Editing Spacing Guild (section)

=== Prequels ===
The ''[[Prelude to Dune]]'' prequel trilogy (1999–2001) by Brian Herbert and Anderson, set immediately before the events of ''Dune'', explores the previously-unexplained process of becoming a Navigator through the story of '''D'murr Pilru'''. D'murr, a human native of the technology-producing planet [[Ix (Dune)|Ix]], goes through the training process and physical transformation to become a full Navigator.<ref name="Prelude">{{cite serial |last1=Herbert |first1=Brian |author1-link=Brian Herbert |last2=Anderson |first2=Kevin J. |author2-link=Kevin J. Anderson |title=[[Prelude to Dune]] |date=1999–2001}}</ref> In ''[[Dune: House Corrino|House Corrino]]'' (2001), D'murr is piloting one of two heighliners which [[Count Fenring]] uses to secretly test the synthetic melange created by the [[Bene Tleilax|Tleilaxu]] in their [[Project Amal]]. The flawed spice disrupts and confuses D'murr's thoughts, feelings and prescience. Disastrously, the first heighliner emerges from foldspace at the wrong point, striking the defensive shields of [[Wallach IX]] and plummeting into the atmosphere to its destruction. Affected by the tainted melange, D'murr misguides his ship out of the known universe and collapses. As his spice supply is replaced with genuine melange, D'murr uses the last of his strength to return the ship safely to Junction, home of the Guild headquarters, before dying.<ref name="House Corrino">{{cite book |last1=Herbert |first1=Brian |author1-link=Brian Herbert |last2=Anderson |first2=Kevin J. |author2-link=Kevin J. Anderson |title=[[Dune: House Corrino]] |year=2001 }}</ref>

In the ''[[Legends of Dune]]'' prequel trilogy (2002–2004) by Brian Herbert and Anderson, unappreciated scientist Norma Cenva creates the [[Holtzman engine]], which allows a ship to fold space, traveling great distances instantaneously. Her future husband, entrepreneur Aurelius Venport, begins mass-producing the ships which are eventually known as heighliners. The technique proves to be unsafe, however, as one in ten flights ends in the ship's destruction due to navigational difficulties. Desperate for a solution, Norma consumes increasing amounts of melange to improve her thinking and concentration. Full immersion in a tank of spice gas deforms her body, but ultimately bestows on her the prescient ability to plot a safe path for a heighliner through foldspace. As the first Navigator, Norma begins a training program to produce enough Navigators to pilot a fleet of heighliners. Over 80 years later, she puts the creation of the Spacing Guild in motion through her descendant, Josef Venport.<ref name="gr"/><ref name="Legends">{{cite serial |last1=Herbert |first1=Brian |author1-link=Brian Herbert |last2=Anderson |first2=Kevin J. |author2-link=Kevin J. Anderson |title=[[Legends of Dune]] |date=2002–2004}}</ref>

After consolidating its hold on the space travel industry during the events of ''[[Sisterhood of Dune]]'' (2012), this company, now called Venport Holdings or VenHold, evolves into the Guild of the later novels. VenHold originally has the monopoly on foldspace travel, granted to Aurelius Venport by [[Serena Butler]]. However, decades after the end of the Butlerian Jihad, Emperor Jules revokes the monopoly in order to curry political favor, resulting in several rival foldspace companies springing up, such as Celestial Transport and EsconTran. These new companies, however, are unable to provide 100% safe transportation due to their lack of Navigators, the creation process of whom is a proprietary secret tightly held by VenHold. Director [[Josef Venport]] ruthlessly crushes the competition and even executes a rival CEO. Josef's desire to restore his family's monopoly and thirst for knowledge put him in conflict with the Butlerians, a radical religious sect that follows the teachings of the late [[Rayna Butler]] under the leadership of [[Manford Torondo]]. Realizing that the weak Emperor [[Salvador Corrino]] is unwilling to crush the Butlerians, Venport lures him out to Arrakis and has him eaten by a sandworm. Unfortunately for him, Salvador's sabotaged ship manages to return to Salusa Secundus and report the truth to the newly-crowned Emperor [[Roderick Corrino|Roderick]], Salvador's brother. Roderick swears vengeance on Venport. Just then, Torondo gets his hands on a cache of atomics, which he uses to obliterate VenHold's main planet. Eventually, imperial forces track down Venport's secret laboratory and invade. Norma offers Josef a chance to survive by becoming a Navigator. She then folds space to the bridge of the imperial flagship and strikes a deal with the Emperor, agreeing to dissolve VenHold in exchange for Roderick sparing her and all her Navigators, and also establishing the Spacing Guild.