The Farne Islands

Destroying the Infernal Artifact

One of the Infernal artifact's powers is the ability to reform if destroyed or to move to another physical form, although this takes time. It can be hidden under the deepest seas, entombed below ground, or tossed into a volcano, but Terentia is forever drawn to it. These are only temporary solutions which open up further stories. For true and permanent disposal the artifact must be taken to a truly holy place, and only a completely pious person can destroy it. In game mechanical terms it needs to be taken to a cathedral or other place with a Dominion aura of at least 5. Here, an ordained clergyman possessing True Faith can, after hours of prayer and ceremony, destroy the artifact by expenditure of a Faith Point. The artifact need have no powers that can affect the characters; maybe only a demon can use it. It can, of course, be given powers if that suits the story the troupe wants to tell.

The Farne Islands are a group of islands lying a few miles off the coast of Northeast England. The number visible and their size varies greatly according to the state of the tide, but it is commonly reckoned that there are 28 islands in all.

The name of the islands derives from Old English farena ealande, the "island of the travelers." This echoes its role as a destination for pilgrims; farend means "traveler" or "pilgrim," and a far is a journey; constructions that are still present in Modern English in terms such as "wayfarer" and "fare forth." Religious travelers aren't the only ones attracted to the islands; the Farnes are a haven for all sorts of beings who use these islands as a temporary or permanent home.

During the spring and summer, the islands are home to a large number of seabirds. As the birds leave in the fall, seals haul themselves out of the sea to occupy the low lying beaches; the cows give birth and suckle their young while the bulls compete for their affections and build their harems. The pups mature at the end of winter, and all the seals return to the water.

All four Supernatural realms have touched these islands. Closest to humanity is the Divine realm, represented by a hermitage that has been the site of miracles. Further out, the faeries dwell on the legends told in the nearby villages. Further still is the haven of the travelers from the Magic realm who migrate with the mundane seabirds. Last to arrive and last to depart are the bird-shaped spirits of the storms, who persist until mid fall and wrack the coast with foul weather. Finally, deep in the North Sea is a prison for the demons that used to haunt these shores.

While the islands described here use the names and legends of islands in the Stonehenge Tribunal, they can still be used if your saga is set in a different locale. Small clusters of coastal islands can be found all around Mythic Europe, and advice has been provided for changing the location of these islands.

The islands have never had permanent inhabitants; at least, not human ones. Since as long as can be remembered the islands have been avoided by locals who ply their trade on the sea. None are of sufficient size to support even a family, and the tides around the islands are too treacherous for regular visits to the mainland. The islands could be harvested for birds' eggs and meat, not just of the birds but also of the seals who frequent these waters, but superstitious dread of the islands keeps people away.

The islands are purported to be inhabited by demons. When the wind blows in from the sea, it brings with it hellish screams. Just before storms, the screams are louder, and the locals believe that the demons summon the wind and rain. They pray to Saint Cuthbert, famous inhabitant of these islands, for protection against the demons' wrath.

The islands have occasionally been the temporary home to people. Shipwrecks are not uncommon on these demon-haunted seas, and survivors sometimes have to spend days or weeks stranded on the islands before they are rescued. If they are lucky, they find themselves on one of the inner islands. Exiles have occasionally used the islands — mostly Inner Farne — as a temporary home, but, like the occasional religious ascetic seeking to emulate Saint Cuthbert, rarely last long in such an unforgiving landscape.

The 28 Farne Islands are part of the county of Northumberland in northern England. Seven miles up the coast is Holy Island, home to Lindisfarne Priory, famed throughout Mythic Europe for the quality of its illuminated scriptures.

The islands are divided into two main groups: the inner islands that lie just 1½ miles offshore; and the outer islands separated from the inner group by Staple Sound, which is about a mile wide. There are a few isolated rocks that fall into neither of these groups.

The northernmost county of the king-dom of England, Northumberland has an unsavory reputation in England. Its people are seen as rough and quarrelsome, speak an unintelligible dialect of English, and are in perpetual conflict with the clans of the Scottish borders. This reputation is not wholly unfounded, but Northumbrians are also brave, loyal, and generous. Northumberland is a troubled land; if it is not being invaded by the armies of the Scottish kings, then it is being invaded by the king of England seeking to quash the rebellious noble class. Some of its many castles have been destroyed and rebuilt four or five times. The county has lacked an earl for the past sixty years since they have proved too troublesome to the English Crown. Instead, the county is administered by the king's sheriff at Newcastle.

The Farne Islands are in the very north of the county, close to the Scottish border. The islands are of little interest to the king; they have no strategic importance, and do not generate any income. However, they are part of the wardship of an important English fortress, Bamburgh Castle.

Bamburgh Castle

This castle was an ancient stronghold of the Britons prior to the Romans, and the capitol of both the Saxon kingdom of Bernicia, and its successor Northumbria. Saint Cuthbert's choice of a hermitage on Inner Farne was quite deliberate; the king in Bamburgh would see the island every morning from his castle, and be reminded of the potent symbol of God that held the hearts and minds of the Northumbrian people.

The current constable of the castle is John Wascelin, who has nominal suzerainty over the Farne Islands. Bamburgh Castle is particularly well-garrisoned; the Scottish border is only 15 miles away, and assaults against English strongholds have been common in the last few decades, as the Scottish king tries to assert his claim over Northumberland. Bamburgh possesses several siege ballistas and employs its own master balister to operate them.

The communities of the coastal region rely on fishing to make a living, and a fisherman will be reluctant to give up a day's work to ferry a group of strangers around. Offering coins in recompense is not much of an incentive; his family can't eat silver, and most rural economies only use hard cash to pay manorial fines and feudal dues, relying on barter to obtain daily necessities. That said, a sailor might be persuaded if the incentive is high enough. The sailors of the Northumberland coast are very superstitious, a character trait that is only enhanced by the presence of The Gift. They watch the sky and local birds for omens, and can be spooked by the slightest irregularity. They avoid unlucky topics by using word substitutions; in particular the number four, the color green, women, and priests are all taboo. Pigs are particularly unlucky; if a sailor sees a pig, he refuses to go to sea for a whole day. If someone utters the word aboard a ship, he will be tipped over the side without a second thought; if such a creature has to be mentioned at all it is called something else, such as "the thing."

The constable at Bamburgh has boats permanently harbored for the purpose of travel, but he won't lend them to a group of characters unless they possess some sort of authority, and an explanation as to their business on the islands that form part of his wardship. Of course, such obstacles to obtaining a boat can be overcome with magic, theft, or by owning one's own boat.

What You've Heard

Locals get a +3 bonus to their Area Lore: Northumberland rolls for what they know about the Farne Islands.

What is Known by All

The Farne Islands lie a few miles off the Northumberland coast.

Saint Cuthbert used to live on the largest of the Farne Islands in the seventh century.

Widely Known

Saint Cuthbert drove out the demons who had been living on Inner Farne; some say they took up residence on the outer islands, but have moved back since the saint left.

Local fishermen ply the waters between the coast and the inner islands; they rarely enter Staple Sound, and never approach the Outer Farnes, which are believed to be haunted by demons.

A boat can be hired from the fishing village of Seahouses and the nearby Bamburgh castle has a small ship, but the constable of the castle will want to know why people are visiting the islands.

Uncommon Knowledge

Two farmers claim to have found a tunnel that connects the Wideopens to the mainland; they stumbled upon it by accident one night. Few believe them, since they have been unable to find it again.

Fishing boats can find safe harbor in The Kettle (between Inner Farne and Knoxes Reef), regardless of the fierceness of the storm.

The waters around the Farne Islands are the haunt of selkies: faeries who take the shape of seals. Selkie men are skilled lovers, and can cure a woman of barrenness. Selkie women are incomparable in their beauty; a man must hide her seal-skin so that she cannot return to the water or he will never see her again.

