Solo play - Theodosis ex Trianoma

Games Discussion Ars Magica
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With the renewed interest in solo play ruleset, it re-ignited my thirst for Ars :smile:
So here we go...

Theodosis, filius of Ourania, Trianoma

By all account, Theodosis childhood was supposed to be unremarkable. Except a unique ability to figuring out things by himself, he was just a playful boy, born on the cliffs of Santorini third of a family of six turbulent children.

He does not remember clearly how his first contact with Ourania was, as he was still very young. She told him that she promised her parents two things: he was going to have a bright future and he will have the best education possible.

Truth is, hermetic education was all what his little mind was craving. Understanding what is apparently incomprehensible, making sense of thing people have no clue of the hows and whys, he loved and still loves it. With time, he became quite proud of himself and started to slowly develop a trait that seems to be rampant in his House: the obsession to show to « them » that he was walking proudly in Bonisagus’ steps and would move forward his theory.

Since a few years however, he tends to be distracted by very earthly pleasures. Combined with his pride and obsession, Ourania thought it would be a good idea to confront him to the reality of the world, outside of the shelter provided by the walls of a lab. So she proposed him as Spring Tenentes and lo and behold, Theodosis found himself a few months later on a boat sailing towards Hibernia !

I did not have a precise idea when I started to stat Theodosis, except that I wanted to try something new (Trianoma mage in this case), test if vis study was somehow sustainable and dabble with invention and breakthrough. So he is rather a cheerful chap, yet he secretly craves acknowledgement from his peer.

Which translated into that.

Int : +3, Per : +1, Prs : +1, Com : +2, Str : -2, Sta : +0, Dex : +0, Qik : -1

Virtues : Puissant Intrigue, Tenentes (Spring), Puissant and Affinity with MT, Gentle Gift, Apt Student, Inventive Genius, Harnessed magic, Free study. – all in all, rather standard for a Trianoma mage, with the last three virtues showing the direction I want to go.

Flaws : Lecherous, Driven (make major progress in MT), Careless sorcerer, Chaotic magic, Deficient (Animalem), Weak magic.

Arts : In 7, Pe 4, Re 6, Im 7, Me 7.

Spells : Summoning the Distant Image, Aura of Ennobled Presence, Veil of Invisibility, Ring of Warding against Spirit (15), Coerce the Spirit of the Night (20), Scent of Peaceful Slumber, Lay to Rest the Haunting Spirit (10).

He does not have a covenants in Hibernia. For now, he is just a wandering mage. His arrival in the Tribunal was announced by Redcaps, but he won’t settle yet until I found compelling events to do so.

So his « covenant » stats are the following :

Hooks : constantly mobile (major), wooden (minor) : just a couple of wagons for him and his staff.

Boons : Resources – Rights (minor) - because of his status of Tenentes, he receives through redcaps a regular income. And to some extend, as magus Trianoma, enjoy a certain level of protection but also some ability to mediate issues until the need of Quaesitoris arise.

Informants (minor) – again, linked to his status of Tenentes, redcaps kindly keep him updated more frequently that other covenants might enjoy.

Veteran fighter and loyal coven folk – he does not have a proper turbula, but the few bodyguards he has are well trained and devoted. Although the speak only Greek at the beginning of the adventures. They area gift from his mater, feeling a bit guilty of sending him off « for his own good ».

300 BP are allocated into :

Mikaelis, his personal bodyguard (specialist with Str +2, Sta +2, Sword +5, Athletics +4)

Conlay O'Shien, his local guide (specialist with Per +2, Com +2, Area Lore +4, Awareness +4, Canon and Civil Law +4)

Enoc'h the Skald (teacher, Com +3, Teaching +4, Gaelic +5, Hibernia Lore +5, Artes Liberales +5, Canon and Civil Law +4), an old redcap, who won’t mind a little bit of extra income, still living the good old days but at a more gentle pace.

Only a couple of Summae (one on Vim (11/20)) and one on Certamen (5/17).

Source of virtus worth 5 paws/year, part is yearly allocation, part is also thanks to Tabula Geographica Magica mapped resources. By the same token, if ever Theodosis want to do some activity benefiting a magical aura, he will have an aura +3, because he would have been able to choose the appropriate location.

The remaining points are labtexts of yet undefined spells (only standard from core book).

There is half a dozen of regular grogs in charge of safety, and day to day chores.

Because of his moving nature, Theodosis does not have a laboratory – yet – although I have plan for the future. He will spend his first years travelling around, getting lecture on the go from Enoc’h, and some reading from the few books he has.

And so it begins


Theodosis landed auspiciously the first day of Spring in Cliffheart. After gathering his belongings, he did not want to extend further his presence among this faerie laden covenant, where he was finding himself completely inadequate, having no knowledge of the ways of the Fae.

Considering his stay in Hibernia, he took note of getting acquainted on the finer point of faerie etiquette rather sooner than later.

The first seasons were at the same time busy, yet peaceful. His initial plan was to follow the coast counter clock-wise, visiting covenants and meeting wandering mages as he would progress. Many evenings if not days were spent listening to Enoc’h tales, Theodosis trying to reconcile the existence of the very ordered Theban tribunal, with the more
 organic – shall we say – organisation of the Hibernia Tribunal.

Travelling in winter would not be so easy, so he decided to settle in a small coastal village. Moving camp every week if not more often was starting to get repetitive for his turbula and settling in a sheltered area was going to be appreciated. He did not spent much this years, so Theodosis was able to secure housing against some coins and promise of assistance against potential raiders or band of wolves.

Lo and behold, a few weeks after settling in, a huge winter storm fell on the village. Those storms are not uncommon, however this one was lasting much longer than it should have according to the locals. So Theodosis decided to investigate, just in case


But before he could get further in his investigation, Eogan, the local sheriff arrived with a few men. He heard that a group of 20 men from the McDougal clans were scouting the area :

« Never a good thin’ to have too many men, with too many cudgels wandering around, with too much time on their han’ ».

And the village was on their path with a rather peaceful Theodosis who had promised to help in case of such kind of trouble. That will teach him for next time.

There was no other option but to get involved.

The first step went easier than plan. Mikaelis proved to be an excellent fighter and a good leader. Although even with Eogan and his men, they were not enough to soundly beat the McDougal, however they stop them from pillaging the village and were able to force them into starting to discuss. They were tracking a thief that stole a beautiful heirloom piece and believed that the thief was hiding in the village.

Theodosis asked for a few days to either bring the thief or proof that the thief was nowhere here.

The storm kept raging.

Theodosis thought that he saw an angry face amongst the sky lighten by the thunder. Following his intuition, he quickly confirmed that the locals were right, the storm was not of natural origins.
Following invisible hints to the untrained eyes, he was able to find a cave hidden in the cliff facing the sea, with an old woman in trance, surrounded by ghostly spirits.

The fight was brief and intense. Theodosis was able to beat the spirit into submission and unfold the story. Fionnghuala Liath, the old lady, was a Tempestria that tried to retrieve a sacred tapestry representing the sky of Hibernia. According to her, the tapestry belonged to her clutch and her ancestors – the ghostly forms - were pressing her to retrieve it lest the coast would suffer a winter of storms.

