1176

YEAR 1176

Scribed by Astrius

Spring 1176AD

As is customary, the new yearbegan with a council and in keeping with the blustery conditions outside itwas a stormy gathering. After the shocking events at his house meeting, MagusCarwyn of Ex Miscellania, formerly known as Tiarnan, applied to join the covenant.My feelings about this were somewhat mixed for it is no secret that Tiarnanand I did not see eye to eye on a number of issues, especially regarding thepart he played in Theo's downfall. Yet, despite this personal dislike anddistrust, the circumstances of his having to reapply for membership did seemsomewhat unfair and arbitrary and so it was with somewhat mixed feelings thatI awaited the debate. In any event, I strongly suspected that Cormoran, withhis animosity towards Tiarnan having been sufficient for him to consider challengingthat magus to Wizard's War, was going to render my dilemma immaterial, forthe charter states that any vote on a magus joining the council must passunanimously.

Once Carwyn had made formal applicationto join and retired outside for us to consider his application, the discussionsbegan. Aelfwin, Medius and Dialectica all spoke well of Tiarnan's actionsin the past, Dialectica's initial words being all the more impressive consideringTiarnan's complicity in her imprisonment. Yet she tried too hard to sway meand Cormoran, and I took affront at her implication that we were not capableof putting the covenant's interests before our own personal views. I mademy indignation clear, speaking of Tiarnan's flaws and his past actions whichI firmly believed had put the covenant in danger, not to mention the factthat it was pretty clear that he did not hold his Oath above all other allegiances.However, when Cormoran's turn came to speak, matters became even more heatedas his venality plunged to new depths when he stated that he would vote forCarwyn if he was paid enough. In my shock and anger, I did not register theexact sum of vis he requested, in addition to 3 seasons service, and a fierceargument ensued. Carwyn refused to say whether he was prepared to pay thisprice, though I personally believe he was, and I angrily rounded on Cormoranfor his crass breach of the spirit of the Charter. Before things got out ofhand, Aelfwin called for a break to allow tempers to cool and for people toconsider their positions.

During the interval, Aelfwin cameto see me and asked me how I was going to vote. I explained my thoughts onthe matter and he told me that while he understood my reservations about Carwyn'snature, he himself did trust him. After a little discussion over an ale, Iagreed that if he, as both my friend and Pontifex, considered that Carwynshould be readmitted then I would cast my vote in favour of his application.There was one sticking point however, I made it quite clear that allowinga magus to buy his way onto the council was in my view completely unacceptableand and an extremely poor precedent to set. Thus, I stated that if Carwynpaid Cormoran to cast his vote in favour, I would vote against to preventtheir deal from succeeding. On this matter of principle I refused to budgeso Aelfwin went off to speak with Medius on ways in which he might be ableto work round this. After a little while he returned and we requested thatCormoran join us in my antechamber. Cormoran was unwilling to compromise,even at Aelfwin's personal request, and Aelfwin lost his temper with him,pointing out the times when he had stuck his neck out for Cormoran, and hestormed out. Cormoran and I then exchanged some further choice words and aftermaking my feelings about exactly what I thought of his plan, I told him toleave.

Council resumed shortly afterwardsand, to my surprise, instead of permitting any fresh debate, Aelfwin calledfor a quick vote. All save Cormoran voted in favour of Carwyn's applicationand as Cormoran voted against it swiftly became clear what Aelfwin's planwas as Dialectica instantly challenged him to certamen, demanding that hereverse his vote with a call of 'Perdo'. Cormoran attempted to speak out,but was called to answer the challenge immediately and so responded 'animal'.The contest took the form of each magus trying to destroy a pack of wolves.It was not a long fight. Dialectica clearly accrued a significant advantagein the first clash of magical energies and a moment later Cormoran lay unconsciouson the floor. At this point, angered by a further breach of the spirit ofthe charter, I challenged Dialectica to change her vote. We fought using thearts of creo and mentem, each attempting to make the other believe that theywere wrong. I lasted a little longer than Cormoran, but in truth not much.Medius then took similar issue with the maga and in an intellego mentem contestthe two magi sought to make sense of strange symbols and words. Luckily forCarywn, Medius fared no better than either Cormoran or myself, being renderedsenseless after two exchanges.

The next morning, when all hadrecovered, the council reconvened with Carwyn now present. Cormoran complainedbitterly about Aelfwin's actions as Pontifex in the whole sorry affair surroundingCarwyn's application and asked what he could do about it. Aelfwin answeredhis question by calling for a motion of no confidence in the Pontifex. AlthoughAelfwin did not vote himself, Cormoran once again found himself in a minorityof one as he voted in favour of the motion, though at least this time no oneattempted to use to certamen to make him change his vote.

With Cormoran's complaints stilled,at least for moment, Carwyn spoke up for the first time. He asked council'sopinion on the fey, with especial regard to the King's council and the brewingwar between courts of stone and water over Aeddyn. Our ex-Merinitan explainedsome of the issues surrounding Llyr and his possession of the crown of Maththat Theo once bore. He told us that the King's council had given him thetask of retrieving the crown, but that the line he had to walk was a fineone. If he asks Llyr whether he possesses it and the King refuses to returnit or lies and denies that he has it, then there will be war for sure. However,if Carwyn is unable to get it then he may be thrown off the King's council,thus removing another supposedly pro-Order influence from it, Archimaga Sylvaniahaving already left.

At this point the discussion movedon to other aspects of the perilous legacy that Theo left behind, namely thegreat cauldron that sits still in his sanctum. I fear that I have forgettenwhich particular pagan God or Goddess was responsible for that artefact. Withso many different skeins tangling together to make one extremely complicatedmess it was clear that no one was altogether certain of how best to proceed.So the talk moved on to the crux of the matter, what outcomes would be bestfor this covenant? And how then might we best look to achieve such?

