If you do not like beer and are so much into sweets, normal you like Jerez instead of wine. No, Jerez is not wine regardless of what Cidito says 
That was the 'message' I was referring to.
You had me arrive in Autumn 1234, didn't you?
Im my defense, I am but a barbarian Yank. In the language and laws of my land, we divide booze into three categories: Beer, Wine, and Liquor. The legal designation of Jerez is a wine. The same for Sherry, Amontillado, and other variations of that type. Wikipedia refers to it as a Fortified Wine. Now granted, in Europe Sherry and such as a protected designation, to label it as such it must come from the Jerez region of Andalusia (the sherry triangle). Here in the US, I think it just has to be made using the traditional methods. Then again, though I am sure it exists, I have never seen domestic Jerez...
Looked it up, it does exist.
So I have seen it, I just didn't recognize it as such.
Carmen was not around when Fedora was giving the nickle tour. But when she receives notice that Fedora is sponsoring a new Mercere magus to be stationed here at the main covenant, she pays a visit to Fedora and asks "Why should we not make him wait seven seasons and demand three services?".
Fédora looks a little confused by the question. [color=blue]"I don't know. Isn't that what is normally expected of new members?"
After a moment, she says, [color=blue]"I forgot to mention that, didn't I?" She mutters something that sounds rather rude in Russian. [color=blue]"I'm sorry, I was probably a little more tired than I let on when I met with Lucas. My husband has been keeping me up quite late the past few nights. I'll let Lucas know about the requirements for Journeyman when he arrives for the Council meeting."
With apologies for continuing the tangent - ha! I laugh at your puny ideas of not-weighing-very-much. I'm 5' 8", and weigh... uh, maths... about 115 lbs (I'm British. My weight is 8 st 3 lb or so. I don't know it without the "stones" off the top of my head). Always have been. I just seem to burn food 
I think a stone is 20 pounds, so 8s3lb would be 163?
Nope, 14 pounds
Should I post Lucas returning after four days to face the masters?
?
Where did he go?
Tell us what you did for vacation 
When Fedora said it would be four days, Lucas said that he would probably disappear back home for a bit to check in with his children.
[hr][/hr]
Four days, Lucas thought. It would be four days before the masters would be gathered. Until that time, he was simply a guest in the covenant. But that didn't mean that he had to be a recluse. His first day in Andorra, Lucas spent getting to know the place. He wandered around the grounds of the castle, poking his head in odd corners, saying hello to whatever covenfolk he found. The positive side of having a Gentle Gift was that he could make friends with people more quickly, and he took advantage of that fact. Having no set schedule, Lucas was happy to spend a minute or an hour chatting with whoever was willing to talk. His wanderings took him to the library, the public living areas of the resident magi and maga, and an empty tower representative of the sorts of quarters he might expect here. But they also took him to the kitchen, the stables, and the practice yard. Never one to stand on ceremony, Lucas was happy to talk with anyone, regardless of their station. Besides, oftentimes the servants knew some of the best gossip.
By the morning of his second day, Lucas had a feel for the covenant itself. His interest now was in the surrounding area. After breakfast, he found his way to the highest point he could in the covenant, from which point he leapt into the air, transforming into a falcon as he did so. For the next several hours, he swooped in and around the mountains surrounding the covenant, getting a feel for the air, the terrain, and the local settlements. By midday, he found a secluded spot in the nearest village and settled back to his proper form. Then, having previously changed some of his money to the local currency back at the castle, he found the local tavern, where he got himself a midday meal. To any who asked, he explained that he was a visitor to the castle up on the hill. Their reactions to that helped him get a feel for what the locals thought of the covenant. After his meal, Lucas walked around town for a while, taking in the ambiance of the place. Eventually, however, having seen all the areas of local interest in the village, he made his way back to the covenant, this time by foot, thinking that any Mercere who was afraid of a little walking was no Mercere.
He stayed at the covenant through the evening meal before begging off to return home for a time. His wife, he explained, who was a Redcap, was off visiting another covenant. That left the kids with their nanny. And while the nanny was perfectly capable of taking care of the children, they would certainly like to see their father, and he them. So, promising to return before the masters met, Lucas disappeared into the portal, there to ultimately reach home and the three of his children that still lived there.
A day later, around mid-morning, the portal activated again, and Lucas stepped through, this time with a peregrine falcon one arm, a falcon he introduced to everyone as Horus, his familiar. He was back, he explained, to meet with the masters on the following day. He had arrived a day early so that he might be available should any master wish to speak with him prior to the meeting. To that end, Lucas remained in a castle drawing room, chatting with whoever was avaailable - Horus, if none of the members of the covenant were free - waiting for the next day when he would finally get his audience with the masters of the Andorra covenant.
Ordinarily Vocis (or even Celeste) would have sought Lucas out by now, but he's spending autumn 1234 crafting items for the City of Brass trip and is spending every day locked in his lab with Celeste and Mica. Their meeting will have to wait until after the vote.
Hopefully he'll poke his head out of his lab long enough to attend the meeting.
Awesome story. Accept a point of Confidence as my token of appreciation
Two corrections, one relevant the other pedantic.
