[Malek]

Better the devil you know, than the devil you don't

Civilization & Magic: As the notion of civilization has continued to flourish in the world, it has developed into a powerful metaphysical concept, one which energy may be drawn from, and one people may capitalize on and control similar to other schools of metaphysical magic. The power and study is split into aspects that make up its whole, these are typically known as Architecture, Commerce, Culture, and Law... though it has been argued by some that the concept of Warfare also falls under the metaphysical concept of Civilization. 

Draoicathrach: The little knowledge we have on the concept of civilization comes from the 'Draoicathrach'. Essentially, these are druids of civilizations as opposed to nature. Ones that have studied the aforementioned field and attempted to grasp them, this field of interest would occasionally spring up and fade away from public attention due to the difficulty of cementing the magic into tangible results. Tales of those that would uphold themselves as pillars of civilization to combat chaos, occasionally being adversarial to druids, are few and far between yet they exist all the same.

Law Magic: Of the many aspects associated with civilization magics, it is Law Magic that is the most apparent in the current world. Binding oaths to Angels and stars, as well as contracts with Nethradin and creatures of Hel in exchange for power are known to exist. The current assumption is that these beings of tremendous holy or occult power can enact their will on the world freely... but if this were the case, there would be no tales of those that make these magical pacts being able to cheat those that have written them. The truth is that even the holy and the occult rely on Law Magic for these practices, and are as bound by it as those they bind. 

Both make use of Law, yet Law is separate to them. It is neither holy, nor occult. It is a power to bring about order or domination, a neutral and lawful party that may be sought out and used by even mortals. 

Contracts: Theoretically, there are many ways to use Law Magic. Oaths that bind a person to a certain path, Edicts that when given by a figure of authority compel the receiver to act them out, but most common at the moment in Esshar is the use of magically binding contracts. This is not only due to Nethradin presence, but also because of practitioners that sought to claim the ability to create these contracts themselves. 

LAWS OF MAGIC CONTRACTS

Note that a contract that deviates from these laws may not be physically impossible, only theoretically so. Contracts require tremendous energy to create and enact, and so by following these laws they may draw that energy from the metaphysical concept of Law. The basis and underlying theory of these laws has been prepared and developed by Taipan Lewra as of the year 1895 AC through several years of study. 

Producing a contract requires the means, the energy, and the tools to produce them. Weak Nethradin may still create contracts that bind souls in exchange for the powers of witchcraft, as they have the means and energy to do so with their link to Hel and the authority of the powers they serve... but unless they dedicate themselves to learning how to produce other contracts, they lack the knowledge to create them. 

1. Equivalent Exchange
Law is typically a facilitator for transaction. Though a contract CAN affect the natural world and possibly create, you can not rely on it doing so without something being given in return. A contract can not be signed to simply produce a piece of Chiron out of thin air, you may only receive an equivalent of what you are willing to give by creating and signing the contract. 

A good way to think of it is that a contract can be produced to transfer an injury from a person to another, however it can not heal an injury in any way without something being given up in turn. 

Despite this, it is not always necessary to receive. Contracts that limit a person's ability to lie can be freely taken, as they are giving away their ability to speak what they know to be false, so long as they willingly agree to it they need not receive anything in return. However, to receive something, something must be given.

2. Consent
Unlike edicts or some hexes, contracts can not enforce an action or will on someone against their will. For contracts to take effect, TRUE agreement from the signee is required. For this the signee must know what they are signing up for, they need not fully understand it. This means that a signee needs to know everything written in the contract. Invisible ink, illusions to change the appearance of words, illusions within the mind of the signee to make them perceive the words differently ALL RENDER SIGNATURES NULL AND VOID. Additionally, a contract signed under the guise that it is not actually magical will have no magical effects. 

Despite this, not fully understanding the ramifications of what you sign does not protect you from the effects of signing a contract. Not realizing for example that a contract did not include a date of termination of the conditions involved does not prevent the contract from remaining valid throughout your entire life. 

IN SITUATIONS OF DURESS: Someone being forced to sign a contract, such as by forcibly moving their hand to sign it, renders the contract moot as there is no consent involved. Despite this, having someone in captivity, tortured, or under threat of death does not NECESSARILY prevent someone from signing a contract as long as the signing is not directly resultant to them being robbed of choice in the process. For example, capturing someone and informing them that they will be killed should they not sign the contract is possible and permissible so long as they are aware they are given the choice between the two and are not in IMMEDIATE risk of death (i.e. currently asphyxiating with the only method of freeing themselves being the signing of a contract.). Torturing someone to get them to sign a contract is also possible, however enacting the torture as they sign the contract/agree to it renders it moot as attempting to flood them with pain to disable their rationality violates their ability to consent. Despite this, a contract that promises an end to torture can be presented when they are not actively being tortured. 

In order to avoid a contract being made null and void, it is recommended to only gain the consent of someone with no IMMEDIATE duress, and no perversions of the written word. That is the golden rule. 

3. Letter of The Law vs Spirit of The Law.
Magical contracts tend to favor the LETTER of the law, with some freedom of interpretation in regards to the spirit of the written word, however the spirit does have some influence and exists as a failsafe. 

For example, a contract with a clause that the signee must "Steal the heart of an Ogre" can be satisfied in multiple ways. For one, the physical heart of an Ogre may be stolen/obtained by taking one from an Ogre's body. Another method would be to make an ogre fall in love with the signee, as that interpretation also consolidates the clause as technically 'an Ogre's heart has been stolen'. 

