1145

YEAR 1145

Scribed by Aelfwin

Spring 1145 AD

These are dark days for the covenantand it falls to me to record them. In the short time that I have lived atSevern Temple Covenant I have built something of a life here. My wife, Heleneand my first child Lora and I now have living quarters within the main buildingcreated so recently by Jolyon. It was my intention to move some of the basicequipment into my new laboratory, but in the end I studied from magical textsas - though I would never have wished it - superior equipment may soon bereleased for my use.

Where to begin with this sorrytale? This terrible secret which haunts our covenant spreads its rule of silencemuch as the cold air here smothers all sounds. I no longer know what I canor should say upon these matters; for fear that I break that silence and bringdown further tragedy upon us all. Helene's strong and kindly presence remindsme of what we have to lose; and she carries my unborn second child. Lora stirsin her sleep, innocent to all the dangers around her. Until recently I waslike that innocent, blissfully ignorant of all the secrets and historicalcrimes now unfolding to our investigation. Other than Lora, too young to knowsuch fears, the only others who have peace are the dead - perhaps. It maybe that even the dead know no such peace and are even more tormented thanwe. These are dark days.

Reading through this journal givesme some hope however. This covenant has seen trials and dangers in the past,and the continuation of this tome is proof that in the past a way has alwaysbeen found to overcome adversity and survive for another year. Perhaps thisis simply harder for me, being so young and inexperienced in the ways of theworld; I see this crisis as some great shadow that cannot be defeated, whereolder and wiser eyes would perceive simply another challenge. This covenanthas survived some terrible things, and even death has been overcome; but thereis so much death in this place. Like some skeletal hand choking our life andwill. Perhaps our home has been touched by the Morrigan once too many times,for it feels like death has made a home here also. Do I have the courage tostay and see this through? Do I have the right to subject my wife and childrento this horror? I don't know. I also see that I have very little choice. So,I smile with strained cheer and tell Helene that there is nothing to fear;but, she is not so easily fooled and I am a very poor liar.

Audacia and Antonius are dead,and also the warrior Hassan who used to guard the tower here. Let me now putaway my fears and light another candle to hold back the shadows for a shortwhile; and relate the story of their deaths. At council we determined to furtherinvestigate the fallen covenant of Swallowcliffe and explore beyond the serpentgate deep beneath the ruined keep. With gemstones created by Ruaridh the partyleft the covenant; Madoc, Aledd and Arian travelling with Hassan across land,and some time later Ruaridh, Antonius and Audacia flying down.

They camped at night a littleway from the ruins of the covenant, and during one of the many watches Arianspotted a creature moving upon one of the nearby trees. Though Arian is proneto giving false alarms, his attention was rightly caught in this instancefor the creature was determined to be some imp or corrupt beast spying onthem from the shadows. Audacia quickly disposed of this creature, and it wasdetermined to search the surface level of the covenant for sign of any furtherspirits.

Several things were revealed bythis search; first a spirit of a young man within the remains of the barracks.This spirit was interrogated and it revealed that many foul spirits emergedat night. Curiously this spirit knew very little of the inhabitants of Swallowcliffe,not even knowing the names of the wizards he served. Perhaps this place hasalways been one of secrets, I don't know, but the man was young and had notgiven long service before he died during the attack that destroyed the covenant.

Secondly, Aledd discovered sometracks which emerged from the forest's edge and led towards the ruins of thekeep. The tracks were of two figures, one much heavier than the other as ifweighed by armour. Whilst tracks could be found leading into the ruin, nonewere found leaving; suggesting that either the intruders were still withinor had left by route other than foot. Lastly, some blood was discovered onone of the pieces of rubble within the remains of the keep structure. Ruaridhcast Sense of the Lingering Sigil upon the sites and discovered that an apportationspell had delivered the two figures to the edge of the forest, and near tothe blood in the keep, a spell to destroy blood had been cast. Both thesesigils had the character of slyness; the same sigil which had been discoveredat the excavated barrow of the Saxon King near to our covenant.

