I recently picked up Faith & Flame in anticipation of starting a new campaign, starting off with Twelfth night from the four seasons series of books published for 2nd-3rd edition. I was a little surprised that I could not find Lux ex Tenebris listed as either a current or a ruined covenant of the region. My guess is that it should be somewhere near Coenobium. Does anyone have a suggestion as to where to place it? I'm planning on Starting the saga in the early 1190s and will be using Faith & Flame as a guide of what happens to the region in the future.
I'd move it slightly north, or consider the island location discussed in F&F. I believe there is also an old covenant site discussed north of the Coenobium. Is there something specific to Lux ex Tenebris which requires it be in that position?
Supplements that cover areas which have seen a treatment in an earlier edition don't necessarily cover the same ground again, and not everything makes it into the next edition. We didn't include Doissetep either, although a reasonable facsimile is there, and we completely reworked Bellaquin. There were some references previous covenants (quite a few, I think, actually), but we wanted this to break new ground, and so not every place got a mention. I'd like to think it offers a pretty well-fleshed out social environment, however.
I was under the understanding the Doissetep wasn't included due to copyright issues, but a similar covenant takes it's place. Overall I like the book (at least what I have read thus far),and I didn't expect the the covenant to survive to 1220 (it was in late winter in Twelfth Night), but I was hoping for a mention in passing.
Right now I am trying to finish my collection of 5th edition books, and I still have about 6 more to go. I recently found out about the line's end–which makes me very sad...but it did inspire me to run a game of Ars, something I haven't done this century I have been keeping up with the line, only letting a book or two slip through the cracks, with the exception of the last two years, so I am grabbing up all the material released between 2014-2015.
I think I drew more on some of the other ArM3 sources than "The Four Seasons Tetralogy" personally for the Arelat section, although we all contributed to the meta plot in various ways and the evolution of the regional history over 2 decades or so. I recall one of the principles of the brief was that we would use and evolve much of what was in previous editions, but follow David's directive that nothing from previous editions needed to necessarily be included in the ArM5 line due to the potential it would restrict us in vision. For Provencal more than other supplements, as the only Tribunal that had been covered to a significant extent in a prior edition, this was a major aspect we discussed during the creative brainstorming phase - how much do we keep, how much do we leave out? If you read closely through, we actually managed to echo or reference a lot of the earlier material without it being restrictive I think.
The recent Sub Rosa issue is at least in part an attempt to showcase some of the many ideas that were left on the cutting floor, although I did post some of my other ideas over on my blog a while back.
To answer your original question, as a Winter covenant in the Swiss Alps, I suspect Lux Tenebris could easily have hidden itself from the rest of the Tribunal (even the Coenobium) and/or considered itself politically as more aligned to the Greater Alpine Tribunal. The lost sites of Portus Cottiae were a nod to this possibility actually, their culture was intended to be more aligned with Sanctuary of Ice style play, as a nod to Timothy's inspiring work. Alternatively, shifting Lux Tenebris to the otherwise remarkably unpopulated (Hermetically speaking) Massif Central area may be an option?
Regardless of the location, if the covenant is destroyed by Crusaders as per the original adventure, the survivors would probably drift southwestwards to link up with the Hermetic faidits or seek shelter with the Coenobium as "guests", potentially seeking aid in reclaiming their heritage.
Add it to the list of "sites of interest" that the Coenobium wish to reclaim and all the more fun!
I have been keeping up with the line, only letting a book or two slip through the cracks, with the exception of the last two years, so I am grabbing up all the material released between 2014-2015.