6dc5455c____The_Coppermind___17th_Shard__Entry
[Chapter] 11 [Entry] 
The First Contract, oft spoken of by the kandra, was originally just a series of promises made by the First Generation to the Lord Ruler. They wrote these promises down, and in doing so codified the first kandra laws. They were worried about governing themselves, independently of the Lord Ruler and his empire. So, they took what they had written to him, asking for his approval. He commanded it cast into steel, then personally scratched a signature into the bottom. This code was the first thing that a kandra learned upon awakening from his or her life as a mistwraith. It contained commands to revere earlier generations, simple legal rights granted to each kandra, provisions for creating new kandra, and a demand for ultimate dedication to the Lord Ruler. Most disturbingly, the First Contract contained a provision which, if invoked, would require the mass suicide of the entire kandra people.
The Hero of Ages/Epigraphs - The Coppermind - 17th Shard
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