The Rhine

Arcadian Path

1st Sacrifice: Dispassionate
1st Quest: Cause an important faerie to display an unaccustomed emotion.
1st Fruit: Minor Magical Focus in Emotions

2nd Sacrifice: Weak Magic Resistance (When feeling emotion)
2nd Quest: Enchant four magical jewels to store the emotions of one's heart, liver, spleen, and brain.
2nd Fruit: Thief of Emotions

The Rhine, greatest of the German rivers, rises in the northern Alps and feeds into Lake Constance in the Tribunal of the Greater Alps. From there, it winds its way more than seven hundred miles, past a succession of mountain ranges, forests, tributaries, rapids, cliffs, islands, venerable cities, fields, vineyards, and bustling riverside towns, before diverging into three distributaries and emptying over a wide delta into the North Sea.

The river forms a dividing line, both culturally and historically; it is no accident that it is the western (left) bank that houses all the cities along its length. This region was first settled by Gauls, and then the Romans, who established several cities — here are by far the oldest of all German settlements. The Rhenish cities are now home to powerful and wealthy archbishops, princes in their own right, who are partly responsible for electing the German king. Moving westwards from the Rhine, past the Mosel and then the Meuse, one approaches the western extremity of the Holy Roman Empire, with French and German influence in equal measure. The eastern (right) bank has a different character. Although part (Swabia and the Odenwald) was Roman for a time — long enough to establish a handful of cities, roads, and a line of forts, at least — it was mainly occupied by pagan Germanic tribes until the time of the 8th century missionaries and Charlemagne. Opposite the cities only forested uplands rise up on the right bank.

For much of its length, the Rhine is several hundred yards wide — too far to be bridged or forded — and it is navigable all the way up to Basel (although passage through the Rhine Gorge can be hazardous). A great many ships and boats are to be found plying their trade up and down this principal artery — the great Rhine cities are built on trade.

The Middle Rhine (including the Rhine Gorge), the valley of the lower Mosel (including Trier), and the valley of the Lahn are covered in more detail in Chapter 12: The Curse of the Rhine Gorge.

From Constance, the Rhine winds its way westwards for nearly a hundred miles, tumbling over the Rhinefalls and skirting the south of the Black Forest. At Basel, Redcaps traveling between the Alps, Rhine, and Normandy Tribunals make frequent use of the Copper Rooster Inn, maintained by House Mercere. From there, the river turns north and sedately opens out into a wide fertile valley east of the Vosges Mountains. Over a further course of two hundred miles, four historic cities are passed. A sizeable portion of the Rhineland around the Palatinate Forest and the Odenwald consists of the County Palatine of the Rhine, a recent acquisition of the Wittelsbach dukes of Bavaria.

Not far from the southeastern edge of the Black Forest are the greatest waterfalls in Europe. At a width of five hundred feet, the Rhine gradually accelerates before plunging eighty feet down over a set of cataracts. In the center of the falls is located a rocky island, taller than the falls and large enough to accommodate a small copse of trees and bushes. An attempt to navigate the falls from upstream would be utter folly, however the lower end of the island rock may be approached by boat from downstream with considerable caution (Profession: Boating roll against an Ease Factor of 9) With difficulty, one may dismount onto it. The way to the top is perilous, both slippery and steep (Athletics roll against an Ease Factor of 12), but if one reaches the summit, one finds oneself standing in the very maw of the falls, practically deafened by its roar, a place of great elemental power. (The island has a Magic aura of 2, with 4 at the summit.)

A great many centuries ago, the River Rhine was wild and tempestuous. It is told that a race of men from the Lower Rhine, the Nibelungs, collaborated with dwarves and giants to conquer the river. The giants hurled a great rock into it, pinioning the watery spirit at this point. Ever since, the river was tamed and (mostly) safe for passage. Some believe that the Rhinefalls could be the location of the Rhinegold, the lost treasure of the Nibelungs (see Chapter 2: History, The Nibelungenlied), jealously guarded by a powerful elemental, in revenge for his entrapment.