Aelfwin felt that it would bebest for Aeddyn never to get the crown and thus avoid him having to cope withthe inevitable issues of interfering with the mundanes that would arise werehe ever crowned King of Wales. It was suggested that Carwyn goes to see Llyrbut instead of asking outright about the crown and risking provoking immediateconflict, he should try to see something of how the land lies. Carwyn wasa little equivocal about such a plan, and said that he would wait and seehow matters turn out before making any firm decisions. In the meantime hewill spend this season looking for vis along the Wye, which thus far has notbeen as thoroughly investigated as the larger Severn. Medius will ventureabroad to speak with Magus Cestus about ways in which Ieuan and his infernalservants might be defeated. He stated that it was possible he may be gonesome little time, presumably he hopes that Cestus may be able to tutor himfurther in his Kabbalistic arts. The rest of the council decided to remainwith the covenant, engaged in one form of magical study or another.

A couple of days after Mediushad left, a rider wearing strange enamelled armour arrived at our gates. Heannounced in Welsh that his Lord, Mynyddor, had bested Sir Turold in a dueland thus he wished for the cauldron to be delivered to his castle. There wassome discussion about how we would move it from Theo's old sanctum, but Cormoran'sextraordinarily powerful spontaneous arts were able to apport it safely downinto the courtyard. However, when he attempted to shrink it to a more easilyportable size he almost lost control of his magics and then, as if in response,while we stood around discussing what to do next, there was a banging soundfrom within the cauldron and its lid rattled. Remembering all too clearlyTheo's tales about how hordes of undead warriors could be summoned from itsdepths, I quickly ordered that the lid be lashed down tightly with stout ropes.As the men set about tying it down I peered at the cauldron using the secondsight that I had been gifted after reforging the cords that bind Drudwhiland I. It was an eerie and unsettling sight, for to such a view it appearsnot as a large iron pot, but instead a gateway to some dark other world. AsI reported what I could see and we urgently debated what to do, the new alarmbell sounded.

Jory, the faithful grog whoseshade had agreed to keep watch for us in the otherworld, had seen what wasgoing on with the cauldron and rung the bell that we had had constructed towarn us of any attack from Ieuan. Although we were already alert to the danger,at least we now know that our system works. Nevertheless, fearing the consequencesshould the lid not hold, it was decided that the cauldron had to be movedoutside the boundaries of our aegis. It was far too heavy to move by any mundanemeans so Cormoran bravely agreed to apport it just beyond the main gate, usingsome vis to ensure his magic was sufficiently potent. His spell was successfulso we moved to the battlements overlooking the gate to observe matters further.

The lid of the cauldron was rattling fiercely now and one of the clasps thatheld the lid on snapped. I stared cautiously at the cauldron once more usingmy second sight and could see ghostly hands pushing manically at the lid.As swiftly as I was able, I conjured walls of stone to encircle it and keepany threat contained. Then, just as I completed this, the cauldron suddenlywent quiet. As I watched warily, I suddenly saw large bestial claws reachup from the depths and the lid of the cauldron shattered as Ieuan and hisdemons flew out.

We felt the aegis breached almostimmediately and as I turned to look demonic creatures began appearing throughoutthe courtyard and attacking grogs and covenfolk alike. I had begun to castbolts of fire down upon them when suddenly, with a sickening feeling in thepit of my stomach, I remembered who Ieuan's first target would be. I sprinteddown as fast as I could, pausing only to fight off a couple of demons thatattacked me as I emerged from the base of the gatehouse. Cormoran apporteddirectly to the doorway of the keep, but the doors were barred shut from theinside and were beyond even his prodigious strength to open. Seeing this,I wasted little time and blew them open with the Incantation of Lightning.Inside lay a scene of carnage as several of the covenfolk had been butcheredthere by Ieuan and his infernal allies. Cormoran and I ran on past this andup the stairs that lead to Aelfwin's sanctum. As we approached I could hearscreams and I feared for a moment that I had tarried by the gate too longas I espied the body of Aelfwin's daughter Erica lying just inside the doorwayto his laboratory. Drudwhil was a little way ahead and I saw him lunge atan enemy who was hidden from my eyes. As I cast my sight beyond the veil andsaw the figure of Ieuan and a large winged demon beside him, I felt a suddensearing pain in my side as Ieuan cut Drudwhil badly with a vicious sweep ofhis sword. I screamed in both pain and rage and lunged forwards, my blow strikingtrue. It was a strike that should have killed him, but he had bound anotherdemon to protect him and there was no wound upon him, just an unearthly screamas his demon was cut from this world.

Meanwhile, Cormoran used Petrus'sdagger to cut through into where Ieuan and his demon stood. With Ieuan engagedin a fierce swordfight with me, the demon turned its attention to this newthreat and Cormoran bravely stepped through to meet it. Ieuan proved to bea skilled swordsman and after parrying my overhead strike, he riposted witha heavy blow that broke a few of my ribs and caused a deep gash that beganto bleed heavily. I could feel my strength ebbing as I lashed out, activatingthe last of the Morrigan's powers to enable the blade to strike across theveil. This time I was quicker than my foe and my blow sent him reeling, bleedingheavily from a savage blow to his shoulder. The demon that had been fightingCormoran sensed this and moving with preternatural swiftness grabbed Ieuanand with a single beat of its great bat-like wings it was gone.

Although we had triumphed andfought off the attack that we had been dreading this past year, the mood aroundthe covenant afterwards was sombre. Aelfwin's daughter lay dead and we discoveredthat Ieuan had taken time to set our mundane library ablaze, focussing hisefforts on the extensive tomes on pagan lore. Unfortunately many other bookswere also damaged, including much of the irreplaceable works on magical theoremsby the late magus Corlear. In addition, the cursed cauldron still sat outsidethe gates, mocking our efforts to move it. Dialectica bravely set off to speakto Mynyddor to see if he had any means to fetch it himself.

