Ars Magica: Lumen Montis, A Covenant in the Alps [IC]

[Cerebral Paladin]

Prolegomena

Salvete, sodales. I am Polybius of House Mercere of the Order of Hermes. In the pages to come, I will record the history of a new covenant in our Order's history. Though our covenant has not yet been founded, its history begins today, on the Spring Solstice of A.D. 1221.* At the Tribunal of the Greater Alps this past winter, the Tribunal voted narrowly to alter its policy forbidding new covenants. Under the new policy, new covenants may be founded provided that one of the current covenants sponsors it as a vassal.

Marie of House Bonisagus, Prima of Lemannus, has called together a group of young magi who are interested in forming a new covenant. Many of us were recognized as magi at this last Tribunal. Several were apprenticed to magi of Lemannus. Marie has gathered us in the Council chamber of Lemannus. The Council chamber is a long room, with fine woodwork on the walls and a set of high windows allowing in light. Marie, as is her right as Prima, sits in a great chair at the head of the table. The group of young magi who have gathered sit at either side of the great table.

Marie rises. She is a stately woman. Were she mortal, I would guess that she has lived nearly a half century. In reality, she is probably closer to a full century in vulgar age. Marie has a round, modestly attractive face and a clear, commanding voice. Her graying black hair is cropped short, presumably so that it will not interfere in laboratory work. Her robes are simple and unornamented; within her covenant, all that see her know her status already.

"Salvete, sodales. I am heartened for the Order that there are so many young magi eager to join this Tribunal's search for knowledge. I offer you the opportunity to found a strong new covenant.

"First, allow me to tell you what we offer. After that, you should introduce yourselves to your sodales, who will soon by your socii [fellow covenant members]. I will then leave you to council in private, for you will wish to discuss the details of your covenant, including the details of your charter.

"Lemannus will grant you a charter with whatever terms you wish, provided that you agree to a few terms.

"First, while we will not generally compel your votes at Tribunal meetings, nor demand the use of your sigils for Grand Tribunals, we require that you not oppose us in any motions that we make. You may abstain, however, and you may vote for motions we oppose, although not for motions that threaten Lemannus or its socii directly. You will also permit us to direct one vote for each of your members, once per Tribunal.

"Second, we will supply you with five rooks of vis. You may specify what Arts you wish, although we will not supply you with more than five pawns of any one Art. Every seven years, before the Tribunal, you will be expected to render one rook to us. Every twenty-eight years, you will render an additional rook to us. The Arts offered to us must match the Arts you initially received. If you wish to receive additional vis, we can negotiate that.

"Third, we will supply you with sufficient vulgar funds to establish your covenant, including building your laboratories, erecting basic other buildings, and provisioning yourselves and any grogs you may recruit until you have had the opportunity to develop your own resources. We will expect you to repay these funds as well in seven years, and then the same amount again seven years after that. Unlike the vis obligation, we will not expect vulgar payments beyond that point.

"Fourth, we will cede a territory with a strong magical aura to the use of your covenant. There is a valley near the small village of Monthey, some short distance down the Rhone River from the monastery of San Moritz. The valley extends to the west of Monthey and is largely unsettled by mortals. Throughout the valley, the magical aura is strong, and there may be specific locations within the valley that have even stronger auras. [The entire valley has a Magic aura of 3.] We will renounce our claim on the valley in favor of your covenant, although you will need to take responsibility for defending your claim to the area. Although we have not located any, there are likely additional vis sources within the valley that you may tap.

"While we will not give you any books or spell manuscripts, we are willing to negotiate reasonable terms for you to copy a few works with which to begin your library, to be paid for in vis or in promised payments of manuscripts. Similarly, we have two unused laboratories that we will allow you to use until you have established your own laboratories. We simply ask for a payment of one pawn of vis per season per laboratory used.

"We believe these terms are fair. After you have introduced yourselves, I will allow you to discuss your plans in private. You may then present your charter to me and discuss any other deals you wish to make with us."

With that, Marie sat to listen as each of my future socii introduced themselves.

* Polybius, following the Hermetic norm, writes dates as years within the age of Aries. However, for clarity, these dates will be replaced with conventional medieval reckoning.

