1097

YEAR 1097

Scribed by Ruaridh

Spring 1097AD

Petrus returned from Durenmarearly in the new year, bringing with him news of the defeat of the Emperor'sarmy in Hungary. We told him of the events of the previous Autumn Equinox,which he claimed lent further credence to his theory that the covenant issited on the lowest level of a magical regio. He argued that the higherlevel of the regio could have a seventh rather than a sixth magnitude auraas Turold's detection spell was not sufficiently powerful to analyse the phenomenonwith complete accuracy. We were unable to ascertain precisely why thetwo levels, if that is what they truly are, only come into contact on certaindays of the year - typically the Solstices and Equinoxes - but we resolvedto test our theories at the next available opportunity.

The council decided that, sinceIdris had been unable to locate the pagan priest last year, we would haveto inform Holy Isle covenant of his unwillingness to be questioned.Given that we had no suspicions of any complicity with the Unnamed House onhis part, we resolved to wait until Stassius next visited the covenant beforepassing on our message. I share some of Idris' misgivings about theway in which the Magi of Holy Isle may choose to conduct their investigations,but given the current mood of the Order, I fear we have little choice butto co-operate. Still, we shall see...

We learned of the machinationsof another of the Gloucester diabolists - one Henry of Lakewood, a noble atthe court of Earl Robert - through circumstances too complex and, frankly,bizarre to relate here. Suffice it to say that a contact in Gloucesterwitnessed Henry being paid a sum of money, possibly by an agent of anotherof the diabolists, Richard of Frampton, to assassinate someone in the city.The identity of the victim remains a mystery, though the fact that Henry regularlyattends court at Gloucester may mean that he intends to slay a fellow noble.While the politicking of Norman lords would scarcely raise a flicker of interestin these quarters in normal times, I believe that the involvement of the diabolistsmeans that it would be dangerous for us to let Henry's actions go unchecked.

Towards the end of the season,Varsavia's laboratory was damaged when one of her Auram experiments went slightlyawry. I cannot disguise a flicker of admiration for the calm way inwhich she reacted to the mishap, especially since a full season's work hadclearly gone to waste. I hope - and rather doubt - I will be able todisplay the same sort of control should any of my projects go up in smokein the future.

Summer

In an effort to learn more aboutHenry of Lakewood, we arranged for one of the grogs, Belindt, to get a menialjob serving food and wine at the Earl's court. I am not sure why Belindtwas selected for the job - he seems almost preternaturally irritating - but,despite my fears that he would be immediately tossed in some dark dungeonfor winding up the wrong man, he managed to get close to and apparently winthe trust of Henry. Idris and I discussed the possibility of havingBelindt slip a vial of poison into the diabolist's wine, but, before we couldconstruct a viable plan, Godwin took matters into his own hands, presentingBelindt with some poison of his own. Henry was almost killed by thedraught, but not quite. The Earl assumed that the poison had been intendedfor him, and he rewarded Henry for saving his life.

This episode has taught be severalthings, the most glaringly obvious of which is not to place any reliance onwayward priests who teeter on the wrong edge of sanity. Twelve innocentserving staff were slain as the Normans looked for the perpetrators of thecrime; their deaths will weigh heavily on my conscience for some time.

On the night of the Summer Solstice,Turold and several of the grogs once again passed through what we now believeto be the boundary of the magical regio. No druid did he encounter thistime for the place was inhabited by huge spiders, which Turold described asstanding as tall as a shire horse. These fearsome creatures attackedthe grogs, and one of the covenant's most faithful servants, Brytnoth, wascruelly slain. Indeed, were it not for the fact that Turold and theother men were quickly pulled back to the lower level of the regio, I am surethere would have been many more deaths. Petrus too saw the spiders,casting Glimpsing Through the Mystic Veil from the safety of the covenant,and, if his reaction is anything to go by, I intend to make sure that I neverencounter the creatures.

Autumn

In council, we discussed whatcould be causing the recent instability in the magic aura, bringing the twolevels of the regio close together at certain times of the years. Varsaviasuggested that the changing of the faerie seasons - recently from summer toautumn and soon from autumn to winter - might be the root of the problem.Several of the Magi, myself included, could not understand why a faerie event,albeit a most significant one, should have any effect at all on a magicalaura, but in the absence of a more compelling argument, we were happy forVarsavia to spend her season's service travelling north to Cad Gadu to consultwith Sylvania. She left shortly after the meeting.

Stassius the Redcap arrived afew weeks later, bringing with him news of great import. Of King Robert'sexploits in the East and the rebellion of the March lords we already knew,but we now learned of war in Scotland and the crowning of a new Scottish King,Edgar. Stassius also told us that the heir to the throne, Prince Henry,would shortly be coming to Gloucester, along with Queen Catherine of Wales.

The Grand Tribunal had brokenup, with the result that three rulings immediately became part of the PeripheralCode:

(1) No Magus should involve himselfin the conflicts between the Christian armies and the Moors.

(2) The Unnamed House isdeclared an enemy of the Order. Any Magus consorting with the agentsof the Unnamed House is also an enemy of the Order. Holy Isle is formallydedicated to the investigation of the Unnamed house, and all Magi are requiredto inform the covenant immediately if they have any news of or suspicionsconcerning the Unnamed House.

(3) All Magi are entitledto use subtle and indirect means to ensure that magical auras are not damagedby the encroaching dominion.

