Twelfth Night: Plans were put in motion for the 'removal' of Azenis during Holy Week. Certain that he had forfeited the immunity of the Oath by slaying Severine, the Council of Vidua Vasta made a trip out on the Golden Ship, beyond the prying eyes of Kakethric, Azenis's familiar, and plotted his demise.
Hygwald brought to the table the idea of using the dragon of Wight as a weapon. he had already intimated to her that Azenis was responsible for the injury/death of her eggs; and with the right incentive she may be persuaded to take part in the plan to kill him. After many discussions it was decided to place a grog on the roof with Lucas's magical pick. He would destroy the wall of the covenant next to Azenis's laboratory, at which point Azenis would swoop in and grab the archmagus. To this end, Hygwald set off for the Isle of Wight in the GoldenShip. He had hoped to return to Vidua Vasta with Wiht, perhaps even riding her to the defence of the covenant; however, it was necessary for him to return before then to infor the covenant of his success. Wiht made him swear an oath that Azenis was to blame for her misfortune, and true to his character, he lied through his teeth.
These plans were disrupted somewhat when word came from Berwick that Sir Christophe d'Alsante had returned from the Holy Land and was set on exacting vengeance on the sorcerers who had ensorcelled his uncle and stolen a relic of the Church. On the Monday before Easter, d'Alsante set off from Norham Castle with forty knights in tow, plus another 60 men-at-arms from his liege. On the wednesday of that week, Aethelbald, father Callum and Eric met d'Alsante on the road, hoping to persuade him to co-ordinate their attacks. Sir Christophe was adamant that his plan would continue as he had decided, and would not be swayed from his course. Instead, Aethelbald and Eric accomodated the crusader's plans with their own; they told him of a breach in the manor's wall, on the south side, and prepared for his assault on the eve of Good Friday. They were able to convince the knight that only Azenis was to blame - the rest of the manor was innocent of any crime. Nevertheless, Christophe knew of the involvement of Eric Ribecus and Hygwald veritas in at least part of Azenis's scheme, and announced that they must confess and do penance. Throughout Maundy Thursday, d'Alsante's troupes were ferried across the Salt in fishing smacks, while a heavy mist descended upon Manor Head, thanks to judicious use of magic by Eric.
As the sun began to set, Sir Christophe approached the south wall of the covenant through the mist and issued an ultimatum to Azenis; to come out and confess, or to be slain by the might of God. There was no immediate response from Azenis, and so d'Alsante ordered his men into the manor house to 'extract' him. Then Azenis emerged from the ruins of the wall, staff in one had, the grey Shroud around his shoulders. Facing Sir Christophe, a ring of decay spread from the archmagus, engulfing the knight and scorching the grass at their feet. before the eyes of the crusaders, Sir Christope aged and collapsed to the ground. The ring of decay then started to grow, travelling as fast as a bird flies. The gathered army felt the grip of old age freeze their joints and cloud their eyes and minds. The walls of the covenant were encompassed, and eveerything blacked and began to crumble. Lucas retaliated with his most powerful spell, using copious amounts of vis to boost its power, and was gratified to see the spell strike home, cutting and tearing at the archmagus's body. Assa and Aaron rushed in with their weapons, but Azenis contemptuously killed Assa with a heart-wrenching spell whilst warding off their weapons with his staff. Panic set in as the army tried to retreat in the face of all this magic, but many of the veteran soldiers were too late, as decrepitude took them. Just then, the dragn Wiht arrived. Finding Azenis out in the open, still reeling from Lucas's spell. she grabbed the archmagus in her mighty jaws and carried him aloft. it was not long before she was crashing to the ground once more as the ring of decay affected even her. Azenis managed to land safetly on the covenant's roof, where Hygwald, Eric and Lucas joined him. Eric was the first to be targetted by Azenis's magic, raining down blows of invisible force on him. Fortunately Eric had raised his Gift of the Bear's Fortitude, nevertheless he was left concussed. Realising that his own spells would have little effect, Hygwald dived at Azenis in an attempt to knock him from the roof. Azenis managed to stab Hygwald deeply with a dagger, opening up his belly, but was otherwise unaffected. Just then, Eric let loose with a Mighty Torrent of Water, and brought it to bear on the grappling duo, knocking Azenis off the roof and into the courtyard below. Seriously injured by Azenis's blade, Hygwald was unable to maintain his grip on the roof, but in the nick of time, Lucas was able to prevent him from suffering the same fate as the Archmagus.