Lost Secrets

There is an ancient magical power connected to some of the islands that seeks to sink ships

Island Terminology

The names of the islands contain several elements derived from Old English words now obsolete. A car is simply a rock, particularly one isolated from others and rising out of the sea. A shad is a bank, usually one posing a risk to ships. A gut is a channel or strait too narrow to admit a fishing boat.

The group of islands closest to land are less obviously supernatural than those that are further out.

Inner Farne

Divine aura 2, rising to 4 in the chapel. The largest of the Farne Islands at 16 acres, Inner Farne (also called "House Island") has straight cliffs rising twenty feet (or more) out of the sea, and with no low-lying land its size is barely affected by the tide. The island offers no harbor except on the north side of the island, in a deep pool called the Kettle. An ancient wooden cross on the cliff top gives sailors a mark to draw them to this harbor. The Kettle is always a haven of calm regardless of the weather, a feature attributable to the colony of Eider Ducks of Virtue (see Inhabitants, later) who swim in the Kettle. Inner Farne has just under five acres of thin but arable land, enough to grow enough food to support one or two people. However, any crops grown here are susceptible to the hordes of birds that flock here from the Outer Farnes.

Inner Farne was occupied for a decade by the hermit Saint Cuthbert before he became a bishop. The island, as well as the neighboring Wideopens, were occupied by demons prior to his arrival. Cuthbert erected the cross in the Kettle, the only harbor on this rocky island, and the demons were driven out of the Inner Farnes to Megstone (see later).

The saint performed three miracles on the island which made it habitable to him. He made a spring flow, providing fresh water where there was none. He sprinkled the water onto the bare rock, and it became covered in fertile soil. He then sowed this soil with barley out of season and, watered by the spring water, it grew and ripened within a month. He was therefore able to utilize the scant acres of arable land he had been give to provide food for himself all year round. With the assistance of an angel, Saint Cuthbert built a stone hermitage for himself, and later a small chapel, on the west side of the island. In 686, Cuthbert received a vision that his death was near, so he left the island and died three months later. A succession of hermits followed him, most recently Bartholomew, who dwelt at the hermitage from 1150 to 1193 and wrote a book called Farne Meditations. There is no hermit currently living on Inner Farne. On Saint Cuthbert's feast day each year a delegation of monks from a nearby monastery brave the North Sea to say mass in the chapel and share in the Eucharist.

Anyone raising a crop of barley on Inner Farne within the span of one month can harvest Creo vis from the grain (the amount must be chosen to suit the saga). However, neither the soil nor the spring retain the saint's miracle, so the characters must find another way to ripen the grain supernaturally fast. They also need to protect the crop from the rapacious attention of magical birds from the outer island.

Boats and Boating

Exploring the Farne Islands probably requires the use of a boat. This insert is intended to give the basics of obtaining and piloting a small vessel. Rules for larger sea-going vessels can be found in City & Guild, page 86.

A small fishing boat of Standard Quality (see City & Guild, page 69 for the quality of manufactured goods) costs about five Mythic Pennies per point of Size, and must usually be commissioned from a shipwright. Size is typically +4 to +5, and it has 4 Damage levels (City & Guild, page 77). Boats of higher quality have more Damage Levels and are easier to pilot, but are more expensive. A ship of Size +4 needs a crew of two; double this per additional point of Size. There can be twice as many passengers as crew. Each crew member must have the Profession: Sailor Ability; this Ability is used both to pilot (combined with Dexterity) and navigate (using Intelligence). Planning a voyage that avoids hazards requires an appropriate Area Lore Ability.

A rowing boat of Standard Quality costs about two Mythic Pennies per person it can accommodate, and needs at least one rower per three passengers (or fraction thereof) overall. A boat that can ferry six persons (with two of them rowing) is Size +3 and has 4 Damage levels. Rowing uses the Athletics Ability, which can be used with no score, subject to the usual penalty (ArM5, page 62). Piloting rolls are made with Strength + Athletics; if there is more than one rower, use their average Strength coupled with the designated pilot's Athletics. Profession: Sailor is still needed to navigate, and Area Lore for charting a route. Fatigue checks must be made after every hour of rowing in calm seas, every half hour in choppy waters, and every quarter of an hour in stormy weather.

To operate any sort of boat requires piloting rolls, using either Profession: Sailor or Athletics, depending on the type of boat. Normally, just one individual makes the roll regardless of the size of the vessel; this is usually the person in charge. Simply having the appropriate Ability permits the basic operation of moving the boat around, piloting rolls are only needed for unusual conditions such as deviating from the chosen course or attaining a given speed (such as in a pursuit). The Ease Factor for any rolls depends on the weather: mild wind or rain requires an Ease Factor of 3, a squall requires an Ease Factor of 9, an average storm an Ease Factor of 12, and a tempest an Ease Factor of 15 or more. Modifiers to this roll include:

Situation	Modifier
Shoddy Quality* vessel	–3
Superior Quality* vessel	+1
Excellent Quality* vessel	+Craft Ability/3, rounded up
Crew reduced by fewer than a quarter	–1
Crew reduced by more than a quarter but fewer than half	–3
Crew reduced by more than –6 a half but fewer than three quarters	-6
Crew reduced by more than three quarters	can't succeed

* City & Guild, page 69

A failed boat handling roll means that the vessel fails to respond to the desired command, and continues in the direction and speed it was traveling before. A botched boat handling roll imposes undue strain on the vessel's structure, forcing an immediate Stress check (City & Guild, page 77) to avoid damage. A Stress check is normally a stress die + modifiers against an Ease Factor of 15; a typical modifier is the Ability score (such as Profession: Sailor) of someone trained in the use of the object.

Failure to control a boat might result in a collision with an island, sandbar, or other vessel. The pilot must make a Stress check to avoid inflicting damage on the vessel. If another boat was hit, the pilot of that vessel also needs to make a Stress check. Failure results in the boat losing a Damage level. Damage levels remain lost until repaired, and impose no penalties on the operation of the vessel. However, boats with no Damage levels remaining are breached; at this point the vessel begins to sink. Boats with no hold (like rowing boats) tend to break apart immediately; those with a hold might take a few rounds or even minutes to entirely founder.

The Wideopens

No aura.

These twinned islands have the deepest soil on the islands, although there is insufficient area to make agricultural use of this bounty. Instead, the soil of the Wideopens is used to inter the bodies of shipwrecked sailors. Burial in the graveyard of the local church is reserved for members of the parish, and when bodies are washed up after a wreck, it is unlikely that the home parish of the deceased is known. They are therefore taken by boat with the parish priest to the Wideopens, and buried. Such a burial satisfies the church's requirements but does not constitute a Church burial, and bodies interred on the Wideopens are vulnerable to necromancy and spirit magic.

A channel called Saint Cuthbert's Gut lies between West Wideopen and Inner Farne. Compared to some of the other channels between the islands, this is a wide one, and navigable except in bad weather. It is over 300 paces between the open sea and The Kettle (see Inner Farne, earlier), and those caught within it in stormy weather risk being crushed against the cliffs on either side of the gut; a ship handling roll must be made every 100 paces in all but the calmest of weathers, and a failed roll incurs a stress roll to avoid damaging the vessel against the cliffs.

There is a local rumor of a tunnel leading between the Wideopens and the mainland. This tunnel does in fact exist: it opens onto East Wideopen, but the entrance is choked with soil. The other end appears to be a sinkhole on the headland directly opposite the island. The interior of the tunnel lies wholly within a regio with a Magic aura of 2, with either entrance leading characters into the regio. On rare occasions (as determined by the storyguide) the regio stands wide open allowing anyone to enter the tunnel; this has led to the stories about it.

