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[Drayden Calamyr]

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Drayden paced slowly, back and forth in the small office. The Drow had waited a long time for this moment but was hoping that The Drow Lord would return from his trek to....wherever he went. The Prince had similarly disappeared leaving the small band with only a few to mind their business here at home. Drayden sighed and put his hand on the stack of papers that they had worked so much on. The night was waning and it would be morning soon.
Time to make this declaration known to our first subjects. It is what our Lord wished and so it will be obeyed...
After donning his appropriate hooded cloak, he picked up the large bound book. The cover was made of some kind of black leather. The seal of their Lord was upon it, shimmering faintly with a magical aura.
Vhaeraun will be pleased. The time has come to spread his will upon these lands....
Gorhun had written the document expertly and thoroughly. This made copying the text a nightmare, but being one of modest magical talent, Drayden was able to copy the text enough to have it distributed to all residents in Buc's Den with a letter.
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Citizens of the Den,
This is a formal declaration of the Empire of Vla'rinnyn. All of those who reside in Buccaneer's Den are to adhere to these laws without exception. Please familiarize yourself with the ways of our Government. Through these laws, the Lord Patriarch shall hear your words and allow representation for all citizens. These following directives have been issued with the proclamation of our glorious Empire:
1. Any and all of those in the Masked are the law in our lands and are to be treated as such. Failure to comply with directions from one of the Masked is punishable by beating, torture, hard labor or execution.
2. All visitors to The Den are to pay a 500 gold travel tax. This tax is non-negotiable as it is necessary to upkeep our city and it will be used for the good of the residents.
3.All non-human residents of The Den are given full invitations to join the Empire's military.
4. All citizens or visitors must be off the street by 12 midnight. Punishment includes hard labor and/or beating.
5. All citizens are to pay a weapon registration fee of 100 gold piece for each weapon they own.

Drayden Calamyr
Masked Patriarch

Attached is a neatly bound book.
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Preamble

We the chosen race of Sosaria in essence to maintain superiority, enhance the cause of chaos, establish judicial process, provide military support, promote the welfare of drow and other elves, and ensure the blessings of Vhaeraun upon ourselves and our posterity, have formulated and established this charter for the Empire of L’ barra Rei Vla'rinnyn.

Article I

Section I

Legislative law making power described will be granted to the Masquerade which will be composed of the Masked and the Council of Patriarchs.

Section II

The Council of Patriarchs shall consist of the highest ranking members of the most powerful four houses.

No Person shall be on the Council of Patriarchs who has not been a citizen of the Empire of L’ barra Rei Vla’rinnyn for at least three months.

The power of a house and thereby the membership of the respective members of the Council shall be determined by its success in battle between neighboring houses, the amount of land and resources controlled, population, historical significance, dedication to the empire, clerical and divine favor, and the power of its standing military.

When there is a vacancy on the council the respective house will have two weeks to replace their member or the vacant position will fall to the house just lower in favor.

The speaker of this house and the swing vote in cases of a tie will be given to the Masked Prince/Princess of the Masked. This member cannot vote unless there is a tie in which case the decision lies on him/her. The Prince/Princess will preside over the meetings. In his absence the meeting shall be presided over by the member from the most favored house.

When the Council of Patriarchs is in session it is the will of the Drow Lord to be present or not and to speak during or not, but he relinquishes his right to vote.

Section II

The Masked is composed of five members: the Masked Chancellor, the Masked Prince, the Masked Tactician/Admiral, the Masked Magus, and the Viceroy of Buccaneer’s Den.

Appointment of the Masked is at the whim of the Drow Lord and should be confirmed by the Council of Patriarchs. The Drow Lord may also elect a Masked Patriarch to reside in his stead. The Patriarch is only able to yield his station to the Drow Lord himself. The Patriarch may

Each member will receive one vote save for the Chancellor which shall have no vote unless the Masked is equally divided over an issue. The Masked Chancellor will proceed over all meetings.

When the Masked is in session the Drow Lord is always to be present and is able to speak during, but he relinquishes his right to vote.

Positions and Qualifications of the Masked are as follows:

Masked Chancellor:

Due to the responsibility of the Masked Chancellor he must be the most respected member of the Masked. He must have previously held another position in the masked and must have served that position with exemplary service.

The Chancellor presides over meetings and maintains the swing vote for the Masked. The Chancellor’s signature and seal is also required on any trade document or document of treaty. It is his/her responsibility to represent the Empire as the chief ambassador and to establish trade and espionage.

Chancellor’s signature and seal at times of need when the Drow lord has an extended absence of more than four weeks may also serve along with the Viceroy’s as the Drow Lord’s seal. Both seals must be present.

