The Covenants of the Provençal Tribunal

The Provençal Tribunal has three main power centers. In the west, the Mercurian magi of Aedes Mercurii and the Mithraian magi of Castra Solis dispute the true legacy of Val Negra and House Flambeau. In the east, the chapterhouses that compose the multi-site Coenobium attempt to prevent new covenants from forming. Nevertheless, the Tribunal has many covenants, and some, like Tolosa Paratge and Bellaquin, are of considerable age and prestige. The Crusade, and disagreements over what the Order's response to it should be, have led to a deeply divided Tribunal.

Each of the more influential covenants in the Tribunal is briefly summarized below, along with any strong opinions that other covenants hold about them, and how their members are likely to react to new covenants established in the region.

Aedes Mercurii (18 Votes)

This collection of pagan magi split off

from Val-Negra at the start of the Schism War, and is organized around a great temple to Mercury hidden deep in the Pyrenees (see Chapter 6: Aedes Mercurii). Contentious and rebellious, they loathe Castra Solis, the other great Flambeau stronghold in the Tribunal. The covenant aggressively opposes the establishment of new covenants in the region, unless newcomers join a political alliance with Aedes Mercurii. However, the covenant members are not unified on any topic but blocking Castra Solis, so new covenants can expect inconsistent, even contradictory responses. Outside the Pyrenees, they resent Castra Solis's political dominance and hate the covenants which choose to work with the domus magna. Aedes Mercurii is really the difficult stepchild of the Tribunal; many consider them to be dangerous fanatics.

Ara Maxima Nova: Knowing the covenant's history and legacy, they wonder what secrets the magi of Aedes Mercurii may hide, or not even realize exist within their walls. To that extent, they are willing discuss issues with the covenant and occasionally assist them.

Bellaquin: The magi here consider Aedes Mercurii's mountain redoubt a life of crude isolation, bereft of the finer aspects of civilization. Certainly, they should carry on the fine traditions they believe they maintain, but Aedes Mercurii need not be so aggressive about it.

Castra Solis: Their public attitude toward Aedes Mercurii regards the Mercurians as somewhat misguided mystics confused about the legacy of House Flambeau. In private, they consider Aedes Mercurii an unfortunate liability, too large to be directly confronted, but one capable of sabotaging itself through internal bickering.

Coenobium: They believe Aedes Mercurii wastes a great deal of resources in what amounts to a meaningless legacy dispute—a contest with no prize worth winning. They consider their approach to the covenant on an issue-by-issue basis, with a selfish eye toward the consequences: does the Mercurians' proposal benefit the Coenobium? The position would require delicate negotiation, if the covenant weren't so large

and disorganized.

Ostal des Exiles: The House of Exiles believes Aedes Mercurii could be a potent force against the Crusaders, and yet feel contempt toward them for their fear of discovery. Nothing good comes without risk, and the Mercurians seem unwilling to take risks for something the Exiles would die for.

Stella Durus: Renaud would be interested in exploring the mysticism he sees here, but feels this might betray the relationship he has with Castra Solis, and so he counsels against supporting Aedes Mercurii on critical issues.

Tolosa Paratge: The magi of Tolosa Paratge think Aedes Mercurii expends great effort on something of truly minor significance. Both sides wish the Mercurians would drop their petty feud regarding 'who is the true heir to Val Negra' and become their own covenant.

Ara Maxima Nova (4 Votes)

This primarily Merinita-based covenant is focused on magic of vineyards and roads in the Perpignan region of Narbonnais (see Chapter 7), and the Dionysian mysteries of its founder Luc's Mystery cult. If the players establish a covenant with an emphasis on Faerie or Seeker investigations, then Ara Maxima Nova works to discredit, harass, or chase away magi with overlapping interests—unless those magi seem willing to join and help the cult. Otherwise, the covenant remains neutral toward new magi, as long as the new covenant doesn't prevent or interfere with the exploration or investigation of the Via Domitia and its route.

