The Treaty of the Great Houses
The Treaty of the Great Houses is the document that forms the legal basis of the Alliance of The Great Houses. It was drafted by its original signatories in what was then Vernon, BC, Lapin Protectorate; now Okanagan City, at The Warren in April of 2022, during the second spring Tourney of Tales, and officially ratified by the original signatories in July of 2022, during the summer Tourney of Tales, also at the Warren.
Purpose
In light of the assumed continual threat of the The Undead Horde returning every year, the Literomantic Great Houses determined that it was far more important to protect themselves, and the world, from another potential zombie apocalypse, than it was for them to carry on any inter-House conflicts. Further, in the wake of the Lapinite-Chiropteran conflict, the danger of a magical war of Literomancy, and its potential for massive, widescale destruction, was something that the House Leaders felt, in good conscience, they could not ignore. They determined to put aside their differences in a mutual defense pact, both to curtail the risks of their own conflicts, and to unite their efforts against any future return of the Undead Horde, or other existential supernatural threats.
Borrowing from the example (and much of the wording) of the North Atlantic Treaty, the Great Houses signed a historic mutual defense pact, thus setting the stage for the current alliance of the Literomantic Protectorates in the Word Wars, and current world politics.
Document Structure
Clauses
There are 15 Articles in the Treaty of the Great Houses, delineating the intent, and the responsibilities, of each of the Houses and Protectorates in upholding the conditions of the Treaty, and also, under which conditions the Treaty applies.
The first two Articles establish the intent of the Treaty to maintain peace between the signatories.
Articles 3 through 7 delineate the mutual defense pact, and under what conditions that pact applies.
Articles 8 and 9 reaffirm the obligations of the Protectorates to the United Nations, and each other.
Article 10 delineates the procedure by which the Treaty shall be administered.
Articles 11 and 12 details how others can become Parties to the Treaty, and under what conditions the signatories shall be recognized.
Articles 13 and 14 delineate the conditions under which the Treaty may be reviewed or abandoned.
Article 15 details how the record of the Treaty shall be recognized and stored.
Caveats
After ten years, any Party to the Treaty may request a review in Council, and after twenty years, any Party may choose to resign from participation in the Treaty. The deadline for review comes up in April of 2032, and the deadline for possible withdrawl in April of 2042.
References
The Treaty of the Great Houses drew upon the North Atlantic Treaty, which formed the NATO alliance, for inspiration, conditions, and wording. It also refers to the Charter of the United Nations, which most of the Protectorates claim membership in, and reaffirms their commitment to supporting that organization.
Publication Status
Copies of the Treaty are widely available for public access in the House Libraries of the Great Houses, as well as their Parliamentary and Royal Libraries, in all three languages the Treaty was drafted in (English, French, and Spanish.) Its text is also widely available for public access on the internet, and copies are registered with the United Nations. The originals are stored in the Lapin Secret Library during wartime, and are available at the Lapin Parliamentary Library for public viewing during peacetime.
Legal status
The Treaty of the Great Houses has been recognized by the United Nations, and is law in all of the current Protectorates of the Great Houses, including the "Neutral Territories." This includes all of North America, Europe, most of the Asian South Pacific region, Australia and New Zealand, and Antarctica.
Historical Details
Background
With the advent of The First Word War, the awakening of The Iron Tome, and the return of Literomancy in 2020, the world was forever changed. The Second Word War was, however, a surprise to everyone. AuthorGoddess, the new Night Monarch, began the conflict by sowing seeds of distrust between the Great Houses, preying upon centuries-old rivalries.
Technically, Queen Sable Aradia of House Lapin began the war when she had reason to think that her friend, Queen Siobhan the Writer of House Chiroptera, had planted a zombie-summoning device on the grounds of The Warren, and declared war on Chiroptera. This sparked off a powder-keg of threats and war declarations as other House Leaders found similar devices, each implicating another House.
However, the Bats and the Bunnies soon resolved their differences, when it became apparent that the Undead Horde had returned. As Houses fell one by one, Queen Sable eventually found herself housing refugees from multiple Houses, and she formed the Grand Alliance against the Undead Horde. The war ended with victory for the living under the Bunny Queen's leadership.
Concerned about the future threat of the Undead Horde's return, and also about the conflicts that she had started between the Houses, Queen Sable invited all the Great Houses to the April Tourney of Tales, in which Houses compete in a friendly way against each other for bragging rights, thus keeping their skills honed against future supernatural threats. She then used the opportunity to negotiate for a mutual defense pact.
History
The Treaty of the Great Houses was duly ratified on the 12th of July, 2022, at the summer Tourney of Tales. The initial signatories were Queen Sable of House Lapin, King Darth Nikolas of House Meles, Queen Siobhan the Writer of House Chiroptera, Coffee Quills The Cosmic Kraken of House Mollusca, Kahuna the Elder of House Tiki, King RPGDinosaurBob of House Sauropoda, ShyRedFox the Oyabun of House Kitsune, Tempest Kwake the Great Flame of House Incendium, Isaac A Thom the Toast of House Ceapaire, and the unknown leader of The Missing House.
Later signatories include DaniAdventures the Queen Bee of House Apis, Regent EGryph of House Avis, and Archon Mykola Lapin-Void of House Ailurus.
This Treaty has completely transformed global politics. While many of the nations of the world collapsed in 2020, including most of the G8, the formation of the Protectorates, and their commitment to this alliance, has become the governing force of global politics and military strategy in their place. Most nations that maintain independence from the Protectorates still have alliances with them, and they form the backbone of the new world economy. Society has reorganized itself according to the conditions of the Treaty, especially concerned with being able to bring strong military resistance to the yearly assault of the Undead Horde.
Public Reaction
Within the Protectorates, the public reaction has been overwhelmingly favourable. The formation of the Alliance of the Great Houses, the restoration of such institutions as the United Nations and the International Criminal Court, and the patterning of the Council of the Great Houses after the structure of NATO, has restored a great deal of public confidence in the stability of society in the wake of catastrophe and the formation of a new world order.
Nations outside of the Protectorates, however, aren't as sure about the situation. There is some concern about the amount of temporal power resting in the hands of the literomantic Great Houses. Smaller nations often express resentment towards the larger nations, and especially the Protectorates.
This article is a work in progress, and may be subject to changes.
This article is part of a series related to streaming the Game of Tomes. For more information, see Streaming Game of Tomes.
Type
Treaty, Diplomatic
Medium
Paper
Authoring Date
April 4, 2022
Ratification Date
July 12, 2022
Location
Signatories (Characters)
Queen Sable reads the Treaty of the Great Houses (July 12, 2022) by Moonflower with HeroForge & NightCafe
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