Portus Viduae Vastae

Location

"The Haven of the Desolate Widow" is located in the Scottish Borders at St Abb's Head (see map), about 40 miles east of Edinburgh and 20 miles north-by-north-west of Berwick upon Tweed (see map). The covenant buildings consist of a dilapidated manor house which stands on a headland rising 90' out of the North Sea, overlooking the village of Faverloch to the south. A stone circle stands to the far west of the headland, facing out to sea towards Beacon Isle, a small islet (reachable by foot at low tide) which bears a beacon tower.

Until recently, a small inland loch separated the headland from the village. The loch is now a bay, as the dyke that held back the sea turned out to be the grave of a giant, who was brought back to life by a hedge-wizard. The giant's whereabouts remains unknown.

The name of the covenant refers to the Lady Isadore Cospatric who, abandoned on her wedding day nearly 200 years ago, still haunts the manor house. The magi are loathe to get rid of her as they believe that she is responsible for their magical aura. The founders also believed that they needed a 'haven' against the wrath of their enemies (notably Severine, see below). As 'vidua' also refers to someone who has been made bereft, the name is doubly fitting.

The Sigil of Vidua Vasta. The symbol represents the location of the covenant (bounded by sea and sky), and commemorates Lady Isadore, after whom the covenant is named.

History

Vidua Vasta was established in the Spring of 1226 by five magi. Three of these magi (Hygwald Veritas, Eric Ribecus and Hachim el-Khalej) had been resident at the covenant of Horsingas for varying periods of time. A fourth magus, Lucas von Beck, had only recently arrived in the region having come in search of his old friend Hygwald (they had been apprenticed together at the covenant of Blackthorn). The last maga, Julia Textrix, joined the others from the ruins of Doire Druidhan, recently destroyed by one of its members.

The covenant's founding was somewhat forced. Horsingas had offered to sponsor the founding of a new covenant, probably hoping to gain a political ally in the Loch Leglean Tribunal. They had offered a home for seven years, with the young magi earning the right to copy texts from their library in return for doing tedious chores for the covenant, such as vis collection. However, they incurred the wrath of a powerful archmaga, Severine of Guernicus, over an apparently trivial matter, and were cast out from Horsingas before all their plans were set. Fortunately, they had just found a site suitable for the founding of a covenant.