Royal accord of twill
| Royal accord of twill | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Released | 9 November 2017 (Update) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Members | Yes | ||||||||||||||||||
| Quest item | The Depths of Despair | ||||||||||||||||||
| Properties | |||||||||||||||||||
| Tradeable | No | ||||||||||||||||||
| Equipable | No | ||||||||||||||||||
| Stackable | No | ||||||||||||||||||
| Noteable | No | ||||||||||||||||||
| Options | Read, Inspect, Destroy | ||||||||||||||||||
| Destroy | You can reobtain this from the chest in the Crabclaw Caves. | ||||||||||||||||||
| Examine | The original Royal Accord of Twill. | ||||||||||||||||||
| Values | |||||||||||||||||||
| Value | 1 coin | ||||||||||||||||||
| Alchemy | Not alchemisable | ||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 0.003 kg | ||||||||||||||||||
| Advanced data | |||||||||||||||||||
| Item ID | 21758 | ||||||||||||||||||
The Royal Accord of Twill is the document that declared the transition of authority from the Council of Elders to the Royal Lords of the five Houses of Great Kourend, and details the rotation of succession between them.
According to the book, The Envoy to Varlamore, the document was lost at sea when it was being transported to the Grand Museum of Civitas illa Fortis, the capital of Varlamore. The Accord can be read, and a transcript of it is found in a book of the same name. Upon inspecting the original Accord, the chatbox will display a message stating Despite its age, the scroll is in near perfect condition. It's likely that some sort of magic was used to ensure it remained preserved.
The document is recovered during The Depths of Despair, and is given to Lord Kandur Hosidius at the end of the quest, who uses the original copy to push for a new Accord for Kourend's return to royal rule during A Kingdom Divided, and is safely stored in the Library Historical Archive after the quest.
History
The document declared the transition of authority from the Council of Elders to the Royal Lords of the five Houses of Great Kourend, and details the rotation of succession between them, known as the Right of Succession to the Office of Grand Lord. This transition of power was preceded by a great famine that had plagued Kourend for multiple consecutive years, with devastating consequences.[1] Five years into the crisis, Lord Ethrain Hosidius I met with the lords of the other four families, who agreed to each grant half of their lands to the city of Hosidius, thereby making them available for agricultural cultivation in an effort to escape the famine.[2]
Having reached this agreement in principle with the other lords, he sent the proposal to the Council of Elders, requesting these transfers of territory be authorised.[3] Strikingly, it would appear that the Council had previously been reluctant to agree to such measures, as Lord Hosidius alludes to previous occasions in which he had submitted them the same proposal, and was presumably met with rejection. Furthermore, from his claim that the food shortages could be solved in six months hence, one could infer that the famine need not have lasted for as long as it did, if not for the Council's stark opposition to a Hosidian expansion.[4] As suggested by the text of the request itself, this reluctance may have been motivated by concerns over an imbalance of power resulting from this transfer, potentially giving the city of Hosidius the means to consolidate political power as a consequence of their greatly increased economic potential.[5] Given that the council originally formed in armed opposition to the unjust rule of a monarch, it may have inherited a predisposition to resist the centralisation of power as a result.[a]
It may also be noted that this process seems to imply some sort of split being present between the Council and lords themselves, the two groups being spoken of as more or less separate entities in this letter. This could be thought of as somewhat curious, given that the Council of Elders is at least nominally meant to consist of members hailing from the five cities of Kourend.[6] While the exact dynamic at play may only be guessed at, it is possible that this disconnection between lords and council brings to light a course of the latter growing increasingly independent of the former, with alienation and loss of means of governance as a potential consequence.
Nevertheless, the request was granted, and the famine resolved. These events set the conditions for the constitutional reforms enacted by the Royal Accord of Twill. In the opening paragraph of the accord, the new arrangement is presented as an uncompelled act on the part of the council, which voluntarily dissolves its authority, in favour of, and at the advice of, the lords of the five cities.[7] These lords enter into a system of rotating authority, each of them serving a term of ten years as ruler of Kourend, with the initial ruler and subsequent order of succession being established by drawing lots.[8] While again the exact motives of the council for relinquishing power in this manner remain obscure, a desire to equalise the balance of power by temporally splitting it up between the cities could be hypothesised as a plausible reaction to an expanded Hosidius, a growing political self-sufficiency of the cities, and their own diminished ability to enforce central authority. The Accord of Twill would then be seen as an attempt to pre-empt a concentration of power perceived to be immanent in the face their own untenable grip on the kingdom.
