Council Stewardship

Originally, The Council of Landezon was formed to insulate and defend mages and their kind from the crossfire of mortal politics. As long centuries passed and those with the gift of magic came to find their place in society, the Council’s role was reshaped to that of a guardian over the mundane world, with state leaders eventually vying for the privilege of its protection under a formal arrangement known as Stewardship.
Stewardship is exclusively granted to help ward off threats of a magical nature. Magical beasts were presumably wiped from the face of the earth near the end of Obertari rule (see: Song of the Dark). Thus today, rival arcane organizations pose the only known danger to stable society. Of these, The Exiled Tradition is the greatest and most feared, although other, lesser-known cabals seek to topple the order of things from time to time as well. Above all, three Council suborders deal with these enemies most directly: The Black Mercies, The Flown Sparrows, and the Order of the Razor.
The Council stands vigilant against all potential foes, wherever they may emerge, but pragmatically, its full support is reserved for nations that agree to the general terms of Stewardship. The first default beneficiaries of the Council’s protection under its modern triune form were the Drakoya, as the Berythian, Nurhetic, and Aurimbic Traditions did not join hands until late into the The Old Empire (1501-1212). Nations enjoying salutary relations with the Drakoya at this time sought quickly to follow suit. Today, any nation may in theory submit its bid for membership, but the more removed a nation is from the certain ethical and political values considered essential by the Council, the heftier grow its provisions for entrance.
Contracts are hammered out on a case by case basis and can include slight regional variations, but every agreement retains core stipulations to safeguard both the Council’s interests and those of its common members, nobility and peasantry alike. Ensuring this balance is obviously no mean feat, especially when a new member is introduced whose politics do not align well with older signatories. Initial talks frequently involve multiple embassies and a long string of diplomats in a process that draws out over years, longer where bitter feelings exist. Given these complications and the overall drain on resources they entail, the Council does not enter lightly into discussions they believe will not bear fruit. This stance is relaxed slightly for nations in immediate need of assistance.
Would-be member nations typically must meet the following standard requirements:

• Its government cannot be inherently opposed to magic or mages. Political stability is strongly preferred, but not absolutely required.


• The nature of Stewardship must be acknowledged as a protection against magical threats only, and not the temporal enemies of such-and-such a lord.

Having met these requirements, the member is responsible for providing:

• A parcel of land to be set aside for Council use. The degree of autonomy the Council enjoys on this land is a matter for negotiation, but full autonomy is typically insisted upon when dealing with nations considered ‘problematic’. Local laws are generally respected and upheld where they do not conflict with the Council’s ability to protect the population. Taxes may or may not be paid to the local landowners, depending on conditions of the land grant.


• Sufficient Treasury reserves to provide the Council “adequate resources” to fulfill its mandate within the nation. What is considered adequate varies by situation, ranging from the most basic provisions to materials and labour for large-scale construction projects.


• The right to conscript new talent in the area if deemed necessary. This is usually not voluntary in the case of non-magical conscripts, which must follow the Council’s banner as though their local lord’s. However, when those with the Gift are identified, they are given a choice to undertake training or not, due to the overwhelming impact this commitment will have on the rest of their lives. The Council undertakes all responsibilities standard for new apprenticeships for those that enlist in this way.


• An assurance that all efforts will be made to keep unwanted contact (i.e. superstitious peasants) from happening.


• Basic indemnity against destruction of life or property occurring as a direct result of the Council’s fulfilment of duty against the enemy, where no dereliction thereof is obvious.

In addition to offering its protection, the Council covenants:

• To act in a unified way across all Steward nations, insofar as it is possible, and to represent no position but that of the Council in all dealings.


• To bring no harm, financial, spiritual, or physical, to the land or people. This includes exerting undue influence within any and all of those spheres.


• To avoid subverting the worldly agenda of a nation’s ruling lords or the holy agenda of its priests, save where local politics/dogma confound the Council’s ability to fulfill its mandate. Even in this situation, the Council pledges to exhaust all means at its disposal to negotiate such conflicts before acting at the state level.


• That every stationed agent of the Council shall abide at all times by Council Law, which must perforce take precedence over any other codes such agents may adhere to deriving from tradition, culture, or nationality.