Eastern Provence

The eastern regions of Provence were the site of one of the oldest Greek colonies in western Europe, and remain important in Mediterranean trade.

Founded above the mouth of the river Lycaon by the Phocaean Greeks as Massalia, this port was a thriving prospect un-

Its current viscount, Hugh III of Les Baux has close connections with the representatives of the Coenobium through his magus relative Marcus of Les Baux, although his young son, Barral, is deeply suspicious of his father's involvement with the wizards.

Archipel du Frioul and the Isle d'Yf

These four small islands off the coast of Marseilles are uninhabited. The two largest, Pomegues and Ratonneau, are frequently used as moorings for smugglers, pirates, and Saracen raiders from their eastern nest in the Hyeres archipelago. The tiniest island, Tiboulain, is completely uninhabited. The remaining Isle d'Yf is covered by small Magic aura of strength 3 centered on the ancient grove of yew trees that give the outcrop its name.

The youngest branches of the oldest yew each contain a pawn of Extraordinary Intellego vis that, if burnt, gives the bearer of the wooden brand the power to invoke the ability to communicate with the spirits of the dead as though casting the spell, Whispers Through the Black Gate (ArM5, page 130). Up to half a dozen branches can be harvested each year on All Soul's Eve, but each branch can only be used once.

Nestled beneath the slopes of Mount Faron, this town was known in ancient writings for its dye-making from the earliest Phoenician settlements in the area. Its beaches are one of the few sources of the rare murex shellfish vital for producing imperial (true) purple, and the oak groves on the hillsides above maintain the kermes beetle that produces an almost as valuable crimson dye when crushed.

The Coenobium maintains a small chapter house here at the location of the former Flambeau covenant of Telo Martius, run by a retired Redcap. Aloysius Porphyri is an un-Gifted alchemist who coordinates the harvesting of the two resources here and runs one of the dye-making works from the Coenobium's Faith & Flame

Between Hyeres and Frejus lies this geological anomaly of granite, a stark contrast to the limestone hills of the rest of Provence. Blackened by dark forests, it takes name from the Saracen privateers who dominated the lands from the coast to the Alpine passes during the later eighth, ninth and tenth centuries.

The original site of the covenant of Fraxinetum (see earlier for further details) lies almost inaccessible within the billowing crystalline summits of the region. Before the raider magi were forced to flee the consequences of their excessive mundane interference, this village above St Tropez amidst

factory outside the town.

The true purple dye produced from the murex shellfish by the Coenobium here was reserved for the sole use of the Byzantine emperors in pre-Hermetic times, but now only some of the dye makes its way eastwards, as the covenant keeps a portion of the factory's product for their own magical purposes. See The Sundered Eagle: the Theban Tribunal, page 45 for details of the value of true purple in the Byzantine lands.

In contrast, the violent crimson produced from the crushed kermes beetle is more widely distributed and is particularly favored by hoplites and magi of Flambeau for their clothing, although it has less magical potency.

The Coenobium's magically aided extraction process gives them a competitive advantage compared to other suppliers, but they are careful not to flood the market and draw mundane attention to their activities. Rare examples of the shells and oak-loving beetles contain small amounts of Imaginem vis, which is harvested by Aloysius while overseeing the dye-making process.

Purple (murex) dye: +10 royalty, +7 rulership and authority, +5 control people

Crimson (kermes) dye: +7 violence, +4 courage and martyrdom, +3 sin

The Hyeres Islands

Known as the Stoechades to Pliny and the ancient Greeks, this cluster of islands across from the ancient Greek settlement of Olbia is known for the lush pastures of lavender that cover its gentle slopes. A monastery claims the larger eastern island known as Ile du Levant, but pirates haunt the more secluded coves of Port-Cros and Porquerolles. The current scions of Fraxinetum still use the area as their base. The nearby Giens peninsula to the west is only accessible at extremely low tide and forms a fourth island for the majority of the year.

