Scribed by Fabius
Spring 1214 AD
Our council met as usual upon the first morning of spring to discuss news from last season and plans for the coming year. With our Praeca’s controversial plans to establish the income of each covenant in mind, magus Cormoran had undertaken a survey of the vis sites within the faerie regio – to establish which sites were still harvestable and which were lost.
The glade, named after the Palug who once – the journal records – dwelt therein, still appeared to be silent with no sign of the mushrooms that used to grow there. However, it seems that the brightly coloured birds that Varsavia described do still inhabit the outer part of the regio. It’s believed that they are a source of Auram vis, though for some reason no one appears to make any effort to collect them. The ‘Cave of Snakes’, recently the site of battle between Tiarnan and the Erechwydd against Ieuan’s serpent, is entirely frozen over – now part of the Snow Queen’s realm. Once black tears, infused with Perdo vis, were to be found in the pool therein, but Cormoran was unable to locate any. Stonevale, once belonging to the fae knight Turold, used to deliver a good quantity of Terram vis, but Cormoran was unable to locate the settlement in the time allotted for the survey. He also obtained some 14 pawns of vis from the tower he holds in the Erechwydd’s lands.
Cormoran also recounted the midwinter feast of the Erechwydd. Apparently Njal told the story of his recent adventures in Novgorod, which pleased the Queen enough that he received ‘free passage’ through the snows. Hard to guess precisely what this entails, but clearly intended to be a boon. Cormoran then revealed that in the previous Autumn he had set up a shrine to the Erechwydd just outside Lydney – and encouraged some of the locals from the village to make offerings to her as one of the ‘old gods’.
This sparked some considerable debate. The main protest being, as usual, that Cormoran had acted without informing Council of his plans or thinking through the consequences of his actions. The shrine cannot be removed without risking grave offence to the Snow Queen, yet Marius made the point that Lydney is close enough to Tintern that an inquisitive monk or itinerant friar might uncover this pagan activity. This would go badly for everyone; Marius would be held personally responsible as the ‘liege lord’ of the village and the people of Lydney might suffer investigations of heresy. There was also considerable debate about the status of the Erechwydd. Cormoran cited examples from ancient pagan lore of her possessing such shrines and being honoured by pagans in time past, though Cynfelyn remained unconvinced of her status as a pagan goddess.
In the end a compromise was reached. Cormoran will discourage further activity in Lydney and instead establish a shrine further from the prying eyes of the mundanes in Blacknee. He’ll offer good coin to those worshippers of the Erechwydd to move to Blacknee instead. He agreed to this and will spend some time scouting out a promising location for a new shrine. The council requested that he inform us of the site chosen before he creates it.
Summer
Our council meeting was fairly perfunctory with myself and Cormoran announcing the results of our covenant services: Cormoran has extracted vim vis from the aura and identified a potential site near Blacknee for a replacement shrine to the Erechwydd just within the forest beyond the village in the direction of the faerie regio. For my part I created a 6th magnitude minor enchantment to banish spirits using the laboratory notes I’d created last year.
Most of our covenant will be abroad this season. Marius will be away in summer and autumn fighting alongside King John against the French. Tiarnan travels this season to his House meeting and Cormoran will be creating the new shrine as well as travelling to Blackthorn to speak to the new Praeca and searching for his former apprentice, Frioc. Cynfelyn will be away for most of the season seeking out a potential new apprentice. He will travel first with Cormoran in search of the magus Renwick who has some skill in inducing visions – which he hopes will lead him to the child.
Thus only myself and Idolon will be representing the council when Luvidicus arrives to judge the income of the covenant. I’ve been asked to assist him and ensure he has access both to the assessment we have made and the covenant journal.
Luvidicus arrived fairly early in the season. He struck me as both personable and fair, and he took two weeks to review our vis income. At the end of this time he judged that our own assessment of 70 pawns per year (including contested sources counting half) was accurate. He graciously offered his personal thanks to the Pontifex and the council for their cooperation and hospitality during his investigation. I know Idolon also spoke to him regarding the issue of personal vis. Luvidicus appeared to believe that whilst it was lawful to consider such vis as part of the income of a covenant, he hoped the fact we waive all claim to such vis under our charter would mean it would not fall under Edith’s tithe.
