1128

YEAR 1128

Scribed by Turold

Spring 1128AD

There were fewmatters for us to discuss as we met for the first council of spring. I hadbrought with me the sword that Gofynwy had crafted. Though heavier than anormal sword it is well balanced with a keen edge and my sodales seemed impressedwith it. It could be broken down into 6 pawns of Terram vis if required thoughthat would be a poor reward for his craftsmanship. Antonius also advised usthat he had noticed Gareth, our Castellan, is beginning to feel the weightof the years and he will ascertain whether a future replacement has yet beenidentified.

I shall spendthe season performing the service delayed from winter, for her service Edithwill prepare antidotes to the poisons she created last year, Caelestis willstudy magic theory from 3 pawns of the Vim vis while Antonius will once morespend his service riding abroad, specifically in searching for the sourceof the rumours that Mathus reported.

The season passedpeacefully with only one event perhaps worth mentioning. One evening Meredithcame to me and reported that Idris was once more visiting the realm of theliving and wished to speak with me. Though cautious I visited the shade andlike several before me was granted a vision of the future, though spoken socryptically that it is hard to deduce what he meant in addition to my naturalreticence to give credence to his words. nevertheless there has proved somevalue in his warnings in the past so I recounted his utterances to my sodales.He believes that we are once more to be attacked by those he claims were hisenemies, a reference I suppose to his claim of a schism in the forces of theun-named house. He believes Meredith will have some importance to the covenantschances of survival though he would not, or could not, say how. Thereafterhe returned to his ramblings about the land and I retired from his presence.Council decided that it might be prudent to make some preparation for suchan attack and so we will ask Petrus to copy some wards and other protectionspells from the library at Blackthorn over the next winter.

Summer

It was still coldwhen the council once more convened to discuss our business. Edith informedus that she had managed to prepare 2 doses of the antidote to her poison.Antonius then told us what he had learned over the course of spring. Thereare not as many rumours about us as he had feared, though they seem most prevalentin the two cities of Bath and Wells. The talk is of a group of wizards somewherebetween Monmouth, Chepstow and Gloucester who are not human, lay curses onmortal folk and support the Welsh in times of war. Antonius believes thatthese rumours have been deliberately started and while they have not takenhold within the Dean he is concerned as to what might happen if the nobleshereabouts, perhaps in Bristol, should hear of them.

Antonius had alsoreceived some other interesting information. There is a copse near a villagecalled Snigs End, a few miles to the Northwest of Gloucester, where threetimes there have been sightings of a group of 12 individuals, followed laterby one other, convening on the night of the new moon. This ties in with someof Antonius' previous discoveries and he intends to venture forth this seasonto see if he can learn any more on this matter.

We also discussedthe fact that whilst Petrus is casting our 9th magnitude Aegis over the timehe is staying here, when he leaves none remain that can do so. We have a 5thmagnitude version that Caelestis will have to learn as a service before thewinter of 1129, and we hope that when Petrus copies spells for us he mightbe able to find a copy of 6th or 7th magnitude that we might use instead.

The season passedwithout event, I studying from the Muto texts, Edith from the Imagonem andCaelestis from the Corporem.

Autumn

Antonius oncemore had matters to report to council concerning the discoveries of his investigations.He visited the copse near Snigs end, and from above was able to discern theruins of a chapel or priory. Using his knowledge of the occult, the depthof shadows, the varieties of fungus present and suchlike, he was able to deducethat even during the day an infernal aura of the 3rd magnitude lay about it.Not wishing to risk entering such a damned place at night until his preparationswere greatly advanced he went to Hereford to examine the records there. Theserevealed that there had indeed been a chapel on this site, but they stretchedback only a hundred years with all previous having gone missing. This wasa matter of some vexation to those monks whose responsibility they were. Antoniusmanaged to find an old priest who was able to relate some of the story tohim. It seems that the senior priest of this chapel had entered into a darkpact with the Devil and in the service of this evil burned it to the groundalong with the other ministers and a number of pilgrims there present. Thepriest was a Norman by the name of Guyere, we believe the very same as thediabolist who now confounds us. A new chapel was built on the other side ofthe river, and by locating the keystone Antonius was able to date its foundingas 1025, so it seems our enemy is indeed many years old. Antonius will studythe records at Blackthorn and perhaps speak with some of the elder magi suchas Yania and Du Clerc when he resumes his investigation; it seems we may nowbe on the way to learning something that might one day aid us in our strugglewith the fells and their infernal masters.

