Selected entries from Regulus Petraeus journal
1200, Summer
June 22th
I have recovered from my wounds, and while I know that there is much more I can learn about Creo, I must change my focus to the incoming Tribunal. This year the events shall happen at Oleron. Actually at first the drawn lots indicated the covenant of Requiem Aeterna, a winter covenant at the ruined city of Nesle that houses an interesting tradition of Ex Miscellanea. However, considering that the covenant only has two magi, one on the verge of Final Twilight, a second paper was drawn, resulting in Oleron, a weird covenant of Merinita mage located in a faerie regio. The venue for both the Tribunal proper and the Hermetic Tournament will be, however, in a separate regio, a few miles east, to avoid perturbing the routine of the mundane villagers of Oleron.
We have left Cunfin the previous week, and it is expected that our journey will take another fortnight.
July 3rd
We arrived a bit early than expected, thanks to good weather and a bit of Terram magic. The regio has a weak faerie aura of 2, and entrance is possible at sunrise for anyone, which makes it a poor location for a covenant, but an appropriate location for a Tribunal. The proceedings will begin in another week, and until then I am left to my book.
July 5th
The magi of Fudarus have arrived today, divided in two groups. It seems the house is still divided between two primi. We have no right to interfere in how other houses manage themselves, but I canāt avoid recalling the scriptures: a house divided against itself cannot stand.
At least a friend arrives with them, Robert, apprentice to Rhea of Tytalus. While we usually have met in opposite sides of the table (with Valerian investigating Rhea, and each one of us accompanying our respective parens), there is no bad blood between us, and we have occasionally corresponded. A couple years have gone by since I last saw Robert, I hope that the ways of House Tytalus have not corrupted him.
I couldnāt meet Robert today. It appears that on Wednesday, while outside of the Sanctum, an apprentice can talk only to women. Itās this kind of petty behavior that ensures that House Tytalus is disliked by most.
July 9th
The last three days were designated for final arbitrations and conciliations between parts. Once more I spoke to Ventrius and Teophilus, and once more Ventrius rejected arbitration.
The Praeco has decided the order of the proceedings. Tomorrow the Tribunal beggins.
July 10th
The day started with the reception of the magi; first the magi of the Tribunal, followed by the new magi, both immigrating from other Tribunals or recently gauntleted in, order of seniority. As such I was one of the last ones to enter, being gauntleted only in the last year. I proudly presented myself, Regulus Petraeus, filius Valerian, follower of Guernicus, Quaesitor of the Order of Hermes, and proceeded to sit besides Valerian.
After a few amenities, the Presiding Quaesitor, Augustus Nero, declared the Tribunal quorate and the public hearings started.
A few selected cases:
-
Helios of Tytalus and Gulo Midusulfis of House Bjornaer, who founded the covenant of Atramentum last spring, a vassal to Fudarus, claim that last year Fudarus interfered with mundanes and brought ruin upon the magi of Atramentum by sending agents to create a guild in the town of Le Conquet, disrupting artisans working for Atramentum.
- Tribunal Ruling: no case to answer. Le Conquet is closer to Fudarus than to Atramentum; therefore, Fudarusā activities in the town have precedence.
-
The Tribunal accuses the covenant Atsingani of failure to return one of the prizes from the last tournament, an Aquan summa. Atsingani claims that the summa was destroyed the previous year during a raid conducted by Venutia, from Oleron.
- Tribunal Ruling: Atsingani is guilty of failing to return the summa; it is noted that the lost book belonged not to Atsingani, but the whole Tribunal, and therefore the act constitutes deprivation against the whole Tribunal. Atsingane must return a summa as good as the lost one by the next year, and must pay a fine of 1 pawn of vis to each covenant of the Tribunal for the next seven years.
-
Atsingani charges Venutia of deprivation of magical power and of bringing ruin to Atsingani by making the covenant an enemy of the Normandy Tribunal.
- Tribunal Ruling: Venutia is acquitted from the accusation of deprivation, but is found guilty of bringing ruin to Atsingani, and punished by the loss of her familiar.
