Scribed by Antonius
Spring 1135 AD
The year started with an end and a new beginning, as Castellan Gareth retired after many years of faithful service at the ripe old age of fifty. It seems that he saved a sum of monies given to him by Lothar some years ago in gratitude for saving his life and wished to journey to see Rome one more time before he dies and enjoy his remaining years in warmer climes. Gareth has seen us through many troubled times and whilst he has not been the most dynamic of men, for a local lad from Blackney he has served this covenant most ably. We let him go with regret at his departure mingled with gladness at the knowledge, he at least of our fighting men, will have a chance to enjoy some peaceful years. Jared, the atheistic mercenary captain who I met defending the life of the Abbot at Tintern will assume command of the mundane running of Severn Temple. He seems to be a capable man and enjoyed a quiet start to his position with little of note happening during Spring.
The only incident worth remarking on was the return from foreign climes of Caelestis. His journey was apparently most successful as he returned with not just copies of the Almagest and the Koran, but also a moorish warrior, Hassan al-Mohammed, as his bodyguard. Though obviously an excellent swordsman, as shown by his swift dispatching of two brigands who tried to ambush Caelestis in the woods, I fear it may take him a while to get over his culture shock. I know little of life in moorish Iberia but it is clearly not very much like here. However, Hassan will have a good while to adjust to this land’s ways as Caelestis had forgotten that his house meeting was to be held this summer. Indeed so pressed was he for time that he decided to take ship to Northern Germany and then fly down to Durenmar from there.
Summer
At the Summer meeting, which Caelestis was happily able to attend before departing for Durenmar, there was some discussion about Caelestis performing a divination concerning the future of the covenant. I was not the only one who expressed reservations about the possibility of my future actions being scryed upon but a compromise was reached whereby Caelestis agreed to cease any reading that related to a specific magus. Despite my worries about the uneasy resemblance the process has to scrying, I was most curious as to what fate Caelestis would gleam from the stars for this place and those who dwell within it. Alas, the heavens do not bode well. On the second of August in this year there will be an eclipse with the usual trouble associated with such a poor omen. Unfortunately any ill events occurring then will be eclipsed, if you will pardon the expression, by the winter of eleven hundred and thirty six. Caelestis said that the portents for that time are the worst that he has ever seen. So bad in fact, that if the astral reading had been done for a person then he would be certain to die. Perhaps unsurprisingly the mood at council was somewhat sombre after such a revelation.
Caelestis left for London shortly afterwards to catch a ship to Lubeck which I had been able to arrange for him. From there he hopes to catch a boat on to Kolburg and then he should be able to simply follow the river to within sight of Durenmar. Turold also departed to visit Jordael for the manufacture of a new longevity potion and as the only magus remaining in the covenant I had to remain behind. I can only hope that whatever the Baron of Monmouth is up to will not come to fruition whilst I am here but it cannot be helped. Happily the summer months passed peacefully, with fair weather and I was able to enjoy a quiet, uninterrupted season’s study.
Autumn
The quiet of summer was brought to a gloomy end with our concillium’s autumnal meeting. Turold had spoken with Jordael and the news was not good. The watchers that Jordael had set about Stonehenge, though protected and hidden by enchantments, were all slain. There was also some sign that some sort of ritual had been performed at that most powerful magical of sites, though it’s nature or purpose could not be determined. A good, if grim, guess is that members of the UnNamed House sought to wake the dragon from its slumbers once more to send it against us.
With Caelestis’ divinations seeming to be ever more truthful I set out to warn Lydney of the forthcoming eclipse and potential trouble, though of course I dressed it up in some imprecise prophetic language. Lydney will take heed of my words and will pass on the message to Chepstow, and also, assuming the eclipse does indeed come to pass, then my credibility as a wise man will be further enhanced. There is always a risk to this of course should Mother Church take an interest but with the good relationship I have with the Father Abbot at Tintern all should be well.
The eclipse happened when predicted, though the guards we had set about the walls to watch for an enemy approaching from without were overwhelmed one after another by some malign possessing entity. Alarmingly there was no sense of the aegis having been breached. There was much infighting amongst the grogs as those possessed attacked their friends and many died, including Sergeant Arnulf. Order was eventually restored and the possessed individuals subdued. One, Dougal, was captured and bound. Fearing a demonic possession and the obvious mockery that would make of any intellego mentem spells, I dressed myself as a priest and using what knowledge of scripture I have, set about performing an exorcism. Not I hasten to add in any hope of calling on the divine to cast out the demon but rather of eliciting a reaction from the spirit within him. The reaction of Dougal all but confirmed our fears that the infernal had somehow gained entrance to the covenant once more. Meredith, using his Sight, searched the covenant, starting with the sancti and moving down. In the secret room off the treasury he found two skulking in the shadows. The ritual Petrus had cast here to suppress the aura had plainly faded.