Aedes Mercurii: They sympathize regarding how a cult might be misunderstood, though they do not fully understand the ambitions of the covenant.

Castra Solis: They suspect the Merinita magi may be up to something, but don't believe them dangerous and mostly ignore them. Should the more religious members learn of Luc's cult, they might begin a covert campaign against the mystagogue's resources.

Coenobium: They find Ara Maxima Nova insular and rude, and especially despise their habit of regularly challenging magi on the Via Domitia to certamen when friendly conversation might suffice. This attitude causes some friction, and they are predisposed to vote against suggestions from Ara Maxima Nova.

Ostal des Exiles: They believe the Merinitas' attitudes are cowardly, and hope they can be made more active participants in local defense.

Stella Durus: A close neighbor, they find the Merinita standoffish, but decent enough. In truth, they simply haven't interacted with the covenant enough to form an opinion.

Bellaquin (5 Votes)

A Summer covenant which transitioned to Autumn by moving its location from the war-torn county of Toulouse to the sheltering Pyrenees (see Chapter 6: Bellaquin), Bellaquin delights in mundane affairs and remains strongly driven by the resident Jerbiton magi. Regarding new covenants, Bellaquin believes "the more, the merrier." With untaxed resources, they could easily double the membership of their covenant. To them, more magi in the region only increases its influence, perhaps contributing to the formation of a new Catalan Tribunal.

Aedes Mercurii: They consider Bellaquin to be kindred spirits—magi forced to pick up their homes, move, and start again. They support the Andorrans to generate sympathy for themselves.

Ara Maxima Nova: The magi of Perpignan interact little with Bellaquin, but send agents to the Andorrans' fairs.

Castra Solis: They find the magi's habit of indulging in mundane fealty and commerce tantamount to inviting further trouble with local lords, but feel the isolated nature of the Andorran countryside makes this an acceptable risk. They support Bellaquin when possible and send representatives to gather intelligence at its fairs.

Coenobium: They appreciate the economic progress the Andorrans have achieved and hope to learn from both the covenant's success and previous failure.

Ostal des Exiles: The Faidits try to stay on good terms with Bellaquin for economic reasons, but might attempt to strengthen those ties should they realize the potential for intelligence gathering presented by the markets.

Stella Durus: Jean Marie sends his paradoxographia to Bellaquin, and corresponds with the magi here on a regular basis regarding gossip, distant affairs, and concepts of Courtly Love. While the two covenants are distant geographically, they are fairly close politically.

Tolosa Paratge: Before the division, the covenant found Bellaquin eccentric but tolerable. Now, with the threat of destruction hanging over their heads, they find Bellaquin's sense of entitlement infuriating.

Castra Solis (17 Votes, plus Praeco & Presiding Quaesitor)

The domus magna of House Flambeau, Castra Solis is unquestionably one of the most influential covenants in the region. Situated in Gascony (see Chapter 5: Castra Solis), it is the stronghold of every sort of military magus the House produces, from soldierly Mithraians to knightly Milites. Yet it is still very northern in its outlook, and owes most of its overall direction to its primus, Garus. The covenant strongly advocates for the Crusades and the Church, with very Christian attitudes, and very political aims. New magi could find allies or enemies in Castra Solis, depending on how well their aims align. Typically very generous to those working with them, the magi strongly distrust Tytali, denying assistance to a new covenant with a large Tytalan presence.

Aedes Mercurii: The Mercurians hate and distrust Castra Solis, considering them bitter rivals. They oppose the covenant's activities in Tribunal whenever possible, and coordinate opposition via third parties in exchange for political support when practical.

Ara Maxima Nova: The magi of this fledgling cult want to avoid the eye of the Crusaders and so they tend to give Castra Solis no reason to look very closely. They either follow Castra Solis' lead regarding most issues or abstain from voting.

Bellaquin: They enjoy the attention the Flambeau pay to their gatherings and

like to consider Castra Solis staunch allies. They don't see that they need Castra Solis more than the Flambeau need them.

