1215

Spring

For many of the Alpine Apprentices, the spring of 1215 is their last season of instruction under Azzo Carducci, the Profound Doctor.

The first week of March is spent refreshing the students' memory of Hermetic Theory. But Profundus swiftly moves into more advanced topics including, specifically, the construction and arrangement and use of the laboratory. He has the students compile long inventories of all the tools and utensils required for a lab, examples of all varieties of lab equipment -- some of an exceedingly rare and costly nature -- are brought into the class room and demonstrated and inspected, and the students take extensive tours of various laboratories in the Greater Alps. These tours are done at multiple covenants and chapter houses, reached by Portal Arch. In almost every case, the labs are currently unused, relics left over by magi who have passed into Final Twilight or left their covenant to build new facilities elsewhere, but a few magi are willing to show apprentices an actual living laboratory.

In particular, the apprentices tour the laboratories of Ragoneda of Tytalus (a bone maga whose lab is filled with grotesque bone sculptures and elaborate anatomical diagrams), Hugh of Flambeau (never will you see a lab more dedicated to the murder of one's enemies), and the crowning moment of the season, a tour of the laboratory of Yrio the Lunarian, head of the Covenant of the Shadow of the Moon. Yrio, now physically feeble and with an almost child-like mind, has a gentle smile as he floats around in a chair, softly describing the incredible astronomical observatory which acts as his lab. Hermetic magic animates replicas of the solar system, and he hints that, although he will soon pass from this world into the Magic Realm, his life has not been in vain.

It is while touring Shadow of the Moon that the other apprentices see Breandan, who has been busily engaged in lab work with his domina, Diana. He is given free time to spend with his friends during their brief stay, but spends most of the season working alongside Diana to invent a high-level ritual spell.

Advancement

Breandan gets 2 Exposure XP.

Everyone else, taught by Profundus, gets 23 XP. This must be spent on Magic Theory 5; remaining points can be spent on anything Profundus has.

Summer

Tribunal is scheduled for midsummer, when travel is easiest and the weather fairest. The Tribunal is held at Icy North and the magi are largely busy preparing for it. Profundus passes on the instructions for the apprentices: Everyone is to build their own laboratory.

Space has been provided in the outer buildings of Icy North, between the castle and the town, where the school building and dormitories have been located. Equipment for the labs are collected from covenants throughout the Greater Alps. Virtually every available space in these outer buildings is to be used. These laboratories will be rudimentary, and will not be as well-equipped or supplied as the lab of a full magus, but will suffice.

Midway through the season, the Tribunal is held. The schedule is set by Praeco La; the first item on the agenda is the vote to ostracize. The central event is testimony by Innocentius ex Tytalo concerning the Shadow Magi. This poses something of a conundrum, because many of the magi of the Alps wish to cast Akakios out as a troublemaker and possible infernalist. However, if they ostracize him, he will not be able to provide information on Grigori and his coven. When the vote of ostracism is taken, the magi take their vengeance on Sebastien instead. Sebastien has not chosen to attend the Tribunal, and when a Redcap is sent to tell him of his ostracism, he finds Sebastien's sanctum empty and abandoned.

Innocentium relates much about Grigori and the other Shadow magi, including the former apprentices of the Alps, Martin and Ilsa. Much is learned, not all of which the Alpine Apprentices are privy to. For the years during which Akakios was with them, the Shadow Magi were well protected by Crusaders and demons, but had no access to laboratories or a library. Each magus has a relatively narrow specialization which they have mastered, often by using their powers against the armies of the Count of Toulouse and his Provencal allies. Grigori constructed a traveling laboratory in a wagon, which he used to develop spells which allowed him to destroy arcane connections from afar; in this way, he severed connections to Akakios, Martin and Ilsa which had been allowing Athena to eavesdrop on the Infernalist's activity.

Caterina, Grigori's wife, is described as a protective maternal figure to Akakios who taught him Parma and the Arts, especially Rego. She is a rival to Grigori, and seeks to seize control of the coven from him. Her primary ally in this is Hermia, while Magni is firmly against her, leaving the young and moody Gideon as the unknown factor. Ilsa seems to have become dominated by Grigori's strong personality, and is now both his apprentice and his mistress. Martin has joined with Gideon and Magni as a warrior, fighting alongside Simon de Montfort's crusading troops. He is apprenticed to and sleeping with Hermia. Recently, Gideon obtained an apprentice of his own, a young woman from Toulouse, whose Gift appears to be Infernal in nature.

Before the Tribunal is over, Garcette has commissioned a collection of lab texts. Paying the six pawns of Imaginem vis she recovered from the Werfen Ice Caves, she purchases four spells which exploit the Art of Memory.

Now that Simon has completed his conquest of Provencal and has been granted the city of Toulouse, it is believed that Grigori is settling into that city. Though still protected by a large presence of mundanes, he will also have access to books and a stable location to build a proper laboratory.

Advancement

Akakios has a genuinely free season.

Everyone else spends the season constructing a rudimentary lab. It can be used for any laboratory activity, with a -3 penalty.

Those apprentices constructing a lab get 2 Exposure XP.

Autumn

With their apprentice labs constructed, the students are given a free season to do as they wish. Their masters encourage them to invent a spell suited to their specialization; this spell is a sign of their completed mastery of Hermetic Theory. However, this is not a required activity and the apprentices may do as they wish. Indeed, they do not even need to use the labs they have just constructed.

The labs at Icy North have a -3 Quality due to hasty construction but are situated in a level 6 Aura. Your lab total is Form + Technique + Int + 5 Magic Theory + 3. Some of you may have a specialization in Magic Theory which applies, and you may have a Virtue like Inventive Genius which applies to your lab total in specific circumstances.

