"You came to us in search of a purpose, and mark this- there is no greater purpose than ours. We are stewards and wardens of two worlds- we are an army built on secrecy, discipline, and honor. Without secrecy, we would be exposed. Without discipline, we would wallow in corruption and fear. And without honor, we would become tyrants.

Our army has had many names: we were Templars, Medjai, Illuminati, Masons, and countless others. To you and our clients, we are only the Guild, our members no more than contracted guardians to keep the darkness at bay, and peace between magic and the mundane. You would do well to heed my words; I speak not from a point of pride, but of experience and clarity of faith. I was there in the 48th year of this age, when our agent Marta brought the Tarasque to heel, and in 287 when our agent Georgios killed a wyrm to save a city. I was there in 789, when the Guild made a contract with Harun Al-Rashid to drive away evil Jinn from Baghdad, and I was there in 1521, when our longest serving agent, Zhong Kui, purged the Chinese Imperial capital of the 'Dark Affliction.'

We have seen many victories, but I have also bore witness to our losses. Let us never forget when we fail to maintain our secrets; agent Giles Corey paid the ultimate price at Salem in 1692, because someone let our secrets slip. Let us never fail in our discipline; the Templar branch of our order paid dearly for letting corruption and politics take over, and were burnt at the stake by those they were meant to defend in 1314. And I urge you, above all else, if discipline breaks and our secrets are revealed, never forsake your honor, for we all answer to an ultimate authority- more than sixty years and three regime changes later, and our order still hasn't been able to return to Russia after the Battle of Tunguska. Those agents, whose names have forever been stricken from the record, committed crimes so vile that if I ever catch any of you indulging in such sin, I will not hesitate to put you down myself.

But forgive an old veteran his harsh words; you go out into the world to live as protectors in the shadows, blessed by birth, circumstance, or sheer force of will with powers arcane or temporal. You have been trained as best we can, and we welcome you to our ranks; your conviction will be tested, but your faith will be unwavering amongst the Guild. Protego Et Celo; Protect and Conceal. My blessings go with you."

-Commencement speech to the Guild Cadets of 1966, with one fresh recruit, Victor Magnusson, in attendance.

In the Guild, none loom as large as Guildmaster Orion, an angelic dragon that has been on the frontlines against the Forces of Darkness for thousands of years. He has fought demons, monsters, and beings beyond the ken of mortal minds. He's also obscenely strong with a body to prove it, so you're welcome to imagine what he's like without the armor. Just don't let him catch you ogling; the Guildmaster does not suffer foolishness for long.

This was a very impressive piece done by  connercoon, who really rose to the occasion to do something as niche as a muscle furry picture rendered as a stained glass window.

Art © Conner
Orion © c'est moi