Serenity Bylaws Page

House of Serenity Bylaws Page

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Bylaws

I. Statement of Governing

Statement of Purpose: The House of Serenity is a private house by definition of Elanthian law which is intended to provide honor to Lumnis, the most knowing and non-judgmental of the Arkati, by promoting a sense of both religious community through its Priesthood and social community through its Assembly of Citizens, as well as by creating an atmosphere of both service and fairness.

House Colors: The House colors are lavender and grey.

House Coat-of-Arms: The House Coat-of-Arms will be a half-opened lavender scroll, with a natural-hued⁽¹⁾ amaranth lying across it, upon a field of grey. This Coat-of-Arms will be engravable upon members' shields and other items as applicable within the laws of Elanthia.

Type of House Government: The governing of the House is autocratic in nature, with all decisions being made by House Officers working on a majority of Officers in agreement basis, with Chairman/Co-Chairman making final determination in tandem. The Officers of the House may, on occasion, open particular questions to full vote of membership, but such opening to full vote will be entirely discretionary and determined on an event-by-event basis. No question is to be assumed automatically open to full vote of membership.

House Officers: The House has five Officer positions as follows: Chairman (High Priest/High Priestess), Co-Chairman (Master/Mistress Warder), Secretary, Treasurer, and Co-Secretary. Terms for Officers will be life, with position passing on to direct descendant in case of death, though resignation from an Officer position will, of course, be accepted by the House. In addition, an Officer may be removed from his/her position by petition initiated by at least two fellow Officers citing behavior in violation of House rules/integrity. Such petition for removal would then require approval of all remaining Officers for actual removal of an Officer from his/her position to be finalized. If resignation or removal of any Officer should occur, new Officer filling that position would be required to be of at least Priest/Priestess or Preserve of Tradition rank within the House. Filling of any open Officer position would be done through consultation of remaining Officers regarding likely candidates, interviewing, and then by remaining Officer vote of approval/disapproval with majority carry. All Officers possess the power to induct/expel House members. Descriptions of Officer positions as separate entities are reviewed below.

Chairman(High Priest/High Priestess): The Chairman shall, in absolute equality with the Co-Chairman, provide for the main governing and running of the House, acting as an authoritative voice in all House ventures and particularly in presenting the Priesthood side of all outstanding matters. The Chairman shall consult regularly with all other House Officers to ensure the smooth governance of the House. In accordance with the two types of membership outlined in Section II of this document, the Chairman shall be fully responsible for all aspects of the House dealing with the Priesthood and religious matters, and must be himself/herself a member of the Priesthood.

Co-Chairman (Master/Mistress Warder): The Co-Chairman shall, in absolute equality with the Chairman, provide for the main governing and running of the House, acting as an authoritative voice is all House ventures and particularly in presenting the Assembly of Citizens side of all outstanding matters. The Co-Chairman shall consult regularly with all other House Officers to ensure the smooth governance of the House. In accordance with the two types of membership outlined in Section II of this document, the Co-Chairman shall be fully responsible for all aspects of the House dealing with the Assembly of Citizens and lay matters, and must be himself/herself a member of the Assembly of Citizens.

Secretary: The Secretary shall provide for the record-keeping functions of the House, including the keeping of up-to-date membership rolls, the scheduling of all House events, and the log of House property. In addition, if specialized descriptions of House policies should be required for any reason, it is the Secretary who will see to such descriptions. The Secretary may be a member of either the Priesthood or the Assembly of Citizens.

Treasurer: The Treasurer shall provide for the financial functions of the House, including the collection of membership entry fees and dues, the charges incurred for special House services, and the payments due to or from the House on outstanding loans. The Treasurer will have sole control of the House bank account, making all deposits and withdrawals therein, and setting up all loan payment schedules. The Treasurer may be a member of either the Priesthood or the Assembly of Citizens.

Co-Secretary: The Co-Secretary shall provide for the liaison functions of the House, both with regard to current members and potential ones, including the scheduling/staging of events meant to present the House to the outside public. The Co-Secretary will also serve as the initiator in the petition system, described in Section II of this document, assuring all members requesting this service are responded to within reasonable limits. The Co-Secretary may be a member of either the Priesthood or the Assembly of Citizens.

