13th of Nightal

I would like to schedule a meeting with a few representatives of the esteemed Council of Sanctuary in the near future. A few matters have been left to collect dust for far too long.

- Ordinant Shea.

[The letter is resent.]

Ordinant Shea-

I will make time for you, should you see me walking thru the city.

Councilman Ferdinand Fenwick

18th of Nightal, year 151 Proposed anti-aberration law.

Enclosed is a copy of the bill that was discussed with Councillors Crowshire, Fen, Highill, and Nish on the 17th of Nightal. I sincerely hope you will read and acknowledge the need for this law, given the many loopholes in the Eleint Accord.

- Ordinant Shea.

Proposed Anti-Aberration Law of Sanctuary Article I: Aberration classification.

Section A: The governing council and mayoral body of Upper Sanctuary hereby recognizes that the illithid (mindflayers), beholders (eye tyrants), Intellect Devourers, Hook Horrors, and Umber Hulks are aberrations, twisted monstrosities that pervert the natural means of life in the Realms. The governing entities of Upper Sanctuary (referred to simply as “Sanctuary” henceforth) condemn the existence of aberrations, and declare that no aberration is ever to be permitted free entry, citizenship, alliance, trade, or association with Sanctuary. Aberrations are prohibited from entering or associating with Sanctuary, either in the form of its government, its authorities, or its populace. Its government, its authorities, and its populace are in turn prohibited from entering into any form of association with an aberration. Sanctuary recognizes that the aberration is not a proper form of life as the humanoid races (including but not limited to humans, elves, half-elves, dwarves, gnomes, and halflings) are, and based on this recognition Sanctuary refuses any of the rights bestowed upon the living to an aberration.

Section B: Sanctuary recognizes that humanoid and monstrous individuals who have been taken into mental and physical servitude to an illithid are termed “thralls.” These thralls, in receiving implants or allowing their minds to be dominated by an illithid, cease to exert control over their own lives, and instead become virtual slaves of their host illithid. In doing so, these thralls cease to be humanoid and monstrous individuals, and instead become virtual aberrations. The act of becoming a thrall to an illithid host involves the domination of the thrall’s mental and physical impulses, making it nothing more than a humanoid or monstrous extension of the illithid’s will. Sanctuary recognizes that individuals who have become thralls, either through physical implantation or psionic/magical domination, are no longer humanoid or monstrous living individuals, but are themselves aberrations. In becoming an aberration, these thralls forfeit all right to citizenship, rights, and protection under the laws of Sanctuary.

Section C: A thrall within the territory of Sanctuary is in violation of the above-stated laws expressly forbidding the entrance of aberrations into Sanctuary. A thrall found within the territory of Sanctuary is to be immediately arrested and isolated by the law-enforcement authorities of Sanctuary. Sub-Section C1: If this thrall is discovered to possess a physical implant, the Order of the Spellguard is ordered to remove the implant with all efforts made to ensure the survival of the thrall. The implant is then to be destroyed in the presence of a Sanctuary Watch or Town Council member. Should the Order of the Spellguard find that destruction of an implant is beyond its means or is too dangerous to attempt, independent verification of the advanced or hostile nature of the implant must be given by the Sanctuary Town Council. Should the Sanctuary Town Council agree that destruction of the implant is beyond the safe means of the Order of the Spellguard, the implant is to be isolated and locked away in the Order of the Spellguard Tower, with a member of the Sanctuary Town Council present to witness the isolation of the implant. Sub-Section C2: A suspected thrall imprisoned for being under psionic/mental domination must be examined by two independent factions of Sanctuary, in addition to the Order of the Spellguard. The factions that may be called upon to examine the suspected thrall are the Order of the Gold Beacon, the dwarven hold of Barak-Tor, the Temple of Hoar, the Temple of Grumbar, the Temple of Ibrandul, and the Society of the Ordered Mind. If the Order of the Spellguard and the two independent factions consulted all agree that a suspected thrall is under some form of psionic/mental domination, then the thrall is to be released from his/her psionic/mental domination by the Order of the Spellguard, with a member of the Sanctuary Watch or Sanctuary Town Council present to witness the abjurative process that will free the thrall from psionic/mental domination. If the thrall is found to be under psionic/mental domination that is beyond the means of the Spellguard to remove, all of the above-mentioned independent factions of Sanctuary are to be summoned to attempt to release the thrall from his/her psionic/mental domination. If neither the Order of the Spellguard nor the entirety of these independent factions are able to remove the psionic/mental domination from the thrall, then the thrall is to be executed by the Order of the Spellguard for posing a non-rectifiable danger to Sanctuary, with the members of the Sanctary Town Council present for this execution as witnesses.