Story Seed: The Drowned Dead

One night on All Hallow's Eve, the walking dead start to emerge from the tunnel. They walk with a lumbering, lurching gait, stink of rot and fish, and sea water constantly spills from their gaping maws. These revenants are the corpses of sailors buried on the Wideopens, reanimated through some dread magic. The characters need to discover what agency has disturbed the rest of the dead — and guided them through the regio — before they overwhelm the villages of the Northumbrian coast.

The Bridges, Solan Rock, Knoxes Reef, Knocklin Ends

No aura

At low tide, these features join with the Wideopens into a single crescent-shaped island facing east; at high tide only Solan Rock and Knoxes Reef remain above water. On the morning of Saint Cuthbert's feast day (20th March), one can find collections of foam and spume that constitute two pawns of Aquam vis washed up in this bay.

Big and Little Scarcar

No aura

These two pillars of rock stand proud from the water. There is no easy way up the cliffs of the Scarcars, although some foolhardy souls make the climb in search of seabird eggs or to catch puffins for roasting. A small boat (no bigger than Size +4) can be moored in the narrow gut between Big and Little Scarcar, and be kept safe from all but the most violent of storms.

The Bush

Divine aura 1

Saint Cuthbert's legend has it that he sat on the easternmost of these paired islands and meditated for a whole year, oblivious to the tide that completely submersed the islands and himself. The eider ducks brought him food, and he drunk only rainwater.

A character finding himself stranded on the island can be sustained by limpets and mussels, and can drink rainwater, and suffer no ill effects for the ordeal. Even in the worst of weathers he need not fear exposure if his faith is strong enough, nor need he fear the twice daily inundation of the island. If he prays during the hour that the island is totally immersed (requiring a Stamina + Concentration roll of Ease Factor 6) then he can survive without air to breathe. Spending a whole year here can form part of a Test of Faith that can lead to an increase in a character's Faith Score (Realms of Power: the Divine, page 59).

The outer islands are home to several supernatural creatures. Those closer to shore — Staple and Brownsman Islands, and the Wamses — are faerie in nature, whereas those farther out are the domain of magical creatures.

Staple Island

Faerie aura 2, rising to 5 in the undersea grottoes

Staple Island is home to a selkie king (Realms of Power: Faerie, page 91) who holds court in undersea caves close to the island. The waters around Staple and Brownsman Island are frequented by grey seals; they can be seen hauled out onto the rocks during the birthing season, and the mating season that follows immediately after. The constable at Bamburgh has imposed strict laws forbidding hunting the seals, and poachers who disobey those laws might get a nasty surprise, since some of them are actually selkies in their seal form.

Many years ago the selkie king became infatuated with a mortal woman from Seahouses. He courted her for months. He was honest about his nature right from the beginning, such was his desire for her, and this was the cause of her great reluctance. She eventually relented, and was taken off to Staple Island with her royal husband. She lived on the island for many years, spending high tide on the island with her husband, but joining him beneath the waves at low tide. She gave him many children: some selkies, some seals, and some humans with selkie blood. She was eventually killed in a tragic accident; during a storm she was trying to rescue a seal pup from drowning and was swept off the beach by a wave and dashed against the rocks. Her body washed up on her village's beach. In honor of his wife's memory, any mortal who jumps into the sea at Skeney Car at the southernmost tip of Staple Island is immediately brought safely to the selkie king's court. This guarantees no special favor with the king, but at the least he grants an audience. The selkies and Osgood (see Crumstone, later) know of this tradition, as do a few locals who possess the Faerie Lore Ability.

The selkie king hid his name from others to grant himself more power. If he is ever killed, his hidden name allows him to reform. Unfortunately for him, Brown Wullie (see Brownsman Island) has stolen the name, and is holding it to ransom.

A character with Selkie Blood (Realms of Power: Faerie, page 109) could be descended from the king or one of his subjects. The villagers of the coastal villages know that selkies frequent the waters, and that a man can obtain a faerie wife by stealing her seal-skin when she comes ashore and takes human form. Women can gain selkie husbands by casting their blood into the ocean. Humans should be warned that while beautiful, selkies make poor spouses. Male selkies are inconstant and faithless; females desire nothing more than to regain their seal skins and return to the water.

Brownsman Island

Faerie aura 2

This island is united with Staple Island at low water, but separated at high tide by Brownsman's Gut. Brownsman Island is occupied by a small group of six selkies who have been exiled from the king's court on Staple Island. They are in open rebellion against the king; they steal from his fishing grounds, mate with his females, and generally cause a lot of nuisance. The selkie king is unable to defeat his rivals once and for all because Brown Wullie, the leader of the band, has stolen the king's name and keeps it hidden somewhere on Brownsman Island. The name is concealed in a clever manner; the secret of getting it must be tricked from one of his cohorts or Brown Wullie himself.

North and South Wamses and the Nameless Rock

Magic aura 3

North and South Wamses are two magical beings fighting for dominance, which they do by changing size. At low tide they are joined at their bases, and dormant. As the tide comes in the Wamses Gut forms between them, and the islands start to swell. North Wamses is large in area but squat; South Wamses is smaller in cross-section but taller than its sister. The two islands expand by tiny amounts; North Wamses trying to get taller, and South Wamses wider. As they stretch and strain, the islands might shake loose boulders or earth, which could be a danger to mariners sailing too close. These discarded pieces of the islands might be of interest to magi, since collectively they generate a pawn of Muto and a pawn of Terram vis each year.

Story Seed: Seal Warfare

The characters might get involved with the conflict between the selkie king and Brown Wullie. Selkie-blooded characters are the easiest to get involved their faerie parent is a member of one of the camps. However, any characters exploring the islands could come into contact with either selkie leader and be dragooned into providing assistance. The selkie king needs to regain control of his name; once he has done this he can go to war against Brown Wullie and reintegrate the rebels into his court. Brown Wullie hasn't yet decided what to do with the king's name, but he is enjoying his freedom from his control. He may even have ambitions to become selkie king.

For an interesting twist, one of the players could take Brown Wullie as his character. This character would have the Faerie Heritage Story Flaw (Realms of Power: Faerie, page 114); and the story of stealing the king's name, hiding it, and eventually being forced to relinquish or assume it becomes part of a plot engineered by the selkie king to support his own story.

The King's Name

The name of the Selkie King is an insubstantial but audible form of vis currently trapped inside a seashell. Anyone holding the shell to his ear hears the name, and becomes its new receptacle. The name can be spoken just once each time a person becomes the receptacle of the name. If it is spoken out loud, any single person who heard it said becomes the name's new receptacle (chosen at random); no-one else — including the former receptacle — can remember what the name was. Alternatively, a receptacle can whisper the name into another person's ear or into a seashell. The vis can be used by a receptacle or anyone holding the seashell, but doing so destroys the name and the king; anyone with Faerie Lore knows this. There are five pawns of Animal vis residing in the king's name.

Story Seed: Island Tectonics

South Wamses is plotting with the Nameless Rock to its east; if the two were able to join together, then the combined island would be both wider and taller than North Wamses. With each tide, the Nameless Rock is squeezing tiny amounts closer to its conspirator. The characters might be witness to the narrowing of the gut between the islands — indeed, they might get caught in between! If the contest between the sisters is ever settled, the magi may lose their supply of vis, so it is within their interests to keep them competing.

The Wamses

Most game statistics are meaningless for describing islands; just the relevant characteristics are given here.