Eric was first down to the shattered body of Azenis, lying on the flagstones of the covenant's courtyard. he was seen to whisper a few words to the younger Tytali, then his body crumbled to dust and was gone.
On Easter Saturday, all was quiet. Medics stole about in the gloom created by the stormy skies and blackened grass, seeing to those struck by the ravages of time. Hygwald approached the corpse of Wiht, only to discover she was not dead. Addressing him as Hygwald Mendax, she threatened him, calling him a fool for trying to use a dragon to exact his own justice. She promised him that he would pay for this. She then slid off Manor Head and into the sea. Hachim tended to the Covenant's wounded, while a physician from the Crusader's camp did the same for his side. This physician, a Moor by the name of Shafiq, had been under the protection of Sir Christophe, having once saved his life in the Holy Land, but now had lost his protector. Eric decided to offer him a home at the covenant.
On Easter Sunday, dawn broke with the arrival of Prior matthew and the other canons from the priory. They were followed by the crusading army carrying the body of Sir Christophe. Calling up to the watching magi, Prior Matthew requested the return of Christ's Shroud, and it was duly brought out. Prior Matthew laid it upon the aged body of the knight, and then held an open air Mass for the souls of the dead, with most of the covenant in attendance. As the mass was said, a shaft of sunlight pierced the clouds and lay upon the body of Sir Christophe, which miraculously became young once more. As green shoots came up through the grass, reversing the blight of Azenis's ring of decay, Aethelbald saw the soul of Sir Christophe d'Alsante rise to its final resting place.
Hygwald had been very seriously injured during the fight with Azenis, and there was little that Hachim or the new physician could do. Following the mass, Hygwald barely spent any time on his feet as the internal injuries that he had suffered took a very long time to heal. He will lose over half a year's worth of laboratory time recuperating. Triandin's ghost vanished with the death of Azenis, his old opponent.
Rifling through Azenis's lab, a number of items of interest were found. Firstly, a large amount of vis, which went into the covenant's stores. Secondly, four boxes with no openings, each marked with a name: Eric, Edwin, Ambrus and Caitlin. Eric found that the box with his name on it contained a lock of his hair. A half-burnt lab text was retrieved from the hearth, and the lab itself was determined to be highly specialised for the creation of longevity items. Upon translating the lab-text, it was determined that it was from the creation of a magical ring, although it is unclear whether or not the item was ever finished. Three effects are described, each triggered by the previous one. The frst effect was similar to Leap of Homecoming, but specifically designed not to transport the target's clothing. The second effect created a corpse, the third effect reduced that corpse to ashes. This left a disturbing thought in the minds of Vidua Vasta - what if Azenis is not really dead after all?
The actual events of this affair differ somewhat from the report written by Hygwald to Whitburh.
After last year's fiasco at Coquet Island, Hygwald is keen to return and make the acquaintance of the mysterious lady who resides there. Although he specifically requests that Halfgrim does not come, as he was such a nuisance last year, the grog manages to swap duties, and Hygwald fails to notice (grogs are very much beneath his notice!) He decides to collect the vis first, and then try to speak with the lady with whom he has become infatuated. However, he disturbs her again and she disappears. Frustrated, be cats some spells and realises there is a regio here, but one he cannot breach with spontaneous spells. He resolves to invent a spell specifically for this purpose, and return next year.