We sent for help to Blackthorn and Casus arrived quickly bearing a copy of the Demon’s Eternal Oblivion which he cast as much as he was able, destroying one of the shadows and weakening the other. Turold stepped in as Casus tired and was able to banish the last one back to Hell. Then to make sure no others would enter the covenant by such a means I recast the ritual to suppress the infernal aura. We spoke with Casus about our fears concerning the dragon and the attack that seems destined to fall upon us and he suggested that whilst he would be only too willing to help protect us, we should also seek aid from Holy Isle and from Magus Garius.
A short while after the eclipse a sickness hit the covenant and with the meagre number of men left to guard our walls we used potions to heal Aethelstan and Dun, as well as Meredith, Turold and Angela. By the time Mathus arrived in mid-Autumn, seven grogs lay dead, a loss we can ill afford. The news he bore was equally grim. The King is dead and two nobles are squaring up to fight for the throne, Stephen of Blois and Henry of Chester. The spectre of civil war now looms large about the land so there will be much work to be done abroad to keep our position here secure. I suppose that if nothing else my weapons business should thrive so we should have sufficient coin to pay the hefty taxes that will doubtless come our way.
Winter
Caelestis arrived back from his House meeting in time for our winter gathering. To add further tales of woe to our recent histories, he reported that he had been waylaid in some foreign town and had lost the Viator Facilis and a quantity of personal vis. He had been wandering the town at night and was arrested by the city guard. Luckily he was able to escape and fly to Durenmar though there was no realistic hope of regaining his lost possessions.
As to news from his House meeting, it seems that the Bonisagi have decided to involve themselves in politics quite openly by voting on what formal stance to take over the status of Ex-Miscellania. Somewhat surprisingly, to me at least, they voted to oppose the measures taken by the Tremere, Flambeau and Guernicus and side with Merinita and Bjornaer. I can only assume that they are attempting to prevent a further schism within the Order though I fear that their vote will be seen as something of a betrayal by members of those house who have fought and died executing the wishes of the Grand Tribunal. It is worth noting I feel that the vote was carried by a narrow majority of just two votes and that those voting for the motion included Caelestis, Petrus and Dialectica. Our sodalis seems to have some very pro-Ex-Miscellanian views and his reasoning for voting was somewhat hard to make sense of, if he will forgive me for saying so. Of further interest was the fact that all those of the Trianoman tradition voted for maintaining the status quo, save Dialectica. Audacia returned some two days later in time for the casting of the aegis and was unsurprisingly less than happy when she learned of the Bonisagi’s vote.
I journeyed briefly to Holy Isle to inform them of our fears about the dragon and spoke to Darius who, as ever, was most solicitous in asking after my fellows at the covenant.
As the winter snows thickened Mathus returned with news of the land about. Civil war is now inevitable and even abbeys and churches have been raided. The local area suffered as did we from the plague but also from the incursions of bandits who are using the forest as shelter. This is something we will have to try and resolve as there could be grave consequences for the future integrity of the forest if it is perceived as a hideout for brigands. For once, I actually found myself wishing that Lothar was still with us for he would have enjoyed hunting down bandits in the woods, assuming of course that he could be relied upon to refrain from attacking any noble hunting parties he might come across. I should not speak too ill of the dead however so I shall continue with my telling of Mathus’s news. There is some talk he says that King David of Scotland may use the civil war in England to launch attacks on England and I would guess that there will be those in Wales thinking the same things as the Scots.
Of news hermetic, the hunt for Ex-Miscellanians has now spread to Hibernia and Novgorod. Also of some surprise for Caelestis, the covenant of Cordoba from where he has but recently returned, has had a Wizard’s March declared against it for being guilty of allying with Moorish sorcerors. Mathus told Caelestis that the Quaesitori may well wish to speak with him about his visit there though there is no implication that he has been involved in any wrong doing.
The remainder of the year passed peacefully, I would that I am able to say the same thing in this journal this time next year.
