The Lex Magica
The Pentacle is not a unified entity. Not even the Diamond is without flaw, despite millennia of shared alliance and doctrines slowly coming to resemble one another. Orders themselves contain many disparate groups and mystery cults vying for power and prestige. The influence of the Silver Ladder on the Pentacle, and the natural scholarly and argumentative nature of mages, have led magical societies to place a great deal of weight upon legal maneuvers to settle their many differences. Each of the rules and laws used in these maneuvers are codified in the Lex Magica at one level or another.
In general one mage does not tell another how to practice her Art. But, a practitioner who uses her magic recklessly enough to endanger the Awakened may run afoul of the Lex Magica. Consilia use this body of magical law to establish limits on the behavior of the Wise and to punish infractions. The hundreds of years of past trials and rulings represent a wide range of precedents, many of which contradict each other, and this grants Consilia considerable latitude in rendering judgments on those they feel have acted unwisely or immorally.
Beyond the levels of cabal, Caucus, and Consilium, mage society proceeds according to a set of rules and traditions only the foolish and the dangerous ignore. Even the Throne sometimes deigns to acknowledge the rules and traditions that bind Awakened society with respect and obligation.
Layers of Laws
The Lex Magica recognizes four kinds of laws, each layer overruling the ones following it — Gold, Silver, Bronze, and Iron.
Iron Laws describe all rules, oaths, and treaties ratified by a small group of mages within the Consilium’s jurisdiction — such as cabal charters, a mutual protection agreement between two cabals, or a sworn oath by one mage to perform some service for another. Whenever two laws come into conflict, the Gold Laws take precedence over the Silver and Bronze Laws, which in turn hold more weight than any Iron Law, but the Consilium may choose to sit in judgment over any infraction within its jurisdiction.
Individual Consilia create local laws — called Silver Laws — as part of their charters or by “concord,” where all the Consilia in a Convocation agree to alter their laws in the same way to harmonize the Lex Magica. Bronze Laws make up the body of precedent — every ruling by a Consilium or its officers becomes a Bronze Law a later mage can point to. Silver and Bronze together form the bulk of the Lex Magica, and in the millennia since the Diamond Orders were founded, several Precepts are commonplace, found in almost every Consilium. These include:
Finally, Gold Laws are those the Diamond believes were laws in the Time Before, gathered from Artifacts, time-lost ruins, and the agreement of multiple Consilia. Gold Laws are rare, and mostly concern the individual rights of mages to follow their studies unless they conflict with another’s, to maintain sancta and Hallows without fear of trespass, and to be recognized for greater skill in the Arcana.
The Great Rights - Gold Laws
Many of the Gold Laws of the Lex Magica are determined by scholarly interpretation of the Directed Protocols, a series of formal rights and traditions codified by the Silver Ladder and the Mysterium’s predecessor Orders, who traveled widely and dealt primarily with internal mage politics. Mages don’t hold the Protocols as ancient Atlantean law, laid down in the Time Before — though a few dispute that, with some scant evidence involving temporal shenanigans — but instead consider them a natural outgrowth of cultural dialogues and trade between mages across centuries. The Great Rights are the Gold Laws common to the entire Diamond, The Free Council honors them as part of the Pentacle alliance’s terms and some are even recognized by the Seers of the Throne, though not always in the same ways.
These Rights generally organize mage society with the Wise in command and confirm the sanctity of both cabal and Consilium, while allowing free association of Caucuses regardless of territory. The Seers of the Throne have claimed their Rights occasionally, though usually only when it benefits them and duly disadvantages the Pentacle.
In the Lex Magica, the Great Rights are Gold Laws that fall under the body of tradition stemming from the Precept of Protectorate (save for the Right of Nemesis, whose precedents fall into the Precept of War). Lex Magica lawyers consider them universal among the Diamond Orders. Mages cannot exist in Awakened society without encountering at least one of the Rights. Eventually, most Wise feel the hubristic temptation to break at least one of them. It depends on the situation, and it depends on the consequences of scoffing at the Laws.
