Procla of Guernicus is a senior mystagogue/priest best suited for use in any Mediterranean tribunal (Iberia, Provence, Rome, Thebes, the Levant), but she can be relocated anywhere. The only restriction is that her Bound to Magic flaw means there must be a location with an aura of at least 5 she can live in.
She is a maga of the line of Fenecil and an expert in the secret Mercurian rituals of house Guernicus. As a quaesitor and priest she carefully and diligently separates her duties – revealing no secrets of her house to the cult, nor of the cult to her house. Still, her experience with both magics allows for insights into Mercurian magic others may miss.
She is primarily concerned with the Islamic world where many works of Greek and Roman literature have been preserved, and where many untouched temples remain to be explored. She believes that the cult should focus on gathering and preserving ancient mercurian knowledge before it is lost, rather than worrying about congregations and recruitment. She views the Cult of Mercury as significant in a theoretical and political sense but is not entirely comfortable with fervently pagan members. Despite this, as priest she tolerates the zealots as far as duty requires.
Initiates looking to Procla as a mystagogue may find themselves forced to participate actively in hermetic politics if they do not already. Procla views it as an essential duty of the Neo-Mercurians to act as virtuous citizens in the “hermetic state” and set an example for other magi.
Due to her magical interests and previous activities as a seeker, Procla has several friends among the line of Pralix in house Ex Miscellanea. Many Neo-Mercurians are ideologically opposed to the integration of hedge magic into the order and find this distasteful. She similarly has allies among the Flambeau school of Raghallach in Hibernia. Initiates serving her may find themselves assisting these groups, perhaps to their discomfort.
A catastrophic lab accident while attempting to comprehend what she believed to be a powerful lost Mercurian ritual has left Procla unable to survive outside powerful magical auras. This has forced her to give up many of her active duties and act through intermediaries. She is currently attempting to gather like minded souls to send on an archaeological expedition to Egypt, or elsewhere in North Africa. Initiates serving her may curry favour by volunteering for these expeditions.
Characteristics: Int +3, Per +2, Pre +2, Com -1, Str -1, Sta +0*, Dex -3* (Tremor), Qik -1
*Decreased due to ageing. Before her lab accident Procla did not take good care of her health. Mentioning the tremor in her hands is sure to anger her.
Size: +0
Age: 121 (63)
Decrepitude: 1 (0)
Warping Score: 5 (4)
Virtues and Flaws: Hermetic Prestige, Bound to Magic*, Minor Magical Focus (Detecting Spell Traces), Well-Travelled, Strong-Willed, Clear thinker, Dutybound**, Study Requirement
*The result of a lab accident, she sickens if not living in a magic aura of at least 5.
**Procla unflinchingly upholds the code and will not compromise herself as a Quaesitor, even if her personal goals suffer as a result. This is represented with the “Dutybound Quaesitor” personality trait.
Mysteries Known: Mercurian Magic, Performance Magic (Neo-Mercurian Magic), Hermetic Theurgy, Withstand Magic, Hermetic Sacrifice, Divination (Apantomancy), Theurgic Spirit Familiar***
***This is not a typical Neo-Mercurian mystery. Procla reconstructed an ancient initiation script for this mystery. At the storyteller’s discretion it may be slowly spreading through the Neo-Mercurians or may be specific to Procla.
Mystery Ordeal Flaws: Necessary Condition (Ritual Purity)
Personality Traits: Dutybound Quaesitor +3, Adventurous Seeker +2, Frustrated at Confinement +3
Reputations: Semi-Retired Quaesitor +5 (Hermetic), Crippled Seeker +3 (neo-Mercurians)
Fatigue Levels: OK, 0, –1, –3, –5, Unconscious
Wound Penalties: –1 (1–5), –3 (6–10), –5 (11–15), Incapacitated (16–20)
Abilities: Arabic 4, Area Lore (Ancient Mediterranean) 5, Area Lore (Home Tribunal) 3, Artes Liberales 3, Athletics 2, Charm 1, Code of Hermes 6, Concentration 2, Divination 3, Dominion Lore 1, Faerie Lore 1, Finesse 1, Folk Ken 4, Greek 4, Guile 1, Infernal Lore 1, Intrigue 2, Latin 5, Magic Lore 2, Magic Theory 6, Neo-Mercurian Lore (Mercurian Rituals) 11, Order of Hermes Lore 3, Pagan Theology 1, Parma Magica 6, Penetration 6, Philosophiae 2, Survival 2
In addition, Procla knows all of Fenecil’s rituals (see HoH:TL pg. 76) with scores of 2-4 in each.
Arts: Animal 7, Aquam 6, Auram 6, Corpus 8, Creo 6, Herbam 7, Ignem 6, Imaginem 5, Intellego 25, Mentem 6, Muto 6, Perdo 21, Rego 16, Terram 6, Vim 24
Twilight Scars: Procla glows with a coloured aura when casting. Hermetic magi can recognise the form she is using from this, but not the technique. She acts as a tether of strength 1 for any magic aura she lives in, as if she had a might score of 10. Her gift causes headaches to people near her, as well as the social penalty. Anyone unaffected by the gift does not experience this effect.
Spells and Trappings: Procla’s natural talent lies in scrying magic, especially with Vim. She knows a range of investigative spells.
She has also made a study of Perdo and is adept at dispelling magic. She knows a full range of Unravelling the Fabric of (Form) spells and several different levels of Wind of Mundane Silence. She has a single mastery level in each of these spells, allowing her to fast cast them. She is fond of opening combat with a fast cast Wind of Mundane Silence to negate any low level (and high penetration) hostile magic and perhaps strip the parma from the opponent if their score is low. When working alongside others she instead uses more targeted spells to avoid negating the spells of her allies.
In offensive spells she favours PeMe spells which stupefy, or PeCo spells to induce fatigue. In her opinion it is always preferable to capture enemies rather than kill them outright.
Procla is a skilled Theurge. Having reconstructed and self-initiated the Theurgic Spirit Familiar mystery she has bound an aspect of the goddess Eunomia as her familiar. She views this aspect as her personal tutelary deity, and this is how she frames this mystery to her Neo-Mercurian sodales.
Her talisman is a lead bound grimoire. The cover is the enchanted element, allowing the book within to be expanded as needed. Procla keeps notes on many investigations she has been a part of, magical secrets she has discovered, and various other matters meant for only her eyes. The book is enchanted so that if anyone but Procla opens it they are instantly struck blind (which heals as a heavy wound), with penetration of 10. A second effect blurs their vision so they can’t read the text, healing as a light wound. This was enchanted earlier in Procla’s career, but is much lower level, so has a penetration of 30.
The tome also has several Invoke the Spirit of (Form) spells enchanted into it. These allow Procla to replicate spontaneous magic without ceremonial casting (a limitation of Mercurian Magic which irritates her). She also knows a formulaic spell equivalent for each effect, used to cast the spell and bind the spirit the first time (this allows the enchantment version to not need penetration). Which Technique/Form combinations are covered is left up to the storyguide but an example is given below:
Invoke the Wise Spirit of Mentem InMe 30
R: Arcane D: Momentary T: Individual
This spell summons a spirit of might 25 capable of replicating a single InMe effect up to level (25+Aura)/2 with a penetration equal to ((25+Aura)/2)-(spell level). The spirit knows Procla and will willingly follow her command and cast a single spell, then depart. This spirit may be invoked up to 24 times per day.
This power is invoked by reading an incantation written in Procla’s talisman.
(Base 25 +5 levels 24 uses per day)