Magic Might: 25 (Terram)

Size: +22

Virtues and Flaws: Magic Thing

Magic Qualities and Inferiorities: Gigantic x 10, Greater Power, Ritual Power; Reduced Might x 10

Powers

Orogenesis, 3 points, Init –30, Terram. At the cost of 3 permanent points of Might, the island gains another hundred cubic paces of rock, a miniscule amount considering its vast size. This Might only regenerates if the island is judged the bigger by an outside agency. CrTe 20 (Base 3, +1 Touch, +2 Size; minimum level 20) Ritual Power (20 levels, –1 Might cost)

The Longest Race, 2 points, Init –28, Terram. With this power the island can heave itself a few paces in any direction. ReTe 30 (Base 2, +1 affect stone, +7 Size) Greater Power (30 levels, –4 Might cost)

The Wamses were designed as Magic Things with a Might of 35, giving them a base Size of +12. Each has 9 points of unspent Magic Qualities. The Nameless Rock is a Magic Thing with Might 30, taking Reduced Might 10 times for a final Might of 20. It has a base Size of +9, but has the Gigantic Magic Quality 11 times for a final Size of +20. It has 3 points of Magic Qualities unspent.

At the storyguide's option they may have some power to communicate with characters; otherwise, characters wishing to talk to them need to invent their own magics.

Roddam and Green

No aura (but see below)

These two rocky pillars rise out of Piper Gut between Big Harcar and the Wamses. They are home to fulmars and gulls and are of little interest. Once per year, Roddam the islet closest to the Wamses — gains a Magic aura of 1 for three days; during this time the relative size of the two islands is judged (see earlier). This is normally a draw, but if a person is present on Roddam, then he can judge the contest between the islands, and the judge's decision is final, regardless of the truth of the matter. The winning island gifts the judge with a pawn of Intellego vis. This means of gaining vis is known to some of the magical birds, and to the selkies who find the competition between the Wamses amusing.

Big and Little Harcar

Magic aura 2

These two islands join into a single rock at low tide, separated from Clove Car by a channel just twenty paces across. The wide Piper Gut separates Big Harcar from North Wamses.

Big Harcar has been the end of many ships; more vessels have been wrecked on its rocky coast than on any of the other islands. It has a malevolent reputation locally, above and beyond the superstition generated by the islands as a whole. This reputation is wholly deserved, as Big Harcar is a tether to an ancient and powerful being who dwells in the Magic Realm, or more specifically, the Aquam province of the Twilight Void (Realms of Power: Magic, page 24). The whole island of Big Harcar is the focus of this tether; to the casual observer it looks much like the other islands here, but if examined closely a pattern emerges: the rocks and spires are an elaborate life-sized sculpture of an island rather than a natural feature. Some of the rocks look like fins, or the suckers of an octopus's tentacle, or the swirl of a snake's body, the rocky beaches look like fish scales, and so on. To see these features requires a Perception + Awareness simple roll of against an Ease Factor of 12; the character gets a +3 bonus if someone who has seen the oddities is pointing them out to him. Characters with the Second Sight Ability see the sculptural illusion immediately. Once the effect has been seen, it can't be un-seen, and it appears sinister and threatening.

Big Harcar is a vestige of level 4, and for creatures with a Magic Might aligned to Aquam it acts as a gateway into the Magic Realm. Magi who have studied the Magic Realm may also be able to use the vestige; see Realms of Power: Magic, pages 22– 28 for more details of vestiges, magical travel, and Magic Realm magic. Anyone managing to use the vestige is brought into the presence of the being in the Twilight Void. The entity appears vast, too big for the human mind to fully comprehend. One can only take in a small portion of the being at any time. Its shape cannot be understood any more than one can see the shape of a whole sea from one shore: it has scales, fins, flukes, tentacles, shells, crab-like claws which fit together in defiance of nature. The only sounds it makes is a mournful wordless song, but it can still somehow communicate with lesser beings, alien thoughts crashing into the mind like breakers on a beach.

Osgood (see Crumstone, later) calls the entity Leviathan, and believes it to be the creature mentioned in the first and last books of the Bible. It existed before God parted the waters, and will outlive mankind after Judgment Day. As best as he can make out, it desires the destruction of certain ships — or certain lives — according to some pattern he is incapable of understanding. The motivation behind Leviathan's orders has been left inscrutable; storyguides should decide for themselves what the entity is and what it wants, or else leave it a mystery.

Clove Car and Blue Caps

No aura

To those who are unfamiliar with the waters around the islands, it might seem like there is a half mile of clear water between Longstone and the Harcars, especially at high tide. However, Clove Car lurks just below the surface, and by the time a sailor realizes the danger, it is too late. The low lying island with its broken rocky surface can shred the hulls of even the biggest ships, causing them to run aground on Big Harcar.

Craford's Gut is the only safe water between Longstone End and Little Harcar, and it requires a master sailor to navigate the narrow strait.

Longstone and Northern Hares

Magic aura 3

Named after the long (c. 450 paces) narrow ridge of Longstone End, at low tide this ridge is joined to the rest of Longstone and the Northern Hares to make an island over twenty acres in area. At high tide, the islands form a Z shape, with two bays of shallow water over the submerged rocks. Longstone is a particular favorite of the magical seabirds that nest on these islands due to the Magic aura, and is usually home to a substantial colony of the comical puffins and the eider ducks.

An occasional light is seen from the head of the Northern Hares at night. Often mistaken for a harbor light, the light has been the cause of several wrecks. It may be a natural phenomenon, an ignis fatuus (or Fool's Light), or the deliberate action of wreckers. There has been talk of putting a warning light on the island, but the constable of Bamburgh has not found anyone willing to live there and maintain the light.

Longstone Island has a fish-shaped rock near the cliff's edge on its northeast coast. Anyone jumping over this rock is transformed into a fish. This enchantment has a Penetration of 0, and lasts until the character no longer has any part of his body in water. Clothes, armor, and possessions are transformed with the character, and the type of fish whose shape he assumes is dependent on his personality — an aggressive warrior might become a dogfish, a timid individual a sole, and so on. See the Fish Insert later for other ideas. The origin of this enchantment is a mystery; there is a very faint carving on the rock that resembles the tattoos used by gruagachan (see Hedge Magic, Chapter 4), but they are not known for their ability to make enchantments. For the purposes of investigation and dispelling, this is a Muto Corpus effect of Level 35.

Knivestone

No aura

The three rocks that make up Knivestone are well-named; they rise out of the water like three knife blades lying on their back and pointing north east.

There are a number of islands separated from the two main gatherings of Farne Islands.

Megstone, Swedman, Elbow, Goldstone

Infernal aura 1 (Megstone only)

The demons that used to haunt Inner Farne were driven out to Megstone and imprisoned here by Saint Cuthbert. They are here still, trapped in their material forms and unable to leave without mortal intervention.

The demons are truly a pathetic sight. They are members of the lowest demonic order, the evil spirits, and were never endowed with much power — just enough to cause havoc to anyone sailing near the Farne Islands. However, they have been trapped on the island for five and a half centuries. All the time demons remain in corporeal form they are subject to aging, hunger, thirst and deprivation, but they are immortal spirits incapable of true death. As a consequence, their bodies are riddled with Decrepitude. Every one of the 144 demons crowded on Megstone's meager surface (about 120 paces diameter) has at least one Characteristic at –10, and many have several. The demons are short, hideous creatures with long heads and coal-black skin, appearing from a distance as mangy-looking seabirds. Their rough cowls are little more than scraps of threadbare cloth, and the infernal goats that once served as their mounts were eaten long ago; even their bodies have been ground down and ingested by the starving demons. They are little more than skeletons, barely having the strength to lift their heads. Those still capable of movement do so with great care to avoid shattering their delicate bones. Many are completely devoid of senses.

The appearance of these pitiful creatures has been enough to deter the few sailors who venture to this part of the sea. This is just as well; anyone landing here breaks the continuing miracle that traps them here at zero Infernal Might points, as does throwing rocks, firing arrows, or casting spells at them. From the moment that the ward is broken the demons start to recover their Might points. Those still capable of movement slip into the water in case invaders mean harm, while those capable of speech distract visitors with pleas for mercy and stories of buried treasure. It takes about four and a half hours for them to recover each Might point (Realms of Power: the Infernal, page 36); with luck the demons can keep characters futilely searching the island for this long. Once they have a single Might point, they dissolve their material form (this costs no Might) and spend the point they have to reform it free from Decrepitude. They then stream forth from the island shrieking with unholy joy at being released from their prison. The demons immediately spread out amongst the Farne Islands, avoiding only Inner Farne.

