The Triadic Accord: Codified Laws of the Maldovarrian Colonies



Preamble to the Triadic Accord


As enacted and proclaimed in the Hall of Granite Oaths beneath the roots of the Ironforge Mountains, upon the twenty-third day of the Ember Moon in the year 3108 of the Age of the Three Thrones, and thereafter ratified by the Grand Duke and the Council of Nine Pillars, to endure while the seas encircle Tessix and the three moons Aeloria, Thaluna, the great immovable Voris, and all the countless stars keep their ancient courses. Let it then be so sealed with the Grand-Ducal signet and the distant imperial mark.


Be it known unto all peoples beneath the sun and stars, from the white Kestral Cliffs of Tessix to the golden palaces of far Maldovarra, whether noble or common, human or dwarf, elf-born or halfling kin, settler or wanderer, that We, Thero Délavandrelle, by the grace and commission of His most excellent Imperial Majesty Gaius Septimus Magnus, Emperor of the Island Realm of beloved Maldovarra and Lord of All the Seas that Touch It, do hold and exercise full viceregal authority over the Colonies of Maldovarra-in-Exile, as Grand Duke of the Colonies, Sovereign Protector of the Delphian Vale, Lord of the Verdant Steppes, and Warden of the Western Reaches, and all lands yet to be claimed in the Emperor’s name.


Be it known to all peoples dwelling beneath the banners of the Empire of Maldovarra, far across sea, that We, Thero Délavandrelle, by grace of sword and charter of his most excellent Lord Emperor Gaius Septimus Magnus, Who in his wisdom has appointed Thero Délavandrelle,


Whereas the ancient laws of the Mother Isle, though just and time-honoured beneath the walls of Grantham, have proven too heavy for the free winds and wild earth of this new continent;


Whereas the distance of many moons’ sailing and the peril of the Deepwater Passage make swift recourse to the Imperial Throne impossible in matters of blood, land, and honour;


Whereas the peoples gathered here—children of Maldovarra, exiles of noble blood, free companies, dwarven clans of Haltodor, halflings of the Wealdrift Shire, and even those of elven kindred who have bent the knee—require a law that is swift, plain-spoken, and fitted to frontier need;


Wherin having taken wise counsel from the deep halls of Haltodor and the high spires of Aerlon, and having beheld with sorrow the ruin wrought by lawless strife and the Log War’s burning groves, in the Emperor’s name and by his delegated power, We do hereby ordain, establish, and proclaim this Triadic Accord for the governance, peace, and prospering of all our realms, as the supreme and living law of these Colonies, to stand until such day as His Imperial Majesty shall alter or revoke it.

In the same spirit of hard-won alliance that birthed the Triadic Accord itself, the Treaty of the Twelve (3108–3109 ATT) bound the Maldovarrian Colonies to the free city-state of Haltodor beneath the Hall of Granite Oaths. By this covenant four satellite houses of Haltodor’s six ruling clans—House Breldaren of Clan Breldaren, House Coldreach of Clan Coldreach, House Oakhammer of Clan Oakhammer, and House Draengahar of Clan Draengahar—entered the feudal order of the Delphian Vale as Durin-Dûr, semi-autonomous allies rather than mere vassals, their lands and voices woven into the living law of the Colonies.



Therefore we set forth three everlasting Pillars Three Pillars be set firm upon this distant shore, upon which this Accord shall stand unbreakable:



By these Pillars shall justice be measured, mercy tempered, and rebellion crushed.

Whoso keeps faith with them shall dwell in peace beneath the Emperor’s distant but everlasting protection.

Whoso breaks them shall answer to iron, to fire, to the arena, or to the cold road of exile.


Thus do We set Our hand and the Emperor’s proxy seal, in the presence of the Council of Nine Pillars, the 6 Uzbadim of Haltodor, the Wardens of the Eldentree Weald, and all captains, knights, and free folk who have sworn fealty to the Colonies.


May the Emperor’s gaze, though distant and far, remain ever watchful, and endure until the seas themselves grow old.


So sworn and sealed beneath the living Chancery in our most excellent colonial capital city of Sequoia Bay, in the 3108th year of the Age of the Three Thrones, and by the grace and in the name of

Gaius Septimus Magnus, Emperor of Maldovarra and Lord of the Farther Seas.

So signed by my hand So sworn beneath the living Chancery with the sigil of my house, Thero Délavandrelle

Grand Duke of the Colonies and Viceroy of Maldovarra-in-Exile



~ Title I: Of the Three Pillars and General Principles


Of the Three Pillars Themselves

First proclaimed in 3108 ATT beneath the Hall of Granite Oaths; expanded and clarified through centuries of frontier hardship, plague, war, and the Great Harvestide Recension of 3282 ATT

The Triadic Accord rests upon three unbreakable foundations—Property, Liberty, and Dignity—set down by Grand Duke Thero Délavandrelle to bind a scattered people of many bloods into one realm. These Pillars are declared equal in weight yet ordered in precedence when they clash: first Property (for without secure holding no man may stand free), then Liberty (the breath of the frontier), and last Dignity (the crown that makes a soul worth defending). Every law, custom, and judgement within the Colonies must serve these three, and none may stand that openly defies them.



Article 1 – The Three Pillars Established

In the name of His Imperial Majesty Gaius Septimus Magnus and by the viceregal authority vested in the Grand Duke Thero Délavandrelle of the Colonies, let it be forever declared that the whole law of these realms rests upon three everlasting Pillars, equal in weight and indivisible in purpose:


§A Property – the sacred right of every soul to hold, enjoy, and bequeath the fruits of their toil, the land they have tamed, the coin they have earned, and the goods they have wrought, free from seizure save by lawful judgement or willing bargain.


§B Liberty – the birthright of every free subject to walk, speak, trade, and worship according to conscience, unbound by chains of body or mind unless forfeited by crime or freely pledged by oath.

Liberty further encompasses the right of safe conduct once a Bound Token has been accepted under Article 7 of this Title, rendering the guest an extension of the host’s own person for the duration of wardship.


§C Dignity – the inherent worth of every person, high or low, human or otherwise, that no hand may strip away their good name, violate their flesh, or cast them into shame without open trial and just cause.


These three stand as one. Where one is wounded, all are wounded; where one is upheld, all are strengthened.



Article 2 – The Rule of Interpretation

First enacted in the original Accord of 3108 ATT and substantially clarified during the Great Harvestide Recension of 3282 ATT following repeated attempts by overzealous magistrates to stretch emergency powers into permanent privilege.


§A. Concerning the Primacy of the Three Pillars in All Interpretation

Every statute, custom, royal decree, guild by-law, manorial judgement, or act of governance within the Maldovarrian Colonies shall be read, construed, and applied in the manner most favourable to the preservation and advancement of the Three Pillars: Property, Liberty, and Dignity.
Where any ambiguity exists in the wording of a law, the construction that least impairs any of the Three Pillars shall prevail unless the contrary intention appears with irresistible clarity in the text itself.


§B. Concerning Laws and Acts Repugnant to the Pillars

Any law, decree, judgement, contract, or act of man—whether ancient custom or fresh proclamation—that is found, upon due scrutiny, to offend materially against Property, Liberty, or Dignity without overwhelming and demonstrable necessity for the common weal of the realm shall be declared utterly void and of no force in the sight of the Triadic Accord.
No magistrate, lord, burgess, or officer may enforce such a provision after it has been so declared by any court of competent jurisdiction; to do so thereafter constitutes a grave offence against the Accord itself.


§C. Concerning the Narrow and Temporary Suspension of Provisions

The provisions of this Accord may be suspended only in cases of overwhelming and immediate necessity for the common weal, and then only to the minimal extent and for the shortest duration strictly required by the peril.
Any such suspension must satisfy all of the following conditions:

  1. It shall be declared openly in a court of record, with written reasons stating the precise nature of the peril, the exact provisions suspended, and the anticipated duration of the suspension.
  2. It shall expire automatically at the rising of the next new moon or after the passage of two fortnights (whichever occurs sooner), unless, before that time, it is expressly ratified by a vote of not less than two-thirds of the sitting members of the local Council of Burgesses (or, in those marches or hundreds lacking such a council, by the sworn written consent of the Lord or Lady of the March acting in solemn council with three sworn witnesses).
  3. No suspension may ever authorize, even temporarily, the permanent forfeiture of life, limb, freehold tenure, hereditary title, or the sacred right to trial by one of the modes set forth in Title II.
  4. Any person aggrieved by a suspension may appeal immediately to the next sitting Circuit Justiciar, whose determination shall be final and binding upon all parties. The Justiciar may, at his discretion, declare the suspension void ab initio and award damages to those harmed thereby.

§D. Concerning the Punishment of Bad-Faith Invocation

Any magistrate, lord, burgess, or officer who invokes the power of suspension in bad faith, for private vengeance, personal gain, factional advantage, or any motive other than the genuine preservation of the common weal shall suffer immediate attainder of office, permanent degradation from all rank and honour, forfeiture of all lands held in chief, and such further punishment as the High Court of Sequoia Bay shall deem just—up to and including perpetual exile beyond the frontiers of mercy.¹

¹ The most notorious case remains that of Magistrate Lord Varnel Duskwind of Moonlight Hollow (3264 ATT), who suspended Liberty protections for seventeen days to settle a private feud over mining rights, resulting in the unlawful imprisonment of six freeholders. Upon appeal, Circuit Justiciar Lady Elowen Veylthorne declared the suspension void ab initio, stripped Duskwind of his office and titles, and sentenced him to labour in the ironwood replanting groves for seven years. His skull—preserved in salt and mounted above the courtroom door—bears a small brass plaque reading “He Thought the Pillars Would Bend.” The practice of displaying such mementos remains discretionary but widely approved.



Article 3 – The Primacy of the Pillars over Ancient Custom

Enacted in the original Accord of 3108 ATT to silence early disputes between Maldovarrian émigrés who clung to the Mother Isle’s ancient privileges and the practical necessities of frontier life. Reaffirmed and sharpened in the 3282 recension after a handful of ambitious lords attempted to revive obsolete imperial prerogatives during the aftermath of the Délavandrelle Plot.


§A. Concerning the Absolute Supremacy of the Triadic Accord

All usages, customs, privileges, prerogatives, franchises, and immunities inherited from the Mother Isle of Maldovarra—however ancient, honourable, or long observed in the halls of Grantham or the courts of the old empire—yield and give way wherever they stand in conflict with any provision of the Triadic Accord.
The plain words of this Accord shall prevail over every contrary custom, charter, patent, or imperial edict, no matter how venerable or how solemnly sealed.


§B. Concerning the Inviolability of the Three Pillars

No rank of nobility, no purity of bloodline, no letter under the distant imperial seal, no ancestral privilege claimed by house or guild, and no invocation of ancient right may override, diminish, or qualify the sacred protections of Property, Liberty, and Dignity as they are declared and defined herein.
Any attempt to plead such ancient right against the Three Pillars shall be dismissed out of hand by every court and officer of the realm; to persist in the plea after warning constitutes contempt of the Accord and shall be punished accordingly.


§C. Concerning the Grand Duke’s Plenary Power of Adaptation

The Grand Duke, as Viceroy in these western lands, holds plenary and undoubted power to adapt, reform, and declare the justice of the Emperor to the peculiar perils, distances, and necessities of this far shore.
No subject may question this adaptive authority so long as the adaptation remains consistent with the eternal foundation of the Three Pillars; nor may any distant imperial command—unless borne by fresh commission under the Emperor’s own hand and seal—displace or annul any provision of the Accord once it has been proclaimed and ratified in these colonies.


§D. Concerning the Penalty for Invoking Superseded Imperial Privilege

Any lord, magistrate, burgess, or officer who, after due notice of this Article, knowingly invokes or attempts to enforce any superseded custom, imperial edict, or ancestral privilege in derogation of the Triadic Accord shall suffer degradation of rank, forfeiture of any office held under the Crown, and such further penalty as the High Court shall impose—up to and including attainder of blood and perpetual banishment beyond the western marches.¹


¹ The most instructive case arose in 3114 ATT when Baroness Lirienna Veylthorne of Frostshade Rise attempted to enforce an ancient Maldovarrian privilege of summary execution over a tenant accused of poaching. The tenant’s appeal reached Grand Duke Thero Délavandrelle himself; the Baroness was stripped of her title, her lands were regranted to the injured family under new tenure, and she spent the next seven years labouring in the ironwood replanting groves. A small stone marker still stands at the site of her former manor, bearing the laconic inscription: “Ancient Right Met Newer Necessity.” The tale is still told to first-year law-scriveners with quiet relish.



Article 4 – The Oath of the Pillars

The Oath of the Pillars was carried across the sea in 3041 ATT aboard the Aelmora as part of the original Colonial Patent. It was formally enshrined in the Accord of 3108 ATT and reaffirmed without alteration during every major recension, most recently in 3282 ATT. The wording preserves deliberate continuity with the ancient Concord of the Nine Realms (pre-3073 ATT) while explicitly subordinating all lesser powers to the Sovereign Architect.


§A. Concerning the Mandatory Oath for All Officers of the Realm

Every magistrate, knight, sheriff, bailiff, warden, justiciar, circuit rider, hedge knight, burgess councillor, guild master exercising magisterial authority, and any other officer or servant of the Crown who exercises power under the Triadic Accord shall, upon assuming office and before entering upon its duties, swear the Oath of the Pillars in open court or before a duly constituted assembly of at least three witnesses of good standing.
The oath must be taken upon a copy of the bronze tablets of the Accord or, in remote marches, upon a certified parchment bearing the ducal seal and the signatures of three living justices who have themselves sworn the same oath.


§B. Concerning the Solemn and Unaltered Form of the Oath

The oath shall be pronounced in the following exact words, without addition, subtraction, or alteration of substance:

“I, [full name and style], do solemnly swear before gods and men that I shall uphold Property, guard Liberty, and shield Dignity for every soul beneath the banners of Maldovarra-in-Exile, so help me by the grace of the Sovereign Architect, and any and all lesser powers that watch.”

The oath may be taken kneeling, standing, or seated according to local custom, but the right hand must be placed upon the tablets or certified parchment during the recitation.


§C. Concerning the Theological Neutrality of the Oath

The ancient formula “before gods and men” and the closing invocation of “any and all lesser powers that watch” are retained solely for continuity with the pre-colonial Concord of the Nine Realms and shall not be construed as theological endorsement of, or obligation toward, any power, principality, or Celestial Weaver save the Sovereign Architect alone.
All who swear acknowledge that ultimate fealty and worship belong to the Sovereign Architect; the reference to lesser powers serves only as solemn witness and carries no binding duty of service or veneration. Any attempt to interpret the oath as creating secondary religious obligations shall be rejected as contrary to the plain intent of the Accord.


§D. Concerning Refusal, False Swearing, and Violation

Any person required to swear who refuses the oath shall be deemed incapable of holding office and shall forfeit any claim to the position; persistent refusal after three days’ grace constitutes dereliction of duty and may be punished as contempt of the Accord.
Any officer who swears falsely, or who, having sworn, wilfully violates the substance of the oath through abuse of power against Property, Liberty, or Dignity, shall suffer attainder of office, permanent degradation, forfeiture of all honours and lands held in chief, and such further punishment as the High Court shall determine—up to and including perpetual exile or, in cases of grave and systematic oppression, the arena.¹


¹ The most infamous violation remains that of Sheriff Gorrim Blackthorn of Ironflow Ridge (3157 ATT), who, after swearing the oath, systematically extorted freeholders under colour of tax collection until three widows starved in midwinter. Brought before Circuit Justiciar Sir Alaric Rhashol (then a rising knight), Blackthorn was stripped of office, branded across the palms with the sigil of the broken scales, and sentenced to seven years’ labour replanting ironwood groves. He perished on the fourth winter; the small brass plaque affixed to his unmarked grave in the replanting fields reads simply: “He swore, and the earth remembered.” The tale is recited in full to every new class of chancery apprentices, usually with a wry observation from the instructing scribe about the remarkable patience of both trees and justice.



Article 5 – The Promise to the People

Inserted into the Accord during the Starlight Surge crisis of 3073 ATT, when the sudden arrival of nearly nine hundred new colonists sparked widespread fear of renewed noble overreach. Grand Duke Théro Délavandrelle personally dictated the original wording to reassure the common folk that the new constitution would bind the mighty as surely as it protected the meek. The article has remained untouched through every recension, its plain language preserved as a deliberate contrast to the more ornate provisions surrounding it.


§A. Concerning the Universal Assurance Given to All Subjects

Let every subject of these realms—from the highest marquess in his marble hall to the humblest ploughman in his rain-soaked furrow, from the seafaring mariner to the hedge-knight riding lonely patrols—take comfort and strength in this solemn promise set forth in the Triadic Accord itself:
So long as the Three Pillars of Property, Liberty, and Dignity stand unbroken and undefiled, neither tyrant, sorcerer, grasping noble, ancient privilege, distant imperial edict, nor any combination of them shall ever again crush the free folk of Tessix beneath arbitrary will or inherited chains.


§B. Concerning the Binding Force of the Promise

This assurance is no mere flourish of rhetoric, nor a courtesy extended by grace of the Grand Duke. It is the foundational covenant of the Accord, woven into its very parchment and bronze.
Every lord, magistrate, burgess, guild-master, and officer who exercises power under these laws is bound by oath and duty to honour it in word and deed. The promise runs with the land itself: it endures beyond the life of any one ruler, beyond the fortunes of any single house, and beyond the reach of any momentary peril or ambition.


§C. Concerning the Accord as Judge and Enforcer

Should any lord, official, or person clothed in authority forget this promise, attempt to subvert it, or act in wilful disregard of the Three Pillars, the Triadic Accord itself shall stand as their judge.
No special pleading of rank, blood, service, or necessity shall shield them. The courts of the realm—beginning with the lowliest hundred-court and rising to the High Court of Sequoia Bay—are charged to hear such offences with the same gravity reserved for high treason.
Any subject who suffers wrong under colour of authority may appeal directly to the Circuit Justiciar or, in extremis, to the Council of Nine Pillars, invoking this Article by name; such appeal shall never be denied hearing on grounds of station alone.


§D. Concerning the Perpetual Remembrance of the Promise

In every market square, guild hall, village green, and wayside shrine where the bronze tablets of the Accord are displayed or recited, this Article shall be read aloud at least once each year during the Feast of the Ember Moon, that no generation may grow forgetful of the hard-won truth it enshrines.
The Chancery shall cause copies of this Article, illuminated in simple gold upon plain vellum, to be nailed above the door of every courthouse, guild-house, and manorial court within the Delphian Vale and its marches, there to weather and fade as a quiet reminder that power, however ancient or newly won, remains forever answerable to the Three Pillars.¹


¹ During the harsh winter of 3121 ATT, when famine gripped the Quillbrooke Heights and desperate tenants began to whisper of rebellion, Marquess Belvione himself rode out to every village green and read this Article aloud beside roaring bonfires. No uprising followed. Chroniclers still note, with the faintest of smiles, that the marquess caught a lasting chill from standing hatless in the snow for three days straight—and that the tenants, warmed more by his gesture than by the flames, repaid the debt by hauling extra grain to his manor when the thaw came early. The incident is cited in chancery primers as proof that sometimes the plain reading of the law works better than any spell of compulsion.



Article 6 – Of Urban Property and the Rights of Freeholders in Chartered Towns and Cities

(Inserted into Title I: Of the Three Pillars and General Principles as a new Article 6, with all subsequent articles renumbered accordingly. Ratified beneath the Chancery on the first day of Harvestide 3163 ATT.)

§1 Freehold in Chartered Settlements

Within every walled city, chartered town, or borough owing direct fealty to the Grand Duke or a provincial Marquess, any free subject—noble or common—may purchase, sell, devise, or inherit houses, shops, warehouses, workshops, apartments, or any other fixed building upon payment of the customary stamp-tax (never to exceed one Golden Saint per 1,000 Golden Saints of assessed value) and registration with the municipal court.


§2 The Urban Freeholder’s Rights

Such property is held in full freehold, answerable to no lord save the Grand Duke himself (or the Marquess of the province in which the settlement lies). No noble may seize, tallage, or enter it without lawful warrant, nor may any officer demand feudal service or harvest-dues from its owner.


§3 Inheritance and Dowry

Urban freeholds descend by the same rules as rural land (cognatic primogeniture with absolute primogeniture permitted unless a contrary will is witnessed and sealed before a magistrate), and form lawful dowry or dower for marriages both common and noble.


§4 Protection Against Arbitrary Dispossession

No urban freehold may be forfeited save by judgement of a provincial assize or the High Court at Sequoia Bay, and only for crimes that would forfeit rural land under this Accord. Mere debt does not work forfeiture; only after three failed auctions and seven years’ default may the property revert to the Crown.


Thus the Pillar of Property stands upon the cobbles of the city as firmly as upon the fields of the Vale.

Ratified beneath the Chancery, 3163 ATT. Articles after this point were renumbered in 3163 ATT; current numbering reflects post-3282 recension


§5 Guildhalls and Corporate Property

Recognised guilds and chartered companies may own buildings and land in common, governed by their own sealed charters, provided those charters contain nothing contrary to the Three Pillars.


§6 The Poor and the Landless

No subject shall be denied a roof because they own no land. Municipalities may erect common lodging-houses and alms-tenements; rent paid therein creates a lawful tenancy protected against sudden eviction by the same processes that guard rural tenants.


Thus the Pillar of Property stands as firmly upon the cobbles of Sequoia Bay and the wharves of Port Wavecrest as upon the furrowed fields of the Vale, and every free soul—be they baker, smith, or scribe—may call some corner of the Colonies truly their own.


So sworn and added to the Accord in the 3108th year of the Age of the Three Thrones, that the city-dweller may sleep as securely beneath his own roof as the yeoman beneath his thatch.



Article 7 – Of the Covenant of the Threshold and the Rite of Tribute and Token

Enacted beneath the Hall of Granite Oaths on the tenth day of the Frost Moon in the year 3201 ATT, following the Poisoned Banquet of 3200 and the Great Treachery of House Whitmire.


§A. Concerning the Ancient Right of Guest-Right
Any free subject who has been received beneath another’s roof according to the forms herein set forth shall be held an extension of the host’s own person and household for the duration of the wardship. Neither blade, spell, nor cruel hand may touch them while the Token remains unbroken, for such an act wounds the Pillar of Liberty and profanes the Pillar of Dignity.


§B. Concerning the Rite of Tribute and Token

1). The Guest’s Petition (Tribute)
A petitioner of standing seeking the Shield of the House shall, upon crossing the threshold, present a Tribute of Sustenance: a fish of the sea, a cut of field-meat, or a measure of salted grain. With the offering they shall speak the Affirmation of Vulnerability:

“I offer this tribute of my hand for refuge beneath your roof.”

Failure to offer Tribute relieves the host of any duty beyond common decency.

2). The Host’s Pledge (Token)
Should the host accept the Tribute, they are bound by the Pillar of Dignity to return a Token of metal (iron, steel, silver, gold, orichalcum, or mithril).

The Rite of the Draught (enacted after the Treachery of 3200)
No Token shall be deemed Bound until the host has first submerged it in a vessel of wine or water at the threshold, drunk a portion thereof in the petitioner’s sight, and then placed the wet metal directly into the petitioner’s hand. From that moment the petitioner is a Warded Guest.¹


§C. Concerning the Special Duties Binding upon Nobility (the High Threshold)
Because the roof of a noble house shelters not only flesh but the honor of the realm itself, the following additional obligations bind every peer, vassal, knight-banneret, or titled person:

1). The host noble must personally receive the guest at the threshold and speak the words of welcome aloud before witnesses.

2). The Token must bear the host’s personal arms or signet.

3). The host must provide bread, salt, and wine (or the local equivalent) from his or her own hand.

4). Once the Token is Bound, no noble may set a guard or servant to watch the guest in a manner that implies distrust.

5). A noble host who offers hospitality to another of noble or equivalent station must grant the place of honor at table and the best chamber, and may not withdraw these courtesies without first returning the Token and declaring the wardship ended.

6). A noble who violates guest-right while the Token is unbroken suffers automatic degradation of one degree of rank (or, if a mere knight, reduction to landless status) in addition to the ordinary penalties below. The injured party may claim weregild equal to one year’s revenue of the offender’s demesne.


§D. Concerning the Duration and Ending of Wardship

The protection endures for fourteen days and nights, or until the guest departs the demesne, or until the Token is formally returned and broken before witnesses. Extension beyond fourteen days requires a second Affirmation witnessed by a Clerk of the Chancery or a local magistrate. After the Token is broken the host has one full turning of the glass (one hour) to escort the former guest safely beyond the gates.

The Covenant of the Threshold is a private bond of hospitality between subjects of the Colonies and confers no right of sanctuary from criminal prosecution or state authority. See Title X Article 1 for temple sanctuary and Title X Article 2 for state asylum.


§E. Concerning the Penalties for Violation

1). The Decree of the Hollowed (Host Breach)
Any host who harms, or through malice or gross negligence permits harm to befall, a Warded Guest shall be declared Hollowed.


2). The Decree of the Carrion (Guest Breach)
Any guest who draws steel, brews poison, conspires against the host, or commits any felony while carrying a Bound Token shall be declared Carrion.


§F. Concerning Enforcement and Record

The Chancery of Sequoia Bay shall maintain the Roll of the Tainted and cause the names of all Houses declared Hollowed or individuals declared Carrion to be proclaimed at every market cross on the first day of each moon. No noble may sit in Council, command the levy, or hold high office while their House remains Hollowed.


§G. Concerning the Historical Occasion of the Amendment

In the years of relative peace that followed the ratification of the Triadic Accord, the ancient custom of Tribute and Token fell into disuse among the nobility. What had once been a bulwark of trust was dismissed as a quaint frontier relic, unnecessary in an age when the Pillars of Property, Liberty, and Dignity were thought sufficient safeguard. Verbal assurances and social reputation replaced the physical exchange; the Rite of the Draught was abandoned entirely.²

This complacency reached its bitter fruit in the year 3200 ATT at the hall of Lord Alaric Whitmire of House Whitmire. There, under cover of a grand feast, the Night Talons, acting at the behest of the Black Flag Legion, introduced a slow-acting poison distilled from the herbs of Lathalas’Nar into the wine and multiple dishes. The toxin caused internal hemorrhaging so gradual that death staggered across the tables, maximizing terror and confusion. Among the slain were Marion Sisk, lords and ladies of Houses Darnholm, Valevine, and Redbrook, and Lord Alaric Whitmire himself — the very host whose hospitality had been so monstrously betrayed.³

The massacre shattered noble trust across the Colonies and opened a power vacuum that threatened civil war. In the following year the Grand Duke and Council of Nine Pillars therefore enacted this Article, transforming the old custom into binding law. The Rite of the Draught was restored and made mandatory, collective accountability was imposed through the Roll of the Tainted, and the entire realm was reminded that no amount of legalism can replace the ancient iron bond between guest and host.

Thus is the ancient law of roof and hearth made iron by the Triadic Accord, that the Fish may prove need and the Iron prove honor, and that the Threshold shall ever be a wall against the night.⁴


Ratified beneath the living Chancery on the tenth day of the Frost Moon, 3201 ATT, by the hand of Thero Délavandrelle, Grand Duke of the Colonies.


¹ The Rite of the Draught exists because one too many lords learned — after the fact — that the guest who smiled most sweetly had brought his own vintage. A single sip from the same cup tends to discourage creative hospitality.

² It has been observed, with weary resignation, that the nobility will cheerfully discard any custom older than their grandfather until the moment it might have saved their grandfather.

³ The banquet claimed nine titled heads and left seventeen widows in mourning black before dawn. The scribe who tallied the dead noted in the margin: “Poison is patient; grief is not.”

⁴ Some centuries hence, when another generation forgets the taste of treachery, the Chancery will no doubt dust off this Article once more. Until then, the Roll of the Tainted grows longer by one name every few decades — a quiet reminder that history rhymes, and often in blood.



Article 8 – Of Personhood and Sentience

Enacted in the Great Harvestide Recension of 3282 ATT to clarify the boundaries of legal personhood, drawing upon precedents set in Title VI (marriage) and the repeated necessity of distinguishing true sentient beings from mere magical simulacra or alien threats.


§A. Concerning the Legal Definition of Personhood

A being possesses full legal personhood under the Triadic Accord if it demonstrates, to the satisfaction of the Grand Duke, the Council of Nine Pillars, or a court of competent jurisdiction:

  1. Reason and understanding sufficient to comprehend rights, duties, and the consequences of actions;
  2. Free will uncompelled by enchantment, domination, or external force;
  3. The capacity and willingness to swear the Triadic Oath before witnesses and be bound by its obligations.

§B. Concerning the Grant of Personhood to Non-Standard Beings

Any creature not of the common sentient kindreds (human, elf, dwarf, gnome, halfling, orc, dragonborn, goblin, tiefling, aasimar, and other races listed in Title VI Article 2) may petition for personhood. The process requires:

  1. Swearing the Triadic Oath before the Grand Duke or a marquess in open court;
  2. Registration in the Ledger of Extraordinary Folk kept at Sequoia Bay;
  3. Issuance of the silver-orichalcum Badge of Personhood, worn visibly at all times.

Such grants are rare and granted only upon clear proof of unswerving loyalty to the Three Pillars and no inherent peril to the realm. The Magisterium must certify the absence of compulsion, domination, or alien mind-influence via truth-seeking rites.


§C. Concerning Permitted and Prohibited Categories

The following precedents, established in Title VI Article 2, guide the grant or denial of personhood:

1). Permitted upon satisfactory proof (examples):

Violation of these prohibitions in any context (marriage, contract, testimony, or claim of rights) draws the full rigour of Title IV (treason or espionage if foreign powers are involved) and magical suppression under Title III.


§D. Concerning Revocation of Personhood

Personhood granted under this Article may be revoked by the Grand Duke in open council upon evidence of betrayal of the Triadic Oath, resumption of alien compulsion, or any act that endangers the Three Pillars. Revocation returns the being to non-person status; any subsequent claim of rights is void.

Thus the Accord extends the shield of personhood generously to those who prove worthy, yet closes every door against those whose nature would steal Liberty, profane Dignity, or devour Property. May reason and free will ever mark the line between folk and monster beneath these banners.


Ratified beneath the living Chancery in the 3282nd year of the Age of the Three Thrones.


¹ It has been remarked, in the quieter corners of the Chancery, that the Ledger of Extraordinary Folk grows slowly—mostly because sphinxes are very particular about riddles, centaurs prefer running to paperwork, and the few metallic dragons who apply usually arrive with a wyrmhoard large enough to buy half the Vale outright. The clerks still sigh when a new page must be ruled.



~ Title II: Judicial Process and Forms of Trial

Of Courts, Trials, and the Modes of Justice
Established in the founding years to bring swift order to a wild land; greatly amended after the bloody duels and tavern brawls of the early decades, with final consolidation in 3282 ATT

In the Mother Isle justice moved slowly beneath marble arches; here, on a distant shore, it must be plain, swift, and fitted to frontier need. This Title sets forth the courts of the realm, the rights of the accused, the forms of trial—whether by magistrate, jury of nine, ordeal, or regulated combat—and the careful rules that keep private honour from becoming public chaos.



Article 1 – The Purpose of Justice under the Accord

The first Article of Title II, proclaimed in the Hall of Granite Oaths beneath the Ironforge Mountains on the twenty-third day of the Ember Moon, 3108 ATT. It stands as the opening declaration of intent, setting the tone for every court and every judgement in the Maldovarrian Colonies. Unaltered in wording since its first engraving on the bronze tablets, though its application has been fiercely tested and defended through plague, war, and noble intrigue.


§A. Concerning the Guiding Aims of Every Judicial Proceeding

All trials, hearings, inquests, assizes, and judgements held under the authority of the Triadic Accord shall pursue three eternal ends and no others:

No court may lawfully pursue vengeance, factional advantage, spectacle, enrichment of officers, or any private end whatever. These three aims alone justify the exercise of justice; all else is abuse.


§B. Concerning the Manner in Which Justice Must Be Administered

Every proceeding shall be conducted in a manner that is:

1). swift, so that the innocent suffer no prolonged shadow of suspicion and the guilty face no endless deferral of consequence;

2). open, held in places where the free folk may witness, hear, and—if need arise—bear record of what passes;

3). plain to the meanest understanding, expressed in clear common speech without needless Latinisms, arcane flourishes, or tangled legal cant that might obscure truth from ploughman, mariner, or apprentice alike.

Deliberate obscurity, needless delay, or closed proceedings (save in the narrow cases permitted under Title II) constitute a direct offence against the Accord itself and shall be punished as such.


§C. Concerning the Rejection of Needless Delay and Cruel Uncertainty

No magistrate, justiciar, or officer of the court may impose or permit needless delay in the hearing or determination of any cause touching Property, Liberty, or Dignity.
Cruel uncertainty—leaving a free subject to linger for seasons or years under accusation without trial, or withholding judgement after evidence has been fully heard—strikes at the very heart of the Three Pillars. Such conduct, once proven, shall subject the responsible officer to immediate suspension, forfeiture of office, and such further penalty (up to and including degradation and exile) as the High Court shall deem proportionate to the harm inflicted.


§D. Concerning the Perpetual Duty of Every Subject to Demand Plain Justice

Every subject of these realms, from the greatest marquess to the lowliest bond-servant, holds the right—and indeed the duty—to remind any court or officer of this Article whenever proceedings stray from its plain commands.

No person may be punished, fined, or otherwise disadvantaged merely for invoking the Purpose of Justice in open court. Any magistrate who takes offence at such a reminder, or who seeks to silence it, shall himself stand in violation of the Accord and answer before the next Circuit Justiciar.¹


¹ In 3142 ATT, during the height of a bitter land dispute in the Sequoian Outskirts, Magistrate Torvald Greystone grew so exasperated by a tenant farmer’s repeated polite recitation of this Article that he ordered the man gagged with his own cloak. The farmer’s brother carried word to the circuit rider; Greystone was stripped of his bench within the fortnight, fined the full value of the disputed holding (which was then granted outright to the tenant), and required to spend a full year labouring as a common field-hand on the very land he had tried to seize. The small granite marker erected at the edge of that field still bears the carved words: “He forgot that justice speaks plainly. The ploughman remembered.” The tale is told with quiet satisfaction in every colonial tavern where farmers gather.



Article 2 – Courts and Magistrates

Enacted in the original Accord of 3108 ATT to establish a workable hierarchy of justice amid the scattered frontier settlements and vast empty marches of Tessix. Expanded during the Great Harvestide Recension of 3282 ATT to clarify the respective powers of hedge knights, barons, and circuit justiciars after repeated jurisdictional disputes during the aftermath of the Flameclaw Rampage and the Defense of BrightHearth.


§A. Concerning the Appointment and Duty of Magistrates in Chartered Settlements

Every chartered town, city, borough, or market settlement within the Maldovarrian Colonies shall maintain at least one standing magistrate, appointed by patent under the hand and seal of the Grand Duke or, in his absence or delegation, by the reigning Earl or Earless of the shire in which the settlement lies.
The magistrate shall hold office during good behaviour, may be removed only for proven misconduct or incapacity by the Circuit Justiciar or the High Court, and shall sit regularly in open court to hear and determine all causes of lesser degree arising within the settlement’s bounds or among its freemen.
No settlement may lawfully deny or delay the appointment of such a magistrate once its charter has been granted and the population exceeds three hundred souls of age to bear arms.


§B. Concerning Justice in the Wilds, upon the Roads, and in Unchartered Lands

In the wild marches, along the king’s highways, in unchartered hundreds, or in any place distant from a chartered settlement’s courthouse, any knight duly sworn to uphold the Triadic Accord, any hedge knight bearing letters patent of authority from the Chancery, or any commissioned officer of the Colonial Levy acting in lawful patrol may sit as magistrate pro tempore for all minor causes.

Minor causes include petty theft, simple affray, breach of market peace, trespass without damage to freehold, drunken brawls not resulting in maiming, and other like offences that do not touch life, limb, freehold tenure, hereditary honour, or the sacred Three Pillars themselves.
Such summary justice shall be swift, public where possible, and recorded in a small ledger carried by the officer; the judgement may impose fines not exceeding ten silver crowns, stocks for no more than three days, or labour service not exceeding one month, but never corporal punishment beyond flogging of not more than twelve lashes, nor imprisonment beyond thirty days.


§C. Concerning the Reservation of Great Causes

Great causes—those touching high treason, murder of a lord or lady, attainder of blood, rape, arson of a dwelling, piracy upon the high seas, trafficking with fiends or malevolent extraplanar intelligences, unlicensed mind-domination, chattel slavery, or any crime that directly assaults Property, Liberty, or Dignity in their essence—shall be reserved exclusively to courts of higher dignity.

Such matters shall be heard in the first instance by:

1). the local Baron or Baroness of the barony in which the offence occurred, sitting with a jury of nine if the accused demands it;

2). the reigning Earl or Earless of the shire, upon appeal or removal from the baron’s court; or

3). in cases of the utmost gravity—where the crime threatens the safety of the realm, involves a peer of the realm, or strikes at the Accord itself—the matter shall be expedited directly to the High Court of Sequoia Bay, or to a special assize convened and presided over by a marquess of the shire or by the Grand Duke in person.

No lesser magistrate, hedge knight, or levy officer may lawfully hear, judge, or impose sentence in a great cause; any attempt to do so shall constitute usurpation of justice and shall be punished as a grave contempt against the Accord, carrying forfeiture of office, degradation, and possible attainder of blood.¹


¹ The most notorious usurpation occurred in 3179 ATT when Hedge Knight Sir Draven Blackthorn (no relation to the infamous sheriff of earlier years) presumed to try a local baron’s son for murder of a tenant upon a lonely road in the Frostshade Highlands. Blackthorn sentenced the youth to hanging without jury or appeal. Word reached Marquess Elorin Storvalenne within days; Blackthorn was attainted, stripped of his knighthood, and hanged from the very tree he had used for the unlawful execution. The small iron plaque nailed to the trunk reads: “He presumed to wear the robes of greater men. The rope remembered his measure.” The tale is still recounted to new hedge knights with a certain grim relish, usually accompanied by the advice to “ride on and fetch a proper bench when the blood runs red.”



Article 3 – Forms of Trial Lawfully Permitted

When a soul stands accused and pleads not guilty, the court shall offer one of the four ancient and approved forms of proof here following, according to the gravity of the charge and the will of the parties:


§A. Concerning Trials by Jury of Nine


§B. Concerning Trials by Combat


§C. Concerning Magical Truth-Seeking


§D. Concerning Gladiatorial Combat as Punishment
A person convicted of a capital or felonious crime may, upon sentencing, petition the presiding magistrate for a Trial by Combat as a final appeal to the Sovereign Architect’s judgment.



Article 4 – Order of Preference



Article 5 – Public Nature of Justice

All trials save those touching state secrets shall be held in the open air or in a public hall, so that any free subject may bear witness. Secret courts are forbidden under pain of derogation of the magistrate’s office.



Article 6 – Of the Right of Appeal and the Chain of Mercy in Capital Cases

Enacted in the Great Harvestide Recension of 3282 ATT, that no soul condemned to death or the arena shall perish without the chance to climb the ladder of justice, yet neither shall the realm be paralyzed by endless pleas.

§A. Concerning the General Right of Appeal
From any judgement of a local magistrate, appeal lies first to the provincial assize.
From the provincial assize, final appeal lies to the High Court at Sequoia Bay or to the Grand Duke in person.
All appeals must be lodged within thirty days of judgement, and no stay of execution is automatic save in cases of death or arena condemnation as provided below.

§B. Concerning Pronouncement of Death or Arena Condemnation
Death sentences and condemnations to the arena may be pronounced only by:

§C. Concerning Waiver of Combat and Truth-Seeking
The chain of appeal set forth in §D below applies only if the accused has:

§D. Concerning the Chain of Mercy
If sentenced to death or the arena by a Viscount or by a Jury of Nine, the condemned has two fortnights from pronouncement to:

Should the Baron uphold the sentence, the condemned may again seek warrantage from two nobles of rank higher than Baron (Count/Countess or above) and appeal to the Count at their next quarterly court.

The chain continues upward (Marquess, then Grand Duke) with the same requirement of warrantage from two nobles of rank higher than the current judge.

At each level the appeal must be heard at the next quarterly high court unless grave cause (active war, plague, minority of the judge) prevents it, in which case the condemned remains held under stay of execution until the court can sit.

§E. Concerning Automatic Stay and Finality
Sentences of death or arena condemnation are automatically stayed pending the full chain of appeal, provided the condemned actively pursues warrantage and appeal at each level within the two-fortnight window. Failure to do so lifts the stay, and execution proceeds without further delay.
No appeal lies from the Grand Duke’s decision; his word is final in all matters touching life and death.

Thus justice ascends the feudal ladder when the condemned seeks mercy, yet the realm is not paralyzed by endless delay. The Three Pillars are served: Dignity in the right to be heard by one’s betters, Liberty in the chance to escape the axe, Property in the preservation of order that protects all holdings from the chaos of unchecked vengeance.

May the chain of warrantage prove short for the innocent and long for the guilty, and may the Grand Duke’s mercy be as rare as it is weighty.

Ratified beneath the living Chancery in the 3282nd year of the Age of the Three Thrones.

¹ It has been remarked, in the quieter corners of the Chancery, that the two-fortnight window is generous enough to allow a clever man to find a warranter, but short enough that only the truly innocent (or the truly well-connected) ever manage it. The scribe who first penned the clause is said to have added, in very small letters, “Better a fortnight too few than a realm too long without justice.”

² Some condemned have been known to spend their two fortnights not seeking warrantage, but attempting to charm, bribe, or threaten a knight into vouching for them. The Chancery keeps a small ledger of such attempts, bound in plain leather and labelled simply “Lessons in Irony.” It is not for public reading.



Article 7 – Of Private Duels of Honour and the Right of Dignity


Be it known that in these frontier realms, where swift justice must often ride beside mercy, and where the tongue may wound as deeply as any blade, the ancient right of trial by duel endures as a solemn and regulated path whereby free subjects may seek redress for injuries to honor, name, blood, or lineage that fall short of capital treason or murder most foul.

Whereas the Pillar of Dignity will not suffer a free subject’s honor to be trodden under foot without redress, yet the realm will not be bled white by every hot word spoken in tavern or hall, the Accord regulates the ancient custom of the duel as follows:


§1. Concerning The Right of Challange

Any person of free and lawful status, whether noble, commoner, or freed bondsman, may lawfully challenge another of equal or lesser station to a trial by duel over any matter of grave personal honor, public defamation of good name, false accusation of cowardice or treachery, breach of sworn word in matters not touching the Crown’s peace, or any non-capital wrong that strikes at the heart of dignity or lineage. No challenge may be issued for trivial causes, petty quarrels of coin alone, or matters already adjudged by a court of competent jurisdiction.

Therefore, any free subject whose honor has been gravely impugned by word, deed, or public slight may demand satisfaction by single combat, provided the insult touches the Pillar of Dignity and cannot be mended by apology or restitution.


§2. Concerning the Declaration of Stakes

The challenger, upon issuing formal challenge before a magistrate or hedge knight of lawful authority, shall openly declare the stakes of the contest. These may be:

The magistrate shall grant leave for a duel to the death only upon clear and weighty cause, to wit:

No magistrate may withhold leave where both parties consent in open court, nor may any magistrate compel a lethal duel against the will of either party.


Amendment to Title II, Article 7 §2; Concerning the Cooling of Tempers

enacted upon the twenty-third day of Rainspire in the year 3271 ATT, following the Midnight Rashford–Vandermere affair, in which two young lords of House Rashford and House Vandermere dueled at once over an insult given at supper and both perished before dawn, leaving two widows and three orphaned children

No duel may be fought upon the same day the challenge is formally issued before a magistrate or hedge knight of lawful authority.

The presiding magistrate shall, on the day following the challenge, offer mediation or binding arbitration in the presence of both parties, their seconds, and such witnesses as they may bring. Many an insult once spoken in the heat of wine and candlelight has been honourably withdrawn over a quiet cup once tempers have slept and the light of a new day revealed the folly of the quarrel.

Should either party still insist upon the duel after this mandatory night’s pause, the magistrate shall record their renewed and sober consent in open court, with witnesses attesting. The contest shall be set no sooner than the following dawn, that heated blood may cool, rash words be reconsidered, and no man may later claim he acted solely in the fury of the moment. This cooling period stands as an inviolable safeguard of the Triadic Accord’s first pillar of Dignity, ensuring that honour is defended by deliberate will rather than fleeting passion.


Amendment to Title II, Article 7 §2; Concerning Sobriety of Honour

enacted upon the fifteenth day of Harvestmere in the year 3274 ATT, following the lamentable death of Ser Alfric Thornhill of House Thornhill, who slew his own cousin while both were deep in their cups after a wedding feast in Quillbrooke Heights

No duellist may enter the lists while visibly drunk or under the influence of wine, ale, spirit, poppy milk, dreamweed, or any other mind-bending substance, whether taken by draught, pipe, or spell.

