Spring 1313AD
The librarian at Severn Temple is not the most interesting man I have ever met; indeed, he is tediously dull, and I suspect his diligence in tending to the books here is closely related to his obvious discomfort at conversation with living, breathing things. Despite that however, he has proved a surprisingly competent tutor and as I set my mark upon this history of the Covenant for a second time it is with Roman letters I do so, and in the tongue that is the universal language of magi of the Order of Hermes. Sitting here surrounded by so many books (it is hard to imagine the volume of knowledge that must be contained in this room alone) the temptation to set aside the task of recording the first council of this new year and make use of this new learning is almost overwhelming. Alas, it seems that my mastery of Latin is not yet sufficient to make any study of the magical knowledge within this place, unfamiliar words in obscure contexts still frustrating my efforts, but that goal is now ever closer. At least I shall be able to spend my spare time this year reading through these pages, perhaps finally able to understand the references to past events that my sodales here like to refer to in our meetings, seemingly oblivious to the fact that I have no had no such foundation in the history of Severn Temple. Sadly, this won’t be the season to make a start on this task as I will be travelling north to Cad Gadu to seek the aid of Lluddwyn. My arts were insufficient to enable me to learn anything of the wand that Jari’s familiar seems to think might hold the answer to the problem of how best to deal with Jack in the Green, despite my spending the whole of winter trying to decipher its mysteries. I suspect that she will have greater facility, assuming that she doesn’t already know something about it already. My sodales also want me to ask her a little more about the risks of casting the enchantment to call a council of the trees in our forest, despite Jari having already spoken to her on the matter it seems that they have concerns about whether it is truly an option that might prove favourable. In truth I can’t really fault them for their concern; my mater has always made it clear to me that Lluddwyn has her own plans and even those of us of her lineage should never assume that her interests entirely align with our own.
Anyway, there was plenty of other talk at the council about the difficulties that Jack in the Green’s presence so close to us might cause. The thing that seems to concern us the most is the issue regarding whether the local noble, the Baron of Monmouth I think he is called, is going to be able to get his precious iron ore from the scowles and mines that now lie under the boughs of the forest, and what he might do if he can’t. I suspect that some of the scenarios painted may be a little fanciful or overwrought but clearly there is a risk that so much attention will be drawn to the area that we won’t have sufficient control of the situation to entirely master our own fates. Much as I am singularly unconcerned as to whether this man seeks to take on that spirit who now lies in the heart of this forest, for there would only be one result for such an action, we do need to do something about this, and to my mind something that something does not necessarily require the driving out of our new neighbour. Terentius said that he had spoken to the miners (specifically, the werewolves who reside near Lydney) about how the flow of iron ore might be replaced with the aid of our magical art, but it seems that its not going to be an easy task. They have offered to train a man of the Covenant in the craft of mining so that we might better understand all that is involved, an offer that we will accept (as soon as we have found a man with the wit to do so – our Turb is not the most impressive when it comes to identifying those with such potential). Terentius plans to spend the season moving the trees at the west of the Forest back through the use of spell, hoping that if this is done for a significant period of time (I think eight seasons was suggested at one point) that it might allow access to the required mines. Jari said he would be studying Herbam, in case we decided that he should learn the spell to call the council of trees. I’m not going to record all of the other discussions had about the matter, largely because they didn’t add anything to previous discussions at earlier council meetings. Despite this, Pyrrhus did seem to find it necessary to keep restating the conversation at frequent intervals, to the annoyance of pretty much everyone else gathered, while Naevius decided to take the opportunity to put forward his views on how many services to the covenant a magus should be allowed to perform, whether they were proffered willingly or no. As usual it led to a series of tetchy exchanges and Terentius seething in his chair, refilling his wine goblet more often than can possibly be good for him.
Terentius had earlier related that he had travelled to Blackthorn in Winter to speak with Theoclea as to her intentions, specifically regarding a place of residence and what she wants to do about the items bequeathed to her by Hypatia. It seems that he had a somewhat awkward encounter with Sufisius, who from the sounds of it still treats her a little like she remains his apprentice (or perhaps he just lusts after her in the way that aged men always have done with younger women). When Terentius was finally able to speak with her in private he learned that she has been instructed that she must take a position in one of the two covenants of Stonehenge that act as Domus Magnus to a House, Euros Aquilae or Cad Gadu. Terentius suggested to us that her only other choice would be to leave House Bonisagus. I assume that this means she might join House Ex Miscellanea, which would be welcome I am sure to our Prima. He also said that she does not want to take possession of any of the Treasures of Britain, although I am sure that there will be much discussion regarding that in the seasons and years to come.
