1106

YEAR 1106

Scribed by Petrus

Spring 1106AD

The first councilof the new year, and our spirits are low. With the death of our Castellan,and many of our grogs, the men are forced to take watch for twelve hours andwe are unable to mount patrols. Varein was instructed to gather somerecruits as soon as possible. We were encouraged when Antonius agreed to joinas a full member of our covenant. His membership was unanimously supported,despite Lothar's complaints the previous year that he did not have any combatmagics. Ruaridh suggested that for his covenant service that he designa spell that might counter disease. Given that many of our covenant,even the magi themselves, have fallen ill during the winters here we feltit was a sensible proposal. Antonius will study from the mentem texts,and Turold from the Creo books. I shall study from two pawns of Herbamvis, whilst Lothar will study from three pawns of Animal. We have receiveda rook of Animal from Antonius as part of his becoming a member of this covenant,and have agreed to respect Lucien's status as amicus to Antonius.

The season progressedwell, with three pawns of Corporem vis being delivered up at the equinox.In the past the spring has been altered by the events occurring there.We can only guess that Idris's death (he could extract his blood as Corporemvis) has affected the nature of the spring again.

However, laterin the season more trouble arose. It seems that Godwin had met with'Ruaridh' and had left the 'magus' alone to speak to a young woman from thevillage. Later it transpired that it had not been Ruaridh at all, butinstead an infernal copy of him which had murdered the poor woman and drainedoff her blood. It seems that Godwin and his side kick Andrew requiredsome convincing of this, and during an argument on the road the two of themattacked Ruaridh and Antonius. During this fracas Godwin was shot inthe chest at short range with a long bow arrow. He resides still inthe infirmary, and Ceadwith doubts he will ever fully recover his strength.

We discussed atlength the problem of Ruaridh's double, deciding that it might originate fromthe occasion when he lost some of his personal vis within an infernal regio(back in the summer of 1102). This may also have acted as the link requiredby a demon to use psychomachia against Ruaridh even through the aegis andhis parma magica.

Summer

Meeting on thefirst day of summer we discussed the problem of Ruaridh's double, but withlittle resolved in terms of action. Ruaridh pressed on with his studiesof Perdo, the object of his focus now becoming more apparent. I decidedto develop the ritual of the Watching Ward, whilst Turold opted to extractsome Vim vis for himself. By way of covenant services, Lothar wouldhunt for new vis sites within the forest, whilst Antonius (who owed the traditionaltwo services this year) would travel to Bristol and Gloucester to try andestablish relations with local merchants. Before heading off on hisown, Lothar would accompany Ruth, Eanfled, Pendaran and Gareth (one of theGrogs), into the faerie regio to collect the Perdo vis.

Apart from thetax demand from the Reeve of Dean, Edwin, the majority of the season passedrelatively peacefully. A month passed and it was brought to our attentionthat Lothar and the others had not yet returned from the regio. We decided,given the distortion of time that occurs in faerie places, we would send outa reconnaissance party come mid-summer - if they had not already returned.Indeed, they did not return, and I was sent out to try and find them.Fortunately, our party happened upon the returning group. However, Lotharwas not among them.

It seems thatthey had run into trouble coming back from the cave of snakes (Ruadan hadbeen there to cry). They had left Ruth and Eanfled outside the cave,whilst the others ventured inside to collect the vis (they found three pawns).Upon returning they discovered Ruth and Eanfled missing, and set off to findthem. Meanwhile Ruth and Eanfled had been taken by the Erechwydd, theLady of the Winter Storm to whom Varsavia had referred. The Erechwydddecided to use Eanfled as a way of passing within the summer glade, and havingRuth sent down to a dungeon, set off with some of her minions to attempt aninvasion.

Whilst journeyingtowards the glade, the invasion force were spotted by Pendaran who calledout to Eanfled and heard a reply. Gareth, Lothar and Pendaran gave pursuit,but the minions of the Erechwydd managed to freeze Lothar in ice. WhilstGareth attempted to help and protect Lothar, Pendaran raced on ahead throughthe snows to find Eanfled. He was way-laid by several of the minions,and a strange faerie knight - named Tegid Foel - whom he bested. Asthe Erechwydd was approaching the outskirts to the summer glade, Pendaranfound them. As the giant raced into battle, the Erechwydd cast an enchantmentupon him; freezing the giant as he ran. Pendaran was thus captured andtaken back to the Erechwydd's lair.

