The Social Contract

AX.GHW.01.05

The hidden world operates through a set of informal norms that the parties honor most of the time. These norms are not codified, not enforced by any single authority, and regularly violated by parties who have concluded that their interests supersede them. They are, nonetheless, the operating framework of a community that has coexisted with ordinary society for as long as anyone has documented.

Don't create visible evidence. Supernatural activity should leave the smallest possible trace. This is not always possible, threats don't cooperate, incidents develop in public spaces, Veil management sometimes fails. But the norm is minimum evidence, minimum witness, minimum institutional response.

Clean up after incidents. When something visible happens, parties with the capacity to manage the evidence are expected to do so. This is why the BUA exists. It is also why Network hunters don't leave bodies in places that civilian law enforcement will find them. The cleanup obligation falls most heavily on parties with the most institutional capacity to fulfill it.

Don't weaponize the mundane world. Using ordinary society's law enforcement, media, or governmental apparatus against hidden-world parties is generally considered a significant violation. The implicit logic: the mundane world's engagement with the hidden world tends to produce outcomes nobody benefits from, and parties who invite that engagement to settle internal disputes are creating costs for everyone. This norm has exceptions, there are situations where hidden world parties have decided that exposure is preferable to the alternative, but they are recognized as significant decisions, not routine tactics.

Hidden-world disputes remain hidden. Conflicts between organizations, communities, and individuals within the hidden world should be resolved through hidden-world mechanisms. This norm is honored imperfectly; several organizations in the setting have standing relationships with mundane governmental structures, and those relationships are occasionally used in ways that blur the line. But the general principle, that the hidden world manages its own conflicts, is a significant shared norm.

Lineage is not behavior. A Dhampir is not a vampire; Dhampir heritage is a lineage reality, not a behavioral designation. A Skinchanger who maintains community norms is not a shapeshifter threat. A Marked practitioner using their compact is not a Shadow entity incursion. The operational distinction between what something is and what it does is foundational to how the hidden world's more functional parties operate. Organizations that don't maintain this distinction, the Vanguard at its worst, the Network's less thoughtful elements, produce the kinds of incidents that create long-term problems.