The Treaty of Thronehold

Being the Concord of Nations for the Cessation of Hostilities, the Recognition of Sovereign States, and the Establishment of a Framework for the Preservation of Peace

Ratified on the eleventh day of Aryth, in the year 996 since the founding of the Kingdom

Executed at Thronehold Keep, upon the Isle of Thronehold, in Scions Sound, under the protection of the Throne Wardens of House Deneith

Certified true copy. Notarized under the arcane sigil of Tassi Santor d'Sivis, Third Notary of Korranberg, Keeper of Treaties, licensed under the Notaries Guild of House Sivis. Original instrument held in the Vault of Compacts, Korunda Gate, under perpetual seal of House Kundarak. Duplicate originals lodged in each signatory capital under the custody of the ranking Sivis notary therein.

This document has been prepared for general circulation under the authority of Doyenne Lysse Lyrriman d'Sivis, in the interest of public knowledge, civic order, and the preservation of peace. It is a faithful rendering of the executed instrument, inclusive of all schedules and annexures. The arcane marks of the twelve signatory delegations and their attending witnesses have been reproduced by sanctioned impression and may be verified against the registry of the Notaries Guild at any House Sivis enclave.

Preamble and Recitation of Cause

WHEREAS the Kingdom of Galifar, founded in the first Year of the Kingdom by Galifar ir'Wynarn and governed thereafter by his descendants and successors, did fracture upon the death of King Jarot ir'Wynarn on the twelfth day of Therendor, 894 YK, when the rightful succession of the Crown was disputed and the five provinces of the Kingdom took up arms against one another;

AND WHEREAS the conflict so commenced, which the Korranberg Chronicle designated the Last War, endured for one hundred and two years and encompassed not only the Five Nations of Aundair, Breland, Cyre, Karrnath, and Thrane, but drew into its compass the dragonmarked houses, the peoples of the Talenta Plains, the gnomes of Zilargo, the dwarves of the Mror Holds, the settlers of Q'barra, the princes of the Lhazaar, the druids and farmers of the Eldeen Reaches, the Ghaal'dar clans of what is now Darguun, and the Tairnadal elves of what is now Valenar, among others;

AND WHEREAS during the course of said conflict, cities were burned and besieged, farmlands were blighted by arcane destruction, the living were conscripted in numbers without precedent, the dead were raised to serve as soldiers, and thinking weapons were manufactured and deployed as instruments of war;

AND WHEREAS on the twentieth day of Olarune, 994 YK, the nation of Cyre was consumed by an arcane cataclysm of unknown origin, unknown mechanism, and unknown reproducibility, the event hereinafter referred to as the Mourning, which destroyed the nation, killed in excess of one million of its inhabitants, and left in its place a blighted and impassable territory hereinafter referred to as the Mournland;

AND WHEREAS the Mourning demonstrated to the surviving powers that the continuation of hostilities carried with it the risk of annihilation on a scale theretofore unimagined, and that no victory achievable by any party could justify the possibility of a second such catastrophe;

AND WHEREAS the negotiations that produced this instrument were initiated at the urging of King Kaius III of Karrnath and conducted over a period of months at the neutral site of Thronehold, under the protection of the Throne Wardens of House Deneith, with the delegations of all parties housed, fed, and attended by the hospitality of House Ghallanda;

NOW THEREFORE, the undersigned delegations, acting upon the authority vested in them by their respective sovereigns, councils, and governing bodies, do solemnly declare, covenant, and agree to the following Articles, and do bind their nations and successors thereto.

Notary's Annotation: I attended these negotiations in my professional capacity as notary and recording officer. Permit me one observation that belongs in no formal instrument but which any honest record demands. The delegates came to Thronehold exhausted, frightened, and bitter. No party believed itself defeated. Every party believed itself wronged. The terms that follow are not the product of consensus. They are the product of necessity — the smallest set of promises that twelve delegations could be persuaded to sign before any of them changed their minds. The miracle of Thronehold is not that it produced a just peace. It is that it produced a peace at all. — T.S. d'Sivis

ARTICLE THE FIRST — Of the Cessation of Hostilities

Section I. All signatory nations hereby declare a general, immediate, and unconditional cessation of hostilities. All military operations against any other signatory nation, its armed forces, its citizens, its territory, and its assets shall cease upon the date of ratification of this instrument.

