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

[Cerebral Paladin]

Entry dated: Summer Solstice, A.D. 1221

After we finished our internal discussions of the plans for the covenant, we began the actual process of founding the covenant. Almsot immediately, we faced a setback. For reasons of their own that they did not see fit to inform me, each of Samuel of House Verditius and Daniela of House Bonisagus withdrew from our company. Though we were weakened by the loss of their support, we still retained a strong enough assembly to go forward. On the Primus's motion, the Council unanimously agreed to not press any claims on the services of Samuel and Daniela, and they in turn swore to not divulge any information about our covenant. With those matters settled, they each departed to pursue their respective plans.

The magi of Lumen Montis had several important projects to pursue in that first spring. Some of our number were going to establish our library by copying books from Lemannus's collection. Others were to scout the valley Lemannus ceded to us. And our Primus, assisted by several sodales, needed to negotiate the final terms of our obligations to our liege-covenant. But before any of those issues were dealt with, the remaining offices had to be filled. Matteo was chosen by lot to serve as the first Secundus, without the ordinary right of succession at the end of the term. Our Primus appointed ___ as Vis Keeper and ____ as Librarian. [Marcus- post a message in the OOC thread so I can fill in these details.] Finally, Matteo and Tsaran squared off in a friendly certamen duel to determine who would be our Certamen Champion.

Matteo, Tsaran, and myself repaired to a secluded glen near Lemannus for their challenge. The place was safe enough, and away from any prying eyes. After all, a magus's strengths and weaknesses in certamen should be concealed as much as possible from any potential foes, and any beyond our covenant could someday face one of us in a serious duel. Before the match could begin, the Technique and Form needed to be specified. Matteo stated that he favored Creo and Vim, whereas Tsaran favored Creo and Corpus. Tsaran gallantly offered to fight on Matteo's preferred terms, but Matteo insisted that they decide who should be the aggressor through a coin toss, which Tsaran won. As the aggressor, Tsaran chose Creo, while Matteo as the defender chose Vim.

The match was closely fought. Each combattant sought to call forth raw magic with which to overpower his opponent, and wave after wave of scintillating light flew between them. Tsaran gained an early advantage, but then Matteo turned the tide. Matteo gained an increasing edge; while Tsaran was more skilled in the art of certamen, Matteo's superior knowledge of Creo worked to his advantage. Eventually, Matteo gained a strong advantage, and sent a wave of magical energy washing over Tsaran, taxing him considerably. As each sought to restart the process of building a font of magical power, a sudden surge of energy threatened to overwhelm them both, but they fortunately mastered it. Tsaran continued to fight well, but the disadvantage of having already been battered once was too much, and Matteo again gained the upper hand. His next attack reduced Tsaran to unconsciousness.

The next day, they met again. Matteo suggested a rematch on Tsaran's terms, as it had only been luck that allowed Matteo to choose the Form. Tsaran agreed, especially because he had expressed reluctance to accept Matteo's offer to decline the position of Champion in his favor on the ground that the covenant needed its strongest certamen combatant as champion. They agreed to duel again, on the condition that Matteo would try his utmost and would, if he won, agree to serve as Champion.

We met at the glen once more. This time, each duelist sought to create a mighty yet ethereal wrestler to struggle towards his opponent. Tsaran's advantage became clear from the first, though it was not huge. When the wrestlers were still but hands, Tsaran's began to push towards Matteo. As they continued to call forth yet more magic, the bodies of the wrestlers began to appear in the air. Tsaran then saw an opportunity, and with a sudden bold move created legs for his wrestler, giving it the leverage to throw down its opponent and deliver a terrible blow to Matteo, who staggered and barely retained consciousness. In his weakened state, Matteo could not resist Tsaran's renewed onslaught. As they sought again to create phantasmal wrestlers, Matteo had barely formed one hand by the time Tsaran's full-torsoed proxy pushed the fight back to Matteo. Another mighty magical blow took Matteo out of the struggle entirely.

As they were very nearly evenly matched, Tsaran consented to serving as Champion for the Covenant.

After consulting with his sodales, Marcus met with Marie of Bonisagus, Prima of Lemannus, to negotiate the final terms for our status as a vassal covenant. Following the advice of his sodales, Marcus sought to achieve a stronger set of political rights, a longer term for repayment of the vulgar debt, and a larger starting position in vis. He also sought to acquire the right to copy various books that would be key to developing our library.

