Was thinking of a character who sought, procured, (perhaps trained, perhaps not) and then marketed Gifted children as apprentices and/or lab [strike]slaves[/strike] assistants. I've kicked this idea round the Troupe in question, but I was thinking about it again and was mulling over several sticking points, thought to throw it out to the general populace here.
(And to any of my Troupe & SG who might read this - not holding anyone to any opinions or citations offered here - we've covered it amply imo. Just more grist for my creativity mill.)
The legality doesn't worry me - some Tribunals may disapprove, but none go so far as to outlaw the practice.
References (that I can find) in Peripheral Code (see below) imply it's "discouraged but not illegal" (my wording), and GotF describes that Coeris practices it (insert, p 102 - see below). So it seems that opinions would differ, with some just not caring, some (tacitly?) supporting it, and a (politically irrelevant) minority condemning it.
So everyone can opine, here are the references that I have found.
- Guardians of the Forest (insert p 102)
[style=Times New Roman]
[size=120]The Slave Trade[/size]
[size=120]Prague is home to a large slave market. The word “slave” derives from “slav”... The Church forbids making Christians into slaves. The trade in slaves is controlled by the (corrupt) Knights of the Sword, and is a lucrative source of income... They transport the slaves to Prague and sell them to Jewish merchants, who then transport them to Muslim lands and sell them again...
... a trusted companion of Roznov covenant (see below) uses his Magic Sensitivity to spot and filter out any Gifted children among the slaves. They then find themselves delivered to Coeris, the domus magna of House Tremere in the Transylvanian Tribunal.[/size][/style]
- Then, from the (4th ed) Timeline posted * on these boards...
(* by Erik Tyrrell : https://forum.atlas-games.com/t/hermetic-timeline/1003/5 )
1188 1327 Provencal: Magus Teslil of Jerbiton finds a Gifted girl and, already having an apprentice of his own, sells her to Magus Gentric of Jerbiton. [WGRE] See 1331 for additional developments.
...
1192 1331 Provencal: Magus Gentric dies. His property is disposed of in the manner of his covenant, and his apprentice taken by Magus Alarmon of Tytalus. [WGRE] See the Provencal Tribunal of 1333 for additional developments.
...
1194 1333 Provencal Tribunal of 1333: Magus Teslil claims that the former apprentice of Magus Gentric, who died 1331, should be granted him, as Gentric had been of his House and he had found the girl to begin with. The Tribunal rules that Teslil, having sold the girl, had given up all claim. [WGRE]
Regarding Magus Teslil, the Tribunal noted its disapproval of selling apprentices, but did not forbid it.
(WGRE = Wizard's Grimoire, Revised Edition)
And that's about it.
(There's also a 2nd or 3rd ed adventure about a particularly Gifted child being sold by slavers. It's more complicated than that, but I don't know if any of it's relevant here as I can't find the text atm.)
So, in short, it seems that The Order does not see taking apprentices "as slaving", and so to be "endangering The Order" that way - if it did, there would be chaos in the Tribunals. The "Slave" info is included to show that Coeris, as a House-supported effort, has an active search machine in place full time that relies directly on the mundane slave trade, and not because any particular mage is searching for an apprentice of their own, but just "on spec". (Whether or not this is "common knowledge" in The Order may be a different matter.)
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The specific points that still nag at me are:
- The Code - How best does anyone, mundane or Mage, offer a gifted child for sale without risking another magus simply "claiming" them as their apprentice? How does one maintain their "personal property" (a slave) and yet have a Gifted child that is not currently their "apprentice"?
How to prevent House Bonisagus from claiming them under their particular right?
(I would hope that the "deprive of magical power" clause would suffice, coupled with the fact that the child is being actively inserted into the Order in general and not being kept for personal use. Thoughts?)
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Fair Market Price - What might the price be for a generic +0 Int child w/ The Gift? For a +2 Int with some training in Latin and Magic Theory? What is the price for someone truly "special", like with a heartbeast or strong Fae blood or other House- or Cult-centric Virtue?
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"Who is behind this?" It has crossed my mind that if a mage acted openly and frequently to pander such merchandise, they put themselves at risk on a number of levels from inside and outside the order - from ostracism and prejudice, from theft of the merchandise, from political or clerical action (valid or nuisance), perhaps from vigilantism, even revenge from one of his previous sales. They risk a dubious reputation, if nothing else.
3a) Would a Tytalus' "Personae" be about the best way to create a distance between mage and "procurer", to best prevent anyone from making the connection?
3b) Custos - In your opinion, could a mundane (of some stripe), working with and augmented by the mage, be the "front man" for these sales? Or would it almost have to be a Hermetic Mage himself, as only they would have the adequate status to not be "robbed" (one way or another) by other Magi, with or without* the aid of The Code?
(* Technically, if a mundane were "robbed" of a gifted child, they would have few ears to turn to. A magus in whose name they were acting could appeal to Tribunal, but...)
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Practical Security - The Code aside, how best to prevent individuals or competitors from simply stealing "my merchandise" before they hit the market.
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Over-stock - What best to do with additional Gifted children who do not sell? (A less important consideration, but it crossed my mind, so I'll toss it into the pot.)