Scribed by Pyrrhus
Spring
It falls to me again to record our activities for the year. I do not mind the duty, but I must admit I do not have the wit of Jari, the accuracy of Naevius, the compassion of Theoclea or the completeness of Terentius, but at least others can read the word I put down here and judge us by them. The Spring had come with blustery showers in its wake, which made going outside a roll of the dice as to whether you would end up soaked or not.
The council met on a blustery day just after dawn. Naevius asked us all if we had any further news from the previous season. Jari replied with nothing that was not already recorded in the journal, and so, not receiving any new information, he proceeded to discuss our captain and his age. We speculated about a replacement, but his potion should protect him from ageing for another couple of decades. We stated we would keep an eye out for a likely lad to train up.
We then moved on to the more important matter of the plans we had for the coming year. Specifically, the plans related to a possible solution to the terrible darkness in the east that had threatened to envelop us all. Theoclea stated that her research using the crystal to summon memories of Myrddyn had finished, as the crystal no longer contained any more. All she could see now were her memories, which, while useful, gave a new perspective on old encounters or activities, but were not going to help find the solution. She continued to say that when she had sought to emulate the spells, she could feel something of a flow of magic, but that it was formless and lacked direction. She thought she was missing a trick and looked a bit confused as to what it might be. I suggested that the Myrddyn stone might be a source of information, but she rapidly dismissed that as the stone predated Myrddyn; however, that sparked an Idea for Naevius, who said he would be keen to see the runes that had channelled the power of the land, and Jari agreed to go with him to help. Jari and Branwyn agreed that in Spring, they would go and finish the survey of Anglesey henges, if Holy Isle did not object. There was talk of what to do about Branwyn’s cat familiar, a fat ball of ginger fur, as it seemed afeared of open water. The trip to Holy Isle would be made more complex without the luxury of using our ship. I must admit that I was not interested in this discussion, but they were determined to have it. I stated I would be assisting Marcellus and, in the process, learning Blacksmithing from him. We also talked about the groves and how they might be used to summon the power of the land, but I don't think Branwen wanted to divulge her secrets to the council, as she was quite quiet about the subject. Seven pawns of Vim vis were distributed to each Magus, after a bit of a slip in Naevius’ calculations, which meant that two pawns of Vim vis were added to the pot after Branwen had already chosen hers. The look of jealousy in her eyes was obvious to all to see as Jari, with a smile, plucked a pawn of Vim Vis in his selection.
No money was distributed as we were still making a loss, due to the rising cost of food.
After the distribution of Vis, there was a clarification of the amount of work needed for Berenger of Carrion Moor, and I explained we had approximately three years left to complete the deal and that Marcellus would have to spend some time in Southampton to forge and attach the ram to the ship.
Terentius and the junior maga Branwen set out for Holy Isle covenant to ask permission to explore the henges on the island of Anglesea, after a convoluted journey due to Branwen's stupid familiar. At holy Isle, they were met by Magus Severus of House Bjornaer, who granted them entry on the showing of their sigils, I’m not sure I could use this method to assert a magus is of the order as I do not know every magus’ sigil and also it could be faked fairly easily. Once inside and after a little refreshment, they asked permission to explore the standing stones, which was granted as long as they did not harvest any of the vis. Severus explained that the five sites were. Bryn Gwyn is a haunted circle, which is a source of Mentem Vis on the southern end of the island. Tymawr Hut near the covenant gates, there is a local legend that people who travel there forget their business. North on the main island, there is Penyr Orsedd, which provided mentem vis. Another was Meny Hirion, which provided Terram Vis. and finally Rhos Goch, which provided Imagonem Vis. After examining these sites, they all turned out to be of the second or third magnitude, which showed that none of them was a great hedge. The pair then returned to the covenant with Terentius working on a dust to destroy a spirit in case the spirit of revenge came after him, and Branwen learnt a few menial spells from the library..
Jari and Naevius travelled to the Merddynn stone using spells of the unseen porter to transport the portable lab and their supplies to the site, as grogs would have gotten eaten by the wild forest. They spent the season examining the Merddyn Stone using the portable lab that Marcellus had built for Jari. Naevius broadly ignored the animal features on the stone and instead concentrated on the decorative etchings around them. He stated they were not Ogham but similar and were not decorative, but in fact, had some interaction with the main animal figures. After five weeks, he had a first iteration of an alphabet which might have had a shared root with Ogham. Naevius was interested to see if there were similar etchings on the other stones. They then went and collected some grogs and caught the ship from Chepstow down to Bos Castle to Trevalga Covenant, where they rested and met Maga Edenia, Naevius's friendly rival. And although Edenia asked a lot of questions about the findings already made, Naevius and Jari avoided the questions, speaking in vague terms. A few days later, they got to the site of the stones that protected the sleeping Arthur and started to examine them. There were similar designs, but they were faded until Jari cast his spell to make them more obvious. The signs here were more sophisticated than the ones at Myrdden’s stone, and Naevius wondered if these were done later in Myrdden's life when he had mastered the craft. After spending another five weeks studying this, they returned to the covenant and transcribed their notes.
