Chapter 0 - Getting Together

Retired Play by Post Campaigns Ars Magica 5th Edition: Via Experimenta
21

[OOC: Did Alips travel with Praxiteles to serve as a translator for him? Since many parts of Durenmar are inaccessible to mundanes, that could be a problem. And, with the amount of traveling that has been done, her Motion Sickness flaw will have meant a miserable trip for her (the trip back will be even worse, since we'll be able to travel faster by boat).]

If needed, Petronius will offer to translate for Praxiteles. Not with great deal of enthusiasm, but he will offer nevertheless.

Would it be reasonable or Durenmar to have a Greek scholar who could be trusted to go into these areas, and also translate for visiting Theban magi? Durenmar wants books and knowledge. I think not having such a person would significantly reduce their ability to catalog and manage their collection. If we agree on that, then I say we know this person exists, and Alips can stay at home. It also puts this person in position of over hearing plans he can later report to an interested outside party.

22

I think this would be reasonable that a translator is available for official Tribunal business. There may also be other magi that originate from Thebes, or knowledgeable of Greek (probably some other Jerbiton), so that does not leave Praxiteles completely isolated.

Having him available full-time might not be possible, so for our personal communications we may have to resort to a mix of French and German. A bit cumbersome and slow, with many risks of misunderstanding, but I think the magi can manage if they keep that in mind.

23

"Let's have a look at the towers first, shall we?"

As they walk and talk, Aedituus will tell of his upbringing in the monastery. If asked about why he maintains his appearance as a monk, he will respond, "Somtimes the habits we develop as we grow up remain with us. I spent many years serving God and obeying the Benedictine Rule, and I find I am unwilling to deny that part of myself. Besides, " his eyes grow wide and he smiles, "I find that some doors may open to me that my magic might not otherwise sway."

"Tell me, Titus, what part of this great covenant do you find the most interesting?"

24

"Ooh, tough question Magus. At first thought it is ofcourse the knowledge gathered here. Almost any subject ou could ask for, something exists here to discuss it. Sometimes fat summae explaing in detail from the ground up with spells to implement principles, but othertimes simply research notes from some failed experiment, explaining what certainly isn't." Titus looks thoughtful "But it is also everything else. This is in many ways where the Order was founded. There's so much history here, cooperation despite differences. And ofcourse there's the wonderful Aura!" The last bit comes with a bit of a grin.

"Here, the twinne towers of Notatus and Trianoma. This is where the magi of Durenmar live - most of them anyway. You will notice that the tower of Trianoma lacks the top. It was lot in a magical acident long ago and kept that way to remind us all to be at least a little cautious in the labs.
The tower of Trianoma also serves as Mercere house and I've been told it holds the Mercere portals to certain other covenants, though I myself have never used or even seen them.
A bit further along is the Forge of Verditius, which serves as home and office of Durenmar's Artificer - but I understand he's away on business for the next few days and might not be back until just before the tribunal. Now, crossing the bridge, we will pass by Irencilla's Oak, which traditionally somehow houses the representatives of Irencilla during tribunals though I'd love to know just how!" A few steps further along, Titus stops.
"And here we have what many consider the heart of Durenmar, the Hermetic trinity if you will. This standing stone marks the spot where Notatus originally cast the first Aegis of the Hearth spell, protecting Durenmar and essentially offering the whole Order a strongpoint of safety. To the left you will see the Tower of Bonisagus, wherein is found the Great Library. On your right, across the stream, is the Forum of Hermes which you will all see the inside of in a few days as the tribunal is held in there. I'd actually advice you to take a peek in there before then, as it is beautiful and I must admit that the presence of so many magi does tend to focus the attention away from the building."

"Now, before we explore any of these buildings in detail, how about we get you settled into the guest quarters over here?"

25

(OOC: This was kind of explained backward, since I wrote about us meeting Maria and Titus at the standing stone.)

(OOC: Since so many magi attend Tribunal, I have assumed that there would be no guest quarters available for us. This is more an area where long-term guests reside. At least that's what GotF seems to imply (p.25, first column). That is why I write about sending the grogs to set up our encampment near the orchard on the Tribunal field.)

26

(OOC: Oops, my bad. I play in the Rhine p'n'p as well, as we always arrive along the stream)

(OOC: absolutely, but Titus didn't notice that!)

27

(OOC: But he would know that the guest quarters are not available to magi coming for Tribunal, as he was assisting Maria in welcoming arrivals.)