Marcus proved to be a better negotiator than Marie and won concessions on several fronts. She was unwilling to budge on the political issues, except to consent in very general terms to an obligation on the part of Lemannus to defend Lumen Montis from outside threats. But she did agree to double the lengths of the loans of vulgar funds, making it easier for us to repay that debt. She also agreed to allow us to copy a large collection of hermetic books, in exchange for which we are to pay three rooks of vis of any type within 56 years. Of course, we will be able to trade appropriate books to reduce that debt.

We received the following five rooks of vis:
1 rook of Rego
5 pawns of Perdo
7 pawns of Intellego
5 pawns of Muto
4 pawns of Creo
2 pawns of Animal
1 pawn of Aquam
1 pawn of Auram
3 pawns of Corpus
2 pawns of Imaginem
5 pawns of Mentem
2 pawns of Terram
3 pawns of Vim

We also received the following books:
Creation by Marie of Bonisagus, SuCr8Q10
On the Creation of Structured Objects by Marie of Bonisagus, LQCr8Q14

Majesty and Rulership by Andronica of Tremere, LQRe10Q12

Primer on the Healing Arts by Marie of Bonisagus, LQCo5Q14

The Nature of Water by Lucia of Jerbiton, SuAq10Q8

On Extinguishing Life by Hadriana of Flambeau, LQPe10Q11

Reading the Mind by Fenicil of Quaesitor, LQMe9Q16

Plants and Their Properties, author unknown, SuHe12Q10

Marie was most hesitant to give us a copy of the Herbam Summa. Books of its value are sufficiently rare that unscrupulous magi may try to steal it from us if they know of it. We must keep its existence secret until we are in a position to defend it, and we would be wise to also keep our possessions of other summae secret as well.

With the negotiations completed, Marcus, Matteo, Fionnula, and Merin turned to the task of copying the books we have acquired. Tsaran, Brigitta, Celeste, and myself prepared for our journey to Monthey. We were to be accompanied by a few consortes and such few grogs as we have. I turn my attention to that journey in my next entry.

 

[Cerebral Paladin]

Records of the Library of Lumen Montis

Our Library received its birth in the scriptorium of Lemannus, where several of our sodales copied out our first texts. This entry describes the results of that first season's efforts.

Matteo is the copyist who works fastest and with the fairest hand among those who worked on copying books. He made copies of both The Nature of Water and Plants and Their Properties. Both copies are written in a particularly clear script. [Each of these has a Physical Quality of +1, which is added to the Quality of the underlying book for purposes of studying from it.] Merin, with the next finest script, wrote out a copy of Creation. His copy was unremarkable.

Fionuala and Marcus both worked on copying the libri questionum. Fionuala copied Majesty and Rulership three times, although one of the copies was poor [Physical Quality of -1]. Marcus copied On Extinguishing Life four times; he, too, produced one inferior copy [Physical Quality of -1].

Marie of Bonisagus offered to have scribes who lack the Gift make copies of the remaining libri questionum, in exchange for the extra copies of the libri that Fionuala and Marcus copied. [I need a choice from the Librarian on whether to accept the offer or to invest the extra 3 seasons of labor to copy the other three books. Incidentally, since Merin has asked to be Librarian, I will declare that Marcus has appointed him if Marcus doesn't post by the end of this weekend. The downside of nonGifted scribes is that there is a substantial danger of errors in the copying that reduce the Quality of the books. If you go this route, you'll find out how the copies are the first time someone studies from the books.]

 

[Cerebral Paladin]

The Expedition to Monthey

We set out as a small company to reconnoiter the valley that Lemannus had conferred on our covenant. Three of my sodales travelled along with me: Tsaran, because of his skill at arms; Brigitta, because of her knowledge of the land; and Celeste, because of her sensitivity to magical auras. Lemannus also conferred on us the services of a ministerial named Wilhelm, whose liege is a close ally of Lemannus; I have described Wilhelm in a separate entry [that Becky should write and post]. Inconveniently, Wilhelm has no Latin and his French is barely tolerable. We also travelled with such grogs as we have; Tsaran's shield-grog, Wilhelm's squire, and the barest handful of grogs recruited from Lemannus. Marie graciously consented to our accepting the services of some of their covenfolk, although I fear that we are mostly getting the dregs that Lemannus would as soon be rid of. None are specialists of any sort. Of the eight we were able to recruit, three are able warriors, although not distinguished. Two of those warriors brought their wives along. The number also included a young man with no notable skills and two unmarried women. One of the young women, Jacqueline, bears watching. One of the younger children of Lemannus's Autocrat, she appears determined to gain a position for herself beyond what she could get at Lemannus, even going so far as to recruit some of the other grogs who accompany us in an effort to make herself a leader. She is forceful, charismatic, and bright, but I do not know if a girl barely into womanhood can exercise the sort of leadership she seeks. As I said, she will bear watching. [People should feel free to grab some of the grogs to write up, following the ordinary character gen rules. Bear in mind that these are not, in general, the best and brightest. I'll write up Jacqueline.]