Summer
We met on the first day of summer. It was a pleasant day and the sun shone brightly, but I could not help but dwell on the fact that the demonic curse from the east approaches and we have no method yet of protecting ourselves or our sodales. Naevius told us about his previous season's actions. He asked Branwen about the script, as she might have known from her training of the primitive practices of some of the runes' secrets. I asked about investigating the Trellech stones, but my sodales were nervous of experimenting on a covenant Vis site. Terentius stated that the survey was a waste of time, and I have recorded the circles in the spring season journal. Thoclea and Jari agreed to go to the Gower peninsula, where there was a small stone to see if she could use Merddyn's magic on the stone. I announced I would continue my studies in medicine in Gloucester. Branwen said she would learn a spell, “Keen intuition of the magical veil”, to aid her in her magical investigations. Terentius also chose to learn a spell, “Coerce the spirits of the night”, in preparation for his encounter with the spirit of vengeance that stalked him. Naevius suggested that maybe some aid could be gathered from the people who summoned it, but Branwen said there was no assistance to be garnered in that direction.
Theoclea, Jari and a couple of grogs called Cyprian and Kidrick set off for the Gower peninsula, took the ship to Swansea and then walked to the standing stone, which was a mile or two from a small village.
I went to Gloucester and studied at the college, learning how compounds and unguents might assist in the recovery of diseases by balancing the humours, especially of the blood. On the way there, I saw a ship approaching Blackney carrying some soldiers. But I ignored it and carried on.
Pyrrhus' Private Journal
One night, just after midnight, the candles guttered in my cell, and a familiar figure appeared sitting in the chair. We exchanged pleasantries and drank some of the wine. He seemed pleased, but I did not like it as much as the French ones I had tried in the past. I asked about our quest and he reported that he was waiting for one of the factions of my enmity to make a move before revealing the knowledge that the witches were planning to save their skins in a magical grove. He then went on to tempt me to fight against my sodales and take the crown for myself, calling Branwen an ignorant peasant, which made me smile. I explained how Branwen was a snake and a weasel and how all the witches deserved to burn, how she did not have much power herself but relied on artefacts such as the wooden finger or the crown. I then steered the conversation onto the fact that my friend Alouisus was in hell, and I wanted a counselling voice I could trust. I knew my shadowy friend had the ability, as he had done with Theo, to bind spirits into a gemstone and asked if he could retrieve the spirit of Aloussius from hell, bind it, and then he could assist me in my decision-making. My dark friend asked me if I had some sympathetic connection like a prized possession or something similar as there were a lot of individuals in hell and finding a particular one would be very difficult, I admitted that I did not and then he asked if I would like one of his minions as what he called a fetch, I rejected this Idea quickly as I thought it would bind me to him too tightly. He finally offered me one more option, that I enter Hell itself as a spirit and search using my emotional connection to Allouisius to lead me to him. As I didn't want my body to be found spiritless by a member of the college, I went to Toby's cave and there settled into a sleeping pose, and my spirit was dragged from my body. I looked down at my restful body, wondering if I would see it again. The figure that's standing in front of me, no longer a rather well-dressed gentleman scholar. A black skull with dark hollows for eyes, horns from his head, a lean figure about twelve feet tall, crouched in the cave. It said take my hand and with that I was wracked with pain and a sunk into the pits of hell hearing laughter among me, I swooped over millions of suffering souls in the burning landscape and landed on a bluff of rock surrounded by burning lava and on the banks saw souls being burnt alive by demons ladling lava over them. The heat through the soles of my feet was like agony. My dark friend said to me, “Find your friend, hell is large and do not tarry”. I tried to remember the joyous moments, but in that place of sorrow, none would come to me. Therefore, I fixated on the loss when I heard he had been murdered. In the distance, I felt a pulling and indicated to my dark shadow the direction. The evil one tried to plant doubt in my mind as to Allousius’s feelings for me. He then grabbed my shoulders, and we flew through the hellscape, and a blackened forest came into view. There were no leaves on the trees, and the air was thick with ash. Pinned to the trees, there were various figures with black spears, and they squirmed and howled with agony, and the hot ash burned my eyes and throat. I searched around and again focused on the feelings. More doubts came from the black one, sowing them to try and defeat me, calling me a squalid dog, to Allouisus’ plottings. We set off in a direction I was sure of, and then we saw a cliff edge, and I pointed down to a dark pit where traitors lay, according to the tall one. We dropped down. The land was now not fiery but filled with frost and cold, and I searched around him, and the demon said I was like a court jester to Allousius, but I retorted that I was like a son to him. Trudging through the cold and ice with the sharp crystals cutting my feet forever, eventually collapsing to my knees, my dark partner telling me I could not rest there, I tried to rise, but a few paces later, I collapsed again, my fingers black with frostbite. My dark partner told me that if I could not get to my feet, I would lie there forever. He offered me help, but at the price of my soul. I refused, as that was my only bargaining chip with it, and, with one last mighty effort, rose again to my feet and staggered forward, my pride burning through my veins, my mind refusing to fail. Then, between two cliffs, I raised my head and there, eight feet above me, frozen in agony, was my Primus. The dark creature then reached out his hand, and Allouisius vanished into a dark crystal it held. With that, we rose, and I awoke screaming, wracked in pain in the palms of my hands and the soles of my feet, hot and cold at the same time. Eventually, the pain faded, and the gem was set with the symbol of the house Flambeau in an iron setting. The demon asked for the price of a tooth, and, with a simple spell, I extracted the tooth and handed it over to my dark companion. Sixty-six days had passed for me in the mundane world, and I was informed that my spirit would have been damaged by the experience I had suffered. It then vanished, and I returned to Gloucester to complete my studies. It later turned out that my journey to hell had permanently scarred my soul, and when I tripped later that season, I felt a massive pain in my hands many times more than I normally would.
