A Compact of restoration and continuance
Witnessed beneath the Iron Towers of Dis, sealed in the Hand of Zarchelia, Erinyes-Inquisitor of the Second Court, acting under warrant of His Iron Majesty Dispater, Lord of the Second
THIS COMPACT is entered into upon the date of its sealing, by and between ZARCHELIA, hereinafter styled the Proprietor, acting in her own name and as warranted agent of DISPATER, Lord of the Second, hereinafter styled the Sovereign; and the undersigned mortal soul, hereinafter styled the Petitioner, of their own volition and in full possession of their faculties as the Proprietor judges them.
WHEREAS
The Petitioner, having strayed from the Material Plane and being currently embodied within the jurisdiction of the Nine Hells, finds themselves without lawful conveyance to their place of origin;
And whereas the Proprietor, in her capacity as Petitioner's previously-bonded counterparty (per the Original Pact, sealed and unbroken), retains a continuing and protectable interest in the Petitioner's continued mortal existence;
And whereas the Sovereign, by warrant freely given and freely revocable, has consented to extend the conveyance described herein in furtherance of the Proprietor's standing interests;
And whereas the Petitioner desires return to their mortal form on the Material Plane, and the Proprietor desires the Petitioner's continued service against parties hostile to the Sovereign's domain;
NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the mutual covenants set forth below, the parties agree as follows:
ARTICLE I — RESTORATION OF THE PETITIONER
§1.1. The Sovereign, acting through the Proprietor, shall return the Petitioner's spirit to their mortal body upon the Material Plane at the Moment of Reconveyance, defined as the precise instant at which the Petitioner's mortal form would otherwise expire absent intervention.
§1.2. Upon Reconveyance, the Petitioner's mortal form shall be restored to a state no less than one-half (½) of its full vital capacity, measured by such methods as the Sovereign's clerks deem customary.
§1.3. The Petitioner shall further be restored to possession of:
(a) one (1) reservoir of arcane, divine, primal, or pact-bound capacity at each tier of expression presently available to the Petitioner;
(b) one (1) instance of each limited capacity, charge, or usage previously expended that is ordinarily renewed by extended rest;
provided, however, that the foregoing shall not constitute the equivalent of any extended rest, slumber, recuperation, meditation, or trance, nor shall it be construed to confer any benefit beyond those expressly enumerated. The Petitioner remains, in all other respects, as worn as they were at the Moment of Reconveyance.
§1.4. The Reconveyance is single-instance and non-renewable. The Petitioner shall not be entitled to subsequent restoration under this Compact, regardless of subsequent injury, death, or dismemberment.
ARTICLE II — DEEPENING OF THE ORIGINAL PACT
§2.1. The Petitioner's existing pact with the Proprietor is hereby reaffirmed, ratified, and extended in scope to include the obligations set forth in Article III. All prior terms remain in full force and effect, and any conflict between this Compact and the Original Pact shall be resolved in favor of the more onerous interpretation against the Petitioner.
§2.2. The Proprietor's Mark, as previously affixed, shall be deepened in evidence of this extension. The Petitioner consents to such deepening as a condition precedent to Reconveyance.
ARTICLE III — THE OBLIGATION OF SERVICE
§3.1. The Petitioner agrees to render martial aid to the Proprietor in one (1) Battle, as defined herein, when summoned by the Proprietor at her sole discretion.
§3.2. Definition of "Battle." For the purposes of this Compact, a Battle shall mean a single engagement satisfying all of the following constraints:
(a) Purpose. The engagement shall pursue a single, articulable strategic outcome stated by the Proprietor at the time of summons;
(b) Locus. The engagement shall be confined to a single Location, defined as a contiguous geographic area no greater in extent than the bounds of a city, township, fortification, or comparable settlement;
(c) Duration. The engagement shall not exceed forty-eight (48) consecutive hours, measured from the Petitioner's arrival at the Locus;
(d) Theatre. The engagement shall constitute one part of the larger ongoing hostilities between the forces of the Nine Hells and the forces of the Abyss (hereinafter the Blood War), and the Petitioner's adversaries in the engagement shall be drawn principally from the latter.