The safest way to rid Megstone of the demons is to invoke Saint Cuthbert. The gentle saint never intended for the demons to suffer this long, and he can banish them back to Hell with a miracle if successfully invoked.

Islestone Shad and Glororum Shad

Magic aura 1

These two islands are both entrances to the same regio with a Magic aura of 3, although the regio can only be accessed from either at low tide when the islands are uncovered. A character can enter the regio from Glororum Shad and exit onto Islestone Shad, or vice versa. The regio appears to be only a hundred paces in diameter, and is an island surrounded by a boiling sea. One tree grows on the island; one half of it is living and covered with both blossom and fruit, the other half is burnt and blasted.

This is actually the same regio that connects East Wideopen to the mainland. The odd magical topology means that there is no access from level 2 of the regio to level 3, although one can go from level 3 to level 2 and arrive in the tunnel to the mainland.

This is little more than a magical curiosity, but a character Initiated into Hermetic Architecture (The Mysteries Revised Edition, page 97) might be able to extend the regiones or gain insight into breakthroughs relating to new uses of his Art.

Crumstone, Callers, Fang

Magic aura 2

Of this small collection of islands, only Crumstone has a presence at high tide. Little more than a hundred paces across, Crumstone has a small hut built above the spring tide mark. The foolhardy soul who lives here occasionally rows in a tiny skiff to the mainland to get supplies which he orders from the quayside without setting foot on land. Everything else he needs he gets from the sea: oil to light his hut from fish; meat from seals, birds, and the numerous nets he has around the rocks near his home; and a seal-skin great coat and hat to keep off the worst of the weather.

Nothing is known of him, not even his name. It is popularly believed that he is an abjurer — a man who has committed a heinous crime, but is of sufficient status to avoid capital punishment, so that instead he was forced to abjure the kingdom of England and never set foot on its soil again. This is an astute guess; Osgood is indeed an abjurer, but he is more than that, he is also a Drowned Man (Realms of Power: Magic, page 96). He perished at sea while carrying out his exile, but was returned to the world of living by a mysterious power dwelling in the sea (see Big Harcar, earlier). In return for his new life he serves the whims of his unseen master, which includes occasionally luring ships onto Big Harcar. When not acting under these murderous orders, he makes amends by saving other mariners, rowing out to save them one at a time in his skiff, managing even in the worst of weathers thanks to the powers he has been granted. Osgood is a loner with a compassionate side; he is ashamed of his secret career as a wrecker, and keeps it hidden from anyone who befriends him.

The Farne Islands can be moved to any sparsely occupied coastal region. They are small enough that the storyguide need not find actual islands to substitute. Without the capacity to sustain even a single person for any great period of time, the impact of these islands on a region is minimal. That said, the following examples are all based on real island groups.

The Bréhat Archipelago

Just over a mile north of the Point d'Arcouest on Brittany's north coast are the Bréhat islands. The island of Bréhat is the largest at 760 acres and is really two islands that become joined only at low tide by the narrowest of natural bridges. The remaining islands are much smaller, mostly comparable with the Farne Islands. There is a host of eighty or so islets. The sixth century Saint Maudez (called Saint Mawes in Cornwall) gave his name to Maudez Island, which he cleared of vermin and dwelt on for most of his life; his myth can substitute for Saint Cuthbert's. Osgood is a Breton noble by the name of Orthon hiding from his Norman persecutors.

The Brijuni Islands

Found off the coast of Croatia in the northern Adriatic sea, the Brijuni (or Brioni, in Italian) islands are separated from the Istrian Peninsula by the Fažana Strait, about a mile and a quarter wide. There are two larger islands, Veliki Brijun and Mali Brijun (Big and Little Brijun, respectively), and twelve smaller islets. Bonosus, a repudiated fifth century bishop of Sardica (now Sredets in Bulgaria) exiled himself to Veliki Brijun, and named one of the other islands after his friend Saint Jerome (Sveti Jerolim in Slavonic). Bonosus was condemned for teaching (amongst other things) that after Jesus, Mary had several other children, thus initiating the Bonosian heresy that persisted into the eighth century. Bonosus takes the place of Saint Cuthbert; Osgood is instead called Obrad and is an exiled Serbian župan.

The Istrian Peninsula and the nearby island of Cres are home to the oppida of Histria and Shrouded Bay (an oppidum is what magi of the Transylvanian Tribunal have instead of covenants). Magi assigned to Histria or visiting there may have reason to visit the Brijuni islands.

Loch Cuan

Loch Cuan, or Strangford Loch as it is known to the English, is a huge sea loch on the east coast of Ulster in the Hibernian Tribunal. The loch is 15 miles north to south and 5 miles east-west, and according to legend has 365 islands, although only twenty of them are of any size. The Ards Peninsula shields the loch from the Irish sea, leaving only a narrow channel to the south for the sea to enter. Loch Cuan is famous for its calm waters. If this Mythic Location is sited here, then Machaoi (pronounced MAH-hee) Island takes the role of Inner Farne. Machaoi Island was home to a saint of the same name in the sixth century. A monastery was built here, but it was destroyed in a magical battle between Pralix and Diedne in 806 (see The Contested Isle for more details on the Hibernian Tribunal). The spirits of the storms would be much less common on these famously placid waters, but seals are a common sight.

The Pontine Islands

This group of islands in the Tyrrhenian Sea in the Roman Tribunal consists of six sizable islands in two groups that roughly correspond to the Inner and Outer Farnes. Closest to land are Ventotene and Santo Stefano; further out is the group containing the largest island Ponza, along with Palmarola, Zannone, and Gavi. There are innumerable small rocks and islets within the archipelago. Ventotene was extensively used as a prison island by the emperors of Rome, and those exiled here include Saints Flavia Domitilla and Silverius. These islands are bigger than the Farnes; Santo Stefano is twice the area of its Northumbrian counterpart of Inner Farne, and the largest island Ponza is over 1800 acres. Ponza ("land of bridges," named after its many natural stone arches) was once occupied, but under constant attack from Saracens and pirates, it has been vacant for over two centuries, and would be a perfect location for a covenant. In legend, the sirens occupied the Pontine Islands, as well as nearby Ischia, Capri, and sunken Anthemoessa; these faeries replace the elkies in this version of the Mythic Location.

Treat the sirens as tritons (Realms of Power: Faerie, page 90).

Correspondences of the Farne Islands

The following table gives one-to-one correspondences for the variant locations described in the main text.

Farne Islands	Bréhat Archipelago	Brijuni Islands	Loch Cuan	Pontine Islands
Inner Farne	Maudez	Veliki Brijun	Machaoi	Santo Stefano
The Wideopens	Raguenèz	Kozada	Reagh	Ventotene
The Bridges etc.	-	Madona	-	-
Big and Little Scarcar	-	-	Boretree	Le Sconciglie
The Bush Île Verte	Sveti Jerolim*	Cross	Nave	-
Staple Island	Bréhat-Sud	Vanga	Islandmore	Palmarola
Brownsman	Bréhat-Nord	Vrsar	Pawle	Gavi
North & South Wamses	Raguénès Meur & Lavrec	Šupin & Šupinic	Sketrick & Rainey	Aniello Anionio
Roddam & Green	Bec Ru	-	Trasnagh	-
Big & Little Harcar	Béniguet	Galija	Dunnyneill	Zannone
Clove Car	Grouezen*	Grunj	Beacon	Scoglio della botte
Longstone	Ar-Morbic	Mali Brijun	Taggart	Ponza
MegstoneLa Chèvre	Sveti Marko	Sheelah	Piana di Mezzo	-
Islestone & Glororum Shad	Seheres & Grouezen*	Okrugljak & Sveti Jerolim*	Hare & Green	Capello & Scoglietelli
Crumstone	Logodoc Gaz	Long	Le Formiche	-

* these locations double up with others in the table

There are a number of creatures that can be found on the Farne Islands, both mundane and supernatural. Even the mundane animals, if they spend too much time within a supernatural aura, might incur warping and develop a supernatural Flaw. Many of these creatures would make good familiars for appropriatelyminded magi.

