Chapter 10: The Order of Hermes

This chapter describes the current state of the Stonehenge Tribunal. It has recently taken on new vigor, and has nine active covenants, all with a substantial number of members. The history of the tribunal is recounted in the History chapter, and the current politics in the Politics chapter. This chapter is devoted to providing a snapshot of the Hermetic landscape.

Daily Life

Daily life in a covenant depends greatly on the nature of the place, and some guidelines will be given in the individual descriptions below. However, there are a few things that can be said in general. First, none of the covenants of Stonehenge are completely isolated from the mundane world, so the descriptions of mundane life given in earlier chapters should be taken as a starting point. Many things will be brought in from outside, and if a covenant recruits new staff, they will bring current customs with them.

Second, the members of covenants will tend to be less pious, on average, than normal people. They will often not have easy access to a church, and they are the sort of people willing to risk their souls working for magi. Third, they are familiar with magic, and will not be deeply shocked to see magical effects. This also means that they won't be too bothered by the Gift — they are used to dealing

with people who give them the creeps, and used to being polite. These two aspects should be played up. Usually, the player characters will feel more at home in a covenant than outside, even if they are visiting their enemies.

Finally, anyone dealing with a magus at sunrise or sunset will stop a moment before it happens, so that the magus can restore his Parma Magica, and so that any expiring spells won't cause major problems. In covenants where a lot of magic is used, people might even scramble for floors they know are real, and make sure that they aren't leaning on anything.

Customs of Stonehenge

All tribunals have their own customs, and these customs almost have the force of law. You could even be hauled up before the tribunal for breaking them, if you had enough enemies. They vary across the Order, so magi who trained in another tribunal might be a bit surprised at some aspects of life in Stonehenge.

The Redcaps

The unGifted Redcaps are not attached to any particular covenant, instead traveling constantly around the country. There are five of them, all men, as they have to travel alone: Jocelin, Perceval, Great William, Little William, and Edgar. They are based at a substantial house, called Mercer House, a little way outside Coventry. Mercer House is built in a weak magical aura, and contains a Hermes Portal which connects to Harco, the domus magna of House Mercere in the Roman Tribunal. Each Redcap has an enchanted item which can cast a higher level version of Leap of Homecoming once per day. This effect will bring a Redcap and his horse back to the central courtyard of Mercer House from anywhere in the tribunal.

The Redcaps, therefore, travel to covenants by mundane means, and use the magic to return to Mercer House, usually leaving from just outside a covenant's Aegis of the Hearth. Each covenant is visited every other month, and unless something goes wrong the Redcap will arrive two days after the full moon, and stay for three days. Blackthorn, Semitae, Schola Pythagoranis, Burnham, and Ungulus are visited in one month; Cad Gadu, Libellus, Nigrasaxa, and Voluntas in the next.

It is customary to give the visiting Redcap three purses, each containing twentyeight pennies. The first is given when he arrives, in thanks for the messages. The second is given at noon on the second day, for his goodwill, while the third is given when he leaves, to speed the delivery of those messages entrusted to him. This money pays the Redcap's general expenses, and also pays for the maintenance of Mercer House.

Normal messages are delivered to a covenant the next time it is visited, which will be one or two months later. Messages for other tribunals are taken to Harco once a month, and messages for other tribunals from Stonehenge are collected from there. Thus, it will take one or two months for a message to be delivered, and at least the same length of time for a reply.

The Redcaps

Jocelin: Jocelin is in his late twenties, and has brown hair and beard, and green eyes. He has a soft spot for new covenants, and is usually the only Redcap a new covenant sees for a few years. He tends to ride his horses a bit harder than necessary. He has a ring that gives him magic resistance, and an enchanted shield.
Perceval: Perceval is in his late forties, and is thinking about retiring. He is married, and his wife, Lucy, and children live at Mercer House. His eldest child, Guy, is only ten, as he married quite late. Lucy thinks that Maud, their two-year-old daughter, has the Gift, and Perceval thinks she may be right, although he fears that this is just wishful thinking. He is tall and thin, and rapidly going bald. He refuses to take his red cap off, even when he is inside, although it is not enchanted. He will offer help to any covenant in a crisis, but thinks that people should be able to handle daily life for themselves. He has a brooch which can make him and his horse invisible.
Great William: Great William has giants' blood, and is just under eight feet tall, and broad in the shoulders. He is in his mid thirties, and wears his blonde hair and beard unfashionably long. He is very interested in the theory of magic, and has a quick mind and surprisingly wide knowledge. He has boots that allow him to walk faster than normal, and a large axe enchanted to be more accurate — he is not a very skilled fighter.
Little William: Little William is only little next to Great William — he is well over six feet tall, and even more solidly built than Great William. He is in his late thirties, but has managed to get a longevity potion out of one of the magi in the tribunal — he will not say who, or why. He is the only Redcap to wear armor as a matter of course, and he normally wears chainmail armor enchanted to be lighter. He is a very skilled fighter, and carries a sword and shield. He takes great pride in his fighting prowess, and relishes opportunities for practice or training.
Edgar: Edgar is the newest Redcap in the Tribunal, in his early twenties. He is very good looking, with light brown hair and gray eyes, and he has a definite way with women. He doesn't have any magical items yet.

More urgent messages can be sent. Generally, a Redcap will only be able to deliver one urgent message, as he would not have time to visit more than one covenant in the month before he is due elsewhere. Redcaps will also take messages to places other than covenants, but only as special journeys. The covenant must give the Redcap a gift in return for this favor, and the minimum acceptable is 28d. Larger, or magical, gifts will make you popular with the Redcaps, however.

It is also possible to convince a Redcap to stay longer at your covenant, perhaps to give you time to write a reply to a message. This simply requires inviting the Redcap, and if he wishes to stay, he will. Obviously, if his stay is being made pleasant, he is more likely to stop — using magic to influence him is against the Code, as is threatening him if he doesn't want to. The only limit to this is that he will leave in time to reach the next covenant on his itinerary, and that he might not have time to make any special journeys.

Redcaps are required to deliver messages that they accept, to the magus to whom they are addressed, the next ime they visit his covenant. A message may also be addressed to a whole covenant, in which case the Redcap must read the message out to a council meeting. They may, however, pass the duty on to other Redcaps as they wish, although there is no obligation to do so. Since the Redcaps choose which covenants they visit, a message may be delayed indefinitely if the Redcap holding it avoids visiting the addressee's covenant. The only exception is a Tribunal Summons, which must be delivered at least six months before the tribunal takes place. This custom is rigorously enforced, because Stonehenge has recently called a tribunal outside the normal cycle. Redcaps are required to accept messages for normal delivery, but have total discretion as to whether they will accept special journeys.

Tribunals

There are two features of the tribunals of Stonehenge that are obviously different from the rest of the Order. First, the tribunals are held a year later than elsewhere. This is a very recent change, being introduced in 1201 as described in the History chapter. Second, the oldest maga in the tribunal is not the praeco. Immanola, the prima of Ex Miscellanea, was blocked from the position by Blackthorn some years ago, on the grounds that she would be unduly biased towards her own house. Since then, the praeco has been Talion of Blackthorn, and the tribunals have been held at that covenant. This situation is not popular with the other covenants, but no concerted action has yet been taken.

There are a number of other distinctive features, of less substantial import. The first event of any tribunal is a highly formal introduction of all the magi. The praeco calls each magus forward, and he then gives his full Hermetic name and covenant affiliation, and affirms that he has at least one sigil, with which he intends to vote at the tribunal. The presiding quaesitor then inspects his credentials, and announces "Sic est" — "It is so". (No one has ever bothered lying here, as it would be too easy to get caught.) When the introductions are completed, the quaesitor announces whether the tribunal is quorate (at least twelve magi from at least four different covenants). It is only in the last twenty years that tribunals in Stonehenge have been reliably quorate, and inquorate tribunals have spent days debating to no useful end in the past, so the tribunal feels the need to be sure.

