Modern Time

Modern history

Rise of the federation

Until now trade had been the instigator of change but now science, and especially engineering, took over that role. The latest engineering projects required a level of cooperation such that new organizations had to be formed to coordinate cooperation between mainly the engineering guilds of the leagues. Not much later trader guilds and traveller guilds joined to coordinate transportation between the different guild houses and workshops.

In time all guilds were drawn into this system. And so, a new level of government arose: the Federation of Leagues. An added benefit that especially the traders appreciated was that they could speak with one voice for all of the Federation vs the rest of the discovered world. And so once again trade made this model of society blossom.

One of the first decisions of the Federal Council was to honor an age-old tradition and turn Dies Feralis into the first federal holiday. In time this would grow into the solara of festivities, more or less reminiscent of the Feralis Games of old.

With the majority of the globe explored, the point of gravity shifted from exploration to transportation. At first, to ensure steady transport lines for trading goods but later on also for guided travels. And so, the first travel agencies popped up. And in their wake a plethora of other private enterprises saw the light of day. This new level of governance also gave rise to some of the organizations we find common nowadays. Such as the SPCP and the PCI to name the most noticeable ones.

As a result of the new system, the guilds split up into roughly three parts. The guild members themselves would form a federal union for those of the same trade, guild schools would form an educational council and the guild pet centers would split off from the school and form their own guild. The Minor Guild got absorbed in the Educational Council which made sense because now you have the whole educational trajectory under one dome.
No longer overshadowed by the guild structure, the family structure we know today came to light.
As the need for more advanced studies rose colleges were founded to provide higher education for those with the talent or drive.

It was in the same timeframe that an inspired (some call her enlightened) someone founded Owl College so that even pets got a shot at higher education. All pets were accepted no matter their phenotype. Accommodations were also made for the various subtypes and pet-related syndromes. It truly was a place where pets, every pet, could be accepted and educated. In time this idea became college policy. For some this was the first time that they could study without being attached to their owners.

Given the experience the college had of educating pets it was only natural that pethood itself would be a subject of study. As others interested in the subject flocked to Owl College it soon surpassed similar studies done in regular institutions. Thus Owl College's experts became the primary reference for Pet Studies.

But still there was a part of society left struggling with who they were. Namely POBS. Apparently, there were some who struggled with a society where pethood was the norm and felt like outsiders, looked down upon for having no interest in pets and were in need of a place where no one would judge them but just accept them for what they were.

Reaching back to the time of the guilds Owl College would now have two chapters. One to cater for pets, the PH chapter and one to cater for the POBS, the PO chapter. Each with their own chapterhouses. In time they merged into one campus and Owl College became the integrated college it now is.

In time, to go with the flow of society, the pet center guild changed its name to Pet Centers Inc. nowadays better known as PCI. To support the newly formed independent pet centers, owner and pet alike, local SPCP chapters were founded, chapters of the Society of Prevention of Cruelty to Pets.
And to support the SPCP representatives a central training center was founded. To enable a cross-fertilisation a location in the same place as Owl College was chosen.