1219
Winter
For several of the apprentices, the actions at Terragon Vale and the Cave of Bonisagus are considered worthy of any Gauntlet. Hugh of Flambeau, Kentigern ex Miscellanea, and Camille of Merinita all consider their apprentices to have passed Gauntlet. Some Houses have specific requirements for the Gauntlet which must be observed, however. Breandan duels Diana in Certamen and avails himself well. Garcette undergoes an exam on the Code of Hermes and performs to Athena's satisfaction. Over the winter, Eva crafts a statuette of a gnome which reads texts placed before it. All of the apprentices are taught the final secret of Parma Magica by their masters.
The next day, a graduation ceremony is held at the Covenant of Icy North, with all the remaining apprentices, their masters, and many other magi in attendance. It is a time of great celebration, the end of a fifteen year project which has not always run smoothly. Primus Andru gives a brief speech from the banquet table. He begins with the question, "What is the purpose of magic? Is it our best destiny," he asks, "to live in isolation and seclusion, eking out a living by avoiding the world? Solving all the same problems over and over again at every covenant across Mythic Europe?" After a short while outlining the inefficiencies and isolations of the Order, which seem to him nothing short of tragic, he eventually asks, "No one denies that the Order of Hermes is the greatest organization of its kind in the history of the world. But is it as great as it could be?" Exhorting the newly-Gauntleted magi to change the Order and the world, he concludes to say, "There has never been a group of magi like you: inducted together, taught together, Gauntleted together, and now setting out together to covenants across the world. Will you do as everyone else has done before you? Or will you dare to be better than we were, be grander than we are, more good, more beautiful, more just. Are you here only to be better magi, or are we also to be better men?"
After supper, each of the Alpine magi rises to introduce the newest member of the Order. Each magus gives his filius a servant to see to his or her personal needs, along with a number of other gifts.
Alfeva filia Athena Alpina of Guernicus is gifted with a Broom of Flying. She is further gifted with a copy of the Root of Mentem, which she read in her youth. She is further gifted, in stead for her new covenant, a copy of the Book of Roaming, or Romer's Book, a well-known grimoire of the twenty most necessary and vital spells to any new covenant. And, finally, she is gifted with a belt fashioned from all the hair which has been cut from her head over the last fifteen years, all of which contains Muto vis. Woven together, this belt contains 60 pawns and it continues to change color by the seasons. It is fashioned in such a way that new hair can be added to its end, as required.
Cernunnos filius Kentigern ex Miscellanea is gifted with one hundred cattle, necessary to the establishment of any covenant in Hibernia, according the Peripheral Code of that land. The cattle have been transformed through Hermetic magic into a hundred tiny bone figurines and placed into a wooden box. The spell will last until the next new moon; it is hoped Cernunos will arrive in Hibernia by then. He is further gifted with copies of the Roots in Rego and Creo, which he read in his youth. He is further gifted with the Wand of Sleep, recovered by him from the Archmages Theodorus the Accomplished. He is further gifted with a breeding pair of Lynx of Virtue who, by their magical nature, create semi-precious gemstones through their urine. By this process, the financial needs of the new covenant should be met.
Samson filius Hugh of Flambeau is gifted with a Falcon of Virtue, intended to serve as a familiar. Hugh also has gifts for his son, Innocentius filius Caterina, who rises at this time. Innocentius is gifted with a copy of the School of Apromor, the Root in the Art of Perdo, which he read as a young man. He is further gifted with a tractatus explaining a recent breakthrough in the Hermetic Longevity Ritual by a magus of House Jerbiton; by this method, the magus can take the ritual and remain fertile. Hugh gives this, "in the hope that it brings you and your wife happiness."
Polumeta filia Balbina of Verditius is -- slowly, laboriously, and to the great humor of some magi in attendance -- introduced by her stuttering parens. She and her sodales are gifted with all the accouterments necessary for the construction of their laboratories. Polumeta's lab equipment is, however, of better quality than all the rest, granting the Virtues Superior Equipment and Superior Tools to her future lab. She is further gifted with a copy of the Root in Imaginem, which she read in her youth.
Myrna filia Kynthia of Merinita is introduced by Camille of Merinita, who completed Cassidy's training after the disappearance of her domina, Kynthia. She is gifted with an excellent hand mirror forged by the dark-elves of Svartleheim, made of silver and glass and decorated with semi-precious stones. The mirror is clearly intended to serve as a talisman, and Camille has placed 12 pawns of vis in it, the number of pawns which will be necessary to prepare it for enchantment.
Victor filius Diana of Tremere is introduced last, by virtue of Diana's low standing in the Tribunal. She claps her hands and the gates to the covenant open to permit the entry of seven heavily armed men. They bear massive round shields marked with the symbol of House Tremere, wear brigandine armor under long black cloaks, and carry long spears one-handed. Kneeling before each of the seven Alpine Apprentices, they shout their motto in Latin: "We Fight in the Shade." These are Black Cloaks, elite shield grogs of House Tremere and the Order.
With the end of the ceremony, everyone is free to stand and mingle with the newest magi of the Order. Samson and Innocentius call each other brother and express their admiration for each other. Magi of House Tytalus express their pride in Innocentius, and it seems the more he avoids them, the prouder they are. Telemachus of Tremere finds Victor and informs him of his mission in Hibernia: as a Signaller, his task is to create methods of instant communication between all the so-called "English" Covenants of Hibernia; that is, all the covenants which are allied to the Tremere goal of imposing Hermetic order over peculiar Hibernian ways. He is given seven years to complete this task, and he will be provided with lab texts. He is also charged with improving his own abilities and skills, so that he can be of more use to the House. Telemachus also promises aid from the House to help Victor and his sodales overcome whatever obstacles he will face setting up his new covenant. Cernunnos is seen going off with a lovely serving girl of Icy North who has been courting him for the last two years, but he seems generally confused and awkward throughout the encounter, leaving no one in the audience entirely sure he enjoyed himself. Alfeva announces her intention to travel to the coast of Britain, where she hopes to see her family again; after this, she will rejoin everyone in Hibernia.
Two days pass while everyone celebrates privately, and much pleasure is had. After two days, Diana of Tremere uses her magic to summon forth the spirit of a long-dead Roman officer who, by virtue of his position as its captain when it sailed on Lake Nemi in Italy, calls into existence Caligula's Pleasure Barge, a colossal ship 240 feet long, 80 feet wide, with multiple decks, decorated with statues of Isis and outfitted with the greatest luxuries, including running water and baths. Diana's magic makes this barge, normally intangible as a ghost, corporeal. The new magi board with their grogs and servants, and over the course of two days travel as fast as a bird flies some 1,200 miles across Mythic Europe from the Alps to central Ireland, pausing at dawn and dusk to recreate the barge.