Editing Shattered Sun (section)

===The City of Terec===
[[File:Terec.jpg|200px|thumb|left|An artist's rendition of Terec.]]
The City of Terec is unlike any other in the Shardstreams. Instead of the usual civic splendor and rigid structure of Cities such as the Holy City, Terec was founded completely on the innovation of highly skilled Alchemists. As such, the Alchemist Guild is easily the dominant power in Terac, and the High Master tolerates no questioning of his rule. Still, life in Terec is generally far more comfortable than in any other City known to man.

====''The Alchemist Guild''====
Unlike the theoretically shared government of the Holy City, Terec is ruled by the de facto authority of the Alchemist Guild, who largely funded Terec's construction. While the Guild generally puts forth their policies for the betterment of their Citizens, voicing dissent is greatly discouraged. As the Guild's High Master once put it, "Running Terec is like keeping an old machine running: repair parts when you can, replace them when you cannot."

=====''The High Master''=====
The leader of the Guild and, incidentally, the entirety of Terec is called the High Master. While his underlings may craft policy for the City, it is ultimately up to the High Master to decide whether or not said policies go into effect. For the most part, the High Master is seen as wise in his decisions, building up the standard of living in Terec to the level it is considered among the rest of civilization. However, the High Master is also fond of maintaining policies which limit the public opinions of the Guild's critics.

=====''The Masters''=====
Beneath the High Masters are a selected cabal only known as the Masters. They officially represent the highest-ranked specialists in all of Alchemy, charged with the duty of selecting new members to the Guild as well as promoting those beneath them. They also unofficially serve as the High Master's advisory board. While they generally support the High Master's political agenda and craft policy in line with it, there is about as much infighting among the Masters as there are in the Holy City's Houses.

=====''The Practitioners''=====
The highest level of the Guild completely dedicated to actual Alchemy are the Practitioners. They are the ones who generally come up with the Guild's countless innovations and are the front which maintains the Guild's legitimacy in the eyes of the Citizens and the rest of the Shardstreams. However, they are closely monitored by the Masters and even the High Master in some cases. During their tenure as Practitioners, they are watched for not only their advances in Alchemy, but also for their political way of thinking as well as their loyalty toward the Guild. From this pool do the Masters choose their successors to further serve the High Master.

=====''The Journeymen''=====
These are the graduates of the Guild's apprenticeship program who are sent to travel the world in search of further knowledge. While the Guild generally keeps a tight ship in Terec, Journeymen are freely allowed to determine for themselves whether to return to Terec after their travels to set up shop as Practitioners or to seek their future elsewhere with no penalty. Depending on their observed behavior during their travels however, they may end up closely monitored by other Journeymen at the discretion of their Masters.

=====''The Apprentices''=====
By the Guild's principles of promoting Alchemical knowledge, anyone with a basic understanding of reading, writing, and arithmetic is allowed to apply for the Guild by enrolling into an education program as Apprentices. They learn the basics of Alchemy under Practitioners who specialize in educating others. After the five years of the program, the Masters evaluate the Apprentices' progress and choose those who will advance into the Journeyman phase, and thus officially into the Guild itself.

====''Other Influences''====
Despite the tight-fisted rule of the Alchemist Guild over Terec, there are still others who maintain a modicum of influence over the City.

=====''Daedalus Workshops''=====
An Alchemy firm in the City of Terec widely known for the mechanical applications of the Shards’ power. While their innovations are generally in the realm of domestic appliances and limited motorized transportation, some folks say that Daedalus recently acquired of a large fallen Shard from the very boundaries of the Strobelands' reach. Some of the crazier folks in the taverns say that Daedalus may have plans for flying machines, but those are likely no more than lies told to impressionable tourists. After all, who ever heard of a machine that could fly?