1175

YEAR 1175

Scribed by Medius

Spring 1175AD

I do not intend to dwell uponthe death of Theodosius save to record those discussions that our councilhad upon the matter, but it is clear that his passing is felt in very differentways by those who reside here in Severn Temple. Though the council meetingwas far less fraught than those gatherings of last season there was stillno small amount of tension and I worry that the fault lines in our unity thatTheodosius' actions had opened will continue to grow even now that he hasgone.

As the council met it was first confirmed that announcements would be madeby Redcap informing the tribunal of the death of Theodosius, with word havingbeen particularly swiftly sent to Praefecta Orlania and Quaesitor Linaris.We also heard that Praeca Eloria had succumbed to final twilight. Given hermanipulations and aggression towards members of this council I do not believethat she will be widely mourned by my sodales.

The next matter that we discussedconcerned our mundane position with Magus Theodosius gone. We agreed thatwe must communicate with the Earl regarding the landholding here at the covenant,and to a much lesser extent that at Skenfrith. We would also need to speakwith the Prince of Powys. It is likely that Maga Dialectica will carry outthese tasks, as she seems best suited.

We then moved to the threats thatwe might face as a result of the death. We were worried that some of the faemight be moved to attack us, with Gofannon considered the most likely to strike.Aeddan was named heir to the throne that Theodosius had claimed and it isclear that there are those who would have control of him and the Crown ofMath. We were not certain whether we still had any protection from the paganspirits that have traditionally warded some of our enemies from the covenant.Ieuan remains a great threat also and none here have the ability to resisthis attacks, coming as they do from the realm of spirit. The Imperator statedthat he would be considering what plans may be made although his quick tempershowed that he feared he would be unable to come up with a satisfactory solution.It was suggested that as I was intending to visit Cad Gadu this season, tospeak with Magus Sestus, I should ensure that the elementalists that are workingon a plan to help defeat the three spirits that Theodosius unleashed uponthe world are warned that they might also be under significant threat withthe possibility that the King's Peace is now invalid.

Magus Tiarnan stated that he wouldaccompany me to Cad Gadu as he wished to speak with the Archimaga of his house,but first he would speak with the Anu in the heart of the forest to see whathe might learn. Cormoran announced that he would spend the season fishingon the river while Magus Astrius stated that he would be developing a spell.Maga Dialectica said that she would continue to write a text on the Paganfaith in Latin, this being deemed a service to the covenant. Finally the Pontifexannounced that he would spend the season training his apprentice.

Magus Tiarnan was able to communicatewith the Anu before we set off on our journey to north Wales and he quicklycalled an emergency council to share what he had learned. The Anu had toldhim that the Morrigan was still offering her protection and Magus Astriussurprised us all by confirming this. It seems that he had met with Bethwynwho had shared this knowledge with him. Magus Tiarnan continued that the Anuwas worried that Ieuan and those who back him would continue to press forpossession of Severn Temple but she felt that there was still hope. She believedthat someone needs to accept the guardianship of the spring but none had steppedforward to take this role. She also confirmed that we would still be ableto harvest the acorns that fall within the heart of the forest. I am reluctantto rely too greatly upon these entities for it remains apparent that theyhave their own motivations, but it is also apparent that the goal of preventingthe infernal forces that seek suzerainty over our covenant is one that weboth share. We agreed that whilst in Cad Gadu I would ask as to where we mightfind one with sufficient knowledge of spirits to see what defensive measureswe might establish. We will also seek to recruit any that we might encounterwho have the gift of second sight.

At Cad Gadu I was glad to hearthat the elementalist Magus Geddyn had already been warned that he and hissodales might be at risk. Their efforts have currently been placed in abeyanceuntil such time as a decision is made by the Praefecta on how to proceed.I also spoke with Prima Fenriata and she was able to advise me that thereis only one magus in the tribunal who specialises in mastery of spirits andthat is Magus Fergus of Narwold. It is my intention to visit with him in summerand see whether he may be able to offer us some aid.

