Miniata Sophia

Symbol: A white hand, fingers pointed up and spread apart, on an ochre circle

This Spring clutch of Criamon magi live within the Niaux cave, roughly a day's ride south of Foix. Hidden in the Vicdossos valley, a short journey north from Castle Miglos and the village of Niaux, they maintain a fairly isolationist attitude, rarely traveling beyond their home and the surrounding hills. However, the group has attended Tribunal for the last four gatherings, always voting and participating knowledgeably in discussion and debate. They have shown no clear preferences and have entered into no political alliances. They vote for options on issues that they deem the most morally apt, or they abstain.

Founded by an eremite Criamon roughly 40 years ago, Miniata Sophia has begun interacting with the rest of the Tribunal only relatively recently. They announced themselves at the Tribunal gathering in 1193, registering their site with the Redcaps as the village of Niaux.

Miniata Sophia stretches throughout the Niaux cave system—a subterranean labyrinth winding through 3 kilometers of galleries, formations, grottos, and most importantly, antediluvian wall art. The main gallery has dozens of paintings of horses, oxen, bison, antelope, and handprints, but samples are scattered throughout the tunnels. The ancient depictions are what drew the covenant's founder, Leonarda, to the site. Here, they have created a working relationship with the covenfolk in the village while pursuing an aspect of the Criamon philosophy, a variant of the Path of Walking Backwards (Houses of Hermes: Mystery Cults, page 70). The cave has a Magical aura of 4, and the main gallery has an aura of 5.

Established within the cavern system, Miniata Sophia believes in a self-sufficient existence with little impact on the surrounding community. They sustain a very small collection of covenfolk in an unusual manner. The magi each take turns spending a season living as a guest amongst the villagers, sharing their Parma with a town "ambassador" and assisting with tasks necessary for the continued operation of the town. They avoid practicing magic in front of covenfolk, and try to ensure that the most helpful spells are cast under the cover of darkness. They do not perform lab work during this season, wearing the robes of a leper to both hide any Enigmatic Stigmata and discourage outsiders from approaching them. It also helps foster the cover story, which explains the magi as hermits, seeking enlightenment within the cave. Every three days, the magus in Niaux brings supplies to the mouth of the cavern, where another member meets them and takes the transfer of goods. The period is considered a necessary aspect of The Avenue of Surrender and the Station of the Service to Harmony for newcomers and a regular reminder of the lesson's importance.

The rest of the time, the magi study their Arts, the texts they trade via correspondence, and the cave paintings, attempting to decipher their secrets and the hidden magic traced within the pigments. Leonarda believes them to be an expression of the Enigma, and has incor-

porated them into the later initiations of The Avenue of Healing and the Station of Rice and Honey, The Avenue of Adulation and the Station of Expression, and The Avenue of a Thousand Beautiful Faces and the Station of Exaltation. She has not yet reached the Avenue of Silencing Discordant Whispers and the Threshold of Repose, nor does she yet know how she would incorporate the art of Miniata Sophia into the initiation.

Four magi live at Miniata Sophia; Leonarda, Tumbarius, and Hans are detailed below. There is one other member of Miniata Sophia, a Criamon adherent to the Path of Walking Backwards.

Age: 89 (Apparent age: 57) Personality Traits: Pious +3, Calm +2, Nurturing +2, Patient +2

Leonarda is from Aragon, on the far side of the Pyrenees, but learned of the many caves and their paintings from a fellow Criamon during a visit to the Cave of Twisting Shadows shortly after her Gauntlet. Deciding she wanted to seek a new route for her path, and believing there was ancient wisdom to be found within the first homes of mankind, she set out to establish a sanctum in one of these caves. After wandering for some time, she found Niaux, and began her research. Over time, she established a relationship with the villagers, and they were happy to receive her help on many occasions. Leonarda's specialties are Creo, Rego, Corpus, and Vim, and she used these talents to create the relationships which have kept the covenant so well-informed. In exchange for twice-annual visits, Leonarda performed a Longevity Ritual and provided the Redcap Embeth with a pair of boots which allow her to perform a Leap of Homecoming. Embeth occasionally points interested Criamon to Niaux, but only after interviewing them and conferring with Leonarda.

