Mansur ibn Fadl al-Baghdadi

by Niall Christie

Characteristics: Int +1, Per 0, Str +1, Sta +1, Prs 0, Com +2, Dex +1, Qik 0

Size: 0

Age: 28 (28)

Decrepitude: 0

Warping Score: 0 (0)

Confidence Score: 1 (3)

Faith Points: 1

Virtues and Flaws: Emir*; True Faith; Educated**, Enchanting Poetry***, Free Expression, Luck, Puissant Arabic, Warrior; Curse of Venus, Greater Malediction (Gets embroiled in life-threatening political struggles), Outsider (Arab); Obsessed (Get rid of malediction)

Personality Traits: Brave +3, Fatalistic +3, Just +3

Reputations: Devil-Worshipper 3 (Local)

Combat: Fist: Init -2, Attack +5, Defense +4, Damage +1

Kick: Init -3, Attack +4, Defense +2, Damage +4

Lance and Heater: Init -1, Attack +9, Defense +7, Damage +6

Lance: Init 0, Attack +9, Defense +4, Damage +6

Long Sword and Heater: Init 0, Attack +10, Defense +9, Damage +7

Long Sword: Init 0, Attack +10, Defense +6, Damage +7

Short Bow: Init -3, Attack +4, Defense 0, Damage +7, Range 15

Fist:† Init -2, Attack +7, Defense +6, Damage +1

Kick:† Init -3, Attack +6, Defense +4, Damage +4

Lance and Heater:† Init -1, Attack +11, Defense +9, Damage +6

Lance:† Init 0, Attack +11, Defense +6, Damage +6

Long Sword and Heater:† Init 0, Attack +12, Defense +11, Damage +7

Long Sword:† Init 0, Attack +12, Defense +8, Damage +7

Short Bow:† Init -3, Attack +6, Defense +2, Damage +7, Range 15

Soak: +10

Fatigue levels: OK/0/-1/-3/-5/Unconscious

Wound Penalties: -1, -3, -5, Incapacitated

Abilities: Animal Handling 2 (Horses), Arabic 5 (Poetry), Artes Liberales 2 (Rhetoric), Athletics 2 (Running), Awareness 2 (Alertness), Bows 3 (Short Bow), Brawl 3 (Punching), Carouse 2 (Staying Sober), Charm 2 (Being Witty), Chirurgy 2 (Binding Wounds), concentration 1 (Memory) Enchanting

*Middle Eastern equivalent of the Knight Minor Virtue.

**Reconceived for Middle Eastern characters as 50 exp that can be spent on Arabic, Theology: Islam, Islamic Law and Artes Liberales, due to a different education "system."

***As Enchanting Music Virtue, only applies to Mansur's Ability to sway others with his poetry (using Living Language skills).

†Totals while mounted (includes +2 bonus for Ride Ability)

Islamic version of Civil and Canon Law

Poetry 3 (Calming), Etiquette 2 (Nobility), Folk Ken 2 (Nobles), Great Weapon 1 (Long Spear), Guile 2 (Elaborate Lies), Hunt 2 (Lions), Intrigue 2 (Gossip), Iraq Lore 2 (Personalities), Islamic Law^§ 2 (Qur'anic Injunctions), Latin 2 (Hermetic), Leadership 2 (In Combat), Local Area Lore 2 (Geography), Ride 2 (Speed!), Single Weapon 4 (Long Sword), Stealth 2 (Deserts), Survival 2 (Deserts), Swim 2 (Long Distances), Theology: Islam 3 (Prophets)

Equipment: Long Sword, Heater Shield, Lance, Short Bow, Full Mail Armour (-3 to Per when helmet worn), Horse

Encumbrance: 3 (10) with lance & shield, to 2 (6) with just armour

Appearance: Mansur is of medium height and build, with brown eyes, black hair and a neatly curled goatee beard. He smiles frequently, and has a gentle but clearly audible voice with a discernable Middle Eastern accent. He usually wears baggy clothes: a white tunic and turban and black trews. When going into battle, he wears full chainmail constructed in Middle Eastern style.