 

[mckerih]

Merin

A young man, in his mid-20s, stands up next. He is of medium height and thin, with ruffled, short black hair and very striking gray eyes. A keen intelligence shines behind them, but it is softened by the kind expression on his face. As he speaks, you note that he carries himself well, with good diction and eloquent gestures. "Salvete sodalis! I am Merin filius Areus of House Bonisagus, formerly filius Balthus of House Jerbiton. Those of you who know the local nobility may know my father, the Baron d'Alembert." A brief flicker crosses his eyes. "I am able to interact with the nobles as their peer, but it is a world that I prefer to leave behind. I have studied the Vim technique in some detail, although I have a basic understanding of many of the other Arts and seek to expand my knowledge thereof." His voice now gains an added timber. "It is my great pleasure to embark with you all on this historic undertaking! I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to the Lemannus covenant--" here, he bows deeply toward Marie "--for their sponsorship and their confidence in us. I believe they will find it justified! I am particularly interested in their offer of books to copy, and I have already obtained a list of these in consultation with the Keeper of the Library, which we can discuss during our planning session. I am looking forward to establishing our covenant and working together with you to strengthen it during the coming years. I also hope we can maximize our cooperation with Covenant Lemannus, and, indeed, that we can establish good relations with magi everywhere. I feel that we of the Order of Hermes have a lot to learn from each other, perhaps considerably more than is commonly understood. I am eager to see what we can accomplish together! Thank you very much." Merin smiles at you all as he sits down.

 

[Orichalcum]

Brigitta's Introduction

The woman on the right of Merin hesitantly stands next and speaks in a soft voice with a distinctly rustic accent to her Latin. She is a slightly plump woman in, you would guess, her early 30s, dressed in a bright blue dress with diagonal yellow stripes across the skirt and a sturdy red cotton bodice. The bottom of the dress is slightly frayed and bears what appear to be the signs of small teeth marks. Her brown hair is tightly braided and then wrapped in a bun, with a blue silk ribbon serving as headband.


“Salvete, sodales! I am Brigitta, filia Yolande of House Criamon, and I’m very honored to meet all of you. I served my apprenticeship at the Cave of Twisting Shadows, and I’ll be glad to be getting back to the mountains again with this new covenant. I was born in the Alps and have lived here all my life, and the air down here by the lake just seems too thick and cloying, don’t you think?


I have much to offer to the covenant. The first thing we need to do is establish a good location where our grogs can work the land to feed us all and make money to start paying back Lemannus. Besides, we need to have all our laboratories and buildings established by winter, because even the Mercere probably won’t be able to easily travel back to here between November and March. One of my specialities is the manipulation and change of Animal and Herbam, and if I have the appropriate resources, we can make our little valley the most fertile and prosperous Covenant in the Alps. I’d like to spend a lot of my initial time working on rituals to greatly magnify the production of our herds and fields. Yes, I know, it’s a little more mundane than the normal esoteric matters we Criamon normally study, but it’s all in pursuit of the greater good. Besides, I really don’t want to be in debt to Lemannus any longer than we have to.


I also want to tell you all about some of my exciting personal projects. Really, my focus is the nature of time, and temporal magic – everyone knows that we can’t make spells that turn back time, but we can slow it, and perhaps we can learn how to reverse time by first learning how to speed it up. I hope this makes sense to you. So I’ve been analyzing the process of fermentation; oh, that reminds me, please don’t eat any of the wheels of cheese I make without consulting me first – many of them contain vis, and it’s far too valuable. Oh, and before I forget, on the same note, if my goat Sapientia comes wandering near your laboratories, please make sure to put your own stores of vis on the upper shelves – I’m afraid she’s developed quite a taste for it. Of course, this has also given her all sorts of interesting talents.


Well, I’m really looking forward to working with all of you, and establishing this covenant together. If anyone has any questions about mountain life or the day-to-day practicalities, please don’t hesitate to ask – I’m not one of those reclusive eternally silent kind of Criamon magi. I suppose that’s all for now, although of course after we’ve all introduced ourselves I have lots of ideas about what kinds of vis we should get.”