Of the three rulings, it is likelythat the second will have the most impact and cause the most controversy inour Tribunal. Holy Isle's powers seem quite far ranging, though thisis perhaps understandable given the nature of the threat the Order faces.One of the checks on their actions is supposed to be the fact that a Quaesitormust instruct them to investigate a particular individual or covenant, butsince Dionysius is himself a Quaesitor, I do not see how this can work effectively.

In other news, it has been decidedthat Magi may compete for the title of Archimagus formerly held by Lexor ofCad Gadu, and that Garius intends to take up the challenge. The contestwill apparently involve creating the tallest pillar of metal possible.Eloria has left Blackthorn and joined Blywyddan, taking a sixth of the covenant'svis and mundane resources with her. She has also petitioned Tyreniato have a sixth of Blackthorn's vis sites handed over to her, citing someobscure clauses in the covenant's charter. That reminds me, I thinkit's time I had a quick look over our charter.

Towards the end of the season,the shade of the accursed Jean de Caen appeared by the spring, apparentlyaccompanied by the ghost of Radulfus. Idris was the only one of us towitness this spectacle, but he told the rest of us that Radulfus appearedas a man rather than in the demonic form we most recently saw him in.Radulfus seemed confused by his current state, and most of his speech wasconfused. After a few moments, he vanished, as did Jean. I donot really know what to make of this event, but the fact that Radulfus appearedas a ghost implies that he has died. Perhaps Brythnoth's arrow reallydid slay him, driving out the demon that possessed him. This would explainwhy our most recent encounters have been with a demon rather than a man.I will think on this more in the future.

Winter

I write this at the end of oneof the most trying season's of the covenant's short history. The eventsthat transpired are too lengthy and involved to describe in full, so I willcontent myself with a summary of the most important points.

Early in the season, Eanfled wasapproached by one of the strange Bwbachod that usually keep to the faerieregio. Following the creature, he was led into a part of the regio hehad not seen before. Peering into a shallow pool of water at the topof a mound, he saw a vision of Ruadan accepting a black and red wand froma twisted demon. The Bbachod shed a tear at this, which Varsavia tellsme was a sign of great significance since the fae do not feign emotion.Eanfled hurried back to the covenant and told Varsavia and me of what he saw.

The vision puzzled us, since itis widely know that the fae and infernal realms are entirely separate, andthat the possibility of dealings between the two is almost unthinkable.Then Varsavia started, recalling that Ruadan had once been human, meaningthat the events in the vision, though still highly unlikely, were not impossible.The implications of this were obvious to us all - the faerie regio might bewarped by the foul magic of the gift. Though it was winter, we resolvedto travel into the regio to confront the sorceress.

Varsavia, Idris and I thereforeset off, accompanied by Pendaran, Myrvin, Cynddylan and a third of the men.Pausing only to recruit Gofynwy the faerie smith to our cause, we journeyedthrough the now wintery regio to the dark faerie dell. There we encounteredRuadan, who admonished us and ordered us to leave. Varsavia challengedher about Eanfled's vision, but the sorceress laughed the accusation off.We realised that we had to force her to tell the truth, and that to defeather at some contest was the only way to ensure that she complied. Pendarantherefore challenged her to a test of strength, an arm wrestling contest.Ruadan used her magic to bolster her strength, but the giant proved victorious,even snapping her arm off at the elbow.

Pendaran then asked whether shehad ever accepted anything from a servant of the infernal powers. Heranswer was a simple word: No. Varsavia reacted with alarm;I later learnt that, according to the strange laws of the fae, Ruadan shouldhave given a much fuller answer, and that her abruptness was a sign that shewas lying. The sorceress disappeared and we were set upon by half adozen of the giant spiders that Turold had previously seen in the magicalregio. We managed to fight our way out of the dell, mainly thanks tothe strength of Pendaran and Gofynwy, the arrows of our archers and Varsavia'sfire magics, but we lost several of the men in the melee.

We retreated to the summer dellto regroup, though we again had to fight our way past several giant spidersand a group or cors to get there. We knew we had to get the wand from Ruadan;Gofynwy told us that she often went to the Cave of Snakes to weep (for whatI am not sure), and this seemed like the best place to catch her. Trueenough, we spied her by the stream in the centre of the underground cavern,and, using a full rook of Rego vis to fuel my magics, I managed to knock herunconscious using Oneiros' Blessing. It was here that I made a gravemistake: I saw the wand lying on the ground by the witch, and I pickedit up to ensure that she would not recover it. I felt my parma magicafailing and then a great surge of power as I was overcome by the magic inthe wand.

Idris quickly recognised the dangerand moved to stop me; however, using the wand I was able to destroyhis enchanted bow. The situation may have become even more grave hadRuadan not recovered at this point and knocked the wand from my hand.As I let go of the item, my senses returned. Ruadan also seemed to beback to herself, and she thanked us for breaking the spell that the wand hadput on her. She pushed the wand into the stream, promising to guardit against any who would seek to use it to pervert the regio. The gravityin her voice as she realised how close she had come to destroying this placeleads me to believe she will be a most careful guardian.

So, another year is complete.I know we have all learned a great deal from our experiences, and I hope thatfuture years prove to be as creative and vital but perhaps a little less exciting.On the last of these points at least, I have no doubt that I will be disappointed.