Back to Imanitos Mendax
I passed my Gauntlet in the Covenant of my Pater in the Rhine Tribunal at the end of last year, and had the honour of entry into the Order of Hermes as a fully-fledged Magus. Having heard many amusing tales of the dismal failure of fellow Apprentices in their tests, I must admit that I viewed my own Gauntlet with some trepidation. However the Gauntlets set by those of my house, Jerbiton, are notoriously easy and, fortunately for me, mine was no exception. Indeed, my Pater took steps to ensure that there was no chance of failure when I sat my examination - he gave me significant coaching in advance of the relevant topics. Not strictly honest, I'll grant you, but at the time I wasn't going to complain! Although in retrospect it now seems to me that such assistance in one's Gauntlet is an insult to the intellect and aptitude of the Apprentice. Reading this, you might take my Pater, Vorien, to be a generous man for offering me such aid. Far from it! He was an unpleasant and miserly Master, he only helped me so much because he wanted to be well rid of me, and so he ensured that there was no chance for my Apprenticeship to continue for a further year.
When he first took me away from my homeland in Bavaria as a husky and impressionable eleven-year-old, we got on well. He revelled in his role as Master, and I was eager to learn, especially when he secretly tutored me in the Black Arts. I was allowed to assist in some of his Summonings and I grew accustomed to the prescence of the minor Demons that served him in fawning aquiescence. However as I grew older I began to challenge his authority, so that he came to dislike and resent me. He therefore started to perform his Infernal Rituals in private, and so my Apprenticeship continued purely in the Hermetic tradition, without further Taint. When left to study alone, I chose to concentrate on the Form of Mentem, hoping to achieve control over the Mundanes with which I maintained a strong interest. I secretly experimented on some of the young women at the Covenant, managing to prevail upon them with significant success!
I swore to the Code before the Tribunal at the Winter Solstice. A most tiresome and unnecessary formality, if the truth be told. Still, perhaps I will abide by at least some of the oaths which I have sworn! Upon returning home, my Pater immediately threw me out of his chambers. I was not sorry to see the back of him - in the last few years of my Apprenticeship I myself had come to find him especially demanding and irritating. He had not provided me with enough tuition in the Goetic Arts as I would have liked, and I was especially annoyed by the fact that he jealously denied me access to his most erudite tomes regarding the Form of Vim, leaving me sorely deficient in that area.
In the months that followed I enjoyed my new-found freedom by practicing my Arts in subtlety upon the mundanes of a nearby village. Seducing the foolish village girls was easy and provided much entertainment, but grew boring after a while. Regretfully, it became necessary for me to leave rather hurriedly after an "experiment" upon the local priest backfired rather badly. The memories of this misadventure are unpleasant and I will not describe them further here - suffice it to say that I was forced to leave the region with much haste (and stealth). I'm sure that the damned priest set some mercenaries after me, so I wasn't going to take any chances.
So it came to pass that I departed westwards towards France early in the Spring of this year, in search of a Covenant willing to grant me membership. I moved slowly, hiding often, so that I might escape capture. I wandered around for a while, visiting one or two of the Covenants in the Normandy Tribunal, and then I fortuitously chanced upon a Redcap who informed me of a Covenant in the southerly Provencal Tribunal by the name of Malinbois who were seeking to bolster their numbers. Therefore I travelled southwards, and by late Spring I had reached the Val du Seraque, a most picturesque and pleasant little valley. I was still mindful of those hired swords that had been sent after me and so I thought to hide out for a while before approaching the Covenant. Exploring a quiet forest, I chanced upon a long-deserted old cottage placed across the mouth of a cave in a small rockface - an ideal place to stay. I hid there for about a month, a most unenjoyable time, let me tell you. However my discomfort was tempered with the pleasure of a most fortuitous discovery! At the back of the cave I found a mysterious black resinous material coalescing into a small pool - I carefully collected it all up and with a minor Spell determined its nature. Teufelsdrek! A very lucky find indeed! This "Aesfotedia" should prove to be extremely useful in aiding the efficaciousness of certain Goetic Rituals. I wonder if this source is renewable? I must remember to return to this place so that I can find out.
Two days ago, following the directions that I had been given, I set out for this Covenant, since it seems that those mercenaries have given up on me. After taking the road south from Perpignan, I turned off to the left into the Forest of Collbran, as instructed. After several hours of fruitless wandering, I still had not found the place - that bloody Redcap must have been so befuddled with ale so as to give me the wrong directions, curse him! Funnily enough, as soon as I gave up and headed out of the forest, I came across the place almost immediately - a fortress atop one of the two peaks of an isolated hill. An impressive enough place, I suppose. Contained within the walls there are twin towers, linked with a bridge, where the Magi reside. I was greeted by one of the milites on guard duty and taken to meet the Magi in their Council Chamber. They seemed quite welcoming, and one of their number (by the name of Fionn) proposed me as a new Member. This was accepted, a decision they may come to regret! It seems that I am one of a number of new Magi who have joined this year. Apparently I have to perform four seasons worth of work dedicated to the benefit of the Covenant before I am admitted as a "full" member, a most bothersome demand. I was told that this will allow me to vote or something. The Provost (called Callidus I think) has rather smugly informed me that in order to be entitled to a share of the Covenant's stores of raw Vis, I will have to do additional work "for the Covenant" in the future. If I had realised that the rules of this place were so strict I might have tried somewhere else! (There is a nearby Covenant by the name of Dankmar that sounds good - apparently they're all women there.) Still, I have been given an entire floor of one of the towers for my chambers, replete with standard laboratory equipment - a most generous provision. Maybe it won't be so bad here after all.
