What edicts are
Edicts are how Brencis answers Coen. Each time Infamy reaches a new level, the ruling vrakhir proclaims another edict, and the valley tightens around the player. There are nine in The Blood of Dawnwalker, three at each of the three Infamy stages: Insignificant, Notorious and Dreaded.
They arrive in a fixed order, so the sequence can be read in advance. The early three land at the Insignificant stage, the middle three at Notorious and the last three at Dreaded, which is why Infamy is worth watching rather than ignoring.
Edicts change the world state rather than a single number. Some place new checkpoints on the roads of Vale Sangora, some raise prices and tolls at merchants, and the later ones alter how the military itself is organised and how Svartrau City is defended. Several edicts also carry a perk effect, meaning they modify Coen directly rather than only the world around him.
Because edicts arrive in order, Infamy can be treated as a throttle. Clearing boyar activities quickly stacks edicts quickly; spacing them out leaves Vale Sangora easier to move through while other quests are finished. The curfew and road safety edicts in particular change how travel works, which interacts directly with the day and night cycle and with fast travel between shrines.
Insignificant
On Protection of Habitations
Infamy stage: Insignificant · Checkpoints: 21
Brencis orders more armed patrols to safeguard the valley's habitations, warning that anyone found disrupting the peace will be seized and punished in proportion to their crimes.
Effects:
- Additional patrols in settlements
On Increased Vigilance
Infamy stage: Insignificant
Citing continued disruption of the peace, Brencis places armed men to guard the villages as well as Svartrau's gates, with a mandate to apprehend anyone acting against his laws and wishes.
Effects:
- Military checkpoints appear throughout the valley
On Prices and Tolls
Infamy stage: Insignificant
Pleading the considerable cost of fighting rabble-rousers and trouble-makers, Brencis reinstates previously annulled taxes and raises existing tithes and tolls, effective immediately.
Effects:
- Price increases throughout the valley
- Trade Law: all types of items become 15% more expensive in shops across the valley
Notorious
On Road Safety
Infamy stage: Notorious
Answering what he calls ongoing challenges to his authority, Brencis sends further patrols to protect the roads and highways, watching in particular for the rebels who call themselves manumits and for Coen of Laslea.
Effects:
- Additional soldiers patrol the roads
- Patrol commanders now recognise Coen
On Curfew
Infamy stage: Notorious · Checkpoints: 18
All subjects are ordered to remain indoors from dusk till dawn unless otherwise instructed and bearing adequate warrant, and all taverns and inns are to shut down after rooster's last crow — framed as protection from Coen of Laslea above all.
Effects:
- Fewer people outdoors between dusk and dawn
On Civil Unrest
Infamy stage: Notorious
Blaming continued civil unrest on his enemies, including Coen of Laslea, Brencis sends further patrols to watch the roads, highways and habitations, and introduces further taxes and tithes to pay and equip the additional men.
Effects:
- Further military checkpoints appear throughout the valley
- Further price increases throughout the valley
- Trade Law: all types of items become 30% more expensive in shops across the valley
Dreaded
On Public Enemy
Infamy stage: Dreaded
Brencis declares Coen of Laslea enemy of the state, sentenced to death in absentia. Men-at-arms and bounty hunters are dispatched to see justice done, and anyone who crosses the fugitive's path must report it without delay — failure to do so counts as treason.
Effects:
- Headhunters appear in the valley
- All soldiers now recognise Coen
On Army Reform
Infamy stage: Dreaded · Checkpoints: 3
To end the threat Coen poses to his subjects, Brencis announces that his troops have received additional training and superior equipment, promising that triumph over the enemy of the state is now a matter of time.
Effects:
- All soldiers become stronger
- Strong Soldiers: all soldiers have their level offset by 4
On Svartrau Defences
Infamy stage: Dreaded
All gates leading into the City of Svartrau are ordered closed shut until further notice: no one may enter or leave without authorisation and adequate warrants, to shield the populace from Coen and his actions.
Effects:
- Svartrau gates are shut
Playing around the edicts
Nothing about the edict sequence is random. The same nine proclamations arrive in the same order in every playthrough, only at the pace Infamy sets, which makes this list a genuine planning tool rather than a record of one run.
Finishing exploration before the middle three edicts land is a reasonable way to plan a run, since the curfew and road safety edicts change how travel works. See The Court for how Infamy rises and which activities trigger each stage.