1148

YEAR 1148

Scribed by Ruaridh

Spring 1148 AD

All the Magi save Madoc met asa Council on a crisp spring morning. We discussed what we should do aboutour missing sodalis, and we eventually decided that I would travel to MynyddMyddyn later in the season to see whether I could discover his whereabouts.Theo reported that he had spent the morning examining the pit where Radulfus'shrine once lay, but he had seen no evidence that the shades we encounteredlast season had returned. Turold reported that he had discussed ideas withthe steward for the building we plan to erect over the pit, and he expectedwork to commence later this season. We then moved on to discuss what serviceswe would each perform for the covenant over the coming year. My notes becomesomewhat sketchy at this point, but I believe that Astrius and I decided wewould venture into Mynydd Myddyn later in the year to investigate whetherMyddyn's Brood posed a threat to our hilltop settlement, Turold will extractVim vis to power the Aegis, Aelfwin will work on some potions designed toheal a wounded man to full health in but a few moments and Theo will ventureinto the towns and villages of the Dean to extend his contacts among the folkthere.

Shaun of Merinita, a HibernianMagus well known to Turold, visited us a few weeks later. His faerie wife,Lillian, accompanied him and they brought great merriment to the coven folk,grogs and Magi with their tales and songs. Turold, who is normally the firstto retire to his chamber, ever eager to practice his enchantments, stayedup most of the night drinking with Shaun, and I swear that his normally stone-likepallor was tinged with green the next morning. I spoke little with Shaun,but I learned that he had once been a member of House Verditius, but he hadjoined House Merinita after some argument or disagreement with his formerPrimus. He seemed to be enjoying his new House immensely, and I wonder whetherhis experiences will convince Turold to do the same.

I travelled to Mynydd Myddyn tolook for Madoc later in the season. I reached our fort easily enough, andthere I encountered an elderly guide, who told me that he had accompaniedMadoc through the Awakened Forest some time before. He said that Madoc hadmade his way to the hill with the standing stones in the middle of the forest,and there he had performed some ritual, after which he and his companionsvanished from sight, leaving the guide alone. The man appeared remarkablyunperturbed by the turn of events, as he claimed that Madoc had performedthis ritual before with similar effects. He waited awhile for Madoc to return,but he was forced to travel back to the fort alone once his food suppliesbegan to run low. Given the guide's description, I suspect Madoc entered ahigher level of the Regio, which we had hitherto not known about. What disturbsme is that this is not the first time he has done so, yet he made no mentionof this when he gave his report to Council last season. I wonder what he gotup to during his time there and why he wishes to keep his discovery and hisactions secret from the rest of us? With another, I would perhaps put thelack of full disclosure down to benign motives or simple forgetfulness, butMadoc deserves no such sympathy, for this appears to be just the latest ina long series of lies and omissions on his part. I shall question him aboutthis in more detail on his return.

I returned to Severn Temple tofind that the redcap Loretius had visited during my absence with an urgentmessage for me. He left instructions that the new Senior Quaesitor had askedme travel to Blackthorn with all speed. I did so, and discovered that someonehad attempted to assassinate Praeca Eloria. She survived the attempt by theskin of her teeth, and head fled elsewhere (I later learned she had gone toCad Gadu) to recover her strength. Senior Quaesitor Iannois asked me to beginan investigation into the circumstances of the attack. I questioned the guardsand servants at length, and made much use of Intellego magics designed todetect whether Hermetic magic had been used and, if so, whose sigil lay entwinedin the threads of the spells. It emerged that Eloria had been attacked byone of her servants - or more likely, someone disguised as such - from behind.I found the servant's clothes, rent and covered in blood, hidden in a dankspot close to the privies. A Muto Corporem spell designed to transform thecaster's appearance had recently been cast just outside Eloria's chambers,with an obscure, elusive sigil. I spent many hours using Sense of the LingeringMagics at various points in the covenant trying to find evidence of a similarsigil, since I hoped that whoever cast the spell might also have been presentat the Tribunal meeting held at Blackthorn a few years previously. I eventuallydid find a similar sigil in one of the rooms used to house guests during theTribunal, and Blackthorn's records indicated that it had been inhabited byIcandius of Tytalus. At least I have an initial suspect, though this caseis likely to long and convoluted. By this time, the season was drawing toa close, and I travelled back to Severn Temple for the summer Council meeting.

Summer

At Council, we all reported onevents of note during the season. I told what I knew of Madoc's actions anddescribed the main points of the attack on Eloria. Turold mentioned that hehad gone down to the Severn on the night of the boar tide to collect somevis. The tide had been much stronger and faster than previously - the wavesrose some six or seven feet high, and the tide swamped the jetty on whichhe stood - and he saw an image of a rampaging boar at the centre of the wave.Turold managed to catch some water as the wave raced past, and, on investigation,it turned out to contain three pawns of Rego vis. The boar tide has now producedboth Aquam and Rego vis at different times of the year, which makes it a valuablemagical resource indeed.