- Personal Note: Here we see the subtleness of the Praeco. Had Atsinganiās claims been heard first, Venutia would probably have been acquitted from both charges (for no ruin had befallen Atsingani yet); by hearing Atsingani first, the Praeco ensured proper justice was dispensed.
This case I will describe in more details, for it concerns me in a more personal level. Ventrius of Merinita charges Teophilus of Tytalus with mundane interference, by healing a boy in front of the priests from the Dol Cathedral. Teophilus claims that there was no ruin brought upon the sodales, and brings in Rhea of Tytalus as witness. Rhea testifies that she has connections with the bishop, and except for him (that knows about hermetic magic) the priests believe it was a miracle from the Lord. She also states that Teophilus shouldnāt have the need to heal the boy if he had not been injured by a spell cast by Ventrius; that the boy is the bastard son of Arthur, the Duke of Brittany; that Ventrius had accepted orders from a noble to cause the death of a child with rights of succession to the throne of England; that all of these facts had been discovered and verified by her network! The Tribunal was in uproar!
Now, this is highly irregular. The case wasnāt previously presented for publishing, but the testimony naturally developed in an accusation that couldnāt be ignored. The Praeco and the Presiding Quaesitor called for a private hearing, and the proceedings were suspended. I was called in, as the Quaesitor that tried to mediate the accusations previously.
As I entered the room I was met with several pairs of eyes. Teophilus and Ventrius, of course, were there. Also Renita Bjornaer, the Praeco, and Augustus Nero, the Presiding Quaesitor, and of course, Rhea of Tytalusā¦ accompanied by Robert.
I recounted the events of the failed arbitration, and ratified that Teophilus hadnāt informed me of any relation of the child with nobility, to which Teophilus replied that this information was discovered by Rhea, and he was not aware of it at the time of the arbitration; that Ventrius rejection of arbitration had raised his suspicions and he asked Rhea, a more senior and more competent maga, to investigate the matter.
Rhea, on the other side, claimed that much of the investigative work was done by Robert, who had worked undercover to get close to the healed boy and convince him, through mundane means, to divulge his noble status, while her network provided clues and tips to facilitate Robertās work, an after that, to validate the acquired information.
Rhea asked for Quaesitorial endorsement of her testimony, and said that as I was the original mediator of the case, it was fair that endorsement was conducted by me. To that I respectfully declined, having no standing to validate a senior maga words. I think I saw a hint of approval on Augustus Nero eyes, and I suspect that Rhea and Teophilus (and maybe, Robert) tried to entrap me in one of the Tytalus weave of intrigue. The Presiding Quaesitor endorsed Teophilusā and Rheaās testimony. I had, however, to validate Robertās, which held true under Frosty Breath of the Spoken Lie.
Returning to the proceedings the Presiding Quaesitor declared that, since the information was not know by the defendant at the time of the attempted settlement; that the prosecution had repeatedly refused mediation from the Quaesitores; that the information had been naturally raised through the course of the proceedings; there was no intent of subverting the Tribunal procedures or to deny a fair trial to the prosecution (to that conclusion Iām sure both the Praeco and Presiding Quaesitor object, but we have no concrete proof of intent from Rhea or Teophilus).
Given the information presented, the Praeco called for a vote, and Teophilus was found guilty, for his actions could strengthen any claims Arthur or his son had, due to the ādivine healingā in moments of dire need; a vis fine was set, which Teophilus immediately paid.
The counter-case was presented in sequence: Teophilus of Tytalus brough charges of mundane interference against Ventrius of Merinita; Ventrius was considered guilty of a high crime. What is more, had it not been Theophilus intervention, the death of the child could have had unforeseen consequences for the Order. Therefore, Ventrius was commanded to restitute Teophilus the double of the vis spent with the healing ritual, and was punished with a vis fine much higher than what Teophilus had paid. Furthermore, the Tribunal would start an quaesitorial investigation to determine if there was any vassalage relationship between Ventrius and any mundane lord (from Ventrius pale face, I think I know the answer already), and how much had his actions interfered with mundane politics. Further punishment would be dispensed at the next Tribunal after investigations were concluded.