Fool's Ransom: Luc-Paul and Maynard travel to the Hill of Mushrooms to collect the yearly harvest of vis. On their way they stop at their usual inn, the Dancing Pony. While warming up after getting drenched in a summer shower, they notice two patrons who seem out of place. A rather paunchy nobleman (Sir Walter de Soane) is displaying obvious anxiety, and a suave, handsome stranger is watching him closely. Luc-Paul witnesses the dark stranger proceed to grill the nobleman as to the cause of his anxiety, which is that he is awaiting the arrival of his future wife, long overdue. Luc-Paul falls under the needling gaze of the stranger, and despite the warnings of Maynard, reveals the purpose of his journey - that he is gathering vis for a group of magi who live near Faverloch. Luc-Paul is not sure quite why he was so open with this person he has only just met. The Griffin (for that is what the stranger called himself) decided that he would accompany Luc-Paul on his journey. Later, Luc-Paul realises the folly of his loose tongue, and resolved to leave the inn early in the morning to escape the Griffin. Meggan the serving wench spoils this plan by waking everyone prematurely - it seems that she has found a ransom note for the Lady Izmae (Sir Walter's fiancee), pinned upon the door of the inn. The Griffin displays a remarkable affinity with this sort of work, and quickly conceives a plan to capture the kidnappers. Meggan volunteers to carry the ransom money to the meeting spot, whilst the Griffin, Luc-Paul and Maynard hide in ambush. It soon becomes clear that Meggan is in cahoots with Gwyn, the 'kidnapper' - she was actually Izmae's serving wench, who was sent to inform Sir Walter of the lady's unfortunate death. There is a struggle involving Gwyn and Hafgall, her brother, and after talking with the Griffin, the two accompany him peacefully. Despite his best efforts, Luc-Paul is accompanied by the Griffin all the way to the Hill of Mushrooms, then back to Faverloch.
Hygwald interviews the Griffin, who expresses an interest in staying for a short while at the covenant. He has apparently worked for some very prominent men - earls and bishops, but Hygwald finds him very evasive, yet strangly compelling. Without trying very hard, the Griffin finds out a lot about Hygwald, but the magus finds out very little about the Griffin.
Aethelbald is surprised by the arrival in Faverloch of 2 of the king's men, who are conducting an Assize of Arms (which started in 1226AD). The king has ordered that every man whose lands are in excess of £80 in revenue should be knighted. As Aethelbald fits this criteria (even though technically he does not own the lands, but no proof of ownership was demanded), he is to be made a knight. He chooses Richard d'Umfraville as a sponsor, and at the Harvest Festival he travels with Eric to Tarset Castle for his ceremony.
On the Relative Merits of Twilight and Gloaming: One of the festivities organised by Baron d'Umfraville is a boar hunt. Accompanied by two huntsmen, Aethelbald and Eric head into the woods. Instead of a boar, they find instead a great white stag who leads them into a place unknown, a realm of Faerie. They come across a huge oak adorned with severed heads, who tell them that this is Sir Yough's realm. They meet the head-hunters, two faerie knights by the names of Sir Golain's and Sir Ygraine, who represent the factions of Twilight and Gloaming. As Aethelbald is a knight, they woo him with food and drink, trying to get him to declare for their faction in a meeting where the supremacy of each faction will be decided for good. Instead, Aethelbald declares for the faction of Daylight, of which he is the leader. A three-way contest ensues over the rulership of this faerie realm. The first contest is a shape-changing storytelling session. One of the hunters is a skilled storyteller, and recites the Romance of Reynard the Fox, while Eric uses his magic to appear to act out the parts. Unfortunately for him the magic of the realm enforces the shapes upon him in reality rather than illusion, and at the end of the story becomes stuck into the shape of a goose. Nevertheless, human creativity wins over faerie plagarism any day. The second contest is hunting a faerie boar. The humans once more win this because of they actually attempt to face the beast rather than run away from it like the champions of the faerie factions - it seems that the fae are deathly afraid of the boar. For good reason, as it happens, for the storytelling huntsman is killed by it. The third contest is single combat, one challenger from each faction. Aethelbald finds himself facing two ogres, and despite the fact he is wearing little armour, it is as if he is protected by it still when their blows rain down upon him. Consequently, he wins this contest too, and is dubbed prince of the realm. He is thus able to determine the aesthetic standards of the realm, which as the course of the river, and the correct colour of grief. Bored with such pursuits, he tries to make real changes such as forbidding the taking of heads, but this does not seem to penetrate. Hearing the troat of the great white stag, Aethelbald decides to retire from the realm, and is lead back into the forests around Tarset Castle.