Coenobium: They actively support Castra Solis, which leads the two covenants to feel that as long as they stay allied, little can oppose them politically. However, they also realize the need for quorum, and know if they isolate the smaller covenants by always working with the domus magna, the Tribunal could descend into a situation where it is impossible to form a quorate Tribunal meeting.

Ostal des Exiles: They see Castra Solis as the problem, rather than the solution. The Flambeau have been too supportive of the crusaders and this has done serious damage to the Hermetic community in Provence. If it were possible to show Castra Solis how misguided the Exiles believe them to be, and have the revelation make an impact, the magi would pursue it wholeheartedly.

Stella Durus: Without a reason to oppose Castra Solis, Stella Durus historically supports the actions of Renaud's domus magna. They can often be swayed to pass measures offered by the covenant and only act against it if they feel that they really must.

Tolosa Paratge: The Black faction believes Castra Solis would come to its aid if Cyprian called, and rightly so. This affects the White faction's view, and they believe Castra Solis to be too close to their mundane allies.

Coenobium (Approximately 20 Votes)

The Coenobium is a sprawling collection of chapter houses settled across the County of Provence (see Chapter 8: Arelat). They banded together under one covenant charter about two hundred years ago, and reside in the only part of the Provençal Tribunal to have remained within its borders since its establishment. The covenant is extremely political, populated mostly by cooperative magi of House Jerbiton and the Redcaps of the Tribunal's Mercer House. They take a dim view of magi attempting to establish a new covenant in their shadow, which makes the process very difficult. The nearly two dozen members coordinate an enormous amount of magical and mundane resources to sabotage prospective rivals, unless those magi join as a chapterhouse. As a result, no new covenants have flourished in southern Provence for over a century. However, the Coenobium hasn't yet expanded its network beyond Arelat, and believes allied chapterhouses in the rest of the Tribunal would be very useful. The Coenobium's open offer to assist petitioners seeking aid is common knowledge, but such help comes with the implication of future annexation.

Aedes Mercurii: They cannot stand the tightly-bound relationship shared by the Coenobium and Castra Solis, and feel jilted that the covenant chose the upstarts over the true legacy of Val Negra. They discredit Castra Solis whenever possible and hope to eventually convince the Coenobium to shift alliances. Ophilio of Mercere seems to dislike the Chief Redcap especially, but is obsequiously considerate to the other Merceres, for whom he crafts Longevity Rituals and other enchanted devices.

Ara Maxima Nova: Luc views the Coenobium as a great bully which must be defied. He makes it a personal mission to subtly undermine their efforts whenever possible, but doesn't wish to draw too much attention to his efforts.

Bellaquin: They see an enormous market for the taking, and court the Coenobium whenever possible.

Castra Solis: They support the Coenobium, believing the strong central organization and management serves as an effective structure in the otherwise mundanely chaotic nature of the Tribunal. They understand they will not agree on all issues, but when the greater good demands, they know they must stand beside them.

Ostal des Exiles: So much potential, if only they weren't so self-involved. The Coenobium is too big to truly shift its attitudes, at least not without some sort of drastic action taken by the Crusaders against them.

Stella Durus: So long as they do not interfere with the covenant members' individual projects, the magi of Narbonne are willing to allow the Coenobium to take the leadership role for as long as they like.

Tolosa Paratge: Both factions feel if they could just get the Coenobium to side with their cause, they would have the clout necessary to bring the other faction to the negotiating table rather than to the battlefield.

Ostal des Exiles (The House of Exiles) (6 Votes)

The Faidits are made up of refugees from other covenants around Toulouse (see Chapter 4: The Toulousain) which failed or were abandoned because of the Crusade. This odd assortment of magi welcomes any new Spring covenant as allies, working hard to recruit new Tribunal members into their defense of Toulouse from the Northerners. Open-minded, they consider what every potential covenant might be able to contribute and how other allies could repay that assistance.

