User blog comment:IamJakuhoRaikoben/Chapter 439: Albareth Empire, Review./@comment-26263257-20150608164011/@comment-24546844-20150608170053

@Nick, if I understoond it right they were just normal guilds like Ishgar's, but then they for some reason decided to unite all the guilds in a single army. The guild division may still be used (like with the Dark guilds subordinated to the members of the Ballam Aliance) but they all represent a single militar faction.