Vis may be harvested here, in the following fashion: First, one must surmount the rock, as described above. Objects and goods of value may be sacrificed to the river spirit by hurling them into the waters, whereupon they are immediately consumed by the maelstrom. Some time later, smashed fragments of these wares may be discovered washed up on the riverbanks downstream. Each is worth one pawn of Aquam vis. It is unlikely that magi would discover this procedure by accident, but the finding of such a fragment may prompt some experiments. The island also houses a regio; as one ascends the rock, one may also ascend the regio. At the top level is a turbulent elemental realm of water that houses the Rhine spirit (and which may conceivably hide the Rhinegold, and other sacrificed treasures). One would not stumble into this regio by accident, however. An ascent of the falls always leads simply to the top of the rock, unless powerful magic is used to penetrate it.

The Romans established a legionary camp at the site of a Celtic fishing village, where the river Ill meets the Rhine. Due to its strategic location at a confluence of roads, it soon grew into a sizeable city, Argentoratum. Although later destroyed by invading tribes on several occasions, it prospers today as a trade city where roads still meet — indeed, its name means "castle of roads." Strassburg is built around a small series of river canals, and the powerful boater's gild controls much of the trade on the Upper Rhine.

Speyer, with its origins also as a Roman military camp, rose to prominence in the first half of the 11th century, as the favorite seat of the Salian dynasty. The emperor Conrad II ordered the construction of a great cathedral in 1030, which now dominates the city and houses the tombs of several kings and emperors in its mighty crypt. To the southwest of the cathedral is a wealthy Jewish quarter, home to a grand synagogue and elegant bath-houses. Young Jews come to Mainz or Speyer from all over Germany to be trained as rabbis. Hundreds of Speyer's

The Bells of Speyer

Ever since the completion of Speyer's cathedral, its bells have tolled, without any mortal hand setting them in motion, on the occasion of an imperial death. A notable exception was the emperor Henry IV, who died in Liege after excommunication, forced abdication, and escaping imprisonment by his treacherous son, Henry V, who had deposed him with the agreement of the Pope. His body was buried in unconsecrated ground, but was constantly tended to by his faithful servant Kurt. Five years later, Henry V asked the Pope to posthumously revoke the excommunication, whereupon the body was returned to Speyer and interred in the cathedral's crypt. The old servant Kurt, his mission finally fulfilled, died within days. Only then did the bells toll for Henry IV. Years later, as Henry V was on his deathbed, the apparition of his betrayed father, dying alone in misery, came to him. This vision tormented the dying emperor, wracked by his guilty conscience. When he then passed away, the bells tolled once more, but this time after the pattern signifying a sinner being lead to execution.

Jews were slaughtered during the First Crusade, as a riot of violence and theft erupted in the city. A group of knights dragged a dozen of them into the cathedral, where they were murdered after refusing to accept baptism. Due to the protection of Speyer's bishop, however, many in the city were spared.

Twenty miles west of Speyer, at the edge of the Palatinate Forest, an imperial fortress-palace sits impregnable atop the craggy pinnacle of the steep Sonnenberg. Built in the 11th century, Burg Trifels is one of the largest castles belonging to the Hohenstaufens, and was especially favored by Frederick Barbarossa. The castle is now famous — or infamous — as the site where Richard the Lionheart, the English king, was imprisoned by Henry VI in 1193. (He was only released upon the payment of a massive ransom of 150,000 marks.) As well as its extensive dungeon, the castle protects one of the largest treasuries in the empire.

Here is one of the most memorable places in the West. Here was the Holy Temple of the Romans, the Royal Fortress of the Nibelung, the Palace of Charlemagne.

— inscription on the north face of the cathedral of Worms

The famed city of Worms has seen many rulers come and go — Celts, Romans, Burgundians, Franks — and is now ruled by its own prince-bishop. It has borne witness to many famous events, including the Concordat of 1122 (settling the Investiture Contest), the weddings of Charlemagne and Frederick Barbarossa, as well as of Siegfried and Gunther (as told in the epic poem, the Nibelungenlied), with which the city is inextricably linked. The great cathedral of Worms occupies the site of the former Burgundian castle its northern doorway, the Kaiserportal, is located on the very spot of the infamous quarrel between the two queens, Kriemhild and Brünhild, which ultimately lead to the downfall of the Burgundian kingdom.

