Of endings and new beginnings. The razing of a covenant. A request for aid. A visit to the land of the dead and unborn. The final battle against the Shadow Flambeau. Also, an upstart faerie lord and his minions.

Dramatis Personae

Gamemaster: Shannon Appel

The Council Records
as recorded by Lucindia the Seneschal
July 3, 1214

In attendence: Albus, Aubrin, Catorse, Docilli, Drake, Fabricarious, Forticulus, Lorum, Risus, Viator, and Xanti; also myself, Lucindia the Seneschal.

Newly Inducted: Fangere of Tremere

Quorum was achieved and Aubrin called the meeting to order as elder.

Points of Information:

* AUBRIN reported that he accumulated 5 pawns of Auram vis, 5 pawns of Terram vis, and a rank 12 Aegis of the Hearth at the recently completed Tribunal.

* AUBRIN declared that he felt the covenant served no one by having no real position on issues at Tribunal. He suggested that by 1221 the covenant should have a strong moral basis that it can use to decide issues. There was general agreement on this topic, and it was settled to some extent by the first point of debate.

* AUBRIN stated that he, Drake, and Fabricarious would be leaving in the morning to join the Shadow Flambeau strike force. Forticulus will be Elder at the covenant while they are away.

* VIATOR requested that in general new magi should stay at the covenant for a week or so before a vote is taken on their associate membership. Aubrin agreed this was a good idea and said in the future it would be done. Because of current time constraints, and the fact that several magi spoke with him extensively at the Tribunal, Fangere of Tremere's induction was not delayed.

* RISUS stated that sufi would be coming from Estancia-es-Karida to offer their wisdom. Aubrin affirmed that the covenant had no problem with this.

* RISUS has received a letter from Baron Zelipe that hints at a possible marriage between himself and the Baron's daughter, Zilia. Aubrin has suggested that Risus could be made "Lord Alberto's" heir, to strength his claim. Forticulus has agreed to help resolve the issue in a way that will benefit both the covenant and Risus.

Points of Debate:

* LORUM suggested that the covenant should have a tradition that new magi must partake of before they can become full members. In accordance with Aubrin's suggestion that Prospectus Locus needs a moral center, DOCILLI suggested that we make that tradition be a season learning about Moorish culture. This suggestion was accepted, and replaces the old covenant requirement for a season of service. Any magus voted in as an Associate Member of Prospectus Locus must spend a season learning about Moorish culture before they can become a full member.

* XANTI stated we should make this requirement retroactive to all current covenant members. This motion was accepted. All magi who have not already spent a season studying Moorish culture since they joined the covenant should do so, and that should be done in the next year if possible.

* AUBRIN proposed Fangere, a young Tremere who was met at Tribunal, for membership. Since Aubrin's offer has expired a vote was required. Fangere was accepted as an Associate Member. He must complete a season of work studying Moorish culture before he is accepted as a Full Member.

* DOCILLI asked that the covenant reconsider the issue of a vellum mill, which was last rejected some ten years ago. This motion was accepted, but only under the conditions it be down-river, at least five miles away, and that none of our money be spent upon it until our additional three labs are complete. The seneschal shall begin looking for investors in Barcelona.

With all points of information and debate completed the council was concluded.

Additional Points of Information:

* After the meeting had already been dismissed FABRICARIOUS stated that he would prefer not to have the vis extracted from his body if he died. Forticulus promised to bring the issue up at council if required.

Aubrin's Memoirs
July 3, 1214

It is done, our affairs are in order, a new magus has been inducted to Prospectus Locus, and we are off. We go to kill the Shadow Flambeau, they who killed my brother, and so many of my friends, and I can only hope that we are equal to this task. I do have some fear for my fellows, for Drake is so angry, and Fabricarious is so young, and I have tried to dissuade them each from this task, for I would be sufficient to meet our covenant's requirements, but they are unmoved. Even Forticulus, one of the few to ever survive a Shadow Flambeau attack, can not convince them to abandon their course, so we are committed. I only hope that I do not have to bury any more of my fellows.