For the seasonI shall be travelling to Scarfell to have Blodwyn heal the damage to Cyrgig'sshoulder. Antonius quickly suggested that he arrange my transport as it seemsI may have overpaid the last boatman I hired. He himself is taking 3 pawnsof Imagonem to study from, Edith is using the book of that same art and Caelestisstudies the Corporem texts.

Early in the seasonthe covenant was visited by the Maga Orlania in response to a missive Antoniushad sent requesting further details on the rumours they had been victim of.It seems that a hedge wizard had been stealing from one of their vis sitesand in retaliation Orlania destroyed his laboratory. He then fled to the Earlof Northumbria where he managed to gain the trust of that noble's wife. Underher influence he launched an attack on Solis Castle which they broke by arrangingassault on one of his own holdings. The hedge wizard fled from the Earl'scourt and Orlania now seeks him hence her personal visit. After the establishmentthat neither case was likely related she departed somewhat sorrowfully.

Midway throughthe season a calamitous event befell the village of Blackney. The Pybaw attackedthe settlement at night, bringing down the defensive palisade and as the guardsshepherded the villagers into the safety of the mines one man was killed andhis body taken by the beast. Antonius and Caelestis investigated the matter,although this might have proven a mistake also as the countenance of our Bonisagusdisturbed the villagers greatly. The creature seemed wary of the fires thatthe men lit and we supposed that maybe a bright light could be used to dazzlethe creature. After some discussion Antonius agreed to spend a couple of nightsthere in case the creature returned.

The next nightthe creature did indeed return, but it was not the blood of those who residein Blackney it sought but rather the covenant itself was the subject of it'sattentions. The fearsome beast was able to breach our 9th magnitude aegisand even while I resided at Scarfell I felt it's entry, immediately departingfor my home. The events of the night were long over by the time I returnedhowever. The guard on the wall that it came over was killed by the beast,his blood completely drained from his body as we had seen before. Antoniusreturned from the village and with Edith prepared to use the Cockatrice blood,which the Ex Miscellanean had fashioned into a rough paste, against the creature.Caelestis himself was searching the grounds of the covenant and was surprisedby the creature, forgetting that it can move between the mundane and magicalrealms at ease. Once again he was able to escape from his foe and the beastwas not located again, though it wreaked it's mischief in the stable killingboth the horses within.

I must confessto being gravely concerned at this matter, not only for the threat to ourselves,but for the fact that the creatures sighting indicates that Gofynwy's attackmust have gone awry and I do not know if he lives or is dead. When the fairerweather of spring comes I am resolved to enter the faerie regio and see whatI might find out.

Winter

The council wastaken up predominantly with talk of the Pybaw and though we had no new ideahow this threat might be overcome, if the creature should return we will callupon our alliance with Blackthorn to aid our defence. I believe Caisus wouldbe glad of the chance to try and do battle with such a foe. I shall spendthe season extracting vis as my service, Antonius is studying from 3 pawnsof the Rego vis, Edith is creating some potions for herself (though once moreshe will not reveal what she creates) and Caelestis is learning 'Veil of Invisibility'.As the Bonisagus has not carried out a service this year he shall performtwo over the course of 1129. Petrus was happy to go to Blackthorn to scribea number of spells for us. In truth it has been pleasant having our sodalisback even for such a short time, and he is as willing to serve the covenantnow as when he was a member.