This member must adorn a green mask during ceremonies and assemblies of the Masked.

Masked Prince/Princess:

The Masked Prince/Princess must be of the house Morchiant and be the next in line for the seat of Drow Lord. The individual must be highly favored by Vhaeraun.

The Prince presides over meetings and maintains the swing vote for the Council of Patriarchs. The Prince/Princess’s signature and seal is required on any document pertaining to intraimperial trade and advancements of particular houses. It is also his/her responsibility to bring forth ideas that were passed already by the Council of Patriarchs.

This member must adorn a black mask during ceremonies and assemblies of the Masked.

Masked Tactician/Admiral:

The Masked Tactician/Admiral must have shown exemplary service in military tactics on the seas, land, or both. They must be a decorated war veteran with an undying passion for spreading the cause of Chaos and Vhaeraun.

The Masked Tactician/Admiral is responsible for coordinating dungeon exploration and training events both via the high seas and on land. This member of the masked is also responsible for coordinating battle plans and leading the Imperial army against a common enemy.
The Tactician/Admiral’s signature and seal is required on all documents of threat or war, and his signature is required on documents pertaining to intraimperial treaties and declarations of house wars.
This member must adorn a red mask during ceremonies and assemblies of the Masked.

Masked Magus:

The Masked Magus must be indisputably the most powerful arcanist in the Empire. His/her abilities with potion, spell writing, magery, mysticism, and necromancy must be unrivaled. He does not have to be the most skilled in dueling but the most respected in his/her art.

It is the Magus’s responsibility to coordinate the cultural and educational training of the empire. It is at his/her whim that lectures or cultural events be enacted. The Magus is also responsible for the training of lower ranking magi, and he/she she is the dean of Vhaeraun’s Imperial School of the Arcane and the Imperial Library. The Masked Magus also acts as scribe and records the minutes of the Mask’s meetings. The Masked Magus’ signature and seal is required on all documents concerning implication of education and on documents regarding the arcane arts.
This member must adorn a yellow mask during ceremonies and assemblies of the Masked.

Viceroy of Buccaneer’s Den:

The Viceroy must be a highly respected member of the Empire showing not only dedication but skills in the dealing with people. The Viceroy must show undying loyalty to the Empire, Vhaeraun, and the Drow Lord. He/she must show unbridled skill and leadership.

It is the Viceroy’s responsibility to govern the daily affairs of the Empire while seated at the Empires capital Trammel Buccaneer’s Den. The Viceroy works alongside the Drow Lord and at times is the voice of the Drow Lord in his absence. It is the Viceroy’s responsibility to maintain the economics’ of the empire, conduct acts of priviteering, plan and coordinate events, and steer the chaotic profit ventures of the empire.

The Viceroy’s signature and seal is require on all documents dealing with priviteering, prostitution, slave trade, event planning, and chaotic profit ventures of the empire. The Viceroy’s signature and seal at times of need when the Drow lord has an extended absence of more than four weeks may also serve along with the Chancellors as the Drow Lord’s seal. Both seals must be present.

This member must adorn a blue mask during ceremonies and assemblies of the Masked.

Section III

Each council of the Masquerade will determine what is proper conduct of its members, and will be able to implement punishment for improper conduct as they see fit save removal from position and/or execution which must be voted on by both councils and approved by the Drow Lord.

Section IV

Proper addressing of a member of the Council of Patriarch on pain of mild/moderate torture and a day of imprisonment is Patron/Matron followed by their house name.

Proper addressing of a member of the Masked on pain of moderate/severe torture and two days of imprisonment is Masked followed by their office and name or Viceroy followed by their name in the case of the Viceroy.

Section V

Patrons and Matrons of other houses shall be addressed as matron or patron as well, and the appointment of honorary Masked titles is at the will of the Masked and the Drow Lord. These members shall be addressed as if they were a member of the Masked yet they will not have the right to vote on the council.

Section VI

Members of the Masked have the obligation and duty to follow their Patron/Matron of their respective houses in situations of intraimperial conflict.

Section VII

All Council of Patriarchs meetings must be public and minutes from each meeting must be taken and published. Minutes from the Masked meetings shall always be taken but the publicity of the meeting and the minutes is at the whim of the masked and the Drow Lord.

Section VIII

An assembly of all members of the Empire will be gathered to discuss any and all events to be voted on in cases where it is necessary and proper to do so.

Section IX

No house is to enter a treaty with a foreign power or trade there with a foreign power unless the entire empire has prior entered such an agreement.
Article II

Section I

The executive and supreme power shall be vested in the Drow Lord. This individual will hold power until death or a time which he steps down from power. In a case such as that the position of Drow Lord shall be granted to the Masked Prince.