The trip to Monthey passed uneventfully. Brigitta refused to travel by ship across Lake Geneva. She expressed a deep conviction, almost a premonition, that the ship would sink and we would all die. While Wilhelm grumbled, we set out on the substantially longer trip over land, reaching the mouth of the Rhone some ten days after departing. We passed by or through many towns of varying size and the significant cities of Lausanne and Vevey. Brigitta was fairly positive that bandits had watched our passage on a few occasions, but they did not attack, and we were able to dissuade Tsaran from attacking them on the ground that our mission was too important. I fear that he may return on his own at some point, but by then it may be convenient to have an opportunity to test the grogs' mettle. On the last night before we reached the mouth of the Rhone, we stayed in the village at the foot of the mighty castle of Chillon, which dominates the only convenient road through the mountains that tumble down to the shores of the Lake. The toll was a mild inconvenience, but not substantial. When we finally reached the mouth of the Rhone, we headed inland, following the river valley to make the path easier. Brigitta, escorted by her goat, which she assured us was more than met the eye, had no difficulty picking out a path. The rest of us followed with some trouble, especially Tsaran and Wilhelm with their warhorses, but thanks to her aid, we were able to follow. She expressed some annoyance at our slower pace, but it took us two days to travel the dozen or so miles between the Lake and the village of Monthey.

 

[Cerebral Paladin]

From Monthey Up the Valley

Monthey will be the nearest significant settlement to our covenant, and so our brief stay on the trip up the valley was primarily an opportunity to get to know the village. Monthey's population is small; perhaps a few hundred people live in the village. I was able to identify a few lads with some skill at carpentry. When we have situated the covenant, we may hire them for the construction. Some of the shepherds of Monthey travel up into the valley with their flocks, but most avoid it because strange things happen to those who spend too much time in the valley. We, of course, delighted in hearing news consistent with a strong magical aura.

I fear that our first encounter with the villagers was not as graceful as might have been hoped. The Gift's typical effects on common folk drew some attention to our group. Later, Wilhelm got into something of a brawl, apparently by flirting with the wrong woman. Fortunately, he suffered no injury, and we were able to sort the whole thing out before he injured the local fellow too badly.

Even in Monthey, Celeste mentioned feeling a magical aura, except immediately around the small church. She was eager to head further up into the valley, as was Brigitta, so after reprovisioning in the morning, we followed the smaller river up the valley. Brigitta talked worriedly about the spring floods that periodically surge down the valley, but the snowpack in the upper mountains was still solid, and by mostly remaining high on the banks, we avoided any danger. Each time we forded the river, which we did frequently to seek out easier routes, Brigitta would stare intently up the valley before dashing across.

The going was much more difficult heading into the valley. Tsaran and Wilhelm had to lead their horses most of the way, and we were forced to slowly traverse switchbacks and ravines. The whole valley is not more than 15 miles long, and yet we travelled no more than a quarter of the way up the valley in the first day of hard travel. Near nightfall on the first day, we first noticed a wild goat watching us as it bounded along, far above near the snowline. We paid it no mind; the animal's behavior seemed strange to Brigitta, but unusual animal behaviors are common enough in highly magic areas.

Our travel was somewhat slowed by Celeste's efforts to, as she put it, hear the music that surrounded us. She assured us that the aura was strong throughout the valley, and that the music was harmonious. [Magic Aura=3 everywhere.] As we progressed, she stated that she could hear a more intense, purer music from ahead.

We discovered the nature of the strange goat on our second day of travel. After several hours of travel, the goat began to observe us again. Brigitta's own goat, a strange creature in its own right, bounded up after it with unnatural speed, but the beast retreated before Brigitta's could catch it. Brigitta ran up the slope, finding her footing through fantastic good fortune, or perhaps a charm to ease her stride, but she could not even catch her animal. The rest of us were left far behind, although Tsaran and Wilhelm tried to keep up in case danger threatened. Celeste, meanwhile, was simply staring up at the strange animal, while hushing the rest of us so she could concentrate on listening to a strange melody that none of the rest of us could hear. After a few minutes, comprehension dawned.