Theo reported that his bound spirit,Viremos, had contacted him claiming to have seen great spiders lurking inthe forest surrounding the covenant. It is possible that the changing faerieseasons may once again make it possible for spiders to move through the gapthat normally separates the covenant from the magical Regio that we know liesabove us. We debated how best to protect ourselves from such a threat, andwe resolved to reinforce the great hall and gather all the grogs and covenfolk there in the event of an attack. Aelfwin also agreed to spend a seasonbrewing some potions designed to protect against the spiders' venom, whichshould help the grogs stand up to them better should combat occur.

A few days into the season, Itravelled to Cad Gadu to speak with Eloria. I told her of my investigationto date, and she said that she suspected that Icandius was a false lead designedto deflect suspicion away from the true perpetrator. In any case, Icandiuswould be very difficult to find as he does not live in a covenant and is knownto go to great lengths to protect his privacy. Eloria suspected allies ofVernastes, one of the two candidates for the position of Primus of House Tytalus,since Eloria is known to be an ally of his rival, Marea. I know not how muchfaith to put in Eloria's words, since she herself is undoubtedly playing someunfathomable game, but I will bear them in mind. I still need to find Icandiusif possible, and Gyriania or another of the redcaps might be the best placeto start the search.

I returned to Blackthorn to continuethe investigation. As I examined the room where I found Icandius' sigil, Inoticed a few telltale signs of infernal influence: dark shadows where noneshould be and sickly moss on the walls. I was overcome with the sense thatan act of great evil had happened her, and for a moment I could see the floorawash with blood. I know not the full story of what happened in the room,but I suspect some infernal sacrifice or act. Given that agents of the devilhave penetrated Blackthorn's defences on at least one previous occasion -when they rescued Caelestis - I resolved to spend time looking for how theymight do so. I found a journal, written by Eloria many years before, thatdescribed the tunnels beneath the covenant, some of which were said to leadto the countryside outside. Could this be the way that infernal agents areable to enter the covenant without breaching the Aegis?

The Concilium Quaesitori met atBlackthorn at midsummer. Iannois asked each of the Quaesitori to speak aboutwhat they considered to be the most important issues and challenges facingthe Tribunal. Dionysius and Ponrius produced predictable diatribes about theneed to hunt down the remains of the Unnamed House and reveal any of its supportersor sympathisers within the Order. Yania raised the issue of the war in thenorth of England and the likely involvement of McGraine and his allies. Itseems that the northern covenants are under more pressure than I suspected,and Yania predicted that Bori Tor might even fall if the Tribunal is not ableto offer more support. I spoke of the distrust of Holy Isle within my Housegiven Darius' treachery and, though I said I hoped that time would heal oldwounds, in my heart I know that there can be no comprise with those such asDionysus. Iannois issued two commandments: first, the Quaesitori should bringall disputes to him rather than arguing in public, and second, we should notcriticise each others' motives in front of others. He also gave out a seriesof tasks to each of the Quaesitori: mine were to review our records and thoseof Carrion Moor for clues to what happened to Lazarus and, in conjunctionwith Blackthorn and Cad Gadu, to keep a watch on the ancient stone circleat Stonehenge for signs of the Unnamed House. With the end of the Concilium,I returned to Severn Temple as the season drew to a close.

Autumn

For the first time in severalseasons, Madoc joined us for a Council meeting. His presence caused much discordand strife, and the meeting ended with him leaving the covenant for good.I shall attempt to recount the events as neutrally as possible, but I hopethe reader will forgive me if my own opinions occasionally colour the narrativesomewhat.

Madoc explained that, prior tosetting out for Mynydd Myddyn, he had decided to visit the Heart of the Forest.There he noticed that several large acorns lay about the grass under the greatoak tree at the centre of the glade. He examined the acorns using Intellegomagic, and he was surprised to learn that each one contained a pawn of vimvis. He managed to gather nine acorns in total, three of which he turned overto the covenant as stipulated in our charter. This was indeed a fortuitousdiscovery, for our sodalis had once again discovered a source of vis for thecovenant.

Madoc then told of his travelsin Mynydd Myddyn. He explained that he had ventured as far as the stones onthe hill at the centre of the Awakened Forest, where he had realised thatthere was another level of the Regio lying above the place. The veil betweenthe two levels was apparently very thin, and Raegwulf was able to make outwhat he presumed were druidic sprits carrying out some form of ceremony aroundthe stones on the higher level. Madoc and his party crossed between the levels,and the druids became visible to them all, though the place itself changedlittle in appearance. They spoke briefly with the druids, who told them thatthey should leave the area, for they had not been invited to witness the ceremony.As they were speaking, two druids dragged an unconscious body up to the stoneat the centre of the circle, where they split his skull with a mallet. Theceremony appeared to be drawing to a close, and, fearful of what might happen,Madoc and his party descended the hill, stopping some way away at the treeline to observe what would happen next. Within a few minutes, the sky beganto darken, and the rumble of thunder became audible. Lightning lashed thesurrounding area for a prolonged period, which culminated in a great lightningstrike on the stone circle itself. As the smoke cleared, Madoc observed agroup of figures moving among the stones. They appeared to resemble the pagangods and goddesses of legend. They remained within the stone circle for sometime, after which they faded from sight.

