**Chapter 2**
Bronn woke up, after what he assumed to have been a few hours, needing to pee like never before. Bronn hobbled over to the door on the opposite side of the room and took a left as Seidan had advised him to do the day before. Finding his way to the washroom, Bronn relieved himself and took in his surroundings. He noticed the clothes hanging on a hook opposite a bathtub and moved over to inspect them. Bronn assumed these were the clothes Seidan had said he would leave out for Bronn, however these seemed more of a lavish gift than some second hand clothing.
The clothes that had been left for Bronn were some fine, sturdy brown leather boots that looked as though they had barely been worn to a market, a robe mad of a material that felt like a thick and quilted silk, and a pair of light trousers that appeared almost as though they had been tailored to his measurements. Whilst putting these items on, Bronn could not help but admire the emerald colour of the robes and the royal blue of the cuffs and accents down the sides. Whilst not completely comfortable in this new clothing and longing for the simple feel of a leather jerkin with his favourite shirt, his old trousers, and the boots he had worn in through battle, Bronn felt he could learn to appreciate the comfort this ensemble provided.
Bronn headed back through the door, hoping to catch sight of Seidan and ask the man how he had healed a fatal wound to the point where the victim's primary concern was taking a piss within a matter of hours. Bronn was pondering this himself whilst taking in his surroundings. He noticed that the house he was in appeared to be marble and stone all the way through, and that the walls were sparsely decorated. The only things put up for display were banners with a symbol that appeared to be a wave cresting, with the crest of the wave becoming a tree. Bronn continued down the hallway he had emerged into and went round a corner to find himself in a large living area with a fireplace on one wall, orbited by a pair of sofas and a table. The room also contained several shelves full of books, scrolls, maps, and other papers that Bronn could not work out the purpose of. Sitting on one of the sofas with a bowl of steaming liquid by his side was Seidan, who had not lifted his head from the book he was studying.
Not wanting to surprise the man who had helped him, Bronn cleared his throat. Looking up, Seidan smiled at his guest and gestured for Bronn to join him. Bronn walked over and voiced his query surrounding his miraculous recovery.
"Ah, that would be the work of the bandages I bought from a young Boros healer a while ago." Seidan speculated, glancing towards Bronn's leg with curiosity. "Though I did not expect the Legion to have such strong healing magic. I'm not sure if I'm glad of it or concerned at this point."
Noticing the change in the man's tone towards the end of the sentence, Bronn asked "Why would you be concerned? Is it not a good thing there are such powerful healers in your city?"
"Ah Bronn, there is much you seem to not understand of the place you have ended up." stated Seidan, as he stood up to move towards a bookshelf. "You seem well enough to venture into the city, however I would ask of you to listen to the history of the Guilds that rule this city before you do."
"Sounds important, I would hate to slight the ruling class" replied Bronn, as he watched Seidan pick out a book and return.
Seidan took a sip of the liquid from his bowl and started to leaf through the book in front of him. Bronn noticed for the first time since waking up that he was not hungry, and could not recall having been hungry since he had arrived. Even the bread he had been given the previous night had been left to go stale.
"The Guilds of Ravnica are what the city has, loosely, called a government. There are ten guilds, each of which focus on trying to run the city based on the influence to colours of magic hold on the natural world. The guild I belong to, and the guild of whose colours you are wearing, is the Simic Combine. We believe the City of Ravnica needs to evolve, and we can help this with the adaptability of Green magic, and the resistance of Blue magic. We are known amongst the civilians as experimenters, as we have been trying to create the perfect protectors by forcing evolution amongst beasts. I appreciate this sounds cruel, however Ravnica is not what it once was and will not last another century if nothing is done. Time is of the essence and we have to protect is as best we can."
Bronn nodded his understanding, unsure as to how comfortable he was with this.
"The next guild you are most likely to encounter is the Boros Legion. Based on your experience as a soldier, their ideology is probably the one you'll understand the best. The Boros legion wield the destructive force of Red magic and the orderly nature of White magic to try and keep peace with a military presence. From what I have read from texts, their structure is a pretty standard army. Whilst I don't fully disagree with their practice or goal, I do not believe they will achieve their goals quickly enough to save Ravnica."
Seidan flicked through his book some more, the pages looking more like a journal than a printed guide. Bronn assumed this was more for Seidan to provide an unbiased view instead of his own opinion, as the man was clearly biting his tongue talking about the Boros.
"The opposite of the Boros, is the Gruul Clans. The Gruul seem to feel that Ravnica should crumble and return to nature, and the people living here should revert back to tribal living. The Gruul wield Red and Green magic with an intent to use the destructive capabilities of both. The Gruul seem to have accepted that Ravnica will fall and are preparing for the lawless times that will follow if this proves true."