Magus Tiarnan spoke with ArchimagaSylvania and was told that the death of Theodosius had caused some antipathybetween the faerie courts of stone and water. She told him that there waslikely to be another meeting of the 'King's Council'. He returned to the covenantand such a meeting was called for the Spring equinox, apparently at the requestof Gofannon. It was agreed by my sodales that this meeting would take placein our Great Hall, where members of the covenant would be able to witnessevents, although would have no voice save for that of Magus Tiarnan and MagaDialectica who had already been granted membership of this body. Also in attendancewere the Archimaga, the Knight of the stone courts Turold, a centaur calledYago representing the court of wood, the Prince of Powys, Myniddor - the Kingwho had imprisoned Maga Dialectica and Theodosius' magical owl companion Emyr.Nimue attended for the court of water where previously the Lladra had sat.As host Maga Dialectica opened the meeting and Turold stated that Gofannonhad called for the meeting as there was much to discuss following 'the murderof our king'. Maga Dialectica informed the court that before his death Theodosiushad arranged for Aeddan to be apprenticed to our Pontifex so that he mightlearn the gift of magic but that he would also be tutored in the ways of leadershipby the Prince of Powys so that the vote of the last council might be upheldand Aeddan one day be named high Prince of Wales. Nimue responded that shefelt Aeddan should be returned to the court of water but Turold said angrilythat the boy could not return to 'that treacherous watery realm'. He believedthat Aeddan should be taken to the under mountain realm where he would besafe and where he could be guided by a regent. Yago also said that he believedthat Aeddan was unready to be within the mortal world and should be placedunder Gofannon's protection. Emyr said that Gwydion wished to see the willof Theodosius done and added that if the boy remained within the faerie realmhe would cease to be mortal and would be at greater risk from the church inthe future. Magus Tiarnan also spoke in support of Theodosius' wishes andsaid that he would have the protection of the magi of the covenant but wouldbe close to all interested parties. Myniddor expressed a desire for the boyto stay with him. The Prince of Powys spoke next and said that the loss ofTheodosius was a great shock with the hope that their would be unity betweenthe welsh princes. He wanted Aeddan to unify the nation and believed thatit would be best for the wishes of Theodosius to be honoured. After some furtherdiscussion it was decided to vote on whether this should be the case. Thethree magi present, Emyr and the Prince of Powys all voted in favour, carryingthe motion against the three faerie representatives and Myniddor.

Myniddor then raised a secondmatter, that of the betrayal and murder of Theodosius by the faerie Nimue.She said that what she had done had been in the best interest of the 'King',so that he might be spared the despair of seeing his plans go awry. She saidthat he had chosen to trust her knowing full well what the consequences ofhis decision would be. There was vigorous disagreement from all others onthe council at this and Maga Dialectica pressed for further explanation. Nimueagain said that she had done only what she had done in the past before andit was her love for him that caused her to wish to free him from his pain.She took his memories and sent him free into his next life. Magus Tiarnansaid that he did not believe it was Theodosius' intention to die. Turold saidthat the court of stone did not desire war but that Nimue must be expelledfrom the council. She said that if it was the will of the table she was contentto adhere to it. Another vote was called and Magus Tiarnan, Maga Dialecticaand Nimue voted against with the Archimaga abstaining. With the votes of 5others against however she was cast from the council and it is my understandingthat this means the court of water is no longer part of this alliance. Asshe left Turold told her that if she, or any of her court, went after Aeddanthen there would be war.

Myniddor spoke again, raisinga third point for discussion. He said that Theodosius had thought Maga Dialecticaan enemy who would corrupt Aeddan and demanded that action be taken againsther. She told him and the council that she did not see on what basis he raisedsuch a matter as she had abided by all decisions of the council even whenshe did not agree with them and that there had been no betrayal by her. Emyragreed that there was no evidence of such but said he was suspicious of herfuture plans. Yago did not believe she would bear any enmity towards her ownson but expressed a concern for the ambition of witches. Myniddor said thatthe council had an opportunity to rid itself of those who might work againstit and again said that he believed Maga Dialectica sought to thwart theirplan to restore 'the world's ancient glory'. She said that her counsel toAeddan would be that he abides by his oaths and the fact that she disagreedwith the council did not make her a traitor. This continued for some timeand it was clear that none would support Myniddor sop he contented himselfby saying that he would be watching her for treachery.

Turold asked what had happenedto the Crown of Math but with Nimue gone none could answer that question.Myniddor wished for a petition to be made to Llyr that the crown be givento Aeddan and if he refused then war be brought against him, a statement thatboth Turold and Yago agreed with. Emyr suggested that a representative besent to conduct such diplomacy and Magus Tiarnan volunteered his services.Turold also said that there was one other artefact, a large cauldron keptin Theodosius' sanctum. He thought it would be safest in Gofannon's realm,a view that was shared by Magus Tiarnan but not by Myniddor who believed thathe could also keep it safe and use it were it to become necessary. A votewas called to decide between the two claims. The three wizards voted alongsideTurold with the others supporting Myniddor. With a tied vote it was agreedthat Turold and Myniddor would duel for it, the battle to take place at aneutral venue to be agreed and in three days.