Inventing spells from a lab text is easier than inventing it from scratch. Icy North has lab texts for all spells in the core rules for Ars Magica 5. Spells which are included in other sources may be available to you, especially if they are common to your House. Your master will also provide lab texts for any of his or her own spells. Acquiring a rare lab text is an excellent use of a Fan Point.

You can also use this season to copy a book or even practice or study. Other lab activities are open to you, such as enchanting an item or even "farming" for Vim vis.

Innocentius is based at the Tower of Solomon rather than Icy North. His aura there is slightly lower -- only a 4 -- and he has less access to texts. However, the Toymaker will provide copies of all of his own lab texts, and Icy North can provide copies of all spells in the core Ars Magica rules.

Advancement

Everyone doing Lab Work gets 2 Exposure XP.

Winter

As the year ends and the weather grows increasingly cold, the apprentices retreat to their home covenants where their masters teach them spells. For most, this is their second season of spell instruction.

When Breandan returns to Shadow of the Moon, Diana introduces Amaltheia of Tremere, a veteran Signaler of the House who has been sent to teach Breandan spells. Amalethia is an unassuming maga, plain-faced and simple in manner, though she is as physically fit as most Tremere and wears her black robes over a humble black dress. Over the winter, she teaches Breandan the following spells, intended to help him in his role:

  • Summoning the Distant Image (InIm 25) AM5 145

  • Gossip of the Marketplace (Cr[Re]Me 20) GotF 73

  • Thoughts Within Babble (InMe 25) AM5 149

  • Enchantment of the Pedestrian Pigeon (MuMe 15) HoH:S 98

Amaltheia also gives Breandan a lab text for Twinning the Quill (ReAn 19, TME 94), the enchantment used to create Quills of Arcane Correspondence.

Like Diana, Kynthia appears to have arranged for a tutor to assist Cassidy over Winter. She is a tall, blonde, Nordic maga introduced as Camille Pendule ex Merinita. Pendule was a famous illusionist and trickster who refused to join the Order back when it was founded; he was chased all over Europe by Flambeau but was never caught. His lineage continues to this day and, it is said, include masters of Faerie Glamour and other tricks which Pendule passed on in secret.

Camille appears to owe Kynthia a favor or two; she is militant for a Merinita and has had many adventures with Norse gods, valkyries, dwarves and giants. Kynthia apparently rescued her when a few of these adventures went sour. She is an illusionist, and teaches Cassidy the following spells:

  • Phantasmal Animal (CrIm 20) AM5 144

  • Phantasmal Fire (CrIm 20) AM5 144

  • Aura of Ennobled Presence (MuIm 10) AM5 145

  • Image Phantom (MuIm 20) AM5 146

  • Wizard's Sidestep (ReIm 10) AM5 147

Eva also receives instruction in spells from a new tutor. Balbina introduces her to Jovis frater Icilius ex Verditius, a ruggedly handsome man who appears to be in his sixties, but must be over a century old. Balbina retains her customary silence around him, but there is an unspoken comfort and intimacy between the two which suggests a long history of friendship (at least).

Jovis is the last surviving member of the Confraternity of Heron, once one of the most respected and influential names in the House. But a century ago, Icilius of Verditius betrayed the secret of automata, the Confraternity's foremost mystery. The group collapsed into disarray and infighting as Jovis and others tried to hunt down Icilius. The rest of the House blacklisted the Heronites and young magi seeking to learn the secret of automata joined the Confraternity of Irene the Younger instead. Half a century ago, Jovis slew Icilius in Wizard's War, but the damage was done.

He has come at Balbina's request to teach Eva some spells and, potentially, further secrets of Heron. He has the demeanor of a proud but doomed man who feels his lineage dying, and wishes to pass on something, no matter how small. He has never had an apprentice. He specializes in Herbam, Terram, and Rego, arts used frequently in the construction of Automata. He teaches Eva the following spells:

  • The Rough-Hewn Servant (ReHe 10) ToME 55

  • The Carved Assassin (ReHe 20) ToME 55

  • The Spell of Wrought Iron (ReTe 15) Cov 51

  • The Phantom Blacksmith (ReTe 20) Cov 51

Hugh teaches Rene the following spells:

  • Circle of Beast Warding (ReAn 5) AM5 120

  • Adopt the Stature of the Giants of Eld (MuCo 10) MoH 49

  • Blessing of Starkad (MuCo 25) MoH 49

  • Endurance of the Berserkers (ReCo 15) AM5 134

  • Blunting the Iron's Bite (ReTe 10) MoH 50

Kentigern teaches Gustov the following spells:

  • To Know the Owner as Might His Hound (InAn 25)

  • Mastering the Unruly Beast (ReAn 25) AM5 120

  • Gather the Essence of the Beast (ReVi 15) AM5 162

Athena Alpina teaches Garcette the following spells:

  • True Sight of the Air (InAu 15) AM5 127

  • The Inexorable Search (InCo 20) AM5 131

  • Liar's Chime (InMe 20)

  • Posing the Silent Question (InMe 20) AM5 131

After welcoming Innocentius into his sanctum and renewing his wards against hostile spirits, the Toymaker agrees to teach Akakios in the Art of Corpus, in lieu of spells. The Toymaker has fought more walking corpses than he cares to count, and has plenty of experience upon which to draw, though he is not especially good at getting his point across and has a habit of wandering off topic with gory and horrifying stories of his struggle against the Cult of the Dead.

Advancement

Akakios gets 13 XP in Corpus

Everyone else gets 2 Exposure XP and learns spells.