Although the praeco still has full discretion as to the order of business, a strong convention has grown up that matters dealing with relations between the Order and outside bodies are dealt with first, and matters dealing with relations within the Order second. After issues concerning external relations are dealt with, apprentices are admitted as magi, and the tribunal is formally closed. The youngest magus present then protests that there are matters between the sodales to be resolved, and asks for a new tribunal. The praeco then convenes one on the spot, without going through the formal rigmarole of introductions, and business continues. One important effect of this is that, legally, there are two tribunals at every meeting, and it is possible to challenge one without challenging the other.

The origins of the custom are a little hazy, but seem to date from the Schism War, when there were several extraordinary tribunals in Stonehenge, and disputes between covenants were strongly discouraged. At this time, apprentices were admitted at the end of the tribunal. After the Schism War the fiction of tribunal unity was maintained, and for a few decades inter-covenant disputes were actually dealt with at separate Tribunals. In time, this was felt to be absurd, leading to the current ceremonies.

While the formal closure and reopening of the tribunal are unlikely to be set aside, covenants and praecones use a number of tricks to make the order of business more flexible. A dispute in which one covenant accuses another of interfering with the mundanes, for example, could be counted as external or internal business, while a dispute over a vis source might be presented as a matter concerning the mundane ownership of land, and thus an external question. The only fixed point, in effect, is that all apprentices are admitted as magi at the same time.

The Peripheral Code

A.A. 1347 (AD 1208) • Financial Matters

No covenant may put more than a reasonable amount of magically created silver into circulation in a year. A reasonable amount is two pounds per resident of the covenant, whether magus or mundane.
• • •
Towards the end of the twelfth century, a number of Stonehenge covenants, including Blackthorn, Burnham, and Voluntas, were using large amounts of magically created silver to increase their power and wealth. The result was widespread inflation, and the value of silver halved over a couple of decades. The tribunal in 1208 decided that this counted as interfering with the mundanes, and made the above ruling to keep things under control. An attempt was made to punish those responsible, but it was easily defeated.
As gold is not used as currency in England, it was not covered by the ruling. However, the magi of the tribunal are now aware that making too much of a thing will reduce its value, and so use moderation.

All the Redcaps and quaesitores of the tribunal are expected to attend the meetings. The quaesitores do not, officially, vote. However, it is customary for each quaesitor, including the presiding quaesitor, to instruct one of the unGifted Redcaps to vote a certain way on each issue. Technically, these "magi" vote with their own sigils, but everyone knows what is really going on. On occasion, the praeco has made use of the same device to get a vote, but this is less well accepted by the rest of the tribunal.

This custom seems to stem from the very end of the Schism War, when Houses Guernicus and Mercere worked together to bring peace to the tribunal. Tribunal records show that the quaesitores actually voted with their own sigils at a couple of these meetings, and it is unclear when the current arrangements started.

UnGifted Redcaps do not vote on their own account, nor are they usually counted when deciding whether a tribunal is quorate. This is because the problem was always getting enough covenants, not magi, and the unGifted Redcaps have no covenant affiliation.

The Covenants

This section describes all the "official" covenants of Stonehenge. You may start play with magi as members as one of these covenants, or change things to better suit your intentions for your saga. The simplest way to do this is simply to have the player magi, perhaps with the assistance of one or two older magi, found a new covenant. There are no covenants in the West Country — Devon and Cornwall — and the region is eminently suitable for magical colonization, being near the ruins of Sursum and Stellapser, as well as Glastonbury Abbey and other sites associated with Arthur. The information given in this chapter, and elsewhere, remains accurate, but everyone has to deal with the foundation of a new covenant.

A second option is to alter one of the covenants given here, replacing some of its members with the player magi. This allows most of the information given to remain intact, especially if the player magi are recent arrivals, and thus have not yet been able to influence the covenant's political actions. A third option is to simply add an older covenant, and alter the history and politics to reflect its presence. The new covenant can be as isolationist as you like, thus reducing the influence it could have had. Indeed, you could combine this with the "new covenant" idea, and have Castrum Antiquum or the London Covenant reappear, complete with newly gauntleted magi. This would guarantee that the players would be at the center of Hermetic attention for a few years, and provide player characters who could plausibly be as ignorant of the society around them as the players.

Of course, you can ignore all the information given here, or simply plunder it for ideas. It's your saga.

Similar considerations apply to the magi given as members of the covenants. As it stands, the numbers of members of each House roughly match the proportion of each House in the Order as a whole, with a slight excess of Ex Miscellanea as the domus magna is in the Tribunal. However, changing the names, sexes, and House affiliations of these magi will not cause any major problems in the material. You should also bear in mind that the descriptions given are their reputations — these may be inaccurate, or carefully cultivated masks.

Magus Ages

Each magus is given an approximate age. A young magus has been out of apprenticeship between zero and 30 years, a mature magus between 20 and 70 years, an old magus between 50 and 100 years, and an ancient magus over 80 years. In a few cases, ages are given more precisely.

Blackthorn

Until recently Blackthorn was the dominant political force in the tribunal. Most meetings were not quorate, which meant that the covenant could not be called to account, and at those which were it routinely controlled most of the votes. This changed radically over the last twenty years, and the magi are scrambling to adjust.

The Hunt

One of the stories depicted on the walls of the great hall at Blackthorn is the Capture of the Wild Hunt. In the early twelfth century this group of faeries terrorized Wales and the Marches. They would appear on moonless nights, and sweep down from the sky to pursue hapless mortals across the land, finally seizing or killing them just before dawn. When they attacked a group they would only take one member, and anyone who could reach a church was safe, so the story spread.
Flumen of Tremere decided to deal with the fay, and prepared magic that would allow him to run quickly and tirelessly. He then took to wandering the area on dark nights, waiting for the Hunt. Finally, in 1154, it came for him. He fled from it, running on the strength of magic, and the howling faeries pursued him closely. No matter how fast he ran, they were able to keep up, but they always stayed just a little behind him.
He ran into the mountains, and into a cave near Blackthorn. The Hunt poured in after him, barely noticing the iron-bound doors at the entrance, or the veins of the metal in the walls. Their cry echoed in the caves, which curved back on themselves. Flumen dashed out of the entrance just ahead of the faeries, and slammed the doors shut with his magic. The cold iron was enchanted, and not even the most powerful huntsmen could break through it. Their cries of frustrated rage echoed through the mountains for weeks, and although they have now stopped, no one has seen the Hunt since.

Physical Appearance

Blackthorn is located in a warren of caves under the Black Mountains in south Wales. Some of the caves are natural, but most have been excavated by Blackthorn and Tagelyn over the last two hundred years. The main entrance is at the back of a large cave in the mountains. The door is covered by an elaborate illusion of a rock wall, which even fools the sense of touch, and is constantly guarded, from the inside, by two of the grogs. There is a small window in the door which allows them to see the cave, and this window is glazed. It is impossible to find the door by mundane means, other than by going systematically over the wall of the cave with an axe and waiting to cut into it.

The interior of the covenant is not normally lit (see "Covenfolk," page 120), but most of the passages have been altered so that they have smooth floors, an even width, and high ceilings. Much of the covenant is off limits to visitors, and most of this area is within the sanctum of one magus or another.

Most visitors only see the area set aside for tribunals. This centers on a large hall, which soars into the rock overhead. It is magically lit, and the walls are decorated with murals celebrating the glorious history of Blackthorn. There are fine wooden tables and chairs around, and an elaborate platform at one end for the praeco and presiding quaesitor. There are two doors to the hall: one behind the platform, and one at the other end. The praeco and the presiding quaesitor normally enter through the door behind the platform, everyone else using the other door.