The council then discussed whether the Captain of our Turb should be granted a longevity potion. It was agreed that he should, and Pyrrhus said he would set about it this season. In truth the captain seems a fairly competent man in himself but given the state of our grogs I’m not sure he can be such a great leader. Still, there seemed a firm desire to do this among some of us and I don’t really care to be honest, so why upset the apple cart. Entertainingly, our Princeps did ask whether it might be worth him experimenting during the manufacture of the potion. Perhaps he doesn’t really care either.
Pyrrhus then ran through one of his interminable lists of covenant priorities (his words, not mine). In short order we agreed that no-one planned to go to Roxburgh this year and that it would be a good idea for Pyrrhus to go to Cliffheart and see if they knew anything about the black ship of the un-named house. I can’t even remember if anything else was raised by the Princeps as for some reason Naevius decided to continue to exercise his somewhat erratic mood by asking whether we should be doing Holy Isle’s job for them before suggesting that maybe we could recruit some magi to help them. It became so tedious that I rather envied the fact that Terentius seemed to have actually fallen asleep at this point. Our Verditius magus is creating a device this season to allow a man to consider a proposal with a clear mind – I’m not sure I need to write more. The council meeting wrapped up with a final flourish as Pyrrhus awarded first four, then five and finally three pawns of vis for each season’s service last year, seemingly struggling with the arithmetic then taking affront at Naevius suggesting we should hold a reserve of vis for healing. I’m laughing now as I record it.
***
I’m writing these pages in Cad Gadu, the evening before setting off home to the Covenant. I’m delighted to say it won’t be just myself and the rather sweet grog who generally accompanies me, for shortly after I arrived at the Domus Magnus I bumped into Theoclea, who as Terentius had predicted has now joined the House, with Lluddwynn as her mater. She intends to ask for a place at our council and I was happy to say that I would support such a petition. In truth I suspect that all will do so, even Terentius who was the dissenting voice when Hypatia first proposed such a path.
As to how my season has fared. I am glad to say that, much as I surmised might be the case, Lluddwyn did indeed know a little of the wand that I had borne with me and was happy to set aside her time to aid me in making further investigation. Her gift with the second sight is far greater than my own and she determined that there was a bond of some kind between the wand and myself, a faint cord that she could see lying between the item and the missing finger that I had sacrificed to take possession of it. She told me that she had heard tales regarding such an item, and that it should be possible to bind more tightly with such an item. While she could not be certain of the consequences, she believed that to do so would mean that Jack in the Green would no longer perceive me as belonging to the realm of men and that I might thus be able to treat with him. We spent the remainder of the season investigating it, using techniques similar to those one might use when investigating the familiar bond, although it is no familiar, and as our time together drew to a close I determined that I could not refuse such an opportunity. The binding itself was a short process and as the ritual was completed the wand was drawn into my hand, the tip replacing the finger that I had lost, though slightly longer and tinged with the green of fresh stripped wood. Its movement is less graceful than before, but I have control of the digit and I feel sensation in the same way that I did before. If this will indeed let me enter the presence of the King in the Green, then my time here might prove to be a great boon to the Covenant. She also bade me tell Jari that if he wished to learn the enchantment to summon the trees to a council then she would be happy to allow him to learn it from the library at Cad Gadu. She asked no great price but said that she may ask for a small favour in the future, nothing too onerous.
Branwen’s Private Journal: We discussed at length the options that I had regarding the wand, for it was clear that it was already drawing from my life force but not truly bound. I could have chosen to give it up or pass it on to another, though they too would have to pay a price of blood. Yet I sense that Lluddwyn knew even before me what decision I would make. Deanne has always said that I had a little too much of her mater in me, and while we are very different people to my mind, I could not deny a sororal bond seems to lie between us, though she remains a fierce and dangerous presence. As our investigations progressed I sensed a sadness in her, for she revealed that its presence in my possession meant that Llandoddwyn must certainly be dead despite her hopes that he had once more sought to hide away until he was needed again. But there was also joy that it is to our lineage that this finger of the Crann Bethadh has passed. The wild wood once covered this isle and there are still many remnants of it to be found, its power lessened but far from vanquished. The bond itself comes with a little remnant of that power but there is far greater to be had if I desire it. Yet of course, there is a price for such, and I must not be too ready to seek to pay it. The more of myself that I invest in the bond the greater the power, but the more I will change. Much for me to think about.