A quick assessment confirmed that the Tapestry was a powerful focus for the Whistle Up the Wind ability – something very rare and definitely not-hermetic.

Although he managed to stop the storm – at least for now - both sides were claiming ownership of the tapestry. That was going to be a true test of his skills, or more specifically, the skills Ourania favored.

He spent the coming few days going back and forth between the Mc Dougal clan and the Tempestria. But with the expertise of Conlay on common law and his natural gift for
 err
 smoothing up messy interactions, he was able to craft an agreement, where everybody would get something.

Fionnghuala would get the Tapestry in « payment » for protecting the McDougal lands from storm and hail for the coming seven years, she would also receive food and shelter while performing her end of the bargain. It was presented as a business deal, without any « legal » judgment. No theft was mentioned, nor the possibility that in the past, the McDougal might have acquired the tapestry through dubious means. Nobody was accused of stealing anything, and both sides got something valuable out of this agreement. Nor was the food and shelter clause a compensation for a theft, since the McDougal never stole the tapestry. Definitely not. A McDougal never steals. They might ransack and pillage, but this is part of the tradition, stealing is beneath them.

Everybody was happy with this conclusion as the clan had realised that taking on a Tempestria, on the coast would have been very costly. Theodosis managed to preserve his true skills hidden to the common folk. He also suggested that with her skill Fionnghuala could seek entrance into the Order in House ExMiscellanea.

For his effort, Theodosis earn a temporary ally (Fionnghuala), some BP (likely « spoils of war » and tithe for brokering the deal) and plenty of XP through an intense immersion into local politics.

To sum up, Theodosis roll an easy adventure in winter, but very complex (3 situations), with a legal/diplomatic challenge, a martial challenge and a challenge he could choose (magical).

Each time he succeeded in the three tasks, either using his own skills or the skills of his specialists. He rolled very high once during the magical challenge.

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Second year, second challenge

Rummaging into the pile of documents given to him by his mater, Theodosis found a couple of very useful spells to assist him in his interaction. His Gaelic was still hesitant and his last adventure proved him how dangerous a misunderstanding can be. Posing the Silent Question and Understanding the Conflicting Motive should help him in that aspect.

And just as he was finally mastering this last spell, the redcap Illiona reached to him.

« Master Theodosis, I might have fallen on a bit of information that could be a concern. I am coming back from Ashenrise and the mages were agitated. After a little bit of chit-chat with the staff, I found out that a sensitive document disappeared from the Library, as well as young Finneagan, the apprentice librarian. Rumors are this document pertains to demon and their ilk. Obviously, the Ashenrise mages did not disclose the information to me. Could you do something about it? »

« Well, I could at least discreetly assess if it is an unfortunate incident or if it should be escalated. I am not equip to deal with the ashen realm, but human matters, I can handle. Lead me to the closest village to Ashenrise, we will start from there. »

He did not take long for Theodosis to find out about Finneagan. He had seek refuge in the nearby chapel, in a state of feverish anxiety. Taking the opportunity that the young man was resting outside the wall of the chapel, Theodosis tried one of his new spell and the result was excellent !

The poor boy stumble of very graphical image depicting demons performing some gruesome punishment on lost souls. The young and sensitive Finneagan suddenly was afraid for his soul, and that his Ashenrise masters could be in league with the devil. He stole the document and run for protection to the chapel.

Fortunately for Ashenrise, between Finneagan imagination and his desperate run in the middle of the night, he got sick and slightly delirious. So far, he could not recount his adventure to Brother Paul. Not too late to intervene


Remembering how he used to visit some girlfriends through the windows of their parents’house, Theodosis sneaked into the Chapel, replaced the incriminating evidence with some pages from a dark faerie tales book.

The next morning, he presented himself at the Chapel, as a scholar from Ashenrise, looking for a young pupil that seems to have left in a hurry his desk.

By that time, young Finneagan was better and started to recount his story. Brother Paul, used to the superstitious mind of his flock, wanted to examine the fact by himself. Obviously, Theodosis agreed and together they looked at the so-dangerous parchments.

Yes, they were graphical, even scary. But it is well-known that there are some dark Faeries that should not be trifled with. Theodosis and brother Paul discussed at length the situation and conclude that, yes, a visit of brother Paul to the Ashenrise castle could do no harm and could even be enriching to exchange with some scholars obviously studying the Fae. But it was clear that not souls were at risk, and not warranting a full investigation.

Theodosis suggested to let Finneagan rest a few more days before we all went to Ashenrise, leaving enough time for Illiona to warn Ashenrise so they could « tidy up» the place in view of the coming visitor.

Then the remaining of the story unfold uneventfully. Theodosis took some time to discuss with Finneagan and reassure him that he was fine and no, nobody would punish him, and yes, he was a good Christian.

Once all was said and done, and Brother Paul was back in his chapel, Theodosis left the Tractatus to Helles, without saying word. It is always good to make some friends.

OOC : Once more, a very complexe challenge, with three situations to solve, a legal one (formal discussion with Brother Paul), a social one (reassuring Finneagan and preventing him to divulge secrets about the mages) and a sneaky one (swapping the documents and convincing Finneagan that he misread the tractatus).

Thankfully, it is still the « grace period » for Theodosis, otherwise the challenge would not have been so successful.

As reward, he is accruing more BP in the form of favors to trade for some benefits to claim later on.

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Third year.

OOC : The dice were kind, no adventure was planned, however Theodosis went on a quest in Autumn.

Between the document he is collecting as Tenentes and the many situations he has to mediate, he has a hard time keeping track of everything – especially since he only has a makeshift desk to keep some notes. Having heard that bards are still roaming the land and are master at memorizing lengthy saga, he went to seek one.

OOC: I decided for a medium difficulty challenge – finding a temporary ally – including a social part (finding the master) and a legal/diplomatic part as way to prove that he would be a worthy student.

Using his network and relationship among hedge wizards (Fionnghuala vouching for Theodosis), he was able to find Dearbhail Og – one of the greatest, if not the greatest bard alive (25 on his Hibernia Lore roll). Finding her had been surprisingly easy, however once in her presence, Theodosis fell under her charm and barely managed to keep his composure (barely making his Intrigue and Charm roll).

Maybe his clumsiness won her, as she was willing to take him as a pupil for a couple of seasons, IF he showed some aptitudes.

For several days, she tested him and thank to his hermetic training, Theodosis was able to show his knowledge (Artes Liberales), but what impressed her the most was his aptitude to remember some local laws that Conlay O’shien had quoted two years ago during the adventure with the Tempestria (his test started will a low Qik + Canon Law of -1, but he rolled 1+5, for a 9 - see my comments further down).

And so did Dearbhail agree to teach him how bards of Hibernia would memorise large saga and important gathering they attended.

OOC: As rewards, I decided that he would not accrue any BP but instead will benefit from Dearbhail’s teaching for two seasons. Since I roll incredibly well to identify the master, I increased her teaching value with to Com : +4 and Teaching of 7 – worthy of a master bard. I also decided that considering Theodosis flaw, it had to be a female bard, leaving it open to see if more adventures involving Dearbhail will happen.

