Nexus Accords

The Nexus Accords reshaped the Spheres in ways that took hundreds of years to truly appreciate. Forged out of the destruction of the Third Nexus War, the patchwork of alliances, concessions, and self interest led to the Sphere's independence. The foundation of the Accords Era, the Nexus Accords have had the greatest impact on Civilization across the Spheres of any document. Not only does it dictate the rules of trade crossing Nexus, but how the Sphere is to be administered, what individual liberties residents have, and how the peace will be maintained.

History

By the later coalitions of Third Nexus War, the Merchen Lords were the center of power and administration on Nexus as the Great Powers diminished from the expenses of the Long War. When the Golden Path to Truehold was destroyed the Merchen Lords moved quickly to consolidate power, allowing the Dwarven March to retreat unhindered. With their stranglehold on Nexus trade they were able to extract further concessions from the Great Powers, first among which was to sign the Nexus Accords under the pretense to prevent another Nexus War.

The Plantation Rebellion

Eventually the landowners outside the Pathway Metropolises chafed under the control of the Accords Council, which they were excluded from. They coordinated and revolted, forcing the Accords Council to amend the Accords. While they pushed for direct representation in the Accords Council, they eventually settled on representation in the closest Pathway Council. While initially there were some disputes over the Surrounds —as they became called — within the decade the borders the Surrounds became fixed. The Surrounds were broken into Districts and like Wards each has their own Rural Magesture. However there are far few Districts in the Surrounds than Wards in the Pathway Metropolises.

The First Enforcement

When a Duranti Prince attempted to seize the Consular Palace within Helapalatzo, the Pathkeepers stepped in. In an instant both the Prince's army and the massed Urban Cohort disappeared. No one knew what happened until a Pathkeeper representative informed the Pathway Council that they had "Enforced the Accords" that prevented armies within five miles of the Golden Paths. Over then next five years, ranging from one to ten per day, the army emerged from the Helapalatzo Pathway unarmed, with no recollection of the time passing since their disappearance.

Subsequent Enforcements

Since then the Pathkeepers have performed other "Enforcements" against what they considered an "army". In some cases it is a few dozen mercenaries, in others it is thousands of rioters, and still others it is a few hundred Urban Cohort. The only constant between each event is that the combatants threatened the autonomy of the Pathway Council, or they threatened to disrupt trade. While many powerful factions and individuals are unnerved by this fact, all of them rely on one or both of those aspects and have not moved against the Pathkeepers for fear of unexpected repercussions.

Effects

With the Nexus Accords, Nexus stood on its own, no longer a battleground for the Great Powers to vie for domination. Structured to facilitate and protect trade through the Spheres while preventing any one faction gaining dominance. Exhausted from the war and teetering on collapse, the Great Powers made concessions that seemed to protect their interests. Instead its guarantees of autonomy cut off Baeon and Duranti colonial holdings, freeing them from foreign dominion. The losses were the first dominoes that ended the Duranti Empire, the consolidation of the High King's power on Baeon, the industrial advancement of the Orcish Djarls, and the opening of trade with Val'a.

The Accords made each Pathway Metropolis a sovereign state ruled at the behest of their residents. This attempt at democratic legitimacy was born out concessions made by the Great Powers during the Third Nexus War and the promises the Merchen Lords made during the Nexus Coalition to form the Merchen Lords Corps.

Clauses

I. Breaking of Fealty

This clause nullified oaths of fealty to the Great Powers by those on Nexus. It gave the Merchen Lords the freedom to act on their own in managing Nexus. It prevents political authority from crossing the Pathways. But it includes exceptions and explicit rules that allows for titles to be maintained in exchange for certain favors. Through these loopholes the Great Powers have been able to maintain some their interests on Nexus by influencing a limited amount of Magestures who maintain fealty. But they don't have the resources or authority to appoint those Magestures, and acting in the Great Power's favor can make them lose elections.

II. Establishment of Authorities

This clause creates the structure of the Councils that govern Nexus.

Establishing the Magestures

The Magestures are the smallest component of the Nexus government. The individual Magesture is responsible for Administering, protecting, and advancing their territories' interests. They are modeled after the feudal lords of Baeon and Duranti where there is a single authority within a Ward from which all other authority flows. While a Magesture can issue directives that can moderate trade, they are highly limited in their scope preventing Magestures from legislating on their own.

Urban Magesture

Initially, control of the Golden Path Metropolises were broken into Wards, and the Magestures of the Wards made up the Pathway Council.

Rural Magesture

After the Plantation Rebellion, the Accords were amended to create the Rural Magestures. Unlike the Urban Magesture only land owners vote for Rural Magestures. The Rural Magestures have the same rights, responsibilities, and powers as their Urban counterparts.

