The Natural Law of the Mali'ame

[Toffee 2843]

 

THE

OF THE 

 

 

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Upholding the balance is at the centre of everything, the foundation on which all Mali’ame societies have been built, and the basis of all traditional Mali’ame law. This balance applies to nature and to society, with a heavy emphasis on elnarnsae’ame and Aspectism as the pathway to achieving harmony.

 

In recent years, there have been many discussions and debates amongst the denizens of Nevaehlen about whether the realm should have a codex of written laws. But, contrary to what some believe, Nevaehlen has never been lawless. There are a collection of natural laws that are intrinsic to our way of life as Mali’ame and followers of the Wild Faith, rules that we follow without thinking and without explicit instruction.

 

I have compiled these laws in written form, in the hope it might inform any future codex, if one ever comes to pass by a vote of the Omentahu.

 

Illynora Aureon Sylvaeri

211 S.A.

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I. The balance of nature and society is the cornerstone of all Mali'ame law.

 

II. Aspectism and, by extension, elnarnsae’ame, is the sole recognised religion and pathway for upholding this balance.

 

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THE LAWS OF

 

III. Farming is prohibited, except for Ame’lie groves.

 

In the days of Irrin Sirame, our people were nomads, travelling from forests to woodlands to rivers to lakes, living off the land and moving on before the natural balance could be disrupted. We kept no livestock and built no farms. Farming, particularly agriculture, can disrupt the balance in several ways. It reduces the variety of plant and animal species in an area, weakening the land. Farming crops degrades the soil, meaning that Ame’lie trees cannot take root. Ploughing fields and irrigating with false water destroys the natural habitats of creatures who once lived there. Waste from livestock contaminates nearby streams and flows to the ocean.

 

Keeping livestock for slaughter is also sanctioned; hunting wild animals is the only permitted method of obtaining meat.

 

Exceptions to this are the sacred Ame’lie groves. The Aureon Seed was the first to cultivate ikurn’amonn, ironwood trees, and many Mali’ame nurture other forms of Ame’lie. They provide us with resources for food, clothing, houses, and even alcohol, while also growing in harmony with the wider natural world.

 

IV. Sadistic behaviour towards plants or animals is strictly disallowed.

 

This includes hunting; an animal must not be hunted for sport or for glory, only to gain sustenance from its meat and use of its hide. Clean kills are mandatory, with no animal being left to suffer, and expressions of gratitude to the Father and patron Mani of that animal are expected.

 

V. The practice of Voidal magic and other dark arts is forbidden.

 

VI. Protection of Fae creatures is required.

 

This law came to be in the el’Naeri Evarir Act of 1663 F.A., requiring the protection of creatures of the Fae including but not limited to sprites, cervitaurs, satyrs, and bryophites.

 

VII. Disturbance of the natural landscape is prohibited.

 

This includes obtrusive construction; any buildings must blend seamlessly into the natural environment rather than exist in spite of it. Vandalism of natural spaces, whether intentionally or unintentionally, is forbidden.

 

VIII. Overfishing and overhunting are prohibited to protect and preserve natural resources.

 

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THE LAWS OF

 

IX. Unprovoked violence against innocents is forbidden, including injury, killing, and kidnapping.

 

I had an interesting philosophical debate with a group of Mali’ame in Nevaehlen about if, and when, killing is acceptable. The generally accepted consensus was that unprovoked violence should be forbidden, but there were circumstances where violence was warranted, such as to protect oneself, another, or nature.

 

X. Theft is prohibited.

 

In this same debate, we had an enlightening conversation about what items were capable of being stolen. All agreed that natural resources such as water were incapable of being owned and therefore incapable of being stolen, but what of other items? I pointed to the necklace at my throat, made of pearls gathered on the shores of Aegrothond in Arcas. Were pearls not a natural resource? How, then, could I say that I owned it?

 

Many suggested that an item, even one forged from natural resources, became the property of someone once it had been altered and had sentimental meaning attached to it. These pearls were no longer just pearls, but a necklace made by my own two hands, which I have owned for over two centuries. It is undoubtedly mine. The group agreed that there was an instinctive knowledge of what amounted to theft and what amounted to a sharing of communal resources.