Officer Assistants: In addition, the House will maintain two Officer Assistant positions as follows: Priesthood Assistant and Assembly of Citizens Assistant. Officer Assistants (OAs) will not be considered full-fledged members of the Officer board and will, therefore, embody no Officer vote. However, OAs will be provided the same information as the Officer board and will perform certain administrative functions in tandem with Officers and/or at the request of Officers.

II. Details of the Bylaws

Membership: The Membership shall be divided into two segments: Assembly of Citizens and Priesthood. The Assembly of Citizens will be in the main responsible for promoting and assisting in a sense of social community, and providing an atmosphere whereby adventurers feel secure in turning for wisdom with regard to life in the lands. The Priesthood be in the main responsible for promoting and assisting in a sense of religious community as pertains to the Goddess Lumnis, the patroness of the House, and providing an atmosphere whereby adventurers feel comfortable in turning for general religious guidance.

In the Assembly of Citizens, there will exist three ranks, which are Affiliate, Beadle and Preserver of Tradition. In the Priesthood, there will exist two ranks, which are Acolyte and Priest/Priestess. Though all members shall be equal in terms of vote, the two ranks of the Priesthood and the two upper ranks of the Assembly of Citizens will exercise certain additional privileges which will be detailed later in this Section. Entry into the higher ranks will require certain parameters being met by the member and the use of the petition system. This also will be detailed later in this Section.

Entry/Initiation into House: The rank of Affiliate is the entry rank into the House and all members will be initiated into this rank. This lowest rank will entail, therefore, no special privileges, though of course access to all House services. A citizen seeking entry into the House must meet the following requirements:

Be at least Level 5 within the structure of Elanthian society;
Have undergone an interview with an Officer of the House and been found as an acceptable candidate by that Officer, including not being a current member of another established Elanthian House or a previous member of another such House within the prior four-week period;
Pay a one-time entry fee of 25,000 silvers into the hands of the House Treasurer; iv) undergo the standard House initiation process.

Continuance of Membership: To retain membership/rank within the House, a member must meet the following requirements: i) Perform no action considered by a vote of Officers to be in violation in House integrity/rules; ii) Pay annual membership dues of 10,000 silvers for non-titled members or 20,000 silvers for titled members into the hands of the House Treasurer; iii) Keep within the 30-day late policy of any repayment of a loan granted to the member by the House Treasurer.

Membership Services: The House will provide the following services to all members:

Access to and use of a 50-item or 80-item locker;
Access to and use of House grounds in accordance with setup as common/private area restrictions;
Availability of loans upon approval of House Treasurer and the meeting of House requirements for same;
Dispute settlement between members of the House or between a member of the House and a member of another established House of Elanthia;
Availability of wedding services officiated by a Priest/Priestess of Lumnis;
Access to and use of stored scrolls within the House Library;
Access to and use of House magic workshop (Relic Reliquary) and its associated mana pool;
Ability to achieve rise in rank within the House through the petition system, via either the Assembly of Citizens or Priesthood paths. Specifications of these services are detailed below.

Lockers: Each member will be permitted one locker within premises of the House. This locker will hold a maximum of 50 items at any one time for members paying normal governmental taxes (non-premium subscribers), and 80 items for members paying the higher governmental tax rate (premium subscribers). PLEASE NOTE: Special provisions of the government which provide for higher-item-count lockers via certain promotions will be honored by the House.

House Grounds: Each member will have access to all common areas within House grounds, and access to private areas in accordance with the regulation for the particular area in question (i.e., Officer rooms access open to Officers only, private rooms as available and not in use by another member latching the door, etc.). Each Officer and Officer Assistant of the House will be allotted a private suite/room for his/her personal use.

Loans: Any member may approach the House Treasurer regarding a loan providing he/she meets the following conditions:

Be a member in good standing with the House for at least a month and of at least Level 10 within the structure of Elanthian society;
Have currently no previous outstanding loans from the House;
Be not be in default of any previous loan from the House or any other Elanthian House of which he/she may at one time have been a member.

Approval of any loan request is solely the decision of the Treasurer and will not be open to debate or reversible through the petition system described later in this Section. Minimum repayment conditions for a loan from the House are 20% of outstanding balance paid monthly to the House Treasurer with a interest rate of 10% to be calculated for the entirety of the loan. The Treasurer may, upon his/her discretion, revise these conditions upward, but never downward. Any payment not met by the member within 5 days of the due date will incur a 5% late fee. Any payment not met by the member within 30 days of the due date will put that member in default on the loan and eliminate him/her as a member in good standing until such time as the payment is met.