Section II. All armed forces of the signatory nations shall withdraw to their respective lines of control as held on the date of ratification. No signatory shall advance forces beyond these lines except as permitted by subsequent agreement between the relevant parties.

Section III. This Treaty establishes no permanent enforcement mechanism for the maintenance of the armistice. Compliance with this Article is the independent obligation of each signatory. Violation of this Article by any signatory constitutes a breach of this Treaty and grounds for such diplomatic, economic, or collective response as the remaining signatories may elect to pursue. The nature, scope, and timing of any such response is left to the collective will of the non-breaching signatories; no signatory is compelled to act, and no mechanism for compelling a collective response is established.

Notary's Annotation: The absence of an enforcement mechanism is not an oversight. It was debated at length. Several delegations proposed the creation of a standing multinational force — a kind of "Army of Thronehold" — to enforce the peace. This proposal was rejected because no delegation was willing to submit its own forces to the command of a body over which it did not hold decisive authority. What remains is a treaty enforced by mutual interest, mutual exhaustion, and mutual terror of the Mourning. Whether these will prove sufficient is a question that the present notary is not qualified to answer, though she has her private apprehensions. — T.S. d'Sivis

ARTICLE THE SECOND — Of the Recognition of Sovereign States

Section I. The following political entities are hereby recognized as independent, sovereign, and equal nations under the terms of this Treaty:

(a) The Kingdom of Aundair, governed by Queen Aurala ir'Wynarn from the capital of Fairhaven;

(b) The Kingdom of Breland, governed by King Boranel ir'Wynarn from the capital of Wroat;

(c) The Kingdom of Karrnath, governed by King Kaius III ir'Wynarn from the capital of Korth;

(d) The Theocracy of Thrane, governed by the Keeper of the Silver Flame, Jaela Daran, and the Council of Cardinals, from the capital of Flamekeep;

(e) The Nation of Darguun, governed by Lhesh Haruuc Sharaat'kor from the capital of Rhukaan Draal;

(f) The Eldeen Reaches, governed by the Great Druid Oalian and the wardens of the Towering Wood, from the capital of Greenheart;

(g) The Lhazaar Principalities, recognized as a single allied nation under the leadership of High Prince Ryger ir'Wynarn of Regalport;

(h) The Mror Holds, governed by the Iron Council of the dwarf clans, from the capital of Krona Peak;

(i) The Nation of Q'barra, called New Galifar, governed by King Sebastes ir'Kesslan from the capital of Newthrone;

(j) The Talenta Plains, governed by the tribal council of the halfling clans, with no fixed seat of government;

(k) The Valenar Confederacy, governed by High King Shaeras Vadallia from the capital of Taer Valaestas;

(l) The Nation of Zilargo, governed by the Triumvirate from the capital of Trolanport.

Section II. Recognition under this Article confers the following rights and obligations upon each signatory nation:

(a) The right to sovereign governance of its recognized territory without external interference by force of arms;

(b) The obligation to maintain diplomatic relations with all other signatory nations and to resolve disputes through negotiation, mediation, or arbitration rather than military action;

(c) The obligation to extend to citizens of all other signatory nations, while traveling or residing within its borders, the same protections and rights under local law as are afforded to its own citizens;

(d) The right to maintain such armed forces as it deems necessary for its own defense, subject to the specific prohibitions and restrictions set forth elsewhere in this Treaty.

Section III. Recognition under this Article does not imply alliance, affiliation, affection, or the harmonization of domestic law. The signatory nations are sovereign and independent. Their internal laws, governance structures, and customs remain their own. This Treaty binds them only to the specific commitments set forth herein.

Notary's Annotation: The provision at Section II(c) — that citizens of any signatory nation are entitled to the same protections as local citizens of any other signatory — merits careful attention, for it does not mean what many assume it to mean. A Thrane traveling in Darguun is entitled to the same protections as a Ghaal'dar goblin in Darguun. This may not include all the protections that a Thrane enjoys at home. The Treaty does not impose the Galifar Code of Justice upon all signatories. It imposes only the principle of equal treatment under whatever local law obtains. This distinction has already caused confusion and will, I suspect, cause more. — T.S. d'Sivis

ARTICLE THE THIRD — Of Petitions Denied and Matters Unresolved

Section I — The Petition of Droaam. The delegation of the Daughters of Sora Kell, representing the territory of western Breland seized and occupied by those styling themselves the rulers of Droaam, petitioned the assembled signatories for recognition as a sovereign nation. This petition was heard, debated, and denied by majority vote.