In Blackney, some soldiers had arrived and questioned Leof, demanding that four men from Blackney assemble in two weeks to head to Lydney to be taken as levy for the war in France. It would not be suitable for werewolves to go to war, as they would be shown to be afflicted on the first new moon. So Leof journeyed up to the covenant and consulted with Terentius about a solution to the problem. An emergency council was called to discuss the situation, and after much discussion, we decided to send four of the grogs from the covenant's turb. After seeking volunteers and getting four good men, they marched off to Lydney with time to spare.
Jari and Theoclea set off for the Gower peninsula to attempt to use her learnt magics on the magical stone there. After travelling overland in the pleasant summer days, they arrived at the obscure, unnamed stone. Jari seemed to know the route well, and they had made decent time. The stone stood on a bulge in the land just down from a wooded hill. Jari checked the aura, and it was only of the first magnitude, which was expected. Jari conducted some small investigations to examine the area but found nothing unusual. Theoclea then determined to start her ritual. She started chanting and moving around the stone, and Jari observed her mundanely and magically, but then he saw a flicker of power but then Theoclea stopped saying that it was as much as before. When asked why she stopped, she stated that nothing was happening. Jari persuaded her to try longer, and again she chanted and walked. Jari again spotted a flicker in the ancient powers, but this time, however, Theoclea stopped again. Races the wind asked if something about the magic stopped her from completing it. They rested for the night, and during the moonlit hours races the wind consulted with the moon. It appears that to cast this type of magic, you have to release control and allow the magic to flow freely, which was scary for a maga of the Hermetic Order. After explaining this to Theoclea, she determined to make the attempt and let loose control of the ancient magics. She again circled the stone and chanted, but this time she did not stop, and the ancient magic flowed. Races' foot thumped many times on the ground, a sure sign that something dangerous was about to happen. Although there was no wind that day, Theoclea's hair was being tossed around like she was in a gale, and Jari spotted a vortex of ancient magic around her. Then the woods started to grow, the vines started to grab at the grog's feet, and they had to run for their lives as branches swept towards them. Everything in the area was growing, including the crops, and Jari investigated the area, seeing the local villagers looking with amazement at the windfall of the crops that had befallen them. The grogs approached the stone through thick grass and approached Theoclea, who was unconscious. Eventually, Jari joined the grogs, and they waited until sunset, but Theoclea did not rise; she appeared very weak and close to death, and Jari cast a spell to understand her ailment. She needed urgent treatment, or she would have died. Jari, in desperation, took Vis from his pouch and touched Theoclea, sending her back to the covenant. He then followed, leaving the grogs to fend for themselves. Back at the covenant under the watchful eye of the healer, Theoclea recovered over several weeks.
Terentius, now prepared to meet the spirit of vengeance, set out to a small glade near Blackney and during the day slept in a ring of protection against spirits, but during the night spent time outside the ring. Nothing occurred for the first couple of nights, but on the third night, he felt a chill in the air. An arrow flew from the woods, but it shattered on his Parma Magica. Looking, he saw a figure in the dark woods about a hundred paces away, and he saw the spirit bow to him, showing him respect and then turn and disappear into the darkness. The spirit had performed an eye for an eye, and as Terentius had fired an arrow at it, it fired a single arrow back at him.
Autumn
We met on the first day of Autumn, with the tree’s green leaves starting to turn to red and gold. Theoclea reported what happened in the Gower; she stated that when the magic finally came, she was lifted out of her body and watched it come to being. She noted that the spell casting was a success, but too dangerous to replicate. She then went on to how Merddyn had a staff to lean on and spells to boost his resistance to the draining effects of such magics. The magic was not how she had anticipated, but the villagers seemed happy with the bounteous harvest. Naevius asked Jari for a thorough investigation of the stone, and then he would, using the notes Jari created, attempt to carve new runes into the stone to control and enhance its powers. Theoclea learnt a new spell to help against the drain of her new magics called “grant the endurance of Phidipides”. Terentius reported on his encounter with the spirit. I told all present that I would be learning from my genius companion, Marcellus, in Southampton, as he created and installed the Ram on Carrion Moor’s ship. I also informed my sodalis that I had had a breakthrough in my studies and that I could now use the elements of the earth to improve my treatment of diseases if any became ill.