 

The war between Garthon and Teynei’Hiylu.

 

XI. There is no King but Malin.

 

The sentiment that “there is no King but Malin” is one that is deeply familiar to those of the Almenodrim. It is what we fought for and what we stood by during those long years of the Elven Cold War. Yet, within the Mali’ame there have been Mortal Kings and Mortal Queens, beginning with Kairn Ithelanen and ending with Awaiti Aureon. This, too, went against Mali’ame custom.

 

The tale of the Archdruid Garthon is one that has been lost to time. He gathered his Mali’ame brethren at a grand feast and said, “When Malin disappeared, we were left helpless. Our brothers the Mali’ker went with their Velulaei, and the High Elves with their Larihei, and we were forgotten. We, the only ones who dared to stay with what our father had taught us. Elvenkind is fractured. The time for a new King of the Elves is come.” In his eyes, it was time for a new king, and who better to take up the mantle than Garthon himself, who remembered Malin’s rule?

 

Garthon met Taynei’Hiylu the Green Dragon in secret and pleaded with her to give him the power to conquer all Mali. Taynei not only rebuffed him but stripped him of his archdruid rank. She even attempted to unattune him, but Garthon fought back and fled. In his exile, he found an ancient piece of magic that allowed him to enslave nature to his command. With this ancient, terrible magic at his fingertips, all the wilds were Garthon’s to command. He travelled from Seed to Seed, convincing them to join his army. “Join me, and I overflow your Ame’lie with fruit and bring all the game to your forests. Refuse, and I make your trees wither and your animals die.” 

 

Some Seeds joined him, but many more resisted. They saw Garthon as a draoi usurper, attempting to claim a title which only Malin himself could ever bear. In the war that followed, brother turned against sister and the destruction ravaged their beloved forests. Beloun, Chirr and other Seeds stood with Garthon. Nor’ehya, Aureon, Tahorran and Caerme’onn stood with Taynei’Hiylu. In the final battle, Taynei’Hiylu entered in her dragaar form, fighting against Garthon’s hold on the wilds by channelling the pure power of the Aspects. The battle was won. Garthon had lost.

 

Taynei’Hiylu pursued Garthon into the woods, but rather than slaying him where he stood, she offered him mercy. Garthon’s heart had hardened, and Taynei’s peace fell on deaf ears. He used that ancient magic to seal Taynei’Hiylu away as the Aspects had once done so many centuries ago. Just as Garthon turned to return to his army, an arrow pierced through his back, loosed from the bow of Irrin Sirame.

 

Irrin rushed to where Taynei’Hiylu had been swallowed by the earth, but it was no use. The bindings Garthon had put in place could not be undone by her, nor any other druid. 

 

This tale serves as a reminder that there is no King but Malin, and any attempts to claim such a title can only lead to death and destruction.

 

XII. Interbreeding between Mali and non-Mali is strictly forbidden, as such leads to a child being doubly cursed.

 

XIII. Children are defined as those Mali under the age of fifty years.

 

Physically, Mali reach maturity at the age of eighteen, much like other Descendant races. Culturally, adulthood is not attained until the age of fifty. Therefore, marriage under the age of fifty is severely frowned upon, as is having children below this age, particularly where the relationship is between an Elf over the age of fifty and an Elf under the age of fifty.

 

Mali are still considered young and to be “living their kalem’Valah” until the age of one hundred.

 

XIV. Violence against children is strictly forbidden and punishable to the harshest of degrees.

 

Elven children are so rare and precious that nearly every codex of Mali’ame law has included a specific rule against the harming of children.

 

XV. Slavery is prohibited; Mali’ame live in service only to the Aspects.

 

XVI. Slander against the state and acts of treason are punishable offenses.

 

Many Mali’ame realms were more of a nation state than Nevaehlen, which exists more as a closely-knit community and village. It is unlikely that treason would ever be committed, and unlikely that it would be recognised as a legitimate law by the Nevaehli’onn.

