The Oath of Covenant

Page created 25^th November, Summer 1225

"I, Vitenka ex Miscellana, pledge my lifelong support and loyalty to the covenant.

This oath I swear, above all others save that of the order of hermes.
I renounce all previous ties of covenant, and take this upon myself.
I swear to uphold and protect this covenant regardless of the personal price.
Over all the years of my life and through my studies and travels, I will neither betray the covenant nor give aid to its enemies. In times of need I will aid the covenant in whatever way I am able, and I will devote myself to its service when the need is clear. I will abide by the decisions of the covenant council, and I will treat those decisions as if they were my own. I will treat my fellows with respect and fairness, and I will not try to harm them. Their blood is my blood. This I so swear, upon the honor of my house and its founder."

I swear to protect those under the shadow of our covenant from threats magical, both those that arise from within and those from without. Let woe fall upon me, and the wrath of my sodalis, should I raise that which I cannot put down.
This I swear upon the code of hermes, and upon my life, and upon my very Gift.

Now follows most of the additional rulings of the council of this covenant - which detail some of the specific requirements of the members.
All of this is still the charter - and it is this which forms the covenant.

Membership

The following are the full members of this Covenant:

Anatol Ex Miscellena (absent)
Dmitri Ex Tytalus (absent)
Vitenka Ex Miscellena
Gwyntar Ex Bonisagus
Phillipa Ex Guernicus
Revan Ex Criamon
Julian Ex Tytalus
Marcus Ex Guernicus

Requirements of Membership

Each member of this covenant will be a member in good standing of the Order of Hermes. In the event a magus is cast out of the Order, they shall be considered cast from this covenant as well, without any delay. A magus who wishes full membership in the covenant must be selected by a council of the covenant, and the charter must be altered accordingly. All full members must speak the oath of the covenant, and understand the spirit of the oath and this charter. Full members may only be ejected from the covenant by alteration of the membership given in the charter at a meeting at which they are present, or in the event of their losing mebership of the order of Hermes. Full members status may be altered to absent by a simple majority vote of the council, but only in the event that they have not attended a meeting of the council in the last year. Any absent member recovers all the rights of a full member upon their return.

The council may also admit associate members as a substantive motion. Associate members have limited claims on the covenants resources, but are not required to swear the oath of the covenant, and may leave at any time. Associate members also have no right to speak or vote on the council, save that one associate, chosen by majority vote of the associate magi, may attend council meetings and speak, but not vote.

It is expected that after some time as an associate member a magus will be recognised by the council as a full member of the covenant, and will swear the oath of the covenant.

Council Meetings

A council meeting can be called by any member of the covenant. A council meeting can be called at any time. Should an associate member call a meeting he may address the council at the start of the meeting. The council may then dismiss him if it wishes.
All council meetings must take place in the Council Chambers of the covenant, except in cases of extreme emergency when all full members present agree. Once per year upon the winter solstice a council meeting will be held at the covenant. No meeting shall be considered a council meeting without the attendance of two thirds of the full members of the covenant, excluding those who have been declared absent. Without such a quorum no ruling decisions can be made.

In the event that it is impossible to hold a council meeting due to members not being at the covenant, an emergency council can be called. For an emergency council to be called the following conditions must be met.

A Quaesitor, not necessarily a member of the covenant, must be present and declare an emergency meeting.
Either:
1. All full members present agree that an emergency meeting is necessary, or
2. More than year has passed since the last council meeting.

Associate members have full rights to speak and vote at an emergency meeting.
An emergency meeting may pass any motion, substantive or non, if at least two thirds of the votes cast on a motion are in support.

After an emergency meeting the Quaesitor may declare the meeting invalid. If more than one Quaesitor is present then unless a majority declare the meeting invalid, the meeting is considered valid.

Procedure

It is expected that the council will discuss many issues in a simgle meeting, and that some of them will not result in a vote. Any member with the right to speak on the council may propose a motion at any time. If no one opposes the motion is considered passed. Otherwise each member with the right to speak may then briefly address the motion before voting takes place. Voting is by show of hands {With special rulings, I get to show tail), and all non-substantive motions are considered passed if more magi vote for than against. Substantive motions require at least two thirds of the full members of the covenant, excluding those who have been declared absent, to vote in favour.

Substantive Motions

The following are matters of substance and require two thirds of the full members, excluding absent members, to vote in favour:

Any alteration to this charter, including the admission of full members
A motion to admit an associate member
A motion to impose a fine or other penalty on any member of the covenant.
Require an unwilling full member to perform a task for the good of the covenant.

Authority of the Council

The Council holds authority over all resources of the covenant and is charged with the responsibility of dividing those resources to promote the covenant. The council has the authority to command those of the covenant to perform any task.

Rights and Privileges

The members of the covenant are granted the following rights and privileges for so long as they are members in good standing of the covenant.

All members of the covenant are entitled to the basic rights of mundane resources required to maintain themselves. This right cannot be taken from any member of the covenant for any reason.
All members of the covenant are entitled to a laboratory in which to pursue their studies should sufficient laboratories be available. In the event that there is a shortage or dispute over the possesion of a given laboratory, the allocation of laboratories should be decided by this council, with the proviso that full members have precedence over associate members in any dispute. A member of the covenant may not claim any part of the covenant outside his laboratory and living space as his sanctuum.
All full members of the covenant are entitled to requisition before a quorate council any mundane, magical or personnel resources necessary for laboratory functions or expeditions. Only a majority vote can deny a full member these resources.
All associate mebers have the right to request any mundane, magical or personnel resources necessary for laboratory functions or expeditions. Their appeal must be heard by the council, and requires a simple majority vote to approve.
All members have the right to freely access the library. If a magus wishes to read a book he should inform the Librarian, who should supply him with that book, or explain why it is unavailable. If a book is unavailable a member may call a council meeting to demand that book, and a majority decision is required to deny it to him, save in the event that a member is currently using the book, in which case a majority decision is required to transfer the right to that book. A magus may only use one book at once, save in the case of commentaries, which may be borrowed with the book they are a commentary upon.
All full members are entitled to attend all council meetings. Any magus of the covenant may call a council meeting and all full members must be given adequate notice of such a meeting.

Duties and Responsibilities

The members of the covenant are pledged to respect the following responsibilities:

All members will abide by the decisions of the council.
All members shall recognise that the council may command them to do tasks for the good of the covenant, and perform any such tasks within reason. If a full member feels a task is unreasonable then a substantive vote is required to compel him. An associate member who feels he ahs been assigned an unreasonable task may simply leave.
Any member of the covenant will inform the council if he finds a source of vis or other material of value. The members finding the vis have the right to the first year of exploitation, but all continuous sources should be considered the property of the covenant rather than any indivdual member.