Aedes Mercurii: They feel the House of Exiles brings unwanted crusader attention to the region, and that a policy of quiet concealment is best. The Order should stick to Order business and worry less about the mundane.

Ara Maxima Nova: The Merinita cult's attitude is similar to Aedes Mercurii, but a more immediate threat to their covenant could quickly reverse their opinion. Luc is ultimately concerned with the survival of his cult and its goals and so would easily side with the Faidits if threatened by crusaders.

Bellaquin: The mostly Jerbiton Bellaquin finds a romantic quality to the House of Exiles and their struggles in the south of the Tribunal, but they cannot readily identify any real reason to support these magi.

Castra Solis: They respect the fighting spirit of the Exiles, and admire their willingness to fight the good fight, but believe their mission to be misguided. The Flambeau would prefer see the Faidits incorporated into local, less militant covenants where their experience might better protect the Tribunal.

Coenobium: They view the Exiles as a re-

source needing restraint. The Faidits could draw too much undue attention to the Order within Provence. The optimal solution might involve tempering the Exiles' zeal, or bringing them under the direction of the Coenobium perhaps with a promise to aid them in their goal.

Stella Durus: While they understand the Exiles' desire to protect the area, they feel that Stella Durus has avoided notice so far and everything has been fine. Surely there's no need to keep worrying. The danger has passed, hasn't it?

Tolosa Paratge: Either faction believes the Exiles could be a resource to help their cause, if only they can find something to attract the covenant's support.

Stella Durus (5 Votes)

This covenant is a small, cosmopolitan group of mixed Houses (including a Tytalan magus, Ducaru, of whom most of the Tribunal is very aware) on the outskirts of Narbonne (see Chapter 7: Stella Durus). They are generally too preoccupied with their own projects to interfere with those of others. So long as a new covenant does not impinge upon their resources and isn't established north of the Pyrenees or south of the Counties of Albi, Béziers, or Toulouse, the magi of this covenant remain neutral. They are hostile to those established within that zone, organizing to harass and bully the new covenant for at least one season a year.

Aedes Mercurii: They find the covenant's non-Flambeau members to be pleasant enough, but don't like their willingness to follow Renaud's lead on matters involving Castra Solis. They are considering the possibility of infiltrating its membership or finding some way to force Renaud to leave.

Ara Maxima Nova: Stella Durus understands and honors the cult's tacit claim to the Via Domitia, and so the two covenants behave like cordial but uninvolved neighbors.

Bellaquin: They find Jean Marie to be a very entertaining fellow and greatly enjoy his paradoxographia. This encourages mutual support between the two covenants on less crucial matters.

Castra Solis: They find Renaud to be a good and decent magus, and believe he would not join a covenant of poor quality. As such, Castra Solis often supports Stella Durus and politely requests their political support when necessary.

Coenobium: They appreciate Jean Marie's management of the covenant, and have a great deal of sympathy for the magi there. They are inclined to support Stella Durus because they believe it might willingly join their covenant as a chapterhouse if the circumstances were right.

Ostal de Exiles: The Exiles view Stella Durus as potential resource and see Renaud as a veteran who could greatly aid their cause. They work to court the covenant, encouraging them to find a more regionally focused attitude, and one slightly less aligned with Castra Solis.

Tolosa Paratge: Through Cyprian's relationship with Renaud, these two covenants had begun developing closer ties. Should the conflict in Toulouse escalate, the Black faction would likely ask Stella Durus to join it. The White faction recognizes this, and might attempt to leverage Mariola's burgeoning relationship with Jean Marie to either keep the covenant neutral, or join their side.