 

XVII. Seed leaders may represent their own.

 

If a member of a Seed is ever brought before a court or exarch, traditional law holds that the Seed leader may stand as their representative.

 

XVIII. The Omentahu has the right to question the leadership and vote on matters of law and governance.

 

XIX. Only full-blooded Elves can be citizens and own property.

 

This is an example of an archaic law that existed in the Dominion of Malin, Diarchy of Irrinor, Principality of Aegrothond, and Princedom of Elvenesse, but no longer reflects the values of the modern Mali’ame in Nevaehlen.

 

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XX. Desecration of holy shrines and sites is forbidden.

 

XXI. Interruption of religious ceremonies is prohibited.

 

XXII. Only Mali’ame can practice Aspectism and the Wild Faith.

 

This was a once held belief that is no longer true nor enforced. There are many non-Mali’ame and indeed non-Mali practitioners of Aspectism and elnaensae’ame.

 

XXIII. No other religions except Aspectism and the Wild Faith are allowed to be practiced.

 

Much like the above, this law is no longer enforced nor recognised. In Aegrothond, Elvenesse, and all its successor states, many of the Almenodrim worshiped the Sea Goddess Thalassa and other minor sea deities. The Mali of Illivira practice Duarchism, which is a blend of Aspectism and the worship of Thalassa and Faunus. Nevaehlen is home to a community of Bortu who worship the Brathmordakin, and Kha who worship their various Aenguls and Daemons.

 

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XXIV. Branding.

 

A commonly practiced punishment was to brand or maim someone who had broken the law, or mark them with the ilmyumier of Siss’siru’s Grip.

 

XXV. Banishment.

 

Banishment (or a Shun from a Druidic Grove), is a recognised and frequently practiced form of punishment, even in Nevaehlen where there are no written laws.

 

XXVI. Public flogging.

 

This punishment was used frequently in the Dominion of Malin as a punitive measure, meant to humiliate the wrongdoer just as much as provide them with physical pain. It has long since fallen out of favour.

 

XXVII. Death.

 

In line with the earlier discussion on whether killing is ever permissible, execution was a method of punishment used in many Mali’ame nations.

 

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This writing represents the core laws that have remained constant across many Mali’ame societies, emphasising the eternal and sacred balance, the importance of Aspectism, and the preservation of Mali’ame culture, history, and traditions. There are many and more laws that have been unique to only one nation, reflecting the specific values and worldviews of that community.

 

The Dominion of Malin

 

The Dominion’s Codex of Law under the reign of High Princess Awaiti Aureon, 1646 F.A.

 

The Compendium of Rights under the reign of High Prince Belestram Sylvaeri, 1649 F.A.

 

The el’Naeri Evarir Act, establishing the relationship between the Naelurir Grove and government of the Dominion of Malin, 1663 F.A.

 

The Dominion’s Codex of Law under the reign of Mortal King Abelas Caerme’onn, 1675 F.A.

 

The Mother Grove

 

The Laws of the Mother Grove, 1700 F.A.

 

The Diarchy of Irrinor

 

The Laws and Mandates of the Diarchy of Irrinor, 1726 F.A.

 

The Principality of Aegrothond

 

The Common Law of Aegrothond during the reign of High Prince Belestram Sylvaeri and High Princess Illynora Sylvaeri, 1705 F.A.

 

The Almenorean Codex of Law during the reign of High Prince Fëanor Sylvaeri, 1770 F.A. 

 

The Crown of Elvenesse

 

Indor Tiran, the Codex Elvenesse, during the reign of High Prince Fëanor Sylvaeri, 0 S.A.

 

The Vale of Nevaehlen

 

Code of Conduct for the Vale of Nevaehlen and Father Circle, 12 S.A.

 

The Crown of Amaethea

 

The Amaethean Law Codex during the reign of High Prince Kosher Daesmon, 108 S.A.

 

The Crown of Amathine

 

The Amathine Law Codex during the reign of High Princess Idril Sylvaeri, 170 S.A.

[Metamancy 1759]

"Hmm," thought The Wise Old Rat, planning his voidal tear abuse. "I should stay away from the Vale."