Autumn
All bar Marius were present for the Autumn council. I reported Luvidicus’ judgement and the council seemed satisfied that the assessment had been fair (though most are still concerned to discover how much vis we’ll have to actually pay!). Cormoran reported that he’d spoken to Edith and had a friendly discussion with her about the plans to tithe covenants by their income. He believes that she has a fair point regarding the slow accumulation of vis sites, particularly by older covenants like Blackthorn that have typically swallowed up sites belonging to former magi beyond covenant after they die. It’s clear this view was not held by many members of the council. Though it is perhaps a little reassuring to know that Edith’s tithe plans fall more upon the very old covenants like Blackthorn and Cad Gadu rather than us.
Cormoran reported also that he’d created a replacement shrine at Blacknee and that some of the Lydney followers had agreed to move there. The hope is that the shrine at Lydney can pass into obscurity so it is never discovered.
Tiarnen’s news from his House meeting related to this issue. It seems that there is significant consternation amongst some of the fae courts – with a suggestion that individuals like the Gofannon and the Nynniaw may be angry that the Erechwydd is being worshipped by mundanes but not them. Tiarnen admitted that this speculation may prove false, and intends to investigate more thoroughly. In the meantime, he insisted, there should be no expansion of this Erechwydd cult.
Finally Cynfelyn named a young child named Evan as his apprentice. It seems his search took him to North Wales where he was able to locate the lad. Over drinks later in the season, Cynfelyn revealed a little more of this tale. It seems that the new hoplite at Holy Isle, Laurius, had narrowly found the child before him. Without rancour they fought a certamen over the right to train the child, and after a close contest of the arts Cynfelyn lost. In the end Cynfelyn claimed the child as the boon from House Flambeau that Motus had so publically offered him. It seems Laurius respected this claim, but was far from happy about it.
With Tiarnen and Idolon abroad this season, investigating the Black Knives in Bristol as covenant service, the season was quiet other than the arrival of the red cap Alanus. Most pressing was the mundane news that King Philip of France has won a decisive victory over the combined forces of King John and Emperor Otto. Apparently there was a great battle in the plains between Bouvines and Tournal in Flanders; furiously contested but which ended in a clear French victory. This has confirmed Philip’s possession of French lands formerly held by the English – and has added further power and prestige to the French crown. Alanus also noted that following this defeat many of the English barons are pressing more forcefully this notion of a Charter to protect and extend their legal rights.
Tiarnen and Idolon returned safely at the end of the season; I shall record their report at the Winter council but it seems that our suspicions were right and the Fells have significant presence, organisation and influence in that city. Lastly, Marius returned looking tired and down heartened. I fear our Jerbiton is feeling the strain of supporting the English King most keenly.
Winter
Our winter council met in full upon the first dawn of the season. First to make report was Marius; relating his rather disasterous campaign on the continent. It seems that the French have consolidated their hold over the lands taken from John; and with Otto's and John's armies diminished there seems no immediate prospect of the English King regaining them. As a result, John's position is precarious; the Barons demanding much from this Great Charter in order to continue supporting him. Marius was most concerned to note that some of the events in battle have led him to believe that he is being activately opposed by some elements amongst the faerie. He spoke of solid ground revealing itself as marsh when John's cavalry tried to charge and lines of archers cut down when their escape through forest was barred by great thickets within the forest edge. Tiarnan has agreed to visit some of his contacts among the fae to see if any light may be cast upon these matters.
Marius is faced with a stark choice; whether to continue to support John or no. John's principle rival would appear to be York, with whom Marius apparently has some good reputation, but it was clear to all that Marius is loathe to cut himself off from John. There is a meeting in Winchester in spring to discuss and hopefully ratify this Great Charter. Marius fears that some of the Barons simply intend to push things to an excuse to rebel against their liege. Whichever side he chooses, Marius will face a difficult time over the next few years for certain.