The magistrate or appointed arbiter shall examine both parties before the contest begins. Should either appear impaired—whether by unsteady gait, slurred speech, bloodshot eye, or other manifest sign—the magistrate may postpone the duel until sobriety is restored or declare immediate forfeiture by the impaired party. In such case the impaired challenger loses the right to press the matter further, and the challenged stands absolved without stain upon their honour.

This provision guards the second pillar of Liberty, that no man’s will should be clouded when he hazards life or good name.


§3. Concerning the Choice of Form, Conditions and the Appointment of the Arbiter of Honour

a) The challenged party holds the sacred right to elect the form, weapons, place, and hour of the contest, subject always to the presiding magistrate’s inviolable duty to forbid any choice that is manifestly unjust, deliberately suicidal, or so contrived as to mock the solemnity of honour itself. Thus may the challenged decree:

Magical duels are permitted only to spellcasters of comparable circle, under the direct oversight of the Sequoia Bay Magisterium; no spell forbidden by Title III, Article 4 may be loosed. Aerial duels demand the written consent of each mount’s master and proof that both beasts are sound of wind and willingly flown. Ranged duels (archery, crossbow, or arcane) shall commence back-to-back; at the Arbiter’s word the combatants advance twenty paces, wheel as one, and loose shaft or spell—no further step being permitted save to aim and fire.

The magistrate may prohibit any proposed form deemed manifestly unfair (as commanding one combatant to fight blindfolded while the other sees clearly) or perilous beyond all reason (as requiring battle atop a storm-lashed cliff at midnight). Every such prohibition shall be inscribed upon the court roll and may be appealed solely to the High Court of Sequoia Bay.

b) The rules of engagement, the conduct of the duel, and the final determination of victory shall rest with a single Arbiter of Honour mutually acceptable to both parties. The Arbiter may be drawn from any free subject of good repute: knight, magistrate, ordained priest, licensed spellcaster, or respected guildmaster.

Should the parties fail to agree upon an Arbiter within three days of the challenge being formally accepted, the presiding magistrate shall appoint a neutral Arbiter unknown personally to either duellist, chosen by lot from the roll of licensed justiciars or hedge knights then present in the settlement. The Arbiter’s word upon all points of rule, conduct, and outcome is final and binding; refusal to abide by the appointed Arbiter shall forfeit the duel and mark the refuser with public dishonour before gods and men.


§4. Concerning the Magistrate’s Counsel and Sacred Duty

It is the ancient and unbroken custom of these realms that the presiding magistrate shall, before any blades are drawn, urge the parties with all gravity and fatherly care toward the milder paths of justice: to first blood where honor may be satisfied without needless loss of life, or where the offence permits and both parties consent, to one of the comical trials long beloved of the common folk (such as combat with blunted quarterstaffs dipped in soot, greased-pig wrestling upon a muddy field, or a contest of scurrilous verse and stinging wit before a gathered crowd).

Yet the magistrate’s counsel, though earnestly given, carries no power to override a lawfully granted duel to the death once leave has been granted under §2. The urging is exhortation, not command; the final choice remains with the parties under the watchful eye of the Sovereign Architect.

The magistrate and Arbiter shall always urge the parties to accept first blood, yield, or a comical trial rather than death. Any duelist who insists upon combat to the death against the magistrate’s counsel must publicly declare before witnesses:

“I fight to the death of my own will, and hold none but myself accountable for what follows.”

Even so, death in a lawful duel remains no crime.


Amendment to Title II, Article 7; Concerning the Encouragement of Comical and Festive Trials

enacted upon the twelfth day of Frostedge in the year 3280 ATT, following the celebrated Pie Duel of Laffiro’s Champion, in which Paladin Ser Merrick Puddlejump of the Laughing Order of Laffiro was challenged to mortal combat by Harlan Groat, a furious merchant over a disputed shipment of cream tarts; the paladin immediately accepted and chose cream pies at twenty paces as his weapon of choice; the merchant tried to keep the affair grim and serious, but the sight of a diminutive holy warrior solemnly hurling pastries proved so absurd that the challenger began chuckling mid-throw, forgot his grievance entirely, and the whole affair ended in laughter, tankards of ale, and shared pie; the town of Willow’s Rest declared an impromptu festival the very next day; the merriment was so infectious that the Council of Nine Pillars added comical trials to the code, hoping laughter and merriment might one day outnumber the graves of our own sons and daughters

Duels fought by comical or non-lethal means—such as pie-fighting, rock-throwing at painted targets, drinking contests of small beer only, custard-tossing, greased-pig pursuits, verse-battles of scurrilous wit, or other harmless spectacles mutually agreed by both parties and approved by the magistrate—are especially favored by the people and shall incur only half the usual arena or square fee.

The reduced fee reflects the public delight such contests bring: crowds gather, children cheer, vendors hawk meat pies and spiced cider, and the victor is often borne through the streets upon the shoulders of laughing townsfolk. The communal half of the fee flows directly into the town chest to mend bridges, feed the deserving poor, or fund the next festival, ensuring that even merry trials benefit the common weal.

Yet the magistrate retains full authority to forbid any proposed comical form that mocks the sanctity of honor itself or is so trivial as to bring the court into ridicule. In this way the Accord balances the gravity of Dignity with the healing power of shared laughter, that the realm may sometimes satisfy honor with joy rather than blood, and that the commons may share in the resolution of noble quarrels.


§5. Concerning Comical Trials

a) Where both challenger and challenged freely consent to a comical trial, such contest may proceed under the magistrate’s supervision and blessing. These trials, long woven into the folk memory of the Colonies, serve three sacred purposes: they yield a clear and final victor so the matter may never lawfully be raised again; they offer the gathered commons honest entertainment and a day’s respite from toil; and they fill the communal coffers with coin that repairs roads, feeds orphans, and maintains the watch.

Examples of comical trials long established and approved include:

No comical trial shall be contrived so as to mock the ancient right of duel itself, nor may it be so trivial as to bring the court into ridicule. The magistrate holds final authority to forbid any proposed form that fails these tests.


§5a. Concerning the Fees and Disposition of Revenue

Every trial by duel, whether fought with edged steel or custard and swine, incurs the ordinary court fee set by the High Chancery for the year. This fee is deliberately weighty, that men and women of station may pause and weigh the cost before letting pride draw blades or pies.

In the case of a comical trial mutually agreed upon:

In this manner the comical trial remains a costly undertaking, a true deterrent to frivolous challenge, while still granting the commons both amusement and tangible benefit. Should a noble insist upon a comical form solely to evade the full burden of a sterner contest, the magistrate may—with good cause shown—decline to approve the trial and compel the parties to settle the matter by ordinary witness and evidence, or by steel if the original challenge so demanded.


§6. Outcome and Consequence

Victory in any form of trial by duel—be it to first blood, to yield, to the death, or by comical means—fully and finally settles the matter in dispute. The loser may not revive the quarrel nor seek further redress by law, blade, or word, upon pain of attainder for breach of the peace and contempt of court.

The victor may claim such token recompense as was agreed beforehand (a purse of silver, a public apology sworn before witnesses, the other’s cloak and sword as token of submission, or other like honor). In lethal duels the victor may further claim weregild in such amount as the magistrate deems just (not exceeding thrice the value of the injury claimed), together with the loser’s arms, horse, and harness as ancient right. Should the loser perish, their kin retain no right of feud against the victor, for the matter was lawfully settled beneath the gaze of heaven and the three watchful moons.


§7. Prohibition of Foul Play

No combatant—whether in earnest steel or merry custard—may employ poison, enchantment, hidden armour, weighted dice, greased boots known only to one side, or aid from without. Should such treachery be proven (by witness, magical divination, confession under truth-seeking, or manifest evidence), the guilty party forfeits all claim to victory, suffers immediate attainder of blood, and faces the full penalty of the original wrong as though no duel had taken place. The innocent party stands absolved and may claim double weregild from the traitor’s estate, together with the magistrate’s commendation before the assembled commons.


Amendment to Title II, Article 7; Concerning Magical Influence

enacted upon the ninth day of the Ember Moon in the year 3279 ATT, after it was discovered that Lady Seraphine Vaelthorne had been charmed into challenging Viscount Drayce of House Drayce, who then slew her in fair combat while she fought without true will of her own

No duelist may fight under magical influence that clouds the mind, steels the heart against rightful fear, or otherwise bends the will from its natural course.

Before the lists are entered, both parties and their seconds shall submit to examination by a licensed cleric of the Sovereign Architect or a Magisterium diviner of at least third-circle standing. The rites employed shall include detect poison, detect thoughts, zone of truth, or equivalent divinations approved by the Sequoia Bay Magisterium. Any charm, geas, compulsion, calm emotions, heroism, or similar enchantment discovered voids the duel forthwith. The offending party (or their second, should the enchantment be traced to them) shall be branded with public dishonor, forfeit any weregild or token due, and face such further penalty as the magistrate deems just under Title III or Title IV.

This safeguard protects the third pillar of Property—the property each soul holds in its own free will—and ensures that duels remain contests of true courage rather than the puppets of sorcery.


§8. Concerning Champions and Proxies

Any party may name a champion to fight in their stead, provided the champion freely accepts and is of comparable station and ability. Where one party be infirm, aged, great with child, or otherwise unable to bear arms (or pies) without manifest peril to life or honor, that party may name a champion of equal or greater station to stand in their stead. The challenged may likewise name a champion.

Two champions may not fight one another; the duel must remain personal in spirit. No commoner may stand champion for a noble, nor may any champion accept payment beyond the customary honour-gift bestowed after victory; to fight for coin is deemed base and voids the duel in its entirety.

Thus is the ancient right of trial by duel preserved in these Colonies: a path both terrible and merciful, terrible in its cost and risk, merciful in its allowance for wit and laughter when pride permits. It stands as a living reminder that honor may be defended by blade, by balance, or by a well-aimed pie—and that the commons, too, have their share in the settlement of noble quarrels. May the Sovereign Architect ever guide the hand that strikes true, whether it holds steel or a custard tart.

Where one party stands infirm through wound or lingering sickness, aged beyond the vigour of youthful arms, great with child and nearing her time, or otherwise encumbered by such frailty or affliction that to bear steel—or even the humble custard tart—would imperil life, limb, or the sacred gift of motherhood itself, that party may name a champion to stand in their stead. The champion must freely accept the charge, swear solemn oath before witnesses to fight with true heart and no base motive, and be of station and prowess comparable to the challenged, lest the duel descend into manifest inequality. The challenged may likewise name such a proxy, that honour remain balanced upon the scales of justice.

Yet two champions may never cross blades in place of their principals; the duel must ever retain its personal spirit, a contest of wills as much as weapons. No commoner may stand champion for a noble without express leave of the provincial justiciar, nor may any champion accept coin or promise of reward beyond the customary honour-gift bestowed in gratitude after victory. To fight for base payment is deemed ignoble and voids the duel in its entirety, branding both parties with public dishonour and subjecting them to such penalties as the magistrate deems meet.


§9. Concerning the Forbiddance of Gross Disparity

No duel may proceed if the presiding magistrate or the appointed Arbiter of Honour, after solemn deliberation and consultation with witnesses of good repute, judges the contest to be manifestly unequal in station, proven skill at arms, or chosen armament such that one party faces certain death, grievous maiming, or public humiliation beyond all bounds of reason and the Pillar of Dignity.

In such cases the magistrate shall not suffer the lists to be entered, but shall instead impose one or more of the following remedies: binding arbitration before the provincial justiciar, a public and sworn apology to be proclaimed in the market-square or temple precincts, or outright declaration that the challenge stands invalid and void. The challenger, having rashly hazarded a contest so ill-matched, shall bear the full ordinary court fee as penalty for presumption, together with such additional fine or labour-service as the magistrate deems just to recompense the injured party and the common weal. This provision stands as an unyielding bulwark against the tyranny of might over right, ensuring that the sacred right of duel serves justice rather than the mere caprice of the strong.


§10. Concerning the Challenging of Nobles by Commoners

A commoner, though free and of lawful status, may not issue challenge directly to one of noble blood or high station save by first petitioning the provincial justiciar in open court, setting forth in writing and under oath the grave and public insult that has wounded the Pillar of Dignity—an affront so manifest and wounding that no apology or restitution can suffice to mend it.

The justiciar, after hearing witnesses and weighing the merits, may grant leave for the challenge only where the insult strikes deep at honour, lineage, or good name and cannot otherwise be redressed. Should leave be granted, the noble may not refuse the duel without suffering public dishonour, the forfeiture of certain privileges, and the scorn of peers; yet the commoner, mindful of the vast gulf in station, skill, and armament, may name a champion of knightly or noble rank to stand in their stead, lest the contest prove manifestly unequal and fall foul of the forbiddance set forth in §9 above.


§11. Concerning the Grave and Violent Consequences of Lawful Duels

Let it be forever remembered that a duel conducted in full accordance with the forms herein set forth—whether concluded at first honest crimson, at the cry of yield, or at the bitter stroke that ends breath—carries no stain of murder upon the victor’s soul. Survivors bear no blood-guilt before the law of men or the unerring gaze of the Sovereign Architect. The kin of the fallen retain no right of feud, vendetta, or private reprisal against the victor, for the matter was lawfully submitted to single combat and resolved beneath the watchful courses of the three moons Aeloria, Thaluna, and great immovable Voris. The blood spilled in such contest is accounted the price of honour satisfied, not the crime of unlawful taking.

Should **revivify resurrection or raise dead lie within the power of clerics or mages close at hand, or known to the parties, such restoration remains the sole burden and choice of the survivor or the kin of the slain; it is neither compelled by law nor guaranteed by divine mercy, for the Architect’s will is not to be bargained or commanded. In this way the Accord tempers the ferocity of mortal pride with the solemn recognition that even lawful death carries weight eternal, and that the grave, once dug, yields no easy return.


§12. Concerning Unlawful Duels and Their Dire Penalties

Duels waged in secret shadows, without the presence and sanction of a magistrate or duly appointed Arbiter of Honour, or in open defiance of lawful prohibition, stand stripped of all protection afforded by the Triadic Accord. Such contests, when blood is not drawn to fatal issue, are deemed mere common brawling and punished accordingly under Title IV as disorderly conduct or assault upon the person. Should death result from an unlawful duel, the survivor or survivors face the full penalty prescribed for murder most foul, with no plea of honour or private grievance to shield them from the noose, the block, or the arena.

Moreover, where such illicit combat causes grave public disorder—riots in the streets, the stirring of ancient feuds between houses, or the sowing of terror among the commons—the surviving party or parties may be attainted of blood by decree of the High Court of Sequoia Bay. Their titles, lands, and honours shall be forfeit to the Crown, their heirs barred from succession for a term set by the court, and their names struck from the rolls of gentle birth. Thus does the Accord guard the peace of the realm against the reckless flame of private vengeance, declaring that no man’s pride shall unmake the common weal.


So sworn beneath the living Chancery, Harvestide 3282 ATT.

Thus is the ancient right of trial by duel preserved in these Colonies: a path both terrible and merciful, terrible in its cost and risk, merciful in its allowance for wit and laughter when pride permits. It stands as a living reminder that honor may be defended by blade, by balance, or by a well-aimed pie—and that the commons, too, have their share in the settlement of noble quarrels. So in that Dignity may be satisfied with laughter as often as with steel, and the realm profit from honor rather than graves. May the Sovereign Architect ever guide the hand that strikes true, whether it holds steel or a custard tart.



~ Title III: Of Magic and Criminal Activity


**Of the Regulation and Sanctified Practice of the Arcane and Mystical Arts **

Born of grim necessity after the Runeveil Fever of 3045–3051 ATT and the horrors of unlicensed sorcery that followed; strengthened by Magisterium oversight and the lessons of many arcane mishaps

Magic is a mighty gift and a perilous blade. Unbridled, it brought plague, madness, and ruin to the early colonies. This Title therefore requires registration and badge for all spellcasters of power, forbids certain arts outright, and places the Sequoia Bay Magisterium as guardian over the responsible use of the arcane, that wonder may flourish without catastrophe.



Article 1 – The Lawful Practice of Magic

Magic, that most ancient and sublime gift of the Sovereign Architect, is neither forbidden nor to be feared in its own nature. For it was by sword and spell alike that our forefathers carved the Colonies from the untamed wilds, drove back the shadow, and raised the first walls of Sequoia Bay against the perils of the frontier. Let no man therefore suppose that the Art itself is accursed; rather it is a trust, a double-edged blade given into the hands of mortal kind, to be wielded with reverence and restraint.

The humblest of its workings — the simple invocation of flame to light a hearth or strike down a robber, the ward that turns aside a blow, the charm that mends a broken tool or steadies a fearful heart — these lie open to every free subject of the realm. No license shall be required for the study, practice, or employment of such lesser mysteries, whether learned by diligent reading of common scrolls, granted by blood or birth, or discovered through honest trial and hardship or arcane mishap. Many a yeoman, merchant, or traveler upon the roads and pathways maintained by the lordship bears at his hip a modest wand or crystal focus, even as he bears a sword or dagger, that he may defend his life, his kin, and his lawful goods against sudden assault, beast, or outlaw. Such defensive use of the lesser Art is not merely permitted but commended, for the Architect Himself has endowed His children with the means to preserve that which He has given them.

Yet forasmuch as a single whispered syllable or traced sigil drawn from the deeper and more potent secrets of the Art can, in the space of a heartbeat, shatter property, enslave the will, corrupt the memory, or lay waste to the dignity and freedom of a man more swiftly and surely than any steel, the Accord doth place clear, solemn, and necessary bounds upon the greater workings of magic. Those arcane mysteries whose power exceeds the common reach — whose very utterance demands knowledge, discipline, and moral surety beyond the attainments of the untrained — shall be practiced only by those who have been examined, sworn, and licensed by the Magisterium of Sequoia Bay (or by such other authority as the Crown or the Nine Pillars shall in due time recognize). No unlicensed person shall presume to invoke, bind, or command forces of the higher order, upon pain of the penalties hereafter declared.

Thus is the balance preserved: the common folk shall not be disarmed of the modest defenses granted them by nature and learning, yet the realm shall be guarded against the unchecked might that could topple thrones, unravel minds, or unmake the very order of society. In this wise the Triadic Accord honors both the freedom of the subject and the safety of the whole.



Article 2 – Licensing and Registration


§A. Concerning the Mandatory Oath and Registration of Those Who Wield the Deeper Mysteries

Whereas the lesser workings of the Art remain the rightful inheritance of every free subject, the greater invocations—those potent rites whose very utterance can rend the veil between worlds, bind the wills of men, summon forces beyond mortal ken, or unmake the natural order—demand solemn oversight lest they become instruments of tyranny, ruin, or the unsealing of ancient evils.

Therefore be it enacted that every soul dwelling within the bounds of the Maldovarrian Colonies who possesses the capacity to invoke, command, or shape magics of the higher order (being those workings whose power surpasses the common reach of hedge-lore, innate gift, or simple study) shall, upon completing one full turning of the moons within these realms, present themselves before the Sequoia Bay Magisterium or before such provincial chapter or recognized authority as the Magisterium shall in its wisdom appoint.

There the aspirant shall undergo rigorous examination of both skill and conscience. The examiners, drawn from the ranks of the Magisterium’s most seasoned adepts, shall test the candidate’s command of the arcane currents, the purity of their intent, and their steadfast adherence to the Three Pillars of Property, Liberty, and Dignity. Only upon satisfactory proof of competence, moral rectitude, and solemn oath to uphold the Triadic Accord in all its provisions shall the license be granted.

The license, sealed with the sigil of the Magisterium and bearing the Great Duke’s own mark, shall be renewed each year upon the anniversary of its issuance. Renewal requires fresh attestation of good conduct, demonstration that no forbidden practice has been pursued, and payment of the accustomed fee (such fee to be modest, lest the Art become the preserve of the wealthy alone).


§B. Concerning the Consequences of Failure to Register or of Unlicensed Practice

Any person who, being capable of the greater workings, shall wilfully neglect or refuse to register within the appointed time, or who shall thereafter practise such magics without current licence, commits a grave felony against the peace and safety of the realm.

The penalties for such offences shall be graduated according to the gravity and repetition of the breach, as follows:

1). Admonition and Fine (First Offence): A fine of one hundred golden saints (or the equivalent value in lawful coin, plate, or goods) shall be levied forthwith. All foci, grimoires, crystals, rods, staves, and other instruments of the Art then in the offender’s possession shall be confiscated and delivered into the keeping of the Sequoia Bay Magisterium. The offender shall stand before the assembled Magisterium in the Great Hall of Sequoia Bay to receive public admonition and to swear anew upon the Triadic Accord that they will henceforth submit to lawful oversight. The fine must be paid within thirty days of judgement; failure to pay shall double the amount and add one year of labour upon the royal roads or in the mines of the Verdant Steppes.

2). Banishment (Second Offence or Endangerment): Should the offender persist in defiance after the first admonition, or should the unlicensed practice have endangered the life, liberty, or lawful property of any subject, they shall be banished from the Delphian Vale and all lands east of the Ironforge Mountains for a term of seven years. During this period their name shall be inscribed in the Book of the Unlicensed and proclaimed at every market cross and temple gate within the Colonies.

3). Perpetual Exile (Persistent or Repeated Defiance): Continued refusal to submit to the law shall warrant perpetual exile beyond the frontiers of mercy, with forfeiture of all lands, titles, honours, and goods held within the Colonies. The offender’s name shall be struck from all rolls of freemen and proclaimed as one cast beyond the protection of the Triadic Accord.

4). Condemnation to the Arena or the Block (Most Heinous Cases): Where unlicensed workings have directly caused death, compelled the innocent against their will, summoned powers of the Sundering Discord, or threatened the common weal on a scale that might imperil a town, village, or march, the offender shall be condemned to the arena or the block. Such judgement requires the unanimous voice of a special tribunal composed of three senior adepts of the Magisterium, two justices of the High Court of Sequoia Bay, and one representative appointed by the Grand Duke himself. No appeal lies from this sentence save by direct petition to the Grand Duke, whose mercy is sovereign but rarely extended in matters touching the safety of the realm.

5). Commutation for Indigence: Should the offender prove truly indigent (as attested by oath and witness before a magistrate), the fine of one hundred golden saints may be commuted to a term of service equal in value, to be discharged under the eye of the Magisterium in such labour or supervised study as shall mend the offender’s understanding of duty and restraint.

Thus the Triadic Accord strikes the measured path: swift punishment for the wilful, graduated severity for the persistent, and the ultimate blade only for those whose actions imperil the very foundations of ordered life beneath these banners. In this wise the Colonies guard the gift of the Art while preserving the freedom of the humble and the safety of all.


§C. Concerning License Suspension and Revocation

A license to practice the greater workings of the Art is no indefeasible right, nor an inheritance of blood or birthright, but a solemn trust bestowed by the realm upon those deemed worthy. It remains revocable at need, that the gift of arcane might may never become a scourge upon the innocent or a weapon turned against the sacred order of the Triadic Accord. (It is worth noting, in passing, that several adepts have learned to their sorrow that the Magisterium’s idea of “worthy” tends to exclude those who refer to their license as “a licence to be impressive at parties.”)

The Sequoia Bay Magisterium holds authority to suspend or wholly revoke any licence upon clear and sufficient evidence of the following grave offences:

Upon revocation, the offender’s license shall be struck from the rolls, their name inscribed in the Book of the Revoked, and proclamation made at every chapter-house, market cross, and temple gate throughout the Colonies. All foci, grimoires, and instruments previously held under license shall be forfeit to the Magisterium. The offender shall be barred forever from seeking re-licensure, and any future attempt to practice the greater workings shall be treated as a fresh felony under §2. (The Book of the Revoked is said to be the only tome in the Magisterium’s library that no one ever tries to steal.)

3). Right of Petition: An offender whose license has been revoked may, after the passage of seven full years and upon demonstration of sincere repentance and reformed life, petition the Grand Duke for restoration of rights. Such petitions are rarely granted and require the unanimous recommendation of the Magisterium. (It is widely whispered that the last successful petition involved a mage who spent the intervening years quietly raising prize-winning pumpkins rather than attempting to raise the dead.)

Thus the Triadic Accord maintains the delicate balance: the gifted shall not be shackled beyond necessity, yet the realm shall sleep secure in the knowledge that none may wield the deeper fires of creation without solemn vow, watchful oversight, and the ever-present threat of righteous withdrawal. In this wise the Colonies honour both the divine endowment of the Art and the enduring safety of every soul beneath these banners—while quietly ensuring that no one ever again tries to charm the Grand Duke’s favourite cat into performing tricks at court.



Article 3 – The Aggravation of Crime by Magic

Enacted in the original Accord of 3108 ATT amid the lingering terror of the Runeveil Fever and the first chaotic outbreaks of unlicensed hedge-magic in the frontier camps. Substantially expanded during the 3282 Great Harvestide Recension after a series of high-profile trials revealed how readily the Art could turn petty offences into threats against the very Three Pillars. The article balances frontier pragmatism with stern warning: magic is a gift of the Sovereign Architect, but when bent to crime it becomes a blade turned against ordered society itself.


§A. Concerning the Circumstances Constituting Aggravation

Any crime committed through the agency of magic, or in any wise aided, concealed, facilitated, or made more grievous thereby, shall be deemed a compounded offence under the Triadic Accord.

The ordinary penalty prescribed for the underlying misdeed shall be increased by one full degree: from fine to flogging, from flogging to hard labor in the mines or ironwood groves, from hard labor to imprisonment in the common gaol or the Iron Oubliette, from imprisonment to death by hanging, beheading, or consignment to the arena—unless the magic employed was both lawfully licensed by the Sequoia Bay Magisterium and used in manifest self-defence or in the direct protection of Property, Liberty, or Dignity.
Among the acts held to aggravate an offence (the list being illustrative and not exhaustive) are:

1). Any invocation, however modest, to compel the will of another, to cloud memory, to extract false testimony, or to induce silence.

2). The employment of the Art to conceal evidence, to alter the appearance of a scene, to transport the fruits of crime beyond lawful reach, or to erase tracks or traces.

3). The invocation of flame, force, lightning, acid, or other destructive energies beyond what is strictly necessary for the immediate defence of life or limb.

4). The summoning or binding of any entity not native to this world—elemental, fey, fiend, or otherwise—save under the strictest magisterial warrant countersigned by a licensed archmage of the Magisterium.

5). The deployment of illusion, glamour, enchantment, or suggestion to deceive a magistrate, jury, witness, or officer of the court.

6). Any necromantic interference with the dead, the dying, or the recently departed, even when the underlying crime be but petty theft or simple trespass.

7). The spreading of disease, blight, rune-compulsion, or any contagion forbidden by the Runeveil Edict in furtherance of any unlawful purpose.

(It has been observed, with weary regularity, that the hedge-sorcerer who “merely encourages” a reluctant witness to speak truthfully often finds the witness suddenly eager to confess to half the unsolved crimes in the shire—thereby transforming a modest case of fraud into a most inconvenient capital matter for everyone involved.)


§B. Concerning the Determination by the Court

The court shall inquire whether magic was employed and, if so, whether it aggravated the offence. Evidence may include:

Where genuine doubt remains after full inquiry, the benefit shall be given to the accused—save in cases touching the safety of the realm, the integrity of the Three Pillars, or the lives of many, wherein the court may presume aggravation unless the contrary be proven by clear and convincing magical testimony from a Magisterium-certified practitioner.


§C. Concerning Exceptions and Mitigations

No aggravation shall apply where the magic used was:


It is a truth long acknowledged in the quieter corners of the courtroom that the hedge-wizard who firebolts a highwayman in honest defence seldom finds himself before the bench, whereas the licensed enchanter who charms the same highwayman’s horse into throwing him is likely to discover that the court takes a dim view of “creative equestrian persuasion.”)_


§D. Concerning Relation to Other Provisions

This Article shall be read in harmony with Article 2 of this Title (concerning the criminal misuse of the Art) and with the capital offences enumerated in Article 4.
Where an act is already capital by reason of its magical nature—such as unlicensed summoning of fiends, necromantic trafficking from contagion zones, or mind-domination without consent—no further degree of penalty is possible; the offender is simply hastened to the block, the gallows, or the arena with all due solemnity and without benefit of further escalation.


Thus does the Triadic Accord ensure that the Art, intended as a servant of order and justice under the Sovereign Architect, shall never become the willing accomplice of the lawless—save, of course, in those regrettable cases where the accomplice proves rather more competent than the principal, to the eternal embarrassment of all concerned. In this wise the Colonies preserve both the majesty of the law and the quiet dignity of those who, on occasion, merely wished to light their pipe with a well-placed spark.¹


¹ The most celebrated (and quietly amusing) application of this final clause occurred in 3261 ATT when Hedge-Mage Tobin Quickfingers of Wealdrift Shire used a perfectly licensed cantrip to ignite his pipe during a roadside robbery—only for the flame to leap to the brigand’s cloak. The robber fled in flames; Quickfingers was commended by the local magistrate for “commendable economy of effort” and sent home with a stern warning to aim lower next time. The incident is still cited in chancery lectures with the dry observation that “sometimes the Art chooses its own target—and the court is grateful.”



Article 4 – Crimes Utterly Forbidden by Spell or Art

There are certain workings of the Art so abhorrent, so contrary to the will of the Sovereign Architect and the Three Pillars upon which all ordered life depends, that no licence, no circumstance, no plea of dire necessity, no claim of scholarly curiosity, and no whisper of “it was only once” can ever render them lawful within the bounds of the Maldovarrian Colonies. These are not mere excesses of power, nor aggravated felonies to be weighed against mitigating factors; they are offences against the very architecture of creation itself—acts that profane the divine image stamped upon the free mind, desecrate the quiet rest ordained for the departed, tear at the veil that keeps the Sundering Discord from spilling into mortal lands, mock the sacred chain of authority that binds subject to sovereign, and strike poison into the roots from which the realm draws its daily bread.

Such crimes do not merely threaten individuals; they endanger the possibility of civilisation enduring beneath these banners. They invite the slow unraveling of trust, the creeping return of ancient horrors, the corruption of fields that feed thousands, and the substitution of false faces for true command until no man can be certain whom he serves or what voice speaks with rightful power. The Triadic Accord therefore declares these acts utterly forbidden, standing outside the ordinary gradations of justice. Where lesser misuses of magic may be tempered by licence, intent, or circumstance, these stand as capital in their essence—no appeal to mercy, no benefit of clergy, no commutation for good behaviour or noble birth can avail the offender. The realm answers them with steel, with fire, and with the final silence of the block or the arena, that the living may remember and the dead may rest undisturbed.

The offences enumerated hereafter are capital wherever committed within the Colonies, whether in the crowded streets of Sequoia Bay, the lonely barrows of the Frostshade Highlands, the open fields of the Sequoian Outskirts, or the shadowed vales of the Verdant Steppes. No licence excuses them; no magisterial warrant shields them; no plea that “the spell slipped” or “the fiend was perfectly charming” will be entertained. The headsman’s axe falls without hesitation, and the name of the condemned is struck from every roll, that posterity may forget they ever walked beneath these banners—save perhaps as a cautionary tale told by firelight, when children ask why certain doors must never be opened and certain words must never be spoken.

(It has been remarked, in the quieter corners of taverns and the more private chambers of the Magisterium, that magic is a gift of such staggering potential that it sometimes seems the Architect included it chiefly to test whether mortals could resist the temptation to be impressively stupid with it. The offences listed below represent the moments when that test is failed most spectacularly—and the realm, with weary pragmatism, responds accordingly.)


§A. Concerning the Enchantment or Domination of the Free Will

To bind, compel, overwrite, or in any wise steal the sovereign will of any free subject without prior written consent—penned in the hand of the one to be affected, witnessed by two freemen of good repute and unblemished character, and sealed before a magistrate of the realm—is an abomination that strikes at the very heart of Liberty, the second and most sacred of the Three Pillars. No charm, no geas, no suggestion subtle or overt, no domination of mind or memory, no enchantment that twists thought or deed into another’s service shall ever be lawful without this solemn safeguard. The free mind is the Architect’s own image in mortal clay; to usurp it is to profane that image and to commit treason against the divine order itself.

The law admits no excuse of “mere persuasion” or “temporary guidance.” Even the lightest whisper of compulsion, if proven by scrying, truth-seeking, or the testimony of the victim once restored, stands as capital. The written consent must name the exact nature and duration of the effect, and any deviation from its terms renders the act unlawful from the first syllable spoken.

(It has been observed, with a certain grim amusement in the taverns of Sequoia Bay, that the victim of a well-crafted geas will often perform the commanded act with alarming enthusiasm—right up until the moment the spell breaks and they realize they have spent three days believing they were a duck. The court finds this less entertaining than the offender evidently did, and has been known to remark dryly that if ducks could pay fines, the realm might be richer for the experience.)


§B. Concerning the Raising or Animation of the Dead within Settled Lands

No person, whether licensed archmage or desperate hedge-necromancer, shall raise, bind, command, or in any wise animate the dead as undead—that is, as corpse animated by profane necromantic force into zombie, skeleton, wight, ghoul, or any other form of restless unlife—within the limits of any chartered town, shire, village, market cross, highway, or common land held by the Crown or its subjects. The dead have earned their rest under the solemn gaze of Corvethia, Steward of Passage and Remembrance; to disturb that rest with forbidden arts is to invite horrors that linger long after the necromancer’s head has decorated a pike above the town gate. The sanctity of burial grounds, crypts, barrows, family vaults, and even the unmarked graves of travelers lost upon the road must be preserved, lest the realm become a shadowed land where the living fear to walk at night and the dead walk in their stead.

This prohibition embraces every working that calls a spirit back into corrupted flesh, binds a shade to unwilling service, rekindles the spark of unlife for any purpose—be it labor in field or forge, warfare upon the border, interrogation of secrets carried to the grave, or the morbid curiosity of scholars who should know better. To compel the dead to toil as mindless thralls is a double crime: it violates the sanctity of death ordained by the Architect, and it constitutes chattel slavery of the most heinous kind, for the dead cannot consent, cannot bargain, and cannot be freed. Such an act stands condemned under Title VIII, Article 1 (Absolute Prohibition of Chattel Slavery) and is therefore capital in its own right, quite apart from the necromantic offence.

The law draws a clear and inviolable distinction between this profane animation of the dead and the sacred rite of restoration to true life, whereby a cleric or holy servant of the Architect, acting in accordance with divine grace, calls a recently slain friend, ally, or innocent back to the fullness of mortal existence—whole in body, mind, and soul—through the miracle commonly called revivify, raise dead, resurrection, or true resurrection. Such acts of restoration are not merely permitted but commended when performed in mercy, with proper reverence, and without coercion or profit. They honour the Architect’s gift of mortality as a path to renewal rather than an endless prison of decay.

Exceptions to the prohibition on undead animation exist only under the strictest writ of the Sequoia Bay Magisterium countersigned by the Grand Duke’s own hand and seal, and then only for:

Any other raising of undead, even for the most “practical” purpose—ploughing a field, guarding a barn, fetching water, or sweeping a hearth—remains utterly forbidden and capital. The dead are not servants to be hired or owned; they are souls who have passed beyond the veil, and the realm will not suffer them to be dragged back as chattels.

The occasional apprentice who “only wanted to ask Great-Uncle Mortimer where he hid the family silver” tends to discover, usually around the third bite, that Great-Uncle Mortimer is no longer interested in conversation and is, in fact, very interested in lunch. The Magisterium keeps a small but growing collection of such cautionary skulls on a shelf labelled “Educational Aids.” They are dusted weekly, and visiting novices are required to read the accompanying plaque aloud before receiving their first license. It is said the skulls occasionally nod in agreement.


§C. Concerning the Summoning of Fiends, Devils, or Yugoloths without Sovereign Warrant

To open any gate, speak any true name, draw any circle of binding, or conclude any pact, bargain, or communion with fiends, devils, yugoloths, or any other servants and emissaries of the Sundering Discord within the bounds of the Colonies requires the Grand Duke’s own hand and seal upon a warrant countersigned by the High Magister and the Lord Justiciar. All other summonings, whether for knowledge, power, petty vengeance, or idle curiosity, are high treason against the realm, the Architect, and every soul dwelling beneath these banners.

The law recognizes no “accidental” summoning, no “temporary consultation,” and no plea that the entity was “perfectly polite and only slightly infernal.” The very act of calling such a being into the mortal plane risks tearing the fragile veil that separates ordered creation from endless discord; to do so without the highest authorization is to invite catastrophe upon the innocent and to offer mockery to the divine hierarchy itself.

It is a truth seldom acknowledged in polite society that the average devil is a far better contract lawyer than the average hedge-wizard. Many a soul has been lost because the fine print was written in a language the summoner had not bothered to learn—usually Infernal, which is notoriously difficult to read when one’s hands are shaking and the room is filling with brimstone. The Magisterium has been heard to remark that if devils charged by the hour, the treasury might finally balance.

These three prohibitions stand as the iron core of Article 4: acts so grave that the realm will not suffer them under any color of law or mercy. The court shall proceed to sentence with all due solemnity, and the headsman’s axe—or the arena’s sand—shall answer where words and warnings have failed. In this wise the Colonies guard not only their laws, but the very possibility of a world where free will, quiet rest, and the absence of infernal solicitors remain more than distant dreams.


§D. Concerning the Summoning of Forbidden Entities without Sovereign Warrant

To open any gate, speak any true name, draw any circle of binding, or conclude any pact, bargain, or communion with entities of manifest peril to the mortal order within the bounds of the Maldovarrian Colonies requires the Grand Duke’s own hand and seal upon a warrant countersigned by the High Magister and the Lord Justiciar. All other summonings of such beings, whether for knowledge, power, petty vengeance, idle curiosity, or any other purpose, constitute high treason against the realm, the Sovereign Architect, and every soul dwelling beneath these banners.

The law recognizes no “accidental” summoning, no “temporary consultation,” and no plea that the entity was “perfectly polite and only slightly dangerous.” The very act of calling such beings into the mortal plane risks tearing the fragile veil that separates ordered creation from chaos, madness, or endless discord; to do so without the highest authorization is to invite catastrophe upon the innocent and to offer mockery to the divine hierarchy itself.

1). Aberrations: The summoning or conjuration of aberrations—those mind-warping entities of alien thought and incomprehensible geometry born of the Far Realm or its bleeding edges—is utterly forbidden without sovereign warrant. Be they gibbering mouthers, nothics, grells, intellect devourers, beholders, or any other horror whose very presence frays sanity and reality, their appearance within the Colonies is an act of war against the mind and the natural order. Such beings carry no allegiance to the Sundering Discord yet pose an equal or greater threat through sheer wrongness. No license excuses their calling; no claim of scholarly curiosity avails.¹

2). Fiends, Devils, Demons, and Yugoloths: To summon fiends, devils, demons and yugoloths, or any direct servants and emissaries of the Sundering Discord requires the Grand Duke’s warrant as above. The prohibition embraces every layer of the infernal hierarchy, from the least imp to the greatest archdevil. The law admits no exception for “minor” fiends; even the smallest emissary of the Lower Planes carries the taint of rebellion against the Architect.²

3). Familiars and Personal Bonds: The binding of a familiar spirit or the temporary calling of minor entities not aligned with the Sundering Discord or the Far Realm—such as fey sprites, neutral air wisps, small water elementals to aid drought-stricken villages, fire motes for a smith’s forge, or the common arcane companions (owls, cats, ravens, pseudodragons, and the like)—falls outside this prohibition and is treated as a lawful exercise under Article 1 (lesser workings) or Article 2 (licensed practice), provided the entity is of good or neutral disposition and the summoning causes no lasting harm or planar breach.³

However, imps and quasits—being minor fiends—may never be bound as familiars without special exception. Any mage who possesses or wishes to bind such a creature must present it for immediate inspection before the Sequoia Bay Magisterium or a recognized provincial chapter. Upon satisfactory demonstration that the familiar is bound under strict arcane compulsion, poses no independent threat, and serves only its master (and not its infernal patron), it may be registered in the Book of Licensed Familiars with an annual notation and modest fee. Failure to present and register an imp or quasit familiar within thirty days of binding is a felony punishable under §B of this Title.

4). Elementals: The calling of elementals of greater power—whether fire, water, earth, or air beings of significant strength and autonomy—requires not only the standard arcane licence but an additional elemental conjuration endorsement issued by the Magisterium. This endorsement demands proof of mastery over binding circles, knowledge of containment protocols, and a solemn oath never to loose such a being upon settled lands without dire necessity and magisterial oversight. Unendorsed summoning of elementals capable of significant destruction (such as those that could raze a village or flood a valley) is a felony punishable by fine, license suspension, and (for repeat or destructive offences) banishment or arena condemnation under §B of this Title.⁴

5). Undead Spirits: The deliberate summoning or conjuration of undead spirits—whether as wraiths, spectres, ghosts bound to service, banshees, or any other restless shade called back from the beyond—is utterly forbidden within the Colonies, save under the same triple-sealed warrant required for fiends and aberrations. Such acts profane the passage overseen by Corvethia and constitute a direct offence against the natural order. Any mage or necromancer who performs this working, even for purposes of interrogation or scholarly research, faces the penalties of high treason as set forth in this section.

It is a truth seldom acknowledged in polite society that the average devil is a far better contract Barrister or Solicitor than the average hedge-wizard. Many a soul has been lost because the fine print was written in a language the summoner had not bothered to learn—usually Infernal, which is notoriously difficult to read when one’s hands are shaking and the room is filling with brimstone. The Magisterium has been heard to remark that if devils charged by the hour, the treasury might finally balance—though no one has yet volunteered to collect the fees. Meanwhile, the few surviving apprentices who once summoned a gibbering mouther “just to see what would happen” now contribute their memoirs to the Magisterium’s “Reasons Not to Experiment” collection, bound in what remains of their original robes.

These prohibitions and regulations stand as the iron core of Article 4 §3: acts so grave that the realm will not suffer them under any color of law or mercy. The court shall proceed to sentence with all due solemnity, and the headsman’s axe—or the arena’s sand—shall answer where words and warnings have failed. In this wise the Colonies guard not only their laws, but the very possibility of a world where free will, quiet rest, and the absence of infernal solicitors, alien whispers, or spectral creditors remain more than distant dreams—while still allowing the village wise-woman to call a polite water spirit to fill the well when the rains fail.⁵

¹ The prohibition on aberrations was first enacted in its present form by the Decree of the Council of Nine Pillars, 17 Harvestide 3237 ATT, immediately following the Beholder of Deepcrag Incident. Lady Lirael of Kestrel Cliffs, seeking “a match worthy of her intellect,” contracted with a hedge-sorcerer to summon a beholder from the Far Realm as her intended consort. The creature arrived, declared the match “aesthetically asymmetrical,” and spent three days turning the betrothal feast into a gallery of petrified nobles before the Magisterium sealed the rift at ruinous cost. The beholder itself remains sealed beneath Deepcrag Keep; the hedge-sorcerer’s skull is displayed in the Chancery with a small brass plaque reading “Curiosity Killed the Court."

² The capital prohibition on fiend-summoning without sovereign warrant traces its modern severity to the Pact of Blackthorn Hollow, 27 Darkmoon 3158 ATT. Hedge-wizard Elara Thornveil summoned a barbed devil to settle a tavern debt. The devil, delighted, rewrote the contract in Infernal while Elara slept, claiming her soul, her firstborn, and “all future interest accruing thereto.” By the time the Magisterium arrived, half the Hollow had signed similar pacts in their cups. The devil was banished, Elara’s head adorned a pike, and the Council declared that no mortal ever again need discover the fine print after the brimstone had already begun to rise.

³ The special registration of imps and quasits as familiars was mandated by the Addendum to the Book of Licensed Familiars, 4 Leafturn 3192 ATT, after the Quillbrooke Imp Affaire. Apprentice Theodric Quickfingers bound an unregistered quasit as his familiar, boasting it would “handle the chores.” Within a fortnight the creature had replaced the entire household staff with illusory duplicates, sold the real servants to a passing slaver caravan, and convinced Theodric that his own mother was a disguised succubus. The Magisterium still keeps the creature’s desiccated husk on a shelf labelled “Exhibit A: Why We Ask for Paperwork First.

⁴ The requirement for an additional elemental conjuration endorsement was imposed by the Writ of the Fourfold Seal, 9 Summertide 3124 ATT, following the Great Emberbrook Deluge. A licensed conjurer, seeking to end a drought, called forth a greater water elemental without proper containment. The spirit, offended by the “tiny cup” it was offered, flooded half the Sequoian Outskirts, drowned three villages, and carved a new riverbed before it could be dismissed. The conjurer’s licence was revoked, his tower dismantled brick by brick, and the endorsement process instituted so that no future mage might mistake a primordial force for a convenient rain-barrel.

⁵ The absolute ban on summoning undead spirits was reaffirmed and strengthened by the Edict of Corvethia’s Mercy, 12 Frostwane 3089 ATT, after the Shadowmarch Uprising. Archmage Vaelor the Unquiet raised the shades of three entire baronial households to settle a land dispute. The spirits, once freed from their graves, refused to return and instead haunted the living for a generation, driving whole villages to madness and suicide. The uprising was only quelled when the Magisterium invoked the Runeveil Edict’s lingering wards; Vaelor’s remains were scattered in four directions so that even his ghost could not find its way home.