Summer

Our council once more began with matters ofconcern relating to the death of Theodosius. Given that he named Aeddan ashis heir to the throne that he laid claim to we wondered whether this mightmean that there was still some protection against the three 'spirits' thatour former sodalis had released from imprisonment. After some conversationit was apparent that none had sufficient knowledge to be certain and we willcontinue to be vigilant for any sign of these entities. We also discussedfurther the threat that Ieuan clearly still poses to this covenant. The Imperatorasked whether it was possible that the spirit paths that our enemy uses tobypass our defences were accessible at all times or restricted to certaintimes of year. Maga Dialectica believed the latter might well be the case.Her understanding is that there are many paths, some of which are watchedor guarded and others long forgot or hidden. We talked again of how we mightdefend ourselves from the blade that Ieuan bears and Cormoran suggested thata ward enchanted permanently into an item such as a shield might prove useful.I agreed to speak of this with Magus Fergus this summer when I was at Narwold.

Magus Tiarnan announced that he would be travelling to Irencilla for his housemeeting. The Pontifex spent the season studying the hermetic arts from hisown personal supplies of vis and Magus Astrius chose to reforge the bondsthat he shares with his familiar Drudhuil. Maga Dialectica agreed to extractsome vim vis from the aura and Cormoran announced that he was travelling toCad Gadu where he would be studying in the library there.

My journey to Narwold was uneventful and Magus Fergus, although still young,was a source of no little information. Preventing Ieuan from walking the hiddenpaths was a feat beyond his current means but he believed that it would bepossible for us to set a watcher that we might gain some foreknowledge ofimpending attack. He would need to wake the spirit of one who had been veryloyal to the covenant and then see whether it would agree to watch the spiritworld for us, for he would not coerce it to such a task. If this can be donethen we will still need to enchant a device so that the spirit might be ableto communicate with us but I believe that we have sufficient skill withinour numbers to craft such an item. Magus Fergus will travel back with me toSevern Temple in Autumn and we will discuss a price for his services if thecouncil is agreed to this plan of action. On the matter of the sword thatIeuan bears he knows little saved what he has heard in legends. It seems sucha device is formed by magic far older that the hermetic arts that we wieldand knows of no way to defend against it, believing that a simple ward againstdemons will be of no value. His only advice was that we tell the Praefecta,which I am glad to say has already been done.

I remained within Narwold covenant for the season as they kindly allowed meto study the text that they have on the form of Animal and during my stayMagus Arcturus spoke to me further regarding the Christian cult that he hasbeen investigating. He has gained the trust of a young priest from a respectedfamily who he has set to learn more. It appears that they are practitionersof some form of magic and that they have regular meetings. He hopes to learnmore and will include any further information in the missives that he sendsso regularly. I may speak with my brothers in the Kabbalah and see whetherthey have any knowledge of Christian sorcerers. We also discussed the fellsand Arcturus here indicated that he was concerned that Maga Kira was not makingmuch effort to continue Carrion Moor's investigations into such. He believesthat Magus Arcanus would be better suited given that he has an interest intracing the history of events and has apparently learned some skill from DeCamp. There are currently gaps in our intelligence regarding activity in Southamptonand Bristol and along with Magus Augustus, who is filius Du Clerc, and myselfhe should be approached to help fill that knowledge. Finally we discussedthe current infrequency of redcap visits and agreed that there might be benefitto agreeing to sponsor a new redcap for the south of the tribunal, perhapspersuading Carrion Moor and Trevalga to join in our petition.

Over the course of the season Giovanni spent his time with the senior menin Arcturus' service who oversee his intelligence gathering and was much impressedwith the arrangement. I believe that he is keen to see if he could implementsuch a network at Severn Temple and I will certainly bring it before councilas we are in great need with the informal sources that Theodosius had nurturednow lost to us.

Autumn

Magus Tiarnan had still not returned from hishouse meeting as we gathered so the five remaining magi began by discussingwith Magus Fergus his proposal. It was agreed that this would be a boon tothe covenant but we would need to see whether a spirit was amenable to sucha task. It was also agreed that we must be careful in our activities withinthe graveyard, which is within Blackney, so that the villagers there do notbecome upset.

Several of the Magi travelled to Blackney with Fergus and he was able to weavehis enchantments under the cover that we were concerned about restless spirits.After some time an ideal candidate was located, a former grog named Jory whohad been killed in the defence of the covenant. He wants to ensure the safetyof his descendants and has a daughter still within the covenant. He also hasa son who has fallen in with bad company and a bargain was struck that hewould take up the mantle of watcher for us if we located his son and ensurethat his life passes well. The Pontifex agreed that he would set forth onthis task with Fergus. Maga Dialectica would enchant a device so that thespirit can make itself visible in the great hall and Cormoran a bell so thatall within the tower can be swiftly alerted. For the remaining two of us,the Imperator has learned something of the skill of glimpsing into the spiritworld and he resolved to see if he could become more proficient whilst I choseto learn some spells.

