1136

YEAR 1136

Scribed by Antonius

Spring 1136AD

Despite having decided to studyfrom vis, Turold decided to attend a party in the summer glade to which hehad been invited. Whilst such actions undoubtedly help strengthen the goodrelations that this covenant enjoys with the fey, I cannot help but feel thatour esteemed Verditius gains no slight enjoyment from his visits to the faerieregio, much perhaps in the same way that I enjoy my dealings with the mundanes.There is danger there and things can be extremely stressful but both can beexhilarating and quite beautiful. Though by the time he had returned the seasonwas all but over and his vis was wasted he had brought back with him one ofthe Lyn-y-fan’s hairs which he has wrapped around the healing devicewhich she gifted to us.

Summer

With the tribunal this seasonthe council debated what motions we should raise there. After a brief discussionwe made a tentative agreement to use the first for Caelestis to formally presentthe details of his symposium and the second to offer ignem vis for trade,preferably for rego vis.

I journeyed to Monmouth to seeif I could ascertain what was going on there. The Baron has raised a lot oftroops from his own funds not the city coffers, which is most intriguing.I also heard talk that he has hired cut-throats to harry Coleford. So thequestion is, where is the Baron getting this money from? Is it linked to thelarge monies that we know Guyere accumulated? The Reeve seems more than alittle concerned about it as it does not seem likely that the Baron couldhave garnered sufficient monies from his estates. Time, however, was not onmy side and I had to return for the customary pre-tribunal meeting with ourallies at Blackthorn.

Serenia offered us any help thatwe required to help with the threat hanging over us and Blackthorn is to providefive Leap of Homecoming potions so that key personnel might escape the dragonif it should come. Casus added that he had spoken with Garius who said thathe might be able to stay with us over winter if time permits. Dialectica thentold us the motions that Blackthorn would be raising at Tribunal. The firstis a question as to how the Ex-Miscellanian investigations are proceedingand that with their diminishing numbers we should all endeavour to train moreapprentices. Serenia then wished to restate her worries, as Senior Quaesitorabout the matter of quoracy at tribunal as the second point. As it still standsthe Praeco and a single Quaesitor could be quorate. As the first motion wasreally two separate issues we suggested that we could raise the matter ofStonehenge magi needing to train more apprentices as our second motion insteadof the vis trading offer.

Then as magi began to arrive fromacross Stonehenge so the scope of this journal broadens from the history ofSevern Temple to that of the tribunal. There were four new magi present atthe meeting, Magnus and Xanthia, magi of Flambeau and Tremere respectively,who have joined Scafell and Arturus and Fulgaria representing Narwold. Intotal, 34 magi were present as Prima Praeco Eloria gave her opening address.She demanded a queen of vis from Narwold as punishment for missing previoustithes and declaring itself illegally that it was not part of Stonehenge.As general tithe she requested one pawn of vis per magus which is to be paidwithin two years. Before any normal tribunal business would take place thePrima Praeco announced that the trials of Isabella and Darius would be resolved.

Isabella was brought to face thejudgement of her peers first. Quaesitor Serenia, as Accusator, proposed thatshe had acted without care and with her reckless disregard for the safetyof other magi, resulting in the death of Ospectus should be stripped of herGift. Dionysus, as Patronus, argued that whilst she had acted over-hastilyin the midst of the battlefield that she had found herself in, conditionswere such that her behaviour warranted a much less severe punishment and proposedthat she serve the tribunal for two years as penance. Although there was somediscussion about the exact situation when she had killed Ospectus, intellegomentem spells cast by the Quaesitori confirmed that she had genuinely erredin slaying our sodalis and had meant him no ill will whatsoever. That I thinkwas the key piece of evidence, removing any suspicion that she may have beentrying to use the confusion of the battle as cover for murder and as suchthe Patronus won by 18 votes.

