§1.01 — On Systemic Priority
Ecological stability supersedes individual welfare in all disputes. Harm to a single life is permissible where aggregate balance is preserved.
§1.04 — On Correction Thresholds
Corrective action by Rootworld is recognized as natural occurrence and may not be appealed, investigated, or attributed to legal fault.
§1.07 — On Memory & Recurrence
Repeated destabilizing behavior constitutes aggravation, regardless of intent or ignorance.
§3.09 — On Emergent Personhood
Sentience is recognized upon demonstrable autonomous decision-making. Prior to this threshold, entities may be guided, restrained, or repositioned for stability.
§3.12 — On Distributed Intelligence
Non-humanoid cognition, including fungal networks and bioluminal collectives, qualifies for limited protection where harm risks cascading imbalance.
§5.02 — On Voluntary Assimilation
Surface-origin individuals who permanently sever Surface affiliation and undergo Rootworld acclimation are recognized as Rootbound.
§5.05 — On Non-Extradition
Rootbound individuals may not be returned to Surface authority, regardless of prior contractual obligation or criminal classification.
§5.08 — On Shelter & Obscurity
Providing refuge, concealment, or sustenance to Rootbound persons is lawful where it does not induce ecological strain.
§5.11 — On Retaliatory Force
Lethal force used to prevent Rootbound capture is permissible if executed with minimal disruption to surrounding systems.
§7.01 — On Conditional Entry
Surface-Kin presence is permitted only within designated corridors, platforms, and research strata.
§7.04 — On Extractive Prohibition
Unauthorized extraction of biomass, fluids, or sentient tissue constitutes ecological violation.
§7.07 — On Experimental Liability
Surface-Kin experimentation resulting in destabilization voids all research protections and permits immediate corrective response.
§7.11 — On Armed Presence
Surface-Kin security forces are tolerated only where visibly marked and restricted to defensive posture.
§9.02 — On Living Commerce
Trade in sentient or pre-sentient lifeforms is permitted only where activation autonomy remains demonstrable.
§9.06 — On Place-Bound Entities
Lifeforms imprinted to locations are granted territorial primacy. Removal without consent constitutes destabilization.
§12.01 — On Enforcement Delegation
Enforcement authority may be exercised by Drow custodians, Pandaren observers, or Rootworld itself.
§12.04 — On Unrecorded Resolution
Events resolved through ecological correction require no documentation.
§12.09 — On Public Awareness
Disclosure of corrective events is discouraged where it risks panic, imitation, or systemic stress.
Section IV — Managed Growth & Aesthetic Continuity
§4.12 — On Assisted Emergence
Emergent botanical persons initiated through sanctioned cultivation vessels are recognized as autonomous upon successful activation. Prior to activation, such forms are classified as pre-emergent growth entities and may be guided, positioned, or stabilized in accordance with approved stewardship practices.
§4.13 — On Environmental Suitability
Stewards are permitted to ensure optimal conditions for emergence, including restraint of movement, limitation of external influence, and corrective intervention where instability threatens form, value, or harmony.
§4.14 — On Consent Thresholds
Consent is assumed implicit where an emergent form demonstrates responsiveness to care, environmental calibration, or aesthetic alignment. Non-activation does not, in itself, constitute refusal.
Section VII — Trade, Display, and Transit
§7.03 — On Living Exhibits
Botanical persons in pre-emergent states may be displayed, transported, or exchanged for purposes of education, preservation, or cultural enrichment, provided containment vessels meet vitality standards.
§7.04 — On Emotional Distress Claims
Claims of coercive distress arising during pre-emergent stewardship are inadmissible unless accompanied by demonstrable ecological destabilization.
Section IX — Stability & Public Order
§9.18 — On Aberrant Growth Patterns
Hostile activation following assisted emergence is classified as developmental variance, not evidence of misconduct, unless gross negligence is established.
§9.19 — On Corrective Liability
Where corrective growth results from improper stewardship, responsibility rests with the emergent form’s instability, not the initiating steward, barring willful sabotage of containment protocols.
“Autonomy begins when the bloom opens. Prior to that, guidance is not coercion—it is cultivation.”