"Ah, now I can hear his melody," Celeste said. "That goat has the Gift. It must be a magus of Bjornaer."

Fearing a disastrous conflict, I cupped my hands and yelled up the slope as loudly as I could, "Salve, Sodalis!" The goat continued to bound away, but Brigitta slowed up in confusion, at least. We reassembled by the river bank, where Celeste explained her conclusion. Contrary to my expectations, Brigitta openly scorned a Bjornaer magus with a goat as his heart-beast. "Goats are for livestocks, companions, and possibly familiars. To be a goat at heart, though..." She shook her head disparagingly.

The presence of another magus complicates matters considerably. Our worries were confirmed on the third day of our travel, when Celeste led us up further into the mountains towards an area where the aura was stronger. We camped on the slope in a glen, not reaching the destination she was seeking until the middle of the fourth day, when we hiked up into the snowy lower peaks. The aura was stronger throughout this area of the valley [Magic 4], but as we approached a high, clear mountain lake above a striking waterfall, the aura reached a truly powerful level. {Magic 5]. Unfortunately, our goat Bjornaer sodalis awaited us at the top of the waterfall, standing next to two large cairns. Emblazoned on the cairns was the unmistakeable circle in a square with quartering lines symbol that marked the area within as a magus's sanctum. We would need to proceed carefully.

Before we could fully strategize, Brigitta cried out the traditional greeting. The magus transformed into his human form. The unimposing, scraggly-bearded man before us responded, "Salvete, sodales" in a voice whose accent was dismayingly Germanic. His tone left no doubt that we were unwelcome.

Brigitta proceeded, while the rest of us winced a little, "This valley belongs to our covenant."

Tsaran stepped forward. "I am Tsaran of House Tremere. Brigitta of Criamon speaks the truth. The covenant of Lemannus had the prior claim on this land, and they have ceded it to us. We should appreciate it if you would move on."

The bearded man scowled. "I am Karl, filius Johan, of Bjornaer. This land is mine. I have established my sanctum hear, and none have challenged my claim. I see no reason why I should give way to you."

Celeste looked up at this. "None have challenged your claim, you say. But have any recognized it?"

"I do not need the recognition of any to establish my sanctum where it will, so long as it is not within another's covenant. Lemannus may have asserted some claim on this valley, but you would agree, I feel sure, that they have not established their covenant here."

"Please, sodalis Karl," I interrupted. "My socii did not expect this turn of events. Would you mind if we conferred to figure out how we may resolve this problem?"

"As you will."

We withdrew down the slope some distance; Tsaran prudently posted the grogs as guards, while Celeste invoked a spell to ensure that we were not being scried on. While it would violate the Oath, it seemed a wise precaution.

We quickly discussed our options. We could try to reach an accomodation where we shared the valley, but that was unlikely to be to our advantage, as Celeste believed that this area had the strongest aura of the whole valley, and Karl would be unlikely to agree to cede it to our covenant. A certamen challenge would clearly be a proper way to resolve the dispute, but what if we lost? I think I have heard of Karl, as another young magus, but if Tsaran issued the challenge, Karl would choose the Form while Tsaran would only choose the Technique. Especially if he had raw vis to use, that could go badly, and a defeat would give him a clear legal claim over the valley, perhaps dashing our covenant's prospects permanently. Jacqueline impertinently spoke up and suggested that we broach the possibility of his joining our covenant, but Karl's response was distasteful. He stated that he would be willing to join, but on the condition that we recognize him as Primus for life, and in the strongest sense of the term Primus. Our carefully constructed charter would mean little if we acceded to that demand.

When we explained to Wilhelm, who was very confused about the whole incident, what the matter was, he suggested that we could simply handle it like vulgar nobility would handle a dispute over territory: with the sword. We made it clear to him that he should take no action against Karl; the last thing we need is an accusation of violating the Oath. But Wilhelm did have something of a point; even among magi, mutually conflicting claims on aura-rich lands is the most traditional casus belli of all. Still, the Tribunal frowns on Wizard War, and if we prosecuted one with so little provocation, our effort to win recognition at the next Tribunal would be complicated tremendously.

