As set down by the Council of Vireth.
As set down by the Council of Vireth
By Craft we are chosen. By choice we serve.
Article 1. Every child born within the borders of Vireth shall be tested for Craft at birth by a Bloodcrafter in the service of the Council.
Article 2. The Bloodcrafter shall draw the child's blood and work upon it the rite of testing. Should the blood thicken, darken, or both, the child shall be declared Gifted.
Article 3. Should the blood show no change, the child shall be declared Ungifted and recorded as such.
Article 4. Every child declared Gifted, of whatever birth or station, shall be branded upon the inner wrist with the Mark. The Mark is the proof of registration and the Gifted's lawful protection. No person shall conceal, alter, or deface it. The punishment for such concealment is death.
Article 5. Should the blood react, but in a manner other than that proper to Gifted blood, the child shall be declared Inconclusive. The Gifts of an Inconclusive are held to be latent or insignificant, and the child shall not be Marked.
Article 6. Should Craft manifest in an Inconclusive child, the child's parents or guardians shall report the manifestation to the officers of the Council without delay.
Article 7. Where the manifestation is reported by the child's immediate family upon its first occurrence, and before the child reaches the age of fourteen, the family shall be pardoned. The child shall be Marked and admitted to the education befitting their station.
Article 8. The failure to report a manifestation in an Inconclusive is treason against Vireth, punishable by the execution of the whole family.
Article 9. A manifestation reported after the child reaches the age of fourteen shall be treated as Wildwork. The offender and all members of the immediate family shall be executed for treason without trial.
Article 10. A manifestation before the age of fourteen that is reported by any person outside the immediate family, or any report of repeated manifestations by any person, shall be treated as Wildwork. All members of the immediate family shall be executed for treason. The Council may, at its discretion, make exception for the one who reported it if that person is within the immediate family.
Article 11. A Gifted child born to Citizens shall be surrendered to the Academy on the child's fifth birthday, there to receive proper instruction in letters, reading, writing, and the learning required for entry to the Collegium.
Article 12. A Gifted child born to Nobles may be educated in the family home, where the family possesses the means to do so through private instructors.
Article 13. The Council may extend this privilege to a family of Fallen Nobles whose standing it deems sufficient, and whose offense against the Council was of a minor nature.
Article 14. Every Gifted shall enter the Collegium at the age of fourteen regardless of caste, and shall arrive with the education the Collegium requires.
Article 15. No Gifted shall graduate from the Collegium, nor take their place as an adult Crafter of Vireth, until they have completed the Mission assigned to them.
Article 16. Every Mission is confidential by law. No student shall inquire after a Mission, and no graduate shall speak of their own. Failure to abide by this is punishable by Ironbinding, Banishment, or Death.
Article 17. Craft may be performed only by those who bear the Mark, and only in the Craft for which they are registered.
Article 18. Any Craft performed by one who does not bear the Mark is Wildwork.
Article 19. Wildwork is punishable by death, save as provided for Inconclusive children in Part II.
Article 20. Every Virethian who knows or suspects that another possesses unregistered Craft shall report it to the officers of the Council, whatever the age of the Wildworker and whatever their relation to the one who reports.
Article 21. Any person found to have known of Wildwork and failed to report it is guilty of treason, and shall be hanged or Forsaken.
Article 22. The use of serums and enhancements is lawful for Nobles alone.
Article 23. Those whom the Council sentences to Ironbinding shall have a ring of iron welded about the ankle, and shall not use Craft at any time thereafter. The Ironbound are Citizens under the law. A person shall not remove the iron ring on punishment of death.
Article 24. Those who are Forsaken shall have their Name struck from the rolls. If Gifted, they shall be Ironbound, removed beyond the borders of Vireth to live among the Hollowed, and shall have no contact with any Virethian unless sanctioned by the Council.
Article 25. The punishment for treason may be extended to the household of the one who committed it, at the discretion of the Council.
Article 26. No Gifted shall live among the Hollowed.
Article 27. Any child born among the Hollowed who is declared Gifted or Inconclusive shall be put to death immediately.
Article 28. Any Gifted adult who lives among the Hollowed shall first be Ironbound.
Article 29. The Hollowed shall not enter Vireth without special dispensation from the Council.