Sentience and Society

By Joron Loroch

Joron Loroch was one of the "free-thinkers" from the early history of Brineven. His thought-provoking treatise on sentient creatures was initially panned by those who sought to stereotype all "humanoids" as savage and lesser beings, but his ideas became the cornerstone of the proclamation of the rights of sentient beings. While the proclamation started in Brineven almost at its founding, the proclamation was eventually adopted by the Imperial Senate and became the law of the Empire.
While the whole treatise is considered required reading by barristers and scholars of many types, some excerpts are provided below to provide the reader with a sense of the work. Many people consider Joron's work to be aspirational, and even a bit naïve, but that fact doesn't mitigate the influence he has had on law throughout the old empire.

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Sentience and Society

We live in a world with many sentient species. While we humans are the dominant species in the Empire, our "demihuman" ¹ allies, elves (and their alfar kin), dwarves, hin and gnomes, are considered equal citizens under our laws and customs, even when their customs differ from ours. Yet we can find compatibility with other sentient races, although these alliances aren't as widespread. We will sometimes be capable of trade and communication with various types of beastfolk, and even a few tribes of orcs or rageborn. The fey goblinoids can be allies or enemies given the chance, although one shouldn't trust anything fey too much.
How we as a society interact and work with our fellow sentients speaks volumes for our own civilization. Are we truly as savage as the orcs of the Wildlands? The hin of the Endless Plains on their thunder-lizards can be as savage, or moreso, as the lizardfolk who live near Murena. Should we consider them allies, or enemies? The devil-worshiping humans of the Malechani Hierarchy are certainly more of a danger than the dragonborn of Krall. And even some of our own noble houses feel the need to trample others under their feet. Certainly the concept of "civilized" needs to be thought through and re-examined.
Why do we need to examine what makes a civilized sentient creature. Because, in my opinion, all civilized creatures should be due a handful of undeniable rights, bound in the very notion that the civilized creature has chosen to join and be part of society. What happens in our neighbor of Calastan's domain is unconscionable and needs to be called out as an example of "uncivilized" behavior, and not worthy of our Empire's sanction.
I state this boldly, any creature who chooses to be part of "Society" is due a spate of basic unalienable rights that cannot be denied based on race, species, ethnicity, power, prestige, wealth, or standing. For the sake of this argument, I will use the word "Person" to identify those people who are part of society and are due the following rights.
What is the definition of this "Person"? I believe it to be so. The Person is a sentient creature, who of their own free will chooses to participate in a Society. That Society may not be the society we are accustomed to or participate in, but each Society tends to follow the laws and customs of their own society. While I believe that some of the "Personhood Rights" enumerated below should be extended to all sentient creatures, the focus of this treatise is on the rights and responsibilities of civilized folk.
Societies may not agree in custom or law, but each Society honors the existence of neighboring Societies. The orc village that trades with its neighbors, even at a distance with distrust and spears at the ready, is a Society. The orc village that considers its neighbors prey for its raiding appetite is not a Society, and should continue to be treated in the manner they treat their neighbors. That said, we should seek out ways to engage with enemies as well as our allies, that raiding village may eventually join the greater Society if we can find some mutual understanding.
Unalienable rights do not belong to the Society however, but to the citizen. An orc from the raiding village who leaves his tribe and attempts to join his neighbors' Society should be able to earn our trust given enough time and dedication.
So, in short, a "Person" is any sentient creature who chooses to be part of a Society. There may be mistrust and a proving time, but any sentient should have the ability to join a Society and partake of that Societies rights and traditions given the time and commitment.
The basic rights due to any Person in any Society, not just our own, are enumerated below. There are many other rights and responsibilities of Persons, but the larger rights are irrespective of Society.
The Right to Life is the basis for laws against murder, torture, and includes spells which capture or drain the life-force of others, or capture souls, spirits, or other manifestations of the Person.
The Right to Freedom implies that all Persons should be free. Slavery should be outlawed, and even indentured servitude is immoral if there is no way for the indentured to gain their freedom. In addition to slavery and bondage, magical coercion and control should also be prohibited. This right is often seen as the most problematic of the rights proposed by Loroch, with nay-sayers pointing out that there seems to be a continuum of control from influence, to coercion, to domination/slavery, and scholars since Loroch's time have debated where to "draw the line".
The Right to Justice states simply that all "Persons" are equal under the law, and that a noble, or a priest, or a wizard, should have no more rights than a laborer. This is the most often abused right, as the various city-states of the empire have different interpretations of "equal". Loroch's premise, if fully implemented, would be fairly revolutionary, and while most citizens of the empire believe in his ideals, reality falls short of the promise.
Loroch goes on to propose more specific rights and responsibilities, but few as far-reaching as the three above. The one that comes closest is the "Right to Self" which seems to imply that a Person shouldn't have their home, property, or privacy violated by others.

1. The term demihuman has gone out of favor, mostly at the ire of our elven and dwarven allies who found the term offensive.

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