Recognized in various forms by ancient mages, the Rights predate the Orders, which is at least partly why the Seers of the Throne sometimes recognize and honor them. Diamond mages point to similar traditions and laws in nearly every culture as clear evidence of their Supernal weight, while the Free Council believes it to be human nature and civilization blooming into Awakened symbolism. The Thone, for its part, recognizes when it’s beneficial to entrap the enemy with their own laws and precepts.
Violation of a Right — or the accusation of such — often leads to a Duel Arcane to settle the matter, unless one party backs down. Doing so is a tacit acknowledgment that they were in breach of the Right, however, so many cabals prefer to save face by disputing the matter.
Right of Crossing
Let no borders stop an Awakened with a clear heart.
Mages travel for the same reasons Sleepers do: Business and pleasure. A mage might need to venture from her stronghold to alter a flawed ley line resonance in a far-away upstream Node, or she might have to peruse a library way outside her territory in pursuit of her Mystery. When Pentacle mages travel, the tradition called the Right of Crossing or the Traveler’s Right protects them.
The Traveler’s Right allows mages to cross another’s territory without being checked or accosted by authorities, though tradition states they must refrain from using hostile or offensive magics while doing so to remain under the Right’s protection. This doesn’t give travelers free rein to snoop and search a cabal’s territory, as most cabals establish several predetermined routes through their territory, marking them with the High Speech rune for Space. These routes also frequently feature meeting points where visiting mages may directly announce themselves to the cabal. Well-organized Consilia maintain periodically updated maps of these routes and negotiate between cabals to link them, providing a complete traversal network across the Consilium. If they’re not there to spy, poach another’s Mystery, or grasp some arcane treasure rightfully accorded to a cabal, a mage may go where they please.
Popular refrain holds that nobody considers a traveling mage walking down a busy street among a bunch of Sleepers as violating the Right — but such harassment can and does happen in urban Consilia, which leads to arguments during Convocations and the occasional Duel to settle the matter of whether offense was proper and warranted. Arrow and Mysterium cabals often cast spells designed to detect travelers, allowing a mage to intercept them and offer trade or aid, while Free Council territories only treat deliberate damage to the cabal’s holdings as a violation of the Right. Seers of the Throne rarely respect this Right, in either direction.
Right of Emeritus
Those who have earned respect must be treated with respect.
Great philosophers all agree: Those who want respect, give respect. Societies cannot function without hierarchy, albeit perhaps a fluid and changing one according to the situation. Even the Free Council holds to the tenet of experto crede — “Trust the expert,” a requirement of pragmatic deference to mages with experience in a particular area. Some debate the Right of Emeritus as the Exarchs’ iron grasp on Awakened society and institutions, insidious and malignant within the Diamond Orders — but other Libertines hold that while hierarchy fosters the Lie, they aren’t necessarily synonymous. Most mages acknowledge that one must lead sometimes, follow other times, and respect those above and below in either situation.
Position and rank are esteemed within the Diamond Orders, and between Consilia. Broadly, the concepts are simple: Respect your elders, respect those Wiser than you, and respect those given positions of status in the Consilium. In practice, youth is always brash, Wiser depends on the viewpoint, and the respect given to Consilium officers depends on how much the other mage cares about authority. The basic principles of the Right apply across Consilia, however, and an officer of a Consilium will be accorded respect even in a different Consilium within the same Convocation.
Emeritus keeps the master-apprentice chains bound tightly, while encouraging other mages to be recognized by their levels of mastery in the Arcana. It also keeps Consilia intact with a chain of offices, complete with punishments to be levied for interfering with an officer’s duties. The Iron Pyramid isn’t immune to the symbolism of this Right, though their definitions of respect and deference vary wildly from those of the Pentacle. Most Free Council mages also openly acknowledge and defer to a colleague’s expertise in an Arcanum or familiarity with a Mystery, though they’re less than sanguine about recognizing Consilium offices with any pomp and ceremony greater than perfunctory acknowledgment.