With the spectacle apparentlyover, Madoc decided that he would venture back to our hilltop settlement tosee whether it appeared any different on this level of the Regio. He reachedthe village with little problem, and he found that it was inhabited by villagersof celtic appearance. Using a ring enchanted with Tongue of the Folk, Madocwas able to converse with the Celts, and their headman told him of the place.Odd though it seems, the Celts appeared to be living in the past, for theheadman spoke of the Celts' battles with the Romans. He knew of Severn Temple,and he grew alarmed when Madoc intimated that a group of Roman wizards nowcontrolled the place. Perhaps most intriguingly of all, the headman mentionedthat the village was the home of a promising young bard, Myddyn. The headmansaid Myddyn was away from the village at the moment, but that Madoc mightfind him down by the caves near the lake (which, on our level of the Regio,are the home of Myddyn's Brood). The interview was going well until Madoclet it slip that he was a magician. The headman asked who his master was and,slow-witted as usual, Madoc replied that he had been taught by Torius. Theheadman's demeanour changed on hearing that Madoc had been the student ofa man with a Latin name, and Madoc was forced to admit that he had learnedRoman magic. With that, the headman ordered Madoc and his party from the village,promising that they would meet in battle if they ever returned.

Ejected from the village, Madocmade his way towards the caves, where he hoped to find the bard known as Myddyn.He reached the caves and decided to venture inside, leaving Arion's groomoutside to watch for danger. The rest of the party followed a series of twistingpassages until they came to an open chamber deep in the rock. The cavern waslined with crystals of all shapes and sizes, and Madoc realised that it couldbe the legendary place where Myddyn was able to view the past and future.Peering into the crystals, Madoc and his group saw visions of various kinds,most of which were hard to interpret. After pausing to think awhile, theymade their way back outside, where their groom had an even more interestingtale to tell. While the others were gone, he was apparently approached bya young man who claimed to be Myddyn. The two spoke for a while, and the groomrevealed that they had come to seek him out, but Myddyn said he could nottarry long for fear of annoying the headman. The groom mentioned that he consideredMyddyn to be a spirit, perhaps an echo of the past, but Myddyn laughed andsaid that it was surely the groom who was the spirit. To prove his point,he thrust a stick through the groom's torso, which passed through him withoutresistance. After sharing a meal of the fish he had recently caught, Myddynbade the groom farewell and departed. A short while later, Madoc emerged fromthe caves. Believing he had accomplished more than enough for one season,Madoc gathered his group and returned through the Regio levels to Severn Temple.

We were all impressed by Madoc'stale, for he had clearly been witness to several fascinating events that warrantfurther investigation. Yet all the while, we knew that he had not been completelyhonest with us. When he had finished speaking, I asked whether he had everbeen to the higher level of the Regio before. He replied that he had not.I then mentioned that I had spoken with the old guide, who had told me thathe had passed through the veil on at least one previous occasion. At this,Madoc flew into a rage, ranting and raving that I was accusing him of lying.I explained that we knew he had not told us everything, and we had every rightto be suspicious of his actions given his previous reluctance to tell us thewhole truth. Madoc then stormed out of the Council chamber. The rest of usdebated what we should do, and I suggested that we should speak with the groom,since he had accompanied Madoc on both of his previous expeditions. My sodalesagreed, and I left the chamber to locate the man. I found him in the stables,and asked him to follow me back to the Council chamber. As we were climbingthe stairs, Madoc, his brother Aledd and his familiar Arion came chargingafter us, trying to prevent the groom reaching the Council chamber. Madocgrabbed hold of the groom, and said that he would not allow him to continue.I explained to Madoc that he was defying the entire Council in this matter,but he was unmoved, so I told him that we should settle this through Certamen.Although I had challenged him in the past, and therefore could not do so againuntil he returned the challenge, I told him I would accept his challenge,unless he was too much of a coward to make it. Madoc refused, and he led thegroom away. Resisting a momentary urge to incinerate the lot of them, I returnedto the Council chamber to explain to my sodales what had happened.

The rest of us decided that wewould postpone the meeting for a day or two to give Madoc time to come tohis senses, and Aelfwin said he would try to speak with Madoc to convincehim to be open and honest with us. I initially favoured stripping Madoc ofhis Good Standing immediately, but I agreed that he should be given one morechance to redeem himself. We met again a few days later. Madoc accompaniedAelfwin into the room, but he remained in the corner away from the rest ofus. Aelfwin said that Madoc was willing to give a full account of his actions,but he wanted to do so at the end of the season. Several of us objected, forMadoc had shown both bad faith in lying to us and discourtesy in leaving theCouncil mid-session, and we saw no reason why he could not explain himselfright then. Aelfwin called for a formal vote on the matter, brushing asideour attempts to discuss further the merits of a delay, but in doing so hemiscalculated the anger at Madoc's actions.