Although no longer based in the original fraxinet in the Massif des Maures, the latest heirs of the Hermetic privateers have moved their base to the islands just off the southern coast. They continue to sponsor mundane raids on the coastal cities of Provence and disrupt the Catalan and Genoan ships plying their trade along the coast. Ahmad's ships are careful to target non-Hermetic shipping, relying on carefully placed mudnane spies to give the fleet of the Coenobium a wide berth.

Currently, there are only two Moorish magi dwelling at the pirate's main base amidst the lavender, although they can be found at occasionally harvesting vis sources scattered along the small islands of the southern Provence coastline, including the deserted Diedne base at Yf. A third magus has established a sanctum on one of the larger ships used by the magi's shady associates. The group have yet to declare themselves a Provençal covenant at Tribunal out of concern that the specter of their ancestors may provoke an unmitigated Wizard's War against them.

Ahmad ibn Nasr of Tytalus

Age: 68 (Apparent Age: 43) Personality Traits: Carefree +3, Brave +2

Directly descended from the founder of the original raider covenant, Nasr ibn Ahmad, the current leader of the pirates is a master of sea magics, jinn and water elementals. Rumor has it he may have been at least partially schooled by a Hermetic sahir of Andalusia and privy to non-Hermetic mysteries learnt from Faerie jinn. His spirit familiar is a powerful seadwelling 'afrit who claims to be a prince of an underwater tribe of jinn dwelling near Gibraltar that Ahmad defeated during his self-taught initiation script.

The Mythic Uses of Lavender

Dioscorides of Anazarba first described this plant, stoechas, in his great medical work, De Materia Medica as a slender herb with leaves longer longer than thyme. Since its introduction from the Hyeres islands to the mainland by Charlemagne in the ninth century, the herb has become a standard in monastic physic gardens. Its use is integral to the folk magic practices of southeastern France, where it is still called by its ancient name.

Lavender: +3 cleansing / purification or healing, +5 protection from evil spirits

Lavender of Virtue

Unenriched Lavender of Virtue contain 1 pawns of Rego vis. Proper enrichment requires a time consuming process of sun drying the herb within an open barn during the winter rages of the Mistral. The twigs are then bound using twine into a small poesy and steeped in the venom of an asp for a season to activate the magic.

The finished amulet grants the Major Virtue Greater Immunity (one major disease) to any wearer without Magic Resistance so long as he or she can smell the herb's scent (equivalent to a Necessary Condition). The herb's magic only lasts a single year and it confers Warping Points on the wearer as a constant effect of Low Power (ArM5, page 168). If mounted above the lintel of a room, the amulet grants its protection to those in the chamber beyond while they recover within.

Stories can be blown in by the winds when they come from a magical source.

The Master's Ire

The legendary abundance of spirits has recently attracted Calais filius Septentrio of Bonisagus, a visitor to the Coenobium from the Rhine who styles himself "Master of the Winds." This magus established his sanctum in a cave just below the summit, near the entrance to the regio, seeking to convince the daimon within to let him act as its Spirit Votary.

This petitioning has aroused the ire of the self-proclaimed "true" master of the winds however, an ancient Faerie lord known as Mistrau ("the Master") who embodies all the Provençal myths of the mistral. The Faerie lord has somehow sealed the spirits' regio. This has prevented their egress and resulted in an unusually mild season.

The wind magus is now trapped within the regio and is still engaged in an ongoing battle with the enraged minions of Ventoux. His hosts at the Coenobium are becoming concerned, as they expected this valued specialist's return last season. Young magi may be charged with rescuing Calais, or, learning of his plans may decide to also try and bargain with the greater daimon or the Faerie lord. To do so they will have to petition the hostile Mistrau to gain entrance. Its chosen challenge is for a wizard or mundane to best one of his Faerie champions in capturing two ephemeral concepts from Arcadia: the last breath of Winter and the first exhalation of Spring.