The northern third of Worms is dubbed "Little Jerusalem," being the largest Jewish settlement in Germany, although it was ransacked during the first two Crusades. Worms' great synagogue, built in a similar style to the cathedral, was completed in 1175. A venerable and extensive Jewish cemetery, the Heiliger Sand, is located to the west of the city, immediately outside its walls. Since the Jews hold that the dead should be left in peace, the vast graveyard, filled with ancient and elaborate tombs, is deserted and overgrown, apart from the newest plots.

The Imperial Cathedrals

The triumvirate of the cathedrals of Speyer, Worms, and Mainz are unquestionably the three greatest churches in Germany. Visitors and pilgrims to these cities are overwhelmed by the majesty and size of these Romanesque masterpieces. The cathedral of Speyer is arguably the most graceful of the three, built of pale sandstone, with a high vault, topped by identical square towers at its eastern end. Its magnificent crypt, marbled and pillared, is perhaps the finest in all Christendom. The cathedral of Worms is the most dramatic and unusual-looking, a squat yet soaring structure with two domed choirs, topped with strange and exotic statues. The highest points are the four seven-tiered circular corner towers, lending the whole a castlelike appearance. Indeed, part of the building derives from the former Burgundian castle on the same site, which Charlemagne made into a palace. The cathedral of Mainz is a sprawling edifice built of red sandstone. Copying St. Peter's in Rome, the seat of the other Holy See, it is oriented in reverse, from east to west. At each end is a separate choir, each surrounded by three towers of varying heights, one reserved for the clergy and the other for the emperor.

The cathedral of Mainz, as the seat of a Holy See, has a Divine aura of 7; the cathedrals of Speyer, Worms, Trier, Aachen, Cologne, and Hildesheim have Divine auras of 6. Most other cathedrals in Germany have Divine auras of 5, and most cities have a Divine aura of 3 (see also ArM5, page 188). The strongest Divine auras are generally to be found in the Rhineland, Lorraine, and south-central Germany, with the most venerable churches, saints, and holy sites. Around the Baltic and in the Eastern Marches, where the Church's presence is more recent, most Divine auras are slightly weaker.

Mainz, formerly the Roman city of Moguntiacum, was raised by St. Boniface to the status of an archbishopric in the 8th century, becoming the center of the Church for the whole of Germany. Boniface himself was the first archbishop of Mainz. From Willigis in the tenth century onwards, the archbishop has enjoyed the status of Archchancellor of the Empire, principal among the electors, with the responsibility of crowning the German king at Aachen. Indeed, the archbishop also holds the title of primas germaniae, acting in place of the Pope north of the Alps. By the same token the episcopal see of Mainz is titled a Holy See, of which only two exist — the other being, of course, Rome. The massive six-towered cathedral is crammed at the center of the city, with other buildings being built right up against its walls. Amongst these is the church of St. Gothard, the archbishop's private chapel. River traffic coming up the Rhine past Mainz will either turn east up the River Main towards Frankfurt, or south up the Rhine to Worms, Speyer, and Strassburg. A large quantity of goods are therefore unloaded and reloaded at the riverside docks, and the archbishop accumulates considerable wealth from the charging of customs duties.

Lorraine came into existence in 843 upon the division of the Carolingian empire among the three sons of Louis the Pious. The middle kingdom belonged to Lothar, and was thus named Lotharingia. Later reabsorbed into Germany as a duchy, minus Burgundy and Italy, it was divided into two in the 10th century by Otto the Great. In the 11th century, Gerard, duke of Upper Lorraine, chose to establish his seat in the geographic center of his duchy, erecting a fortress between two marshes, where since the town of Nancy has grown up. The dukes have found themselves in a somewhat delicate position, feeling the influence of the French kings to the west, as well as of the rival counts of Bar and Luxemburg. In 1220 the current duke, Dietrich III, dies and is succeeded by Matthew II.

Upper Lorraine consists of a moderately populated rolling plain, dotted by woodlands, bounded to the east by the Vosges Mountains and the Rhine, to the north by the Ardennes, and to the west by the Argonne.

Jews in the Holy Roman Empire

Of the two major branches of Judaism, it is the Latin-influenced Ashkenzim that is predominant in the Franco-German lands of northern Europe (the other branch, the Sephardim, is Arabic-influenced, and prominent in Spanish lands). The Jews of Germany are integrated with urban Christian culture as primarily a merchant class almost all the sizeable towns of Germany, except for those to the north of Brunswick (central Saxony) and in the Eastern Marches, have Jewish quarters of varying sizes. The bishops of Germany have forbidden most forms of social intercourse between Jews and Christians, and while forced to obey the civil and ecclesiastic laws of the empire in return for "protection," they also respect and obey their own laws and institutions.

