1165

YEAR 1165

Scribed by Tiarnan

Spring 1165 AD

Webegan the year with a short Council meeting that did not dwell on any onesubject for long. Indeed, there were no items worth noting for posterity,other than the fact that the Pontifex chose to make a generous distributionof vis to those who had carried out service on behalf of the covenant theprevious year.

Theotravelled north to Lear Valley covenant to speak with other members of hisHouse, who had assembled there to discuss the recent election of Fenriata,who until recently served as a member of House Tremere, as the new Prima ofHouse Ex Miscellanea. Theo reported later that, in addition to several membersof Lear Valley, the meeting was attended by representatives of the House fromthe Loch Leglean and Hibernia Tribunals. The Magi expressed some scepticismabout their new Prima, though Theo managed to convince them to give her achance to demonstrate her suitability to carry out her new role, rather thanrushing to judge her on her past House affiliation. The meeting broke up witha decision to continue to watch Fenriata closely but to take no further actionat this stage.

[Tiarnan'sprivate journal: Later in the season, Medius asked to speak with me on a personalmatter. He revealed that Cormoran had petitioned the Senior Quaesitor to beallowed to declare Wizards War upon me! Cormoran declared that he believedthat I had poisoned the attitude of the other members of the Council againsthim, and that his recent misfortune, including the collapse of his plans inthe faerie regio and his subsequent punishment for blaming Dialectica foractions that rightly belonged to him, could all be attributed to me. I wasextremely shaken by this news, partly at the thought that Cormoran was soclearly unhinged, but mainly because I could not hope to win any such encounter.

Mediusinformed me that the Senior Quaesitor had asked him to intervene to see whetherthe dispute could be solved through arbitration rather than violence. I consideredthis for a moment before the sheer ridiculousness of Cormoran's actions overwhelmedme. I thanked Medius for his intervention, but I told him that Cormoran shouldact as he saw fit. I then made plans to hide should the giant carry out histhreat, but these proved unnecessary, as Cormoran lacked the resolve to pushthe matter further. I, however, have not forgotten the issue, and I shalllay plans to bring about his downfall, whether through exile or more permanentmeans. This malicious, violent, self-interested, dull-witted, malign, inconsistent,vituperative and mendacious fool will regret his actions this day. It willtake time to prepare properly, but I shall be patient and resolute.]

Summer

TheSummer Council has just finished, and I do not know whether I should be moredisappointed or angry. The meeting began in stormy fashion after I revealedCormoran's attempt to declare Wizards' War upon me. I explained that thisnow made it impossible for us both to continue as members of the same covenant,for how could I express my opinions at Council fully, when the slightest disagreementbetween the two of us might tip Cormoran over the edge once more and resultin a resumption of his desire to slay me? Cormoran displayed not the slightesthint of contrition for his actions; indeed, I sensed that he felt that hebeen magnanimous by agreeing to not to proceed with Wizards' War at this time.

Ipushed for a motion of Exilium to be declared on Cormoran, based on his frequentmalicious and ill-advised actions, his multiple censures from Council andnow his desire to kill me. I received no support from my sodales, and Mediuseven accused me of trying to blackmail the Council for stating that I wouldhave to leave if Cormoran did not! He refused to even hear the motion of Exilium,claiming that he did not believe that Cormoran's actions were deserving ofsuch a penalty. Fearing for my safety, I then asked for permission to leavethe covenant at the end of the meeting, preferring to trust to the wilds ratherthan spend more time in Cormoran's vicinity. The motion failed, which meansthat I must wait until the following meeting before I can leave. The restof the meeting passed in a blur for me, for I could not concentrate on theissues. Not content with destroying my alliances in the faerie regio, Cormoranhas now driven me from my home.

[Tiarnan'sprivate journal: Following the meeting, I spoke at length with Theo. He explainedthat he had learned - I know not how - that one of the thirteen treasuresof Britain, the Cauldron of Bran, was in danger of falling into the handsof his enemies. The Cauldron had apparently been hidden for many years, butTheo now feared that a group of diabolists including Ieuan, Idris' son, wereon the brink of discovering its hiding place. He described a hall on hillshrouded in mist, surrounded by fenlands and guarded by faerie serpents, inwhich a tapestry hung that showed the location of the Cauldron. He asked formy aid to retrieve it, since he knew that the Faerie Court of Water had beeninvolved in hiding it in some way. I readily agreed.