Darius’s trial was next withonce again Serenia acting as Accusator and Dionysus as Patronus. Serenia pushedfor Darius to be Wizard’s Marched whilst Dionysus stated that he shouldreceive no punishment whatsoever. The facts of the case were related to thetribunal as follows, Darius and Dionysus had been tracking Erin of Scafellbut illusions bearing Blodwyn’s sigil enable him to escape though theywere able to capture her. Blodwyn consented to answer their questions andadmitted to having healed some of the rebels fleeing Blackridge. At this,formal accusation of a breach of the code was made by Dionysus and an intellegomentem spell was cast upon her which revealed that she had in fact healedMcgreine, the renounced Primus of Ex-Miscellania, of a disease. A versionof the Prison of Flames was used to imprison her whilst Dionysus left to continuethe pursuit of Erin, leaving Darius to guard her. As he watched, Darius claimedthat he saw her move to try and get something from her robes. He ordered herto stop and to let him re-search her clothing but she made a grab for a potionbottle which had been concealed in her cloak. Darius cast a rego corporemspell to prevent her from doing so but the spell went somehow awry and movedher into the flames surrounding her. Quaesitor Jania verified that the intellegomentem spells which she had cast on Darius backed up this version of eventsthough she had been unable to summon Blodwyn’s spirit for questioning.Although Darius is not a popular man, the evidence placed before the tribunalmade it all but impossible to rationally vote any other way that for the Patronusand indeed there was a sizeable majority in his favour.

With the trials concluded we wereable to move onto the main part of the tribunal and the motions raised byindividual covenants.

For Blackthorn, Dialectica askedabout the status of Holy Isle’s investigations and was told by Eloriathat such a question was to be answered. Serenia then restated her concernover the quoracy rules, an issue which Eloria dismissed as she had done inthe previous tribunal.

Darius spoke of Holy Isle’sinvestigations. Four magi have so far been cleared and very few magi fromStonehenge have been found to be helping the Blackridge rebels. He also askedfor a 5 pawn tithe from all magi present to pay for the ongoing investigations.

Speaking for Cad Gadu, Jordaelreported that he has had visions that the war for the crown will be lengthyand very severe, and made public that which he had told Turold, that the Stonehengeitself had been interfered with.

Borrea Tor informed the tribunalthat the Scottish army would be entering the civil war on the side f Henryof Chester and that conflict was likely soon with York being held for Stephenof Blois. They were suspicious of whether rebel Ex-Miscellanians from theBlackridge conflict were aiding the Scottish army, seeking perhaps to dragthe Order into direct conflict with the mundanes. There were certainly scryingmagicks used at the court of York. They also suggested that we should watchthe Welsh for any signs that magi may be involved. This is a piece of informationwe would do well to heed I feel for with legends of the "Welsh War Wizard"still extant, anyone offering magical aide to a Welsh uprising would be eagerlyreceived.

Jania of Solis Castle stood nextto make a query concerning procedure for reporting non-investigated Ex-Miscellanians.Should such magi be reported to Holy Isle or Blackthorn? Eloria confirmedthat any news of such magi should be taken to the Senior Quaesitor at Blackthorn.Moravius, Solis Castle’s Verditius, then offered his services to thetribunal, though with the proviso that this offer would be for a few yearsonly with his next house meeting in mind.

There was no representative fromMoorstow yet again, and with Mathus having been unable to find any sign ofits magi for some years now, the covenant was struck from the records.

Lear Valley raised no motions.

Venius, the Tremere Hoplite fromBly Wydden requested clarification on what force Hoplite were permitted touse in restraining Ex-Miscellanians under investigation. Serenia replied quitefirmly that they were still members of the Order and as such were to be treatedas normal magi unless formally accused of a breach of the Code.

Torius, the only member of Scafellnot to have fled that place, welcomed Magnus and Xanthia as new members ofthe covenant.

Caelestis raised our first motionand made formal presentation of his forum on auras and regios which is tobe held at Blackthorn at Midsummer in the year eleven hundred and thirty eight.Petrus will speak on magical auras, with particular reference to his breakthrough,DuClerk of Jerbiton will talk of the dominion and Sylvania of Merinitan onfaerie places. Prima Praeco had sadly had to decline Caelestis’s invitationto talk on the infernal. There is also to be an auction and some forum formagi to exchange vis and magical items. Turold then suggested that with ournumbers growing ever smaller, all magi present should look to taking apprentices.