As they approachedthe glade, Eanfled managed to slip the grasp of the two minions which heldhim and make a run for the glade ahead of the Erechwydd. By some fortunehe out ran them, and when he dived into the glade he was safe - as the Ladyof the Winter Storm could not enter on her own.

Within the glade,Eanfled waited, until Gareth and Lothar finally found him. Though theywere concerned for the fate of Pendaran and Ruth, they waited in the gladefor help. This coincided with mid-summer outside the regio, and thereturn of Nynniaw to the realm. For a gift, Eanfled informed the Nynniawof the Erechwydd's plan and told of how he had thwarted her. For thisthe Nynniaw agreed to try and help Pendaran. Then Gareth came and gavethe gift of a farthing. Only a small sum, but a great portion of thatgrog's life's savings. Finally Lothar presented himself and offeredNynniaw his strength. This seems amazing and improbable I know, butRuaridh was able to check the veracity of this from Gareth when he returned.In return, Nynniaw granted Lothar a boon. Lothar apparently requestedknowledge of the fae. Nynniaw agreed that if Lothar returned with himto the realm of 'Eversummer', that he would teach Lothar all that he wishedto know. Whether it was madness or foolishness, Lothar agreed.

The Nynniaw thenwent and rescued Pendaran, freeing the giant in return for 'one day'.Ruth had already struck her own bargain, agreeing to come back each winterto sing for the court in return for her freedom. Thus all but Lotharwere able to return from the faerie realm.

The only otherevent that occurred in the summer was a report by one of the patrols thata Sir Gerald, who swears fealty to the Knight at Chepstow, has begun to constructa settlement at the site of Lydney. Both Ruaridh and I painfully recallthe terrible events which befell the settlements there in the past.Apparently the land there is good for farming and pasture, so I suspect itwas only a matter of time before a village was once more constructed there.

Autumn

Our council meetsto discuss our activities for the season. Lothar's chair sits empty.We discuss how long we are prepared to wait as a concilium for Lothar's returnbefore deciding that he is no longer a member of the covenant. Giventhat many magi who have ventured into Arcadia never return, it is a decisionwe may one day have to take. There is also a problem even if he returns.In the past faeries, claiming to be a magus, have tried to seek entry to theOrder. Even if Lothar returned tomorrow, we might seek confirmationof his identity - perhaps by asking House Merinita. Antonius will returnto Gloucester and continue his work towards establishing relations with themundanes. It appears he has met a Jewish merchant, named Isaac, withwhom we might discreetly deal. I shall extract Vim vis for the covenant.Ruaridh continues his studies of Perdo and Turold will enchant an axe forPendaran to replace the one he lost last season whilst trying to rescue Eanfled.

Stassius arriveslater in the season, though he does not remain long. Of mundane news,it seems that the King of France came to Duke Henry's aid, and Henry's son,Edward led an army to drive Black Hugh back to Bayeux. Duke Henry hasbecome sick, but has made pilgrimage to Rome to speak to Pope Paschal andask for papal sanction to invade England. Meanwhile in Gloucester, EarlBenoir has had two of his knights murdered for seeking to protect a priestwho was openly condemning the King.

Of Hermetic news,Stassius brought the sad tidings that Tyriania has passed into final twilight.This leaves Dionysus as the new Senior Quaesitor within Stonehenge.Dionysus has been given jurisdiction over the future action of the dedicatedcovenant by Primus Guernicus. It seems also that Jolyon has been successfulin retaining his position as Archimagus in a contest against a Tytalan calledDictus.

With the redcapwe also sent an arcane connection, as requested by Dionysus, and a letterto Sylvania of Cad Gadu. We hope that this elder Merinitan will be ableto help us decide what to do about Lothar, and evaluate what possibility ofrescue there may be.

Towards the endof the season Ruaridh reported that there had been some activity at the Ignemcave. It seems that someone has harvested the vis there before us.He returned to get some vis so that Ponrius, the Quaesitor Flambaeu at Blywyddan,could find out who had taken it. It appears that it was an Ex-Miscellaneanwho lives without covenant. We have no way of finding him before thenext tribunal, so we shall simply have to harvest the vis earlier next year- and catch up with Llandolwyn, as we believe he is called, at the tribunal.