28

Later that evening, the three magi and Titus are sitting around the fire at the small encampment prepared by their mundane retinue during the afternoon. The evening is quiet and cool, with a clear sky sparkling with stars. They've been getting to know each other, through light discussion. Eventually, Petronius moved to a quick update for Titus, on the latest information regarding the prospective site of the covenant, as well as progress regarding sponsors. Plans are made to meet with magi over the next few days, as representatives from each covenant arrive for Tribunal. Discussions occur mostly in both Latin and German, allowing all to participate fully, if slowly.

"Things are progressing well, sodales. I have good hope that we will get approval for the formation of our covenant. Providing this does indeed prove true, we should begin talking about how we will live together. Is there any subjects you wish to discuss? May that be regarding labs, allocation of raw vis, how we will put together a decent library, or recruit mundanes? Anything and everything, my friends, that will affect how our covenant can thrive."

29

Praxiteles is quiet much of the time, being slightly uncomfortable for not knowing Latin and relying on others to speak for him, or translate what has been said for him. "I think I could earn us some coin, or perhaps political favor by making art for nobility and the Church. I don't have an objection to using my arts thus." He'll say this in French and German, and then let someone translate it into Latin, if necessary. ((I don't want to go through the bother of making a good or poor translation, instead, I'll just handle his inability to speak Latin as a mostly keeping quiet and nodding thing, whether he agrees with what's been said, or not. :smiley:))

30

Petronius smiles and replies in High German, "Having contacts with the local powers would certainly be helpful."

Then his expression changes as he remembers something, "Sodalis, I just remembered that the dominion aura prevailing in Koblenz has no hold within your house. Does that mean you will keep your sanctum and lab there? Speaking of labs, I assume we will plan for space for peregrinators as well. So another question is, how many? Other magi may want to join us on a more permanent basis as well, so I think we should plan for more space, rather than less."

31

"There is, how do you say it? La Koona? To my understanding it doesn't have any magical advantage, except that it doesn't struggle against the divine. Perhaps if I carve a new statue of Mercury and Rosmerta and have them soak in the essences of our main site for a few years, and then bring them to my home in hopes of establishing an aura? Aura's aren't what I'm interested in, but this is very similar to what Jerbiton himself did. In any event, it is likely I will stay there, I might want to come to the main site from time to time, if my projects exceed the capabilities of the lab in my home. "

32

"Excellent idea! I might have a few other idea that I'd love to test if that would be acceptable? Aurae are something of a fascination of mine and I've only ever read of lacunae, never had a chance to actually examine one. A sort of hole in a aura, fascinating!"

33

"Another idea popped up during the visit of the potential site in Koblenz Forest. At this site, the aura seems stronger in a relatively small area. We could possibly maximize the use of that stronger aura by installing a laboratory there that we could share, using it when a stronger aura would be beneficial to our work."

Petronius pauses, and smiles reassuringly before continuing, "This would be in addition to our individual labs, of course, but this larger lab would have some obvious advantages. The sharing of resources would allow us to install a much larger and advanced laboratory than each of us individually would have time to build. And having a second lab available to us, with specializations different than the one that we usually dedicate our research in, could be quite valuable."

A large cat jumps on Petronius' lap at this. Those who traveled from Koblenz know that this cat follows Petronius around, and responds to the name of Rufus.

"Take Rufus here, for example. At some point, I may wish to make him my familiar. But Animal is probably not going to be a specialty I wish to pursue most of the time. But others amongst you may also wish to bind a familiar at some point. So if I was to prepare some feature usufel for this in a shared lab, you could make use of it, whereas if I were to do this in my personal lab, this effort would be lost or probably not worth the effort. The same goes for a specialization in longevity rituals. This is not a project we pursue often, but when we do it is important to have every advantage we can muster."

34

"An excellent idea - might I suggest we consider aspecting it towards Creo? For longevity and vis extraction purposes mostly?"

35

"Those specialties are certainly good candidates for a communal lab. As would many others, I'm sure. We'll have to each think about it and discuss it further." He smiles, a bit wistfully, "Of course, it will be some years before we can build that lab, as we'll first need a covenant to build it in. But for now, if we can agree on the concept, that is something we can work towards."

(The other can still comment on that, but here's another subject that would be discussed.)

"How about the library? What will we each be able to contribute? We should of course try to arrange for copies of books in each of the Arts, at least to a basic level. But if we can also write out spells that we each know, that will give us additional lab texts we can use. For myself, I already scribed a few such texts in the last couple of years, and shall endeavor to do so again in the years to come." Another smile, "And we should all be on the watch for opportunities to acquire additional, more advanced texts."