As if this were not enough todisturb, Audacia sensed some corrupt presence within the keep; around wherethe blood had been destroyed. When Ruaridh cast a ward to protect againstdemons and their magic, this area was disturbed; like some shadow being movedaside. Casting the Intellego Vim spell from within the ward, Ruaridh discoveredthat the sigil had changed; to that of a black symmetrical flame. This sigilis known to belong to Isabella of Flambeau, who currently resides within HolyIsle covenant. It seems that Darius was not alone in his diabolism; thoughI'm certain this fact did not surprise my sodales.

It was determined that Ruaridhwould look into the past using a ritual. Within this glimpse of the past hesaw the two figures make their way into the keep: A woman, hooded but resemblingJerriana, discipulus Tytalus, resident of Blywyddan Covenant; and a man, witha warrior's features and wearing chain mail. These two entered the keep whereupon'Jerriana' surprised the man and slit his throat. As he lay there bleedinghis life's blood she conjured some demon to arise. This demon took physicalform, emerging as if from the corpse of the man. She controlled this creaturebefore it could attack her and sent it below the keep. Before leaving, shetook pains to destroy the blood and used some diabolic curse to distort thesigil upon the magic. She was last seen in the vision taking to the air andvanishing into the night.

There was some question now aboutwhat should be done, but it was determined that they would stick to theiroriginal plan and explore below the keep and beyond the gateway. Antoniuswas dispatched, briefly, to try to send message to Serenia; but she was notat Blackthorn, instead attending Inquisitor Gratia at Holy Isle.

Once he had returned with thisnews the group made a move. Ruaridh, Antonius, Audacia, Madoc and Hassan wouldventure further. Aledd and Arian were instructed to make their way back tothe covenant. There was some concern that our enemy now knew that we had visitedthis site, and perhaps knew even now of their immediate presence; Madoc'sfirst concern was for his brother's safety, thus they were sent away.

As they entered the keep Audaciaspied numerous shades emerging from the stairwell and into their vicinity.From within a ward quickly summoned by Ruaridh, she sought to destroy as manyof these as she could. When she could spy no more they continued down thetight spiral stairwell - into the pitch-dark chambers below the ruin. As theymoved they checked each chamber they came across, wary of this demon summonedby Isabella. It was as they approached the gateway, in one of the last roomsto be examined, that they heard movement and readied themselves for a fight.

The demon struck with great ferocityand Hassan was forced to defend the magi as Ruaridh erected a ward once moreand Audacia struck with spell. By some chance, Audacia's spell went awry andshe was rendered unconscious as Ruaridh and Hassan fought and defeated thedemon. Fortunately, there was no great lasting harm to Audacia and she rousedto consciousness some short while later. The group approached the gateway,and the serpent lock.

The red eyed serpent follows therainbow; this is true. The stones required are ruby, amber, topaz, emerald,sapphire, tourmaline, and amethyst. An incorrect stone causes the lock tostrike out with lightning, though fortunately Ruaridh's parma held for theassault. The ruby must be placed in the eye, then each stone as listed mustfollow clockwise.

When the last stone was in placethe wall next to the lock parted, revealing a passageway. Antonius electedto stand guard at the entrance whilst the rest of them made their way within.

Beyond the gateway the passagewayextends for some distance, though it was difficult for any of the magi todetermine such distances underground. Eventually the smooth walls of the passagegive way to natural rock, though the cavern is still fairly wide and thereare no obstructions or narrow crevices. At the end of this natural cavernis a large chamber, which appears to be almost circular. In the centre ofthis chamber is a large, and one presumes very deep, underground lake. Theceiling is high enough so that even with 'eyes of the cat' one cannot easilysee the extent of it. The lake itself is fetid and the water is viscous witha black hue. There are signs of large numbers of bats within the cavern, theirdroppings adding to the acidic smell of the lake. This chamber, at least,lies within an infernal regio. Audacia was able to create pathways to tworegio levels beyond the mundane level.