Establishing the Pathway Councils

Each Pathway Metropolis is governed by its Pathway Council. The council is made up of all the Magestures of the Pathway Metropolis. The council is empowered to legislate their Metropolis through majority votes. Petitioners can request adjudication of conflicts that span multiple Wards and be represented by their Magesture. But the primary purpose of the Pathway Council is to maintain the infrastructure of the Pathway Metropolises and manage the trade through them.

Expanding the Councils

Another result of the Plantation Rebellion, the Rural Magestures were granted seats on the closest Pathway Metropolis. Even with this expansion the Rural Magestures they remain a minority on the Pathway Councils. Between this and the distance traveled to serve there is ongoing dissatisfaction among the Rural Magestures.

Establishing the Accord Council

Each Pathway Council elects three representatives to the Accord Council creating a council of 16 (3 from each of the Pathway Metropolises except for the Pathways to Val'a who has 1 Councilor) . The three sent are the three that can garner the most votes in a general election by the Pathway Council in the same election. Because of this no faction has been able to dominate the Pathway Council enough to elect two Accord Councilors at the same time. They are elected every 6 years and cannot be a serving Magesture. While often powerful ex-Magestures fill this role, Merchen Lords or particularly respected private individuals have been elected.

The Pathway Council is obligated to meet at the beginning of each season for a week. As time passed the Council Sessions have extended to average about a month, and have been known to overflow into the next season's Session. Each session takes place in a different Pathway Metropolis in a fixed rotation. Only the Pathway to Val'a is excluded from this.

At the commencing of each Council Session a Councilor is elected as the President of the Session. While this is an honored position where the President can set the agenda and direct the Session, they lose the ability to vote unless it is to break a tie. As well, with a two thirds vote of the Council the President can be forced to add a policy to the agenda.

III. Declaration of Trade

This section is the most amended as it sets standards for trade: tariffs, fees, weights and measures, taxes, the founding of Compacts, maintaining the Tradeways, and the obligations of the Rural Cohort. As part of this the Pathkeepers were given final authority on the Golden Paths anth their immediate environs. While not intended to effect the Pathways beyond those that connect to Nexus, the Pathkeepers have assumed authority on the Pathways from Baeon to Grey Marches, Duranti to Korvel, and Thousand Seas and Broken Plains. It is believed that the Pathkeepers maintain the integrity of the Golden Paths and are assumed to be a neutral third-party without interests in conflicts beyond the immediate area of the Golden Paths.

IV. Prohibition of Arms

To prevent another war on Nexus this clause outlines prohibitions against armies traversing the Golden Paths and approaching the Pathways on Nexus and that lead to Nexus. In general there is a five mile prohibited zone where armies are not allowed.

Because of vagaries of the Accords, the Pathkeepers latched onto this clause to justify the First Enforcement, and subsequent enforcements. They consider the five mile zone as part of the immediate area of the Pathways as listed in the Declaration of Trade. Since then, there have been attempts to clarify this to diminish the Pathkeepers authority. However with thier ability to cut off trade through the Pathways as granted in the Declaration of Trade, no one has wanted to risk it yet.

V. Rights of the Individual

The resident of Nexus, specifically bodily autonomy, freedom from coercion, and the right to trade. From these two rights all others spring. However, both of those rights can be traded away.

Coercion

Coercion is ill-defined and is considered a relic of the heady days of the signing of the Accords. However, many derived rights have been secured by tying them to this right. And more than a few legal cases have been brought against those attempting to blackmail, extort, and mind-control residents. The Grain Dole was created as a bulwark against coercing by withholding food. As were the Despondent Houses.

Slavery

The making of slaves on Nexus is illegal. However as individuals brought from off-sphere are not residents, they are not freed upon arrival. So there is a certain level of slave trading that is tolerated through Nexus. However, the practice is rare due to the inherent dangers associated with slave taking.

Punishment

As punishment for most crimes, a simple fee is extracted. If the convicted cannot pay the fee, they typically agree to be sold into indenture for a period that will pay the fee. For violent crimes the indenture will be longer and may also include banishment. If a convicted person's indenture is not sold they may be remanded to the Rural Cohort for hard labor maintaining the Tradeways. If the crime was a violent offense and they are not indentured, they are put to death. Because of the everpresent need of cheap labor in hazardous conditions on Val'Dorath and Burning Sands, even violent offenders are regularly indentured off-Sphere.

Legacy of the Accords

The signing of the Accords heralded the Accords Era. It restructured the political and economic relationships across all Spheres that touch Nexus, and some beyond. It created the framework that the future would be built on.

Beyond the far reaching political ramifications and restructurings the creation of the Accords wrought, they have changed the political tenor of the Spheres. Trade encouraging representative democratic standards have begun to spread throughout the Spheres and Absolutist or Authoritarian leaders have faced rising push-back and rebellion.