Setting lore

Freehold Oath
The Oath of the Monarch

''On this Solstice/Equinox day I freely accept the crown the Wyrd has bestowed. I will strive to be worthy of the trust of my Freehold, and to uphold its interests in all things. May I thrive as my Freehold thrives, and fall should I let it fall.''

The mechanics of the monarch's oath are only available to those who take the crown.

The Oath of the Member

''On this Solstice/Equinox day I swear my allegiance to the Freehold of Persimmon Grove and its Wyrd-chosen monarch. By my actions I will support and defend my home, and it will support and defend me in turn. May I thrive and find a true home here so long as my loyalty lasts.''

Tasks: Fealty - the Changeling swears loyalty to the Freehold. The monarch or hir representative may make reasonable requests of the Changeling's talents to assist or defend the Freehold and its goals. The Changeling swears not to act against the monarch. (Disagreement and verbal disrespect are allowed, though the latter is not encouraged.)  The Changeling swears to obey the laws of the Freehold.

Boons: Blessing, Lesser - the Changeling receives Resources 1, or increases their Resources by 1. No member of the Freehold will be destitute.

Blessing, Medial - the Changeling receives Allies 2 or increases their Allies by 2. (It is the Changeling player's choice how to distribute these dots, whether this represents one 2-dot Ally or two 1-dot Allies.)  No member of the Freehold will be friendless.

Vassalage - the Changeling is recognized as a member of the Freehold. They have a right to petition the Monarch and be heard, publicly or privately. They have the right to call on the Freehold for help, within reason. If they are captured, the Freehold will bargain or fight for their release. If they are injured, physically or otherwise, the Freehold will repair the harm as best it can. If they die, their deaths will be mourned and, if possible, avenged, and the Freehold will do its best to make sure their responsibilities are not abandoned. In addition, as long as the monarch is a seasonal monarch, the Wyrd grants the blessing of Fertility - all Changelings get a +1 to harvest Glamour, as emotions flow strong and free when the seasonal patterns are maintained.

Sanctions: Vulnerability, Violence - if the Changeling breaks this pledge, for a full season (89 days) they have a Defense of 0 against physical violence when enacted by any member of the Freehold. This Sanction goes into effect automatically if the pledge is broken, regardless of whether the monarch decrees anything.

Banishment - When the pledge is broken, the monarch knows it instantly, as well as who broke it and the immediate cause (though not the reasons or circumstances.)  While some monarchs may wait to find out more information, at any time after this the monarch may, as long as at least 1/4th of his vassals are present, announce that the Changeling is banished. The Changeling, no matter where they are, immediately knows they have been banished, and knows that it is time to get out of town - if found within the Freehold's boundaries (in this case, DeLand city limits), any Freehold member will gain a point of Glamour by acting to harm them, and any Freehold member who manages to kill them within the Freehold's boundaries will gain Glamour equal to the Changeling's Wyrd.

Duration: Season - the oath is usually sworn on the Solstice or Equinox, during the changing of the seasons. Between these times, a Changeling may swear the oath (leaving off the first four words), but the Duration will be partial - this oath always ends and must be resworn at the end of the current season.

The Oath of the Neighbor

''On this Solstice/Equinox day I reaffirm my friendship with the Freehold of Persimmon Grove. While I am within its boundaries I will do no harm to its members nor help those who do, nor will I traffic in souls nor help those who do. So long as I abide by this may I enjoy peace and goodwill with my neighbors.''

Tasks: Alliance, lesser - the Changeling swears not to harm or hinder the freehold as a whole or its individual members, nor to actively assist those who attempt (or succeed!) to do so.

Forbiddance, lesser - the Changeling swears not to engage in slavery, here defined as "selling, giving, or through willful negligence allowing to be taken, any sentient creature into any circumstance zie did not freely choose and cannot freely leave."

Boons: Blessing, lesser - the Changeling gains one dot of Allies, or increases an existing Ally by one dot. Good neighbors get to make good friends.

Sanctions: Vulnerability, Violence -  if the Changeling breaks this pledge, for a full season (89 days) they have a Defense of 0 against physical violence when enacted by any member of the Freehold.

Duration: Season - the oath is usually sworn on the Solstice or Equinox, during the changing of the seasons. Between these times, a Changeling may swear the oath (leaving off the first four words), but the Duration will be partial - this oath always ends and must be resworn at the end of the current season.

Note that when this is sworn, the monarch also enters the oath on behalf of the Freehold, but only the Alliance Task, Sanction, and Duration apply - the Forbiddance is covered by Freehold law, and they do not get the Boon, but if a member of the Freehold harms or hinders the neighbor, that member is vulnerable to violence enacted by the betrayed neighbor.

Changing of the Seasons
At each Solstice and Equinox, all members of the Freehold and Changeling residents of DeLand gather in one of the two ballrooms of the Freehold Hollow. At an orchestrated moment, the current monarch steps before the crowd and says "I freely step down from my position, and pass my crown to another," or words to that effect, as the crown fades from over their head and all present feel their pledges from the last season come to an end. The crown then manifests over the head of the Wyrd's next chosen monarch - almost without exception, a member of the Court tied to the season about to start, and someone who was sworn to the Freehold during the previous season.

