Guardians of the Forest Chapter Nine: The Eastern Marches

Crintera

Crintera is the domus magna of House Bjornaer. The covenant consists of the six members of the Bjornaer council, who run the business of the House from their island home on Rügen. The council is currently split between the two factions of the House; the Harmonists, who believe that Bjornaer magi should try to live in harmony with those mundanes who do not destroy the wild areas of the world, and the Wilderists, who fiercely protect wildernesses from the incursions of all humans. Crintera has been in its Winter season for the last 50 years due to the invasion of Rügen by the Danish king, and the subsequent spreading of the Dominion over the island.

History

Bjornaer was a Pomeranian witch (see below), and made her home on the isle of Rügen. A stronghold of paganism, the island suited her followers perfectly; as it was largely uninhabited, they could practice their magic while remaining hidden from their vengeful enemies. While a powerful force within the Tribunal, Crintera has led a relatively uneventful existence since its founding. This all changed in 1168 when the Danish king Valdemar I (along with Bishop Absolon of Roskilde) invaded the island. The heathen stronghold of Arkona was destroyed, and the nervous Christians established several churches and a Cistercian monastery to spread the Dominion. Crintera’s decision to wait out the occupation was strongly opposed by the Wilderists, but the opinion of the Harmonists within the House prevailed. Two years later, the Danes were still on Rügen when Urgen was elected Primus of House Bjornaer. Urgen was the strongest proponent of the Wilderist viewpoint, and his election was symptomatic of the prevailing thoughts of the House. No representatives from Crintera attended the Tribunal in 1172, but in 1179, Urgen himself turned up. He accused the magi of Oculus Septentrionalis of assisting the Danish invasion of Rügen, in turn damaging Crintera’s magical resources, and ultimately slew their leader in a Wizard War.

In the following years, the process of the Christianization of Rügen did not proceed as fast as was first feared, and Crintera and its resources remained largely intact. Consequently, the Harmonist faction of House Bjornaer rose to prominence. At the next Tribunal (1186) the Hawthorn Gild argued that Crintera’s wilderness had been invaded and was under extreme threat, and sought approval for a retaliatory strike, trying to invoke the “Guardians of the Forests” ruling. Despite support from the Ash Gild and (surprisingly) the Elder Gild, the Tribunal was split across factional lines, and no decision was made. However, it promised to investigate the affair further. This was insufficient for the more aggressive Wilderists, and a number of prosecutions against Bjornaer magi attacking Danish settlers followed, which most of the House considered to be just rubbing salt into their wounds.

At the next Tribunal, now 26 years since the original invasion, a young Bjornaer maga from Fengheld called Falke made a passionate plea to permit Crintera to actively resist the occupiers of Rügen. The Quaesitor Caecilius was quite firm that no wilderness had been invaded or destroyed — Crintera and its forest remained intact, a serious setback for the landmark “Guardians of the Forests” ruling. Stung by this rebuke, Crintera descended into a brief period of factional infighting — the Wilderists blamed the Bjornaer council for not acting when it could have, and the Harmonists feared that the philosophy of the Wilderists had been vindicated. At the Gathering of Twelve Years in 1203, Urgen resigned as Primus, but retained a seat on the Bjornaer council; Falke was elected in his place. Her leadership of the House has lead to the current situation; a consolidation of the Bjornaer hold over the island, which still remains sparsely populated except for the town of Bergen, established by the Danes. Only time will tell if the ancient covenant of Crintera can continue to exist with mundane settlements — and new monasteries — on its doorstep.

The Harmonists and the Wilderists

For many centuries, the followers of Bjornaer have been divided into two factions. Central to the philosophy of the House is that the wellspring of all magic is those areas that remain in their pristine state, untouched by the hand of man. To the Bjornaer, the Realm of Magic is the pristine state of the world, pre-dating the fae. The fae spring from wilderness tempered with man’s curiosity, which is why they are associated with the trappings of heathenry and the ways of man. Bound up with this philosophy is, therefore, the need to protect the wilderness from the ingress of mankind, the Church, and the fae. However, just how the wilderness is to be defended has divided the House.

Harmonists believe that the “invasion” of the wilderness by the growing human population is inevitable. There are far too few Bjornaer magi to be able to defend all the areas that need it. The solution is therefore to persuade mundanes that they need to live in harmony with the wild. If they treat it with respect, and learn to co-exist with nature rather than try to tame it, the inherent magic of those wild places need not be destroyed. Wilderists, on the other hand, are more extreme. They wish to see humankind sent back to the cities, corralled within stone walls where they can do no harm. They ensure that humans consider forests, marshes, and moors to be places of danger where wild beasts roam and untamable forces are in control. The more zealous members of this faction seek to revert wildernesses that have already been tamed to their original state, driving out settlers and protecting them from further incursions.

The Six Elders of Crintera are elected from the members of the House. When an Elder dies or passes into Final Twilight, he will not be replaced until the next Gathering of Twelve Years. Then, the remaining Elders will perform an ancient divination ritual to guide them to the next one. How much mysticism and how much politicking is involved in this decision is unknown, but there are records of at least one occasion where a Great Beast (that is, a Bjornaer who has passed into Final Twilight) has indicated to the council who the successor should be.

One seat on the council is reserved for the elected Primus of House Bjornaer. The Primus is the political leader of the House, and the leader as far as the Order of Hermes is concerned. However, for many issues, the Primus is merely passing on the dictates of the Council of Elders. Although the whole House is involved in choosing the Primus, it is the Council of Elders who choose the prospective candidates, and they have a large amount of influence on the decision. As the “leader of the pack,” the Primus’s seat is referred to as The Seat of the Wolf.