***
I am back in Severn Temple and it seems that little has occurred in the weeks I have been away although my sodales did relay that Terentius’ efforts to move the trees of the forest had not been successful. That magus had returned to the covenant but a few days into the season reporting that in the areas where he had been clearing trees they had swiftly begun to return. Jari travelled back with him and made some study of not only those areas but also the ones that he himself had cleared previously. It seems that over much of the wood there is an enchantment of ancient wild magic, perhaps of as much as the 15th magnitude, which though non-Hermetic is linked to the arts of Creo and Herbam. He saw a sigil of sorts, a faint face within the knots and whorls of the bark and as he was there he felt a presence was watching both him and Terentius. Near settlements, such as Huntley and Mitcheldean, there has been some encroachment of trees and the spread of the undergrowth appears accelerated, but to nothing of the same extent. Jari speculated it might be the influence of the Dominion that is keeping some measure of check on Jack in the Green’s influence, a suggestion that truly reveals the unusual insights granted by his keen mind.
I understand that following this Terentius made further explorations at the edge of the woods and found that the tenor of those regions felt lighter to him, with the undergrowth less thick. Using his facility with spontaneous magic he was able to spend the season prospecting for ore in those parts of the wood near Symonds Hill which do not appear to be under Jack’s sway and managed to identify two areas that contain the iron ore which is so in demand. He then went back to using his arts to move the trees around in these areas, to make the seams more accessible for mining. I can’t fault Terentius’ efforts, or his willingness to seek practical solutions to the problems that we face, but I find myself wondering what it is in his nature that makes him so concerned with avoiding more direct interaction with the powers that lie at the heart of the magic of Britain.
Summer
I’ve started reading the earlier entries within this journal and it seems that I may have been a little harsh regarding the abilities of our Captain. It appears that the Covenant has a long history of appointing grogs of a ‘colourful’ nature, who act as they will regardless of how inspirational or how great a disciplinarian their commander is. Therefore, I retract my somewhat dismissive comments of last season and report with gladness that Pyrrhus has successfully created a longevity potion for him of no little efficacy.
There is an almost addictive fascination to reading the writings of the magi who first re-founded Severn Temple and I find that I am already eager to complete my day’s work and return to the tales as swiftly as I can. There are huge gaps in the narrative and some very partial views expressed by the writers, reassuring me somewhat about my own efforts frankly, but there are also tales that have resonance even today and things that I might want to make an investigation into myself. Apparently, there was a creature called an Adder Queen in our forest many years ago – I wonder if it or its descendants might still be found. Anyway, I’m digressing so best report on the rest of the council meeting.
We began with Theoclea’s petition to join our number. She made a short speech, much as I was expected to just a few years ago and was then asked a couple of questions before she left to allow us our deliberations. We had not expressly asked her about Hypatia’s will, having initially planned to save such discussion for after her accession to our number I believe, but Naevius was adamant that he would not vote in her favour if she expressed any interest in taking possession of Excalibur, so we called her back to ask the question. She responded that she desires none of the four treasures for herself and thus she was invited to take a place here. I thought it was a little awkward her having to sign the charter just below the scrawled-out mark of Hypatia, we probably should have started a new page, but she didn’t comment on it. She was granted the other items that her mater had bequeathed to her, those which had been initially granted to the council by quaesitorial ruling, and it was nice to see that for once there wasn’t any venality among my sodales.
Branwen’s Private Journal: It was very clear that most of my sodales were very pleased that she doesn’t currently intend to claim any of the four Treasures of Britain, but I wonder how long such a position can be maintained. From all that I have been told the flowering of ancient magical power on this isle can entirely be linked to the presence of a true king or queen wearing the Crown of Mabh. Surely, they cannot want to see a fading of the magic that powers our arts and stirs wonder in our hearts?
