Leona Journal
From Arsmagica
12 Cvtios
Today the four of us met in person for the first time. While we have corresponded by Redcap and by letter, they were as complete strangers. The Bonisaga smells of anxiety-- I wonder what it is she fears, and whether it is something she might be protected from. The Tytalus-inquisitor exudes ambition from every pore-- while his competence is apparent, his zeal is worrisome. The black-eyed child of Quendalon is quiet but has treated me with a politeness bordering on the affable, though whether this is due to her own nature or a result of my own parentage, I do not know.
The place of our meeting was by far the most interesting part of my journey thusfar: an ancient glade of centuries-old oaks, where Lacrimadia says the Founders met. Certainly an auspicious beginning. The glade granted me its blessings for the journey ahead.
We will be travelling by ship. I do my best to control my apprehension. I pray to the great Lir, my mother's mother's father's father, to protect us from the inconstant sea which is his domain.
25 Cvtios
We have located the Hall of Heorot and have begun to rebuild. All who preceded us are dead. A giant resided in a small pond nearby-- after it tried to make a meal out of Fearghus, we destroyed him and recovered over a rook of Vim vis from its body. While it is good that the covenant and the gifts we received on behalf of Heorot are now undisputedly ours, I mistrust this place. The land is unnatural, the forest nearly devoid of animal life. I find myself wondering why my parens, my mentor, and my pater all thought this was such a good idea.
28 Cvtios
Two magi from the Hedge House descended upon our covenant today, in a flying ship. One styles himself a "king," while the other claims to be his wife. "Z" no sooner had landed than he laid accusations regarding the pirate ship we had sunk on our journey here. He claimed the ship had been stolen from him by the pirates when they attacked us... yet it seemed he bore a grudge against us that the ship was sunk in our defense. I found this inconsistent-- for he cannot hold us responsible for damaging his property lest he also accept responsibility for the actions of the crew which attacked us (which he did not). I suspect that the ship was acting under his orders-- likely without knowledge that there were Hermetic magi aboard, hence his inconsistent stance.
They then invoked old Rhine laws of hospitality, essentially forcing us to give them food and shelter for up to a year, when it is obvious that we have only just begun construction here, and have made no progress towards a fall harvest or any domestic beasts to raise for our own use. I hope they will be gone quickly, else I may be sorely tempted to start eating their grogs.
Lacrimadia let slip something which troubles me: she wishes to establish a new *tribunal* here. Has she used us all to further her personal ambitions? I had thought this new covenant had been simply a desire for exploration and expansion-- to conquer new territory. I felt compelled to join, as this is the vanguard of Hermetic encroachment upon the Wild North-- and I had hoped to learn of the relationship between civilization and wilderness in this wild region. Yet it seems we have been pawns-- just a sigil to add to the necessary prerequisite number needed to count a new tribunal. This worries me for the obvious reasons (our covenant's stability, when it has been established upon false pretenses!), yet I also worry that this may bring legal trouble from the Rhine upon my own head. Yet I have given Lacrimadia my word, and I may not even confide in Ardea, whose wisdom would surely be able to guide me upon the correct path.
Both Lacrimadia and Vir Mons have cited a number of grievances against the Rhine tribunal, for "corruption" -- Vir Mons seemed particularly heated in his condemnation of the Rhine's Quaesitores for their silent condonation of votes cast using sigils of magi in Final Twilight. I do not believe the solution is to form a new Tribunal, but to formally define what constitutes "final twilight," formalize a method by which it may be categorically determined whether or not a magus has passed into it, and formally define legal use of a sigil as limited only to magi which have not succumbed. Should the Rhine be so corrupt as he claims, such motions may surely be brought to Grand Tribunal with no issue. When the system does not work, it is the responsibility of those in that system to make it work-- doubly so for those formally charged with being arbiters of that system! I cannot help but wonder at the motives of those who would rather flee to a new system of one's own design... it makes sense for an ambitious young Bonisagus who fears responsibility, but certainly not for a Quaesitor.
2 Giamonios
I have completed the preparation of the fields for bearing a harvest. The work was time-consuming, but simple enough. I hope that we will acquire some covenfolk and supplies soon enough that there might be food grown for the coming year. It is crucial that we establish ourselves as a self-sustaining entity.
The Gathering of Twelve Years is approaching. I have extended an invitation to the others to attend the feasting and festivities I host outside the regio, but there did not seem to be any interest. I fear the others might come to think me aloof, but knowingly or not, they refuse the gestures I make to invite friendship.
The two Hedgies left just before the end of spring (what better way to avoid being held to a season of service?), and then returned a few days later. This time, however, they claimed that their covenant had been destroyed-- apparently by the Order of Odin. My skin crawls at the thought of sharing an Aegis with a fork-tongue one-eyed pirate and a flaxen-haired Viking bitch-- they already came with sufficient manpower to overwhelm our mundane defenses, and yet the others wish to lower our magical defenses to them as well? Yet Z has been frank with me in admitting his role in the attack of our ship, and has been agreeably candid when not in Vir Mons' presence. I am not troubled by troublemaking or lawbreaking, so long as it does not affect me or anyone I care for, and so long as such things are in the open air. Perhaps that is why I am more fond of Tanner than the rest of the magi are; he may be a scoundrel, but he makes no pretense to the contrary. One knows what to expect from him, and I appreciate that... Z seems much the same. In the end I cast my vote in favour as well.
One incident still troubles me, however. In the spring, Vir Mons claimed that he could not learn the eighth magnitude Aegis of the Hearth from a lab text Durenmar gave us, without several seasons' study. However, he spontaneously cast a vis-gathering spell, of *sixth* magnitude. Spontaneously! He seemed rather out-of-breath, yet even so, it is still a magnificent accomplishment. Incomprehensibly so, for one who claimed that he could not use the greatest Aegis lab text we have been given. I asked him about this, and he retracted his previous comment about the Aegis text, saying that he would undoubtedly be able to learn it soon. I suppose we shall see how long it takes before Heorot is protected by an eighth-magnitude Aegis before I become too worried. Father has made mention of a few magi in his sect of nature-focused Merinitae who seem to have a magical focus with all spontaneous casting-- he is certain they are (two strange symbols are scratched here in Ogham, meaning "druid" and "cult"), but he keeps the secret because he knows them only from their masked interactions. He knows neither their names nor their faces, only their magical idiosyncrasies... and he is also convinced that they seek only to live in peace, and do not wish harm upon the Order. As such, Father has no reason to fear that troubles may befall the Order from them, and he is not liable should they be discovered. He has no need to fear any repercussions of his silence.
I do not share this luxury. I have reason for suspicion due to Vir Mons' magical abilities, but compounded with his desire for a new tribunal, his disdain for the law and the Quaesitores of the Rhine.... I had not considered this before, but it now occurs to me that he is a Quaesitor from House Tytalus-- not Guernicus, one of the two houses that destroyed his that one... and a house which has always been opposed to Tremere.
This troubles me deeply, and I have no idea what I should do. I know nothing of Hermetic law and cannot determine whether, should my suspicions prove correct, the foundation of this covenant (and any future new tribunal) might be seen as a declaration of war against the Order. I care not about anyone else's secrets, so long as they do not stand to harm myself or any I care about. I only hope that whatever his man's secrets are, they do not spell disaster for family... though it would be foolish to hope that this will all prove to be a series of coincidences and misunderstandings.