Spring 1135 AD
The year started with an end and a new beginning, as Castellan Gareth retired after many years of faithful service at the ripe old age of fifty. It seems that he saved a sum of monies given to him by Lothar some years ago in gratitude for saving his life and wished to journey to see Rome one more time before he dies and enjoy his remaining years in warmer climes. Gareth has seen us through many troubled times and whilst he has not been the most dynamic of men, for a local lad from Blackney he has served this covenant most ably. We let him go with regret at his departure mingled with gladness at the knowledge, he at least of our fighting men, will have a chance to enjoy some peaceful years. Jared, the atheistic mercenary captain who I met defending the life of the Abbot at Tintern will assume command of the mundane running of Severn Temple. He seems to be a capable man and enjoyed a quiet start to his position with little of note happening during Spring.
The only incident worth remarking on was the return from foreign climes of Caelestis. His journey was apparently most successful as he returned with not just copies of the Almagest and the Koran, but also a moorish warrior, Hassan al-Mohammed, as his bodyguard. Though obviously an excellent swordsman, as shown by his swift dispatching of two brigands who tried to ambush Caelestis in the woods, I fear it may take him a while to get over his culture shock. I know little of life in moorish Iberia but it is clearly not very much like here. However, Hassan will have a good while to adjust to this land’s ways as Caelestis had forgotten that his house meeting was to be held this summer. Indeed so pressed was he for time that he decided to take ship to Northern Germany and then fly down to Durenmar from there.
Summer
At the Summer meeting, which Caelestis was happily able to attend before departing for Durenmar, there was some discussion about Caelestis performing a divination concerning the future of the covenant. I was not the only one who expressed reservations about the possibility of my future actions being scryed upon but a compromise was reached whereby Caelestis agreed to cease any reading that related to a specific magus. Despite my worries about the uneasy resemblance the process has to scrying, I was most curious as to what fate Caelestis would gleam from the stars for this place and those who dwell within it. Alas, the heavens do not bode well. On the second of August in this year there will be an eclipse with the usual trouble associated with such a poor omen. Unfortunately any ill events occurring then will be eclipsed, if you will pardon the expression, by the winter of eleven hundred and thirty six. Caelestis said that the portents for that time are the worst that he has ever seen. So bad in fact, that if the astral reading had been done for a person then he would be certain to die. Perhaps unsurprisingly the mood at council was somewhat sombre after such a revelation.
Caelestis left for London shortly afterwards to catch a ship to Lubeck which I had been able to arrange for him. From there he hopes to catch a boat on to Kolburg and then he should be able to simply follow the river to within sight of Durenmar. Turold also departed to visit Jordael for the manufacture of a new longevity potion and as the only magus remaining in the covenant I had to remain behind. I can only hope that whatever the Baron of Monmouth is up to will not come to fruition whilst I am here but it cannot be helped. Happily the summer months passed peacefully, with fair weather and I was able to enjoy a quiet, uninterrupted season’s study.
Autumn
The quiet of summer was brought to a gloomy end with our concillium’s autumnal meeting. Turold had spoken with Jordael and the news was not good. The watchers that Jordael had set about Stonehenge, though protected and hidden by enchantments, were all slain. There was also some sign that some sort of ritual had been performed at that most powerful magical of sites, though it’s nature or purpose could not be determined. A good, if grim, guess is that members of the UnNamed House sought to wake the dragon from its slumbers once more to send it against us.
With Caelestis’ divinations seeming to be ever more truthful I set out to warn Lydney of the forthcoming eclipse and potential trouble, though of course I dressed it up in some imprecise prophetic language. Lydney will take heed of my words and will pass on the message to Chepstow, and also, assuming the eclipse does indeed come to pass, then my credibility as a wise man will be further enhanced. There is always a risk to this of course should Mother Church take an interest but with the good relationship I have with the Father Abbot at Tintern all should be well.
The eclipse happened when predicted, though the guards we had set about the walls to watch for an enemy approaching from without were overwhelmed one after another by some malign possessing entity. Alarmingly there was no sense of the aegis having been breached. There was much infighting amongst the grogs as those possessed attacked their friends and many died, including Sergeant Arnulf. Order was eventually restored and the possessed individuals subdued. One, Dougal, was captured and bound. Fearing a demonic possession and the obvious mockery that would make of any intellego mentem spells, I dressed myself as a priest and using what knowledge of scripture I have, set about performing an exorcism. Not I hasten to add in any hope of calling on the divine to cast out the demon but rather of eliciting a reaction from the spirit within him. The reaction of Dougal all but confirmed our fears that the infernal had somehow gained entrance to the covenant once more. Meredith, using his Sight, searched the covenant, starting with the sancti and moving down. In the secret room off the treasury he found two skulking in the shadows. The ritual Petrus had cast here to suppress the aura had plainly faded.