Mansur is a wandering emir, the Muslim equivalent of a knight errant, who has found himself driven to seek help at the covenant. Born into a noble family in Baghdad, Mansur was raised to be a Muslim gentleman, a man of both war and culture. Like many of the educated Muslims of the time, he knows the Qur'an by heart and is familiar with a variety of Arabic literary and judicial texts. He is a skilled warrior and hunter, adept with lance, sword, shield and bow, and is also an unusually skilled poet; the latter would make him very popular in covenant, if only the other coven-folk could understand Arabic! However, some appreciate the resonance and musicality of Arabic, so he does get called upon to perform on occasion.

However, Mansur has a problem. In his youth he confronted a witch whom he found practicing black magic in a graveyard. She cursed him with a tendency to get embroiled in political struggles, with the result that at every court he has attended, he has found himself becoming enmeshed in nefarious plots through no fault of his own. The end result of this has been a number of hasty departures from a variety of places, in order to keep his head attached to his neck! News of his seeming penchant for intrigue has spread, and

now he is unwelcome at any city or fortress where the great and the good interact with each other.

Mansur wants to return to the high society in which he was raised, and so he has come to the covenant, seeking the help of the magi to break the curse. So far their efforts have proved to be fruitless, but he hopes that someday he may be able to return to the company of noble Muslims. In the meantime, he attempts to be useful to the magi, training the grogs and assisting with the maintenance of the covenant's library.

Mansur is not an obsessively pious Muslim, but he does have an unshakeable faith in the benevolence of Allah, from which he believes he has benefited; after all, despite his curse, he is still alive, so he feels that someone must be taking care of him!

Note: Mansur is loosely based upon a real historical person, a Syrian emir named Usama ibn Munqidh (1095-1188). Usama's memoirs are well known to historians and strongly recommended for both their (admittedly at times questionable) historical information and their entertainment value. The latest English edition is Usama ibn Munqidh, trans. Philip K. Hitti, An Arab-Syrian Gentleman & Warrior in the Period of the Crusades (New York: Columbia University Press, 2000).

by Neil Taylor

Characteristics: Int +1, Per +2, Pre -2, Com -2, Str +2, Sta +0, Dex +2, Qik 0

Size: 0

Age: 24

Decrepitude: 0

Warping Score: 0

Confidence Score: 1 (3)

Virtues and Flaws: Redcap; Ways of the Woods; Social Contacts (Nobles), Well-Traveled (Free Virtue), Wilderness Sense, Overconfident; Carefree, Compulsion (Hunting), Magic Susceptibility, Magical Animal Companion (horse), Poor Student, Weak Characteristics

Personality Traits: Cheerful +3, Ambitious +2, Gregarious +1

Combat: Long bow: Init –4, Attack +11, Defense +4, Damage +10

Long sword: Init +0, Attack +11, Defense +5, Damage +8

Long sword & round shield: Init +0, Attack +10, Defense +6, Damage +8

Lance (as long spear): Init +1, Attack +7, Defense +3, Damage +9

Dagger: Init -2, Attack +8, Defense +3, Damage +5

Fist: Init -2, Attack +5, Defense +2, Damage +2

(Note: Ways of the Woods grants a further +3 to all rolls when fighting in Woods. Note also "The Invisible Shield" bracelet)

Long sword (mounted): Init +0, Attack +14, Defense +8, Damage +8

Long sword & round shield (mounted): Init +0, Attack +13, Defense +9, Damage +8

Lance (mounted): Init +0, Attack +13, Defense +6, Damage +7

Lance & round shield (mounted): Init +0, Attack +13, Defense +8, Damage +7

Soak: +6 (partial chainmail); +2 (partial heavy leather, while hunting), +0 unarmored.