It might be possible to bribe Karl, with an offer of vis or copies of some of our texts, but we do not have sufficient resources that such an offer would be easy to make. Rather than deal with the problem directly, we spent a few more days exploring the valley further, and were depressed to confirm that Celeste's belief was correct. While there was one other area where the magic aura was particularly strong [Magic 4], nowhere else had as strong an aura as the area around the mountain lake. We thus had no choice but to face the problem head on.

 

[Malacat]

From Monthey, Summer 1221

[This document was removed when it was discovered to be one of three identical copies.]

 

[Malacat]

From Monthey, Summer 1221

[Out of order with the other pages]

The Inn at Monthey

Dear Zoltan,

I have but little time to write this before we leave to travel up the hills into the valley that is to be the site of our new covenant. Before I write of recent events I must make sure to give you a most serious warning of the road west from our home.

Caravans stop for a midday meal at an inn just outside Serbia. It's a large inn in a wretchedly small hamlet that has no name I ever heard, but the inn itself is distinguished by a sign depicting a flaming rooster. At this inn, trust no one, but be most wary of the food.

They commended to me a mutton stew that they pretended was the cook’s specialty. The bread they served with it was ordinary — I would have done well to eat nothing else, even if it did have a strong hint of dried clay to its flavor. But the stew! Zoltan, it was a spicy dish, and I do not claim that they do not understand peppers, but I have strong doubts that the contents of that stew ever had anything to do with a sheep. It may have had some mild poison in it as well.

My belly woke me from a deep sleep that night, and I found myself making the greatest of haste to avoid soiling myself as the stew left me, which it did no less precipitously than I had left the caravan some few days earlier. Neja, whose habit is still to stir at the least noise and wake when it is least convenient for him to do so, followed me without more comment than a hand clamped firmly over his nose. When I questioned him, his reply was such a marvel of impertinence that I remember it well enough to quote him:

"My lord, in this light I cannot tell if you are white or green, but I can tell you are greatly occupied. That is when you are most likely to need me."

He was right, of course. If someone had attacked me then, I'd have been at quite a disadvantage. The next day, he asked me if magi had stronger stomachs or stranger appetites than mortals. I said some did, and asked him why. It happened that he professed some confusion. He had assumed magi had both when I'd ordered the stew, but knew not how I had survived if we did not have magical bellies.

When I pressed him, he reminded me of the sight we'd seen as we stabled the horses: A dead cat, rotting in the sun, maggots squirming on its body, scorned even by the rat we saw a heavyset man kill with a well-aimed stone. The man had picked up the rat and then, with a glare in our direction, had gingerly scraped up the cat's remains as well.

"Well, and?"

"That man, my lord, was the cook. I thought you knew."

Our own people love us well, but the Volakula name is not well-thought of in neighboring parts. Be wary, my cousin.

The trip from Lemannus to Monthey, on the other hand, has proven quite unexceptional. Of the magi in our covenant, I accompany Polybius, Celeste, and Brigitta. They are good travelling companions — Polybius is ever good company, Brigitta is lively and quite perceptive at pointing out dangers before they happen rather than, as some might, after they have attacked, and Celeste is an enigma, but a friendly enough one, and startlingly perceptive. I am, of course, along to prevent the others from being distracted by rude strangers while they do the important work, but it is still good to be here. The food is good, and the bandits are timid. I have considered making a night-time foray against them to see what they are made of, but the time for that is after our covenant is established — yet another of many reasons why I hope to see the covenant well-established as quickly as possible. You will, I trust, be amused to hear that most of the grogs with whom we travel seem to have forgotten than I am a magus — a forgetting I have not discouraged with my insistence that they call me "Captain," and nothing more. If the reports of us our enemies hear omit me from our roster of magi, we may gain some advantage in future confrontations.

You will be less amused to know that I have only had two certámen matches since arriving here. Both were with Matteo, the Quaestor, and we each won one match. The terms of our agreement before we began the match leave me Certámen Champion for the covenant, but neither he nor anyone else seems at all interested in challenging me for the position, or even in sparring further without consequence. I confess myself a bit frustrated, as I desperately need more practice. If they were Tremeres and the rule was to practice without forfeits or raw vís, we would have multiple matches every day and the Championship would be a prize worth having. I am too long among our cutthroat house-kin, my cousin, and have grown ill-accustomed to civilized company such as this. It has just occurred to me as I write this that if I were simply to ask their aid, my companions might well help me practice out of friendship.