Cheeks blushing apple-red in her nervousness, Brigitta sits down, nearly missing the chair.

 

[Malacat]

The man who stands next wears sturdy leather clothes marked with the imprint of armor. With his broad shoulders and large size, he looks far more like a grog lieutenant than like a magus, and the hands he lays flat on the table as he speaks seem more suited to a sword’s hilt than to magical gestures. He bows to Marie, and to the assembled magi, an edge of awkwardness to the motion.

“Salvete, sodales.”

He pauses, glancing around the room once more.

“Tsaran. Of Tremere. I come from the east. Serbia.”

After a moment of silence, during which it is not clear that he will continue, he does so.

“I come to the Order later than some. Before I was chosen, I had a life among my — my mundane family. I was a knight, a soldier. I was married. It is very much a different world. The world of the Order is closer to the real, to the world of Plato. Still, the mundanes live well in their cave with their fire and shadows, and their cares are real cares.

“But never mind that. I have come here because I look forward to living among magi who do not think as the Tremere. I would have friends and allies who do not expect me to lie for them.”

His eyes glint in his pale, exotic face for a moment, then focus on the present again, and he becomes diffident once more. “I do not know that what I have to offer will be as great as any of the others, but I offer it all the same. Be warned that I am under obligation, and owe a season’s service every year to Baron Volakula in Serbia. I do not mind mundanes, and I do well enough among them. Also, I have fought alongside grogs and mundane warriors before, and I have a small skill — very small — at using magic to help them. As you will expect from one of my house, I have an interest in certámen, and I seek to improve my skills at it. Should our covenant require a representative for a certámen duel, or should any of you wish a witness to any certámen in which you plan to participate, I will be happy to oblige — unless someone else is better-suited.

“My talents are much smaller than I would like, but I am interested in longevity potions and in magic to aid warriors and mundane folk, as well as in certámen. I have much to learn, little time in which to learn it, and many I wish to help. I hope you will be pleased to count me one of your number.”

He glances around the table, gives a small nod, and sits again.

 

[Ladybird]

Just as exotic, just as pale, but perhaps half as large, is the woman who rises next. She is tiny and fragile, looking as if a stiff wind – or even a not-so-stiff wind – could blow her over. But she also has a strange beauty about her: hair so bright a gold that it seems to glow in the dim light, glittering blue eyes set in slanted, angular features, the tiniest bit of a point to her delicate ears.

“Salvete, sodales,” she begins, her voice sweet and musical, giving the room a brief bright dazzle of a smile that disappears almost as soon as it has begun, leaving only a warm afterglow in her voice. “I am Fionuala Fitzgerald of Kildare, filia Maelgwn. House Merinita.” There is the slightest hesitation, the slightest dimming of the bright charm, before she speaks the name of her house. And then the smile returns, turning towards Tsaran as she echoes his words. “I come from the west. I received my training in a small covenant in the Stonehenge Tribunal, in the Welsh Marches.

“May I say, first of all, how honored I am to be here among you, and to have such a wonderful opportunity as this, to start a new covenant. I have the most sincere hope that we will succeed in our endeavor.

“As for what I bring – my talents lie in alchemy, potions, and transformations, particularly the transformation of metals. I am also quite skilled in…interpersonal relations, both with magical assistance and on my own. I assisted in the negotiation of several treaties and agreements between my home covenant and its neighbors. I look forward to the chance to establish good relations between this covenant and its neighbors - I believe it is essential for us to do so as soon as possible.

“And finally." She pauses again, with another faint dimming of her ever-present smile, “should it become absolutely necessary, I can, as a representative of House Merinita, serve as a liaison to the inhabitants of the nearby faerie forest, if one is needed.”

 

[Feir Fireb]

Immediately obvious to those seated in the council chamber is the disfigurement of the young man who next rises: his left eye is missing, leaving a horribly scarred socket. But his warm, handsome smile, his practiced movements and clear speech quickly distract anyone who looks on from his injury, turning what might have been a handicap into something intriguing, even mildly captivating.

