How Many Angels Dance

It is said that angels helped Lalibela to build the churches at Roha, and they may still reside in the niches and at the gateways, watching over the faithful who come to pray at this holy complex. An angel might potentially appear to someone praying for guidance at an altar. Additionally, one can never be certain about the nature of a person approaching one within the church complex of Roha. These angels watch for those with great Faith or potential, and sometimes take human form to ask them for favors, to direct the completion of tasks. These endeavors might be as simple as ensuring a pious but occasionally senile anchorite is brought enough food to survive an illness, or be as involved as the recovery of people and items captured by a pagan raid. While angels may not know the greater scope of the activities they request, due to their lack of access to the secret knowledge of God, one can be certain there is a greater purpose at work.

If you are considering the Templar theft of the Ark of the Covenant, then the angels might help guide the magi to either support or thwart the knights. God tacitly approved the first theft of the Ark, when it left Jerusalem, and might do the same in this situation, feeling the Ark better suits His plans if it is elsewhere. Alternatively, the Ark might be needed in Ethiopia, and the characters might be the ones God needs to ensure it remains. The angels of Roha's churches are perfectly suited and thematically appropriate to deliver this message.

One of the angels of Roha has fallen in love with one of the mortals who attends the churches, despite the impossibility of such an event. The other angels fear the mistake of the nephilim will be committed again. However, the angels won't act directly against either the errant angel or the object of its affections. Instead, they try to influence the characters to escort the individual far away, perhaps even on a dangerous mission into Egypt or across the Great Desert. If they become desperate, perhaps one of the angels may attempt to convince one of the grogs to kill the mortal. Is it possible that the whole situation is a test for the characters, and not the angel?

A Framework for Pilgrimage Stories: Roha as Jerusalem

Designed to represent the spiritual journey to Jerusalem now denied to Ethiopians following the capture of the Holy City by Saladin, Roha encompasses the major sites one might visit when traveling to the navel of the world. By spending a season navigating the tunnels and paths, praying at each church, fasting, evading and defeating the challenges set by demons clothed in possessed locals (and thus protected from the Divine auras) or Bouda faeries calling down temptation from the rims of the hypogeums, an individual can complete a pilgrimage story as described in The Church, pages 16–19.

Lalibela built a symbol of the Holy Land when the caliphate rendered pilgrimages impossible. In the Church of Bet Golgotha stand replicas of the tomb of Christ, the tomb of Adam, and the crib of the nativity. The channeled stream representing the River Jordan marks the site of Christ's baptism with a small stone cross. The hill overlooking the site is called the Mount of Olives.

The negus of Agaw rules over the lesser kingdoms of Agaw, Damot, and Gojjam. Bet Amhara shares Agaw's northern border, defined by the Semiens mountains. Lake Tana, the source of the Blue Nile and a major tributary of the Nile, lies in Agaw. The kingdom of Gojjam lies south of the lake, while Agaw proper extends along the western shore, up to the Semiens. Finally, the kingdom of Damot serves as the southernmost border of Agaw, with a tributary of the Blue Nile, the Jamma river, separating it from the pagan tribes on the other shore.

The population of Agaw greatly benefits from the fairly reliable rainfall and the clear waters of the Blue Nile. This combination of rich soil and ample water ensures the highland kingdom is fertile and prosperous. Agaw usually suffers the least when drought or famine strikes Ethiopia's many provinces.

The warriors of Agaw are notoriously fierce and capable, and the kingdom traces

After investigating the ruins on Tana Qirqos, it might become apparent that the structure was a copy of the temple of Solomon that once housed the Ark. Using it as a model, they might be able to ascertain the appropriate location of the ancient Holy of Holies. Armed with this information, the magi could make for Jerusalem, hoping to access a Divine regio created by Solomon and populated by nephilim. Alternatively, this duplicate temple may serve as another entry point to the same regio, allowing characters to travel between Ethiopia and the Levant. The nephilim residing there would know the Ark of the Covenant firsthand, and may have studied Ars Notaria or Kabbalah with Solomon himself. The nephilim might be convinced to act as allies in an endeavor to recover the Ark, or to battle demons loose in the countryside.