If the one chosen does not accept, they simply need to say "I do not accept this burden," and the crown will pass to another, though this is considered unlucky. Otherwise, the new monarch moves to the front, where they swear the Oath of the Monarch. Immediately after, all who wish to be members of the Freehold during the coming season swear, as one, the Oath of the Member; after that, all those who wish to be considered neighbors of the Freehold swear the Oath of the Neighbor. After that there is usually a celebration of some kind, and traditionally the monarch (or in the case of Winter, the monarch's chosen representative) stays in the Hollow for the rest of the day so that those who for whatever reason couldn't be there for the "official" oaths can still stop in and pledge their loyalty or friendship.

No one is required to swear an oath, and the monarch has the right to refuse to accept any person's oath. However, any Changeling who either lives in DeLand or spends a great deal of time here is encouraged to swear one or the other. If they refuse, or if the monarch will not accept their oath, they are given a length of time (traditionally a month, though this can vary) and politely asked to either change their minds or leave before the time is up. If they do not, the request can get much less polite. (Note: the Freehold offers rogue Changelings no security or protection during this grace period - individual members can and sometimes do act against them during that time.  But the Crown will not mobilize the Freehold as a whole against them - unless they actively do harm, at which point the grace period comes to an abrupt and early end.)

The monarch can also name a non-Changeling supernatural as a Friend of the Freehold - presumably some oath is sworn, but the details are not known to any except the monarch and the supernatural in question.

Recent Freehold History
For the last several years, the Freehold has fallen into a recognizable pattern when it comes to monarchs: Big McTavish in the Spring, Roxie Ruthless in the Summer, Pretty Girl in the Autumn, and Whisper in the Winter. In fact, these four are collectively referred to as "the monarchs," and despite ideological differences, try very hard to work together and avoid pissing each other off. (In part because of pragmatism - what goes around comes around!)  Lately, however, Pretty Girl has been seeming to resent the burdens of the crown more and more, to the extent that some whisper that she might refuse it.

Freehold Laws
While individual monarchs can (and often do) add to these during their season, these are the basic laws that remain, unchanged, from season to season. (Note: while breaking a law is technically a violation of the Freehold Pledge and will activate the Sanction of Vulnerability, the Changeling is still considered a member of the Freehold until Banishment is pronounced.  In many cases, a Changeling may be given a lesser punishment - community service of some kind, perhaps - and invited to retake the oath.  If the Sanction of Vulnerability is invoked a second time, the second application automatically applies to Glamour instead.)

Note that laws can only be broken voluntarily - someone who is magically coerced will not be held accountable for laws they break, and neither will someone whose Clarity is determined to be too low to know what they're doing. However, they may be ordered to take steps to keep it from happening again (intense counseling with a Bishop of Blackbird, for instance, to raise their Clarity), and if they refuse, then they may be breaking their oath.

(Note that some laws refer to "an innocent" - this refers to anyone who is not connected to the Freehold but is not an enemy in any way - most mortals and other supernaturals.  They are not explicitly protected by the laws, but Changelings who feel personally protective of someone is free to defend that person without fear of the law's repercussions - although punishment is possible if the monarch deems excessive force was used.)
 * Members of Persimmon Hollow will not engage in slavery, here defined to mean selling, giving, or through willful negligence allowing to be taken, any sentient creature into any circumstance zie did not freely choose and cannot freely leave, nor will they aid those who do.
 * Members of Persimmon Hollow will not murder or maliciously harm any members, neighbors, or friends of the Freehold except in self-defense, the defense of an innocent or a Freehold member, friend, or neighbor, or in a mutually-agreed-upon duel.
 * Members of Persimmon Hollow will not murder any other changeling or mortal without the monarch's permission, except in self-defense, the defense of an innocent or a Freehold member, friend, or neighbor, or in a mutually-agreed-upon duel.
 * Members of Persimmon Hollow will not reveal the true nature of any non-loyalist/non-privateer Changeling other than themselves to any person or entity unless the Changeling in question provides express permission for their true nature to be revealed.
 * Members of Persimmon Hollow will not maliciously interfere in the affairs of mortals without the monarch's permission, unless it is in self-defense, in the defense of the Freehold, or in the defense of an innocent or a Freehold member, friend, or neighbor.
 * The Fetch Compromise will be upheld.

The Fetch Compromise
Local opinions on Fetches range from "he's my best buddy!" to "kill 'em all on sight." To keep it from descending into utter anarchy, the following compromise was created years ago, and no monarch has changed it for fear of reprisals from the others:

Except as stated below, each Changeling has the right to decide what is to be done with hir own Fetch (the Fetch created to replace hir). Zie may choose to kill them, ignore them, befriend them, whatever, and no one may gainsay them. If a Fetch does not have a counterpart to the best of the Freehold's knowledge, any member of the Freehold or neighbor or friend in good standing may "claim" them - i.e., extend their protection to them. If that happens, members of the Freehold and its neighbors and friends may not harm the Fetch, but if the Fetch screws up, the person who claimed them may also suffer the consequences.

Two things strip all protection from a Fetch: the intentional murder (i.e., killing someone in a car accident doesn't count) of a Changeling or mortal, except in self-defense or the defense of another; and freely handing any Changeling or mortal to the Gentry or to anyone who could reasonably be assumed to then hand them over to a Gentry. A Fetch who does either of these things is fair game no matter who they are or who claims them, and in all probability will be hunted down and killed - or at least the attempt will be made.

Fetches may enter into pledges with individuals, but may not become members, neighbors, or friends of the Freehold.