Since it was a shorter adventure, I will describe in a bit more details the « solving situation » step of the Solo Play, for those who could be interested.

A few rules to keep in mind:

  • You cannot use a characteristic twice as long as you have not used all 8 characteristics. Yes, it seems odd and can lead to absurd situation, but it is to add some challenges (otherwise only positive stats will be used). Also shrewed GMs will always try to put PCs in situation where they have to improvise with what they have at hands, not what they wished they could do;
  • You can use once each specialist skills (with whatever appropriate characteristic). In this case, since it was a personal quest, I could not see Theodosis « delegating » some of the tasks to one of his specialists;
  • You can use one spell for each test (not just for each situation) and add his magnitude to the result;
  • Unwritten rule : loosing is not bad, it is just a different story.

So with that in mind, Theodosis used Prs + Charm, Com + Intrigue + Aura of E.P and Per+Know. Hibernia. Pretty standard. I did not use more spell because I did not have useful one, and considering his major flaw, I could not see him trying to spont a spell unless in dire circumstances.

For the legal & diplomatic part, I had to resort to other stats, namely : Sta + Artes L – which gave me the idea that it was a lengthy test, thus the use of Stamina, Int + Folk ken to keep impressing Dearbhail by showing proper respect (Etiquette would be more suitable, but Folk ken can also be used to feel what people are expecting = psychology), and Qik + Canon and Civil law.
That one required more creativity to explain. Basically, I had no more good option of Stat + skill, so I accepted that I would fail anyway. Then I rolled a very good stress roll, so I went with it and wave it into the story, that although he had not study Law, Theodosis had been able to remember what Conlay said a couple of years back.

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Ezechiel357, this is good stuff! Please keep posting as I am a newbie to ARS Magicka and the solo system presented here. I've made some tweeks which I'll share once I've played a few times. It's good to see how veteran players play so I can get a good idea.

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After boltimuss comments, I thought of adding a bit more rules applications and example at the end. Most veterans won't care, but it might help those less familiar with all the mechanisms.

Fourth year - Investment time !

Tired of not finding his notes in one of dozen trunks that are is pseudo-library, and after his initiation in the Art of Memory, Theodosis remembered a rumor about « mental laboratory ». A construct of the mind that woud allow the mage to proceed to some laboratory works, using his mind and some specific magic. He wondered if by combining both, he could be better organised...

Obviously, Theodosis was not able to create such enchantment, but one the Tractatus he collected as Tenentes was from a skilled Verditius set in Hibernia. What was his name already
 Dang it
 Was all teaching of Dearbhail for naught?

< Breathes is, breathes out... focus Theodosis>

"Lewis cultas Bhéardaoiteas!" shouted Theodosis, spooking briefly his men. Okay, considering the name, Theodosis gave himself a pass for not remembering immediately his name
 Gaelic names are
 complicated.

He was a Verditius stonemason, and according to Illiona indiscretion, he was desperate for a gifted apprentice. It just happened that Theodosis spotted a young girl that was showing all the signs of the Gift. He was about to report her, but maybe...
Aine was her name, and being the strange kid in a family of eight, it would not be too difficult for her parents to hand her over to a wealthy man looking for her servant.

Let's head to Quid Sonant Pro Quieto.

Theodosis was ordering an invested device, so it was neither going to be cheap nor fast, but if he choose the right components, he would be able to keep improving it.

It took a little bit of negotiation with the master Verditius, but Theodosis was not fooled. Lewis was trying to play “hard to get” to jack up his price, but he was too keen to get an apprentice to maintain the charade long enough for the price to rise to a level a master like him could pretend to be paid. And his blatant gift was making sure that it would be nearly impossible for him to get a apprentice by himself.

Ahh, theses little things that Illiona mentionned.

“Does she have a soft spot for me ?” thought Theodosis, with a grin “She is quite cute despite a rather boyish demeanor”.

Once the price had been agreed, a hefty 40 pawns of virtus, Theodosis set out to convince the parents and the girl of the bright future ahead of her
 if she was willing to follow the clearly foreign and wealthy gentleman
 not creepy at all, but hungry bellies tend to forget common sense.

Fortunately, Theodosis knew that he was really offering a great future to this little girl, however he could not help think of all those unfortunate ones who had similar promises from far less scrupulous men.

A little bit of magic reinforced his persona of rich, semi-noble men, looking for a maid to assist his household. And yes, she will be living in a castle, and yes, she could possibly visit her parents when she would have time. Convincing the parents was easy, but he wanted to be sure that the little girl who also agreed.

A six years old would not be any trouble for him to handle, but Theodosis was new to this business of handling gifted kids, so why not start with the soft approach? A little display of Imaginem spell, how it could be easy for little Aine to keep an eye on her parent finally won her. And the walk back to Lewis was easy.

Theodosis would have to wait a year to get the item, but it would be made to his requirements.

OOC: Considering that it is a level 50 invested device, I set for a difficult challenge, with a single social situation, both handling the negotiation with the master enchanter and the would-be apprentice relative.

The negotiation was clearly a Com + Intrigue business, without spells since Lewis would probably spot any attempt to magically influence him.

Convincing the parents was an Int + Folk ken. Confidence and resources had to be used to reach the target difficulty.

Finally Prs + Charm + Aura to win Aine thrust. A bit of luck was needed to succeed all three rolls.

OOC: The Astrolabe of the Wandering Magus

Based on the Crown of Hermes (Cr (In, Mu, Re) Me 50, base 35, +1 Touch, +2 Sun – in Cov. p121).

Theodosis requested the following shape for his item:

Astrolabe (+5 for astrology, divination and such) made of silver (+2 Intellego), with some mercury infused into the silver (+3 Arts & Sciences), a rock crystal (+5 clairvoyance, +4 clarity) and an Opal (+4 Memory).

Because, he did not make the item himself, it cannot become his Talisman, so why all these various gems and boni? At this stage, Theodosis is not yet sure about his field of hermetic expertise, however, it will involve Mentem or Imaginem.

Also, he won’t be carrying this item everywhere. He will be using it when he is a secure place, with a lot of time in front of him. So any other power that he will invest in the future would also be for similar activity – thus looking for boni related to investigation, contemplation and arts & sciences.

Finally, for those who are interested, how I estimated the service cost of a Verditius magi


First, cost of the item itself: 5 for the enchantment, and 15 for a partial opening (the opal, precious, tiny stone). So base 20, plus payment for the work itself. I estimated three seasons, one for the opening, two for the enchantment – considering the number of requisites, and despite all the advantage a Verditius mage can stack, two seasons sound reasonable). Sure, he could probably do it in one season with the proper labtext, but since it was a customized item, it would more likely get a bonus for similar effect. And he was not going to give a discount that easily – maybe with a roll of 20 or more. So three seasons, I assumed that Lewis is probably able to extract 6 pawns a seasons. So that’s 18 paws, times 2 = 36 paws for the labor (from HoH: MC p114). For a total of 56 paws
 Not something that Theodosis could afford
 without the gifted girl as a bargaining chip. I considered she could trade for 16 paws, remains 40 to be paid. Half at the order, half after delivery if Theodosis comes in person to pick up the item.

