Angus stammers "I don't... I'm not... he stripped Arthur of his Gift, he was planning to strip me of mine. I don't know what the quaesators, I haven't talked with them."
"Wait, pardon?" Corbin's face is keenly interested, eyebrows raised in surprise. "The murder aside.." his hand gesture waving that as a trivial thing, "how do claim to have passed your gauntlet? From whom? " then subvocalising in a whisper "fascinating".
Behind him the black cat with white patch has shifted and is watching the ghost, tail slowly swinging in long arcs.
Angus is flustered again. "They said, I thought..."
The ghost rolls it's eyes "Like I said, on a technicality. With Tytalus killing your parens is passing the gauntlet, whether you are really ready or not."
With a broad quizzical grin, "that's fantastic! Such hubris " Corbin replies, "I should have looked at the houses more."
Then addressing the ghost "And knowing this tradition you admit you mistreated your apprentices, forgot that they might kill you without punishment, and left yourself vulnerable. Wow. I mean wow eh? "
"It makes some of the Merinitia oddball traditions seem positively logical. Bless me. Well done Angus! Beat him at his own game." ...And if Angus happens to be close enough Corbin would be slapping him on the back in congratulations.
Corvus did not think the traditions were strange but perhaps Corvus only got to see the normal ones.
Boudicca clears her throat. [color=red]"For what it's worth, sodales, the quaesitores have investigated Nocturnus's murder. And while, under any other circumstances, the murder of a magus would be considered a High Crime, the fact that he was Tytalus and his killer, his apprentice, absolves Angus of any guilt in this matter. At least, under Hermetic law."
She looks at Eilid. [color=red]"May I?"
The doe nods her head. [color=brown]"Please."
Boudicca leaves the meeting, returning several minutes later (giving time for idle chatter amongst the magi). She them places a folded piece of parchment on the table.
[color=red]"A letter from Virtuo of Guernicus concerning the matter. And, since the 'crime' occurred in England and not Scotland, he has little to fear from the mundane authorities."
"He would have needed to be a magus to commit a Hermetic Crime anyway. Regardless, Hope says pulling a small bottle attached to her necklace, and a token with a cross engraved on it in another. no offense, but I want to make sure you're on the right side of things. With any luck this shouldn't hurt a bit. I've heard demons fair poorly when exposed to fragments of the Cross." Hope stands and walks towards the ghost taking the necklace off to hold the relic in a bottle out. What do you say?
OOC: I'm assuming he's not infernal. Plus there is plenty of time for anyone to interrupt.
Not to anyone in particular , "To be fair test them both I guess. Conversely why is the test to be trusted more than either the ghost or Angus; or any of us. "
The ghost laughs and reaches for the piece of the cross, which passes through him, without harming him. "Neither of us is infernal, I have merely come to push the boy to become a proper magus. Consider it penance for not training him properly, or vengeance for him killing me, which I will point out he managed quite well if rather mundanely, and certainly would have failed had Arthur not released him from the cell where he spent his nights. Either way, the boy is technically a magus, yet unworthy of the name, and I would suggest any membership he be given be probationary for that reason."
Angus reaches out and touches the cross as well, after giving Corbin a broad smile.
Well, I'm convinced at least. Hope says as she puts the items back On that note, I have a gift for the covenant. A Vis Source Hope says, as she pulls out a box opens it and puts it down on the table as she sits. Inside is the Bloody Coin, currently rather polished. "Between Ash Wednesday and Easter it will ooze blood. The blood is divinely tainted corpus vis, even if it seems a bit disrespectful to call it tainted. I'm sure there is some very meaningful purpose behind it, but its a mystery to me. I think as long as we use it to make the world better, we'll be alright."
Eilid trots over to Hope and peers over her shoulder at the box with the coin tucked inside. Boudicca leans forward.
[color=brown]"Divinely influenced Vis can be tricky to work with," Eilid says, almost reverentially. [color=brown]"I'm not sure how much intent and good will factor into it's effectiveness, but I don't want to risk the wrath of the Lord by abusing it."
"Hang on," Laerleggr pipes up. "This ghost business is not yet put to rest. How is it that so many are free to invade the covenant? Is the Aegis leaky?
"I've seen some of the ghosts around the covenant," Gavin admits. "I assumed that they're grounded here and so were 'present' - as much as a ghost is ever present - when the Aegis was cast."
(I see what you did there. 
)
Eilid makes a funny noise in her throat. (I don't think deer can clear their throats, so this will suffice.)
[color=brown]"There's nothing wrong with my Aegis," Eilid says testily. [color=brown]"This is not a new phenomenon. This has been going on for better than sixty years.
"And the ghosts that we have aren't invaders. They are all the spirits of people who have lived and died here. Curwin here, both incularum and custodes. It's only a handful of ghosts, but none of our ghosts are of anyone outside the Covenant. They're all covenfolk in one way or another."
[color=red]"Correct," Boudicca says. [color=red]"I don't understand the theories behind it, but they do seem to be as much of the covenant as the covenfolk are, in their own way."
"The exception to that would be Nocturnus, and I don't know if he is somehow connected to me such that the token I was given allowed him entry or if he was simply strong enough to ignore the aegeis, or some third unknown option involving magical secrets he kept during his lifetime." Angus offers up
"I see. Sorry for impugning your Aegis, Eilid. Angus' tag along aside, since it's clear he'll be pestering Angus, do the ghosts cause trouble? And how about the magus who took his own life? Does his ghost live here too? I guess "live" is the wrong word. Does it reside here?"
[color=brown]"That might be something worth researching. If there is something about ghosts attached to someone that they have strong ties to that allows them into an area protected by an Aegis..." Eilid's voice trails off as she looks off into the distance.
[color=brown]"None of our ghosts pose a physical threat to anyone. Curwen's been known to spy on the womenfolk, and occasionally couples, from time to time..." Eilid glares at Curwen, who actually looks shame-faced under the doe's stare. [color=brown]"and Séarlait sometimes tries to run off visitors or break up couples. But generally they're only annoyances at worst.
"Unfortunately, Faileas did not come back as a ghost. It might have helped us understand what happened. On the other hand, when Whitburh cast Whispers Through the Black Gate on his body, he was rather uncooperative."
"Alright, I'll stop my prying. And I'll learn to live with the ghosts, I'm sure. But Angus, it sounds like you slew your pater with good reason. So if you ever want his ghost off your back tell me, and I'll do what I can to help."
[color=red]"You have a right to know about your new home, warts and all," Boudicca says. [color=red]"And with a covenant as...rich in history as Insula Canaria, there are bound to be a few things to get used to."
[color=brown]"And the ghosts aren't unreasonable," Eilid adds.
[color=brown]"Next item for discussion is the Aegis. We" Eilid says as she indicates herself and Boudicca, [color=brown]"cast an Aegis on the Winter Solstice. We have enough Vis to cast another one tomorrow morning, directly after sunrise*. Do we wish to do so, or do you wish to use casting tokens until Winter?"
- The [strike]Winter Solstice[/strike] Spring Equinox is at 6:48 am on Friday, March 13th. Sunrise is about 6:20.