§E. Concerning the False Impersonation of the Sovereign or His Officers by Magical Means

To assume, by glamour, illusion, shape-shifting, seeming, voice-throwing, or any other artifice of the Art, the likeness, bearing, voice, seal, or manner of the Grand Duke, a marquess, a marchioness, or any officer bearing the Duke’s commission, is high treason and an affront to the very chain of authority that binds the Colonies in ordered peace. The dignity of the sovereign person and of those who carry his warrant must not be made a jest, a mask, or a tool of deception by sorcery. Such an act strikes at the Pillar of Dignity in its highest expression—the rightful reverence due to lawful command—and undermines the trust that every subject must place in the voices that speak for the realm.

No plea of harmless prank, petty fraud, or “temporary convenience” shall avail. Whether the imposture be used to escape a tavern debt, to command troops in false orders, to extract coin from fearful peasants, or to whisper sedition in the guise of authority, the crime remains capital. The law demands that the face of power remain the true face, unborrowed and unfeigned, lest the realm descend into a carnival of false faces where no man knows whom he truly obeys.

(The last mage who attempted to “borrow” the Grand Duke’s appearance to escape a tavern debt discovered, to his considerable surprise, that the real Duke was dining in the very next booth and possessed an excellent memory for faces—especially those wearing his own. The unfortunate impostor spent the remainder of the evening explaining to the genuine article why the ducal likeness looked so fetching in a borrowed apron. The court was not amused.)


§F. Concerning the Blighting of Cropland, Poisoning of Wells, or Wilful Unleashing of Plague by Arcane Means

To wither fields, corrupt springs and wells, poison livestock, or loose pestilence, blight, or contagion upon the innocent—whether by direct spell of decay, the scattering of cursed seed, the infusion of rune-marks into water or soil, or any other arcane malice—is an act of war against the people and the land itself. Such crimes strike at the Pillar of Property in its most fundamental form: the right of every family to the bread they have sown, the water they have drawn, and the health they have earned by honest labour. They threaten not merely individual holdings but the very sustenance of towns, shires, and marches, and so imperil the common weal on which all ordered life depends.

This prohibition embraces every wilful unleashing of plague or famine by magical means, including the forbidden runes and lingering curses of the Runeveil Edict, whose contagion once drove thousands toward madness and death. No licence excuses such an act; no claim of “targeted retribution” or “limited demonstration” shall be heard. The land remembers, and the realm will not suffer those who would turn its bounty into a graveyard.

(The Magisterium keeps careful records of those who claim “it was only a small plague” in their defence. The records are kept in the same vault as the heads of those who made the claim—alongside a small, neatly labelled jar containing what remains of the “small” crop-blight that once turned an entire harvest black overnight. The jar is dusted weekly, lest anyone forget how quickly “small” becomes starvation.)


§G. Concerning General Provisions and Punishment

These offences stand apart from the aggravated crimes set forth in Article 3. Where an act is already capital by its nature—being an abomination against Liberty, the sanctity of the dead, the barrier against the Sundering Discord, the dignity of lawful authority, or the very bread of the realm—no further escalation of penalty is possible or necessary. The offender is simply hastened to judgement with all due solemnity and without benefit of clergy, commutation, or the comforting illusion that the court might find the whole affair rather funny.

Punishment shall be death by beheading upon the block, or—should the court deem it more instructive to the watching crowd and more fitting to the nature of the crime—delivery to the arena until death ensues. The sentence shall be carried out within thirty days of conviction, in public view where possible, that all may see the price of such defiance. The offender’s name shall be struck from every roll of the realm, their lands and goods forfeit to the Crown, and their memory consigned to oblivion, that posterity may forget they ever walked beneath these banners.

Thus the Triadic Accord declares, with iron certainty and a certain weary recognition of magic’s endless capacity for both grandeur and grotesque folly: some doors should never be opened, some words should never be spoken, some faces should never be borrowed, and some jests are paid for with the headsman’s axe. The realm sleeps more soundly for it—though occasionally with one eye open, just in case someone gets creative.

Thus the Triadic Accord declares, with both iron certainty and a certain weary recognition of magic’s capacity for absurdity: some doors should never be opened, some words should never be spoken, and some jests are paid for with the headsman’s axe. The realm sleeps more soundly for it—though occasionally with one eye open, just in case someone gets creative.



Article 5 – Concerning Lesser Magical Crimes and Their Penalties

Enacted piecemeal in the founding decades as the Colonies grappled with the first waves of hedge-sorcery and unlicensed power; consolidated and expanded during the Great Harvestide Recension of 3282 ATT to reflect two centuries of hard-learned lessons.


§A. Concerning the General Principle of Lesser Magical Crimes

Lesser magical crimes are those misuses of the Art that do not rise to the utter abomination of the acts forbidden in Article 4, yet still wound one or more of the Three Pillars and threaten the common peace. Such offences are punished with graduated severity according to intent, harm caused, repetition, and whether the offender was licensed. The court shall always consider whether the magic was employed in momentary passion, deliberate malice, or reckless curiosity, and may mitigate or aggravate the penalty accordingly.¹


§B. Concerning Unlicensed Practice of Third-Circle or Higher Magic

Any person who invokes, commands, or shapes workings of the third circle or above without a current licence from the Sequoia Bay Magisterium commits a felony against the safety of the realm.

1). Penalties The offender shall be sentenced to imprisonment of one to five years in a provincial gaol or labour upon the royal roads, together with a fine of five thousand Silver Moons (or the equivalent value in lawful goods or land). All foci, grimoires, and instruments in the offender’s possession shall be forfeit to the Magisterium for destruction or study.

2). Aggravating and Mitigating Factors If the unlicensed working directly endangered life, liberty, or property, the sentence shall be increased to the upper end of the range or escalated to permanent suppression under Article 6. If the offender acted in immediate defence of life or hearth and no other harm resulted, the court may reduce the penalty to a fine and public admonition.

3). Historical Precedent This offence was first codified in 3061 ATT after the Willow’s Rest Firestorm, when an unlicensed hedge-sorcerer attempting to light his pipe with a third-circle flame instead ignited half the hamlet’s thatch roofs, killing twelve and leaving thirty homeless. The sorcerer claimed he “meant no harm”; the court replied that intent does not rebuild homes, and sentenced him to three years’ labour repairing what he had burned.²


§C. Concerning the Use of Illusion to Defraud or Forge Documents

Any person who employs illusion, seeming, glamour, or other deceptive magics to forge documents, counterfeit seals, impersonate another for gain, or defraud a subject of property commits a felony against the Pillar of Property.

1). Penalties The offender shall be sentenced to exile of seven to fifteen years beyond the frontier, together with restitution threefold the value of any property or coin obtained by deception. Upon return (if ever pardoned), the offender’s name shall be entered in the Book of Deceivers maintained by the Chancery.

2). Aggravating and Mitigating Factors If the fraud involved impersonation of a titled noble, magistrate, or officer of the Crown, the exile shall be increased to perpetual banishment. If the illusion was used only to escape immediate peril without material gain, the court may reduce the sentence to a fine and public edict of shame.

3). Historical Precedent The penalty was strengthened in 3128 ATT after the False Charter of Alder’s Reach, when a travelling illusionist conjured a perfect likeness of the Marquess’s seal to “grant” himself a thousand-acre estate. The deception was uncovered only when the real Marquess arrived to collect taxes. The illusionist spent twelve years in the Frostreach Territories learning the true cost of borrowed authority.³


§D. Concerning the Use of Destructive Evocation in Settled Places Causing Loss of Life

Any person who looses a destructive evocation (fireball, lightning bolt, thunderwave, or similar invocation of raw elemental force) within a chartered town, village, market, or inhabited stead, and thereby causes the death of any innocent, commits a capital felony against the Pillar of Dignity and the common peace.

1). Penalties The offender shall be condemned to death by beheading or delivery to the arena until death, or — at the court’s discretion in cases of profound remorse and mitigating circumstance — life labour in the deep mines of the Ironforge Mountains until natural death.

2). Aggravating and Mitigating Factors If the evocation was cast in deliberate malice or with intent to harm, the sentence shall be execution without commutation. If cast in panic or misjudgement with no prior criminal intent, the court may commute to life labour or (in rare cases of genuine repentance) a term of twenty years’ suppression and hard labour.

3). Historical Precedent This capital provision was added in 3098 ATT after the Emberlight Plaza Calamity, when a panicked unlicensed mage hurled a fireball into a crowded market square to “scatter” a brawl, killing nineteen and maiming forty more. The mage survived the initial mob only to face the High Court, where the sentence of arena death was carried out publicly so that no future spellcaster might forget the weight of a single reckless syllable.⁴


§E. Concerning the Use of Charm or Suggestion Upon a Citizen Without Consent

Any person who casts charm person, suggestion, mass suggestion, or any lesser enchantment that bends the will or clouds the judgement of a free subject without their prior, knowing, and continuing consent commits a felony against the Pillar of Liberty.

1). Penalties The offender shall be sentenced to imprisonment of one to seven years, together with a fine of up to two thousand Silver Moons (or the equivalent in goods or land) payable to the victim or victims. The court may also order public edict of shame and temporary suppression of the offender’s arcane gifts for the duration of the sentence.

2). Aggravating and Mitigating Factors If the enchantment was used to compel a crime or sexual violation, the penalty shall be increased to the upper range and may include permanent suppression. If used only to calm a dangerous situation without lasting harm, the court may reduce to a fine and admonition.

3). Historical Precedent The offence was first distinguished from full domination in 3142 ATT after the Thistledown Betrothal Scandal, in which a minor noble used repeated suggestions to compel a merchant’s daughter into an unwanted marriage. When the enchantment broke, the girl’s testimony before the provincial assize revealed years of quiet coercion. The noble was imprisoned for five years and fined one thousand Silver Moons; the merchant’s daughter received the coin and a public apology sworn before the market cross.⁵


§F. Concerning Trafficking in Mind-Bending Substances Created by Alchemy or Enchantment

Any person who manufactures, sells, distributes, or traffics in substances — whether alchemical draughts, enchanted herbs, or magically infused potions — that cloud the mind, bend the will, or induce unnatural compulsion without the recipient’s full and knowing consent commits a felony against the Pillar of Liberty and public safety.

1). Penalties The offender shall suffer public flogging (twenty lashes), three years’ hard labour upon the royal roads or in the mines, and permanent forfeiture of any alchemical or magical licence held or hereafter sought. All stocks of the substance shall be burned in a consecrated pyre.

2). Aggravating and Mitigating Factors If the trafficking led to widespread harm or riot, the sentence shall be increased to seven years’ labour and branding with the broken-vial rune. If the substance was distributed in ignorance of its effects, the court may reduce to flogging and licence forfeiture.

3). Historical Precedent This prohibition was strengthened in 3176 ATT after the Dreamweed Riots in Port Wavecrest, when a smuggler’s cargo of enchanted dreamweed (laced with subtle compulsion) turned a dockside tavern into a brawling mob that nearly burned the harbour. The smuggler was flogged, sentenced to three years in the mines, and his licence (such as it was) struck forever. The tavern’s surviving owner still keeps a single withered leaf in a glass case above the bar, with a small plaque reading “Some dreams cost more than sleep.”⁶


Thus are the lesser fires of magic fenced about with clear and proportionate law: swift enough to deter, stern enough to protect, yet never so cruel as to forget that even the erring mage remains a soul beneath the Three Pillars.
May the hand that casts be stayed by wisdom, and may the hand that judges be guided by mercy tempered with memory.


Ratified beneath the living Chancery in the 3282nd year of the Age of the Three Thrones, that the spark of wonder may never become the blaze of ruin.


¹ The Willow’s Rest Firestorm remains the most cited cautionary tale in Magisterium novice lectures. The hedge-sorcerer’s gravestone — unmarked save for a single charred rune — is still pointed out to first-year students as they pass the old market square.

² The False Charter of Alder’s Reach is preserved in the Chancery archives, complete with the illusionist’s perfect forgery of the Marquess’s seal. The original owner of the “granted” estate framed it and hung it above his hearth as a reminder that ink and magic are both dangerous when wielded lightly.

³ The Emberlight Plaza Calamity is commemorated each year on the anniversary with a silent vigil at the rebuilt square. A single scorched cobblestone is left exposed in the centre, inscribed with the names of the nineteen dead. No mage is permitted to step upon it.

⁴ The Thistledown Betrothal Scandal led to the first mandatory recording of suggestion victims’ testimony under truth-seeking. The daughter later married a blacksmith of her own choosing; their first child was named “Liberty” in quiet defiance.

⁵ The Dreamweed Riots are still spoken of in Port Wavecrest taverns as the night the harbour almost became a pyre. The surviving tavern owner keeps the leaf not as a trophy, but as a warning: some substances do not merely cloud the mind — they set it aflame.



Article 6 – Magical Suppression and Binding

Enacted in the wake of the Ashen Cloak Affair (3149 ATT) and the Quillbrooke Imp Affaire (3192 ATT), when rogue practitioners proved that even imprisonment could not always silence the Art; expanded and codified in the Great Harvestide Recension of 3282 ATT to ensure that the most dangerous gifts of the Sovereign Architect might be bound without needless cruelty.


§A. Concerning the Authority to Impose Suppression

Any magistrate of the High Court of Sequoia Bay, provincial assize, or special tribunal convened under Title III may, upon conviction of a spellcaster for grave misuse of the Art, order the imposition of magical suppression for all or part of the sentence.
The power is discretionary: it shall be exercised only when the court finds that the offender’s continued ability to wield arcane force poses an ongoing threat to the Three Pillars, the common weal, or the safety of gaolers and fellow prisoners. Mere unlicensed practice or lesser magical misdemeanours do not warrant suppression unless compounded by violence, domination, or summoning of forbidden entities.


§B. Concerning the Forging and Nature of Suppression Bindings

Bindings of suppression — whether collar, manacles, anklets, or circlet — shall be forged only within the sealed foundries of the Sequoia Bay Magisterium under the direct supervision of the High Warden or a senior adept of at least seventh circle.
The material must be orichalcum alloyed with silver from the Frostshade Highlands and tempered in a consecrated flame tended by a cleric of a recognised temple sworn to the Sovereign Architect. Each binding is inscribed with a unique runic sequence attuned to the wearer’s arcane signature, ensuring that no two function alike and that tampering triggers immediate feedback — a flare of cold light and a numbing pain that spreads from the point of contact.
The suppression is absolute for workings of third circle or higher; cantrips and lesser invocations may still be attempted, but with greatly diminished effect and at risk of personal harm to the wearer.¹


§C. Concerning the Duration and Conditions of Binding

Suppression shall endure for the full term of the sentence unless the court specifies a shorter period or the Magisterium certifies that the offender’s capacity for harm has been permanently diminished (by age, injury, or sincere renunciation of the Art).
The binding may not be imposed as a permanent measure except in cases of attainder of blood or perpetual exile, and even then only upon unanimous recommendation of a tribunal composed of three senior adepts, two justices of the High Court, and one representative appointed by the Grand Duke.
No binding may be fitted to a pregnant woman, a child below the age of majority for their race, or a person certified as mentally incompetent by two temple healers and a Magisterium diviner.


§D. Concerning Removal and Safeguards

No binding may be removed save by magisterial order issued under seal of the High Court or by direct warrant of the Grand Duke.
The Magisterium shall maintain a sealed ledger — the Book of Bound Names — recording every suppression imposed, its duration, the convicting court, and the date and authority of removal. Any warden or adept who removes a binding without lawful order commits felony treason against the Accord and shall suffer the same suppression for twice the original term, followed by trial before the Council of Nine Pillars.²
Should a binding fail (through sabotage, arcane surge, or unknown flaw), the Spellguard of the Runic Veil must be summoned immediately; the wearer shall be restrained by mundane means until a replacement is fitted or the sentence expires.


§E. Concerning the Dignity of the Bound

Even in suppression the Pillar of Dignity endures. The bound shall retain:

Wilful cruelty, humiliation, or neglect of a bound prisoner is felony abuse and shall be tried as though the victim were free.³

Thus the Accord tempers justice with restraint: the most perilous gifts may be silenced without destroying the soul that bears them, and the realm sleeps more securely knowing that even the mightiest mage may be made mortal for a season.
May the bindings hold fast when they must, and may they be lifted only when mercy and safety walk hand in hand.


Ratified beneath the living Chancery in the 3282nd year of the Age of the Three Thrones, that power may be bound without breaking the one who wields it.


¹ The orichalcum-silver alloy was perfected after the Quillbrooke Imp Affaire (3192 ATT), when an apprentice’s quasit familiar slipped its leash and spent three days impersonating the Magisterium’s High Warden. The impostor signed several unfortunate warrants before the deception was uncovered. The alloy’s feedback pulse was added shortly thereafter; the original High Warden retired to a quiet grove and has not been seen since.

² The Book of Bound Names is kept in a vault beneath The Chancery sealed by three separate runic locks, each requiring a different senior adept’s blood to open. It is said that on quiet nights the pages turn of their own accord, as though the bound still whisper their regrets. The scribes charged with its upkeep are forbidden to speak of what they read.

³ The most infamous case of abuse occurred in 3174 ATT, when a provincial gaoler fitted an orichalcum collar too tightly around the neck of a convicted enchanter, claiming “precaution.” The prisoner suffocated before the binding could be adjusted. The gaoler was himself fitted with a collar for the remainder of his sentence — this one lined with iron thorns. He lasted three weeks. The incident is still taught to new wardens as a lesson in measured restraint.



Article 7 – Concerning the Duties and Authority of the Sequoia Bay Magisterium

Enacted in the founding years to curb the horrors of unlicensed sorcery after the Runeveil Fever (3045–3051 ATT); greatly expanded in the Great Harvestide Recension of 3282 ATT to reflect the growing integration of arcane might with the realm’s defence.


§A. Concerning the General Charge of the Magisterium

The Sequoia Bay Magisterium stands as the sovereign guardian of the arcane within the Maldovarrian Colonies. It is charged with the examination, licensing, oversight, and — when the safety of the realm demands — the restraint of all who wield the greater mysteries of the Art. Its authority flows directly from the Grand Duke and the Council of Nine Pillars, and it answers to no other power save the Triadic Accord itself.


§B. Concerning the Wardens of the Veil and the Right of Entry

The Magisterium maintains a standing order of wardens, known collectively as the Spellguard of the Runic Veil, drawn from its most disciplined and battle-tested adepts. Whenever credible report reaches any chapter-house or provincial outpost of forbidden spellcraft — be it unlicensed domination, summoning of fiends or aberrations, necromantic trafficking, or any other act proscribed by Title III — the wardens may enter any hold, hall, ship, or encampment without prior warrant to investigate and, if necessary, seize foci, grimoires, or the practitioner themselves.¹

Such entry is lawful only when supported by reasonable suspicion attested by oath before a magistrate or hedge knight; wanton abuse of this power constitutes felony dereliction and subjects the offending warden to immediate suspension and trial before the High Court.²

Truth-seeking rites performed by non-Magisterium clerics are valid for Title II and Title X proceedings but insufficient for license suspension/revocation under this Title.


§C. Concerning the Deployment of the Spellguard in the Colonial Army and Navy

The Spellguard of the Runic Veil functions as the dedicated arcane arm of the realm’s military forces. Its members are seconded from the Magisterium and serve under the Lord General and the admirals of the Colonial Navy, yet remain answerable to the Magisterium’s internal discipline in all matters of arcane conduct.

In every regiment of the Colonial Army and aboard every capital ship of the Navy, a detachment of the Spellguard is stationed: one fully licensed spellcaster of no less than fifth circle, supported by two or three apprentices drawn from the Magisterium’s advanced students. These detachments provide:

The apprentices rotate yearly, ensuring that the Magisterium’s teachings remain tied to the practical needs of war while the realm benefits from a continuous supply of battle-hardened mages.


§D. Concerning the Magisterium’s Accountability

The Magisterium is not above the Accord. Its High Warden and senior adepts must appear before the Council of Nine Pillars once every three years to render account of licences granted, revoked, and investigations concluded. Any failure to restrain a rogue practitioner, any abuse of warrantless entry, or any concealment of forbidden knowledge is grounds for suspension of the High Warden, forfeiture of chapter funds, or — in cases of grave complicity — attainder of the responsible adept’s personal licence and exile beyond the frontier.⁴


§E. Concerning the Oath of the Spellguard

Every member of the Spellguard of the Runic Veil, upon induction, shall kneel before the bronze tablets of the Accord and swear:

“I bind my Art to the Three Pillars and to the defence of these Colonies. I shall wield magic as servant, never as tyrant; I shall guard the realm against the Sundering Discord and all its works; I shall answer to the Grand Duke, the Council, and the Magisterium in all things lawful. May my own spells turn against me should I prove false.”

This oath is renewed annually at midsummer beneath The Chancery, that no mage may forget the iron chain that tethers power to duty.⁵

Thus the Sequoia Bay Magisterium stands as both cradle and warden of the arcane: nurturing wonder in the young, binding it to the service of the realm, and standing ready with iron and spell to crush any who would turn the gift of the Sovereign Architect into a scourge upon the free folk of Tessix.
May the Runic Veil hold fast, and may the Spellguard ever remember that their first duty is to the Three Pillars, not to their own ambition.


Ratified beneath the living Chancery in the 3282nd year of the Age of the Three Thrones, that the fire of magic may warm the hearth of the Colonies and never consume it.


¹ The warrantless entry power was first codified after the Blackspire Incident of 3112 ATT, when an unlicensed hedge-sorcerer opened a temporary rift beneath a tavern in Quillbrooke Heights and briefly traded places with half the clientele and a very confused glabrezu. By the time the Magisterium arrived, the tavern had acquired a new basement dimension and a lingering smell of brimstone. The surviving patrons still argue over who owes whom for the lost drinks.

² It has been remarked, in the quieter corners of the Chancery, that the only thing more dangerous than an unlicensed mage is a licensed one who believes the rules no longer apply to him. The last warden suspended for abuse is said to have spent his exile trying to convince goblins that “reasonable suspicion” is a negotiable concept. The goblins were not persuaded.

³ The apprentice rotation system was formalised in 3178 ATT after the Battle of Emberlight Ford, where a single fifth-circle battlemage held a bridge alone for six hours while the rest of his regiment was pinned down. When relief finally arrived, they found him still standing — and three apprentices who had learned more in one afternoon than most do in a decade. The Magisterium quietly doubled the rotation budget the following year.

⁴ The most recent case of concealment involved a senior adept who “forgot” to report a student’s unauthorized summoning of a quasit familiar. The quasit spent three weeks impersonating the adept’s wife before the deception was uncovered. The adept lost his licence, the quasit lost its corporeal form, and the wife lost several weeks of patience. The Chancery still displays the charred contract as a cautionary exhibit.

⁵ Some adepts whisper that the oath’s final clause has, on very rare occasions, been known to manifest literally. Whether this is divine enforcement or merely the overactive imagination of sleep-deprived apprentices remains a matter of quiet debate in the Magisterium’s lower halls — usually over strong tea and very locked doors.



Article 8 – Concerning Exceptions for Clerical and Druidic Magic

Enacted in the early years to honour the sacred gifts of the Sovereign Architect and His loyal Celestial Weavers; reaffirmed and clarified in the Great Harvestide Recension of 3282 ATT after the Verdant Accord with the Elden Wardens proved the value of shared stewardship.


§A. Concerning the Exemption of Recognised Priests and Clerics

Priests, paladins, justiciars, and other sworn servants of any temple or holy order bearing the Grand Duke’s commission and openly displaying the holy symbol of their faith shall be exempt from the secular licensing requirements set forth in Article 2 of this Title, provided their workings remain within the bounds of their sacred calling and do not contravene the Triadic Accord.

The exemption extends to all rites of healing, blessing, warding, divination, and invocation that serve the Three Pillars and the common weal — whether mending the wounded after battle, calling light into darkness, or turning aside curses laid by agents of the Sundering Discord. Such servants answer first to their temple or order, yet remain fully accountable to secular law for any misuse of their gifts.


§B. Concerning the Exemption of Druids Sworn to the Eldentree Compact

Druids and wardens bound by oath to the Eldentree Compact and recognised under the Treaty of Felled Groves (3277 ATT) shall likewise be exempt from secular licensing, provided they bear the green-and-silver torc of the Compact or the living-vine sigil of their circle and employ their gifts solely in accordance with the Compact’s ancient vows.
Their workings — shaping wood and root, calling rain to parched fields, speaking with beasts of the forest, or binding wounds with living moss — are deemed lawful when they preserve the balance of nature and do not violate the Three Pillars. The Elden Wardens retain the right to discipline their own; yet any druid found employing forbidden necromancy, summoning aberrations, or aiding the enemies of the realm shall answer before the High Court as though unlicensed.


§C. Concerning the Limits of Exemption

No exemption shields any priest, cleric, druid, or holy servant from the prohibitions set forth in Article 4 of this Title. The following acts remain utterly forbidden, whatever the source of power:

Any servant of a recognised faith who commits such an act shall be stripped of exemption, tried as though unlicensed, and — upon conviction — delivered to the penalties prescribed in Article 4 §G (execution or the arena), with their holy symbol broken before the court and their name struck from the rolls of their order.


§D. Concerning Oversight and Accountability

The Sequoia Bay Magisterium shall maintain a register of all recognised temples, holy orders, and Eldentree Compact circles entitled to exemption. Each such body must submit an annual attestation — sealed by its highest celebrant or circle leader — affirming that no member has employed forbidden arts or violated the Accord.
Should credible report reach the Magisterium or a provincial magistrate of misuse by an exempted servant, the Spellguard of the Runic Veil may investigate under the same warrantless entry powers granted in Article 7 §B, provided the investigation is authorised by joint writ of the High Warden and the senior prelate or druidic elder of the accused’s faith. Refusal to cooperate shall be treated as strong evidence of guilt.¹


§E. Concerning the Oath of the Exempted

Every exempted servant shall, upon ordination, acceptance into the Compact, or first exercise of sacred or primal power, kneel (or stand rooted) before witnesses and swear an oath fitting their calling.

1). The Oath of Temple and Order: Priests, paladins, justiciars, and other servants of recognised temples or holy orders bearing the Grand Duke’s commission shall lay hand upon their holy symbol and swear:

“I bind my gifts and my soul to the service of the Sovereign Architect, the Eternal Source whose light never fades and whose justice never errs, and to His faithful Celestial Weavers who carry His will across the worlds.
I shall wield the power given me as steward, never as tyrant; I shall guard the innocent, heal the broken, and stand against every work of discord and shadow.
Knowing that every deed is written in the eternal books and that I must one day stand before the throne of unchanging Justice, I vow to walk the path of righteousness all my days.
Should I prove false and turn grace to harm, may the Architect in His boundless mercy grant me time and breath to repent and return; yet if I perish unrepentant, may my name be blotted from the Book of Life and my soul bear the judgement I have earned.
So help me the Sovereign Architect, whose mercy endures forever and whose justice is without partiality.”

2). The Oath of the Eldentree Compact: Druids, wardens, and wild-shapers sworn to the Eldentree Compact shall place both hands upon living wood, root, or stone of their circle and swear an oath whose words may vary according to the custom of their grove, circle, or personal calling. The Elden Wardens and greater druidic tradition do not demand exact recitation; it is sufficient that the oath capture the following intent and spirit in language true to the speaker:

Any oath that carries this essence in good faith shall be deemed sufficient and binding. Words spoken from the heart in the tongue of root and storm are as valid as any polished phrase.

These oaths — temple and grove alike — are renewed at midsummer: the temple oath beneath The Chancery or within a consecrated hall, the druidic oath within the oldest grove of their circle, that no servant of faith or wild may forget the chain (of grace or root) that tethers power to duty.²

Thus the Accord honours the sacred callings of temple and grove: granting them freedom to serve the realm in their own manner, yet binding them — as all are bound — to the unyielding truth of the Three Pillars.

May the light of faith and the green heart of the wild ever aid the Colonies, and may no servant of either ever turn that light or that heart to shadow.


Ratified beneath the living Chancery in the 3282nd year of the Age of the Three Thrones, that grace and root may stand together beneath the same law.


¹ The joint-writ requirement was added in 3282 after the Ashen Cloak Affair, in which a rogue cleric of a minor order claimed exemption while quietly raising wights to guard his private hoard. The Magisterium’s initial warrantless raid was contested as overreach; the joint writ now ensures that sacred and secular authority move as one when the Accord is threatened from within the faith itself. The wights are gone, the cleric’s head adorns a spike outside The Chancery, and the order’s charter was quietly dissolved.

² It has been remarked, in the quieter corners of the Chancery, that the most fervent swearers of this oath are often the first to test its limits — usually right up until the moment their own healing spells refuse to answer. The archivists keep a small, unmarked ledger of such cases, bound in plain leather and labelled simply “Lessons in Irony.” It is not for public reading.



Article 9 – The Runeveil Edict

Enacted beneath the living Chancery on the twelfth day of Frostwane in the year 3151 ATT, in the shadow of the Runeveil Fever that claimed thousands between 3045 and 3051 ATT and nearly broke the young Colonies before they could stand.


§A. Concerning the Declaration of Magical Plague or Contagion

Whenever credible report reaches a magistrate, provincial justiciar, or warden of the Sequoia Bay Magisterium of a sickness born of forbidden or uncontrolled arcane workings — whether rune-madness, glyph-fever, shadow-plague, or any contagion that spreads by spell, sigil, or tainted essence — the presiding authority may proclaim a state of magical plague or contagion.

Such proclamation must be made in open court or at the nearest market cross, with written notice posted and a copy sent by swift rider to the High Court of Sequoia Bay and the Magisterium within three days. Once declared, the affected settlement, shire, or march falls under special edict until the plague is extinguished or the danger passes.


§B. Concerning the Powers Granted During Magical Plague

While the edict is in force, magistrates and officers of the Colonial Army or Spellguard of the Runic Veil may exercise the following measures, each scaled to the threat and applied with all due restraint:

1). Quarantine — The sealing of roads, gates, bridges, and waterways into and out of the afflicted area; no person or goods may enter or leave without written pass bearing the seal of a licensed diviner or cleric and countersigned by the proclaiming magistrate.

2). Compulsory Truth-Seeking — Any individual suspected of carrying, concealing, or knowingly spreading the contagion may be compelled to submit to a rite of truth-seeking (zone of truth, discern lies, or equivalent) cast by a licensed cleric or Magisterium diviner of at least third circle. Refusal without just cause (sacred geas, temple vow, or documented lethal backlash) shall be taken as strong evidence of guilt and may warrant immediate detention.

3). Burning of Infected Goods or Corpses — Any object, document, corpse, or remains proven by divination or examination to be a vector of the contagion shall be burned in a consecrated pyre under the supervision of a temple cleric or Magisterium warden. The burning must be witnessed and recorded, and the ashes scattered upon running water or buried beneath living root so that no trace remains to spread further harm.

4). Mandatory Curfew and Assembly Ban — No person may gather in groups larger than ten, nor travel by night, without express pass; markets, taverns, and public halls may be closed at the magistrate’s order until the plague abates.


§C. Concerning the Prohibition on Unlicensed Raising of Plague-Dead

Any person who raises, binds, animates, or traffics in the corpses or spirits of those slain by magical plague or contagion — whether for labour, interrogation, guardianship, or any other purpose — commits a capital felony against the Pillar of Dignity and the sanctity of death.
No licence excuses this act; no plea of necessity avails. The offender shall be tried before the High Court or a special tribunal convened by the Magisterium and condemned to death without appeal, or — should the court deem it more instructive — delivery to the arena until death. Their name shall be struck from all rolls, their goods forfeit, and their memory consigned to oblivion that posterity may forget they ever walked beneath these banners.¹


§D. Concerning the Duration and Lifting of the Edict

The edict remains in force until the proclaiming magistrate, in consultation with a licensed diviner or cleric, certifies that no new cases have arisen for twenty-one consecutive days and that all known vectors have been destroyed. The lifting must be publicly proclaimed at the same market cross or court where the edict was declared, with copies sent to Sequoia Bay and the Magisterium.
Wilful prolongation of the edict after the danger has passed, or premature lifting that allows resurgence, is felony dereliction and subjects the responsible magistrate to suspension, fine, or degradation.

Thus the realm is guarded against sickness born of forbidden lore, and the fire of contagion is smothered before it can consume the innocent.
May the lessons of Runeveil Fever never fade, and may no magistrate ever forget that mercy without vigilance is cruelty in disguise.


Ratified beneath the living Chancery on the twelfth day of Frostwane, 3151 ATT, that the Colonies might never again kneel to a plague written in runes.


¹ The prohibition was strengthened after the Ashen Cloak Affair of 3149 ATT, when a hedge-necromancer raised the corpses of fever victims to guard his hidden cache of tainted grimoires. The wights escaped, spreading both plague and terror through three villages before the Spellguard sealed the breach. The necromancer’s head still adorns a spike outside The Chancery, and the grimoires were burned beneath an Ironwood so that even their ashes could not whisper.



~ Title IV: Codified Crimes and Punishments


(Established in the founding charter of 3108 ATT to curb the lawless excesses of early colonial strife; expanded amid the Runeveil Fever riots, dragon rampages, and internal revolts, with full codification in the Great Harvestide Recension of 3282 ATT)

The wild earth of Tessix demands justice swift and sure, lest blood feuds and unchecked ambition devour the realm. This Title catalogues crimes against persons, property, liberty, dignity, and the common peace—drawing bright lines between honest error and willful malice. Penalties are scaled to restore the wounded Pillar, deter the wicked, and mend the social bond, ever favouring restitution over ruin where mercy aligns with the Three Pillars.

Let every subject know the boundaries of lawful conduct. The penalties here written are the ordinary measure; when a crime is compounded by magic (Title III), by repetition, or by especial cruelty, the court shall increase the punishment by one or more degrees in severity.



Article 1 – Crimes Against Lords, Officials, and Nobles

for the Pillars demand that those who keep order be themselves kept safe


First set down in the original Accord of 3108 ATT when the young colony could ill afford the loss of any lord or sheriff to a poisoned cup or a midnight blade. Expanded and hardened during the 3282 Great Harvestide Recension after the Délavandrelle Plot and a string of lesser but no less vicious attempts at noble coercion showed how swiftly the chain of authority could snap if its weakest links were left unprotected.


§A. Concerning Assault, Impersonation, or Murder of Lords

Any person who shall assault, wound, or lay violent hands upon a Lord of the realm—being a marquess, count, or the Grand Duke himself—or who shall wilfully impersonate such a Lord with intent to deceive subjects, command obedience, obtain coin or favour, or sow confusion among the people, shall suffer death by public beheading.
Murder of a Lord, whether by steel, poison, spell, treachery, or any other means, shall be punished by death through beheading in the market square of the nearest chartered settlement of consequence or, where the offence touches the person of the Grand Duke or strikes at the safety of the realm itself, before the steps of the High Court of Sequoia Bay. The head shall be displayed upon a spike above the principal gate for one full lunar cycle, and the body shall be buried without rite or marker beyond the city walls.


§B. Concerning Assault, Blackmail, Bribery, and Intimidation of Officials and Titled Nobles

Any person who shall assault, wound, or lay violent hands upon an official of the Crown (sheriff, circuit justiciar, magistrate, bailiff, warden, or like servant exercising lawful authority) or upon a titled noble below the rank of Lord (baron, viscount, knight-banneret, or equivalent) shall suffer thirty lashes at the public post, imprisonment for one week in the common gaol, and a fine not exceeding five hundred Silver Moons, to be paid to the injured party or (in case of death) to their heirs or next of kin.
Blackmail, extortion, or intimidation of any such official or titled noble—whether by threat of violence, promise of harm to kin or property, revelation of secrets, or any other menace—shall be punished by flogging of not less than twenty lashes, exile from the shire for a term of five to ten years, and forfeiture of any lands, goods, or offices held within the jurisdiction.
Bribery or attempted bribery of any official or titled noble shall incur exile from the realm for ten to twenty years and a fine equal to double the value of the bribe offered or promised (whether in coin, land, favour, magical service, or any other consideration); the bribe itself shall be forfeit to the Crown and applied to the relief of the poor or the repair of roads and bridges.


§C. Concerning the Use of Magic to Influence or Coerce Lords, Officials, or Nobles

The use of magic—licensed or unlicensed—to compel, influence, charm, suggest, cloud the mind, or otherwise bend the will of a Lord without that Lord’s express, uncoerced, and witnessed consent shall be punished by imprisonment for up to one full year in the Iron Oubliette or a like secure and distant place, together with damages payable to the victim not exceeding one thousand Silver Moons and public degradation of any rank or title the offender may hold.
The use of magic to compel, influence, charm, suggest, cloud the mind, or otherwise bend the will of an official or titled noble below the rank of Lord without express, uncoerced, and witnessed consent shall be punished by a fine or damages not exceeding one thousand Silver Moons payable to the victim, together with a public edict of shame to be read aloud in every market square and posted at every crossroads of the shire for one full year, and (at the discretion of the court) the permanent revocation of any magical licence the offender may possess.¹


¹ In 3119 ATT, during the opening months of the Winterblade Revolt, a turncoat sergeant named Korvan Halescourge attempted to blackmail Count Vyrel by threatening to reveal troop movements to the rebels unless paid a fortune in silver. Halescourge was caught before the first coin changed hands. He was flogged, branded across the cheek with the broken crown sigil, and exiled for fifteen years beyond the Kurgan Expanse. He never returned; frontier patrols reported his bones bleaching on a northern ridge two winters later. The branding iron used on him hangs above the BrightHearth barracks hearth, blackened and unpolished, as silent testimony that loyalty bought with threats buys only a grave sooner or later.

² The most instructive case of magical coercion remains that of Enchanter Lirien Voss (3271 ATT), who charmed Baroness Mirka Velorynsk of Moonlight Hollow into granting him a ruinously generous mining lease. When the charm broke and the baroness awoke to her folly, she appealed to the Circuit Justiciar. Voss was fined the full thousand Silver Moons, publicly shamed by edict nailed to every tavern door in the barony, and required to wear a silver collar inscribed “I Spoke Without Consent” for the remainder of his days in the Colonies. The collar—polished weekly by Voss himself—still gleams in the moonlight outside the Moonlight Hollow courthouse, a quiet reminder that even the subtlest spell leaves its mark on dignity.

³ In 3154 ATT, a desperate bailiff’s clerk named Talia Wrenwood attempted to impersonate Marquess Storvalenne long enough to divert a shipload of ironwood lumber to a private buyer. She was caught at the docks when her forged seal cracked under a customs officer’s thumb. The Marquess himself presided at the special assize; Wrenwood was beheaded in Sequoia Bay’s outer market the next dawn. Her head was displayed for the required cycle, and the forged seal—split in two—was nailed to the courthouse door with a small brass plaque reading: “She wore another’s face. The axe remembered the true one.” The incident is still recited to new chancery apprentices as a caution against the temptation of borrowed authority.

⁴ During the famine riots of 3129 ATT in Quillbrooke Heights, a mob assaulted Earl Belvione’s steward when he tried to ration grain fairly. Three rioters were identified and tried under this Article. They received thirty lashes each, a month in the stocks, and were fined the value of the grain they had burned. The earl pardoned the fines on condition they labour two seasons in the replanting groves. All three survived and later became steady tenants. The earl remarked, years afterward, that “a lash well placed can teach more mercy than a gallows ever will.” The stocks from that day still stand in the village green, weathered but empty.



Article 2 – Crimes Against the City and Common Weal


(for the safety of all who dwell within walls and the preservation of public order)


Enacted in the original Accord of 3108 ATT when the first wooden palisades of Sequoia Bay were still green and the memory of lost ships and burned storehouses from the Runeveil Fever years remained raw. Greatly strengthened during the 3282 recension after the BrightHearth Incursion and several arson attempts during grain shortages showed how swiftly a single torch or poisoned cistern could undo decades of hard-won settlement.

§A. Concerning Treason and Espionage


§B. Concerning Arson and Poisoning


§C. Concerning Forgery, Fencing, and Obstruction of Justice


§D. Concerning Lesser Public Order Offences


¹ During the BrightHearth Incursion of 3248 ATT, a Kurgan spy named Vargis Blacktongue forged a ducal safe-conduct to infiltrate the city granaries and set them ablaze. He was caught before the first spark fell. Tried under this Article, Blacktongue was beheaded in the outer market; his forged seal—split and blackened—was nailed above the granary door with a brass plaque reading: “He wrote treason. The axe answered in ink of its own.” The plaque remains, and every new magistrate in BrightHearth is required to read it aloud on taking office.

² In 3192 ATT, during the Hole-in-the-Bag Catastrophe when extradimensional storage pouches ruptured across Sequoia Bay and spilled stolen goods into the streets, several opportunistic fences were rounded up. One, Mira Quickfingers, claimed she had merely “found” the items. The court disagreed; she was fined thrice the value of the recovered goods (a small fortune in arcane components), shamed by edict for a full month, and sentenced to sweep the market square daily at dawn for a year. She later became an honest pawnbroker. The broom she used hangs in the Chancery archive with the tag: “She swept up trouble. The street swept her clean.”

³ In 3147 ATT, a disgruntled dockhand named Joren Saltbane poisoned the public cistern in Port Wavecrest with nightshade in revenge for a lost wager. The plot was uncovered when a child fell ill and a truth-seeker traced the source. Saltbane was beheaded at low tide; his head was lashed to a piling where the tide washed it twice daily for a full cycle. The cistern was purified with Moonblossom ash at great cost. A small stone tablet beside it still bears the words: “He poisoned the common well. The tide remembered his name.”

⁴ During the grain riots of 3129 ATT in Quillbrooke Heights, a gang of youths vandalised the market cross and toppled the milestone that marked the shire boundary. Caught after three days, they were fined two hundred Silver Moons each (paid by their families in instalments), required to repair the cross with their own hands under guard, and sentenced to one month’s labour hauling stone for the new granary wall. All four later became steady masons. The repaired cross bears a faint carving on its base: “They broke stone in anger. Stone taught them patience.”



Article 3 – Privileges Granted to Recognised Temples and Orders

as codified in the Great Harvestide Recension, 3282 ATT

Any temple, shrine, monastery, or religious order that faithfully upholds the Three Pillars and meets the requirements set forth herein shall enjoy the privileges and protections declared below. These benefits exist to encourage mercy, learning, and healing throughout the Colonies, while ensuring no abuse of sacred status.


§A. Concerning the Requirements for Recognition

To qualify for the privileges of this Article, a temple or licensed holy order bearing the Grand Duke’s commission must:

(a) Register formally with the High Court of Sequoia Bay or a duly authorized provincial chapter, providing a true record of its leadership, doctrines, and works.

(b) Publicly swear, before witnesses and under oath, to uphold the Three Pillars of Property, Liberty, and Dignity in all its teachings and deeds.


§B. Concerning Tax and Levy Exemptions

Recognized temples and licensed holy orders bearing the Grand Duke’s commission shall enjoy full exemption from all taxes, scutage, feudal aids, and municipal levies upon:

Such exemptions apply only to buildings and lands used solely for charitable, religious, or educational purposes and may be revoked if the property is diverted to private gain or unlawful activity.


§C. Concerning the Right to Receive Voluntary Offerings

No magistrate, noble, guild, or private person may interfere with, tax, seize, or demand a share of voluntary offerings freely given to a recognized temple or licensed holy orders bearing the Grand Duke’s commission .

Offerings include coin, goods, labor, or produce given in good faith for the support of sacred work. Any attempted extortion or interference is treated as theft under Title IV with aggravated penalties.


§D. Concerning Eligibility for State Grants-in-Aid

Recognized temples and licensed holy orders bearing the Grand Duke’s commission may petition the Grand Duke or his appointed officers for generous grants-in-aid to support works of charity, healing, education, or public welfare.

Such grants are awarded at the Grand Duke’s pleasure and may include coin, land, building materials, or writs of protection. Preference is given to projects that clearly serve the common good and align with the Three Pillars.


§E. Concerning Revocation and Accountability

Privileges granted under this Article may be suspended or revoked by order of the High Court if the temple or formerly licensed holy order bearing the Grand Duke’s commission:

(a) Violates its sworn oath to uphold the Three Pillars,

(b) Harbors or shelters those guilty of crimes against the Accord,

(c) Diverts exempt property or funds to private enrichment or unlawful ends. Revocation requires due process and public notice; no temple may be stripped of recognition without a fair hearing.


Thus the Accord honors honest faith with practical support, ensuring that temples remain beacons of mercy and their appointed orders and agents remain as hands of compassion rather than burdens upon the realm or cloaks for tyranny.

So sworn beneath the living Chancery, 3282 ATT.



Article 4 – Crimes Against the Gods

(as revised and clarified in 3179 ATT following the Sequoia Bay Atheist Riots during the lingering panic of Runeveil Fever)

The Three Pillars rest not on mortal strength alone, but on reverence owed to the Sovereign Architect and the faithful Celestial Weavers who bear witness to the Divine Source.
No hand may profane honest worship, nor tongue scorn the powers that guard creation, lest the realm invite the discord it was founded to withstand.

