The Guildpact

"Amid rumors of war, the third act of The Absolution of the Guildpact was quickly rewritten as a tragedy."

Overview

There were three Guildpacts written over the course of Ravnica's history. The first was conceived by Azor I that lasted ten thousand years and was voided on the decamillenial. The second was a non-magical Guildpact written by Teysa Karlov, but since it was not backed up by metaphysical forces, no guild took it seriously. The third is the living guildpact, whereupon the individual known as Jace Beleren solved the Dragon's Maze and the pact took him as a host for the new magically binding law to keep the peace between the guilds.

History

The Original Guildpact

The first Guildpact was conceived by Azor I, the Parun of the Azorius Senate. At the time, Ravnica was in a state of constant turmoil and war, as ten armies had grown far too powerful and each were vying for control of the entire world. The document was created as a means to prevent the utter destruction of Ravnica and to bring peace to the world. The document served as a basis for all Ravnican law, setting statues and ordinances for each guild so that each of the ten guilds has its own place.
The ten Paruns of the armies came together to sign the treaty with blood and magic to represent their willingness to work together and hold the city together, and thus they became the first Guildmasters. The text of the Guildpact created specific roles for each guild within Ravnica, allowing the world to flourish in relative peace. The signing marked the beginning of the modern Ravnican calendar known as Zal Concordant (ZC), and prior years as Al Concordant (AC).
The ten thousandth year marked the Decamillennial celebration for Ravnica for the anniversary of the Guildpact's signing. However, tragedy struck when during the very same celebration the pact was broken and peace was no longer a certainty. The Guildpact's spell was broken when Agrus Kul arrested Szadek for crimes against the Guildpact when Szadek tried the pact by taking over the other guilds. This created a loophole because the Guildpact determined that House Dimir's ultimate task was opposing the Guildpact, making it impossible for Szadek to be legally arrested for crimes against it, thus destroying the Guildpact's magic entirely. The original Guildpact is still preserved in the Old Laws Library of the Azorius Jelenn Column complex under three inches of magic-treated glass.

Teysa's Guildpact

Teysa's Guildpact was a short lived one. She is a high-ranking lawmage of the Orzhov Syndicate who took it upon herself to attempt to create a new Guildpact after witnessing the harm being done without one. She named it The Official Accord and Guidance of the Guilds of Ravnica and drafted an entirely new document. While impressive in its own right, the new document had a fatal flaw whereby it was not backed by any metaphycial forces, and thus couldn't be enforced as well as the original could. No guild took it seriously, and it was quickly discarded.

The Living Guildpact

In the year 10075, the Izzet League guildmaster, Niv Mizzet, had discovered that Azor had created a fail safe plan in the event that magic of the Guildpact were ever broken. A series of ley lines sprawed across the districts of Ravnica called the Implicit Maze and offered the guilds a chance to work together to solve it and secure the power of a new Guildpact. However, that power was incarnated into the individual of Jace Beleren who solved the maze himself and became the Living Guildpact. His words became the binding law of Ravnica, and any law he verbally confirmed became magically bound to the world. This prevented anymore destructive paradoxes from occurring, as Jace can simply fix any glaring flaws or settle any ambiguous writings with no more than his words. It was now his sole responsibility to keep order on Ravnica.
One year later, it was discovered that Jace was missing, and his powers as the Living Guildpact were no longer in affect. News of this traveled quickly, and Ravnica once again hangs in the balance of utter self destruction.

The Power of the Guildpact

The power of the Guildpact is absolute. Originally created by Azor, the Parune of the Azorious, it was a type of law magic that was powered by the ley lines within Ravnica. Nobody, not even the Paruns are above the pact and as such, anyone who violates the word of law is at the mercy of anyone who wishes to apprehend them. A simple Boros soldier can easily subdue a guildmaster if they had broken the law, and the soldier is bringing the guildmaster to face justice.
The Guildpact only effects what the guilds can do within the bounds of its law and does not have any say in any non-guildpact laws. It does not protect the guildless unless their endeavors fall within a guild's domain, such as a bank or medical clinic. Anything that is considered personal and outside of the guild's domain is not covered by the pact. For example, a Boros soldier is not hindered by the pact if he wishes to exact revenge from a vendetta he had on an Orzhov tax collector, so long as the vendetta has nothing to do with either member's guild domains. He is still held responsible by non-guild laws, however.
Should no one be around to invoke the Guildpact magic, or is unable to, the magic of the Guildpact can operate at the extremes of potential disorder. It doesn't manipulate people so much, but when things get really bad--say, a horde of angry Gruul storm the Orzhov city of Casar Impurnato, threatening the foundations of Ravnica's banks and economies should the markets and vaults there be overrun--the Guildpact might affect the laws of probability in ways that make such an horde unlikely to succeed. The weather patterns might shift, sendnig a patrol of Boros angels over the area unexpectedly. An outbreak of dysentery might slow the horde. Going against the Guildpact even more directly only heightens the equal and opposite reaction of the Guildpact.
Jace has a very limited, but very powerful say into the Guildpact laws. He has to interpret the actual written Guildpact in making pronouncements. He cannot simply wish anything into being -- or non-being, for that matter. He cannot wish for a slice of glazed cake, as there is nothing in the law that said an individual was entitled to a free dessert simply because they happened to be in the mood. He cannot wish a drake to be killed if it is attacking innocent people, for it is not illegal for the creature to simply exist within Ravnica. nor is the creature even capable of understanding what laws are or how to obey them. He does have tremendous, mystic authority by following either the letter or the spirit of the law, or both.

Limitations of the Guildpact

The Guildpact is far from perfect. There are instances that make the laws more ambiguous than others. For instance, The pact determines that the Guilds should not be interfered with if they are doing what their original guild was designed for. This leads into issues with the Gruul Clans. The Gruul were originally the protectors of the natural world in Ravnica, but because of the massive urbanization, the guild's original intent is difficult, if not impossible to achieve. So why can't the other guild's simply band together to eliminate them outright? The Guildpact determines that their destructive behaviors are, in a way, a preservation of the natural world. By removing man-made constructions, the Gruul are in fact bringing back nature and protecting it. This doesn't prevent skirmishes and battles from happening, but it does help to prevent the Gruul from being extinguished outright, and likewise it does prevent the Gruul from going too far into their carnage, especially if it directly relates to the guilds.