Albus' Dialogues
July 3, 1214
Late Evening

Poor Risus. He is truly caught between bad decisions.

This whole matter of marriage to Zilia caught him totally by surprise. He stalled for time though Forticulus pressed him. Then, shortly after the council meeting, I heard a shout of Certamen from Risus' lab.

It was Docilli. Always sticking his nose where it doesn't belong. He's lucky he's a Bonisagus. He demanded that Risus only marry Zilia if he truly loved her. Won the Certamen too. Now Risus is even more confused than normal. I don't know what he shall tell Forticulus in a week's time.

Forticulus' Hastily Scribbled Notes
11 July 1214

Damn that Bonisagus to hell! How dare he interfere in our covenant's business in this way, putting "love", whatever the hell that is, ahead of power? What century is he living in!? There will be a reckoning.

He makes me write a humiliating letter to Zelipe above Aubrin's chop, saying that Risus is destitute, and thus not a good choice for husband. At least I can instead offer the "heir" of Prospectus Locus as an option, though I certainly don't know who that is yet. Perhaps the Bonisagus, or perhaps myself, I must think. I have time, as no doubt the lord will be aghast at the thought of his daughter flirting with a street urchin, and will require weeks for the proper response.

A reckoning indeed. Prestige goes only so far.

Albus' Dialogues
July 12, 1214
Late Evening

I feel as if the sun is setting on us here in Iberia. Let us hope that it foreshadows a new day, not an eternal night.

Antonius of Mercere brought us word today. It was most dire. While we were at Tribunal the Shadow Flambeau struck. They razed Plateau. Killed the covenfolk. Destroyed the vis sources. Burned the structures to the ground. It was Antonius that discovered the act. Yet he managed to speak of it coldly and calmly. The destruction of his own covenant. It is fortunate that all the magi of Plateau were away at Tribunal, but now much of their power is gone.

Antonius believes the strike force should have reached Plateau by now. No doubt our members have joined them. They should be a score magi strong. They will track the Shadow Flambeau down. May they destroy the diabolists.

Aubrin's Memoirs
July 28, 1214

Finally I am home ago, after a month and a half on the road, though to be honest the battle against the Shadow Flambeau went more rapidly and better than anyone could have ever expected. Fabricarious has already returned, not having detoured to Duresca; Drake, of course, has not.

Little of note has happened since my last entry, Viator's and my flight back from Duresca being as uneventful as expected, but my concern this evening is not to scribe of those meager adventures. Rather, it is to write of the impact that Viator and the others had upon the final fight with the Shadow Flambeau, as it was told to me by Viator.

It began on July the thirteenth, fifteen days ago now, and events were put into motion by Dervin, a faerie vassal of the May Queen. He spoke with several of the covenant members last fall, and apparently grew to trust them, because they accepted his name, something which the May Queen forbid.

Since that time Dervin had changed, for, as he explained to my fellows, the Seed Seer passed away last March, on the twentieth, the final day of the May Queen's reign. When the Seer returned to Arcadia her power impressed itself upon Dervin, and so suddenly he was beset by visions of a dire sort.

Dervin saw the Shadow Flambeau burning across all of Iberia, and he saw them burning not just the Christians and the magi, but also the fay, entirely erasing their presence from the peninsula. But, he was also given a spark of hope, for it was revealed to him that the Flambeau's dark demons drew power from the souls of those they had killed and then imprisoned, and saw that by freeing these souls perhaps the Flambeau could be defeated. So he came to Prospectus Locus, to reveal this revelation, and to request that my fellows quest with him, that they journey to the Land of the Dead and the Unborn, where the souls were being held. At once my fellows realized the importance of this matter, and so they gathered, Viator, Lorum, Risus, Xanti, and Fangere, and offered to join Dervin at once.

Dervin had learned that an entrance to the Land of the Dead and the Unborn was guarded by another faerie ruler, Lord Thomasco Centillius, Duke of the Dying and Dead, by chance the very same Lord Thom we had heard of just months before, enemy of Dux Aquil. So, on the morning of the fourteenth, Dervin, my fellows, and a group of grogs set out in a southwesternly direction, toward the castle of Lord Thom.

