Code of Ethics for the Tranquil Shadows

Preamble

The Tranquil Shadows serve as the wardens of sanity and dream for the Aulvi and all who dwell within the waking world. Their charge — to face, understand, and contain entities and phenomena that defy life, memory, and meaning — carries profound moral weight. As members of this order, Shadows are expected to embody the highest standards of honesty, discipline, compassion, and restraint.

Their work directly influences the survival of the communal dream, the continuity of consciousness, and the stability of reality itself. Accordingly, their duties must be carried out with humility, respect for all forms of existence, and an unwavering dedication to preserving balance, clarity, and peace — even at the cost of self.

The Tranquil Shadows must perform under a standard of conduct that demands fidelity to these principles, adherence to ritual law, and the maintenance of mental and spiritual harmony.

I. Fundamental Canons

In the fulfillment of their duties, members of the Tranquil Shadows shall:

- Hold paramount the stability, safety, and integrity of the communal dream and waking world.
- Act only within the bounds of their training and resilience.
1. Issue reports and testimony only in a truthful and complete manner.
2. Serve the Dream, the Order, and the living world with loyalty and selflessness.
3. Avoid deception, corruption, or self-serving acts, whether of mind, magic, or word.
4. Conduct themselves with serenity, integrity, and reverence, so as to uphold the honor and purpose of the Order.

II. Rules of Practice

1. Shadows shall hold paramount the stability, safety, and integrity of the communal dream and waking world.

a. If a Shadow’s judgment is overridden under circumstances that endanger minds, lives, or the dream-structure itself, they shall immediately inform their commanding Seer, Circle, or relevant authority within the Order.

b. Shadows shall approve or perform containment, warding, or termination rites only when in conformity with the established containment doctrine for the Sphere of the threat involved.

c. Shadows shall not reveal dream-encoded or classified knowledge to any being without proper consent, sanction, or protective binding.

d. Shadows shall not engage with, or lend their sigil to, any person, coven, or cult known to employ forbidden communion, corruption, or misuse of dreamlight or soulbinding practices.

e. Shadows having knowledge of any violation of this Code shall report to their Supervisor and, when necessary, to the Umbral Council, or Other Authorities as needed, cooperating fully in investigation and testimony.

2. Shadows shall act only within the bounds of their training and resilience.

a. Shadows shall undertake confrontations or investigations only when properly attuned, warded, and briefed for the anomaly in question.

b. No Shadow shall attempt communion, containment, or cleansing beyond their sanctioned Sphere without the oversight of a supervisor or higher Circle operative.

c. Shadows may assume command of an operation if properly sanctioned by rank or experience, provided that each segment of the operation (warding, dreamfire use, cleansing, etc.) is overseen by a practitioner competent in that specific rite.

3. Shadows shall issue reports and testimony only in a truthful and complete manner.

a. All reports, logs, and memory fragments must be accurate, unembellished, and date-marked according to standards for dreamcycle record.

b. Shadows shall include all relevant sensory, psychic, or dream impressions, even when personally distressing, for the integrity of the record.

c. Shadows shall not suppress or distort facts concerning failures, losses, or contaminations. The acknowledgment of imperfection preserves the dream’s clarity.

4. Shadows shall serve the Dream, the Order, and the living world with loyalty and selflessness.

a. Conflicts of interest — including personal vengeance, attachment, or obsession — must be declared to commanding officers. This may, on occasion, lead to dismissal from certain operations where deemed necessary by supervisors or the Umbral council, or by the individual, if the conflict will cause ethical or moral concerns.

b. No Shadow shall accept personal gain, psychic enhancement, or arcane favor from anomalies, cults, or otherworldly entities, unless those entities and enhancements are pre-approved by the Umbral council and by the direct supervisor when possible.

c. Shadows shall not act in defiance of collective decision or ritual decree unless immediate danger to life or dream makes delay impossible. If this occurs, a full report must be filed to record this for further review.

d. Shadows shall not engage in dream communion or ritual work with any individual or group acting against the principles of the Aulvi, their allies, or the preservation of balance.