The territory claimed by Droaam remains, in law, part of the sovereign territory of the Kingdom of Breland. The inhabitants of said territory are not citizens of Breland, having never sworn fealty to the Brelish crown, and are not entitled to the protections afforded to citizens of signatory nations under this Treaty. Their legal status is that of persons outside the framework of this compact. This standing is noted but is not remedied, altered, or addressed by this instrument.

Section II — The Shadow Marches and the Demon Wastes. The territories known as the Shadow Marches and the Demon Wastes possess no unified government, no delegation presented credentials at Thronehold, and no petition for recognition was filed. These territories are not recognized as sovereign nations and are not parties to this Treaty.

Section III — The Matter of Cyre. Let it be recorded in perpetuity that the nation of Cyre, once the seat of the Galifar succession, the province from which the children of Galifar I governed the united Kingdom, and the jewel of the continent, no longer exists as a functioning state.

(a) The sovereignty of Cyre is preserved in principle. No signatory to this Treaty claims the right to the former territory of Cyre, nor does any signatory assert governance over the Mournland.

(b) The surviving citizens of Cyre are scattered across the signatory nations. The Kingdom of Breland, by royal decree of King Boranel ir'Wynarn, has opened its borders to Cyran refugees and has established a settlement in eastern Breland under the administration of Prince Oargev ir'Wynarn, last surviving child of Queen Dannel ir'Wynarn of Cyre, who serves as the de facto leader of the displaced Cyran population.

(c) This Treaty makes no provision for the resettlement, compensation, repatriation, or restoration of the Cyran people. No signatory nation is obligated to accept Cyran refugees, to provide material support, or to contribute to the reconstruction of Cyran institutions. Such burdens as exist are borne by those who choose to bear them.

(d) It is further recorded that Prince Oargev ir'Wynarn was not seated as a delegate at Thronehold and was not a signatory to this instrument. His exclusion from the proceedings was contested by the Brelish delegation on his behalf but was sustained by the majority of delegations on the grounds that no functioning Cyran state existed to delegate authority. The present notary records this fact without comment.

Notary's Annotation: With comment, then, in this margin where comment is permitted. Prince Oargev was present at Thronehold. He was denied a seat. He watched from the gallery as the assembled nations divided the world his mother had governed, granted sovereignty to the soldiers who had carved his country apart, and then recorded — with admirable legal precision — that no provision would be made for the people who had lost everything. I drafted Section III. The words are mine. They are correct. They are the most miserable words I have ever written. — T.S. d'Sivis

ARTICLE THE FOURTH — Of Borders and Territorial Holdings

Section I. All borders held by the signatory nations at the moment of ratification of this instrument are hereby accepted as lawful, recognized, and binding. No inquiry shall be made under this Treaty into the manner, method, or circumstances by which any signatory acquired the territory it presently holds.

Section II. Without limitation to the generality of Section I, this Article specifically ratifies and confirms the following territorial dispositions, which are recorded here because they were the subject of the most contentious negotiations at Thronehold:

(a) The city of Thaliost and its surrounding territories, historically part of the nation of Aundair, are recognized as the lawful territory of Thrane, having been seized by Thrane forces during the Last War. The delegation of Aundair formally contests this disposition but accepts it under the terms of this Treaty.

(b) The Eldeen Reaches, comprising the western territories that seceded from Aundair approximately forty years prior to the signing of this instrument, are recognized as an independent sovereign nation. The delegation of Aundair formally contests this disposition but accepts it under the terms of this Treaty.

(c) The territories claimed by the Nation of Darguun and the Valenar Confederacy, carved from lands that were within living memory part of the nation of Cyre, are recognized as the lawful territory of those nations. No Cyran delegation was present to contest these dispositions. Prince Oargev ir'Wynarn contested them from the gallery but his objection holds no legal force under this instrument.