The offences below are crimes against the common peace and the Pillar of Dignity, with penalties increased when compounded by violence, magic, or contempt for the Accord.


§A. Concerning Assault upon Sacred Servants

Assault upon a priest, cleric, paladin, justiciar, or recognised servant of a Celestial Weaver or Luminary while lawfully exercising sacred office:


§B. Concerning Disorderly Conduct in Holy Places

Drunkenness, brawling, or profane speech within a consecrated temple, shrine, or sacred grove:


§C. Concerning Public Blasphemy or Contempt

Public contempt against the Sovereign Architect or any Celestial Weaver or Luminary lawfully worshipped in the Colonies is punishable only when calculated to incite disorder or scorn.

Mere private disbelief or honest theological dispute is never blasphemy.

Such speech is protected unless it:

(a) directly incites imminent violence, or

(b) calls for the worship of Fiends, Abyssal Beings, Malevolent Extraplanar Intelligences, or the Sundering Discord.


§D. Concerning Theft or Sacrilegious Taking

Theft of temple goods, sacred vessels, or offerings:


§E. Concerning Desecration of Graves, Tombs, or Holy Relics


§F. Concerning Corruption of Worship or False Prophecy


§G. Concerning Violence or Coercion against Peaceful Worship

Forcible prevention of lawful worship, destruction of a recognized shrine, or driving celebrants from a consecrated place: treated as compounded assault upon citizens (see Article 7) with additional exile of 7–20 years.


Note on Heresy and Freedom of Conscience

The Colonies recognize no single church as the sole voice of the Sovereign Architect. Honest difference in rite, doctrine, or devotion among those who honor the Divine Source and its loyal Celestial Weavers and Luminaries is no crime. Only when worship becomes a cloak for tyranny, slavery, or communion with Fiends, Abyssal Beings, Malevolent Extraplanar Intelligences, or the Sundering Discord does the Accord intervene.

Note on Clerical Privilege and Accountability

Priests, paladins, justiciars and agents of holy orders bearing the Grand Duke’s commission as agents of the state remain answerable to secular courts for any breach of the Accord. The temple may discipline its own, but the magistrate’s sentence stands.

So re-sworn beneath the living Chancery in the 3179th year of the Age of the Three Thrones.



Article 5 – Clerical Authority and Accountability

as codified in the Great Harvestide Recension, 3282 ATT

Clerics, paladins, and other servants of recognized faiths may be entrusted with temporal authority when their virtues serve the common good. Yet no sacred office places any soul above the Three Pillars or the Accord itself.


§A. Concerning Commissioned Service by Sacred Servants

Priests, clerics, paladins, justiciars, druids, or other servants of any registered faith may, with the Grand Duke’s written commission, serve as:


§B. Concerning Accountability to Secular Law

All commissioned servants remain fully subject to secular law and the Triadic Accord.

Their temple or order may impose spiritual discipline, penance, or censure as their rites permit, but the sentence of the magistrate or High Court stands supreme. No claim of divine privilege may shield any person from lawful judgement.


§C. Concerning Limits on Sanctuary

No temple, shrine, sacred grove, or consecrated ground may grant sanctuary to:

Any attempt to harbor such persons voids all protections of sanctuary and renders the responsible celebrant liable to charges of aiding and abetting under Title IV.


Thus the Accord honors the sacred calling while ensuring that mercy never becomes a shield for tyranny or malice.

So sworn beneath the living Chancery in the 3282nd year of the Age of the Three Thrones.



Article 6 – The Protection of Honest Difference

(as codified in the Great Harvestide Recension, 3282 ATT)

The Pillar of Liberty shields honest inquiry into matters of faith, ensuring that the search for truth may flourish without fear of unjust persecution. The Colonies welcome sincere seekers while guarding against those who would twist doctrine into tyranny or discord.


§A. Concerning the Protection of Open Religious Discussion

The free and open discussion of doctrine, scripture, rite, or the nature of the Divine—whether held in tavern, lecture hall, market square, or temple—stands fully protected under the Pillar of Liberty, provided it:

(a) offers no violence to the Three Pillars,

(b) calls for no worship of Fiends, Abyssal Beings, Malevolent Extraplanar Intelligences, or the Sundering Discord,

(c) and is conducted without deliberate intent to provoke breach of the peace.


§B. Concerning Immunity from Prosecution for Good-Faith Inquiry

No magistrate, knight, noble, or private person may hale any subject before the law merely for declaring, in good faith, that a different path leads to the Sovereign Architect, or that certain teachings of the temples are mistaken. Honest seekers enrich the realm rather than threaten it.


§C. Concerning the Colonies’ Stance Toward Faith and Charity

The Colonies honour the ancient faith of the Mother Isle of Maldovarra, welcome every honest seeker of the Sovereign Architect, extend charity and protection to every temple or order that heals the wounded, feeds the poor, and comforts the grieving, and stand resolute against those who would make religion a chain upon the free or a blade turned against the innocent.

Thus the Accord preserves liberty of conscience while drawing a firm line between sincere difference and malicious corruption.

So sworn beneath the living Chancery in the in the 3282nd year of the Age of the Three Thrones.



Article 7 – Crimes Against Citizens


(for no soul, high or low, may be wronged without answer)


The Pillar of Dignity and the Pillar of Liberty demand that every free subject walk secure in person, honour, and rightful possession. Enacted in the original Accord of 3108 ATT to bind the powerful and protect the powerless alike in a frontier where strength too often answered only to itself. Greatly refined during the 3282 Great Harvestide Recension after the Twice-Slain Countess case and several brutal assaults during the Blight Scourge showed how swiftly personal wrongs could unravel the common peace.


§A. Concerning Murder


§B. Concerning Rape and Grievous Sexual Assault


§C. Concerning Assault


§D. Concerning Robbery and Burglary


§E. Concerning Theft and Larceny


§F. Concerning Blackmail and Intimidation


§G. Concerning Damage to Property or Livestock


§H. Concerning Disturbance of the Peace


§I. Concerning Slavery and Trafficking


§J. Concerning Unlawful Magical Influence


Thus are the boundaries drawn. Let the just walk unafraid and the wicked tremble, for the Three Pillars stand sentinel over great and small alike.
So sworn beneath the living Chancery in the 3282nd year of the Age of the Three Thrones.


¹ In 3174 ATT, during the chaos of the Morthikov Revolt, a band of opportunistic slavers led by Captain Thorne Blackreef captured seventeen refugees fleeing the uprising and attempted to sell them to yuan-ti raiders off the Kestral Cliffs. The plot was uncovered when one captive escaped and reached a hedge knight. Blackreef and his crew were tried under this section; all received thirty lashes and ten years’ hard labour in the ironwood groves. Blackreef perished in the third winter. The irons they used to chain their victims are now displayed in the Sequoia Bay courthouse with a brass plaque reading: “They trafficked in free souls. The groves claimed their own.”

² The most notorious magical violation under this clause occurred in 3231 ATT during the Twice-Slain Countess affair, when Countess Elara Vossmere used a geas to compel her husband’s mistress to remain silent about their affair—only for the charm to break at the worst possible moment during a public feast. The resulting scandal ended in the countess’s degradation and exile; the geas itself was cited as a direct assault on Liberty. The small silver mirror used to cast the spell is kept sealed in the Magisterium vault with the inscription: “She bound a tongue. The truth unbound her.”

³ In 3109 ATT, barely a year after the Accord’s proclamation, a drunken brawl in Sequoia Bay’s dockside taverns spilled into the streets, leaving three men maimed and a market stall smashed. The magistrate invoked this Article’s early form; the ringleaders received fines, stocks for a week, and were ordered to rebuild the stall with their own hands. All three later became respected carpenters. The rebuilt stall still stands in the lower market, its sign reading: “They broke the peace. The hammer mended it.”

⁴ During the Blight Scourge of 3265 ATT, a vengeful farmer named Garrick Thornwood poisoned his neighbour’s prize oxen with nightshade after a boundary dispute. The beasts died; the neighbour’s family nearly starved. Tried under §G, Thornwood was ordered to pay full restitution (including the cost of new stock), fined five hundred Silver Moons, and sentenced to six months’ labour tending the neighbour’s surviving herd. He completed the term and later became a steady dairyman. A small carved post beside the pasture reads: “He slew beasts in anger. Beasts taught him care.”



~ Title V: Of Nobility, Succession, Elevation, Degradation, and Dissolution



Article 1 – The Nature and Purpose of Nobility


Enacted in the original Accord of 3108 ATT as the foundational statement of what nobility means in a frontier realm forged from exile, necessity, and hard-won oaths. Sharply clarified during the 3282 Great Harvestide Recension after the Délavandrelle Plot and repeated attempts by lesser houses to treat titles as private inheritances rather than living trusts. The Article reminds every peer—from the Grand Duke to the lowliest hedge knight—that nobility exists to serve the Three Pillars, not to feed vanity or bloodline pride.


§A. Concerning the Sacred Trust of Nobility

Nobility is not a birthright of blood alone, nor a mere ornament of wealth or lineage. It is a sacred trust granted by the Grand Duke—and ultimately by the distant Emperor—for the defence, preservation, and enrichment of the Three Pillars: Property, Liberty, and Dignity of every free subject who dwells within the Maldovarrian Colonies.
A noble holds land, title, and authority in fief from the Grand Duke, and must at all times stand ready to ride, sail, wield spell or steel, or bleed in defence of the realm, its people, and the Accord itself. To forget this duty is to forfeit the very ground of nobility.


§B. Concerning the Hierarchy of Houses and Titles

The nobility of the Colonies is ordered in descending ranks of responsibility and obligation:


§C. Concerning the Duties Inherent in Every Rank

Every noble, from the Grand Duke to the newest hedge knight, owes the following duties without exception:

Failure in these duties—whether through cowardice, greed, tyranny, or neglect—constitutes Dereliction of Fealty and may result in degradation, attainder, forfeiture of lands, or exile, as set forth in Title V.


§D. Concerning the Living Nature of the Trust

Nobility is a living trust renewed with each generation, not a dead inheritance to be hoarded. A noble who treats title as private property rather than public duty, or who uses rank to oppress rather than protect, stands in violation of the Accord itself. The Grand Duke may elevate the worthy from common stock through Blood Deed or heroic service; he may likewise degrade or extinguish a house that has forgotten its purpose.¹


¹ During the Treaty of the Twelve negotiations in 3108 ATT, Durin-Dûr Thrain Oakhammer—newly ennobled—publicly knelt before Grand Duke Thero Délavandrelle and swore that his house would “hold the hammer for the Vale, not for ourselves alone.” The gesture cemented dwarven loyalty and is still cited when new nobles are reminded that rank is measured in service, not in gold or blood. A small granite tablet bearing the oath stands in the Hall of Granite Oaths, its edges worn smooth by generations of fingers tracing the words.

² In 3152 ATT, Baroness Lirael Morthikov of SgàilCrith Tir abused her tenants so grievously—seizing livestock, levying illegal tolls, and imprisoning dissenters—that the shire rose in revolt. The High Court found her guilty of Dereliction of Fealty; she was degraded, her lands redistributed among loyal vassals, and she spent seven years labouring in the ironwood groves she had once taxed into ruin. A weathered post at the barony’s old gate still bears the carved words: “She forgot the trust. The land remembered.”

³ The elevation of Hedge Knight Alaric Rhashol to Lord General after driving off Tharvok the Flameclaw in 3240 ATT remains the most celebrated modern example of merit rising above birth. Rhashol—born a commoner’s son—received his title by Blood Deed before the assembled Council of Nine Pillars. The sword he carried that day hangs in the Sequoia Bay great hall with a plaque reading: “He bled for the Pillars. The Pillars answered with a crown.”

⁴ In 3197 ATT, Viscount Torin Blackmere of a small fief in the Wealdrift Shire attempted to treat his viscountcy as a private estate, refusing to render scutage or answer the General Levy during a yuan-ti raid scare. The Circuit Justiciar stripped him of title and lands; they were granted to his loyal steward, who had rallied the tenants to defend the borders. The former viscount died in exile beyond the Kurgan Expanse. The small manor he once held now flies a banner bearing three golden poppies—symbol of the Three Pillars—with the quiet inscription beneath: “He held land. The land held him accountable.”



Article 2 – Creation of New Nobility and Knightly Orders


§A. Concerning Who may Elevate

- Any lord may create nobles or knights of rank lower than his own.

Grand Duke → may create up to Marquess

Marquess → up to Count

Count → up to Earl

Earl → up to Viscount

Viscount/Baron → up to Baron or Knight Banneret

- Any Noble, them being head of their noble house, or any member of his immediate legitimate family, be they be named Heir, trueborn son, trueborn daughter, Good Lady Wife of noble birth, trunkrn may dub a knight.

- Any knight may dub another knight.


**§B. Concerning Land Requirements for New Titled Nobility

New viscounts, barons, or higher must be granted productive land carved from the elevating lord’s own demesne or from lands re-arranged by agreement among his vassals.

No lord may create a titled noble “in the air” without attached fief and revenue.


**§C. Concerning Heroic Elevation (the “Blood Deed” clause)

The Grand Duke, with consent of at least two Marquesses, may elevate any person, common or gentle, for a deed that:

- manifestly saved the realm or a major province, and

- was performed at great personal risk of life, limb, or entire fortune.

Such elevations are rare (fewer than ten since 3069 ATT) and are recorded in the Golden Ledger of Blood Deeds kept at Sequoia Bay.


§D. Concerning Knighthood

- May be granted for valor, long service, or exceptional merit.
   
   - Types of knightly oath:

a) To a specific lord (most common)

b) To the Maldovarrian Colony Army or Navy
   
    c) To an approved temple or holy order

d) Hedge knight, oath to the Accord and the realm alone

- Hedge knights possess full magisterial authority while upon the roads and in the wilds beyond chartered settlement bounds. In such places they may arrest malefactors, try minor offences on the spot, and execute swift justice in the name of the Accord.

- Within the walls or jurisdiction of any chartered town, city, or settlement, the local town watch, constable, or sheriff holds primary authority. A hedge knight present in such a place acts as a deputized agent of the said watch, constable, or sheriff and must yield to their lawful commands unless countermanded by higher authority.

- The hedge knight’s authority is overridden by:

a) Any titled noble present and acting in their own lands or jurisdiction,

b) Any knight already sworn to a lord, the Crown forces, or a church,

c) The provincial assize court,

d) The High Court at Sequoia Bay.

Thus the Accord grants hedge knights the freedom to bring law to the lawless stretches between settlements, while preserving the ancient right of chartered places to govern their own streets and squares. A hedge knight who oversteps these bounds without clear and pressing need may be charged with abuse of authority before the nearest magistrate.

So sworn beneath the living Chancery, Harvestide 3282 ATT.

§E. Concerning the Unique Rank of Durin-Dûr

By the Treaty of the Twelve (3108–3109 ATT), the dwarven houses of Haltodor were granted the rank of Durin-Dûr, positioned between Count and Marquess. This title reflects their status as semi-independent allies bound by solemn oath rather than direct feudal vassalage. A Durin-Dûr enjoys the military obligations and court privileges of a Count, yet retains the right to maintain direct ties to the Council of Clans in Haltodor and to render the Passage Due at Skyreach Pass in lieu of full scutage. No new Durin-Dûr titles may be created without joint ratification by the Grand Duke and the Council of Clans of Haltodor.



Article 3 – Duties and Responsibilities of the Noble Orders

Every noble and knight, upon elevation and upon every tenth anniversary thereafter, shall kneel before his liege or the Grand Duke’s deputy and swear the Triadic Oath with hand upon sword and heart:

“I shall defend the Property, Liberty, and Dignity of all within the Colonies.

I shall keep my fief in good order, render due taxes and scutage, answer the levy with horse and harness, sit in judgment when called, and ride at my liege’s side when the banners are summoned.

So witness the Three Pillars and the gods that guard them.”

In fulfilment of this oath, the following perpetual duties are laid upon every lord, according to his rank and station:


§A. Concerning Military Service and Muster

Every noble of the Maldovarrian Colonies and its marches holds land in feudal tenure from the Grand Duke and owes service in defense of the realm. The following standing obligations apply, to be maintained in readiness at all times and mustered upon lawful summons:

Failure to maintain these minimum forces, or to answer three lawful summons to muster within a decade, constitutes Dereliction of Fealty. A fourth such failure within the same decade results in forfeiture of the fief to the Grand Duke, who may re-grant it to a more diligent servant of the Crown or hold it in escheat until a worthy heir or successor is found.

These obligations may be commuted to coin or supply in times of peace by special writ of the Grand Duke, but never wholly abolished. In times of war or imminent peril, the Grand Duke may demand double the standing strength for the duration of the emergency.

Thus the nobility remembers that high title is no mere ornament, but a solemn charge to shield the realm, its people, and the Three Pillars from every threat.

So sworn beneath the living Chancery in the 3282nd year of the Age of the Three Thrones.


**§B. Concerning the Collection and Rendering of Taxes and Feudal Dues **

(as codified in the Great Harvestide Recension, 3282 ATT)

Every lord, knight, and freeholder vested with rights of collection shall faithfully gather from vassals and free tenants the customary rents, hearth-silver, bridge-tolls, market dues, mill-fees, and other lawful exactions granted by ancient charter or the Accord. These sums sustain the realm’s peace, defence, and mercy.

1). Of all such collections, one-third—the Grand-Ducal Third—shall be rendered yearly to the immediate liege or, through the chain of fealty, to the Treasury at Sequoia Bay. This portion belongs to the Grand Duke for the maintenance of the standing host, the navy, royal roads, frontier forts, and the relief of famine or plague across the Colonies.

2). The remaining two-thirds may be retained by the collecting lord for:

No lord may divert these funds to private luxury, foreign service, or schemes contrary to the Three Pillars.

3). Embezzlement, concealment, or false accounting of the Grand-Ducal Third constitutes felony theft against the Crown.

Accusations shall be tried by the High Court or a special commission appointed by the Grand Duke, with full right of defence and appeal.

Thus the Accord ensures that every coin exacted serves the common weal, the chain of fealty remains unbroken, and the burden of rule falls justly upon those entrusted with it.

So sworn beneath the living Chancery in the 3282nd year of the Age of the Three Thrones.


**§C. Concerning the Dispensing of Justice **

(as codified in the Great Harvestide Recension, 3282 ATT)

Every lord of baronial rank or higher shall ensure that justice flows without cease or favour upon his lands. No free subject may be denied swift and open hearing for any lawful plaint, that the Three Pillars may stand firm and the common peace endure.

1). In every manor seat, castle, or chartered town within the fief, open court shall be held every seventh day—or upon the nearest market-day when the seventh falls upon a holy day.

On these days he shall hear:

(a) appeals from the weekly courts,

(b) causes between his own vassal knights or between knight and common tenant,

(c) all felonies committed upon the fief (unless reserved to the provincial assize),

(d) any matter touching the honour of the fief or the Three Pillars.

Only grave cause—active campaign beyond the province, grievous illness, or minority—shall excuse personal attendance. In such case the lord’s regent or warden, previously named and sworn, shall sit in his stead wearing the lord’s token and speaking with his voice.

3). Every judgement, fine, and amercement shall be written in the court roll, and a true copy sent yearly to the provincial justiciar.

Wilful absence from the quarterly high court, refusal to hear lawful plaints, or the selling of justice constitutes a crime against the Pillar of Dignity.

Thus no man or woman upon the lord’s land—from the lowliest ploughman to the proudest banneret—need wait longer than a week for justice, and four times a year the lord himself shall be seen and heard to keep the Accord alive beneath his roof.

So sworn beneath the living Chancery in the 3282nd year of the Age of the Three Thrones.


§D. Concerning Oversight of Vassal Houses and Tenants

Each lord shall visit or send a trusted bailiff to every manor, village, and knight’s fee beneath him at least once every three years to ensure:

- fields are kept in heart, woods not wasted, mills and bridges in repair;

- no vassal noble oppresses the commons by unlawful tallage or seizure;

- no serf or free tenant is reduced to slavery or driven from his holding without cause and trial.

- If a vassal lord is found tyrannous, negligent, or bankrupt of honour, the superior lord may:

a) place the fief under wardship until the fault is mended, or

b) bring the matter before the provincial assize for possible degradation or forfeiture.


§E. Concerning the Protection of the Small Folk

Every noble is sworn to be father as well as lord to the folk upon his lands: to keep the King’s peace (the Accord’s peace), to succour the poor in famine, to raise no unlawful taxes, and to suffer no bandit, monster, or foreign raider to trouble the roads and fields without pursuit and punishment.

Thus the chain of duty runs both upward and downward: from peasant to knight, knight to baron, baron to earl, and ever upward to the Grand Duke beneath the distant Emperor, that the Three Pillars may stand unbroken from the lowest hearth to the highest throne.



Article 4 – Laws of Succession

  1. Default rule: Male-preference cognatic primogeniture

- Eldest surviving legitimate son inherits title and bulk of lands.


**§2. Concerning Female inheritance

Permitted when no legitimate male descendant exists in any branch.

The heiress takes the full title and arms undifferenced; her husband does not automatically acquire the title (he may be granted courtesy rank or a new one, but the fief follows the blood).


**§3. Concerning Special cases

- If the last heir is a minor, a regent is appointed by the immediate liege with approval of the Grand Duke.

- Posthumous children conceived before the lord’s death are considered legitimate heirs.


**§4. Concerning Investiture

Within one year of succession, the new lord must receive investiture from his liege and renew the Triadic Oath, or the title is held in abeyance until done.



Article 5 – Degradation, Dissolution, and Exile

A noble house may be degraded or destroyed only by solemn judgement of the High Court of the Nine Pillars under the Triadic Accord. No lesser court may pronounce attainder or degradation of a titled house.


§1. Concerning the Attainder of Blood (full dissolution of house and name)

Crimes: High Treason against the Grand Duke or the Emperor, Murder of a Lord, Perpetual Dereliction of Fealty, or the practise of Forbidden Necromancy within the Colonies.

Sentence, upon unanimous verdict:

- The title is extinguished for ever; no descendant may bear the name or arms.

- All lands, castles, goods, and chattels forfeit to the Grand Duke.

- The principal offender and the lord who is head of the house (if distinct persons) shall suffer death by beheading, by the Iron Oubliette, or by delivery to the arena until death, at the court’s pleasure.

- Close kin of the immediate bloodline (spouse, siblings, legitimate children) and any proven fellow conspirators, instigators, or collaborators may, at the court’s discretion, share the same capital doom or be exiled to the Frostreach Territories or beyond the known seas with only the clothes upon their backs.

- All other legitimate members of the house are degraded to common status and may never again hold title or office.

Example: House Vyrel (second attainder), 3284 ATT.


§2. Concerning Degradation without Attainder

Crimes: Felony Treason, repeated Dereliction of Fealty, or compounding magical crimes against the Three Pillars.

Sentence, upon majority verdict:

- Title reduced one or more degrees (Earl → Viscount → Baron → landless knight → commoner).

- A portion or the whole of the demesne forfeit, as the court shall decree.

- The offender (and, at the court’s pleasure, close collaborators) may be imprisoned, sentenced to the Iron Oubliette for life, or exiled for life or a term of years.


§3. Concerning Trial and Appeal

- All attainders and degradations of titled houses are reserved to the Council of Nine Pillars (three senior Marquesses, three senior Earls, three magistrates of the realm) sitting in solemn session at Sequoia Bay, presided over by the Grand Duke in person or his named deputy.

- Verdict must be unanimous for attainder of blood; simple majority suffices for lesser degradation.

- Magical truth-seeking is mandatory in every attainder case and in every degradation where the charge involves conspiracy or hidden treason.

- There is no appeal from the Nine Pillars save a single plea for mercy to the Grand Duke, who may pardon, mitigate, or stay the sentence once only.

Thus no noble house, however ancient or proud, stands above the Three Pillars. When it falls, it falls utterly, that the realm may be cleansed and the Accord kept pure.



Article 6 – Dereliction of Fealty and Excused Absence from the Levy


§1. Concerning The Rule

Every lord and knight is bound to answer lawful summons to arms with the full strength required by his rank.

Failure to appear with his allotted horse and foot at the place and hour appointed, without prior leave or lawful excuse accepted by the summoning authority, shall be counted a default.


§2. Concerning the Counting of Defaults

- Three defaults within any rolling ten-year period trigger automatic judicial review before the provincial assize.

- A fourth default within the same decade empowers the immediate liege (or the Grand Duke if the defaulter is a direct vassal) to seize the fief, castle, and revenues and bestow them elsewhere, subject only to final confirmation by the Council of Nine Pillars.


§3. Concerning Lawful Excuses and Mitigating Circumstances

The following shall be accepted as full defence against a charge of Dereliction, provided they are proven by oath, witness, or magical truth-seeking:

a). Death of the lord or knight, followed by timely resurrection (arcane or divine) and subsequent appearance as soon as the soul is restored to its own flesh. The resurrected lord must present himself within forty days of revival, bearing proof of identity from a priest of recognised temple or a magisterium diviner.

b). Capture by enemies, pirates, slavers, or monstrous beings; imprisonment in a foreign gaol; or being held for ransom. Escape or release must be followed by immediate march to the muster field.

c). Magical mishap of any kind that prevents physical presence, including but not limited to:

- botched teleportation or portal travel,

- involuntary polymorph, baleful or otherwise,

- petrification, planar banishment, temporal stasis, or binding by geas or curse.

The afflicted lord must appear in person (or in whatever form he currently wears) before the summoning marshal or a magistrate within ten days of regaining freedom of movement, and submit to examination by a licensed diviner to confirm the tale.

d). Grievous wounding or plague that renders the lord unable to ride or command; certified by a priest-physician or magisterium healer.

e). Prior grant of leave by the Grand Duke or the summoning marshal for cause deemed sufficient (defence of the lord’s own march against sudden invasion, attendance at the Emperor’s distant court, etc.).


§4. Concerning the Procedure for Whence Excuse is Claimed

- The lord must send word by the swiftest means available (rider, raven, speaking stone, or magical sending) the moment the impediment is known.

- Upon arrival (however delayed), he shall present himself and his proofs before the marshal of the host or the nearest provincial magistrate.

- If the excuse is accepted, the default is stricken from the roll.

- If the excuse is rejected, the default stands and counts doubly toward the four-default limit.


§5. Concerning a Penalty for False Claim

Any lord who falsely claims magical mishap, resurrection, capture, or other excuse shall suffer immediate degradation of one degree of rank and forfeiture of one year’s revenue, in addition to the original default being counted.

Thus the Accord acknowledges that the roads of Tessix are perilous and the arts of magic treacherous, yet it will not suffer cowardice or indolence to hide behind dragon-fire or fey glamour.



Article 7 – Extinction and Reversion


Enacted in the original Accord of 3108 ATT to prevent noble lands from falling into abeyance or becoming prey to distant claimants during the perilous early decades of settlement. Clarified and strengthened during the 3282 Great Harvestide Recension after the near-extinction of several houses in the Flameclaw Rampage and the Defense of BrightHearth demonstrated how swiftly a bloodline could vanish, leaving fiefs vulnerable to chaos or opportunistic seizure.


§A. Concerning the Extinction of a Noble Line

If a noble line ends with no legitimate heir capable of bearing arms—whether male or female, of age to swear fealty and fulfil the duties of the fief—the title and lands revert immediately to the immediate liege lord.

A legitimate heir is one born in lawful wedlock, acknowledged by the house, of sound mind and body sufficient to render service, and not attainted of treason or Dereliction of Fealty. Incapacity due to extreme youth, permanent infirmity, or proven mental defect triggers reversion unless a regency or guardianship has been lawfully appointed under Title XV.


§B. Concerning the Options of the Liege upon Reversion

Upon reversion the liege may, at his or her sole discretion but always in service to the Three Pillars:


§C. Concerning the Special Exception for Treaty Grants

Pursuant to the Treaty of the Twelve (3108–3109 ATT), the counties of Frostshade Highlands, Emberlight Plains, and Ironflow Ridge—granted in perpetuity to House Breldaren, House Draengahar, and House Coldreach respectively—are held under special covenant. These counties may not revert, escheat, or be re-granted under ordinary rules of extinction save by joint decree of the Grand Duke and the Council of Clans of Haltodor. Any attempt to circumvent this covenant constitutes a grave offence against the Accord and the treaty, punishable by attainder of blood and perpetual exile.


§D. Concerning Historical Precedents and Safeguards

This Article balances the ancient rights of blood with the living needs of the realm, ensuring that nobility remains a shield of the people rather than a chain upon them.

In 3281 ATT, the Earldom of Vyrel Tundra—already reduced to a barony in 3106 ATT to prevent abeyance after the Winterblade Revolt—passed to the three-year-old Ilyana Pavlovna Ekvestnikov, the sole remaining legitimate descendant of Viscount Aldemir. The reversion was stayed by regency under Title XV until her majority, preserving continuity while the fief was administered by loyal proxies.¹


¹ The most famous modern reversion occurred in 3178 ATT when House Morthikov of SgàilCrith Tir ended with the execution of Baron Asmar Morthikov for tyranny during the revolt that bore his name. No legitimate heir remained. Marquess Elorin Storvalenne, as immediate liege, retained the barony in demesne for two years before elevating Sir Merrich Cloudblossom (hero of the Délavandrelle Plot thwarting) to Baron by Blood Deed. The small brass plaque affixed to the old Morthikov manor gate reads: “Blood failed. Deed remembered.” The manor still stands, now the seat of House Cloudblossom.

² During the Log War’s final campaigns (3104–3105 ATT), House Thornveil—traitors to the colony—was attainted and extinguished. Their barony reverted to the Grand Duke, who re-granted it piecemeal to loyal houses (including portions to House Sturmradik and House Rhashol). A weathered stone marker at the old Thornveil keep bears the inscription: “They betrayed the Pillars. The Pillars reclaimed what was lent.” The ruins are still avoided after dark.

³ In 3240 ATT, after Tharvok the Flameclaw razed much of Alder’s Reach, Earl Torvald Greystone perished with his entire line in the defence of his manor. The earldom reverted to Marquess Belvione, who retained it in demesne for one year before elevating three surviving captains of the defence to new baronies carved from the old lands. One of those captains, Captain Elara Fairwing, later became Baroness Fairwing. A granite pillar at the rebuilt manor reads: “Flame took the line. Fire forged the new.”

⁴ The Treaty of the Twelve exception was tested in 3123 ATT when Durin-Dûr Grom Coldreach died without heir during a mine collapse in Ironflow Ridge. Rumours spread that the county might revert to the Crown. The Council of Clans of Haltodor sent an embassy; after solemn council with Grand Duke Thero Délavandrelle, the title passed to Grom’s nephew Durin-Dûr Brenna Coldreach under joint decree. The event reinforced the covenant’s strength. A dwarven rune-stone at the county border still bears the carved oath: “Blood of the Twelve endures. The treaty remembers.”



Article 8: The Roll of the Tainted (The Decree of Collective Censure and Bloodline Accountability)


§1. Concerning The Definition and Sacred Custody of the Roll

Be it enacted by the Grand-Ducal mandate that there shall be established and maintained in perpetuity by the Chancery of Sequoia Bay a supreme administrative ledger of infamy, hereafter titled the Roll of the Tainted.

This volume, bound in the hide of the deep-trench kraken and inked with the distilled gall of the betrayer, serves as the singular legal record of those Noble Houses which have, through the transgressive conduct of their kin, severed their sacred connection to the Triadic Accord. The High Chancellor shall be the sole Keeper of the Quill, and let it be known that a name once inscribed in the Black Ink of the Taint is a mark that echoes through the marrow of the lineage, signaling a state of civil and social expiration.


§2. Concerning the Doctrine of Indivisible Honor and Collective Taint

Whereas the commoner and the smallfolk are judged as solitary fruit, the Peerage of the Colonies is judged as the Tree entire. Therefore, let it be codified that the Honor of a House is an indivisible essence; where one member of the bloodline shall falter, the whole of the lineage is deemed to have faltered.

Upon the commission of a Grave Contempt—be it the violation of the Covenant of the Threshold, the pursuit of the forbidden Arts of Necromancy, or acts of High Treason against the Grand-Ducal Sovereign—the offending individual’s House shall be summarily entered onto the Roll. From the moment the seal is pressed, the "Taint" shall cling to every man, woman, and child born of that name or sworn to its service, regardless of their personal distance from the offense.


§3. Concerning the Disabilities of the Tainted State

While a House remains inscribed upon the Roll, it is legally and spiritually "Hollowed," existing in a state of suspended personhood. The following disabilities shall be enforced with the full rigor of the Accord:


§4. Concerning the Path of Purgation and Internal Justice

The Roll is not a sentence of the grave, but a mandate for the House to prune its own rotten branches. To be "Stricken from the Roll" and restored to the light of the Accord, the House must execute the Right of Self-Policing through one of the following Lawful Paths:


§5. Concerning the Restoration of Standing and The Grace of the Quill

Upon the successful purgation of the offending member and the fulfillment of all judicial penance, the High Chancellor shall, by decree of the Grand Duke, draw a line of Crimson Ink through the House's entry on the Roll. This "Red Strike" signifies the Restoration of Dignity. At such time, the House’s banners may be lawfully raised, its taxes may be collected, and its members may once again walk as Peers of the realm. Let it be remembered, however, that the shadow of the Black Ink remains beneath the Red, serving as a silent witness to the fragility of honor.


§6. Concerning the Proclamation of the Roll

On the first day of every Moon, at the tolling of the noon bell in Sequoia Bay, the Roll of the Tainted shall be read aloud at the city gates and posted in every trade hub from the Kestral Cliffs to the Verdant Steppes. Let no subject of the Colonies plead ignorance of those who dwell in the Black Ink, for to harbor the Tainted is to defy the Accord, and to defy the Accord is to forfeit the world.



~ Title VI: Of Marriage, Dowry, and Wardship


(As first enacted in 3118 ATT and expanded by the Council of Nine Pillars in 3220 ATT and 3266 ATT after the celebrated case of the Awakened Stag)


Proclaimed in 3118 ATT amid the first generation of colonial-born children reaching marriageable age, when frontier unions—often hasty, pragmatic, and cross-racial—threatened to strain the fragile social order. The Article was sharpened in 3220 ATT after several coerced betrothals came to light during the Morthikov Revolt and again in 3266 ATT following the notorious Awakened Stag scandal, which forced the Council to draw a firm line between natural affection and magical tampering.


§A. Concerning the Sacred Nature of the Bond

Marriage is a solemn, voluntary bond entered into by two adult, sentient beings for the mutual increase of Property, the safeguarding of Liberty, and the honouring of Dignity.

It is neither a mere contract of convenience nor a tool of alliance, but a covenant recognised by the Triadic Accord as one of the highest expressions of free will under the Sovereign Architect. No power in the Colonies—neither lord, parent, priest, guild-master, spell-caster, nor any other authority—may compel, coerce, enchant, or otherwise force a free soul into wedlock against their continuing and uncoerced consent.


§B. Concerning the Absolute Requirement of Free Consent

Consent must be:

A marriage procured by any such means is null and void from the first word spoken. The offending party—whether spouse, parent, spell-caster, or other agent—suffers the full penalties for magical coercion under Title III and for crimes against citizens under Title IV, together with public dissolution of the union, restitution to the wronged party, and (at the court’s discretion) branding with the badge of shame or permanent forfeiture of any magical or clerical licence.


§C. Concerning the Protection of Liberty in Matrimonial Matters

No subject of the Colonies may be bound to marriage by:

Such attempts are held abomination against Liberty and Dignity alike; the court shall declare them void and punish the instigator accordingly.


§D. Concerning the Frontier Realities of Colonial Marriage

In these far western lands, where folk of many kindreds dwell side by side, marriage often bridges house, race, and station. The Accord welcomes such unions when freely chosen, for they strengthen the realm and enrich its Property through shared labour, shared heirs, and shared defence. Yet freedom remains the cornerstone: a tie forged in compulsion is no tie at all, but a chain—and chains are forbidden in these Colonies.¹


¹ The Awakened Stag case of 3266 ATT remains the most infamous test of this Article. A druid of the Eldenwraith Forelands, seeking to bind his forest heritage to his bloodline, awakened an ancient hart and declared it his bride before a bemused village magistrate. The stag—granted speech and reason—promptly bolted into the woods, leaving the druid to face the Circuit Justiciar. The union was declared void; the druid was fined five hundred Silver Moons, stripped of his grove-rights for three years, and required to replant one hundred saplings with his bare hands. A small wooden plaque now stands at the edge of that grove: “He wed the wild. The wild declined.”

² In 3187 ATT, during the Draconic Betrothal of Kestrel Cliffs, a young tiefling merchant attempted to wed a bronze dragon in human guise without first securing personhood under the Ledger of Extraordinary Folk. The dragon—amused—played along until the magistrate demanded the oath. When the truth emerged, the betrothal was annulled, the merchant fined one thousand Silver Moons for attempted fraud against Dignity, and the dragon quietly granted personhood after swearing the Triadic Oath. The silver-orichalcum badge she received still hangs in the Kestral Cliffs courthouse with the note: “She came in disguise. The Accord saw clearly.”

³ The Perfectly Produced Paramour affair of 3275 ATT saw Archmage Velthara of Frostshade Rise craft a living homunculus of ideal beauty and bind it to love her eternally. When the construct—granted true sentience by an unforeseen surge—begged release, the High Court dissolved the union, declared it an abomination against Liberty, and sentenced Velthara to ten years’ imprisonment in the Iron Oubliette with permanent revocation of her arcane licence. The homunculus, now named Elowen Freeheart, was granted personhood and a small pension. A brass plaque in the Sequoia Bay courtroom reads: “She shaped love. Love chose freedom.”

⁴ During the early famine winters of 3121–3123 ATT, several desperate parents attempted to barter their children’s hands for grain or protection. The Council of Nine Pillars invoked this Article to declare such bargains void and punished the coercing parties with flogging and exile. One mother, who had sold her daughter to a merchant for a winter’s bread, later reclaimed the girl after the merchant was fined and shamed. The girl grew to become a respected magistrate. A weathered stone marker at the old crossroads reads: “They sold a child for bread. The Pillars bought her back.”



Article 2 – Who May Marry (for noble and common alike)


First set down in 3118 ATT alongside the original marriage provisions, this Article has been amended four times by the Council of Nine Pillars and the Grand Duke: in 3187 ATT after the Draconic Betrothal of Kestrel Cliffs, in 3237 ATT following Lady Lirael’s attempted union with the Beholder of Deepcrag, in 3275 ATT after Archmage Velthara’s scandal with her “Perfectly Produced Paramour,” and again in 3282 ATT during the Great Harvestide Recension to codify the hard-won lessons of frontier unions, magical mischief, and the limits of personhood.


§A. Concerning Lawful Capacity to Marry

Any two persons of sentient race—human, elf, dwarf, gnome, halfling, orc, dragonborn, goblin, tiefling, aasimar, or any other folk granted the rights of personhood under the Triadic Accord—may contract lawful marriage, provided all of the following conditions are met:


§B. Concerning Prohibited Unions

The following marriages are utterly void and of no force under the Accord, and attempts to contract them constitute grave offences against Liberty and Dignity:


§C. Concerning Marriage to Monstrosities, Aberrations, Elementals, Fiends, Dragons, and Celestials

Marriage to a monstrosity, aberration, elemental, fiend, dragon, or celestial is void unless the alien spouse has first been granted personhood under the Accord:

Permitted examples (upon grant of personhood) include unions with centaurs of the Delphian Vale and Verdant Steppes herds, sphinxes who have passed the Riddle of the Three Pillars, or metallic dragons (bronze, gold, silver, copper, brass) who abjure chromatic kin and swear fealty.

Absolutely prohibited (personhood never granted): beholders, mind flayers, death tyrants, zorns, aboleths, and all aberrations whose nature compels madness or domination; fiends (demons, devils, yugoloths) save those redeemed by celestial miracle and temple ordeal; chromatic dragons (black, blue, green, red, white) whose wyrmhoards and lairs threaten Property and Liberty; and raw elementals unbound by oath or vessel.

Violation draws the full rigour of Title IV §A (treason or espionage if foreign powers are involved) and magical suppression under Title III.¹


Thus the Accord tempers the wild hearts of beast and star-born alike, admitting only those who bend knee to Property, Liberty, and Dignity as free folk of the Colonies, and closes every door by which Liberty might be stolen or Dignity defiled in the name of love.


¹ The Draconic Betrothal of Kestrel Cliffs (3187 ATT) saw a young tiefling merchant attempt to wed a bronze dragon in human guise without personhood. The dragon—amused—played along until the magistrate demanded the oath. The union was annulled, the merchant fined one thousand Silver Moons for attempted fraud against Dignity, and the dragon quietly granted personhood after swearing the Triadic Oath. Her silver-orichalcum badge still hangs in the Kestral Cliffs courthouse with the note: “She came in disguise. The Accord saw clearly.”

² In 3237 ATT, Lady Lirael Fauveron of Moonlight Hollow attempted to wed the Beholder of Deepcrag, claiming its intellect proved sentience. The High Court declared personhood impossible for a beholder’s nature of domination and paranoia. Lady Lirael was fined five hundred Silver Moons, placed under guardianship for one year, and required to swear the Triadic Oath anew before witnesses. A small crystal orb—recovered from the beholder’s lair—sits sealed in the courthouse with the plaque: “She sought a mind’s embrace. The mind sought only control.”

³ The Perfectly Produced Paramour affair of 3275 ATT saw Archmage Velthara craft a living homunculus of ideal beauty and bind it to love her eternally. When the construct—granted true sentience by an unforeseen surge—begged release, the High Court dissolved the union, declared it an abomination against Liberty, and sentenced Velthara to ten years in the Iron Oubliette with permanent revocation of her arcane licence. The homunculus, now Elowen Freeheart, was granted personhood and a small pension. A brass plaque in the Sequoia Bay courtroom reads: “She shaped love. Love chose freedom.”

⁴ In 3266 ATT the Awakened Stag scandal forced the final tightening of this Article. A druid awakened an ancient hart and declared it his bride. The stag—gifted speech—fled into the woods. The druid was fined, stripped of grove-rights for three years, and ordered to replant one hundred saplings. A wooden plaque at the grove’s edge reads: “He wed the wild. The wild declined.”



Article 3 – Consent and Ceremony


First laid down in 3118 ATT to provide simple, frontier-practical forms of marriage amid scattered hamlets and mixed-race settlements where grand temples were few and far between. Expanded in 3220 ATT to address noble intermarriages that threatened land consolidation and again in 3282 ATT during the Great Harvestide Recension to clarify the liege’s veto power after several appeals reached the Grand Duke following disputed betrothals in the Verdant Steppes.


§A. Concerning the Simplicity of Common Marriages

Marriages between common folk—or between any persons not holding title or standing as heirs apparent—require only the open, uncoerced declaration of mutual consent before two credible witnesses of good standing.

The ceremony may take place in any public place (village green, market square, tavern hall, ship’s deck, or roadside shrine) and needs no priest, cleric, or magistrate in attendance at the moment of vows.

Within thirty days of the declaration, the union must be registered with the local magistrate, priest of the Sovereign Architect, or (in remote marches) the nearest hedge knight bearing chancery authority. Registration consists of the names of the parties, the date and place of consent, the names of the witnesses, and a brief statement that the vows were freely given. The register is kept in the local courthouse or temple ledger and a copy forwarded to The Chancery in Sequoia Bay for the central rolls.


§B. Concerning the Additional Requirements for Noble Marriages

Marriages in which one or both parties hold noble title (from knight banneret to marquess) or stand as heirs apparent to such title require, in addition to the common declaration and registration:

The liege’s consent must be given in writing, sealed with his or her signet, and witnessed by at least one disinterested party of rank. Refusal must be stated in writing and for good cause only—treason, heresy, allegiance to a hostile realm, proven criminality, or direct threat to the Three Pillars. Mere personal dislike, factional rivalry, or economic disadvantage is insufficient cause.


§C. Concerning Appeal Against Refusal

Any noble whose liege refuses consent may appeal directly to the Grand Duke or, in his absence, to the Council of Nine Pillars sitting in solemn session.

The appeal must be lodged within sixty days of the refusal, accompanied by copies of the betrothal agreement, the liege’s written denial, and sworn testimony from at least three witnesses to the mutual consent.

The Grand Duke (or the Council) shall hear the matter within one year and may:

The decision is final and binding; no further appeal lies.


§D. Concerning the Penalties for Coerced or Unregistered Unions

Any attempt to compel a noble marriage without liege consent (where required) or to conceal such a union from registration constitutes Dereliction of Fealty or fraud against the Accord.

