The Compact is the ancient agreement that governs all Myths. It is not a legal document or a constitution. It is a set of commands, vague and poetic, handed down by the six great leaders who created it with their own lives. It is up to Myths to define the Compact for themselves.
Before the Compact, Myths waged war with abandon. Struggles for dominion over human groups, control over gateways, and divergent beliefs made each Myth both predator and prey for their contemporaries. Violence and paranoia ruled their interactions. This tension began to influence the Narratives, drawing Myths into ever more violent and conflict-ridden stories. More and more Forgotten appeared, with even the mightiest Myths falling victim to them.
In this desperate chaos, six powerful Myths came together upon the highest mountain, each representing a prominent faction and viewpoint among Myth kind. They spent months in isolation, talking and discussing what was to be done, while their followers fell back to warring among themselves. After many months they came back down, and drew Myths from all ends of the earth together for their proclamation. All Myths under their rule would now abide by a great set of laws. All sins would be forgotten and forgiven. All debts erased.
The six then returned to the mountaintop and completed their great ritual. They never returned. But their most influential followers did, bringing with them the Compact.
As a final sacrifice, and to cement the ritual that would bind it, the six great leaders chose to be forgotten entirely. Their names survived only as the six Courts, loose collections of Myths with similar goals and duties. Each left behind a single object, a talisman to prevent their identities from being completely destroyed. Their followers kept these objects as reminders and symbols of their leaders’ sacrifices.
The identities of the six founders are the most protected secret in Myth society. Uncovering them would break the magic that holds the Compact together. It is the ultimate goal of the Alexandrians.
The Laws
The Compact’s laws are interpreted differently by different groups and cultures. Several interpretations have become common enough to form loose political blocs among Myths. The most widely accepted principles are:
Do not block the story of another.
Do not mix the Waking World and Otherside.
Do not claim dominion over humanity.
Live in humanity’s imagination, not as a fact.
Never recover the names of the Myths that created the Compact.
Do not take a life, as death holds no adventure.
Do not bring plot-untouched humans to Otherside.
Do not bring Otherside creatures to the Waking World.
Do not interfere with another’s Narrative.
Respect the hospitality of those under your roof.
Respect the rights of guests under your roof.
Consequences
The Compact is not enforced purely by social pressure. It is backed by narrative consequence. Breaking it once will bring nothing major down upon a Myth. But flagrant and repeated violations, by large groups or to an extreme degree, will cause the Narratives themselves to turn hostile. Otherside may become actively dangerous. Most Myths enforce the Compact as best they can for this reason, though shortsighted individuals and wayward groups have always existed.
The instrument of the Compact is the Courts. Each descends from one of the six lost founders, carrying forward their duties and their name. Not all Myths belong to a Court. In fact most do not. But those who do take on the responsibilities of enforcement, mediation, and guidance that keep Myth society functioning.
Strangely, almost all Zeitgeists follow the Compact, despite not being part of the Courts. They are simply too large to be constrained by Myth society’s structures. Their servants, however, often follow the laws of the Compact, even while remaining deeply antagonistic towards Myths in general.