Sure, Lewis has very likely some Mysteries that allow him to reduce his needs of virtus, but why would he disclose that especially, when there is virtually no competition for this service? As a master enchanter, he must have a certain level of Hubris and he won’t short-change his ability.

Between his source of virtus’ income and the various BP he has been storing form past adventures, Theodosis can afford it.

Edit: spelling

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Thx so much! Appreciate it!

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I have an idea where I want to lead Theodosis and experiment with Mystery cults and initiation. Following his first contact with Dearbhail, Theodosis is going to look more into a tradition of stories and secrets keepers, probably across the whole Europe. Either a secret society or a forgotten mystery cults. Reconstructing or building a mystery from scratch will lead to endless story hooks.

However, I would like some feedback.

In past edition, there was a InIm spell that would allow to perceive in the past, reliving old events. This is no more the case.
Considering that various supernatural ability allowed to glimpse in the past, it should be within reach of Hermetic magic. I believe it is also within the Mythic medieval paradigm to have seers gazing into the past.

Would it be a Minor Hermetic Virtue ?
Echo of the Past
Allows to design spell to reach the past, using Arcane connection as level modifier. Mostly relevant for Imaginem spell, although it might be conceivable to design some spells to rebuild thing as they were (however it might be opening a dangerous can of worms as it might be used to recreate famous book form the past - I just convinced myself that it would not be a good idea, let's stick to Imaginem or Intellego spells).

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Not everything that Faeries, Demons, and Angels do should be considered within reach of Hermetic magic, in my opinion.

How far into the past can it look? What sort of changes are allowed? I assume that we're not playing anything with time travel, so casting a spell 'into' the past with PeCo to kill someone wouldn't happen, right?
What is your goal with this ability, other than 'I want to design a new ability'?

YSMV of course.

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Definitely no time travel!
Seeing event form the past - or more holistically speaking, perceiving event from the past. Your question regarding how far is pertinent, very likely that the magnitude will depend on how far is the event. Possibly using duration as similar guidelines: diameter, sun, moon, year (ritual), then 10, 100, 1000 years ?

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To be honest, if what you're trying to do is perceive an event of the past, it can be kind of handled by InFo spells to speak to the local trees and plants and rocks and scenery. If you're trying to avoid that then you should at least use those levels as a guideline.

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You'd need a Hermetic breakthrough to scry on the past - see the Limit of Time on page 80 of the core rules.

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Also InMe spells to speak with ghosts. And higher In base levels will fetch more than words from your targets. Hermetic magic can't look into the past, but can get you the memories of someone or something who was there.

I prefer this approach because it forces you to identify and then find the right ghost (or tree, or stone, or item), and then squeeze their memories out from them.

Also consider that trying to find ways to look into the past would probably get the attention of those who may have good reasons to avoid that and those who would love to see that working. Think that your new ability would bring light over stuff like The Sundering of House Tremere, the Schism War and so on.

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Thanks Salutor, obviously, it was in the base rulebook, which, of course, I did not check.

Since I want to test a bit the Mystery Cult rules, I will park this idea since it will be a Major Virtue, coming from Hermetic Breakthrough. I could hand wave it and pretend that there is a forgotten cult that could initiate this Major Virtue, but that is a bit too much Handwavium for my taste.

Hehehe, as you can see from Theodosis spells list, it looks like it was almost planned :wink:

So yes, talking to ghosts will be his initial ways to get information from the past, with all the biases that can come from ghosts.

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Year five – Let’s make some friends!

OOC: Fionnghuala, the hedge Tempestria of the first adventure is no more an ally – it was a temporary boon. It gives me story hook for this year. A permanent ally would be better, but such boon requires a difficulty 11+ challenge – so this year it will be a difficult challenge: 14-3 (still under the period of grace). But because I roll a 0 among my 5 dices, +1 to the challenge for a final 12. It would be an hermetic challenge (convincing her to come in and finding a ExMiscellanea to train her without crippling her strong abilities), with both a social and a magical situation.

Fionnghuala was almost through with her deal with the McDougal. And who knows if they would keep their end of the bargain. However, if she was part of the Order, she would have good reason to leave and would also more easily find shelter. That was Theodosis thought as he was travelling back to the Southern coast.

It sounded as good plan, but Theodosis remembered the Tempestria as a strong will character, already powerful on her own and possibly not so keen on joining a group with rules preventing her to meddle with the mundanes


Fionnghuala greeted politely Theodosis, but it was not the warm welcome that he was expecting. Truth to be said, he had been very busy the past years and had not been very diligent at maintaining good relationship.

However, it did not take much time for Theodosis to find out what was bothering Fionnghuala : she was convinced he was going to ask her a favour
 because this is what people have been doing the past four years since the deal, and the Tempestria wanted to roam freely the land. Damn it, you don’t lock the wind or he will die down!

It is so easy to convince people when you are not lying thought Theodosis!

“Mistress of the Winds, I am not here to court your favours, far from me this idea! I would like to discuss with you an opportunity. An opportunity to say no to mundanes and kings alike, by joining a group of equally strong magic-users – peers, but also strong masters.”

“What are you talking about ?”

“The Cnoc Maol Reidh”

“This old myth ?! A mighty coalition of wizards defending their interests and their allies ? Hey! I knew you would spend too much time listening to Dearbhail, she filled your head with nice faerie stories of the Old
 “

“You wear born Una, daughter of Ercc and gentle Sorcha, with six other sibblings. At the age of 8, after being accused once more to have curdle the milk, Sadhbh Liath came and took you as apprentice. You spent 15 years into her icy grasp, until your final test, on Shetland Island coast where you had to rise a winter storm on the Mid-Summer’eve, to be christen by Mannanan McLir, Fionnghuala an Fhasaigh.”

With pearls of sweat dropping from him forehead, Theodosis stopped. “I will never complain again that my apprenticeship has been tough
”.

They sat in silence until sundown.

“Nobody knows that.”

“You know it, so I know it.”

“You are at least ten years my cadet and you did that?”

“If I did not get the story from you, some dead ones would have told me.”

“You can talk to Spirits too?”

“How do you think I broke the trance you were in the first time we met? I talked to them and since they were
 unreasonable
 I bent them to my will. Not that I enjoy it, but I did what I had to. Let’s travel a bit together, we will have more time to discuss, and I would like to show you a few places.”

They spent the remaining of the season discussing as they travelled side by side, Theodosis showing some glimpses of hermetic theory, but more important skills like Parma and Certamen. Two ways to interact with equal with some form of trusts or to solve conflicts without blood.

Theodosis had identified a master that would be skilled enough to open Fionnghuala’s Arts without crippling her Tempestria’s skill. Hieronimus was an old Pralixian mage, and from earlier contacts, he will be more than happy and willing to held Fionnghualago through her transition. And Theodosis knew that the old mage was shrewd enough to handle the temper of his future apprentice


All in all, an excellent Summer for Theodosis.

OOC: I did not explicitly waved in all the skill challenge into the story, but the social challenge used Charm (with Aura), Folk ken (to understand the initial cold reception) and Intrigue. Posing the Silent Question was not used to boost any of the roll, but I could have done it, with the way told in the story. Certamen, TM and Parma were used to show the skill an hermetic mage has – he failed the Certamen check, but still manage to score two successes – so not worth mentioning in the story.