From Astrius's private journal:

A few days after the fight with Ieuan, theMorrigan sent me another dream. In it I heard the beat of a raven's wing overa windswept hill in Wales and, looking up, saw a tall black tower on an islandoff the mainland. The raven landed on the sill of a narrow window slit andpeered within. There sat Ieuan, heavily bandaged, one hand on a black bladewhose surface held no reflection. Two dark-robed and hooded figures then enteredthe room, Dionysus and Cassitus. Cassitus's skin was deathly pale, with blueveins prominent in their faces, much as one might see in a fresh corpse. Cassitushanded Ieuan some vis to heal himself, which he did, though he remained waryof him, and Dionysus too, was deferential. Then Cassitus appeared to sensesomething at the window and the raven flew off. As it did so the vision shiftedand I heard the Morrigan speaking to me. She told me that there will be anotherbattle with the same enemy though I will have time to prepare. This time thefight will be when I am away from Severn Temple for now Ieuan sees me as thethreat. She said that she would let me know if she sees any signs that suchan attack is imminent. She also claimed that many in the House Tremere servelike the lich that Cassitus has become and that if I call she will come forthey are her mortal enemy and for as long as I bear the blade then such aidwill be freely given. For all that her aid was invaluable and her prophecytrue concerning Ieuan, and such corrupted magi as he are my sworn foe, I cannothelp but wonder, I am treading the same path that Ruaridh, Theo and othershave walked before?

Dialectia returned a week or so later withthe news that Mynyddor was prepared to accept the cauldron if it was placedon the border of the regio in which his castle stands. Cormoran agreed totry and apport the cauldron to get it there, but once again something wentawry with his spell and the magic instead sent him plunging down through thegateway the cauldron holds open in the spirit world.

The remaining magi met to decide what we coulddo to rescue Cormoran. From what knowledge Dialectica and Carwyn have of thecauldron, it is likely that Cormoran is lost very deep within the otherworld,beyond even Arawn's gates. After some debate, it became clear that even findingCormoran, let alone getting him out, would be difficult indeed so I dranka magical elixir of Carwyn's that he said would grant me an answer to onesuch question. As I stared down into the Spring, looking for guidance on howbest we could rescue Cormoran, I saw myself walking quietly and cautiouslyup to Arawn's gates, and slipping through while the hounds that guard themwere fed and thus distracted. The scene then shifted and I saw myself passthrough a dark forest, the Morrigan blade held in one hand. I had the strongsense that I had been fighting, though I bore no obvious injury. Ahead, onan old road I saw a hooded figure standing there. Time blurred somewhat asI saw the scenery about me change, though ever present just ahead of me wasthe same hooded man. First I was on a mountain, then standing in front ofa large castle, then inside the castle in a great hall where many strong andproud warriors sat amidst walls covered with weapons and trophies of war.Finally I stood amidst grey fields where crows sat in dead trees staring downat me. Hanging from one of these trees was Cormoran, a crow pecking at hisside. As I cut him down, he spoke my name and the vision cleared. I askedDrudwhil who he thought the hooded man might be and he suggested that it couldbe an ancestor of mine.

I returned to my sodales and told them whatI had seen. Dialectica explained that Mynyddor would grow angry if we failedto deliver the cauldron and that would likely put her and Aeddyn in dangeronce more. With such further peril to another of my fellow magi my path seemedclear, even if I quailed slightly at the thought of what lay before me. Soit was that I journeyed once more to the Morrigan's hill, to ask her to takeme to Arawn's gates. Although she was willing to do so, she told me that Drudwhilwould not be able to accompany me. I had little option but to press on withouthim, so while she distracted Arawn's hounds I quietly slipped through thegates as I had seen myself do in the vision at the Spring. I found myselfin shadowed, haunted woods where I was assailed repeatedly by shades of thedead, but I was able to drive them off with my blade without great difficulty.As foreseen, ahead lay an ancient road, upon which stood a hooded man whosevoice seemed strangely familiar. To my surprise I suddenly realised that thiswas no ancestor of mine, but the shade of the renounced magus Idris. The factthat his shade had been spared by the Quaesitori offered me little comfort,but I was now committed and so reluctantly followed him on.

We took a boat across a river, the touch ofwhose waters Idris warned cause forgetfulness, then provisioned ourselvesat his house where his wife and an ill-tempered black hound also dwelled.Then began an interminably long walk up into the mountains. Deep within sucha powerful regio I found it hard to keep track of how much time had passedand as the miles dragged on, a deep, bone-weary fatigue set in and it tookall my willpower to continue putting one foot in front of the other as I followedIdris's dead and untiring feet. We stopped only when I collapsed out of sheerexhaustion, unable to walk any further, but these breaks were few and farbetween. As the castle loomed up ahead, Idris told me that we would need thelord of the castle's permission to go any further. He stressed that the lordwas a powerful king and should be treated with the utmost respect. When wefinally reached King Arwen's castle, Idris waited outside and I walked intoArwen's great hall alone.

Once inside, I approached the throne that stood at the far end of the hall,my heart beating quickly as I did so and I bent my knee before the King. Iwas then surrounded by the strong and proud warriors that I had seen in myvision at the Spring. While I waited for their decision, I could hear somethingof the debate that went on and from this it was clear that they held Cormoranin low esteem. As for me, they judged that I was not yet worthy to sit amongstthem, but that one day I might be if I found the wisdom that I would needto guide my sword arm true. In the end it was agreed that Cormoran's lifewould be given to me and that I was allowed by my virtue to return him tothe lands of the living. Having been granted such a second chance, I was toldthat Cormoran will henceforth be judged by his gratitude to me. King Arawnthen saw fit to gift me with a little of his wisdom, his words, which I shallnot forget e'er so long as I live were that "a true warrior's heart isloyal and valorous, but also wise. Be not blind to the truths of the world,even for loyalty." I was also warned that I should not come before himagain before my appointed time, and if I did this would be taken as a graveinsult.

