Let’s all come together for a tale. Link our hands as we dance together and raise a cheer. Join us in our joy, join us in our revelry, join us in Yesterday’s Builders!

Today we bring you a glimpse of a wonderful little organization known as Yesterday’s Builders. They know what’s up. Each and every week they bring together the best culinary minds they can find and hold the most mouth watering, icing oozing, thirst quenching feast! Stews and soups so bottomless you could fit an ocean in the pots. Guys they had pancakes the size of pizzas! They- oh wait… I’m not just supposed to talk about the food. Maybe some other time.  After all teeeechinally they aren’t a catering company. Or a restaurant. Officially their business doesn’t actually involve food at all. Well their members do need to eat and they do cook but that’s not why they are hired. They’re actually architects. Okay so just let me explain and it will make sense.

Imagine! If you will. A place of innovation, danger, and CRIME. All this and more could be found at the black market known as Tomorrow’s Vault. Known for attracting reckless engineers and mages whose creations were just as likely to usher in an age of prosperity as they are to bring about an apocalypse. It was kind of intense there. From what I hear at least, very intense and even more illegal. Anyway, they avoided discovery and arrest by using their highly experimental spells and gadgets. It worked for a long time, but eventually the ‘untested and unexpected side effects’ kind of gave them away. They were raided. Mages and soldiers stormed the Vault and arrested everyone in sight. From customers, to auctioneers, even to the cleaning staff, almost everyone ended up in shackles. All but the newest woman to upset the magic community, the one and only 13^th Dawn and the longtime ringleader of revelations, the inventor who called himself The Glass Anvil. No one is sure what happened to those two in the years since. Some think that one if not both of them were part of the founders of the Builders.

Speaking of the Builders, or rather the people who would become Yesterday’s Builders. As the trials went on two things were made clear. First, that the public was eager for the renegade mages and inventors to be brought to justice. Especially after the damage that was done to the capital during the big raid when they unleashed their most deadly creations to try and escape arrest. Second, the trials for the general workers at the Vault just weren’t as intense. No one really cared about the person running the black market fried dough stand. I assume there must have been one. Their previous ‘crimes’ had been things like… making a meal a nobleman didn’t like. Or… okay so some of the cooks that were disgraced were for good reasons like intentionally poisoning someone. Not all, just some. But the point is many of them got off on lighter punishments and sentences.

They once again found themselves without jobs or homes and faced a world unlikely to welcome them back to an honest living. They definitely were never going to be paid to cook or bake no matter how passionate or skilled they were. Not after being disgraced and then part of the Vault. But they had stolen two things from the Vault. Two things vital to their survival. Adaptability and each other. Running a kitchen in a black market where your customers had a knack for inventing a new worst case scenario for you three times a day created a special breed of chef. Half the building now a slag field? Well can some of it be used for tables? Is the oven now sentient? Maybe it can be convinced to stop charring specifically brussels sprouts now. Their ability to build makeshift structures that could keep a running kitchen and places to sleep in the most volatile environments was a niche that was needed in the borderlands of the ever expanding kingdom. Every week they would take their meager earnings and buy what food they could. Then together they would hold a feast. Well they called it a feast. Even if it was just a single pot of stew. But it was enough to keep them fed. And making it to the next day was all they needed.

After years of hard work, bartering, and literally building entire villages they managed to make a name for themselves. A good name this time. They had become renowned for adapting to deadly and dangerous environments and the Crown wanted land more than it wanted to see them hanged. Even more importantly their feasts had become TRUE feasts. Weekly meetings piled high with delicious food where everyone had a chance to relax. As the Builders have expanded and gotten busier, they can’t always have them weekly (which is a travesty if you ask me). But they are at minimum held monthly and organized by the higher ups. Speaking of organization ranks, here’s how they are set up:

Apprentice

Entry level position. Yesterday’s builders are willing to give pretty much anyone a chance regardless of background. They have staff whose entire role is to teach unskilled workers useful skills and they have plenty of busy work to keep newer workers busy. While they may be open to giving anyone a chance, they are not lenient towards those who put no effort in. Failure to improve or effectively communicate and collaborate leads to a swift termination of employment.

At staff feasts apprentices are mostly tasked with setting tables and bringing food out unless they have prior culinary experience.

General

Technically the full title was originally ‘General Worker’ but over time it has been shortened to just General. Employees get a kick out of just referring to one another as general. General staff are considered full fledged members of the Builders and it is at this point. General staff are expected to have a basic understanding of the following departments: construction, design, innovation, culinary, and mentorship.

General staff assist with meal preparation for staff feasts and typically act more like sous chefs.

Supervisor

There are many who will internally joke around and call it the ‘Soup-ervisor’ position but it is highly frowned upon to use this on anything customer facing. Supervisors are expected to have substantial understanding of whatever department they are overseeing and to have demonstrated  leadership and organizational skills. They are expected to manage and oversee general and apprentice level staff, ensure jobs are on pace to get done, and that safety on the job site is being prioritized.

At staff feasts the supervisors are often bringing their own home recipes and expertise and helping make the meal itself. Those who are not culinarily inclined instead help manage acquisition and dispersal of ingredients.

Afterthought

A title that was jokingly named in the early days of the Builders that ended up sticking around. The joke was that those in charge at the time were so focused on trying to put food on the table and get their feet back on the table that what they were called and what title and responsibilities were was just an afterthought. They just did whatever was necessary to get through another week. The Afterthoughts must be an expert in at least one department and are responsible for admin level responsibilities such as company budget, relationships with corporate partners, and so on. Many of them also work directly on site as their expertise is required for some of their trickier constructions and it is dangerous to let their skills get rusty.

At staff feasts it is expected that each afterthought contributes in a significant way. Making an incredible dish, putting on a performance, or sourcing a special ingredient.

Titles

The Builders have a number of titles that can be applied to their general hierarchy ranks. These come with their own benefits and represent a particular specialty that they have dedicate substantial effort to learning.

Innovator

This title is for those who have dedicated themselves to the advancement of their research into new techniques, tools, use of new materials, etc. So long as they are making improvements to what the Builders can potentially create or where they can create they have earned the title of innovator.

Mentor

Mentors are those who dedicate themselves to the training of newer staff. They are almost exclusively staff who have been with the builders for a longer time and thus have the most experience. However, there are staff whose strengths are more in building up their fellow workers than building up buildings.

And wait until I tell you about Grayson and Emilia. They- may have to wait for another time as this post is getting quite long isn’t it? We can always do a part two down the road. Maybe I can even share some of their recipes? Anyway, take care everyone.

Until next time,

Onwards to Adventure!

– CozyPandaDragon