The Five Tenets (annotated by Terenus)

Original media : TES Online With annotations by Speaker Terenus Brothers and Sisters, we are predators, but we are not animals. We bow to no law of nation or alliance, but we have rules and morals. Break or neglect to follow these Tenets at your own peril—expulsion from the Brotherhood is the least of the punishments awaiting such reprehensible traitors. Obey these Five Tenets and your devotion shall never come into question. Tenet 1. Never dishonor the Night Mother. To do so is to invoke the Wrath of Sithis. Revere the Night Mother, for our Unholy Matron serves as the source of our contracts, the life-blood of the Brotherhood. Tenet 2. Never betray the Dark Brotherhood or its secrets. To do so is to invoke the Wrath of Sithis. We thrive in the shadows. To cast light on those shadows is a blasphemy before Sithis and the Night Mother. Tenet 3. Never disobey or refuse to carry out an order from a Dark Brotherhood superior. To do so is to invoke the Wrath of Sithis. To listen and to obey. The very first lesson taught to every member of the Brotherhood. Tenet 4. Never steal the possessions of a Dark Brother or Dark Sister. To do so is to invoke the Wrath of Sithis. To steal from a Brother or Sister is to steal from the Night Mother. Sithis hates such thieves. Tenet 5. Never kill a Dark Brother or Dark Sister. To do so is to invoke the Wrath of Sithis. We are family, and family doesn't murder family. Unless a member has been cast out, his or her life is as sacred as your own. Know that it is not your kin who will come to judge you should you fail to uphold this compact. Remember the story of the wraith, told to every new initiate. This is more than mere fable. The Wrath of Sithis is real, and he sends his wraith to punish any Brother or Sister who breaks the Tenets.