So, Silveroak, would this pre-apprenticeship backstory be acceptable:
Her family was Christian, living outside of Tripoli, decided they did not like living under Muslim rule and moved to Malta when she was 6-ish, before she could be discovered by Sahir (not that that factored into their reasoning). A Bjornaer found her on Malta and abducted her.
She is of Berber ethnicity and has the Fennec Fox as her heartbeast. Yes, I am aware this would mean her heartbeast sticks out like a sore thumb in Italy.
Malta was an arab possession before being taken by sicily in 1091, and Tripoli is not much of a metropolis from which people would emigrate large distances, so moving from outside of Tripoli to malta would be a bit of a stretch. Egypt would make far more sense in terms of having family in the area, and a trading ship that would get them there. From there she could easily have been discovered by an aquatic bjiorner, and been gifted to a more appropriate parens as her heart beast become apparent.
While her heartbeast would stand out it would not be nearly so bad as, for example, a crocodile.
Egypt is fine. I'll give her a smattering of Coptic.
I was imagining a Parens with a bird heartbeast but aquatic is fine. In my never ending quest to make characters with somewhat unsuitable Parens... I'll give her more Aquam than I otherwise would (The gathering of 12 will be 2-3 years after she's found, I'm assuming an aquatic heartbeast Bjornaer would rather sail there so it might take a bit to arrive in Crintera for it.
the other option would be that her family moved to spain, she was found there by a bjorner, but if she was initiated 2-3 years after being apprenticed by an inappropriate parens, she could well have been given to a new parens in Crinterra who happened to reside in the roman tribunal...
bjorner do not keep inappropriate mixtures as parens/apprentices, because if your beasts are incompatible then you are incompatible
All the PC magi (except the Tremere) are mage-errants and therefore cannot be registered guests or members of chapter-houses, correct?
How then do mage-errants supposrt themselves? Do they have to spend 2 seasons a year doing so or are they allowed to form un-recognized covenants? Are mage-errants allowed settle in hermitages, monasteries, or convents?
We can be guests at a covenant, just not long-term ones since that takes 2 tribunals as a guest of a registered covenant... btw, does that mean 14 or just over 7 years?
I was asking if "Long term guests are guests who have resided at recognized covenants for two or more consecutive tribunals as a gauntleted mage" meant just over 7 years or 14. In essence can you vote during the second tribunal or not until the third. Yes, we are 0-6 years out of apprenticeship so that does not apply to our characters at the start of game but it will, hopefully, apply to us at some point.
You can vote at the second tribunal in which you have been a long term guest.
Some magi choose to sent up independently- they have a hard time finding a good aura, but it saves on the rent, and then try to become recognized as a covenant or settle for becoming a chapter house.
Unless there's another Holy Magus, who is not joining either the Brotherhood of Cipriano or the Priory of St. Nerius I was thinking of my character being the caretaker of a small chapel with a Divine Regio by himself. If there are other Holy Magi we could probably form a community.
Most Catholic Holy Mages are either part of the Brotherhood of Cipriano or priests that have been trained by the brotherhood. There are a few exceptions, people who came to the path of holiness later and never joined holy orders, and of course there are Holy Magus Jews, Muslims, and Heretics...