Section D: A thrall who has undergone the removal of his/her implant is subsequently to stand trial before the Sanctuary Town Council for associating with an aberration and any crimes that he/she might have committed while in the service of that aberration. Sub-Section D1:If the thrall was found to have been forced to accept an implant, and admits regret and recognition of the nature of his/her crime(s) in associating with the aberration, then the former thrall is to be released, with the warning that any further serious crimes (with the nature of a crime defined by the Sanctuary Code of Law) committed by the former thrall will result in immediate execution, and that any further voluntary association with an aberration will result in immediate execution, to be conducted by public stoning with the populace of Sanctuary present as witnesses. Sub-Section D2: If the thrall is found to have voluntarily accepted implantation and service with an aberration, then the thrall is to be summarily executed by public stoning with the populace of Sanctuary present as witnesses. Sub-Section D3: If the Sanctuary Town Council is unable to determine whether a thrall willingly accepted an implant, then the former thrall is to be imprisoned for a length of time to be set by the Sanctuary Town Council based upon his/her situation. Further punishment, up to an execution by public stoning, may be dispensed by the Sanctuary Town Council based upon the severity of the crimes, if any, committed by the thrall while he/she was under the effect of his/her implant(s).

Section E: A thrall who has been removed from aberration control by means of either implant removal or the dispelling of his/her psionic/mental domination links to an aberration host is to be no longer considered an aberration. The former thrall, once the aforementioned judicial processes have been resolved, is to be considered a living humanoid, with all the rights of Sanctuary that the condition provides. Denial of citizenship to a former thrall may be exercised by the Sanctuary Town Council should it be deemed necessary.

Article II: Aberration technology.

Section A: Sanctuary recognizes that any items created or enchanted by aberrations, specifically beholder and illithid crafts, are dangers to the city and its citizens. Therefore, any citizens of Sanctuary found to be in possession of aberration-created items are guilty of endangering Sanctuary, and as such are to be imprisoned by the law-enforcement authorities of Sanctuary until such time as the Order of the Spellguard may confiscate the aberration crafts. Further charges and penalties, up to execution by public stoning, may be brought against the holders of aberration item if the Sanctuary Town Council agrees that the individual(s)’ possession of these items posed a dire danger to Sanctuary.

Section B: Sanctuary orders the Order of the Spellguard to destroy confiscated aberration crafts, with a member of the Sanctuary Watch or Town Council present as a witness to the destruction of these items. Should the Order of the Spellguard be unable to destroy an aberration craft, the Society of the Ordered Mind is charged with the destruction of the item. Should neither the Order of the Spellguard nor the Society of the Ordered Mind be able to destroy the aberration craft, then it is to be placed in locked isolation in either the Order of the Spellguard Tower or the Society of the Ordered Mind Chapterhouse.

Section C: Should the Order of the Spellguard declare that it wishes to stay the destruction of an aberration craft in order to study the device, the Order of the Spellguard must allow free access to study the device to the Order of the Gold Beacon, the dwarven hold of Barak-Tor, the Temple of Hoar, the Temple of Grumbar, the Temple of Ibrandul, and the Society of the Ordered Mind. Once all of these organizations that wish to have examined the device, the Sanctuary Town Council will then allow a hearing to decide whether the device is to be permitted to remain in the hands of the Order of the Spellguard for further study. If the Sanctuary Town Council decrees that the Order of the Spellguard has no valid motive to retain the device for study, then it is to be destroyed with a member of the Sanctuary Town Council present as a witness. If the Sanctuary Town Council decrees that the Order of the Spellguard may continue to study the aberration craft in question, then the Sanctuary Town Council may at any time open the study of the aberration craft to any of the above-mentioned organizations, and may also conduct another hearing to determine whether the aberration craft should be destroyed, if the Order of the Spellguard is found to have used the aberration craft for purposes other than purely academic and magical studies.

Article III: Chabzash.

