Conclave session
Traditionally, the Conclave has one formal session each evening during the Imperial summit. The first session is usually dedicated to the appointment of the grandmasters of the orders, which generally takes place on Friday night. Sometimes this is immediately followed by a full session, but more often full sessions take place on Saturday and Sunday evenings, to allow sufficient time to prepare the agenda.
During these sessions, the magicians of the Conclave vote on subjects related to the good conduct of their fellows and the use of their resources.
The Agenda
The agenda for each formal session of the Conclave is determined in advance. Any magician can add an item to the agenda. The process for doing so is reasonably simple; the magician approaches a Conclave functionary and raises an agenda item. This costs one crystal mana. The civil servant adds the item to the agenda. At the next Conclave session, each item on the agenda is raised and resolved by the meeting, generally in the order in which they were raised.
Each archmage has the power to add a single agenda item for each session at no cost, and may elect to do so under the veil of night, in which case the agenda item is described as being raised by them but no further details need be given.
Any Magician can ask to review the agenda for the next Conclave session. The agenda is normally closed half an hour before the session is scheduled to begin.
The two most common agenda items are address and declaration'.
Address
The magician, or one named individual to whom they defer who must be present, can address the Conclave for up to five minutes on whatever topic they desire.
When this item is raised, the civil servant will ask if any of the grandmasters wish to silence the speaker; if one chooses to do so, a vote is called. If the vote passes, the agenda item is removed from the agenda and the address does not take place. As is usual with conclave votes, the mana crystal paid to place the item on the agenda counts as a vote in favour of the address.
Propose a Declaration
The magician proposes that the Conclave votes on an issue, generally the use of one of it's legal powers in the form of a Declaration. The crystal of mana always counts as a single vote in favour of the declaration.
The Conclave has a number of powers to enable them to fulfill their constitutional role of protecting the Empire from the abuses of magic. These powers are grouped together as the Declarations of the Conclave.
Declaration of Candidacy
The Conclave can declare someone to hold a specific position controlled by the Conclave. This is most commonly used to propose someone for the post of archmage or Dean of the Lyceum. If there is someone already holding the position, they obviously lose it when the vote passes. Occasionally, this same declaration has been used to simply remove someone from their position, by declaring that their post should be filled with nobody.
It is typical for the civil service to group all declarations of candidacy that effect the same position together at the point on the agenda where the first one is announced and for the position to be claimed only when the last vote for that position has taken place.
Declaration of Sorcery
The Conclave may declare a magician to be a sorcerer. The most common reason for this declaration is as a result of an abuse of 'legal curses' against citizens or allies of the Empire. If this Declaration is made:
- the sorcerer is prohibited from contributing to rituals.
- the sorcerer is prohibited from carrying or using crystal mana.
- the sorcerer is not permitted to run a mana site. Such a resource is confiscated by the Conclave, and it's production added to the Archmage#Conclave Vault.
A sorcerer who violates these prohibitions will be subject to arrest and trial before a magistrate.
Declaration of Reconciliation
The Conclave may reconcile a sorcerer with the Empire. If this declaration is made, all rights that were taken from them are returned. They regain possession of any confiscated mana site, but not of any crystal mana it may have produced while they were sorcerers.
Declaration of Enmity
The Conclave may declare a specific Eternal to be an enemy of the Empire. If this declaration is made, it becomes illegal for anyone to consort with the Eternal named in this declaration, or with their Heralds. Such an act can result in the alleged offender being arrested on charges of sorcery or treason, and the case taken before the magistrates.
Performance of rituals that deal with, or appear to deal with, an Eternal subject to the declaration of enmity (such as Ephisis' Scales, Clarion Call of Ivory and Dust, Missive for Sadogua and the like) may be treated as sorcery; the magistrates will often seek the assistance of the archmagi to clarify this, unless there is a separate declaration of interdiction against specific rituals.
Asof374 YE, the only well-known Eternal subject to declaration of enmity is Wendigo, a Winter Eternal that promotes unspeakable acts and cannibalistic feasts.
Declaration of Amity
The Conclave may declare a specific Eternal to be an ally of the Empire. Imperial citizens are encouraged to demonstrate courtesy and even aid these Eternals, or their Heralds, where it is possible for them to do so. The Heralds of that Eternal receive the same status and protection under Imperial Law accorded to any mortal foreigner.
This declaration is also used to rescind a declaration of enmity.
Declaration of Interdiction
The Conclave may censor material that could pose a supernatural risk to the citizens of the Empire. They can use this to declare the use of a specific ritual or enchanted item to be an act of sorcery, meaning that anyone found guilty of using that magic is arrested and brought before a magistrate.
Specific items that have been declared under interdiction are usually given to the civil service for secure disposal; scrolls or tomes containing rituals that are placed under interdiction are generally destroyed. However the Coclanve can also declare something interdicted without the supervision of the Conclave - generally meaning without the specific intercession of one of the archmagi. In this case interdicted items or tomes are handed over to the Conclave for appropriate disposition.
Declaration of Acceptance
This declaration will remove or modify a ban placed by the declaration of interdiction.
This declaration can also be used to suggest that a specific ritual be added to the body of Imperial Lore, allowing magicians all over the Empire to receive training in the ritual. This process can be quite costly, and requires Imperial Senate approval - it is the senate that meets costs involved, although the Conclave may offer additional support to the Senate if an appropriate gambit is raised. If this declaration is made, the civil service functionaries will add it to the Imperial Senate agenda.
Declaration of the Balance
The Conclave may require the civil service to arrange the election of the grandmasters again. This declaration rarely passes unless more than one order (and thus grandmaster) wishes to re-evaluate the voting strength of the orders as a whole. The civil service will attempt to arrange the re-election after the current session, and before the next session, ensuring sufficient time is allowed for all magicians to be aware of the re-election.
Voting on declarations
A declaration is always considered to have a single vote in favour. If nobody opposes it, it passes automatically. If any grandmaster chooses to oppose the declaration, a vote is called
During a vote each grandmaster may commit an amount of crystal mana to either support or oppose the declaration. Crystals are placed secretly, then counted by the civil service. A grandmaster cannot commit more crystals than the voting strength of their order, as recorded during their election.
Declarations pass or are defeated after a single pass. In the case of a tie, the declaration is considered to have passed.
Any crystal mana used in the exercising of legal powers is transferred to the Conclave's reserves for use by the Conclave for the Empire's good. The civil service never record or announce the amounts of crystal mana contributed; they simply announce whether the vote is a success or a failure.
Once all agenda items are dealt with, or (in some very rare circumstances) once the time allocated to the agenda expires, the Conclave session may move on to the consideration of gambits. Any remaining agenda items are added to the start of the next conclave session.