«This covenant has always distinguished between members and residents, of which we have had many. Most have been in transient residency. Chronos has remained longer than most. I cannot remember the wording of the charter; we can read that tomorrow,» says Caelha. «More wine, Janus?»
The stewardess refills the glasses, and soon supper is served. The meal is a hearty one, but not haute cuisine. The wine is strong, and better than average, but the unprecedented legal situations seem to make people nervous and relations tense.
The next day, Caelha finds the charter in the library. It is a thick and heavy roll, of many pages rolled together. I am not going to quote it in full. Just the introduction describing the need for a covenant in this locale and the menace from Loch Leglean, and the need to stick together in mutual trust, and so on, continues for more than a page. And the page is longer than that of a large book. This introduction is dated 1003 AD.
It takes the better part of the day for one person to read it all, and there are no headers to allow you quickly to find what you see. The illumination helps a little, but only a little, for this illuminator was not the best one at their trade.
Following the introduction is a page with the original charter of 984, signed by Frederic and two other Flambeaux¹. This is now marked as annulled and superseded, but tells that the original three members were tightly bound in a «one for all, all for one» pact with little need to put their agreements in writing. They governed the covenant based on unanimous decision and joint interest.
¹ OoH Lore 12+ to recognise one name and 15+ for both, but given the state of the war, they are probably long dead.
The new charter, which continues after the single older page, establishes certain principles.
- The covenant is a staging post for the Order as a whole.
- Any magus serving the War against the uprising has a right to residency for as long as it serves the War effort.
- The covenant should always have three and only three members, who has to be willing, senior magi with martial merits.
- The council of members makes all decisions in the covenant.
- If the entire council is absent, a constable is appointed to rule in their stead.
- New members are appointed by the sitting council, by unanimous decisions.
- Resources are allocated by the council (or the constable) based on what the War requires.
On the last page, you find the names and signatures of the members, and you find that a dozen members have joined and been slain over the decade that has passed. Tacitus took up residence in 1005, and membership in 1011. Tessa joined as a member in 1010. Residents are only mentioned if they subsequently were elected members.
Peace-minded readers, but probably not Janus, will notice that the charter makes absolutely no provisions for peace-time existence.
A list of vis sources is included, with an introductory note that they belong to the council, and are recorded, not to depend on any one individual. There are three secure sources nearby, which Caelha has harvested in the last year, for 4p Vim, 4p Auram, and 4p Aquam. There are some less reliable vis sources; Caelha has harvested 2p Creo, but regretfully was not able to get to the 5p Corpus source in time last Summer. There are a 2p Mentem source and a 3p Herbam source, which are far away, and she could not spare the men to collect them.
Two or three sources have been crossed out as depleted. One was overharvested in 1010, and one seems to have collapsed in a magical mishap.
(I hope that's enough detail from the charter.)