Section A: Sanctuary recognizes that the beholder warren/city located to the west of Sanctuary’s territory, hereby referred to as “Chabzash,” is a preeminent danger to the survival of Sanctuary. Sanctuary recognizes that all of the beholders of Chabzash are to be considered enemies of the city, and recognizes that a state of cold war exists between Sanctuary and Chabzash.

Section B: Sanctuary, due to the acknowledgement of the state of cold war that exists between Chabzash and it, refuses to enter into any trade, negotiations, settlements, or agreements with the city of Chabzash. Further, no citizen of Sanctuary is allowed to enter into any association with the city of Chabzash, under punishment of willfully endangering and betraying Sanctuary.

Section C: Sanctuary declares that any beholders or beholder-kin of Chabzash are to be declared kill-on-sight by the Sanctuary law-authorities and security forces, and that no beholders or beholder-kin of Chabzash are ever to be permitted freely within Sanctuary’s walls.

Article IV: Ysinode.

Section A: Sanctuary recognizes that the illithid warren/city located to the west of Sanctuary’s territory, hereby referred to as “Ysinode,” is a preeminent danger to the survival of Sanctuary. Sanctuary recognizes that all of the illithid of Ysinode are to be considered enemies of the city, and recognizes that a state of cold war exists between Sanctuary and Ysinode.

Section B: Sanctuary, due to the acknowledgement of the state of cold war that exists between Ysinode and it, refuses to enter into any trade, negotiations, settlements, or agreements with the city of Ysinode. Further, no citizen of Sanctuary is allowed to enter into any association with the city of Ysinode, under punishment of willfully endangering and betraying Sanctuary.

Section C: Sanctuary declares that any illithid or illithid servitors (including but not limited to intellect devourers, umber hulks, and psionic hounds) of Ysinode are to be declared kill-on-sight by the Sanctuary law-authorities and security forces, and that no illithid or illithid servitors of Ysinode are ever to be permitted freely within Sanctuary’s walls.

Article V: The Sleeping Pyrimo Inn.

Section A: Sanctuary states that the creature known as “Intryzz,” the illithid proprietor of the Sleeping Pyrimo Inn, is an enemy of the city of Sanctuary. Sanctuary recognizes that the creature Intryzz has, and continues to attempt, to repeatedly infiltrate, undermine, and sow dissent among Sanctuary’s citizens by use of thralls and psionic/magical manipulation. To this end, Sanctuary declares that Intryzz is a paramount danger and threat to the safety of the city and its citizens, refuses to enter into any trade, negotiations, settlements, or agreements with Intryzz, and declares any association with him to be willful endangerment of Sanctuary. Further, Intryzz is to be considered kill-on-sight by the law-authorities and security forces of Sanctuary, and is to be prohibited from entering Sanctuary territory at all cost.

Section B: Sanctuary declares that the Sleeping Pyrimo Inn itself, reached via portal and located in an unknown location, is off-limits to all citizens of Sanctuary. Any citizen of Sanctuary who is found to have entered the Sleeping Pyrimo Inn without express permission from the Sanctuary Town Council is to be arrested by the law-authorities of Sanctuary for trial by the Sanctuary Town Council, on charges of endangering the city and potential betrayal of the city to a dire enemy.

Section C: All individuals arrested on charges of violating the ban on entering the Sleeping Pyrimo Inn are to be examined by the Order of the Spellguard for potential implants or psionic/magical mental/physical domination (see Article I, Sections C, D, and E).

Section D: Sanctuary condemns the experiments conducted by Intryzz and his thralls, and declares these experiments abhorrent and vile to the city and its citizens. As such, any experiments created by Intryzz are to be considered destroy-on-sight by the law-enforcement and security organizations of Sanctuary.

Section E: Sanctuary declares that any citizens found to be marketing entrance to the Sleeping Pyrimo Inn, including selling “keys” that reveal the portals that lead to the Sleeping Pyrimo Inn, are guilty of associating with aberrations and willfully endangering Sanctuary. As such, they are to be arrested and tried by the Sanctuary Town Council.

Section F: Sanctuary recognizes the danger of the hidden portals that lead to the Sleeping Pyrimo Inn, and declares that the Order of the Spellguard, in conjunction with the law-enforcement, security forces, and adventuring citizens of Sanctuary, is to employ the use of abjurative magics to seal and/or close any portals leading to the Sleeping Pyrimo Inn found within Sanctuary’s territory.

Article VI: The Society of the Ordered Mind.