Madoc, with his mysterious abilityto perceive past magics and magical places, described the passageway as abeautiful hallway, illuminated by shining specs of crystal within the rock.The chamber itself used to be a glittering natural temple; an undergroundstream creating a waterfall into the lake. However, whatever this place mightonce have been is long since lost; given over to corruption and the infernalpowers.

It was whilst they were in thedeepest regio that they first noticed some movement within the water. Realisingsomething was amiss, Hassan stepped forward to defend the magi as a huge serpentemerged from the dark waters before them. This serpent, with scales of jetand demonic eyes, attacked him as he raised his sword to strike. It's mouthwas as wide as a man is tall, and it took Hassan with a single bite; swallowinghim whole. Audacia tried to strike at the demon with magic, but such was thiscreature's might that the spell simply washed over it and caused it no harm.Ruaridh tried to create a path to a shallower level of the regio, but inexplicablythe spell failed; time and time again.

Audacia, realising her magic wasnot effective against this monster, also tried to create such a path; butwith the same lack of success. The three magi resorted to foot, fleeing downthe passageway as the monster, having finished Hassan, came after them. Audacia,in the last place, was not quick enough. With her life she bought Madoc andRuaridh a chance to flee. Ruaridh and Madoc escaped into the passageway throughwhich they had come.

Trekking back along this passagewaythey eventually made their way to the entrance. To their horror they foundthat the door was shut. At this point Ruaridh attempted to apport, but tono avail. Even in the mundane level, whatever strange enchantments protectedthis place appeared to distort their magics - both Ruaridh and Madoc discoveredthemselves apporting back to the dark chamber at the end of the passageway,though fortunately in the mundane level there was no sign of the demonic serpent.Making their way back to the entrance Ruaridh summoned a ward against demons.The door, walls and ceiling of this place were magical, and resisted all attemptsto either open the door or create a tunnel to the surface. So the two menwaited; for death or rescue they did not know.

They were not alone, for aftera short time a demon approached them; attempting to bargain. For one of theirlives spared, they must give the other up; but my sodales are too wise andtrue of heart to fall for such dealings. It threatened that it could corruptAudacia's spirit, and revealed things that it knew; claiming that she hadtold him. Ruaridh attempted many times to destroy the demon, but each timeit sent only some illusion to speak with them, keeping itself well beyondthe range of Ruaridh's destructive magics.

Antonius had held his post beyondthe gate and was only forced away because of terrible injuries. First he hadspied a wolf at the bottom of the stairwell watching him, though it nevergot within the range of any of his spells. He made himself invisible, butthe light he had conjured (the only illumination in this dark place) continuedto shine; revealing his approximate whereabouts. Before he knew it he wasattacked with a great gout of fire that filled most of the corridor and penetratedhis parma magica, burning him severely. He was lucky to cast his apportationspell before the next attack struck him; I strongly doubt that he would havesurvived had he not fled. He arrived back at the covenant and stayed onlylong enough for Helene and I to tend something of his wounds. While he explaineda little of what happened as we applied balms and healing spells to his burntbody. Then, without any further delay, he made his way back with all hasteto Swallowcliffe - well aware that our friends could now be trapped within.Whatever else has been said about Antonius, let this be remembered of him;that gravely wounded he returned to fight a magic-wielding diabolist who hadalready bested him, and that he did this for the sake of his sodales and withno thought for his own life.

Returning to the site he soughtto evade the tracking wolf that watched the surface, and tried to find anangle from which to attack. He tried a spell on the wolf at one point, butthe creature resisted (though the spell must have penetrated at somethinglike the 9th or 10th magnitude). However, he got close enough to make a disturbingdiscovery. Antonius recognised the wolf. The wolf was a perfect likeness forDarius's familiar.

