Consequences of Fertility Magic

The introduction of the Fertility Ritual to the Order of Hermes could result in interesting stories, and some possibilities are described below. Exactly which, if any, of these stories come about in your saga should

depend upon the actions of the magi who develop fertility magic, and on the scope of your saga. In any case, there are probably factions within all of the Houses of the Order of Hermes that will want to take advantage of the development of Fertility Ritual spells.

• A Bonisagus Archmage offers a large amount of vis, or a number of valuable books, in return for •
• being taught the Fertility Ritual Magic Virtue. The Archmage wants to breed a number of Gifted apprentices with interesting combinations of traits.
• A wealthy noble seeks out the magus to commission a Fertility Ritual to assist in the conception of an heir. His brother, who otherwise stands to inherit, learns of this and tries to prevent the •

St. Anna-Marie was a girl who lived in one of the nearby villages 200 years ago. At the time, the local lord had imposed a harsh tax regime on the villages, which they were unable to meet, due to a poor harvest. Unconvinced, or unmoved, by the villagers' claims of poverty, the lord sent his soldiers into the village to collect the unpaid taxes by force. A tense stand-off between the soldiers and the men of the village was miraculously defused by Anna-Marie's offer to return with the soldiers to the lord's castle so that she could plead for the village. Several weeks passed and then, to the villagers' delight, Anna-Marie returned accompanied by the lord's stonemason. Anna-Marie had prayed for the deliverance of her village on the journey to the castle and, upon her arrival, she not only shamed the lord into granting the village a tax reprieve, but also convinced him to send his stonemason to build a church for the villagers. All the villagers helped with the construction of the church, and it was rapidly completed. Over the next few years, the harvests improved and the village was able to meet the more reasonable tax

demands of the lord, who frequently attended mass at the new church. Anne-Marie spent the rest of her life cleaning the church and cooking for the itinerant priests who preached to the village. Upon her death she was interned in the bone cave, and since then she has been venerated by the villagers.

Divine Might: 25

Characteristics: Int +5, Per +5, Pre +5, Com +5, Str n/a, Sta n/a, Dex n/a, Qik n/a

Size: 0 Age: n/a

Confidence Score: 2 (10) Virtues and Flaws: None

Personality Traits: Pious +3, Attentive +2, Benevolent +2 Reputations: Saint 6 (local), Saint 2

(ecclesiastical) Combat: n/a

Soak: n/a

Fatigue Levels: n/a Wound Penalties: n/a

Abilities: None

Powers:

Tomorrow's Bounty, 2 points, Init +0, Herbam: This power allows the saint to instantly create enough food to feed a large crowd — often sacks of grain or baked loaves of bread.

Terrify the Unbeliever, 2 points, Init +18, Mentem: This curse causes fear in the target, making him terrified of the saint and her power and forcing him to flee. A Brave or equivalent Personality Trait roll of Ease Factor 12 is needed to overcome this terror, which lasts until dawn.

Acknowledgement of Evil, 1 point, Init +10, Vim: This power forces any demon within Voice Range of the petitioner to declare his Infernal nature, loudly stating that he is a demon. The Penetration of this miracle (Divine Might – 5) must equal or exceed the demon's Infernal Might for it to be effective.

Equipment: white robes Encumbrance: 0 (0)

Vis: 0

Appearance: St. Anna-Marie does not usually appear to the faithful, but when she does choose to it is as a young girl, aged about 13, dressed in a simple, pure white robe, accompanied by a delicate, but unidentifiable, perfume.

magus from successfully inventing or performing the Fertility Ritual. Obviously, the magus also runs the risk of censure for interference in the affairs of the mundanes.

• A Mercere magus learns the Fertility Ritual Magic Virtue and develops a new Breakthrough to create Creo Animal Fertility Ritual variants, which he uses to create fantastic riding mounts for Redcaps. •
• The magi of an isolated covenant learn the Fertility Ritual Magic •

Virtue and set about creating and training an array of servants with optimal traits — including guards, assassins, courtesans, spies, and merchants. Depending upon the breadth of their ambitions the magi may have also researched a method of insulating themselves from the Warping effect of repeated performance of a Fertility Ritual. When the plans of the magi are brought to the attention of the broader Order they claim that this veritable army is a defensive contingency only, but

• an investigating Quasitor fears that a massive attempt to interfere in the mundane world has been uncovered.
• Rumors of the Order of Hermes's discovery of the Fertility Ritual reaches the Papacy in Rome, and a Dominican monk, carrying a letter of Inquisition, is tasked with investigating the Order of Hermes. The Church is concerned at both the revival of what it sees as pagan birthing rituals, and the prospect of an alarming explosion in the number of Gifted. •