This posting is to all who have implanted totems in Elysia without the
permission of the Order of Lord Pentharian and, more broadly, to those
that abuse their gift of Runelore to implant totems on ground where your
totems are clearly not wanted. Totems such as these are illegally
implanted and may be smudged or removed at any time by any Master of
Runelore. By Divine Law the implanter of the illegal totem may not seek
reprisal for any such action.

When the Gods revived mortals' memory of Runelore in the Shaman Firefox
and in the Lady Czanthria, they impressed upon them that great powers
also bear great responsibilities. Totems, the highest expression of the
power of Runelore, were not to be used lightly, and the Immortals would
frown upon those that abused this great gift. The Runewardens and
Shamans entered into a treaty and formed the Totem Council which would
oversee the use, and correct the abuse, of Runelore throughout Achaea.

The Totem Council was broken but the Runewarden and Shaman guilds
continued many of the rituals and traditions borne from those early
Council days. Each guild taught their novices the deep respect that
Runelorists must have for the powerful magic embodied in the runes. They
also set down the strict code of behavior that Masters of Runelore were
expected to follow. The teachings of the Immortals were embodied into
guild oaths and totem contracts.

The Guild Era is gone and while only a few new to Runelore bother with
the old teachings, the Immortal Laws that govern the use of totems stay
with us to this day. By Immortal Law, any totem implanted on sacred
ground must be done so with the permission of the Order of that Immortal
or permission from the Immortal themselves. Otherwise the totem is
considered illegal and can be removed at any time by any Master of
Runelore without fear of reprisal. The totems in Elysia that were not
put there with permission of the Order of Lord Pentharian are no
different than if a Shallamese runewarden implanted a totem at the
Stygian Crossroads or a Mhaldorian runewarden put one on Fish Street.

I accept that enemying is the right of any organization and I have
already earned the enmity of the Order of Lord Aegis for assisting the
Elysians in maintaining their totem defenses. But should I, or any
Master of Runelore, decide to uproot any illegally implanted totem, by
the rule of the Gods, the implanter can take no hostile action to stop
it.

Gayat Gariel
Very Old Runewarden

Penned by my hand on the 15th of Glacian, in the year 419 AF.