A dozen suites of rooms for visitors surround the hall. Each suite is entered through a small guardroom, with a door that can be barred and which contains a spyhole. The guardroom leads into a common room, off which are a kitchen, latrines, dormitory, and four private bedrooms. Blackthorn will provide servants if requested, but many covenants prefer to bring their own. Supplies are normally provided by the hosts, but particularly paranoid magi may bring their own. The guest suites are well furnished, and are decorated with yet more wall paintings exalting the great deeds of Blackthorn's magi.

Customs

Magi visiting for the tribunal will be ushered into the covenant as soon as they arrive, and shown to their suite. The seneschal always offers the use of the covenant's servants and supplies, even if the magi have obviously brought both. Delegations are welcome to stay for a month after the tribunal, at which point they are expected to leave. Very few people take up the whole of this offer, but it is not unusual for magi to stay another couple of days after the tribunal finishes to conclude personal business.

Invited guests arriving at other times will be treated in much the same way. Unexpected visitors will be stopped in the cave at the entrance, until a magus comes to decide what to do. This applies even if the visitor is a mundane; if someone knows that the covenant is there, the magi want to know what is going on. People who have been invited by a particular magus may be asked to wait in the cave until that magus can be brought. Even then, they will rarely be taken anywhere but the guest quarters, as it is necessary to pass through the sanctum of one of the members of the covenant to reach the covenant's common areas. No magi of the tribunal would risk entering the sanctum of a Blackthorn magus.

Magi

There are six magi at Blackthorn. It is generally believed that there is a strict hierarchy within the covenant, but the details are not known to anyone outside it.

Talion of Flambeau is the second oldest magus in the tribunal and, with the disqualification of Immanola, the praeco. He has weathered age and Twilight remarkably well, and is still in full possession of his faculties and, as far as anyone knows, magic. However, he is very, very careful about using spells these days. He favors elaborate robes in deep greens and blues. An ancient magus, he was renowned for his mastery of Perdo.

Iudicium of Guernicus is the senior quaesitor of the tribunal, and presides at the meetings. The combination of praeco and presiding quaesitor in one covenant enabled Blackthorn to maintain its grip for many years. He is not known for any remarkable accomplishments, although he is a solid lawyer, competent wizard, and capable politician. He even looks average, although old, apart from a writhing tattoo of a scarlet serpent on his left cheek, the memento of a long-ago Twilight. Iudicium is an ancient magus, and maintains the standard Guernicus interest in Intéllego and Mentem magic.

Golias of Tytalus is a puzzle. He is an old magus, but maintains the illusion of being just out of apprenticeship. His hair is brown and unkempt, and his eyes are clear blue and, somehow, look innocent. No one is fooled, but everyone is kept off balance wondering why he bothers. He is the best political dealer in Blackthorn, the more so because no one really knows what he is up to. No one knows his magical interests.

Goliard of Tremere is the most vigorous maga in the covenant, and is described in the insert on the next page.

Fornax of Tremere is Goliard's filia, and her parens still holds her sigil. She is a mature maga, and looks to be in her mid thirties. She is fairly ugly, with lank hair and scars on her face, and has never been known to be polite to anyone. She is rumored to specialize in Rego and Mentem, and to use them to make people entertain her.

Prelum of Tremere is also Goliard's filia, and her parens still holds her sigil. She has been a maga for less than ten years, and forms a remarkable contrast to Fornax. While not beautiful, she is certainly good looking, with long red hair and good teeth. She is always polite, and usually pleasant, although she can be very insulting while still keeping all the rules of formal politeness. She also seems to have a remarkable talent for Vim.

Covenfolk

Any person conceived or born in Blackthorn can see equally well in full darkness or full daylight. The covenant draws its covenfolk almost exclusively from those born there, so there is generally no need to light the rooms or passages. The magi either use magic, or have a servant carry a lantern.

The servants are divided into a number of groups. The guards wear chainmail, and are responsible for general security. The public staff wear dark green, with black trim for those in positions of authority, and are responsible for the guest areas. These are the staff who will be assigned to visitors. The general staff wear black, with red trim for those in charge, and are responsible for running the shared areas of the covenant. They are occasionally seen in the guest areas, usually carrying messages, and do not talk to guests.

Each magus has his own group of servants, dressed in dark red with a badge indicating the magus served. This group includes guards, and cannot be commanded by any of the other magi (although they are required to be polite). Members of this group are often seen in the guest area, accompanying their master.

It seems that Blackthorn rotates people through the groups, because visiting magi never seem to see the same people two tribunals running. For similar reasons, no one has ever been able to estimate just how many staff the covenant has, although there are dozens at the very least.

Goliard of Tremere

Goliard filia Flumen is, apparently, the leading light of Blackthorn. If she is not the leader of the covenant, the members are engaged in an elaborate charade to make sure that people think she is. She is approaching ninety, and looks to be in her early forties. Her black hair has streaks of gray, and her brown eyes are slightly bloodshot. She normally wears simple clothes, often simply bleached white rather than being dyed. However, she also possesses formidably elaborate robes of purple and crimson, decorated with gold embroidery and studded with gems. She normally wears these for the formal ceremonies at tribunal — the opening, the admission of apprentices and the fake closing and opening, and the real closing — but otherwise dresses in her simple outfits.
Her parens was also a member of Blackthorn, and it is generally believed that she was actually born in the covenant. Flumen was the apparent leader of the covenant before her, and she took over when he passed into Final Twilight in 1187. It is generally believed that she is trying to regain the position of influence that the covenant lost twenty years ago, although she has not done anything overt or shocking.
A couple of incidents from her past are generally known, however. Early in her career she investigated a series of rockslides in the Black Mountains, as the involvement of enemy covenants was suspected. Instead, she found that an elemental spirit was taking revenge on humanity after breaking free from an ancient binding. She managed to restore the binding, and take control of the spirit. As far as anyone knows, it is still under her control.
Several decades later, she led an expedition into the Atlantic Ocean. She was missing for four years, and was found, unconscious and badly battered, washed up on the sand in Chester, by one of the Redcaps.
Any magus who wants to deal with Blackthorn normally finds himself talking to Goliard. She is an effective negotiator, and always does, or at least attempts to fulfill, anything she agrees to. She is quite keen to forge relationships with other covenants, but most of the established covenants are wary of getting entangled with Blackthorn.

Burnham

Burnham covenant, in the far northeast of the tribunal, has little to do with the other covenants. It has only recently begun sending representatives to tribunal, and they abstain from most votes. It keeps similarly aloof from mundane affairs, relying on the grant of immunity that it obtained from Stephen during the civil war and had confirmed by Henry II afterwards. This grant allows them to maintain their castle without giving anything in return — or, at least, anything obvious. No one is sure whether they are just a group of careful mediocrities, or have great and deep plans.

Physical Appearance

Burnham is a stone motte and bailey castle, with a river diverted to form a moat about both parts. Both the bailey wall and the keep appear to be of mundane construction. The wall around the bailey is simple, without defensive towers, although there is a parapet, and grogs stand guard on top of it. The bailey contains the living quarters for the covenfolk, the stables, and the workshops for craftsmen, as well as the kitchens.

The keep is reached via a steep stairway, and contains the sancta of the magi, the library, and the council chamber. The top is crenellated, and magi are occasionally seen on the top, conducting rituals. Outsiders are not allowed to enter the keep, and only certain of the servants have that privilege.

Customs

The covenant does not welcome visitors. The Redcaps are treated well enough to avoid resentment, but are never asked to stay longer. Uninvited guests, even magi, are turned away, and requests to visit are always denied. A magus with urgent news might be able to get an audience in the bailey, but such an event would be very rare.

Magi

Aindread Ex Miscellanea arrived at Burnham shortly after his apprentice's gauntlet, and has, as far as anyone knows, only left once since, to present Caitlin at tribunal. He never answers letters, nor does he write to any other magi. He is a mature magus, but his magical interests are unknown.