With these words ringing in my head, I walkedback out, conscious of the gazes of his warriors still upon me and feelinga strange mixture of pride and fear. Idris seemed surprised to see me, sayingthat I was a remarkable man to have entered the hall and left again. Withthat, we set off again along the long road and I fell into a mindless rhythmof walking as the minutes turned into hours, turned into days. By now, I hadlost all sense of how much time had elapsed since I had entered Arawn's gate,but I was vaguely conscious of the long beard that I bore and my worn shoeleather and bleeding feet. Yet still we marched on.

Eventually we came to the grey fields wherecrows sat and pecked at bodies hanging from dead trees. Idris said that thiswas where those ill-favoured by Arwen were put. As I had seen in the vision,it was there that I found Cormoran and cut him down. We shared a brief conversation,then headed back towards the mountains, but this time in the foothills wecame across a cave. Idris bid us farewell at this point and Cormoran and Iwent on into the darkness. After a short while the cave narrowed and becamesteep enough for us to have to start climbing and after a time, although Idid not notice when the change happened, the rocks beneath my fingers turnedinto metal rungs and then suddenly above my head was the wooden lid of thecauldron.

The feeling of relief when Carwyn opened thelid and we clambered out was indescribable. I lay on the ground staring upat the sun for a long time, before I was helped into the infirmary whereuponI fell into a deep and dreamless sleep from which I did not awaken for threewhole days. I awoke to find that Dialectica was missing, presumably beingheld by an angry Mynyddor. Reluctantly, though with no little courage consideringwhat had happened when he had attempted it before, Cormoran cast a spell toapport the cauldron into Wales. Happily, this time he was successful and itwas not long before Dialectica returned, Mynyddor having released her whenthe cauldron appeared.

Medius returned not long after, having found a gifted child on his journeysand so it was with much relief that such a tumultuous season ended, with allmy sodales safe and well with our covenant.

Summer

The council meeting began with me recountingall that had occurred in the rescue of Cormoran. There was some further debateas to whether or not the issue of Ruaridh's spirit in the Morrigan blade shouldbe raised at tribunal. All though almost all were agreed of the need to keepthe blade, given that it was only the blade he empowers that drove off Ieuan,sadly it seems that the death of Iannos still drives Medius's stubborn refusalto countenance any compromise on this issue. There was further discussionconcerning the nature of the spirit world that lies about this covenant, butno one was knowledgeable enough on the subject for any conclusion to be drawn.We can only hope that magus Petrus, who once dwelled here, may be able toshed some further light on this matter.

Medius reported that missive had been sentto a member of the Kabbalah who may be able to create wards that can stopdemons coming through. Given all that I have seen of the Kabbalah's powerin battling the infernal this is certainly a matter worthy of further investigation.Medius then suggested that we re-establish a spy network, to be run by Giovanniwith Hugh of Huntley in day-to-day charge. Again, a sensible notion that allwere agreed was a good idea.

Later that month, as Dialectica and Giovannia went about setting up the network,they learnt from Hugh that a small merchant caravan had been attacked by werewolveswithin sight of Huntley Priory. After ensuring that the survivors, one ofwhom had been afflicted by lycanthropy, would not be spreading any furtherrumours of demons and beasts within the forest, they returned to the covenantto inform the council what they had discovered. Dialectica believed that withTheo dead then the werewolves of Huntley were no longer bound by the King'speace. To find out exactly what had occurred, Dialectica and I travelled downto the woods close to the site of the attack. Dialectica cast the ritual 'Eyesof the Past' but before she had time to see what had happened, Drudwhil wasattacked by two werewolves. I slew one and the other fled at the site of theflaming sword I bore.

Not wanting to risk facing the whole pack byourselves we hurried back to the covenant where an emergency council meetingwas called. I had severed the head of the dead werewolf and brought it backwith me, so Medius cast 'Whispers Through the Black Gate' upon it. The shadeclaimed that the pack still held to the King's peace but that Theo had notanswered their calls. It tried to claim that it was we who had broken thepact by slaying it, dismissing their initial attack on Drudwhil as a "mistake".There was little else we could learn from it, so when the moon was next full,Carwyn and I stood atop the walls facing towards Huntley and I called outin the tongue of wolves. After a pause one of the werewolves howled back.The shifter said that the pack would hold to the pact so long as we did notinterfere with their plans to take "not a large number" of womenfrom the nearby villages to restore their numbers. I suppose at least we inSevern Temple and Blackney remain safe for now, though it sorely pains meto think of them kidnapping and infecting more innocent womenfolk. Althoughan uneasy peace reigns for now, mark my words, there is still a reckoningto come between the werewolves of Huntley and I.

Autumn

The autumn council meeting began with Dialectica'sannouncement that she would be spending the season with Aeddyn in the Welshcourt for he is now 14 years old and thus considered to be a man in mundanecircles. In accordance with the deal struck with the Prince of Powys he willbe made a squire. While this role should not prove too onerous and is onewhich many magi of House Jerbiton have undergone before, there may be problemsahead when he reaches the age of 18 and will then be expected to be knightedand to take possession of his noble inheritance. In connection with this,Carwyn asked what the current legal status of our lands was, given that theprevious landowner, Theo, is dead. Dialectica replied that she needed to speakwith the Earl of Gloucester who is still away fighting in England's bittercivil war. She explained however that there were two principal ways we couldgo about reacquiring the titles to our holdings. The first would be to declareAeddyn as Theo's named heir and thus look to directly inherit the lands. Thiswould probably be the most straightforward way of doing it, but runs not inconsiderablerisks as he is not a member of our concilium, nor is he even a magus as yet.The other option would be to appeal to the Earl's favourable view of us givenhow previous magi helped his father and simply to offer to buy the lands asrequired. In any eventuality we will need to cede ownership of Skenfrith givenits strategic importance and great size, but Dialectica thinks that we shouldbe able to retain Briavel, Blackney and probably Lydney too, though this lattersettlement may be slightly more difficult should the Baron of Chepstow stillharbour a desire for those lands.