Now, after all has ended and I have the time to reflect, Iām sure this was an elaborate ploy by Teophilus and Rhea; however, one that would have failed if Ventrius had not been so obstinate to avoid settlement at the last Autumn. I will refrain from asking Robert anything about this case, mainly because I donāt believe he is aware of anything else that could be of value.
- Kervoire Ex Miscellanea accuses Barita of Bonisagus of deprivation of magical power. Two years ago Barita used the right of Bonisagus to ask for Kervoireās apprentice; however, 40 days later, the apprentice was dead. Kervoire claims that Barita never wanted the girl, but instead had the intention to kill her from the beginning due to a feud with Kervoire. Barita says that even if that was true (which she doesnāt deny neither confirms) the right of Bonisagus allows her to claim another magus apprentice. Both magi brought a few witnesses to testify on the situation.
- Tribunal Ruling: after a heated debate and a few threats of Wizardās War, it was ruled that there was no way, based on the research conducted by Barita, and Kervoireās magical tradition, for Kervoireās apprentice to be of any help with her research, and Baritaās action was in fact a veiled attempt at deprivation. Kervoire pushed for a Wizardās March, but the presiding Quaesitor, Augustus Nero, recommended the loss of the apprentice. Kervoire argued that Baritaās apprentice was in no way an appropriate replacement for his, and the tribunal agreed. Barita was punished by loss of apprentice and banished from Normandy. Her apprentice was claimed by another magus from Ex Miscellanea.
- Personal Note: this was a sad case. The hearings took at least one hour and a half. In one hour and a half, not once was the name of Kervoireās apprentice mentioned. Both magi ā no, actually all magi present treated her from the beginning simply as āmagical propertyā, either of one magus or of another. Could that have been my fate if Valerian wasnāt my paren?
July 12th
The Hermetic Tournament
After the Tribunal proceedings the Hermetic Tournament started, and for many magi this is actually the main event. Iād much like to return to Cunfin and keep reading the book on Creo, but that is not going to happen, for Iām registered as part of Cunfinās team.
Today the hastiludium and the melee shall be hosted; tomorrow, the Joust and the Choice of Oleron. Finally, the last day will see the dimicatio and the Certamen tournament. This arrangement ensures a bit of magic and a bit of non-magic every day, and is expected to please most of the audience.
The hastiludium is a weird contest where groups of 3 magi fight to remove the opponents from an object that is used as a āmountā while also trying to move their mount to the other end of the field. Cunfin went surprisingly well in this competition, and my casting of The Unseen Porter was commended by Eloi, Princeps of Cunfin. In the afternoon he himself conjured the castle used in the melee, a circle duration CrIm spell that brings forth a castle. The goal is for the covenfolk and allies of the covenant, without the use of magic, to destroy the opponent rings in a free-for-all fight. Since our covenfolk are mostly religious men without much strength or athletic ability, it is of no surprise to anyone that we fared poorly.
In the evening I had a brief chance to meet Robert and talk about apprenticeship and the future. As always, his life is hard, and I canāt help but recall the case of yesterday (I have since learned that the apprenticeās name was Leona). Afterwards I went to Valerian, and he offered his comments on several of the presented cases.
July 13th
The Joust started early in the morning. To this event, due to the lack of a sufficiently martial magus, Cunfin conceded. The joust is a violent competition between magi, and it is not rare for serious injuries to occur. Today was not different: I watched with dread the round between Erastrus of Flambeau, riding a flaming horse and holding a pilum of fire made solid, and Atreous Ex Miscellanea, riding wind itself. Erastrus happens to be a great rider, and Atreous had no chance from the beginning. After two passes he laid down on the ground, with a broken arm (from Erastrus strike) and leg (from his fall). Erastrus paid for the ritual healing.
In the afternoon we had the event choosen by Oleron: a faerie hunt, were the winning team was the one that captured the greater number of hares within the alloted time. Here I remembered to cast Eyes of the Eagle , and Cunfin once more had some marginal success.
Tonight we shall hold a meeting between Guernicus magi to review the results of this Tribunal and discuss the Tribunal of 1207.
July 14th
Lord, what have I done? Is there any chance of our relationship returning to a brighter one?