The accord takes its famous name from the location it was drafted and agreed upon, a stronghold that stood at the very heart of the kingdom named Twill.[9] It was considered a relatively neutral area, as it remained just outside of the domains controlled by each of the five cities, yet retained significance due its central location. As such, it also constituted a meeting place for the Council of Elders to conduct their business of the state in. The fact that the handover of sovereignty was both performed at and also named after this location, may therefore hint at the symbolic importance of Twill, its name being emphasised in order to signify sovereignty. Although the stronghold itself has long since been lost, its site is believed to have been the very same ground where Kingstown is now located, perhaps even serving as the settlement's groundworks.[10] Hence, while having almost fully passed out of memory, in a sense the stronghold of Twill still serves as a seat of power for Kourend, ceding the name it carried as well the stones it was built of to the monarchies, both serving as foundations.
Transcript
Know that before the Council of Elders, for the health of our soul and those of our ancestors and heirs, and the better ordering of our kingdom, at the advice of Ethrain Hosidius, Seabry Shayzien, Ret Piscarilius, Solange Lovakengj and Bourath Arceuus all Royal Lords of our Kingdom.
First, that of this day the Council of Elders shall cease to exercise authority over any action, collection of revenues, mobilisation of armies, distribution of revenues, seizure of goods or chattels belonging to any free man of the kingdom or any other thing as may be considered in the interest of the kingdom; within the Kingdom of Great Kourend in perpetuity.
Second, that of this day the Royal Lords of our Kingdom whom are part of the great houses of Hosidius, Lovakengj, Shayzien, Piscarilius and Arceuus take complete responsibility for the kingdom in perpetuity.
Third, that of this day one member from the Royal Lords of our Kingdom whom are part of the great houses of Hosidius, Lovakengj, Shayzien, Piscarilius and Arceuus shall be chosen to be the Grand Lord of Kourend for a period of no more than ten years and be able to exercise authority over any action, collection of revenues, mobilisation of armies, distribution of revenues, seizure of goods or chattels belonging to any free man of the kingdom or any other thing as may be considered in the interest of the kingdom; within the Kingdom of Great Kourend.
Fourth, that of this day the Royal Lord of our Kingdom whom is part of the great house of Hosidius, will have ten years in the role of Grand Lord. Upon the expiry of these ten years he will willingly pass the title of Grand Lord to the Royal Lord of our Kingdom whom is part of the great house of Lovakengj for a period of no more than ten years. And so it shall continue for the Royal Lord of our Kingdom whom is part of the great house of Shayzien, then for the Royal Lord of our Kingdom whom is part of the great house of Piscarilius and finally for the Royal Lord of our Kingdom whom is part of the great house of Arceuus. Henceforth this is known as the Right of Succession to the Office of Grand Lord.
Fifth, upon the expiry of the title of Grand Lord of the Royal Lord of our Kingdom whom is part of the great house of Arceuus, the title of Grand Lord is passed willingly to the Royal Lord of our Kingdom whom is part of the great house of Hosidius and henceforth continues as the fourth statement of this Accord.
Sixth, that if a suitable male lord of the any of the Royal Lords of our Kingdom whom are part of the great houses of Hosidius, Lovakengj, Shayzien, Piscarilius and Arceuus cannot be found at the start of their period as Grand Lord, whether due to infirmity of mind or body or of questionable morality, the Right of Succession to the Office of the Grand Lord is annulled and passed to the next Royal Lords of our Kingdom whom are part of the great houses of Hosidius, Lovakengj, Shayzien, Piscarilius and Arceuus in line.
We, the Royal Lords of our Kingdom whom are part of the great houses of Hosidius, Lovakengj, Shayzien, Piscarilius and Arceuus have sworn that all this shall be observed in good faith and without deceit.
- Despite its age, the scroll is in near perfect condition. It's likely that some sort of magic was used to ensure it remained preserved.
- (End of dialogue)
Changes
| Date | Changes |
|---|---|
| [[{{#explode:10 January 2019| |0}} {{#explode:10 January 2019| |1}}]] [[{{#explode:10 January 2019| |2}}]] (update) |
The Accord can now be read, sharing the same text as the book Twill accord. The "Inspect" option was made right-click. |
| [[{{#explode:16 November 2017| |0}} {{#explode:16 November 2017| |1}}]] [[{{#explode:16 November 2017| |2}}]] (update) |
The examine text for the Accord was previously "The last surviving copy of the Royal Accord of Twill." As the item itself was actually the original document, it was changed to the current examine. |
Notes
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