The CHAIN (Containment Habitation Authority for Internment & Neutralization) Proclamation is the most significant, overarching legal treaty in the Shattered Realm. The agreement is a multi-faction agreement that establishes a universal code of law, criminal sentencing, and enforcement across the Void. While it is lauded as the document that ended an era of lawlessness after the Tear, its tenets are frequently twisted, exploited, and weaponized by its powerful signatories. <br> ___ ### History: Order from Anarchy In the decades immediately following **The Tear**, the Shattered Realm was plunged into absolute, violent anarchy. With no central government and countless Fragments drifting independently, trade ground to a halt as piracy and warring fiefdoms dominated the Void. Realizing that total societal collapse was imminent, and immensely unprofitable, the leaders of the emerging major powers convened in Marad Krath. Over months of grueling, often bloody negotiations, they drafted the CHAIN Proclamation. Its purpose was not to create a single ruling government, but rather to delegate universal law enforcement authority to a select group of recognized "Signatory Factions." By agreeing to a shared set of baseline laws and punishments, trade could resume, and the major powers could consolidate their grip over the Shatter under the guise of maintaining universal peace. **The Original Signatories:** - The Concord: Acting as the impartial bounty regulators. - The Knights of Kahreya: Acting as the righteous moral law. - The Dominion of Vel: Acting as the brutal, militarized enforcers. - The Trade & Commerce Alliance (TCA): The primary financial backers of the Proclamation. Over time, more factions were recognized by the Original Signatories and were added to the Proclamation. More recently, both the Relicor Foundation and the Order of the Gray have signed the Proclamation. <br> ___ ### Notable Articles & Exploitations The text of the Proclamation is vast and bureaucratic. However, a select few Articles are commonly invoked, and heavily exploited, by the Signatories. ##### Article I: The Mandate of Apprehension This article grants specific, recognized lower-to-mid tier members of Signatory factions (such as the Knights of Kahreya, Dominion Centuri Troopers, or Concord Hunters) the universal jurisdiction to perform arrests and arrange the transport of prisoners across any Fragment, regardless of local laws. > Because there is rarely oversight by other Signatories, factions like the Dominion of Vel frequently use Article I to "arrest" political dissidents and revolting citizens under trumped-up charges, legally removing them from play. <br> ##### Article IV: The Authority of Judgment A highly controversial clause granting the highest-tier members of the Signatories (such as Kahreyan Marshalls, Concord Arbitrators, and Dominion Praefects) the legal right to unilaterally pass sentence on a criminal, often without going to trial. > This effectively grants immediate, localized judge-jury-and-executioner authority to the Shatter's most powerful zealots and despots. While the Concord Arbitrators are renowned for their slow, impartial neutrality, the Praefects of the Dominion use this article enthusiastically to crush rebellions and execute "criminals" on the spot. <br> ##### Article VII: The Gaol Directive This decree established **The Shattercast Gaol** as a universal, maximum-security prison meant to hold the Shatter's most catastrophic offenders. It mandates that all Signatories share the burden of maintaining its security and funding its deep-void operations. <br> ##### Article IX: The Proxy Justice Exemption Written and heavily lobbied for by the Trade & Commerce Alliance (TCA). This article allows financial backers of the Proclamation to opt out of direct enforcement duties. Effectively meaning TCA employees have zero authority to arrest or sentence anyone. However, it guarantees them full protection under the law. > This article allows the TCA to operate with total impunity, keeping their hands clean. If a crime is committed against the TCA, they simply deploy their armies of corporate lawyers to invoke Article IX, forcing the other Signatories (like the Dominion or Knights) to hunt down and punish the perpetrators for them, ensuring swift corporate justice at no cost to the TCA's public image. <br> ___ ### Things to Know ##### The Unsigned - While the Proclamation is recognized by the Old Way Clans, they have not yet signed the Proclamation, despite intense pressure to do so. The Clans often allow Signatories to operate within their territories, but it's rare for them to uphold the Articles of the Proclamation themselves. - Pirates, Marauders and Raiders actively reject the Proclamation, existing entirely outside its jurisdiction. They are considered universal hostiles by all Signatories.