Arc 6 Post 57: Between the Lines
Between the Lines
25th of October 2006 A.D.
Even before you get the chance to ask Bob about Queen Mab the list of reasons to dislike her grows a little longer. Who insists on writing things on parchment these days? Does she have a grudge against cows as well as your free time, trying to decipher all this flowery verbiage? It's not like this stuff is old either, the current version of the Unseelie Accords is only as old as the Milwaukee Incursion, which is to say less than twelve years old, having been signed on the Winter Solstice when the power of Winter was strongest. That you soon learn is a big hint as to its purpose. Due to the power of oaths over most of those who deal in magic, even such alien and uncanny beings as the vampires of the Black Court, the various factions have a... trust in the letter of their agreements that would make mortal diplomats whistle in envy, but up until relatively recently there had been no need to create a unitary framework for interacting with each other under the veil of secrecy. There are no mortal signatories of the Accords, that much you know form glancing down at the list and yet the presence of mortal humanity looms over every word here written as the moon does above the ebb and flow of the tides.
The first chapter deals with the sacrosanct nature of messengers and the precise conditions one must meet to serve as a messenger you suspect because everything else is pointless if the two sides cannot converse and coordinate. It also covers penalties for third parties meddling with messages, including fax, telephone, radio and computer networks... all still written out on the darn parchment. Crucially the guarantee for this is enforced by Winter itself, allowing the unseelie court to act directly at the command of a march-lord, the least of the lords of Winter to ensure that harm to a messenger is punished and the message reaches its intended destination in a timely manner.
The second chapter is all about places like Mac's Pub, the fines for impinging upon them, which range from weregild to the execution of the offending individual to loss of territory. You briefly wonder what Mac would even do with territory in faerie or villages filled with unfortunate vampire thralls, but that is not the important part here. Neutral places extend beyond their physical boundaries to a certain degree so you cannot just siege someone inside the pub say. An agreement to meet someone in such a place is also an agreement to allow them to leave in peace, with both those words described in painfully precise detail. The implication of course is that other meetings are not thus protected between signatories. There is also a clause about not attacking mortals within or around Accorded Neutral Ground in such a way as would compromise it, referring not just to physical space but their capacity to function within mortal society. It's a good thing Mac runs such a clean ship because anyone who tried to call the food inspectors on him would get smote, you think amused.
Alas the smile does not last long as you get to the list of reasons someone might be forced to leave neutral ground without the lingering protection to 'go in peace'. These include insults to the legitimacy of the opposing power, showing up with property you stole off the opposing side... including thralls, serfs and slaves because of course it does.
"There are many powers mistress which cannot bear such an insult and to whom the presentation of stolen treasure would be tantamount to a compulsion to attack," Usum points out, like you didn't know.
"Still horrid," you sigh.
The third chapter is interesting, but not that relevant to you, being that it is about the use and abuse of mortal authorities to get what you want out of a situation. The gist of it is you can but any such mortals are defined as the retainers of whichever co-signatory of the Accords is making use of them so long as they are acting knowingly. Here follow six pages describing various levels of awareness . Beneath a certain level which can be summarized as 'that's not Bigfoot it's just a bear' mortals are not treated as retainers but more as a kind of battlefield hazard, no different from getting someone to fall in a pit of spikes. There are of course contingencies about the mortals being aware of more than their handlers thought. The party in question must then clean up their mess to the satisfaction of a neutral emissary if they do not wish the higher standard to apply. Murphy has definitely been acting as Harry's agent for years and more recently yours. Is the Library of Congress a member? Ah not important now...
Finally the fourth chapter has to do with settling disputes by blood or by weregild, from battlefield truces to duels. These always involve a neutral mediator when the Accords are Invoked who ensures the sides are not cheating, whether it be using magic in a duel which has been decided as a test of will between the parties or giving up... lives that have already been hollowed out or souls which have already been dedicated to another power. God, no wonder the Church isn't party to the Accords.
Being as fair as you can the document does not force anyone to take part in the soul trade, it just provides rules for doing so, the same way it provides rules for trading labor, works of artistry and craft, precious metals and even cash, but still there are situations in which Winter might call upon other signatories to provide limited assistance in resolving a breach of the Accords, including a breach of weregild payment
Wait a second, you feel a sudden twisting in your stomach flip back t chapter two and the stolen property clause. 'That which was taken by stealth or by force, knowingly or unknowingly from the possession of one party onto another including objects great and small, mundane and magical, thralls, prisoners and slaves.' Under the articles of the Accords showing up with your soul counts as a provocation which would justify Queen Mab to demand you 'take it outside'.
A few seconds later you realize that she is almost guaranteed to not actually do it, after all if she wanted to kill you she'd have send assassins or a war party not gone through all the effort to meet with you, but it would be a hell of a threat to drop on someone out of the blue when they think they are under a more wide ranging protection. Now you will be ready for it.
"Say Usum is there a way I can go someplace without bringing my soul with me?" you ask jokingly to break the sudden tension.
"Will and soul and mind can stand divided that the Treasure of Ages is not carried forth and yet you should be present in the flesh in your meeting with the Queen of Winter."
What...? "No, seriously what?"
He explains, best as he is able his belief that you should be able to split off avatars, mortal aspects of yourself independent yet connected, self willed and Uncrowned yet which are in all other ways yourself.
"Can't work... she... I... whatever 'we', would be at too much of a disadvantage trying to negotiate without the powers of the Crown," you think at last.
"Splinters of the soul would also insulate you from dying a mortal death oh Queen Without Rival," the demon points out.
Add 'living sapient phylactery' to the list of evil superpowers I can develop I guess... After a moment you surprise yourself with a laugh. Better than the alternative and so are you.
Do you have any Crown Questions you wish to ask using the text of the Accords as focus
[] Yes
-[] Write in
[] No, you have all you wanted out of this
OOC: It is not specified in the text, but the rules about not bringing stolen treasures into a meeting was made to accommodate dragons for which that is goading them to an extent indistinguishable from magical compulsion.
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