Agent of the Sultan (Major General Virtue)

An Agent of the Sultan has whatever resources the Sultan's advisors deem necessary. Provided work is not necessary to maintain a cover identity, this allows them to train constantly between assignments, for a total of three seasons per year. Agents in Cairo may continue to access the facilities at the House, if the sultan's advisors consider this the best use of the House's resources. This Virtue is, in a sense, an equivalent of the Wealthy Virtue.

An Agent of the Sultan may not leave the sultan's service. A character who has, for example, successfully faked his own death has the Dark Secret Flaw.

The mastabas and pyramids of the Gizeh plateau are of little interest to most Egyptians, because it is thought particularly dangerous, even for a necropolis. It is rumored haunted, particularly at night. Its greatest guardian is the Lady of the Tombs. This seems, on the basis of limited accounts collected by Alexander of Jerbiton, to be a potent faerie once worshipped as Isis, that has slowly changed its role as its story has evolved. She seems to be able to call all of the other faeries in the area, and, most terribly, to rouse a faerie variant of the Father of Dread.

Pyramidions

Of the three main pyramids here, only one has its capstone (called a pyramidion). The other two have, with great difficulty, been stolen and hidden. Pyramidions are powerful tethers, so they create Magical auras, but they are small enough that a spell or a cart can carry them. Who needs a mobile aura, and what have they been using it for over the last few hundred years?

Aristotle

The tomb of Aristotle is a pilgrimage site for scholars from across the remnants of Alexander's Empire. His philosophy lies at the root of much of Western philosophy, theology and magic theory. The strange thing is that only about one third of Aristotle's known works are available in Mythic Europe. Aristotle divided his writings into the exoteric, which were meant for publication, and the esoteric, which were personal musings, lecture notes and private correspondence. The third available seem to be mostly esoterica.

There's a chance that copies of the missing books, particularly those polished for publication, were buried with Aristotle. If a complete set is recovered these books provide a better understanding of how the world works, and provide a great deal of Insight over a wide range of projects. They also revolutionize many Abilities, rescaling them. All readers gain a +3 bonus on all Artes Liberales rolls, and others depending on what Aristotle wrote about. Incomplete sets also provide Insight, and act as books of very high level in their appropriate Abilities. The temptation to dig into the side of his pyramid is strong. Fear of the defenses has, however, proven stronger.

Where is Alexander?

The biggest pyramid in Egypt, according to most of the guides talking to those seeing the ruins, was designed for Alexander the Great, but he was never placed inside. According to ancient Egyptian custom, whoever buried pharaoh was the next pharaoh, so Ptolemy stole Alexander's corpse, and buried it in secret. For a long time, people though he was in a particular sarcophagus, but this was a diversion, and really belonged to the final king of the dynasty before the Ptolemies. Hermetic magi actually know Alexander was buried in Memphis, and then Alexandria, and even have some idea of where. None of the local faeries care, and so treasure hunters keep coming back to Cairo with coins, amulets and papyri that hint they come from Alexander's tomb.

Herodotus: Three Pyramids

Herodotus and Manetho, two historians widely read in Egypt, have a different set of inhabitants for each of the pyramids. The large pyramid belonged to King Cheops, who closed the temples, and forced everyone in Egypt to aid in its building for ten years, and when he ran short of money prostituted his daughter to finish the project. His brother, Chephren, likewise kept the temples closed and oppressed the people. The third king, Cheops's son Mykerinos, gave just rulings, reopened the temples, and allowed the people to go back tho their professions. Since Egypt had been cursed to 150 years of suffering, he was opposing the will of the gods, who killed his only child and cut his life short. He responded to the message he had only six years to live with a concerted attempt to develop magical items which slowed time. Some suggest he was successful, and his magical lamps create a room-sized Faerie regio in which time travels more slowly. The location of his lamps is, however, unknown.

The throne of the pharaoh who abused Moses was sunk deep into the Nile by God. It is still there, and becomes visible in famine years when the Nile is low. Strangely, no one has ever attempted to recover it.

Sand of Hermes

It is widely reported by pilgrims that the sand of the plateau, if carried as a talisman, increases Intelligence. This effect may be due to the presence of faeries which use the Grant Virtue Power to grant Improved Characteristics to some of the scholars who come to the tombs. These faeries withdraw their gift if the characters cease to study the ruins. Characters with unfortunate personal weaknesses can be manipulated by this into spending their lives looking at one confected tomb after another, discovering ultimately meaningless things while feeding the faeries' need for attention.

