I had completely forgotten about the system for gaining virtues and flaws in the Magic Realm. It does what I want and fits our HR timing fairly well. Many thanks, Callen.
Marko, do you have access to RoP:M, and if so, does the system work for you?
My system is influenced by RoP: Magic. But the specifics for that system are for in-play, just as the specifics of a mystery script. These are built into my system as part of the abstract.
In otherwords, a magic realm adventure can be used as any other adventure as an excuse to run the V/F formula. The difference here is that you want to use it as an excuse to obtain a mystical virtue instead of a general one. That opens a can of worms, because then everyone is going to wanna do the same and make sure they each get their alloted one magic realm adventure in befor starting game.
So I am not keen on the idea.
If this one Virtue is so important, why not take it as part of your original package?
I'm actually leaning that way anyway. Contacting the faeries sounded like a good idea at the time, but I'm not sure where to take it or what exactly it would give me virtue-wise. The Magic Realm option makes more sense system-wise but less sense story-wise. My best course is probably to take a general virtue during my Shadow War cycle (probably Warrior or Well-Traveled) and make preparing for and finding an apprentice the focus of my third cycle.
IMO, it's a great idea.
I'm not sure I understood well the rules for v/f, but here's what I did for some (like her vis source), and I suggest you do the same.
Use the rules about seasons and XP.
That is, it takes "one season, plus one season per point of Virtue gained. Up to 3 points of New Flaws may be incorporated, reducing this time by one season per point (minimum of 1). The base XP cost is 10 time the Virtue gain/increase, unaffected by Flaws".
As I understand it, traveling to the magic realm and all would have to follow the same rules anyway, only warping works differently (and it hurts, trust me), it's just the fluff that would be different.
You could also, IMO (and I'd advise this, since this seems well-suited to the character) create your own mystery cult.
This implies that "A Cult Score of 1 is required for your first Initiation, plus another 2 points for each Initiation after that. Reduce the XP required by 5x your score in Cult Lore". So you choose a name, like "dastardly faerie bonding" and put XP in it.
We can assume that a faerie served as a kind of mystagogue, and that you blazed the trail for a new MC.
If doing that, it'd be cool if you wrote fake initiation scripts, should you choose to later initiate someone.
I actually totally approve of developing a mini-cult such as this. I imagine magi may often "dabble" in a mystery ot two as the result of experimentation or discovery. These would be self initiations, as opposed to a culty-cult with a mystagogue.
There are specific rules for inventing and modifying scripts that will apply in game. But for Development during Chargen, it is just abstract fluff.
I may explore this option in game, but my third and final pre-saga cycle is focused on preparing for and finding an apprentice. It sounds like Callen might be willing to play my apprentice. I'm going to hold off posting my third cycle write-up until we discuss things further.
Yes, I think it could be fun. I have an idea I'm working on. We're chatting to get on the same page. Then I'll post more.
We've hit a bit of a road block and need to run something by the troupe. The apprentice will have two minor supernatural virtues and Vocis's InVi lab score isn't high enough to preserve both of them when opening her Arts. Are there any objections to Vocis using the double overtime option from Covenants for the opening season?
I'm on the fence regarding this...
On its face, there is very little downside risk for pulling this off, because there isn't a die roll to pull this off, there's really no chance at a botch and all that happens is a -2 to the living conditions die roll...so nothing. I don't like this, because I don't think it would fly in play, the risk is pretty big, but in character generation...essentially no risk.
If this were in play, would you even consider trying to do something so risky, when you could get hit with some story at a moment's notice, or would you have planned things out differently?
Finally, this is House Tremere. There is an InVi specialist out there, and you're both soldiers of the House, you appeal to your House Leaders, and they agree that for whatever operational reasons related to the mission you are best suited to be his apprentice, despite your inability to open his Arts and preserve his natural gifts. So...you owe people within your House even more. And House Tremere's favors do not come cheaply... 
Another magus within the House opens his Arts, and preserves the Virtues you could not...
I had suggested an apprentice loan. Some other apprentice helps out here. Later my apprentice will have to go help to return the favor. I actually figure that's fairly common within House Tremere.
That could work too, an apprentice whic adds +6 isn't all that hard to get.
I dunno. i smell munchkinism...
It's certainly not my intention. Going this route will just allow the apprentice to keep the Unaging virtue. Nothing crazy.
The basic idea is a child due to necromancy. A necromancer (Tytalus, perhaps Titanus) was exploring fertility. He was animating recently dead to procreate with the living. But he did it so much he lost track. This little girl is the child of a dead Redcap and a Spanish woman. She inherited several things from her father (both from his bloodline and from his being dead), especially an ancestor's incredible skills of communication (the legacy). As for the reputation part of Legacy, I figure the Tremere will like having a Mutantum Maga while House Mercere will dislike that she was stolen from them and one or two Tytalus will feel the same.
I think you'll find this not very munchkined at all. She is far weaker in design than Guillaume is. I really haven't strung things together in ways that get gross.
Int +2, Per +1, Str -2, Sta 0, Pre +2, Com +2, Dex -1, Qik 0
Animal Ken [1] – father’s blood
Apt Student [1]
Cautious Sorceress [1]
Gentle Gift [3]
The Gift
Gift of Tongues [1] – father’s blood
Minor Magical Focus: Certamen – apprenticeship
Mutantum Magic [1] – father’s blood
Unaging [1] – undead father
Venus’s Blessing [1] – mother’s blood
Deficient Terram [-1] – apprenticeship
Legacy [-1] – father’s blood
Monstrous Blood: Human (Red Eyes, -1 Sta) [-1] – undead father
Optimistic [-3] - apprenticeship
Short-Ranged Magic [-3]
Small Frame [-1]
That apprentice is going to be meeting with an accident, I think. (Secret Agent Redcaps, right? You have a license to kill.)
I really dislike the idea of Mutantum Magic being introduced to House Tremere.
I dislike the idea of the dead reproducing! Munkinism isn't about power. It is about cherry picking and min-maxing.
Now, unlike Mr. Link, I do not believe in a nefarious order with hit squads and the like. My objection is that you are cramming to many odd things into one character and it strains my suspension of disbelief.
And I am tired of tragic little girl stories.
Guernicus hit squads are canonical. 
And the Order isn't nefarious, house Guernicus is.
sigh
Gimme a page number. I cannot find the words "hit-squad" anywhere.
There are good cops and there are bad cops. And there are good deeds and bad deeds. The Sundering of Tremere? Eh, $#!+ happens. Duresca Scrolls? Probably fake, and if not that is irrelevant because Gurnicus magi are positive they are fake. Schism War? Tragic, and too complicated to pin on any one thing.
Wow. I was only worried about my House finding out and equating her to a dhampir. 
I got it from RoP:M.
OK. I'll alter it. I'll stick with the idea of using animals as spies and messengers, though.