Universal Law

### Summary:

There are are laws which apply to each realm, as well as all realms, and are either enforced through universal magic, gods & spirits, or governments with a large enough influence.

## Magical Contracts & Punishment:

### Mutual / Two Sided:

A lot of the time magical contracts are formed between two parties because of their universally binding nature and how they are typically above any non-contractual laws, which make them very reliable. Each and every contract have specific rules which are decided upon by the participants of the contract. Depending on the strength of the contract, they are either actually impossible to be broken and will go so far as to actively control the behavior of the parties involved, or will simply have consequences for those who break them. The consequences are usually decided at the same time as the rules.

Unlike involuntary contracts which force a consequence onto any outsider who breaks local contract, and is thus able to be resisted, mutual contracts have consequences which cannot be avoided in any way, as the user themselves consciously agreed to them beforehand. Exceptions are extremely rare, and usually only something like the intervention from a god or the consensual forfeiting of the contract by the other participant will be able to dissolve the contract.

Consequences from a mutual contract can control the physical health or behavior of the individuals who partake in it, but cannot achieve something which would not normally be possible by the individual. Consequences can also not change the emotions or inner thoughts of the individual and is based upon not being able to actually make any alterations to the soul which comprises their identity. Despite that last statement, it is possible for the consequence for breaking a contract to be the annihilation of a soul.

The Way in which Mutual Contracts are enforced is through the usage of the MPs stored with the bodies / souls of the participants. Each MP within the participant is given a directive to perform the specified consequence on to the participant if they are to break the contract. The only 100% reliable way to avoid the consequences being enforced by these MPs is to drain them all out of the body & soul of the participant. Only when the body & soul are 100% free of MPs can the participant fully be free of the consequences. That said, the fewer MPs within a person, the weaker the punishment for breaking a contract on to them will naturally be.

### Involuntary / One Sided:

One sided contracts can also be formed but instead of being universally applicable usually only have an effect on a certain domain. Generally the way these contracts work, is that any person who is within the domain of the contract is under its rules and is considered agreeing to the rules simply by staying within the domain. Usually these types of contracts are formed in line with local laws and are fueled by the community who agree to follow by the laws. Outsiders who enter the community will have the contract forced upon them but if the outsider breaks the contract, they can simply leave the domain of the contract to escape it's consequences.

Strength of One Sided magical contracts are entirely dependent on the power of the individuals who formed or willingly agree to the contract. Numbers can also make up for lack of any individual lack of power. Though this is the case, usually One sided contracts are unable to sustain as hard of consequences as mutual contracts. This is because even though it can be fueled by many people, they effect an even larger number of people. The ratio of willing to unwilling is what is important. With mutual contracts, since all participants willingly agree, they all fuel the contract, and so the number fueling and being effected by the contracts are both the same. With Involuntary contracts there are bound to be a sub-set of the population which did not volunteer and thus are not fueling the contract, despite being effected by it.

Usually One sided contracts cannot have consequences which cause direct death or the annihilation of the soul. Typically, the worst One Sided contracts can do by themselves is single out the individual by highlighting them with a certain highly visible aura, or inhibit their health, making them weak or sick.

Note: There are spells which exist which can help suppress the effects of a broken contract.

Usually sufficiently powerful individuals will be relatively free from harm from contracts they do not willingly enter into; as in they may receive minor effects, but will be able to endure them easily. "Sufficiently powerful individuals" is dependent on the relative power of the contract they are being forced into, but usually mid to high tier mages are free from contracts formed by villages, & small to medium sized towns, while the highest tier mages are free from contracts formed by large towns to possibly even large cities. The Oznots of each magic type are usually free from the effects of contracts formed by entire countries. Gods are generally free from any contract that is not formed by a god of equal or higher status than they are.

Because of how One sided contracts can be fueled by numbers, this makes crimes (those which break a part of the contract) more and more difficult to commit and get away in direct relation to the population of an area. If a person who has broken the local one sided contract is arrested, they can be either jailed or forced under a specific one sided contract which only pertains to them. Because of the focused nature of these specific one sided contracts, these have a much higher strength to them and thus potential consequences to breaking them, which make them on a similar level of danger to a mutual contract.

The way that Involuntary Contracts are enforced is through the usage of the MPs within the atmosphere. Each and every MP within the domain of the contract is given a directive to perform the specified consequence on to the participant if they are to break the contract. The only 100% reliable way to avoid the consequences being enforced by these MPs is to leave the domain which these MPs reside. The domain itself doesn't have clearly defined borders. The borders are more of a gradient than a hard wall. This means that a contract breaker cant simply move from one side of an invisible wall to another but must continue going until they are completely out of the leakage zone. There is a defined border on which MPs are given their directive, but they are free to float wherever they want to. After a MP has crossed the border of the domain it will no longer actively be given the directive, but it also takes time for the already existing directive on it to fade and become harmless to any contract breaker. The Leakage zone then refers to the area outside the domain border in which their are still MPs with a directive written into them which has not yet faded.

## Multi-Realm

### Combat & Conflict:

**Duels**: Duels are generally accepted throughout all of the realms. It is exceptionally easy for the two parties to form a dueling contract and thus perform a legal duel. Usually one person challenges the other and the other will either except or deny. If they accept, rules can be decided upon by both people, and only when both are satisfied will the contract be sealed. If the person denies the challenger and they are attacked anyway, this is goes to being illegal with the attacked person being allowed to defend themselves.

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