((If I remember right, in Stonehenge, there was a Diedne covenant whose very name was wiped from all records during the Schism War, but the fact of the Diedne's existance has never been redacted. It's always been one of the original twelve houses, that succumbed to diabolism, performed human sacrifice, made their cats and dogs live together, mass hysteria, until something happened (I don't remember if it was ever stated just what) and House Tremere declared war on Diedne. Flambeau signed up right away, there was an emergency Grand Tribunal in which House Diedne, en masse, was cast out of the order. No Houses supported Diedne, but not all were as opposed to them. In fact, there have been rumours that some members of Diedne secretly joined ex Miscellanea, Merinita, or Bjornaer. Here endeth the lesson.))
Fiona looks at Viscaria with a half-smile on her face, waiting for the "Bazinga." When she realizes that Viscaria is serious, the smile fades.
[color=blue]"Not 'dead knees'...Diedne," Fiona says, pronouncing it carefully. [color=blue]"One of the original twelve Houses, until the Schism War in 1003, when House Tremere, then Flambeau, and finally the entire Order, declared war on them and wiped them out several years later.
"I don't know that I would say they've been physically tortured. Mentally, perhaps. And told that the Order had lost the Schism War. But remember that time passes much more slowly in Magic than here...as near as I can tell, roughly seven to one. Captivius was given a "field gauntlet" by Jurgen when they were captured, as kind of an inside joke. A cruel one, perhaps.
"As to why we want to ally with the Diedne? As near as I can tell, Laetitia was of the opinion that, if we went to them and told them that we had found proof that they were framed, for lack of a better word, that they would come to our aid when we beard the Quaesitores. In light of what I've seen since, I don't know if that would be the case. To them, it's only been thirty years since the Schism War. They may think it's still being fought. Or they may feel that they've lost everything on the outside, and that we, or other members of the Order, are an expeditionary force sent to wipe them out as well."
Fiona sighs deeply. [color=blue]"I don't know. I'm not a warrior, or a tactician, I'm a talker. Hell, the only thing I have that could be considered even remotely a combat spell are my two Curses of Circe. I really should have left this for those who are better suited for this kind of thing."
Fiona looks really down on herself at the moment.
((Interesting tidbit...if you Google "When did the Schism War start?", the first thing that comes up is a page about the Iran-Iraq War in the 1980s.))