Section A: Sanctuary recognizes that the Society of the Ordered Mind is the most knowledgeable and prominent authority near its territory that faces the aberration threat. To this end, Sanctuary resolves to honor the agreement made between Mayor Yorrick Bresley and the founding members of the Society of the Ordered Mind fully, and declares that the law-enforcement and security forces of Sanctuary are also to respect and honor this agreement.

Section B: Sanctuary resolves not to interfere with the Society of the Ordered Mind’s actions against aberrations, and instructs its law-enforcement and security forces not to interfere in the actions of the Society of the Ordered Mind. Sanctuary also resolves to assist the Society of the Ordered Mind in its actions against aberrations, if those actions are deemed important to the security of Sanctuary when presented to the Sanctuary Town Council.

Section C: Sanctuary decrees that the Society of the Ordered Mind is an expert source on the nature of the aberration threat, and reserves consultation with the Society of the Ordered Mind as an option when faced with an aberration threat. Sanctuary also reserves the right to call for members of the Society of the Ordered Mind to provide consultation and serve as witnesses during arrests, legal proceedings, trials, and actions regarding aberrations, thralls, and aberration crafts.

9th of Hammer, year 152. Conflicting priorities.

More than twenty days have passed since you recieved my last letter, and it worries me greatly that I have not yet heard anything from you; and not because you have failed to contact me, but instead because you have yet to arrive at an agreement. I understand and appreciate that you care about Sanctuary and its citizens, or at least are to maintain that illusion, but it is clear to me that you will not accept the fact that we, the Society of the Ordered Mind as well as Sanctuary as a whole, are in dire need of a clearly defined law that details Sanctuary's official policy regarding the vile and unnatural aberration, a presence that threatens our fellow citizens on a daily basis.

I have once again enclosed a copy of the bill if you should somehow have misplaced the previous one I sent you.

Let pass half a tenday and I shall start sending you a letter every day, have I heard nothing before that. Let pass another half a tenday and I shall write you two letters a day. This shall continue until a clear response has been given to me; and should you ultimately reject the proposal I shall write you until I know exactly why you will not acknowledge the need for this law, and I shall make the necessary changes provided that they are reasonable and resend the bill. Make no mistakes -- I do not enjoy this tedious, and utterly unnecessary, paperwork -- but I will not stop before either the law is passed or Kelemvor claims my soul.

- Ordinant Shea

14th of Hammer, year 152. Anti-aberration law. Letter 1.

Half a tenday has passed, and as promised, here is my first letter. I hope that this shall not be one in a long series of letters, but I suppose we shall just have to see.

As you are probably aware, this matter has become even more pressing since last time I wrote you, as we now have a duergar selling items that are clearly of illithid craft in the bazaar. Not only that, but he is here because, and with the blessings, of one of your own.

-Ordinant Shea.

15th of Hammer, year 152. Anti-aberration law. Letter 2.

I still have heard nothing from you regarding this matter. It surprises me how it can take so long to read a few thousand words.

-Ordinant Shea.

16th of Hammer, year 152. Anti-aberration law. Letter 3.

I am glad to inform you that I have now recieved a small update. It is practically useless to me, mind you, so I shall keep writing; but at least I now know that some of you can read.

I have researched a bit and found that, in the past six months, the Council has:

• Passed a law that prevents 16 different races, including half-orcs and duergar, from becoming citizens of Sanctury.
• Passed the Eleint Accord which, as a result of recent events, is now largely useless.
• Excluded half-orcs and duergar from the above law, meaning they can now register as citizens.
That's really not all too impressive. Especially when you consider that your reasons for the last change was to increase trade -- something that is practically impossible to do when you will not even expend resources to keep clear what has previously been a vital part of various trade routes.

Nonetheless, as I mentioned in my previous letter, one duergar did manage to set up a trade route. The Council is therefore directly responsible for basically selling the citizens of Sanctuary to whatever nefarious illithid is providing the duergar with his wares.

-Ordinant Shea.

17th of Hammer, year 152. Anti-aberration law. Letter 4.

Starting to run out of ink it strikes me, maybe you have already run out of ink and are unsure of where to acquire more? If that is the case, seek me out at the Chapterhouse or on one of my patrols and I shall gladly, not just sponsor an ink bottle, but personally retrieve and deliver it, too. I would hate to find that a few coins are all that keeps you from passing the bill.

