((I'm pausing this pending some additional events at Tribunal.))
"We do not know what happened to the Primus of ex Miscellanea. Further, whether his votes would have favored House Diedne or House Tremere is unknown, but we can speculate that they would have sided with House Tremere, overwhelmingly. Many of those were of Druidic traditions other than Diedne, and there was considerable animus between Diedne and those traditions. I speculate, or rather I agree with Xenophon's speculation that Diedne captured the Primus of ex Misc, thinking that in the result of a tie that they would win, because of their close relationship with House Guernicus."
"For the present? We bide our time, and make our plans, and recruit allies. I believe you made contact with Rataxes Verditii. You should cultivate that friendship, somehow. I would focus on things not related to our true purpose, but on an area of common ground, the shared love of the lab might be a good start. Our safety is pretty well assured for some time. Valerian is showing himself to be an uncontrolled or uncontrollable weapon. Bilera herself had to take a hand at Tribunal, which turned into a huge Fiasco for the House and cost them considerable amount of credibility. It effectively delayed any political machinations of reaching fruition at the coming Grand Tribunal, but the next one, who knows. Magi have long lives, but unless it is in our Arts or passions, we have short memories like everyone else. If we act too soon, we will precipitate another schism. It may appear that now is the time to strike while House Guernicus is roiling from the Tribunal, but they have considerable powers to bring to bear on any battle. I believe you're in possession of a Lab Text for The Curse of Thoth? That wasn't the only lab text for that ritual. It was merely the one present in the ritual chamber when Laetitia managed to acquire it."
"That is an excellent idea, Tria; I shall do so in the next days." Tranquillina has learned not to bother asking how Tria always seems to know who spoke to whom.
((Coincidentally, I had planned for Magic Theory Correspondence in 1227.4 - now we know who she'll be writing!))
A sudden connection engages in Tria's mind - the kind that is either completely wrong, or completely right. "Wait a moment.... When I spoke to Rataxes, on the subject of Praxiteles's death in the Dimicatio - the investigators judged it to be a case of magic getting out of Valerian's control. I had my suspicions, but perhaps their conclusion was legitimate. The spell in question was Creo Terram, but also Rego, to control the boulders. This ... I may be crazy, but this sounds like the sort of thing that you were warning me about in Ulrich's case. A vast, unprecedent power in Rego, instilled in a person in a way that makes it dangerous. Is there any chance that Valerian was ... taught by Apollodorus? Or was otherwise caught up in his magical legacy?" she adds, thinking of the warning on the Control summa.
At the two mentions, in close proximity, of a possible schism and the spectre of a Curse of Thoth by their enemies, Tranquillina pales considerably and can only remain silent.
((Maris is blue, Tria is red.))
Tria had been walking around while Maris and Tranquillina were chatting, when she hears Tranquillina suggest that Valerian is strong in Rego she slaps the back of Tranquillina's head. "No, he is not gifted with Rego. Although the spells he casts may make it appear so. Do the math, girl."
((ooopsie 
pretend I said the right thing))
This is a fun thing to do to someone with an inferiority complex! Results vary. In this particular case:
Tranquillina pastes an eyeless smile upon her face. "Thank you very much, Maris, for your time and information. Please feel welcome here at Mons Electi any time." She turns to Tria, still smiling frostily, one hand reaching into her pouch for the chip of tile she keeps there. She adds a melodic lilt to her voice: "And now, as our esteemed Trianomae maga has suggested, I shall go continue my studies. Artes Liberales, you specified? Quite so, excellent advice." Then she'll cast Leap of Homecoming, without words or gestures, back to the entrance to her receiving room. ((automatic, even silently, in this aura))
As she storms through her receiving room into her bedroom, Loys, who had been wiping some of the glassware in her laboratory, hears her and comes out into the hallway, intending to give her some teenage compliment or other. But the look in her eyes as she whips by is all he needs to see: he keeps his mouth shuts and tiptoes back into the lab.
((LOL! Love! IT!))
"She was always too sensitive." Tria comments to Maris confidentially. "Perhaps I should have kept her as an apprentice. Perhaps I should never have exercised the right of Bonisagus. Being the first Trianomae to do so has caused me problems, some problems I wish I never had to deal with." Tria shrugs.
"Quit whinging. Are we done here? I want to get back."
"Yeah, I think so. I don't think I have anymore to add, and if Tranquillina wants to talk, she can send a letter for me. I think I'm going to go to Phoenix for a while check in on Ra'am and Ulrich. But first, I need to check in on Abigail. Ra'am and Regina would surely ask if I'd seen her."
Maris nods, and then disappears.
Tria asks a page to tell Korvin she'd like to see him, and will come to him wherever he indicates they'd like to meet.
The next morning, Korvin will meet with Tria in his office.
"Korvin, did you have any plans for Abigail for the next few months? Have you thought about her due date?"
((This presumes and handwaves a scene that I don't care to write, that Praxiteles and Abigail hooked up as I'd mentioned elsewhere, and the result was a baby, which would come due in the late spring...))