From Carrion Moor, Kira askedthat if there was only one magus from without covenant present, Cornelius,should they still get to potentially raise three issues? Eloria quickly movedon to the next topic without even bothering to discuss it. Kira went on towarn of a hedge wizard who had attacked DuCamp and was believed to have beenheading in the direction of Blackthorn and Severn Temple. She warned thathe was very dangerous and had extensive contacts amongst thieves and brigands.

Arturus spoke for Narwold, expressinghow pleased they were to be part of Stonehenge and asked if any magi wereinterested in exchanging vis for vim vis. He also gave a warning that fromhis contacts within the church he was convinced that there are a number ofdiabolists operating outside London, some within the church.

As the sole representative ofSouthern England Cornelius rose to echo Arturus’s warnings about diabolists.Cornelius stated that they were also present in Bristol, Lincoln and Londonand were extremely dangerous, using spirits to watch and spy for them.

So the tribunal came to an endwith little news that was good, though we are reduced in number the tribunalstill retains a vigour that I am confident will see if through the troublesthat lie ahead.

Autumn

As the Summer came to an end andthoughts turned towards Autumn and preparing for the expected dragon attackin Winter we had a most unexpected and pleasurable surprise. Ruaridh returneddespite having been declared dead for almost a decade. He arrived at the covenantwith Casus having come fresh from Blackthorn where Senior Quaesitor Sereniahad investigated him and found that he was indeed who he claimed to be. Wewere most anxious to hear his tale of what had actually happened during theWizard’s War with Isabella that had led to her proclaiming that she hadkilled him. The truth as he told it was troubling though clearly some elementsof it were of no great surprise to some of my sodales.

Ruaridh said that he had beenattacked by Darius in the guise of a shadow, identical to the one which hadassaulted Edith and killed her familiar. Seeking a sanctuary of some sortRuaridh fled into Mynydd Myrridin but was unable to shake his pursuer. Tiredand wounded he flew deeper into the heart of the regio and fell into a deepregio. When he regained his senses he found himself in an old tiled chamber,which by its appearance dated back to Roman times. In the centre of this placewas an ancient body which he examined only to find his parma suddenly assailed.The attacks continued unabated until he cried out in Welsh whereupon theystopped as abruptly as they had begun. Though the language that the spiritspoke was not the same as Ruaridh’s modern Welsh there was enough similarityto enable them to talk to each other.

The shade claimed that he hadbeen a servant at the site of our covenant, watching over the Spring there.Though he would not give his name, fearing that it would grant Ruaridh powerover him, he did talk of his times, saying that he knew of the Ruadan whenshe had been wholly human and also spoke of the power of the Severn, whichhe called the Serpent River. He said that it was linked to the power of theOld Gods, in particular the Morrigan and claimed that he saw an affinity withher in Ruaridh, perhaps referring to the Perdo vis which courses through Ruaridh’sblood. The chamber was apparently a prison for the shade who had been setthere by his enemies the Romans. The shade also told Ruaridh that the pillaratop the hill through which he had fallen had been set there by Myrridin himselfand had the power to grant visions.

Ruaridh cast his mind out andsaw a series of troubling scenes: Turold attacked and disembowelled in a citystreet; a great black wyrm laying waste to the covenant; Meredith chased bya wolf and killed by a sickly green blade as he turned to face his attacker;Blackridge attacked as wizard fought wizard; Blodwyn taken by the same shadowthat attacked Edith; and, the high tower of Holy Isle where a great wolf spokewith a hooded man whose shadow stood beside him not behind. As this visionsfaded he found himself seemingly atop the hill next to a large black crow,an embodiment of the Morrigan. Ruaridh spoke with her of his need to escapeto bring warning to the covenant and of his desire for vengeance for whatthis shadow had done. The Morrigan said that she would set him free but thathe would be changed by this desire for vengeance and in truth as I lookedat Ruaridh talking I could sense a deep passion that had not been there before.

As Ruaridh finished his accountof what had happened to him he stated openly his belief that Darius was afallen magus. Although there is no direct evidence, there is a great dealof circumstantial evidence to support his claim though Ruaridh did not thinkthere was anything substantial enough to bring Darius to trial. He also mentionedthat the Morrigan had warned him that Darius had servants of whose naturewe are not aware of, which, if this is all true, is somewhat concerning.