36

"My time will not be my own for a few more year - longer should I fail my gauntlet God forbid. After that I shall probably spend some time here as a copyist in order to earn the right to copy a few tomes to take away. "

37

"Of course. But you may want to discuss this subject with your mistress. She may be able to talk with the librarian about unused books he wishes to get rid of, or some that he would allow copies to be made of."

(OOC: I'm assuming this is the how we end up gathering some or all of the "Damaged" summae in our library, as well as some of the other books and lab texts.)

38

(works for me)

39

Over the next few days, as delegations from each covenant of the Rhine arrive for Tribunal, Petronius, Aedituus and even Praxiteles spend most of their time meeting with various magi, gathering support for the creation of their covenant. Titus helps whenever he can, but as an apprentice he has little sway over full magi, alhtough even he succeeds in securing the support of a sponsor, Odelia from Dankmar, who has just passed her Gauntlet under her mater Orphedra of Merinita. He has struck an unlikely friendship with the pudgy Odelia, despite her strange demeanor.

Finally, Tribunal begins. New magi, including Odelia, are formally introduced to the Tribunal as full magi and take their place in the Forum of Hermes. This is followed by the formal recognition of a few magi as masters and a single archmagus, with each being presented with the voting sigil of a retired magus. After those ceremonies, business is brought forward to be discussed and voted on. One such piece of business is the petition for the formation of a new covenant. Petronius presents the Tribunal with the project of this new covenant, focused on research and located within the Rhine Gorge. One after the other, sponsors from all covenants are called for, following the order of their foundation.

No one is really surprised when Maria of Bonisagus from Durenmar announce her support; all knew that someone from Durenmar would support a move. A few mutters can be heard when the young Bjornaer maga Falke speaks for Crintera. That Prima Vineria of Merinita herself rises to approve causes a small commotion in the assembly, for it is seldom that a primus takes position in such an inconsequential matter. Horst of Mercere stands for Fengheld, an unusual move from a redcap which causes more muttering; but as this is not a vote, this seems to be accepted.

When the newly-Gauntleted Odelia of Merinita, from Dankmar, rises to annouce her support of the new covenant, this earns her a dark look from her mater; a muted argument between mater and filia follows that annoucement, but the sponsorship has been announced. From Roznov, the controversial Valdus of Tytalus calls out his support, and warns the young magi to protect their vis sources well. The young Henri de Tours, the young Jerbiton magus from Oculus Septentrionalis, is the next sponsor. The comes Aline of Bonisagus from Triamore and Octavius of Bonisagus from Irminsul.

Magi hold their breath as the covenant of Terschelling is called. This is the last covenant founded, and thus the last sponsor needed for approval of the new covenant. Axior of Flambeau, the founder of Terschelling, rises slowly. "A strong Order of Hermes requires many covenants to watch for and defend us against both mundane incursions and foreign magi. It requires vis to be harvested, research to be conducted, and apprentices to be trained. This, and more, is something this new covenant pledges to do. They have my support." As the scarred magus sits down, relief and exaltation fill the magi of the new covenant. They barely hear the official acknowledgment from the Praeco and Head Quaesitor.

The covenant of Laurus Argenti lives!

40

Later that night, the four are gathered in the small encampment again, celebrating the result of the efforts. A few other magi wander by during the evening to congratulate the new covenant-mates, but these are few.

The next topic of the day's Tribunal business had been accusations by Primus Urgen of House Bjornaer against Oculus Septentrionalis, regarding the Danish invasion of Rügen. The debate had been heated, but without sufficient proof the had been defeated. Still, the accusations had cast a pall over the proceedings, and Urgen's walking out had shocked many.

The fact remained that the new covenant had been approved. So, between the few visitors coming to offer their good wishes, the magi discussed their next moves. "I was planning on spending the next year here at Durenmar," says Petronius. "I've made arrangements already to use the library for research. During that time, I should be able to arrange for some copies to be made for our library. And," the bony magus smiles at Titus, "if everything goes well I should be present when you pass your Gauntlet."

Turning back to Praxiteles and Aedituus, he adds, "Before that, though, we need to finalize the decision regarding the site of our covenant and start building it. I've spend long hours thinking about the ruined temple, and it seems like the best choice available to us. If need be, I will travel back with Praxiteles to get matters started on construction and preparations, although my Gift will hinder me greatly in dealing with mundanes. What of you, sodales? Have you thought of what your plans are for the next few years?"