Friendship. It minds me of the days before you introduced me to the Hermetic world. I am pleased. You will be too. I look forward to seeing you again.

Your loving kinsman,

Tsaran

 

[Malacat]

Up the valley with Karl

After days of barely speaking, other than to offer brief but civil answers or to give orders to the grogs, Tsaran spoke up abruptly.

“I think I rather like this Karl. He’s independent enough to set out to make his own home in the wilderness, and brave enough to take on all comers to keep it. The terms he’s offered so far are unacceptable, but we started off trying to drive him out of his sanctum like the modern lords drive peasants from their farms. I spoke in haste, I admit, and I feel I erred.

“I think it is clear that we should inform our Primus and the others as to Karl’s presence here, and clearly we should hear their thoughts on the matter before we proceed with any action that might cost us the valley, or even our covenant.

“But before we go back, I, for one, would like to speak with Karl again and see if a different approach would work better than the challenge we presented before. There are many goats where I come from, and they are rather admirable creatures if you know how to appreciate them.”

What Tsaran proposed to do was to take one of his cheeses and some bread up to the top of the waterfall, which he felt would attract Karl’s attention. “I will offer to share my food with him if he hears me out. If he is a goat at heart, that should be a difficult offer to refuse, especially as Volakula cheese is the best in the world, and both bread and cheese are hard for hermits to come by.”

“While we eat together, I will ask him what he is going to do now that the Hermetic world knows he is here. A young magus, alone, in an area with a strong magical aura. He mentioned Primii in the strongest sense of the term. I will tell him what I know of such Primii. They are not young and inexperienced. They are ancient and powerful. If there comes to be a covenant here with such Primus, that Primus will not be him. He will belong to that Primus. Even if we leave and never come back, word will spread. Grogs talk to other grogs, Lemannus will want to know why we left — Lemannus may come to reassert their claim to the valley. If they do not, other covenants will. And if we had never come into the valley, Lemannus would have come themselves. One magus simply cannot hold this valley against the covenants alone. His is a hard position in which to be.

“Then I will change the subject. I will talk about our covenant. I will point out that we are young, like him, and that we are as independent as a herd of goats. There is a powerful friend who watches out for us from afar, which protects us from the other old covenants, but we are otherwise largely free to do as we wish. I will explain to him our charter, and the benefits it offers to all of the strong-minded and independent members of the covenant. Among the other benefits I will mention are the presence of grogs who can prepare good food for us and tend to mundane things that interfere with getting serious work done.

“I will admit that we have recently lost two members of our covenant, and that we do not have a Bjornaer among us. I will comment that we consider the diversity among our numbers to be a strength, and that while we all seek wisdom in different ways, that makes our strength when we work together in friendship all the greater. So, I will suggest to him, another member of the covenant — another equal among equals — who was of House Bjornaer would be welcome.

“Then I will thank him for sharing my food and hearing me out and I will ask him what news I should take to the rest of the covenant: that I wish to sponsor Karl of Bjornaer as a member of the covenant with the distinction of being first to enter the valley, or that Karl of Bjornaer does not wish to join our company of equals.

“Whatever his reply, we then go back to Lemannus to consult with the others and acquire what we’ll need for our return.

“That is the plan I propose. With luck, this issue with Karl will be over quickly, leaving us with the rest of the season to get on with our original work. But I am one of many here, and I insist on none of my plan if it displeases the rest. What say you?”

 

[Ladybird]

Another letter out of order

Below, I have copied over a letter dictated to me by Wilhelm von Lenzburg, one of the companions of our covenant, just before our meeting with Karl. Wilhelm can neither read nor write himself, and therefore was a bit agitated at the idea that I should retain a copy of his correspondence – I fear that he simply does not understand the importance of this chronicle for the history of Lumen Montis. I had to go to great lengths to assure him that none besides its intended recipient would read his letter save myself and distant posterity – furthermore, since it is written in German, I doubt that anyone else here can read it. Still, it is a part of the covenant’s history, and thus I reproduce it as he dictated it to me, to serve as an introduction to him.

---
My dear brother:

I pray that this letter finds you well. I have reached my new post in Monthey safely, and I am busy getting acquainted with the people whom it will be my duty to protect. I must admit that I did not know what to expect, when our lord assigned me to this far corner of the Empire. I suppose I had very few thoughts to spare, save my disappointment at being called away from the expedition to the Holy Land. But if anything, I thought it would be something like what we saw when we were children visiting Lemannus, only smaller. Instead, there is no building at all – the magi are building this covenant up from the ground. I had hardly arrived when we set out again to scout the village for a potential site for the covenant.