Punishment includes public dissolution of the marriage, forfeiture of any dowry or joint property gained thereby, fines up to one thousand Silver Moons, and (in grave cases) degradation or exile. The liege who wilfully withholds just consent without cause may himself face censure from the Council of Nine Pillars or—for repeated abuse—degradation of rank.¹


¹ In 3241 ATT, Viscountess Elara Fairwing of Alder’s Reach sought to wed a centaur herd-leader from the Verdant Steppes without her liege’s consent, claiming the union would secure the northern marches. Marquess Belvione refused, citing the risk of foreign arms entering the province. Fairwing appealed to the Grand Duke; after solemn hearing, Théro Délavandrelle granted consent on condition the centaur spouse swear the Triadic Oath and receive personhood. The wedding proceeded under the open sky; the centaur’s silver-orichalcum badge is still displayed at the Fairwing manor gate with the inscription: “Love crossed borders. The Accord built the bridge.”

² During the Moonlit Conclave festivities of 3260 ATT, a minor lord attempted to force his daughter into marriage with a foreign merchant to settle debts. The girl fled to a hedge knight, who sheltered her and registered her refusal. The Circuit Justiciar dissolved the betrothal, fined the father five hundred Silver Moons, and ordered him to repay the merchant’s advance threefold. The daughter later wed a local smith of her own choosing. A small stone marker at the crossroads reads: “He sold a heart. The heart chose its own buyer.”

³ In 3195 ATT, Baron Thalion Blueriver of Kestral Cliffs refused consent for his heir’s marriage to a tiefling refugee, citing “infernal taint.” The couple appealed; the Council of Nine Pillars overruled the refusal after the tiefling swore the Triadic Oath and proved loyalty during a yuan-ti raid. The wedding bells rang in Port Wavecrest; the baron was censured and required to endow an orphanage for tiefling foundlings. A brass plaque in the harbour temple reads: “He feared the horns. The horns bore the shield.”



Article 4 – Dowry, Dower, and Joint Property


First enacted in 3118 ATT to protect frontier marriages from the chaos of sudden wealth, sudden death, or sudden raids that could leave widows and orphans destitute. Expanded in 3220 ATT after the Morthikov Revolt saw several noble widows stripped of dower rights by vengeful kin, and again in 3282 ATT during the Great Harvestide Recension to reaffirm the Pillar of Property in an age when cross-house alliances and mixed-race unions increasingly joined disparate estates.


§A. Concerning Separate Property Entering Marriage

Whatever goods, coin, lands, herds, ships, arcane tomes, heirlooms, or other wealth either party brings into the marriage remain their separate Property under the Triadic Accord, unless the parties execute a contrary marriage contract signed, sealed, and witnessed by at least two disinterested persons of good standing.

Such a contract may provide for commingling of assets, joint ownership of future acquisitions, or any other lawful arrangement, but it must be voluntary, uncoerced, and registered with the local magistrate or Chancery within thirty days of the wedding. Absent such a contract, each spouse retains full title, control, and disposition over their pre-marital Property, even if held in joint habitation or used for the common benefit of the household.


§B. Concerning Dower-Right Upon Widowhood

Upon marriage, the spouse of lesser means—whether by wealth, land, or station—is entitled to a dower-right of one-third of the wealthier spouse’s lands, revenues, and movable goods for the term of their natural life, should they become widowed.
This dower-right attaches immediately upon the solemnisation of the marriage and survives the death of the wealthier spouse. It includes:

The dower is inalienable during the widow(er)’s life and may not be seized for the debts of the deceased spouse unless those debts were contracted with the dower-holder’s express consent. Upon the dower-holder’s death, the dower reverts to the heirs of the original deceased spouse or (if no heirs survive) to the Crown.


§C. Concerning Noble Heiresses and Courtesy Rank

Noble heiresses who inherit title and fief under Title V §4 (Succession to Titles) retain full title, command, and seisin of their lands and revenues throughout the marriage. The husband acquires only courtesy rank—Lord Consort or equivalent—and no right of management, alienation, or military command over the fief unless separately granted by the heiress in a witnessed contract or by the liege lord in exceptional circumstances (e.g., war or incapacity certified under Title XV).

Should the heiress predecease her husband, he retains courtesy rank and dower-right (one-third of her lands and revenues for life) only if the marriage produced living issue capable of inheriting; otherwise, the dower lapses and the fief passes according to the rules of succession.
This provision ensures that noble titles and estates descend through blood and merit rather than through marriage alone, preserving the Pillar of Property against schemes of acquisition by alliance.


§D. Concerning Joint Acquisitions and Household Goods

Any lands, goods, coin, or wealth acquired jointly during the marriage—through shared labour, trade, prize, or gift to both spouses—shall be held as joint Property unless a contrary marriage contract provides otherwise.
In the event of dissolution by death or divorce, such joint Property is divided equally between the surviving spouse and the heirs (or between the former spouses in divorce), after payment of debts contracted for the common benefit of the household.
Household goods used in common (furniture, plate, tools, livestock kept for family sustenance) are presumed joint unless proven to belong solely to one spouse by prior title or gift.


§E. Concerning Penalties for Abuse of Dower or Property Rights

Any attempt to defraud a spouse of dower-right, separate Property, or joint acquisitions—whether by concealment of assets, secret alienation of lands, forgery of contracts, or coercion—constitutes a felony against the Pillar of Property.
Punishment includes:


¹ In 3204 ATT, Countess Isolde Zdunowski of Quillbrooke Heights secretly alienated one-third of her late husband’s grain lands to a lover, attempting to deprive her widowed step-daughter of dower-right. The step-daughter appealed to the Circuit Justiciar; the alienation was voided, the lands restored, and Isolde fined twice the annual revenue of the alienated portion. She was required to wear a silver chain inscribed “She stole from widows” for one year. The chain—returned upon payment—was later melted down to fund an orphanage. A small ledger entry in the Chancery notes: “She took bread from orphans. The Accord returned it with interest.”

² During the Blight Scourge of 3265 ATT, a merchant widow in Sequoia Bay attempted to claim joint ownership of her late husband’s entire fleet, including ships he had inherited before marriage. The High Court upheld the separate Property rule; she received only her dower-right (one-third) and one-half of the ships built during the marriage. The case is still cited when chancery apprentices are taught that “love joins hearts; the Accord keeps the ledgers honest.”

³ In 3159 ATT, Baroness Mirka Velorynsk of Moonlight Hollow—widowed young—defended her dower-right against her late husband’s grasping brothers who sought to seize the barony entire. The Council of Nine Pillars upheld her claim; the brothers were fined and publicly shamed. The barony’s seal was altered to include a single golden poppy (symbol of the Three Pillars) with the motto beneath: “Dower guards the widow. The widow guards the land.”



Article 5 – Wardship of Minors and Heirs, and the Regency of Fiefs

(Article 5 as expanded by the Council of Nine Pillars in 3239 ATT and again in 3280 ATT after the minority of Baroness Ilyana Pavlovna Ekvestnikov)

§1. Concerning the Wardship of the Person and Lands

When a titled heir (male or female) falls beneath the age of majority through death of the parent or guardian, the immediate liege shall forthwith become guardian of both the body of the ward and the whole of the inheritance until the heir attains full adult years for their rank and race.

§2. Concerning Duties of the Guardian toward the Ward

The guardian shall:

- Place the ward in a household of fitting rank and honour for fosterage and instruction.

- Preserve the lands, castles, revenues, and moveables un-wasted and un-encumbered.

- Ensure the ward receives the finest education befitting their future station: letters, law (especially the Triadic Accord), arms, horsemanship, stewardship, and (where aptitude exists) the arcane or divine arts under licensed masters.

- Arrange (but never compel) a marriage that strengthens the ward, the house, and the realm.

- Render yearly account of revenues and expenditures to the provincial justiciar and to the Council of Nine Pillars.

§3. Concerning Appointment of a Regent

If the heir is too young to bear arms or sit in judgement, the liege shall name a regent (who may be the guardian or another trusted knight or noble) to rule the fief in the heir’s name until majority.

- The regent shall govern justly, keep the castles in repair, render the Grand-Ducal Third, and answer the levy with the fief’s due strength.

- The regent may not alienate lands, contract debts upon the inheritance, or marry the heir without the liege’s written consent and the Grand Duke’s seal.

§4. Conderning Abuses of Wardship or Regency

The following are felony against the Pillar of Dignity:

- Waste or plunder of the inheritance.

- Forced marriage or betrothal of the ward.

- Sale of the ward’s hand for private gain.

- Neglect of the ward’s education or wellbeing.

- Usurpation of the fief beyond the term of regency.

Punishment: immediate removal of ward and regency, restitution threefold, heavy fine, imprisonment, or (in grievous cases) degradation of the offender’s own rank and delivery to the arena.

§4. Concerning Coming of Age and Restoration

Upon reaching majority, the heir shall be invested in open court, swear the Triadic Oath, and receive full seisin of lands and title. The regent and guardian shall then render final account; any shortfall must be made good from their own purse before they are discharged.

Thus the Accord ensures that every orphaned heir, from the youngest baron’s child to the greatest marquess’s daughter, grows strong in body, wise in counsel, and ready to bear the banner of their ancestors beneath the Three Pillars.



Article 6 – Dissolution of Marriage


As completely revised by the Council of Nine Pillars in 3231 ATT after the infamous Case of the Twice-Slain Duchess, when Duchess Elara Vossmere poisoned her husband, paid for his resurrection, and attempted to resume the marriage as though nothing had occurred. The scandal exposed the peril of resurrection used to evade consequences; the Article was rewritten to close every loophole by which Liberty or Dignity might be stolen under colour of marital bond.


§A. Concerning Dissolution by Natural Death

The natural death of one spouse dissolves the marriage bond instantly and without formality.

The surviving spouse inherits according to any dowry or dower contract, the laws of succession set forth in Title V, and any joint acquisitions made during the marriage. No further court action is required unless disputed claims arise, in which case the matter is heard as an ordinary probate before the local magistrate or provincial assize.


§B. Concerning Dissolution by Murder Followed by Resurrection

Should one spouse murder the other and thereafter cause or procure the victim’s resurrection—by Raise Dead, Resurrection, Reincarnate, or any necromantic or divine art—the bond is dissolved with utmost prejudice and without need of petition:


§C. Concerning Dissolution by Mutual Consent

Both parties may appear together before any magistrate, priest of the Sovereign Architect, or authorised hedge knight and declare their wish to part.

No cause need be shown; the declaration must be uncoerced and made in the presence of two credible witnesses. The dissolution is registered forthwith and takes effect immediately upon registration. Any joint property is divided equally unless a prior contract provides otherwise; dower-rights lapse unless the parties agree to preserve them by separate deed.


§D. Concerning Annulment

Annulment may be granted by any provincial assize (or the High Court in cases of noble rank) upon proof of one or more of the following grounds existing at the time of contract:

An annulled marriage is declared never to have existed; dowry and dower-rights are restored to their original owners, joint acquisitions are divided as though never married, and any children born of the union are deemed legitimate for purposes of inheritance unless fraudulently concealed.


§E. Concerning Judicial Divorce for Grievous Cause

The High Court of Sequoia Bay (or a provincial assize acting under Grand-Ducal warrant) may grant judicial divorce upon proof of one or more of the following causes:

1). Adultery / Infidelity The unfaithful spouse shall pay damages to the injured party (minimum one thousand Silver Moons or one-third of their separate property, whichever is greater). A public edict of shame may be pronounced at the court’s discretion.

Accusations of infidelity that are denied shall be investigated by a lord’s court wizard, licensed cleric, or Magisterium diviner using Zone of Truth, Discern Lies, or equivalent rites. If the accusation is proven false, the accuser shall reimburse all spell components and diviner’s fees, pay damages to the falsely accused (minimum five hundred Silver Moons), and suffer such further penalty as the court deems just (flogging, edict of shame, or short imprisonment).

2). Desertion of three continuous years without just cause (war service, lawful pilgrimage, or proven captivity excepted).

3). Attempted Murder (not followed by resurrection).

4). Enslavement or sale of the spouse into bondage or trafficking.

5). Use of magic upon the spouse to influence thought, will, or affection without continuing consent: automatic divorce upon proof, together with full penalties under Title IV §E (Crimes Against Citizens) and Title III (magical coercion), including imprisonment, forfeiture of magical licence, and public branding if the compulsion was severe.

Thus the Accord guards the hearth-flame of every home, great and small, ensuring that love and alliance are freely given and never bought by spell, steel, or ancient blood alone.²


¹ The Case of the Twice-Slain Duchess (3231 ATT) gave this section its present form. Duchess Elara Vossmere poisoned her husband, paid a cleric to raise him, and attempted to resume the marriage. The resurrected duke testified against her; the High Court dissolved the bond, stripped her of everything, and sentenced her to the arena where she perished. The duke’s testimony is still read aloud in chancery lectures with the dry note: “Death did not end the marriage. Justice did.”

² In 3268 ATT, Lord Corvin Rumblecreek of Wealdrift Shire deserted his wife for three years to join a yuan-ti smuggling ring. Upon his return, she petitioned for divorce. The provincial assize granted it, awarded her full dower-right plus half the joint holdings, and fined Corvin one thousand Silver Moons. He later died in exile. A small ledger note in the shire courthouse reads: “He left for three years. The hearth waited three years to close the door.”

³ During the Defense of BrightHearth (3248 ATT), a knight attempted to murder his wife to claim her inheritance before marching to battle. The plot failed; she survived and sued for divorce on grounds of attempted murder. The High Court granted it, awarded her triple damages, and stripped him of courtesy rank. He fell in the siege. A granite marker at the old manor gate bears the words: “He raised a blade against his hearth. The hearth raised justice against him.”



~ Title VII: Of Trade, Guilds, and Markets



Article 1 – The Pillar of Liberty in Trade

Free and honest commerce is the life-blood of the Colonies. No lord, guild, or officer may hinder the lawful movement of goods, coin, or labor save for the causes here written.



Article 2 – Free Trade Between the Colonies and Lawful Exceptions

(Title VII Article 2 §3 was revised by the Council of Nine Pillars in 3192 ATT after the “Hole-in-the-Bag Catastrophe” at Skyreach Pass)


§A. Concerning Internal Freedom of Movement

There shall be no tolls, staples, market-fees, or customs whatsoever between the Delphian Vale, Verdant Steppes, Badlands, or any chartered settlement owing fealty to the Grand Duke, save only the single Grand-Ducal road-tax of one copper wheel per laden wagon (or one Silver Moon per hundred head of livestock) when entering or leaving a province.


§B. Concerning Skyreach Pass and the Treaty of the Twelve

By ancient and unbreakable covenant sealed in the Hall of Granite Oaths in 3108–3109 ATT, every caravan, pack-train, or traveller that successfully traverses Skyreach Pass through the sovereign territory of the Dwarven City-State of Haltodor shall, upon safe disembarkment at the western or eastern gate, render to the officers of Haltodor the Passage Due of the 6 Ruling Clans as per The Maldovarrian Colonies and The Dwarven City-State of Haltodor's **Treaty of the Twelve:

- One Silver Moon per wagon or riding beast,

- Five Silver Moons per fully-laden merchant company of ten wagons or more.

This due is paid once per crossing, in either direction, and is collected by the joint wardens of Fort Ironwatch and Granitehold Bastion. Refusal or evasion is felony against the Treaty; punishment: confiscation of the entire caravan, fines and exile from Haltodoran lands for seven winters.

The Passage Due of the 6 Ruling Clans is one of the few revenues explicitly preserved by the Treaty of the Twelve (3108–3109 ATT) and remains exempt from the Grand-Ducal Third. It is collected jointly at Fort Ironwatch and Granitehold Bastion and divided among the ruling clans of Haltodor as stipulated in the original parchment signed beneath the Hall of Granite Oaths.


§C. Concerning the Regulation of Extradimensional Storage Devices

In light of the grievous catastrophe of 3192 ATT wherein contact between a goblin raider’s portable hole and a porter’s bag of holding annihilated an entire grain caravan on the heights of Skyreach Pass in the event known as The Hole-in-the-Bag Catastrophe the following is ordained:

1). Every bag of holding, handy haversack, portable hole, efficient quiver, or any other magical device capable of creating or accessing extradimensional space is declared a controlled artifact within the jurisdiction of the Colonies.

2). Possession or use of such an item requires:

3). Licence fee: five Golden Saints per year for items holding up to 250 lb / 30 cubic feet; twenty-five Golden Saints per year for greater devices.

4). Any guild officer in good standing, magistrate, officer of the Colonial Army, Navy or licensed magisterium warden may demand immediate presentation of both the item and its licence papers.

5). Travelling without licence, refusal to present, or use of an unregistered or defective item is felony:

- First offence: confiscation of the item and fine of 500 Golden Saints.

- Second offence: confiscation, branding of the left hand with the broken-circle rune, and five years’ hard labour.

- Causing death or destruction through misuse: death or delivery to the arena.


§D. Concerning Rivers, Harbours, and Recognised Roads

Save for the Passage Due of the Twelve and the lawful regulation of extradimensional devices, all rivers, harbours, and recognised roads remain free highways for merchants of every race and origin. No lord, guild, or watch-captain may impede lawful passage or levy private toll.

Thus the caravans roll unburdened across vale and steppe, yet the ancient pacts with Haltodor are honoured and the terrible lesson of the Hole-in-the-Bag Catastrophe never be forgotten.



Article 3 – Market Peace


Enacted in the original Accord of 3108 ATT when the first chartered markets in Sequoia Bay and Quillbrooke Heights became vital lifelines for a colony still recovering from the Runeveil Fever. The rule of absolute peace was hammered out after a bloody brawl over a single sack of grain nearly collapsed trade for an entire season. Greatly strengthened in 3282 ATT during the Great Harvestide Recension after repeated violations during the Blight Scourge showed how swiftly market violence could starve entire shires.


§A. Concerning the Sacred Time and Bounds of Market Peace

In every chartered market, fair, or trading post within the Maldovarrian Colonies, absolute peace reigns from the moment the market banner is raised at dawn until it is lowered at dusk on the final day of trading.

The bounds of peace extend to the entire market square, all streets and alleys leading directly to it, the docks or landing stages used by merchants, and any temporary encampments or stalls erected under licence. The banner—usually a golden poppy on green field—serves as visible sign that the Pillar of Property is under special protection; its raising signals that all within the bounds are under the direct safeguard of the Accord.


§B. Concerning Felonious Breaches of Market Peace

Drawing steel, casting destructive magic (fire, lightning, force, acid, or any spell intended to wound or destroy), or offering violence of any kind within the market bounds constitutes felony against the common weal and the Pillar of Property.
Such acts are punished by:

The offender is bound over to the local magistrate for trial; sentence is carried out publicly so that all traders and buyers witness the cost of breaking the peace.


§C. Concerning Lesser Breaches and Intimidation

Even spoken threats, the baring of fangs or claws in anger, brandishing of weapons without drawing them, or any other act that alarms honest folk and disturbs the quiet conduct of trade breaks market peace and is punished by:

Repeated lesser breaches (three or more within a single trading season) escalate to felony punishment as though steel had been drawn.


§D. Concerning the Duties of Market Wardens and Magistrates
Every chartered market shall appoint wardens—sworn hedge knights, pledged knights, or trusted burgesses—to patrol the bounds while the banner flies.

They may arrest any person who breaches peace on sight and bring them before the local magistrate or (in larger fairs) the circuit justiciar sitting in special assize.

No plea of provocation, ancient feud, or personal honour shall excuse a breach within the bounds; the market peace is absolute, and the Accord brooks no exception. Wardens who fail in their duty or accept bribes to overlook violations suffer degradation, flogging, and permanent forfeiture of office.¹


_¹ The most notorious breach occurred in 3124 ATT during the first great autumn fair after the Log War armistice. A feud between two lumber houses erupted when one accused the other of selling marked ironwood; steel flashed, a stall burned, and three traders died. The Circuit Justiciar hanged the ringleaders at market’s end, flogged their seconds, exiled both houses from Sequoia Bay markets for seven years, and levied triple damages that bankrupted one family. A blackened timber post still stands in the square with the plaque: “They broke the peace. The peace broke them.”

² In 3192 ATT, amid the chaos of the Hole-in-the-Bag Catastrophe, a goblin merchant bared fangs and threatened a halfling rival over a spilled crate of Moonblossom herbs. The market warden dragged him to the stocks for a day; the goblin spent the time loudly apologising to every passer-by. He later became a respected herbalist in Wealdrift Shire. The stocks bear a small carved note: “Fangs spoke. The stocks answered.”

³ During the Blight Scourge of 3265 ATT, a desperate farmer drew a dagger on a grain merchant who refused to sell at pre-blight prices. The merchant was wounded but survived. The farmer was flogged thirty lashes, ordered to pay triple the value of the grain he had tried to seize, and exiled from the market for seven years. The merchant later forgave the debt after the farmer laboured three seasons in his fields. A weathered sign above the market post reads: “Hunger drew steel. Justice drew the lash. Mercy mended the rest.”

⁴ In 3278 ATT, a hedge knight on patrol cast a minor firebolt to scatter a pack of feral dogs that had entered the BrightHearth fair and menaced livestock. The court ruled the act lawful defence of Property and not a breach; the knight was commended. The case is still cited when wardens debate whether intent matters more than effect: “He burned vermin. The market thanked him.”



Article 4 – Guilds and Craft Brotherhoods


Enacted in the original Accord of 3108 ATT when the first wave of Maldovarrian craftsmen—shipwrights, smiths, weavers, and alchemists—began to organise amid the raw frontier settlements. Expanded in 3192 ATT after the Hole-in-the-Bag Catastrophe exposed guild attempts to monopolise extradimensional storage pouches, and again in 3282 ATT during the Great Harvestide Recension to reaffirm free trade against creeping restrictions during the Blight Scourge grain shortages.


§A. Concerning the Right to Form Guilds

Artisans, merchants, masters of any trade, and labourers of honest craft may freely form guilds, brotherhoods, or companies for the mutual regulation of quality, the training of apprentices, the relief of widows and orphans, the setting of fair standards, and the protection of their common livelihood.
Such guilds may petition the local magistrate or the Grand Duke for a charter granting them a seal, a market hall, and the right to bear a banner in civic processions. A chartered guild enjoys the protection of the Accord and may hold property, sue and be sued, and maintain a common chest for mutual aid.


§B. Concerning the Limits Imposed upon Guild Power

No guild, whether chartered or informal, may:

Violation of any of these prohibitions constitutes felony against the Pillar of Property and the common weal. Upon proof, the guild charter shall be dissolved by order of the High Court or provincial assize, the common chest forfeit to the Crown for relief of the poor, and every master who participated in the offence fined not less than five hundred Silver Moons each, with public edict of shame nailed to the guild hall door for one year.


§C. Concerning the Duties of Guilds to the Realm

Every chartered guild must:

Failure in these duties may result in suspension of the charter for one to three years, or—upon repeated neglect—permanent dissolution.


§D. Concerning the Protection of Independent Craftsmen

Any craftsman who labours outside a guild enjoys the full protection of the Accord. Guilds may not harass, threaten, sabotage, or exclude independents from markets, apprentices, or raw materials. Such acts are punished as interference with Property and Liberty: flogging, triple damages, and (in grave cases) exile from the shire for seven years.¹


¹ In 3192 ATT, during the Hole-in-the-Bag Catastrophe, the Sequoia Bay Leatherworkers’ Guild attempted to bar independent tanners from selling extradimensional pouches unless they joined and paid triple dues. The independents appealed; the High Court dissolved the guild charter for one year, fined the masters one thousand Silver Moons each, and redistributed the common chest to the injured tanners. A small leather pouch—empty but sealed with the broken guild stamp—hangs in the Chancery archive with the plaque: “They tried to stitch a monopoly. The Accord cut the thread.”

² During the Blight Scourge of 3265 ATT, the Quillbrooke Millers’ Brotherhood fixed grain prices by intimidation, refusing to sell to non-members below ruinous rates. A circuit justiciar broke the combination; the ringleaders were flogged, the guild charter suspended for three years, and the common chest used to buy seed for starving tenants. The millstone from the ringleader’s mill now bears a carved poppy with the words: “They ground the poor. The poor ground justice.”

³ In 3146 ATT, a dwarven smith from Haltodor—unaffiliated with any local guild—was denied fair examination by the Sequoia Bay Smiths’ Company. He appealed under this Article; the guild was fined, forced to admit him after examination, and compelled to display a sign for one year reading: “Skill knows no border. The Accord knows no favour.” The smith later became guild master himself. The sign—repainted yearly—still hangs above the guild hall door.

⁴ The most celebrated defence of an independent occurred in 3279 ATT when Oruzu Fapplehepple—a gnome alchemist and hero of the Délavandrelle Plot—refused to join the Frostshade Alchemists’ Guild and was denied market space. The Council of Nine Pillars ruled in her favour; the guild was fined heavily, and Fapplehepple was granted a royal licence to trade freely. Her stall banner now bears three golden poppies with the motto: “No guild owns craft. The Accord owns freedom.”



Article 5 – Weights, Measures, and Coin


Proclaimed in 3108 ATT alongside the founding of the Triadic Accord to prevent the chaos of mismatched measures and debased coin that had plagued early colonial markets during the Runeveil Fever years. Strengthened in 3182 ATT during the Great Coinage Crisis when foreign clippers flooded Sequoia Bay with shaved silver, and reaffirmed in the 3282 Great Harvestide Recension to protect the realm’s fragile trust in trade amid growing commerce with Haltodor and Aerlon.


§A. Concerning the Sole Lawful Standards of Weight and Measure

The Sequoia Bay standard pound (weight), ell (length), bushel (dry capacity), and gallon (liquid capacity) are the sole lawful measures throughout the Maldovarrian Colonies.
All market scales, rods, vessels, and containers must conform to the bronze exemplars kept in the Chancery within the Felled Grove of Sequoia Bay and bear the ducal seal of verification.
Any merchant, innkeeper, miller, or trader found using false, unstamped, or non-standard measures shall suffer:

Repeated offences (three or more within two years) constitute felony against the Pillar of Property and carry flogging of not less than twenty lashes and exile from all chartered markets for seven years.


§B. Concerning Lawful Coin and the Prohibition of Private Minting

Only coins struck in the name of the Grand Duke and bearing one of the four lawful devices—Platinum Dragon (highest denomination), Golden Saint, Silver Moon, or Copper Wheel—are legal tender for all public debts, taxes, scutage, fines, and market transactions within the Colonies.

Private minting, coining, or counterfeiting of any coin in imitation of the ducal currency is high treason against the Pillar of Property and the realm itself. Punishment upon conviction: death by beheading in the market square of Sequoia Bay or the nearest provincial capital, with the offender’s head displayed upon a spike for one full lunar cycle and the body buried without rite beyond the city walls.


§C. Concerning Clipped, Shaved, or Counterfeit Coin
Any person who clips, shaves, files, sweats, plugs, or otherwise debases lawful coin, or who knowingly passes, receives, or possesses counterfeit coin, commits felony against the common weal.
Punishment:

Merchants or innkeepers who accept debased coin in good faith and immediately report it to the magistrate suffer no penalty and may claim restitution from the Crown fund established for such losses.


§D. Concerning the Duties of Moneyers and Assayers

The Royal Mint at Sequoia Bay (and such branch mints as the Grand Duke may authorise) shall strike coin of true weight and fineness under strict oversight by the Chancery and the Magisterium.

Assayers—licensed mages or alchemists—shall test coin at every major market using touchstone, acid, or arcane detection; any coin found wanting shall be confiscated and its passer questioned. False accusation of debasement is itself punishable by fine and public edict.


Thus the Accord ensures that every bushel is true, every coin rings honest, and every trade rests upon the unyielding foundation of Property—for in a realm built on trust, a shaved silver is as deadly as a drawn blade.¹


¹ During the Great Coinage Crisis of 3182 ATT, a ring of clippers operating out of Port Wavecrest shaved thousands of Silver Moons before flooding them into the docks. The High Court hanged the ringleaders, branded their seconds across the palms, and melted the recovered silver into a great bell for the Sequoia Bay courthouse. The bell—still rung at dawn on market days—bears the inscription: “They shaved the realm’s trust. The realm shaved their hands.”

² In 3143 ATT, a foreign merchant from Tandekutaar attempted to pass a bag of counterfeit Copper Wheels in Wealdrift Shire. The local magistrate detected the fraud with a simple lodestone test; the merchant lost his right hand and was exiled beyond the Kurgan Expanse. The false coins—melted down—were recast into nails for the new market stalls. A small iron nail driven into the magistrate’s bench still bears the mark: “False coin came. True justice struck.”

³ The Blight Scourge of 3265 ATT saw desperate farmers pass clipped coin to buy seed. The Council of Nine Pillars issued a one-year amnesty for good-faith offenders who surrendered debased silver; the metal was melted to fund orphan relief. A single surviving clipped Silver Moon—preserved in the Chancery vault—carries the note: “Hunger shaved it. Mercy spared the hand.”



Article 6 – Contracts and Debts

  1. All contracts openly made and witnessed are binding under the Accord.

  2. Debt-bondage is limited to seven years and may never be inherited.

  3. A debtor unable to pay may be bound to labor, but never to chattel slavery (see Title VIII).



Article 7 – Foreign Trade, the Emperor’s Prerogative, and the Defence of the Realm


As completely revised and expanded by decree of Grand Duke Thero Délavandrelle and the Council of Nine Pillars in 3205 ATT, following the Affair of the Crimson-Sailed Caravan—a yuan-ti-smuggled shipment of Ephemeral Bliss that poisoned half the dockside taverns of Port Wavecrest and left seventeen free folk mindless. The scandal revealed how readily foreign wealth could carry hidden peril; this Article balances open trade with iron safeguards for the Three Pillars.


§A. Concerning the General Encouragement of Lawful Trade

Trade with the Mother Isle of Maldovarra and all foreign realms is encouraged and protected for the increase of Property and the common weal of the Colonies.

Yet the Grand Duke, as Viceroy of the Emperor, retains sovereign right to license, restrict, tax, or wholly forbid any cargo, vessel, caravan, or commerce that endangers Property, Liberty, Dignity, the peace of the realm, or the safety of its free subjects. No merchant or captain may claim immunity by reason of distant origin; all trade bends to the Accord.


§B. Concerning the Emperor’s Harbour Due and Port Fees
Every ship, barge, caravan, or pack-train entering or clearing the great harbours (Sequoia Bay, Port Wavecrest, Kestral Cliffs) or frontier posts shall pay the Emperor’s Harbour Due of one twentieth (5 %) of the declared cargo value, rendered in lawful coin or in kind at current market rates.

False declaration of value is smuggling; punishment follows §D.


§C. Concerning Special Tariffs and Restrictions by Realm

By standing decree of the Grand Duke (renewed or altered each Midsummer Council after consultation with the Council of Nine Pillars), the following tariffs and controls presently apply:


§D. Concerning Piracy and Smuggling

Any ship, caravan, or person found bearing goods taken by piracy upon the high seas or the frontier roads shall forfeit the whole cargo to the Crown. Master, crew, and owners shall be imprisoned and tried for piracy; upon conviction: death by hanging at low tide, consignment to the arena, or life labour in the deep mines.

Smuggling—concealment of dutiable goods, false manifests, bribery of wardens, or evasion of inspection—is felony:


§E. Concerning Procedure for Suspect Vessels and Caravans

The Harbour Warden or Frontier Marshal may detain any vessel or caravan upon reasonable suspicion of smuggling, piracy, prohibited cargo, or evasion of due.

Magisterium-licensed diviners and trained hounds shall search for contraband, hidden slaves, yuan-ti venom, Ephemeral Bliss, or other prohibited substances.

Innocent captains wrongfully detained shall receive compensation of five hundred Silver Moons from the port treasury and a letter of free passage for one year, signed by the Grand Duke or his deputy.


§F. Concerning Prohibited Cargoes

The following cargoes are wholly forbidden (present list, subject to Grand-Ducal amendment by decree):

Violation draws the full rigour of piracy or smuggling penalties, together with possible charges of treason if foreign powers are implicated.


Thus the wealth of distant realms may flow into the Colonies to enrich the people, yet no poisoned coin, enslaved soul, or pirate blade shall pass the watch-fires unhindered. May the roads remain open, the scales honest, and the markets alive with the clamour of free folk, that Property may increase and Liberty flourish beneath the Three Pillars.¹


¹ The Affair of the Crimson-Sailed Caravan (3204 ATT) birthed this Article’s present form. A yuan-ti-slipped vessel flying false Maldovarrian colours docked at Port Wavecrest with crates of Ephemeral Bliss hidden beneath spices. Seventeen dockhands and tavern patrons were poisoned into mindless servitude before the plot was uncovered. The High Court burned the ship at anchor, hanged the captain and crew, and seized the cargo. The charred prow-timber now stands in the harbour square with a brass plaque: “They sailed poison. The sea answered with fire.”



Article 8 – Of Piracy, Privateering, and Letters of Marque


Added to the Triadic Accord in 3075 ATT by decree of Grand Duke Thero Délavandrelle after the total loss of the colony ship Aelmora in 3074 ATT to pirate raiders off the Jaded Sea. The disaster claimed nearly two hundred souls and severed resupply from Maldovarra for a full year, forcing the colony to confront the vulnerability of its single lifeline across the ocean. The Article was last reviewed and reaffirmed during the 3282 Great Harvestide Recension amid rising threats from Sss’vraelthian Tethys corsairs and opportunistic privateers from Tandekutaar.


§A. Concerning the Definition of Piracy

Any ship, captain, or crew that, without lawful commission from the Grand Duke or the Emperor, seizes, plunders, burns, or otherwise molests vessels upon the high seas or within colonial waters commits piracy, a capital crime against the Pillar of Property and the common weal of the Colonies.

Piracy includes:

The sea is declared the life-blood of the Colonies and the Deepwater Passage its only tether to the Mother Isle; to assail it is to strike at the heart of every free subject.


§B. Concerning the Penalties for Piracy

Captured pirates shall be tried by admiralty court convened at Sequoia Bay, Port Wavecrest, or the nearest fortified harbour possessing a resident magistrate or circuit justiciar.

Upon conviction:

No plea of necessity, hunger, or prior mistreatment shall mitigate the sentence; piracy is held an absolute offence against the ordered peace of the realm.


§C. Concerning Letters of Marque and Reprisal
In time of declared war, or when colonial shipping suffers repeated depredation by a foreign power, the Grand Duke may issue Letters of Marque and Reprisal to private captains and their ships.

Such letters authorise the bearer to:

The Crown claims one-fifth (the Grand-Ducal Fifth) of the appraised value of every lawful prize; the remainder is divided among captain, officers, and crew according to their signed articles.

Letters are valid only against the named enemy and expire upon conclusion of peace, revocation by the Grand Duke, or the death of the bearer.


§D. Concerning the Bounds and Abuse of Letters of Marque

A captain holding a letter of marque must:

Any captain who exceeds his letter—by attacking neutral or allied shipping, continuing hostilities after peace, murdering surrendered crews, or concealing prizes—shall himself be declared pirate and hunted with the full rigour of the law. Punishment follows §B without mitigation.


§E. Concerning Neutral Shipping and the Laws of War at Sea

No ship flying the recognised colours of a neutral realm, or bearing a valid safe-conduct from the Grand Duke or a marquess, may be molested under pain of piracy.

Safe-conducts are issued under ducal seal and must be presented upon demand; they protect both vessel and cargo for the stated voyage and duration.

Violation of a safe-conduct is treated as piracy compounded by breach of faith, carrying the same penalties as piracy with the additional forfeiture of any letter of marque the offender may hold.


Thus the seas are kept open for honest trade, the enemies of the Colonies are harried by every willing hand, and the ancient right of marque turns private profit to public defence. Ratified beneath the living Chancery, 3075 ATT.¹


¹ The Aelmora disaster of 3074 ATT—when the colony ship was boarded and burned by pirates off the Jaded Sea—killed nearly two hundred settlers and severed resupply for a full year. The survivors’ accounts, carved into the charred prow that washed ashore at Sequoia Bay, are preserved in the Chancery with the inscription: “They took the ship. The Accord took their lives.” The incident directly birthed this Article and the first admiralty court.

² In 3205 ATT, during the aftermath of the Affair of the Crimson-Sailed Caravan, a privateer holding a letter of marque against yuan-ti slavers exceeded his commission by seizing a neutral Aerlon froststone trader. The High Court stripped his letter, hanged him from his own yard-arm, and burned his ship as warning. The seized froststone—returned to its owners—was later fashioned into a lighthouse lens at Port Wavecrest bearing the note: “He took beyond his writ. The light remembers.”

³ The Great Jaded Sea Chase of 3254 ATT saw Captain Thorne Blackreef—granted a letter against Sss’vraelthian corsairs—pursue a fleeing slaver into neutral waters and burn it at anchor. The court ruled the act lawful reprisal; Blackreef received a commendation and a share of the prize. His ship’s figurehead—a snarling sea-drake—now stands in Sequoia Bay harbour with the plaque: “He chased the serpent. The sea cheered the chase.”



Article 9 – Of Naval Warfare and the Laws of the Sea


Proclaimed by Grand Duke Thero Délavandrelle in 3075 ATT alongside Article 8 after the loss of the Aelmora, when it became clear that colonial survival depended on keeping the Deepwater Passage open and honourable. The ordinances were first tested during the Jaded Sea Skirmishes (3250–3254 ATT) against yuan-ti corsairs and reaffirmed in the 3282 Great Harvestide Recension to bind privateers and navy alike under the Three Pillars amid rising tensions with Tandekutaar and Sss’vraelthian Tethys.


§A. Concerning the Necessity of Formal Declaration

No captain, admiral, privateer, or master of any vessel flying colonial colours may commence hostilities upon the high seas or within colonial waters without formal declaration of war by the Grand Duke or a valid Letter of Marque issued under Article 8.
Unprovoked attack constitutes piracy; the offending vessel and crew are subject to the full penalties set forth in Article 8 §B.


§B. Concerning the Treatment of Enemy Merchant Shipping

Enemy merchant vessels may be seized as lawful prize, their cargo condemned and divided according to the rules of prize court.
Yet crews, passengers, and non-combatants must be treated with Dignity: no murder, torture, mutilation, or impressment save by lawful sentence of an admiralty court.
Ransom of crews is permitted at reasonable rates; murder of those who surrender peacefully is counted piracy and punished as such.


§C. Concerning Quarter and Surrender

Any ship that strikes its colours, hoists the white ensign of surrender, or otherwise clearly indicates capitulation must be granted quarter.
Crew and passengers who surrender in good faith are entitled to honourable treatment and may not be slain, enslaved, or cast overboard.
Violation—whether by massacre of surrendered men or destruction of a vessel after surrender—is felony murder compounded by breach of faith; the offending captain and every officer who permitted or failed to prevent it shall hang from the yard-arm of their own ship at low tide.


§D. Concerning Hospital Ships and Non-Combatants

Vessels plainly marked with the green-and-white serpent-and-staff of recognised healers, or bearing clerics openly displaying holy symbols of the Sovereign Architect or any recognised Celestial Weaver, are inviolate even in time of war.
To fire upon, board, or plunder such vessels is sacrilege and felony against the Pillar of Dignity; punishment upon conviction: death by beheading or consignment to the arena, with the offender’s ship burned at anchor as warning.


§E. Concerning Prisoners of War

Captured enemy combatants may be held in honourable confinement aboard ship or in designated shore prisons, or ransomed at rates set by admiralty court.
They may not be sold into slavery, maimed, tortured, or delivered to the arena unless convicted of piracy or atrocities by due process.
Officers of rank may give parole upon oath and walk free within designated towns or ports until exchanged or peace is declared; breach of parole is treated as piracy.


§F. Concerning Blockade and Contraband

A lawful blockade must be effective (i.e., maintained by sufficient force to prevent ingress or egress) and publicly proclaimed by the Grand Duke or his admiral.
Foodstuffs, medicines, religious articles, and personal effects of non-combatants are never contraband; their seizure is counted piracy and punished accordingly.
Other goods (weapons, armour, naval stores, strategic metals) may be declared contraband by ducal decree and seized if bound for enemy ports.


§G. Concerning Wreck and Salvage

Ships wrecked upon colonial shores belong to the Crown, subject to salvage rights awarded by admiralty court to those who render aid.
Crews and passengers who reach land alive fall under the full protection of the Accord; wilful destruction of a wreck to conceal evidence or murder of survivors is capital felony against Property and Dignity.


§H. Concerning the Primacy of the Colonial Navy

In time of war or declared peril, all commissioned privateers and armed merchant vessels must obey the signals, orders, and instructions of the Colonial Navy.
Refusal to obey constitutes mutiny; punishment follows the laws of war at sea, up to and including death.


§I. Concerning Penalties for Breach

Breach of these Laws of the Sea by any captain, officer, or crew flying colonial colours is punished as piracy or high treason, at the Grand Duke’s pleasure: death by hanging from the yard-arm, consignment to the arena, or perpetual labour in the deep mines, together with forfeiture of ship, goods, and all honours.

Thus war at sea is bound by the same Three Pillars that guard the land: Property is taken only by law, Liberty is not stolen from the helpless, and Dignity is preserved even amid the roar of cannon and the crash of waves.


So sworn beneath The Chancery, that the Colonies may fight with honour and the sea itself bear witness to our justice.¹


¹ The Aelmora disaster of 3074 ATT—when pirates boarded the colony ship, slew the crew, and burned her to the waterline—directly birthed this Article. The charred prow that washed ashore at Sequoia Bay was preserved and now stands in the admiralty court with a brass plaque: “They took the ship. The Accord took their lives.” Every new naval officer must touch the charred wood and swear the Triadic Oath before the court.



~ Title VIII: Of Slavery and Bond-Service



Preamble to Title VIII

Let it be proclaimed anew in every shire and holding of the Colonies, from the Ironwood coasts to the frost-bitten marches:

The Pillar of Liberty is the brightest jewel in the Triadic crown. No child born beneath the banners of Maldovarra-in-Exile shall ever wear the iron of a chattel slave, nor shall any free soul be bought or sold as cattle while the Accord endures.

What chains remain are bonds of debt, bonds of war, and bonds of just punishment—temporary, visible before the law, and never to be passed to innocent children.



Article 1 – Absolute Prohibition of Chattel Slavery


Proclaimed in 3108 ATT as one of the very first acts of the newly-ratified Triadic Accord, this Article was the Colonies’ answer to the slave galleys of Sss’vraelthian Tethys and the indenture markets of certain Var Maldur ports that had begun to appear on colonial shores. It was tested almost immediately in 3112 ATT when a Bast-Neferrah slaver tried to auction three captured tiefling sailors in Port Wavecrest; the resulting riot and trial set the pattern for every enforcement that followed. The Article has never been amended, only strengthened by custom and the memory of those first freed souls.


§A. Concerning the Absolute Ban

The buying, selling, breeding, gifting, inheriting, or owning of any sentient being—human, elf, dwarf, orc, tiefling, dragonborn, or any other race granted personhood under the Accord—as hereditary chattel is forbidden throughout the Maldovarrian Colonies on pain of death.
No contract, custom, foreign law, or royal patent may override this prohibition. Any attempt to do so is void ab initio and constitutes high treason against the Pillar of Liberty.


§B. Concerning Punishment of Slaveholders

Any person, noble or common, discovered holding another in chattel slavery shall:

In either case the slaver’s entire estate is forfeit to the Crown; one-third is awarded as restitution to the freed persons, one-third to the shire for relief of the poor, and one-third to the Chancery for enforcement of the Accord.


§C. Concerning Children Born in Wrongful Bondage

Every child born to a person held in chattel slavery is declared free from the moment of birth.

The child is entitled to full restitution from the slaver’s estate (including education, apprenticeship, and a starting grant of fifty Silver Moons upon reaching majority). No claim of “birth debt” or hereditary servitude may ever be asserted against them.


§D. Concerning Enforcement and the Duty of Every Subject

Every free subject of the Colonies—knight, burgess, hedge knight, or common ploughman—has both the right and the duty to report any suspected chattel slavery to the nearest magistrate, hedge knight, or circuit justiciar.

No person may be punished for making such a report in good faith, even if the accusation later proves mistaken. Wilful concealment of chattel slavery is itself felony and carries the same penalties as holding slaves.¹


¹ The first great enforcement came in 3112 ATT when Captain Vhessa of Bast-Neferrah attempted to auction three captured tiefling sailors in Port Wavecrest. A dockside cooper recognised the brands, raised the hue and cry, and the crowd tore the auction platform apart. Vhessa was attainted (though foreign), his ship burned, and the three sailors were granted restitution and later became respected captains themselves. The cooper’s hammer—used to smash the auction block—is still kept in the Port Wavecrest courthouse with the simple note: “One hammer broke chains for three.”

² In 3174 ATT, during the chaos of the Morthikov Revolt, a minor baron attempted to sell captured rebel tenants into slavery to fund his defence. The Circuit Justiciar arrived within days; the baron was degraded, his lands redistributed, and every tenant freed with blood-price drawn from the estate. The baron’s signet ring—melted into a freedom medallion—is worn to this day by the descendant of one of those freed families.

³ The Fugitive Chain clause was first invoked in 3201 ATT when a Tandekutaar slaver galley ran aground off Kestral Cliffs. The crew was imprisoned, the slaves freed on the beach, and each given one hundred Silver Moons from the seized cargo. One of those freed—a young orc woman named Grazha—later became a hedge knight and returned to the beach every year on the anniversary to plant an ironwood sapling. There are now thirty-seven trees there; locals call it Grazha’s Grove.