It feels strangewriting now at the end of the winter for there have been no events worthyof recording since the second week of the season. Yet what a fortnight thatwas, bringing events that will surely have serious ramifications in the futureand leading me to believe that the instability within this tribunal couldyet spread throughout the order bringing with it days as dark as any we haveyet known.

It was a matter of more localimport that first surfaced however, just a few moments after I had scribedthe details of the council meeting. The faerie knight Tegid Foel paid a visit,returning as promised with the deeds to a landholding within the faerie regio,and also suzerainty over the servants that reside there. They can apparentlybe somewhat surly and his advice was to treat them with some force. When askedwhere this holding was he offered to lead me to it if we would provide a guidethat he might find a noble lady to take as his bride. I stalled him on thismatter saying that I would consider whether such a deal would be possible,although I suspect I shall have to seek another way to locate this holding.Over the feast we provided for him we were able to find out something of theevents within the regio in recent times. It seems that Gofynwy did indeedpress an attack against the Ruadan, at the very least losing an arm whilebattling with the serpent within the Cave of Snakes. However she was distractedand somehow lost control of the Pybaw which then turned upon her, and thoughshe escaped many of her forces were slain as the creature ran amok. TegidFoel believes that Erechwydd will likely now be able to win the war and heawaits her permission to hunt the creature himself though he is aware of thedifficulty of tracking the beast. He also told us that the creature can hidein tiny spaces by making itself much smaller, though it must be full sizeto attack. It is indeed afraid of bright light, and is a cowardly creaturealthough now it has the taste for human blood I suspect that it will oncemore return to harass us.

Three days later we received Mathusand his news. King Edward has once more spent the year campaigning in Normandydue to his nephew the Count of Flanders striving against him. They met inbattle where the Count was sorely injured, and he sought refuge in a nearbymonastery where it is reported he took vows and became a monk. Five days laterhe succumbed to his wounds however. There are still tales of a hunt in relationto the Abbot of Peterborough, although he has returned to Poitiers where hecontinues to claim tithe from the Abbey. A Templar from the Holy Land spentthe year touring England and drumming up funds to repel an attack againstJerusalem. However, after he had departed word came from the Levant that thatno such attack was expected and it seems that it may have been no more thana scam. Locally, Coleford has recovered something of his losses and is oncemore rumoured to be looking to increase his landholding. There is some suspicionagainst him however, as he has recovered his lost wealth surprisingly quickly.The Baron of Monmouth is said to be courting the Earl's favour that he maywar against Chepstow.

News from within the order wasthat McGraine has been consolidating his position within Loch Legean. He hassworn oaths with Malcolm and paid weregeld to him. Jordael has been sightedin the city of Oxford, where he managed to escape from Casitus, and Holy Islehas declared any caught aiding him will be charged alongside him.They haveraised their reward to three rooks of vis.

There were also letters for Caelestisfrom both Durenmar and Antioch covenants which our sodalis was happy to readto council. Durenmar has confirmed that he is indeed a full member of theorder but also stated that no magus from the Levant tribunal was present atthe house meeting. Antioch's reply was scribed by Mahmood of Jerbiton whoinformed us that Coniectus and Caelestis (then an apprentice still) left thecovenant in 1117 and did not return. They later discovered that Coniectushad entered final twilight. Of course Caelestis was most perturbed by this,for it seems apparent to us all that his pater has staged his own demise.When pressed as to what reasons he might have had Caelestis informed us thatConiectus was not his first master, the first who took him as an apprentice,one of House Flambeau, having been slain by diabolists when he was yet a youngboy. Petrus was invited to join the council on this matter and many theorieswere put forward. Coniectus was a master of Mentem and it would be an easytask for him to change his memories. Antonius insisted that the one resultfrom the rather strange memory of their meeting was that Caelestis would notreturn to the Levant, being content to await delivery of the texts that heso desired. It was agreed that we could devise complex conspiracy theoriesuntil the end of time and that Caelestis' best option would be to report thematter to the Quaesitori that they could further investigate it. He agreedthat this was the course of action he would follow but beforehand persuadedPetrus to cast 'Sense the Lingering Magic' upon him. Coniectus' sigil of aring of blue fire was found upon him in, though it appeared to be some formof non-hermetic effect.

