To the Spellguard Order's Senior Officer, Duke Barkely:

On behalf of the Council of Sanctuary, I seek your response to a proposed reunification between the old Order and our restructured government of Sanctuary. Due to the apparently un-restrained actions of some of your Agents, we feel that Watch regulation is, at least presently, a necessary aspect of any restoration of the Spellguard's legal power. In time, through the demonstration of cooperation and responsible decision making, future councils may grant more independence to Spellguard powers, and secession will become a mere footnote in our histories.

Proposal Sanctuary hereby annexes the boundaries of the Spellguard Magocracy; the Spellguard as a sovereign entity dissolves.

The Order of the Spellguard's mages will be in the employ of the Sanctuary, under the direction of a Commander and Senior Officer.

The Spellguard is charged with maintaining a minimum of two animatron defenders at the main gates and a minimum of two animatron defenders elsewhere in Sanctuary. Additional available defense constructs may be assigned by the Sheriff or the Council as needed.

The Spellguard is responsible for the enchantment of government equipment, the wards within Sanctuary, and the reactivated defenses of Dunwarren.

The Commander, Senior Officer and the Sheriff have the authority to extend and withdraw arrest powers to and from Spellguard mages. The Sheriff's authority in this is greater than the Spellguard's. All subjects of arrest are to be sent to the Watch House. Records of arrest are to be immediately available to the Watch.

Mages of the Spellguard will be appraised of magical criminal activity within Sanctuary and may capture the suspects of a warrant, to turn over to the Watch.

The Spellguard may gather evidence and write up a warrant, to be posted in the appropriate bulletin by a member of the Watch; subjects of such warrants may be prosecuted by the Spellguard at the mage's request, prior to capture.

To facilitate the Spellguard's required duties, no less than 5% of the Sanctuary Town Budget will be allocated to the Order.

So that the Spellguard may better uphold its charges, the following shall be made law:

• Obstruction of magical or mechanical research (In a pre-existing or Council-approved government project) Serious Crime
• Inappropriate use of magic (Outside Spellguard wards and/or without Spellguard registration) Minor Crime

Official Statement The Council considers the Spellguard the most knowledgeable and experienced regarding the Machine and urges citizens to support them in continuing to research and harness it for Sanctuary's defense.

I will appreciate any glaring issues with this proposal being addressed.

Varlam Nikitovich 15 Flamerule 152

Councilor Nitkovitch,

These negotiations have been long and difficult, hopefully we can begin to hammer something out, at long last.

Sanctuary hereby annexes the boundaries of the Spellguard Magocracy; the Spellguard as a sovereign entity dissolves.

The Order of the Spellguard's mages will be in the employ of the Sanctuary, under the direction of a Commander and Senior Officer.

I am assuming, by this, you mean the current setup of our Order.

The Spellguard is charged with maintaining a minimum of two animatron defenders at the main gates and a minimum of two animatron defenders elsewhere in Sanctuary. Additional available defense constructs may be assigned by the Sheriff or the Council as needed.

The Spellguard is responsible for the enchantment of government equipment, the wards within Sanctuary, and the reactivated defenses of Dunwarren.

At our own cost? Or will these be part of our defense contracts?

The Commander, Senior Officer and the Sheriff have the authority to extend and withdraw arrest powers to and from Spellguard mages. The Sheriff's authority in this is greater than the Spellguard's. All subjects of arrest are to be sent to the Watch House. Records of arrest are to be immediately available to the Watch.

I will require some sort of unbiased appeal process to be outline so that Azzam does not neuter my mages on a whim.

Mages of the Spellguard will be appraised of magical criminal activity within Sanctuary and may capture the suspects of a warrant, to turn over to the Watch.

The Spellguard may gather evidence and write up a warrant, to be posted in the appropriate bulletin by a member of the Watch; subjects of such warrants may be prosecuted by the Spellguard at the mage's request, prior to capture.

This is as it should be. I would prefer that the Agents be able to file their own warrants, and then a ranking Watch member can void them if they feel it necessary. We are not in the business of superfluous warrants, Councilor, and running around to find some private to rubber stamp one is wasteful of time and energy.

To facilitate the Spellguard's required duties, no less than 5% of the Sanctuary Town Budget will be allocated to the Order.

Well, you will get what you pay for, as always. Unless the town has grown in astounding prosperity, 5% will not cover much. It would likely cover our minimal operating expenses - paying agents, feeding them, maintaining the hall, and such. This is at your discretion however - do not be nonplussed, though, if we are allotted 5% and can not do any defense work.

So that the Spellguard may better uphold its charges, the following shall be made law:

Obstruction of magical or mechanical research (In a pre-existing or Council-approved government project) Serious Crime

Inappropriate use of magic (Outside Spellguard wards and/or without Spellguard registration) Minor Crime

In the former, the Spellguard is constantly researching the machine and its environs, for the good of all citizens. If the Council decides that is not a 'pre-existing approved project', then we have issues. If this means that we are able to detain those interfering with our duties in this regard, then it is agreeable. I would further that, in areas of heavy Spellguard work, such as the 'Machine Zone', our Agents be able to make more mundane arrests where required under this provision, so that work is not disrupted.

We have no desire to run about chasing down petty crooks in the Streets of Sanctuary, or to break up fisticuffs in the Last Stand. However if thieves are stealing from our outposts, or citizens are brawling near a work-site, then it becomes a problem. Clarification will be needed here.

As for the second point, of course we will remain vigilent for reckless spellcasting.

Barkley

Copies of Barkely and Varlam's reply are made available to the council...

Officer Barkely,

I may not have personally been a very effective Agent, but I was observant. This proposal should be enough to bring the Order back into Sanctuary with purpose and acceptance.

The Spellguard sacrificed over a century's hard-built trust so that, for the past few months, it could narrowly focus on its cloistered studies and threaten death upon those who interfere. With good will, rights can be restored; trust can be remembered. For better or worse, that will take time.

I will not try to speak for the rest of the council, but if the Spellguard does not desire a reasonable chance to come back I'll take the personal stance that the Spellguard would prefer to remain its own government, separate, not unlike the Lowers, from my political point of view.

Though they already approved the proposal in the first letter, I will make all of these documents available to the council to further deliberate. Most likely you will be corresponding with Councilor Sparklegem in the future.

Varlam Nikitovich 18 Flamerule 152

Former Agent Nikitovich,

This proposal is generally pleasing. However, we must ask for clarification on several points. Your dismissal of us as not being reasonable seems rather unfounded from what I've read of this corespondence. I think that we can agree that a unified and unfractured Sanctuary is what we all wish. To this end I propose that the Council, Azzam, and I meet to discuss the terms of reunification.

-- Spellguard Commander Simms