Next to report were Idolon and Tiarnan; relating the investigation of the Black Knives in Bristol. It appears the dwarf, Falk, maintains some contacts in Bristol - most notably a spy in the Harbour master's office. This clerk was able to reveal a little information about the ship we believe the Fells use, the"Western Star". The Captain of this vessel is a man named Jake and it seems that the ship travels frequently to Dublin (where we believe Guyere is now active).
Bristol itself is heavily under the sway of these Fells'; an infernal shadow was even spotted flitting between the rooftops at night. A leading criminal responsible for significant extortion and murder is a nasty piece of work called Gudrun. Idolon was able to speak to the ghost of a man, Edward, who haunted the dockside. It appears this man ran afoul of Gudrun and paid with his life. In exchange for a promise to recover and bury his corpse, this shade has agreed to watch the harbour and report any news to Idolon in future.
Tiarnan was able to obtain an arcane connection to this Gudrun and later was able to listen in to a conversation between this man and one of the 'Masters', Lambert. However, most disturbingly, it seems that someone accompanying Lambert was able to detect Tiarnan's use of scrying magic.
The two magi were also able to question one of the watching spirits near Berkeley. It seems that this ghost was once simply a common man who was murdered by Benedict, who travels in the guise of a Friar, and somehow bound to the crossroads to watch for him.
It seems this investigation has provided as many new questions as answers; most notably how they were able to detect the use of scrying magic and whether there is some over-arching leader dominating the so-called 'Masters' in Bristol. A few avenues of further investigation were discussed; obtaining arcane connection to the ship might allow us to scry when the ship is in port. We could attempt to kill or capture one or two of the masters. Given the likely involvement of at least some of the minor nobility, De'Percy could be set upon Lambert, the merchant, or encouraged to see whether any nobles with connection to Bristol are suddenly doing very well for coin. It seems that there is much to this enemy yet to uncover, and some good degree of caution required given their ability to control spirits and detect scrying magics.
Cynfelyn carried out a covenant service; extracting vim vis. The rest of the season was uneventful.
Spring 1214 AD
Our council met as usual upon the first morning of spring to discuss news from last season and plans for the coming year. With our Praeca’s controversial plans to establish the income of each covenant in mind, magus Cormoran had undertaken a survey of the vis sites within the faerie regio – to establish which sites were still harvestable and which were lost.
The glade, named after the Palug who once – the journal records – dwelt therein, still appeared to be silent with no sign of the mushrooms that used to grow there. However, it seems that the brightly coloured birds that Varsavia described do still inhabit the outer part of the regio. It’s believed that they are a source of Auram vis, though for some reason no one appears to make any effort to collect them. The ‘Cave of Snakes’, recently the site of battle between Tiarnan and the Erechwydd against Ieuan’s serpent, is entirely frozen over – now part of the Snow Queen’s realm. Once black tears, infused with Perdo vis, were to be found in the pool therein, but Cormoran was unable to locate any. Stonevale, once belonging to the fae knight Turold, used to deliver a good quantity of Terram vis, but Cormoran was unable to locate the settlement in the time allotted for the survey. He also obtained some 14 pawns of vis from the tower he holds in the Erechwydd’s lands.
Cormoran also recounted the midwinter feast of the Erechwydd. Apparently Njal told the story of his recent adventures in Novgorod, which pleased the Queen enough that he received ‘free passage’ through the snows. Hard to guess precisely what this entails, but clearly intended to be a boon. Cormoran then revealed that in the previous Autumn he had set up a shrine to the Erechwydd just outside Lydney – and encouraged some of the locals from the village to make offerings to her as one of the ‘old gods’.
This sparked some considerable debate. The main protest being, as usual, that Cormoran had acted without informing Council of his plans or thinking through the consequences of his actions. The shrine cannot be removed without risking grave offence to the Snow Queen, yet Marius made the point that Lydney is close enough to Tintern that an inquisitive monk or itinerant friar might uncover this pagan activity. This would go badly for everyone; Marius would be held personally responsible as the ‘liege lord’ of the village and the people of Lydney might suffer investigations of heresy. There was also considerable debate about the status of the Erechwydd. Cormoran cited examples from ancient pagan lore of her possessing such shrines and being honoured by pagans in time past, though Cynfelyn remained unconvinced of her status as a pagan goddess.
