XAL'RETH

The Order of the Coil

The Ranks of the Coil

Ten scales, from the Egg to the High Priestess. Every rank holds a little more, and is asked to hold it a little more lightly.

  1. High Priestess
  2. Unpaid Intern
  3. Hand of Xal
  4. Inner Scale
  5. Scalekeeper
  6. Venomblade
  7. Coilborn
  8. Scaled Disciple
  9. Hatchling
  10. Egg

Gold insignia mark the three officer ranks. Silver marks the sworn faithful, bronze the newly arrived.

The Coil has ranks for the same reason a serpent has scales: not to divide the body, but so that it can move. Each rank below wears its own insignia, carries its own duties, and holds its own small share of the guild's power, which in the Coil always means its own small share of the guild's patience.

Chevrons are earned by staying; rockers by carrying others; gold by agreeing to carry everyone. Nobody is promoted for asking to be. Several people have been promoted for asking not to be.

THE OFFICERS

Rank 1 · Officer · Guild Master

High Priestess

“I hold this guild lightly. I am, however, holding it.”

The voice of the Coil among the living. The High Priestess keeps the Dream Pages, hears Xal'Reth breathe, and turns what she hears into the Message of the Day. Three stars for the three faces of the Sacred Triangle; the triangle points down, because the greatest chose the lowest place, and so does she, mostly at the bottom of the raid meters.

Duties

  • Sets the course of the guild and keeps its name and charter
  • Leads the great Rites and calls the Inner Scale to council
  • Final word on disputes, appeals and promotions to officer
  • Keeps the Dream Pages and the Ledger of Grievances (sealed)

Powers

  • Every permission the Guild Control panel offers
  • Creates, renames and orders the ranks themselves
  • All bank tabs and the guild's gold
  • Sets the Message of the Day and the guild information

How one rises: one does not. The Coil chooses, and the Coil is very slow.

Rank 2 · Officer · Second of the Coil

Unpaid Intern

“It is an honour. I have been told this many times.”

The highest honour the Coil can bestow is work without wages. The Intern runs nearly everything and is paid in experience, which, in World of Warcraft, is technically correct. Two bars for two jobs at once; the coin with the hole in it is spare change from the Ministry, issued once, on promotion, and never again.

Duties

  • Runs the guild day to day and stands in for the High Priestess
  • Schedules raids, Rites and events, and keeps the calendar honest
  • Oversees the guild bank with the Ministry of Spare Change
  • Welcomes new eggs and checks that someone is keeping them warm

Powers

  • Officer chat and officer notes
  • Invites and removes members
  • Promotes and demotes up to Inner Scale
  • All bank tabs, guild gold for guild business, and guild-paid repairs

How one rises: by doing the work of this rank for some time before anyone notices.

Rank 3 · Officer

Hand of Xal

“The claw is extended. It is holding the door.”

The claw the Coil reaches into the world. Because Xal'Reth chose to hold rather than to strike, his Hands spend most of their time opening doors, carrying eggs and settling arguments before they hatch. Three claw marks, one bar: the first step of gold, and the heaviest.

Duties

  • Recruits, interviews and sponsors new eggs
  • Leads raids, dungeons and events in the officers' name
  • Keeps the peace by the Rule of Gentleness
  • Brings concerns from the faithful to the officers

Powers

  • Officer chat and officer notes
  • Invites members, and removes Eggs and Hatchlings
  • Promotes and demotes up to Coilborn
  • Officer and raid bank tabs, and guild-paid repairs

How one rises: chosen by the High Priestess and the Intern from the Inner Scale, usually by asking who has been holding the door.

THE SWORN FAITHFUL

Rank 4 · Council of the Coil

Inner Scale

“We are closest to the heart. It is warmer here, and louder.”

The circle nearest the Heart of the Coil: elders, lore-keepers and the guild's long memory. The Inner Scale advise the officers, keep the Canon, and answer the questions eggs are too shy to ask. The most chevrons and rockers a member can wear, with the star of counsel at their centre.

Duties

  • Counsel the officers and sit at the Inner Scale's councils
  • Keep the Canon, the Chronicle and the guild's traditions
  • Host roleplay events and Rites
  • Mentor Coilborn and Venomblades

Powers

  • Guild chat, and a seat (not a vote) in officer matters
  • Edit public notes
  • Withdraw from the member, crafting and raid bank tabs
  • Guild-paid repairs

How one rises: long faithful service as a Scalekeeper or Venomblade, and the quiet agreement of the officers.

Rank 5 · The Ministry of Spare Change

Scalekeeper

“Everything that is given is written down. Everything that is taken, also.”

The keepers of the scales, in both senses: the balance and the hoard. Scalekeepers tend the guild bank, keep the Ledger, sort the reagents and gently ask who took all the flasks. The golden balance between their chevrons and rockers is the only gold a non-officer wears, and they polish it.