Dispute Settlement: Any serious disagreement regarding property between House members can be taken to House Officers for resolution in accordance with Elanthian law. The hearing on the matter must be attended by all active House Officers and the decision, which is not reversible, will be by vote of Officers with a simple majority carry. Any such property disagreement between a member of the House and a member of another established Elanthian House may also be taken to House Officers for inquiry into the possibility of a joint hearing of the Officers of both involved Houses. One Officer of each involved House must be in attendance at the hearing, as well as another judge who is affiliated with neither House. All judges will hold an equal vote and decision will be reached by simple majority carry. The decision of the convened panel will be irreversible.

Wedding Services: The House will, for an established fee herein detailed as 40,000 silvers, provide any couple -- of whom one partner is a member in good standing of the House and both partners at least Level 8 within the structure of Elanthian society -- a wedding ceremony officiated by a Priest/Priestess of Lumnis and designed to incorporate the blessing of the Wise Goddess. Such ceremony may take place at Lumnis' altar within the Hall of Mind in the Temple of IceMule, or at Lumnis' altar within the House Chapel. Weddings within the Chapel confines will be limited to 50 attending guests and all guests must be part of a group incorporating within its midst a member of the House. There will be no restrictions on attendees for a Temple wedding. Marriage services shall meet general guidelines established by the House, but may be personalized by joint meeting and discussion between the officiating Priest/Priestess and the marrying couple.

Additionally, the marrying couple will be provided upon their wedding day by an Officer of the House with the key to the Honeymoon Suite located upon House premises. Once the couple have entered the Honeymoon Suite, they will retain private use of it until both partners leave the premises, at which time the key will automatically revert into House hands. Should one partner leave and the other remain within the confines of the Suite, the exited partner may be readmitted to the room by the remaining partner.

The House will not provide as part of this service any wedding finery, wedding bands, etc., nor will it be responsible for the reception and refreshments required therein, though use of the House Dining Room for this purpose can be arranged separately with a House Officer and likely would entail an additional fee.

Scroll Access via Library: All members in good standing will be able to read/use the scrolls made available within the armory table in the House Library. Please note that a member may forfeit his/her good standing status if it is determined such member is abusing this privilege. Common sense dictates no member acquire onto himself/herself all scrolls located in the Library for personal use, or that any such scrolls obtained from the Library be used as sale or gift items by any member. Scrolls will be the donations of members, but from time to time the House may purchase scrolls at the discretion of House Officers. Such transactions would require the approval/assistance of the House Treasurer to access House funds for any such purchase.

Access to House Magic Workshop (Relic Reliquary): All members in good standing will be able to make use of the magic workshop facility, embodied in the Relic Reliquary, upon House premises for imbuing/imbedding/enchanting and the like. This will include access to the mana pool. If at any time there is an overlap of those requiring the use of the facility and pool, priority will be given to the member with the highest rank within the House. In the event of a dispute between members regarding simultaneous need for the workshop and pool, decision on usage rights will be determined by a House Officer. Failure to comply with any Officer's decision in this particular regard will be considered as grounds for member expulsion.

Rank within the House: Members may obtain rank within the framework of the House system. This will be done via the petition system and the parallel ladders of advancement within each membership segment of the House. Please note that members obtain no special skills by such achievement of rank, merely special privileges associated with the rank in question and recognition within the House itself.

The first segment of the House is that of Assembly of Citizens, which entails three ranks below that of Master/Mistress Warder -- which is by definition the sole province of the House Co-Chairman.

The first rank of Assembly of Citizens is that of Affiliate

into which fall all initiated members of the House who have not advanced in rank.

The second rank of Assembly of Citizens is that of Beadle and requires:

That the member be in good standing within the House and at least Level 15 within the structure of Elanthian society;
That the member petition through the Co-Secretary of the House for step-up within the Assembly of Citizens, such petition to then be forwarded onto the Co-Chairman of the House;
That the member be interviewed by the House Co-Chairman and determined to be an upstanding member of Elanthian society in terms of communal spirit.