It has now been a week since my arrival, I have had a chance to settle in and meet the assorted Magi of this place. It is quite a large Covenant actually, comprising six Senior Magi and eight Junior Magi (including myself). (As far as I can determine, the division of Magi into the ranks of "Senior Magus" and "Junior Magus" is some kind of unfair system whereby the Founder Members get more votes and allocate themselves more equipment and Vis.)
The Senior Magi are:
The Junior Magi are:
When I enquired about the peculiar lance which forms the centre-piece of the table in the Council Chamber, I was surprised to learn that this item (which is Invested with powers to counter the minions of the Dark One) was created by one Peregrine, Arch-Mage of House Tytalus! I was much relieved to learn, however, that this infamous Magus has since passed away - the prescence of such a powerful force dedicated to the combat of Demons at the Covenant would surely have been a major hindrance to me with the Summoning Experiments which I intend to perform. An interesting man by the name of Andros also resides here. Although not a Magus in the proper Hermetic tradition, he seems to be quite competent with Magic nevertheless. I am told that on occasion he has offered his services as a laboratory assistant, for which he is typically given a small payment of Vis.
There are also several consors worthy of note. The Captain of the Turb is a man named Napoleon - he is not overly bright but he seems to be an excellent swordsman nevertheless, just the kind of man you want with you in a fight. There is also a knight by the name of Sir Claude, and a Jew called Seth. I have seen both of these fellows carrying fearsome-looking two-handed swords around, so I daresay they are equally proficient. With such warriors around, the Covenant need not fear for its security. I am told that there is a man who has the capability to shape-change into a bear, Andreas by name, although I have not seen him around. There is a small chapel on Santare Hill, fortunately it is not too close to the towers so as to interfere with the Magical Aura thereupon. I have only seen the priest once, he is a frail and saintly old man by the name of Jean-Pierre. However I am informed that he has managed to bring forth the power of God and perform several Miracles in the past - maybe he is not quite so feeble as he seems. I am not sure how true these stories are, but in any case I shall keep well away from him! Of all the Magi, only Marcus seems to visit the chapel regularly - I am glad that most of our number are not as misguided as he. Surely he must realise that even to practice the Hermetic Arts is an act of defiance to God, and that worship is therefore mere hypocrisy? I don't know what he hopes to gain, he should know that only the power of the Infernal is truly compatible with our Arts.
There is an extensive network of caverns beneath Santare Hill, accessed by staircases leading down from the two towers. I went down there this morning to have a look around, and in the large central cave I espied a vast and intricately engraved bell occupying a prominent position. I was later told that this artifact is actually the fabled Bell of Ibyn, an object which apparently has powerful Warding and Scrying properties. There is also a mine further in the caves, where tin is extracted and sold to contribute to Covenant funds. Exploring deeper into the caves, I came across some small, but fearsome-looking, ferret-like humanoid creatures. They conversed in an unfamiliar tongue and one of their number threateningly waved a spear at me, so at that point I chose to curtail my exploration and returned hastily to my chambers. Therefore I have no knowledge of what lies deeper within the cave system. Maybe the creatures are guarding a secret source of Vis which the Senior Magi are jealously keeping for themselves? I cannot say, but I daresay there is something hidden there.
It seems that at Malinbois we are quite well provided for as far as raw Vis is concerned. Apparently some of the consors regularly participate in some kind of contest with the Queen of a nearby Seelie Court (whose name is Bellantia). As a "reward" for winning this contest, I am told that we are given Creo and Rego Vis, upto two Rooks per year. A few days travel from here there is a magical pool which yields a Rook of Aquam Vis every year, in the form of moss which grows at the edge. This is owned by a friendly Noble (someone called Von Orstadt I think) who grants us access to his waters. To a lesser extent, we also have renewable sources of Imaginem, Terram and Herbam Vis. Also, Mandator tells me that he regularly extracts raw Vim Vis from the very magical essence of the (strong) Aura here, from which he is obliged to make a small contribution to the Covenant's stores. So I daresay that the stores are almost overflowing with Vis! Although I doubt that I shall be lucky enough to receive any of it in the near future. I have not yet had the chance to perform more than a brief perusal of the Covenant's library, however it seems to be quite extensive. I hope there is a good set of books on Vim, I badly need to do some study in this Art.
Today a Council Meeting was called - some information has been discovered regarding an ancient and long-abandoned site somewhere in Normandy, and the Senior Magi have decided to send out a small party to investigate. However this "expedition" was not deemed important enough to interrupt their studies, and so some of the Junior Magi were asked to go along instead. In truth, I was not very keen to go (just having recently come from Normandy), however it suddenly became a more attractive propostion when I saw that Eloise volunteered to go along. Therefore I volunteered also - hopefully this will give me the opportunity to get to know her rather more intimately, it's a long trip after all! They have decided to nominate me as the leader of the party. So the Senior Magi illustrate their profound wisdom by putting a Dark Magus in charge! If they continue to exhibit such blind faith it will be extremely easy for me to hide my secret from them in the future! Apparently we are to leave tomorrow morning, so this will be the last entry in the Diary for a while. I hope we are not away too long.