Despite suffering active persecution at the time of the First Crusade, those who survived developed their own cultural and religious renaissance, centered around mysticism. Known as the Chasidim (pietists), the German mystics placed heavy influence on the merits of asceticism, martyrdom, and lifelong penitence. Advances in the law resulting from this renaissance have led to increased freedom and rights for Jewish women, and the lifting of strict prohibitions against usury, allowing pious Jews to take up the mercantile life.

Many of these advances in both religious thought and law came from the Jewish academy in Mainz, which has been a center of scholarship since the 10th century, and is known across Europe, attracting students from as far away as Spain and Italy. Other significant Jewish communities can be found in Worms, Speyer, and Augsburg.

All Jewish men, from the age of seven, are required by Christian law to identify themselves by wearing a cloth badge bearing the image of a wheel or a circle. Towns with large Jewish populations are prone to blame them for their woes; and particularly when Crusades are announced, new pogroms against the Jews follow. Invariably, the bishops of Germany protest against such slaughter, and often have to resort to extreme measures to stop it. One such massacre shook Cologne, Würzburg, Speyer, and Mainz at the start of the Second Crusade, and it was necessary for the archbishops and bishops to hang the ringleaders to stop the wide-scale violence and robbery. It is not a good time to be a Jew anywhere in Europe; but with the protection of the German bishops, their lot is slightly better in the Holy Roman Empire than elsewhere.

Although not nearly as mighty as the Alps, the Vosges are nevertheless loftier than most of the other German upland, being of a similar height to the Black Forest, the matching massif on the opposite bank of the Rhine. Like the Black Forest, fir trees dominate the upper slopes. However, unlike that impenetrable wilderness, the mountains here are not completely blanketed by forest — there are some villages. The southern granite mountains have distinctive rounded tops, whereas the lower northern hills are of red sandstone. Numerous springs, some of them hot, rise on the western flanks of the Vosges and feed into the tributaries of the Mosel. In spring, the arrival of the storks, who come here to roost, is eagerly awaited, since they are believed to bring good luck.

In the 7th century, Odile, the daughter of a local duke, Adalric, was born blind. Her father, angered with her disability and that she was not born a son, disowned her, but her mother Bereswinde spirited her away to an abbey, where she was raised by the abbess. Upon her baptism by her uncle, St. Erhard, Odile miraculously recovered her sight. She grew up with the nuns and became an educated and pious young woman. Adalric, hearing of her recovery, set about trying to marry her off, but Odile had decided to devote her life to God instead. Fleeing through the Vosges forest from her father the duke, a rock opened up to enfold and protect her. Witnessing this miracle, he had a change of heart and remorsefully offered Odile the Hohenburg castle, which she established as a convent. Many pilgrims came to visit the holy woman. Encountering a sick man dying of thirst, she struck the ground with her cane and brought forth a spring; he drank and was cured. Since then, many — especially those with diseases of the eye — have come to the spring to pray and wash their eyes with the curative water. St. Odile died and was buried at her abbey in 720.

The mountain that houses the convent of St. Odile at the Hohenburg is at a height of 2500 feet in the northern Vosges. At this idyllic site are a number of small chapels, one of which houses Odile's crypt, and an ancient Merovingian cemetery. Not far down the hillside from the convent is the holy spring itself, with a Divine aura of 4.

The chapel of Thann, dating from 1161, around which has sprung up a village, is to be found a dozen or so miles west of the town of Mulhouse, in the southern Vosges. Theobald, bishop of Gubbio (in Umbria, central Italy), had died in the previous year, and bequeathed his episcopal ring to his most loyal servant. The servant took the ring (as well as the bishop's thumb), which he hid inside his staff, and traveled far and wide for a year. In the fir forest of the Vosges one night, he thrust his staff into the ground. After waking the next morning, he found that he could not dislodge it, while three bright lights appeared over the forest. A nearby lord of the Engelburg (Angel Castle) witnessed this miracle, and resolved to erect a chapel on the very site, over the staff. Since then, the peasants of Engelburg have gathered every summer to ceremoniously burn three fir trees in front of the new chapel, which has a Divine aura of 3, and has become a place of pilgrimage.