The waters around the Farne Islands are teaming with fish. A character template for a generic fish is provided, with a number of variations for different species.

Template: A Fish

Characteristics: Cun –3, Per –2, Pre –5, Com –6, Str –8, Sta +3, Dex 0, Qik +4

Size: –4

Qualities: Aquatic, Slippery, Defensive Fighter, Pack Animal

Combat:

Dodge: Init +2, Atk n/a, Dfn +5, Dam n/a

Soak: +1

Fatigue Levels: OK, 0, –1, –3, –5, Unconscious

Wound Penalties: –1 (1), –3 (2), –5 (3), Incapacitated (4), Dead (5+)

Abilities: Awareness 2 (food), Brawl 2 (dodging), Survival 3 (sea), Swim 5 (sea)

Appearance: These statistics are for a fish that is about a foot long

Different Kinds of Fish

Below are some modifications to the basic template to get different types of fish. The Fast Swimmer and Accomplished Swimmer Qualities have the same effect on fish as Fast Flyer and Accomplished Flyer have on birds.

Crab (Cancer): Size –5 (–2 Str, +1 Qik). Virtues: Improved Characteristics x2 (raise Str by +3); Qualities: Aggressive, Large Horns (Claws), Shell. Pincers: Init +5, Atk +9, Dfn +11, Dam –4. Personality Traits: Grumpy +3

Dogfish (Squala): Size –3 (+2 Str, –1 Qik). Qualities: Aggressive. Teeth: Init +1, Atk +9, Dfn +6, Dam –5. Personality Traits: Loyal +3

Dolphin (Delphinus): Size 0 (+8 Str, –4 Qik). Qualities: Accomplished Swimmer, Crafty, Good Jumper, Pursuit Predator. Bludgeon: Init +0, Atk +5, Dfn +3, Dam +2. Personality Traits: Cheerful +3

Eel (Anguilla): Size –5 (–2 Str, +1 Qik). Qualities: Fast Swimmer, Grapple, Slippery (again). Personality Traits: Sly +3

Grey Mullet (Mugil): Virtues: Improved Characteristics x2 (raise Qik by +2). Qualities: Accomplished Swimmer. Personality Traits: Depressed +3

Mackerel (Scomber): Qualities: Fast Swimmer. Personality Traits: Jumpy +3

Octopus (Poillippus): Virtues: Puissant Brawl; Qualities: Grapple, Slippery (again). Personality Traits: Tenacious +3

Salmon (Salmo): Size –2 (+4 Str, –2 Qik). Qualities: Good Jumper, Tireless. Personality Traits: Wise +3

Sole (Solea): Qualities: Camouflage. Personality Traits: Timid +3

The Remora

The remora is a small fish that is a bane to all sea travelers. It can suck so powerfully that it can bind a ship in place, holding it completely motionless. A storm could be raging with crashing waves, but the ship remains rooted to the spot, unable to move. Its name comes from Latin mora meaning "a delay." The Greeks similarly call it echeneis, "ship-delaying."

Echeneis, the Remora

Magic Might: 20 (Aquam)

Season: Spring

Characteristics: Cun -1, Per -2, Pre -5, Com -6, Str -5, Sta 0, Dex 0, Qik +5

Size: -5

Virtues and Flaws: Magic Animal, Magical Monster, Great Strength x2, Reserves of Strength

Mundane Qualities: Slippery, Tireless Magical Qualities & Inferiorities: Focus Powerx2; Improved Might x5, ; Restricted Power (must continually touch target to use Holdfast power)

Personality Traits: Won't Let Go* +3, Inquisitive +2, Playful +2

* Essential Trait

Combat:

Dodge: Init +5, Attack n/a, Defense +11, Damage n/a

Soak: +1

Fatigue Levels: OK, 0/0, -1/-1, -3, -5, Unconscious

Wound Penalties: -1 (1), -3 (2), -5 (3), Incapacitated (4), Dead (5+)

Abilities: Area Lore 1 (shipping lanes), Athletics 3 (holding on), Awareness 1 (food), Brawl 2 (dodge), Stealth 1 (avoiding being seen), Survival 3 (coastal water), Swim 3 (shallow water)

Powers:

Holdfast, 1–7 points, Init –3, variable Form: The remora can duplicate any spell up to 35th level that prevents or inhibits movement. These effects are Range Touch, and the Duration is constant (designed as Sun Duration with an extra magnitude). To hold a ship in place is level 25 (Base 3, +1 Touch, +2 Sun, +1 constant effect, +2 Size). To freeze in place a person or animal of Size +1 of less is level 25 (Base 5, +1 Touch, +2 Sun, +1 constant effect). The Might cost is 1 per magnitude. Focus Powerx2 (15 levels spent as Mastery Points to raise maximum level to 35)

Vis:5 pawns of Aquam

Appearance: A fish about a foot long, it has golden skin with black and white stripes down the length of its body, and a huge mouth.

Amongst the many thousand birds that arrive from March onward are a fair number of Magic Animals.

No-one knows for sure where these birds go when they are not at the Farne Islands. When they leave, they head south, but colonies of these birds are not known anywhere else in Mythic Europe. Some claim that they overwinter on the moon, others believe that they bury themselves in the mud at the bottom of lakes and hibernate.

Eider ducks are a species of large, seagoing ducks with a distinctive wedge-shaped head. The drake is striking in his black and white plumage. The female is a drab speckled brown which grants her perfect camouflage when on a nest; she gains +3 to all rolls to hide when not moving. According to legend, Saint Cuthbert loved the eider above all other birds, and locally they are known as Saint Cuthbert's Ducks, or Cuddy Ducks. Some of the eider ducks around the Farnes — particularly those on Inner Farne — are Beasts of Virtue, creatures touched by the Magic Realm that epitomize the species.

Eider ducks live on the islands all year around; they do not undergo the mass migrations of most of the other birds.

Elder Duck of Virtue

Season: Spring

Magic Might: 8 (Animal)

Characteristics: Cun –1, Per +2, Pre –2, Com –2, Str –5, Sta +2, Dex +2, Qik +3

Size: –3

Virtues and Flaws: Magic Animal; Homing Instinct*, Lesser Benediction (see below); Clumsy, Pious

* see Realms of Power: Magic, page 44

Qualities: Amphibious, Camouflage (females only), Hardy, Timid

Magical Qualities and Inferiorities: Greater Power; Improved Abilities x3; Susceptible to Deprivation

Personality Traits: Calm +3, Duck* +3, Brave –3

* Essential Trait

Combat:

Dodge: Init +3, Attack n/a, Defense +9, Damage n/a

Soak: +3

Fatigue Levels: OK, 0/0, –1, –3, –5, Unconscious

Wound Penalties: –1 (1–2), –3 (3–4), –5 (5–6), Incapacitated (7–8), Dead (9+)

Abilities: Athletics 3 (flying), Awareness 4 (food), Brawl 2 (dodging), Stealth 4 (hiding), Survival 5 (coastal waters), Swim 4 (coastal waters)

Powers:

Quell the Savage Waves, 1 point, constant effect, Aquam: Any waves within ten paces of an eider duck are dampened to be a gentle ripple. This can affect all but the very fiercest of storms. This is a constant effect that is active whenever the duck touches the sea; it cannot control it or turn it off. ReAq 35 (Base 5, +1 Touch, +2 Sun, +1 Part, +1 Size, +1 constant) Greater Power (35 levels, –3 Might cost)

Vis: 1 pawn of Aquam, in feathers

Due to a miracle enacted by Saint Cuthbert, an Eider Duck of Virtue is aligned to both the Magic and Divine Realms (represented by the Lesser Benediction Virtue); they benefit from the most beneficial or least detrimental result from the Magic or Divine column in the Realm Interaction Table (ArM5, page 183)

Puffins

Puffins are called fratercula in Latin ("little brother") because they look like miniature Benedictine monks in their white robes and black cowls and capes. Locals call them "Tommy Noddys" because of the way they bob their heads when they walk. Many thousands of puffins breed on the Farne Islands each year; they can be found on any island with soil, since they dig burrows in which to build their nests.