Fatigue levels: OK, 0, -1, -3, -5, Unconscious

Wound Penalties: -1 (1-5), -3 (6-10), -5 (11–15), Incapacitated (16–20)

Abilities: Animal Handling 1 (hounds), Artes Liberales 2 (logic), Athletics 2 (run), Awareness 2 (alertness), Bargain 1 (strangers), Bows 3 (long bow), Brawl 2 (dagger), Carouse 2 (wild tales), Chirurgy 2 (first aid), Code of Hermes 1 (tribunal procedures), Concentration 3 (memory), Covenant Lore 2 (people), Etiquette 2 (hunting), Folk Ken 1 (magi), Great Weapon 1 (long spear), Hunt 3 (noble game), Latin 4 (hermetic use), Leadership 2 (huntsmen), Order of Hermes Lore 2 (covenants), Own Language 5 (fluency), Philosophiae 1 (natural philosophy), Ride 3 (in the hunt), Single Weapon 3 (long sword), Stealth 1 (stalking), Survival 2 (woods), Tribunal Lore 3 (geography), Wilderness Sense 2 (resources)

The Traveler's Finest Cook-pot: an iron cook-pot which transforms food placed in it into the banquet of the user's desire. It does not alter the quantity, nor the nutritive nature – but does make even unpalatable foods delicious. (It also saves on preparation time!). [MuAn(He) 11: GL 3, +3m for Touch/Sun, +1L for 2 uses daily]

The Traveler's Excellent Tent: a miniature leather tent, with guy ropes and pegs. On command it enlarges to the requested size – up to that of a tent capable of sleeping 4 spaciously (or cramming in 10 men) or of sheltering a man and his horse. On a second command it shrinks back to miniature form, ending the magical effect. [MuAn(He) 9: GL 3, the guyropes are cosmetic so no cost (they could be bone & sinew), +1m Conc, +5L maintains conc., 1 use per day.]

The Invisible Shield: an arm bracelet, apparently of cheap metal and unassuming decoration. When you make the triggering gesture, it briefly Wards the wielder from metal – effectively blocking all metal weapons. [ReTe 10: GL 2, +2m metal, +1m Touch, +5L 24 uses daily]

To trigger it, cross your fingers for luck and make a bold parrying gesture, bringing your arm up and across in front of your chest as if parrying with a shield.

Metal tipped wooden weapons like spears and arrows are affected, but wooden weapons with small amounts of metal (such as a spiked club) are less affected – you get a +5 Defense bonus but the weapon may still strike. Plain wooden weapons are unaffected.

Aeolus' Amulet: a leather charm woven into the mane of Aeolus. When one speaks the command word, the charm grants the horse it touches the power to ride across water, mud or any other surface. [ReAn 15, based on ReCo 4, +2m Touch/Conc, +1m Size. 1 use daily]. Aeolus wanted a charm that would let him gallop through the skies, but Victor's budget would not stretch that far. This may be the first item Victor requests when he finds enough Vis to pay a magus…] Note that Aeolus is a talking horse, and is generally the one to decide whether the charm is used or not.

The Eye of the Cat: an enchanted Cat's Eye stone, which grants the wielder the ability to see in the dark like a cat. [MuCo(An) 5 – same as Eyes of the Cat. 1 use daily.]

Encumbrance: 2 (Burden 4)

Vis: none yet, but he's looking for any he can find…

Appearance: a tall blond man, with long hair (usually held back by a cord), strong but very agile. His appearance varies as he travels, from an unassuming cloaked traveler on a nag, to a warrior in shining mail on a handsome charger.

If Victor were asked to pose, he would chose to portray himself as a great hunter (on a fine charger, with lance couched in pursuit of a deer); or perhaps a bare-headed warrior in chain mail shirt, fighting off several bandits simultaneously (ostentatiously deflecting their every blow with a small gesture, as he cuts them down with his broad-sword.)