Many centuries ago, the Vosges was dominated by a secretive fir spirit, much like that of the Black Forest opposite the Rhine. The founding of villages and monasteries and the felling of many fir trees since had greatly weakened its power, until the magical spirit was finally extinguished by the planting of the holy staff. Thus is the ancient power of the great Vosges forest broken; indeed there is no such continuous forest any longer. If this staff could somehow be removed, it might be the only artifact able to counter the might of the Black Forest spirit.

Hidden in an isolated cave on the slopes of the western Vosges are a set of magical springs. The Gauls worshiped the god Ogmios here; he was a god of strength, and also of eloquence and poetry. The Romans, when they adopted the site, identified Ogmios as Hercules, a hero of legendary strength, armed with a club and a bow, and wearing the cloak of a lion's hide. The springs form a set of three pools, around which was built a shrine, replete with Greek columns. Many came to pray to Hercules, the protector of the springs, and those whose wishes were fulfilled repaid him by placing stelae (altars) around the pools. Anyone who discovers the Sanctuary, which has a Magic aura of 3, would find these ancient altars arrayed round the pools in a circle.

Metz, situated where the River Seille joins the Mosel and at the crossing of ancient roads, has always been the largest and most important city of Upper Lorraine, with its early origins as firstly a Gaulish and then a major Roman city, Divodurum. In the 5th century, the Huns sacked the city despite the efforts of a local lord, St. Livier. He was beheaded by Attila, but later picked up his head and walked to his own burial place on a nearby hilltop. Upon the division of the great Merovingian realm in the 6th century, Metz became the capital city of the kingdom of Austrasia under Theoderic, and then in the 9th century it became the capital of the kingdom of Lotharingia. Metz has been a Free Imperial City since 1143, when the burghers of the city successfully rebelled against the duke. It has since risen to become the center of a small and independent republic covering the nearby lands, and is extremely wealthy, which is why it continues to thwart the desires of the dukes of Upper Lorraine to bring the city back under their heel. Indeed, Metz is so prosperous that it has on occasion lent money to the French king and even the Holy Roman Emperor, as well as the local dukes, when they prove to be agreeable. This wealth is evident from the stern fortifications of the city, inside which rise the cathedral of St. Stephen and several other grand churches.

Forty miles up the River Mosel from Metz lies Toul, formerly Roman Tullum, an equally venerable city, but one which lacks such great history or wealth. In contrast to Metz, however, the citizens of Toul remain loyal to their duke. The city is surrounded by impressive tall white stone walls, partially of Roman origin.

Two dozen miles to the southwest of Toul lies the ruined and abandoned Roman city of Andresina. Here was a great temple to the god Apollo, centered around a sacred pool fed by miles of piping, which was the catalyst for the city's growth and attracted the visits of at least two emperors, Caracalla and Constantine in the 3rd and 4th centuries, respectively. As well as the ruins of the temple, there is a large half-oval amphitheater, a crumbling basilica replete with mosaics, and a number of subterranean chambers. A small village has grown up adjacent to the ancient rampart that surrounds the ruins. Andresina has a Magic aura of 2 and might make a suitable site for a covenant. If the temple were to be restored, the aura strength would likely increase.

Verdun, on the River Meuse upstream of the Ardennes, is most famous for the eponymous treaty of 843, whereupon Charlemagne's empire was divided (see Chapter 2: History, The Treaty of Verdun). Verdun initially belonged to Lotharingia, the middle of the three kingdoms, but was reassigned to the western kingdom in the Treaty of Mersen in 870. Shortly thereafter it joined the Holy Roman Empire, and ever since Verdun has remained a border city where intrigue and uncertainty is rife, subject to changing borders and fortunes, and the waxing and waning of French or German influence. Verdun grew rapidly in size and prosperity in the 11th century, but is now in decline, overshadowed by Liege and Metz. The city's unsavory side flourishes though; spies and assassins can be recruited here to undertake tasks either in German or French lands, and Verdun (as well as the covenant of Triamore) is a frequent meeting point for Redcaps travelling between the Rhine and Normandy Tribunals.