The Puffin Joker (Fratercula Hilaris)

Characteristics: Cun –1, Per +2, Pre +1, Com –2, Sta 0, Str –8, Dex +2, Qik +6

Size: –5

Warping Score: 1 (0)

Virtues and Flaws: Inspirational; Noncombatant, Mentem Monstrosity*

* from Warping

Qualities: Amphibious, Imposing (Comical) Appearance x2

Personality Traits: Comical +2

Combat:

Dodge: Init +6, Attack n/a, Defense +14, Damage n/a

Soak: +1

Fatigue Levels: OK, 0, –1, –3, –5, Unconscious

Wound Penalties: –1 (1), –3 (2), –5 (3), Incapacitated (4), Dead (5+)

Abilities: Athletics 3 (flying), Awareness 4 (sand eels), Brawl 2 (dodging), Survival 3 (home terrain), Swim 4 (diving)

Vis: none

Appearance: A small comic-looking black and white bird, with a broad bill striped in red, yellow, and blue.

This puffin has been warped by the magic of the Outer Farnes. Once per day it can perform a silly dance, bobbing its head and flicking its wings, accompanied by bowing and stamping its feet. Anyone seeing the dance bursts out laughing unless she makes an appropriate Personality roll (such as Stoic or Humorless) of Ease Factor 9. Those who fail can do nothing but laugh until the puffin stops. This effect has no Penetration, but sometimes warped puffins perform this dance as a group, which gives the effect a cumulative +1 Penetration for every five puffins beyond the first.

Storm Birds

Some birds are particularly associated with stormy weather at sea. Cormorants are bronze-black, raven-sized birds with a long neck and slender rapacious beak. On days when they are seen on the rocks with their wings half-spread it is believed that they are praying for a storm.

Petrels and fulmars look a little like gulls; the fulmar that nests in abundance on the Farnes has a white head and gray plumage on its body, while petrels are mostly black or dark gray. Petrels are the heralds of bad weather and the subject of great superstition; they can sometimes be seen stirring up a storm by flying over the waves and paddling the surface with their feet. Local sailors will never kill one least the storms take revenge.

Statistics for a selkie king are given on page 91 of Realms of Power: Faerie. Brown Wullie should also have the statistics of a selkie king. The king has the External Vis Virtue (page 50), which is his name, currently in the possession of his Brown Wullie (see Brownsman Island).

Selkie women are classic Faerie Spouses Trapped by a Trinket (Realms of Power: Faerie, page 75); without their seal skin they cannot regain their seal form. Selkie men are Masters of Skills (Realms of Power: Faerie, page 78) who seek to challenge mortal men in contests, particularly drinking contests, to win mortal women as lovers.

Mundane seals are contested over by selkies as much as humans are. Selkie men take the form of bull seals, and test mundane seals for the right to mate with cow seals. If a mundane bull seal takes control over a selkie female, he hides her comb to keep her in seal form for the breeding season.

GREY SEALS

Although called grey seals, they are variegated in color. The pubs are born creamy yellow, but soon turn grey. Once mature, a cow seal has cream underparts and a grey coat covered with darker spots. They occasionally have other patches of cream. The bull seals are usually a dark brown in color, making their spots hard to see. Cow seals are under six feet long and weigh over 300 pounds in weight; males can get to over seven feet and usually over 700 pounds.

Grey Seal

Characteristics: Cun 0, Per 0, Pre –2, Com –5, Str +2, Sta +3, Dex +1, Qik +1

Size: +1

Virtues and Flaws: Improved Characteristics, Long-Winded, Puissant Swim; Carefree

Qualities: Amphibious, Pursuit Predator, Tireless, Tough Hide

Personality Traits: Seal +3, Playful +3, Brave 0

Combat:

Teeth: Init +1, Attack +8, Defense +6, Damage +3

Soak: +5

Fatigue levels: OK, 0/0, –1/–1, –3/–3, –5, Unconscious

Wound Penalties: –1 (1–6), –3 (7–12), –5 (13–18), Incapacitated (19–24), Dead (25+)

Abilities: Brawl 3 (bite), Athletics 3 (acrobatic turns), Awareness 3 (fish), Hunt 4 (fish), Swim 4+2 (pursuit), Survival 3 (at sea)

These statistics are for a cow seal, for bulls add the Large Virtue to increase Size to +2; this adds two to Strength (and Damage) but subtracts one from Quickness (and Initiative and Defense). Seals can hold their breath for twice as long as normal, and the bonus from its Long-Winded Virtue adds to rolls to withstand deprivation of air.

As described earlier, these demons are currently riddled with Decrepitude, at the Dazed Fatigue level, and at zero Might pool. The statistics provided nearby are for the demons at full strength with new bodies; something they can only achieve if freed from their bondage on Megstone.

The demons are from the order of the Evil Spirits, and their role is to make life on the sea more perilous. They are responsible for the physical evils of the sea, encouraging their victims to succumb to drowning, to not struggle for life but to give into death. In this they ensure that bodies of the dying and dead are never recovered, preventing deathbed confessions or extreme unction. Their usual tactic is to grapple swimmers and hold them under water using their Reserves of Strength, whilst applying their Obsession power to discourage their victims from fighting back.

Characters making a trip to Northumberland are bound to hear stories of the Farne Islands. Saint Cuthbert is the most popular saint in Northern England, and his legend has been spread throughout England and Scotland. There are 135 churches dedicated to him in England and another seventeen in Scotland. The saint's hermitage and miracles on Inner Farne are well known, and this might be enough to bring the characters here.

A more direct way to bring the characters to the islands is have them shipwreck there, probably on Big Harcar. The Farnes are a navigation hazard to ships traveling between the ports of Perth, Edinburgh, Dunbar, and Berwick to the north, and Newcastle, Stockton, and other English ports to the south. Coast hugging vessels that use these waters must make a detour around the islands, or else risk Staple Sound in better weather. If the characters are wrecked on the islands they might be rescued by Osgood (see Crumstone earlier), and may decide to investigate the region.

Characters planning a sea-voyage might desire help from an eider duck, who can guarantee safety from all but magical storms. They must go to the Farne Islands to either catch one or persuade one to come with them. An eider does not need to be willing for its power to calm waves to take effect, but Saint Cuthbert might be offended at any mistreatment of his favored animals.

Books Containing Farnes Lore

Vita Sancti Cuthberti, Tractatus on Organization Lore: The Church, Quality 7. The two versions composed by the Venerable Bede (one poetic, one prose) each have a Quality of 9.

The Ecclesiastical History of the English People by the Venerable Bede is an encyclopedia (Art & Academe, page 26) of four tractatus of Quality 9 (17 books): Area Lore: British Isles (history); Area Lore: Northumberland (history); Organization Lore: The Church (history); Theology (saints)

Farne Meditations by Bartholomew, Summa on Divine Lore, Level 3, Quality 6

Magi who live in a coastal covenant, or who are visiting a coastal area, find vis washed up on the beach. This takes the form of foamy spume, and the characters may wish to track it back to its point of origin to examine the possibility of a renewable vis source. The vis is an Arcane Connection to its source, and it leads the characters directly to the islands, where Osgood waits for them. He deliberately set the vis adrift, trusting in the power he serves that it would bring him help. The help that Osgood requests can vary, but probably involves some business ashore which Osgood cannot fulfill as an abjurer. He might want them to check up on his family, deliver an heirloom to his newborn son, or make reparations to the victim of the crime that caused his exile in the first place.