A large group of us made our way down to Blakney as we had Naevius, Jari, me, and the grogs and companions took the ship. We dropped off Naevius and Jari in Swansea so they could investigate the Gower stone. Marcellus and I made our way to Southampton and were greeted there by Beringer. Marcellus and the Shipwright, a man called Hugh de Groot, instantly hit it off, but I took exception to him for some reason, and he irked me. After confirming that Marcellus would be safe, I decided to remove myself from Southampton to prevent some ill words from ending up in me frying the shipwright where he stood. I returned and learned some Animal magic from the library
Naevius and Jari made their way up the hills and approached the site. The woodlands were expanded, the fields looked like they had been harvested early, and a second crop was nearly ready to be harvested again. They approached the stone, set up a camp and set up the portable laboratory, then they started to investigate the stone. The grogs on the first visit to the local village to buy provisions found a village in merriment, where the surplus of fruit and grain had led to a Bacchanalia, where they were giving out food and drink for free. After sating their appetites and drinking themselves to oblivion (Jari has no control over his grogs as they do not fear or respect him), they returned burdened down with the excess food that they were sold at a very reasonable price. The next time they went to get food and drink, Jari went with them to investigate. It appeared that they might have got a third harvest that year and were looking to get a fourth soon. They were now shipping the excess off to Swansea to sell without telling the landholders, and were very suspicious of the men until the grogs were recognised. The investigation of the stone turned out to be a minor weather influencer that sailors might have made a sacrifice to ensure a safe journey across the channel for fishing or trading.
Terentius’ journey to Mynedd Merdden was uneventful in the form of a bird, and he went widdershins around the white stones to enter the Regio. He soon arrived at the tunnels and, with his typical skill, traversed the tunnels, going through the narrowings and water-filled areas using magic to make his journey easier. He collected a large sum of vis for which we were very grateful at the next spring division.
Winter
The cool winds made the stone cold to the touch as I climbed the stairs to the council chamber. We greeted each other in the traditional method, apart from Jari, who thought it funny to greet us with a good morning in the vulgar English tongue. Terentius reported on his journey and stated he had found an underwater entrance and exit from the Regio, which was a tributary of the Wye River. He loves going in and about the Caves there, which I find odd. Naevius volunteered to extract vis as a covenant service. Naevius and Jari then went into a discussion of what to do at the sone next year and if it might require Vim Vis. Jari studied from the Auram books in preparation for the enchantments they plan to cast on the stone. Branwen said she had completed turning her lab into more of a herbalistic flavour, and she would now attempt to create herbal potions to stop someone from dying in the field. I was quizzed about my being in the covenant last season, and I explained that remaining in Southampton was not amicable to me. I was then asked what I could perform as a covenant service. We ended up with me extracting Vim Vis, and Naevius created a device for the ship to summon winds to the sails, which he could do with two uses a day. Terentius and Theoclea studied from personal visits this season. Theoclea suggested that binding a familiar with bronze bonds might help her with the exertions of casting a spell through the calling of ancient magics.
A few days into the season, the Redcap Gaines arrived and dispensed his news, both hermetic and mundane. He stated that the order of the east had rejoined the order of Hermes as the Thebes tribunal, and the ragged parts left of the Levant tribunal were now merged into this larger Thebes tribunal. There is now a move to refound Domus Magni for the houses without them, House Bonisagus being the most important to allow for grand tribunals, but also House Flambeau, Guernicus, Merinita, Mercere and Jerbiton. There is also a move to reestablish communication with the order Ethiopicus if they still survive. Primus Flambeau has volunteered to act as a hoplite for a mission to contact the lost house. Branwen asked about Corpus Dominii and if a decision had been made, but Gaines said that no one claimed membership, and the known covenants were empty, but no decision at a grand tribunal had been made. Of mundane news, the English and the French had been fighting mightily. Berwick upon Tweed had been lost to the Scots, but the men from Yorkshire had laid siege to recapture it. In Ireland, the rebellion continued with the English troops being pulled out to fight the French, but any land west of Dublin and its environs was dangerous to travel. In Hibernia, there was a rumour that some members of the order of Hermes might be aiding the Irish barons in their rebellion, but no charges have yet been raised. He reported about the men being levied and the French battles, and the English had taken Boulogne, and the French fleet had not been able to challenge the English fleet. The food shortages caused by poor harvests on the continent might limit the fighting in France. There was a rumour that the south of Wales had a bumper harvest and local food prices were lower. Jari explained that it might be due to his actions, which allayed Gaines' worries that it might be something else. Jari promised to keep Blackthorn apprised if the situation changed in the Gower. Gaines stayed the night and left the next day.
The rest of the season passed peacefully, and thus, my duty to the journal ended.