Medius announced that he will travel to Narwoldto speak with Arcturus and possibly Fergus too. Dialectica reminded him thatgiven the Duke of Norfolk is fighting against the King there may well be problemswith armed men on the road to that covenant. As the maga had predicted, barelythree days out of the covenant, while riding a little way ahead of the restof the small group, Giovanni espied a group of well armed brigands on theroad ahead. To avoid any conflict, Medius ordered them to hide within a smallcopse that lay a little way off the main road. During the night, Giovanni,who had been on watch, was attacked by three vicious humanoid creatures withlong, raking claws. Fortunately Medius and the two grogs were able to reachhim quite quickly or it could have gone ill for Giovanni as the creatureshad borne him to the ground. The creatures were no match when it came to aneven fight and, although Medius suffered a nasty gash, they were wounded andfled off into the dark woods. Once things had calmed down, Medius was ableto determine to their relief that the woods had a faerie aura and thus theirwounds would have no diabolic taint. Medius was subsequently able to reachNarwold without further incident, delivering a letter from Helena to Matthew,telling him of the sad news of the death of his sister.

Meanwhile, Carwyn ventured forth to attemptto fulfil his previous pledge to search the river Wye for possible magicalor faeries sites of interest, and with luck, vis. To the subsequent greatdelight of several members of council, when Tiarnan checked the 'TrellechStones' that lie just across the river from Clearwell village, he found thatthe lichen that grows on them contains intellego vis. His familiar, the otterKai, also made a discovery, locating a magical cave that can only be accessedby swimming up a dark and narrow underground river that feeds into the Wye.Inside this cave dwell eels, one of which, a particularly large and viciousone contained animal vis. On the bank above the entrance to this cave it issaid that ghosts of the drowned can be seen on certain nights of the year.Nearby, in one of the many beds of reeds that dot the rivers throughout theDean, lurks a reed witch who claims to be kin to the one that dwells downriverfrom Blackney.

Winter

At the winter council, Medius relayed troublingnews that he had learnt from Magus Arcturus about the Christian cult thatthe tribunal had set him to investigate. It seems that the prime movers inthis cult are nobles, one of whom is the Baron of Chepstow, as well as somemonks from Tintern Abbey. Even more alarmingly, this cult of pious knightsuses not just simple ritual magic, but quick to cast spells of some designthat mimic many aspects of hermetic magic. If they do possess something akinto our gift then clearly something must be done. Given the membership of theBaron of Chepstow, he who covets the lands of Lydney, we shall have to watchout local situation more closely than ever. Dialectica will try and determinewhether she can extend our nascent spy network to watch matters. Interceptingmail between the members of this cult may prove not to be very helpful forMedius said that their communications are heavily encrypted and have as yetdefeated Arcturus's best efforts to decode them.

After Carwyn's announcement of his find ofintellego vis, it was agreed that it should be registered as soon as possibleas a covenant vis site. As well as the moss, he reported that he had alsofound an ancient-looking bronze shield with pagan designs of a red and a whitedragon fighting. Drudwhil recognised it almost immediately as the shield of'Dylan Eil Ton', which means 'son of the wave', another pagan god of the sea,who legend has it is married to the Lladra. As I recalled from conversationswith Theo, the red and white dragons fighting refers to Wales and England.However, Medius stated that the shield was an item belonging to the UnNamedHouse. He claimed that the serpents appear to be stylised to be consumingeach other, a known symbol of the UnNamed House. Although Dialectica pointedout that the device he was referring to was in fact a single serpent consumingitself, he would not be shaken from his opinion and stated that no magicalinvestigations could be undertaken of the shield until we knew more aboutits origins. From her readings of Mynyddor's library while imprisoned, Dialecticawas able to shed some more light on these. She believes that the shield isone of the legendary twelve treasures of Britain, along with the crown andcauldron that Theo once owned. Given that Dylan Eil Ton is supposed to bethe Lladra's husband, Carwyn will try and speak with her at the Spring afterthis meeting to see what can be learned from her.

Dialectica then reported that our scribe has begun the long and delicate processof copying out the water-damaged tomes from our mundane library and that,as covenant service, she will begin to copy Corlear's notes on magical theory.Carwyn suggested we petition Cad Gadu for a fresh copy of the works on paganpractices and beliefs, which all agreed on.

After the council meeting was finished, Carwynwent to speak with the Lladra and learned that the shield was indeed craftedby her husband. The Lladra also added that ancient prophecy had it that oncethe King is crowned then the other ancient treasures of the land will slowlyemerge, although they all 'belong' to Aeddyn, as 'King' Theo's heir. The treasureswere hidden long ago using powerful magics to hide them from both man andfaery. She suggested that if Carwyn wished to learn more then he could seekout her husband 'where the waves beat the shore'. He apparently commands greatwhite horses that live in the surf near the coast. She then asked for theshield herself in the name of Llyr, but Carwyn refused, saying that it wasAeddyn's.

