Seventh Law of Magic

## **The Seventh Law**

###  *Never Seek Knowledge and Power from Beyond the Outer Gates.*

The universe is infinite, and contains within it multitudes. The world. The Nevernever. Hell, and perhaps even Heaven. Every being and thing within those bounds has its place, even if that place may be horrible beyond mention. But there are Things outside of this universe. To say that they hate the world would be to assume that we can even conceptualize their attitudes. It is more accurate to say that they are antithetical to the world. They do not want to destroy the universe any more than a ball you drop wants to fall—it is simply the outcome.

The Outer Gates are what keeps the world safe from such things, what locks them outside, and thus, such things are called Outsiders. They are so alien, so not of this reality, that few methods of assault stand a chance of giving them more than a moment’s pause. Furthermore, the Outside’s intentions are so dark, so dire, that the Seventh Law is the only one on the books that isn’t conditioned upon casting a spell. Even doing research on the Outside and its inhabitants is verboten, let alone actually pulling power from there.

The Gates are never fully closed. It’s through the tiniest of cracks that the darkest of things enter our world. And when someone does pull power from there—forging a bond with a malevolent Outsider—one of those cracks widens, just a touch. The human race is lucky that few have ever managed such an effort for long, thanks to the efforts of the White Council and particularly zealous enforcement of the Seventh Law.

### **The Gatekeeper’s Job Description**

As much as the Gatekeeper watches over the flow of time and those who would meddle with it, these actions are really a side project, related but separate from his main duties (as you might guess from his title).

The Gatekeeper is our first line of defense against the Outsiders, performing perhaps the most important job in all of Creation. At the very least, he maintains the alarm spells that shriek when the Gates budge, spends the lion’s share of his time walking the Nevernever looking for signs and portents, and perhaps even acts as an “off the books” emissary for the White Council with the major realms of the Nevernever. While the Merlin leads the White Council, to many supernatural creatures it’s the Gatekeeper who truly speaks on the Council’s behalf and commands the greatest respect.

### **Does Demon Summoning Break the Seventh Law?**

The answer is: usually not. Compared to the Outsiders, most demons a wizard might summon are “locals,” though some might have notions about how it would be a grand thing to hoof it on over to the Outer Gates and kick them open with a big welcoming party. It’s still risky. Many times, Outsiders have masqueraded as standard spirits and demons, so the White Council tends to frown on summoning demons, unless they are quite confident in the wizard’s competence and judgment (and how often does that happen, really?). As a rule of thumb, the Council sees it as a privilege—a slim privilege—allowed to its own members, but off-limits for the rest of the supernatural practitioners out there. So, even though demon summoning isn’t directly in violation of the Seventh Law (or any other), the Wardens get real antsy about amateurs messing around with it. Even non-Outsider demons are dangerous in their own right.

Think of this like licensing on explosive compounds. If you know what you’re doing, have a legitimate reason for their use (construction, demolition, mining, etc.), and you know how to be cautious, you can get them and you’ll have official and limited (occasionally supervised) approval to use them. If, on the other hand, you’re just some guy who likes storing a few kilos of plastique in his garage, the authorities will not be at all amused to find out about your hobby.