Spring
It falls to me again to record our activities for the year. I do not mind the duty, but I must admit I do not have the wit of Jari, the accuracy of Naevius, the compassion of Theoclea or the completeness of Terentius, but at least others can read the word I put down here and judge us by them. The Spring had come with blustery showers in its wake, which made going outside a roll of the dice as to whether you would end up soaked or not.
The council met on a blustery day just after dawn. Naevius asked us all if we had any further news from the previous season. Jari replied with nothing that was not already recorded in the journal, and so, not receiving any new information, he proceeded to discuss our captain and his age. We speculated about a replacement, but his potion should protect him from ageing for another couple of decades. We stated we would keep an eye out for a likely lad to train up.
We then moved on to the more important matter of the plans we had for the coming year. Specifically, the plans related to a possible solution to the terrible darkness in the east that had threatened to envelop us all. Theoclea stated that her research using the crystal to summon memories of Myrddyn had finished, as the crystal no longer contained any more. All she could see now were her memories, which, while useful, gave a new perspective on old encounters or activities, but were not going to help find the solution. She continued to say that when she had sought to emulate the spells, she could feel something of a flow of magic, but that it was formless and lacked direction. She thought she was missing a trick and looked a bit confused as to what it might be. I suggested that the Myrddyn stone might be a source of information, but she rapidly dismissed that as the stone predated Myrddyn; however, that sparked an Idea for Naevius, who said he would be keen to see the runes that had channelled the power of the land, and Jari agreed to go with him to help. Jari and Branwyn agreed that in Spring, they would go and finish the survey of Anglesey henges, if Holy Isle did not object. There was talk of what to do about Branwyn’s cat familiar, a fat ball of ginger fur, as it seemed afeared of open water. The trip to Holy Isle would be made more complex without the luxury of using our ship. I must admit that I was not interested in this discussion, but they were determined to have it. I stated I would be assisting Marcellus and, in the process, learning Blacksmithing from him. We also talked about the groves and how they might be used to summon the power of the land, but I don't think Branwen wanted to divulge her secrets to the council, as she was quite quiet about the subject. Seven pawns of Vim vis were distributed to each Magus, after a bit of a slip in Naevius’ calculations, which meant that two pawns of Vim vis were added to the pot after Branwen had already chosen hers. The look of jealousy in her eyes was obvious to all to see as Jari, with a smile, plucked a pawn of Vim Vis in his selection.
No money was distributed as we were still making a loss, due to the rising cost of food.
After the distribution of Vis, there was a clarification of the amount of work needed for Berenger of Carrion Moor, and I explained we had approximately three years left to complete the deal and that Marcellus would have to spend some time in Southampton to forge and attach the ram to the ship.
Terentius and the junior maga Branwen set out for Holy Isle covenant to ask permission to explore the henges on the island of Anglesea, after a convoluted journey due to Branwen's stupid familiar. At holy Isle, they were met by Magus Severus of House Bjornaer, who granted them entry on the showing of their sigils, I’m not sure I could use this method to assert a magus is of the order as I do not know every magus’ sigil and also it could be faked fairly easily. Once inside and after a little refreshment, they asked permission to explore the standing stones, which was granted as long as they did not harvest any of the vis. Severus explained that the five sites were. Bryn Gwyn is a haunted circle, which is a source of Mentem Vis on the southern end of the island. Tymawr Hut near the covenant gates, there is a local legend that people who travel there forget their business. North on the main island, there is Penyr Orsedd, which provided mentem vis. Another was Meny Hirion, which provided Terram Vis. and finally Rhos Goch, which provided Imagonem Vis. After examining these sites, they all turned out to be of the second or third magnitude, which showed that none of them was a great hedge. The pair then returned to the covenant with Terentius working on a dust to destroy a spirit in case the spirit of revenge came after him, and Branwen learnt a few menial spells from the library..
Jari and Naevius travelled to the Merddynn stone using spells of the unseen porter to transport the portable lab and their supplies to the site, as grogs would have gotten eaten by the wild forest. They spent the season examining the Merddyn Stone using the portable lab that Marcellus had built for Jari. Naevius broadly ignored the animal features on the stone and instead concentrated on the decorative etchings around them. He stated they were not Ogham but similar and were not decorative, but in fact, had some interaction with the main animal figures. After five weeks, he had a first iteration of an alphabet which might have had a shared root with Ogham. Naevius was interested to see if there were similar etchings on the other stones. They then went and collected some grogs and caught the ship from Chepstow down to Bos Castle to Trevalga Covenant, where they rested and met Maga Edenia, Naevius's friendly rival. And although Edenia asked a lot of questions about the findings already made, Naevius and Jari avoided the questions, speaking in vague terms. A few days later, they got to the site of the stones that protected the sleeping Arthur and started to examine them. There were similar designs, but they were faded until Jari cast his spell to make them more obvious. The signs here were more sophisticated than the ones at Myrdden’s stone, and Naevius wondered if these were done later in Myrdden's life when he had mastered the craft. After spending another five weeks studying this, they returned to the covenant and transcribed their notes.