Lord Thom's realm lies perhaps thirty miles to our south and west, where a slow-moving tributary of the Ebro has formed a murky and muddy swamp. It took over a day and a half to traverse the distance, and so it was late on the night of the fifteenth that my fellows finally arrived at the swamp surrounding Thom's castle, just hours before our strike force was to be ambushed by the Shadow Flambeau. Though they could not know it, time was very short.

They faced three barriers before they came to Thom's castle, as we often do when visiting the fay. First swamp goblins tried to drive them away, but Viator called an attack and forced the goblins to flee. Then dark mists closed over them and totally disoriented them, but they won free when Viator flew above the fog and led his fellows on. Finally they came to the gates of Thom's castle, rising high above the murky swamp, and two zombies confronted them, and warned that if they entered they would only be able to leave by Thom's leave.

Dervin left my fellows at this time, for he knew he would not be welcomed into Thom's realms, but before they departed he gave them many stern warnings about the Land of the Dead and Unborn, and identified to them the demon who held the power of the Shadow Flambeau, an old man who clutched a ball of crystal. And so my fellows went in through the gates, putting themselves into the hands of Lord Thomasco Centillius, for the good of Iberia.

And truly they learned how Thomasco had earned his title, for he was indeed surrounded by the dead, zombies, skeletons, and wraiths alike, and even his wife was a corpse--though a wholely inanimate one. He would not negotiate with Lorum, for my Merinita fellow has already sworn allegiance to another of the fay, but he did deign to dicker with Xanti. He was willing to allow my fellows passage to the Land of the Dead and the Unborn, but there was a price to pay, as ever with the fay. My fellows owe Thomasco pagan deaths, eleven in all, for that was the number of their party who sought passage, but they convinced him to accept a substitution, namely the deaths of member of Dux Aquil's court, for Dux Aquil is Thom's direst enemy.

And with their negotiations done, and done well, my fellows were escorted away from Thom's court by his sage and advisor, a nasty redcap who had taken the name of Mercere. "These are the three hundred and thirty-three steps," he said, "That lead down to where you wish to go." And he leered at poor Juan Moralez, no doubt knowing how great a trial it would be, for indeed redcaps are cruel. He waved them on, for he could go no further, the Land of the Dead and Unborn being a place for mortals, not the fay, and my fellows bravely descended into the very underworld. As they did their parmas were stripped away, and with them many of the grogs they had brought. As they reached the bottom they numbered but seven--a good number--Lorum, Viator, Risus, Xanti, Fangere, Federico, and Juan Moralez.

Viator's face grew pale when he described the Land of the Dead and Unborn, and I am not sure I can even truly imagine it. It was a great gray land, filled with the dead, spirits and corpses, each striving toward rebirth. Only once did they see a structure in this land, an odd house upon a hill, but they opted to pass it by.

life, death, and rebirth
circular eternity
rebirth, life, and death

Xanti's presence, and his training as a shaman, was without a doubt of great use in the Underworld. Due to his skills, my fellows were able to converse with many spirits of the dead, and with their aid slowly grew nearer their demonic foe. They met Juanita, Federico's dead wife who haunts him still, and Incendium, our beloved fellow so recently slain, and Xerxes, a Byzantine shaman who gained power by partaking of the essence of the realm.

And, the whole time they were beset by visions--dire dreams of death. This was when they saw Alexander of Plateau killing a king; and the Shadow Flambeau razing Plateau with three Hermetic accomplices; and Taniment of Tremere being killed in a fight over Andalusia's vis. Dervin had warned them of these visions, hinting they would be true, but that they might prove dangerous; still my fellows could not avoid them, for they were too strong. I have already written of these visions in more depths, for it was for their sake that Viator and I visited Duresca.

Finally, after hours, days, perhaps weeks of journey, my fellows came to the end of their quest. In the darkest corner of the Land of the Dead and the Unborn they came upon a demon, and he held within his hands our victory.