After a journey of a few weeks we had reached La Rochelle, near to our destination, and we stayed there for a couple of days. A most excellent (but expensive) few nights were spent in debauchery at Madame Gilbert's. A fine establishment - I must remember to visit if I am ever in the area again. Unfortunately the milites grew restless after a while, so we headed off towards our destination, away from habitation. We found the place towards the centre of a Faerie forest, after a brief encounter with the (unfriendly) local Fay. The place seemed to be some kind of strange underground complex wherein was found what looked like an obscure pre-Christian temple. It seemed to be eons old! Anyway, after various strange encounters (including the discovery of a mysterious portal which seemed to "clone" those of us who entered, sending our likenesses back out to attack the rest of our party) we had looted the place. The exact nature of the site still remains a mystery, though. Most significant amongst the treasures liberated were a set of huge, ancient tomes. Also some Vis was discovered in a stalagmite, given to us after solving a riddle set by a Dragon, of all creatures! However the memory of these events is somewhat hazy - I'm sure I must have imagined half of it. In any case, the Council seemed quite pleased with the report which we gave upon our return. It also seems that this trip will count as one of the four seasons of work for the Covenant which I have to perform, this is a bonus!
Having now been back at Malinbois for a couple of weeks, I think I have finally arranged my quarters to my liking. There are several rooms comprising my chambers, whilst most of these have been set aside for comfortable habitation, I have one room as a study, leaving the two largest rooms for my laboratory equipment. I have yet to set up all my equipment properly - there is so much of everything and it quickly becomes tiring trying to organise it all! Last week I directed my maidservant to unpack some of the equipment for me, however she is hopelessly incompetant and broke several items. After the scolding which I gave her she fled from my chambers in tears - the pathetic girl is only good for fetching my meals, what use is she? So it seems I shall have to arrange everything myself - how tiresome. I think that perhaps I will leave it for a season or two, my studies must take precedence.
A couple of times I have espied Eloise in her chambers inside the other tower, one floor lower than me. She really is most desirable - the fleeting glances of her curvaceous form across the way quite catch my breath! The thought of her fills my head up with dark carnal thoughts and occupies me as I lie in my bed at night, I must try and think of how I can lull her. I have invited her into my chambers once or twice, but she politely refused. She seems to be wary of me for some reason - how can I put her at ease? Today I seem to have solved the puzzle surrounding Serina. Leaving my quarters I passed her going upwards on the stairs. As usual, she did not even acknowledge me, but looking out of one of the staircase windows I noticed Serina interrogating one of the servants in the courtyard below! When I later asked Marcus about this strange phenomenon, he confirmed to me that Serina does indeed have two bodies. When I also expressed my concern about her apparent dislike of me, Marcus only laughed and explained that Serina hates all men! This puts my mind somewhat at rest.
I have barely been back for a month but it seems I am shortly to be going away on another trip. The Council has asked some of the Junior Magi to travel to the Covenant of Donnure in the far-off Tribunal of Novgorod to retrieve a certain obscure manuscript. Since Eloise has decided to go again, I am coming also. She can't get away from me that easily! Id will be accompanying us also. We have been given precise instructions as to what to look for at Donnure, although when I enquired as to the nature of the document, the Senior Magi seemed strangely evasive. It seems that they're keeping secrets, but then they seem to think that is their prerogative. We shall be travelling by ship to Italy first, and then we shall have a long trek across Eastern Europe. This promises to be a time-consuming and tiring trip, but at least I shall have Eloise to keep me company!
Our journey across the vast expanses of eastern Europe was similarly eventful. We were somewhat hampered by the prescence of the Mongol barbarians that were travelling with us. These warriors had been resident at Malinbois, but were dissatisfied with life here, and so were returning to their homeland. To start with, they did not prove to be a problem. We visited many fine cities, and I passed the time whoring. However as we came closer to lands recently conquered by the Tartars, the locals were becoming increasingly distressed by our warlike companions and so it became necessary to avoid habitation altogether. This was especially troublesome when we came to cross the Danube - it was necessary for us to attempt a hazardous fording, where we met some Water Faeries. As we came closer to our destination I was becoming increasingly irritable since it had been some time since I last bedded a woman.
Finally, after several weeks of overland travel, we reached the city of Kiev, in the lands occupied by the Mongol hordes where we bid farewell to our "friends" (except one of their number, Tubak, who wished to stay with us). In fact we were taken to see the Tartar Lord who was interested in our Hermetic abilities. We managed to impress him by besting his Court wizard (an arrogant charlatan) and I was presented with a gift of a bolt of fine red silk. The Lord gave us the wizard to do with as we saw fit, so I slit the hapless fool's throat, laughing as he died at my feet.