Seidan scrunched his face up at the end of this, clearing having a less than positive opinion about the Gruul clans. Wanting to hear of the other Guilds, Bronn did not enquire any further.
"Some consider the Rakdos Cult the sister Guild to the Gruul, though the Gruul are likely to kill anyone who says this. The Cult, as far as I can tell, could not care less about the fate of Ravnica. The Cult seek only to entertain, both themselves and others, and earn coin. Whilst they may sound harmless, the entertainment ends in blood as often as not and the coin they earn is from services only available from the seediest parts of the city. I'm sure the Cult is still looking for a way to raise the Demon they are named after, Rakdos, from his fiery pit. To this end, they have adopted Black and Red magic to grant them all they need to do business and raise a demon."
Seidan took another sip from his bowl, and Bronn reflected on the information given to him. Bronn assumed that assassination was hardly the worst thing someone could hire a Rakdos contractor to do.
"The House Dimir is a name you may hear from the mouths of brave souls you are unlikely to hear again. Some say this house does not exist anymore after they were revealed, however I call these people fools. Almost anything that happens in the city happens because the Dimir wish it so. Their control over Blue magic grants them all they could need, however their proficiency in Black magic makes them as fearsome a foe as any other Guilds. They work in complete secret unless they want
the City to fear them again and have no qualms with reaching into the darker sides of both magics to do so. The House seem to be preparing to take control after another Guild has done the work to save Ravnica"
Bronn shuddered as he imagined the cruel things a man with control of Blue and Black magic could do. In mere moment you could be made to end your own life and then risen as an undead slave, and that's assuming the assailant didn't have an imagination.
"Similarly, the Golgari Swarm like to keep to themselves, however they do this by causing distractions whilst they work in secret. Any creature attacks or assassinations of public figure have likely been caused by them as they move towards new plans. This is of course assuming the Rakdos aren't just having fun, which can confuse things a little. The Golgari use Green and
Black magic, which gives them so many ways to kill or destroy that we could be here forever discussing it. The Golgari would see Ravnica become a hive for those of questionable trades to gather the force needed to save the City."
Bronn nodded along, thinking that a Guild with this power could as easily sneak through the shadows to poison a target as create a vile, unliving beast and strengthen it beyond belief.
"The Izzet League think themselve inventors, though they simply create ways to amplify their magic for the most part. I won't say they have never invented anything for the betterment of Ravnica, and if it's member's weren't so up their own asses I would wager a lot of coin that they could invent something to save the City. As it stands though, the League are too busy disrupting the other Guilds progress to work on their own. The Izzet use Red and Blue magic to cause damage and prevent
themselves getting hurt. The League have so many ways of using this combination that often it's best to just retaliate with numbers and accept there will be casualties."
Seidan took another sip from his bowl and set it aside empty.
"The Azorius Senate are trying their damnedest to bring the Guilds together to help the city, however will only accept this on their terms. No Guild is willing to surrender to their will, as it essentially makes them puppets of another Guild. The Senate have tried to instate laws of their own accord, and enforce those laws in an iron fist. The punishment tends to be imprisonment, and as such they have molded their use of Blue and White magic around this. The Senate will imprison a Guildmate and ransom them off for a significant amount of coin, or leverage. If neither of these are provided they will exile their prisoner and ensure they never enter the city again, with a punishment of death should they try."
"The Orzhov Syndicate run almost all of the businesses in Ravnica to some degree, and use their grasp of Black and White magic to ensure that, what they call, balance is kept. Rumors are that the Syndicate is run by vampires and they use the magic to keep themselves with an available supply of blood an thralls, though this has never been proved. The Syndicate wants to save the city through coin, but I don't know if that would be enough."
"Finally, there is the Selesnya Conclave. This Guild helps keep life flowing through Ravnica, pretty much literally, through there nature magic of Green and White. The Conclave would have everyone abandon their lives to keep the City alive, doing whatever necessary to do so. I would like to believe this is work together to repair the damage that has been done, though evidence proves it is more likely they will cull the weak and sacrifice the strong to nature. The Conclave look down on Blood
Magic, but I see no difference in what they are doing to that foul art."
Seidan looked at Bronn with an expression that dared questions, but Bronn had enough to process already. Thanking Seidan for the information, he prepared to leave and head into what might be the most confusing City he had ever heard of. Walking out the door, Bronn was questioning again if he was in a dream but then realised he was not nearly smart enough to have created
the web of 'democracy' that this City had created.