Late one evening, a little over a fortnightlater, Drudwhil told me that he had been sent a dream by the Morrigan in whichshe told him that Dionysus had moved out of his place of safety and was inthe mountains of Wales, searching for something. The Morrigan claimed thathe was taking a big risk in doing this and it presented an ideal chance toput an end to his evil. The last that had been officially reported of Dionysuswas in the Spring of 1159 AD when Magus Lauretius reported that he had passedinto Final Twilight. Unsurprisingly, given his clear dislike of those lesslatin members of the Order and the suspicions of many, including my pater,that he was engaged in sinister, maybe even infernal, practices, his partingwas not much mourned. However, although he had been declared lost to the Order,it was not clear to me whether I could legally take his life so I went tospeak on the matter with Aelfwin, who in turn suggested that I speak withMedius. The quaesitor, while he made it clear that this was to be an investigationinto what had happened with Dionysus, not the hunt that Drudwhil was so enthusiasticfor, was very amenable to heading out in search of him. So, next morning,guided by Drudwhil, his eyes the eerie blue colour that they always take onwhen he is on the hunt, we set off, taking our respective consortis, Giovanniand Owain with us. After taking the barge to Skenfrith, we alighted just outsidethe town's walls to avoid raising suspicion among the local populace and Iconjured horses for us to ride. Fortunately the moon was still new and wesaw no sign of the werewolves as we passed by the forest that surrounds MynyddMyrrdyn.

On the fourth day out, as we entered the mountainsproper and the weather grew cold and wet, Drudwhil sensed that our targetwas near and we would reach him tomorrow. The next day we crested a ridgeand saw below us a deep valley, covered with dark woods, in the midst of whichstood a lone ruined tower. I did not need Drudwhil to tell me that this waswhere our quarry lay. Owain asked his magical kite, Aradd, to fly over theforest and when he returned, he reported that there was a group of four armouredmen in a camp a short distance from the tower, but he had seen no sign ofanyone fitting Dionysus's description. Before we set off, Medius appointedme formally as his hoplite. We approached cautiously, moving up through thewoods to the south. However, in the process of crossing the river that runsthrough the forest, Gionvanni slipped and made enough of a clatter in hischainmail to alert the men whom we took to be Dionysus's guards. Neverthelesswe pressed on as stealthily as we could until we reached the edge of the clearingin which the remains of the tower stood. Although it had lost at least thetop storey and its roof, the ground floor was still wholly intact and it wasfrom within there that the shadow of a man was glimpsed for a moment. Drudwhil,who was in no doubt whatsoever about the corrupt nature of Dionysus, was chafingat the bit to attack and as we hesitated, he ran round to try and come atthem from behind.

Meanwhile the armoured men had made it intothe tower and their sergeant issued a forceful challenge to identify ourselvesor he and his men would open fire with their crossbows. I counselled waitingand holding our position where we had good cover behind the trees, but Mediuswas determined to press on and loudly declared himself. He then got up tomove forwards across the one ground to the tower. Before he broke cover, Ipressed Medius to make clear what actions we would take if, or more likelywhen, it became clear that Dionysus was indeed a lich. To my astonishment,Medius stated quite bluntly that lichdom was a perfectly legal state withinthe code and as such no action could be taken against him. I urgently demandedto know how he came to such a bizarre conclusion, pointing out that from whatlittle I knew of the subject liches were dead flesh made animate by the ghostsof magi and as the ghosts of magi are outside of the Code, then so too wereliches. Medius was however unmoved, stating that it was merely a variant onthe longevity potion. Brushing aside my vociferous protests Medius stood upand walked towards the tower. I was deeply reluctant to follow him, but ashe had named me as hoplite I had little choice but to follow him. First howeverI conjured a wall of protecting stone to block off any firing angles thatDionysus's men at arms might have. As we drew closer, Dionysus himself appeared,his face all but obscured by the heavy dark robes that he wore. After a slight,ominous pause he too declared himself and invited us into the tower. Watchinghim closely I did so, all too aware of the four armed men who stood within.The presence of Giovanni and Owain to even up the numbers reassured me a little,but not greatly, for while neither Giovanni nor Owain lacked skill at arms,Dionysus's men had the look of seasoned killers.

Once inside, Dionysus offered us some foodand wine, Medius glanced at me to see whether I thought this was a good idea,but I shook my head firmly. If Dionysus noticed, he paid no heed and wentdownstairs, away from the men, where we could talk in private. The cellarof the tower was dark and poorly lit, so without waiting for Dionysus's permissionI conjured light about it. Dionysus recoiled as though pained by the light,saying that the twilight that had afflicted him had left him exquisitely sensitiveto light. He asked me to drop the spell, but I simply shrugged, telling himthat I was unable to call back the magics. He did not seem overly perturbedby this and his pale, blue-veined hands quickly formed the shapes of perdoand ignem and the bright light vanished, leaving us once more in near darkness.

Dionysus exchanged pleasantries with Medius,telling him what had happened to him since his apparent final twilight. Oncehe had established that we had come here alone, without any wider tribunalinvolvement, he made some excuse and reached into a pouch at his side. Themotion aroused my suspicions, but I hesitated, for a critical moment, feelingunable to act first without clear proof of hostile intent. Dionysus quicklyrendered any such mental debates academic a second later when he produceda skull from the bag and I felt my parma crushed. Although I felt a slightdizziness for a moment, nothing else happened, but as I drew my sword andlunged forwards, I caught sight of Medius's eyes, now clouded and milky white.Although the Morrigan blade I bore plunged into Dionysus's chest there wasno resistance and his image simply winked out, appearing a pace to my left.I almost wept with frustration and anger at falling for such a simple trick,especially when our situation was so dire.

Dionysus must have exchanged some prearrangedsignal with his men, for I heard sounds of steel on steel upstairs. I couldonly hope that Owain and Giovanni would have the time and wit to drink theirpotions. As Medius fumbled for his potion, I tried desperately to use my secondsight to get an idea of where Dionysus stood, but even as I did so I feltmy parma flattened again. This time my resistance was not so strong and Ifelt my tongue twist into a useless spiral, leaving me incapable of utteringa sound, either to cast a spell or to invoke the Morrigan's power to aid mysword arm. However for a fraction of a second I thought I caught a glimpseof a black void cast in the shape of a man and with a strangled cry of rageI swung desperately at it. This time I felt my blade strike something solid,but my triumph was short-lived for my parma was almost immediately flattenedagain. Although I felt naught but a brief moment of nausea, I knew that itwas only a matter of time before Dionysus managed to punch some other maligneffect through my parma. I lashed out again where he had been but my bladefound nothing but empty air and with Medius having apported out, my fingerswere already reaching for my potion when I felt my parma collapse once againand the world went dark.