A man known to the characters comes to them for aid. He could be a fisherman, a minor noble, even another magus. He knows of a fabulous treasure in Staple Sound, but is unable to get to it since it is on the bottom of the sea. The description of the treasure should be chosen to pique the interest of the characters. In actual fact, he is after the sealskin of the daughter of the selkie-king, who has taken to hiding it under a rock at the bottom of the sea to prevent her from being trapped into marriage by mortals — as the most beautiful of all the selkie maidens she has been captured dozens of times over the last century. If the characters help the lustdriven man get the seal-skin (there may be other treasure there as well), then they incur the wrath of the selkie king.

(Flotsam, jetsam, and lagan are three types of marine salvage. Flotsam describes goods found floating on the sea. Jetsam consists of those goods washed up on the shore. Lagan applies to goods on the sea floor, usually marked with a float for later recovery).

Genius Procellosus

Season: Spring

Magic Might: 10 (Auram)

Characteristics: Int –3, Per +1, Pre +1, Com 0, Str +3, Sta 0, Dex +3, Qik 0

Size: –5 (apparent)

Virtues and Flaws: Magic Spirit

Magical Qualities and Inferiorities: Focus Powerx2, Greater Power; Improved Powers

Personality Traits: Capricious +3, Territorial +2

Soak: +0

Fatigue Levels: OK, 0, –1, –3, –5, Unconscious

Wound Penalties: –1 (1–5), –3 (6–10), –5 (11–15), Incapacitated (16–20), Dead (21+)

Abilities: Area Lore: Farne Islands 5 (Outer Farnes), Awareness 2 (visitors to the islands), Penetration 3 (Storm-Calling)

Powers:

Presence, 0 points, constant effect, Imaginem*:* Grants awareness of everything that happens within the bounds of the spirit's chosen domain, which is about the same size as Target Room. In essence, the spirit is coterminous with its associated landscape feature, so it is present simultaneously everywhere within its boundaries. The area controlled by the spirit can produce a yearly harvest of 2 pawns of Auram vis; which manifests as salt encrustations. Harvesting this vis does not erode the spirit's Might. Greater Power (see Realms of Power: Magic, page 103)

Storm-Calling, 1–7 points, Init –4, Auram: The storm spirit can duplicate any Creo Auram or Rego Auram effect of 35th level or lower. They concentrate mostly on wind and rain, and often work together to create one immense storm that ravages the coastline for miles. Focus Powerx2 (15 levels spent as Mastery Points to increase maximum level, 2 Mastery Points to increase maximum level to 35, 3 Mastery points to increase Initiative.)

Vis: 3 pawns of insubstantial Auram vis, in body.

Appearance: Invisible to those without Second Sight, this spirit appears as a seabird, typically a cormorant or a petrel. When using their powers, their apparent size swells vastly, but the Size characteristic is meaningless since they have no ability to craft a physical form.

A genius procellosus — storm spirit is a spirit of the elements (Realms of Power: Magic, page 104). Each storm spirit claims a rock around one of the Farne Islands; anyone landing on its rock is liable to be attacked by the spirit's powers.

Demons of Futility

Infernal Might: 5 (Aquam)

Order: Evil Spirits

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

Size: –2

Virtues and Flaws: Puissant Swim, Reserves of Strength; Weak Willed

Personality Traits: Selfish +5, Brave –5

Combat:

Grapple: Init +1, Attack +7, Defense +7, Damage n/a

Soak: +2

Fatigue Levels: OK, 0, –1, –3, –5, Unconscious

Wound Penalties: –1 (1–3), –3 (4–6), –5 (7–9), Incapacitated (10–12), Dead (13+)

Abilities: Animal Handling 2 (goats), Athletics 3 (blocking escape), Brawl 5 (grapple), Ride 2 (goat), Swim 5+2 (coastal waters)

Powers:

Coagulation, 1 point, Init –1, Corpus: Permits the demon to form a physical body. It takes 5 rounds to form this body, but can dismiss it in a single round.

Obsession, 1–3 points, Init –5, Vim: Imposes the trait of Helpless on a victim; see Realms of Power: the Infernal, pages 31–32 for more details

Crushing Doubt, 1 point, Init 0, Mentem: The demon touches a person, who is then overcome with the futility of struggling against their fate. While the demon remains in physical contact, its victim cannot spend Confidence points. The victim must make a Personality Trait roll to take any action; this can be any positive, active Trait that could overcome the character's doubt. The Ease Factor is 6 + the character's Helpless (or similar) Personality Trait.

Vis: 1 pawn of Aquam, in head

Weakness: Protected Group — survivors. Anyone who has taken an Incapacitating Wound in a natural disaster but survived cannot be harmed by these demons or affected by their powers

Appearance: Short, twisted, and hideous, these demons have elongated heads and coal-black skin. They wear hooded cowls, and often ride goats.

For characters researching the islands there is no real substitute for local knowledge. Inner Farne and its saint are famous throughout the region, but locals know the names and some of the legends surrounding the other islands. The supernatural nature of the islands is a matter of fact to the sailors who ply these waters for fish; they avoid actually visiting the islands as if they were cursed, but are avid collectors of rumors, travelers' tales, and complete fabrications.

The hagiographies of Saint Cuthbert contain good factual information about the inner islands. There is one anonymous Vita, and two more written by the Venerable Bede, another local saint. The originals of these works can be found in the priory library on Holy Island, along with a copy of Bede's The Ecclesiastical History of the English People which also has some information about Saint Cuthbert and the later hermits who stayed on Inner Farne. The Farne Meditations by Bartholomew (see Inner Farne, earlier) also contains some lore, but is mostly a record of the hermit's spiritual insights.

The Farne Islands are presented as a series of wondrous places that can be explored over a series of stories, either run in series or interspersed with others. Since there are no local maps of the islands, characters may not be aware of the extent of the archipelago immediately, and so might first visit Inner Farne (for example), and then realize later that there is a second group of islands.

There are a number of unconnected stories

associated with various islands. The three key stories are the selkies of Staple and Brownstone, Osgood and the Leviathan, and Cuthbert and the demons of Megstone. The storyguide might choose to concentrate on just one, or, if the characters seem interested in the location, employ more than one at a time.

The Farne Islands would make a good site for a covenant, either for the player covenants or for their allies. The best-suited island is Longstone Island, which is the most remote from the mainland. Conjuring the Mystic Tower is not a practical solution since it would be too obvious, rising from the flat island, and be exposed to the elements. However, the tower could be placed on the flatter, low-lying rocks that are inundated at high tide, with much of the height of the tower supported by the steep cliffs. The lower portions of the tower would be below the waterline for much of the day, but if the entrance to the tower is placed on the upper storeys this need not be a major impediment since the magically-created tower can be made entirely waterproof. There are several vis sources nearby that can support the covenant; and they could gain income from fishing. A less law-abiding group of magi might turn to wrecking or piracy instead.

The biggest problem is Bamburgh Castle and its constable. The wardship of the islands is in the hands of Wascelyn, and it is unlikely that magi could take up residence on the islands without him noticing. However, these islands currently net zero income for the crown, and if the characters could come up with some way to turn a profit, then they might have a bargaining chip to secure residence. One service they could offer to sweeten the deal is to maintain a warning light on the island at night, but this could bring them into conflict with Osgood, who is occasionally called upon to cause a ship's destruction.