The Crocodiles of Gizeh

At the highest point of Gizeh are statues of marble crocodiles. These keep real crocodiles out of their line of sight, protecting the river for three miles in each direction. Some say they were created by the Third Hermes himself. They have never been assessed in a laboratory by Hermetic magi, so their exact function is unknown.

There are many stories about Abu 'l-Ahwa, "the Father of Dread." The Greeks call it "the strangler" or sphinx due to a vague similarity to a female, winged monster which used to strangle people in the Theban Tribunal if they couldn't answer a riddle. It is considered, by some, to represent a solar god. He appeared to Menkheperure (Thutmose IV), to ask that his statue be excavated from the desert sands which had almost buried it, according to a stela said to be between its paws. Mary laid the Christ child between its paws while resting on her flight into Egypt. It said by some to be the grave of Prophet Idris, or the God Thoth, or both. Perhaps if it were excavated, so that one could again perform rituals between its paws, answers might be found.

The city of Alexander has fallen far from its days as the center of learning for Mythic Africa, and yet some fragments of its time of prominence remain.

Foreign People

If the player characters want to mount an expedition into the east, Alexandria may be a convenient starting point. Alexandria is still relatively open to outsiders, not merely pilgrims from Iberia and North Africa, but also traders from France and Italy. This means it is one of the easier places to reach where magi may hire servants who speak eastern languages, and can give information about traveling there.

Library

The Library of Alexander has been burned by so many people that the stories conflict, but many local stories agree on one point: part of the library has survived. Local Egyptians remember Queen Cleopatra not, in the Roman tradition, as a seductress who used her wealth and body to enslave men, but as a scholar and alchemist who, when the kingdom was threatened, took wise precautions. Many think that her grave, which has never been found, may give clues to the location of a secret repository of books from the Library of Alexandria.

Others say that the land the library was founded upon slid into the sea. The Egyptian habit of writing by carving in stone means that if any of the walls remain intact, magi with suitable spells might salvage their teachings from the depths.

Lighthouse Mirror

The Lighthouse (or Pharos) is one of the remaining wonders of the world. It has suffered repeated damage and reconstruction, so its tower is now abbreviated, and capped with a mosque. Some magi claim that there is a powerful aura on the whole island on which the Lighthouse rests, while say that they have tested this claim, and no aura was discernible.

The mirror that was once found at the

apex of the Lighthouse is an extraordinary object. It is made of Serican iron, and so cunningly crafted that a man staring into it, when it was still in place, could identify ships many hours before the unaided eye could discern them. At night the fire of the Lighthouse could be seen for many miles. During war, the mirror could be used to incinerate enemy ships in the harbor.

The mirror went missing some time ago. A Byzantine spy spread rumors of treasure within the Pharos, which led to a sort of riot. During the disturbance he stole the mirror and, unable to destroy it, had it cast into the sea. Why he was unable to destroy the mirror is unclear: some magi hypothesize that it embodies a potent spirit of artifice which defends it from harm.

• A sedentary Verditus magus offers to pay the player characters to locate the mirror. Can the player characters find a way to search the seabed? Can they find ghosts who recall the casting of the mirror into the sea? Can an Arcane Connection to the mirror be procured?
• A powerful magus in the early stages of planning an Alexandrian covenant has been distracted by the Christians feuding in Damietta, and wants to remain there for the time being. He pays the player characters to live on the island for a year, and discover the reason for the inconsistent reports concerning its aura.
• The side of the Lighthouse has an inscription to the memory of the architect, which only became visible centuries after his death. The inscription originally flattered the king who sponsored the Lighthouse's construction, but the masons carved this into a thin layer of lime plaster, which in time cracked away, revealing the final inscription underneath. Another sheet of lime plaster has fallen away, and was concealing a detailed prediction concerning future events in the Order. Is it a hoax? If it is genuine, are there any other messages hidden on the building? Can whoever wrote them be trusted?

The Mystery of the Oil

Pilgrims who visit Alexandria often remark on a strange habit of the people of this city: they are as active at night as during the day. This perhaps stems from the port: cargoes are unloaded unceasingly, night and day. Workers need food and other supplies at night, so traders seeking their custom stay open very late. Their suppliers in turn stay open late, until the whole city has a vibrant culture which never stops, and indeed barely slows down. No one has noticed that this doesn't make economic sense.