Right of Hospitality
Those who request hospitality must be granted it.
Many cultures have particular rules around hospitality, a relic of a time when travel was more dangerous. The Hellenic roots of the modern Diamond ensured that this Right was enshrined in their Laws, based on the ancient Greek practice of xenia, or “guest-friendship.” Though that practice has fallen out of vogue, mages share the Fallen World with a host of monsters and stranger things, and more than one mage has been forced to flee her home by enemies of a different sect. Things are dangerous out there, and the Awakened are one nation. Protection is always a part of Hospitality, no matter who is hosting.
The Seers of the Throne also have roots in the post-Alexander Hellenic world, and they’ve carried this custom ever since. Seers sometimes invoke this Right when they’re in desperate straits and estranged from their own Pylons, but Diamond mages only rarely grant it without an act of good faith from the Seers, and always under stiff preconditions. Rarer still is the Diamond mage who requests Hospitality of a Pylon, an act of extreme desperation or prearranged truce. The last time this occurred was 2017 in Orlando, Florida, when a Guardian requested Hospitality for himself and his Sleeper family visiting Disney World. The request was granted with no small amount of bemusement, and the Guardian and their family left without incident. Given the incredible gap in beliefs between them, no self-respecting Free Council mage would ever acknowledge a Seer as a valid guest, and only a self-loathing one would beg Hospitality from the Throne.
Most Consilia have extensive Bronze Laws carefully delineating how long this Right applies and the obligations by which a host must abide, with a broad range of Iron Law addenda specifying exceptions and different circumstances involving individual cabals. So long as the requesting mage asks hospitality in good faith — and not to circumvent the Right of Crossing to take hostile action — Pentacle cabals are bound to provide shelter, defense, limited aid, food and drink, and medical care. Safe escort out of the host’s territory is also part of the Right. Some reciprocal form of respect is always required, whether basic politeness or a future task required of the guest. It’s considered good form to present these obligations upfront — the Right is immediately granted when it’s asked for, but if the traveler doesn’t like the terms and leaves before succor is given, that’s on them.
Right of Sanctuary
Protect your home, and let no action cause it harm.
A person’s home is their castle, and the blood of that covenant is thicker than the water of the womb. Many cultures require someone to put the obligations and safety of their family — chosen or born — above their own. In Awakened society, this encompasses the Right of Sanctuary, which holds that individual mages should do nothing to betray their cabal or harm their sanctum. This extends to external threats to the cabal, which are to be met as a unified front, and also applies to those extended the Right of Hospitality.
Common Silver Laws claiming jurisprudence from the Right determine that certain mages may be declared sacrosanct if they’re somehow vital to the Consilium’s safety. Bronze and Iron variants for specific individuals also exist, but the common theme holds that mages who aren’t just actively involved in, but are lynchpins of, a defensive strategy critical to everyone’s safety simply shouldn’t be messed with. Rarely, this may even supersede other Great Rights; in the Velvet Revolution of 1989, the Prague Assembly intervened thrice to stop the invocation of Nemesis against a passionate and offensive Communist mage who was nevertheless well-known to the city’s Promethean population and uniquely capable of defenses against the dangerous energies of the Divine Fire and the beings called qashmallim.
Internal squabbles are exempt from this Right — if cabal members disagree with one another, make poor leadership decisions, or feud over internal use of resources, the Right doesn’t apply. At worst, Iron Laws may come into effect to address a long-standing dispute. The Right is invoked when a mage’s negligence or disordered action invites external threats to the cabal. Every Order theoretically holds this Right to supersede those internal demands of their organizations, ensuring that Guardians can be accorded a degree of trust within their cabals, or for a théarch to relax their relentless politicking among colleagues. As with anything else, exceptions exist, especially for Mystagogues with complex guanxi.