Victor is the sort of Redcap who gets on well with Flambeau magi. He loves to ride and hunt (to the point of distraction), and often passes himself off as a visiting noble to join the hunts of mundane lords. He has a range of contacts among nobles he has hunted with, and will introduce himself to other nobles as "a friend of …" in order to join a chancedupon hunt. It seems likely that this passion may get him in trouble with the Quaesitors.

He is irrepressibly cheerful, and ever confident of his own abilities – largely borne out (it must be admitted) by his successes so far… It must be admitted, however, that if he is to attain the extended lifetime that he plans, then he may need to rein in his selfconfidence and good cheer, lest either he dive into some trouble he cannot handle, or find himself pushed into the same by some exasperated companion. In the meantime, he continues to seek out good food and good companions, to listen to his wild tales over foaming ale.

His closest companion is his horse, Aeolus, a free-willed, talking, magical being which shares his mad passion for the chase and the hunt, but is vain and proud of his superior nature. He has a Might of 8 (Size +2) and has a minor ability to vary his appearance from "unassuming nag" to "fine charger". Aeolus will generally go along with Victor's needs in this, as he understands the role the two play as a Redcap team, but he is also vain, and may choose to show off his fine looks at inopportune moments. (He is also an intact stallion, and there is no way Aeolus will consider being gelded!)

Victor takes as his sigil a hunting horn carried in the claws of a great eagle.

Although he is a non-magus he is said to bear many enchanted devices. As well as those provided by House Mercere to aid its members, he hopes to gain many personal devices. He plans to actively seek out Vis sources on his travels, trying to keep them secret. He then plans to make future messenger trips to pass by his sources and claim their Vis. This Vis he will then trades with other, Gifted, magi: mostly for enchanted devices, but also for other favours. For example, Aeolus has plans for his own set of magical devices; and both would like a device for silent communication.

Even without his magics, he is a powerful person and great hunter: he is physically strong, with keen senses, and as he devotes much of his spare time to physical pursuits, is highly skilled, most especially in the woods and forests of Mythic Europe, where he has an almost mystical attunement to the environment. As he grows, with the extended lifetime granted by a longevity potion, he will become an heroic hunter, or even an heroic warrior (were he to come into battle). With his out-going nature and taste for dangerous activities, he is likely to extend the repertoire of the bards and troubadours with his exploits, and enter the annals of Mythic Europe!

by Mark Shirley

Characteristics: Int +2, Per -1, Pre -1, Com -1, Str 0,

Sta +1, Dex +4, Qik 0

Size: 0

Age: 34 (Apparent Age 34) – Hermetic Age 9 since

Gauntlet.

Decrepitude: none

Warping Score: 2 (3)

Confidence Score: 2 (5 points)

Virtues and Flaws: The Gift; Hermetic Magus; Secondary Insight; Cyclic Magic (nighttime), Great Dexterity, Perfect Balance, Quiet Magic, Self Confident (free Virtue), Subtle Magic; Tormenting Master, Greater Malediction (sunlight causes pain); Incompatible Arts (Creo Ignem, Rego Ignem), Reckless

Personality Traits: Reckless +3, Self Important +2,

Envious +1, Secretive +2

Reputations: none

Soak: +1

Fatigue levels: OK, 0, -1, -3, -5, Unconscious

Wound Penalties: -1 (1-5), -3 (6-10), -5 (11-15),

Incapacitated (16-20)

Abilities: Area Lore 1 (rich houses), Artes Liberales 2 (scribing), Athletics 4 (climbing), Awareness 1 (at night), Charm 2 (ladies), Code of Hermes 1 (in relation to mundane law), Concentration 1 (maintaining spells), Finesse 2 (Imaginem), Guile 1 (excuses), Intrigue 3 (gentlefolk), Latin 4 (discussing magic), Legerdemain 4 (casual filching), Magic Theory 4

(inventing spells), Own Language 5 (townsfolk), Parma Magica 3 (Imaginem), Penetration 1 (Perdo), Profession: Scribe 1 (copying spells), Stealth 4 (inside)

Arts: Cr 2, In 0, Mu 5, Pe 10, Re 7; An 3, Aq 0, Au 0, Co 5, He 0, Ig 0, Im 10, Me 7, Te 6, Vi 4

Twilight Scars: none

Equipment: none.

