Master Compact

Signed at the Master Investiture, in the presence of the founder and the Master Council, in the candlelight of the Annual Conclave. One printed copy for the Master. One printed copy in the guild's permanent archive.

I, ___________________________________, having been elected to the rank of Master by my peers, and having accepted that election freely and without campaign, present myself to Lion.College as Master.

I have completed the Octava. I have shipped, sold, or sustained a venture. I have mentored at least one Apprentice through to Journeyman. I have read the Constitution and the Code of Conduct in their current form and I assent to them.

I commit, for as long as I remain a Master in good standing, to the following:

What I will hold

  1. I will hold the patron archetype publicly — servant kingship, strength under obedience, ferocity ordered toward love. I will not appropriate the lion for dominance, predation, or self-promotion. If I begin to confuse the lion for my own ego, I trust my brothers to tell me.
  1. I will hold the Code of Conduct as a vow, not a regulation. I will speak honestly when I am wrong. I will accept correction from brothers who outrank me in years even when they are junior in title.
  1. I will hold the canon — both the existing canon and the work I will add to it — as a duty owed to the brothers who come after.
  1. I will hold the standards. If a brother violates the Code, I will bring it through the proper channel. I will not look away.
  1. I will hold the council. I will attend monthly Master calls and the Annual Conclave. I will not skip the council because I am busy. The council is the work.

What I will give

  1. I will mentor at least two Apprentices. I will know their names, their wounds, their ventures, their wives if they have them, and the year they began.
  1. I will teach at least one workshop per year, freely, on the work I have been given to teach.
  1. I will contribute at least one piece of writing per year to the canon — a reflection, a teaching, a memorial, a venture note.
  1. I will sit on at least one of the three committees — Standards, Investment, Editorial — for at least one year of every three.
  1. I will pay my Master dues without complaint. If I cannot pay, I will say so before the due date, and the hardship provision will apply.

What I will not do

  1. I will not vote on Capital Syndicate deals in which I have a personal stake. I will recuse without prompt.
  1. I will not use my Master rank to extract personal benefit from junior members — no unpaid labour, no inflated fees, no preferred treatment in matters where impartiality is owed.
  1. I will not use Conclave teaching, workshops, or canon contributions to recruit members into ventures I own. The guild is not my customer pipeline.
  1. I will not break the seal of standards proceedings. What is investigated remains private until final outcome.
  1. I will not abandon my brothers. If I resign, I will give six months' notice to my mentees and to the council. I will not vanish.

What I receive in return

I receive lifetime membership, subject only to the standards-enforcement provisions of Article VII.

I receive the rights of the Master rank — voice and vote in all guild matters; seat on the Investment Committee; right to teach paid intensives.

I receive the Master ring, in the third metal, placed by my brothers in candlelight at the Conclave.

I receive my name in the canon, in the Investiture Volume, in perpetuity.

I receive the brotherhood of every man who has worn the third ring before me, and every man who will wear it after.

What the guild owes me

The guild owes me the same honest correction it owes any Apprentice. Rank does not change the duty of brothers to tell me the truth.

The guild owes me pastoral care in any crisis. Masters are not exempt from the duty of care.

The guild owes me a memorial when I die — my name in the bell, my biography in the canon, my unfinished work carried by another brother who has agreed in writing to carry it.

The guild owes me dignity in any standards proceeding that touches me. Due process applies to Masters as to Apprentices.

My Master Year-One Vow

In addition to the foregoing, I make this Master Year-One Vow — the specific commitment of my first year as Master:

[handwritten by the Master on the day of investiture]

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

The brother I name to carry my unfinished work

If I die or become incapacitated while a Master, I name the following brother to carry my unfinished works (mentorships, capstones in progress, canon drafts):

_________________________________________________________________

This brother has agreed in writing to this duty:

_________________________________________________________________ (countersignature)

Signatures

Signed this day, ____ ___________ 20___, at the Annual Conclave in Melbourne.

The Master: _________________________________

The Founder (or successor): _________________________________

Two existing Masters who lay hands at investiture:

_________________________________________ _________________________________________

The Recorder of the Council: _________________________________

One copy stays with the Master. One copy is kept in the permanent guild archive, sealed except for the Recorder and the Founder.

By the patron of the Lion of Judah. For the formation of brothers. For the work that outlives any of us.