As a reward, he took both Prestige and Local Ally. Increasing the Information score of his wandering covenant to +2 – it was not suitable to take anything related to the covenant structure or resources. Probably next improvements are going to be some extra specialists.

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Year five – let’s make some enemies

After his good Trianoma’s work, Theodosis was looking for a quiet Autumn. Probably taking the road to the North. Fionnghuala recommend him to watch a storm the night of winter’s eve, it’s a good way to understand how little his your power. Not a so subtle message, but maybe an advice he should be following.

Fate had decided otherwise, he had to put on hold his plan. Erkan Liath had reached to Theodosis as
 lawyer. Well, initially, he was only looking for advice, but it quickly became apparent that Erkan needed more than advicel. And Theodosis started to have a reputation of being supportive to hedge wizards.

Erkan belongs to the cunning folk, and was living in Connacht, nearby Rathbeg. What brought him was the fact that somebody was poaching a couple of his virtus sources and he suspected a hermetic mage of doing so, despite having him registered these sources. He had visions about the thief, but it was not enough to build a case, after all, he was just a minor edge wizard.

“I was told you are keen to learn “stuff from the old traditions”, so if you help me, I will make sure you get compensated”.

That was intriguing. Obviously Erkan did some research, or some spirits advised him well, Theodosis knew he could not turn down such offer.

A few hours later, just time to grab a handful of paws, grab some foods and both were on their way. They settle nearby a couple of Erkan resources that had not been poached yet. Based on Erkan experience, the virtus bearing Gentian is blooming the full moon the closest to the autumn’s solstice.

As on cue, a few hours after dawn, as the gentian was turning bright sapphire, a short man in his thirties showed up. Theodosis spotted a necklace bearing verditius runes
 just what he needed


“Halt! This does not belong to you! According to the Hibernian Code, you are stealing the rightful property of Erkan Liath. If you surrender the virtus you stole from him, with a penalty of two paws, you won’t face any charges. That is my promise as Theodosis Quaesitoris ex-Bonisagus!”

“You? A quaesitor? Naa, I don’t buy that. Good luck at the next Tribunal! I claimed these sources as mine and Erkan can challenge me if he wants
 or if he can, hehehe
”


 well, I tried a little lie, without success. So let’s switch from advisor to champion.

“Well, as champion of Erkan I accept the challenge!”

“Wait
 what 
 no
 he has to challenge me
 not you.”

“Well, you are obviously not from here, like me. But at least I took time to get acquainted to the main rules of Cnoc Maol Reidh. Since you challenged him choose the form
”

“But no, I did not challenge him, nor you, I said
”

“You stole from him, you goated him, sounds like a challenge to me.”

“
. Grr
 Rego! I will show you who is Georgius the geomancer!”

“Well, I won’t take Terram for sure, what about Imaginem ? If I beat you your surrender the virtus and paid him two paws as compensation.”

“
. You tricked me
 but if you lose, his sources are mine! Legally mine!”

The ghostly shape of a balance started to coalesce between the two wizards and soon they started to wrestle for its control. The one who would manage to tilt the phantasmal scale in his favor would win. Georgius was piling boulders on boulders on his plate, whereas Theodosis has hands pushing down his side. Two, three, five hands
 both where sweating and the certamen was lasting. Then Georgius burnt a paw, single-mindedly tossing stones, over boulders, over bricks like a maniac while growing his tray to accommodate even more stones.

He was so focus that he did not see the little swirl of mist bending slowly one link
 until it broke loose, letting a pile of stone crash while the balance finally tilted towards Theodosis.

“Pay or be known as Gregorius the thief, the liar, the defeated
”

Humiliated, Gregorius throw a pouch and left, still wavering from the intensity of the fight.

Not too soon afterwards, Theodosis collapsed with a huge grin on his face, thinking “First certamen, first w
. zzzzzzz
.”.

Several hours later, he woke up.

“That’s was some solid sleep. And what was this duel thingy with the midget? But you did well, you got my magic stones back. You have my gratitude.”

“Well, that was the first round only unfortunately. You see, Gregorius did not stumble on your virtus by chance, he knew were they are. Somebody gave him the location. They were your secret, and the person who registered it. This information is not freely accessible – they would be too much thefts and shenanigans. Gregorius knew they were yours, and did not care. We have to bring that to the Tribunal, otherwise it will happen again.”

“How do we do that?”

“The best way would be to have somebody to build your case, wrote report, submit it to a Quaesitor and have request for a judgment
 noooo, don’t look at me, nooo
 dammit
 you better make it worth.”

OOC: It was another difficult Hermetic challenge, with a Subterfuge and Magical situations. He succeeded his Stealth and Awareness test, failed the Intrigue one. Which lead to the magical challenge. He succeeded all three tests, barely the Certamen one. There will be obviously a follow up on that one, at the Tribunal.

I realized that I have not been build up Theodosis very well for when the Grace Period will end – he would have failed almost all the tests of this challenge if not for the -3. His list of spells fits the characters, but don’t make him able to handle many situations.

Also, I did not specify his personality traits. So, based on how Theodosis behaved, he has: David’s complex: +2 (cannot help but side with weak one), Curiosity: +3, Archivist: +1.

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Year six – The King is dead? Long live the King! Wait
 who?

“To the esteemed Visioturpis of House Guernicus, I wish to bring to
”

“What again? Is it not possible to write a report in silence?”

“Err
 sir
 sorry to disturb you, but there is a lady here for you.”

“I hope for you that she is young and delici
 
 you? here ? what a pleasure ? what’s the occasion? How? Why? What can I do for you?”

“You have not changed, Theo” said Dearbhail with a snarky smile.

Turning some interesting shade of purple
 “Aahh
 err
 cannot wash the spots of the leopard, can we ?”

“No, but HE can be trained. I meant, IT can be trained.”

Theodosis was sure he was about to turn to this mythic eighth rainbow shade he read in a treaty about the Colour of Magic.

“Hum, well, interesting debate. Perhaps for another time considering the unlikelihood to meet such animal in Hibernia.”

After teasing and roasting Theodosis a good five more minutes, just to be sure that he will be fully cooperative, Dearbhail finally started to explain herself.

A Baron passed away recently in his seventieth year. He lived a long and full life, married young, had three surviving kids – among them a male heir – his wife died, remarried a few year later, got a few more boys. And that’s where it starts to get messy, between the widow, her sons and the son of the first union.

There was the tradition favoring one, the knights favoring the other and the will of the of the now-deceased Baron favoring one of his girl! Unusual, but not unheard of


And Dearbhail had been summoned to relate the last, important gathering that happen no less than 5 years ago, with all 6 knights in attendance, plus a dozen of other minor nobles. Promises were made, swearing occurred, but also a lot of drinking, mixed with some insults and what not.

Although her reputation as keeper of words is flawless, some people will challenge her – and she can already pictures some “witnesses” recalling a different story. She would needs an ally to make sure that the vows are kept.

