Law of Speech

The Law of Speech is the most important legal document ever written on the World, and is considered foundational to society as a whole. It was penned by the famed Otus Magister Nianus and the other representatives at the original Moot. While simple, it created the balance all sapient species live in and abide by, and has been the basis for life on the World ever since. The text is as follows:

1. Any animal which speaks with a voice and can understand the speech of others is to be considered a person, not a wild beast.

2. No animal which speaks may be eaten, hunted, or made a beast of burden.

3. All animals which speak are equally created by magic and the Heart, and none shall be superior to the rest.

This simple codex of law radically transformed the World and its societies. No longer could the laws of one land allow for eating some animals, or forcing others into labor bondage. Every child, very early in their schooling, memorizes the Law of Speech, and almost all people can recite it from memory when prompted to. Though individual nations and governing bodies write their own code of laws, the Law of Speech is still the foundational text on which they are all based. Even the most authoritarian nations do not interfere with these three principles, to do so would be to invite insurrection and attack from in and outside their lands.

Type

Manuscript, Historical