⁴ In 3268 ATT, a noble house in the Frostshade Highlands was discovered to have kept a secret “household tradition” of inherited domestic servitude despite the Accord. The High Court stripped the entire line of title, freed every servant, and ordered the manor house razed. The foundation stones were used to build a public hospice; the site is still known as Liberty Field, and no house has ever been rebuilt there.


Thus the Pillar of Liberty stands unbroken: no child born beneath the banners of Maldovarra-in-Exile shall ever wear the iron of chattel slavery, and no chain forged beyond our waters shall hold a soul upon this free earth while the Three Pillars endure.



Article 2 – Lawful Forms of Bond-Service Permitted under the Accord


Enshrined in the original Accord of 3108 ATT to draw a sharp line between the absolute evil of chattel slavery and the limited, temporary bonds permitted by frontier necessity and justice. The three forms were carefully enumerated to prevent abuse during the early decades when debt and war captives were common. The Article was tested in 3119 ATT during the Winterblade Revolt when rebel prisoners were briefly held beyond lawful terms; the resulting trials set the precedent for strict enforcement and remain cited whenever magistrates must distinguish bond from bondage.


§A. Concerning Debt-Bondage

A free person unable to repay a lawful debt—whether incurred by loan, wager, fine, or judgement—may voluntarily bind himself or herself to labour for the creditor in satisfaction thereof.

The bond must satisfy all of the following conditions:


§B. Concerning Penal Servitude

Those convicted of serious but non-capital crimes—theft above petty value, robbery without bloodshed, arson without loss of life, repeated magical misdemeanours, assault causing lasting harm, or like offences—may be sentenced to penal servitude for a fixed term of years.

Such servitude is bounded by strict safeguards:


§C. Concerning War-Captives and Gladiatorial Survivors

Enemy combatants taken in lawful war, pirates captured upon the high seas, or other foes seized under Letters of Marque may be bound to penal servitude for a fixed term not exceeding ten years.

Survivors of the arena who have fought and lived through three bouts—or one bout against a champion chosen by the court—may be sentenced to bound service instead of death, the term likewise not to exceed ten years.

Such service is always for a fixed term and must be registered before a magistrate:


§D. Concerning the Common Safeguards of All Bond-Service

Every form of lawful bond-service is temporary, visible before the law, and never hereditary. No child born to a bond-servant may be held in service for the parent’s debt or crime.


The Pillar of Liberty demands that every bond-servant retain the inviolable rights set forth in Article 3 of this Title; violation of those rights turns the master into the criminal and the servant into the complainant entitled to justice.¹


¹ In 3119 ATT, during the Winterblade Revolt, several captured rebels were sentenced to seven years’ penal servitude. One, a half-orc named Krag Bloodaxe, earned his freedom silver early by heroic labour during a yuan-ti raid and later became a hedge knight sworn to the Accord. His iron collar—struck open and mounted above his hearth—still bears the inscription: “Seven years bound. A lifetime free.”

² The Great Debt Amnesties of 3157 ATT saw hundreds of debt-bonds dissolved after a harsh winter famine; the Grand Duke forgave terms exceeding five years and ordered creditors to provide “freedom silver” to those released. One freed debtor, a human cooper named Tomas Oakenshield, used his fifty Silver Moons to found a guild of barrel-makers that still bears his name. A cooper’s adze from his first shop hangs in the Wealdrift Shire guild hall with the note: “Debt bound him. Mercy loosed him. Craft made him rich.”

³ In 3240 ATT, after Tharvok the Flameclaw’s rampage, several captured draconic mercenaries were sentenced to ten years’ war-captive service. One, a bronze-scaled dragonborn named Zorathar, bought out his remaining term after five years by ransom from metallic kin and swore the Triadic Oath. He later served as a knight-banneret under Lord General Alaric Rhashol. His old collar—polished and hung in the Alder’s Reach barracks—carries the words: “War bound him. Honour freed him.”



Article 3 – Rights of All Bond-Servants, Whatever the Cause


Enshrined in the original Accord of 3108 ATT to ensure that even those lawfully bound retain the core protections of the Three Pillars. The five inviolable rights were first tested in 3119 ATT during the Winterblade Revolt when penal servants complained of starvation rations; the resulting rulings established that bond-service is never licence for cruelty. The Article was reaffirmed without change in every recension, most recently in 3282 ATT, as a quiet but unyielding barrier against the temptation to treat temporary bonds as chattel.


§A. Concerning the Inviolable Right to Sustenance

Every bond-servant—whether bound by debt, penal sentence, or war-capture—retains the absolute right to food, clothing, and shelter sufficient to maintain health and strength.

The master must provide:

Failure to provide adequate sustenance constitutes felony cruelty against the Pillar of Dignity; the servant may complain before any magistrate or hedge knight, and upon proof the master shall be fined, flogged, and compelled to make restitution threefold.


§B. Concerning the Right to Worship and Observe Holy Days

Every bond-servant retains the right to worship according to conscience and to observe the holy days and rites of their chosen faith, whether of the Sovereign Architect, any Celestial Weaver, or recognised ancestral tradition.

The master may not compel attendance at contrary rites, forbid prayer, or punish observance of holy days (save where labour is essential to prevent immediate harm to life or property).

Bond-servants are entitled to rest on major feast days unless their service is directly tied to public safety (e.g., watchmen during war); denial of this right is felony and punished by fine and public edict.


§C. Concerning the Right to Marry

Every bond-servant retains the right to marry a free person, provided the marriage is lawfully contracted under Title VI.

The bond does not pass to the spouse or to any children born of the union; the servant’s term of service remains personal and cannot be inherited or extended by marriage.

The master may not forbid the marriage without just cause (proven threat to the household or public safety), and any such refusal is appealable to the magistrate.


§D. Concerning the Right to Complaint

Every bond-servant retains the right to bring complaint of cruelty, abuse, neglect, or violation of these rights before any magistrate, circuit justiciar, hedge knight, or warden without fear of punishment or reprisal from the master.

The complaint must be heard within seven days; if proven, the master suffers immediate penalties (flogging, fine, or shortening/ending of the bond), and the servant may be removed to safer custody or manumitted early.

False complaints made in malice are punished by fine and public edict, but good-faith complaints—even if unproven—carry no penalty.


§E. Concerning the Right to Wages and Personal Property

Every bond-servant retains the right to keep one-third of any wages or earnings gained above the basic upkeep provided by the master (e.g., extra labour hired out, craftwork sold, bounties claimed).

The remaining two-thirds may be claimed by the master toward the bond’s satisfaction, but the servant’s body, life, or personal liberty may never be bartered or seized beyond the fixed term.

The servant may hold personal property (clothing, small tools, gifts) free from seizure, and any savings accumulated may be used to buy out the bond early.


Thus the Accord ensures that bond-service remains a temporary burden of debt, crime, or war—not a shadow of slavery. Even the bound retain enough of the Three Pillars to keep their humanity intact, and the free are reminded that power over another is never absolute while justice watches.¹


¹ In 3123 ATT, during the famine winter in Quillbrooke Heights, a debt-bound miller named Harlan Wheatley complained that his master fed him only chaff-bread while selling the good grain. The local magistrate ruled in his favour; the master was fined, flogged, and ordered to provide proper meals. Wheatley finished his term and later bought the mill. A small millstone fragment from that mill is kept in the shire courthouse with the carved words: “He complained of chaff. Justice gave him grain.”

² During the BrightHearth Incursion of 3248 ATT, a penal servant named Vara Ironfist (sentenced for arson) saved her master’s life during a hobgoblin raid. The master manumitted her early and gifted her the “freedom silver” doubled. Vara later became a respected smith in Emberlight Plains. Her old iron collar—struck open and worn as a bracelet—bears the note: “Service bound her. Valour freed her.”

³ In 3271 ATT, a war-captive orc from Tandekutaar named Gorvash married a free human farmer’s daughter while still bound. The master attempted to forbid it; the magistrate overruled him, citing this Article. Gorvash finished his term, settled on the farm, and sired three children—all free. The family still farms the same land; their gatepost carries a small iron ring from his old collar with the inscription: “Bond held the father. Freedom claimed the children.”



Article 4 – Punishment for Abuse of Bond-Servants


Enacted in 3108 ATT as the iron teeth behind Article 3’s rights, ensuring that bond-service could never slide into de facto slavery. The Article was first bloodied in 3119 ATT when a penal overseer in Quillbrooke Heights beat a debt-bound miller to death for spilling grain; the overseer’s execution and the blood-price paid to the miller’s widow set the grim standard. Strengthened in the 3282 recension after several wartime abuses during the Dragon-Devil War showed masters treating war-captives as disposable.


§A. Concerning Excessive or Cruel Correction

Beating, whipping, or otherwise correcting a bond-servant beyond what is reasonable for the offence or the labour at hand constitutes felony cruelty against the Pillar of Dignity.

Reasonable correction is limited to open-handed blows, light switches, or short confinement for clear disobedience; anything that draws blood, breaks bone, or leaves lasting marks exceeds the bound.

Upon complaint and proof before a magistrate or hedge knight:


§B. Concerning Maiming or Sexual Violation

Maiming—permanent disfigurement, loss of limb, sight, hearing, or other grave injury—or any sexual violation of a bond-servant transforms the master into the criminal.

The offence is treated exactly as though the victim were free:

The servant is immediately freed, awarded full restitution from the master’s estate, and granted “freedom silver” of one hundred Silver Moons from the Crown treasury. The master’s other bonds (if any) are dissolved and transferred to safer households.


§C. Concerning Causing Death by Cruelty or Neglect

Causing the death of a bond-servant by cruelty, excessive labour, deliberate starvation, denial of medical care, or wilful neglect is murder under Title IV §A (Crimes Against Citizens).

The master is tried before the High Court or provincial assize as though the victim were free; conviction carries death by beheading, the arena, or (rarely) perpetual imprisonment in the Iron Oubliette.

The victim’s kin (or the Crown if no kin survive) receive full blood-price of one thousand Silver Moons from the master’s estate, together with any additional damages for lost labour or suffering.

All remaining bond-servants of the household are automatically manumitted upon the master’s conviction.


§D. Concerning the Duty to Report and the Protection of Complainants

Any person who witnesses or suspects abuse of a bond-servant has the duty to report it to the nearest magistrate, hedge knight, or circuit justiciar.
No servant may be punished, threatened, or otherwise retaliated against for bringing a good-faith complaint, even if the accusation is later found unproven.

Wilful failure to report known abuse by a master, overseer, or witness constitutes felony complicity and carries flogging and fine.
Thus the Accord reminds every holder of bonds: the hand that wields authority is never beyond the reach of justice, and the bound are never voiceless while the Three Pillars stand.¹


¹ In 3119 ATT, a penal overseer in Quillbrooke Heights beat a debt-bound miller to death for spilling grain during a famine. The Circuit Justiciar hanged the overseer in the market square; the miller’s widow received blood-price and the overseer’s small holding. The millstone from that day—stained and cracked—is kept in the shire courthouse with the carved words: “He beat beyond correction. Justice beat him to death.”

² During the BrightHearth Incursion of 3248 ATT, a war-captive orc was sexually violated by his master’s son. The servant complained to a hedge knight; the son was tried as though the orc were free, sentenced to the arena, and died there. The orc was freed, given one hundred Silver Moons, and later became a respected smith. The iron collar he once wore—struck open—is displayed in Emberlight Plains barracks with the note: “He spoke. The Accord listened.”

³ In 3271 ATT, a noble in the Frostshade Highlands neglected his debt-bound servants so grievously during a harsh winter that three perished of cold and hunger. The High Court convicted him of murder by neglect; he was beheaded, his estate paid blood-price to the kin, and every remaining servant was manumitted. The manor’s hearth—cold since that day—bears a small plaque: “Neglect killed three. Justice killed the master.”

⁴ The Great Debt Revolt of 3157 ATT saw dozens of bond-servants rise after masters withheld food during famine. The Council of Nine Pillars upheld their right to complain; abusive masters were fined and flogged, servants freed early. One freed debtor, a human cooper named Tomas Oakenshield, used his freedom to found a guild. His old bond contract—torn in half—is kept in the guild hall with the words: “Cruelty bound him. Complaint freed him.”



Article 5 – Manumission and the Ceremony of Broken Chains


First set forth in the original Accord of 3108 ATT to provide a clear, public path from bondage back to full liberty, ensuring that even the bound could one day walk free under the Three Pillars. The Ceremony of Broken Chains was performed for the first time in 3112 ATT when the three tiefling sailors freed from the Bast-Neferrah slaver in Port Wavecrest had their manacles struck open before the magistrate. The rite has remained unchanged through every recension, a quiet but powerful symbol that bondage in the Colonies is always temporary while freedom is eternal.


§A. Concerning Voluntary Manumission by the Master

Any master may free a bond-servant—whether bound by debt, penal sentence, or war-capture—at any time by performing the Ceremony of Broken Chains before a magistrate, circuit justiciar, hedge knight, or authorised priest of the Sovereign Architect.

The ceremony proceeds as follows:

The freed person walks away with all rights of a free subject restored immediately upon completion of the rite.


§B. Concerning Automatic Manumission Upon Death Without Heir

Upon the natural death of a master who leaves no legitimate heir capable of inheriting (as defined in Title V), all bond-servants held by that master are automatically manumitted by operation of law.

No executor, creditor, or distant kin may claim their service; the bonds dissolve the moment the master’s death is proven.

The freed servants receive:

Any attempt to retain or re-bind such servants after the master’s death is felony against the Pillar of Liberty and punished as chattel slavery under Article 1.


§C. Concerning Manumission at the End of Lawful Term

At the end of any lawful term of bond-service—whether debt-bondage (seven years maximum), penal servitude, or war-captive service—the servant walks free without fee, ceremony, or further obligation.

The master must:

The master may, if he chooses, gift a feast, new clothing, tools, or coin beyond the minimum; such generosity is counted virtuous and may be recorded in the shire rolls as evidence of honourable conduct.


§D. Concerning the Protection of the Freed

Any person manumitted under this Article retains inviolable protection against re-enslavement or re-bondage for the original cause.
Attempts to reclaim a freed servant—whether by force, false claim, or forged document—are felony against the Pillar of Liberty and punished as chattel slavery under Article 1.

The freed person may bear the broken chain or collar shard as a personal token if they wish; many do, wearing it openly as proof of their journey from bound to free.¹


¹ In 3112 ATT, the three tiefling sailors freed from the Bast-Neferrah slaver underwent the first recorded Ceremony of Broken Chains in Port Wavecrest. Their manacles were struck open on the courthouse anvil; each received a parchment sealed with the Grand-Ducal sigil and one hundred Silver Moons from the seized cargo. One sailor, Zhara’Mir’Thal, later became a respected ship’s master. His broken manacle—polished and worn as a bracelet—is still kept by his descendants with the note: “Chains fell. Freedom rose.”

² During the Winterblade Revolt of 3119 ATT, Baroness Lirael Fauveron manumitted her entire household of penal servants upon her deathbed, having no heir. The servants walked free with their “freedom silver” and founded a small cooperative farm in Moonlight Hollow. The manor’s anvil—used for the mass ceremony—is now the centrepiece of that farm’s forge, bearing the carved words: “No heir claimed them. Freedom claimed them all.”

³ In 3240 ATT, after Tharvok the Flameclaw’s rampage, a war-captive dragonborn named Zorathar completed his ten-year term. His master gifted him a feast, new armour, and a plot of land beyond the required fifty Silver Moons. Zorathar swore the Triadic Oath and served as a knight-banneret under Lord General Alaric Rhashol. The broken collar he once wore hangs above his hearth with the inscription: “Ten years bound. Honour unbound.”

⁴ The Great Debt Amnesties of 3157 ATT saw dozens of bond-servants manumitted early after famine debts were forgiven. One freed debtor, Tomas Oakenshield, used his freedom silver to apprentice as a cooper and later founded a guild. His parchment of freedom—framed in the guild hall—carries the simple line: “Debt ended. Craft began.”



Article 6 – Foreign Slavers and the “Fugitive Chain” Clause


Enacted in the original Accord of 3108 ATT as the final, unyielding safeguard of the Pillar of Liberty against the slaver galleys and chained caravans that still haunted the Jaded Sea and the western trade routes in the early colonial years. The clause was first invoked in 3112 ATT when the Bast-Neferrah slaver Vhessa was seized in Port Wavecrest; the freeing of her captives on the dockside and the burning of her ship set the precedent. The Article has never been softened, only reinforced by custom and the memory of those first chains broken on colonial soil.


§A. Concerning Immediate Freedom Upon Arrival

Any slave—whether sentient being of any recognised race or folk—brought into the Maldovarrian Colonies by a foreign master becomes free the moment their foot touches colonial soil, or the moment a colonial ship clears the three-mile limit from shore.

No foreign law, custom, contract, or claim of ownership may follow them across that boundary. The instant they step onto free earth or free deck, the chains fall (whether literal or metaphorical) and the person stands as a free subject under the Triadic Accord.

Any attempt to retain, recapture, or re-chain such a person after that moment is high treason against the Pillar of Liberty.


§B. Concerning the Absolute Ban on Extradition

No extradition, rendition, or return of a “fugitive slave” shall ever be granted by any authority within the Colonies, whether to foreign crown, merchant house, clan, or private claimant.

Harbouring, concealing, or forcibly returning such a person to bondage constitutes high treason against the Pillar of Liberty and the realm itself.
Punishment upon conviction: death by beheading in the market square of Sequoia Bay or the nearest provincial capital, with the offender’s head displayed upon a spike for one full lunar cycle and the body buried without rite beyond the city walls.

Any magistrate, warden, or officer who complies with a foreign demand for return shall suffer the same penalty.


§C. Concerning the Treatment of Foreign Slavers in Colonial Ports

Any foreign vessel or caravan that enters colonial ports, harbours, or frontier posts with living cargo in chains shall be seized immediately upon discovery:

The vessel is burned at anchor or the caravan broken up; its timbers or wagons are used for public works as a visible reminder that chains end at the water’s edge.


§D. Concerning the Perpetual Line Drawn by the Accord
Thus the Accord draws an unbreakable line across every shore and every deck: debt may bind the hands for a season, crime may bind them for a term, war may bind them for a decade—but no child of the Colonies shall ever be born in chains, and no chain forged beyond our waters shall hold a soul upon this free earth while the Three Pillars stand.


So sworn and sealed, to endure while the ironwood grows and the seas keep their ancient salt.¹


¹ In 3112 ATT, the Bast-Neferrah slaver Vhessa docked in Port Wavecrest with three tiefling sailors in chains. Dockworkers raised the hue and cry; the ship was seized, Vhessa and crew imprisoned, and the captives freed on the quay. Each received one hundred Silver Moons from the cargo sale and a parchment of freedom. One freed sailor, Zhara’Mir’Thal, later captained his own vessel and returned every year to lay a wreath of ironwood leaves at the dockside marker. The charred prow of Vhessa’s ship still stands there with the plaque: “Chains touched our shore. The Accord broke them.”

² During the Dragon-Devil War aftermath (3258 ATT), a Tandekutaar merchant attempted to sell two captured tiefling refugees in Sequoia Bay under false papers. The Harbour Warden seized the caravan; the merchant was sentenced to the arena, his cargo confiscated, and the refugees freed with compensation. One of them, Ann Abb Anae, later became the apothecary who cured the Blight Scourge. A small brass chain link from that caravan is kept in the Chancery vault with the note: “They came in chains. Liberty claimed them.”

³ In 3279 ATT, after the Délavandrelle Plot was thwarted, a foreign agent tried to spirit away a freed war-captive witness aboard a smuggler’s ship. The Harbour Warden intercepted the vessel; the agent was hanged for treason, the smuggler flogged and exiled, and the witness granted extra compensation. The intercepted ship’s figurehead—a chained siren—was struck from the prow and mounted above the courthouse door with the inscription: “They tried to steal freedom. Freedom stole their ship.”

⁴ The Fugitive Chain clause faced its sternest test in 3265 ATT during the Blight Scourge, when desperate slavers from Sss’vraelthian Tethys attempted to land chained labourers to sell as plague labour. The Colonial Navy burned the galley offshore; every captive was freed on the beach with one hundred Silver Moons and a parchment. One freed orc, Gorvash, later swore the Triadic Oath and served as a knight-banneret. His broken manacle—forged into a ring—is worn by his descendants with the words: “Chains ended at the tide. Freedom began.”



~ Title IX: Of Forests, Mines, and Royal Prerogatives



(The Treaty of Felled Groves Amendment – ratified jointly with the Elden Wardens beneath the living Chancery, 3277 ATT)



Preamble to Title IX

Let every soul who lifts axe, pick, or spell against the living earth remember the Log War (3095–3105 ATT) and the blood that soaked the roots of the Ironwood Sequoias for a decade of needless slaughter.

Let them remember the Treaty of Felled Groves signed beneath the living Chancery in 3277 ATT, when Grand Duke Thero Délavandrelle and Archdruid Elara laid down blade and wildfire alike, swearing before gods and men that never again would greed devour the ancient guardians of the Vale.

These articles are not mere regulation; they are the living scar-tissue of that peace, binding upon every lord, merchant, and commoner while the Pillars stand.



Article 1 – The Ironwood Sequoias and the Treaty of Felled Groves


Incorporated into the Triadic Accord by joint ratification beneath the living Chancery in 3277 ATT, following the Treaty of Felled Groves. The treaty ended the Log War (3095–3105 ATT), a decade of bloodshed over the sacred Ironwood Sequoias that claimed thousands of colonial loggers, Elden Wardens, awakened trees, and allied beasts. The scars—both in the soil and in memory—remain raw; this Article is the living scar-tissue of that peace, binding colonial axe and Warden spell alike while the Three Pillars stand.


§A. Concerning the Incorporation of the Treaty

The Treaty of Felled Groves (3277 ATT), signed by Grand Duke Thero Délavandrelle and Archdruid Elara beneath the living Chancery, is incorporated into the Triadic Accord in its entirety and enjoys the same supreme force as if written word for word within these bronze tablets.

No subsequent decree, noble claim, guild charter, or foreign patent may override or diminish its provisions. Any attempt to do so is void ab initio and constitutes a crime against all Three Pillars.


§B. Concerning the Status of the Ironwood Sequoias

All old-growth Ironwood Sequoias—whether standing within the Delphian Vale, the Eldentree Weald, the Verdant Steppes, or any future province—are declared Crown Forest and the common inheritance of the Maldovarrian Colonies and the Elden Wardens together.

These living giants, some of which predate the Arcadomalda Age, are not mere timber but guardians of the land, their roots woven into ley lines and their canopies touching the stars. Their preservation is a sacred duty owed to posterity and to the Sovereign Architect who first set their seed.


§C. Concerning the Strict Prohibition on Unauthorised Harvest

No axe, saw, spell, flame, blight, or other means may touch an Ironwood Sequoia—whether to fell, wound, girdle, burn, or otherwise harm—save under a joint licence issued by:

The licence must specify the exact tree (marked by runestone or Warden glyph), the purpose (shipbuilding, bridge timbers, sacred artefact), and the replanting obligation (one sapling warded by Warden magic for every tree taken). No licence may be granted in a preservation zone or for clear-cutting.


§D. Concerning the Penalty for Unauthorised Harm

Any person—noble, commoner, merchant, or foreign agent—found felling, burning, blighting, or otherwise harming an Ironwood Sequoia without joint licence shall suffer death by beheading or consignment to the arena.

The sentence is carried out jointly: the colonial magistrate pronounces the law of the Accord, the Elden Wardens pronounce the law of the grove. No right of trial by combat, appeal to the High Court, or plea of ignorance shall stay the execution unless the Grand Duke and Archdruid (or their deputies) jointly intervene in solemn session.

The offender’s lands, goods, and titles (if any) are forfeit to the Crown and the Wardens’ reparations fund in equal share.¹


¹ In 3278 ATT, the first year after ratification, a reckless timber baron in the Sequoian Outskirts sent a crew to fell an unmarked old-growth sequoia near Thornveil Glade. The Elden Wardens arrived before the first deep cut; the baron was beheaded at the stump, his crew flogged and exiled, and his estate divided between the Crown and the Wardens. The stump—still bleeding sap decades later—is encircled by a ring of ironwood saplings planted by Warden hands. A runestone beside it bears the carved words: “He sought wood. The wood took his head.”

² During the harsh winter of 3280 ATT, a starving band of frontier settlers attempted to harvest bark from a young sequoia for emergency food. The Circuit Justiciar and a lone Warden intervened; the settlers were spared execution but sentenced to plant and tend one hundred saplings each. The Archdruid herself blessed the grove. A small stone marker stands there today: “Hunger reached for bark. Mercy taught planting.”

³ In 3285 ATT, a foreign alchemist from Aerlon attempted to extract sap from a sequoia near Starlight Grove using unlicensed magic. The Warden circle and a Magisterium diviner caught him mid-ritual. The alchemist was delivered to the arena; his death was swift. The sequoia—scarred but alive—received a protective ward that glows faintly on moonlit nights. A silver torc fragment is embedded in its bark with the rune: “He bled the guardian. The guardian bled him.”



Article 2 – Preservation Zones and Sacred Groves


Declared untouchable by the Treaty of Felled Groves (3277 ATT) and incorporated into the Triadic Accord as perpetual law. These groves stand as living monuments to the Log War’s cost—ten years of slaughter, awakened trees marching against axes, and villages reduced to ash by retaliatory wildfires. The zones were mapped with runestones carved by joint colonial and Elden Warden hands; each stone bears the same oath: “Here the blade stops. Here the root remembers.” Violation is not mere crime but sacrilege against both the Three Pillars and the land itself.


§A. Concerning the Declared Untouchable Zones

The following groves and sites are forever untouchable—no axe, saw, spell, flame, blight, mining shaft, road, or structure of any kind may be raised within their bounds, nor may any tree be felled, wounded, or harvested:

These zones are mapped in the Chancery rolls and marked on the land by rune-carved standing stones that glow faintly when approached with hostile intent.


§B. Concerning the Penalty for Violation

Any person—noble, commoner, foreign merchant, or agent—who is found felling, burning, blighting, girdling, mining beneath, building within, or otherwise harming a tree or the living earth within these zones shall suffer immediate execution.

The sentence is pronounced jointly:

Execution is carried out on the spot or at the nearest grove boundary—by beheading, hanging from the branches of the violated tree, or (in cases of deliberate magical desecration) delivery to the arena where the offender faces awakened guardians of the Weald.

No right of trial by combat, jury, appeal to the High Court, or plea of ignorance or necessity shall stay the sentence unless the Grand Duke and Archdruid (or their deputies) jointly intervene in solemn session beneath The Chancery itself.

The offender’s lands, goods, titles, and estate (if any) are forfeit: one-third to the Crown for replanting, one-third to the Elden Wardens for grove restoration, and one-third to the kin of any who died defending the zone during the incident.


§C. Concerning the Guardianship and Enforcement of the Zones

The Elden Wardens maintain eternal watch over these groves with awakened trees, treants, and rangers; colonial magistrates and hedge knights patrol the approaches and enforce the law of the Accord.

Any person who witnesses or suspects violation has the duty to raise the hue and cry; failure to report known desecration is felony complicity.

The runestones themselves are enchanted to flare with green light when iron or hostile magic draws near, summoning the nearest Warden or magistrate.


Thus the Accord and the Wardens stand as twin sentinels: one of law, one of root and leaf, united in the vow that these groves shall never again bleed for greed.¹


_¹ In 3280 ATT, a desperate band of charcoal-burners from the Sequoian Outskirts entered Starlight Grove seeking deadfall during a brutal winter. They felled a single sapling before the runestones flared and awakened trees closed the paths. The Elden Wardens and a Circuit Justiciar arrived at dawn; the burners were spared execution but sentenced to plant and tend one thousand saplings each over ten years. The violated sapling survived; a runestone beside it bears the carved words: “They took one shoot. The grove took their winters.”

² During the Wormsong Resurgence of 3287 ATT, a thri-kreen priest attempted to tunnel beneath Eldenheart Glade to reach an Arcane Core vein. Warden vines and colonial sappers collapsed the shaft; the priest was delivered to the arena where he faced an awakened treant champion. His death was swift. The collapsed tunnel was sealed with living roots; a silver torc fragment marks the spot with the rune: “He dug for power. The earth dug his grave.”

³ In 3279 ATT, a foreign alchemist from Aerlon bribed a local woodsman to harvest bark from a young sequoia near The Chancery for experimental reagents. The woodsman confessed before the crime was complete. The alchemist was fined ten thousand Silver Moons, exiled, and required to fund the planting of one hundred saplings. The woodsman was flogged but spared further penalty for his confession. A small stone tablet near The Chancery reads: “He sold bark for coin. Confession bought him mercy.”



Article 3 – Regulated Harvest of Ironwood


Established by the Treaty of Felled Groves (3277 ATT) and woven into the Triadic Accord as a living compromise between colonial need and Warden reverence. The rules were born from the ashes of the Log War, when unchecked axes left swathes of scarred earth and the Ironwood Sequoias nearly vanished from the Delphian Vale. The joint licensing system—half Crown, half Warden—ensures that every mature tree taken is paid for in coin, care, and conscience. The first licence was issued in 3278 ATT for a single tree whose timber became the mainmast of the rebuilt Aelmora II; the sapling planted that day still stands near The Chancery, now thirty winters tall.


§A. Concerning the Conditions for Lawful Harvest

Harvest of mature Ironwood Sequoias (aged eight hundred winters or older) outside the preservation zones is permitted only when all three of the following conditions are met:


§B. Concerning the Issuance of Licences

Licences are issued once each year at the Felled Grove Chancery during the Midsummer Council (the night of the midsummer full moon).
Each licence bears:

No licence is valid without both seals; forged or altered licences are treated as high treason.


§C. Concerning the Price of a Licence

The price of each licence is five thousand Silver Moons per tree, payable in lawful coin or assayed value before the tree is felled.
The fee is divided equally:


§D. Concerning Violations and Their Penalties

Violation of any licence term—excess felling beyond authorisation, cutting in forbidden zones, failure to plant and ward the required sapling, falsification of age or location, or any other breach—carries escalating punishment:

Sentences are pronounced jointly by colonial magistrate and Warden circle; no appeal lies save to the Grand Duke and Archdruid in solemn session.¹


¹ In 3281 ATT, a timber guild in the Sequoian Outskirts exceeded their licence by felling seven trees instead of five. The Warden circle discovered the breach when only five saplings were planted. The guild forfeited the timber, paid the fifty-thousand-Silver Moon fine, and its masters were required to tend one thousand new saplings each for three years. The guild hall now displays a small runestone fragment with the carved warning: “Five was enough. Seven was greed.”

² During the harsh winter of 3284 ATT, a desperate charcoal-burner cut a single mature sequoia near Thornveil Glade without licence. The tree’s fall alerted nearby Wardens; the burner was sentenced to death but spared after begging mercy from the freed kin of Log War victims, who instead ordered him to plant and guard one hundred saplings for life. He still tends them near Eldenheart Glade; locals call him One-Tree Man, and the grove he planted bears his name on a runestone: “He took one life. He gave one hundred.”

³ In 3286 ATT, a foreign merchant from Tandekutaar bribed a colonial woodsman to harvest bark from a sequoia outside a preservation zone without licence. The woodsman confessed before the act was complete. The merchant was fined fifty thousand Silver Moons, exiled, and barred from colonial ports for life. The woodsman received a reduced sentence for his confession and was ordered to plant fifty saplings. A silver coin—melted from the fine—is embedded in the first sapling’s runestone with the words: “Bribery sought bark. Confession saved the tree.”



Article 4 – Other Forests and Timber Rights


Enacted in the original Accord of 3108 ATT to govern the vast ordinary woodlands that clothe the Delphian Vale, Verdant Steppes, and frontier marches beyond the sacred Ironwood domain. These forests—oak, ash, pine, cedar, and lesser hardwoods—lack the mythic weight of the sequoias but remain vital to hearth, shipyard, and palisade. The Article balances feudal Property with tenant necessity and Warden oversight, preventing the clear-cut scars that fuelled the Log War. Strengthened in 3277 ATT by the Treaty of Felled Groves amendment, which extended Warden consultation to all large-scale felling.


§A. Concerning Ownership of Ordinary Timber

All timber within the Maldovarrian Colonies—save the old-growth Ironwood Sequoias governed by Articles 1–3—belongs to the lord upon whose land it grows, subject to the ordinary laws of Property set forth in Title I and the feudal obligations of Title V.

Oak groves, pine stands, cedar thickets, and mixed woodlands are the lord’s to manage, harvest, sell, or gift as he sees fit, provided such use does not contravene the Three Pillars or the express prohibitions of this Title.


§B. Concerning the Rights of Tenants to Deadfall and Firewood

No lord may deny his tenants, freeholders, or cottars the right to gather deadfall, windfall, or reasonable firewood for hearth, craft, or winter warmth.
“Reasonable” is defined as:

Tenants may enter the lord’s woodland for this purpose without fee or hindrance, provided they leave no lasting damage and respect any posted game preserves or sacred sites. Denial of this right constitutes oppression against the Pillar of Dignity; the tenant may complain before the local magistrate, who may fine the lord and award damages.


§C. Concerning Clear-Cutting and Large-Scale Harvest

Clear-cutting of any forest—ordinary woodland or mixed stand—is forbidden save for immediate defence of the realm (e.g., clearing fields of fire during siege or creating barriers against invasion).

Any proposed clear-cutting requires:

Failure to obtain justiciar assent or give Warden notice renders the act unlawful; punishment follows Article 3 §D (forfeiture of timber, heavy fine, and possible exile or death on repeat or aggravated violation).


§D. Concerning Stewardship and the Common Good

Lords who hold woodland are bound by the Pillar of Property to steward it wisely: no wasteful burning, no reckless over-harvest that leaves hillsides bare and prone to flood, no denial of tenant rights that starves the hearth.

The Accord reminds every lord: the forest is lent, not owned outright; abuse invites the same reckoning that once felled houses and groves alike. Wardens may petition the justiciar to intervene if neglect threatens the land’s health; repeated failure may lead to temporary sequestration of the woodland under joint Crown-Warden oversight.¹

¹ In 3122 ATT, during the famine winters following the Log War, a baron in the Emberlight Plains forbade his tenants from gathering deadfall, claiming the wood for his own sale. The tenants complained; the magistrate fined the baron one thousand Silver Moons and ordered him to supply firewood to every affected household for two winters. The baron complied grudgingly; the tenants later named the grove Hearthwood in quiet defiance. A small stone marker at the wood’s edge reads: “He hoarded warmth. The Accord shared it.”

² After the Flameclaw Rampage of 3240 ATT, a marquess in Alder’s Reach ordered clear-cutting near the fire-scarred frontier to deny cover to future dragons. The provincial justiciar assented, but only after Elden Wardens verified replanting plans. One thousand saplings were set; the cleared land became a defensive field that later held against Kurgan raiders. A runestone at the field’s edge bears the words: “Fire cleared the trees. Wisdom replanted them.”

³ In 3283 ATT, a frontier lord in the Verdant Steppes neglected his cedar stands so badly that erosion choked a tenant village’s stream. Wardens petitioned the justiciar; the woodland was sequestered for five years under joint oversight. The lord was fined heavily and required to fund new millworks downstream. The restored stream now runs clear; villagers call it Wardenwater and keep a green-and-silver ribbon tied to the bridge rail as thanks.



Article 5 – Mines and the King’s Third


Enacted in the original Accord of 3108 ATT when the first veins of iron and silver were struck in the Frostshade Highlands and prospectors began to flood the frontier. The King’s Third—a one-third royal share—echoes ancient imperial prerogative but is tempered by frontier reality: miners keep the lion’s share, yet the Crown claims enough to arm the realm and mend the roads. The prohibition on mining near Ironwood roots was added by the Treaty of Felled Groves (3277 ATT) after early shafts threatened sacred groves during the post-war rush for ore. The rule has held firm ever since, enforced by collapsing tunnels and the grim memory of those who ignored it.


§A. Concerning Ownership and the King’s Third

Any vein of metal, gem, precious stone, or magical ore discovered upon a noble’s land belongs two-thirds to the finder (whether the lord himself, a tenant, a hired prospector, or a free commoner) and his heirs, and one-third (the King’s Third) to the Grand-Ducal Treasury.

The finder’s two-thirds includes full rights of extraction, refinement, and sale, subject only to ordinary taxes, feudal dues, and the laws of Property. The King’s Third is a perpetual crown claim upon the vein itself, not merely a tax on profit; it endures through inheritance and sale of the land.


§B. Concerning Delivery of the King’s Third

The King’s Third shall be delivered in kind (raw ore, refined ingots, cut gems, or assayed magical essence) or in coin equivalent to its current market value, as determined by the provincial assayer or Magisterium diviner.

Delivery must occur within one year of the first extraction from the vein.

Concealment of ore, false assay, under-reporting of yield, or diversion of the royal share constitutes felony theft against the Crown and the Pillar of Property. Punishment upon conviction:


§C. Concerning Mines Near Ironwood Groves or Preservation Zones

No mine shaft, tunnel, pit, or exploratory bore may pierce the roots of an Ironwood Sequoia grove or threaten any preservation zone declared under Article 2.

Any shaft found doing so—whether by direct penetration of sacred roots, destabilisation of ley lines, or risk of collapse into a grove—shall be collapsed immediately by joint decree of colonial sappers and Elden Warden earth-magic.

The responsible party (miner, lord, or overseer) suffers:

Repeated or deliberate violation escalates to death or the arena, as in Article 3 §D.


§D. Concerning the Stewardship of Mines and the Common Good

Lords and finders who hold mines are bound to work them safely and justly: no flooding of workings to drown rivals, no reckless blasting that endangers tenants or villages, no denial of fair wages to miners.

The Accord reminds every holder of ore: the earth yields wealth, but never at the cost of life or the sacred groves. Wardens may petition the provincial justiciar to halt operations that threaten ley balance or water sources; persistent abuse may lead to temporary sequestration of the mine under joint Crown-Warden oversight.¹


¹ In 3109 ATT, the first year after the Accord’s proclamation, a prospector in the Frostshade Highlands struck silver beneath a young sequoia stand. The shaft collapsed when Warden vines sealed it overnight; the prospector was fined heavily but spared exile after replanting fifty saplings. The sealed tunnel—now a moss-covered scar—bears a runestone with the words: “He dug too deep. The roots answered.”

_² During the Runeveil Fever aftermath (3150 ATT), a noble in Ironflow Ridge concealed half his King’s Third by falsifying assay reports. The Magisterium diviner uncovered the fraud; the noble forfeited the vein, paid triple the concealed value, and was sentenced to three years’ labour in the very mine he cheated. He emerged humbled and later became a respected assayer himself. A silver ingot from that vein—stamped with the broken crown rune—is kept in the Chancery vault with the note: “He hid the Third. The Third found him.”

³ In 3279 ATT, after the Treaty amendment, a dwarven prospector from House Coldreach accidentally breached a root-line near Eldenheart Glade. The Warden circle and colonial sappers collapsed the shaft within hours. The dwarf was fined fifty thousand Silver Moons and branded with the broken-pick rune, but spared exile after personally funding a new grove ward. The collapsed tunnel is now a sealed shrine; a silver pick head is embedded in the runestone with the rune: “He pierced the root. The root taught mercy.”

⁴ The Great Mine Flood of 3263 ATT saw a reckless lord in the Emberlight Plains flood lower workings to drown a rival’s claim. The flood drowned three miners; the lord was convicted of murder by neglect under Title IV, beheaded, and his estate paid blood-price to the widows. The flooded shaft was sealed by Warden magic; a small plaque at the site reads: “Greed drowned men. Justice drowned the lord.”



Article 6 – Prospecting and Claim-Staking


Established in the original Accord of 3108 ATT to encourage the opening of the frontier while preventing noble houses from swallowing every promising vein before common folk could reach it. The simple banner-and-registration rule was born from the early silver rushes in the Frostshade Highlands, when prospectors planted makeshift flags of green cloth to mark their claims amid the chaos of plague survivors and displaced loggers. The Article was tested in 3114 ATT when House Storvalenne attempted to seize a tenant’s copper strike; the magistrate upheld the common claim, setting the precedent for compensation. Warden consultation for near-grove claims was added by the Treaty of Felled Groves (3277 ATT) to protect sacred roots from reckless shafts.


§A. Concerning the Right of Commoners and Knights to Stake Claims

Commoners, knights, hedge knights, freeholders, and any free subject of the Colonies may stake a mining claim upon unclaimed frontier land by the following procedure:

Upon registration, the claim is recorded in the shire rolls and granted provisional title; the claimant holds exclusive right to prospect and extract for one year, renewable upon proof of diligent work.


§B. Concerning Noble Displacement of Common Claims

No noble lord—whether baron, earl, marquess, or higher—may displace a lawfully staked and registered common claim without payment of full market value for the claim and its improvements, plus an additional five hundred Silver Moons compensation to the claimant.

Market value is determined by two impartial assayers (one appointed by the provincial justiciar, one by the claimant) or, in default of agreement, by the Magisterium diviner.

Any attempt to seize the claim by force, threat, eviction, or false legal manoeuvre constitutes felony oppression against the Pillar of Property; punishment includes forfeiture of the disputed vein to the Crown, fine equal to thrice the claim’s value, and (in aggravated cases) degradation of rank or exile from the province.


§C. Concerning Disputes Over Overlapping or Conflicting Claims

Disputes over overlapping claims, boundary lines, priority of registration, or alleged prior discovery are settled by the provincial assize in open court.
If the disputed claim lies within fifty leagues of any preservation zone or Ironwood grove declared under Article 2, consultation with the nearest Elden Warden circle is mandatory:

The losing party pays court costs and any damages to the winner; repeated frivolous claims may result in fine and public edict of shame.


§D. Concerning the Stewardship of Claims

Every claimant—commoner or knight—holds the land in trust for diligent use: no abandonment for more than one year without renewal, no reckless blasting that endangers neighbours or watercourses, no denial of reasonable access to neighbouring claims for survey or drainage.

The Accord reminds every prospector: the earth yields wealth to those who work it honestly, but never to those who grasp without care. Claims left fallow too long may be declared forfeit by the provincial justiciar after due notice and hearing.¹


¹ In 3114 ATT, House Storvalenne attempted to seize a copper strike discovered by tenant miner Cedric Sturmradik in the Frostshade Highlands. Sturmradik had planted his banner and registered within days. The magistrate upheld the claim; House Storvalenne paid full value plus five hundred Silver Moons compensation. Sturmradik later used the coin to ennoble his house. The original banner pole—now a weathered post—is kept in the Frostshade courthouse with the note: “A commoner staked it. Justice kept it.”

² During the silver rush of 3145 ATT in Ironflow Ridge, two prospectors planted banners on overlapping claims within hours of each other. The provincial assize ruled for the first registrant; the second received compensation for his labour. The disputed vein—now called Split Vein—still yields ore, and a runestone at the fork bears the carved words: “Two banners flew. One claim stood.”

³ In 3280 ATT, a prospector in the Verdant Steppes drove a shaft too close to a marked grove. Elden Wardens consulted at the assize; their warning of root damage led to the claim’s relocation. The prospector was fined but allowed to keep his new site. A small runestone marks the abandoned shaft with the rune: “He dug near the sacred. The sacred turned him aside.”

⁴ The Great Claim Riot of 3172 ATT saw miners in Emberlight Plains clash over a disputed mithril trace. The justiciar, with Warden advice, divided the vein equitably and fined the instigators. The mithril—used for the first Colonial Navy anchors—bears the name Accord Vein in the mint rolls, a quiet reminder that justice outlasts greed.



Article 7 – Royal Prerogatives Reserved


Reserved to the Grand Duke as Viceroy of the Emperor in these western lands, these prerogatives were first enumerated in the original Accord of 3108 ATT to ensure the Crown’s hand remained firm over resources vital to defence, trade, and the sacred balance of the realm. The joint licensing of Ironwood was added by the Treaty of Felled Groves (3277 ATT); the pre-emption over rare metals and relics reflects lessons learned from the Runeveil Fever and early prospecting rushes that unearthed dangerous Arcadomalda-era artefacts. These rights are not mere privileges but solemn duties owed to the Three Pillars and the distant throne.


§A. Concerning the Sole Right to License Ironwood Harvest

The Grand Duke retains the sole right to license the harvest of Ironwood Sequoias, exercised jointly with the Elden Wardens as set forth in Article 3.

No marquess, count, baron, guild, or foreign merchant may issue, sell, or recognise any licence to fell, wound, or harvest these sacred trees without the dual seals of Crown and Warden circle.

Any attempt to bypass this joint authority—by secret felling, forged seal, or private contract—is felony against the Pillar of Property and the treaty, punishable by death or the arena, with the offender’s estate forfeit and divided between Crown and Wardens’ Reparations Fund.