We sent for help to Blackthorn and Casus arrived quickly bearing a copy of the Demon’s Eternal Oblivion which he cast as much as he was able, destroying one of the shadows and weakening the other. Turold stepped in as Casus tired and was able to banish the last one back to Hell. Then to make sure no others would enter the covenant by such a means I recast the ritual to suppress the infernal aura. We spoke with Casus about our fears concerning the dragon and the attack that seems destined to fall upon us and he suggested that whilst he would be only too willing to help protect us, we should also seek aid from Holy Isle and from Magus Garius.
A short while after the eclipse a sickness hit the covenant and with the meagre number of men left to guard our walls we used potions to heal Aethelstan and Dun, as well as Meredith, Turold and Angela. By the time Mathus arrived in mid-Autumn, seven grogs lay dead, a loss we can ill afford. The news he bore was equally grim. The King is dead and two nobles are squaring up to fight for the throne, Stephen of Blois and Henry of Chester. The spectre of civil war now looms large about the land so there will be much work to be done abroad to keep our position here secure. I suppose that if nothing else my weapons business should thrive so we should have sufficient coin to pay the hefty taxes that will doubtless come our way.
Winter
Caelestis arrived back from his House meeting in time for our winter gathering. To add further tales of woe to our recent histories, he reported that he had been waylaid in some foreign town and had lost the Viator Facilis and a quantity of personal vis. He had been wandering the town at night and was arrested by the city guard. Luckily he was able to escape and fly to Durenmar though there was no realistic hope of regaining his lost possessions.
As to news from his House meeting, it seems that the Bonisagi have decided to involve themselves in politics quite openly by voting on what formal stance to take over the status of Ex-Miscellania. Somewhat surprisingly, to me at least, they voted to oppose the measures taken by the Tremere, Flambeau and Guernicus and side with Merinita and Bjornaer. I can only assume that they are attempting to prevent a further schism within the Order though I fear that their vote will be seen as something of a betrayal by members of those house who have fought and died executing the wishes of the Grand Tribunal. It is worth noting I feel that the vote was carried by a narrow majority of just two votes and that those voting for the motion included Caelestis, Petrus and Dialectica. Our sodalis seems to have some very pro-Ex-Miscellanian views and his reasoning for voting was somewhat hard to make sense of, if he will forgive me for saying so. Of further interest was the fact that all those of the Trianoman tradition voted for maintaining the status quo, save Dialectica. Audacia returned some two days later in time for the casting of the aegis and was unsurprisingly less than happy when she learned of the Bonisagi’s vote.
I journeyed briefly to Holy Isle to inform them of our fears about the dragon and spoke to Darius who, as ever, was most solicitous in asking after my fellows at the covenant.
As the winter snows thickened Mathus returned with news of the land about. Civil war is now inevitable and even abbeys and churches have been raided. The local area suffered as did we from the plague but also from the incursions of bandits who are using the forest as shelter. This is something we will have to try and resolve as there could be grave consequences for the future integrity of the forest if it is perceived as a hideout for brigands. For once, I actually found myself wishing that Lothar was still with us for he would have enjoyed hunting down bandits in the woods, assuming of course that he could be relied upon to refrain from attacking any noble hunting parties he might come across. I should not speak too ill of the dead however so I shall continue with my telling of Mathus’s news. There is some talk he says that King David of Scotland may use the civil war in England to launch attacks on England and I would guess that there will be those in Wales thinking the same things as the Scots.
Of news hermetic, the hunt for Ex-Miscellanians has now spread to Hibernia and Novgorod. Also of some surprise for Caelestis, the covenant of Cordoba from where he has but recently returned, has had a Wizard’s March declared against it for being guilty of allying with Moorish sorcerors. Mathus told Caelestis that the Quaesitori may well wish to speak with him about his visit there though there is no implication that he has been involved in any wrong doing.
The remainder of the year passed peacefully, I would that I am able to say the same thing in this journal this time next year.