Right of Nemesis
When vengeance is declared, let none stand in its way.
Common Adamantine Arrow doctrine holds that fights are deeply personal matters, even the ones that are “just business.” When those with passion clash, bystanders suffer for it. Meddling with the affairs of wizards is foolish; as the saying goes, they’re subtle and quick to anger. The Right of Nemesis covers overt violence between mages, but in practice boils down to “stay the hell out of the way of mages who quarrel.” The Right, and the extensive Laws that descend from it, declares that vendetta between mages is between them, their respective cabals, and no one else — meaning that none in the Consilium can intervene unless it’s under the auspices of one of the parties in the feud. The issuer and recipient of Nemesis are bound to work always toward satisfaction through conflict, and only their cabals may aid or hinder them in this effort.
Nemesis can be and has been invoked for nearly any reason — no mage has to justify their use of the Right to an external authority for validation. However, hotheaded Diamond mages suffer social repercussions and punishment by their Orders for issuing Nemesis without just cause. Conversely, poor behavior that invokes Nemesis is also met with indirect reprisal. The Council of Free Assemblies applies Nemesis among itself sparingly (nobody wants the Order’s constituent Legacies and cultural enclaves’ unity to break, even in the face of long-simmering Sleeper feuds) but they take a looser hand regarding Nemesis invocations within the Pentacle. Libertines rarely declare Nemesis against Seer of the Throne Pylons, if only because they assume the Seers won’t honor it. The two Orders exist within a constant state of low-grade war, ironically mediated through the Diamond.
Mages targeted by Nemesis may appeal to their Hierarch or some other point of authority, as can mages whose death would violate the Right of Sanctuary. Nemesis must be formally invoked before officers of the Consilium, consisting of a specific detailing of the offense given and suggested restitution with a specific goal in mind, such as ownership of a territory, access to a Mystery, or the offending mage’s death. If it isn’t formally declared, Nemesis doesn’t apply, which more legalistic or less confrontational cabals use to buy time to reach a peaceful solution. Consilia usually encourage participants to settle their differences in a Duel Arcane, which forbids the vendetta to extend beyond the Duel’s results. Despite prohibitions, threatening innocent bystanders or Sleepers will result in Consilium intervention, as will sudden preemptive strikes without informing the other side of Nemesis’ invocation. To aid in resolving things swiftly, after Nemesis is declared, the Hierarch typically forces the feuding mages into a Duel Arcane, coerces oaths, or politically invokes an execution under Sanctuary rather than permit attacks that threaten all mage society.
Other Purviews and Punishments
Consilia are required to take action against Left-Handed mages. While the exact definition varies from Consilium to Consilium, a mage is frequently regarded as Left-Handed if her Obsessions or magical practices involve the abuse or destruction of souls, the destruction of the world’s magical potential, routine interference with a Sleeper’s Awakening, the cavalier abuse of Sleepers, Abyssal corruption, contact with the Lower Depths, or the evasion of death by extraordinary and ethically questionable deeds.
Many variations exist locally among the laws, and most Wise who travel to a city where they have never been will actively seek out others to learn what is and isn't acceptable, sometimes even going so far as to reach out through contacts first. There are, however, others who choose not to do this. Most who fall under the latter are approached and given at least a brief understanding of what to expect. But others will actively try to remain hidden from the local Mage populace. It sometimes works, but many times there are worse consequences for those who are non-locals that perform magic in secret.
When a Consilium finds a mage guilty of a crime against the Lex Magica, it levies one of several punishments. Lesser crimes merit public reprimand, payment of debts, or acts of penance on the behalf of the Consilium or wronged party. Serious crimes result in imprisonment, banishment, death, and for the most terrible crimes, death combined with the destruction of the accused’s soul. If the punishment includes a Duel Arcane the results of the duel are almost always final, irreversable, and expected to be accepted without complaint or pride.
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