Caitlin Ex Miscellanea, Aindread's filia, sometimes represents Burnham at tribunal. She is a young maga, heavily freckled and with mismatched eyes (one blue, one brown). She dresses smartly, but not ostentatiously, and is polite to everyone who talks to her. However, she refuses to be drawn into negotiations, and has shown a remarkable indifference to very tempting offers.

Focus of Flambeau is Scintilla's filius. Nothing else is generally known about him.

Scintilla of Flambeau came to Burnham from the east of Europe at the end of the twelfth century, bringing Focus with her. She is rumored to be a powerful fire maga, but she has done nothing noteworthy since arriving in Stonehenge.

Sachiko of Merinita is probably female. Caitlin first voted with her sigil at the 1201 tribunal, and that is the first that the rest of the tribunal knew of her. Her sigil has appeared at the subsequent tribunals.

Trutina the Quaesitor joined Burnham in 1195, and has attended all the tribunals since, as custom demands. She says little, and normally instructs the unGifted Redcap acting as her proxy to vote with Iudicium of Blackthorn. She refuses to be drawn into conversation, citing quaesitorial neutrality if necessary. She is very beautiful, with long dark hair, and she normally wears dark robes, either dark blue or deep red. She always wears a silver pendant in the shape of the badge of House Guernicus. She is a mature maga, and her magical interests are unknown.

Covenfolk

Burnham's covenfolk don't talk to outsiders. They are all well dressed and equipped, although nothing about them really draws attention. The covenant does recruit from outside, apparently from outside the tribunal as well as locally.

Cad Gadu

Cad Gadu is the domus magna of House Ex Miscellanea, and the residence of the oldest maga in the tribunal. Normally, this would give it great influence, but since most members of Ex Miscellanea neither know nor care where their domus magna is, and Immanola is not the praeco, the covenant is relatively unimportant. This doesn't seem to bother its members, and the covenant keeps largely to itself.

Physical Appearance

Cad Gadu is located in a set of regiones in North Wales. The mundane level is an island in a lake amid the mountains of Snowdonia. There is a wooden jetty, with a guardpost at the end, at the only point where a boat can be landed. The rest of the island is edged with sheer cliffs. These are only about twenty feet high, but this is enough to make landing from a boat very difficult.

The mundane level contains three stone cottages, with stables attached to one of them. These provide accommodation for visitors who do not want to risk entering the regiones, and each contains two rooms, one with a hearth. The ruins of the first covenant buildings are still visible, and the cottages incorporate parts of the old structure, so that they have unusually elaborate windows. There is nothing of value in the ruins, of course. A path starts between these cottages, although not at any of the doors, and leads off across the island. The path is paved in white stone, and edged with larger white stones. About fifty yards from the start it passes between two white pillars, and, about a hundred yards beyond that, it does so again. This path will take you between the levels of the regio.

The first boundary is between the first two pillars, and successfully crossing it brings you to the main structures of the covenant. These consist of two large U-shaped buildings, one on either side of the path. Just beyond them, the path forks, and each fork passes through a trilithon. The lintel of the left-hand trilithon is sanctum marked, but the right hand one is plain.

The building to the right of the path contains the guest magus quarters, council chamber, and library. The guest quarters form the central wing, while the library is on the left and the council chamber on the right as you face the building from the path. It is built of stone, but is not decorated. Guests are not allowed to enter the library, and there are magical defenses on it to keep them, and most covenfolk, out. The magi and servants charged with its upkeep have talismans which allow them to enter safely.

The building to the left contains the servants' quarters, kitchens, and great hall. The great hall is in the center, with the kitchens occupying part of the left wing as seen from the path. The area behind the building is devoted to grog training, and an area of trodden dirt is marked off with ropes.

This level is still on an island, and the lake can be seen from the path. A mist hangs over it at all times, however, cutting the shore off from view. Visitors are discouraged from going further into the regio, and warned to stay on the path if they do so. On the next level the path follows a ridge with long, sheer drops to either side, with occasional side tracks leading to caves, the first of which have sanctum markers over the entrance. Reports about higher levels are conflicting: one visitor found a tiny island, barely six feet across, in the middle of a stormy sea, while another found a meadow that seemed to stretch for ever. It seems likely that there are several higher levels, and the magi of the covenant may not know about all of them.

Customs

Uninvited visitors are always turned away at the jetty. Unless the characters want to make a war of it, they will have to send a letter via the Redcaps and get an invitation. This is hard to do, as the covenant does not want to encourage visitors. This is one reason why they are reluctant to host the tribunal. However, a magus offering a useful trade of books or vis may be invited to the covenant to finalize the deal, as may a magus who has particularly important information or who has done the covenant a great service.

All the magi and covenfolk can pass freely between regio levels, provided that they stay on the path. Young children are kept on the main level, and once they can move around they are kept indoors, or on a leash outside, until they are old enough to be trusted not to wander around the regio. This has become the basis of the coming of age ceremony, where the child's parent cuts the rope holding the child to her. This normally takes place around the age of eleven, but it can happen earlier or later in particular cases. Once it has happened, the person is considered an adult in all respects, so the turb has some very young grogs.

The covenant council chamber has a seat for Pralix, and any council, even when there are outside visitors present, always pauses for a few moments at the beginning, and the chairman opens it by saying "Well, it looks like Pralix isn't coming." The magi will explain that, while they don't really expect her to return, it is possible that she might, and they don't want to be disrespectful. They refuse to answer if asked where she might return from, but most people think that she went into the higher levels of the covenant's regio.

Magi

Immanola is the prima of House Ex Miscellanea, and is described in the insert on the next page.

Gharad Ex Miscellanea is the second oldest maga in the covenant, but time has taken a greater toll on her than on Immanola. She is almost blind, and repeated Twilights have left her seeing things that aren't there. Her delusions are never dangerous to her, but they can be hazardous for others. Fortunately, she rarely leaves her sanctum.

Gwrhyr Ex Miscellanea is a blustering incompetent. He is an old magus, and looks about fifty, with pepper-and-salt hair and a full beard, and always wears ornate robes embroidered with mystic symbols. He is not particularly bright, nor magically powerful, but he constantly demands the "proper respect" for his abilities. He does, however, know how weak they actually are, and doesn't put himself in situations he cannot handle. His greatest abilities, such as they are, are with Rego.

Culhwch Ex Miscellanea, a mature magus, was Gwrhyr's apprentice, and had to suffer the older magus's insecurities. As a result, he has grown into a bully, and is particularly fond of taking it out on mundanes. He has rather more talent than his pater, and will probably overtake his former master in power, a prospect he anticipates with relish. He is rather small and thin, and wears simple robes. There is usually a smell of burning about him, and he is particularly skilled with Ignem.

Findabair Ex Miscellanea can see how fallen and pathetic the magi of the covenant are, and wishes that things were different. However, she is too wrapped up in her own pleasures to do much about it but whine, which she does with delight whenever she can get an audience. Findabair is still a young maga, and is stunningly beautiful, with long blonde hair, blue eyes, and a perfect figure. She uses magic so that she can eat and drink as much as she wants without losing her looks. She normally dresses to seduce.

Covenfolk

All the mundanes at Cad Gadu are deeply grateful that Immanola is in charge, and dread the day that she dies and one of the other magi takes over. They spend most of their time trying to keep out of the way of the magi, with the exception of some of the young men, who hang around Findabair.

Gwydyon the librarian is the most important mundane in the covenant. He serves as autocrat as well as librarian, and the library is, as a result, somewhat neglected. He will not allow the books to actually become damaged, but he doesn't keep very careful track of them, with the result that some have been taken by magi and not returned, and the whole collection is poorly organized. He is in his early fifties, and a large man. Much of this is now fat, but he still has some of his youthful strength. He used to have some initiative, but he is now resigned to simply preserving the status quo.