§B. Concerning the King’s Third of All Mines

The Grand Duke retains the King’s Third—one-third share—of every vein of metal, gem, precious stone, or magical ore discovered within the Colonies, as set forth in Article 5.

This prerogative endures through inheritance, sale, or forfeiture of the land; the Crown’s claim attaches to the vein itself and may not be alienated without express ducal licence.

Concealment, false assay, or diversion of the royal share is felony theft against the Crown; punishment includes forfeiture of the vein, triple fines, and (in grave cases) attainder or perpetual hard labour in the mines.


§C. Concerning Pre-emption over Rare Discoveries

The Grand Duke retains right of pre-emption over any discovery of:

Upon discovery, the finder must report to the nearest magistrate within thirty days. The Crown may:

Failure to report such a find is felony concealment; punishment includes forfeiture of the discovery, fine equal to thrice its value, and (in cases involving relics of dangerous power) possible attainder or exile.


§D. Concerning the Right to Declare Crown Forests or Watersheds

The Grand Duke retains the right to declare any forest, woodland, watershed, river system, or vital natural feature as Crown Forest or Crown-protected by decree when it is deemed essential to:

Such declaration must include just compensation to the former owner or holders at current market value, determined by impartial assayers and ratified by the provincial justiciar.

The declaration is proclaimed by ducal herald and posted at every market cross; violation thereafter is treated as trespass against the Crown with penalties escalating to forfeiture and exile.


§E. Concerning the Enforcement and Limits of These Prerogatives

These prerogatives are exercised for the common weal and may not be delegated to private hands or used for personal enrichment.
Any abuse—extortionate pre-emption, refusal of just compensation, or concealment of royal share—constitutes Dereliction of Fealty under Title V and may lead to censure by the Council of Nine Pillars or (in extreme cases) degradation of the Grand Duke’s own viceregal authority by imperial commission.


Thus the Crown holds the high hand over what sustains and defends the realm, yet always tempered by the Three Pillars and the oaths sworn beneath the living Chancery.¹


¹ In 3110 ATT, the first King’s Third was claimed when a prospector in Ironflow Ridge struck silver. The vein’s yield armed the first colonial levy against raiders. A silver ingot from that strike—stamped with the Grand-Ducal seal—is kept in the Chancery treasury with the note: “One-third for the Crown. Two-thirds for the realm.”

² During the Runeveil Fever recovery (3150 ATT), a mithril cache was unearthed near Frostshade Rise. The finder reported it; the Grand Duke pre-empted the entire find, paying two-thirds value. The mithril became helms for the Hellrainers who later slew Svarneth the Dreadscale. A mithril shard from that cache is mounted above the Sequoia Bay great hall with the words: “He found star-silver. The Crown forged it into defence.”

³ In 3279 ATT, after the Treaty amendment, House Vyrel attempted to conceal a star-metal meteor fall in the Vyrel Tundra. The Warden circle detected the unauthorised dig; the house was fined heavily, the metal seized, and used to forge blades for the Colonial Navy. A runestone marks the site with the rune: “They hid the stars. The stars returned to the Crown.”

⁴ The Verdant Watershed Decree of 3262 ATT saw Grand Duke Thero declare the headwaters of the Mistwhisper River a Crown Forest after blight threatened downstream grain. Compensation was paid to affected lords; the watershed recovered. A green-and-gold marker stone at the source reads: “The river feeds the realm. The Crown guards the river.”



Article 8 – Penalties for Violation of the Treaty of Felled Groves


Declared by joint decree of Grand Duke Thero Délavandrelle and Archdruid Elara upon ratification of the Treaty of Felled Groves in 3277 ATT. These penalties were forged in the shadow of the Log War—a decade of axes against awakened roots, villages burned by retaliatory wildfires, and ten thousand lives lost over sacred timber. The severity reflects not vengeance but necessity: any breach risks rekindling the war that nearly broke the Delphian Vale. The Article has been invoked sparingly but with unrelenting finality, its punishments serving as both deterrent and grim reminder that the Ironwood Sequoias are no mere resource but living guardians bound to the Three Pillars.


§A. Concerning the Nature of Violations

Any act that contravenes the letter or spirit of the Treaty of Felled Groves—whether unlicensed felling, concealed harvest, magical desecration, false licensing, or wilful neglect of replanting—is declared a crime against all Three Pillars: Property (theft of the common inheritance), Liberty (enslavement of the land’s living will), and Dignity (desecration of sacred life).

Such offences strike at the treaty’s core vow: that never again shall greed devour the ancient guardians of the Vale.


§B. Concerning Unlicensed Felling of Ironwood

Unlicensed felling, wounding, girdling, burning, or blighting of any Ironwood Sequoia—whether mature tree or sapling—carries the penalty of death by beheading or consignment to the arena.

Execution is carried out jointly: the colonial magistrate pronounces the law of the Accord, the Elden Wardens pronounce the law of the grove.

No right of trial by combat, jury, or appeal to the High Court shall stay the sentence unless the Grand Duke and Archdruid (or their deputies) jointly intervene in solemn session beneath The Chancery.

The offender’s estate is forfeit and divided equally between the Crown and the Wardens’ Reparations Fund for replanting and restoration.


§C. Concerning Sale or Export of Illegally Harvested Ironwood

Sale, barter, transport, or export of timber known or reasonably suspected to be illegally harvested Ironwood is punished by death and attainder of the entire merchant house, guild, or trading company involved.

The sentence extends to every principal who profited knowingly: heads displayed upon spikes at the nearest market cross and the principal gates of Sequoia Bay for one full lunar cycle.

The illicit timber is seized and burned publicly in the presence of Elden Wardens; the ashes are scattered on sacred ground as penance.
Any ship, caravan, or warehouse implicated is confiscated; lesser agents face flogging, branding with the broken-axe rune, and permanent exile from all chartered ports and markets.


§D. Concerning Magical Concealment or Harm

Use of magic to conceal illegal logging, falsify licences, alter tree age, mask wounds, transport timber unseen, or directly harm an Ironwood Sequoia (blight, withering curse, root severance spell, or similar) is a compounded felony under Title III (Aggravation of Crime by Magic).
Punishment is escalated to execution by beheading or permanent magical suppression (severance of arcane talent by Magisterium ritual) followed by delivery to the arena.

The offender’s spellbook, focus, and magical tools are destroyed in a public rite before The Chancery; any house or guild that sheltered the offence faces dissolution and heavy fine.


§E. Concerning Enforcement and the Joint Duty

The Elden Wardens and colonial magistrates share equal authority to detect, arrest, and sentence violators within the bounds of the treaty.
Any person who witnesses or suspects violation has the duty to report it; wilful concealment is complicity and punished as the primary offence.
Sentences are final save for joint appeal to the Grand Duke and Archdruid; mercy, when granted, is rare and always accompanied by lifelong reparations (planting, tending, or guardianship of new groves).


Thus the Accord and the Wardens stand as twin sentinels: one of law, one of root and leaf, united in the vow that these groves shall never again bleed for greed.¹


¹ In 3279 ATT, a timber merchant in Duskspring Bower sold a single illegally cut Ironwood beam to a shipwright. The Warden circle traced the grain; the merchant was beheaded at the stump, his house attainted, and the beam burned before The Chancery. His severed head was displayed for a cycle with the plaque: “He sold one beam. The beam cost his line.”

² During the winter of 3284 ATT, a rogue hedge-mage used illusion to conceal a small illegal cut near Thornveil Glade. The Warden vines alerted the circle; the mage was ritually suppressed, sentenced to the arena, and died facing an awakened treant. His focus crystal—shattered—was scattered on the grove’s soil. A runestone marks the site: “Magic hid the axe. The roots saw through.”

³ In 3286 ATT, a desperate charcoal-burner felled a young sequoia outside a preservation zone without licence. The Elden Wardens and magistrate spared execution after he begged mercy; he was sentenced to plant and tend one thousand saplings for life. He still tends them near Eldenheart Glade; locals call him One-Tree Man, and the grove he planted bears his name on a runestone: “He took one life. He gave one thousand.”



Article 9 – The Joint Council of Grove and Crown


Established by the Treaty of Felled Groves (3277 ATT) as the living heart of the peace that ended the Log War. This triennial council beneath The Chancery—the great living Ironwood Sequoia at the centre of Sequoia Bay—serves as both ritual renewal and practical safeguard. The first meeting occurred on the midsummer full moon of 3280 ATT; every gathering since has renewed the oaths sworn by Grand Duke Thero Délavandrelle and Archdruid Elara, ensuring that axe and root remain in uneasy but enduring truce.


§A. Concerning the Timing and Composition of the Council

Once every three years, upon the night of the midsummer full moon, the Joint Council of Grove and Crown convenes beneath The Chancery.

The council comprises:

The meeting is held in the open air beneath the living canopy of The Chancery, with no roof save the branches and no walls save the runestones that mark the treaty’s bounds. Magical truth-seeking—by Zone of Truth, Discern Lies, or Warden rite of the speaking leaf—is mandatory for all principal participants; refusal by either party dissolves the treaty and returns the Maldovarrian Colonies and the Eldentree Weald to a formal state of war.


§B. Concerning the Duties and Powers of the Council

The council shall:

Decisions require unanimous consent of the principals or their deputies; deadlock dissolves the current licences until the next council.


§C. Concerning the Consequences of Refusal or Dissolution

Refusal by either party to submit to magical truth-seeking, attend the council, or renew the oaths constitutes immediate dissolution of the Treaty of Felled Groves.

In such event:

The council’s dissolution is proclaimed by both parties at the next midsummer full moon; the Grand Duke and Archdruid (or their successors) may only restore peace by renewed joint oath beneath The Chancery.


§D. Concerning the Legacy of the Council

Thus the Accord honours the bitter lesson bought with ten thousand lives: the Ironwoods are not mere timber, but the living bones of the Vale.

Let those who forget pay the same price again; let those who remember walk beneath their shade in peace.


So sworn jointly by Grand Duke Thero Délavandrelle and Archdruid Elara beneath the living Chancery, 3277 ATT, to endure while root and branch and Pillar uphold one another.¹

¹ The first council of 3280 ATT nearly failed when a colonial logger’s illegal cut was discovered days before the midsummer moon. Archdruid Elara threatened to walk away; Grand Duke Thero ordered the logger’s immediate execution and replanting of one hundred saplings at Crown expense. The oaths were renewed at dawn. A small runestone beneath The Chancery bears the carved words: “One cut nearly broke the peace. One death mended it.”

² In 3286 ATT, during the Wormsong Resurgence, the council convened amid fears of Arcane Core tunnels threatening grove roots. Elara and Thero declared a three-year moratorium on all licences; the Wardens sealed several shafts with living vines. The decision held; a silver leaf from that night is pressed into the treaty parchment with the note: “The earth trembled. The council answered.”

³ The council of 3283 ATT saw a rare deadlock over a disputed boundary near Starlight Grove. The Grand Duke’s deputy and Elara’s circle could not agree on surplus growth. The impasse voided existing licences for one season; replanting doubled the next year. A runestone at the boundary line reads: “Crown and grove paused. The trees grew taller.”



~ Title X: Of Sanctuary and Asylum



Preamble to Title X

The Colonies were born of exile and refuge. We ourselves crossed the Deepwater Passage fleeing the ruin of old wars and the hunger of old empires. Therefore the Pillar of Liberty commands that no free soul who flees honest peril shall be turned away without hearing.

Yet the same Pillar demands that we be neither fools nor prey. The roads of Tessix are long and treacherous, and not every wanderer knocks with clean hands.

Thus the Accord extends the shield of sanctuary generously—but never blindly.



Article 1 – The Right of Sanctuary in Holy Places


Proclaimed in the original Accord of 3108 ATT as a direct echo of the Colonies’ own founding as a refuge from old-world ruin. The forty-day rule—ancient even in Maldovarra—was carried across the Deepwater Passage aboard the Aelmora and first invoked in 3112 ATT when three escaped tiefling sailors reached the altar of the Sequoia Bay temple, crying “Sanctuary!” amid a pursuing Bast-Neferrah crew. The temple’s doors held; the pursuers were expelled. The Article remains unchanged, a quiet but unbreakable promise that holy ground offers breathing room, never a permanent shield for the guilty.


§A. Concerning the Grant of Forty Days’ Sanctuary

Every recognised temple, shrine, consecrated grove, or sacred site within the Maldovarrian Colonies may grant forty days’ sanctuary to any person—regardless of race, origin, or prior crime—who reaches its altar, sacred ring, or hallowed ground with body and soul intact and cries “Sanctuary!” in the presence of credible witnesses.

The cry must be audible and unequivocal; silent flight or mere hiding does not invoke the right.
During those forty days:


§B. Concerning the Limits and Obligations of Sanctuary

Sanctuary is a sacred privilege extended by recognised holy places and does not create a private guest-right under Title I Article 7 §D nor confer full state asylum under Article 2 of this Title.

No temple may harbour:

Violation of these prohibitions by the temple authorities constitutes felony complicity; the priest or guardian faces degradation, fine, and possible dissolution of the shrine’s charter.


§C. Concerning the End of the Forty Days

After forty days the fugitive must choose one of the following paths:

Refusal to depart or petition after forty days ends sanctuary; the fugitive may then be lawfully seized.
The temple must notify the local magistrate on the fortieth day; failure to do so is dereliction and punished by fine and censure.


§D. Concerning the Enforcement and Protection of Sanctuary

Any attempt to violate sanctuary—by force, bribery, stealth, or magical compulsion—constitutes felony against the Pillar of Liberty and the sanctity of holy ground.

Punishment upon conviction: flogging of not less than thirty lashes, fine of one thousand Silver Moons payable to the temple, and (in grave cases) exile or degradation of rank.

Every knight, soldier, and free subject is bound to defend a sanctuary-seeker from unlawful seizure during the forty days; failure to do so when able is dereliction and punished by fine and public edict.


Thus the Accord offers breathing room to the desperate and the hunted, but never a permanent refuge for the wicked or the serpent in pilgrim’s clothing.¹


¹ In 3112 ATT, three tiefling sailors fleeing Bast-Neferrah slavers reached the altar of the Sequoia Bay temple and cried “Sanctuary!” as their pursuers stormed the doors. The priest barred the gates; the crew was expelled. The sailors received forty days, then petitioned for asylum and were granted it after truth-seeking. One, Zhara’Mir’Thal, later captained his own vessel. A small brass plaque inside the temple reads: “They cried Sanctuary. The doors answered.”

² During the Dragon-Devil War aftermath (3258 ATT), a metallic dragonborn refugee fleeing Tandekutaar stigma reached Eldenheart Glade and claimed sanctuary beneath a sacred oak. Elden Wardens guarded him for forty days; he swore the Oath of Renunciation and was granted asylum. He later served as a scout under Lord General Alaric Rhashol. A silver leaf from that oak is pressed into the Chancery rolls with the note: “He fled scales of shame. The grove gave him a new banner.”

³ In 3279 ATT, after the Délavandrelle Plot was thwarted, a conspirator sought sanctuary in a roadside shrine near Moonlight Hollow. The priest granted forty days, but truth-seeking revealed treason. The fugitive was surrendered to the magistrate on the fortieth day and hanged. The shrine’s altar stone bears a faint carved line: “Sanctuary sheltered him. Truth delivered him.”



Article 2 – The Petition for Asylum


Enacted in the original Accord of 3108 ATT as the formal path from fugitive to free subject, this Article was shaped by the Colonies’ own birth as a haven for exiles fleeing Maldovarra’s old wars and imperial purges. The first petition was heard in 3112 ATT when three tiefling sailors—freed from sanctuary under Article 1—swore the Oath of Renunciation before a Sequoia Bay magistrate after truth-seeking cleared them of hidden taint. The rite has remained unchanged, a solemn bridge between desperate flight and rooted belonging.


§A. Concerning the Right to Petition

Any person fleeing persecution, slavery, unjust sentence, or mortal peril from beyond the Maldovarrian Colonies may petition the nearest magistrate, knight-justiciar, circuit justiciar, hedge knight, or authorised temple guardian for asylum.

The petition may be made upon arrival at any chartered settlement, frontier post, temple, or roadside shrine; no petitioner may be turned away without hearing unless they bear visible marks of the Sss’vraelthian Tethys (see Article 3 §B).

The petitioner must surrender all weapons save a single belt-knife for personal defence and sustenance.


§B. Concerning the Requirements of Truth-Seeking and Oath

The petitioner must submit to magical truth-seeking by a licensed diviner of at least 5th circle (whether Magisterium practitioner, temple cleric, or Elden Warden seer).

The rite shall probe for:

If truth-seeking reveals no such taint, the petitioner must swear the Oath of Renunciation before at least two credible witnesses:

“I renounce all former lords, oaths, and allegiances save those I now freely give to the Grand Duke, the Three Pillars, and the people of Maldovarra-in-Exile. Let my past burn behind me; only my future walks beneath these banners.”

The oath is spoken aloud, sealed with a drop of the petitioner’s blood upon a parchment bearing the Grand-Ducal sigil, and recorded in the shire rolls.


§C. Concerning Provisional Asylum

If truth-seeking clears the petitioner and the oath is sworn, Provisional Asylum is granted for one year and one day.
During this period the asylee must:

The asylee is under the protection of the Accord; harming or delivering them to foreign justice is treason or murder according to circumstance.


§D. Concerning Full Citizenship

At the end of the year and one day, the asylee may swear full fealty before a magistrate or knight-justiciar and become a free subject of the Colonies.
They retain whatever rank or title they can prove by honest witness or deed (noble exiles may keep courtesy rank if verified). Those who arrived as commoners remain commoners unless elevated by Blood Deed, heroic service, or other merit recognised under Title V.

The oath of full fealty is recorded; the asylee receives a parchment of citizenship sealed with the Grand-Ducal sigil and the right to bear arms, hold land, and stand in court as any born subject.

Refusal to swear full fealty at year’s end ends provisional asylum; the asylee must depart under safe-conduct or face expulsion.¹


¹ In 3112 ATT, the three tiefling sailors freed under Article 1 petitioned for asylum in Sequoia Bay. Truth-seeking cleared them of hidden corruption; they swore the Oath of Renunciation before witnesses. After a year of labour on the docks, all three swore full fealty and became free subjects. One, Zhara’Mir’Thal, rose to command his own vessel. His citizenship parchment—framed in his captain’s cabin—bears the faded blood-drop seal and the note: “Past burned. Future sailed.”

² During the Dragon-Devil War aftermath (3258 ATT), a metallic dragonborn refugee named Zalthar petitioned at Port Wavecrest after fleeing Tandekutaar stigma. Truth-seeking revealed only persecution; he swore the oath and spent his provisional year as a dock labourer. At year’s end he swore full fealty and joined the Colonial Navy. His broken manacle—forged into a ring—is worn by his descendants with the words: “Chains ended at the petition. Fealty began the voyage.”

³ In 3279 ATT, after the Délavandrelle Plot, a minor conspirator’s foreign servant sought asylum in Moonlight Hollow. Truth-seeking uncovered no treason; she swore the oath and served a year as a healer’s apprentice. Granted citizenship, she later married a local smith and bore free children. A small silver chain link from her old collar is kept in the shrine where she petitioned, with the inscription: “She fled chains. The Accord gave her a hearth.”



Article 3 – Special Cases and Suspicion


Added to the Triadic Accord in 3118 ATT and substantially expanded in 3258 ATT after the Dragon-Devil War sent waves of tiefling and metallic dragonborn refugees fleeing Var Maldur and Tandekutaar into colonial ports. The Yuan-ti provisions were tightened in 3265 ATT following the Blight Scourge, when Sss’vraelthian Tethys agents attempted to infiltrate disguised as escaped slaves. These rules reflect the Colonies’ dual nature: open to the truly persecuted, iron-hard against those who would bring chains or venom across the water.


§A. Concerning Refugees from Var Maldur and Tandekutaar

Tieflings fleeing the oppression and infernal purges of Var Maldur, and metallic dragonborn (bronze, gold, silver, copper, brass) fleeing the stigma, conscription, or persecution of their scales in Tandekutaar, are welcomed as honourable exiles.
Such petitioners are granted expedited consideration provided they:

Their subsequent service in the Colonial Army, any chartered guild, the Sequoia Bay Magisterium, or other useful labour counts heavily in their favour during the provisional year and when petitioning for full citizenship.

Many such exiles have risen swiftly: tiefling apothecaries curing plagues, dragonborn knights bearing lance against yuan-ti raiders, their scars and scales transformed from marks of shame into badges of earned loyalty.


§B. Concerning Yuan-ti and Citizens of the Sss’vraelthian Tethys

No pureblood, abomination, malison, or other citizen of the Sss’vraelthian Tethys shall ever be granted asylum unless every one of the following stringent conditions is met:

Even when granted, such asylum is conditional: the former yuan-ti remains under lifelong wardenship of the Sequoia Bay Magisterium, may never hold land, office, military command, or magical licence, and must report monthly to a designated warden.

Violation of any condition revokes asylum and returns the individual to lawful judgement as a foreign agent.


§C. Concerning Escaped Slaves of Any Origin

The moment the foot of a slave—be they human, goblin, dragonborn, tiefling, or any other sentient being—touches colonial soil or the deck of a colonial ship beyond the three-mile limit, they are free.

No foreign master, bounty hunter, or claimant may lawfully reclaim them; any attempt to do so is high treason against the Pillar of Liberty under Title VIII Article 6.

Yet the former slave must still petition for asylum under Article 2 to secure full rights and protection as a free subject. Until Provisional Asylum is granted, they may be held in protective custody (in temple sanctuary or secure but humane lodgings) to prevent recapture by hunters or agents of their former master.

During this period they receive food, clothing, healing, and instruction in the common tongue and basic laws; they are not bound or collared.
Upon swearing the Oath of Renunciation and passing truth-seeking, they receive Provisional Asylum and the same opportunities as any other petitioner.


§D. Concerning the Balance of Mercy and Vigilance

These special provisions honour the Pillar of Liberty while guarding against the serpent that comes cloaked as victim.

The Accord opens its arms to the truly persecuted—tiefling, dragonborn, escaped thrall—yet closes every gate to those who would bring chains, venom, or hidden blades beneath the banners of refuge.


Let the honest fugitive find hearth and labour; let the deceiver find only the cold road back to the desert that spawned them.¹

¹ In 3258 ATT, amid the Dragon-Devil War refugees, a metallic dragonborn named Zalthar arrived at Port Wavecrest bearing whip scars and tales of chromatic conscription. Truth-seeking cleared him; he swore the oath, served a year as a dock labourer, and later joined the Colonial Navy. His broken manacle—forged into a ring—is worn by his descendants with the words: “Scales were shamed. The Accord gave them honour.”

² In 3265 ATT, during the Blight Scourge, a yuan-ti malison disguised as an escaped slave reached Sequoia Bay temple and cried sanctuary. Three truth-seekings—Magisterium, temple, and Warden—revealed the deception. The Grand Duke refused the warrant; the malison was executed in the arena. The temple’s altar stone bears a faint carved line: “It wore scars. Truth saw the venom.”

³ In 3279 ATT, after the Délavandrelle Plot, a freed tiefling slave from Var Maldur petitioned at Moonlight Hollow. Protective custody held him until truth-seeking cleared his story; he swore the oath, served a year in the fields, and later became a respected smith. A small silver coin—his first earned wage—is kept in the shrine where he petitioned, with the note: “He fled chains. The Accord gave him hammer and hearth.”



Article 4 – The Crime of False Sanctuary


Added to Title X in 3118 ATT amid the first major influx of refugees after the Runeveil Fever had subsided, when several foreign agents attempted to slip into Sequoia Bay disguised as plague survivors. The misdemeanour of Unlawful Entry was crafted to distinguish honest fugitives from those who slink in under cover of night or false tales. The escalation to Felony False Sanctuary was invoked for the first time in 3121 ATT when a yuan-ti infiltrator—posing as a tiefling refugee—was uncovered by truth-seeking; his execution in the arena set the grim boundary that protects the Pillar of Liberty without making the Colonies a haven for serpents.


§A. Concerning the Misdemeanour of Unlawful Entry

Any person who enters the Maldovarrian Colonies by stealth, evades the border watch, avoids recognised ports or frontier posts, or conceals their true origin and purpose upon arrival commits the misdemeanour of Unlawful Entry.
This offence includes:

The misdemeanour reflects suspicion rather than malice; the Accord presumes the entrant may yet prove honest.


§B. Concerning the Penalty for Unlawful Entry

Upon detection and conviction of Unlawful Entry the offender shall serve thirty to ninety days of labour on the frontier roads, repairing bridges, clearing trails, or building watch-posts under guard.

During this term they are held in protective custody but not chained; they receive food, shelter, and basic care as befits a petitioner.

At the end of the labour they must immediately petition for asylum under Article 2, submitting to truth-seeking and the Oath of Renunciation.

Refusal to labour or to petition results in expulsion under armed escort to the nearest border.


§C. Concerning Escalation to Felony False Sanctuary

If truth-seeking—conducted after the labour term or upon immediate suspicion—reveals intent to spy, enslave, sacrifice, commit treason, spread forbidden magic, or otherwise harm the Colonies, the offence is raised to Felony False Sanctuary.

Punishment upon conviction:

The sentence is carried out publicly so that all may witness the cost of deceit cloaked as desperation.


§D. Concerning the Balance of Vigilance and Mercy

This Article guards the gate without barring it entirely. Honest petitioners who err through fear or ignorance may labour briefly and still find refuge; those who come with hidden blades or venom find only iron and the cold road back.


The Accord reminds every magistrate and hedge knight: err on the side of hearing the petitioner, but never on the side of trusting the serpent in pilgrim’s clothing.¹


¹ In 3121 ATT, a yuan-ti infiltrator posing as a tiefling refugee evaded the border watch and reached Port Wavecrest temple. He cried sanctuary but was held for unlawful entry. Thirty days of road labour followed; truth-seeking then revealed his intent to poison wells. He was executed in the arena. The temple’s altar stone bears a faint carved line: “He wore a refugee’s face. Truth saw the venom.”

² During the Dragon-Devil War aftermath (3258 ATT), a metallic dragonborn refugee crossed the frontier without presenting at a watch-tower, fearing pursuit. He was detained for unlawful entry, laboured sixty days repairing a bridge, then petitioned successfully. He later served as a scout. A small green ribbon from his first banner is kept in the watch-tower records with the note: “He hid from fear. Labour taught him trust.”

³ In 3279 ATT, after the Délavandrelle Plot, a foreign agent slipped ashore near Kestral Cliffs with forged papers. A hedge knight detected the evasion; the agent laboured ninety days on frontier roads. Truth-seeking uncovered espionage. He was beheaded at the cliffs. The post where he was held bears a small iron spike with the words: “He came in stealth. The Accord answered with truth and steel.”



Article 5 – Duty to Defend the Asylum-Seeker


Enshrined in the original Accord of 3108 ATT as the iron-clad guarantee that provisional or full asylum is no mere courtesy but a binding obligation upon every free subject. The duty was first invoked in 3112 ATT when a mob attempted to seize the three tiefling sailors newly granted asylum after their sanctuary period; dockworkers and a hedge knight formed a shield-wall until the magistrate arrived. The principle has held firm through every crisis—plague, war, and refugee tide—reminding all that the Pillar of Liberty demands not only refuge but active defence.


§A. Concerning the Binding Nature of the Duty

Once Provisional Asylum or full citizenship is granted and the Oath of Renunciation sworn before witnesses, every knight, soldier, pledged retainer, hedge knight, burgess, freeholder, and free subject of the Maldovarrian Colonies is bound by solemn duty to defend the asylee with their own life, as though the asylee were born beneath the golden poppy banners.

This duty attaches immediately upon the magistrate’s pronouncement or the sealing of the citizenship parchment and endures for the asylee’s lifetime unless revoked by the Grand Duke for proven treason or felony.


§B. Concerning the Scope of Defence

The duty requires:

No plea of “I did not know” or “it was not my place” excuses failure when the threat is clear and the defender able.

To stand idle while an asylum-sworn subject is harmed or dragged away is dereliction against the Pillar of Liberty; punishment upon proof includes flogging, fine, and (in cases of wilful inaction leading to death) imprisonment or exile.


§C. Concerning the Crime of Harming or Delivering an Asylum-Seeker

To harm, assault, kidnap, or deliver an asylum-sworn subject to foreign justice, bounty hunter, former master, or any claimant is counted:

Punishment upon conviction:

No right of trial by combat or appeal to mercy shall be granted unless the Grand Duke in person intervenes; even then, mercy is rare and always accompanied by lifelong wardenship or exile.


§D. Concerning the Protection of the Asylum Oath

The Oath of Renunciation and the grant of asylum create a sacred bond between the asylee and the people of the Colonies.
Any person who violates this bond—whether by blade, chain, spell, or betrayal—strikes at the very heart of why the Deepwater Passage was crossed and the Accord forged.


The Three Pillars demand that the shield extended to the fugitive be defended as fiercely as the hearth of any born subject; to do less is to invite the same ruin that once drove us from the Mother Isle.¹


¹ In 3112 ATT, after the three tiefling sailors were granted asylum, a Bast-Neferrah bounty hunter attempted to seize them from a dockside tavern. Dockworkers, a hedge knight, and tavern patrons formed a shield-wall; the hunter was driven off and later hanged for attempted treason. The tavern’s hearth—where the asylees first ate as free folk—still bears a small brass plaque: “They defended strangers. The strangers became kin.”

² During the Dragon-Devil War aftermath (3258 ATT), a metallic dragonborn asylee named Zalthar was attacked by chromatic agents in Port Wavecrest. A knight-banneret and several soldiers intervened, slaying two assailants and wounding the third. The knight was commended; Zalthar later served under him. A silver scale from one of the slain agents is mounted above the tavern door with the note: “They came for one. The Accord answered for all.”

³ In 3279 ATT, after the Délavandrelle Plot, a freed tiefling asylee was nearly delivered to a foreign slaver by a corrupt guard. The guard’s comrades arrested him; he was tried for treason and hanged. The asylee—later a respected smith—forged the irons used in the execution. A small silver chain link from his old collar is kept in the guardhouse with the inscription: “He was sworn. The guard who failed was broken.”



Article 6 – The Grand-Ducal Prerogative of Mercy and Banishment


Reserved to the Grand Duke as Viceroy of the Emperor, this Article was first proclaimed in 3108 ATT to ensure that the shield of asylum—broad as it is—never becomes a cloak for the realm’s enemies. The prerogative was exercised in 3112 ATT when Grand Duke Thero Délavandrelle personally waived the forty days for three tiefling sailors whose truth-seeking revealed urgent intelligence about yuan-ti slaver movements; he granted them instant citizenship and a bounty for their information. The power remains absolute, a quiet reminder that mercy and justice both flow from the same hand.


§A. Concerning the Prerogative to Shorten or Waive the Forty Days

The Grand Duke alone may, by personal decree or warrant under his seal, shorten or wholly waive the forty days of temple sanctuary granted under Article 1.

Such waiver is exercised only when:

The waiver takes effect instantly upon the ducal warrant reaching the temple or magistrate; the petitioner is then compelled to petition for asylum under Article 2 or face lawful seizure.


§B. Concerning the Prerogative to Grant Instant Full Citizenship

The Grand Duke alone may grant instant full citizenship to any petitioner who has demonstrated extraordinary service, faced mortal peril in the Colonies’ defence, or whose immediate incorporation serves the realm’s vital interest.

Such grants are rare and require:

The asylee receives a parchment of citizenship sealed with the Grand-Ducal sigil, bearing the words “By Ducal Mercy and Deed.” They are accounted free subjects from the moment of signing, with all rights and duties thereof, and may retain any rank or title provable by honest witness or elevated by Blood Deed.


§C. Concerning the Prerogative of Immediate Expulsion

The Grand Duke alone may order immediate expulsion of any petitioner or asylee if new evidence proves deceit, hidden treason, intent to spy, enslave, or harm the realm beyond all reasonable doubt.
Such expulsion requires:

The petitioner or asylee is removed under armed escort to the nearest border, stripped of any provisional status, and barred from future entry upon pain of death. No right of appeal or trial by combat lies; the ducal warrant is final.


§D. Concerning the Balance of Mercy and Vigilance

Thus the Accord keeps the gate wide for the honest fugitive and the hand firm against the serpent in pilgrim’s clothing.

Let the weary and wronged find refuge beneath our banners; let the deceiver find only iron and the cold road back to the desert that spawned him.
These prerogatives are exercised for the common weal and may not be delegated to private hands or used for personal favour. Abuse—capricious waiver, unjust expulsion, or refusal of mercy where evidence demands it—constitutes Dereliction of Fealty and may be answered by the Council of Nine Pillars or (in extremis) imperial commission.¹

¹ In 3112 ATT, Grand Duke Thero Délavandrelle waived the forty days for the three tiefling sailors whose truth-seeking revealed urgent intelligence about yuan-ti slaver movements. He granted instant citizenship and a bounty; one sailor, Zhara’Mir’Thal, later captained his own vessel. A silver coin from that bounty is kept in the Chancery vault with the note: “Mercy opened the gate. Intelligence held it open.”

² During the Dragon-Devil War aftermath (3258 ATT), a metallic dragonborn refugee named Zalthar faced immediate expulsion after intercepted letters suggested chromatic ties. Grand Duke Thero reviewed the evidence personally, found it forged, and instead granted instant citizenship for his prior service as a scout. Zalthar rose to knight-banneret. The forged letter—marked “False” in ducal hand—is preserved in the Sequoia Bay archive with the words: “Deceit sought expulsion. Truth earned a banner.”

³ In 3279 ATT, after the Délavandrelle Plot, a foreign agent posing as an asylee was uncovered by new evidence of espionage. Grand Duke Thero ordered immediate expulsion; the agent was escorted to the border and barred forever. A small iron spike from the escort chain is kept in the Chancery with the inscription: “The serpent came cloaked. The Duke sent him back to the desert.”



~ Title XI: Of Taxation and Scutage



**Preamble to Title XI **

The Three Pillars stand upon labour, coin, and blood freely given.

No lord may bleed his people white, nor may the Crown devour the fruit of their toil.

Yet roads must be kept, walls raised, levies armed, and the Emperor’s distant fleet supplied.

Therefore the Accord sets clear bounds: what may be asked, by whom, and how often—so that Property is honoured, Liberty preserved, and Dignity not crushed beneath the tax-collector’s heel.



Article 1 – The Grand-Ducal Monopoly on General Taxation

  1. The Grand Duke alone, with consent of at least five members of the Council of Nine Pillars, may levy a general tax upon all subjects and lands of the Colonies.

  2. Such tax may be proclaimed only for:

- defence against invasion or monstrous incursion,

- rebuilding after great calamity (plague, dragon-fire, or tidal storm),

- repayment of an Imperial levy demanded by the Emperor in Maldovarra.

  1. No general tax may exceed one-tenth of a subject’s yearly increase in movable wealth or harvest, nor be levied more than once in any five-year span without unanimous vote of the Nine Pillars and public posting in every shire for one full turning of the moon.


Article 2 – Feudal Aids and Traditional Dues

Lords may demand from their own vassals and tenants only the four feudal aids, and no more:

  1. Relief – upon inheritance of a fief: one year’s revenue of the holding.

  2. Aid for the Lord’s Ransom – if the lord is captured in lawful war.

  3. Knighting of the Lord’s Eldest Son – a reasonable gift, never to exceed 100 Silver Moons per knightly vassal.

  4. Marriage of the Lord’s Eldest Daughter – likewise not to exceed 100 Silver Moons per vassal.

Any lord who demands a fifth aid, or who exceeds these limits, commits felony extortion against the Pillar of Property.



Article 3 – Customary Rents and Local Dues

  1. Hearth-silver, bridge-tolls, market-stalls, mill-fees, and similar customary dues set by ancient charter or local usage are lawful, provided they are publicly posted and have been collected without complaint for twenty winters.

  2. No lord may raise an existing due by more than one-tenth in any decade without the assent of a court of his own free tenants.



Article 4 – The King’s Third from Mines and New Veins

As established in Title IX, one-third of all metal, gem, or magical ore belongs to the Grand-Ducal Treasury. This is not a tax but a royal prerogative, delivered in kind or assayed value within one year of extraction.



Article 5 – Scutage: Gold in Lieu of Steel

  1. When the Grand Duke or a liege lord summons the levy, every noble and knight owing service may send the required horse and foot, or pay scutage in their stead.

  2. Rates (fixed since 3124 ATT and adjustable only by the Council of Nine Pillars):

- 200 Silver Moons (20 Golden Saints) per required knight or mounted man-at-arms

- 50 Silver Moons (5 Golden Saints) per required foot soldier or archer.

  1. Scutage paid relieves the payer of personal service for that summons only.

  2. Refusal to pay lawful scutage after choosing gold over service is counted as Dereliction of Fealty (see Title V).



Article 6 – Of the Standard Coinage, Accepted Currencies, and Exchange of the Colonies**

Amended by the Grand Duke and the Council of Nine Pillars on the midsummer full moon of 3263 ATT beneath the living Chancery in Sequoia Bay, with clarifying provisions added during the Great Harvestide Recension of 3282 ATT.


§A. Concerning the Standard and Lawful Coinage of the Realm
For the increase of honest trade, the ending of confusion at market and mint, and the honouring of the Pillar of Property, the coinage of the Maldovarrian Colonies is fixed and standardised as follows:

1). Platinum Dragon – bearing the profile of the Grand Duke on the obverse and the Ironwood Chancery on the reverse; valued at ten Golden Saints.

2). Golden Saint – bearing the image of Saint Almeric the Dawnfarer (first martyr of the 3041 Landing) on the obverse and the Three Pillars on the reverse; the base unit of account.
3). Silver Moon – bearing a crescent moon and the Grand-Ducal crown on the obverse and a ship under sail on the reverse; valued at one-tenth of a Golden Saint.

4). Copper Wheel – bearing a spoked ship’s wheel on the obverse and the colony seal on the reverse; valued at one-hundredth of a Golden Saint.

All four denominations are struck upon round planchets of identical diameter and thickness, differing only in metal and colour, so that the hand may know the value by sight and the scale need never be consulted. Every coin weighs precisely the same: fifty coins of any metal equal one pound avoirdupois. Thus one thousand Golden Saints weigh twenty pounds, and the merchant or soldier is no longer burdened by varying heft.


§B. Concerning Former Coinages and Enduring Names

The standard coinage set forth above supersedes all prior mints and local issues within the Maldovarrian Colonies since the midsummer full moon of 3263 ATT. For the avoidance of doubt in court, contract, and ledger, only the Platinum Dragon, Golden Saint, Silver Moon, and Copper Wheel are lawful for public debts, taxes, fines, blood-prices, and official accounts.

Older coin-names — such as “half-crowns,” “shillings,” “coppers,” “saints of the old mint,” or “Maldovarrian crescents” — persist in common speech, tavern reckonings, and the private tallies of merchants and smallholders.¹ Such names carry no legal force after Harvestide 3282 ATT, but may be used in private contract or folk custom provided the value is reckoned in the current standard at the time of payment. Any dispute over equivalence shall be settled by assay at the nearest New Leaf Financial branch or colonial mint, with the current standard prevailing.

¹ It has been remarked, in the quieter corners of the Chancery, that the tavern-keeper who still demands “twenty silver moons” for a flagon will happily accept two Golden Saints once the ale is poured; the scribe who first noted this habit added, in very small letters, “The hand knows the weight even when the tongue forgets the name.”


§C. Concerning Accepted Foreign Moneys

Coins of the Dwarven City-State of Haltodor remain legal tender at face value, being struck to the same weight since the Treaty of the Twelve. Coin of Tandekutaar, Var Maldur, and Bast-Neferrah shall be accepted by weight and assayed fineness only, at the nearest colonial mint or New Leaf Financial vault. Electrum of Aerlon is refused as legal tender and may be exchanged only as bullion.


§D. Concerning Minting and Counterfeiting

Sole right of minting resides with the Grand-Ducal Mint in the Dusurk District under the seal of the Warden of the Exchequer. Private striking, clipping, shaving, washing, or counterfeiting remains high felony punishable by death or the arena.


§E. Concerning Transitional Mercy

For one full year following promulgation, old colonial coins (Silver Moons, half-crowns, etc.) may be brought to any provincial mint or New Leaf Financial branch and exchanged without fee for the new standard coinage, weight for weight and value for value.

Thus is the coin of the realm made honest, uniform, and worthy of the Three Pillars.

So decreed beneath The Chancery by the hand of Thero Délavandrelle, Grand Duke of the Colonies, and ratified unanimously by the Council of Nine Pillars on the night the moon stood full above the Ironwood.

May every Platinum Dragon, Golden Saint, Silver Moon, and Copper Wheel bear faithful witness to Property, Liberty, and Dignity while the Pillars endure.



Article 7 – Gate Taxes, Road Taxes, and Harbour Dues

Amended by the Grand Duke and the Council of Nine Pillars on the midsummer full moon of 3263 ATT beneath the living Chancery in Sequoia Bay, with clarifying provisions added during the Great Harvestide Recension of 3282 ATT.

The highways, gates, and harbours of the Maldovarrian Colonies are the arteries through which the life-blood of trade and the sinews of defence must flow. Yet freedom of movement must not become licence for chaos, nor the need for safe roads become pretext for extortion. Therefore this Article sets modest, publicly posted dues that sustain the realm’s watch, repair its bridges, and guard its frontiers, while ensuring no lord or officer may wring more from the traveller than the Accord permits. These taxes are not tribute to greed, but the small price paid by free folk that the roads remain open, the patrols vigilant, and the Three Pillars unthreatened by bandit, beast, or broken bridge.


§A. Concerning the Authority of Provinces to Levy Gate and Road Taxes

Each province may, by ordinance of its marquess or provincial assize, establish reasonable gate taxes upon persons and caravans entering or departing its walled towns and cities, and road taxes upon the recognized highways within its bounds, provided always that such taxes are publicly posted at every gate, bridge, and crossroads, and do not exceed the following maxima:

1). In capital cities and major provincial seats: five Golden Saints per person on foot or horseback, or twenty Golden Saints per laden caravan of ten wagons or more.
2). In lesser walled towns and market boroughs: one Golden Saint per person or ten Golden Saints per laden caravan.
3). In villages, thorps, and unfortified hamlets: one Silver Moon per person or five Silver Moons per laden caravan.

Such taxes are lawful only when collected openly and with a receipt bearing the provincial seal, valid for one full turning of the moon upon the highways of the issuing province. Any lord, gate-warden, or tax-farmer who exceeds these limits, conceals the posted rates, or demands payment without receipt commits felony extortion against the Pillar of Property.


§B. Concerning the Special Deposit of Sequoia Bay

In the capital city of Sequoia Bay, every person entering the city gates shall deposit three Golden Saints with the gate-warden as surety of good conduct. This deposit is returned in full upon the same day when the traveler departs the city walls without having committed any breach of the peace or the market laws. The practice is expressly permitted under this Article as a measure of public order and not as a tax; it may not be imitated by any other city or town without the express writ of the Grand Duke and the assent of the Council of Nine Pillars.


§C. Concerning Road Taxes Collected by Colonial Army Patrols

Patrols of the Maldovarrian Colonial Army may levy a road tax of one Silver Moon per wagon, rider, or pack-train upon the recognized highways of the realm. This tax is collected only once per journey and grants the bearer a receipt valid for one full moon’s unimpeded travel upon all recognized roads from the Kestral Cliffs to the western marches of the Verdant Steppes. The receipt must be presented upon demand by any patrol, sheriff, or hedge knight; refusal or evasion is counted as felony obstruction of justice.


§D. Concerning the Disposition of Collected Taxes

All gate, road, and harbor dues collected under this Article shall be divided as follows:

No lord or provincial officer may divert these funds to private use, luxury, or schemes contrary to the Three Pillars. Concealment, false accounting, or misappropriation is felony theft against the Crown.


§E. Concerning the Prohibition of Private Tolls

No private person, guild, knight, or noble may erect a gate, chain, or barrier upon any recognized road or riverway and demand toll without express license from the Grand Duke or the provincial marquess. Any such unlicensed toll is counted felony extortion; the barrier shall be thrown down, the collector flogged through the nearest market, and the offender fined threefold the sum unlawfully taken.


Thus the highways of the Colonies remain free for honest commerce and the swift movement of the levy, yet the realm is sustained by lawful and moderate dues that all may bear without ruin. May the roads be open, the receipts honest, and the taxes light enough that no free soul is crushed beneath the wheel of gold.


So sworn beneath the living Chancery, that the coin of the realm may flow as freely as the rivers and the banners rise unhindered upon the wind.



Article 8 – The Imperial Tithe

Enacted in the founding years and reaffirmed by the Grand Duke and the Council of Nine Pillars during the Great Harvestide Recension of 3282 ATT.


The Emperor in distant Maldovarra remains, in name and ancient right, the sovereign lord of these Colonies. The Deepwater Passage is long and perilous; the Emperor’s gaze is far. Yet the chain of fealty must not snap. Therefore every seventh year the realm renders a tithe—not as tribute to greed, but as the final, measured link that binds peasant to lord, lord to Grand Duke, and Grand Duke to the distant throne—light enough that the Colonies may breathe, solemn enough that the ancient oaths are kept.