-Ordinant Shea.

18th of Hammer, year 152. Anti-aberration law. Letter 5.

I start to wonder, is the law as proposed perhaps too clear? Are there not enough loopholes that you feel comfortable passing it? Looking at past laws that have been passed one might get the impression that there be a minimum number of loopholes requirement.

Tomorrow, there will be two letters.

-Ordinant Shea.

19th of Hammer, year 152. Anti-aberration law. Letter 6. First of two.

Since a whole ten days have gone since you last recieved a copy of the bill I shall provide you with another copy today. Maybe your filing system isn't as great as it could be? Do you even have one?

-Ordinant Shea.

[A third copy of the bill is enclosed.]

19th of Hammer, year 152. Anti-aberration law. Letter 7. Second of two.

I thought I would bring to your attention that I overheard a Councillor the other day commenting on your plans of establishing a public libary that progress was being made. This confounds me, because even though it is not the first time something like this has been attempted, few cycles have gone since the last initiative was taken. Of course, I do not oppose this initiative in the slightest, but I do fail at wrapping my mind around the fact that you consider having access to texts on taxes; goblin poems; people's personal agendas and ideologies; guides to staying alive in the Underdark (ironic, really); and whatever else there may be, more important than ensuring our continued existence, and thus our ability to even read in the first place. What worth have books in the afterlife?

-Ordinant Shea.

Ordinant Shea,

I'd like you to stop making derogative comments in your reminders. This whole proposal has been in the running ever since you filed it. Stop complaining, and learn what the word 'patience' means.

Dugo Nish, councillor

20th of Hammer, year 152. Anti-aberration law. Letter 8.

Councillor Nish,

I know well what 'patience' means, and I also know that I have had plenty of it when dealing with you and this matter, and I also know that you have successfully managed to wear it down.

It took the Council no more than 17 days to allow a duergar to sell items of illithid craft. I like to think 30 days is more than enough to evaluate, re-evaluate, and pass or turn down such a clear proposal as the one I have sent to you.

I am angered -- no, infuriated -- not only by your slow progress, but also by the fact that this bill wasn't simply passed immediately. Try as I might, I cannot for the life of me understand what could possible be delaying you. Nevertheless, your letter is what I have been looking for, and therefore I shall give you the benefit of the doubt. I will cease sending you reminders for another tenday, after which I shall pick up where I left off.

- Ordinant Shea.

We the council would like a list, that tells exactly what races are aberration in your opinion. We would like an exact list.

21st of Hammer, year 152 Anti-aberration law.

As detailed in the proposal, the following monsters should always be considered aberrations:
• Illithids (mind flayers)
• Beholders (eye tyrants)
• Beholder-kin
• Intellect devourers
• Hook horrors
• Umber hulks
Furthermore, ettercaps and driders both fall under this category. Note also sections B and D in the bill.

However, this is not a comprehensive list. Rather, it is a list based upon the extent of our current knowledge available on the subject of the unnatural creation that is the aberration, and there are certainly several more as-of-yet either undiscovered or simply unnamed and -detailed flagrancies hiding within the shadows of the Underdark.

There is no one known trait that characterizes the aberration in such a way that a comprehensive list can be compiled, and no such list can be compiled until the day where all aberrations have finally met their rightfully deserved doom. Therefore, you, the Council, must be quick to decide upon the nature of a creature should a new species not yet either exluded from or included in this law be discovered, and you must, must, be willing to trust the educated judgment of the Society of the Ordered Mind in such a case.

- Ordinant Shea.

We cannot have open ended lists as part of the law. The proposal will be based on the names you mentioned, or more narrowed list, if the Council or the First Citizen so decides. More may be added later, if reason arrives.

22nd of Hammer, year 152. Anti-aberration law.

You have proven in the past that you can work with incomprehensive lists. I don't see why that is no longer so.

- Ordinant Shea.

If you would read carefully, you would see there is no problem with the list you gave. The note was that the law needs to be an exact list, which may be added to, if there is a demand.

22nd of Hammer, year 152. Anti-aberration law.

Then to reiterate:
• Beholders (eye tyrants)
• Beholder-kin
• Driders
• Ettercaps
• Hook horrors
• Illithids (mind flayers)
• Intellect devourers
• Umber hulks
• Thralls to any of the above.
These are all documented and are, at least to a lesser extent, relatively common.

- Ordinant Shea.