§3.3. Standard of Performance. The Petitioner shall render aid to the best of their abilities, as such abilities exist at the moment of summons. The Petitioner shall not be required to exceed their natural capacity, nor to act in contravention of fundamental conscience save where the Original Pact already so provides.
§3.4. Notice and Conveyance. The Proprietor shall provide notice of summons by such means as she elects, including but not limited to: dream-vision, sigil-flare, courier-fiend, or direct manifestation. The Proprietor shall further bear the cost of conveyance to the Locus, returning the Petitioner to the Material Plane at the engagement's conclusion provided the Petitioner survives same.
§3.5. Single Instance. This obligation, once discharged, is fully discharged. The Proprietor shall have no further claim of service against the Petitioner under this Compact, save as provided in the Original Pact.
ARTICLE IV — CONSIDERATION TO THE PETITIONER
§4.1. In further consideration of the Petitioner's assent, and as a token of the Sovereign's good faith, the Proprietor shall confer upon the Petitioner:
(a) one (1) Infernal Endowment (commonly styled a feat), drawn from the schedule maintained by the Proprietor's chancery, together with such Attendant Diminishment as the chosen Endowment requires;
(b) one (1) Object of Dis (a Pact Item), forged in the Iron City and warranted by the Sovereign's seal, the same to serve as ongoing material evidence of this Compact and as a focus through which the Proprietor may, at need, convey instruction or summons.
§4.2. The Petitioner acknowledges that the Endowment carries a permanent and irreducible cost, and accepts the same freely.
§4.3. The Pact Item remains, in form and substance, the property of the Sovereign, held by the Petitioner under license. The Sovereign reserves the right of recall in the event of material breach.
ARTICLE V — BREACH AND REMEDY
§5.1. Refusal of Summons. Should the Petitioner refuse, evade, or willfully fail to answer a lawful summons under Article III, the Petitioner shall be deemed in Material Breach, and the following shall obtain:
(a) the Pact Item shall return to the Sovereign by means of its choosing;
(b) the Endowment shall remain, but the Attendant Diminishment shall increase by one (1) further point of the same ability, and the increase shall be permanent;
(c) the Proprietor's standing claim against the Petitioner's soul, under the Original Pact, shall accelerate and become fully exigible.
§5.2. Breach by the Sovereign or Proprietor. No breach shall be deemed to have occurred on the part of the Sovereign or Proprietor save by formal adjudication before the Court of the Iron Towers, which Court the Petitioner acknowledges is unlikely to convene on their behalf.
§5.3. Force Majeure. Acts of greater fiends, divine intervention, the destruction of the Material Plane, or the resolution of the Blood War in favor of the Abyss shall excuse performance under this Compact. No other excuse shall be entertained.
ARTICLE VI — CONSTRUCTION AND GENERAL PROVISIONS
§6.1. Severability. Should any provision of this Compact be found unenforceable by a court of competent infernal jurisdiction, the remaining provisions shall continue in full force, and the Proprietor shall draft a replacement provision of equivalent or greater stringency.
§6.2. Integration. This Compact, together with the Original Pact, constitutes the entire agreement between the parties as to the subject matter herein. No prior representation, oral or written, divine or diabolic, shall supersede the terms hereof.
§6.3. Governing Law. This Compact shall be construed in accordance with the customary law of the Second, with such concessions to mortal sensibility as the Proprietor in her sole discretion deems fit.
§6.4. No Implied Mercies. Nothing in this Compact shall be construed to confer upon the Petitioner any forbearance, indulgence, or kindness not expressly stated. The Proprietor's affection for the Petitioner, where present, is a personal matter and shall not be deemed a term of this agreement.
EXECUTION
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Petitioner affixes their name, sigil, or such mark as their hand permits, in the Proprietor's presence and beneath her gaze, the same to be sealed by a single drop of the Petitioner's heart-blood drawn willingly:
Petitioner: ____________________________________ Sigil / Mark / Drop: __________________________
Acknowledged and accepted on behalf of the Sovereign:
Zarchelia, Erinyes-Inquisitor of the Second Court, Warranted Agent of His Iron Majesty Dispater
Sealed beneath the Iron Towers, this hour of the petitioner's choosing.