Brands

How to deal with those that do not respect the law of the land was a topic of heavy debate after the founding of the Consortium. Each nation had their own approach, most often taking the form of banishment or ostracism, which usually results in a quick death in the wilderness for those sentenced. A similar method was initially utilized for the Consortium, but as its population grew, it became more difficult to keep track of who had been sentenced and who had not been. The more civilized nature of the Consortium, primarily the result of Cogys' influence, also emphasized a need for a more a less strict justice system as there surely had to be something short of death as a punishment. This resulted in the use of Brands. Specific symbols would be used to specify the severity and type of offense and would be branded on a prominent part of the body, most often the forearms. These brands would prevent either alter or prevent the regrowth of feathers, fur, and scales, ensuring that the records of their crimes remained. Of course, these could be easily covered up, but official investigations by the Consort would require everyone to show their forearms.
Over time, these brands would fade, potentially to the point where they would be no longer visible. To account for this, for egregious crimes would be marked with brands pressed against the flesh for longer to ensure it would take much longer to fade or, in many cases, cause permanent damage that would never fade. Any marked with a brand would be kept in a temporary prison to ensure that it scared over properly before being released.
Those guilty of crimes worthy of banishment would be given a Ban Brand, which would prevent them from entering a Consortium controlled settlement and, in some cases, a location controlled by any of the three nations.
In rare cases, some crimes would be forgiven, often the product of sincere repentance combined with either heroic deeds or acts of service. In these cases, a special brand would be burnt on top of their criminal brands, declaring their remediation. This obviously created incentive to duplicate this pardoning brand, which is why no pardoning brand is the same, using elements ranging from ancestry, age, gender, severity of offense, type of offense, charging officer, branding officer, and others to make each one truly unique. The process of creating and verifying these brands is a secret held tightly by the Consort. Those that forge their own pardoning brands are almost always caught and punished further.
These brands to record legal transgressions came with an unintended consequence. For members of criminal organizations and even Feral populations, these became brands of honor. Many would go so far as to brand or tattoo themselves with these marks as proof of their nefarious deeds and an advertisement for their services. Ironically, these self-inflicted marks would typically not be located on the forearms as this was an indication that they had been caught by the authorities, leading more significant credence to their claims than any self-inflicted mark.