Despite this, when the basis for an interpretation is shoddy, the failsafe of the spirit of the law activates. For example, "My friends and I use the word kill to mean kiss, therefore I can satisfy a contract to kill someone by kissing them" causes the contract to default to a perceived spirit of the law instead as the interpretation is not common enough to hold metaphysical weight to it, and therefore a kiss would not satisfy a kill clause. 

4. Proof of existence. 
A contract without direct physical AND magical proof of its existence no longer has any effect and is considered completely null and void. What this means is that if a contract is torn/destroyed, it no longer has any effect. This only applies to ORIGINAL copies of the contract, though multiple originals can be made to allow two parties to exit an agreement at will by destroying their version if it is included as a clause, destroying a nonmagical copy has no effect so long as an original still remains. 

To counter this, demonic/occult practitioners of law would occasionally write contracts they do not mind losing on the bodies of those that would sign them. Therefore in order to destroy the contract, the signee would have to destroy a part of their body in return. This is typically a sadistic practice done to drive a signee to destroy parts of themselves out of desperation. 

TYPES OF MAGICAL CONTRACTS 

Contracts are extremely malleable and these various types and clauses are possible to mix and match. The following list only includes that which the only known law mage on Esshar at the time of writing (Taipan Lewra) is aware of/has practiced the creation of. 

1. Contracts of Self Accepted harm:
These include contracts, that upon fulfillment, failure, or signing enact some harm on the parties involved with not much in return. These are easy to produce, and require novice law magic knowledge/tools. Still those that have not practiced Law Magic would be incapable of producing them. Despite their ease of production, getting someone to sign them typically requires advanced social manipulation or the providing of extra-contract incentives such as payment or punishment avoidance. 

This includes acceptance of injuries, and the loss property/abilities. It should also be possible to implant a basic compulsion into these types of contract such as 'failure to meet terms result in the signee being magically compelled to inform Taipan Lewra of their failure as soon as they are able'.

Contracts that prevent a person from lying also fall under this category, however they require an important note. Contracts of truth only prevent a person from speaking that which they know is false, they can still speak misleading truths or abuse interpretation.

Increased severity in harm/compulsions typically requires further knowledge and stronger tools to enact Law Magic. A novice likely can not create a contract that has a signee's death as a punishment for failure for example. 

2. Officiation of marriage/rank/title:
Though these are practices done beyond the use of law magic, having a law mage officiate your status as married, a noble, or "The best chef in Osrona" can have tremendous magical benefits. 

Contracts of these nature serve as conduits of energy that verify your bond or rank in the world and enshrine the concepts of your titles to the metaphysical. Getting a contract of this variety made allows you to have magical items created that draw on this energy.

For example, a married couple wishing to create a pair of rings that allow them to speak into each other's minds will require several rare magical ingredients, however the existence of a magical contract officiating their bond will likely decrease the cost as there is already an established magical basis. 

A weapon only wieldable by those of a noble family is typically going to be difficult to create, but MUCH easier with a magic contract verifying the noble status of the family. 

If you wish to create a magical dish with splendid properties, you will have a much easier time doing so with a contract cementing a title befitting your capabilities. 

Though these contracts are valuable, they can not be made without proof the recipients meet the criteria. A marriage contract is simple, typically only requiring a ceremony and some payment. Nobility however will likely require a proof of wealth, land, and deed and as such it might require a hefty sum be paid or a grand adventure/feat be undertaken. Someone who seeks to claim a title such as 'master chef' would likely be asked to provide a dish of quality that no other could replicate. 

Payment/proof is not absorbed by the contract, however giving something up to verify your claim would simply render your claim null and void if you expected it to simply be handed back.


3. Contract of Equivalent Exchange:
These contracts typically require a very practiced and dedicated law mage. A transaction is harder to produce than a contract of those who are willing to accept a limit or harm upon themselves. 

Through the creation of these contracts, injuries or ranks or theoretically even magic and knowledge may be transferred from one person to another. Once again contracts of higher severity require a better practiced law mage and stronger tools. For example, though Taipan Lewra believes himself capable of transferring temporary injuries, he was unable to fully transfer a permanent one and believes that is certainly possible with the improvement of tools/knowledge at the time of gathering this information. 

4. Contracts of Power: 
The contracts Nethradin are known to produce fall under this category, though without much practice they typically rely on the authority of Hel and the powers they may worship to enact and facilitate them... and due to their nature they are typically only aware of contracts of power that turn men and women into witches and warlocks. Oaths also fall under this, though cases of truly powerful oaths that grant power to those that take them are rare. 

As of now, the ability to understand the creation of these contracts and the production of tools that can replicate them is only a theoretical possibility. Though currently there are solid theories on how they function. A master law mage may be eventually be able to produce these. 

Essentially a contract can be produced to grant a modicum of power to the signee, though master manipulation of law magic and tremendous authority (acknowledged rank, such as that of a mage king, a marquis of hel, or a deity's backing). These contracts can not simply give out power, of course. A significant sacrifice must be made by the recipient of said power, the typical and surefire way of earning the power is the granting of one's souls to the authority upon death. Another is a decrease in lifespan. Theoretically it should also be possible to have lifelong servitude, or a lifelong adherence to certain principles and responsibilities be the sacrifices made in exchange for power, as evidenced by magical oaths. 

Powers granted by a contract are typically going to differ depending on the authority granting them, a being with no knowledge of witchcraft likely can not grant it. However general magic power such as 'increased lightning capabilities' should not be hard for any authority to grant so long as it is not a field they are naturally opposed to. The power can be granted, though the nature in which it manifests may differ. It is theorized that a powerful enough entity can use these contracts to fundamentally change the strengths of creatures such as demons and ogres, possibly creating new races altogether... though at this point that level of power is pure speculation rather than established theory.