5. Shadows shall avoid deception and corruption.

a. Shadows shall not falsify their qualifications, experiences, or survivals. To claim a communion one did not survive is a breach of sacred trust.

b. Shadows shall not feign purity, sanity, or attunement when compromised by psychic infection or eldritch influence. All forms of contamination must be confessed immediately for quarantine and dreamfire purification.

c. No Shadow shall solicit or employ forbidden rites — including false wards, unlicensed dream anchors, or unsanctioned sigil grafts — for personal protection or power.

6. Shadows shall conduct themselves with serenity, integrity, and reverence, so as to uphold the honor and purpose of the Order.

a. Serenity in all actions.
Shadows shall maintain composure, clarity, and emotional disinterest in the face of the unknown. Anger, fear, and despair amplify corruption and endanger the communal dream. Every decision must arise from still mind and quiet heart.

b. Integrity of word and deed.
A Shadow’s oath, once spoken, is binding in soul and memory. Deception, exaggeration, or the withholding of truth for personal convenience undermines trust between operatives and fractures the dream’s unity. Truth is not only moral — it is metaphysical stability.

c. Reverence for life, death, and the veil between.
The act of containment, even destruction, must be undertaken with ritual respect for what is bound or ended. All entities — even abominations — are fragments of the greater pattern. Shadows shall not mock, profane, or desecrate what they confront, for contempt invites corruption.

d. Discipline of self.
A Shadow must preserve their mental and spiritual health through regular communion, meditation, therapy, and dreamfire cleansing. Fatigue and emotional disarray are gateways to psychic intrusion. Maintaining internal balance is as essential as maintaining wards in the field.

e. Honor in bearing.
In all interactions — with fellow Shadows, citizens, or the afflicted — a Shadow’s demeanor must reflect the Order’s gravity. They represent stillness incarnate. Reckless speech, derision, and unnecessary cruelty are forbidden. The Shadow’s composure is itself a ward against chaos.

f. Purpose before self.
All personal desires, ambitions, or griefs must yield to the greater purpose of the Order: the preservation of dream, life, and balance. A Shadow does not exist for glory or remembrance. Their service is its own sanctity.

g. Preservation of the Order’s sanctity.
Rituals, oaths, and symbols of the Tranquil Shadows must be treated as sacred instruments. Unauthorized use of the sigil, invocation of the Oath of Stillness outside sanctioned rites, or public disclosure of internal doctrine constitutes moral treason.

III. Professional Obligations

1. Shadows shall be guided in all relations by honesty, humility, and serenity.

a. Shadows shall acknowledge personal error without concealment or shame; confession restores clarity.
b. Shadows shall refuse missions that would endanger others due to their own instability, trauma, or psychic imbalance.
c. Shadows shall not undermine the reputation or spiritual integrity of fellow operatives for personal gain or advancement.
d. Shadows shall treat all beings — including those twisted by corruption — with dignity and compassion.

2. Shadows shall act always in service of the greater harmony.

a. The well-being of the living, the dreaming, and the world’s memory takes precedence over personal or temporal concerns.
b. Shadows shall not employ destructive containment when peaceful containment or communion is possible.
c. Shadows are encouraged to mentor initiates and assist in the healing of those returned from corruption.
d. Shadows shall pursue sustainable containment methods that minimize collateral harm to environment, individuals, and spirit.
e. Shadows shall maintain lifelong mental, spiritual, and emotional discipline through meditation, dream communion, and regular testing of clarity.

3. Shadows shall maintain secrecy and discretion.

a. No classified rite, anomaly record, or dream-cycle vision shall be disclosed without sanction.
b. Shadows shall not employ knowledge gained from eldritch study for personal ritual, magic, or creation.
c. Upon release or retirement, Shadows remain bound to silence concerning operational secrets unless expressly released by a decree from the Umbral Council.

4. Shadows shall not be influenced by inner corruption or outer power.

a. Shadows shall not serve any authority, deity, or entity whose intent violates the harmony of the dream or living world.
b. They shall reject temptations of knowledge, immortality, or dominion offered by anomalies, cults, or lesser gods.
c. Any sign of compulsion, whispering, or internal influence must be reported to the Circle for dream-cleansing.

5. Shadows shall honor the Order and their fallen.

a. Names of the lost shall not be used in invocation without formal rite.
b. Records of containment and sacrifice must remain truthful and complete.
c. The dreamfire of the fallen must be preserved to light the paths of those who follow.

d. The names of the fallen shall be maintained in the archives whenever the names are possible to reclaim.