Local Flavor

These groups, places, and professions represent aspects of life common within Narbonnais.

Beginning with the Umayyad conquest of Iberia in the eighth century, through the 12th century and to the present day, Moorish pirates have roamed the waters between the Straits of Gibraltar and Sicily like wolves. Primarily based in the Maghreb, from cities like Algiers, Marrakech, or Tangier, they plunder Christian Iberia, southern France, in particular Narbonnais, Italy and Sicily. They also operate out of the nearby Balearic Islands, with a brief cessation in 1115 after the Balearic Crusade, only to resume in the following year. Recently, the Italian city-states, the Norman Sicilians, and the Spanish kingdoms of Aragon and Castile have increased their grip on the Western Mediterranean, but they have not eliminated the pirate threat. One cannot journey from the Catalan Sea into the Ligurian or Sea of Sardinia without threat of attack and fear of slavery, which encourages travel in collected flotillas of vessels for added safety. As discussed in City and Guild (page 87), this area can be passed by Moorish vessels, magical assistance, or with a story.

Arles, Montpellier, and Narbonne hold yeshivas, or Jewish religious schools, as described in Realms of Power: The Divine Revised Edition (pages 129–130), interpreting and recording Talmudic thought. Several respected rabbinical authorities and kabbalist mystics studied in Narbonne, including Moses ha-Darshan in the 11th century and Moses ben Joseph ben Merwan ha-Levi, who many considered one of the foremost Jewish mystics of his age, in the 12th. Referred to as Hachmei Provence, or "the wise of Provence," these yeshivas helped establish the literary styles and pedigree which still endure as a scholastic standard within the Jewish religious community.

A small group of knights dedicated to guarding pilgrims traveling southwest along the Way of St. James to Compostela, and southeast toward Rome, was established in Aubrac at the Dômerie d'Aubrac in the 11th century and adopted the rule of St. Augustine in 1162. It maintains a number of satellite hospitals, called "commanderies," in the communes of Bozouls, Millau, Nazac, and Rodez. The Order of Aubrac maintains a competitive rivalry with the Hospitallers, who would like to absorb them, but have been unsuccessful thus far.

A particularly brutal corsair has taken to raiding along the coast. Not content to simply attack trading vessels, he lands with groups of reavers to attack caravans and pilgrims. In one of these raids, he captures covenfolk out on business, possibly a companion or associate bound for the covenant with correspondence. In order to avoid a life of slavery, the hostage explains to the pirates that the covenant will pay a ransom, and so the slavers send a message to the covenant. However, the ship's captain has fueled the crew's recent successes by striking a bargain with a jinn known as "Howling Knife of the Dunes." The jinn knows of the Order and promises the kidnappers wealth beyond measure if they can capture one magus in particular. It seems the jinn has a second master—who have the characters angered?

Servants of skilled kabbalists, Divinely blessed golems rarely act beyond the scope of their direction. However, when the grandson of the mystic who created it is unjustly lynched by a mob for a crime he did not commit (perhaps the handiwork of a nearby demon, infernally tainted Jinn, or faerie looking to stir up trouble), the golem is overwhelmed and begins to rampage. Seeking vengeance for the terrible wrong, it refuses to stop beating its way through the populace until finds the true culprit.

While discussed regionally in Chapter 2, the local focus of troubadour activity is the county of Rodez, a fiefdom of the county of Toulouse. The viscount of Rodez, Henry I, is an established troubadour and he is encouraging his children to maintain his interest.

Early troubadours came from the nobility, but over time, troubadours sprang from every walk of life. Fulk of Toulouse began his career as a troubadour, going on to repent and enter the clergy, eventually becoming the bishop of Toulouse in 1205 and involving himself in the Albigensian Crusade.

Ancient even when the Romans paved and regularized its route, locals believe Heracles walked the path of the Via Domitia when he traveled through the region to

complete his 12 labors. Hannibal took this route on his march through Hispania toward Rome. The covenant of Ara Maxima Nova is very protective of the Via Domitia, using it in a number of their initiations and rituals. They often challenge magi to certamen if they believe the visitor is investigating something arcane, rather than simply using the road to travel.

The road begins after crossing the Pyrenees near Perthus and passes through Perpignan, going on to Narbonne across a seven-arched bridge, then through Béziers, Montpellier, and Nimes before entering into the Kingdom of Arelat. It turns north at Cereste and continues into the Piedmont, crossing the Alps at the Col de Montgenevre the lowest primary pass between France and Italy. In antiquity, "mansiones" were spaced a day's journey apart, where travelers could rest, eat and continue their trip.