I had never been fully at ease with our Mongol companions, so I was glad to see the back of them. After a further few days travel through cold and lonely northern forests we reached the Covenant of Donnure, much to my relief! It was a strange place, being composed of a myriad of small islands in a misty and deserted bog. Their defenses were quite devious - each of the islands had one or two coloured flags and were magically trapped. It was necessary to negotiate the islands in the correct order to prevent activation of the traps, but fortunately we had plenty of grogs to trigger them so that we came to no harm. Having arrived at the central islands, we were greeted by one of the Magi. He was willing to let us use the library for a small payment of Vis. During the tiresome formality which enabled us to have the key to the library magically activated we met all of the Magi of the place, except one. They seemed rather loosely organised and insular, not really surprising for a Covenant entering the vestiges of Winter, as this one seemed to be. The Magus not present was one Vorn of Bjornaer, who apparently was in hiding somewhere having been the subject of a Wizard's March. The library was rather disorganised, however it only took us a week or so to find what we were looking for. The document was hardly impressive, just a single sheet of parchment curiously entitled "The Rite of Isolation". I cannot imagine what this is for, but I suppose the Senior Magi know what they're doing.
Since we seemed to be snow-bound at Donnure, we decided to stay there until the worst of the Winter was over. This was not especially pleasant so I spent all of my time studying in the library. Some of the books were in a poor state of repair, sadly there were no decent texts on Vim. However there was one truly inspirational volume, a large and superbly detailed Treatise on the Form of Mentem. I spent all of my time with this one piece and gained a great deal of insight and knowledge, it is shame I could not have stayed longer in order to study further from it. However we decided that it was time to leave when the thaw heralded the onset of Spring. Before we were due to leave, though, one of the Magi presented us with an interesting proposition. He was willing to tell us where Vorn, the renegade Bjornaer, was hiding, in return for which he would get the first choice of items from his Sanctum, should we be successful in slaying him. This sounded good, so we agreed and set about hunting him down. It transpired that he was hiding a few days travel away, deep in the forest. The fellow was in his element and so it proved difficult to locate him. Once we had found him, though, it was a relatively easy matter for our milites to dispatch him efficiently. Returning triumphantly to Donnure, we found our informant delighted with our news - he immediately rushed into Vorn's Sanctum and emerged with a staff, a smug and contented expression upon his face. Apart from this item, doubtless the most prized possession of Vorn, there were not many things of interest in the Sanctum. Two items were found that were magically enchanted - a boulder (which Eloise kept) and a bow (which I kept). There was also a small quantity of Vis, I persuaded Eloise that we didn't really need to report this find back at Malinbois since otherwise we would be obliged to hand half of it over to the Provost, a most unfair procedure. So we kept this find to ourselves and split the Vis between us.
So it was finally time to leave the Covenant of Donnure, we had a most unpleasant and gruelling journey home to look forward to. However our hosts informed us that there was the possibility of using their magical Speculum to return instantaneously to the Provencal Tribunal, which would save a great deal of time! Since this could only be used at the cost of one Pawn of Vis per person transported, we only used it on ourselves and sent the hapless milites home on foot. Activating the Speculum (a most peculiar and unsettling experience) we found ourselves materialising in a dark and damp cellar somewhere. It actually transpired that we had arrived at the Covenant of Doissetep, so we were indeed in our home Tribunal. We were greeted by one Yuelgoet, follower of Tremere, an exceptionally good-looking (but somewhat imposing) woman. Although she left us in no doubt as to her superiority, she seemed quite welcoming nevertheless. She expressed an interest in our journey and we showed her the document which we had retrieved from Donnure, which she seemed to find curious. As we left Doissetep I got a brief look around the place - it seemed to be a mighty fine Covenant, not at all like the bunch of disorganised cretins here.
It was a relief to return home (I suppose that this place can now be called "home" for me) after such a long time away. Coming back through the Forest of Collbran, where the trees were just beginning to bud, I found myself in high spirits. I was especially looking forward to renewing my acquaintance with a certain few hospitable young women in Belabre. In fact I went there yesterday, returning sated (but with a lighter purse - I must see if I can persuade Marcus to pass some of his surplus funds my way). Upon our return to Malinbois, a Council Meeting was called whereupon we delivered the mysterious parchment and gave a rather lengthy report on the events of the past six months or so. The Senior Magi were pleased that we had found the required information, but they seemed to be most upset when we informed them that we had shown the document to Yuelgoet at Doissetep. It turns out that we're not on the best of terms with Doissetep, on account of our membership of something called the "Procrustean League", some kind of rival organisation fronted by the Covenant of Bellaquin. Why we should want to make enemies of such a powerful and righteous Covenant as Doissetep I cannot comprehend - maybe living too long in this powerful Aura has made the brains of the Senior Magi go soft. In any case, they were scathing in their criticism at our alleged mishandling of this incident. I retorted that since we had not been told not to give any information to Doissetep, we had not acted improperly. Mandator was especially angered with me after I had deliberately neglected to inform him that Yuelgoet had seen the parchment. The stuck-up old fool was proposing that I should be punished for this, but fortunately his suggestion largely fell on deaf ears. The Meeting was dissolved without further discussion, although I'm sure that the elder Magi went off to talk in private afterwards - I heard Callidus muttering about keeping someone or something secret. The parchment is still a mystery to me, but the information it comprises would seem to be quite valuable. In any case, at least I have now completed another season of work for the Covenant - only two more before my probationary membership is up. Then I can look forward to full membership of this Covenant - what joy. Although I am beginning to have second thoughts about the wisdom of joining such a farcical establishment.