From his knighting, Sir Aethelbald heads directly for the Tourney at Lauder. This time he decides to fight on the English side - it would be unseemly for him to fight for the Scots so soon after swearing alliegence to the English Crown. This year he is also able to partake in the charge, but holds back, unsure of his ability with the lance. is first opponent is Sir Stuard Boyd, a well-equipped knight who puts up a mighty battle, yet Aethelbald wins in the end. He is overcome by the urge to remove the knight's head, but manages to resist. His next opponent is Sir Edward of Whiteadder, a knight of the earl of Dunbar. Despite the fact that Aethelbald is tired, te poor quality of his opponent's equipment makes the fight fair, and Aethelbald scores yet another victory (although once again has to overcome an urge to not decapitate his vanquished foe). The Clan Boyd immediately pay 120 shillings as part payment of their chief's 390s ransom. Whiteadder is able to pay nothing, but offers his arms as part remittance of the 160s ransom (worth 60s). As Guilleme de Fontnevoy pays up another 100s of his ransom from last time, this year has been a lucrative one for Aethelbald. Baron Richard introduced Eric to a scholar of his acquaintance, Francis de Villerais, who was looking for employment. Eric took him back to Vidua Vasta and it was agreed that he would take on the position of Autocrat in return for a chance to study in the covenant's library. It seems that Master Francis is learned in occult matters and even knows of the Order.
The covenant spends 280s on repairs to the covenant, this permanently repairs the damage done to Lucas's lab, and pays for the upkeep of the rest. Aethelbald contributed 100s of this money from his own purse.
A few days after All Hallow's, Hachim is troubled by a horrible dream of a man in spiked armour weaving at a loom, whilst capering demons surrounded him. Unable to explain this vision, he put off thinking on it.
Night of the Blue Moon: Triandin had told Vidua Vasta about one of his former covenant's vis sources. If the reflection of a blue moon is gathered from a small loch near to Loch Lomond, it will contain Intellego vis. Hachim calculated that the blue moon (that is, the third full moon of a season that has four) would fall on November 30th, and he and Eric set out for Loch Lomond. When there, they soon became aware that a party from Fire's Heart, including two magi, Maequilla and Felix "the Lucky" Tain, were also in the area. A somewhat acrimonious meeting between Eric and Maequilla left the matter undecided - they agreed that whoever got to the vis first would keep it.
Meanwhile, Hachim had found a standing stone, and a hamlet full of murdered peasants, their bodies hanging from trees drained of blood. Their blood was located later, smeared over a second boulder, except for an astrological symbol that prompted vague memories in Hachim. As Eric and Hachim were making plans to prevent Fire's Heart from grabbing the vis, a loud snapping sound indicated the breaking of several swords of the grogs, and a man-shaped figure in a voluminous cloak lept down from a tree and attacked the group. He moved with lightning speed, dishing out horrible wounds with his dagger. He then went bounding up the hill-side, pursued by Luc-Paul. When Luc-Paul returned empty-handed, the magi were preparing to set out on the loch, conscious that Fire's Heart were already nearly half-way there. The waters of the loch had turned solid except for a patch of the moon's reflection, and the other magi were just walking across the frozen waves. Eric was attacked by Luc-Paul, but his Gift of the Bear's Fortitude saved him from serious harm; Luc-Paul had been bewitched by whatever it was that had attacked them. By the time Eric was stepping foot on the loch, Fire's Heart were already gathering the vis. Eric challenged Maequilla to certamen, but his victory was inconsequential, because at that point the misshapen, robed figure attacked again, bursting out from underneath the solidified water. Simulatneously, Fire's Heart's grogs attacked the two magi, obviously bewitched by their attacker as well. Eric, Fariq and Luc-Paul were able to dish out a certain amount of damage before the creature escaped once more, at the same time as the water began to return to its more usual liquid form. Both parties scrambled for the shore.
The next morning, the despondent Vidua Vasta team got ready to leave. They saw Fire's Heart approaching them, with an obviously sorely-wounded Maequilla. Felix thanked Eric for his efforts in driving off their attacker, and offered, in the spirit of friendship, half of the vis they had collected. Naturally, no-one noticed Felix's subtle and silent casting of Gather the Essence of the Beast as he poured half of the loch water into Eric's wineskin, and Vidua Vasta ended up with a vial of plain, muddy water. When Eric discovered this he was incensed, and rode back to confront Felix. He was met with a barrage of abuse, scorning him for falling for such a simple trick. When the insults turned to Eric's newly-revealed parentage, that was too much for Eric. He magically pulled Felix off his horse, then approached him with his sword drawn. After failing to get an apology even then, Eric cut off the magus's hand, and calmly returned to Hachim and the others.