Encumbrance: 0 (Burden 0)

Slipperiness of the Eel* (MuCo(An) 5/+9)

Stickiness of the Lizard's Toes* (MuCo(An) 5/+9)

Gloom of Evening (PeIg 10/+11)

Disguise of the Transformed Image (MuIm 15/+16)

Veil of Invisibility (PeIm 20/+21)

Recollection of Memories Never Quite Lived (MuMe 5/+13)

Loss of But a Moment's Memory (PeMe 15/+18)

Aura of Rightful Authority (ReMe 20/+15)

Fist of Shattering (PeTe 10/+17)

Unseen Arm (ReTe 5/+14)

Trackless Step (ReTe 10/+14)

[* NEW SPELL]

SLIPPERINESS OF THE EEL

MuCo(An) 5

R: Touch, D: Sun, T: Ind

Makes the target's body supple and stretchy for Sun duration, providing a +3 bonus to any rolls to wiggle through small cracks.

(Base 2, Touch +1, Sun +2, free requisite)

STICKINESS OF THE LIZARD'S TOES

MuCo(An) 5

R: Personal, D: Sun, T: Part

Makes the caster's hands and feet sticky for Sun duration, providing a +3 bonus to all climbing rolls; but can prove quite annoying otherwise.

(Base 2, Sun +2, Part +1, free requisite)

Appearance: He is a tall, man with a scraggily beard and pale skin; but he has a charming manner and a quick wit, which encourages the foolish to trust him. He favors dark clothing, especially deep cloaks which satisfy his dramatic flair.

This slippery follower of Tytalus is an accomplished thief. Unbeknown to his sodales, Carolus occasionally sneaks out of the covenant at night to rob the rich. Sometimes he is a highwayman, at others he burgles rich merchants. He does not do it for the money - the covenant provides for all his needs - but for the thrill; it is almost an obsession for him. Naturally, his magic supplements his native skill; but even without magic he can get by perfectly well. He can squeeze his supple body through the smallest of gaps, palm other people's treasures with consummate ease, and melt into the shadows. When he brings his magic to bear, he is unstoppable. Furax favors the Form of Imaginem, but he does not neglect the other Arts; he takes a delight in accomplishing tasks with an inventive use of spells. All of his spells relate to his furtive night-time activities; providing disguises, bringing darkness and sleep, generating misdirection and foiling locks, and in fact, he knows few Imaginem spells, reserving his skill in this field to spontaneous magics to deal with whatever problems arise during one of his expeditions. His ability to cast his magic quietly and subtly has come in very useful on his night-time escapades.

Although he knows nothing of his ancestry, Carolus suspects that he may be descended from faeries (or other creatures) who revel in darkness. Sunlight is painful to him - bright sunshine will burn him after an hour's exposure, but even normal daylight is uncomfortable. All actions should be penalized by 1 to 3 points, depending on the strength of the sunlight. Additionally, he has always been incapable of creating light or fire, and his magic waxes in strength during the hours of the night. However, he has not displayed any other symptoms of faerie blood, so perhaps there is some other power at work here.

by Niall Christie

Characteristics: Int +3, Per +1, Str +2, Sta 0, Prs –3 (2), Com –1, Dex +1, Qik +2

Size: 0

Age: 87 (64), Hermetic age 62 yrs past Gauntlet.