Section III. No signatory may alter the territory of another signatory by force of arms without the consent of all parties to the dispute and the approval of the assembled signatories. Territorial disputes are to be resolved through arbitration at Thronehold, under such mechanisms as the signatories may agree upon. No signatory is compelled to submit to arbitration, and no signatory is bound by arbitral findings to which it has not consented.

Section IV. It is understood by all signatories that the borders established under this Article are the borders that existed when the fighting stopped. They do not reflect the legitimate claims, historical rights, or just aspirations of any party. They reflect the military situation on the ground on the eleventh day of Aryth, 996 YK. This understanding is entered into the record so that no future reader of this instrument may mistake pragmatism for justice.

Notary's Annotation: I record Section IV because the delegations insisted upon it. Nearly every signatory nation wanted the record to reflect that it was not satisfied with its borders — that it accepted them under duress, not because it believed them fair. This is the legal equivalent of signing a contract with a note in the margin that says "I disagree with everything above." It has no operative legal force. But it made several delegations feel better, and in those last hours of negotiation, that was worth more than legal precision. — T.S. d'Sivis

ARTICLE THE FIFTH — Of the Mournland

Section I. The territory once known as the nation of Cyre, now designated the Mournland, is hereby declared unclaimed and ungoverned territory. No sovereign authority is recognized within its borders. No law of any signatory nation extends therein.

Section II. No signatory nation shall assert sovereignty over the Mournland, in whole or in part. No signatory nation shall establish permanent settlement within its borders or maintain a military garrison or staging area therein.

Section III. Expeditions into the Mournland by private persons, adventurers, agents of dragonmarked houses, or agents of signatory nations are not prohibited by this Treaty. Such expeditions are undertaken at the sole risk of those who enter. No signatory nation is obligated to offer rescue, aid, recovery, compensation, or repatriation to any person who enters the Mournland, regardless of circumstance.

Section IV. Responsibility for the Mourning is not assigned, attributed, or investigated by this Treaty. No tribunal, commission of inquiry, divinatory investigation, or other mechanism for determining the cause of the Mourning is mandated, established, or authorized under this instrument. The cause of the Mourning remains unknown as of the date of ratification. The signatories have elected to leave this question unanswered rather than to pursue an inquiry that, in the judgment of the assembled delegations, would inevitably produce accusations, recriminations, and a collapse of the negotiations.

Notary's Annotation: Section IV was the provision that nearly destroyed the Treaty. Prince Oargev demanded an investigation. The Karrnathi delegation demanded an investigation. The Thrane delegation demanded an investigation. Each delegation demanded an investigation because each believed the investigation would implicate one of their rivals. When it became clear that every nation had its own theory about who caused the Mourning — and that several of these theories implicated the very nations proposing the inquiry — the delegations quietly agreed that the question was better left unasked. I have heard it said that the Mourning was caused by a Cannith weapon, by a Karrnathi ritual, by a Thrane invocation, by the Wardens of the Wood, by agents of the Dreaming Dark, by the release of an Overlord, and by the will of the Sovereigns themselves. I record all of these theories. I endorse none. — T.S. d'Sivis

ARTICLE THE SIXTH — Of the Warforged

Section I. The warforged — being the living constructs created by House Cannith through the use of creation forges, first produced in the year 965 YK at the Cannith forgehold of Whitehearth in Cyre, and subsequently manufactured in large numbers and supplied to the armies of multiple signatory nations throughout the Last War — are hereby recognized as sentient, autonomous beings.

Section II. All warforged presently in existence across the territories of the signatory nations are hereby granted legal personhood. They shall be considered persons under the law, entitled to the protections afforded to all persons within the signatory nations. No warforged may be owned, enslaved, indentured, or compelled to serve any person, house, nation, or other entity. Any instrument of ownership, indenture, or compulsory service pertaining to a warforged is hereby declared void.

Section III. The manufacture of new warforged is hereby prohibited within the territories of all signatory nations. No person, house, nation, or other entity shall create, commission, or cause to be created any new warforged, by any means, for any purpose.

Section IV. House Cannith's authority to operate creation forges is hereby revoked. All creation forges within the territories of signatory nations are ordered sealed, dismantled, or destroyed, at the direction of the relevant sovereign authority within whose territory each forge is situated. Compliance with this provision is the obligation of the relevant sovereign authority.

