I become your man from this day forward, of life and limb, and of earthly worship, and unto you shall be true and faithful, and bear to you faith for the tenements that I claim to hold of you. By the Lord Auros before whom this sanctuary is holy, I will to King Manus be true and faithful, and love all which he loves and shun all which he shuns, according to the laws of Auros and the order of the world. Nor will I ever with will or action, through word or deed, do anything which is unpleasing to him, on condition that he will hold to me as I shall deserve it, and that he will perform everything as it was in our agreement when I submitted myself to him and chose his will.
I, Miles Dei, Prince of the Blood Royal. Be it known to all, present and future, that I have voluntarily sworn to my lord, Manus, king of Hyperion, to keep the agreements contained in this charter....
Know that I come to you as your brother by blood, Prince of Hyperion, and therefore, let all present and to come know that I the said prince Miles of Hyperion acknowledge verily to thee my lord Manus, by the grace of God, king of Hyperion, and to thy successors that I hold and ought to hold as a fief from thee the following: the Duchy of Wessex, being comprised of the fiefdoms of Oxford, Dunsfold, Kaizen, Sancta, Brockmore, Ipswitch for each and all of which I make homage and fealty with hands and with mouth to thee my said lord, King Manus, and to thy successors, and from the abundance of which I shall grant to thee every fourth coin. And I swear upon the word of Auros that I will always be a faithful vassal to thee and to thy successors in all things in which a vassal is required to be faithful to his lord, and I will defend thee, my lord, and all thy successors, and the subjects of Hyperion present and to come and the castles and manors and all your men and their possessions against all malefactors and invaders, at my request and that of my successors at my own cost; and I will give to thee power over all the castles and manors above described, in peace and in war, whenever they shall be claimed by thee or by thy successors.
I shall answer in military service to thee, my king Manus, whenever thou shalt call upon me, with 4 out of every 5 knights in my domain, but neither limited to only four, but to all knights I may muster according to the amount of possible knights fees in the land I claim as my shire, and with at least ten men for every knight who with me attends your Majesty's muster, and I shall be sure that they are liveried as properly as befits all the men and knights of a Duke of Wessex. And whenever I shall fail to muster all that I have herein declared, I will pass to thee a scutage with which to hire the equivalent number of mercenary men, which scutage I shall attain from my absent knights. And if my land shall border with seaways or navigable rivers, that I shall answer feudal muster with one adequate warship for every knight's fee upon said waterfronts in my lands in place of infantry muster. Further, when thou hast convened the Parliament for the purpose of a levy, I shall pass this levy to all of my unenlisted men and bring all whosoever are able.
And when the king shall by his heralds present himself before the borough of Long March in formally declared ceremony, that I shall share the ducal palace with him and allow him to enjoy his and our father's old mahogany desk in the ducal palace.
Moreover do I recognize that I, on being created as a peer to the Crown of Hyperion under King Manus, shall, according to the Carta Solis penned by King Manus, be entitled to a seat in the House of Lords of Hyperion, wherefore do I give my oath to protect, uphold, and obey the Carta Solis and the Common Law of Hyperion and all of its tenets, precepts, and rulings, whether they be decreed by His Majesty or by my peer lords, and I also shall require the same of all of my subjects, vassals, and liege men; that they swear to protect the King, the Carta Solis, the Common Law and Hyperion as I have, and that they do so when they shall make their liege homage to me.
In addition, should I fail in my duties, I will turn over to King Manus and his successors the fortresses and garrisons of Sancta, Long March, Oxford, Brockmore, Kaizen, Ipswich and Sleggjaholl, and give him control of all the men who dwell there and all the knights who hold fiefs of the castles, so that if I break my promise to keep these agreements, all the aforesaid men shall hold directly of my lord, Manus, king of Hyperion; and they shall swear to aid him even against men and against every other man or woman or creature.
The County of Elba and Baron of Urth shall be responsible for the tax I owe if I fail to pay to my king Manus, and have inscribed their names below as witnesses, testifying their agreement in this matter.
I will do liege homage to my lord, Manus, king of Hyperion, and I will keep faith with him against all creatures, living or dead.
Made in the year 1 of the reign of Manus.