“And you want me, a Greek, blond, dark skin, FOUR-HEIN-HEER, to assist you? There is no way it would not go smoothly, isn’t it? A flawless, well-thought plan, hey ?”

After the roasting that Dearbhail administered to him, Theodosis was feeling a little bit cheeky.

Dearbhail was a bit taken aback.

“Well, when you put it that way
 It might bring some additional challenge, true, I have to admit. 
 please, I know it is important to sort this mess, I had a vision and I need somebody with access to unusual resources.”

Just as I was about to petition one of the most senior Guernicus of the Order, I will go on an adventure where very likely, I will have to bend the Code. Nice. Perfect. Smooth.

Dearbhail was looking intensely at Theodosis.

“Would you please turn these perfect emerald eyes away? I will do it. I am such a sucker
”

A couple of days later, they arrived at the court of Lady Sineàd of Waterford. The castle was full of guests, from all around. Theodosis was supposed to be a foreign storyteller, sent by his King to bring back tales of Hibernia, and thus was Dearbhail’s compagnon.

The advantage of being clearly a foreigner and casting spell in Greek, it is very unlikely that somebody will with get what you are mumbling, allowing you to still perform magic without being completely mute.

And so he begins his work


He did not take him much time to find out the real meaning of this succession: it could completely tilt Limerick in favor of the English, or the opposite, re-ignite an uprising. That was absolutely not meddling in mundane business, not at all
 Why was he doing that already? ahh
 yes
 two emeralds


Once they were alone, Theodosis said: “Na, forget your memory tricks and call to oath and such, that won’t be enough to get you heard. Too much at stake, you will need something much more
 striking.” Dearbhail looked hurt by his comment. “Let me finish. I don’t challenge your ability, but you are against England, not just a few hot-headed nobles. So if you still believe respecting the wish of a dead man is important, that’s what’s going to happen and you will have to pull the performance of your life.”

More mumblings and more than a few curse words were exchanged.

The next days, Dearbhail walked into the hall, in front of all the potential heirs, their supporters and all the other expecting nobles. She stood in front of the laying body of the late Baron, waiting to be buried. And she started her great performance of retaling the banquet of Croc Aine, naming every guest, describing precisely their outfit and their servants. Then started the recounting of the promises, the bargains, the oath. Some in crowd started to get impatient and words like “Liar”, “Day-dreamer”, “Faerie tale” and some less kind were starting to get thrown.

“Who dares to challenge the Oath of Croc Aine?” Suddenly boomed a voice in the hall. The voice of the dead Baron bellowed “I will haunt those liars, those traitors who want’s to sell their forefathers' land to the English. I will rot your bones, I will scramble your testicles so your lineage dries, you ungrateful sons of Ireland.”

“I was not expecting that! The baron was quite some man, and quite some ghost now”, thought Theodosis after completing his spell. “I just wanted him to manifest, well, job’s done.”

It did not take much after that to crown young Lady Sibil as Baroness and very likely head of quite an uprising. Time to pack and leave. Quickly and discreetly.

Many miles later, in the dead of night.

“You could have warned me, I almost lost it
”

“Ghosts are not predictable, and your reaction had to be natural
 I know you are an excellent comedian, but spontaneous reactions are even better. I just hope that the trail fades away before somebody investigate this scene
”

“What do you mean “investigate”, there is nothing to find, it’s the genuine ghost of the Baron.”

“Yes, but I did call him, and this kind of magic leaves traces
”

“And what do you risk?"
"Interfering with the mundane as the crime is called, is not really appreciated. Triggering an uprising that could possibly ignite the whole of Hibernia will definitely be considered on the “worst case scenario” and the punishment will not be a slap on the hand, they will aim much higher.”

“So, you really did take some risks?... for me?”, her eyes were glittering unnaturally in the darkness of the night.

“Do you have blood of the Fae coursing your veins ?”

“For now my blood is very warm
 let me show you
”

OOC: <And cut! That’s a good one, we keep it>

That is already a long message, so I will go in the technical bits in a following post.

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OOC: so, it was a random event occurring in winter (with an extra difficulty of +1), difficult challenge (14-3+1=12), complex with a martial part and a social one. The social part is the one told in the story, Theodosis used Posing the Silent Question (to find out what it was really about – the English/Irish fight) and Coerce the Spirit of the Night. Since the roll were quite successful, I went with some dramatic show. The last part, was Theodosis being successful with his Charm test ;-).

I think this time, I managed to bring his Lecherous flaw in play quite well.

I did not describe the martial situation, it was two success, one failure, mostly relying on Mikaelis prowness. The athletics roll was a failure, the awareness roll, thanks to Summoning the Distant Image a success, and the Sword roll a success as well.

It was a last-ditch effort for one the potential heir to organize a coup. Mikaelis try to intercept the group of mercernaries but failed, Theodosis using magic found out were they went, and Mikaelis was finally able to subdue them.

I did not include since it was distracting for the main story line.

As you can see, I try to reuse some characters from past stories and start to develop them. So Dearbhail (btw, can somebody tell me how to pronounce her name? I found it in the Tribunal book) is a master bard, so she cannot be that young, but she looks young. Having faerie blood, possibly strong faerie blood is definitely an option (I might start to stat her, just for the kick). But she might even be a cognizant faerie, and what better than having a young, driven mage, falling for her. We will see. But she will be back for sure.

Finally, thank for those giving me a like, it keeps me motivated to write these little snippets.

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Year six – Is this report going to be written ?

OOC: Theodosis needs to write is report before the next Tribunal, so no choice, but to burn the midnight oil and do it in the cold of Winter (with this unpleasant +1).

So, it is a hermetic challenge, difficult, with a legal and a social situation.

About a week after the Waterford funeral (and a few more days on the road back like something was preventing Theodosis to go back to his Winter shelter
), he was back at his makeshift desk – not something he could do from his mental laboratory.

For Visioturpis, he needed to be factual, yet thorough. Fortunately, he made enough friends the past years to collect information, evidences, even testimonies. The report was going to be thick, and unpleasant for a few. Gregorius was collecting virtus, but a redcap was passing him copy of some mails. A redcap with English ties, to stir mistrust between hedge traditions and well-established Irish mages, weakening the front against Englishmen. It seems to be a recurring topic.

Drawing from his knowledge of the Order, the Hibernian Code, combined with the rhetoric of the ancients, he was quite pleased with his report.

Time for a few spells, especially one who could allow him to better understand people


Alas, not yet


About a week later, Illiona showed up in hurry at Theodosis encampment:

“Master, an urgent message for you. In fact, a
 an invitation
”

“Invitation or summoning?”

“Well, it would not be becoming, let’s say that Master Visioturpis would be delighted to have you as a guest. As early as it is convenient for you.”

“Like leaving next morning for example ?”

“What a wonderful coincidence that you are available on such short notice! It will be much appreciated, I am sure.”

“Boys, pack the camp, we will be finishing Winter in Circulus Ruber.”

Fortunately, it was only a few days walk to the oldest covenant of this Tribunal.

“I wonder what would say the walls if they could talk?” was thinking Theodosis, “That would be a useful spell to know. Maybe Milvia will let me read their Terram Summae.”

