The Freehold of the Moonstones
From Changeling Venue
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The Freehold of the Moonstones
The ruins of Great Barr Hall, site of the meetings of the mortal Lunar Society, has been abandoned since 1978.
History
The Freehold of the Moonstones is the third such Freehold to have been founded by the Grand Courts in Birmingham.
The name and fate of the first Freehold have been lost to history. All that is known is that it was founded sometime in the dark ages and disappeared sometime during the War of the Roses.
The next was the Freehold of the Arden Forest founded in the 1580s. It survived through the growth of Birmingham into a city through the 17th and 18th centuries before falling to internal divisions and external enemies during the Priestley Riots in July 1791. This decimated the fae population of the city for some time until in the 1830’s a new Freehold was founded to offer hospitality and protection to a new influx of fae that had escaped as the 18th century ended.
Two particular fae are given the credit for the forming of the Freehold of the Moonstones, Darist Green of the Spring Court and Solice Pherson of the Winter Court were both members of the mortal based Lunar Society in the city in the early years of the 19th Century. They both saw a need for a new meeting place for the fae population of the city that was growing again by 1830. Many fae were living in isolation, cut off from their fellows and slowly falling into madness, or worse being retaken by privateers and the Gentry. Darist and Solice made contact with as many of the fae in the city that they could and on the 16th July 1831, 40 years after the previous Freehold had been burnt down the Grand Courts of Birmingham swore the Pledge of the Moonstones thus founding a new Freehold in the city.
Darist managed to secure the Hall at Great Barr for the meeting place of the freehold and it was placed under the protection of hospitality by the Court Leaders. It was also discovered that a Trod into the Hedge had formed over the years in the gardens of the Hall which needed guarding.
The Freehold continued to hold its meetings in the grounds of the Hall until it was converted into a hospital early in the 20th century. The meetings then moved to the nearby Scott Arms public house which was also brought under the rules of hospitality and where regular meetings have been held ever since.
In 1863 a chapel was added to the main body of the Hall and the exit point of the Trod was enclosed in the fabric of the chapel. It exits through a small wooden door behind the altar plinth, added to the plans after the architect, George Gilbert Scott dreamt about it for nights on end.
The Hall was vacated in 1978 which once again allowed the fae access unmolested to the grounds. Several fae over the years since then have tried to organise the locals to purchase the Hall but these have yet to successful. Today the Hall is on the buildings at risk register and deemed unsafe. As such the local fae tend to only use it for major rituals.
The grounds now also contain a number of hospital buildings from the mid 20th century which have also been abandoned. They stand largely derelict and vandalized but are used by the occasional vagrant for shelter.
The Moonstones
These sandstone memorials to the founders of the original Lunar Society were erected in 1998. Several members of the Freehold made donations to the fund to create these memorials as they also serve as unofficial monuments to the founders of the Freehold. The eight stones stand in the car park of the Asda Supermarket on Quesslet Road and are visible as one approaches the Scott Arms pub. Often fae of the city leave small tributes around these modern Moonstones.
Organisation
From first impressions one would assume that the Freehold runs on a traditional Seasonal Court model. Leadership of the Freehold is passed from Court to Court as the seasons change, and these seasonal rulers arrange such rituals and tasks as they see fit during their time in office. However looking slightly deeper reveals that the model has been altered slightly from the traditional model seen elsewhere. The founders of the Freehold still remembered the factional infighting and Court weaknesses that had lead to the destruction of the Freehold of the Arden Forest and wanted their new Freehold to not suffer the same fate. They were also affected by their membership of the mortal Lunar Society, a collection of thinkers and scientists that discussed such concepts as social justice and politics. Thus being reformist souls Darist and Solice persuaded the other Court leaders to accept a slightly different model.
Every season the leader of the appropriate Grand Court is installed as the overall leader of the Freehold. They are granted the title of Mayor (or Lady Mayor should they prefer). The Mayor has full authority over the Freehold for their seasonal reign. They can appoint officers to fulfill any role they feel necessary. They arrange any seasonal rituals they wish to be held and have the authority to make a Call to Arms for the whole Freehold. Each Mayor can also enact Fleeting Laws of the Freehold as long as they do not override any of the Eternal Laws.
Alongside the Mayor though there sits a permanent Council of the Seasons. This Council has four members, a Speaker for each of the Grand Courts selected as each Court sees fit. The Speakers remain in office for as long as their Court wishes them to remain. The role of the Council is to serve as custodians of the Freehold. They are responsible for the day to day arrangements of housekeeping and hospitality. The Council ensures that the Eternal Laws of the Freehold are upheld and sit in judgment on any accused of breaking them. The Council also appoints the Freehold’s Usher who is responsible for the enforcement of the Hospitality traditions of the Freehold meetings. The Usher is expected to also arrange for the security of the Trod in the Hall Chapel. The Council can amend the current or create new Eternal Laws as long as they are unanimous. In reality it is rare for a new Eternal Law to be created. Any new Eternal Law must be approved by the current Mayor who can choose to veto it, however if they do so the Council can re present the new Eternal Law to the next Mayor for approval.
A Mayor may create a new Fleeting Law during their reign, this can be to enforce some matter they feel is important to their Court or because of some immediate threat to the fae in the city. However the Council can veto any Fleeting Law that they agree contradicts an Eternal Law. A Mayor can call a Call to Arms for the entire Freehold if they feel that the security of the fae requires a military response. The Call to Arms is generally used to face off an incursion by Privateers or a member of the Gentry. Any such Call to Arms though has to be ratified by at least three members of the Council before it is considered to be binding on all members of the Freehold. This system of checks and balances has kept the Freehold running smoothly then for the last century and a half. No Seasonal ruler has been able to build a powerbase strong enough to overturn the progression of the seasons and so the stability of the Freehold and its Blessing have been maintained.