My fellows offered the demon no quarter, and they gave no warning. They attacked suddenly, by surprise, and the demon was gravely wounded before he could even react, the hammer blows of Juan Moralez, Federico, Fangere, and Lorum falling upon him. He assumed his true shape, that of a giant snake, and struck out with a whip of flame, but it was not enough, and even calling up the corpses of the dead could not save him. Fangere proved to be a great warrior, and he struck the demon down with blade, not spells.

The demon had slyly swallowed the crystal ball which contained the spirits of the dead, but Juan Moralez was not afraid to extract the bauble from his still-warm corpse. When he smashed the ball, just as Dervin had told him to, suddenly the air was filled with the spirits of the deceased, perhaps a hundred souls in all, all that the Shadow Flambeau had killed and trapped, and so the power of the Flambeau's dark demon servants was broken. The newly-freed spirits began to sway about in surprise, and anger, and as they did my fellows were beset by another vision. Though it had been aeons since they had entered the Realm of the Dead and the Unborn, but little time had passed in the world of man, and so my fellows dreamed of death in the present. They were faced with the vision of our final battle with the Shadow Flambeau, and as they watched, and despaired as as our magic proved too weak, suddenly the spirits leapt into the vision, and thus were transported once more into the land of the living...

Of that battle I have already written, and I am now convinced that we suceeded only through the actions of my fellows, for first they stripped the power from the Flambeau's demonic followers, then they delivered to us the spirits of the dead, and by that we won victory.

Afterward my fellows were able to escape the Land of the Dead and the Unborn, for they had followed all of Dervin's dictates, eating and drinking nothing, and not attempting to take anything back from that realm. When they climbed the three hundred and thirty-three stairs their absent fellows were returned to them, and their parmas restored, and so they returned to the land of the living, still in the early evening on July 15.

There was still one issue left to be dealt with, namely the visions they had seen, and that was why Viator flew west, to first bring the word to Plateau, then to Duresca.

Aubrin's Memoirs
July 16, 1214

A day has come that I have long prayed for, and now that it is done I can only say that I feel hollow, though also I feel relief for I have been freed of a burden that I had not known I carried. It has been two days now since we came upon the remains of Plateau, and found it had been just as Antonius had described, the entire thing a great and blackened ruin heaped with the decaying corpses of the dead. I remember, when we first came upon that sad scene, that Ferilynna let out a cry of primal rage, and began to sob that the bodies must be buried at once, but then Fatuus took her kindly in hand, and said they were beyond caring, and that we might track the path of the Shadow Flambeau before it was too late. And so we set off, an even score magi and a like number of warriors, on the track of the Shadow Flambeau for the last time.

We tracked, we rested, we slept, we rose, and we tracked again; late into the afternoon, and then the evening yesterday, we continued on. The Shadow Flambeau's trail faded in and out, as if they walked between this realm and another, but we were able to follow them, for they made no attempt to hide their presence.

And then, just as evening was falling yesterday, we were ambushed. Our first signs of the attack were the paralysis that fell upon our grogs, and the cascade of flames that poured upon us. They went for our leaders, targetting Fatuus, Ferilynna, and Mortis. Mortis fell, wounded badly; Fatuus stood, unharmed, his Parma strong; and Ferilynna was the greatest surprise of all, for she too was unharmed, but she glowed with the holy light of divinity.

We saw the Shadow Flambeau then, and behind them a horde of dark demons, but their demons seemed impotent, their power stripped away from them, and this gave us hope. Fatuus called a charge, and his covenant members followed, and with them Fabricarious, but they were beset by another cascade of flames, and then another, and they were forced to duck for cover while they armor smouldered red-hot.

Then, quite suddenly, Drake reappeared. He had been scouting above us, but suddenly he dropped from the sky like a lightning bolt, and before any could react he was among the Shadow Flambeau, great sword in hand, swinging at their leader, Rasus. The dark diabolist did not have time to react, not even to fast-cast, and his demons remaining oddly lethargic, unwilling to come to his aid, and so Drake's blow fell, staving in his head, and the leader of the Shadow Flambeau fell to the ground, dead at least.