No elf may hold the position of Drow Lord unless he is of the Drow sub race, be the most highly Vhaeraun favored drow in the realm of Sosaria (shown by his ability to adorn the Mask of Vhaeraun), have the ability to manipulate the abyssal forces of chaos, and must be of the divine Morchiant dynastic family.

He is the High Priest and voice of Vhaeraun, and he reserves the right to veto any decisions made by the Masquerade, and to implement any supreme decision that is necessary and proper without consulting the Masquerade. He may also call a meeting of either council.

Section II

The Drow Lord’s signature and seal is suitable for any and all dealings both foreign and domestic.

In such a case of extended absence the Viceroy of Buccaneer’s Den and the Masked Chancellor may together become acting Drow Lord until the time which the Drow Lord returns or a new Drow Lord is chosen by Vhaeraun.

Section III

The Drow Lord may place the honor of Vhaeraunic Priesthood on any member of the Empire.

Section IV

The proper addressing of the Drow Lord is by referring to him as Drow Lord, Masked Lord, or by using the Prefix Lord followed by his sir name. Pain for not following this procedure is at the Drow Lord’s whim.

Section V

The Drow Lord may appoint a Sherriff of Buccaneer’s Den at any point in order to implement the laws and decisions made by the Masquerade or the Masked. It is at that individual’s whim to implement the law as he/she sees fit.

This individual would hold the title of Unmasked and in a grey area situation, the word of the Sherriff is law unless a member of the Masked or the Drow Lord is present which in that case it is their word.

The Sherriff is responsible for the handling of intraimperial wars and land dispute and for delivering orders from the Masked and the Drow Lord. This individual shall be referred to as Sir or Dame.

This individual shall have fealty to his/her house but should be respected by all houses.

Article III

Section I

Judicial power rests with a joint council of the Masquerade, and in the lower court formed by a gathering of the patrons and matrons of the houses not involved in the dispute.

Section II

The offending house or individual will be granted the right to have an attorney which will in essence be the matron or patron of their house or in a case that this is bias, the matron or patron from a different house.

The Sherriff of Buccaneer’s Den will serve as the prosecutor except in such cases that this is impossible at which time the Viceroy will serve this position.

In all cases the Masked Magus or one appointed by he/she will preside over the hearings.

Section III

The findings of a lower court can be appealed to a higher court in the case of the individuals affected do not like the outcome, but in a case such as this it is at the whim of the higher court to hear the case or not.

In the case which the effected parties find the highest court’s decision to be unsatisfactory the Drow Lord has the option to pardon the parties or to change the verdict if he sees fit.

Article IV

Section I

The Empire consists of houses each which has the ability and the obligation to rule itself as an entity within the Empire. These houses may form their own laws, war other houses for gain, and function as separate entities from the other houses.

The houses are responsible for their own ranking system although the ranks recognized by the Empire are: Uncloaked, Cloaked, Ascending, Emergent, Shadowed, Unmasked, and Masked. In this hierarchy Masked is the highest and Uncloaked is the lowest.

Section II

In order to move up in rank from Uncloaked to Cloaked an individual must have been a member for a week, has become part of a drow house, have attended one Drow Culture Class or read assigned Drow literature, reviewed this Constitutional Document, and passed an oral exam on Drow culture and constitutional knowledge that is to be given by the Masked Magus or one appointed by the Masked Magus.

After an individual has attained the rank of Cloaked he/she is under the jurisdiction of a specific house and the house determines their rank and responsibilities from Cloaked to Emergent. The house may give alternate titles and ranks as long as the Imperial rank is visible on the individual (’s profile).

The rank of Unmasked can only be granted by the Masquerade and the Drow Lord.

Section III

Patrons and matrons of houses hold the tile of Unmasked and have the authority of governing their respective houses.

Section IV

Titles and ranks should be displayed at all times unless in situations of espionage. The title should also include the abbreviation of the particular house.

Section V

Unless in times of extreme need, no single person may serve as dual positions in any of the following ranks: Mask Chancellor, Masked Prince/Princess, Masked Magus, Masked Tactician/Admirable, Viceroy of Buccaneer’s Den, Sheriff of Buccaneer’s Den, Patron, or Matron.

Section VI

Lloth worship is strictly forbidden under pain of severe torture and a slow and agonizing death.

-The Chancellor’s seal and the Viceroy’s seal are present on this document.-

Drayden Calamyr
Chancellor

Shri’rae Calamyr
Viceroy of Buccaneer’s Den