Section V. This Treaty makes no specific provision for the citizenship, national affiliation, reparation, integration, or resettlement of the warforged. The warforged are granted their freedom and their legal personhood. The question of what nation, if any, a warforged belongs to, and what civic rights and responsibilities attend that belonging, is left to the individual determination of each signatory nation and to such arrangements as the warforged themselves may negotiate.

Notary's Annotation: It should be understood that this provision was ratified at a moment of singular weakness for House Cannith. The House had lost its patriarch, Baron Starrin d'Cannith, on the Day of Mourning. It had lost its principal holdings and forges in Cyre. It was, and remains, divided among three competing claimants — Merrix in Sharn, Jorlanna in Fairhaven, and Zorlan in Korth — none of whom possesses the authority to speak for the House entire. The demand to destroy the creation forges was made by all the assembled nations in one of the rare moments of unanimity that the negotiations produced. Had Cannith been united and led by a strong patriarch, the outcome might have been different. The reader should note that the creation forges within the Mournland — including the great forges of Whitehearth, Making, and Eston — are beyond the sovereign reach of any signatory nation. Their present status is unknown. The Treaty orders their destruction; the Mourning has placed them beyond anyone's power to comply. Whether anything still operates in the mist is a question this notary cannot answer and would prefer not to contemplate. — T.S. d'Sivis

ARTICLE THE SEVENTH — Of the Dragonmarked Houses and the Korth Edicts

Section I. The Korth Edicts, first proclaimed by Galifar ir'Wynarn in compact with the Council of the Twelve during the Unification Campaign and detailed in a separate instrument, are hereby reaffirmed as binding upon all dragonmarked houses recognized by the Council of the Twelve and upon all signatory nations to this Treaty.

Section II. Without repeating the full provisions of the Korth Edicts, which are set forth in the separate instrument and to which this Article refers by incorporation, the following principles are reaffirmed:

(a) The dragonmarked houses shall not own land, hold noble titles, or maintain military forces, with the exception of House Deneith as specified in the Korth Edicts.

(b) House Deneith retains its charter to operate the Blademarks Guild, the Defenders Guild, and the Sentinel Marshals, under conditions of political neutrality.

(c) The houses shall remain politically neutral, shall not ally with any crown, and shall not declare nationhood.

(d) The provisions governing the separation of house blood and noble title, as set forth in Article the Fourth of the Korth Edicts, remain in full force and effect.

Section III. The dragonmarked houses are recognized as transnational entities operating within and across all signatory nations. Their agents shall retain the right to travel freely across the borders of all signatory nations on house business, upon presentation of valid identification papers issued by the relevant house.

Section IV. Members of the dragonmarked houses, whether or not they bear a dragonmark, shall receive the same protections under local law as citizens of the signatory nations. This provision extends to all employees, agents, and licensed contractors of the houses.

Section V. The contribution of this Treaty to the Korth Edicts is the affirmation that the restrictions established when Galifar was a united kingdom survive the dissolution of that kingdom. With the Crown of Galifar broken, enforcement of the Korth Edicts falls to the signatory nations individually, and to the Council of the Twelve as the organ of inter-house discipline, as set forth in the separate instrument.

Notary's Annotation: The Korth Edicts are set forth in full in the companion instrument to this Treaty, copies of which are available at any House Sivis enclave. I will note here only what the careful reader will already have observed: that this Article reaffirms the Edicts, but provides no more robust mechanism for enforcing them than the Edicts themselves possess. The houses are stronger now than they have been at any point since Galifar's reign. The nations are weaker. The gap between what the Edicts forbid and what the houses actually do grows wider each year. This Treaty changes none of that. It merely records the legal fiction that the old rules still apply. — T.S. d'Sivis

ARTICLE THE EIGHTH — Of Prohibited Instruments of War

Section I. In addition to the prohibition on the creation of new warforged set forth in Article the Sixth, the signatory nations agree to the following prohibitions on the manufacture, deployment, and use of certain instruments and practices of war:

(a) The creation of new undead soldiers by any signatory nation is prohibited. This provision is entered at the insistence of the delegation of Thrane and with the formal assent of the Crown of Karrnath. It does not require the destruction of existing undead military assets held by any signatory nation. It does not address the legal status of sapient undead, the practice of necromancy for non-military purposes, or the religious practices of any signatory nation. It addresses only the creation of new undead for the purpose of military service.

