I decided that while I am posting, it would be a good idea to post the
Oakstone Charter here for all to read. A few points.

1. This does not constitute a revision to the Charter, it has been the
same for several decades now. I'm just posting it so everyone can see
it.

2. The Charter is written in a book which is kept at the Central Hall in
the Great Oak in the Hierophant's Complex in Eleusis. It currently does
not contain the pricelist but we're working on including it. I suggest
that cities and Nature-minded clans consider scribing the information in
a help file to make it easier for their citizens/members to find.

3. If you have any questions, comments, or concerns about a law or a
clause in the Charter, please talk to a Hierophant. There is a reason
for every item included here.

In the service of Nature,

Rhakshai Drac'kal-Stormcrow



THE OAKSTONE CHARTER

The organization of Oakstone is dedicated to the preservation,
maintenance and defense of all of Nature. As such the Gods have seen fit
to place in the control of the Hierophants, the very wrath of Nature
Herself.

This power is so awesome and deadly, that each Hierophant, by the very
nature of his or her position is required, and does automatically swear
upon accepting said position, to put aside personal feelings and to use
this power in defense of the forest in accordance with written Oakstone
law and for no other purpose.

Members of Oakstone understand that they cannot use the power of
Oakstone to defend themselves. As such, they are expected to defend one
another as well as the entirety of Nature that lies within their care.


JURISDICTION

Every natural area shall be under Oakstone's protection. The gardens
within city walls are no exception, Oakstone protects them from
extermination, fires and overharvesting.

Those areas within the confines of the temple of a God will have all
laws applied to them unless said God requests otherwise. In such a case
overharvests will still be marked on the harvester's record, however the
individual will not be fined.

Let it be known that Oakstone does not claim ownership over any of the
areas it protects. These lands are part of Demeter, the Goddess of
Nature and as such, may be owned by none. Thus they cannot be bought,
sold or given away.


LEADERSHIP

The ruling council of Oakstone consists of five Hierophants, appointed
by the Patron of Oakstone and others that He or She sees fit to aide Him
or Her.

None are above the laws of Oakstone, and if a Hierophant should commit
an offense punishable by enemy status, they will be removed from
Oakstone until their punishment has been served.

If a member of Oakstone is not satisfied with the performance of a
particular Hierophant, they may bring their concerns to the Patron of
Oakstone and those concerns will be investigated.

At any time, the Patron of Oakstone has the right to ask a Hierophant of
Oakstone to step down from the Council of Eleusis if He or She does not
feel the Hierophant is adequately performing in both roles.


OFFICIAL ACTIONS

Hierophants are expected to make all decisions based upon the existing
written laws of Oakstone and to report official actions to Oakstone
regularly.

When possible the Hierophants are responsible to make the membership
aware of any and all issues which are not currently covered by Oakstone
law or for which no precedent is set before any decisions are made.

Since Oakstone is based upon the principle of a council rather then one
single leader, all decisions should be taken as a council. However,
Hierophants may act independently of the council when necessary to
nullify a clear and immediate danger to the forest within the existing
laws of Oakstone.

Under no circumstances is any enemy of Oakstone to be relieved of their
enemy status before payment of fine and the passing of the allotted time
without the unanimous consent of the council and approval of Oakstone's
Patron.

Any public announcement made by a Hierophant of Oakstone, be it verbal
or written, regarding an Oakstone matter should be considered as being
the voice of the entire council.


THE FIANNA

The Fianna is a military organization which works alongside and in
conjunction with the defenses of Oakstone. It shall be led by the High
Fion and such generals as he sees fit to place. The High Fion answers
directly to the council of Hierophants and/or the Lady Demeter Herself,
but may act independently in case of emergencies within the laws
governing the Council of Oakstone. Only the Hierophants of Oakstone may
declare a state of war. However, when the state of war is declared, the
High Fion is authorized to use any reasonable means necessary within
Oakstone law to accomplish Oakstone goals.

Membership to the Fianna is open to all who serve Nature, at the
discretion of the High Fion. The High Fion is to always be a member of
Oakstone, and can be appointed or dismissed on unanimous decision of the
Hierophants or the Lady Demeter. An advisory board consisting of the
Hierophants of Oakstone, the Guildmaster of the Sentinels, the
Guildmaster of the Druids and the Patron of Oakstone, are to always
remain within the Fianna in order to counsel the High Fion as to where
to swing the sword of nature.

The Fianna differs from the other defenses of Oakstone in that it may be
used to defend the members of Oakstone, and so may engage in battle with
enemies that may not directly harm the forest, but who actively harm the
forestals.


MEMBERSHIP

Oakstone's purpose is to ensure that all Nature thrives. Members are
expected to be committed to accepting responsibility without any
expectation of reward. If you seek glory or power, look elsewhere. All
that comes with Oakstone membership is duty and the expectation that it
will be executed with dedication.

Membership in Oakstone is offered to those who have a lifetime's service
of dedication to Nature. Applicants must not be on probation within
their Guild or under the age of thirty. They must have reached the
fiftieth circle of experience and attained either the skill of dousing
in survival, icewyrm in metamorphosis or rainstorm in elementalism.

Only those who have not proven themselves in the past to have caused
harm to Nature or the organization of Oakstone will be considered.
Members will not be allowed to be affiliated with any organization with
ties to Mhaldor or Sartan. This includes guilds, clans that further the
cause of Sartan, as well as the Divine Order of Sartan. Further,
applicants must not follow any god who has intentionally caused harm to
Nature in the past.