The motion failed, and we thereforecalled Madoc to make full explanation of his behaviour. Madoc turned on hisheel and left the room once more. Astrius leapt to his feet and bellowed achallenge of Certamen. Madoc ignored him and marched outside, where he proceededto gather his belongings and mount his horse, seemingly willing to leave thecovenant forever. Astrius grabbed hold of the groom to prevent him leavingwith Madoc, an action Madoc sought to overturn through Certamen. This enragedour Flambeau even more, since his previous challenge had gone unanswered,and his face turned a most violent shade of red as he uttered a stream ofcurses in Madoc's direction. Finally, Madoc confirmed that he intended torenounce his membership of Severn Temple and spurred his horse away, leavingthe groom in Astrius' clutches. The rest of us returned to the Council chamber,where we solemnly agreed to accept Madoc's resignation.

Others may have mixed feelingsabout Madoc, but I view him as a craven, spineless coward, who was more interestedin preserving his precious privacy than assisting his sodales. He seemed tohave a deep-rooted persecution complex, which made him believe that any criticismsof his actions, however slight, were in fact part of a sinister plot to discredithim. Though he undoubtedly had skill at locating sites of magical power, Ithink we are far better off without him, since it is important that we canall trust each other to act in the best interests of the covenant. I hopehe finds others who are better able to appreciate his talents and overlookhis gaping flaws. Maybe he will find like-minded companions elsewhere, perhapsat Blywyddyn. Good riddance.

Scribed by Astrius

I have taken over the recordingof this journal for now, as Ruaridh is currently missing and none of us knowwhen or even if he will return. Events have taken place that have once moreshaken this covenant to its very core and so must be recorded for posterity.Things began not long after Madoc's abrupt departure, indeed my anger at thatmagus's deceit and disdain for his sodales was still coursing through my veinswhen there was a shout from the grog on the Spring gate. The soldier reportedthat Raegwulf, Madoc's sometime companion and self-proclaimed seer, had beenseen staring into the pool and had then shouted up a warning. He screamedthat Madoc had betrayed the covenant and the cause of our doom was headingNorth to summon a great evil which would come down and destroy us. Thoughmy opinion of that magus was poor to put it mildly, I was loath to believethat he would seek our destruction and was in truth somewhat suspicious ofRaegwulf himself. For it was no secret that he was infected with lycanthropyand I had already seen at first hand just how werewolves behave. Raegwulfwas not the only one bringing this warning though, for Theo's spirit companionViremos, came babbling to him in terror recounting a very similar tale. Acouncil was swiftly called and with two independent sources we took the portentsseriously. Ruaridh and Turold were very quick and decisive and set off almostat once to try and find Madoc and stop him. I wondered how they might do so,given that he does not seem to be answering challenges to Certamen, but Ruaridhis adept at the arts of Rego and Corporem and I assumed that he would usesome such magics to immobilise Madoc. Looking back now I find it hard to believethat either magus had anything other than murder on their minds.

A little time later as we waitedanxiously in the council chamber for our sodales to return, Dialectica apportedin close to the covenant bringing that grave news that the Redcap Lauretiushad been attacked as he was leaving Blackthorn and gravely injured. Some deadlyblade had cut his shoulder to the very bone, despite the magical armour thathe wore. Dialectica was seeking Ruaridh to help with the investigation andmyself to act as hoplite, though I suspect she also wanted Ruaridh's martialcapabilities as well as his Quaesitorial ones. My sodales had not yet returnedthough and so we made to leave without him. To the relief of both of us, Ruaridharrived back in the covenant just at that moment, I know not from where, andthe three of us travelled to Blackthorn. The Senior Quaesitor, Iannos, wasorganising a party to investigate the attack and was being cautious in hisapproach lest whoever or whatever had sought to slay Lauretius was still lurkingoutside. After some preparations and instructions from Iannos, we set off,with Ponrius and Venius joining the group as a further Quaesitor and hopliterespectively alongside several trackers from Blackthorn's turb. We quicklyreached the scene of the crime and found Lauretius' horse still lying there.Although it had been dead for little more than a few hours, killed by a singlevicious sword swipe, it looked as though it was already starting to rot andmaggots were crawling out of its eye sockets. There was no trace of any magicabout the body and the ritual 'Eyes of the Past' failed to see anything atall save a grey haze or some such. The immediate suspicion was that the handof infernal was involved so we redoubled our guard. With nothing immediatelyto be found we split up to begin a painstaking search of the land thereabouts.The Quaesitori were investigating using magicks so I was set to watch overthe mundane trackers as they scouted the land about for any tracks or aughtelse out of place.

