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Scribed by Theo

Spring 1172 AD


Once again I turn my attention to transcribing this journal; however I would beg the indulgence of the reader if my style is not quite as fulsome as once it was as I find that my heart is not as light as it used to be. The council meeting started with Medius announcing that during his investigation he had discovered that the Kabbalist Aaron was in fact Gifted. Subsequent to this discovery Medius asked Aaron to join the Order and after discussing what this would mean for Aaron and his faith, I am pleased to say that Aaron accepted. He has now left the covenant so that he can investigate which House he should join.

After this news, Cormoran reported that his mighty scribing abilities had resulted in his creating a spare copy of the spell "Form of the Rainbow Scale". Once last seasons news had been delivered, Aelfwyn distributed some monies to the Council as there was not enough spare vis to hand out. After this we each stated what our season's activities would be, with Aelfwyn creating some more Leap of Homecimng potions as a service; Astrius studying ignem vis; Cormoran would enchant an item for me; Medius would study the rego texts and I would be about the mundane world engaging in my normal activities. Tiarnan of course was not present as he was still engaged with whatever his House had him doing.

Overall it was a quiet season with nothing much of importance to report. I met with the nobility of Wales and arranged for Medius' skull cap to be commissioned, which I believe he wishes to enchant as a talisman. I also had report from the 'bard' concerning the whereabouts of the others; the 'warrior' had been attached to Normandy's army and was now thought to be in Wales; whilst the 'sorceress' had vanished. Overall this is not the best of news, but I continue with my plans to engage these beings if they break my peace.

{not reported in the journal: Towards the end of the season I received some news that I had expected but hoped would be a few more years in coming. It seems that Dialectica has arranged for her escape from Mythnor and has invoked the Morrigan against me in a 'just' vengeance. One of the worrying aspects of this is that she has spent 50 years in that fortress, whilst just 4 passed outside, she now knows how to create and manipulate the passions of man. I was given evidence of this from the Lladra, who reported that Dialectica had appeared at the spring and talked with one of our guards (which I do not know, but I suspect one of the sergeants or captains as there remained a man on the wall during this event) - this guard was asked to watch her enemy (myself) for signs of further betrayal but in the meantime await her command. Now I feel my timetable is limited, and I must move quicker and more drastically than expected.}

Summer

A few days before the Council Tiarnan returned from his adventures, I have managed to piece together what happened and I am impressed by not only his actions to save someone he had never met, but also the bravery of the men that accompanied him. I have related this tale elsewhere and will not burden this journal with its retelling.

Various issues were discussed at Council. Medius suggested that he and Astrius investigate Sniggs End to see what, if any, changes there have been to this evil site. In addition he reminded us that we need to keep a close eye on Edwin of Huntley, as when he eventually figures out that Yvonne is gone, he may become more bold. Medius also brought up the issue of finding new sources of vis to replace those lost. The final issue raised was by Medius who reminded us that Cormorans seven years of Ex Cordis were finally over and he was once again a member of the council in good standing.

Once these discussions were over we discussed our activities. Aelfwyn was to study creo vis; Astrius was inventing a spell whilst Cormoran declared that he would enhance his already mighty magics by studying the animal texts. Medius set about extracting vim vis for his own use and Tiarnan, Archimaga Silvania and myself would enter the fae regio in an attempt to travel to the Sky Lord's lost realm.