§A. Concerning the Revenues Subject to the Tithe

One-tenth part of all revenues collected in the preceding seven years from the following sources shall be set aside for the Imperial Tithe:

1). The King’s Third of all metal, gem, magical ore, and other royal prerogatives (Title IX).
2). All scutage paid in lieu of personal service (Title XI Article 5).
3). Harbor dues and the Emperor’s Harbor Due levied upon ships, barges, and caravans (Title XI Article 7 and Title VII §2).
4). Surpluses remaining from any general tax lawfully proclaimed under Title XI Article 1, once the needs of defense, calamity relief, and provincial administration have been met.

No other revenues—customary rents, market tolls, gate taxes, or private feudal dues—form part of the tithe.


§B. Concerning the Timing and Shipment

The tithe shall be assembled, assayed, and sealed in the vaults of the Dusurk District under the eye of the Warden of the Exchequer. On the first day of Harvestide in the seventh year, a ship bearing the black sails of solemn duty and the Grand-Ducal standard at half-mast shall depart Sequoia Bay for the Mother Isle, carrying the tithe in coin, bullion, or kind as the Emperor’s agents may direct.

The Grand Duke himself (or his named deputy) shall stand upon the quay and witness the loading, that the realm may know the chain of fealty has been honored.


§C. Concerning Penalties for Default or Concealment

Concealment, false accounting, or willful diminution of the tithe is felony theft against the Crown and high treason against the Emperor’s commission. Upon conviction:

1). The responsible officer or noble shall suffer attainder of office and forfeiture of one year’s entire revenue from their holdings.
2). The shortfall shall be made good threefold from the offender’s personal estate.
3). Persistent or grievous default may, at the Grand Duke’s pleasure, be referred to the Council of Nine Pillars for attainder of blood.


§D. Concerning the Limits upon Imperial Demand

This tithe represents the traditional and maximum obligation owed by the Colonies under the ancient commission. Any demand exceeding one-tenth, or any command that would override the internal provisions of the Triadic Accord, must be submitted to the full amendment process set forth in Title XIV. Until such amendment is lawfully enacted, the Emperor’s agents may receive only the tithe here ordained.


Thus the chain of fealty stretches across the Deepwater Passage—strong enough to bind two realms, light enough that the Colonies may still stand upright beneath the Three Pillars. May the Emperor’s distant gaze remain benevolent, and may the ship that bears the tithe return with fair winds and the Emperor’s continued grace.


So sworn beneath the living Chancery, that the coin of the realm may flow outward in measured measure, and the ancient oaths be kept without breaking the backs of those who pay them.



Article 9 – Punishment for Unlawful Taxation

Enacted in the founding years to curb the rapacious exactions of early colonial lords and reaffirmed during the Great Harvestide Recension of 3282 ATT.


The Pillar of Property demands that taxation serve the common weal, not the purse of the powerful. No lord, magistrate, or officer may demand a coin beyond what the Accord permits, lest the realm be bled dry by those sworn to defend it. These penalties ensure swift justice against extortion, restoring threefold what was wrongfully taken and degrading the offender’s station, that the burdens of rule fall justly upon all and the small folk may labour without fear of arbitrary ruin.


§A. Concerning the Definition and Punishment of Felony Extortion

Any lord, magistrate, officer of the realm, or tax-farmer who demands a tax, due, toll, or exaction not authorised by this Title, or who exceeds the lawful maxima herein set forth, commits felony extortion against the Pillar of Property.

1). First offence: restitution threefold the sum unlawfully taken, together with public flogging through the market square of the nearest chartered town.

2). Second offence: forfeiture of office or commission, forfeiture of one year’s entire revenue from the offender’s lands or holdings, and permanent disqualification from any future office of collection.

3). In the case of a noble offender: reduction of rank by one degree and public censure before the assembled Council of Nine Pillars, the offender’s banners to be furled for one full year.


§B. Concerning Aggravating Factors

Where the unlawful demand is accompanied by threat of violence, seizure of goods without warrant, or false claim of royal authority, the penalty shall be escalated by one degree in severity. Where such extortion is proven to have been systematic or to have caused widespread ruin among the small folk, the offender shall suffer attainder of office and lands, the fief passing into Grand-Ducal wardship until a worthy successor is found.


§C. Concerning the Protection of the Three Pillars

No coin taken in violation of this Title may ever be held lawful, nor may any lord or officer claim benefit therefrom. Thus the Accord ensures that every coin taken serves the common weal, every shield raised defends the Three Pillars, and no subject—high or low—is crushed beneath the weight of greedy hands.


§D. Concerning Enforcement and Appeal

Accusations of unlawful taxation shall be heard first by the provincial assize and may be appealed directly to the High Court at Sequoia Bay. The burden of proof lies upon the accused to show that the demand was authorised and lawful.


So sworn beneath the living Chancery, that the coin of the realm may flow honestly and the burdens of rule fall justly upon those entrusted with them, in the 3282nd year of the Age of the Three Thrones.



Article 10 – Of Great Debts and the Security of Fiefs

Enacted during the Great Harvestide Recension of 3282 ATT to protect the ancient fiefs of the realm from foreign creditors and the slow poison of debt.


The Three Pillars forbid that the greed of private lenders should swallow noble lands or place them under foreign dominion. This Article guards against the creeping conquest of purse and parchment, requiring solemn license for great borrowings secured upon fiefs, forbidding alienation to alien powers, and ensuring that insolvency returns the land to loyal hands rather than distant vaults. Thus the nobility’s holdings remain bound to the realm, while honest commerce among lesser sums flows unhindered.


§A. Concerning the Threshold of Great Debt

Any noble from baron upward who seeks to borrow a sum exceeding five thousand Golden Saints (or its assayed equivalent in lawful coin or kind) secured upon lands, castles, titles, or feudal revenues must first obtain a Licence of Great Debt bearing the seal of the Grand Duke or his Warden of the Exchequer.


§B. Concerning Required Sureties and Registration

The lender—whether private banker, merchant company, temple, guild, or foreign house—must appear before a magistrate and swear upon oath that the loan is made in good faith and without intent to subvert the realm, its Pillars, or its fealty to the Emperor. A true copy of the bond, the license, and the lender’s sworn oath shall be lodged with the provincial justiciar and The Chancery within thirty days of sealing. Failure to register renders the bond void and the lender liable to fine equal to twice the sum advanced.


§C. Concerning the Prohibition of Alienation to Foreign Powers

No fief, castle, manor, or feudal revenue may be mortgaged, pledged, encumbered, or in any wise transferred—whether by sale, long lease, or conditional bond—to any person, house, company, or power owing allegiance outside the Maldovarrian Colonies. Any such attempted alienation is void in law from the first word; the lender forfeits the entire sum advanced with no recourse, and the noble who consented suffers reduction of rank by one degree and public censure before the Council of Nine Pillars.


§D. Concerning Bankruptcy and Forfeiture

Should a noble prove unable to repay a duly licensed Great Debt after three public auctions of movable goods and seven full years of default, the indebted lands, castles, and revenues shall revert forthwith to the immediate liege (or, if the debtor be a marquess or higher, to the personal demesne of the Grand Duke) until the debt is discharged or the fief lawfully re-granted to a worthy successor. During such wardship the liege or Grand Duke shall preserve the lands un-wasted and render the Grand-Ducal Third as though the fief remained in full seisin.


§E. Concerning Lesser Borrowing and Private Moneylenders

Nothing in this Article restrains free subjects from lending or borrowing sums below the threshold of Great Debt, nor from founding private banking houses, guild-lenders, money-changing stalls, or other honest ventures, provided they obey the ordinary laws against usury, fraud, and extortion. All such lesser contracts remain binding under the Accord so long as they are openly witnessed and do not encumber fiefs or feudal revenues without license.


So sworn beneath the living Chancery, that the ancient holdings of the nobility may remain in loyal hands and the realm never fall to the slow conquest of distant vaults, in the 3282nd year of the Age of the Three Thrones.



~ Title XII: Of the Militia, General Levy, and the Education of the Noble Orders



Preamble to Title XII

The Colonies were forged by spear and spell, not by parchment alone.

Let no man, woman, or child beneath our banners forget the smoke that rose over Thornveil Glade or the thunder of orcish axes upon Steelbark Ridge.

Liberty is kept only by those willing to bleed for it, and Property is defended only by those trained to hold it.

Therefore the Accord commands every hand to learn the bow, every noble heir to master both sword and cipher, and every great house to keep a licensed spellcaster at its hearth—so that the realm shall never again be caught unarmed before dragon, devil, or deeper darkness.



Article 1 – The Common Levy and the Four Days’ Training

  1. Every able-bodied free subject, male or female, between sixteen and sixty winters shall present themselves for militia training four days each year at the nearest shire-moot or fortified town.

  2. Training shall be in longbow, spear, pike, or bill, according to local custom, under the direction of the sheriff, a sworn knight, or a veteran sergeant of the Colonial Army.

  3. Lawful excuses (grievous illness, pregnancy, sacred vow, or service already rendered in the Colonial Army or Navy) must be proven before a magistrate.

  4. Refusal without excuse: fine of 10 Silver Moons or one month’s road-work upon the Grand-Ducal highways.



Article 2 – The General Levy and the Summons of Banners

  1. When the Grand Duke or his appointed marshal proclaims the General Levy, every settlement, knight’s fee, and noble house shall answer with the full strength required by charter and this Accord.

  2. The levy may be called only for:

- defence against invasion or monstrous uprising,

- suppression of rebellion or outlawry that threatens a province,

- aid to the Emperor or to allied realms under formal treaty.

  1. Duration of service shall not exceed six moons unless renewed by the Council of Nine Pillars.


Article 3 – Perpetual Military Obligations of the Noble Orders

(As expanded after much analysis and debate regarding the Log War and ratified in 3264 ATT)

Every noble house from baron upward shall maintain, upon pain of degradation or attainder if neglected for three consecutive years:

  1. Standing Armed Strength (unchanged from Title V)

- Marquess & Count: stronghold + 100 horse or 300 foot

- Earl & Viscount: 50 horse or 150 foot

- Baron: 20 horse or 60 foot

  1. Arcane Education and Permanent Spellcaster

- The heir and all legitimate children capable of letters shall receive formal instruction in the recognition, resistance, and (where aptitude exists) wielding of arcane and divine magics.

- Each noble seat (castle, manor-house, or fortified palace) shall retain in permanent service at least one Sequoia Bay Magisterium-licensed spellcaster of no less than 5th circle (wizard, sorcerer, accredited battle-mage, or priest-physician).

- The spellcaster shall be provided room, board, laboratory or chapel, library access, and an annual stipend of not less than 600 Silver Moons plus material components to the value of 400 Silver Moons.

- In return the spellcaster owes the house wards, glyphs, detection arrays, scrying defence, and personal counsel against magical threats.

- Failure to maintain such a retainer is counted Dereliction of Fealty.

  1. Martial and Equestrian Mastery

~WHERIN~ The status of Nobility being a grave responsibility and not a privilege, and many young lords of newly achieved title and status being content to rest upon their good fortune and allow their prowess to defend the realm to wane, efforts must be made to curtail further senseless loss in any future conflicts, these Post-Log War military reforms shall be made.

- The lord, the heir, and all sons and daughters destined for command must achieve and maintain proficiency in sword, lance, mounted combat, and battlefield command sufficient to lead cavalry or direct a shield-wall.

- Annual certification by the provincial Master-at-Arms is required from age fourteen until age fifty.

  1. Stewardship and Letters

- Every heir and child destined for rule must be literate in High Maldovarrian and at least one trade tongue (Dwarvish, Draconic, or Elvish), schooled in the full text of the Triadic Accord, estate management, logistics, and the customs of vassalage.

- Every third year, all noble heirs aged fourteen to twenty-one shall present themselves at Sequoia Bay for the triennial Examination of Heirs before the Council of Nine Pillars and the Magisterium.

- Failure incurs a fine of 1,000 Silver Moons per child and temporary wardship of the heir by the liege until the fault is mended.

- Persistent neglect across three Examinations triggers judicial review for reduction of rank.



Article 4 – The Colonial Army and Navy

  1. The standing Maldovarrian Colonial Army and Colonial Navy are the Grand Duke’s own household troops and answer only to him and his appointed Lord General.

  2. Service in either is counted triple toward any levy obligation.

  3. Veterans honourably discharged after ten years’ service receive 100 acres of frontier land or a pension of 50 Silver Moons yearly for life.



Article 5 – Hedge Knights and the Road Wardens

Hedge knights and knights errant sworn directly to the Accord (rather than to a specific lord) retain full magisterial and military authority whilst upon the roads and in the wilds, second only to titled nobles and officers of the Colonial Army.



Article 6 – Punishment for Neglect of Duty

  1. Failure to train the Common Levy, maintain required strength, or educate heirs as commanded is Dereliction of Fealty.

Failure to fulfil any duty imposed by Title XII Article 3 also constitutes Dereliction of Fealty under Title V Article 6 and may additionally include:

- heavy fines and public censure,

- suspension of court rights,

- reduction of rank by one or more degrees,

- or, in extreme cases, attainder and re-grant of the fief.

Thus every hand learns the weight of a spear, every noble mind the weight of command, and every great house keeps both steel and spell ready—so that the Colonies shall stand watchful while the Pillars endure and the Ironwoods yet whisper in the wind.

So sworn beneath The Chancery and before the muster-fields of the realm, in the Age of the Three Thrones.



Article 7 – Of the Maldovarrian Colonial Army, Its Discipline, and the Laws of War

Whereas the Three Pillars are defended not only by the levy of free subjects but by a standing army sworn to vigilance, let the following ordinances bind every soldier, officer, and commander beneath the banners of the Colonies:

  1. The Delphian Pledge

Every recruit, upon induction, shall swear the Delphian Pledge before witnesses and the regimental banner:

“I swear by the Three Pillars and the Sovereign Architect to defend these Colonies and their people against all foes, foreign and domestic, to obey my lawful superiors, to keep faith with my comrades, and to bear true allegiance to Grand Duke Thero Délavandrelle and his successors until honourably released or death takes me. So help me the Divine Source and all faithful powers that watch.”

  1. Uniform and Banner

Every soldier of the standing Colonial Army shall wear the sapphire-blue surcoat and bear the banner displaying:

- the silver crescent moon of House Délavandrelle,

- the ironwood sequoia of Sequoia Bay,

- the sigil of their sponsoring noble house or province,

- and the unique emblem of their own regiment.

To appear in the field without these marks is felony desertion of colours.

  1. Chain of Command

- The Lord General (presently Alaric Rhashol, Marquess of Alder’s Reach) holds supreme command of all standing forces.

- In time of war declared by the Grand Duke, command of all noble levies and private troops within the threatened province passes to the Lord General or his appointed deputy.

- Refusal to obey lawful orders of the Lord General in wartime is high treason.

  1. Discipline and Punishment

- Cowardice before the enemy, desertion, or sleeping on watch: death or the arena.

- Striking an officer: flogging and reduction to penal servitude.

- Looting, rape, or murder of civilians: death without appeal.

- Drunkenness on duty: flogging and forfeiture of pay.

- All punishments to be carried out publicly before the regiment, that honour and fear may both instruct the ranks.

  1. Quarter, Prisoners, and the Wounded

- Enemy combatants who surrender or are wounded must be treated with Dignity: fed, healed if possible, and held in honourable confinement.

- Murder of prisoners or the wounded is felony murder.

- Captured enemy healers and non-combatants are inviolate.

  1. Mercenaries and Private Contracts

Mercenary companies or noble private troops may accept contracts for caravan guard, monster-hunting, or foreign service only with licence from the Lord General.

Fighting against the Colonies or their sworn allies voids all protection of the Accord and brands the company outlaw.

  1. The Army and the People

- No soldier may quarter in a private house without the owner’s consent or written order from an officer of captain’s rank or higher.

- Theft or violence against civilians by soldiers is punished doubly: once by military law, once by the local magistrate.

  1. Oath of the Officer

Every officer, upon promotion, shall swear:

“I will lead with honour, fight with courage, and judge with mercy, remembering that I am servant of the Three Pillars before I am master of men.”

Thus the Colonial Army stands as the iron shield of the realm: disciplined yet merciful, loyal yet answerable, ready to bleed that the free folk of the Colonies may live beneath the Pillars in peace.



~ Title XIII: Of Banishment, Exile, and the Places of No Return



Preamble to Title XIII

When the Accord can no longer mend a soul, when blood-guilt, treason, or repeated malice has broken all three Pillars beyond repair, the realm must cast out the poison lest it kill the body.

Yet even in wrath the Colonies remember Dignity: exile is not execution. The condemned walks away with life and limb, but never again beneath the protection of our banners.

Let the road be cold, the name be forgotten, and the frontier swallow them whole.



Article 1 – Forms of Banishment and Exile

  1. Lesser Banishment (for terms of years)

Ordered for grave but redeemable crimes: repeated felony theft, magical coercion, smuggling, or second offences of many kinds.

Duration: 7, 10, 15, or 20 years as the court decrees.

The banished may return only with Grand-Ducal pardon and payment of a heavy fine.



  1. Perpetual Exile

Ordered for crimes that wound the realm too deeply for any return:

- felony treason (short of high treason),

- repeated compounded magical crimes,

- trafficking in slaves or Yuan-ti poisons,

- wilful violation of the Treaty of Felled Groves outside preservation zones.

The exile and their immediate household are stripped of all protection of the Accord the moment they cross the frontier.



  1. Exile with Attainder of Blood

Reserved for high treason, murder of a lord, or forbidden necromancy.

See Title V, Article 5 §1.



Article 2 – What the Exiled May Keep

At the moment sentence is pronounced, the condemned is stripped of everything save:

All lands, titles, goods, arms, spellbooks, and magical items are forfeit to the Crown or the injured party.



Article 3 – The Appointed Places of No Return

By ancient decree and present custom (corrected 3282 ATT), the sentencing court shall name one of the following as the exile’s destination. To return east of these lines without written pardon sealed by the Grand Duke himself is death to the exile and felony treason to any who aid them.

  1. The Frostreach Territories

All lands north of the Icefang Line and the Frostshade Highlands.

Traditional destination for crimes committed in the northern provinces and for the remnants of House Vyrel.

  1. The Kurgan Expanse

The goblinoid-haunted steppes west of Ravensrift Canyon and the Delphian Vale, beyond Fort Rhashol.

Used for offences against the Vale itself, the eastern frontier, or nomadic allies.

  1. The Tower Wyrm Desert

The burning sands and broken mesas that lie west beyond the Badlands, west of the Verdant Steppes, and west of the Ironforge Mountains.

Reserved for southern betrayals, forbidden magic, repeated crimes against the Verdant Steppes, or any who have gravely offended the western marches.

  1. Beyond the Known Seas

Any exile may, at the court’s pleasure, be placed aboard a ship bound for distant continents with only the clothes on their back and a single sea-chest.

No court may sentence an exile to be delivered into the custody of the Elden Wardens or banished into a preservation zone; such would constitute a crime against the Treaty of Felled Groves. doing so is itself high treason.



Article 4 – The Crime of Aiding an Exile

  1. Any subject who knowingly feeds, shelters, arms, or guides a perpetually exiled person east of the appointed frontiers commits felony harbouring.

- Penalty: 7–15 years hard labour and fine of 5,000 Silver Moons.

  1. To slay an exile found east of the frontier without warrant is no crime; their blood is outlaw.


Article 5 – The Grand-Ducal Pardon and the Road of Return

  1. Only the Grand Duke in open council, with assent of at least five of the Nine Pillars and magical truth-seeking, may issue a pardon restoring an exile to name, rights, and hearth.

  2. Such pardons are rarer than phoenix feathers; fewer than twelve have been granted since 3069 ATT.



Article 6 – The Icefang Line and Frontier Justice

North of the Icefang Line, west of the Kurgan pale-stones, and further west into the Tower Wyrm’s mirage-veils, the Triadic Accord has no force. The exile walks there beyond law, beyond mercy, and beyond recall.

Thus the realm is kept clean without needless slaughter, and the Pillars stand untainted by those who shattered them.

May the road rise hard against the banished, and may the honest never have cause to walk it.

So sworn beneath the living Chancery, while root and banner and frontier endure, in the 3282th year of the Age of the Three Thrones.



~ Title XIV: Of Amendment and the Council of Nine Pillars



Preamble to Title XIV

The Triadic Accord is a living covenant between the Three Pillars and the people who live beneath them.

It is not the dead letter of a single man, nor the fleeting whim of a single reign, but the measured will of the realm, tempered by war, exile, and hard-won peace.

Therefore no hand—neither Grand Duke, nor marquess, nor foreign emperor—may alter it lightly.

Only the Council of Nine Pillars, sitting beneath the living Chancery and bound by truth-seeking magic, may add, strike, or amend what is here written, and even then only when the need is grave and the consent near-unanimous.



Article 1 – Composition of the Council of Nine Pillars

The Council shall ever consist of exactly nine members, chosen thus:

1–3. The three senior Marquesses of the realm (by date of creation or inheritance).

4–6. The three senior Earls of the realm (by the same measure). Among the three senior Earls shall be counted any serving Durin-Dûr of equivalent or greater precedence as established by the Treaty of the Twelve (3108–3109 ATT).

7–9. Three magistrates of unimpeachable repute, learned in the Accord and of at least twenty winters’ service, elected by their peers at the High Court of Sequoia Bay and confirmed by the Grand Duke.

No member may sit while under accusation of felony or attainder, nor while their house is degraded below the rank of baron.

§4. Concerning Suspension, Removal, or Replacement of a Councillor
Upon credible accusation of felony, attainder, house degradation below baron, or certified incapacity (by joint decree of the Chief Justiciar, the Archdruid of the Elden Wardens, and three senior physicians or healers of the realm, with magical truth-seeking mandatory), the Grand Duke, together with a simple majority of the remaining eight Councillors, may suspend the member from all duties and privileges of the Council pending trial or recovery.

The suspended Councillor retains their seat and vote only upon acquittal or full restoration of health and honour. Should the accusation be proven or incapacity persist beyond one full year, the Grand Duke and simple majority of the remaining Councillors may declare the seat vacant and appoint a replacement by the same method set forth in §1 (three senior Marquesses/Earls or magistrates, as appropriate). The replacement serves until the next regular election or inheritance restores the original line.

Suspension or replacement under this clause may be appealed only to the full Council in solemn session beneath The Chancery, whose decision is final.

For the purpose of determining seniority among Marquesses and Earls:



Article 2 – The Grand Duke’s Place

The Grand Duke (or his named deputy wearing the viceregal signet) presides over the Council but holds no vote unless the nine are deadlocked. In such rare case his word breaks the tie and is final while he is personally present and capable of presiding.



Article 3 – When the Council May Be Convened

The Council may sit only for:



Article 4 – The Rule of Amendment

  1. Any amendment must be proposed in writing and posted publicly in every provincial capital for one full turning of the moon.

  2. The Council must then meet beneath the living Chancery on the night of the midsummer full moon (or the nearest night the sky is clear).

The Council must then meet beneath the living Chancery or, by mutual agreement of the Grand Duke and the senior Durin-Dûr, within the Hall of Granite Oaths in Haltodor, on the night of the midsummer full moon…

  1. Every member present shall speak freely; debate may last no more than three days and three nights.

  2. Magical truth-seeking (zone of truth or equivalent rite, cast and maintained by three licensed Magisterium diviners) is mandatory throughout the entire session. Refusal to sit beneath the spell is counted resignation from the Council.

  3. Final vote:

- Minor clarifications or additions: simple majority of those present.

- Substantial change to any existing Title: at least seven of the nine.

- Creation of a wholly new Title or alteration of the Three Pillars themselves: unanimous vote of all nine, plus the public assent of the Grand Duke proclaimed from The Chancery steps.

  1. Once passed, the amendment is engraved upon bronze tablets and hung beneath The Chancery’s roots beside the original Accord. Copies are dispatched to every province within one moon.


Article 5 – Limitation upon the Emperor and Foreign Powers

No decree, bull, or command from the Emperor in distant Maldovarra, nor from any foreign crown, council, or temple, may override, suspend, or amend the Triadic Accord without the full procedure of this Title. The Accord is the supreme law of these Colonies while the Grand Duke’s commission endures.



Article 6 – Dissolution and Re-creation

Should war, plague, or catastrophe ever slay or scatter the Council entire, the Accord itself empowers the senior surviving noble of marquess rank or higher, together with the Chief Justiciar of Sequoia Bay and the Archdruid of the Elden Wardens, to name a provisional council of nine until proper election and inheritance can be restored.

Thus the Accord guards itself against both the tyrant’s whim and the mob’s fury, ensuring that every change is weighed in open council, tested by truth-magic, and rooted in the living memory of what the Colonies have bled to become.

So sworn beneath the ironwood boughs of The Chancery,

in the presence of the Grand Duke, the Nine Pillars, the Archdruid of the Elden Wardens, and all free subjects who gather to bear witness,

this fourteenth and final Title completes the Triadic Accord in the 3282th year of the Age of the Three Thrones.

May the Pillars stand while root and banner and honest law endure.

So mote it be.



~ Title XV: Of the Succession to the Grand-Ducal Throne and Regency



(As expanded after much analysis and debate regarding the Attempted Assassination of the Grand Duke Thero Délavandrelle by the disgraced coward Stanton Pritchard)

Promulgated beneath The Chancery on the midsummer full moon of 3259 ATT

by unanimous vote of the Council of Nine Pillars and the public assent of Grand Duke Thero Délavandrelle



Preamble

The office of Grand Duke is the living bond between the distant Emperor and the free folk of the Colonies.

While the Emperor’s commission endures, the choice of Viceroy rests with the Imperial Throne.

Yet the Deepwater Passage is perilous and the Emperor’s gaze far; the realm cannot stand leaderless for the years a ship may take to cross and return.

Therefore the Accord provides an orderly succession until the Emperor’s pleasure is known, that the Three Pillars may never want a defender.



Article 1 – Death, Abdication, or Permanent Incapacity of the Grand Duke

Upon the death, lawful abdication, or certified permanent incapacity of the Grand Duke (by joint decree of the Chief Justiciar, the Archdruid of the Elden Wardens, and three senior physicians of the realm), the following shall immediately take place:

  1. The Grand-Ducal signet and all seals of office shall be delivered into the keeping of the Warden of The Chancery beneath the living Ironwood until a successor is confirmed.

  2. A swift ship bearing black sails and the Grand-Ducal standard at half-mast shall be dispatched to the Court of His Imperial Majesty in Maldovarra with news of the vacancy and a humble petition for the Emperor’s appointment of a new Viceroy.



Article 2 – The Acting Grand Duke

Until the Emperor’s sealed commission arrives (or until two full years have passed with no word, at which point the Emperor is presumed to have relinquished direct appointment), the realm shall be governed by an Acting Grand Duke chosen thus:

  1. The six Marquesses of the Colonies (or their lawful heirs if deceased) shall convene in solemn council beneath The Chancery within one moon of the vacancy.

  2. The seventeen Counts, Countesses, Durin-Dûr, and Durini-Dûri currently holding seat and voice shall each cast one vote.

  3. The candidate receiving the most votes among the six Marquesses shall be proclaimed Acting Grand Duke.

  4. In case of tie, the three senior magistrates of the Council of Nine Pillars shall cast deciding votes.

The Acting Grand Duke shall wield all powers of the office save the right to create new marquesses or to alter the Accord without unanimous consent of the Six Marquesses and the Council of Nine Pillars.

When the Grand Duke is dead, permanently incapacitated, absent, missing, or otherwise unable to preside, the selection of the Acting Grand Duke shall proceed without interference, delay, or veto from the incumbent, and the decision of the Marquesses and Counts shall be final until the Emperor’s commission arrives or two full years have passed.

No Acting Grand Duke or Regent may create, elevate, or confirm any new title of nobility whatsoever—whether baron, viscount, earl, knight banneret, or any lesser dignity—nor may they restore a degraded or attainted house to its former rank. All such acts are reserved exclusively to the Emperor’s named Viceroy or to a duly invested Grand Duke confirmed by imperial commission. Any attempt to exercise this power during an interregnum is void in law and constitutes Dereliction of Fealty under Title V Article 6, punishable by immediate removal from office and trial before the Council of Nine Pillars.



Article 3 – Regency for Minority or Temporary Incapacity

If the Emperor’s appointed successor, or the Acting Grand Duke chosen under Article 2, has not yet attained the age of lawful majority for their race, or is temporarily incapacitated by wound, illness, or enchantment, a Regent shall be chosen by the same process set forth in Article 2 and shall govern until the lawful Grand Duke attains majority or recovers.

The age of lawful majority for the office of Grand Duke shall be:

Temporary incapacity shall be certified by joint decree of the Chief Justiciar, the Archdruid of the Elden Wardens, and three physicians or healers of recognized temple or Magisterium, with magical truth-seeking mandatory.

During any period of regency or acting governance, the incapacitated Grand Duke (whether by minority, enchantment, coma, disappearance, or other certified cause) shall have no power to veto, delay, alter, or influence the choice of Regent or Acting Grand Duke, nor to exercise any viceregal authority until certified recovery or majority is achieved.

Thus the realm accounts for the long youth of the elder kindreds and the swift maturity of the younger, that no child—however long-lived—shall bear the weight of the viceregal crown before their mind and spirit are ready.

So re-sworn beneath The Chancery, 3259 ATT.



Article 4 – The Emperor’s Prerogative Preserved

Nothing in this Title shall bind the hand of His Imperial Majesty. Upon receipt of the Emperor’s commission naming a new Grand Duke, the Acting Grand Duke or Regent shall immediately yield the signet and all authority with full ceremony and public rejoicing.


Article 5 – Oath of the Acting Grand Duke or Regent

Whoever is chosen shall swear before the assembled nobility and the people upon the original bronze tablets of the Accord:

“I, [Name], do solemnly swear by the Three Pillars and before the Sovereign Architect that I will keep the realm whole and the Accord unbroken until the Emperor’s true Viceroy arrives or until my lawful successor is chosen. So help me the Divine Source and all faithful powers that watch.”

Thus the Colonies shall never stand leaderless, nor shall the Emperor’s ancient right be usurped, but the realm kept safe between the distant throne and the living earth of Tessix.

So sworn beneath the ironwood boughs of The Chancery,

in the presence of the Six Marquesses, the Council of Nine Pillars, the Archdruid of the Elden Wardens, and all free subjects gathered to bear witness,

this new Title is added to the Triadic Accord in the 3282th year of the Age of the Three Thrones.

May the Pillars stand, the banners fly, and the Grand-Ducal throne never be empty while root and honour endure.

So mote it be.





The Triadic Accord: A Chronicle of Law, Blood, and Dwarven Grit

The Triadic Accord, established by Grand Duke Thero Délavandrelle, governs the Delphian Vale, Verdant Steppes, and influences the Badlands. Rooted in the principles of Property, Liberty, and Dignity, this elegant legal system blends High Elven ideals with practical governance to ensure justice, order, and harmony.

In 3108, the Triadic Accord was ratified in the Maldovarrian Colonies, a legal framework born of colonial necessity and refined with dwarven counsel. Developed over two decades from 3088, it drew inspiration from Haltodor’s Four Pillars—Earth, Stone, Metal,** and Gems—though its drafting rested primarily with Grand Duke Thero Délavandrelle and his colonial nobles and experts. The dwarves—Bennus Oakhammer, Balkam Oakhammer, Bonwynn Oakhammer née Marbleview, Bryngrun Smugkeg, Fosom Bloodhold, Hedrebella Draengahar née Smugkeg, and Fikhawynno Coldreach née Draengahar—served as consultants, their expertise shaping the Accord in Haltodor’s halls, with scant input from Aerlon’s High Elves. This law, forged in strife and sealed with a bloody dwarven duel, reflects the grit of its makers and the demands of its time.

Origins in Strife (3041-3095)

The story begins in 3041, when Grand Duke Thero Délavandrelle led settlers to the Maldovarrian Colonies, escaping the oppressive laws of Maldovarra. They brought a legal system rooted in noble privilege, punitive taxation, and imperial control, ill-suited to the untamed frontier of Tessix. Early governance relied on local lords issuing inconsistent rulings, leading to disputes over land, trade, and authority. The Log War (3095-3105), a violent conflict with the Elden Wardens over the sacred Ironwood Sequoias, exposed these flaws. Settlements burned, alliances shattered, and the need for a cohesive legal foundation became undeniable. Thero, facing the aftermath, recognized that survival required a new system tailored to the colonies’ realities.

The Search for a New Foundation (3088-3108)

Dismissing the oligarchic governance of Aerlon’s High Elves, which mirrored Maldovarra’s rigidity, Thero turned to Haltodor for guidance. The dwarves’ Edicts of the Four Pillars offered a structured approach to law, emphasizing balance and fairness. From 3088, Thero and his nobles and experts set up in the Hall of Granite Oaths, crafting the Accord with dwarven consultants providing critical input. Thero adopted three Pillars—Earth (Property) to protect wealth and land, Metal (Liberty) to ensure freedom and trade, and Stone (Dignity) to uphold honor and harmony—excluding Gems (Heritage) to avoid entrenching ancestral privilege, a decision that stirred dissent among Haltodor’s traditionalists. Aerlon’s High Elves contributed minimally, their suggestions largely overlooked.

The dwarven consultants brought diverse expertise. Bennus Oakhammer, Uzbad of Clan Oakhammer, offered pragmatic advice, guiding trade provisions under Metal (Liberty) and land policies under Earth (Property), his diplomacy easing tensions. Balkam Oakhammer, his predecessor, provided insights into shipbuilding’s economic role before his death in 3060, influencing Metal (Liberty) and Earth (Property). Bonwynn Oakhammer née Marbleview, a matriarch of Clan Marbleview and Clan Oakhammer, emphasized Stone (Dignity), ensuring laws preserved honor and tradition. Bryngrun Smugkeg, leader of Clan Smugkeg, advised on artisanal protections for Gems (Heritage)—though omitted from the final draft—while reinforcing Stone (Dignity) against colonial overreach.

Fosom Bloodhold, then, the current Uzbad of Clan Bloodhold, rooted early drafts in tradition until his death in 3014, strengthening Dignity and Property. Hedrebella Draengahar née Smugkeg, a brewer and diplomat, shaped trade clauses under Property and Liberty, bridging Haltodor and the colonies. Fikhawynno Coldreach née Draengahar, a resolute Clan Coldreach elder, insisted on strict traditional interpretations, bolstering Stone (Dignity) and stability. Rivalries surfaced—Clan Smugkeg clashed with Clan Oakhammer over outsider relations, Fosom Bloodhold’s conservatism grated against Bennus Oakhammer’s flexibility—but their collaboration refined the Accord. Colonial figures like Marquess Theodren Raelondrelle and Marquess Elorin Storvalenne, the latter emerging from post-Log War retreat, supported Thero, while Marquess Erdan Belvione, wary of noble constraints, was eventually convinced.

Ratification and Structure (3108-3110)

In 3108, after twenty years of deliberation, the Triadic Accord was ratified in the Hall of Granite Oaths, its adoption paired with the Treaty of the Twelve, securing a dwarven-colonial alliance. Designed for frontier life, it rested on three pillars: Property safeguarded wealth and land, Liberty protected freedom and trade, and Dignity maintained honor and harmony. Its judicial mechanisms included a Trial by a Jury of Nine (three nobles, merchants, and commoners), Trial by Combat from elven tradition, magical truth-seeking via Sequoia Bay Magisterium Mages, and Imprisonment, Gladiatorial Combat and even Execution for severe crimes. Rejecting Maldovarra’s noble immunity and heavy taxation, it embraced dwarven principles of restitution and penance, creating a practical and adaptable system.

The legal code detailed offenses and penalties. Arson warranted death or up to one year of hard labor, with fines and damages covering repairs plus 2,000 Silver Moons. Brandishing weapons without cause led to imprisonment up to a week or a fine of 10 Silver Moons. Espionage resulted in death or permanent exile. Forgery of official documents incurred flogging and ten years’ exile. Poisoning a well brought death. Murder without justification meant death or up to ten years’ hard labor, with damages of 1,000 Silver Moons to the victim’s kin; with justification, exile up to five years or three years’ labor, plus the same damages. Slavery faced flogging and up to ten years’ hard labor. Tomb-robbing resulted in a week’s imprisonment and damages covering repairs plus 500 Silver Moons.

The Duel of the Granite Dais: A Bloody Climax (3148)

The Triadic Accord’s refinement continued beyond 3108, but its dwarven influence was starkly revealed in 3148 with the duel between Bonwynn Oakhammer née Marbleview and Fikhawynno Coldreach née Draengahar. These elderly consultants, pivotal from 3088 to 3108, turned a long-standing rivalry into a violent spectacle in the Hall of Granite Oaths. The conflict erupted during a 3148 debate over Earth (Property) inheritance clauses—Bonwynn Oakhammer née Marbleview advocating flexibility for Clan Oakhammer, Fikhawynno Coldreach née Draengahar demanding adherence to Haltodorian tradition for Clan Coldreach—a feud tracing back to their collaborative years. With arbitration exhausted, dwarven law prescribed a duel. The tension’s origins linked to Ammuinelyn Oakhammer née Coldreach, Fikhawynno Coldreach née Draengahar’s aunt, who died in 2935 but had fueled her niece’s pride with Clan Coldreach supremacy, deepening the rift.

The Maldovarrian Colonists saw these women—known for academic prestige and regal demeanor—as delicate elders unfit for combat, a misjudgment. Bonwynn Oakhammer née Marbleview and Fikhawynno Coldreach née Draengahar were stout mountain dwarves, forged in the Ironforge Mountains, their lineage shaped by grandparents who fought in the War of the Burning Mountain. Wearing everyday dresses—Bonwynn Oakhammer née Marbleview in maroon wool, Fikhawynno Coldreach née Draengahar in faded blue with Clan Draengahar’s brewers’ sigil—they seized enchanted battleaxes from the hall’s walls and engaged in fierce combat. The dais resounded with steel clashing against flesh, a brutal exchange that ended with both collapsing—Bonwynn Oakhammer née Marbleview’s axe in her rival’s shoulder, Fikhawynno Coldreach née Draengahar’s in her foe’s chest—their dresses blood-soaked.

Dwarves observed with stoic detachment. Bennus Oakhammer stood with arms crossed, Hedrebella Draengahar née Smugkeg watched calmly, and Bryngrun Smugkeg nodded in approval, viewing the duel as a natural resolution of honor under Haltodor Law. Outsiders reacted differently. Thero and his Sequoia Bay delegation stared in horror, stunned by the violence. Aerlon’s High Elves muttered disapproval, clutching their staffs, while Wealdrift Shire Halflings dropped their bread offerings, overwhelmed. The dwarves broke the grievance tablets, signaling closure, as Thero was rumored to have whispered, “What manner of allies are these?”

Implementation and Early Trials (3110-3200)

The Accord faced early tests. The Trial of Colborn Velorynsk (3125) exiled a noble for forged land claims, establishing accountability. The Sequoia Bay Smuggling Trials (3160-3165) upheld Trial by Combat, with smugglers falling to its blade. The Exile of Baroness Iskaya Halvar (3192) sentenced a noble to the gladiatorial pits for treason, reinforcing the law’s reach. Regional variations emerged—Alder’s Reach enforced it strictly, Wealdrift Shire leniently, and Kestral Cliffs prioritized trade—requiring Thero’s intervention.

By the mid-3200s, the Accord solidified colonial governance, its influence peaking with the Treaty of Felled Groves (3277). This agreement with the Elden Wardens balanced sacred land claims with regulated logging, reflecting Dignity and Property. However, Countess Croifissa Zdunowski exploited labor law gaps, her practices sparking unresolved calls for reform by 3288.

Legacy and Modern Strains (3288-Present)

In 3288, the Triadic Accord remains the Maldovarrian Colonies’ legal foundation, enduring war, intrigue, and expansion. The Verdant Steppes challenge enforcement with tribal unrest, while Maldovarra tolerates it for grain and lumber, a tolerance that may wane if Thero pushes for greater autonomy. Crafted by Thero and his team, with Bennus Oakhammer’s diplomacy, Balkam Oakhammer’s industry, Bonwynn Oakhammer née Marbleview’s honor, Bryngrun Smugkeg’s craft, Fosom Bloodhold’s tradition, Hedrebella Draengahar née Smugkeg’s trade, and Fikhawynno Coldreach née Draengahar’s resolve, it stands as a testament to collaboration and resilience, its legacy as enduring as the blood that marked its path.

The Three Pillars of the Triadic Accord: Property, Liberty, and Dignity

The Triadic Accord, crafted by Grand Duke Thero Délavandrelle, stands as a cornerstone of law and governance within the Maldovarrian Colonies. Its design reflects the balance and harmony valued by the High Elven culture while addressing the pragmatic needs of a diverse and expanding society. At its heart, the Accord protects three fundamental principles: Property, Liberty, and Dignity. These pillars serve as the foundation for justice, ensuring both societal order and individual rights are upheld.

Property: The Right to Ownership and Security

Under the Triadic Accord, Property is defined as the lawful ownership of tangible and intangible assets, encompassing land, goods, wealth, and personal effects. The Accord extends this definition to include not only material possessions but also labor and contractual agreements. Crimes against property, such as theft, vandalism, and fraud, undermine economic stability and personal security, making their prevention a priority for the law.

The reasoning behind protecting property lies in its role as a stabilizing force within the colonies. A clear and fair legal framework surrounding property rights encourages commerce, trade, and investment, driving prosperity and growth. Moreover, by establishing strict penalties for property crimes, the Accord reinforces trust among citizens, merchants, and nobles, fostering a safe and predictable environment for both personal and commercial pursuits.

Liberty: The Right to Freedom and Autonomy

Liberty, as outlined in the Accord, refers to an individual’s freedom of movement, thought, and personal agency. It encompasses protection from unlawful imprisonment, forced servitude, and violations of bodily autonomy. Liberty also includes the right to live free from coercion, whether physical, magical, or economic, ensuring that every individual maintains control over their own fate.

The protection of liberty is deeply rooted in the colonial experience. The early settlers of Tessix had fled from the oppressive laws of Maldovarra, where personal freedoms were often sacrificed for imperial control. By enshrining liberty as a core pillar, Thero Délavandrelle aimed to create a society where freedom was not only respected but legally safeguarded. The Accord’s provisions against kidnapping, slavery, and unjust imprisonment reflect a commitment to preventing the abuse of power and maintaining the dignity of all citizens.

Dignity: The Right to Honor and Respect

The Triadic Accord uniquely emphasizes Dignity, defining it as the inherent worth of every individual, including their honor, reputation, and bodily sanctity. This principle protects against crimes that cause public humiliation, physical violation, or moral degradation, including offenses such as rape, public shaming, and desecration of remains.

Dignity is considered not only a personal right but also a societal value. By protecting dignity, the Accord aims to maintain social harmony and mutual respect among the colonies' diverse populations. High Elven philosophy, which values balance and decorum, heavily influenced this aspect of the law. The preservation of dignity ensures that justice is not only punitive but also restorative, helping victims reclaim their place in society and deterring behaviors that disrupt communal peace.

Balancing the Three Pillars: A Harmonious Approach to Justice

The interplay between property, liberty, and dignity within the Triadic Accord creates a comprehensive legal system. By acknowledging the importance of these three principles, the Accord addresses the full spectrum of human rights and responsibilities. It avoids the pitfalls of focusing solely on material assets (property), unbridled freedom (liberty), or rigid honor codes (dignity) by creating a balanced approach where each principle supports and enhances the others.

For instance, a crime such as slavery is punished not only as a violation of liberty (through forced servitude) but also as an offense against dignity (through dehumanization) and potentially property (if fraudulent contracts are involved). This compounded approach ensures that justice is multidimensional, offering both protection and restitution to victims.

The Triadic Accord's emphasis on Property, Liberty, and Dignity reflects a nuanced understanding of governance and human nature. By establishing clear definitions and protections for these pillars, Thero Délavandrelle created a legal system that nurtures stability, freedom, and respect. The enduring peace and prosperity of the Maldovarrian Colonies stand as a testament to the wisdom of this approach, demonstrating how well-crafted laws can elevate both society and the individual.

The Path to Peace

The Accord’s success in uniting the colonies and curbing internal strife earned it widespread respect, even among former enemies. The Elden Wardens, impressed by its emphasis on dignity and fairness, agreed to the Treaty of Felled Groves in 3277, ending decades of hostility. This peace allowed the colonies to flourish, paving the way for a new era of exploration, trade, and cultural exchange.

Legacy and Endurance

Today, the Triadic Accord stands as a testament to Thero Délavandrelle’s vision and leadership. Its balance of justice, equity, and adaptability has ensured its longevity, even as the colonies continue to evolve. Though not without flaws, the Accord remains a guiding beacon of peace and prosperity, shaping the identity of the Maldovarrian Colonies and securing Duke Thero's legacy as one of Tessix’s greatest lawgivers.