Still trying to find his quarryand figure out a plan to save his sodales, Antonius came under fire from thisinvisible enemy. Once again the fires pierced his magic protection, but thistime he failed to apport before the flames struck. He was rendered unconsciousby injury whilst invisible himself, and borne by the spell 'The travellingthistledown'.

I told Turold of what Antoniushad imparted before returning to Swallowcliffe, and he wisely determined toseek out Serenia in the hope of obtaining additional help. The journey toHoly Isle was without event, but upon his arrival he was told that the seniorQuaesitor had suffered some magical accident and could not be disturbed. Givenwhat I suspect of the magi there, I would have fled at that point; but fortunatelyfor Ruaridh, Madoc and Antonius, Turold is made of sterner stuff. He spentthe night at Holy Isle, watched continuously by an armed escort. The nextday he managed to contact Gratia, the Inquisitor, and she was able to takehim to Serenia.

It seems that Serenia had indeedsuffered incident. By some magic her eyes had been transformed to black orbs,and rendered her sightless as a result. However, her blindness did not preventher from immediately seeing the danger at Swallowcliffe, and she authorisedTurold to seek immediate aid from Jordael and Garius at Cad Gadu. Turold neededno second telling and left for Cad Gadu that instant.

I don't know how, but Jordaeland Garius managed to find Swallowcliffe and locate Antonius's unconsciousbody up in one of the trees that overlook the ruin. From him they learnedthe stones required to open the portal, but it took over a day to locate thecorrect gems. Eventually they were able to release Ruaridh and Madoc.

A few days later, once peoplehad been given a chance to recover a little from their ordeals, we met ascouncil. There we discussed several issues. First, there was discussion ofwhether or not Audacia's spirit might be 'corrupted' and sent against us asthis demon threatened. Whilst it was felt that this was unlikely, we decidedto take no chance and recast the Aegis of the Hearth. Ruaridh also revealedthat Audacia had imparted to him some weeks before a strange vision; in whichAudacia witnessed Darius rise from the dead and slay her. We could not fathomthe meaning of this vision, but Raegwulf is a visionary and it was decidedthat we would put this matter before him to see if he could shed any light.

There was now a question of whetherDarius was truly dead, and the nature of his familiar. To be honest we speculatedfor some time on this issue, but to no great avail. Something of his corruptionappears to survive, and it seems that Isabella is certainly a diabolist too.Given that Isabella and Ruaridh have fought wizard's war in the past, it wassuggested that someone else should quickly witness the sigils at Swallowcliffe- lest Ruaridh's evidence is attacked as bias. Turold also raised the possibilitythat these diabolists now have Gofannon's crown, as we assume that it wasIsabella who excavated the barrow, and he determined to seek out the MountainKing to better understand the ramifications of this.

Antonius reminded us that Audaciahad a spirit companion, and whilst he thought that it most probably wouldhave passed on now that Audacia is dead, he thought it wise to seek out thisspirit and be sure. This companion to Audacia was once her apprentice, andhad set fires around the covenant in the past. We also discussed Bethwyn'sfuture. Ruaridh had talked with her and offered to continue her training,but she had declined saying she wanted to return to the Morrigan's realm.I was somewhat shocked that Ruaridh and Turold were so ready to hand this10 year old girl to the goddess of war and death; and I must confess thatI became quite heated in my argument. It was eventually agreed that Heleneand I would look after the girl and see whether she could be encouraged totake another mater or pater. I hope that my words did not offend either Ruaridhor Turold in this, for whilst I felt strongly on the issue of Bethwyn's future;we need unity and friendship here in the covenant more than ever and I recognisethey were only counselling what they thought was in the child's best interests.

Antonius and Ruaridh eventuallytracked Ricado, Audacia's spirit companion, to Audacia's sanctum. They enteredwith little fear and conjured the spirit to appear. The spirit was hostileand warned them to leave or else it would attack them. Ruaridh and Antoniuswere unsure precisely what threat this spirit posed, and unwisely in retrospect,considered the matter in the sanctum as the spirit became increasingly angry.Then, whilst Ruaridh and Antonius were still undecided, the spirit struckout with fire. A blast of flame ripped through the small antechamber. WhilstRuaridh's parma magica held against the flames, Antonius's did not. He waskilled instantly.

