Although no copies of Bynnewalle's charter at the time of the attack remain, we do have Nicholas' recollections of the major points. The new magi have composed their own charter, drawing inspiration from the old charter, the traditions of the Order, and their needs at the present time.
The charter of the Covenant of Bynnewalle, founded on the tenth day of Capricorn, in the thirteen hundred and fifty-eighth year of Aries, witnessed and validated by Lucien ex Guernicus and Dalton ex Guernicus, Quaesitors.
Dedication
This Covenant of Bynnewalle is hereby founded to the the advancement of the Art and the mutual protection of its Members, that we may work as one and grow hale and strong.
Membership
The charter members of the Covenant of Bynnewalle, by name
Aite ex Criamon filius X,
Atria ex Miscellanea filia X,
Cornelius ex Jerbiton filius Claudii,
Dalton ex Guernicus filius X,
Isaiah ex Bonisagus filius Asketil ex Tremere, filiusque Batholomei,
and Ysle ex Verditius filia Denuo,
shall be Full Members.
No magus shall be a member of Bynnewalle who is not a member of the Order of Hermes in good standing. Expulsion from the Order of Hermes shall result in expulsion from the Covenant of Bynnewalle, and immediately ends all rights as a member of Bynnewalle.
Any magus may seek membership in the Covenant of Bynnewalle. Upon majority vote of the Council, the magus may be accepted as a Probationary Member.
A Probationary Member may apply for Full Membership after spending at least six four seasons as a Probationary Member. At this time the Council shall decide by majority vote whether to accept the Probationary Member as a Full Member. If the Council denies Full Membership, the Probationary Member or any other member may petition the Council to allow the Probationary Member an additional Probationary Term. Approval for an additional Probationary Term must be unanimous.
If the Probationary Member is neither accepted as a Full Member nor granted an additional Probationary Term, membership is denied. The petitioning magus neither gains Full Membership nor retains Probationary Membership.
An applicant may be accepted immediately as a Full Member by unanimous vote in Council.
Members joining the covenant (including charter Members) retain rights to all property not specifically turned over to the covenant, including vis sources. All texts not specifically excluded must be made available for Covenant use upon request, although they remain the property of the Member.
Should a Member die, and there be no inheritor recognized by House Guernicus, the Covenant gains possession of all property of the former Member.
Each Member, Full or Probationary, who does not owe the Covenant a debt of service, may withdraw from the Covenant at the beginning of a Seasonal Council. All rights of Membership are forfeited upon withdrawal. If a Member wishes to withdraw, but owes a debt of service, he or she may pay three pawns of vis for every season owed, or propose some other way of paying this debt to the Council. Once the vis has been paid, or some other offer accepted by majority vote of Council (excluding the Member wishing to withdraw), he or she may proceed to withdraw.
When a Member withdraws from the Covenant, the Covenant retains claims on all debts owed and reclaims any Covenant property let for use by the withdrawing Member. Unless otherwise decided by the Council, the withdrawing member must vacate Covenant premises and remove his or her Sanctum mark from Covenant premises within a fortnight of withdrawing Membership.
Council
Council shall be called at the beginning of each season, that is, on the Winter Solstice, the Spring Equinox, the Summer Solstice, and the Fall Equinox. Irregular Council may additionally be called by any Member (including Probationary Members), the Turb Captain, or the Autocrat.
Irregular Councils called on Matters of Interest shall meet within three days. Irregular Councils called on Matters of Urgency shall meet within twenty-four hours. Irregular Councils called on Matters of Emergency shall meet within an hour, and the first vote must be a vote of Emergency. If the vote of Emergency does not pass by majority vote, and not all members who might attend a Council of Urgency are present, the matter is deemed Urgent and Council shall be delayed to allow greater attendance.
Each Full Member shall have one vote in Council, and may raise matters. Probationary Members, the Turb Captain, and the Autocrat shall be permitted to raise matters for the attention of the Council, but may not vote.
In the case of a tied vote, a raised matter fails to pass.
If fewer than two thirds of the Full Members of this Covenant attend Council, the Council shall not have authority to raise or vote on matters of the Charter, Membership, or Discipline. However, should a vote of Emergency be proposed, and passed without dissent, said Council shall have full authority.
The Council shall have the authority to take mundanes into the service of the Covenant, and to agree to terms of service, and if necessary to pay them from Covenant resources. Mundanes serving the Covenant as members of the turb shall be under the authority of the Turb Captain, while covenfolk, craftsfolk, and all other mundanes shall be under the authority of the Autocrat. The Turb Captain and the Autocrat shall be under the authority of no Member, but the Council alone.
The Council shall have authority to distribute Covenant property: by shares when there is surplus, as loans, as gifts, as payment for service beyond that required, or as temporary assignment of a resource to a Member, the Turb Captain, or the Autocrat, who shall use said resource for the benefit of the covenant. Each distribution shall require a majority vote. The terms of any loan will be determined in Council. The Turb Captain and the Autocrat are responsible for redistribution of any resources granted to them among the turb and the covenfolk unless the Council makes specific the terms of any distribution.
