Pandemonia: The Charter and The Covenant

The Stormsea Republic has weathered war, famine and plague over the course of its 1100 year history. Not long after the end of the Leviathan War, a conflict that raged across every continent of Pandemonia and killed millions of humans and Lemurians, the age of the leviathans ended. And the ascent of the humanoid races began. One of the places heavily populated by humanity is a region known as the North Shore, situated between the Redwood Reach and the Mantameer, a sea famed for enormous its luminescent manta rays. The Republic started there.

Before the Stormsea Republic, the geographical area surrounding the Mantameer, was a fractious, Balkanized region recovering from the destruction of the Leviathan War. The city and surrounding area of Darkstar would later become the Republic's first province and first capital. Then, Darkstar was not only the largest city in the known world but the center of a debased and decadent culture. A powerful and corrupt nobility used and abused a large serf caste. This would change.

In its beginning, a tyrant rose to rule Darkstar but his name is forgotten.  A popular rebellion put him to death, formally erased his name from history and forged two governing documents from his skin, written in his blood.

The Charter

The Charter sets out the articles and laws of the Republic. It delineates the method of filling the two senatorial houses: the House of Lords and the House of Citizens. It also details the length and duration

of the terms of the two Proconsuls, one of war and one of peace, which is two years. The Charter also outlines the basic freedoms of the citizens.

The Covenant

The Covenant was signed by the patriarchs of every noble family at the beginning of the Republic. They signed to keep their heads. The nobility signed many powers and rights away. For example under The Covenant, nobles are forbidden from choosing who they marry. All potential marriages must be approved by the Ministry of Husbandry. Further, infidelity, like murder, theft and rape, is considered a capital crime for the nobility. A provision was written into The Covenant allowing for the condemned to choose a form of lifetime servitude over the death sentence, except in cases of murder. An additional provision tells that any noble who takes The Covenant's servitutude will condemn the family to the wearing of a crimson sash, announcing the dishonor to all and barring that family from service in the House of Lords.