That Antonius, having survivedthe terrible events at Swallowcliffe, should be struck down by Audacia's watchingspirit is a grave and meaningless tragedy. When I heard I must confess thatmy heart sank with despair; for this death made no sense to me. If only theyhad left the room to make their considerations. If only they had waited afew weeks for Antonius to make a full recovery from his wounds. But this hindsightis cruel.

When Madoc heard of Antonius'sdeath he left, for some reason, to travel to Blackthorn. There, for some unimaginablemotive, he spoke with Eloria and inadvertently revealed both Audacia's deathand that matters were being held under the rule of silence. I have to sayalso that I heard Aledd singing late into the night within the tavern, incelebration of Antonius's death. I know they both blame him for Reece's death,but this joy at the death of one of our sodales; one who had risked his lifeto try and save Madoc from the infernal pits of Swallowcliffe, frankly mademe sick. I had no idea that Madoc and his brother were so heartless.

Perhaps triggered by Madoc's ill-advisedconfession to Eloria, we were visited by Serenia, Jordael, Garius and thenew Primus of Tytalus, Lazarus. We had a long meeting in the new Great Hallwhere we discussed events and tried to determine what our next step shouldbe. What disturbed me most was seeing old and wise magi like Serenia and Jordaelat such a loss. In the end it was decided, for better or worse, to cover upthe location and events surrounding Audacia's death and maintain the ruleof silence on the matters of Swallowcliffe. Audacia apparently travelled intothe faerie regio to get some vis, got into a fight with the Morrigan and died.We only know because her familiar Curwen died. Incidentally, Curwen was discoveredto have died and we have burnt her remains and buried them beyond the aegis.

I don't know how much more ofthis tragedy I can write. My hands grow tired and the candlelight is dimming;those shadows threatening to sweep in again. I shall leave this story here,for now, perhaps next season I shall find more strength and hope to bear thisquill again. I know not what gods or goddesses exist, but I shall pray toall of them to look after the spirits of Antonius, Audacia and Hassan. I shallalso ask them to watch over my family and keep them from harm as our covenantenters such dangerous times.

Summer

I had better sit and make timeto scribe the events affecting our covenant, lest I be accused of tardinessby my sodales. To be honest though, things are not easy at the moment. Heleneis weary with her burden of child, and I'm spending less and less time sortingout my laboratory, and more and more time looking after Lora. However, bothof my beloved are now asleep at last, and quietly I now have opportunity towrite.

The meeting determined Ruaridhwould extract vim from our aura as Covenant service. For my part I thoughtto transfer some of the more complex equipment to my laboratory. Even thoughI have the permission of Council, it's hard not to feel a bit of a thief goinginto another's sanctum and removing what once belonged to them. Also as service,Madoc would travel to Mynydd Myddyn and while there attempt to scribe up somespells.

Prior to Madoc's journey, we hadsent the entire contingent of the guard to transport goods and supplies tothe camp just beyond the regio. These supplies would see our grogs stationedinside through for another year, and also provide materials for the reconstructionof the fort (nails, tools, etc). It was while on route to meet the guard atthe old way station that Madoc happened upon a deserted campsite, and Raegwulfmade a disturbing observation.

It appears that this campsitehad been attacked, and Raegwulf could still see the tormented spirit of oneof the victims lingering nearby. Worse still, it seems that this was a campthe guard had evidently set on route to the way station. Even worse than this,it became apparent from the tracks that the camp had been attacked by werewolves- and worst of all - at least some of the guard had been carried away intothe nearby forest. As they were investigating the ruined camp, a spy was spottedby the forest's edge. Thinking this possibly a scout for the werewolves, Madocordered the others to take up what goods and supplies they could, and makeall pace for the regio. It was his hope that if they could make it into theregio, then they would be safe from attack.