In the end a compromise was reached. Cormoran will discourage further activity in Lydney and instead establish a shrine further from the prying eyes of the mundanes in Blacknee. He’ll offer good coin to those worshippers of the Erechwydd to move to Blacknee instead. He agreed to this and will spend some time scouting out a promising location for a new shrine. The council requested that he inform us of the site chosen before he creates it.
Summer
Our council meeting was fairly perfunctory with myself and Cormoran announcing the results of our covenant services: Cormoran has extracted vim vis from the aura and identified a potential site near Blacknee for a replacement shrine to the Erechwydd just within the forest beyond the village in the direction of the faerie regio. For my part I created a 6th magnitude minor enchantment to banish spirits using the laboratory notes I’d created last year.
Most of our covenant will be abroad this season. Marius will be away in summer and autumn fighting alongside King John against the French. Tiarnan travels this season to his House meeting and Cormoran will be creating the new shrine as well as travelling to Blackthorn to speak to the new Praeca and searching for his former apprentice, Frioc. Cynfelyn will be away for most of the season seeking out a potential new apprentice. He will travel first with Cormoran in search of the magus Renwick who has some skill in inducing visions – which he hopes will lead him to the child.
Thus only myself and Idolon will be representing the council when Luvidicus arrives to judge the income of the covenant. I’ve been asked to assist him and ensure he has access both to the assessment we have made and the covenant journal.
Luvidicus arrived fairly early in the season. He struck me as both personable and fair, and he took two weeks to review our vis income. At the end of this time he judged that our own assessment of 70 pawns per year (including contested sources counting half) was accurate. He graciously offered his personal thanks to the Pontifex and the council for their cooperation and hospitality during his investigation. I know Idolon also spoke to him regarding the issue of personal vis. Luvidicus appeared to believe that whilst it was lawful to consider such vis as part of the income of a covenant, he hoped the fact we waive all claim to such vis under our charter would mean it would not fall under Edith’s tithe.
Autumn
All bar Marius were present for the Autumn council. I reported Luvidicus’ judgement and the council seemed satisfied that the assessment had been fair (though most are still concerned to discover how much vis we’ll have to actually pay!). Cormoran reported that he’d spoken to Edith and had a friendly discussion with her about the plans to tithe covenants by their income. He believes that she has a fair point regarding the slow accumulation of vis sites, particularly by older covenants like Blackthorn that have typically swallowed up sites belonging to former magi beyond covenant after they die. It’s clear this view was not held by many members of the council. Though it is perhaps a little reassuring to know that Edith’s tithe plans fall more upon the very old covenants like Blackthorn and Cad Gadu rather than us.
Cormoran reported also that he’d created a replacement shrine at Blacknee and that some of the Lydney followers had agreed to move there. The hope is that the shrine at Lydney can pass into obscurity so it is never discovered.
Tiarnen’s news from his House meeting related to this issue. It seems that there is significant consternation amongst some of the fae courts – with a suggestion that individuals like the Gofannon and the Nynniaw may be angry that the Erechwydd is being worshipped by mundanes but not them. Tiarnen admitted that this speculation may prove false, and intends to investigate more thoroughly. In the meantime, he insisted, there should be no expansion of this Erechwydd cult.
Finally Cynfelyn named a young child named Evan as his apprentice. It seems his search took him to North Wales where he was able to locate the lad. Over drinks later in the season, Cynfelyn revealed a little more of this tale. It seems that the new hoplite at Holy Isle, Laurius, had narrowly found the child before him. Without rancour they fought a certamen over the right to train the child, and after a close contest of the arts Cynfelyn lost. In the end Cynfelyn claimed the child as the boon from House Flambeau that Motus had so publically offered him. It seems Laurius respected this claim, but was far from happy about it.
