Thread:Zillafire101/@comment-5496489-20151108071955/@comment-25309944-20160425223039

Hey guys! I've been working a bit more on the Covenant of Mirus page, preparing it for a post-Viel layout. Below is a section which I think will be titled "Treaty structure," detailing the successive agreements and understandings which shape the Covenant's role in galactic politics. I'd love feedback and to be able to change it to best reflect what you guys want to happen with the Covenant and the events of the Conflicts.

"The Covenant of Mirus is not a formal organization, but rather a complex treaty structure which organically emerged out of the peace agreements which put an end to the Second War of Mirusian Coalition. The signatories of these agreements––the French Colonial Empire, Alliance of Species, Eldarisian Empire, United Persan Descendants, Mendel Pact, and Zarbania Powers––entered into an unstable alliance against the Imperium of War. They also tacitly acknowledged the legitimacy of the borders that existed prior to the 2803 Treaty of Manticore, and promised to "work to create a Mirusian galactic government capable of enforcing galactic law once the war was over, taking into account the grievances, history, and interests of both galactics and extragalactics." A separate agreement between France and Eldarisia established an understanding that their Mirusian policies would be coordinated in order to ensure the success of the Covenant, while a memorandum promulgated by the Xonexi Mirusian Commission later that year provided mechanisms by which the approval of the other major Xonexi states might be obtained, ensuring their participation.

"Put together, these agreements served as the framework for coordination and cooperation between a majority of Mirus' legitimate actors, yet substantial obstacles remained to the establishment of a common program. Initially, the Covenant was understood by many Covenant actors as a gilded truce, a temporary peace which would last long enough for the Xonexi Allies to defeat the Delpha Coalition of Planets and bring their might bearing down on Mirus. This line of thinking led to the foundation of the Mirusian Triumvirate, an influential faction dedicated to preparing Mirus for the oncoming war and ensuring the downfall of the Covenant project. While they operated out of sight, the cooperation and coordination between these actors assured that their concerns would place a serious check on the ability of Xonexian actors to exert undue influence on the Covenant. It was this unseen anti-Xonexi constituency which needed to be assuaged before talks could move forward in earnest.

"As a result of the influence of the Triumvirate, the Covenant would not be able to move forward until France stepped down as de facto chair and handed over the reigns to a Mirusian state, which it did in 2804. The Waptoria Alliance of Species took on the mantle of chair of the Covenant of Mirus and publicly endorsed it as a promising forum for galactic government. In a private memorandum to the Mirusian Triumvirate, they outlined their vision for what a Mirusian galactic government would look like, which implied a marrying of the military and economic strength of the Covenant with the legitimacy and history of the Unified Alliance of Enlightenment.

"Under their leadership, the powers met in 2805 on the Waptorian capital. Baffling critics and proponents of the organizations alike, the Treaty of Viel proved that when these powers were able to speak with one voice, they collectively possessed the legitimacy, diplomatic clout, military capability, and economic power to define and defend a legitimate Mirusian order for the whole galaxy, with the exception of the areas under the sway of the Galactic Empire of Cyrannus. Viel contained strong provisions which canonized galactic laws of war based on the Persan Zadkiel Conventions, established the foundation for a legitimate territorial order, banned wars of aggression, and gave the Covenant of Mirus the necessary powers to collectively enforce its rulings. Many Mirusians found reasons for satisfaction. The agreements bound Xonexi actors in an airtight web of agreements which would ensure that the entire galaxy would turn against them if they were to launch a war of conquest. Additionally, no formal organization governed Mirus, which meant that the Covenant could still be overthrown. Yet, in the Treaty of Viel and in subsequent Covenant police actions against the Imperium of War, there seemed to emerge out of the seven states a precarious consensus by which they unwittingly governed Mirus' inhabited arm."