However, as they were forced thatnight to camp just beyond the regio boundary (having narrowly missed the opportunityto enter), they were attacked by wolves! A fierce battle ensued in which thegrog Dunn was slain. Madoc was able to transmute his sword into silver andgave it to his brother Alledd, and between them they slew a number of thewolves driving the rest into flight. Raegwuld has been hard pressed, but survivedby virtue of an potion of invisibility that had been granted to him earlier.However, it has later been revealed that he was injured by one of the wolves;but more of his curse later.

The next day, Madoc attemptedto find the entrance to the regio, but unfortunately his magic went dreadfullyawry. The Intellego Vim spell that he enchanted caused the bodies of the deadwerewolves to rise, animated by some spirits - perhaps infernal spirits. However,after a lot of running about and considerable panic and delay, the party managedto lose their pursuers and enter the regio.

It seems that a good relationshiphas been struck with the celts who reside in the nearby forest, and friendshipsbetween our men and they foster a strong alliance. As reconstruction of thefort continues, there is still the defensively strong tower to fall back upon.During Madoc's stay things there were peaceful - though he got little scribingcompleted because of the way time moves so strangely. While they were there,Raegwulf had a strange vision - a vision of such import, that Madoc immediatelydetermined to strike the camp and return to the covenant.

The vision told of the wizard'swar between Isabella and our ally Garius. Evidently, though I have not heardthe details of it, some feature of the dream caused Turold to be concernedthat Gofannon might interfere with the war - as Isabella was in possessionof a crown belonging to that Faerie King. Turold sought Garius at Cad Gadu,but it seems that the magus had already left and the wizard's war alreadybegun.

There was also some considerableconcern for (and a little fear of) Raegwulf. Having been bitten by the werewolves,he appeared to have taken on their curse - and there was some question whetherthis curse was infernal in nature, or involved possession by infernal spirits.In the end, with Raegwulf's compliance (indeed insistance) we created a cagefor him down in the cave he now dwells in. During the nights of the full moon,Raegwulf will ensure he is caged - and thus will present no danger to others.However, this isn't a long term solution really. We need to help him to finda way to lift this curse - or perhaps, develop some potion to help relievehis madness over the full moon.

The arrival of two new magi haslifted my spirits a little. The prospective members of the covenant are Astriusfilius Garius follower of Flambeau, and Theo filius Jordael member of Ex-Miscellanea.Both are from Cad Gadu and so far appear most worthy additions to our council.Theo is a minstrel or bard of sorts, and tells the most magnificent stories.Astrius, despite the violent nature of his tradition, appears a solid anddecent sort - and does not disturb me (or Helene) anything like the dreadedAudacia did (May her spirit find peace).

Autumn

If I thought last season was busy,then this season has been far busier! However, for all the distraction fromany thought of study, it has been a wonderful season - for my first son hasbeen born! We have named him Matthew, after Helene's father, and he is fitand well. I was supposed to be making glasswear for laboratories (especiallythe one up at Mynydd Myddyn), but I fear - despite it being a covenant service- much of my time was spent looking after Helene and Lora. However, I workeda few additional nights to make up for lost time, and I believe the glasswork is completed.

Astrius and Theo have joined thecovenant. It's good to have a full council again. There is a definate feelingof being a young covenant - enjoying a new spring - four of the six magi hereare fairly young. For covenant service Astrius will extract vim, and Turoldwill set up a field laboratory so that in future he can more profitably researchthe Myddyn stone.

During this season I noticed PrimusLazarus of Tytalus was paying our covenant many visits. This was part of thedeal struck for his exorcising Audacia's spirit companion. Though he primarilyconfined himself to the library - and for the most part neither I or the otherswere particularly aware of his comings and goings - he was apparently somequestions to various members of the covenant. The whole 'sniffing around'made me feel a bit nervous - to be honest - though obviously he knows aboutSwallowcliffe already. I've told Bethwyn to keep away from him, just in caseLazarus sees she is gifted and is tempted to try and claim her as an apprentice.

