓ and

Òcollaboration with the enemies of MontaigneÓ.

The guild can do little, as reason is often

ignored in matters of Òcrimes against the stateÓ.

Montaigne

Vodacce aside, Montaigne has the best

class of Jenny, as they have tried to ape

the classical hedonism of the Vodacce

courts. Montaigne Jennys are known for

their wit and charm, and also for the way

they must be wooed. Strangely the

Montaigne gentleman likes to think he

has seduced the girl rather than simply

paid for her. So the Montaigne Jenny

knows to play hard to get in order to

acquire a mark. The more effort the man

has to put in to win her, the more worthy

the 'conquest' and the more he tends to

pay.

Before the revolution, a particularly witty

and charming girl could find herself

entertaining the court. These girls

became a sort of unofficial courtesan.

Such women were picked out by a patron and brought to

Ussura

The guild in Ussura is sparse but dedicated.

Matushka looks after her children so few need

to become Jennys. Those who do are in it as a

career, not a stopgap, and find guild support

very useful. However, at least half of the

working jennys are not actually guild members,

as Ussura is a large and remote place. Most

Ussuran Jennys make a good living, but keep

prices low, usually accepting payment in food

and work. As such, few places have what they

call a jenny, but they have a girl in the town that somehow

court to amuse the other nobles. They seemed to be a minor

noble to anyone unfamiliar with the practice. However, the

whole court knew exactly why this new lady had been

'elevated' to the nobility. Behind closed doors she was

considered property. While some were lucky, decadent

nobles abused most of them in the extreme. Many were left

broken and discarded when their entertainment value was

lost. Many were simply never heard from again.

This 'elevation' took them away from the safety of the guild

madams. So while the guild was aware the practice, it was

unable to stop it. After the revolution the practice went

underground with the nobility. Emigres have more pressing

has all the men fixing her roof and providing her with food

and clothing. To rely on a business rather than Matushka to

provide is foolish, so jennys who become greedy and flaunt

their wealth often come to a bad end. Mostly they are

restricted to the larger towns, each only having one guild

house at the most. The Ussuran Jenny is often more direct

than others in Thah; they tend to just ask their potential

customers straight out. Ussurans rarely bother with social

niceties, the customer either wants her or he doesn't.

Vendel

In Vendel, the guild is at its most powerful. It is also where

the Jennys are treated the best. Under the eye of the guild,

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no one dares to mistreat one. In fact, the attitude of the

Vendel has more to do with it than guild power. There is

no stigma at all to being a jenny here. It is a simple public

service. In fact it is well respected. For a woman to use her

basic talents, however distasteful for her, to earn a living is

the very soul of Vendel entrepreneurship.

The guild therefore has great difficulty gaining a foothold.

As the Vodacce have a rather liberal attitude to the

marriage vows, they see nothing wrong with prostitution.

So they see any attempt by the guild to gain membership as

a business attack in the war with the Vendel. To date, the

guild operates only one guild house secretly in Numa where

As usual the Vesten have other ideas. To them prostitution

is wrong. Women have a dedicated and respected place in

Vesten society, so how can they demean themselves for

money? Where is the father, husband or brother who has

failed her so completely and not provided for her? They

also believe the act itself is wrong. If a man is worthy of a

woman, he will earn her with respect and courtesy. A man

who needs to buy one is no man at all.

ironically the Vaticine influence keeps the Princes at bay.

Important Members

Jenny Malone ~ The Founder

After her legal victory in 1598, not much is known about

Jenny Malone. The work she did bringing the guild

together was done in secret in the darker parts of the cities.

What few people are aware of is that Jenny gradually

became more of a figurehead as time went on. An

achievement like the Jennys Guild is rarely crafted by a

single individual, and the momentum of JennyÓs cause

brought other more talented women to the fore. Jenny

passed into obscurity and before her death (if she is still

alive she would be nearly 90 years old) was probably taken

care of by the guild she created.

GMÓs Secrets

After she won her case, Jenny spent the next fifteen years

founding the guild. After that she began to pass the

responsibility off to other members. In this way SophiaÓs

Daughters managed to gradually take control of the higher

Vodacce

Running the guild in Numa is the most dangerous position

for any jenny. The Vodacce see any guild activity as a

naked attempt by the Vendel to take power in their

heartland. However, in a place of secrets such as Vodacce,

where not everyone can afford a glamorous courtesan,

jennys can still discover many interesting truths.

For a country renowned for its courtesans, you would think

Vodacce got on well with the Jennys Guild. In fact it is the

opposite. Courtesans are not part of the guild; even

suggesting to one that she is a common jenny is deeply

insulting to such a refined and educated woman. To

consider any courtesan to be the same as a common

prostitute is the same as telling the mafia they are

criminals. It may be true to some degree, but you don't say

it to their face. Courtesans have far more skills and training

than any jenny and consider themselves to be an elite. This

positions within the guild. Jenny herself began drinking

soon after. Those who knew her say that the things she had

done to found the guild wore heavily on her soul. Many

women had been hurt, threatened, or even killed to build

the guild. Jenny had been one to lead from the front, and

had blood on her hands for her trouble. Now the

organisation was founded, she sickened of the business and

left the fight to those younger and less jaded than herself.

She never wanted to take charity from the guild, and

continued working in Avalon. Jenny was much respected,

but only by those who didnÓt know her. To her friends she

became a hollow drunkard, and an empty person. She died

is actually quite true, but when their beauty begins to fade,

many find themselves no more than a common jenny.

However, only a few Òworking girlsÓ get to become

courtesans, and the lot of a common jenny in Vodacce is not

to be envied. There are more than enough common jennys

working in the mainland and a few on the islands. Many of

these women are fallen or failed courtesans. Due to the

lack of guild power, they are the worst treated of any

workingwomen in Thah. They are never afforded the

respect offered a courtesan, and so are used for all the

things no courtesans would ever consent to. Their financial

position usually makes it difficult for them to say no.

around 1620, aged just under 40, although few people know

how. As her looks faded she tried to work as a madam, but

her drinking soon led to her being replaced. The guild

always saw to it she had money and a place to sleep, but

they couldnÓt stop her drinking. Some believe the drinking

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