Where magic failed, sharp eyessucceeded and one of the scouts found a couple of imprints of a man, somedistance off in the wood. Again however, scrying magics failed to determineanything about who, or what, made them once more, to the vexation of Iannosand the others. The trackers were sent out again, this time deeper into theforest in the hope that they might find some trace that had not been obscuredusing some fell magic. They came across further tracks, one of which lookedto be that of a man bearing a staff of some sort but Intellego magics coulddetermine nothing else. As we stood pondering the next move, Venius observedthat there were no beasts or birds of any kind in the woods. I confess I hadnot noticed myself but as soon as he pointed it out, it swiftly became apparentthat he was right. There was a preternatural stillness and lack of any faunaas far as we could sense. For some reason, (unfortunately we were not to realisejust how informed that magus was about matters infernal until later on) Veniusdid not seem to think that the power that was abroad was hellish in originand thought instead that it came from something old and magical in origin.

A spell was then cast to see ifany beasts at all were about in the woods. All that could be detected of anysignificant size was a single wolf. This immediately raised my suspicions,for I had been concerned that the werewolves may have had a hand in this andwhile we have no experience of them wielding blades, I voiced my concerns.Iannos asked Ponrius to investigate the wolf and so that magus flew off. Someminutes later we heard a dull retort a mile or so away. Unfortunately Ponriushad lived up to the worst stereotypes of our house and having startled thecreature had pursued it from the air as it fled and incinerated it with abolt of flame. Iannos was not best pleased and snatched the bag of ashes thatwas all that remained of the beast. As he examined it, amongst the ash andcharred bone, he found a tooth. Not the sharp canine of a wolf but ratherthe tooth of a man. Iannos conjured the image of the man whose tooth thishad been. Ruaridh and I recognised him at once. It was Raegwulf, Madoc's companion.Iannos's eyes narrowed as he heard this and I recounted Raegwulf's message,and he suggested that we returned to the safety of the covenant and its Aegisto summon Raegwulf's shade. As I could not fly or apport I walked back withthe trackers and Venius accompanied me, his black-scaled snake familiar coiledinside his cloak.

Once back at the covenant allthose magi present, which included both Madoc and Turold, gathered for dinnerto discuss the situation. Turold I gather had travelled to Blackthorn merelyto speak to Madoc. Later events though would suggest more sinister motivesbehind his visit. The atmosphere was somewhat stilted both by the gravityof the matter at hand and the ill-feeling between the magi from Severn Templeand Madoc. To my disgust, but to no great surprise, Madoc attempted to deceivethe others about the manner of his leaving and I could not help but set therecord straight and bluntly correct his lies, daring him to contradict me.Fortunately calmer heads intervened and Iannos set about further investigations.In the meantime, Turold flew back to Severn Temple. Deeper in the covenant,Venius and I waited outside while Iannos summoned the shade of Raegwulf. Madocwas also present and the Senior Quaesitor clearly had some suspicion abouthim for we were instructed as hoplites to rush in should we hear Iannos shoutout. Fortunately such action was not necessary and after a while the two magiemerged. Iannos looked stern-faced and angry, but to my surprise Madoc wasfree to go, it was Ruaridh Iannos wished to see. Obviously suspecting someinvolvement by Turold in what had gone, at the very least as a witness, Iannosbade me return to Severn Temple and ask that magus to remain there until hehad the chance to travel there and speak to him personally. As yet, Iannoswas accusing Turold of no crime and he told me that save for Certamen therewas nothing I could do to make Turold stay if he did not want to. To makesure I could return quickly to bring him news if Turold left, I was givena 'Leap of Homecoming' potion which would bring me back to Blackthorn. I thusreturned to Severn Temple and Iannos and Venius moved on to find Ruaridh.

As soon as I got back, I wentdown to Turold's sanctum and found him in. I relayed what Iannos had saidand he suggested he fly there himself but I told him no, that Iannos had specificallyrequested he remain within the covenant. He agreed that he would do so andso I left him to his own ends. It was near-on impossible to read what he wasthinking. His face, barely human as it had become, was impassive and unreadable.After all that had occurred though I was not prepared to take him at his wordand so I took a seat in the Great Hall and set Gan to watch the staircaseleading down to Turold's sanctum. I must have dozed off but was woken sometimelater by Gan telling me that he had seen Clifford leaving. We hurried afterhim and Gan caught him. I attempted to question him to find out what he wasup to but even as I did so I realised that he was providing a distractionto enable Turold to slip out unquestioned. Despite a quick search, he wasgone, his sanctum emptied of everything easily portable. Clifford was thenplaced in the cell until we received further word from Yania on Turold's status.Clifford's loyalty to Turold, however creditable, makes him a risk shouldTurold seek to do us mischief and I for one do no trust his greedy naturewhen he speaks of owning Turold's sanctum and his remaining possessions. Ido not think he realises the gravity of the situation he is in and with allI have gone through of late my patience with him grows ever shorter so hewould do well to heed what he is told.