I have been asked to investigate a few of the Covenant's minor magical items (which I am told have been recently acquired) to complete my four seasons of work for the Covenant. This is rather uninteresting, but at least it will provide me with the chance to test out my laboratory setup with something unimportant! In fact I expect I shall spend more time arranging equipment than actually doing this foolish "Covenant work".
Today I received a most interesting message, which I am told was delivered by hand at the main gate. It reads:
Annabelle de Clevault
It seems that perhaps this mysterious "Annabelle" knows something of the darker side of my supernatural abilities. This is somewhat disconcerting - how could she have found out about this? I have been most discreet. Still, she has not revealed my little secret to anybody (as far as I am aware), so I will hear what she has to say. I get the impression that this will be a meeting of some import.
It's now the end of March - last week I went to the Blue Barrel in Perpignan to meet Annabelle de Clevault. Before the meeting, I had consulted some of the books in the library to see if I could find out anything about her. Sadly there is but a few sorry tomes on Hermes Lore, so I was unable to find any record of her entry into the Order. However the Covenant records do tell of a woman named Annabelle from the nearby village of Julliac who arrived here way back in 1200 at the age of seventeen. Apparently she was seeking someone who was willing to take her on as an Apprentice, but nobody was, so she instead stayed temporarily as a laboratory assistant, before leaving two years later to be Apprenticed at the Covenant of Tartarus Niger in the Normandy Tribunal.
We met in private chambers at the inn, she was dressed in black and seemed to be of middle years. As I suspected, she introduced herself as a Dark Maga. The purpose of this meeting, she explained, was by way of a proposition. However she first sressed the importance of the secrecy of this, and any future, meetings. We are never to meet in the same place twice, she said - this sounded rather overcautious to me, but I didn't feel like arguing with her. Anyway, it transpired that she was making an offer of a Teaching Pact on behalf of her Prime Master! With talk of a "Prime Master", it seems that this unfortunate woman has sold away her soul in a Pact of Ashes. This was a significant proposal, but not something to be taken lightly - I therefore told her that I would consider it for a time. Before taking my leave, I asked how it would be possible to contact her in the future, to which she only responded "The first thing you will learn is the proper use of Astasians". So it seems that I shall have to Summon and enslave one of these little critters if I wish to talk to her again - this should not prove to be a problem, I have witnessed this relatively simple procedure performed on occasion by Vorien. I then bid her farewell.
Whilst in Perpignan, I also took the opportunity to visit the best dressmaker in the city, along with the bolt of fine red silk from Kiev. I commisioned him to make a dress out of this material, which I will then present as a gift to Eloise - maybe then she will be persuaded of my honourable intentions! I took care to make sure that the fellow took note of the required dimensions for the dress. (with which I am all too familiar!) Since I insisted that the dress should be exquisitely detailed, the arrogant dressmaker demanded an extortionate fee. However this was not a problem after a little bit of deft Mentem magic! I am to return there in a week or so to collect the item. Eloise had better be appreciative after all this cursed effort - I am not accustomed to having to buy "gifts" just to get a foolish girl into bed.
Before leaving Perpignan, I spent the night with a courtesan in the "private chambers" of one the more upmarket inns, the Silver Goose. The proprietor of this place seems to have a very ingenious and profitable little business running on the side! The girl was comely enough, I suppose, but my thoughts were with Eloise! I did not return directly home the next morning, instead I took a couple of days with a little side trip back to my secret hiding place off in the forest. Going back into the dark cave, I found that more Aesfotedia had indeed collected there, as I had hoped! I gathered it all up, there was a quantity of about four Pawns worth. I returned to Malinbois much satisfied.
Whilst I have been continuing with my work for the Covenant, it seems that some of the other Junior Magi are not quite so diligent as I am. During the Council Meeting on the Solstice where we are obliged to declare what we will be doing for the next season (an unnecessary formality which infringes on our privacy, in my opinion), Salamandrus declared that he would be studying for yet another season. That was the only time he spoke, other than that he just stood brooding darkly in the corner. If memory serves, he has been studying the Arts of Perdo and Vim heavily (or so he claims) which makes me even more suspicious about him. Apparently he has a bad reputation and he also seems to have an unhealthy interest in the Occult. But is he in fact a fellow Dark Magus, or is he more in the mould of dead Peregrine? I sincerely hope it is not the latter, otherwise I shall have to watch my step closely. I am loath to approach him on this subject, not only because he is introverted and quite repugnant to look upon, but also because I want to be sure of his allegiances before laying my cards on the table. I will be watching him closely.
