Founding the Shipyard

In Mythic Europe, it is unlikely that a magus, or even a covenant, can establish a shipyard without the involvement or even permission of certain mundanes, not least the local guild of shipwrights. Swearing an oath to a guild leaves a magus open to accusations of putting himself at the service of mundane powers. A magus swearing such an oath to a guild would be relying on Tribunal support to avoid punishment if discovered, so it is more likely that a magus would work through a proxy. This proxy would perhaps be the official face of the shipyard and act as the mundane conduit through which the Hermetic shipwright would sell his services. This is particularly apt for magi of House Verditius where the mundane shipwright can act as either a forge-companion, contributing to the construction of ships, or a venditor procuring contracts for his magus (Houses of Hermes: Mystery Cults, pages 135–136).