If Viea never betrayed Bonisagus what would might her role in the order have been?

Hypothetically suppose Viea never betrayed Bonisagus in the cave and instead chose to join him and her sister in creating the order. What role would she have played in its creation? Would she have tried to form her own house or would house Bonisagus have 3 factions? What would that look like?

2 Likes

I would say a slightly different house Bonisagus with a culture of having a triumvirate at its head.

Really anything is possible, so an extra house led by Trianoma and/or Viea. Or even Bonisagus declaring him above the house system and the siaters leading their own house...

Really, it is whatever the troupe finds interesting to explore.

2 Likes

Someone is a big fan of What-If scenarios I see.

Very good, very good... :smiling_imp:

As stated above, this one can really go any number of ways. The only certainty I'd say is that without Viea running off with Bonisagus's notes, the Order would have had the capacity to restore Fatigue and the Limit of Energy would not be a thing. Energy Magic guidelines from the getgo!

Beyond that, some personal takes are:

  • The Trianomae line in House Bonisagus still exists as a Thessalian or maybe Medean line, representing the twin sisters. The lineage, beyond it's focus on politics and intrigue also inherited the practice of spirit magics from Viea.

  • Perhaps the sisters would have had better luck persuading Witches of Thessaly to join the Order of Hermes in its inception, now as part of House Bonisagus rather than Ex Miscellanea?

  • Alternatively, Viea, who does not share her sisters' infatuation with Bonisagus, does strike out to make a name for herself in this new organization. Something something, defying prophecy is foolhardy, better to fulfill it in the least destructive way for the two sisters. Thusly, she forms House Viea from Amazon Sorceresses and Thessalian Witches.

As for what her role in the Order might have been, it is hard to say. She definitely strikes me as the more hotheaded of the two, not overly intrigued by the potential of Bonisagus' Theory, but viewing it moreso as just another weapon. She did wisen up to it though; reforming the Amazonian system of magic with scraps of Bonisagus's theory and having it switch realms as a result is no feat to scoff at.

She likely would have been another heavy-hitter for the Order, in leaue of Flambeau and Pralix. And maybe she could have eventually become more diplomatic but who is to say. I like to imagine she would have gotten along pretty well with Pralix (their skillsets, if anything, are identical) and may have even lent her support during the Spider War.

4 Likes

Re: Pralix - I'd take this as a step further and say Tytalus kidnapped Hariste from Viea, thus causing another enduring House rivalry throughout the centuries.

Depending on your read of things, House Viea could be a female only house too.

2 Likes

Potentially may have begun as such, on account of this what-if assuming Viae built up her initial following from 2 women-exclusive (or in case of Thessalian Witches, implied to be such) traditions, though I don't imagine it would be by design.

It would likely establish a disparity ratio, which would likely carry on for some time since the founding by Amazoness Sorceresses. Albeit this tradition could diminish in its intensity over the course of 4 centuries or so.

2 Likes

If it was, or even was rumored to be (eg, maybe over the first 200 years there splits off an EXCLUSVIELY women-only branch within the House, even if the rest isn't actively exclusionary), a woman-only house, would that lead to more women flocking to The Order in general? Let's assume they don't know the specifics of how The Gift works and just hear "A sanctuary for women who want to learn magic." Maybe this attracts not just The Gifted but also Folk Witches, cunningfolk, Alcis Cultists, and the sort of women who would be Learned Magicians if they were allowed in to college. Even if they aren't immediately made full Mages, they might still find a sanctuary, akin to a nunnery, at House Viea-dominated Covenants. I imagine the influence to be comparable to Hildegard Von Bingen (although in all fairness, I'm always trying to imagine people as being more like Hildegard Von Bingen)

This might create a stronger wedge between The Order and The Church, and any given male-dominated Feudal system, who might feel threatened by a place where women are allowed to gasp learn to read! This might drive House Viea, and The Order more generally, to be one notch more involved in mundane politics, whether or not they wanted to be, as people with Opinions About Gender slowly rose through the social ranks.

6 Likes