(b) Such additional prohibitions on specific categories of magical weaponry, war rituals, and arcane practices as are set forth in Schedule B to this instrument, appended hereto and incorporated by reference. The full Schedule is available for review at any Kundarak depository holding a certified copy of this Treaty.

Section II. Compliance with the prohibitions set forth in this Article is the independent obligation of each signatory nation. No inspection regime or verification mechanism is established by this Treaty. Violations are addressed through the same diplomatic processes described in Article the First, Section III.

Notary's Annotation: Section I(a) is perhaps the most diplomatically fraught provision in the Treaty after the territorial articles. The Karrnathi delegation agreed to forswear the creation of new undead soldiers. They did not agree to destroy those already in existence. They did not agree to abandon the practice of necromancy. They did not agree to any restriction on the Blood of Vol or any other faith practiced within their borders. What they agreed to, precisely and only, is that they will not make new dead men walk for the purpose of putting swords in their hands. King Kaius signed this provision with visible reluctance. The Thrane delegation accepted it with visible dissatisfaction. Both parties believe they were cheated. In my experience, this is a reliable sign that a compromise has been fairly struck. — T.S. d'Sivis

ARTICLE THE NINTH — Of the Common Framework of Law

Section I. The Galifar Code of Justice, being the common legal framework established under the Kingdom of Galifar and maintained by the Five Nations throughout the Last War, is acknowledged as the legal inheritance of the signatory nations that were formerly provinces of Galifar.

Section II. This Treaty does not require all signatory nations to adopt or enforce the Galifar Code of Justice. It requires only that each signatory nation maintain a functioning system of law within its own territory, and that under whatever system of law obtains, the citizens of all signatory nations and the members of all recognized dragonmarked houses shall receive equal protection.

Section III. The Sentinel Marshals of House Deneith are empowered to enforce the Galifar Code of Justice, and to pursue fugitives from justice, across the borders of all signatory nations that recognize the Code. In nations that do not recognize the Code, the Sentinel Marshals may operate only with the consent and cooperation of the local sovereign authority.

Section IV. A Tribunal is hereby established at Thronehold for the purpose of adjudicating disputes arising under this Treaty, prosecuting violations of the prohibitions set forth herein, and such other matters as the signatory nations may agree to submit to its jurisdiction. The Tribunal shall be staffed by jurists nominated by the signatory nations and shall operate under procedures to be developed by the assembled signatories. The Tribunal is authorized but not yet fully constituted as of the date of ratification.

Notary's Annotation: The Tribunal of Thronehold is, as of this writing, very much an experiment. It has no precedent in the law of Galifar. It has no standing army to enforce its judgments. It has no budget beyond what the signatory nations voluntarily contribute. It is staffed by jurists who were, until two years ago, subjects of nations at war with one another. I assisted in the drafting of its founding charter, and I will say only this: the charter is well-written. Whether a well-written charter is sufficient to prevent a continent of exhausted, bitter, frightened nations from resuming the business of killing one another remains to be seen. — T.S. d'Sivis

ARTICLE THE TENTH — Of the Neutrality of Thronehold

Section I. The Isle of Thronehold, situated in Scions Sound between the territories of the signatory nations, is hereby declared neutral ground in perpetuity. It shall belong to no nation. It shall not be used for military staging, recruitment, espionage directed against any signatory nation, or political coercion of any kind.

Section II. The castle and grounds of Thronehold Keep shall remain under the protection of the Throne Wardens of House Deneith, as they have been since the dissolution of the united Kingdom. The castle and its grounds are sealed to all persons except the Throne Wardens and such persons as the Wardens, acting under the authority of the assembled signatories, may expressly authorize to enter.

Section III. The town of Throneport shall serve as the site of the Tribunal established under Article the Ninth, as a venue for diplomatic arbitration, and as such other neutral ground as the signatory nations may agree upon. Peacekeeping within Throneport is maintained by small rotating forces contributed by Aundair, Breland, Karrnath, and Thrane, operating alongside the Deneith Throne Wardens.

Section IV. The neutrality of Thronehold is the collective responsibility of all signatory nations. Any violation of this neutrality by any party — including the use of Throneport for purposes of espionage, sabotage, or covert military operations — constitutes a breach of this Treaty.