Branwen, a woman in her early twenties, is the only member of the covenant who seems willing to act over its decay. She is trying to increase its mundane resource base, and is working on improving the defenses. She is in two minds as to the usefulness of the magi, but on the whole wants to recruit some new members for the covenant, magi who will drag it out of its slump. Of course, she doesn't really have the authority to do so, but she's quite a good liar.

Immanola, prima of House Ex Miscellanea

Immanola is over a hundred and fifty years old, and looks ancient. She cannot walk without the aid of a crutch, and her hair is thin and pure white. Her face is lined with wrinkles, but her eyes are still a piercingly bright green. It is very difficult to read her emotions, and she will listen in silence for a long time before saying anything. When she does speak, she keeps it brief and to the point. She normally wears robes of deep rose, which shimmer gray as she moves. These are not always the Robes of Dusty Dawn, which symbolize her leadership of the house, but will be if she is seeing to official duties.
Her first master was a Byzantine seer who joined the Order for protection after the battle of Manzikert in 1071. He knew no magic other than scrying and prophecy, and decided early on to pass Immanola along to another maga of the house, so that she might learn Hermetic magic properly. Her initial training gave her a gift for prophecy, but Immanola is a fully capable Hermetic maga. Her second parens was a spirit mistress, but Immanola never became comfortable with controlling other beings.
In the first half of the twelfth century, she was well known throughout the Order. She belonged to no covenant, but would turn up when magi were in trouble, help them out, and then stay in their covenant for a while, studying from their library or using their laboratories. She explained that her magic always told her when she was needed, and that her sole aim was to support the Order. While some doubted her motives, she was one of the most celebrated magi of the time.
Fifty years ago she arrived at Cad Gadu shortly after the death of the old primus, and claimed the Robes of Dusty Dawn, saying that her magic had revealed that she should be the prima. They were handed over without a murmur, as Ex Miscellanea has never had a formal mechanism for selecting the primus, and such a respected maga seemed an excellent candidate.
She has only rarely stirred from Cad Gadu since, and became crippled while there, whether from old age or other causes. Shortly after her elevation she sent messages prophesying the imminent end of the Order to all members of her House, encouraging them to travel to Stonehenge where they could try to salvage something from the wreck. The apparent failure of this prophecy, along with her inaction, has greatly reduced her reputation in the Order, and most magi now think of her as Twilight-ridden and ineffectual. Immanola herself just waits patiently.

Libellus

Libellus is the newest covenant in the tribunal, and one of the largest. It has done very little of note so far, making it an unknown quantity in tribunal politics. Further details can be found in Promises, Promises, a free Jump Start Kit available from the Atlas Games web site at www.atlas-games.com.

Physical Appearance

Libellus is a complex of a dozen buildings, surrounded by a stone wall. All the buildings are of stone, and most are thatched. Three have tiled roofs: the Council Chamber, the library, and Stephen Eruditus's sanctum. Each magus has one building as a sanctum, and other buildings include the kitchens, grog barracks, and stables. The buildings are plain and functional, and the perimeter wall does not have crenellations or a wall walk.

Customs

The covenant is happy to receive visits from other magi, although it doesn't have the facilities to accommodate them for long. Stephen Eruditus will generally meet visitors himself — the other magi have little to do with the outside world. As a new covenant, it has no established customs.

Magi

The covenant was founded, and is currently led, by Stephen Eruditus of Jerbiton. He is around seventy, although his longevity potion has held up well, and he looks to be in his mid-thirties. He was trained in the Rhine Tribunal, and has a reputation for taking risks. So far, he has always come out ahead, but starting a new covenant is the largest risk he has yet taken.

The other magi of the covenant are newly arrived in the tribunal, and are little known, although they are all young magi. They are Meles of Bjornaer, Gregorius of Bonisagus, Lucidia of Flambeau, Jonaquil of Merinita, Justin of Tremere, and Fabricor of Verditius.

Covenfolk

Although the covenant is relatively new, the covenfolk have all been serving magi for several years now, and are thoroughly used to the Gift. They do not, however, have a very broad experience of magi, and may be confused by particularly eccentric specimens.

Nigrasaxa

Nigrasaxa is another relatively new covenant. Its foundation was instrumental in revitalizing the politics of the tribunal and, like Libellus, it is relatively large. Further details of Nigrasaxa and its inhabitants can be found in Nigrasaxa, a free mini-saga available from the Atlas Games web site at www.atlasgames.com.

Physical Appearance

Nigrasaxa consists of two tall towers of shining black rock. They were conjured by magic, and their outer surfaces are smooth except where there are windows. The towers stand close together, and are linked by two short bridges, one about twenty feet from the ground and the other near the top. Only one of the towers contains a door: all access to the second tower is from the first.

The second tower contains the private areas of the covenant: the barracks and sancta. The first tower contains the common areas, including guest quarters. The Council Chamber is at the top of the public tower, and occupies an entire floor. If people wish to meet the magi, they will be taken here, so that all the magi can attend if they wish. The public tower is rather sparsely furnished, and large areas appear to be unused, although they are kept clean and repaired as necessary.

Customs

The covenant welcomes Hermetic visitors, and has enough guest rooms to accommodate any likely party. These rooms are not all furnished, however, so a large group may find that the grogs only get a room, and have to sleep on the floor.

Visitors are not allowed to enter the private tower, although there are no sanctum marks over the bridges. The upper bridge is used only by the magi of the covenant, and connects to the floor below the council chamber, which also houses the library. Covenfolk always use the lower bridge.

Magi

Maximianus of Bonisagus, the founder of the covenant, is a widely respected master of Corpus magic. He has written numerous important texts, most of which are in the library at Nigrasaxa, and was a typical theoretical Bonisagus. Over the last couple of decades, however, he has shown much more interest in the politics of the Order. He came to Stonehenge and founded a covenant specifically to break the cycle of invalid tribunals, and has recruited young magi to strengthen it. He is ancient, and thought to be on the verge of Final Twilight, but widely respected.

The other young magi of the covenant have had little impact on the Order. They are Siffed of Criamon, Ariel of Flambeau, Morlen of Merinita, Caltis of Tremere, Herrit of Tytalus, and Thamik of Verditius.

Covenfolk

The day-to-day operation of the covenant is handled by William of Thanet. He has been the autocrat since the covenant was founded, and is very good at his job. He is starting to get old, however, and it isn't clear who will take over from him. William is a little overweight, and his gray hair is thinning.

The turb is led by a woman, Eleanor Sworder. She has been in charge for five years, and has ambitions to be a knight. It is hard to see how these can ever be realized, but that doesn't bother her unduly. She has an ugly scar on her left cheek, and there are numerous rumors as to its origin.

Schola Pythagoranis

Schola Pythagoranis is Jerbiton-dominated, and sited in the university town of Cambridge. The existence of the university is largely due to the covenant, as the magi encouraged scholars to come here when the university at Oxford was dissolved in 1209, and to remain when it reformed after 1215. The magi are at least as interested in scholarship as magical power, and try to stay out of tribunal politics. Archmage Milo of Bonisagus was a member of the covenant for several years while he prepared for his archmage contest, but he left after his success and joined Durenmar.

Physical Appearance

Schola Pythagoranis does not have a single site, rather being scattered throughout Cambridge. The main center of the covenant is a large stone hall, known in the town as Schola Pythagoranis (The School of Pythagoras), near the river. This contains the library and the great hall. Edward of Milton, the warden, lives there along with a few covenfolk. Visitors are expected to come here.

The other magi all own their own houses in the town, and these houses have sanctum marks over the entrances. Some of the covenfolk lodge with them, but others are lodged in single rooms while the magi gather the resources to get more accommodation.