As far as I am aware the rest of the season passed without incident.

Winter

Over the years I have resided within the covenantthere have been many difficult and intemperate meetings of our council andsadly the cold and frosty morn on which we met proved the backdrop to anothersuch. It began with Magus Tiarnan being asked how his house meeting fared.He went into no detail but clearly it did not fare well as he informed usthat he had been renounced from House Merinita. As he started to discuss thedifficult return he had made across Europe I had the unfortunate task to informthe council that under the terms of our charter his membership of the covenantmust be revoked. It is clear that Magus Tiarnan was unaware of this stipulationand the precise clause had to be provided to him. It was agreed by all thathe would be permitted to remain within his sanctum for the year that is availablefor him to locate a new house willing to accept him into their number. Atthat point he will also have to reapply for his membership of Severn templeand I must confess to having fears regarding this. He has often quarrelledwith both Magus Astrius and Cormoran and I wonder whether either will voteto readmit him. I do not even wish to consider the possibility that he willnot find another house to enter.

After Magus Tiarnan had taken his leave of us the Imperator then revealedto the covenant that in Summer, with the full knowledge of the Pontifex, hehad travelled with Magus Cormoran to the Morrigan's Hill deep within the faeregio that lies in the forest. There he told that spirit that he was preparedto take the sword bound with the spirit of the renounced magus Ruaridh. Hetold us that the sword had been reforged to match his preferred weapon andbrought to him by Bethwyn at the end of the season. I did not speak out onthe matter, for this council has already made its feelings known, and thereis little I can do until the next tribunal. I must admit to being surprisedat the actions of Magus Astrius however. It is only just over a year ago thathe voted alongside myself not to allow Theodosius to have the sword repairedand now he seeks to wield it. Perhaps he believes that he is less prone tothe corrupting influence that this blade clearly holds but I fear that hesteps onto the same path as his once friend, the best of intentions beingno guard against the Morrigan's sway.

[The following entry has been struck from the journal: Cormoran then spokeof a curious thing. He told us that while accompanying the Imperator he hadoverheard something that the Morrigan said to him. Cormoran claimed that shehad said that Maga Audacia was killed in a dark, infernal place by a demonicserpent and that Astrius seemed to be aware of this. Given that we had alwaysbeen led to believe that the Morrigan had herself slain Audacia Cormoran hadasked Astrius about her words but the Imperator refused to talk of the matter.The Pontifex's reaction to this tale was also quite unusual as he swiftlytold us that the Senior Quaesitor had investigated the matter of Audacia'sdeath and he was satisfied. Unsurprisingly we were keen to learn more andwith Astrius' continued refusal to talk tempers became frayed. EventuallyCormoran challenged Astrius to Certamen, calling Muto. Astrius responded withIgnem and a fire appeared between them as they each attempted to transformits shape. After three rounds the flames clearly bore a strong resemblanceto Astrius' familiar and Cormoran withdrew from the challenge. I shall speakto the Senior Quaesitor about this matter however for I must tell her thatthere is a question about her findings regarding a Maga's death.]

The Pontifex next told us that he had located the son of Jory and he had beenfound a job in Blackney and his debts paid off by the covenant. Our formergrog's spirit had been bound into our service and a permanent watch has beenarranged in the area of the great hall where he can become visible. If wehear the sound of the bell the Imperator has suggested that he will fightIeuan and the rest of us should head for the great hall so that we might notbe taken in isolation. It is possible that we can use Petrus' dagger to cutour way through the veil and thus attack Ieuan directly.

With the winter looking likely to be a cold one only Maga Dialectica optedto leave the safety of the covenant, travelling with Aeddan to the court ofthe Prince of Powys. I have concerns about the long-term plans that she andthe Pontifex have agreed for the boy; surely they will not be so foolish asto attempt to set him up as a King of Wales. The rest of the magi all decidedto further their arts through the study of our libraries texts, save for MagusAstrius who elected to practice his swordplay.

Nothing further happened over the course of the season save for some goodnews at the very end. Magus Tiarnan had apparently travelled to Cad Gadu atthe beginning of winter shortly before the blizzards set in and while therebeen granted entry into House Ex Miscellanea as filius Fenriata. It seemsthat he has taken a new name to recognise this new start and will henceforthbe known as Carwyn.