An Infernal Breeze

The storyguide may decide that either the daimon Ventoux or the Faerie lord Mistrau is better represented by an Infernal spirit that seeks to corrupt both Hermetic and hedge elementalist traditions. Player magi drawn to Mount Ventoux by its legends may then be readily deceived they are dealing with a Faerie rather than an Infernal entity and be led into corruption. Using an Infernal pact, the demon hopes to spread his influence beyond the Rhone Valley and create a miasma of corruption that will eventually infect all elementalist traditions throughout the Order.

In this scenario, Mistrau is a similarly named demon of the Order of Aerial Powers of similar Might to his Faerie counterpart. To date, the demon has been partly contained by the prayers and hymns of the nearby monks of Notre-Dame-du-Groseau.

an encircling forest of cork, oak and chestnuts was their base.

Still dominated by the ruins of the old covenant fort, the razed site retains a Magic aura of 4. A palisade of densely packed ash trees created by the Herbam specialists surrounds the former covenant grounds. Remnants of the defensive rituals of the magi animate the larger ash trees to repel intruders that pass the outer perimeter, giving rise to stories of ghosts haunting the area and keeping the local peasants from looting the Hermetic ruins.

The "Home of the Winds," this bald mountain marks the northern boundary of Provence and dominates the surrounding plains, and has long had an evil reputation as the source of the Mistral, the famous wind of Provence. Various chapels are built on its lower slopes, including a pair of chapels and a guard tower at Beumont-du-Ventoux and the large monastery of Notre-Dame-du-Groseau. Further north lies the Source du Groseau, a magical spring pouring from the cliff-face dedicated to the Celtic spring-deity Groselos and a potential source of Aquam vis.

The upper slopes of the mountain are covered by a strong Magic aura of level 7 that rises into a regio of level 9 as a climber ascends to the gravelly summit. The wind is constantly blowing here, reaching frightening speeds and

preventing any vegetation from taking hold.

The regio above the peak is home to numerous air spirits of varying Might ruled by a greater Daimon referred to as Ventoux. This elder spirit periodically looses his lesser kin to wreak havoc on the surrounding countryside, adding substance to the folktales of the hill as a source of malevolent spirits.

Capital of the county of the same name stretching along the Durance River, the town's citadel dominates the landscape from the top of a steep conical hill. Countess Garsenda is the current regent. Her political marriage to Alfonso in 1209 granted her son Raymond-Berengar an extensive local inheritance to add to his lands held as the Catalan count of Provence.

Garsenda is recognized as a trobairitz in her own right and is reputed to have magical powers beyond the mundane ability to inspire with song common to all troubadours. She is known as a famous patron of troubadours throughout the south. Her rumored lovers include at least one Jerbiton magus of the Coenobium. See Chapter 2: History and Culture for more details on troubadours and troubadour culture in Provence.

The recently chosen capital of the County of Provence has its roots in the old Celtic oppidum or hill-fort of Entremont, but was replaced by the Roman camp of Aquae Sextiae, sited near the nearby thermal spring. The famous Roman general Marius defeated the descending horde of Teutones near here at Montagne Saint-Victoire in 102 BC — his troops slaying so many barbarians that the soil of the resulting Campi Putridi was enriched for years to come. Stories tell that 300 of the defeated chieftains were forced into the sinister Garagai gorge at the urging of Marius's Syrian sibyl, Martha. Their murdered spirits rise from the floor of the pit on the anniversary of the battle to reenact their defeat. The lip of the chasm has an Infernal aura of 2, although deeper

The ghosts of the murdered chieftains are not actually Infernal spirits despite the prevailing aura, but rather specters aligned to the Magic realm — Teutonic counterparts to the ghostly soldiers of House Tremere (see Houses of Hermes: True Lineages, pages 126–127). Questioning the slain victims may provide an insight into the secrets of the lost tradition of Martha, the Syrian sibyl in the legends, who may have been from a lineage akin to the Canaanite Necromancers (see Ancient Magic, pages 30–39 for more details on Canaanite Necromancy).

