After apprenticeship Quercus faces his first self-imposed challenge. he decides to build a covenant as his first step to shake up the calcified order. His parens likes the idea and contributes a few resources of his own, but only as a token gift: it will be his challenge, not his holidays. Boniface helped in contacting the redcap network with the right message for them to find a decent location for a covenant in a border region.
Boniface gift him his copy of The Hippian Way by Pralix of Tytalus and commented by several dozen authors. Quercus looks at the book with disgust, even hate. He thinks (and says so) that it has "no educational value whatsoever". However, he keeps it. Sometimes you need kindling for your campfires.
So just after apprenticeship (1207) Quercus has the following resources:
The Hippian Way by Pralix of Tytalus. Commented by several dozen authors.
This is the instructional book used by the Hippians of house Tytalus instead of the Analects, that are mainstream Tytalus ideology. the book talks about the need to put yourself a real challenge and dive into it until you think it is a challenge you have overcome. In the case of Pralix the challenge was the creation of the Ordo Miscellanea, a project that did shake up the Order and magical landscape without having to waste effort in making the life of other people miserable. According to Quercus and any other hyppian apprentice or ex apprentice it has "no educational value whatsoever" and certainly does make the life of people miserable!
Collaborative efforts in the lab: a defence of its value for the Order, by Boniface of Tytalus. Magic Theory Tractatus (Q10).
A really nice book, edited several times and decorated with nice illustrations of the Triamore workshop. A small piece of art.
Registering vis sources, by Marco the Redcap. Code of Hermes Tractatus (Q8).
Here Marco the Redcap explains how he found a multiplicity of sources in strange places and circumstances and how he registered them in diverse tribunals. A commented book where it is stated that most of the vis sources that the book uses as examples do not seem to be in the registers of any tribunal despite the claims of the author. However, it is inspiring and the legal details it describes are accurate and useful.
The balance of the humors by Conscientia of Bonisagus. Corpus Summa (L6 Q7).
Conscientia of Bonisafgus is a specialist maga that develops spells for other magi. That means that she is really good at a multiplicity of activities, but that her overall knowledge of the magical arts is not as high as other Hermetic magicians. However, she is a good creator of low level books. This introductory book states what she learned when she was researching Corpus spells for a client. While not excellent, it is more than enough to set a grounding for the uninitiated into the form of Corpus.
6 Mythic Pounds of silver or equivalent wealth.
4 pawns of Herbam vis.
Fresse, his trusted if somewhat morose shield grog and cousin.
Needing more resources for his project, Quercus decides to head for Triamore, where the pair of Tytalus have been well received in the past. he leaves his stuff with a contact in Bruges, a major port city in Flanders since he does not want to carry all that around. He made some favors for the merchant, so they are in friendly terms.
After 2 years in Triamore (1208-1209) acting as a lab assistant for Aline, learning Aegis of the Hearth, fighting giant Ardennes spiders (where Fresse was badly mauled) to get some vis and creating a magic item for Triamore as a way to maintain their future good opinion. In this 2-year period he acquires the following stuff:
The Underlying Principles of Thaumaturgical Perceptions, by Cataractus of Jerbiton, Intellego Summa (L9Q12)
Cataractus was a blind magus of the 10th century that tended to channel his senses through daimons. This Intellego summa shows ways to use magic to gain senses and impressions impossible for the mundane. Some of the descriptions are rather bizarre since Cataractus could not compare them to real sight, but the text is clear and to the points. despite being 120 years old, the book keeps its value. only some passages and minor points have been superseded by more modern Intellego Magic Theory.
Quercus in Promptu by Quercus of Tytalus. Herbam Tractatus Q7.
The Oak Revealed is a tractatus that Quercus wrote while in triamore. They have it under cow and calf oath and he cannot share it for 7 years according to their contract. The book explores on the possibilities offered by oak as a construction material both for real state and for naval vessels. The uses are many, and it has shown to be a strong wood yet surprisingly supple to magical manipulation while resistant to lightning. it is the first book on the subject written in the last 200 years, and Triamore was more than happy to have it. the copy of Quercus has a thanks to Japik Dolphinus in the foreword. The Triamore copy goes by a much less appealing name.
A perfectly functional lab, but not as well outfitted with expensive materials as it could be, so it is at -1.
8 seasons of access to Triamore (no library or lab access though: you need to pay 1 pawn/season for that). These must be used in the next 8 years. Triamore sucks as a place to use a lab, since the aura is really low (and we are really noobs) so I think we will make good use of these negotiating lab text copies
Alice, a new maid. She got a crush on Fresse when she was taking care of his wounds, and asked to accompany them when they left the covenant. Her father. the turb's captain was not happy about it, but bent in front of the unexpected energy shown by his daughter.
Character Development
Quercus spends the first 2 years of his post-gauntlet life i triamore.
YEAR 1 at Triamore (1208):
- Help Aline in his weird experiments. Vim exposure and MT exposure. 8 XP total. 7 towards vim (vim 4+3), 1 towards MT.
YEAR 2 at Triamore (1209):
- Write a tractatus on Herbam "Oak: the sailor of storms". Quercus gets a copy for himself and one that remains in Triamore with no cow and calf oath. the version of Quercus getsOne copy for me, one copy for Triamore (to be copied by the Triamore scribes). 2 XP towards Scribe.
- Learn Aegis 20. 2 Vim exposure XP (vim 5)
- Goes adventuring and after fighting a pair of giant spiders gets 2 pawns of Herbam in the form of ash tree sapplings. Fresse is heavily wounded during this encounter, but he eventually recovers. Quercus is quite shaken by this encounter, since the magical cratures were able to easily overcome his magical defences and leave him out of combat for most of the engagement. He practices Parma obsessively and rises it to 2 (10XP).
- Create a Conjuration of the Chopped Wood (CrHe5: creates a log; +10 unlimited uses) item. Quercus gifts it to Triamore to keep their goodwill. Ther castellan repays him with a -1 lab for this and the maintenance services he has performed on the roof, that have supposed a heavy improvement of the covenant's income situation.