"Salvete sodales," he grins, as his remaining eye quickly moves to focus upon and size up each person in the room in turn. It is blue, clear and strong. "To see you all on this auspicious day gladdens me greatly."

Clean shaven about the face and close cropped upon the head, his hair is so dark as to be almost black. His complexion is typical for the areas about Lemannus, perhaps a tinge darker. About his plain urban clothes he wears a darker, slightly more ornate cloak with the scales of house Guernicus embroidered in knotwork patterns upon the front of each shoulder.

"Those of you who are of Lemannus know me already. But for the rest, I introduce myself as Matteo de Susa, filius Laurentius, Quaesitor of House Guernicus. These past fifteen years at Lemannus have been a great boon to me, and I owe much gratitude to Laurentius in particular for the kindness he has shown me," Matteo is momentarily silent at this point, as if paused in thought. He continues, "...again and again. And now we all owe much to Marie for her efforts. We have a great opportunity in founding this new covenant, for us, for our tribunal, and even for the Order, though it will be but one among many. And I look forward to working with each of you for many years in its building. Our cooperation and coordination will make this new covenant stronger than the sum of its parts. And with providence, we can hope for it to be a work of virtue that outlasts each of us.

He turns to Fionuala, "I share your concerns with regards to our neighbors. We must soon demonstrate our value to the other covenants in the tribunal. Given the closeness of the recent vote to establish new covenants, we may expect to meet with at least some initial opposition. But this future is unknown, and to its betterment I commit what skills and resources I have as a Quaesitor. For this reason I have great interest in magics which facilitate communication and transportation. We shall need to keep close ties with our neighbors, and demonstrate ourselves to be an asset to them. Likewise, for our safety we shall need to use foresight in our encounters with the mortals of the area.

"My more theoretical interests in magic are quite broad, though I am a quick study and hope to prove myself adaptable to the road ahead. I do have somewhat more understanding in those magics that involve building, linking, and binding.

"Tsaran, your coming as a Tremere of honor is welcome indeed. I have some practice in Certamen, and might be available as a sparring partner, if you are in need.

"Brigitta, you are of course right in that we shall need to establish our financial security quickly. To this end, I suggest that we also develop magics which will further aid us in our construction and in the generation of wealth. Between your knowledge of growing things and Fionuala's knowledge of the earth, I have little doubt that we shall prosper.

"We shall also need to scout out the areas of the valley west of Monthey in search of vis sources and areas of unusual magical strength. But this must likely wait until we have established at least a place in which to dwell."

"And," smiling, he turns to Merin, "I look forward to seeing the Keeper's list again. As you know, I have often acted as scribe to my parens for some time now, and have much interest in establishing a good library for our covenant. With help from the Mercere, I've been keeping close tabs on the doings of the tribunal, and I think with some bargaining, we should be able to make good use of the resources that other covenants may have to offer."

He smiles even more broadly to the rest of the room, "Finally, lest we tangle ourselves too much in the greater worries of our new endeavor, we ought not forget something small yet important. Don't we need a name?"

At this, Matteo seats himself comfortably in his chair, and invites the mage to his right to stand in turn.

 

[anonystu]

Daniela's belated introduction...

There is a pause of a few seconds as Matteo sits himself in the chair, replaced by the sound of faint scribbling on parchment.

The faint scratching continues for a few more very long seconds, until one of the other magi clears their throat, softly. Suddenly, the young woman looks up, notices everyone staring at her, purses her lips, nod s slightly, more as if to herself, finishing one notation on her parchment before rolling it up (Those directly to either side of her probably see a smattering of words, connected in a swirl of lines, geometric shapes, and other notations: it's thoroughly illegible, except for possibly spotting a name or two of other mages introduced already.) The most striking thing about her is that young woman isn't quite the right descriptor: it's likely that you've never seen a younger person to have passed their gauntlet: she looks more like a girl still under twenty winters to you. Her face, has a light tan, and braided brown hair complements brown eyes. A blue robe, adorned with magical runes running around the sleeves, and through the hood, has the symbols of House Bonsiagus proudly emblazoned on.

She starts speaking in a firm voice, with a touch of ice behind it.