Even prior to the mass sacrifice, the chasm was said to be home to prophetic spirits that rose from the depths that may still be invoked by local masques or magi using necromantic magic. These older pagan spirits are best represented by Spirits of Deceit (see Realms of Power: the Infernal, page 38).

Pope Urban II reconsecrated the local cathedral of St Apollinaris in 1095 after it was rebuilt in the Cluniac Romanesque style. Built into a column in its ambulatory is a milestone from the Via Agrippa roadway that carries an inscription in Latin attributing its sponsorship to Florentius Niger, a Roman senator believed to have been a priest of the Cult of Mercury. The inscription strongly radiates non-Hermetic magic. It may contain an Insight into the ancient Mercurian Road Magic of the original Mercurian priests or a clue to the whereabouts of a lost Mercurian temple.

Studying the milestone in its current position is difficult, but removing the block is sure to be noticed and will trigger the church authorities to investigate the theft. Is there a solution that will keep the priests fooled?

in the gorge the strength rises and gives rise to yet unexplored Tartaran regiones, including a supposed entrance to Hell itself at its utmost bottom. Some local stories place the treasure cave of the Le Chevre d'Or here.

Monks have dominated this area since the fifth century thanks to St Honoratus, who drove out the venomous snakes that infested the islands in antiquity. Although the serpents never returned, the Saracens did, repeatedly, and were responsible for the death of one of its abbots, St Porcarius, during the eighth century. The fortified Cistercian monastery of Lerins on the nearby Ile Saint-Honorat controls the walled town on the mainland, overlooked by a defensive tower on the Suquet hill.

Lerins is an important pilgrimage destination due to St Honoratus — traveling to Lerins is considered by some equivalent to a journey to the Holy Land, and the monastery has trained several remarkable clergymen, possibly even Saint Patrick.

A small sanctuary of Venus, unsuccessfully

despoiled by the 14th abbot, St Nazarius, lies hidden in a cave network beneath the sister convent of St Marguerite on the smaller island, named St Marguerite after the convent. It contains a weak Magic aura of 2 still. Also on the island is an unusual almond tree which blossoms every month — its blooms can be collected and crushed to produce 1 pawn of Mentem vis per month, but the vis produced is Divinely tainted (see ArM5, page 190).

Tropaeum Alpium

Originally this structure was nothing more than a circular arched monument dedicated to the defeat of the Gaulish tribes at the hands of the imperial legions. It once marked the boundary of Roman Italy on the Via Julia Augusta. This Trophy of Augustus later became a fortress and redoubt to protect the inhabitants in times of attack. By tradition, it still marks the easternmost limit of the Provençal Tribunal, although the town of Turbia is currently under the influence of the nearby Republic of Genoa and considered politically and linguistically part of mundane Liguria.

A partial statue of Augustus stands inside the monument, mostly smashed by Christian mobs who thought the Tropaeum was a pagan temple possibly dedicated to the cult of the Emperors. The site was investigated by the predominantly Mercurian magi of the short-lived covenant of Turris Mascis ("Tower of the Masques"), but the fruits of their investigation have been lost. Stones from the monument have been used throughout the village for building, although any magical effects are suppressed by the strength 3 Divine aura of the nearby church of St Michael.

to escalate into overt violence.

The church of Notre Dame de Vie conceals the former peripteral Temple of Augustus and Livia and a Magic aura of 3, believed to have once been an important Mercurian site. A truncated pyramid known as Pilate's Tomb was reputedly dedicated near the spot where the body of the Biblical figure was submerged in the river before being removed as it aroused evil spirits in the waters. The remains of a Roman theatre adorn Mont Pipet to the east and traces of old Roman roads and aqueducts can be found on the outskirts of the city.

the deepest lake of the area, fed by the river Leysse and believed to contain an Aquam aligned regio deep within its waters. Some Hermetic magi have reported sightings of the mysterious elemental Men of the Lake (Realms of Power: Magic, pages 93–94) in the area, but this has not been confirmed.