It was a deciding moment, and we took full advantage of it. Fatuus took the initiative, and though one of his covenant members had falled to the the Flambeaus' flame, the rest stood and charged with him, and with them Fabricarious. At the same time Ferilynna directed all of us who had stayed behind to launch flames at the Flambeau, and we did, a mightier volley even than theirs. But still we almost lost the day. In those same moments the Shadow Flambeau turned upon Drake, and scoured him with flames, and my old friend fell to the ground, smoking. And worse the flames we had thrown at the Shadow Flambeau rebounded upon us, and suddenly it was we who were burning, not our foes. Several of my fellows fell to the ground, scorched and burnt. I was badly singed as well, though I remained standing. Of us only Ferilynna had harmed the Shadow Flambeau with her flames, and her target was down and dying, next to poor Drake.

The remaining Shadow Flambeau turned upon us. Only ten of us still stood of our original twenty: myself, Ferilynna, Maria, and two Flambeau of Victrix in the rear, all badly burned; and Fatuus, Fabricarious, and three other members of Hamus Acerbus, now closing with the Shadow Flambeau, but also wounded. Of the three surviving Shadow Flambeau, one was gravely wounded from a final strike Drake had granted before he fell, and the last two were unhurt. The remaining Shadow Flambeau seemed unworried, and things looked dire.

Then, suddenly, the air was filled with spirits, perhaps a hundred, possibly more, and they were the souls of all those that had been killed by the Shadow Flambeau, and they screamed and they circled, and they descended upon the Shadow Flambeau in a mass. I think the Shadow Flambeau might still have escaped, if Fatuus had not had the foresight to close with them and engage them with cold iron, but due to his strategem they were cornered and forced to fight.

What followed was near butchery. The Shadow Flambeau fought, no doubt about it, but their spells were disrupted by the angry spirits, and they were forced to depends upon claws, teeth, and other infernal weapons that the demons had given them. Fatuus, Fabricarious, and the three others fought fiercely, sword against claw, scimitar against venemous blade. And one-by-one the remaining Shadow Flambeau fell. Fatuus dealt the killing blow to two. Fabricaarious slew the last one. And then it was done. The dark demons which had so woefully defended their masters in this last fight abruptly were gone. As for the spirits, they circled for moments longer, screaming out their vengeance, and as they did I recognized many faces, Centerin, Addictus, Taratus, and even my brother Calefacto, all those who had been slain by the Shadow Flambeau, and then they were gone as well.

And we were left to pick up the pieces. Of twenty magi only ten still stood, but we were amazed to found that Fate had shined upon us that day, for though nearly a dozen magi were incapacitated not one was dead, not even Drake who had taken the full brunt of the attack of four Shadow Flambeau. We may once more thank Bonisagus for his great gift of the Parma, and also Providence for the fact that the Shadow Flambeau's allies held back rather than aiding them by piercing our Parmas straight through.

death will come to all
In the end all mortals fall
to life's siren call

That was yesterday, and last night we all had the most refreshing sleep we had in years, the best since that awful Tribunal in 1207. Seven years of terror, and only because our Tribunal was too sundered to take a decisive step. The Extirpation strike force was dissolved this morning. Afterward I spoke with a local lord I am acquainted with, and left Drake with him to recuperate, and then I began the flight back to Prospectus Locus, to tell my fellows that their friends have survived, and that today begins a new day within Iberia.

Aubrin's Memoirs
July 17, 1214

Today coincidence forms an interesting coda to my story, and I find that the hopes I have nurtured for my new fellows at Prospectus Locus have blossomed beautifully. I have little time to write now, for in scant minutes I will be returning to the ruins of Plateau, with Viator, but later I shall scribe the whole story.

In short, several of the young magi of Prospectus Locus had a hand in destroying the Shadow Flambeau, thanks to a friendship they have formed with a faerie named Dervin. It was they who freed the souls that bedeviled the Shadow Flambeau in the end, and even more importantly it was they who robbed the dark demons, and thus their Flambeau masters, of their powers.