"Salvete sodales. It is with great pleasure that I have traveled to this Tribunal to join you. I am Daniela of House Bonsiagus, filia Arichis from the Covenant of Literatus in the Roman Tribunal. The opportunity offered by Lemannus is a great one. It will take all of us working in concert to reach our full potential."

"To this extent, I would recommend that all of us not lose sight that which separates us from the mundanes: our knowledge. We should not forget, in the early stages of assembling our covenant, paying special attention to assembling a library: all should write in their specialized areas, such that all can learn from the others. The more that we can extend our knowledge, and by implication, our control over Hermetic magic, the less beholden we will be to other covenants, and the more secure we will be. Relations with the mundanes and finances seem much less dangerous and important, especially given our remote location."

"What can I offer to this covenant? I bring a basic knowledge of all techniques and forms, but I spent most of my apprenticeship strongly focusing on the arts of divination. Taking action without the proper knowledge to inform it is foolhardy and rash. My research goals are simple: the limits that we place on our magic seem too respected to me: if we as an order are to continue advancing, we must constantly searching for the knowledge that will make our supposed limits vanish. The Limit of Arcane Connections seems particularly weak to myself. All of the other limitations define fundamental properties of what we can affect or not affect: we cannot affect eh lunar sphere, we cannot alter essential natures, we cannot affect the immortal soul, we cannot affect the passage of time. Yet, the Limit of Arcane Connections does not define realms that we cannot affect, but rather, posits that magic depends on our natural eyesight, and as that eyesight fades, our ability to do magic diminishes. This is of a distinctly different character, and of weaker nature than the other limits, and it is my goal to see this limitation vanish, and it is only through our dedication and cooperation that I and others will be able to grant lasting gifts of knowledge such as this to our order."

"And a name?"

Daniela looks down, frowning slightly, opens her parchment, and scribbles for twenty seconds.

"I am open to other suggestions, but Protractus means to make known, and that seems like an admirable goal: we will make known all that we can about the world."

She scribbles something else on her parchment, before sitting down.

(edit: fixed line breaks)

 

[redhound]

Marcus

A man pushes himself up from his chair on Marie’s right; he seems to have some difficulty standing. His age is difficult to judge -- a veteran’s dark eyes crown the smooth cheeks of a youth. His skin seems a bit sallow in the pale Alpine light from the windows above, and he lists a bit as he stands, but his voice is strong.

"Salvete," he rumbles. "I am Marcus filius Drusus of House Jerbiton. I was trained at the Scuola di Santa Sophia." A brief disgusted look flits across Marie’s face as he continues. "The Scuola, in the event that you have heard otherwise, is a society of philosophers in Venezia. Their devotion is the study of the alchemical arts, and through them the mysteries of storms and ocean tempests. They feel that their destiny and that of the maritime Republic are inextricably entwined, you see. My own interests, however, are … less provincial. And so here I stand."

Marcus smiles as he looks around the room. "I have no doubt, socii," he says, "We shall do great things together."

"Plans to make the earth tremble, however, are perhaps a topic for another day. For today, I agree with the group: our first priority must be to establish a firm base for our covenant -- both physically and within the Tribunal. I also agree that the heart of a covenant is invariably its library. Indeed, I intend to propose that we establish a scriptorium within our covenant, that we may provide a useful service within the Tribunal and repay the trust our elders have placed in us. But again I exceed the moment. Let me turn from what I believe to what I can do."

"My principal area of magical expertise is the Technique of Rego. I have made considerable study of Hermetic Law -- both the Code and its implementation in practice. I am counted an excellent scribe in Latin, and a fair scribe in Greek. I am an initiate into the outer mysteries of Trismegistos. And while I defer to our socius from the west, I have some experience in the art of alliances as well."

"We have a rare opportunity here, amici. Let us seize it with both hands."

 

[mmeubiquitous]

A young woman in simple blue robes stands up. She is short, with long plain brown hair combed back carefully into a braid. Blue tattoos swirl over her face, which close examination shows to be an intricately detailed star chart. Although she is obviously shy, and her hands tremble slightly, her voice, though soft, is clear and the air hums in resonance. While you may instinctually lean forward, you hear every word.