Baron Martin of Monmouth decidedto travel to the covenant to speak to Anthony about taxes. Ruaridh and Theoprimarily dealt with this issue - at the time Helene was feeling unwell soI can tell you very little about it. The upshot was that Martin visited us(instead of sending a sheriff to assess our taxable worth) and that we gota reasonably fair deal on our taxes and back taxes. It appears that Antoniusdid Martin some considerable favour not so long ago, a favour that still standsus in good stead. I do wonder whether we ever even heard one tenth of ourTytalan's activites in the mundane world!

Turold had a visitor from Hibernia,one Shaugn of Merinita (formally a member of Verditius). I didn't really geta chance to speak to him much, but Shaugn did grace us with a fair displayof musical talent one evening, Theo joined in, and it became something ofan excellent night. Theo left us shortly afterwards on a brief visit to CadGadu to speak to his pater. He arrived back in good time for our next meetingof council.

Winter

With a new born and a two yearold and Bethwyn all clamouring for attention this season has been most distracted.Helene insisted that I found some time to study - and indeed I've been tryingto make use of the Corporem book this season. I'm sure I've barely seen morethan my laboratory and the infirmary this season! This season Astrius willextract vim again, and Theo will undetake an exploration of Monmouth. As it'slikely that Theo will be handling our affairs with the mundane world, thenthis is counted as service.

The Red Cap, Laretius, arrivedwith news: Peace has been brokered with the Welsh and the latter have withdrawntheir troops (Though the Earl has insisted on a strong levy in case they changetheir minds). However, the King still has problems in Normandy - against theFrench - and in the North, against the Scots. It's still not clear, also,whether Stephen du Blois has completely given up all hope of the Crown.

It seems we are not the only landbeset with trouble, and that tensions in the Levant are on the rise. Laretiusnow says many Christian lords speak openly of mounting another crusade. Therehas been some question as to whether the activities of magus Nycestas werein part responsible for stirring up trouble in Levant. Nycestas, recentlyreturned from the region with finds relating to the precursors of Verditius'sown magics, has been personally protected by his Primus, Boran. It seems thatthe politics of that region will remain complicated for some time.

Also we were told that Edith ofLear Valley and Magnus of Scarfell have fought certamen over a vis site originallydiscovered by my own pater Erin. Ruaridh has been asked to ajudicate uponthe strength of the claims of each over the site - and report to the Tribunalif necessary.

***

Bethwyn has gone missing, we aresearching the covenant to try and find her. I blame myself - so taken up withmy work when I should have made more time to keep an eye on her. I noticethat Lazerus is also not paying us any more visits, and I dread the prospectthat he has taken her as an appentice.

***

I've just come back from Blackthorn,and there has been no sign of either the Primus or Bethwyn. Cursory investigations(for instance The Inexorable Search) has revealed nothing about her whereabouts.This means one of several possibilities - none of which are good: Bethwynmay be dead; she may be beyond the range of the spell over land, or acrossopen sea; she may be within a regio either locally (she often said she wantedto return to the Morrigan's realm at some point) or further afield (if takenby Lazerus). We have no way to separate these possibilities, but everyonesuspects that Lazerus has taken her. This likelihood makes it also very difficultto legally investigate.

***

The season, and my first yearas scribe, have come to an end. It began with the death of Audacia and Antonius,proceeded with the death of our Guard, and Raegwulf being cursed, and hasended with Bethwyn's disappearence. Not all things have been so foul though.My son, Matthew, was born and thrives well here in the covenant. We also havetwo new sodales, Astrius and Theo. Not for the first time it feels as if weare teetering upon a knife's edge; between growth and destruction. Which waywe shall go is anyone's guess ...