After emerging from the Rhine Gorge and passing the last uplands of the Eifel, the Rhine approaches the great city of Cologne and the wide, flat lowland plain. The delta of the river is traditionally known as the Nether Lands, a low-lying swampy wilderness. However, a number of new towns are growing up in the county of Holland, where land is being drained, and the bishop of Utrecht holds a number of estates.

In 50 AD the fourth wife of the Roman emperor Claudius, Agrippina, requested that her home settlement, by then already an important military camp, be elevated to the status of a colonial city. Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensis (colony of Claudius and altar of Agrippina) was thus born, and grew to become capital of the province of Lower Germania. In 310 the emperor Constantine even had a massive bridge erected over the river, although it has long since fallen.

Cologne, easily the largest city of the Holy Roman Empire north of the Alps, is home to more than 20,000 prosperous citizens and is the most important trading city in Germany. It is the hub of the trade on the River Rhine and several roads intersect here, on both banks. The great walls of the city, erected in 1180, containing a dozen separate gates and flanked by a moat, comprise a semicircle with a radius of two miles centered on the western bank of the river. Inside rise sixteen major churches, including the cathedral, not counting dozens of smaller chapels and several monasteries. Of the four-mile stretch of the riverside occupied by the city, the quayside extends for more than a mile, thronged with hundreds of ships, warehouses, and trade counters, behind which is the city's principal market. The burghers of Cologne are naturally among the most wealthy and cosmopolitan in all Germany. Among the many craftsmen of the city, the weavers, dyers, goldsmiths, weaponsmiths, and armorers are the most renowned. Wares from all corners of the empire, and further afield, may be procured here.

Cologne is ruled by its powerful archbishop, who holds the status of Archchancellor of Italy. The current archbishop is Engelbert I, a tall, fair, and just man, whose virtues have been publicly extolled by the famous minstrel Walther von der Vogelweide (see Chapter 8: Central Germany, Thuringia). If your saga follows real history, he is martyred in 1225. The covenant of Fengheld maintains a chapter house at the Rheingasse, a narrow alley not far from the main market.

The Legend of St. Ursula

St. Ursula was a British princess whose father had arranged for her to marry an important pagan governor of Armorica (Brittany). She set sail with 11,010 virginal handmaidens, whereupon an almighty storm brought her safely over the sea to a port in Gaul in a single day. As a result of this miracle, Ursula declared that before her marriage she would firstly undertake a pilgrimage throughout Europe. With her followers, accompanied by the Pope and the bishop of Ravenna, she set out for Rome. Tragedy befell the group when they arrived at Cologne, however, which was being besieged by the Huns. Ursula was shot dead and her fellow virgins were all decapitated in a terrible massacre. There now exists a church of St. Ursula in Cologne, at the site of her (and her handmaidens') burial.

Cologne's coat of arms is a twoheaded black eagle, bearing a sword and a scepter, surmounted by an archbishop's crown. On the front of the eagle is a device with three golden crowns and eleven flames. The crowns represent the Three Kings, whose relics are housed in the cathedral, and the flames commemorate the martyrdom of St. Ursula, with one flame for every thousand martyrs.

The Relics of the Three Magi

Occupying a shrine in a foremost position in the cathedral of Cologne is the city's greatest treasure, a fabulous golden casket containing the bones of the three wise men who came to visit the infant Jesus — holy relics that are visited by pilgrims from far and wide. The relics were taken from the city of Milan by Frederick Barbarossa in 1164 and were gifted to the archbishop of Cologne. In 1248 the city will begin construction of a new cathedral, to be a grander and more fitting home for this treasure. In fact, this ambitious project will far surpass any church yet seen in Christendom, although it may take centuries to complete.

Colonia Ulpia Traiana, a Roman colony on the west bank of the Rhine, witnessed the deaths of many early Christians, including St. Victor and the Theban Legion, according to legend. These victims were buried in a graveyard to the south of the settlement, where after the departure of the Romans and the abandonment of the old colony, a new town rose up. It was called Ad Santos Martyres (To the Holy Martyrs), but has since contracted to Xanten. As recalled in the Nibelungenlied, Xanten was also the birthplace of the hero Siegfried and former capital of Nibelungland, the original home of the Rhinegold treasure.