Additionally, students of Hermetic Architecture may wish to study the ruins when investigating potential breakthroughs or simply trying to improve their skills.

its heritage to the heady days of the Axum Empire. The emperor even raised a monument detailing the difficult challenge required to bring Agaw into the empire. While the current negusa negast was born in the Lasta kingdom's town of Roha, the hills and rich valleys of Agaw forged the Zagwe dynasty. Emperor Lalibela's cousin, Na'akueto La'ab, is the ras of Gojjam, and while he is not yet the negus of Agaw, he is next in line to become the negusa negast. This alone makes him the true power in Agaw.

At fifty-two miles long and forty miles wide, Lake Tana is larger than any lake in Mythic Europe. Three rivers feed into it: the Gumara, the Lesser Abbay, and the Reb. It is more than 40 feet deep in most places, and settlements occupy sixteen of its islands. Seven islands host small fishing villages, and nine islands support monasteries built in either the round timber or rectangular Axumite style of cut stone. The largest island, Dek, is ten miles across, with three villages and two churches. The holy island of Daga lies just to the southeast of Dek; its monks forbid women and livestock from visiting. Tradition states that the island of Tana Qirqos, near the mouth of the Gumara river, once housed the Ark of the Covenant, before it was moved to the Church of Maryam Tsion in Axum. Ruins on Tana Qirqos reveal that a large temple once existed there. Those with Judaic Lore who study the site for a season find it corresponds to the proportions of Solomon's temple as described in the Torah. The whole island has a Divine aura of 4.

The Blue Nile

Carving a sharp channel through the Semiens Mountains, the Blue Nile peels away the rich sediments and brings fertile prosperity to the Egyptian plains. Called the River Abbay by the locals, the waters of Lake Tana spill down the waterfall known as Tis Abbay ("Smoking Waters") and begin the long journey to the land of the pharaohs. Few places exist to easily cross from the eastern to the

western side. If your saga follows history, no stone bridges connect the opposing shores for centuries. The rainy winter season effectively isolates the lands of Agaw and Gojjam until the flooding river waters subside.

Three lesser domains comprise the larger kingdom of Shewa. Shewa proper lies in the north, while Bale is in the southeast, and Fetegar is in the southwest. Bale and Fetegar both enjoy wetter, more forested landscapes than Shewa, largely due to the Wabe Shebile river which marks the southern-most boundary. All three kingdoms regularly clash with pagan tribes to the southwest and the sultanates to the south.

A cluster of very old communities serves as the core of the negus' power in Shewa. These towns are perched atop a set of northto-south mountain ridges measuring roughly five leagues long. This series of plateaus and rocky hilltops rises 3500 to 4000 feet above the Rift valley and drops into the Awash river.

Asbari

Built on a wide, rocky spur on the eastern edge of a high plateau cliff, Asbari often suffers from pagan raids. Homes and work-

Unfortunately for the crusaders of Europe, Ethiopia is not the home of the fabled kingdom. However, exiting the Maryam Tsion Church in Axum on Easter morning at sunrise, it is possible to enter a Faerie regio, which seems to mirror tales of the lost kingdom of Prester John. This mysterious land is pleasant and vibrant, inhabited by people who resemble the ethnicity of the person who has entered. When asked, they do claim to be governed by a wise Christian king, but law forbids them from saying his name. Anyone who falls asleep in this realm either awakens in the church where they were baptized as a child, or within the Maryam Tsion church, making exploration of the kingdom difficult.

shops surround the large walled church that overlooks the town from a small hill and also acts as a defensive redoubt in times of need. The eastern and northern church walls serve as part of the town's boundary walls, and the cemetery's field of hundreds of rockcut tombs covers the northern slope. At the western edge of the community, a straight wall two paces high and two paces thick blocks access from the rest of the plateau. A winding, half-mile route leads from this wall to the town gate. The hillsides along this path, both above and below it, have been made into productive terrace farms, three terraces deep. These terraces exist in a Magic aura of 2, and grow various Plants of Virtue.

