Dramatis Personae

Diary of Catorse, House Guernicus
Summer, The Year of Our Lord 1208

"Para estudiar el almaro, no necesita mirale."

So often said my master to me. It's not something I understood then and I'm only beginning to understand it now. We left our covenant at the end of Spring. Master Olvera explained that I knew enough about the magical arts. Now would begin my training as a quaesitorus - the Keepers of Orthodoxy, he joked. For this phase of my apprenticeship we would travel throughout the Order and observe its members. In retrospect, I believe that he wanted one more chance to talk to friends before he left this plane of existence.

I bid farewell to my new wife Cecilia and her brother, Raul of House Bonisagus. Raul promised to look after Cecilia and I would be able to talk to her through magical means, with the help of Master Olvera. I suspected and later confirmed that this journey would take the last five years of my apprenticeship.

Diary of Catorse, House Guernicus
Winter, The Year of Our Lord 1210

"Estudia que un hombre hace, no te que dicen."

We stopped by yet another covenant, this one in the Rhine Tribunal. Master Olvera visits with some acquaintances while I spend time listening to their long conversations. Master Olvera says that a quaesitorus must pay attention to the smallest details. Magic rarely reveals what we need to know, only what we want to see. People will reveal their innermost thoughts if you know how to listen.

I'd rather spend time with others my age who share the same interests. The elder magi may know more but they talk as if there's no need to hold a listener's attention. I must admit that I do get quite a bit of sleep when they talk - until Master Olvera drenches me with a Creo Aquam spell.

I do meet a lot other young mages to be. Two which push themselves forefront in my mind are Albus and Rises. Albus was especially animated at this time of year saying that there's nothing like a good blast of frozen air to jump- start the soul. Winter in Alemania made me miss the distant Summer of my native Espana. Rises - self proclaimed ladies' mage and berserk demon- slayer - always wanted to go to the nearby city to "study the native flora and fauna" as he put it. I can only say that whenever I accompanied him I was the one who up painted as if I were a rainbow, with a hangover to boot.

Diary of Catorse, House Guernicus
Fall, The Year of Our Lord 1212

"Cuando tu conversas mas, te perdige control directo del situacion."

One of the longest sayings of Master Olvera. Master Olvera had a an inappropriate saying for any situation, or so it seemed to me. I believe that he had part Criamon in him, for I rarely understood what he really meant.

We arrived at the Holy Lands, or the Levant Tribunal to the heathens within the Order. The covenants we visited were the farthest from my native Espana which now lay an ocean away. The climate was much the same, although the lands seem more barren and empty than my home.

It was here that I met the mages Fabricarius and Incendium, who had come to fight in the Crusade against the heathens. Both were rather serious mages for they had seen more than their share of the killing and depravities common in these lands. Still, they were able to indulge my curiosity and show me Jerusalem.

Diary of Catorse, House Guernicus
Spring, The Year of Our Lord 1213

"Morir es el juez final."

That will be one my sayings. I don't believe I will have the knack for saying the wrong thing that turns out to be the right thing. With great sorrow this particular phrase is very apt.

Master Olvera and I were returning to Espana aboard an Venetian ship of trade. Accompanying us partway was the mage Viator, a wanderer who wanted to see the known lands. I suppose much like what I was doing with Master Olvera. A storm overtook us during the middle of the night. Later I would find out that a whirlpool had sucked the merchant ship and delivered us into a faerie realm.

In the realm we encountered many things which I cannot begin to describe. Shapes and patterns that made to sense to my mind. Creatures that defied the natural order. We met the Merinita Lorum who pointed to the way out.

We would have gotten out unscathed had I not wandered off. I was captured by Decaesito, a fey faerie who held me imprisoned until rescued by Master Olvera, Viator, and a Jerbiton who prefers anonymity. In our moment of victory I'm afraid I lost my composure and killed some kin of Decaesito's. His wrath was unimaginably savage. Master Olvera was lost as we made our escape. I have been forever scarred and haunted by this experience and dare not discuss it with anyone. It is my fear that Decaesito is the cause of some of my troubles since then.

Diary of Catorse, House Guernicus
Summer, The Year of Our Lord 1213

"Un lugar nueva traes una esperanza nueva."

I have just finished my final trials successfully and am now a full magus in the Order. My old covenant where I spent so much of my life is now only a place of bitter memories. Raul tried to talk me into following him and joining Prospectus Locus which is also in Espana. It is the news that some of my old acquaintances were also joining which finally convince me to also join.

With my intention to relocate declared I have received a message from the Domus Magus of House Guernicus. It appears that I will never be allowed to let my past lie undisturbed. Nevertheless, I think that Cecilia and I can find happiness at this new covenant and that I will find a place I can call home.

So ends the current diary of Catorse, fourteenth and last apprentice to the Mage Olvera of House Guernicus.

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