Red book

The name "Red book" is a misconception - there is no singular tome. Each Imperial Censor maintains books with hard red leather covers whose full name is the Census incolarum et registrar de Imperio (Population census and registrar of the Empire). Once a book is filled it is transferred via the local Post towers and motus magic to the central registrar in the Imperial Capital, where a list of all citizens of the Empire is maintained, backed up and protected. The process comes from the early days of the Pheagon Kingdom when it was instituted as a way to protect the populace against the mages by tracking all magically talented individuals, as mages have been a threat and caused massive death and destruction across the Kingdom in that time period.

When a citizen turns fourteen (or when an individual is granted citizenship) they are considered an adult in the eyes of the Empire. From that day they can exercise numerous rights and freedoms that all citizens have - ownership and transfer of property, the right to marry, the right of local and provincial petition, the right to religious freedom and expression of thought, etc. To verify and protect their rights individuals must go to the nearest Censor, where they dip their palm into a mixture of red clay, oil, powdered brass and silver and a few drops of their own blood. The palm is placed on an empty page within the red book, leaving an imprint and no residue on one's hand.

This is referred to as the blood pact, the pact or the subjugation, depending on where a person is from and their view on the matter. It is a blood ritual that allows Censors and other Imperial officers to verify the identity, citizenship status of a person and whether or not the person is known to be a mage and their status of education.

There have been numerous criticisms of the system from all sides - Sovereign, Senate, Provinces, Noble families, common folk, outsiders, churches, faiths, guilds, etc. In the past, the ritual has been used to track people which has led to several scandals but also to finding lost and missing persons; it has been used as evidence of infidelity from a noble when they sire an illegitimate heir but also to establish the rightful claims of a long lost rightful heir; there have been instances of the ritual being used to eliminate political or business enemies but also mages that have become Spellstrays and proved to be a danger to the Empire and its populace.

By the time of the Imperial Civil War the ritual is no longer seen as controversial in places that have been part of the Empire for decades or centuries. The exact ritual has been publicized and can be reviewed by anyone with the knowledge to do so. It no longer contains any other magic than the ability to verify the Three Pillars of Identity mentioned above.

However, distrust among mages or newer provinces still exists, echos of old fears linger even in the oldest parts of the Empire. To this day it is common to bring a hired mage (a Lexarch) to protect one's interests and ensure the ritual has not been tampered with - it is so common that it has become almost part of the ritual itself.