Winter

Our meeting openswith a dramatic announcement by Ruaridh. He explains that while investigatingwhat had happened at the Ignem cave he met briefly with Praeco Garius at CadGadu. It appears that Garius has heard of the strange phenomena whichattacked and destroyed our aegis, from the fall of Ashenrise in Hibernia.If that were not disturbing enough, Garius claimed that such a ritual wouldrequire some sort of link within the covenant. This, and the doublewhich was seen in Blacknee, mount up to some pretty firm evidence that thelink is Ruaridh himself - or more particularly, the personal vis he lost whilstwithin the infernal regio. At Ruaridh's request he will not partakein the ritual of our aegis in future. Garius has also warned him that,if given an uncharitable interpretation, his circumstances might be shownto be technically a breach of the primary code - bringing infernal peril tohis soul and to the souls of his sodales. He asks that we postpone hiscovenant services between now and the tribunal so that he has a chance toat least resolve this situation before anyone has a chance to bring actionagainst him. To this we agree, and offer our assistance in destroyingthis infernal creature which wears the guise of Ruaridh and has attacked ourcovenant.

To this end, Ruaridhcontinues his study of Perdo. Antonius shall read from the Mentem books,and I shall experiment with some of my theories of magic using some of mypersonal vis. Turold, by way of covenant service, will design and enchanta new alarm bell to awaken the grogs in times of crisis.

After the council meeting we discoveredanother disturbing fact. It appears that when 'Ruaridh' dined with usone evening late last Autumn - he was in fact in Cad Gadu! The 'Ruaridh'that we met asked Turold to help him get into Ruaridh's sanctum - spinningsome story about a magical accident in the cave that had left Perdo magicsleaking from his body and would destroy any metal or stone he touched.Turold, helpful as ever, obliged, unwittingly letting the infernal copy ofRuaridh into the sanctum. As soon as we heard this we raced to Ruaridh'sroom, and with his permission helped him search for whatever evil had beenplanted there, or magic cast. We found nothing. Perhaps the demonsimply wished to torture us with the knowledge that it can beguile us at anytime. The copy of Ruaridh may not be perfect, small flaws existwhich if spotted could reveal the imposter, but it was enough to fool allof us. We suggest to Ruaridh that he informs us whenever he intendsto leave the covenant.

The weather atthe start of this season grows steadily worse. Snow storms and blizzardslike we have never experienced have come down around the covenant. Beforelong the grogs are forced to use shovels to clear the snow drifts which blockthe doors of the great hall. Everywhere is freezing cold, though mysanctum is relatively warm now that I can control the Ignem enchantment uponmy fireplace. Before too long we figure out the cause of this unnaturalchill. The singer Ruth had reneged upon the deal she had made with theErechwydd. She is sent, with a guard of two grogs, into the regio.There she is abducted by minions and the grogs only escape by virtue of Gofynwy'said. He gave them a red hot glowing brand of rock which they could useto ward the thick snows within the forest.

Towards the endof winter we become concerned that there is no sign of her return. Wediscuss what manner of rescue we might attempt, given that Eanfled will notlead us there for fear that the Erechwydd will use him to invade the summerglade, and that our best warrior Pendaran must not enter there for fear thathe will take up his grudge against the Tegid Foel (who stole his axe).We decide to wait until spring.

It is the nightbefore the first day of spring and Varein has made an unusual request.He has asked for permission to enter the faerie regio, alone if necessary,and attempt to rescue Ruth. Though we are exceptionally loathe to loseour castellan in a mission in which success is highly unlikely, we eventuallydecide that we shall let him try. I for one was moved when he revealedthat he and Ruth were intended to wed, though Turold and Antonius requiredmore convincing. The next morning he departed leaving the magical tabard,sword and amulet usually worn by the castellan, carrying with him only mundanearms and taking the glowing rock brand given to our grogs by Gofynwy.We are not hopeful for his return, and he leaves his father Leofric actingas castellan in his stead.

Thus ends my taskas scribe and recorder of events. These are times most troubled forour spring covenant, and our hopes for a rapid progression into summer appearto be rapidly dissipating. Indeed, our thoughts now turn more and moreto survival than expansion.