“Welcome Theodosis ex-Trianoma, we heard plenty of good things about you. You have been very busy travelling back and forth Hibernia, and keen to enforce the old ways. I, Conan Derg, welcome you in Circulus Rubber.”

“That’s an honour. I was saving Circulus Ruber as my last covenant to visit it during the Tribunal, but fate and a cold winter have decided otherwise. I don’t want to be rude, but when can I meet master Visioturpis, his letter was conveying
 a certain sense of urgency.”

And Theodoris spent the next couple of days in rather intense discussion with the head Quaesitoris of the Tribunal. And for all his skills, Theodoris was unable to guess what wanted the old mage, or what was his intentions. However, Theodoris must have said the right words because Visioturpis seemed quite pleased.

“Your report was quite thorough and of great concern. You have earned a reputation among the ones we called hedge wizards. We would like you to pass them a message, that the Order will abide by the Cnoc Maol Reidh and they are welcome to raise their complain and claims at the next Tribunal”, said Milvia as she handed Theodosis her seal to prove that he was speaking on her behalf.

OOC: The legal challenge was the writing of the report, and Theodosis managed each of his roll with the slightest margin (and even had to use Confidence and Informant point to succeed).

The social part started badly with a straight failure on his folk ken roll – Theodosis was not able to guess what knew Visioturpis (about Waterford or anything), but was more lucky with the remaining rolls.

I selected two rewards this time: Feliticious Tribunal and Hidden Ways. Theodoris made genuinely a good impression and (most) of his acts were within the Code. The second one is linked to his extensive travelling.

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Year Seven – The Tribunal

OOC: knowing that it was coming, Theodosis improved some skills. No adventure was rolled on dices, however, I wanted Theodosis to have a Tribunal adventure. It “had” (not really, but I find it makes sense) to be very complexes, requiring a Legal/Diplomatic aspect, a Social aspect and a Magical aspect. There is also a part of metagaming here since it is the last moment where Theodosis can benefit from the -3 of the Grace period. Afterwards, everything would be tougher.

Theodosis knew that he was going to be part of this Tribunal. Visioturpis made it clear that his testimony was of utmost importance. There will also be Fionnghuala who will be presented as a mage of the Order. And Erkaan would be there, with representatives of several traditions and clans that Theodosis contacted on behalf of Circulus Ruber. The Cnoc Maol Reidh will be renewed and that would stir quite some debates with Stonehenge Tribunal and their English representatives.

Lots of opportunity to learn about the so-called lower traditions and make some interesting friends. “Maybe even someone who could tell me something about a certain green-eyed bard” thought Theodosis.

What a view!

It was not possible to host everybody within the covenant’s tower, so Circulus Ruber sprouted a temporary village around it. It was like a giant autumn fair! Stalls left and right providing foods, drinks, but also tools, weapons, armors, horses and even some exotic goods like spices, silks and delicately woven carpets.

Inside a walled section, under the responsibility of a group of RedCaps, was the magic market, whose access was restricted to those gifted and their trusted companions – you needed a seal to be let in. And there you could find all kinds of strange trinkets, magical ingredients, faerie steel, and even tractatus and labtext of various kinds.

Besides items, Theodosis noticed several tents where hedge magicians were performing their craft. Left and right, everybody was bartering, trading, buying
 possibly cheating and lying.

Several small groups of men-at-arms were patrolling to make sure that fights were not going beyond a few punches and some “manly competitions”.

A group of musician were performing, and Theodosis sat, listening to them. Once there performance was over, he approached the – obviously – female singer:

“What an amazing performance! Let me buy you a drink!”

“Sure, honey”.

“By the way, have you heard about a green-eyed bard? I believe she is quite famous.”

“Thanks for the mead, hon’”, and she blew him kiss while grabbing the cup and rejoining her companions. “Well, that went smoothly, I hope I will have more success during the Tribunal, otherwise, I am toasted.”

OOC: A miserable attempt at using Folk ken (+Str). Yep, when Theodoris is using his muscle to impress lady, it does not work...

Fortunately for Theodosis, it was only his warm-up routine. Soon afterwards, he was swapping stories with a troubadour from Normandy. A few glasses later, he was starting to confide:

“Yesh, we pass stories from mashter to apprentish, but those who are truly gifted
 those one
 they can listen to the Echos, the Song of Yesteryear
 zzz
”

“Interesting, thank you my friend. Enough fun, I have to get ready.”

Truth is, Gregorius’ case discussion was rather anticlimactic. At least the part that played officially during the Tribunal: the charges were presented, the situation including the interference of redcaps was described and sentences were passed – however no mention about English mages or Stonehenge possible involvement.

Gregorius had his Talisman destroyed and sentenced to pay 5 paws a year to the Tribunal, until the next Tribunal. A lot of junior mages found the punishment harsh, but the more experienced ones quickly understood that there was more to the case that what had been presented.

The Redcap was stripped of his privileges and was sentenced to be jailed in Circulus Ruber to make sure that he would not betray the Order. Here again, most mages would not have been outraged by a death sentence, but again, the most astute ones thought that there was more. For example, imprisoned in Circulus Ruber, the redcap would be under the protection of the covenant Aegis
 as long as he would cooperate with them.

Because Theodosis had been instrumental to this case, he was present during part – and only part – of what happened prior to the Tribunal.

But before it started


“My name is Connor ex-Mercere and I was told you are quite a womanizer. And I did not appreciate the way you talk to my friend, so I challenge you to a Certamen for silence. If I win, you won’t speak to anybody until the end of the fair – that should teach you a lesson about flirting with other’s women.”

“What’s in for me? I don’t have anything to win by beating you
 it sounds so trivial and below our mage’s station to argue for that.”

“Well, err
 I will pay for one banquet on your behalf, for twenty of your guests.”

“That’s more like it!”

Although a good two decades older than Theodosis, Connor found himself quickly outmatched.

“Well, that was an easy banquet. I won’t forget to charge you” said Theodosis as he was already making the list of his guests in his head.

“That’s odd to be challenged for something as menial as that” was thinking Theodosis
 until a servant approached him “Master Visioturpis request your presence for a discussion”. Would haven’t been odd if bound by a Certamen, Theodosis could not speak
 writing would have been awkward.

First, the redcap was nowhere to be seen, he had been “secured” by Circulus Ruber in a non-disclosed location, to give him time to reflect on his mistake and make amends (ie: spill his guts, betraying accomplices and chief). And honestly, Visioturpis was not going to waste time and probably went straight to work with a few powerful Mentem spells – not much of a challenge when you don’t have a Parma.

Second, there was a couple of representatives from Stonehenge: a Quaesitor and a senior Mercere mage.

“Two Mercere in one day
 two mages Mercere in one day, that is more than just a coincidence
”

What followed was a strange mix of diplomacy, extortion, threats and bargaining. Theodosis had to repeat his testimony under oath and under a lie detection spell. This kind of measures were not unheard of, but rather unusual, which indicated to Theodosis that it was much more serious than just the theft of some virtus. Fortunately, none of the questions went remotely close to discuss the Waterford apparition and the situation in Limerick.