((I'm assuming that is 1228.2 I'll edit if I'm wrong))
i've sent a message to Harco about getting a midwife and she is due at Mons Electi in the early Spring. Ra'am and his wife may make the trip here. I've given her a light load in the lab as we are inventing a spell.
((Have you considered how you'd respond to Abigail about her blatant forgery and manipulation of either or both of you and Azura? Why not take up that letter in the Training of Abigail... How you talk to her here, could inform your part of the discussion here, or we can work it out OOC, and play that here. Your choice.))
"Maybe let her return to her longtime home to give birth? She might even be willing to give up the baby to Ra'am and Regina. They can both make persuasive arguments and it could be in your long term interests."
No. I can care for her here if need be and we can arrange a for a wet nurse through my House. I will not be surprised if there is one or two on their way. The baby is Mercere and will stay in the House. If it proves to be gifted then it will be a Mercere magus. If not I'm sure it will make a fine Redcap.
((Korvin is not going to air dirty laundry in front of Tria.))
"Well, I know her rather well. I also know Ra'am and Regina, and Azura. If the child is Gifted, I'm sure Ra'am will reserve her for House Mercere. There is a lot of advantage to having her go home. You have had children, but you have not cared for children. A wet nurse may or may not be necessary if Abigail can't make enough milk. Abigail may be drawn to stay with her baby more. Or the baby gets sick, and she can't support you in the lab. And children grow up. Let's face it, Ra'am and Regina both know what it's like to be an apprentice with a family, although Regina, less so. Ra'am is acutely aware of the pressures this places on the mother, something he never had to deal with. Did you know I kept the birth of his first daughter, Elizabeth a secret from him for several months, when he was my apprentice? Precisely because I knew how distracting it can be... And if your concern is about Ra'am preserving the child for the House, I don't think you need to worry about that. If he didn't have respect and admiration for your House, you would never have had Abigail, despite her lineage."
My concern if for my apprentice. I have a duty to her as she does to me. We both have a duty to our House. Korvin is obviously angry and his voice starts getting louder. Tria can suppose she has struck some nerve. You talk as if you think Mercere is a bunch of rutting animals who's pups mean nothing other than to satisfy our instinct. What do you know of my family or what children I have raised? Korvin stands and paces about the room. He is trying to get his emotions under control. In a calmer voice he continues. Most magi have never been past the portals and warehouses of Harco. They only see the business side of the House. His voice takes on a mocking tone. The scurrying Redcaps delivering messages. Gathering vis like merchants. In a more normal tone. Oh yes. We hear the talk. He stares at her for a moment. Inside Harco, away from the portals, we raise our families. We teach our children. We Gifted are treated differently because of our small size. We tend to have many partners before we use the longevity ritual. I'm am accounted for 48 children. Two of which have or had the Gift. I know the names of all of them. Those that survive and those that did not. So know this Tria Trianomae, we of House Mercere know how to care for our children and we will not care if the child is Gifted or not.
"Yes, and there is a Magical Mercere at Phoenix, as well. And it is my understanding that she just gave birth this past September. And Azura has other children. Are there children of Mercere heritage here, Korvin?"
No. But we always start at one. Do you think that the child growing up here, playing with the other Covenant's children will be stunted? Korvin hand waves away any answer to his rhetorical question. I know you want to take the child away to...protect Abigail or to protect me or to protect the child. But your arguments are not holding any weight. I feel that she will be fine and learn to deal with the child and her studies. She is not the first. Now if Regina and Ra'am wanted to visit for a season or two to help Abigail, I would welcome them.
"No, I'm suggesting you allow Abigail to visit her parents, and then let her make the decision on her own. It is her child, and it is Ra'am and Regina's grand child. And he carries the blood of the Founder. I understand that children are cared for within the House. But let's be honest, how well can Abigail care for the child while being your apprentice? It was one thing for Ra'am to be a father and an apprentice. The demands of the father are always far less than the demands on the mother, and your determination to make this decision on behalf of Abigail is... telling. It may very well be that she decides to return with the child. And it may be that she decides to foster the child with Azura, under the watchful eye of her parents."
I am not making the decision about the child. I'm make a decision about my apprentice. If she wishes to foster the child then I have nothing to say. You talk as if she will be cast into a tower with the child and have to fend for herself. Did you not hear that we will have people to support her in caring for the child. You act as though she just became pregnant after a tryst with some stranger. She knew exactly what she was doing to the point of writing a contract to the effect. Do you really think she has not thought about what she will do with the baby?
"No, I'm saying she will make you miserable in the process. I know Abigail. I'm trying to give you a way to get her to see which choice is better for her. She may decide to keep her baby with her, or not. I'm suggesting that a trip back to her parents may make her make the best decision for her, rather than have everything provided for her, without any other possibilities."
Korvin thinks on this for a bit. I will talk to Ra'am. I have given her no duties in the spring so she can make the trip. She must be back before winter. I still think this is a bad decision. You are giving her a way out of her choice to have the child. If she leaves the child she will reenforce what other believe we are like.
"Not at all. It takes a lot of love to give up a child. It also takes a lot of understanding and self-reflection to understand what is best. Azura would be able to give the child what you can, ties to the House and Ra'am and Regina can give the love of family."