Almost 15 Guernicus and Quaesitores were reunited yesterday, most of whom I have already know for some years ā many even instructed me on the abilities required for a Quaesitor. Augustus Nero started by summarizing the events of the Tribunal and giving a few comments on each case, and all of the Guernicus attending were also invited to offer their insights. This is supposed to further improve our understanding about the Code of Hermes and the role of House Guernicus in the Order.
I gave few comments and listened most of the time, but when we reached the case between Kervoire and Barita I thought I should make my opinions heard. I started with my shock by the fact that the names of the apprentices werenāt even mentioned, and gave a heated speech about how the treatment dispensed to apprentices would hurt the order in the long run (house Tytalus being the most blatant example). As things stood, apprentices were no more than things to be broken, and hermetic law was insufficient to punish the magi for breaking them. Most of the cases of damages to an apprentice are low crimes, punished with a fine that goes to the Tribunal coffers; not one pawn is used to compensate the apprentice. Even Barita, after killing Leona, was not punished by the murder itself, but by having tried to covertly commit the crime of deprivation (!) and dupe the Tribunal into thinking that it was only an accident! Still, what happened to her in the end? Loss of the apprentice, and banishment from the Tribunal! Hardly a punishment at all! LOOK AT MYSELF! A LOST ARM DUE TO A BOTCHED EXPERIMENT! Should not this kind of event be compensated? Not only to the Order as a whole, for when we damage an apprentice, we damage a magus, but compensation to the apprentice himself! Until when will our disciples be treated like objects, not as future magi, with rights, and needs by themselves?
...
I see that the heat of the moment still affects me. Anyway, after my speech, a cold silence hung in the air. It was not until Valerian rise from his seat and stormed out of the reunion that I realized that my words could be seen as a direct attack against him. I tried to go after him and explain that it wasnāt the case; that I didnāt want a punishment for him, but instead, that every magus would be responsible for the fact, as he had been; but alas, I couldnāt find him. I hope he can forgive me.
Iām now at the competition grounds for the Certamen tournament, and starting to realize what I have really done. I didnāt only attack Valerian; I did so in front of the whole of house Guernicus. I inadvertently put under check his morals, his sense of duty, his authority, his Quaesitorial status.
Iām garbage.
People are talking and giving me side glances; I canāt help but think that the news are already running like wildfire.
Until now, Cunfin has done well in the Certamen, mainly due to Eloi and his filius. But now they are both tired, and I must step up to face our next opponent, Confluensis. From their line up it seems I will duel with Ambrosius, a Guernicus whose hermetic age is six years older than me. I have a shot at winning.
Utter defeat. Confluensis sent Valerian.
It was a slaughter.
July 15th
The prizes were given today. Cunfin managed to get 16th, not a bad position. On the first round of prizes Eloi choose a tropaea worth 4 pawns of vis/year, not very far away from Cunfin. On the second pass he allowed me to choose with the remaining prize pawn. I choose a lab text for Loss of But a Momentās Memory, but I have no recollection of such (which I find ironic).
July 16th
We left for Cunfin. I have not seen Valerian since the Certamen.
Advancement and Rewards:
Adventure xp:
- 10xp Intrigue 1 (hermetic politcs) [5]
Reputations:
- Unfilial 1
- Quaesitore 3 [1] (+1 xp by being involved in a serious case at the Tribunal (Ventrius vs. Teophilus))
Lab Text:
- Loss of But a Momentās Memory (to be returned to the Normandy Tribunal in 1207).
@Houlio, there is some interaction between Regulus and Robert here. If you want to change, challenge, complement, rectify or just frame something in a different way, feel free to do so. 
@Arthur I've just realized you have set the 1200 Tribunal in Normandy at Confluensis! Shame on me, I read this before but for some reason I was under the impression Clusius was in Provence that year. This doesnāt change most of which I've written, but I will edit the text latter to say Confluensis instead of Oleron.
Also, we should have seen each other (if not talked). Possibly fought on the hastiludium.
Man, in my head Clusius was older. I was going to have Erastrus inspiration for his solid pilum of fire come from Clusius, but the timeline doesnāt match... well, he could have sponted it, I suppose, if he has some kind of Magical Focus. 