The Royal Aerial Conduct Compact

What Is the RACC?

The Royal Aerial Conduct Compact is the law of the sky in the Rookery Isles. It was established by the Crown after the Great War to prevent aerial mounts from being used as instruments of terror, intimidation, or unchecked military power. Every rider of every aerial mount is bound by it. There are no exceptions.

The RACC exists because a creature that can fly over walls, ignore borders, and rain destruction from above is not just a mount. It is a political statement. The law ensures that statement is made carefully, or not at all.

Sovereign Airspace & Prior Authorization

Just as ships require permission to enter foreign waters, aerial mounts, whether rider-controlled or free-willed, must submit a Flight Intent Declaration before entering airspace above any chartered city, fortress, or sovereign capital.

This is filed with the Crown's Warden office no fewer than three days prior, stating:

Required Information

The mount's name or registration sigil, rider identity, purpose of flight, altitude, and intended route.

Unauthorized overflights carry serious consequences. Not just fines, but potential interpretation as an act of aggression, triggering defensive responses from battlemages, ballista crews, or patrol riders.

The Capital Intimidation Clause

Flying an aerial mount over a seat of government for the purpose of coercion, threat display, or political pressure is explicitly prohibited.

The prohibition exists regardless of intent. Even if the rider claims it was a routine flight, if the mount performs threat behaviors — roaring, hovering with wings spread, diving low, or any display that could be interpreted as aggressive — that is an automatic violation.

If permission is denied and you fly anyway, the risk transfers entirely to the mount. The Crown assumes no liability for what happens to the creature if it is brought down by defensive forces. The rider may face criminal charges, but the mount bears the physical consequence.

Risk Liability & Mount Autonomy

The rider holds legal responsibility, but the mount holds physical risk.

A sentient mount that knowingly participates in an illegal overflight becomes a co-conspirator. One that was deceived by its rider has legal recourse.

Repeat offenders can have their mount's sigil blacklisted, meaning border wards may automatically trigger alarms on sight, and no inn, stable, or aerial dock is legally permitted to service them.

Enforcement

The RACC is enforced by the Crown's Warden office, local garrison commanders, and in Suncoast directly by the Celestials and the Arch Angel. Enforcement is not theoretical. Mounts have been grounded. Riders have been arrested. In extreme cases, mounts have been killed by defensive forces acting within their legal authority.

The Crown does not issue warnings for airspace violations over the capital. Everywhere else, a first offense may result in grounding, fines, and a formal reprimand. A second offense results in permanent blacklisting of the mount's sigil and potential criminal prosecution of the rider.