Realising that I had no way ofknowing where Turold had gone or any means of following him, I drank the potionI had been given and apported back to Blackthorn to inform Iannos. I returnedhowever to find the covenant in chaos. The library had collapsed in upon itselfand the magi were hurrying around trying to figure out what had happened.I managed to find Iannos and Venius who I learned had been unable to findRuaridh. It seems my sodales had vanished, without telling a soul or leavingthe covenant by any obvious exit. This must have lent weight to Iannos's suspicionsfollowing his interrogation of Raegwulf's shade, for his desire to find Ruaridhas a matter of priority was clear. Ruaridh's movements had not been entirelyunobserved though, one of the grogs on watch had noticed a figure on the battlementsa short while before who had disappeared from sight once challenged and sowe hurried over. Iannos determined through Intellego magics that Ruaridh hadindeed been there, though he could not have simply apported through the Aegisfor Iannos had felt no breach. Iannos thus determined to investigate the groundbelow the wall for further evidence.

As we assembled a squad of grogsin the courtyard, Venius noticed something in the storm clouds that were buildingoverhead. A crow of some sort I think he said. In any event, whatever it wasit terrified him and with a face as white as chalk he stammered that the Morriganwas coming. Iannos did not seem to share his concern and merely continuedhis preparations. Venius pleaded with Iannos not to go outside, insistingthat only certain death awaited. Seeing the fear in the Venius' eyes, andhe was I knew was a very experienced hoplite, I believed him when he saidthat we should not leave what little protection the Aegis offered. Sadly howeverIannos did not and insisted on going outside, whether we accompanied him ornot. As a Flambeau and nominated hoplite I felt I had little choice but toswallow my fear and go with him, though in truth I could not see what helpI would be if the Morrigan was as powerful as Venius said. With great reluctanceand a final unheeded plea, Venius joined us and a squad of twelve men as wemarched out through the gates. We followed the narrow path that skirted theedge of the walls round towards where Ruaridh's sigil had been found. Beforewe reached there we espied a creeping dark fog ahead and the soldiers whowere in front collapsed and died as it rolled forwards over them. Venius screamedthat we had to flee and turned and ran with the surviving soldiers who hadbeen guarding our rear. I mastered my fear long enough to urge Iannos onelast time to turn back but then he was pulled suddenly into the air and hisbody began to disintegrate in a matter of seconds. I will not go into thegory details save it was a gruesome and unpleasant death, though at leastit must have been mercifully quick. At this I turned and fled back to thegate after the others. Although I swiftly caught up with Venius I was notquick enough to outrun the Morrigan and I felt a terrible affliction comeover me. It is difficult to put into words how what she did to me felt, foreven thinking about it now as I sit safely in my sanctum it makes me feelshudder. In any event when I saw what had happened to Venius and the wrinkledskin on the backs of my own hands it became clear what had befallen us. Wehad been afflicted by something equating to the 'Bane of the Decrepit Body'.

Why we were not slain like IannosI do not know, perhaps she was toying with us. In any event Venius was verymuch of the belief that she was not done with us yet and would not be keptout by the Aegis and so we rushed across the courtyard and into the entrancehall. Once in he ordered the grogs and servants inside to bar all the doorsand then leave us. I wasn't convinced that this was a good idea as I wantedto find Dialectica and the other magi in the covenant and warn them aboutwhat had happened. When I made to climb the stairs to unblock the door leadingdeeper into the covenant where I assumed the others would be, Venius toldme to stop. After an angry exchange of words over what I was doing Veniusthreatened to kill me if I took another step. I had no doubt that if he triedhe could easily do so and there was something in his tone that suggested hewas prepared to carry his threat out so I stopped and waited to see what hehad planned. Once satisfied that the doors were barred and I was going nowhere,Venius lit a bonfire in the centre of the room and after chalking out a pentagramof some sort, he began to summon what he claimed was an elemental. I had noreason to doubt him on this point and merely watched as the flames grew everhigher.