It is not the Masters alone you have to face. It requires a vote of the Full council. Journeymen are indeed full members, not subordinates. Those who are masters have more privilege and acquire more responsibility.
and...
I don't think Andorra has a local currency. I suppose it would be a mix of whatever coins circulate in Provence and Catalonia. As well as Castilian and Andalusian coins. Most coins are silver, but Barcelona and Andalusia both mint gold coins as well. I was just reading quite about about Spanish economics of the 11th century, and it boggles the mind how complex and massive it was.
The nearest village is Arans, just down the hill from the keep. There is a tavern there, not much of a hangout or drinking establishment, more like a public eating place. When you mention the castle, some one says "you mean the magi?". They are well acquainted with us, and a large number of our covenant's employees come from &/or dwell there. We are obligated to protect them as well. A few years ago, a number of villagers were killed om the job when an enemy wizard attacked the covenant with a death spell. We have that on our conscience. The tavern keeper mutters something about it. and if asked what he means by "we" (including himself in that guilt), he introduces himself as Murry, a retired Redcap. His father was a Mercere magus and a member of Andorra back in the day. He passed on a number of years ago.
Ah, good to know.
I just figured that coming from around Champagne/Burgundy, Lucas might not have anything that could be easily used in a tavern.
Lucas will introduce himself as a member of House Mercere as well and give him the house handshake. He will say that he's sorry for Murry's loss, but is working to follow in his father's footsteps by keeping a Mercere magus associated with the covenant. He'll promise to introduce Murry to Cecilia once the family is settled in.
Lucas sits in a comfortable chair near a window that overlooks the main courtyard. A glass of local wine is set on a small table next to him, while Horus is perched on a chair opposite. The magus looks down into the courtyard where a half-dozen soldiers are drilling - to him it looked like sword practice, but then, he'd never known much about martial pursuits. After a watching the mock combat for a little while, he turns back to face Horus.
"Yes, I'll be glad when this is all settled too," he says, in answer to an unspoken question by his familiar. "And no, I can't guess what they'll say any more than you can. We'll know soon enough."
A few more moments pass in silence, and Lucas begins to ponder an issue that's been pestering him for some time. How to temporarily take away a person's shadow. It was clearly Ignem magic, of which he was reasonably well informed. But would you use Perdo to eliminate the shadow? Creo to create light to obscure it? Muto to shrink it down to such a size as it couldn't be easily seen? Or would it be simpler to banish it using Rego magic? Each possibility had its merits and its drawbacks. The matter really demanded a season of research to be settled. But as he had time to kill now, a little contemplating couldn't hurt. Perhaps if he used Marconius's Theorum to model the shadow, and the Guntherian Process to shape the light ...
"What?" he says, snapping out of his reverie and coming back to the real world. "I was just thinking some deep thoughts." A pause. "No, not about dinner. That's not for hours yet. You'll survive until then. Go back to sleep." A few moments later, Lucas's eyes start to lose their focus as he returns to his contemplation. But before he can recapture his thoughts, he shakes his head again and looks back to Horus.
"Yes, it is a very nice wine," he says, a hint of surprise in his voice at the change of subject. "I was worried that coming here would be a great deprivation in that arena. But I'm pleasantly surprised at the taste of the local vintage. It's not Fermat's burgundy by any stretch of the imagination. Still, it's not bad for a table wine." He picks up his goblet and takes a drink.
"Yes, I probably will have some more wine when I'm finished with this."
Lucas raises an eyebrow. "No, I won't ask them to bring you a dead partridge with my wine. There are limits to how much a guest can impose."
"No, not a dead mouse either." He shakes his head.
"I understand it's been hours since you ate. You'll survive." A pause. "Yes, you will." Another pause. "No, you will not expire from hunger. Stop being so melodramatic."
There is a brief silence, ended by the magus laughing at an unheard witticism. "Okay, okay, point taken." He smiles at his dear friend and companion. "You win. I'll see if the kitchen can get you a gobbet of meat when they bring me some more wine. Will that do?" At a nod from the falcon Lucas leans back in his chair and picks up his wine again.
"But you'll have to wait until I finish. I will not gulp wine, not even for you."
[hr][/hr]
I just wanted to write up a little interaction between Lucas and Horus so that I could get a better feel for their relationship.
While Fleur will attend the meeting, she does not feel comfortable voting on this issue and will give her vote to Vocis to cast for this issue.
Roberto arrives with Cidito following him, takes his seat, and boldly inquires about the proposition at hand.
So Fedora, is this guy based here or over there (the islands)? If set up with us at Sa Dragonera, what skills and resources does he bring to the table? We could use a Mercere magus that can cast an Aegis efficiently for each of us. I would even e willing to pay for my own if it can be dome affordably.
Though only a Journeyman, his vote counts as equal and he wants to make sure it is cast wisely.
Lucas waits quietly until asked to speak. He recognizes that he has no official voice in this tribunal, and therefore shows the respect that is due to it.
Magi may have whatever discussion before the meeting actually begins. Carmen arrives dressed in formal elegance. When everyone arrives, she will call the meeting to order, then ask Lucas to introduce himself and address the council with his petition. Then he gets sent outside to wait while the council discusses and then votes.