One seat on the council, that of the Senior Elder, is always reserved for a magus with a bear heartbeast, in memory of Bjornaer (who also had the heartbeast of a bear). Currently, this seat is occupied by Urgen, former Primus of the House, who has some rather radical ideas about the role of the House as protectors of the Wild. Should the elected Primus have the heartbeast of a bear, as Urgen did when he was primus, the Seats of the Bear and the Wolf are combined, and an extra seat, called the Seat of the Fox, makes the numbers up to six. The Senior Elder has the casting vote in any decision of the council, and tradition states that his words are treated with deference and honor.

Apart from the Seats of the Wolf and the Bear, there are also the seats of the Horse, the Stag, the Eagle, and the Swan. Each of these seats has traditional responsibilities. Horse is in charge of keeping track of Crintera’s magi (and Bjornaer magi elsewhere), Stag is the protector, Eagle looks outward, keeping an eye on the Order, and Swan is the leader in the rituals that take place at Crintera. The seat of the Swan has been held, for as long as anyone can remember, by an esoteric lineage of magi with the heartbeast of a heron, all of whom are skilled seers.

Setting and Physical Description

Crintera is found deep within the Stubnitz Forest in the east of the island. It is a difficult place to reach, since the covenant is located in a regio. The mundane foundation of the regio apparently consists of virgin forest — dark stands of towering pine, with clusters of larch, rowan, and beech. The unspoiled appearance of the forest is a deceit carefully crafted by the covenfolk of Crintera: in fact, it is home to many of the covenant’s servants and grogs, who dwell in widely dispersed clusters of huts that are concealed by magic. People from the hamlets near to the outskirts of the forest have numerous stories concerning the wood, ranging from animal attacks to shadowy monsters and witches. They universally shun the woods, except for the handful of pagan priests of the Forest Brothers, who are welcome within its bounds.

Stubnitz Forest is difficult to pass through, even to experienced woodsmen. Visitors are watched at all times, by both the covenfolk of Crintera and their animal allies. There is one path through the forest, called the Watching Path. Its beginning is marked by two crumbling moss-covered stones in a glade not far from the forest’s edge, and it leads right to the heart of the forest, where Crintera lies, and is the path known by Redcaps and magi of House Bjornaer. The forest is strongly aligned with the Animal Powers, mysterious entities who ruled this area before the Bjornaer came here.

Those who penetrate the regio that shrouds Crintera often take on animal characteristics related to their heartbeast. A heartbeast should be determined for every visitor to Crintera, whether magus or mundane. These animals should be chosen to fit with their personalities; thus a brave shield grog may have the heartbeast of a stag, a troubadour that of a songbird, and a crafty magus the shape of a snake. There are four levels to the magical regio, with auras of 1, 3, 5, and 8. Each regio boundary brings the heartbeast of the affected character closer to the fore; as each is crossed, every character must resist a Corpus effect with a Penetration Total equal to the Ease Factor needed to see the next level. The first regio boundary brings a Personality Trait change appropriate to the heartbeast, whereas the second, third, and fourth boundaries cause minor physical changes. If all four effects take place, no doubt is left to others as to the nature of the heartbeast of the character; although he is still demonstrably human, he is also a quarter to a third animal. Magi are rarely overcome by this effect if they have their Parma Magica active; however, it is deemed rude by the inhabitants of Crintera to actively resist this change. Of course, magi of House Bjornaer can shrug off these changes with a Heartbeast roll, should they want to.

On the fourth and final level of the regio are a number of sturdily built round-houses, with the thatch of their wide, conical roofs almost reaching to the ground. These huts are the sancta of the Elders. In the very center of the regio is a clearing containing a platform built of lashed-together logs. It is in this clearing, big enough for fifty or more people, that the Gathering of Twelve Years takes place. All around the top level of the regio are strange statues in a startling variety of forms and shapes. Atop a tree stump sits a wooden image of a squirrel; a carved stone otter lies amongst a clump of cattails; a snake of dyed and woven rushes is coiled in the hollow of a boulder; a clay wolf with teeth made of broken shells sits by a log; stone birds sit in the branches of willow saplings encircled by feather-decorated leather thongs. Every type of animal is represented, but the area somehow doesn’t seem crowded. From any given point only a few of these fetishes can be seen. The covenfolk of Crintera call these images the “Animal Powers,” and accord them a lot of respect, laying small offerings by the fetish that represents their heartbeast. The Animal Powers are truly ancient, and some say that they house primordial spirits of nature. Those touching the Power that corresponds to their own shape feel an indescribable, deep level of connection. Those who have resisted the changes wrought by the regio boundaries feel a strong compulsion not to touch the images, as do those approaching a fetish that is not representative of their own heartbeast.

The Margrave of Lusatia

In contrast with Meissen, the Margravate of Lusatia (or Luzica in its native tongue), east of the Elbe bordering Silesia, is mainly forest wilderness. Most of the sparse settlements are populated entirely by Sorbs, although it has for several generations been ruled by the margraves of Meissen.\\

Bautzen

Bautzen (Budysin), not too far from the city of Meissen, is the only place in Lusatia with any real German influence. In 1018, the Peace of Bautzen was signed here by Henry II, ceding the territory to the Polish king Boleslaus I, but it reverted to the empire in 1033. The Knights of the Sword maintain a sizeable fortification here, where slaves (mostly from Pomerania) are kept before transporting them south to the market in Prague.

Attribution

Content originally published in Guardians of the Forest - The Rhine Tribunal, ©2005, licensed by Trident, Inc. d/b/a Atlas Games®, under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International license 4.0 ("CC-BY-SA 4.0)