"The Admiralty gives me their finest ships and brightest officers. In return, I give them charts written in the blood of those very same men. It is a grim, but perfectly balanced, transaction."

The Admiralty Compact is the complex, often unwritten agreement that binds the great Trading Companies to their national navies. Born from the mutual necessity of surviving the Elder Fathom's rise, this symbiotic relationship is a tense balance of shared interest and fierce rivalry.

The Sovereign's Right: A Tithe of Knowledge

While a Lord Factor wields immense power, they operate under the legitimacy and protection of their home nation. In exchange, they are bound by a sacred obligation: any successfully charted and secured trade route must be provided to their nation's Admiralty, free of charge. This "tithe of knowledge" ensures the military can protect the state's interests using the most current navigational intelligence. This creates a natural tension, as a cunning Lord Factor might delay submitting a new, highly profitable route to give their own fleets a lucrative head start before naval patrols are established.

The Secondment System: A Crucible of a Crew

The most critical component of the Compact is the secondment system, a practice that serves both the mercantile and military powers:

• The Navy's Gain: The Admiralty frequently "seconds," or loans, its most promising young officers and even entire warships to a Lord Factor's charting expeditions. This serves as the ultimate training ground, exposing their future captains to the true, uncharted horrors of the sea in a way no routine patrol ever could. These officers return to the fleet with invaluable, firsthand experience in battling the Fathom's influence and navigating the sea's shifting, malevolent currents.

• The Lord Factor's Gain: In return, the Lord Factor receives subsidized access to disciplined, highly skilled naval personnel and state-of-the-art military hardware for their dangerous private ventures. A seconded naval officer lends an air of official legitimacy and military credibility to a perilous and highly speculative enterprise.

This system is a fertile ground for drama, placing by-the-book naval officers under the command of pragmatic, profit-driven Factors, creating a constant clash of cultures and methodologies in the most dangerous waters imaginable.