The Council shall have the authority to determine the nature of service to the Covenant by majority vote. This may include but is not limited to: item creation or investigation, spell invention, scribing of any sort, vis extraction, seeking vis or other resources, improving the defense, resources, or reputation of the covenant, or studying in the service of a covenant goal. A season may be retroactively declared to be of service to the Covenant: by majority vote if the Member who served raises the matter, or by unanimous vote (save the Member who served) otherwise.
The Council shall have the authority to modify this Charter by two thirds vote.
Roles
A Rector shall be chosen from the Members by majority vote at each Winter Council. The Rector shall preside over Council, determining the order in which Members and others speak and the order in which matters are voted upon. The Rector shall cast the final vote.
If the Rector is not present at Council, the Full Member of greatest Hermetic age shall act as Rector pro Tempore for the duration of that Council, surrendering the office if the Rector arrives.
In cases where the Council has not appointed another to represent the Covenant, the Rector shall perform this duty.
The Rector shall be responsible for the property of the Covenant. Magical resources (save texts) shall be directly in the charge of the Rector, who shall keep their inventory and report on it to the Council. The Rector shall also have authority over the accounts of the Turb Captain, the Autocrat, and the Librarian. He or she shall report the Librarian's inventory to the Council, and may be called upon to report in the place of the Turb Captain or Autocrat should they not be in attendance.
The Council shall appoint, by majority vote, a Turb Captain to lead and be responsible for the needs and training of the turb. The Turb Captain shall have the responsibility to attend and raise matters at Council, and shall serve for life, or until retirement, or until the Council removes him from his duties.
The Council shall appoint, by majority vote, an Autocrat to lead and be responsible for the needs of the covenfolk, craftsfolk, and other mundanes not of the Turb. The Autocrat shall additionally be responsible for the mundane resources of the Covenant. The Autocrat shall have the responsibility to attend and raise matters at Council, and shall serve for life, or until retirement, or until the Council removes him from his duties.
The Council shall appoint by majority vote, or direct the Autocrat to appoint, a Librarian to care for and increase the textual wealth of the Covenant. The Librarian shall report to the Autocrat and the Dispensator, and shall have authority over those craftsfolk involved in scribing, illuminating, bookbinding, and the like. The Librarian shall serve for life, or until retirement, or until the Council removes him from his duties.
Reficiens
The Covenant of Bynnewalle, upon the establishment of this Charter, is declared to be in a period of Reficiens.
A period of Reficiens may be ended by a majority vote of the Council, signifying that the Council believes the Covenant to be well-established. However, before the matter of ending a period of Reficiens can be raised, the Covenant must have in its possession five pawns of each Art of vis, and additionally a sum of Rego and Vim vis sufficient to re-establish the Aegis of the Covenant.
A period of Reficiens may be declared by a majority vote in Council, signifying that the Council believes the Covenant to be in need of greater effort from its members. Reficiens may only be declared at a seasonal Council, or at a Council where a vote of Emergency has been passed.
During a period of Reficiens, each Member must devote an additional season per year to the service of the Covenant, and must surrender to the Covenant one fourth of any resources found outside of specific service to acquire such resource, if the resource may reasonably be divided. Vis sources are a special case and are detailed in the section on the Rights of Membership.
During a period of Reficiens, no distribution of vis or mundane wealth may be made from Covenant stores save by unanimous vote in Council.
Rights of Membership
Each Member, Full or Probationary, has the right to call Irregular Council, the right to be notified of Irregular Council, and the right to attend all Councils.
Each Member, Full or Probationary, has the right to raise matters in Council. Each Full Member has one vote in Council; Probationary Members have none.
Each Member, Full or Probationary, has the right to inclusion in the Aegis of the Covenant.
Each Member, Full or Probationary, has the right to a Sanctum within the Aegis of the Covenant, with a laboratory containing basic equipment.
Each Member, Full or Probationary, has the right to Library access. If the Member wishes to remove a text from the Library, the Librarian or the Autocrat must be informed.
Should the Council, by majority vote, determine that its stocks of vis are adequate, each Full Member has the right to one share of the distributed surplus.
Should the Council, by majority vote, determine that its stocks of mundane wealth are adequate, each Full Member has the right to one share, and each Probationary Member the right to one half-share, of the distributed surplus.
Each Member, Full or Probationary, has the right to reasonable use of the Covenant's mundane resources, but must register such use with the Autocrat. Full Members have the right to preempt Probationary Members in such use.
Each Member, Full or Probationary, has the right to retain all resources found or obtained while not in service to the Covenant, or while in service but not directed specifically to acquire resource, save during a period of Reficiens, when one fourth of all that is divisible must be surrendered to the Covenant.