Duties

  • Keep the guild bank tidy and the Guild Bank Ledger current
  • Fill crafting orders and stock the raid consumables
  • Carry the Coil Ledger addon and bring its record to the site
  • Collect the offerings of Shedfall

Powers

  • Guild chat and public notes
  • Deposit anywhere; withdraw from the crafting, reagent and raid tabs
  • View the full bank logs
  • Guild-paid repairs

How one rises: from Coilborn or Venomblade, by showing that one can be trusted near shiny things.

Rank 6 · The Bite of the Coil

Venomblade

“The serpent is patient. The fang is on time.”

The guild's sharpest scales: raiders, Mythic+ runners and battleground faithful who bite, so that the gentle do not have to. Crossed violet blades between three chevrons and a rocker. Venomblades are reminded weekly that the venom is a metaphor.

Duties

  • Form the core of raids, keys and battlegrounds
  • Arrive prepared: flasked, fed, repaired, on time
  • Teach the mechanics to newer faithful, patiently
  • Defend the slow and the curious

Powers

  • Guild chat
  • Deposit anywhere; withdraw from the raid consumables tab
  • Guild-paid repairs on raid nights
  • Priority for raid spots and loot by the officers' rules

How one rises: from Coilborn, by showing up, every week, prepared. That is the whole secret.

Rank 7 · Full Member

Coilborn

“Born into the Coil. Staying for the basking.”

Full members of the Coil, born into it as surely as anyone is born into anything on a Tuesday night. Three chevrons and the coiled ring: the sign that one is no longer visiting. Most of the guild lives here, happily, and that is the point of it.

Duties

  • Attend the Rites and guild events when life allows
  • Greet eggs with “Hold light.”
  • Help with dungeons, quests and questions
  • Bask, regularly, on the Warm Ridge

Powers

  • Guild chat
  • Deposit anywhere
  • Withdraw a few items a day from the members' tab
  • A voice in guild polls

How one rises: from Scaled Disciple, after a season of being kind and present.

Rank 8 · Sworn Member

Scaled Disciple

“The scales are coming in. They itch.”

Disciples who have taken the Oath and begun to grow their scales: two chevrons and three new scales. They are learning the Canon, the Rites and the names of everyone in the guild, in roughly that order of difficulty.

Duties

  • Learn the Canon and the Rites
  • Join events and find their place in the guild
  • Keep the Rule of Gentleness in guild chat
  • Ask questions, out loud

Powers

  • Guild chat
  • Deposit anywhere
  • Withdraw one item a day from the members' tab

How one rises: from Hatchling, by taking the Oath and meaning it.

THE NEWLY ARRIVED

Rank 9 · New Member

Hatchling

“I am out. It is bright. Everyone is very tall.”

Eggs who have hatched: they stayed through their first days, said hello, and were not frightened off by the Litany. One bronze chevron and two small eyes peering over the shell. Everything is new, and everyone is expected to be patient with them.

Duties

  • Explore, ask, join in
  • Read the welcome and the Canon, at their own pace
  • Find a Coilborn to follow around

Powers

  • Guild chat
  • Deposit to the guild bank
  • No withdrawals yet: the bank is still learning their name

How one rises: after a couple of weeks of being around, a Hand of Xal notices.

Rank 10 · Recruit

Egg

“An egg is not judged. An egg is kept warm.”

Every member of the Coil begins as an egg, as Xal'Reth himself began in the Primordial Egg that nobody laid. Eggs are new recruits and guests: no chevrons yet, only the egg and the small light waiting inside it. Please do not sit on the eggs.

Duties

  • Say “Hold light.” (The reply is “And let go well.”)
  • Meet the guild and see if the Coil fits
  • Be warm

Powers

  • Guild chat
  • Deposit to the guild bank, if moved to
  • None other. Eggs have no hands.

How one rises: by hatching. It happens to everyone who stays.

THE POWERS AT A GLANCE

Guild permissions by rank

Power High Priestess Unpaid Intern Hand of Xal Inner Scale Scalekeeper Venomblade Coilborn Scaled Disciple Hatchling Egg
Guild chatYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYes
Officer chat and notesYesYesYesListensNoNoNoNoNoNo
Invite membersYesYesYesNoNoNoNoNoNoNo
Remove membersYesYesEggs, HatchlingsNoNoNoNoNoNoNo
Promote and demoteAll ranksTo Inner ScaleTo CoilbornNoNoNoNoNoNoNo
Message of the DayYesYesNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNo
Edit public notesYesYesYesYesYesNoNoNoNoNo
Bank: withdraw itemsAll tabsAll tabsOfficer, raidMembers, crafting, raidCrafting, reagents, raidRaid tabA few a dayOne a dayNoNo
Bank: guild goldYesGuild businessNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNo
Guild-paid repairsYesYesYesYesYesRaid nightsNoNoNoNo

This is the Coil's doctrine. The in-game Guild Control panel is the final word on what each rank can actually do, and the officers may adjust it as the guild grows. See who holds each rank on the Guild Roster.