Masal

Known for their quality pottery and razor-sharp obsidian tools and arrowheads, the people of Masal occupy three very close hilltops. Their community lies between their neighbors, with Asbari to the north, and Nora to the south. Each settlement maintains a central church and a population of about five hundred people, nestled behind a protective wall. Near each town is a vast, ancient, rock-cut cemetery with countless tombs. Many sport Axumite decorations but, strangely, nothing indicates the name or heritage of the occupants. A single, massive obelisk covered with carved medallions containing stars of Solomon bears vague Ge'ez inscriptions suggesting a royal tomb. The monolith actually indicates an entrance into a set of caverns leading deep into the earth. These caves have a Magic aura of 3 and some of them show signs of former habitation.

Nora

Nora is a city of walls, densely populated and situated on a rocky outcrop. About 3,500 people live here, including the negus of Shewa. However, the negus spends much of his time abroad, hunting pagans and raiders. The town elders and church priests cooperated to create the ascending patchwork of living areas, small gardens and walled courtyards. Built from large stone blocks, the city wall follows the contour of the mountain, especially where the slope is nearly vertical. The streets follow the walls from the main gates back to the city center, climbing the outcropping in stages. Some streets even have walls running along both sides. Several 30-foot tall circular towers stand along the inner perimeter of the city, allowing defenders to easily guard the whole route. Inside, ornamental tiles line the causeways and most of the structures are closely packed rectangular buildings. The primary church has a small forest, only about 10 feet deep, and 20 feet tall, but very lush and verdant. Surrounded by 15-foot tall walls which protect a rectangular, Axumite-era building, it has a Dominion aura of 3. Nearby, but outside the city, a burial mound of raw stone contains hundreds of carved tombs.

The sultanate of Dahlak occupies the four larger islands and 200 smaller islands which compose a dense archipelago situated just off the coast of Adulis. Nominally independent, the sultan, who lives in the cut-stone and carved-coral village on the largest island of Dahlak Kebir, grows rich through his business of refreshing the water stores of vessels traveling north and south. A network of elaborate channels keeps his many cisterns full, and attracting merchants from Egypt, the Levant,

The jungles of the sultanates become hotter and thicker as one travels south, filled with dangerous animals, poisonous plants and terrible hazards. This jungle must be traversed in order to find the vast and towering Mountains of the Moon, which Herodotus indicated as the border of the Torrid Zone. Anyone seeking the edge of the world, as described by Diogenes, has a difficult trek ahead of them, opposed by the pagan tribes, hyenas, lions, and elephant-eating serpents, as well as the ever increasing temperatures. Once there, will they find the rim of Creation? Perhaps it is the Garden of Eden, or a way to walk into Arcadia or even Paradise? For the Hermetic explorer, no matter what is found, the journey itself might be the reward.

the coasts of the Red Sea, and beyond.

Dahlak's population of roughly 2000 people live in a very pastoral manner, either as fishermen, like those on the island of Nahaleg, or by harvesting pearls and tortoise shell for trade, like those on the island of Nakura. The wealthier residents create beaded glass jewelry and act as merchants, trading animal hides, spices, and slaves throughout the Red Sea. An active slave trade flourishes, annually selling 3,000 to 4,000 slaves brought from abroad. While some gazelles thrive on the acacia and scrub, birds are far more numerous. However, the sultan and his family love the elephants which roam the nearby mainland coast. They aspire to create a small herd on Dahlak Kebir.

The Periplus of the Erythean Sea calls the Dahlak islands, "Alalaois," and claims its people are capable seafarers and pirates. This reputation is not undeserved; in the early eighth century, pirate activity forced the sultan of Yemen to occupy the islands in retaliation. He used them as a political prison, and one gained the name "The Isle of Thorns." This occupation led to the conversion of the population to Islam. Dahlak has a reputation as the beachhead for missionaries seeking to bring the word of the Prophet to Africa. The primary mosque occupies a converted Axumite church, creating an island-wide Divine aura of 3.

Two vis sites exist near the remote townships of Masal. The first is the stele gravemarker, which marks the tomb of an Axumite Falasha wizard who helped create these original communities. Every year, on the first day of Passover, the frost found on the shaded side of the stone contains 4 pawns of Rego vis.