Both Stonehenge mages asks some clarifications, but the situation had been made very clear by Visioturpis, so there were not many points to further highlights. Unfortunately, Theodosis had not been part of these pre-discussions, but he was able to infer that a few Stonehenge covenants had been caught their hand in the cookie jar and where about to get spanked. Not too publicly, yet it could not be ignored and some examples will have to be made.

The remaining of the Tribunal went smoothly, culminating with the Cnoc Maol Reidh renewal.
There was more than eighty mages and hedge magicians from various traditions present, and there was a strange feeling of serenity and solemnity. Everybody made an effort to respect each other boundaries and positions, like an unspoken pact had been agreed, a pact of unity
 against the English. Theodosis’ Irish was good enough to grasp enough that the coming years were going to be eventful.

“I made it hard for you to convince me, but you were right. Thank you, Theo, for what you did, you have my eternal gratitude.”

“Fionnghuala, I knew you could go even further that you thought. These past seven years convinced me that there is more to learn from what we, mages from the Order, consider hedge, weaker traditions. And I intend to explore more this aspect, now that I am relieved of my Tenentes duty.”

“Then you will need a guide, if you walk this path” said a voice behind him. A voice that send shivers of lust through his spine.

“gggg
 rhaaa
 you?” managed Theodosis.

“As eloquent as ever! I was not going to miss witnessing what could become a cornerstone of Hibernia history! Would you mind filling a few gaps for me as I could not hear everything
” said Dearbhail as she was grabbing Theodosis’ arm.

OOC: Okay, it was time to close this story arc. There are several elements that are ready to be used for the next story arc: as background element, the likely rebellion across Hibernia. The mysterious Song of Yesteryear and the exploration of hedge magic will be used to drive Theodosis’ research into a Mystery cult.

Dearbhail will become a teacher – Theodosis accumulated enough BP to purchase a skilled teacher and I thought she would be perfect for the role. As a specialist she would be too much, but as a teacher, she stays in the background, without getting involved in the action. Exactly what a witness of history does.

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Theodosis, filius of Ourania, Trianoma, 7 years out of apprenticeship (27 years old)

Int : +3, Per : +1, Prs : +1, Com : +2, Str : -2, Sta : +0, Dex : +0, Qik : -1

Virtues : Puissant Intrigue, Tenentes (Spring) replaced by Bardic Education, Puissant and Affinity with MT, Gentle Gift, Apt Student, Inventive Genius, Harnessed magic, Free study.

He is no more a Tenentes as he is too junior to take a Summer Tenentes position, so I thought that instead, because of his close ties with Dearbhail and his past adventure, he could swap it for Bardic Education.

Flaws : Lecherous, Driven (make major progress in MT), Careless sorcerer, Chaotic magic, Deficient (Animalem), Weak magic.

His skills:

Native Language (Greek): +5, Latin: +4, English: +3, Gaelic: +4 – he initially sunk quite a few XPs to raise his language skills, otherwise he could not have use in most occasion his social skills.

Certamen: +4, Parma: +3, Artes Liberales: +5, Magic realm Lore: +2 – all skills that he raised during the past 7 years, through study or XP from adventures.

MT: +3 (+2), Hermes Lore: +2 – those did not change. He definitely has a MT score too low for a Bonisagus, but that the price to pay to get all these adventures (and the skill set to handle them).

Charm: +2, Intrigue: +3(+2), Folk ken: +2 – slight improvement. On a fun note, he missed most of his folk ken roll, regardless of the stat he was using.

Hibernia Lore: +4, Art of Memory: +5 – these two skills grew from adventures, but were boosted by his new virtue.

Awareness: +2, Civil and Canon Law: +3 – I thought that Civil and Canon law was appropriate to navigate all these pact, agreements and oath (combined with Hibernia Lore).

Stealth: +1, Survival: +1 – souvenir from his childhood. No improvement there.

Arts : Cr 6, In 7, Pe 4, Re 6, Im 7, Me 7, Vim 10 – really weak in this area. In 7 years, he only managed to raise Creo and Vim.

Spells : Summoning the Distant Image, Aura of Ennobled Presence, Veil of Invisibility, Ring of Warding against Spirit (15), Coerce the Spirit of the Night (20), Scent of Peaceful Slumber, Lay to Rest the Haunting Spirit (10), Perception of the Conflictive Motive, Posing the Silent Question, Seeing the Magical Regio, Seeing the Faerie Regio, Thought within Babble.

So his « covenant » stats evolved slightly:

Hooks : constantly mobile (major), wooden (minor) : just a couple of wagons for him and his staff. No change here

Boons : Resources – Rights (minor) - because of his status of Tenentes, he receives through redcaps a regular income. And to some extend, as magus Trianoma, enjoy a certain level of protection but also some ability to mediate issues until the need of Quaesitoris arise.

Informants (minor) – again, linked to his status of Tenentes, redcaps kindly keep him updated more frequently that other covenants might enjoy.

Veteran fighter and loyal coven folk – he does not have a proper turbula, but the few bodyguards he has are well trained and devoted.

Allies: Ex Miscellanea in general, Pralixian mages more specifically.

Good reputation: among hedge wizards and the Coil Tri.

Felicitous Tribunal: Well considered throughout the Tribunal. He made some enemies, but – for now – he has enough people watching his back not to warrant an extra hook.

Hidden ways: he had travelled extensively the Tribunal during the past 7 years and was taught or discovered by himself many paths, even magical ones, allowing him to be quickly almost anywhere in the Tribunal.

Mikaelis, his personal bodyguard (specialist with Str +2, Sta +2, Sword +6, Athletics +5, Leadership: +4) – I added a few skills to show his evolution (bought with extra BP built up during the past 7 years).

Conlay O'Shien, his local guide (specialist with Per +2, Com +2, Dex: +2, Area Lore +4, Awareness +4, Canon and Civil Law +4, Stealth: +4) – I added Stealth and Dex

Enoc'h the Skald (teacher, Com +3, Teaching +4, Gaelic +5, Hibernia Lore +5, Artes Liberales +5, Canon and Civil Law +4), an old redcap, who won’t mind a little bit of extra income, still living the good old days but at a more gentle pace.

Dearbhail the Greatest bard of Hibernia (teacher with Com: +5, Teaching: +5, MC: Song of Yesterday Lore: +6, Faerie Realm Lore: +4, Magic Realm Lore: +4) – I might decide to fully stat Dearbhail, but she will remain an counselor for Theodosis, not a specialist/companion. She definitely had Strong Faerie Blood, Master Bard – she won’t follow Theodosis all the time) and is probably a Wordsmith – I want her to remain in background, yet be frequently present.

Only a couple of Summae (one on Vim (11/20)) and one on Certamen (5/17) – no improvement here, quite embarrassing for a Bonisagus, but fitting for the character.

Source of virtus worth 5 paws/year, it was initially thanks to his position of Tenentes, but now, he know enough of Hibernia to be able to get that by himself. By the same token, if ever Theodosis want to do some activity benefiting a magical aura, he will have an aura +3, because he would have been able to choose the appropriate location.

Most of the BP left from the creation or accrued during his adventures were used to improve his specialist and pay for Dearbhail.
And since a few years, he has a mental lab, so you might see him "trying stuff".

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