Endowment

Overview

The Declaration of Endowment allows the Conclave to distribute resources or valuable items it controls. The most common use is to provide access to the Font - the pool of crystal mana that the Conclave controls - but it is not uncommon for specific items to be gifted to the Conclave as a whole on the understanding they will use the Declaration of Endowment to pass them on to the most suitable candidate.

The Imperial Conclave as a body may also be granted possession of unusual items or materials. The most common reason they find themselves in possession of such items is due to a bequest from an individual or eternal. For example, an eternal might offer a unique magic item, a supply of vis, or even magical knowledge to the Conclave with the intention that the magicians select someone to take custody of the bequest. Sometimes the person making the bequest places restrictions on who can receive the item; for example a bequest might come with the restriction that it should be given to a grandmaster to oversee.

In these circumstances the Conclave uses the Declaration of Endowment to determine which person will be responsible for dealing with the gift or bequest.

The Bursar of the Conclave is empowered to raise a Declaration of Endowment to the Conclave agenda once each summit.

Necessary Details

• The Declaration must state exactly what items or resources are to be endowed
• The Declaration must name an Imperial citizen, Imperial title, or an eternal or foreign power whose representatives are to receive the endowed items

A Declaration of Endowment must clearly state what property of the Conclave is to be distributed, and specifically who to. The recipient is almost always a named Imperial citizen - especially in the case of crystal mana from the Font. In some cases, the nature of a bequest may allow for other targets to be named. An item might be specifically intended for an Imperial title - in this case, the item or items endowed becomes part of the regalia of the title. In other cases, the Conclave might be offered a bequest intended for one of the Conclave orders, and the Declaration of Endowment used to make that bequest the property of the grandmaster.

The Conclave must actually have the thing that is to be bestowed - it's not possible to endow mana from a future font for example; only from the font as it currently stands. The Conclave cannot create endowments that bind the hands of a future Conclave.

Resolution

• The named individual, title or representatives of the power in question are given items named in the Declaration of Endowment by the Civil Service
• Endowments are processed at the end of the Conclave in the order they were passed until there is nothing remaining
• If insufficient mana is available, the Civil Service provide as much mana as possible
• Any Endowment, or part thereof, which cannot be fulfilled is legally null and void, there is no obligation for a future Conclave

If the Declaration is successful, the named individual or title gains custody of the mana, the gift, or the bequest. If the Declaration does not pass, the originator or the Civil Service retain custody of the gift or bequest.

In the case of mana from the Font, the crystals are provided at the end of the Conclave session where the Declaration passes. If there are multiple Declarations of Endowment, they are fulfilled in the order in which they passed. If insufficient mana remains to fulfil a Declaration of Endowment, the Civil Service provides as much mana as is available, and all other declarations receive nothing. It is not possible to use Declaration of Endowment to allocate mana from future fonts.

A Declaration of Endowment cannot be rescinded. At the point where the item or items become the legal property of the recipient, they are no longer the legal property of the Conclave to dispose of. The Conclave may indicate that they expect a magician to return an item to the Conclave when they are finished with it, but they cannot create a legal obligation to do so as part of a Declaration of Endowment.

In some cases the donor may specify some limitations on who should be endowed with a bequest. The Conclave has no legal requirement to comply with these limitations - but the donor may fail to deliver their bequest if they are not satisfied that their demands have been met.

If the Conclave is bequeathed a resource that provides an ongoing income then they may either pass a declaration to endow the resource - almost always to an Imperial title - or instead endow some portion of the income accrued to date. This is an exception to the rule that only the Imperial Senate can amend a title - if another Imperial body endows an existing title with control of a bequest or item, then it becomes the legal property of that title rather than the individual currently holding the title. This is one way that an Imperial title might gain regalia - if the Conclave has possession of a magic item for example, it might make that item the property of a title rather than a specific individual.

Further Reading

Core Brief

• Conclave Overview
• Arcane Colloquium
• Conclave order
• Conclave session
• Declarations
  • Alignment
  • Candidacy
  • Concord
  • Dissemination
  • Endorsement
  • Endowment
  • Imperial lore
  • Interdiction
  • Sorcery

Additional Information

• Conclave vault
• Key Appointments to the Imperial Conclave
  • Archmage
  • Grandmaster
  • Prefect of the Conclave