The Buildings

"The stables for the livestock will be such as not to be affected by either cold or heat. For the draught animals there should be a double set of stalls for winter and summer; for the rest of the livestock that belongs within the farmstead there should be paddocks surrounded by a high wall to prevent attacks by wild beasts, and with a roofed part where the animals can rest in winter and an open part for the summer …"

— Columella, On Agriculture

While it's common for peasants to live with their livestock, sharing a single-room hovel with the family ox, few magi will want to share their laboratory with a wild animal. Even a tamed animal is problematic, sure to cause unintentional mischief and trouble. Outbuildings are the solution, their size and structure dependent upon the desires of the maga. Besides a barn, a menagerie might need granaries to store feed, aviaries to house birds, or apiaries to keep bees. Aquatic beasts need ponds or cisterns.

A stud farm needs several barns, as each breed requires a specific barn, separate pastures for males, females, and young, and secure paddocks for breeding and birthing. A personal menagerie needs separate pens for the various curiosities, comfortable lounges for viewers, restricted areas for livestock management, and living quarters for the staff. Fresh air and water must be provided, as well as protection from the elements and any unwanted visitors that may wander past. Pens have to be mucked out, and accommodations for feeding must be included. Breeding rooms should be private enclosures so as to not rile up other beasts, and rooms must be set aside for healing and medical needs. The opulence and grandeur of the structure is another consideration. Since appearance is everything, the architecture must match the prestige of its occupants.

If the presiding maga wants to engage in any seasonal arcane activities while on site, she needs a laboratory. A menagerie's laboratory would have several unique features: a larger room, if lab activities include large beasts; access to pens and oth-

er containment units; stalls and bindings to keep animals immobile; and a variety of enchanted items to assist the magus.

The complete set of buildings should be arranged in a pleasing and auspicious manner. For example, Palladius writes that the granaries should be placed in the north of the farm and ox-stalls in the south. A garden is a nice finishing touch, providing a pattern to the completed menagerie. Popular from one end of Mythic Europe to the other, a garden should be landscaped with trees, shrubs, and flowers, interwoven with idyllic paths and manicured groves. Exotic magical birds could live in the flora, augmented perhaps by a handful of unique magical herbivores. A small pool serving as a centerpiece can contain magical fish, amphibians, or reptiles.

Conjure the Mighty Barn

CrHe 25

R: Touch, D: Mom, T: Ind, Ritual This spell creates a large barn constructed entirely of wood, including paddocks, stalls, and a loft. The barn is 100 paces long and wide, and twenty feet high. The interior's design is determined by the caster.

(Base 3, +1 Touch, +3 size, +2 elaborate design)

Required Lab Total: 1 season (50), 2 seasons (38), 3 seasons (34), 4 seasons (32)