Naturally, on the journey back to Vidua Vasta, Eric realised the folly of his rash actions. The covenant's council, after hearing the tale, argued for hours. Eric just slipped out of the council meeting and began to pack, conscious that he must now leave Vidua Vasta to protect it from the consequences of his Code-breaking. He spoke with each of the magi before he left, but didn't tell them where he was going to, for their own protection. Gathering up Bjorn and his men (all except Grim and Halfgrim, who decided to stay), Eric left Vidua Vasta.
At the beginning of the season, the brothers Vann show up in Faverloch, along with Domongart. These three magi of Fire's Heart seem to be doing little more than causing as much trouble as they can. While Beorhtric notifies the magi, Domongart goes missing (last seen heading off to Leaper's Bluff), and the Vanns round up a group of villagers as hostages, and start to head up the peninsula towards Vidua Vasta. Here they were met by Hygwald and Lucas, accompanied by most of the covenant's turb. Hygwald demanded that they should leave, they refused, so a challenge of certamen was presented. Hygwald faced Thomas Vann in a Rego Ignem certamen, and things looked very bad for Hygwald, except that he used 5 pawns of vis on two successive rounds to beat the Flambeau into unconsciousness. Lucas then used some Perdo Mentem spells (again, assisted by vis) to make the hostages forget what they had seen. Vidua Vasta's turb escorted them off St Abb's Head, and saw Domongart rejoin them further down the road.
Blood on His Hands: Francis was down in Faverloch overseeing the loading of the covenant's supplies when he was approached by one of the villagers, begging for aid. The man's daughter had been attacked in the night and sorely wounded, and Francis was able to apply some of his medical knoweldge to assist her. He then turned to Beorhtric to inform him of this terrible matter. The girl, Jerusilla (Drusilla for short) had been claimimg to have a friend called Andrew who only she could see. Naturally, Francis suspected that this Andrew was responsible, and spent the night in the villager's house (the villager turned out to be Dremic, Lucas's old adversary). Instead of a second attack, Francis instead had a dream of being buried alive, and awoke to hear a spectral voice pleading for help. Following the directions of the voice, Francis was able to find the grave of a monk in the Windbreak Woods. A little more investigation revealed that a Brother Andrew had been spending time in the village, having sneaked out of the priory in search of human companionship. Drusilla was able to reveal a little more information; Andrew had apparently asked her to find the man with blood on his hands, but be careful of him. Beorhtric learnt that Carl, Faverloch's cobbler, had also been asking about Andrew, and when he and Francis paid the cobbler a visit, Francis immediately blurted out that the cobbler had blood on his hands (which he plainly didn't). A combination of Beorhtic's forceful nature and Francis's keen insights soon had Carl confessing to the murder of his wife six years previous, and the murder of Brother Andrew more recently when the novice mentioned that he saw blood on the cobbler's hands, an obvious reference to Andrew realising that Carl was a murderer. Carl had also attacked Dremic's daughter when she started to ask questions about Andrew. Carl was handed over to Sir Aethelbald for justice; he was treated with clemency as he was truly repentant. He has started 13 years of penance for his sins, while working for Aethelbald on Manor Head.
A final issue needed to be sorted: Francis could somehow tell that Drusilla was magically Gifted. After consulting with the covenant, Francis negotiated with Dremic her release into his care; in return for him paying half rent to Lord Aethelbald. Being only 6 years old, she will spend 2 years under the tutelage of Francis before becoming an apprentice of one of the magi, although who that is to be has not been decided.
Dire Portents: Richard Caespuus, who has been staying at the covenant for a couple of weeks, casually asked the magi if anyone has had any strange dreams. When Hachim admitted to this, Richard told them that he was not alone - Ian Morris was so alarmed by his that he sent Richard out to discover whether any covenants had been destroyed. A meeting has been arranged at Loch Leglean to discuss these dreams, and Hachim and Hygwald decided to attend.