Tolosa Paratge (9 Votes divided)

Noble, cultured, highly structured, and at war with itself, Tolosa Paratge is a multi-House covenant hidden in a magical regio beside the great city of Toulouse (see Chapter 4: Toulouse: Tolosa Paratge). The covenant is split over the issue of Cathar heretics within the covenant, forming two factions, White (expel the heretics) and Black (protect them against the Crusade). How the magi respond to newcomers depends on the side with which the characters align themselves. If a new covenant simply ignores them, the factions continue with their struggle, unperturbed. If the characters become involved and support the wrong side, however, they might easily find themselves the target of a Wizard's War.

General opinion within the Tribunal

holds that Tolosa Paratge is self-destructing. From a sense of decorum, the other covenants have tacitly agreed to let them resolve their own issues and see who, or what, emerges from the aftermath. Certainly individual magi of various covenants have personal opinions, and may act on these beliefs indirectly, but no one currently intends to act openly. Renaud of Stella Durus has concern for his pater, and the magi of the Coenobium always admired Tolosa Paratge's style, but for now, the general attitude is to wait and watch.

A few other Hermetic groups and smaller covenants exist but seek to hide from the politics of the region.

Fraxinetum Redux (3 votes, unused)

Fraxinetum, a group of magi in Arelat (see Chapter 8: Arelat: Fraxinetum), have never revealed themselves to the Tribunal. Currently unknown to the Tribunal at large, they won't oppose new covenants unless magi establish another maritime stronghold or occupy an island located off the southern coast.

Miniata Sophia (4 votes)

A subterranean reflection of the Cave of Twisting Shadows, this Criamon clutch was established only recently, in the last 40 years. Focused on the nearby town, they teach and serve while seeking enlightenment. While they participate in Tribunal, they eschew politics and generally have no opinion on the activities of other magi, and few bother about them.

Tres' Band (3 votes, unused)

The infamous Rusticani magus Tres Ex Miscellanea (see Chapter 1: History) and his followers have gone to ground in the forests near Bazas in Gascony (see Chapter 5: Tres), living in what is essentially a roving covenant. They are generally op-

Set the Stones of the Via

Greater non-Hermetic Ritual, ReTe(Cr) R: Spec, D: Spec, T: Group Ease Factor: 36

This powerful Mercurian ritual binds together a set of specially consecrated milliaria magica (Latin: "magic milestones") and one or more special smaller focus stones known as lapides mercurii. A separate milliarium magicum is required for every 10 Roman miles in length — the length of the Neo-Mercurian Road Magic Target: Road Network (The Mysteries Revised Edition, page 116). All the stones to be enchanted and used in the via must be present at the casting of the spell.

When linked together, the milliaria magica form an interconnected series of related Arcane Connections, and when placed along a route, they bind the path into a new Via Mercuria, a mystical road treated as a single entity for the purposes of targeting and other magical effects. The unified path traverses bridges and even fords, unlike the Neo-Mercurian Road Magic Range: Road Network (The Mysteries Revised Edition, page 116), and ignores Size calculation when treated as a target, remaining equivalent to the same level as Boundary for the purposes of spell level calculation. The lapides mercurii can be later installed within a building or similar structure, such as a Temple of Mercury, located within 1 Roman mile of the mystical path outlined by the milestones, linking it to the via.

This spell is believed to be one of the 37 great rituals codified at the Temple of Pompeii by Plentarch but lost to the later Mercurian magi upon the Cult's collapse. Through these vast mystical networks, the few Priests of Mercury gathered in distant temples connected together by Roman roads, and channeled powerful magical forces to aid the Roman military in remote parts of the Empire. Due to the extensive resources and centralized power required to construct a Roman road and then enchant the milliaria, the magic was quickly lost in the fragmented years following the fall of Rome, as the Cult rapidly splintered into mutually hostile traditions.

Aedes Mercurii possesses casting

notes and details of this ritual kept safely and reverently in their templum, and a copy of the full ritual may exist within the Library of Fenicil, deep within Magvillus. It is also believed Priamitus, one of the sons of Mercere and the founder of the Hermetic Cult of Mercury, may have left the original scroll from which the ritual was taken hidden somewhere inside the former covenant of Val Negra. A text containing this exceptionally rare Mercurian ritual acts as a source of Insight for the purposes of integrating True Mercurian Road Magic into Hermetic theory, and adds six to the Intelligence stress roll required (Ancient Magic, page 8). Every point the researcher has in the Arcane Ability associated with this ritual above 4 grants +1 to the Insight roll, to a maximum of +3.