Summer
We met on the first day of summer. It was a pleasant day and the sun shone brightly, but I could not help but dwell on the fact that the demonic curse from the east approaches and we have no method yet of protecting ourselves or our sodales. Naevius told us about his previous season's actions. He asked Branwen about the script, as she might have known from her training of the primitive practices of some of the runes' secrets. I asked about investigating the Trellech stones, but my sodales were nervous of experimenting on a covenant Vis site. Terentius stated that the survey was a waste of time, and I have recorded the circles in the spring season journal. Thoclea and Jari agreed to go to the Gower peninsula, where there was a small stone to see if she could use Merddyn's magic on the stone. I announced I would continue my studies in medicine in Gloucester. Branwen said she would learn a spell, “Keen intuition of the magical veil”, to aid her in her magical investigations. Terentius also chose to learn a spell, “Coerce the spirits of the night”, in preparation for his encounter with the spirit of vengeance that stalked him. Naevius suggested that maybe some aid could be gathered from the people who summoned it, but Branwen said there was no assistance to be garnered in that direction.
Theoclea, Jari and a couple of grogs called Cyprian and Kidrick set off for the Gower peninsula, took the ship to Swansea and then walked to the standing stone, which was a mile or two from a small village.
I went to Gloucester and studied at the college, learning how compounds and unguents might assist in the recovery of diseases by balancing the humours, especially of the blood. On the way there, I saw a ship approaching Blackney carrying some soldiers. But I ignored it and carried on.
Pyrrhus' Private Journal
One night, just after midnight, the candles guttered in my cell, and a familiar figure appeared sitting in the chair. We exchanged pleasantries and drank some of the wine. He seemed pleased, but I did not like it as much as the French ones I had tried in the past. I asked about our quest and he reported that he was waiting for one of the factions of my enmity to make a move before revealing the knowledge that the witches were planning to save their skins in a magical grove. He then went on to tempt me to fight against my sodales and take the crown for myself, calling Branwen an ignorant peasant, which made me smile. I explained how Branwen was a snake and a weasel and how all the witches deserved to burn, how she did not have much power herself but relied on artefacts such as the wooden finger or the crown. I then steered the conversation onto the fact that my friend Alouisus was in hell, and I wanted a counselling voice I could trust. I knew my shadowy friend had the ability, as he had done with Theo, to bind spirits into a gemstone and asked if he could retrieve the spirit of Aloussius from hell, bind it, and then he could assist me in my decision-making. My dark friend asked me if I had some sympathetic connection like a prized possession or something similar as there were a lot of individuals in hell and finding a particular one would be very difficult, I admitted that I did not and then he asked if I would like one of his minions as what he called a fetch, I rejected this Idea quickly as I thought it would bind me to him too tightly. He finally offered me one more option, that I enter Hell itself as a spirit and search using my emotional connection to Allouisius to lead me to him. As I didn't want my body to be found spiritless by a member of the college, I went to Toby's cave and there settled into a sleeping pose, and my spirit was dragged from my body. I looked down at my restful body, wondering if I would see it again. The figure that's standing in front of me, no longer a rather well-dressed gentleman scholar. A black skull with dark hollows for eyes, horns from his head, a lean figure about twelve feet tall, crouched in the cave. It said take my hand and with that I was wracked with pain and a sunk into the pits of hell hearing laughter among me, I swooped over millions of suffering souls in the burning landscape and landed on a bluff of rock surrounded by burning lava and on the banks saw souls being burnt alive by demons ladling lava over them. The heat through the soles of my feet was like agony. My dark friend said to me, “Find your friend, hell is large and do not tarry”. I tried to remember the joyous moments, but in that place of sorrow, none would come to me. Therefore, I fixated on the loss when I heard he had been murdered. In the distance, I felt a pulling and indicated to my dark shadow the direction. The evil one tried to plant doubt in my mind as to Allousius’s feelings for me. He then grabbed my shoulders, and we flew through the hellscape, and a blackened forest came into view. There were no leaves on the trees, and the air was thick with ash. Pinned to the trees, there were various figures with black spears, and they squirmed and howled with agony, and the hot ash burned my eyes and throat. I searched around and again focused on the feelings. More doubts came from the black one, sowing them to try and defeat me, calling me a squalid dog, to Allouisus’ plottings. We set off in a direction I was sure of, and then we saw a cliff edge, and I pointed down to a dark pit where traitors lay, according to the tall one. We dropped down. The land was now not fiery but filled with frost and cold, and I searched around him, and the demon said I was like a court jester to Allousius, but I retorted that I was like a son to him. Trudging through the cold and ice with the sharp crystals cutting my feet forever, eventually collapsing to my knees, my dark partner telling me I could not rest there, I tried to rise, but a few paces later, I collapsed again, my fingers black with frostbite. My dark partner told me that if I could not get to my feet, I would lie there forever. He offered me help, but at the price of my soul. I refused, as that was my only bargaining chip with it, and, with one last mighty effort, rose again to my feet and staggered forward, my pride burning through my veins, my mind refusing to fail. Then, between two cliffs, I raised my head and there, eight feet above me, frozen in agony, was my Primus. The dark creature then reached out his hand, and Allouisius vanished into a dark crystal it held. With that, we rose, and I awoke screaming, wracked in pain in the palms of my hands and the soles of my feet, hot and cold at the same time. Eventually, the pain faded, and the gem was set with the symbol of the house Flambeau in an iron setting. The demon asked for the price of a tooth, and, with a simple spell, I extracted the tooth and handed it over to my dark companion. Sixty-six days had passed for me in the mundane world, and I was informed that my spirit would have been damaged by the experience I had suffered. It then vanished, and I returned to Gloucester to complete my studies. It later turned out that my journey to hell had permanently scarred my soul, and when I tripped later that season, I felt a massive pain in my hands many times more than I normally would.