I presented a summary of what I had learned from Cad Gadu and agreed that I would travel to the Heart of the Forest to speak with Jack in the Green this season. Jari offered to accompany me, and it was agreed that he should do so. Theoclea offered to speak with her brother, the mundane king of England, regarding the issues of the forest and the iron ore in Autumn, keen this season to take stock of the laboratory. It seems that the equipment left behind by Hypatia is of some great quality and while I was offered the chance to take possession of it due to having been at the covenant longer it seemed fitting that it be passed to her successor. The rest of my sodales also decided to spend the warm summer months secreted within their laboratories, with no further efforts planned regarding the Green Man until I had returned.
***
It’s a fortnight before Summer will turn to Autumn as I write this and I have been back from the Heart of the Forest for about the same time, thinking on the events that occurred there. Jari, Races with Wind and I left the Covenant the day after the summer council meeting and initially made good pace, although as we travelled deeper into the forest the plants began to snag upon Jari’s cloak and roots coiled under his feet. I was not so impeded by the undergrowth, despite having been so in the past, which filled me with some confidence that myself and Lluddwyn had been correct in our assumptions. Jari chose to travel the remainder of the way in the form of a Fox and it was a little after dusk when we reached the tightly packed trees that mark the grove at the Heart of the Forest. There was a red glow emanating from between the trees but the path beyond was clear enough and we pressed on, each in contact with the others. Yet it was just myself that passed into that regio and Jari later described to me that I had just disappeared and neither he nor his familiar could see an onward path. Realising that the likelihood was that the Green Man can exert some control over who enters and who does not they decided to return to the Covenant, which they did so easily enough.
Within the heart I saw the great oak tree, and within the bark the face of the Green Man. He made it clear that I was welcome there, although I confess, I still felt a fluttering of terror in my conversations with him, and indeed confessed that fear. He listened carefully as I explained why the presence of his influence to the west was creating some difficulty for the Covenant, and while he said he had little concern for wizards, and more than once said he would happily destroy any who came against him or me, he did agree that an accommodation might be reached. There are no circumstances in which he will accept men going about their business within his wood, but he said that it would be possible to withdraw his influence from the west of the forest, and thus open up again those mines the mundane folk seek, if we chose another spot where he could match the area lost to the wildwood. He would require a symbol from us that we accepted; we would need to sacrifice a man and shed his blood upon the roots of a tree within the region to which he would extend his power. I thanked him for his time and returned back to the Covenant, discovering then how much time had passed in the world compared to that deep, magical place.
I hadn’t been back long when Jari invited me to take drinks with him. I think he was a little disappointed that I didn’t really appreciate the taste of the wine he produced for the occasion, but I am glad that he at least made the effort to properly court me for the tale of what I had learned, which was no more nor less than I have recounted on these pages. We both agreed that it was unlikely that our sodales would be enthusiastic to take up the Green Man’s offer, for while a single life might be a small price to pay to avoid circumstances where many more may well be lost, such pagan rites might be looked on in a dark light by those with little understanding of the practices of the old faith and there is also great magical significance in such a ritual. The King in the Green most likely could not work such an enchantment without the influence of mortals and it might be that it would grant him greater power, although it should be said a succession of men dying under his boughs might well do the same. I am uncertain myself as to the best path, for while it is wise to respect such ancient powers it is perhaps less so to pay homage to them, or to accede to their wishes too easily.
Jari was able to relate that, while I had been conversing with Jack, the Covenant had been visited by the Redcap Gaines. He brought disturbing news that the Covenant of Glenrisdell, which lay on the coast in the southwest reaches of Loch Leglean tribunal I am given to understand, had been utterly destroyed by an attack of the un-named House in spring. Once again, the attack heralded from the Black Ship and involved a rolling mist that slew all those outside of the Aegis of the Hearth. Initial investigations by the magi of Euros Aquilae determined that an army of the dead led by a spectral knight fell upon the Covenant, that entity apparently able to pass beyond the protective barrier and enable the dead to appear within its bounds. Three magi were also identified as being involved in the attack – one using Corporem spells and with the sigil of broken and shattered bone, one wielding Ignem and marked by a yellow flam with the scent of sulphur, and the third wielding Aquam magics that drowned men upon land and identified by a sigil of foul, brackish water.