On a steep hill overlooking the town of Cleves by the Rhine is the old Schwanenburg (Swan Castle), which is so named on account of the Knight of the Swan. Long ago, the duke of Brabant passed away, leaving his fair young widow Elsa in grief, and it was not long before one of his rebellious vassals, Telramund, sought to claim both the dukedom and the hand of Elsa for himself. Elsa implored the knights of the dukedom to take up arms against this villain, and Telramund declared that he would face any challenger in single combat. On account of his great prowess, however, none came forth, despite his issuing the challenge three times. In despair, Elsa offered up a prayer and rang a silver bell on her rosary, whereupon a barge came into view up the river, drawn by a swan and bearing a golden-haired knight in shining armor. Sure enough, this hero went on to defeat Telramund in an epic duel, and he and Elsa were happily wedded. There was, however, one condition to their marriage — Elsa must never inquire after the knight's name or origin. This promise was kept for many years until finally, thinking of the pride of her grown sons, she could resist asking no longer. At this, the knight was overcome with grief, and after bidding his wife farewell, he went down to the Rhine and blew his silver horn, whereupon the swan-drawn barge reappeared to carry him away. Elsa was so distraught that she died of grief soon thereafter.

The legend of this knight, Lohengrin, forms part of Wolfram von Eschenbach's (see Chapter 8: Central Germany, Thuringia) poem Parzival. The lords of Cleves (who no longer rule Brabant) now feature a swan in their coat of arms.

The Brethren of the Free Spirit

It is manifest that there is only one substance, not only of all bodies, but also of all souls, and that this substance is nothing else but God himself. It is clear, then, that God and Matter and Mind are one substance. — David of Dinant, The Quaternuli

The Brethren of the Free Spirit is a heretical cult that has emerged at the start of the 13th century, originating from theologians in Paris, and which has since spread to and become popular in Cologne. The Brethren preach a pantheistic version of Christianity, equating God to the essence of primary matter, and holding that the human spirit, as part of God, is supreme. They believe themselves heralds of a new age of the Holy Spirit. The Brethren is secretly popular in Cologne and nearby lands, both among ordinary folk, and those of the nobility who reckon that secular lordship should not be beholden to the Church. If everything is God, then everything is also good, they reckon, thus it follows that there can be no such thing as sin. At least this is the cited reason for the rampant indulgence of sexual pleasures and crimes of all kinds perpetrated by some of the Brethren, who enact naked masses, in which the participants celebrate their return to the state of Adam and Eve before the Fall. Some of the more fervent members even claim that, since they are God, they cannot be harmed by fire or torture. The Holy Vehm (see Chapter 7: The Lowlands, Saxony), however, who are active in the persecution of heretics, especially members of the Brethren, and who are therefore regarded as their mortal enemies, are keen to prove them wrong.

Should you so decide for your saga, the magi of the chapter house of Fengheld in Cologne, all of whom belong to the Apple Gild, may belong to the Brethren of the Free Spirit, and be active in its leadership. A small subset of the organization might even be a Mystery Cult of magi from the Rhine and Normandy Tribunals. It is easy to see how the teachings of the Brethren might appeal to the Apple Gild, with their aim of achieving acceptance of magic among the mundanes.

Deventer, along with Utrecht, is one of the earliest of the missionary-bishoprics on the right bank of the Rhine. Its present church is named after St. Lebuinus, who was the first to erect a chapel on the site (later destroyed by Saxon heathens) in 768. In 776, it was rebuilt by St. Liudger. This modest-sized city, surrounded by marshland and with river connections to both the Zuider Sea and the mouths of the Rhine, is at the center of a struggle against the pirates who roam the inland sea, being prosecuted by the counts of Holland and the bishop of Utrecht. Although the militia of Deventer have begun to hunt them down, many sailors of ill repute can still be found within the city, if you know who to ask.

The lower half of the ancient kingdom of Lotharingia has fractured into a handful of counties and duchies, principal of which are the rival duchies of Brabant and Limburg. The southern end of this region is sparsely populated, consisting of the forested uplands of the Ardennes and the Eifel, whereas the rest — the valleys of the lower Schelde, Meuse, and Rhine — consists mostly of farmland dotted with towns and cities of varying sizes. The prosperity of Lower Lorraine pales in comparison to the wealth and grandeur of Flanders, immediately to its west across the Schelde, in the Normandy Tribunal.