Any free fae that find themselves in Birmingham can petition the Council for membership of the Freehold of the Moonstones, but only those that are prepared to swear the Moonstone Pledge and thus become electors, are allowed to undertake any official role in the running or the Freehold. Visitors are still welcomed to the Freehold grounds and protected by the right of Hospitality but only for a month before they must either leave or undertake the Pledge.
Finally and perhaps most importantly the Council structure means that the Seasonal Grand Courts are always represented in the power structure of the Freehold, thus supporting the ancient Contracts between the Courts and the Seasons and extending the additional protection of the Courts to all Electors.
In time when there are too few members of any one Court pledged to the Freehold for their Court Crown to manifest and select the Mayor the Court’s Speaker is appointed as Deputy Mayor by the Council. A Deputy Mayor does not have the power to enact Fleeting Laws or make a Call to Arms but they ensure that the Pledge of the Freehold is upheld and the Blessing maintained.
Eternal Laws of the Freehold
OOC note - this section will expand over time.
These are some examples of the Eternal Laws of the Freehold that have been ratified in the past and still stand:
"Visitors to the Moonstones shall be accorded the rights of hospitality until they prove to be unworthy or enemies of the Freehold.”
“None shall create a gateway to the Hedge within the boundaries of the Great Hall or the Scott Arms for the safety of all.”
“The 14th, 15th and 16th days of July are reserved for the remembrance of those killed in the destruction of the Freehold of Arden Forest. No ritual or freehold business is to be carried out by any Electors on those days on pain of fines.”
“The Usher must be obeyed in all matters relating to behaviour in the Freehold, unless their orders would violate a law either eternal or fleeting of the Freehold.”
“Each Elector may be expected to be called upon to serve the security of the Freehold for 3 days of any month.”
Justice in the Freehold
Generally justice in the Freehold is split between the Council and the Mayor. If a fae is accused of breaking one of the Fleeting Laws of the season they are brought before the Mayor for trial. The Mayor will conduct the trial in whatever manner they see fit, and if they find the accused guilty determine punishment also, as long as in doing so they do not break the Moonstone Pledge or an Eternal Law of the Freehold. Those accused of breaking an Eternal Law are judged by the Council. If the accused is a member of a Court and an Elector then their Court Speaker will defender them and the other three will judge. Guilt requires a 2/3rds majority agreement of the Council. If found guilty the accused may appeal the decision to the Mayor who hears the case presented by the Council only, the accused has no right to speak on their own appeal. Punishment is decided by the Mayor whether there has been an appeal or not. Any that break the rules of Hospitality meanwhile are brought to the attention of the Usher who determines guilt. He then passed his report on to the Council who determine punishment. Visitors found to have breach hospitality are dealt with far more severely then electors however.
The Moonstone Pledge
“I swear, by this token of the Moonstones, that I shall be loyal to the Council, the Mayor and my fellow Electors. I shall cause no harm unjustly and give of myself and my skills to my full ability for the good of us all and the Freehold. I pledge to uphold the Laws Eternal and Fleeting of the Freehold, to answer a Call to Arms duly enacted by Mayor or Council. I shall render unto the Mayor and Council the proper taxation of Glamour in its proper time and manner, and may I be banished forever from the warmth of this hearth should I be forsworn.”
The Oath is typical sworn to one’s own seasonal Mayor once a year with the Glamour tax paid shortly thereafter. However where that is not possible the Glamour must be provided before the Changeling is due to re swear the Oath or they are considered forsworn and banished from the protection of the Freehold. The section about answering a Call to Arms does not place the life of the Changeling at automatic risk but it rather means that they must present themselves and their resources to defend the Freehold.
The Freehold Blessing
Following the destruction of the Freehold of the Arden Forest in the 1790s the founders of the Freehold of the Moonstones valued secrecy above all other defenses, as such the blessing for the Freehold is one of Subtlety (C:tL pg 182) that is all who swear the Pledge of the Moonstones gains a +1 bonus to all draws to conceal their Fae natures from all others.
Lexicon
- Call to Arms – A notice of military action required by the Mayor to defend the Freehold.
- Council of Seasons – An elected body of court representatives responsible for the running of the Freehold.
- Electors – people that have sworn the Moonstone Pledge.
- Eternal Law – Long standing law of the Freehold
- Fleeting Law – Rule that stands for the reign of the current Mayor.
- Mayor – Seasonal Leader of the Freehold, usually the member of each Court with the highest Mantle.
- Moonstone Pledge – The Pledge that marks memberships, support and protection of the Freehold.
- Blessing – The mystical benefit that those who have sworn the pledge gain as longs as the Seasonal Courts follow the seasons.
- Speaker – Elected representative for each of the Courts, they form the Council of the Seasons.
- Usher – Officer of the Freehold, appointed by the Council to oversee the rules of Hospitality.
- Visitor – A fae not pledged to the Freehold.
Electors of the Moonstones
Speakers for the Moonstones
- Captain William Cooper - The Spring Speaker
- Carin - The Summer Speaker
- Toad - The Autumn Speaker
- Bryony - The Winter Speaker
- Flux - Winter Mayor 2007 - 2008
- Aria - Spring Mayor 2008
Visitors
Changeling Venue Information
To interact with the Freehold of the Moonstones, or for any other background links with the Birmingham area please contact the VST - Steve Clapton at steveclapton@gmail.com