So it was that I appeared in the infirmary,blind and mute. Aelfwin quickly restored my vision, but told us that the covenantdid not have enough vis in its healing reserve to remove the effects fromboth of us. After some clumsy sign language, Medius signalled that the visshould be used to heal me first, something that I was not about to disagreewith for it was clear to me that if Giovanni or Owain were going to returnthey would have already done so. This meant that Dionysus had two potionsof the leap of homecoming in his possession.

An emergency council was swiftly called andit was decided that the Aegis of the Hearth should be re-enacted to preventDionysus or anyone else using the potions to enter the covenant. While theothers cast the ritual, Cormoran and I would wait in the infirmary lest anyoneapport through before our magical shield could be restored. As I write thesewords I still find it hard to believe that we were all so dull-witted. Howcould we have failed to think to simply break the slab that the arcane connectionsin the potion were taken from? How could we who call ourselves magi have beenso stupid? Aelfwin would surely be here today if just one of us had thoughtclearly. Yet I must remember that while this tragedy could have been averted,we are not responsible. Aelfwin's blood lies on the hands of Dionysus andDionysus alone. At least I had the foresight to check my sword and saw thatI had drawn blood, or at least some foul approximation of it, when I struckDionysus and I took care to wipe it off with a soft cloth, pocketing thatfor when an arcane connection might prove useful.

Time passed, though I know not how long exactly,when suddenly I felt my parma collapse. Cormoran and I had been sitting withinjust a few feet of the apportation point within the infirmary and yet neitheror us had sensed anything. Despite this it was obvious that Dionysus had renderedhimself invisible and used one of the potions. Cormoran bellowed with angerand charged at the spot but Dionysus had clearly moved quickly and there wasnothing there for Cormoran to hit. As I felt my resistance assailed once more,I decided that to stay inside the room merely gave Dionysus the opportunityto render both of the covenant's battle magi blind or worse and so I divedout into the corridor to take myself out of his sight and to hopefully setup some sort of ambush for him. Inside I could hear Cormoran crash around,but judging by his frustrated cries it was clear that he was having no luckin finding Dionysus. Thinking quickly I conjured a light coating of dust aboutthe floor outside the doorway in the hope that Dionysus's footsteps mightbetray his location and thus give me the chance to land a proper blow uponhis dead flesh.

All suddenly went quiet within as Cormoran,weakened and physically aged by Dionysus's corporem magics apported himselfback to his sanctum. While I have criticised Cormoran for leaving the fieldof battle early before, this is one occasion when no accusation of cowardicecan be levelled against him, indeed he fought valiantly, albeit in vain, andfor longer than might have been reasonably expected. Unfortunately Dionysusmust have spotted the dust and as I waited, sword held high above my head,ready to strike at a moment's notice, a wind blew the dust away. I could seeno sign of him, even with my second sight, so I didn't wait around for theinevitable attack and instead dived for the spiral staircase in front of me,taking the steps three at a time in my desperation to break line of sightbetween me and him. As I waited round the bend in the stairs, catching mybreath, I heard the door that led into the great hall open. I raced up thestairs to the next floor and hurried out to the musicians gallery that runsabove the hall. I cautiously stole a glance down below and saw a horrificsight. Dead serving folk lay all about, blood running from their mouths, andoff to my right I noticed one of the reinforced double doors swing slowlyshut. He was outside.

I turned and sprinted for the stairs that Iknew lay on the far side of the tower and would perhaps grant me the chanceto flank Dionysus. As I emerged into the cold night air, I hurried to thecorner of the keep and looked around for signs of his passing. To my furtherdismay I saw a grog on duty above the Spring Gate suddenly clutch at his chestand topple lifelessly off the wall. Dionysus was obviously not too far away,but to my frustration I was still unable to sense him so to cover my approachI conjured a thick blanket of fog about the covenant, using the Sight of TrueAir to see through it. As I crept closer I caught sight of a dark figure atopthe gate and let rip with a ball of flame from Garius's wand. However as thefire washed harmlessly about the figure I saw to my surprise, and no littlealarm, that it was not Dionysus but the dread figure of the Morrigan. Shetold me that she had cast her shadow about the covenant and at its touch Dionysushad fled. I could sense the rebuke in her words for my failure to attack himwhen I had the chance. Although I bitterly regretted not putting an end toDionysus's cursed existence, if Dionysus he still is, when I took the swordI made it clear that I would hold to my Oath above any common cause we mighthave and would not act as her champion and obey her every command.

Yet it was only a quarter of an hour laterthat I learnt just how bitter such regrets would prove to be for as the fogcleared it revealed the body of Aelfwin lying lifeless just outside the wall,his heart crushed as he tried to recast the Aegis with Dialectica and Carwyn.A further roll call revealed that both the castellan and the captain werealso dead, along with at least half a dozen coven folk. Suppressing my angerand grief as best I could I set up organising the surviving grogs to makesure that what defences we still had would hold good, then joined in the recastingof the Aegis. Medius, now the Pontifex, called an emergency council meeting,though he was still blind and dumb from Dionysus's magics. Perhaps predictably,tempers ran hot during the meeting as we discussed in full the events thathad gone on and after a furious exchange with Carwyn during which I refusedto be silenced, he eventually found the courage to challenge me to certamen.We fought using Intellego and Ignem and fuelled by anger and frustration Iwon without too much difficulty. Matters returned to what Dionysus might havebeen looking for in the Welsh mountains, given what we know of his and HolyIsle's past interests it seems likely that he was looking for one of the legendarytreasures of Albion, though his purpose for doing so is not known.