Decrepitude: 0

Warping Score: 6 (17)

Confidence Score: 1 (3)

Virtues and Flaws: The Gift; Hermetic Magus; Puissant Art (Perdo) (free Virtue); Flawless Magic; Affinity with Perdo, Enduring Constitution, Fast Caster, Hermetic Prestige, Premonitions, Second Sight, Strong-Willed; Blatant Gift, Driven (Hunt Enemies of the Order), Enemies (Renounced Magus and his Lackeys); Disfigured (Facial Burns)

Personality Traits: Brave +3, Dedicated to Cause +3, Efficient +3

Reputations: Dedicated Hoplite +3 (Hermetic magi)

Combat: Fist: Init +2, Atk +5, Def +6, Dam +2

Kick: Init +1, Atk +4, Def +4, Dam +5

Long Spear: Init +5, Atk +9, Def +8, Dam +9

Soak: +0

Fatigue levels: OK, 0, 0, –2, –4, Unconscious

Wound Penalties: –1 (1-5), –3 (6-10), –5 (11-15), Incapacitated (16-20) (* accumulated wound penalties reduce by 1 for Enduring Constitution)

Abilities: Artes Liberales 4 (Grammar), Athletics 2 (Running), Awareness 3 (Alertness), Bargain 2 (Books), Bavaria Lore 2 (Geography), Brawl 3 (Punching), Chirurgy 2 (Bind Wounds), Civil and Canon Law 1 (Local Customs), Code of Hermes 3 (Wizards' Marches), Concentration 3 (Spells), Dominion Lore 2 (Divine Creatures), Etiquette 2 (Merchants), Faerie Lore 2 (Faerie Forests), Finesse 4 (Precision), Folk Ken 2 (Peasants), German 5 (Merchant Slang), Great Weapon 4 (Long Spear), Guile 3 (Fast talk), Hunt 2 (Tracking), Infernal Lore 2 (Demons), Intrigue 3 (Plotting), Latin 4 (Hermetic), Leadership 3 (Intimidation), (Local Area) Lore 3 (Personalities), Magic Lore 2 (Creatures), Magic Theory 5 (Inventing Spells), Order of Hermes Lore 4 (Criminals), Parma Magica 5 (Corpus), Penetration 6 (Perdo), Philosophiae 2 (Moral Philosophy), Premonitions 3 (Enemy Magi), Profession - Scribe 2 (Speed), Second Sight 3 (Invisibility), Stealth 2 (Shadowing), Survival 2 (Forests), Swim 2 (Rough Water)

Arts: Cr 10, In 6, Mu 4, Pe 18+3 (15), Re 9; An 5, Aq 6, Au 6, Co 15, He 6, Ig 6, Im 5, Me 6, Te 6 (4), Vi 8

Twilight Scars: The shadows in Darius' hood are unusually deep, hiding his face; Nearby, non-magical items decay when Darius uses magic (as the Warped Magic Flaw).

Equipment: Long Spear with haft enchanted as a talisman, instilled with the effect The Wound that Weeps (PeCo 15, penetration 0, 50 uses per day), attuned to a +4 bonus to spells that destroy at a distance, Longevity Ritual: Lab Total 35, +7 aging bonus

Encumbrance: 0 (4)

Cripple the Howling Wolf (PeAn 25/+27*), Mastery 1 (Fast Casting)

Parching Wind (PeAq 20/+28*), Mastery 1 (Penetration)

Curse of the Desert (PeAg 25/+29*), Mastery 2 (Penetration, Magic Resistance)

The Chirurgeon's Healing Touch (CrCo 20/+26), Mastery 1 (Penetration)

Whispers through the Black Gate (InCo (Me) 15/+13), Mastery 1 (Quiet Casting)

The Inexorable Search (InCo 20/+22), Mastery 1 (Penetration)

Grip of the Choking Hand (PeCo 15/+37*), Mastery 1 (Penetration)

The Wound that Weeps ( $PeCo\ 15/+37^*$ ), Mastery 1 (Penetration)

Incantation of the Milky Eyes (PeCo $30/+37^*$ ), Mastery 1 (Penetration)

Twist of the Tongue (PeCo 30/+37), Mastery 1 (Fast Casting)

Clenching Grasp of the Crushed Heart (PeCo 40/+38*), Mastery 2 (Penetration, Magic Resistance)

