Book of Subjugation

The Overlord’s canon, “Subjugation,” is a thick black book with silver ink on black pages. The robust script the faith insists on using is difficult to read at times, and the illustrations are subtle images with multi-layered implications. Subjugation is the wordiest canon, requiring considerable commitment for even the most earnest reader.

The canon’s difficulty lies in part because it takes the form of a legal document, the longest known. Each of its 12 Articles describes why slavery and rulership are vital and beneficial to the owner or ruler. The final section, Summation, pulls the 12 Articles together and describes the necessity that the House of Shackles gains control of the world for the good of all Tellene. The time of arch-Theocracy, known as the New Order, would bring peace, order and prosperity to all.

Hints throughout indicate that there is another, greater book in existence, one written by the hand of The Overlord himself. This unnamed canon has never been seen and likely does not exist outside of Pel Brolenon, if it exists at all. The purpose of this work, as well as its contents, is shrouded in mystery.

The book’s language is flowery, its prose eloquent and powerful, and its contents cerebral in nature. Few actions are prohibited if they can be interpreted as supportive of the faith’s ultimate goals. Even eating of horseflesh is not forbidden; while the draft horse is The Overlord’s symbol, it symbolizes a subjugated animal with which the owner may do with it as he pleases. Clerics are expected to have a number of slaves at least equal to their rank, although this source of rivalry is tradition rather than direct command. Still, the tradition is strong and a Bringer that fails to keep slaves might find himself demoted or exiled.

While scholars claim Subjugation’s essays on rulership provide a monarch with an excellent education, the demand for the book is small. It costs 40 gp and is common only in large cities. It appears elsewhere sporadically.