The Herdborne Charter

Let it be said here, and ring out until the very stars above burn out, that no man or woman, king or pauper, shall be stripped of their last horse, before the pain of death. To leave any with nothing serves only to enrich those willing to do so, and not a pursuit of justice.

— The Charter of Herdborne Lords

A foundational document for the Horselords, allowing them to function as an actual country and not just a collection of petty kings and tribe leaders. Drafted in the wake of the Plains Wars , the Charter was equal parts government defining and social contract, intended to make it harder for all of the herds of the plains to be concentrated below one leader.

This could only be done through the cooperation between the nomads of the region and the sedentary settlements that now dotted the landscape. By working together, they could strangle the horselords as they were out of existence by cutting up the land and refusing passage to those that didn't comply. By giving them an easier option, many of them elected to find a spot to fit into the new power system.

As such, the Charter provides provisions of protection for both groups, giving each a voice in the following government. It likely goes without saying, however, that many of those old warlords and kings found ways to slide around the charter when they chose, a problem that the nation still struggles with to this day.