The covenant also has a laboratory building on the edge of a faerie forest some distance outside town. This stone building is home to three or four covenfolk at all times, and normally at least one magus is there, working on magical projects. The faerie aura is clearly better than the Dominion aura of the town, but the covenant is looking for a magical aura to colonize.

Customs

Schola Pythagoranis only admits magi or apprentices with the Gentle Gift, as they must be able to live among mundanes without causing trouble. The magi are scholars first and magi second, and those of the covenfolk who are also scholars are treated as peers of the magi in internal administration.

Visitors are lodged, at the covenant's expense, in inns in the town. Mundane and magical visitors are equally welcome, although magi with normal or Blatant Gifts will be encouraged to make their stay brief. If they wish to speak to the whole council, they have to wait until the end of the season, as the summons from the remote laboratory disrupts work. The Redcaps deliver messages to the whole covenant to whichever magi are present at the time.

Magi

Edward of Milton, follower of Jerbiton, is the oldest magus in the covenant, and its warden. He is a great teacher, and loves to do it, spending much of his time lecturing or disputing. He is a student of mundane as well as magical knowledge, and as a result he is quite weak for a magus of his age. He looks quite old, maybe in his late fifties, but he is still vigorous, particular when teaching an eager student. He has trained five apprentices in his time, an unprecedented number. He dresses as a cleric, and is in minor orders as an exorcist. His magical interests lie mainly in Mentem, so he is, in fact, extremely good at exorcising spirits.

Astrolabe of Jerbiton is probably the most brilliant magus in the tribunal, possibly the Order. If he concentrated on magic, he would undoubtedly be an Archmage by now, but like the other magi of the covenant he also studies mundane matters. His main interest is in philosophy, particularly natural philosophy, and he has recently become interested in applying some of his discoveries to magic theory which, he claims, is based on shoddy physics in many places. He appears to be in his late thirties, and is usually rather unkempt. If he knows he will be meeting people, however, he makes an effort, and dresses up smartly. He was Edward's first apprentice, many years ago, and is now an old magus himself.

Lumen of Jerbiton is a young maga and an obsessive bibliophile. She is responsible for the covenant's library, and is keen to build it up. However, she is not just interested in making it more useful as a means to greater power: She wants to collect the widest possible range of texts, especially those by classical authors and magi from the early days of the Order. She is willing to copy them herself, and to trade books of much greater immediate use. She travels a lot to monasteries, to search their libraries, and has a ring that makes her appear as a man. She is quite adept at the pretense. As either sex, she is homely-looking, rather shorter than average and a bit gangly. Her clothes are always functional, but she doesn't pay much attention to them.

Fredegisa the Quaesitor is a reforming idealist. She is a brilliant young student of all laws, civil, canon, common and Hermetic, and spends much of her creative energies on devising new structures of Hermetic law. Her dream is to have these structures accepted by the Order, thus ushering in a new age of justice for all magi. She always dresses smartly, and is quite attractive in a severe sort of way. She tries to make a good impression on everyone she meets, but her conversation soon turns to her proposed reforms.

Covenfolk

Schola Pythagoranis has few grogs, as they would cause more problems than they solved in the center of the town. They do have enough ordinary servants to relieve the magi and scholars of normal daily concerns, however.

The scholarly mundane population of the covenant is constantly changing as men come to University for a while, and then leave to study elsewhere. A few scholars have become more permanent fixtures, however. Of these, the most important is Amabel the Learned, a Natural Magician. She is almost as brilliant as Astrolabe, and the two work closely together. She is probably as magically powerful as most of the magi of the covenant, as she has studied natural magic with a greater focus than they have studied Hermetic magic. Those magi who know her tend to treat her as a member of the Order, and several members of the tribunal would be surprised to learn that she has never joined.

Another important scholar is Richard Rufus the Deacon. He is friendly with the magi, and is sure of their good intentions. He is also a learned theologian, and he spends most of his time on tracts justifying the use of magic for virtuous ends. This gets him into occasional trouble with the ecclesiastical authorities, but he has yet to be formally accused of heresy. It is rumored that some highly placed churchmen find his work convincing, and have started to employ natural magicians.

Semitae

The wandering covenant is something of an enigma, appropriately enough for one led by a Criamon. No one is sure how old the covenant is, although it could be almost as old as the tribunal. Equally, no one is sure where it can be found: the Redcaps arrange their next meeting place anew every time. The only effective ways to find the covenant are to accompany a Redcap, or to send a message and arrange a meeting.

Physical Appearance

Semitae is a group of wagons, usually about half a dozen. Three of these are unusually large, and made of iron so that they can safely contain laboratories. The iron wagons are enchanted to be lighter, and to make the ground over which they pass firm, so that they don't get stuck. The other wagons are a bit smaller, and wooden, and contain the rest of the covenant's property. The iron wagons are drawn by six horses each, the wooden ones by four.

The covenant normally camps at night, unpacking tents from the wooden wagons and placing guards around their perimeter. They stay away from large towns, buying food direct from villages and sending a small group if they need to buy specialized items. They also stay away from other covenants, mostly out of courtesy.

Customs

The covenant travels throughout the tribunal, following a path mapped out by Gerfallon. No one else can see any logic in it. For example, Semitae once spent two years circling London at a distance of fifteen miles, despite the inconvenience of needing to be ferried across the water once per circuit. It has never, as far as anyone else knows, stayed in one place for more than four nights.

The covenant is happy for travelers going in its direction to tag along, taking advantage of its guards. It is also happy to arrange to meet magi who request a visit, although the rendezvous point may not be easy to reach. Visitors must provide their own accommodation and supplies, as the covenant cannot afford to carry the extra.

Semitae breeds its own horses, which are not frightened of magi. They will trade these to other covenants, generally for books or vis, but no one else has yet succeeded in getting the line to breed true. These horses are of widely varying appearance, because Gerfallon usually gets sires from outside the covenant's stable.

The magi normally work at night and sleep during the day. This is because it is easier to sleep in a moving wagon than to conduct magical experiments. The exception is if they are studying from the library, in which case they will work during the day.

Magi

Gerfallon of Criamon is described in the insert on the next page.

Vanasalus of Criamon is a young maga. She has no tattoos on her face or hands, and she dresses in clothes typical of a mundane noblewoman, embroidered with mystic symbols. She is quite good-looking, and seems more attractive because she is always friendly. She believes that magic reflects your personality, and that if you do magic with malice in your heart, your experiences in Twilight will be vicious, while good experiences flow from good deeds. She freely admits that she has no idea of the Enigma, but she plans to live magic until she does understand, and following Gerfallon around the country seems an ideal way to do it.

Junius of Verditius is an old magus at the height of his powers. He dresses simply, like a craftsman, and is clean-shaven. His face and hands are spotted with tiny burn scars. He looks quite puny, so his blacksmithing work surprises people — he has enchanted tools. He makes the wagons for Semitae, but most of his time is spent on another project, something he refuses to speak about, saying that people will see it when it is ready. He is known to be a powerful magus, and a skilled crafter of items, so most of the tribunal and his house are curious to see what he will produce.

Edward the White of Jerbiton is officially a member of the covenant, but he has taken himself off to explore distant lands, and no one expects to see him again. He took his sigil with him, so Semitae does not have access to his vote. (See The Mythic Seas for more information on Edward.)