In the year 768 Charlemagne rode forth from his castle into the forest, and after a short while his mount suddenly reared up in pain. The horse had stepped in a spring, whose sulphurous waters were hot, and Charlemagne discovered nearby a set of ancient Roman thermal baths. Recognizing the curative powers of the springs, the emperor-to-be resolved to erect a great church over them, in a round shape so as to remind him of his horse's hoof. Thus was the city of Aachen born, which became the main seat of Charlemagne's court. Charlemagne himself, an outstanding swimmer, was keen on the hot baths, and thousands came to the springs and were cured of their ailments. In 814, the emperor was buried in his church, since completed as Aachen's cathedral, but which at that time was merely a grand chapel adjoining his palace.

Lying on the overland trade route between Cologne, Liege, and Flanders, Aachen is no longer a politically important city. Nevertheless, its opulent cathedral has accumulated a peerless collection of relics, including the garb of St. John the Baptist, the gown of the Virgin Mary, and the swaddling clothes of Christ. A richly decorated shrine has recently been completed around the tomb of Charlemagne himself. Lastly and most importantly is the throne of Charlemagne, an ancient high-backed chair of marble, wood, and gold atop six steps, where the German king is crowned.

St. Lambert, bishop of Tongeren in the 7th century, became involved in a feud between rival Merovingian clans and was martyred at the site of a small settlement on a hill where the small River Legia joins the Meuse. His successor, St. Hubert, raised a grand tomb over the spot. Due to the regularity of miraculous occurrences there, pilgrims (and thus traders) were attracted to the site, and Liege grew rapidly, since becoming the seat of the bishopric and a sizeable market city. Its most famous bishop was Notger, who was granted the diocese as a fiefdom by Otto II; ever since it has been ruled by his successors as a prince-bishopric. He was responsible for many of Liege's grandest buildings, including the cathedral of St. Lambert, erected over the martyr's tomb, and a palace for the prince-bishops, as well as the city walls.

The covenant of Triamore holds a castle and a manorial estate by the river Meuse on the edge of the Ardennes, at the western fringe of the Rhine Tribunal. It has throughout its rather troubled history been embroiled in mundane politics, for which the local Quaesitores have long sought censure against the covenant. It is only through the shrewd dealings of Triamore's princeps, Daria la Gris of House Tremere, that this has been avoided. Due to the recent loss of several of their number to death and Twilight, Triamore finds itself politically and magically weakened, and thus somewhat sidelined in the Tribunal. Daria is therefore actively seeking new members; to this end she is encouraging the visits of peregrinatores and other magi. On the one hand, Triamore is a comfortable covenant with reasonable magi and a famed library (to which guests are typically required to contribute to), yet on the other hand, stories of recent troubles and the deaths of magi tend to keep the number of guests low. Triamore has a Magic aura of 2.

DARIA LA GRIS, FOLLOWER OF TREMERE

Age: 67 (Master)
Personality Traits: Sophisticated +2, Studious +1, Frivolous -3

Daria, as the coleader of the Apple Gild, favors the formation of the putative Lotharingian Tribunal (see Chapter 3: Tribunal History and Customs, The Gilds of the Rhine Tribunal). Not only would this give the covenant a freer hand in their mundane dealings, but more importantly it would mean a dramatic shift in which Triamore moves from being a minor player at the border of two Tribunals to a central covenant, the hub even, of this new Tribunal. As a part of this strategic plan, Daria fosters friendly links with several covenants of the Normandy Tribunal. She is a stern and uncompromising woman and has trained two apprentices already.

REMI OF MUSEAU, FOLLOWER OF JERBITON

Age: 48 (Master)
Personality Traits: Unpretentious +3, Worldly +3, Cheerful +2

Remi is a friendly and effusive magus, a complete contrast to Daria. He is accomplished in all manner of mundane tasks; a veritable polymath who can debate with scholars, hold his own in a fight, track and kill wild game, craft music and poetry, and display any number of other skills. Many of these tasks he achieves without the use of magic; nevertheless, he has many useful and utilitarian spells as well.

SICERO, FOLLOWER OF TREMERE

Age: 23 (Journeyman)
Personality Traits: Keen to Impress +2, Confident +1, Quiet +1

Sicero is the recently Gauntletted filius of Goliard, a famed member of the Stonehenge Tribunal. He secured membership at Triamore based on his mater's recommendations, and it remains to see whether he lives up to them.