The discussion was kept relatively quick forit was imperative that we inform the rest of the tribunal of the attack, so,after I quickly scribed letters describing what had gone on for PraefectaOrlania, Cormoran apported to Blackthorn to speak with the Senior Quaesitorand Archimaga Gyriania. Fortunately for us, the archimaga was present andpromised to bear word of the attack swiftly to the praefecta and nearby covenants.

Two days later, Serenia and Orlania arrivedat the covenant, though by this time I had left to go and fetch Drudwhil,who had managed to escape albeit with a wound and was making slow progresson foot back home. Orlania was able to restore Medius to full health, butunfortunately she was unable to help Cormoran, for it seems that Dionysusused the spell 'Curse of the Leprous Flesh' upon him, which was beyond hermeans to heal. Meanwhile, Medius called another emergency council meetingand declared Trepidus for its duration in order to appoint a ministrator.He asked Dialectica, but she refused, so, after some hesitation, he askedCarwyn, who reluctantly accepted, doubtless seeing the responsibility as lessonerous than risking having Cormoran as Pontifex should anything happen toMedius.

With a Ministrator appointed, Medius left withOrlania to journey to Blackthorn where the tribunal's battle magi were assemblingfor the hunt. Cormoran's affliction meant that he was unable to join themand instead flew to Lear Valley to seek out Erin. Luckily Erin was dwellingwithin that covenant over winter and was able to heal Cormoran, though hewas sorely grieved to learn of his filius's death. Meanwhile, Medius attemptedto guide Orlania and the others back to the tower, but was unable to findthe valley where it lay. After searching fruitlessly for a little over a week,Orlania returned to Severn Temple to try and track me down. Fortunately Ihad met up with Drudwhil quickly and was home when she called again. We didn'ttarry, though when I joined up with the others I confess that my heart sankto see just how few defenders of the tribunal the Praefecta had been ableto call upon. The last couple of decades have proved costly for those of ournumber who can fight. Maybe I should look to my arts and think about takingan apprentice sooner rather than later. In any event, with my better knowledgeof the welsh countryside I was able to locate the tower within a couple ofdays. However, as we had suspected, there was no sign of Dionysus and theblood that I had carefully wiped from my blade had vanished. Prima Fenriatareported that there were signs of infernal magics having been used and tellinglythere were traces of an excavation that had taken place after the fight, thoughwhether it was successful is unknown.

Using blood stains found on the stone stepsleading down to the cellar, Senior Quaesitor Serenia was able to find thebodies of our fallen comrades Owain and Giovanni. Let their long and loyalservice be recorded in this journal for as long as this covenant that theyserved so bravely endures. Serenia spoke with Giovanni's shade, which wasable to tell her that Dionysus had magically commanded him to tell him allthat he knew of Theo's crown and any other ancient pagan artefacts. This meansthat Dionysus now knows that Llyr holds the crown, Mynyddor the cauldron andCarwyn the shield, though I understand that soon after the expedition hadbeen concluded Serenia took the latter into her possession for detailed investigation.More importantly, Serenia ruled officially that Dionysus is no longer a memberof the Order of Hermes and is to be treated as a renegade who shall be givenno quarter and destroyed on sight. This will be formally confirmed at thenext tribunal.

As we returned to our respective covenants, Orlania informed me that she isplanning to propose the creation of permanent hoplites for tribunal and plansto speak with Moravius about commissioning items to enable such magi to communicatequickly between one another.

Once home again, just before the end of whathas been the hardest and darkest year I have yet faced in my time at SevernTemple, I appointed Eadhild as Captain. While she might not be the brightestof our grog contingent, she has proven her valour and loyalty on more thanone occasion and I am confident that she will hold the turb together untilwe can find a long-term successor.

From Astrius's private journal:

So what to do? Now perhaps I can see howRuaridh and maybe others before him broke their oaths. The danger that theMorrigan represents is far more subtle that I had previously imagined. Myblood burns with the desire for revenge on Dionysus and the rest of his unholycabal in Holy Isle and I am certain that the Morrigan will provide me withwhatever is within her power to help me obtain such just vengeance. Yet whatof the Code? I know that Drudwhil chafes at its restrictions, and there canbe no doubt that fighting enemies who clearly laugh at their oath, while youhold true to yours, is akin to duelling with one arm tied behind your back.But if I veer from the Code, where does that leave me and all that I standfor? I do not for a second believe that I would be as bad as those I fight,for even were I to break my Oath, I would still have my humanity and senseof right and wrong, but what of honour and fidelity? My pater took great careto impress upon me the importance of such virtues, yet what if the only wayto root out the canker that festers in Holy Isle is to put them aside? ShouldI cleave true to my word even if it means the death of me and those that Ihold dear, and the victory of evil? As I sit and stare out across the darkwoods that surround my home it seems like an almost impossible choice. YetI feel in my bones that I will have to make such a choice sooner rather thanlater.

Garius's wand rests on the laboratory tablein front of me and I can see the names that he inscribed upon it, a recordof all those that I once held as true friends, all now dead. Garius, Jordael,Theo and now Aelfwin too. There is no one left anymore with whom I feel sucha close kinship with as I did with those four. Dialectica maybe, but the longyears in Mynyddor's prison have changed her. There is coldness and a suppressedanger inside her now that was not there before and in truth she scares mesometimes. Medius I trust, though he is not a man whom I could ever call friend,and his gross misjudgements of late have proven costly. Cormoran and Carwynare still as selfish, fickle and unreliable as ever.

But enough of this self pity, if I am toclaim the title of warrior then I must accept that the path I walk will oft-timesbe a arduous one. I came through the pagan lands of the dead unscathed sosurely I have the strength to prevail now. If hard decisions arise then Iwill make the choices as best as I am able and face whatever consequencescome from them.