About 2 dozen magi were present, and Whitburh took control over the proceedings. The Cailleach Diorbhall, an ancient gruagach from Mhor Radh spoke first, describing a dream that differed from Hachim's - it had a spider rather than a man in armour. Several others had a similar dream, but then others had the same dream as Hachim. No obvious pattern was present as to who had which dream (see here), but the timing of the dreams seemed to show that it was travelling southwards. It was finally decided that the matter was serious enough to warrant a full investigation, and after badgering from Whitburh, Caitlin Suil Aine and Calm MacLauchlin, Vidua Vasta were voted to take on this role - they are the only covenant with no political allegiences which might affect their objectivity. Each magus of the covenant was made a vicarius, a deputy of the quaesitores with limited powers to request aid from others. Richard Caespuus was assigned to them as an advisor as he has great knowledge of the nearby tribunals.
Whitburh expressed chagrin that Somnifer Jerbitonis was dead, as his knowledge of dreams might be important. Hygwald revealed that Everard, Somnifer's apprentice was still alive, and they paid a visit on Bricis to find out if he knew anything about Everard's location. Bricis could tell them that Everard's home village was Paddesham, remarkably close to Vidua Vasta itself, so the caterva visited there on the way back to their covenant. After an initial confusion (the priest of Paddesham is also called Everard, and Hygwald came close to telling him about the Order!), they found the former apprentice at his grandfather's house. He was in a coma, and had been since just after the solstice. Recalling the damaged copy of The Dreamer's Spire that they had retrieved from Everard's room in the past, Hygwald sought - and found - the rest of the book. There, he found described a spell which allows one to share the mind of another, and he cast this spell from text upon Everard. Suddenly he found himself in the dream that Hachim had described, but was able to move around. As he looked at the loom, he found himself standing on the island that it depicted. Thirteen robed men prepared for a human sacrifice, whilst fur-clad Norsemen looked on. Everard was also present, one of seven chained people awaiting sacrifice. As Hygwald watched, they were taken one by one and had their hearts removed with a curved knife. When it was Everard's turn, he struggled, until he broke free. At this point the dream restarted. The second time, Hygwald tried to help Everard, and found himself as one of the chained men. When he tried magic, he found himself moved further in the chain, and he was sacrificed instead. The dream restarted. This third time, Hygwald ended up in the chain again. He used a Wizard's Sidestep and found that it actually moved him, not just his image, leaving him out of harms way. He was addressed by one of the Norsemen, in uncharacteristically cultured Latin. The man told him that this was Everard's dream, and he needed to be persuaded to let it occur, else he would be trapped forever. Instead of following this advice, Hygwald tried to free Everard, which failed, and the dream restarted. Exactly the same happened in the fifth replay. The sixth replay was more successful; listening to the strange advisor, Hygwald convinced Everard that this was only a dream, and that he should allow himself to be sacrificed. It took some persuading, but in the end he acquiesed, and woke from the dream, freeing Hygwald as well.
The Little King: Everard is able to tell the magi that his master was in communication with several other magi that shared his speciality of dreams. Whilst he cannot remember who these magi are, he can remember where his master stored his correspondance - perhaps it is still there in the ruins of Doire Druidhan. Hygwald is convined that the seven chained people in the dream are seven dream-wizards, and feels that by finding them he will be able to unravel this mystery. Aelric and Aaron are sent to Doire Druidhan with instructions of where to find the box of letter. Unfortunately for them, a basilisk has taken up residence at Doire Druidhan. The upper storey of the tower, where Somnifer's sanctum was found, is completely infested with lizards, and Aaron is vvery nearly killed by the creature's deadly venom. They retreat to consider options, and are hailed by an Eagle of Virtue, who has come to claim lordship of the animals from the basilisk, who the eagle feels has not treated his subjects well. However, the eagle needs the basilisk outside the tower before he can be effectively fought. On the eagle's advice, Aelric went in search of weasels, the arch-nemesis of the basilisk. He only managed to catch one, and carefully introduced it into the tower. Unfortunately, luck was not with the weasel, and it perished first.
Somnifer's correspondants are: Euan Bonisagi, an iterant magus of the line of Anergin from the Stonehenge Tribunal; Dormitor Jerbitonis of Lapis Crudus, who was Somnifer's 'younger brother'; Selene Merinitae of the Iberian Tribunal; and Pipio Mercandi, a junior archivist at Harco.