(Special spell)

Design Note: Rules for similar non-Hermetic rituals are detailed in Houses of Hermes: True Lineages, pages 76–77. In short, this ritual is learned as a unique Arcane Ability, takes a whole season to enact, and requires at least 36 pawns of vis and 36 Mythic pounds of silver worth of expensive materials such as herbs for fumigation and inks for the inscription of pagan symbols within a magical circle. Magi with the Mercurian Magic Virtue require only half the amount of vis and special materials, but all magi participating must have the Virtue for the benefit to apply.

The Hermetic Architecture Mystery ritual Bind the Mystical Structure (The Mysteries Revised Edition, page 98), may be a non-Hermetic fragment descended from this Mercurian ritual used to bind the milliaria magica into a via mercuria.

Link the Rent Path

Lesser non-Hermetic Ritual, ReTe(Cr)

R: Spec, D: Spec, T: Group Ease Factor: 18

This lesser Mercurian ritual is used to connect separate viae mercuriae created using the Mercurian Ritual Set the Stones of the Via, or existing networks of such roads, to each other to form a larger network. It is also used to firmly connect a new lapis mer-

curius to an existing network (for instance

one to be placed in a newly built Temple of Mercury) or to replace a single damaged or stolen milliarum magicum on a broken via. It cannot create new viae, nor can it repair magical roads that have more than one milliarum magicum missing.

A copy of this ritual is stored in the templum of Aedes Mercurii, although it has not been studied for several centuries; the old Roman roads of Mythic Europe have long fallen into great disrepair and their milliaria magica magically "desecrated" with crosses, or removed for use as building materials. Presumably other copies can be found at Durenmar and in Fenicil's Library at Magvillus. Any text containing this seemingly useless Mercurian ritual acts as a source of Insight for the purposes of integrating True Mercurian Road Magic into Hermetic theory and adds three to the Intelligence stress roll required (see Ancient Magic, page 8). Every point the researcher has in the Arcane Ability associated with this ritual above 4 grants +1 to the Insight roll, to a maximum of +3.

In the years following the end of the Schism War, a Mercurian priest of Janus named Petrarchus of Guernicus who lived at Aedes Mercurii reputedly attempted to organize a magical connecting of the great Way of St. James in Gascony to the Via Domitia in Narbonnais using a similar ritual, intending thus to create a massive road network would cover most of France, Iberia, and Italy. Unfortunately, Hermetic history and legend states his project failed because he failed to organize the various magi and Redcaps of his divisive covenant and the somewhat stereotypically rebellious region.

(Special spell)

Design Note: Rules for non-Hermetic rituals are detailed in Houses of Hermes: True Lineages, pages 76–77. In short, this ritual is learned as a unique Arcane Ability, takes three hours to cast, and requires 18 pawns of vis and 18 Mythic pounds of silver worth of expensive materials such as herbs for fumigation and inks for the inscription of pagan symbols within a magical circle. Magi with the Mercurian Magic Virtue require only half the amount of vis and special materials, but all magi participating must have the Virtue for the benefit to apply.

posed to anything the Order of Hermes does, and do not attend Tribunal. They remain initially aloof to newly established covenants, with their attitude shifting from indifference to hatred. This change occurs over many seasons, and depends on how the magi treat the mundane populations surrounding their base. To those magi who seek to establish themselves as a ruling class, Tres' band responds aggressively, approaching the covenant with the intention of dissuading them. They would hate to have to teach the lesson of Mistridge again, but have no qualms about doing so. The Rusticani are an Ex Miscellanea tradition detailed in Houses of Hermes: Societates, pages 130–133.