Gerfallon of Criamon

Gerfallon is of indeterminate age and varying sex, so for convenience I will use masculine pronouns. His skin appears to be completely covered with elaborate tattoos, and all his hair is shaved to make more room for them. He normally wears a robe with a deep hood and long sleeves, to avoid shocking the people the covenant encounters. These tattoos are the only thing about his appearance that remains constant. He sometimes changes appearance quite radically during a single conversation, while at others he has remained the same for an entire tribunal.
Gerfallon will not be pressed on his past, or on his current purposes. He claims that it is not possible to understand what he is doing until you have at least glimpsed the Enigma. He may be right: He has been the leader of Semitae since the first definite record of the covenant in 1151, and shows no signs of aging. He does leave the covenant from time to time, but no one knows what he does on most of these occasions.
The only exception took place forty or so years ago. Magi from Cad Gadu were hunting for vis in the Snowdonian mountains when they came across Gerfallon. He greeted them politely, and then ignored them as he continued etching designs into a mountainside with magic. The magi watched him for a while, until he asked them whether they wanted anything, and if not, to please leave him alone. They returned to the spot a few months later, and the designs were complete. They look like a map, although no one has been able to work out what they are a map of — they are not a map of Semitae's travels, unless it is encoded in a particularly strange way.

Covenfolk

The covenfolk of Semitae are all vagrants and vagabonds. They join the covenant for a while, then drift off again later. While they are with the covenant, they are completely loyal, although they may try to rob it after they leave. It is generally suspected that Gerfallon uses magic to ensure loyalty, and releases people after a while so that their minds are not warped. Despite the probable magical enforcement, the covenfolk are treated well, which means that they tend to leave on good terms with the magi.

Ungulus

Ungulus is the classic Winter covenant, living on past glories while filled with insane magi. It was founded by members of House Flambeau, but for two hundred years the covenant was home to an eminent and productive line of Verditius magi. Unfortunately, the last of those magi died several decades ago. Most members of the tribunal expect it to fall in the near future, which will provoke a feeding frenzy as magi try to claim the many magical treasures it contains.

William Fireheart of Flambeau was the covenant's most infamous member at the end of the twelfth century. He caused a lot of trouble in northern France, and in 1220 lost a Wizard's War to a magus of Fudarus. His death ended the line of Flambeau magi at the covenant, but that was met with little sadness.

Physical Appearance

Ungulus is housed in a single tower, sitting on a ridge in the Lake District. The tower is round, and many floors high. Its outer surface is covered with intricate carvings, some of which clearly depict scenes, while others are snatches of Latin or other languages. Some sections look like writing, but have proved impossible to decipher, while still others seem to be entirely abstract. Many magi have suspected that the carvings have some overall meaning, but no one has ever decided what it is.

Inside, the covenant is filled with wealth, both magical and mundane. Visitors are kept to certain areas, mainly for their own protection, and these are filled with gilded furniture, rich tapestries, magical lighting and heating devices, and other magical items. There are more magical items in each guest bedroom than in most covenants. Those magi who have seen other areas of the covenant say that it is all like that.

Customs

Visitors to the covenant are welcomed by the covenfolk, and taken to the guest quarters while a message is sent to the magi. It can take several days for the magi to respond to these messages, and since the magical items can take care of the guests it is not unusual for the covenfolk to forget that people are there. Magi who start wandering around looking for someone are likely to get in trouble with the magical defenses around the covenant, so most visitors settle for hanging around in the corridors near the entrance to grab a servant.

The servants have innumerable rituals which they follow at various points, such as certain chants, or actions, which must be performed before opening a door or walking down a flight of stairs. Some of these deactivate magical locks or traps, still more used to, while some, most likely, were simply added by imaginative servants, and no one now wants to risk finding out which ones are really useful.

Magi

Flavius Ex Miscellanea is described in the insert below.

Aquila of Bjornaer spends most of her time in eagle form, riding the thermals around the Lake District. She rarely attends covenant council meetings, and Flavius holds her sigil on a permanent basis. She is an ancient maga, and is likely to pass into Final Twilight soon, thus remaining in her Heartbeast. It isn't clear how the covenant will know when that happens, or, indeed, whether it has happened already.

Sinead Ex Miscellanea was in love with Parsirus, the Verditius magus killed by the dragon, and burns for revenge against it. If anyone wants something from the covenant, she will demand that they kill the dragon in return. This includes requests for membership, which discourages prospective members. She herself tried to kill the dragon on two occasions, and barely escaped alive. The second time she passed into Twilight, and she cannot now go near her enemy — a magical force pushes her away. She is an ancient maga, and appears as an old woman, dressed in rich robes which are somewhat the worse for wear. Her magic is strongly focused on combat, especially with magical beasts.

Viator of Mercere is the only Gifted Redcap in the tribunal. He is obsessed with developing a magical means of communication between covenants which will not compromise their magical defenses against each other. He retired to Ungulus to get the resources to work on his project, and he is violently opposed to increasing the number of magi in the covenant until his project is complete. Viator is weather-beaten, and appears to be quite old. He has lost nearly all his hair, and what remains is white, but he makes sure that he is well-dressed when meeting other people. He doesn't wear robes as rich as Ungulus can provide, but they are still opulent.

Espera of Merinita badly offended a faerie lord many years ago. She thinks she barely managed to escape his vengeance at the time, and has devoted herself to surviving ever since. She never leaves the covenant's Aegis, and is constantly pressing for it to be strengthened. She will not allow anyone else to join the covenant, in case they prove to be faeries in disguise, just seeking to be made part of the Aegis ritual. She wears a number of iron items, all enchanted to defend against faeries, and uses Muto Corpus to frequently change her appearance, to distract her enemy.

Flavius Ex Miscellanea

Flavius is a frustrated magus. He knows that he is a member of a disintegrating covenant, and while he cannot bring himself to abandon it, he also realizes that he doesn't have the strength of purpose, or raw power, to pull it out of its downward spiral. He is an old magus, of average power for his age, and knows that he doesn't have long left before he passes into Final Twilight.
Flavius was trained in Ungulus, back when it was in its glory days. He remembers the Verditius magi who were responsible for so much of the covenant, and when the dragon killed the last young magus of the line. The other apprentices had been sent to distant tribunals, and had no interest in returning, so the old Verditius died alone, leaving the covenant without its heart.
Flavius was always interested in Hermetic politics, and attended most of the tribunal meetings. Often, he was the only representative of a covenant other than Blackthorn, which he found frustrating. He is a passable politician, but certainly not a great one, and he has been marginalized in the current renaissance in the tribunal.
His main goal is to maintain the status quo, and survive, long enough for the other magi of the covenant to die or pass into Twilight. He will then recruit young magi to build the covenant up again. He is already making overtures to the younger magi of the tribunal, because he does not want to recruit magi fresh from apprenticeship.
Flavius looks as though he is in late middle age, and rather overweight. He is balding, but his hair is still brown, and he wears a full beard. He normally dresses in robes of incredible magnificence, to remind people of the great resources possessed by his covenant, and often carries powerful enchanted items, for the same reason.

Covenfolk

The human covenfolk at Ungulus were all born within the covenant, from other covenfolk. As a result of inbreeding in a strong magic aura, all of them are a bit strange, although most can interact with people from outside without too many problems. However, many of the servants are not human.

Magical constructs perform much of the menial work. Some of them are in human form, but much of the cleaning is done by animated brooms and brushes. There are knives and pans which can prepare food by themselves, and bells that sound their own warnings if anyone enters the area they guard.

Other servants are bound spirits, mostly invisible. They serve mainly as guards and messengers, and seem to be obedient to anyone inside the covenant who gives them an order. No one alive admits to knowing who bound them, or how, which makes some visitors rather nervous. The quaesitores did investigate, some time ago, and found no evidence of diabolism.

Voluntas

Voluntas is one of the most vigorous and active covenants in the tribunal, and a center of opposition to Blackthorn, as it has been almost since its foundation. As it was founded by Norman magi, it has hostile relations with Horsingas in Loch Leglean, but this has not led to serious confrontation for several decades now. It has had a long and active Summer, but there are signs that, with the breaking of Blackthorn's immediate hold over the tribunal, it may be slipping into Autumn.