Each Full Member has the right to the first year's yield of any vis source found when not on service to the covenant specifically to acquire vis, save during a period of Reficiens, when one fourth of that yield must be surrendered to the Covenant. Each Probationary Member has the right to one half of the first year's yield, or to one fourth during a period of Reficiens. If the yield is not evenly divisible, the uneven part goes to the finder.
Each Full Member has the right to retain any pawns of vis above three when extracting vis as service to the Covenant, and to pay the Covenant three pawns of Vim vis (or three pawns of some other Art with approval of the Council) in lieu of a season assigned to such service.
Each Full Member has the right to offer an exchange to the Council in place of a season of service. The exchange must be approved by majority vote.
Responsibilities of Membership
Each Member, Full or Probationary, must at all times be true to the Oath of Hermes, must obey the Peripheral Code of the Tribunal of Stonehenge, and must abide by the decisions of the Council.
Each Member, Full or Probationary, must make a reasonable effort to attend all Councils. Votes in Council must be made in what that Member believes is the interest of the Covenant.
Each Full Member, so long as the Covenant is not in a period of Reficiens, must spend one season of each year in service to the Covenant. During a period of Reficiens, each Full Member must spend two seasons of each year in service to the Covenant. The nature of this service shall be determined in Council.
Each Probationary Member, so long as the Covenant is not in a period of Reficiens, must spend two seasons of each year in service to the Covenant. During a period of Reficiens, each Probationary Member must spend three seasons of each year in service to the Covenant. The nature of this service shall be determined in Council.
If approved by a majority vote in Council, a Member may postpone seasons of service. Postponed seasons of service must be made up according to the terms of the postponement. If season of services are skipped, the Member must devote all subsequent seasons to service until the skipped seasons are made up, but may petition the Council for postponement as if these were normal seasons of service.
If a Member, Full or Probationary, is specifically serving the Covenant in obtaining some resource, all such resource obtained during the service must be surrendered to the Covenant.
During a period of Reficiens, each Member, Full or Probationary, must surrender to the Covenant one fourth of all divisible resources found or obtained while not in service to the Covenant for the specific purpose of obtaining such resource.
Each Member, Full or Probationary, must inform the Covenant of any vis source found, and this becomes Covenant property and shall be so registered with House Mercere. The finder is entitled to some part of the first year's yield, as detailed in the section describing the Rights of Membership. Vis sources owned prior to Membership may remain individual property as detailed in the Membership section.
Each Member, Full or Probationary, must defend the Covenant, if necessary using personal resources to do so.
Each Member, Full or Probationary, must ensure that the Covenant has at all times an Arcane Connection to the Member, and must grant the Covenant permission to scry upon him if a motion to scry is passed in Council by majority vote.
Disputes
Should the use of a personal resource be in dispute, the owner has first priority, and second priority goes to any Member, Full or Probationary, who requires the resource for service to the Covenant. The owner is free to resolve disputes below this in any way he wishes.
Should the use of a Covenant resource be in dispute, first precedence goes to any Member, Full or Probationary, who requires the resource for service to the Covenant. Second precedence goes to a Full Member over a Probationary Member.
Should two or more Members of equal status dispute use of or access to a Covenant resource, they may raise the matter in Council, with each magus offering to the Covenant some recompense for use of the resource. The Council shall then vote (excluding the disputing Members), and that Member whose offer receives the majority vote (or a plurality, should more than two Members be in dispute) shall have use of the dispute resource, and surrender to the Covenant the recompense offered.
There shall be no disputes in the matter of distribution from the covenant stores. When vis or other such disputable items are distributed, order of choice shall proceed in an established order: before the first such distribution, lots will be drawn to establish this order. After each distribution, the Member who was first in choice shall become last in choice. When a Probationary Member becomes a Full Member, he or she shall become last in choice.
Other disputes among the Members of the Covenant shall be settled as the Members agree, including by Certamen if the rules of Certamen apply. Members may raise the matter of dispute in Council, but must agree to the decision of the Council, and must accept that as wasting the Council's time is not in the interest of the Covenant, frivolous disputes may result in discipline.
Discipline
Discipline is of three levels: fine, demotion, and expulsion.
The Council may, by majority vote, fine any Member, Full or Probationary, which it determines to have broken any terms of this Charter. The nature and amount of the fine shall be determined on a case-by-case basis by the Council.
The Council may, by two thirds vote, demote any Full Member which it determines to have broken any terms of this Charter. Demotion reduces the Full Member to the status of Probationary Member. Probationary Members may not be demoted.
The Council may, by unanimous vote save the Member in question, expel any Member, Full or Probationary, from the Covenant. The rights of membership are revoked immediately upon expulsion.
If a Member is expelled while owing a debt to the Covenant, the Covenant claims property of the former Member equal to the amount of the debt, and three pawns of vis for each season of service owed.
Any Member, Full or Probationary, who is expelled from the Order of Hermes, is immediately expelled from the Covenant of Bynnewalle. No vote in Council is necessary.