Caelestis met with Serenia andformally asked that his pater be investigated for a breach of the primarycode. Serenia cast some magics herself and it was revealed that Caelestis'own sigil, a gift from Coniectus, was enchanted. Caelestis called a councilto discuss this matter but Edith did not attend. Antonius went to her sanctumto ensure that she had heard there was a council in session but discoveredan untouched bowl of food outside her door and no response from within. Asearch was made of the covenant and she was nowhere to be found. As no onecould recall seeing her since the first day of winter there was some concernas to her wellbeing and it was decided under the charter that we would enterher sanctum. Once we were within it was apparent that she had departed Severntemple, for there was not a single sign of habitation save for the unusedlaboratory equipment.

A week passed with no sign ofour sodalis before Caelestis called another council. In an effort to discoverwhat enchantments had been placed within his sigil he had visited Holy Isleand requested that Quaesitor Dionysus investigate it for him. Dionysus informedhim that while it was his duty to assent to such a request he would have towait until his other duties permitted, a period that could obviously be sometime. He requested some vis that he could pay another magus to undertake someinvestigation, but after being reminded that such magical resources couldbe put to far greater uses decided he would pursue the matter himself andabandon his spell learning for the season.

Later that same day, Antoniusinformed us that having decided to check our treasury he had discovered thata number of our magical items, potions, poisons and vis supplies were missing.We immediately suspected that our departed sodalis was responsible and decidedthat we would report the matter to Serenia the next day, asking her to lookinto a possible breach of the peripheral code for such an action would beclearly in breach of our charter. Antonius took the task upon himself, butafter he left I decided that I too would like to hear what the Quaesitor hadto say so followed after him.

While we were away Dionysus andDarius arrived at the covenant. They had come to bring charge against Edithwith consorting with members of the Un-named house. Caelestis was asked toaccompany Dionysus while he investigated her sanctum and then the infirmary,with Darius leaving to do some investigation of his own. Caelestis protestedstrongly that Darius should not be exploring the covenant unaccompanied butDionysus was highly resistant to his arguments, and eventually our sodaliswas forced to defy him and ask two grogs to escort him in his searches. NeverthelessDarius had some considerable time left to his own devices, with only his wolffamiliar to bear witness to his activities. Returning from Blackthorn Antoniusand I met the two Tremere as they were about to depart. We were of courseshocked to hear of their allegations but in truth I must say something didnot ring entirely true. As they left I went to my sanctum to find Cyrgig asleepon the floor. Waking him he seemed somewhat vague as to what he was doingthere, and acted in a manner most unusual for one normally so consistent.Whilst I could find no evidence of it, I am sure that my sanctum was enteredand I suspect Darius to have been the trespasser.

Serenia arrived and was surprisedto hear of the charges being levelled against Edith. She cast 'Eyes of thePast' in the treasury, where she was able to confirm that it had indeed beenthe Ex-Miscellanean who had raided our supplies. We informed her that if Edithwas found innocent of Dionysus' charge we would seek to press our own. Whileshe was there Caelestis seemed to accuse the magi of Holy Isle of falsifyingcharges in an attempt to take into custody any Ex-Miscellanean who might seemto have some political influence with the house. Serenia must have heard thisremark but she seemed content to let it pass without comment. In truth, whileit is not so long ago that I would have found such an idea preposterous, Inow find myself wondering if those I had placed my trust in may be sinkingto the levels of those they would seek to bring to justice. There are eventsoccurring that are above my understanding but which we may all be in dangerof getting trapped within. I also find myself wondering what truly occurredin the Wizards War declared against Ruaridh, and deep down perhaps there isa spark of hope within me that my sodalis was not truly killed, but insteadlies in hiding somewhere unwilling to be used as a pawn in this dangerousgame.