The second site is near the obsidian mines used by the locals. In an abandoned seam of the volcanic glass, chips of the black, vitreous rock can be collected from old sampling pits once a year, yielding 3 pawns of Terram vis and 3 pawns of Ignem vis. The obsidian isn't mined because this vein of the glass fractures and cracks easily, making it poor material for any tools or jewelry.

A disorganized and contentious collection of Muslim states make up the Ethiopian empire's southern border. They bitterly pay a grudging tribute to the negus in Roha, nursing a smoldering grudge against their situation. The sultanate of Hadiya lies to the west of Shewa, the River Abbay forming its northern boundary. To the east is Dewaro, which borders the Ethiopian kingdom of Bale to the north, then the sultanate of Ifat, bounded by the Awash river to the east and south, and finally the sprawling Adal sultanate occupies the east, stretching across the Great Rift escarpment into the Danakil desert.

Hadiya boasts small, fertile hills, rich with fruit and grains, and thick with good pastures for horses and elephants. Thick jungle forests cloak its southernmost regions. It is about eight days journey from north-to-south, and nine days journey from east-to-west. The people here use pieces of iron as money, and pay their tribute in ivory and exotic animal skins.

Dewaro sits between Hadiya and Ifat, hemmed in by the strong Christian kingdom of Bale on its northern border. With these neighbors, it is unsurprising that the men of Dewaro often forgo clearing the jungle covered hills to raid the region to the south, capturing elephants and taking slaves for trade. The sultan prefers infantry over cavalry, and most of his troops are seasoned veterans.

Similar in size to Hadiya, Ifat is ten days journey north-to-south by six days journey east-to-west. A man from Ziela named Dunya-huz rules Ifat. He maintains strong cavalry forces and grooms his son, Umar Walashma, with dreams of a greater, consolidated Ifat, uniting Dewaro, Ifat, and Adal. Ifat grows more forested and hot as one travels south.

Finally, the people of Adal are the most devout of the sultanates, likely due to a recent influx of Muslim clerics from Yemen. Adal has ambitions of expansion, as it has been cultivating an alliance with the city of Ziela, and an imam from the capital of Harar recently converted the governor of Ziela to Islam. The priests of Adal preach against the tribute to the negus, encouraging defiance, rebellion, and a war of conquest against Ethiopia.. The sultanate stretches from the Awash river to the shores of the Red Sea. The climate of Adal better matches the dry and desert-like feel of its northern Ethiopian neighbors, becoming even drier as one travels east, toward the Erythean Sea. Along its southern borders, the devout and peaceful imam, "Sheikh Hussein" travels among the pagan tribes. He brings the wisdom of the Prophet to the unenlightened while slowly developing a following.

Born in 1215, the boy who will become one of Ethiopia's greatest saints now lives in Shewa. Takle Haymanot is a young boy, living with his father, the priest Sagaz Ab ("Gift of Faith") and his mother Egzi'e Haraya ("Choice of God"). Takle Haymanot was born after his parents, who had failed to have children, pledged their firstborn to God. He is studying scripture and theology from his father. Later, he will be reputed to be watched over by Archangel Michael, a rumor which seems likely to be true when the sleeping boy is seen attended by a young man who calls magi by their birth names, calmly ignores any Aegis or magical effect, and disappears effortlessly. (See Realms of Power: Divine Revised, page 30 for his statistics.)

Pagans who live beyond the Jamma River to the south of the Kingdom of Damot sometimes send long-range raids to Shewa for goods and slaves. Takle's own mother is captured sometime in his youth, desired as the wife of a pagan lord. Her rescue and return was considered proof of the archangel's protection. Perhaps her recovery is suggested by the boy's young attendant with a knowing, serene smile?For a devout magus, or one assisted by a Divine Ghostly Warder or Guardian Angel, this rescue offers the opportunity for the character to operate as an active extension of the will of God and agent of an archangel, providing a great inspiration to the child who, if your saga follows history, will be responsible for the resurgence of Christian faith and devotion in the northern part of Ethiopia at the end of the 13th century.