“Salvete sodalis. I am Celeste, filia Maurice, daughter of the House of Criamon. It is my great honor and pleasure to make your acquaintance, and to be part of such an auspicious undertaking as this. I am a native of Savoy, but was apprenticed very young at the Cave of Twisting Shadows.
“I hope that my magical interests may be both of interest to you and of use to the covenant. I am studying the music of the spheres. I believe that we may learn much about the metaphysical properties of magic by studying how it harmonizes with reality: the movement of the stars, the passage of time, the change of the seasons and the like. I believe it is by altering those harmonies that we are able to affect the physical world through our gift. My work, as it is, has two goals, which I hope to accomplish as the culmination of my studies. First I wish to write a definitive text on the subject, which I believe will be valuable to the study of magic in general. For this I would be quite interested in the offer to copy texts from our parent covenant. While their collection is sure to be extensive, I think it could be well supplemented with some rarer texts on the more esoteric subjects. Thus I would also be interested in making an agreement with the Cave of Twisting Shadows for the opportunity to copy some of their texts as well. I would be happy to make two copies of any text I copy from them, one for our library, of course, and also one for our parent covenant.

“Second, I am planning the construction of an accurate representation of the heavens and their movement, an instrument which would doubtless have many academic uses, both magical and vulgar. For this project I would request a space big enough to house he instrument, which I expect will be quite large. I expect that the long-term usefulness of this instrument, both for our own covenant as well as for those from the outside who would wish to utilize it…for a small fee, of course,” she smiles, “will more than compensate for the investment of space and resources now. Also, anyone who would be willing to lend their mechanical abilities would be greatly appreciated.

“Besides my academic work, there are two more practical things that I may offer the covenant. First, I am able to discern strong auras and divine vis sources. I would be happy to scout out the area of our new covenant in order to draw up a map of the magical terrain. I would also be willing to help arrange the buildings of our covenant in order to maximize the flow of energy in the valley.”

“Thank you all for this marvelous opportunity. May fortune smile on our endeavors.”

As she takes her seat she sighs and smiles, obviously relieved.

 

[themaxx]

A short man stands next, seeming a bit nervous. He has been watching the rest, and sweating somewhat as it got closer to his turn to introduce himself. Although probably only in his twenties, he has more than a few gray hairs and has a receding hairline.

"Salvete sodales. I am, uh, Samuel. Sorry, Samuel of House Verditius. I'm very glad to be here, and it is an honor to be part of this new covenant. Great thanks to our parent covenant for the honor they, er, that they bestow to us in this opportunity."

Samuel, although somewhat small for a grown man, is a bit pudgy. His clothes are nice and quite clean, showing more than a hint of fine craftsmanship in their designs and decorations. He also seems to have some sort of small hammer and other tools poking out of a pocket or two. There are small jingling noises coming from his person as he shifts his body weight back and forth, and looks about before speaking again.

"As I said I'm very excited for this unique opportunity. I have long waited to be able to train on my own, to have a small amount of peace and quiet to pursue my interests, and to spend time with other eager and learned magi.

"My background is, uh, well, it involves, um, never mind. What I mean is, I am interested in machines. I have studied a wide variety of war machines, and also have been doing experiments with clocks and other mechanical objects. I would be happy to show any of you these, uh, things, in my laboratory, once we set it all up of course. I think that I could, I mean I might, be able to assist with planning defences for the covenant, as well as with any tool construction and maintenance. I like tools very much, since they are essential to the craft.

"Right now I'm focusing on controlling and understanding wood and metal, and I hope to be able to study, or spend time with, or maybe talk to, or something... with a master craftsman. I'm hoping to interview and possibly hire some of the nearby craftsmen, depending on what chances I get. Reading and writing have long been a passion of mine, and I think that expanding our library will be a profitable first step in cementing the, uh, foundation of this covenant."

Slightly shaky, Samuel takes one final look around the room, seeming almost confused. He sits, leaning back and breathing deeply, and begins to reach into various pockets to find or fiddle with some small tool or trinket.