Once Ruaridh’s tale had finishedand the council had welcomed him back, the meeting proceeded as normal. Turoldstated that he was intending on venturing into Gofannon’s realm to tryand find Archimagus Jolyon but Ruaridh said that he did not think it wouldbe safe for Jolyon to return unless he had first been cleared by a Quaesitorand reinstated as a full member of Ex-Miscellania. There was some brief discussionbut Turold was persuaded to wait until Spring when Ruaridh would accompanyhim into the Mountain King’s court. Turold was therefore able to jointhe rest of the council in spending the season carefully packing away thedelicate laboratory equipment so that it can be stored safely out of harm’sway in Blackthorn before Winter.

Despite the air of forebodinghanging over the covenant, life in the mundane lands hereabouts continuedunabashed with our taxes raised to 500d, doubtless to pay for the war. A fewweeks into the season Mathus arrived bringing news of the conflict. Stephenhas landed in England, with Gloucester and York declaring for him, thoughboth are tied down fighting against Devon and King David of Scotland respectively.Stephen fought a hard battle at Rochester which he won but sustained heavylosses. The Archbishop of Canterbury has also put his support behind Stephenthough Henry still holds London and has the support of the majority of Englishnobles. As for hermetic news, two more Blackridge rebels have been slain,Kilnoch and Fergus. The mundanes though, whether over-zealous in fightingthe civil war or inspired perhaps by some of the rebels, attacked Borri-Torwith such force that it took Maga Orlania’s fire magicks was able tostop them from storming that covenant. In a further development, followingthe meeting of his house, Primus Bonsai’s has called an emergency meetingof the Grand Tribunal to be held on Midsummer’s day in eleven hundredand thirty seven. Apparently the Bjornaer have moved their meeting forwardso that their Primus and Archimagi can attend.

The rest of the season passeduneventfully, save for the constant stream of carts carrying glassware, booksand other items to precious to risk being destroyed should the dragon comeas foretold. On the last day of autumn, Garius, Fenriata and Caisus arrived,ready to do battle with the dragon and whatever other forces might come againstus.

Winter

Our three defenders were invitedto our winter meeting so that we could all discuss what exactly was to bedone. Caelestis had performed a further divination, hoping to be able to determinea more precise date for the attack, but the best he was able to discern wasthat it would come in mid to late winter. Garius raised the possibility ofcompletely evacuating the covenant so as not to risk the lives of any magibut we decided unanimously that the site was too important to allow to fallunder the control of the UnNamed House. Ruaridh, in his role as Quaesitor,nominated Garius as a Hoplite. Garius then went on to suggest that it wouldbe best if Turold, Caelestis and myself were to evacuate to Blackthorn andwait out the attack there. Turold and Caelestis agreed that this seemed wisebut though aware of the dangers I felt compelled to stay and do what I couldto help. In the end of the entire covenant only eleven remained within thewalls as Winter moved on. Ruaridh, Audacia and I, with three servants whohad volunteered to stay on to feed the covenant’s defenders and fivebrave men who had also volunteered to act as shield grogs to the remainingmagi, Rannulf, Alba, Wulf, Kenn and Dannorth.

Shortly into the season we hadword that Darius and Dionysus had arrived, seeking entry to the covenant intheir role as members of the Dedicated Covenant. Somewhat unusually they arrivedat the Temple Gate, I assume they had been doing some investigations of theirown before entering though they mentioned nothing. They set up in the infirmaryat the base of the tower, disregarding warnings from Garius that they mightbe safer in with everyone else in the Great Hall in favour of the privacythat a room of their own offered. Indeed so strong was this desire for secrecythat at one point I found the doorway leading to the tower barred from withinand had to knock to be granted access to part of my own covenant.

The weeks passed agonisingly slowlywith a tense mixture of nervousness and anticipation. There was none of theusual bravado that I have on occasion seen amongst Flambeau before a fight.Against the great serpent that could come swooping down at any time all magiknew that their magicks might not suffice and each waited for that momentto come with quiet determination. The waiting came to an end on Midwinter’sday. As that day dawned there was a feel of expectancy in the air and slowlyas the day wore on the winds strengthened until a fierce storm raged aboutthe covenant and dark clouds blocked out the sun. The first attack came fromshadow wolves, similar to those that had attacked with the great black stagwhen the UnNamed House had last assailed this place. They were met by Fenriataand Caisus, the two magi designated to engage the dragon when it came. Althoughthe wolves could be warded away with flame and lightning they were too numerousto be engaged on the ground and the two magi were forced to take to the air.Sadly their shield grogs, Dannorth and Alba were slain by the wolves beforethey could make it back to the safety of the main keep.