After a few moments chanting inLatin, a shadowy figure appeared in the flames and to my horror it becameclear that this was no elemental but a demon and judging by the size of thecreature a very powerful one. As I desperately pondered my next action, thedoor to the courtyard crumbled away. I seized my chance as Venius glancedbehind him and paled visibly, fear adding a shrill tone to his words as hehurried through the ritual. Casting quickly, I conjured a torrent of waterto douse the flames from which the demon was rising, breaking whatever controlhe had over it. As Venius screamed and the creature turned upon him I heardthe incantations to 'The Demon's Eternal Oblivion' from near the doorway.It was a voice I knew well. Ruaridh had returned. There was a white flashabout the creature but it did not appear to affect it much, if at all, andit stepped forwards and sunk its claws into Venius' chest. As he died morewhite light crackled about the demon but once again it seemed to do littleother than annoy it. I could see no sign of Ruaridh but clearly the invisibilityspell he had placed upon himself was not enough to shield him from the demon'seyes and it lunged for him. It must have missed for I heard him call out tome, asking if I had heard the demon's name during the ritual. As calmly asI was able I tried to recall if I had. There was one word which Venius repeatedseveral times and while I will not scribe it here I shouted it to Ruaridh,in the hope that this was indeed the creature's name. The demon half-turnedas if recognising its name before attacking Ruaridh again. Although its clawsseemed to make contact with something, Ruaridh managed to let loose the spelland this time, its power magnified by use of the demon's true name, the whitelight opened a pit below the beast and it was dragged howling back down whenceit had come.

I still could not see Ruaridhand despite his battling the demon, after what had gone on outside I did notwish to wait to see what he would do next. I ran to the door and began tryingto remove the bars which wedged it shut. As I did so, I heard Ruaridh's voiceagain, though in the sudden eerie quiet it sounded somehow different thanusual, fainter perhaps. The words that he spoke both scared and enraged me,"By not killing you Astrius I am damning myself." Anger won out, did he expectme to thank him for not killing me? "You damned yourself already." I replied,regretting the rash words almost as quickly as I spoke them for I knew thatRuaridh if riled had both the spells and arts to slay me. For a long momentI held my breath, straining to catch any incantations but there were none,Ruaridh had gone.

I hurriedly returned to the taskof unblocking the door and quickly had it open. Dialectica and Ponrius werethere urgently asking what had gone on. I told them of Iannos's death andVenius' diabolism. Ponrius reacted angrily to this and said that he had knownVenius for years and demanded to know what made me so sure. At this my angerrose again and I shouted back that there could be doubt about Venius' guiltfor I had seen it with my own eyes. There was a terrible flicker of rage inPonrius' eyes as I did so and for a minute I thought that he was going toattack me. Then he mastered his fury and brushed past me to examine the room.Dialectica had obviously noticed Ponrius' expression as well and was quitealarmed by it. At that moment I could not but wonder about how a magus mighthave a diabolist in his covenant for decades and not know it, especially onewho had acted as hoplite for him on so many occasions. I pray I am wrong andthat the rot stopped with Venius but Ponrius' expression still lingers inmy mind and my pater's warning to have a care around him seems ever wiser.Geriania, the gifted Redcap who dwells at Blackthorn, left swiftly to informother covenants of what had happened and to request the presence of Yaniato help with the investigations now that Iannos was dead and Ruaridh undersuspicion and missing.

Although it seemed like an eternityit cannot have been that long before Quaesitor Yania, with Orlania actingas her hoplite, arrived and began her investigations of the ruins of the libraryand other places where Ruaridh's sigil had been found. Although as with somuch of what happened, her investigations could not provide a complete pictureof what occurred, it looks very much like Madoc was slain in the library beforeit was brought down by hermetic magic, thus removing any chance of contactinghis spirit for interrogation. This is surely what the assassin intended. Asno firm evidence of guilt on the part of either Ruaridh or Turold could befound, even though Ruaridh's sigil was found near the doorway to the libraryon some spell to destroy wood and stone, Yania ruled that they were both stillmagi under the full protection of the law until the tribunal could rule ontheir guilt. Nevertheless from all that I have seen and heard I find it difficultto come to any other conclusion other than that it was one or both of themwho attacked Lauretius and slew Madoc, and Ruaridh who invoked the Morriganto slay Iannos and curse myself and Venius.

So it was that our council wasonce more greatly reduced in number and experience. Although the covenantand indeed the Order may miss Madoc's undoubted skill in finding new vis sites,I think on the whole his selfish and deceitful nature was such that it willbe better off without him. Nevertheless he deserved a better death than thecowardly assassination that appears to have befallen him and for that at leastI am sorry. As to Ruaridh and Turold, it seems to me in the end that theywere both corrupted, not by the infernal, but by the Morrigan and the feyrespectively. To what extent those two powers were related in their aims Iknow not, though the glade where the Morrigan dwells lies within the faerierealm so it is quite likely that some connection existed. Yet although morelearned magi than I have said that the Morrigan is in no way diabolic andindeed the Stonehenge tribunal has ruled so, I do wonder myself, the deceiverwears many guises it is said and could it not be that she is simply one ofhis oldest?

A few days later, a grim-facedJordael and Garius arrived at the covenant and what they told us of the conspiracysurrounding the discoveries at Swallowcliffe explained much, though AelfwinI gather was already aware of it. Had I not been told by my pater and PrimusJordael I would have dismissed out of hand the idea that Primus Tremere isa lich and may have started the Schism simply to slay those in Diedne whohad discovered what he was doing. As it is, I still find it all scarcely crediblethat so much of what I have been taught as the history of the Order may notbe all that it seems. Nevertheless for now I will keep this secret as instructed,for if it is true then the danger to those who know this is all too clear.This must be what drove Ruaridh and Turold to such extreme measures, thoughit still cannot excuse their flagrant breaches of the Oath. Jordael is continuingto investigate further and has spoken to the spirit of Bryghtgan, though hedisclosed no details of what he learnt and we did not press him for any.