Notary's Annotation: Throneport is, in practice, a nest of spies. Every signatory nation maintains agents there. Every dragonmarked house has operatives in the town. The Throne Wardens do their best, and House Deneith takes its custodial responsibilities seriously, but the notion that a town populated almost entirely by diplomats, dissidents, criminals, and intelligence operatives could be described as "neutral ground" requires a generosity of interpretation that I, as a professional interpreter of language, find admirable in its ambition. — T.S. d'Sivis

ARTICLE THE ELEVENTH — Of Duration, Breach, and the Absence of Remedy

Section I. This Treaty remains in effect in perpetuity, or until such time as the unanimous consent of all surviving signatory nations agrees to its amendment, modification, or dissolution. No mechanism for unilateral withdrawal is provided. No signatory may release itself from the obligations of this Treaty without the consent of all other signatories.

Section II. Breach of any provision of this Treaty by any signatory may be answered by diplomatic censure, trade sanction, withdrawal of reciprocal protections, or such other coordinated response as the non-breaching signatories may elect. No permanent enforcement body is established. No standing force is authorized to compel compliance. All responses to breach are voluntary, discretionary, and dependent upon the will and capacity of the responding nations.

Section III. The consequence of material breach, should the assembled signatories elect to impose it, is the expulsion of the breaching nation from the framework of this Treaty. An expelled nation loses the protections afforded to signatory nations, including the protection of its citizens under the laws of other signatory nations, the recognition of its borders, and the prohibition against military action directed at its territory. Expulsion requires the affirmative vote of no fewer than eight of the remaining signatory nations.

Notary's Annotation: Section III describes the ultimate sanction: expulsion. In practice, it means that an expelled nation may be attacked by any other signatory without the attacker being deemed in breach. Its citizens abroad lose their legal protections. Its borders become mere lines on a map, enforceable only by its own strength. This is the sharpest tooth the Treaty possesses, and it has not been tested. Whether the signatory nations could muster the eight votes required for expulsion — and whether expulsion would lead to anything other than another war — is a question I leave to those whose profession is strategy rather than language. — T.S. d'Sivis

Concluding Attestation and Seal

The foregoing Articles constitute the entirety of the general compact between the twelve signatory nations, exclusive of the Schedules appended hereto and the separate instruments incorporated by reference, including but not limited to the Korth Edicts and the Galifar Code of Justice.

This Treaty was executed in the presence of the assembled delegations at Thronehold Keep on the eleventh day of Aryth, 996 YK. It was signed and sealed by the duly authorized representatives of each signatory nation, witnessed by the Throne Wardens of House Deneith, recorded by the notaries of House Sivis, and lodged in the custody of House Kundarak for perpetual safekeeping.

This Treaty does not promise peace.

It promises a framework within which peace may be maintained, for so long as the signatory nations choose to maintain it. It binds armies, not ideologies. It resolves borders, not grievances. It was written in the shadow of the Mourning, and in the shadow of the Mourning it shall be read, for as long as that shadow endures.

Let the dead-gray mist that hangs over Cyre remind every signatory of the cost of failure.

Let it also remind them that the mist was made by no treaty, and can be unmade by none.

Signed and sealed by the delegations of the twelve sovereign nations, witnessed and recorded as set forth above.

The arcane marks of the twelve signatory delegations are reproduced on the following leaf and are on file at the Notaries Guild registry, The Labyrinth, Korranberg, Zilargo, and at the Vault of Compacts, Korunda Gate, Mror Holds.

Notarized and sealed under arcane mark at Thronehold Keep, on the day of signing, and again at Korranberg upon the preparation of this certified copy for general circulation, in the second year after the Treaty, being 998 YK.

Tassi Santor d'Sivis Third Notary of Korranberg Keeper of Treaties Gilded Quill of the Lorridan Lyrris Family Licensed Barrister, Speakers Guild Certified Notary, Notaries Guild House Sivis

Copies of this document are available at any House Sivis enclave for a fee of eight sovereigns. Authenticated copies bearing an original arcane mark are available for thirty sovereigns. Copies of the Schedules and annexed instruments, including the Korth Edicts and the Galifar Code of Justice, are available separately. Requests for certified extracts, legal opinions, or interpretive commentary should be directed to the Speakers Guild.