Physical Appearance

Voluntas appears to be a large and sturdy manor house, built of stone. It has three wings, and a stone wall closes the open gap. This wall is pierced by a large gate, large enough to drive a cart through, which contains a wicket gate for pedestrians. The rear corners of the courtyard are occupied by two square towers, which contain the sancta of the magi. The council chamber and library are in the rear wing of the covenant, while the side wings contain the kitchens and servants' quarters.

The covenant building is only fifteen minutes' walk from the village of Wilton, which serves as part of the covenant. Many of the covenfolk, especially the craftsmen, live here, and the inn here provides accommodation for guests. Most of the buildings of the village are stone, which is unusual in this area.

Customs

Visiting magi are welcome at any time, and will be accommodated in Wilton while they want to stay. Julia handles most negotiations, although Kirist and Phessallia will involve themselves in discussions of some topics. Visitors will not generally be admitted to the main covenant, unless they need to speak to the Council, or have negotiated for use of the library.

All magi of the covenant swear, on admission, not to allow the tribunal to suffer under tyrannical rule. Originally, this was taken to be a clear reference to Blackthorn, but it may be interpreted more broadly now. The quaesitores have found it necessary to remind the magi that their Oath forbids them from interfering in the mundane affairs of the tribunal.

Voluntas is famous for its library, which is one of the best in the tribunal. It is certainly the best that is accessible, as the magi are happy to negotiate for the right to study in it. They will generally accept texts or vis in exchange, and are known to be fairly generous about the privilege. Everyone accepts that this is part of building up a network of friends, but no one minds. The exception is Blackthorn, whose magi are never given permission to spend time in the library.

Magi may also want to copy books from Voluntas's store. This is rather more restricted. The magi of Voluntas generally ask that the other covenant supply books which will improve Voluntas's library as much as the book they want to copy will improve their own. This is generally difficult, and most covenants find it best to wait until Voluntas wants something from them, and then to hold out for copying rights in return.

Magi

Corvus of Bjornaer has a raven heartbeast, and is a mature magus specializing in Intéllego magic. He always seems to know things before he is told them, which has led to suspicions that he scries on other members of the Order. Nothing has been proven, however, and he has claimed that, in many cases, it is merely an act. In human form he has black hair and dark eyes, and has a tendency to stare at people. He is also dismissive of certain customs, and almost never bothers to clothe himself if he has just changed from his heartbeast. If he is dressed, he normally wears black.

Kirist of Flambeau is a young magus, and in many ways typical of his house. He wears red robes, has a fiery temper, and specializes in Ignem magic. However, he is committed to the greater good of the Order as a whole, and is well aware that this is not always best achieved by burning people. He will argue for a conciliatory approach if he thinks it is merited, unless someone makes him angry. Then he simply wants to see them in flames.

Julia of Jerbiton is described in the insert, and in the introduction to Ars Magica 4th Edition.

Phessallia of Merinita is disliked by most magi in the tribunal. She has a close connection with the faeries of winter, and is appropriately cold to everyone. She spends quite a lot of time away from the covenant, traveling in the north. She claims that she is simply investigating the fay of the frozen regions, but she possesses a number of faerie items, of the sort that can only be obtained as gifts. She always wears white, and all of her skin is covered with an intricate network of scars. An old maga, she is thought to be particularly skilled in Perdo.

Desiderius of Verditius is a necromancer. He dresses in simple brown robes, and the smell of rotting flesh normally clings to him. Until recently, he had little interest in the living, but in the last few years he has come out of his shell, and started being positively sociable. Unfortunately, as an old magus who spent most of his life in a laboratory, he doesn't have much in the way of social skills, so he does not make many friends. This doesn't seem to bother him much, however, and people are generally too scared to be rude to him.

Julia of Jerbiton

Julia is the nearest thing to a leader that Voluntas has. While internal matters are generally decided by negotiation and compromise, the covenant seems happy to let her determine its relationships with the outside world. She is tall for a woman, with long black hair, pale skin, and a fine, low speaking voice. She normally dresses in deep blue robes, often decorated with silver embroidery. She is a mature maga, and specializes in Corpus and Mentem.
Julia's parens was fascinated by politics, both Hermetic and mundane, and Julia has inherited that fascination. She came to Stonehenge during the civil war, and at first was wrapped up in her study of the shifting alliances during that conflict. She gradually came to appreciate Blackthorn's stranglehold on the tribunal, and slowly her interest shifted. As Henry II brought peace to England, her attentions shifted entirely to the politics of the Order, and she determined to break Blackthorn's hold.
She worked on this for many years, traveling round the tribunal and trying to convince other magi to act with her. For years it seemed that nothing would happen, and she avoided a number of tribunals, just to make sure that Blackthorn could not force issues through a quorate meeting. In the end, this led to the fiasco of 1194, when the tribunal failed to meet in advance of the Grand Tribunal, and thus sent no representatives. Julia sent letters to people she knew outside the tribunal, including Maximianus of Bonisagus, asking them to come and help. Maximianus answered.
The tribunal of 1201 was her masterstroke. All at once, Blackthorn was off balance, the tribunals were quorate, and no one covenant had the ability to completely dominate proceedings. She tried to press her advantage, gathering support for moving the tribunal meeting place out of Blackthorn and onto neutral territory, but there she was out-maneuvered. She remains one of the best politicians in the tribunal, and is still all but obsessed with weakening Blackthorn.

Covenfolk

Voluntas runs its mundane concerns like a normal manor, and most of the local mundanes think that that's what it is. The peasants in Wilton are split between the free and the serfs, but as the magi provide good housing and magical assistance in case of extreme need, none of the residents have any intention of leaving. In particular, an enchanted birthing chair means that almost all mothers and children survive childbirth, with the result that life expectancy is much higher here than elsewhere in the country.

Ethelwald acts as the seneschal and autocrat, and plays the role of lord of the manor to the outside world. He is a competent manager, and has avoided becoming a knight so that he doesn't have to offer military service in person. The covenant is cautious about its involvement in mundane affairs, and doesn't want its seneschal off fighting in mundane wars. Ethelwald's son, Edward, is obsessed with becoming a knight, however, and spends much of his time training for such a post. The magi are not sure that he will make an adequate seneschal, which could be awkward as the surrounding nobility will expect him to inherit the land.

Attribution Based on the material for Ars Magica, ©1993-2024, 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"). Ars Magica Open License Logo ©2024 Trident, Inc. The Ars Magica Open License Logo, Ars Magica, and Mythic Europe are trademarks of Trident, Inc., and are used with permission. Order of Hermes, Tremere, Doissetep, and Grimgroth are trademarks of Paradox Interactive AB and are used with permission.

Open License Markdown version by YR7 & OriginalMadman, https://github.com/OriginalMadman/Ars-Magica-Open-License

See Also

Chapter 10: The Order of Hermes

Daily Life

Customs of Stonehenge

The Redcaps

The Redcaps

Tribunals

The Peripheral Code

A.A. 1347 (AD 1208) • Financial Matters

The Covenants

Magus Ages

Blackthorn

The Hunt

Physical Appearance

Customs

Magi

Covenfolk

Goliard of Tremere

Burnham

Physical Appearance

Customs

Magi

Covenfolk

Cad Gadu

Physical Appearance

Customs

Magi

Covenfolk

Immanola, prima of House Ex Miscellanea

Libellus

Physical Appearance

Customs

Magi

Covenfolk

Nigrasaxa

Physical Appearance

Customs

Magi

Covenfolk

Schola Pythagoranis

Physical Appearance

Customs

Magi

Covenfolk

Semitae

Physical Appearance

Customs

Magi

Gerfallon of Criamon

Covenfolk

Ungulus

Physical Appearance

Customs

Magi

Flavius Ex Miscellanea

Covenfolk

Voluntas

Physical Appearance

Customs

Magi

Julia of Jerbiton

Covenfolk