In Blackney, some soldiers had arrived and questioned Leof, demanding that four men from Blackney assemble in two weeks to head to Lydney to be taken as levy for the war in France. It would not be suitable for werewolves to go to war, as they would be shown to be afflicted on the first new moon. So Leof journeyed up to the covenant and consulted with Terentius about a solution to the problem. An emergency council was called to discuss the situation, and after much discussion, we decided to send four of the grogs from the covenant's turb. After seeking volunteers and getting four good men, they marched off to Lydney with time to spare.
Jari and Theoclea set off for the Gower peninsula to attempt to use her learnt magics on the magical stone there. After travelling overland in the pleasant summer days, they arrived at the obscure, unnamed stone. Jari seemed to know the route well, and they had made decent time. The stone stood on a bulge in the land just down from a wooded hill. Jari checked the aura, and it was only of the first magnitude, which was expected. Jari conducted some small investigations to examine the area but found nothing unusual. Theoclea then determined to start her ritual. She started chanting and moving around the stone, and Jari observed her mundanely and magically, but then he saw a flicker of power but then Theoclea stopped saying that it was as much as before. When asked why she stopped, she stated that nothing was happening. Jari persuaded her to try longer, and again she chanted and walked. Jari again spotted a flicker in the ancient powers, but this time, however, Theoclea stopped again. Races the wind asked if something about the magic stopped her from completing it. They rested for the night, and during the moonlit hours races the wind consulted with the moon. It appears that to cast this type of magic, you have to release control and allow the magic to flow freely, which was scary for a maga of the Hermetic Order. After explaining this to Theoclea, she determined to make the attempt and let loose control of the ancient magics. She again circled the stone and chanted, but this time she did not stop, and the ancient magic flowed. Races' foot thumped many times on the ground, a sure sign that something dangerous was about to happen. Although there was no wind that day, Theoclea's hair was being tossed around like she was in a gale, and Jari spotted a vortex of ancient magic around her. Then the woods started to grow, the vines started to grab at the grog's feet, and they had to run for their lives as branches swept towards them. Everything in the area was growing, including the crops, and Jari investigated the area, seeing the local villagers looking with amazement at the windfall of the crops that had befallen them. The grogs approached the stone through thick grass and approached Theoclea, who was unconscious. Eventually, Jari joined the grogs, and they waited until sunset, but Theoclea did not rise; she appeared very weak and close to death, and Jari cast a spell to understand her ailment. She needed urgent treatment, or she would have died. Jari, in desperation, took Vis from his pouch and touched Theoclea, sending her back to the covenant. He then followed, leaving the grogs to fend for themselves. Back at the covenant under the watchful eye of the healer, Theoclea recovered over several weeks.
Terentius, now prepared to meet the spirit of vengeance, set out to a small glade near Blackney and during the day slept in a ring of protection against spirits, but during the night spent time outside the ring. Nothing occurred for the first couple of nights, but on the third night, he felt a chill in the air. An arrow flew from the woods, but it shattered on his Parma Magica. Looking, he saw a figure in the dark woods about a hundred paces away, and he saw the spirit bow to him, showing him respect and then turn and disappear into the darkness. The spirit had performed an eye for an eye, and as Terentius had fired an arrow at it, it fired a single arrow back at him.
Autumn
We met on the first day of Autumn, with the tree’s green leaves starting to turn to red and gold. Theoclea reported what happened in the Gower; she stated that when the magic finally came, she was lifted out of her body and watched it come to being. She noted that the spell casting was a success, but too dangerous to replicate. She then went on to how Merddyn had a staff to lean on and spells to boost his resistance to the draining effects of such magics. The magic was not how she had anticipated, but the villagers seemed happy with the bounteous harvest. Naevius asked Jari for a thorough investigation of the stone, and then he would, using the notes Jari created, attempt to carve new runes into the stone to control and enhance its powers. Theoclea learnt a new spell to help against the drain of her new magics called “grant the endurance of Phidipides”. Terentius reported on his encounter with the spirit. I told all present that I would be learning from my genius companion, Marcellus, in Southampton, as he created and installed the Ram on Carrion Moor’s ship. I also informed my sodalis that I had had a breakthrough in my studies and that I could now use the elements of the earth to improve my treatment of diseases if any became ill.