But Viator, who I encountered while flying back toward Prospectus Locus, brought more important word, for he and his fellows had been beset by visions in the realm of spirits that they travelled to. They saw dire things: the death of a magus of Sader and the murder of an unknown king. Most importantly, though, they saw that the Shadow Flambeau had three minor accomplices, who were not there two days ago when we destroyed their masters.

So, Viator and I will fly back to Plateau, to offer them warning, although it seems these accomplices are only slightly dangerous, and then to Duresca, to offer them knowledge of all of these possible futures.

Commentary on Iberia
by Barruch of Quaesitor
as scribed by Takibon of Quaesitor
July 23, 1214

Aubrin and Viator of Prospectus Locus today brought word to Duresca of two matters that affect Iberia as a whole.

FIRST, they offered reaffirmation of the death of the Shadow Flambeau, but they add an interesting divergence to the story as heretofore known. Precisely, they assert that five magi of Prospectus Locus had a previously unknown but large part in the destruction in the Shadow Flambeau, namely by the erosion of their power, having taken the form of shackled spirits of slain magi and mundanes. Further, they request additional shares of the Shadow Flambeau reward in return for their assistance.

SECOND, they stated that while in a realm known as The Land of the Dead and the Unborn, as part of their quest to harry the Shadow Flambeau, the magi of Prospectus Locus saw a trio of important visions which they have reason to believe were true sightings. They are recorded here.

In a vision they knew to be the past the magi of Prospectus Locus saw the razing of Plateau. Alongside the Shadow Flambeau worked three independent magi of Iberia: Aurik of Tytalus, Joseph of Jerbiton, and Touron of Mercere.

In a vision they knew to be the near future the magi of Prospectus Locus saw the magus Taniment of Tremere, a member of Sader. He stood near one of the former vis sources of Andalusia and cried "Certamen!" Then an arrow pierced his throat from behind.

In a vision they knew to be some 5-10 years in the future the magi of Prospectus Locus saw the magus Alexander of Flambeau, a member of Plateau. Flames erupted from his hands, striking down a man who appeared to be a monarch, though whom precisely he is has not been determined--he was neither King Alfonso VIII of Castile or his son, Enrique.

Viator of Prospectus Locus clearly believed in the truth of everything he said. These matters will be discussed at this evening's nightly Quaesitori meeting, and appropriate steps will be taken.

Quaesitori
Official Judgements
Scribed by Barruch, Servant of Guernicus
July 24, 1214

PRIMUS, Let it be known that the Shadow Flambeau are dead, killed by the Shadow Flambeau Extirpation strike force, and that any covenants who had not yet committed their forces for this effort are hence freed of that onus, but that all covenants are commanded to remit their share of the reward, which shall be a total of fifty pawns of colored vis, no later than October 24, 1214, and that this reward shall be distributed to survivors of the battle no later than January 24, 1215.

CODA, Covenants possessing insufficient means to remit the entire payment at this times may submit a request to Duresca for delay of payment, and will be offered generous financing terms.

SEGUNDUS, Let it be known that the independent magi Aurik of Tytalus, Joseph of Jerbiton, and Touron of Mercere are commanded to immediately travel to Duresca for questioning in the Shadow Flambeau matter, and that any magi of Iberia is free to use coercive means that are non-maiming to assist these three in their journey, and that if the three named magi do not arrive at Duresca by October 24, 1214, or alternatively if they choose not to submit to Frosty Breath, then this shall be considered sufficient reason to declare a Wizard's March.

CODA, Magi who assist these three in their journey to Duresca may submit a request for appropriate reward.

TERITUS, Let it be known that Duresca henceforth shall have sole right to the vis sources that were once within the twenty mile radius of Andalusia, and that any other magus collecting vis from these sources shall be covicted of a Low Crime, and that Duresca shall determine a means to allocate this vis amongst deserving covenants as it sees fit.

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