It seems likely that all the magi of that covenant were slain, including Lucrezia of my own House who I had met at Cad Gadu just two years ago, although the body of Eloise of House Tremere was not found. Jari speculated that this might be something to do with a tradition of that House; apparently, they always seek to return the bodies of the fallen, regardless of the risk in such. The magi of Holy Isle are making further investigation this season. It was also reported that the spies suspected within the vicinity of Roxburgh are believed to have vanished once more.
Autumn
My study of the earlier writings within the journal continues apace and there are several references to the Myddin Stone that lies within the forest. I find myself wondering how its powers might link to the shapeshifting ability that I have myself and am curious to try it. There simple are instructions as to how it might be used although for the highest forms there is clearly some further research that would need to be undertaken. It appears that there are also silvery scaled fish within the Severn river that we have registered as a vis site in the past, each containing a single pawn of Aquam vis. Now that I can take the form of a Pike I wonder if it might be worth seeing how easy it is to find these magical creatures.
There is little for me to record of interest this season for our council was a fairly swift affair and little else happened over the following months. I relayed to my sodales the offer that Jack in the Green had made and as expected there was little enthusiasm to pursue it at this time, with Terentius firmly set in opposition. Pyrrhus seemed initially positive but then expressed concern that such an action might have an infernal element. I am fairly sure he has spent some time learning something of the old ways, but he doesn’t seem to truly grasp it. This probably won’t come as a great surprise to you the reader, however. As previously recorded Theoclea is off to court this season and she may be able to see if there are mundane means that might yet be brought to bear. We also spoke of the attack upon Glenrisdell but no new insight was presented. Pyrrhus announced he was travelling to Cliffheart as we had discussed in spring. I later learned that he discovered that they don’t appear to be very interested in the activities of the un-named House and that they buy their iron ore from the north of Ireland and from England (in truth I’m getting rather bored with recording details regarding the provision of minerals but it doesn’t look like I’m going to be able to stop any time soon). It also turns out he has a House meeting at Verdi next summer, where it sounds like the question of who actually the Primus is will be decided. From the description I heard this sounds to me like an excuse for men of dull wit to show how much magical fire they can create but perhaps I’ll be pleasantly surprised when he returns. The rest of us hid away in our laboratories over the autumn months and I for one am happy to have furthered my arts somewhat.
Winter
One of the distinct advantages of Covenant life is that we have servants here who build warm fires in the hearths, break the ice on the water butts and attend to the maintenance that is required to keep our home comfortable. As an apprentice I would attend to all these chores, and more, and I can’t say that I miss it. Perhaps I’ll grow fat and lazy in time, as decadent as a noble prince who has never known that life is generally hard, but I’m not going to worry about that now. It’s a delight not to have to wear gloves while scribing this record and while the winter is bitter it sounds like it is much lessened from periods in the past when the faerie court of that season has held greater sway. I won’t be scribing for long anyway as it was another quiet season.
Theoclea brought our council news from the mundane court, much of which was to do with the Baron of Monmouth complaining about how the lack of iron ore was damaging his finances. The supplies that we are providing are helping a little, but not enough and it seems that they are actively recruiting freeminers to enter the forest in spring to re-open old mine workings. The king is apparently prepared to buy the land, but he needs the ore to make weapons so that he can wage war, and a failure to do so will anger parliament (which sounds like a large council of mundane nobles who are about as reasonable as we are). Apparently, some of the nobles have also decided that there aren’t enough neighbours threatening war for their liking so are pressing to invade the north of Ireland on some spurious pretext. Fortunately for them, in terms of getting support for their adventure, that region is another rich source of iron ore.
Given that this is surely the most valuable substance that exists in the world we decided that we will register a claim on the two sites that Terentius discovered earlier this year and send the man that has been trained by the werewolves of Lydney to encourage any freeminers to head there, rather than to untimely and brutal deaths elsewhere in the forest (we did, it seems, find someone capable eventually – a man called Wilfred). I agreed to accompany Terentius while he cast some spells to make those seams appear to have been initially surveyed and after he had performed his task Wilfred was swiftly able to register himself as a freeminer and begin the process of securing others to join him in the venture. Save for this brief expedition, once again no-one ventured any further from their sancti than the library. I must confess the texts on the practices of the Old Faith are as interesting as the history of the covenant, although there is yet more I have discovered in the latter that has aroused my interest and may lead to further journeys in the future. I won’t bore you with that now though.