Applicants into Oakstone must obtain three sponsors from within
Oakstone. The sponsors must be willing to guide the Applicant by
training the Applicant and explaining the laws and policies of Oakstone
and submit a written recommendation to each Hierophant.

At least two hierophants will then schedule an interview with the
applicant. The interview is not to take place until at least two months
have passed since all sponsors have sent their recommendations. The
interview will explore the Applicant's beliefs, goals and understanding
of Oakstone. If the Hierophants present at the interview cannot come to
agreement, then that applicant fails the interview and subsequently is
denied.

Applicants offered membership in Oakstone shall be required to post an
introduction to himself or herself on the Oakstone board. Further, all
Members shall be required to join a team to patrol for overharvests,
fire, extermination, totems, etc.

Any member of Oakstone who earns enemy status by violation of Oakstone
laws will be cast out of Oakstone until such time as their punishment
has been served, and then may only be readmitted by unanimous consent of
the Council of Hierophants.

Members of Oakstone are not permitted to hold citizenship of any
recognized state other than the forestal village of Eleusis.


LAWS


PAYMENT OF FINES

All fines are to be paid personally by depositing it into the Oakstone
bank account. Non-payment of an applicable fine within six months is
cause for enemy status until such time as the fine is paid.


OVERHARVESTING

First Offense: A general fine of 3000 gp paid to Oakstone's account PLUS
500 gp per plant overharvested.

(For instance if you harvest goldenseal to 10, you will pay 3000 gp plus
500 gp X 5 for a total of 5500 gp.)

Second Offense: 5000 gp PLUS 1000 gp per plant overharvested.

Third Offense: 10000 gp PLUS 1500 gp per plant overharvested PLUS a one
year term of enemy status.

Fourth Offense: a five year term of enemy status PLUS a 20000 gp fine,
as well as 2000 gp per plant overharvested.

Offenses one through four fall off the record 10 years from the date of
the overharvest. For instance, if you overharvest in 300, that offense
falls from your record in 310.

Upon your fifth offense of overharvesting within a 10 year period, you
will remain a permanent enemy of the forest until such time as
recompense is made to the satisfaction of the Council of Oakstone.

Further, an overharvest is defined as an overharvest of one particular
herb within a single room. For instance, if you overharvest kola in Room
A, and also overharvest kola in Room B, that is treated as 2 separate
overharvests and you will be liable for sanctions for both offenses. Or
if you overharvest kola in Room A and you also overharvest skullcap in
Room A, that will be treated as 2 separate overharvests subject to
sanctions for both offenses.


EXTERMINATION

The punishment for extermination shall be a fine of 20000 gp and 5 years
of enemy status per location exterminated.

Those who assist exterminators or hide an act of extermination shall be
prosecuted as if they had performed the act themselves.


FIRES

The punishment for arson shall be a fine of 20000 gp and 5 years of
enemy status per location burned.

Those who assist or hide the acts of an arsonist shall be prosecuted as
if they had performed the acts themselves.


WORMHOLES

No wormholes are to be placed in the forest without the unanimous
consent of the Hierophant council in conjunction with the High Fion of
Oakstone. These locations are to be made known to all the members of
Oakstone. Illegal wormholes discovered in the forest shall be destroyed.


SHRINES

Shrines within the forest must be approved by the High Fion and a
majority of Hierophants. Permission to place shrines in the forest shall
be freely granted save for shrines of gods who have proven themselves
enemies to Nature. Shrines to those gods will not be permitted and all
within the forest shall be removed. Oakstone reserves the right to
refuse permission for a shrine placement that would impact detrimentally
on the safety of the forest. Oakstone, in conjunction with the Fianna,
shall maintain a map and/or list of all shrines within the forests of
Achaea.


SPYING

Any member of Oakstone who passes information to another organization
which may bring harm to or endanger the security of another member of
Oakstone or which may be detrimental to the goals of Oakstone will be
removed from Oakstone. Any member of Oakstone who passes information to
another organization which causes harm to the forest, directly or
indirectly, will be cast out of Oakstone and prosecuted as if they
themselves had caused the harm.


TOTEMS

Except as noted below, implanted totems tuned against anything but
Oakstone enemies are not permitted in any forest or jungle room.
Implanted totems tuned against anything other than Oakstone enemies must
first be approved by the High Fion and then by a majority vote of the
Hierophants. For permission to be considered, the proposed totem must
fit in to one of the following two categories:

1. Totems tuned against the enemies of an Order in rooms where a shrine
of the Order has been placed in compliance with Oakstone law.

2. Totems tuned against the personal enemies of a member of the Druid or
Sylvan class in that member of the Druid or Sylvan class's grove.

Permission to place totems is granted on the condition that the totems
neither interfere with Oakstone carrying out its duties nor harm any
members of Oakstone, the Fianna, the Druid guild, the Sylvan Guild or
the Sentinel guild. Violation of this condition will result in immediate
revocation of the permission granted to place the totem.

Oakstone reserves the right to take whatever action it deems appropriate
when dealing with an illegal totem.


TREEKIN

The treekin which wander the Black Forest, created by the Ladies Demeter
and Eris, shall henceforth be treated as any other living tree. The
murder of these sentient trees carries a penalty of 5000 gp per Treekin.
If this fine remains unpaid for six Achaean months, the offender will
receive enemy status until such time as the fine is paid. Any subsequent
offenses of killing the Treekin will result in immediate enemying to
Oakstone. The offender shall remain enemied until the fine of 5000 gp
per Treekin is paid in full.

Penned by my hand on the 21st of Sarapin, in the year 361 AF.