Of the visit to Snigg's End, there is little to say, the wood itself remains a dark and unquiet place, the paths unused and traps unset. The regio still lies at the heart of that place but Medius reported that it was harder to reach then last time. The only event of note was that whilst there Astrius' ignem magics escaped his control and badly burnt some of the others with him. There were fortunately no deaths and they returned to be treated by Aelfwyn and Helena. Once those involved had recovered from their wounds Medius, Cormoran and Astrius set off to investigate the Dell. This was an action agreed upon at Council where Medius rightly stated that we had left this site alone for too long and that a more active form of observation was required to ensure that the known infernal sites near us would be monitored. This way we would be ready to deal with any problems at these places before they became too dangerous for us to deal with. Upon examination of the area around the Dell it seems that no-one had used the site for years. The Dell itself is a small enough clearing in the forest, it is surrounded by many small trees and brambles which makes approaching it difficult, even seeing through these obstructions is difficult. Within the Dell itself, at its centre there is a single leafless tree, possibly some form of focus, this should be investigated further in the future. Drudwyll reports that the earth thereabouts smells foul, whilst Medius reports that even during the day and outside of the Dell there is a first magnitude infernal aura. They then enter the Dell, initially they detect no obvious regio, however there lies about the place a very old taint of wolves and men. Upon leaving the Dell however Drudwyll disappears, Astrius suspects that this must be due to a regio that they had failed to note and therefore turns around to cross the boundary again. In so doing he is also transported into the infernal regio, where he finds Drudwyll. Drudwyll had tried to leave but when he failed to do so he decided to investigate the area, revealing that the scent of man and wolves was much stronger here but just as old. They both examine the tree at the centre of the Dell, in this level of the regio it is much larger and seems more ominous, in fact it may be the cause of the difficulties they had in climbing to the lip of the Dell - as Astrius noted that the roots of the plants would grow over him (but not Drudwyll) if he stayed in one place for too long. Once they finally reach the edge of the Dell they find that passage through the regio is impossible and so settle down to wait for Medius and Cormoran to aid them. Outside of the region only a little time had passed, with Medius using Petrus' dagger in an attempt to rend the veil, however the regio here is extremely hard to open and so the dagger was unsuccessful. Indeed it took Cormoran to spontaneously cast a ninth magnitude version of that spell before they could get through, and even then the boundary was unstable and almost escaped the control of Cormoran's mighty magics and awesome physical prowess. At this point both Astrius and Drudwyll manage to leave the regio and they return to the covenant. Considering what we know of this regio they were very lucky, as from past investigations it seems that the boundary is only easily passable when the moon within is full, and this happens very rarely.

Shortly after they had returned, Archemaga Silvania arrived and along with Tiarnan we set off into the faerie regio. The journey to the Sky Lord's realm was a long and difficult one; at one point we spent over three days climbing a single tree! The difficult part of the journey lay ahead of us however, from the top of the tree the start of the path to the palace was formed of clouds and hung in the air over a hundred paces from where was stood. As I had taken the form of an eagle I flew over there and landed on the cloud steps, it felt very firm and I thought that maybe it could take my weight as a man. I really should have known better, of course this realm is attuned to those that are at home in the sky, which most certainly does not include man. Hence when I reverted to my normal form, I immediately fell through the clouds and started on my way back down the tree by the significantly quicker route. It may be worth adding here that if you ever fall from a significantly high enough point, that after the first few exhilarating seconds it quite quickly becomes a bit tedious with only the final landing to worry you. Fortunately I never discovered the disadvantages of this predicament as I managed to take the form of the eagle again and flew back up to join the others. In this way we discovered that only beings at home in the air could continue, I was safe as long as stayed in the form of an eagle, whilst Tiarnan drank a potion of transformation that Silvania was carrying, this turned him into a songbird and he too was safe to continue. The archemaga took a slightly larger risk in flying across and landing as she was, fortunately her fae blood was that of the air and although she did not find firm purchase on the path she was able to continue if she did not stay in one place for too long. The last part of the journey was uneventful but the scenery we saw was magnificent, an entire kingdom made entirely of clouds, forests, fields, lakes, animals, hills everything, except for the avian denizens themselves. As we approached the palace of the King we all marvelled in the wonder of just being there, the first mortals to approach this place in many years. After introductions to the King I asked of him a boon, that he in his turn granted a boon to Silvania. This he graciously did, allowing her permission to return to his court now that she knew the way. Once this was complete we returned home via the same route, which was much easier on the way back, but I think Tiarnan was finally glad to have his feet back on solid earth.