Upon meeting of these requirements, the candidate will be declared a Beadle within the House framework and be granted the privilege of assisting the main moderator during House-sponsored community chat sessions, and/or of acting as Master/Mistress of Ceremonies during House-sponsored storytellings and/or as a "touchstone" at other House-sponsored events.

The third rank of Assembly of Citizens is that of Preserver of Tradition and requires:

That the member be in good standing within the House and at least Level 20 within the structure of Elanthian society;
That the member petition through the Co-Secretary of the House for step-up in the Assembly of Citizens, such petition to then be forwarded onto the Co-Chairman of the House;
That the member be interviewed by the House Co-Chairman and determined to be an exemplary member of Elanthian society in terms of communal spirit, and be found acceptable in his/her previous performance as an Beadle.

Upon meeting of these requirements, the candidate will be declared a Preserver of Tradition within the House framework and be granted the privilege of acting as main moderator during House-sponsored community chat sessions and/or as a"centerpiece" at other House-sponsored events.

The second segment of the House is that of Priesthood, which entails two ranks below that of High Priest/High Priestess -- which is by definition the sole province of the House Chairman.

The first rank of Priesthood is that of Acolyte and requires:

That the member be in good standing within the House and at least Level 15 within the structure of Elanthian society;
That the member petition through the Co-Secretary of the House for entrance into the Priesthood, such petition to then be forwarded onto the Chairman of the House;
That the member have achieved a quantifiable training of 50 in the Scroll Reading skill, which will be tested;
That the member be interviewed by the House Chairman and determined to not be a member of any society dedicated to the Lornon and be found acceptable in his/her devotion to Lumnis.

Upon meeting of these requirements, the candidate will be declared an Acolyte of Lumnis within the House framework and be granted the privilege of leading public High Prayer Services for the Wise Goddess within the Temple in IceMule and private High Prayer Services within the House Chapel.

The second rank of Priesthood is that of Priest/Priestess and requires:

That the member be in good standing within the House and at least Level 20 within the structure of Elanthian society;
That the member petition through the Co-Secretary of the House for step-up in the Priesthood, such petition to then be forwarded onto the Chairman of the House;
That the member have achieved a quantifiable training of 70 in the Scroll Reading skill, which will be tested;
That the member be interviewed by the House Chairman and determined to not be a member of any society dedicated to the Lornon, and be found acceptable in his/her devotion to Lumnis and in his/her previous performance as an Acolyte.

Upon meeting of these requirements, the candidate will be declared a Priest/Priestess of Lumnis within the House framework and be granted the privilege of officiating at marriage ceremonies performed under House auspices.

Membership Rules: The following rules apply equally to any and all members of the House:

All members are required to attend at least one High Prayer Service for the Goddess Lumnis or House meeting each quarter-year. (Leading of a High Prayer Service by an Acolyte or Priest/Priestess will count as an attendance for such Acolyte or Priest/Priestess.)
All members are required to attend at least one community event sponsored by the House each half-year. (Performance or assistance in the performance of moderating/MC/touchstone-centerpiece duties by a Beadle or Preserver of Tradition will count as an attendance for such Beadle or Preserver of Tradition.)
All members are required to conform to simple rules of communal courtesy as accepted within the town in which they reside or are visiting. Such would include, but not be limited to:
1. the prohibition of disarming/lockpicking within the confines of Town Center/Square/Plaza or any temple/shrine facility;
2. the prolonged use of what is considered a "societal" node being limited to members of that society;
3. making use of provided refuse receptacles to avoid littering of public areas;
4. the prohibition or casting dangerous or nuisance spells (such as consecutively casting 40 loaves of mana bread) within public in-town areas and all nodes;
5. the prohibition of use of the amunet strictly to be disruptive to the community;
6. the care of any found dead with regard to lifekeeping and calling/arranging for rescue;
7. due consideration shown to others while hunting by not doing what is proverbially called "camping" in one room for an excessive period of time;
8. prohibition of participation in non-consensual physical disputes with other adventurers or in such consensual disputes within an in-town area where it may result in communal disruption.
All members are required to themselves foster the communal spirit of the town in which they reside or are visiting, including within the scope of such spirit the aiding of others whenever feasible.
All members are required to honor Lumnis in that they give due consideration to Her attitude toward learning and toward others when determining how to go about themselves seeking wisdom and acceptance in the lands.

1. Natural colors of the amaranth are red-purple for the blossom and green for the leaves and stem.

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