Bards are musicians belonging to lore guilds after honing their craft in composer guilds. They migrate between villages and cities depending on their ranking, keeping the remembrance of the land's history alive. This includes famed poems and ballads, embelished retellings and at times, fabrications. That last aspect is the underlying goal of the guild, as they can control perceptions of events and figures.
There is little distinction between the roles of bards whether men and women, other than the secret instruments they carry, only used in last resorts of defense or when an appointed time has come, that they are able to cast of their mantle and fulfill a promise...
*Their instruments is guised with secondary tools of the trade, a poisoned blade, two petrifying needles and specially made strings that can cut through bone. Defensively, it is fitted with defensive charms, though not very strong.