With that the season ended.

{not reported in the journal: My discussion with the King was short and to the point, he told me that I am at the apogee of my power and that my fall lies close by in wait. This only matched what I felt myself but it did give me a certain impetus to finalise my plans for the near future. I also had a very interesting talk with him away from the others, concerning the nature of the 'trap', it seems that the other powers involved did this out of love, as directed by Nimue. An interesting interpretation and one that my bards soul would wish to be true - still an investigation into this lies in the future.}

Autumn

This council meeting went very quickly, with us all reporting on our activities from the previous season. There was additional discussion concerning the Dell and how we might be able to purify it, with Medius agreeing to write a letter to Petrus to determine if he knew of any way to do this. The seasons activities were: Aelfwyn and Tiarnan would study their own vis (corporem and creo respectively); Astrius and Medius were going to be inventing spells; whilst Cormoran would once again study the animal texts so that his puissant magics would be further enhanced. Finally I was to visit Cad Gadu and see if my Prima was there.

With the end of the council we went about our business and the season passed uneventfully.

{not reported in the journal: On my journeys I visited several realms, where I made several discoveries. The first was that Bethwyn would no longer aid me, as due to Dialectica's intervention the Morrigan's servants have turned against me. The good news in this was that whilst she and I fought it was plain that neither of us wanted to actually kill the other and we were merely 'going thought the motions' so to speak. In travelling to the fae courts, I discovered that the fae themselves are powerless to help me beyond their own realms, this was something I had suspected but it was still galling to have confirmed. The good news was that in talking with Turold he remembered a vision he had from many years ago. Without going into details, it seems that I may very well be able to get a very powerful ally in helping me complete another vision, however the manner of this 'completion' may make it difficult for those who have the key to actually use it. I must weigh the options here before I move.}

Winter

With the turning of the seasons winter was once again upon us and my time recording this journal drawing to a close. Nothing much was reported at council, other than my report from our spy in Huntley, which indicates that Edwin is still laying low and has not hired a new priest to take up duties in the church.

With that short piece of news over we moved onto seasons activities. Aelfwyn was going to invent the spell 'Free the Accursed Body', whilst Astrius invented 'The Immaculate Beast'. Medius has decided to open the enchantment on his talisman (the skull cap) and Cormoran would exercise his mighty mind in learning more from the magic theory books. Tiarnan asked to study three pawns of creo vis and I asked to lead the Turb for a single season, this request was denied as Astrius felt that this might confuse the grogs, hence I decided to attend upon my landholdings in Skinfrith where I invited various local nobility to a mid-winter feast.

Of brief note, is that the covenant's Steward Robert died of consumption during the season. Whilst he was never an obvious man about the covenant he was dedicated and capable, his silent hand directing the affairs of the covenfolk will be missed.

During the season the Redcap Lorretius arrived with the following news. Of mundane interest, King Henry has established many courts about the country and magistrates dedicated to act in legal matters for the crown. The King has also invaded Eire, which as the Irish surrendered was a relatively easy task. However Henry has not had everything his own way as there is rumour of a possible rebellion against the King in France. At home there is unsettling news that Thomas Beckett (the Archbishop of Canterbury) has been murdered at the King's command, as a result of this the King has been excommunicated.

Of Hermetic interest, Blywythn has sent news that travel around their covenant has become increasingly dangerous due to bandit activity and that none should approach them, nor do they wish for help in dealing with it. Narwold announces that they have two new magi, Magus Matthew and Maga Marissas (the very same from Tiarnan's recent adventure) and that they are continuing to rebuild.

Lorretius also had a letter for Medius from Petrus, but I have not yet learnt of the contents and so I will leave this to next years scribe to detail as my time as recorder of the events at Seven Temple draws to a close once more.
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