The village of Monthey itself seems like a very nice place. It is in the middle of the mountains, which makes it a bit difficult to get around on horseback, but I doubt there will be much need for that anyway once we are settled. And it is a rather pretty spot, too. Fortunately, there is a church right in the village – I had feared that this far out in the country there might only be a traveling priest, or a church in the next village over. It worried me, though that when I stopped in the church to offer a prayer of thanks for our safe arrival, I heard the magi muttering that there was something they did not like about the ‘aura’ of the place. I remember Father saying that very few of the magi at Lemannus ever attended Mass, and it worries me greatly that my new companions at Lumen Montis may have a similar disregard for religion.

The magi – or at least the ones I have met, which is not all of them, because some went back to Lemannus to take care of some other business – are a curious group. One of them speaks about music that nobody else can hear, another talks to her goat. But I know that the studies of the magi are far beyond me, and that even these strange traits may prove useful in the future.

But one of them hardly seems like a magus at all. Tsaran seems to be nearly as skilled on horseback as I am, and talks readily about military matters. He may yet prove to be a friend. Yes, I am well aware that I am not here to make friends but to do my duty and protect the magi of this new covenant. But still, it would be comforting to have a friend here, so far from home – or at the very least, a sparring partner who is my equal with a sword, or close to it, so that I can keep up with my training.

There is something I would like to ask your advice about, that I think I will need to pay careful attention to while I am here in Monthey, and that is how to deal with women. I know that I have followed your instructions time and time again, but somehow it never seems to work. You always say ‘smile, but keep your distance until you’re sure that she is not spoken for’ – but what happens if she comes over to me? It would be terribly rude and ungracious for me to go away from her if she approaches, wouldn’t it? And what happens if she is spoken for, but prefers my company anyway?

Oh yes – I would also like your advice on how to take care of a black eye.

Sometimes I think it would be easier if I could have been a priest.

Please give my love to Mother and Father. I pray that I will see you all again soon.


Your brother,

Wilhelm

 

[Orichalcum]

Inn at Monthey - Brigitta

Salve! Yolande, Parens cara,

I know you will be glad to hear that the new covenant is proceeding relatively well. Well, actually, there are a few minor issues. I am pleased with my fellow sodales; they are strong in the area where I am not, but I feel that my contributions will also be helpful. In particular, most of them couldn't tell an edelweiss from a daisy, or a goat from a marmot. City magi - some of them are even from Italy.

We found a lovely location for our covenant, high in the mountains in the valley of Monthey, with large amounts of Animal and Herbam Vis, I am sure, and plenty of good pasture for the animals. Also, my sodalis Celeste says that there is a very high magical aura here, which is good for us. Unfortunately, someone else has already invaded our intended pasture. His name is Karl, and he's a Bjornaer - you know, one of those magi who thinks that turning into an animal is the best way to understand them. He doesn't understand the role of the shepherd, who must be above the flock. Would you believe he turns into a goat? Anyways, he was very rude to us, and refused to acknowledge our rights, and it's not clear now what the covenant's going to do.

I think, myself, that Tsaran, who seems to be gifted at certamen, should go back to Lemannus and get some of our raw vis and then challenge the insolent goat-man to a duel and drive him off our lands. Of course, if my more eloquent sodales wish to try and reason with the man first, it may save us the vis, but I am convinced that sooner or later we will have to demonstrate our power here. He needs to know just who is King of the Mountain, and I am certain that the answer will be Lumen Montis.

Vale, tua filia, Brigitta

 

[mmeubiquitous]

Celeste spoke to the group:

"I can understand this Karl's want for privacy." She smiled shyly. "I think that our group is...well, ill-equipped to deal with this issue at the moment. While we could use force, I do not think it would be a good idea for us to make an enemy so early in our covenant's song. I believe we would be better served to seek harmony, not discord. Perhaps he would join us, but we need to learn much about him before we ask him in, I think. Perhaps we might return to Lemannus and pose this...query...to those of our group more well-versed in matters such as these. Perhaps there is a way for our song and his to find a common theme. In the meantime, we can look for possible vis sources nearby....perhaps we may be able to stake a claim somewhere...less spoken for."