The reason other ports don't operate around the clock is that oil, for lamps, is expensive. No one knows where the tremendous amount of oil used to light the city every night comes from. Pilgrims imagine it is one of the bounties of the sultan, and the sultan's servants assume that oil is just produced cheaply on surrounding farms. They don't investigate because Alexandrians, by ancient right, pay no taxes beyond a minor poll tax, so it wouldn't matter, legally, if the Alexandrian people were growing diamonds on trees.

There is no satisfactory explanation for the cheap oil in Alexandria. If Alexandria was on the other side of the Mediterranean, the Quaesitores would be checking for Hermetic magi making oil using Creo magic. If Alexandria is settled by a covenant, the Quaesitores ask for this matter to be thoroughly investigated, and if unsatisfied with the answers, send a team of Quaesitores and hoplites, as a clear message that the remit of Hermetic law now extends to North Africa.

Tourism

Wealthy people of classical education come from across the world to wander the ruins of Alexandria, a copy of Diodorus or Arrian in one hand and a helpful guide tugging the other. The Jerbiton rite of passage known as the Itinerarium, which is a form of extended holiday to places of great artistic significance, does not generally come this far south, but a suitably skilled Jerbiton might lead a band of apprentices here. The players can either act as guards for the apprentices, or rescuers when unexpected obstacles arise.

Saladin's Citadel

As part of his project to encircle Old and New Cairo in a defensive wall, Saladin created a central strong point, the citadel. The citadel is incomplete in 1220, but it has been the center of government for decades, and as construction continues the bureaucracy of Egypt keeps centralizing in this complex.

The citadel contains the sultan's living quarters. Among his innumerable treasures is the library. The last great census of the library occurred in the time of the previous, Fatimid, dynasty. It contained 600,000 books, 18,000 specifically on magic, astrology and alchemy.

Tombs of Qarafah

This cemetery is filled with the tombs of relatives of the Prophet, and his companions. It fills a large area, and includes four great congregational mosques, with many smaller mosques and theological colleges. The poor, scholars and travelers are welcome to stay in the smaller mosques. The sultan pays for the upkeep of these places, and the living costs of many of the inhabitants. This costs him a couple of thousand dinars a month, and is considered a marvel by pilgrims. Magi might be either scholars, if they are staying here, or travelers if they are passing through, and so can live here, supported by the generosity of the sultan, if they wish.

The Gizeh Necropolis lies about a day's travel south of Cairo and contains three great pyramids, and a colossal statue of a lion with the head of a man. The contents of these structures has been the matter of some debate. Travelers report many strange local beliefs. Some say that Aristotle is under one of the Pyramids, and that the largest was prepared for Alexander, but that he was buried in secret instead. Some say they were built by a pharaoh to save the wisdom of his people from the Flood of Noah. Others say that, much like the impossible number of tombs found elsewhere, the buildings were miraculously created by Allah, or a false god, like Hermes. Saladin's son attempted to demolish the pyramid closest to the great statue, and it shows damage to this day. He was following the most widely

The battles and personalities involved in the Fifth Crusade are presented here in rather more detail than is usual. This is to assist troupes who start their saga a few years earlier than the usual 1220 starting date, so as to play the crusade through. It also aids players whose characters are veterans of the war, displaced into Hermetic service.

held of beliefs: that there is treasure everywhere, even in those places where other people have already removed the treasure.

The Hirranian Sabeans also have stories about the statue. These Sabeans are treated as People of the Book by the sultan, possibly because they have been confused with the Sabians. The Hirranian Sabeans say the statue represents the god Horon. It it is, according to them, the tomb of one of the three great scholars named Hermes, whom they conflate with the Prophet Idris (Enoch). The Sabeans practice urn burial around the statue, and sacrifice white roosters to it.

This is an Italian term for the gold coins of Constantinople (Byzantium). Venetians, particularly, also used the term for other gold coins, so the coins on offer were probably gold dinars. By Islamic law, a dinar weighs the same as 72 average grains of barley, but their weight in practice varies. That the sultan has 30,000 of them readily to hand demonstrates his wealth, and the lucrativeness of a raid on his treasury. Characters who favor the crusade could aid it immensely by discovering where these bezants are, and making off with them.