A number of issues could draw player characters into interacting with Miniata Sophia.

Multiplicity of Wisdom

A magus seeking the mysteries of Fertility magic (Ancient Magic, page 54) might try to discover the location of Miniata Sophia after interacting with members at Tribunal. The Criamon value their privacy, however, and require a very close and trusting relationship before they permit an outsider to visit even the covenfolk in Niaux. A fellow member of the Order arriving by chance, however, would not be turned away—simply asked to make a promise never to reveal the site's location. It is possible that Louis VII may attempt to seize the town as a strategic resource in 1226–1227, when the count of Foix challenges Louis' attempt to enforce the king's royal rights on the area. The royal French forces may include inquisitors seeking out Cathar heretics, especially since the count of Foix is married to a Cathar.

Once a magus does visit the cave, investigation reveals a regio exists. Easily accessible via magic on the new moon, equinoxes, and solstices, it leads into a very ancient magical version of the cave, where antediluvian shamans dance and drum while painting further pictographs on the walls. The only "accidental" method of entry is to be drumming or painting on the cavern walls by firelight on a solstice. The Criamon sometimes visit this regio to perform the final initiation into The Avenue of Adulation and the Station of Expression.

Aptly Put

An issue involving the resources of the covenant is slated for the coming Tribunal, and it looks like defending the characters' position requires the backing of Miniata Sophia. The magi must find a way to convince the Criamon of the morally apt nature of their position — or reveal the immoral basis of their opposition. Doing so means digging up the dirt and investigating the motivations of their opponents through the sort of social interaction only possible in a place where all the magi are present — the Tribunal itself! Can the magi discover what they need to gain the support of Leonarda and her fellow Criamon before the matter is brought to vote? Do they have the legal acumen and debating skills necessary to delay the Tribunal proceedings or bring about a stalemate?

Age: 40 (Apparent age: 40) Personality Traits: Open-minded +3, Inquisitive +2, Ruthlessly dedicated +2

A magus from Northumbria, Tumbarius is a Mentem specialist, focusing on ghosts and spirits. Although nominally Christian, he actively seeks epiphanies from ancient philosophers, apocrypha, Judaism, or Islamic scholars. He has recently begun corresponding with a number of the kabbalists in Arles, attempting to work the shape of the Tree of Life, or Etz haChayim, into his labyrinthine meditations. He suffers from serious arthritis, which bothers him most in the winter months when he serves in Niaux. He has a callous attitude toward spirits, feeling they simply have another chance in the next Cycle.

Hans, Follower of Criamon

Age: 54 (Apparent age: 40) Personality Traits: Cheerful +3, Sociable +2, Curious +2

The second son of merchant from Aachen, Hans was initially enrolled in a seminary as a youth. A visiting Criamon with a sensitivity for The Gift recognized his aptitude and offered him a chance at another life. Insatiably curious, and a student of languages, Hans loves his time in the village of Niaux and the children there call him "Grandfather Hans." His Gentle Gift allows him to interact quite amicably with the populace, and he is the favored ambassador with the town. He feels that while he seeks the answer to the Enigma, he should also enjoy his time in this life to its fullest while living as aptly

as possible. He is in no rush to find his way down the Path. His specialties are in Rego, Imaginem, and Terram.

Quite unusually, there are no dedicated grogs at Miniata Sophia. The Criamon feel they do not need them. The village itself is under the protection of Arnaud de Miglos, the local viscount and vassal of Foix, who keeps a garrison within his castle. The villagers of Niaux, who (mostly indirectly) supply the covenfolk, have always paid their taxes on time and adequately, and in doing so have never drawn undue attention. A few of the covenfolk are the sort of hunting specialists who could serve as grogs, if absolutely necessary, but they primarily help augment the covenfolks' diet and serve as sentries only by virtue of their wide-ranging duties. There are a couple of better trained, widely-traveled covenfolk who occasionally venture abroad for items desired by the magi, but more often than not, this insular community continues to operate in quiet seclusion, regularly delivering small quantities of iron mined from the hills and processed into ingots or rod stock.