Now having begun my studies in earnest, I have had the opportunity to peruse our library in some detail. I had been mostly interested in the Vim tomes (not a bad collection), but there seem to be some other texts which are very interesting! Most of these do not seem to be well used, so it has only taken me a week or so to discreetly catalogue these Goetic books. They are:
This is a fine collection indeed! With all of these resources at my disposal, I shall be able to commence my Goetic study in earnest! The only problem will be trying to use these books in secret, since I doubt that the other Magi would approve. However I find it hard to believe that a Covenant can have such a large collection of Dark texts without at least some of my peers knowing of their existence. Of course, it does take a trained eye to recognise the Black Script and the carefully veiled information on the Goetic Arts - I assume that most of our number merely take them for obscure Occult works. The way I see it, there are three possible candidates for other Dark Magi here. Firstly there is Salamandrus, with his foreboding demeanour, dubious reputation and obvious interest in the Occult. In fact I am sure I have observed him consulting some of Peregrine's work recently. Then there is Serina. As Librarian, she is in an ideal position to conceal these books and secretly study from them. Also her deeply unpleasant personality is consistent with prolonged Infernal taint. The last candidate is the enigmatic Fionn, with his Diedne heritage. I wouldn't be at all surprised to learn that this worthy fellow has also had the foresight to turn to the Dark Path. Surely at least one of these must be a fellow Dark Magus? Either that or my peers are so foolish so as to not only admit me to their Covenant, but also to provide me with a generous collection of Goetic books to study from! I suspect that the Quaesitoris would take a dim view if they were to investigate our library.
Apparently the Senior Magi have decreed that an expedition is to be sent to Barcelona to attempt to counter the plans of a certain Demon known as Dalemont active in that area. Fionn is to lead the party. Why we should be concerned by the obscure plans of one of Hell's minions in a city some distance away I do not know. There is a Covenant there - why can't they sort their own problems out? It seems that Salamandrus was very eager to go, professing to have some capability with the relevant Hermetic spells to banish Demons, however he was not allowed to come, on account of not having yet finished his work for the Covenant. My suspicions about him are deepening - it seems we do indeed have another Peregrine in our midst.
My studies with the Vim books are progressing nicely. My level of aptitude now far surpasses the shallow knowledge which I had at the end of my Apprenticeship, I am eager to put my new-found skill into practice! Meanwhile, Mandator's experiment seems to be working so far. Although with his talk of "flux lines" and other such rubbish it is difficult to tell.
Today the party sent to Barcelona a few weeks ago has returned. Fionn has reported that their mission was a success, and that with the holy assistance of the friar he was able to banish the Demon back to Hell. I wonder exactly what holy talents this Jean-Pierre possesses? Lunantha has also managed to befriend a Moorish sorceress from that region - I am told that her assistance may be useful on a later planned expedition.
The summer is now nearly at an end and the party has just returned from Sansaron. They have reported that they were unable to find the book, but that they did find out some more information as to its whereabouts. It seems that we will have to search even further afield for this item - to a mysterious land beyond the great desert in Africa and the so-called "Ring of Fire". This must be a very important grimoire indeed if the Senior Magi are prepared to go to such lengths to acquire it. I have also been hearing some strange rumours about Lunantha's activities on this trip. Ciaron, our itinerant Gaelic bard, has composed a most amusing little ditty entitled the "Lay of Lunantha"! In this verse, he relates the tale of how he managed to seduce her, but how she later betrayed him. It seems that our Lunantha has an insatiable appetite! (I wonder if she would be interested in spending a night or two with me?) This little song has caused much mirth amongst the covenfolk, and has quickly become a favourite with the Turb, although I note that they are careful not to sing it in her presence!
With the intransigence typical of a woman, Lunantha has resolved her differences with Ciaron, by asking him to marry her! Although I would hardly call the sham of a Pagan ceremony performed by Fionn a proper wedding. Indeed, no sooner are they married before Ciaron departs on the voyage to the far south. Again, the party is being led by Fionn - it seems that his wide repertoire of powerful Spontaneous Magic is invaluable. So it looks like this "marriage" is one born of convenience, not of love. But as all educated men know, love is but a sorry delusion anyway.
We have a new Magus who has applied to join our Covenant - a Redcap by the name of Laurent. He seems to be quite a likeable fellow, so I daresay he should fit in well. It will certainly be useful to have his news coming in regularly, we hardly seem to have heard anything interesting recently. Not that the internal machinations of the cumbersome Order of Hermes hold any particular interest, mind you. Mandator has immediately asked Laurent to spread the news of his successful experiment with his so-called "Aura Theory". It seems that after a year his artificial Aura has finished instantiating itself and has attained the Fourth Grade. This is all well and good, but at the end of the year the Aura will dissipate - what is the point of creating an Aura only to see it disappear immediately thereafter?
At long last, the party sent to Africa several months ago has returned! At the hastily convened Council Meeting, Fionn told of their journey across the great desert and into the Christian kingdom of Prester John, the fabled land "south of the Sun". A most remarkable journey indeed! They have found the grimoire for which they were searching, although the Senior Magi would say nothing of it - Serina immediately took possesion of it and placed it in her Sanctum. I wonder if it is somehow related to the mysterious "Rite of Isolation"? Also, it seems that our Jewish warrior, Seth, lost his life during the course of the expedition. I can't say I feel particularly sorry for him, the fool should clearly have been more careful.
Spring is almost in the air, and a few of the early flowers are coming into bloom in the nearby forest. I know this because I have observed Eloise delightedly going out to pick some. I can't understand her at all - what is it about a woman's brain that makes her more interested in gathering stupid plants rather than the offer of a good, hard shag? With the break in the weather, a small party has been sent to the village of Salleau, some few leagues to the north, to investigate the outbreak of a strange disease or something. The friar is going, since apparently he is a skilled healer. One other thing of interest has happened recently - Marcus has taken up an Apprentice, a young Jewish lad called Job.