With Tiarnen and Idolon abroad this season, investigating the Black Knives in Bristol as covenant service, the season was quiet other than the arrival of the red cap Alanus. Most pressing was the mundane news that King Philip of France has won a decisive victory over the combined forces of King John and Emperor Otto. Apparently there was a great battle in the plains between Bouvines and Tournal in Flanders; furiously contested but which ended in a clear French victory. This has confirmed Philip’s possession of French lands formerly held by the English – and has added further power and prestige to the French crown. Alanus also noted that following this defeat many of the English barons are pressing more forcefully this notion of a Charter to protect and extend their legal rights.
Tiarnen and Idolon returned safely at the end of the season; I shall record their report at the Winter council but it seems that our suspicions were right and the Fells have significant presence, organisation and influence in that city. Lastly, Marius returned looking tired and down heartened. I fear our Jerbiton is feeling the strain of supporting the English King most keenly.
Winter
Our winter council met in full upon the first dawn of the season. First to make report was Marius; relating his rather disasterous campaign on the continent. It seems that the French have consolidated their hold over the lands taken from John; and with Otto's and John's armies diminished there seems no immediate prospect of the English King regaining them. As a result, John's position is precarious; the Barons demanding much from this Great Charter in order to continue supporting him. Marius was most concerned to note that some of the events in battle have led him to believe that he is being activately opposed by some elements amongst the faerie. He spoke of solid ground revealing itself as marsh when John's cavalry tried to charge and lines of archers cut down when their escape through forest was barred by great thickets within the forest edge. Tiarnan has agreed to visit some of his contacts among the fae to see if any light may be cast upon these matters.
Marius is faced with a stark choice; whether to continue to support John or no. John's principle rival would appear to be York, with whom Marius apparently has some good reputation, but it was clear to all that Marius is loathe to cut himself off from John. There is a meeting in Winchester in spring to discuss and hopefully ratify this Great Charter. Marius fears that some of the Barons simply intend to push things to an excuse to rebel against their liege. Whichever side he chooses, Marius will face a difficult time over the next few years for certain.
Next to report were Idolon and Tiarnan; relating the investigation of the Black Knives in Bristol. It appears the dwarf, Falk, maintains some contacts in Bristol - most notably a spy in the Harbour master's office. This clerk was able to reveal a little information about the ship we believe the Fells use, the"Western Star". The Captain of this vessel is a man named Jake and it seems that the ship travels frequently to Dublin (where we believe Guyere is now active).
Bristol itself is heavily under the sway of these Fells'; an infernal shadow was even spotted flitting between the rooftops at night. A leading criminal responsible for significant extortion and murder is a nasty piece of work called Gudrun. Idolon was able to speak to the ghost of a man, Edward, who haunted the dockside. It appears this man ran afoul of Gudrun and paid with his life. In exchange for a promise to recover and bury his corpse, this shade has agreed to watch the harbour and report any news to Idolon in future.
Tiarnan was able to obtain an arcane connection to this Gudrun and later was able to listen in to a conversation between this man and one of the 'Masters', Lambert. However, most disturbingly, it seems that someone accompanying Lambert was able to detect Tiarnan's use of scrying magic.
The two magi were also able to question one of the watching spirits near Berkeley. It seems that this ghost was once simply a common man who was murdered by Benedict, who travels in the guise of a Friar, and somehow bound to the crossroads to watch for him.
It seems this investigation has provided as many new questions as answers; most notably how they were able to detect the use of scrying magic and whether there is some over-arching leader dominating the so-called 'Masters' in Bristol. A few avenues of further investigation were discussed; obtaining arcane connection to the ship might allow us to scry when the ship is in port. We could attempt to kill or capture one or two of the masters. Given the likely involvement of at least some of the minor nobility, De'Percy could be set upon Lambert, the merchant, or encouraged to see whether any nobles with connection to Bristol are suddenly doing very well for coin. It seems that there is much to this enemy yet to uncover, and some good degree of caution required given their ability to control spirits and detect scrying magics.
Cynfelyn carried out a covenant service; extracting vim vis. The rest of the season was uneventful.