Withthe assistance of the Lladra, we rapidly made our way to the Court of Llyr.After some words between Theo and Llyr, which I shall not reveal here, weset forth in the company of Lady Nimue. We found the hall Theo had mentioned;after we gained entry, Theo claimed that we were assailed by spirits, whichI could not see, but he managed to drive them back. We found the tapestryjust in time, for Theo sensed that another party was making its way up thehillside. Grabbing the tapestry, we fled down towards the safety of the waters,though we were pursued by a fearsome wolf, and Theo exchanged blows with aninvisible assailant who I later learned was Ieuan. With Nimue's aid, we escapedfrom the fenlands, and she took us to a riverbank where we could examine thetapestry in peace. As moonlight fell upon the threads, we saw a path windingthrough a forest that led to a small cottage. Three hills stood above theforest, and, as we looked up from the tapestry, we saw the very same hillson the horizon. We made our way through the forest to the cottage, where weencountered an old crone who insisted we call her grandmother. She seemedto recognise Theo, and persuaded her to reveal the location of the Cauldron- it had been disguised a simple well outside the cottage. Theo made two bargainswith her to reveal the Cauldron's secrets and to have it moved to safe place,which I shall not reveal. With the task completed, we returned to the covenant.]

Laterin the season, I learned that Medius, Astrius and a few other Magi had travelledto the lost covenant of Morstow, where they had encountered and slain thediabolic Magus Caelestis. Puzzlingly, Caelestis' body had disappeared afterhe was killed, which led some to speculate that he might not truly be dead.In addition, one of Caelestis' apprentices escaped on a ship with a heavycargo that we assume to be an astrolabe.

Autumn

Asecond stormy Council meeting in as many seasons. Dialectica had returnedto Severn Temple shortly before the end of Summer, having spent three seasonsin the warmer climate of the Mediterranean as protection against the Erechwydd'svengeance. At the start of the Council meeting, she began by charging Cormoranwith Exilium once more, arguing that his actions in blaming her for handingGofynwy's sword to Sir Turold had clearly endangered her life. She declaredthat Cormoran's acquittal at the recent meeting of House Ex Miscellanea wasnothing more than a political travesty that brought shame on all involved.She cited Cormoran's continued and wilful disregard for his responsibilitiesand his lack of truthfulness before Council as evidence that he had failedto learn from previous sanctions, which made permanent Exilium the only option.In the event, the motion was defeated by four votes to three, with just Dialectica,Theo and me voting in favour of exiling the giant. Dialectica chose to useCertamen to force the matter to the only conclusion that could possibly makeany sense. However, there followed several further rounds of Certamen, witheach side taking on the other to rebalance the vote. In the end, Dialecticachose to halt the progress, feeling that if Cormoran's sodales were willingto fight so hard to keep in the covenant, then he deserved to stay. With thematter settled - at least for now - Dialectica suspended the meeting untilthe following day.

Thenext day, we reconvened to discuss our actions for the next season. Mediusdescribed events at Morstow, and he declared that he intended to visit hisreligious allies in Chepstow to see if they could offer any advice on thematter. Theo announced that he intended to visit his landholding in Powysto inspect the settlements and improve his knowledge of the area. Finally,I informed the Council that I did not intend to leave the covenant.

[Tiarnan'sprivate journal: I had made my mind up not to leave towards the end of theprevious season. The reasons were several: a desire to complete the tasksI have been set here; the support I received from Dialectica upon her return;and the desire to ensure that Cormoran's actions rebound on him not me. Timewill tell whether I have made the right decision, but I cannot help but recognisethat the bitterness I feel over this episode will cloud my views of my sodalesin the future.]

Towards the end of the season, we were visited by the Redcap Loretius. Hebrought the news that the Duke of York had declared for Henry Plantagenant,which had prompted the English King to call a second levy as he sought toprotect London from the combined forces of his enemies. Of more interest,Loretius informed us that Prima Ex Miscellanea had investigated the spiritsof one of Caelestis' companions and concluded that this was indeed Caelestiswho had died in Morstow. Praefecta Orlania had therefore declared that theinvestigation was over. On another topic, the regular meeting of House Flambeau,which had been held in the territory of the Ordo Ethiopica, had ended withdeaths on both sides.

Winter

Winterproved to be a quiet season. The Council meeting was more subdued than inrecent months, and the discussion focussed on less dramatic topics. Mediusinformed us that he had learned little from Zedekiah about Caelestis, thoughhe spent a full season with this priest. Theo explained that the land aroundthe old village of Lydney had recovered from the flood, and we agreed thatwe should redouble our efforts to ensure that the settlement there grows successfully.

Littleelse of note occurred throughout the season.