Other news this season is that Crusaders have begun mobilising in the Val du Seraque. I am told this is due to the edict given by the Pope against the Cathar Heresy and the commencement of the Albigensian Crusade. As far as I am concerned, the Crusaders are welcome to slaughter as many of the foolish Cathars as they like, just as long as they don't go poking their noses where they don't belong, in our Covenant.
I have again been secretly studying from the Liber Niger regarding Astasians. I think it will not be long now before I am ready to begin experimentation. However I think I shall have to have a break for a season or two shortly and resume my Hermetic studies. All this study from these black books is taking its toll on me, drawing me deeper into Hell's dark seduction. My eyes are bloodshot with all this midnight reading and I have started to imagine sinister phantoms in my ever more lucid dreams. But then maybe I'm imagining all this - if I just let my sleep return to normal I'm sure I'll feel better.
It has not been a happy season for our Provost - not only have we lost our Aquam Vis harvest, but we have also failed to gain any valuable Creo Vis this summer either. This is because the party sent out to engage in the usual contest with the Seelie Queen, Bellantia, returned empty-handed in much confusion to report that she has disappeared! This has caused the Senior Magi much concern, in particular I have never seen Callidus quite so distressed! It does not bother me so much, though - I never get any of this Vis anyway. The only clue so far about this mysterious incident has been a strange sighting of Orphedra, one of the old crones from Dankmar, in Belabre. Quite what this has to do with Bellantia I don't know, but at that point in the Council Meeting I had given up paying attention to Mandator's droning, and had instead fixed my attention on the interesting heavings in Eloise's bodice. In any case, the Council seems convinced that Dankmar is responsible - I wouldn't be surprised.
Also at the Council Meeting, a vote was taken over the issue of what Tribunal the Covenant of Malinbois should be in. This move has been precipitated by the activities of the Crusaders, causing us to question our membership of the Procrustean League and whether we should intervene in the affairs of the Mundanes. As one might expect of our Council, though, nothing was resolved in an inconclusive vote. The vacillation was typified by Callidus, who seemingly had no reasonable justification for his abstention. For my part, I voted to abandon the so-called Narbonnese Tribunal and rejoin the powerful Doissetep contingent in the Provencal Tribunal. Nobody voted for the third option proposed by Serina, that of joining the Iberian Tribunal. Since nothing has been resolved, we are to remain in the Narbonnese Tribunal, for the time being at least. A foolhardy course in my opinion - this way we make enemies of both Doissetep and the Crusaders.
Due to a boon which has been called in, we have been obliged to provide a space to live for a certain retinue of Unseelie Faeries. I have no knowledge of this favour, but I am told this is unavoidable. They have taken up residence in some kind of Faerie Regio contained within a tree on the opposite peak of Santare Hill, and are to stay for forty-nine (seven times seven) years. Seven is a number of some significance to the Fay, or so Eloise tells me.
Today I was quite peacefully working on the spell in my laboratory, a little reflux boiling merrily, when a most disconcerting incident occured. There was a despairing shout from somewhere in the tower and a strange squelching sound from outside. Alarmed, I rushed over to the window, and looking out I saw that the earth at the base of the tower had somehow liquified and was bubbling furiously. A few short moments followed, and then there was a godawful grinding sound as the tower began to subside! The room was shaking and small pieces of plaster were starting to fall from the ceiling! I didn't stay a moment longer and rushed out and down the stairs. Hurrying down the stairs, there was an almighty crash as the bridge between the towers collapsed and fell to the ground. As I reached the bottom, the subsidence had mercifully slowed and the liquid earth was starting to solidify. When the panic was over, all the Magi had gathered and it could be seen that the tower had slumped by about eight feet, although it thankfully appeared to be structurally intact. The hulking Id was red-faced and guilty - he confessed that he had made a fatal error in his experimentation which caused the accident. Imbecile! The upshot of all this is that we have all effectively moved down a floor in our tower, with Marcus now in the basement. A new top floor will have to be built. One advantage is that I am now on the same level as Eloise and the bridge will be rebuilt between our floors - this should greatly further my favourite pastime of spying on her as she undresses!
Laurent has been away for the last month or two, but has returned with interesting news. It seems that my Pater, Vorien, has left the Rhine Tribunal and has moved into the Covenant of Doissetep. I hope they know what they're letting themselves in for! He has entered as one of their middle-ranking Magi, so I daresay he has done quite well for himself. This gets me thinking though, I wonder if there are any other Dark Magi there? Also, what is the reason for this move - trouble at home, or is he merely moving to a more powerful residence?
My spell is now complete and seems to work satisfactorily. I have decided to call it "Refining of the Devil's Turd". It is a Ritual of the First Magnitude, and transforms two Pawns of Aesfotedia to Vim Vis per casting. Of course, some Aesfotedia is wasted in powering the Ritual, so I shall have to use it sparingly.
Yesterday we received a summons to meet the Queen of the Unseelie Faeries residing on the other peak of Santare Hill, Fitheach The Silent. This sounded mildly interesting and so I thought I would go along. In fact it was most peculiar within the Regio - the strange "land" within the tree seemed to be unbounded and we were carried up to the Queen's Court which was on some kind of cloud. Guided by our ambassador, Eloise, we seemed to grasp the intricacies of their etiquette without any major gaffes. Apparently the length of their tenure had not been formally agreed, and so this matter was negotiated. It was eventually decided that they would only stay for a period of fourteen years after all. We also participated in some kind of banquet with them, and the Queen's husband, Prince Kieron, invited me on a hunt with him at the next full moon. Not wishing to give offense, I graciously accepted, although I don't know exactly what I've let myself in for.