Gift of the Bear's Fortitude (MuCo 25/+20), Mastery 1 (Fast Casting)

Endurance of the Berserkers (ReCo 15/+25), Mastery 1 (Fast Casting)

Lifting the Dangling Puppet (ReCo 15/+25), Mastery 1 (Penetration)

Seven-League Stride (ReCo 35/+25), Mastery 1 (Fast Casting)

The Leap of Homecoming (ReCo 35/+25), Mastery 1 (Fast Casting)

The Great Rot (PeHe 25/+28*), Mastery 1 (Fast Casting)

Soothe the Raging Flames (Pelg 20/+28), Mastery 1 (Fast Casting)

Ward Against Heat and Flames (Relg 25/+16), Mastery 1 (Fast Casting)

Veil of Invisibility (PeIm 20/+28), Mastery 2 (Quiet Casting x 2)

Tip of the Tongue (PeMe 5/+29), Mastery 2 (Fast Casting, Magic Resistance)

Calm the Motion of the Heart (PeMe 15/+28), Mastery 1 (Quiet Casting)

Loss of But a Moment's Memory (PeMe 15/+29*), Mastery 3 (Quiet Casting x 2, Still Casting)

Blessing of Childlike Bliss (PeMe 25/+30), Mastery 3 (Quiet Casting x 2, Still Casting)

Rusted Decay of Ten-Score Years (PeTe 20*, Target increased to Group/+28*), Mastery 1 (Fast Casting)

Demon's Eternal Oblivion (PeVi 30/+30*). Mastery 1 (Fast Casting)

Wind of Mundane Silence ( $PeVi\ 30/+30$ ), Mastery 1 (Magic Resistance)

(* if Darius is holding his Talisman, he has a +4 bonus to cast spells which "Destroy things at a distance")

Appearance: Darius is a frightening individual. A bony figure swathed in a black, all-encompassing robe and carrying a black-hafted spear, he is reminiscent of medieval perceptions of the physical embodiment of death. This image is further emphasized if his hood falls away from his face, for Darius is bald, with a mass of scar tissue for a face and no eyes.

Darius is content to cultivate his sinister image; he is a hoplite and an expert with Perdo magic, dedicated to the discovery and execution of traitors within the Order. However, it was not always thus; Uwe, the boy who would eventually become Darius, was born into a merchant family living in Bavaria. He enjoyed a comfortable life in a moderately prosperous household. However, shortly after Uwe reached puberty strange things began to happen. His books would fall apart, furniture he sat on would break, and the family cat died in his arms. His family became aware that there was something unsettling about the boy and were only too happy to see him taken away as an apprentice by the mysterious scholar who visited them soon after.

Thus Uwe became the apprentice of the hoplite Xerxes, who indoctrinated his filius to become a hunter of evils within the Order of Hermes. A lab accident early during apprenticeship burned away Uwe's eyes and the flesh on his head, but Xerxes restored Uwe's sight, although he refused to do anything about his filius' appearance. Fifteen years later Uwe became a magus of the Order of Hermes named Darius and joined the ranks of the hoplites, its guardians. He has continued

to maintain contact with his (aging) pater, but they only see each other on rare occasions when they can share information; Xerxes is now too frail to take part in combat.

Darius travelled to the covenant to establish a base from which he could seek out and destroy its enemies. He pursued this vocation with an enthusiasm that impressed his colleagues, and when the previous leader of the covenant recently passed into Final Twilight he accepted the position of head, seeing in this an opportunity to instill his values into the new, younger members swelling its ranks. Darius has been too busy to train an apprentice, but now he feels the need to pass on his legacy soon, as he suspects that he may have encountered his bane; he recently fought a powerful Renounced magus and his followers and was nearly killed, only "escaping" when a magical maelstrom sent him physically into Twilight. The traitor is still at large; Darius intends to kill him in the next confrontation and is even prepared to sacrifice himself to achieve this aim.