A long time ago, during the harsh winters and mild summers, there was a group of poor orphan boys who had fled from the orders of the leader of their community, Karn. After the defeat of the slave master, Erasmus the Fell, Karn had ordered them to live with the monastic priestess and learn the ways of servitude through the monks. The boys however, had decided to maintain their life on the streets and were living deep within the sewers of Moorgate... These were no ordinary boys, these young men had the most exceptional skills at picking pockets, picking locks, and pilfering goods as well as a sense for danger keen enough to keep them alive.

Some of the folks in the growing city above thought poorly of the boys and only spoke of them as mischief makers and nay-do-wells. Others were not even aware of their existence.

On a cold winter morning, the boys were taken with surprises as they were captured by a horrible slaver. The children were beaten by their "master" every day. No real master, this slaver who had captured them, took to throwing them in a furnace full of coal should they not serve or act in accordance. Brutal as he was, the ordeals gave them skin hardened to the fire, and hearts hardened to the world.

The underground slave-market where the old slaver kept them trapped, was run by a group of disgusting ogres known as the Ve'niam clan (from the Ogrish word for poison). For decades their marauding kept the population of Moorgate low, and drove out enough smaller beasts and monsters to settle outland spots like Barh-kul. The slavers were known especially for using the sewer's own deadly blend of venom on their foes. They put it in the water supply, in bottled whisky, and even in the blood of livestock. They loved and respected only death.

One fateful night, under the sign of Kerit's Bane, the boys broke free of their "master", picking the lock on their cell and melting into the shadows as they made their way to the streets of Moorgate. They found an abandon building on Copper Walk and secretly moved in. The years passed and the secretive group (now sometimes called the Ghosts of the Shadows) became the keepers of the sewer's poison when, with revenge in their hearts, they overtook their former captor, beheading him. The Ve'niam Clan was subsequently whiped out and the "Ghosts of the Shadows" became the now well known Thieves Guild.

As time progressed, the people of the city begrudgingly began to see the benefits behind keeping a den of thieves. As a guild they could be monitored, their skills could be harnessed in those times of needs, also, they never had to wonder how to track them down or where they may eventually turn up should they prove a menace to society. And their poison was unparalleled in its day. It was a welcome commodity to hunting and warring parties.

Those boys now men, seeing new members into their ranks and expanding the building both secretly and purposefully, began to realize that the numbers were increasing too steadily to ensure the unspoken respect was held by all and it was beginning to cause problems. Not only were there problems with the individual guilds members, but between the guilds themselves. Kali was quickly growing annoyed with the power struggle between the four mortal guilds. When the King approached all guilds in regards to appointing a head of each professional family, the once enslaved men, began a lengthy debate.

To ask the members of the group to once again come under rule by someone... to ask them to put aside rebellion (which gained them both freedom and pride) in the interest of progress and sustained peace with the rest of the city...

Come the end of a long cold winter, it was decided. As long as the guild retained their freedom in such a way as they decided who became the voice, the representation and the future of the quickly growing family then they could appease the city while furthering their own desire to become a deciding force within Moorgate.

The first of these men to claim the title of Master of the Guild was named Protean. Harsh was he to the world, yet fair within his own ranks and he gained much admiration. Others followed as the city decided each Guild Master would be permitted ten years to influence the flow of economic wealth. Ninnghizada, Midnightrogue, Grolsch and Jewel are all chronicled as some of the guilds earliest leaders.

Each rein was an experience in itself. Seldom if at all did the Guild Masters actually manage to stay within their seat their entire term as the thief habits of avoiding such vast amounts of responsibility weighed them down. To get chained to ones desk seemed a far greater sacrifice then the guild had to make in agreeing to take direction from one they deemed able in both body and mind. Stewards were soon put into place as each subsequent GM seemed to slowly fade from existence, and those stewards ensured the family continued to prosper during those turbulent times.

As the flow of time continued, small arguments and disagreements surfaced. Not once but twice did the guild need to decide if they wished to be labelled thieves (the truth of the matter) or rogues (a name more greatly accepted by the city with an air of docility). A seemingly petty argument; yet one which would inevitably rend the guild in twain.

Terms continued and new GM's were elected. The quiet debate of the guild being that one of thieves or of rogues kept on. Soon came a time, when a new election was to get underway. And though the candidates should have been a consideration of both ability and business sense, in the end it came down to a choice between a rogue and a thief. The rift was crushing. The damage was done... The guild that had remained such a close knit family for so many decades now stood on two opposing rooftops.

The end result is still recalled by some, along with a warning from the city officials that talk or attempt of another such episode would have strict ramifications. Shaking the roots or pride and principal, the guild resolved never to speak on such matters again less they endanger their very existence.

Since, the guild has been working on a steady recovery. The divide, breeched by the understanding that one may be one OR the other based on the principal that the guild does not restrict its members with unneeded categories and confinements, was mended.

Everything else up to present can still be learnt from the elders. Do not be surprised however, if they not speak of the election that destroyed brotherhood.