On a brighter note, Garius andJordael offered to stay for the season to help us re-establish ourselves whilewe were still reeling from the loss of our two senior most magi. Specificallythey feared that Dionysus would come to the covenant seeking to pull it apartunder the pretext of some investigation. We of course we only to happy tobe able to offer them hospitality. Even more so when Garius offered to spendhis time to make us a wand to shoot fire to bolster our defence and Jordaelmade me a longevity potion to stay any further ageing resulting from the Morrigan'scurse. A week before the end of the season, just as Garius and Jordael hadexpected, Dionysus arrived, with Xeres accompanying him as a hoplite. Gariuswas blunt in denying them entry, stating that the covenant was under his protectionand was quite safe. The Quaesitor claimed to be investigating a case but whenpressed by Garius could provide no details of such and left frustrated.

On the last day of Autumn, Lauretiusarrived at the covenant bearing messages. He appears to be recovered fromhis wounds, though the sword that struck him may have been cursed by the Morrigan,for his bone still bears a mark that hermetic attempts to heal have not beenable to remove. He began by detailing all that had gone on at Blackthorn andthe results of Yania's investigations. Praeco Eloria and Primus Jordael havemade a direct request to Primus Guernicus for a new Senior Quaesitor, clearlyPonrius is not viewed as a suitable candidate for the role. Of mundane news,Geoffrey Plantagenet of Normandy has defeated the French in a great battleand a new kingdom named Portugal has been founded on the west coast of theIberian peninsula. A martial religious order, the Knights Templar has attackedDamascus in the Levant tribunal and all magi are being warned to beware ofthem. They bear a cross pattern design on their tabards and shields.

Locally, a new abbey has beenconsecrated in Bristol, the largest in the area since Tintern was burnt down.Whether or not it will have any inhibitory effect on the Fells who dwell inthat city remains to be seen. Also, our previous efforts to convince the Earlthat the "welsh warlock" who killed the knight at Mitcheldean had been slainwere not as successful as we had believed for his widow has appealed to theEarl to seek him out. I cannot see where our plan failed, but in any eventafter the curse I have suffered I now look different enough that I need haveno fear of being recognised by any who saw me that day. Finally, Lauretiuswarned us about a Welsh rebel by the name of Cadfannon who was leading localresistance against the English rule and has hidden out in the forests betweenhere and Blackthorn. He may thus pose a threat to any magi or grogs travellingbetween the two covenants and so whilst I have no great desire to battle aman fighting for the country of my birth, if he offers threat to any memberof this covenant he can expect no quarter.

Winter

At the quarterly council meeting,with just three of us present the chamber seemed very empty indeed and I foundmyself wondering if Theo with his Sight could maybe see the shades of allthose magi who once sat and spoke around this table. But it was not the timefor such idle speculations and we busied ourselves in discussing what capabilitieswe had between us and how we should share out what needed to be done. We decidedto distribute the magical items and vis from the treasury amongst the threeof us so that if threat came we would be ready to deal with it instantly,rather than having to rush down to the stores. As for our season's work, withmy proficiency in Creo, I agreed to extract vim vis for the covenant stores,Aelfwin was to develop a Creo Corporem ritual to counteract the effects ofPerdo Corporem spells and Theo was to learn Creo, with the aim of castingan enchantment to bind wounds. We also discussed how we would go about viscollecting in the new year and how we might collect vis from the boar tidebut could not come up with any satisfactory measures beyond that which wehad tried before. More troubling was the issue of the Aegis, despite the dangersthat still lurk beyond these walls, none of us are able to cast the potentversion of the ritual we have had about this place up previously, so the lesserof the two will have to suffice for now. The mundane situation also gave uscause for concern but we decided that given all the other problems there waslittle that could practically be done about those until Spring.

At the very end of the year, anEx-Miscellanean hedge wizard named Cormoran arrived at the covenant seekingto join. Jordael's contacts must be even better than we had hoped for. Quiteliterally a giant of a man, this young magus had but recently passed his gauntlet,having served under the reclusive magus, Gideon in the lands of Cornwall.We were of course only too happy to welcome an applicant to bolster our numbersand invited him to stay with us and take stock of the place. So what had becomeanother bleak year in the history of this covenant, ended with a glimmer ofhope for the future. Dark clouds yet remain on the horizon, with another diabolicmagus revealed and the malignant taint of the Morrigan still corrupting thelands hereabouts, but once again this covenant has survived, even if thereis now no direct link to its refounding and I remain steadfast in my beliefthat we will grow back into Summer and vigour once again.