A large group of us made our way down to Blakney as we had Naevius, Jari, me, and the grogs and companions took the ship. We dropped off Naevius and Jari in Swansea so they could investigate the Gower stone. Marcellus and I made our way to Southampton and were greeted there by Beringer. Marcellus and the Shipwright, a man called Hugh de Groot, instantly hit it off, but I took exception to him for some reason, and he irked me. After confirming that Marcellus would be safe, I decided to remove myself from Southampton to prevent some ill words from ending up in me frying the shipwright where he stood. I returned and learned some Animal magic from the library
Naevius and Jari made their way up the hills and approached the site. The woodlands were expanded, the fields looked like they had been harvested early, and a second crop was nearly ready to be harvested again. They approached the stone, set up a camp and set up the portable laboratory, then they started to investigate the stone. The grogs on the first visit to the local village to buy provisions found a village in merriment, where the surplus of fruit and grain had led to a Bacchanalia, where they were giving out food and drink for free. After sating their appetites and drinking themselves to oblivion (Jari has no control over his grogs as they do not fear or respect him), they returned burdened down with the excess food that they were sold at a very reasonable price. The next time they went to get food and drink, Jari went with them to investigate. It appeared that they might have got a third harvest that year and were looking to get a fourth soon. They were now shipping the excess off to Swansea to sell without telling the landholders, and were very suspicious of the men until the grogs were recognised. The investigation of the stone turned out to be a minor weather influencer that sailors might have made a sacrifice to ensure a safe journey across the channel for fishing or trading.
Terentius’ journey to Mynedd Merdden was uneventful in the form of a bird, and he went widdershins around the white stones to enter the Regio. He soon arrived at the tunnels and, with his typical skill, traversed the tunnels, going through the narrowings and water-filled areas using magic to make his journey easier. He collected a large sum of vis for which we were very grateful at the next spring division.
Winter
The cool winds made the stone cold to the touch as I climbed the stairs to the council chamber. We greeted each other in the traditional method, apart from Jari, who thought it funny to greet us with a good morning in the vulgar English tongue. Terentius reported on his journey and stated he had found an underwater entrance and exit from the Regio, which was a tributary of the Wye River. He loves going in and about the Caves there, which I find odd. Naevius volunteered to extract vis as a covenant service. Naevius and Jari then went into a discussion of what to do at the sone next year and if it might require Vim Vis. Jari studied from the Auram books in preparation for the enchantments they plan to cast on the stone. Branwen said she had completed turning her lab into more of a herbalistic flavour, and she would now attempt to create herbal potions to stop someone from dying in the field. I was quizzed about my being in the covenant last season, and I explained that remaining in Southampton was not amicable to me. I was then asked what I could perform as a covenant service. We ended up with me extracting Vim Vis, and Naevius created a device for the ship to summon winds to the sails, which he could do with two uses a day. Terentius and Theoclea studied from personal visits this season. Theoclea suggested that binding a familiar with bronze bonds might help her with the exertions of casting a spell through the calling of ancient magics.
A few days into the season, the Redcap Gaines arrived and dispensed his news, both hermetic and mundane. He stated that the order of the east had rejoined the order of Hermes as the Thebes tribunal, and the ragged parts left of the Levant tribunal were now merged into this larger Thebes tribunal. There is now a move to refound Domus Magni for the houses without them, House Bonisagus being the most important to allow for grand tribunals, but also House Flambeau, Guernicus, Merinita, Mercere and Jerbiton. There is also a move to reestablish communication with the order Ethiopicus if they still survive. Primus Flambeau has volunteered to act as a hoplite for a mission to contact the lost house. Branwen asked about Corpus Dominii and if a decision had been made, but Gaines said that no one claimed membership, and the known covenants were empty, but no decision at a grand tribunal had been made. Of mundane news, the English and the French had been fighting mightily. Berwick upon Tweed had been lost to the Scots, but the men from Yorkshire had laid siege to recapture it. In Ireland, the rebellion continued with the English troops being pulled out to fight the French, but any land west of Dublin and its environs was dangerous to travel. In Hibernia, there was a rumour that some members of the order of Hermes might be aiding the Irish barons in their rebellion, but no charges have yet been raised. He reported about the men being levied and the French battles, and the English had taken Boulogne, and the French fleet had not been able to challenge the English fleet. The food shortages caused by poor harvests on the continent might limit the fighting in France. There was a rumour that the south of Wales had a bumper harvest and local food prices were lower. Jari explained that it might be due to his actions, which allayed Gaines' worries that it might be something else. Jari promised to keep Blackthorn apprised if the situation changed in the Gower. Gaines stayed the night and left the next day.
The rest of the season passed peacefully, and thus, my duty to the journal ended.