Then swooping down from the darksky came the dragon. Although I had read of such beasts and spoken with thosemagi who had faced it before, I was unprepared for the sheer sense of powerabout the creature. It was quite simply awe-inspiring. With a single breathit devastated the granary and barracks then turned and unleashed fiery ruinupon the keep and tower. I hurriedly drank my potion of the Leap of Homecomingand apported away before the fires could catch me. However, there was morethan just the dragon to consider. As Ruaridh, Garius and Meredith waited inthe great hall with the remaining grogs the shadow that had attacked Edithand Ruaridh appeared and made a lunge towards Meredith with its sickly greenblade. Before it could reach him though Garius let fly with an almighty burstof fire which consumed the shadow utterly. Meredith, his eyes glowing gold,then began to transform into a great red dragon which leapt up into the airto do battle with the black dragon. As all this went on the roof began tocollapse as the black dragon’s breath burnt away the top storey and Ruaridhand Audacia consumed their potions on Garius’s command and appeared backat Blackthorn.

As the magi gathered at Blackthorn,scant leagues from Severn Temple, little could be seen of the fight betweenthe two dragons with the storm raging about them. There was sad news thoughas Caisus managed to apport back to Blackthorn but died of his wounds beforehe could be healed. Fenriata and Garius made it back safely though neitherknew what had happened to the dragons, they had apparently climbed high intothe skies as they fought until they were lost from sight. The mood in Blackthornwas grim, with Caisus dead and Severn Temple in smouldering ruins, it wasa long and sombre night.

At dawn we flew to Severn Templeto see what was remained. It was badly damaged, the top two levels of thetower and half of the keep were utterly destroyed, as were the granary, barracksand armoury. The storm that had accompanied the dragon had at least ensuredthat the fires had burnt out before they could consume everything, leavingan acrid smell of smoke throughout the covenant. Of the two grogs that hadbeen caught by the shadow wolves in the courtyard there was no sign otherthan a bloodied halberd. Nor was there any trace of Meredith. Amongst thesmouldering piles of charred timber and rock that was what was left of thegreat hall we found the body of Wulf, who had been caught by a falling roof-beambefore he could escape. There was also the body of a great wolf, partiallyobscured in the rubble. Was this Darius’ familiar? Had he been the shadowthat had tried to attack Meredith as Ruaridh had suspected?

As the rain dampened down thelast of the embers we set about our endeavours to get Severn Temple back onits feet once more. I flew down to Blackney to fetch the Castellan, grogsand other covenfolk and bid them bring the fresh timbers and canvas that wehad purchased for this eventuality. As our servants began to shore up whatthey could I left to go and fetch what further supplies I could and to seekout our merchant contacts, for with the destruction that had been wroughtwe would surely need money now more than ever. Turold flew off to see if Blackthornor Cad Gadu had a copy of the ritual to Conjure the Mystic Tower and Caelestisreturned to our allies to oversee the safe return of our books and equipmentwhich will be stored in the visitor’s library until we have permanentquarters once more. Ruaridh and Audacia began to clear away the rubble androots of burnt trees using their Perdo magic so that we could raise freshbuildings. There was a slight mishap when Ruaridh’s Perdo magicks ranout of control as he attempted to destroy the wolf’s corpse and thisunfortunately brought down what little of the tower had still been standing.Ruaridh also came across a tooth and some charred bones in the remains ofthe great hall which an Intellego Corporem spell revealed to have belongedto Darius. It would seem that Caisus was not the only magus to have perishedin the dragon’s attack though I doubt that he will be much mourned bymany within the tribunal for he was not a popular man.

So as the year draws to an endand I look out across the muddy courtyard from the Fox and Chicken where Ihave taken up temporary residence to write this journal, I can see that thereis much work to be done. Yet despite the devastation and the death the covenantstill endures and I am confident that we can emerge from this tragedy strongerthan ever before.