I have been studying from the Rego tomes in the library this season. It's about time that I learnt some more about my favourite Technique. At this season's Council Meeting, quite a few matters were discussed. Firstly, Marcus (in his enviable role as Treasurer) has reported a serious shortfall in income from the Covenant's fishing fleet which is based at Hapton. It seems that this is due to the destructive activities of a huge Sea Giant that was inadvertently released from its imprisonment on the recent trip to Salleau. A problem of our own making, and a big one too, since this Giant has been wrecking ships and devastating the regional trade. An expedition to Toulouse has been proposed to attempt to find Baron Thibaud, one of our Cathar allies (more like liabilities if you ask me) who has recently gone missing. In fact this man is the father of Ramon, the Apprentice of Mandator (formerly the Apprentice of Odette, who was claimed by Mandator in acrimonious circumstances, so I hear). This mission sounds like a waste of time to me. There are plans afoot to try and organise the Cathar resistance and break the siege of Orstadt. Since this will liberate our Vis source, I do not object to this. Our Spymaster has been sent abroad to spread false rumours that will hopefully conceal the gathering of our forces near Orstadt. Also, Serina has announced that she has taken a young girl in to be her Apprentice. I pity the luckless child.
Last night was the night of the full moon and the hunt with Prince Kieron of the Sidhe. I was accompanied by some of our Turb, more skilled huntsmen than I. We were given strange flying mounts and we immediately proceeded, at breathtaking speed and low altitude, on the hunt. Much to my surprise, the quarry was human! We flew over several nearby villages, striking at some of the ignorant peasants with the enchanted weapons which we had been given. This was great fun, although Charles and some of the other grogs did not share my sentiments. Unfortunately the hunt was rudely terminated when we flew over Belabre, occupied by the Crusaders. Due to the prevalent Divine Aura, Prince Kieron's Faerie charms failed and we fell to the ground as our mounts dissolved underneath us. We managed to escape from a slight fracas with the Crusaders without major harm, and returned to the Covenant after an exhilerating night.
Odette and Pyran have returned from the short trip to Toulouse in dismal failure. Not only did they discover that Thibaud is dead, also they came across a Maga who was helping the Crusaders and they were both soundly defeated when they challenged her to Certamen! Both suffered insidious Final Strikes. I knew this would happen - we were bound to make powerful enemies by pursuing our interventionist strategy with the Crusade.
Lunantha tells me that I have managed to impregnate her so that she is with child again - so she has stopped screwing me. I had gotten bored with her anyway.
There is bad news for the Covenant all round as far as the Crusade is concerned. The Crusaders have moved against several of the nearby towns in force. Thibaud's castle has been captured and his heir (Ramon's brother) is being held hostage there with the remainder of his family. Being still somewhat attached to Ramon and his family, Odette is particularly keen that we should try and rescue them. Further afield, we hear that the legions of Simon de Montfort have recaptured Toulouse from the Cathars. Odette has decided to travel to Barcelona to try and enlist the aid of the King of Aragon with the Cathar cause. In other words, she is going to try and charm him into helping us. Meanwhile, our forces are gathering for the attack on the besieging forces at Orstadt's keep.
A Council Meeting has been called to discuss a strange problem that has come to light regarding our grogs. Some of the hardier warriors have reported that they have noticed a definite sapping of their fortitude, leaving them unexpectedly weak and short of breath. Again, it is suspected that Queen Fitheach is responsible, so we will have to pay her another visit soon to sort out this latest problem. After the meeting, Fionn spoke with me privately. He has noticed my admiration for Eloise and had a suggestion for me. He reckons that it would be possible to create a magic item in the form of an invisible collar, enchanted with a Mentem effect to control the mind of the wearer. If it could then somehow be placed upon her, the effect would circumvent her Parma Magica and I could lure her into my bed without her knowing any better! What a devious mind Fionn has, a man truly after my own heart! The only problem is that it would take several seasons of work to make the thing - Eloise is exceptionally attractive, yes, but is she worth that much effort? It's not like I'm in love with her or anything - it's pure lust.
As autumn approaches, there is better news. Our attempt to break the siege at Orstadt's castle has been succesful, the Crusading force has been soundly beaten and we have been able to gather our harvest of Aquam Vis for this year. However I am told that our forces have shown mercy to the surviving Crusaders and that they have been released. How ridiculous - if we are to let some foolish morals get in our way then we will surely never triumph in this conflict! I can't see what's wrong with the traditional tactic of slaughtering all the survivors to set an example to the enemy. Odette has returned from Barcelona, claiming to have been succesful with her diplomatic mission to the King. She says that she has secured the King's promise that he will write a letter to the Pope. Big deal - I can't see this having any significant effect! Also, she was accompanied by a grossly fat Italian merchant, Guido by name, whom she met in Barcelona. We are apparently going to employ this greasy Venetian to oversee some of our business concerns, starting with our depleted fishing fleet.