Ile de France

The rich lands known as the Ile de France are located at the geographical center of the Normandy Tribunal; correspondingly, they are the center of power of the French kingdom. All roads lead to Paris, the greatest city in northern Europe and the seat of the French monarchy, whose influence extends across the whole region, and beyond.

Most of the lands here consist of the historical domain of the royal Capetian house, which rose to prominence when Hugh Capet was elected king in 987, in Senlis. The kingdom is now sufficiently prosperous that the royal court no longer travels, but has settled permanently in Paris. The current king, Philip II, rules completely over numerous loyal baronies, from which much of the royal army is drawn. These petty nobles also constitute the bulk of his advisers and provide many of the provosts and bailiffs that manage his estates in his absence. There are numerous ancient and wealthy royal abbeys here, since the Merovingian kings donated many lands to the Church. The monks performed the dual function of cultivating the wild lands they were given, and praying for the souls of their generous benefactors. When the pilgrims here gape at the majesty of the newlycompleted cathedrals of the Ile de France, those of St. Denis, Sens, and Chartres, it is clear that these prayers were not in vain. Without doubt, this land is blessed by God. These churches have established a miraculous new style that is beginning to be copied widely in French lands.

Much of the Ile de France is gently rolling farmland, some of the richest agricultural land to be found anywhere in Europe, the generous harvests of which support a density of population surpassed only by Flanders. Two great rivers, the Seine and the Loire, flow through the province from the southeast to the northwest. The northeastern edge is bordered by the great forest of Cuise (see Chapter 8: Flanders and Picardy, The Forest of Cuise). There are a few other sizable forests, including Yvelines and Fontainebleau to the south of Paris in the center of the realm, and the Sologne, a marshy heathland forest south of Orléans bordering Anjou.

Ile de France Covenants

Current Covenants: Lapis Crudus, Eboris
Ruined, Abandoned, or Lost Covenants: Caput Capra

The stupendous city of Paris, the largest in northern Europe and home to more than fifty thousand souls, is strategically located at a crossing point of the River Seine, with an island in the river as its center. It serves several functions: it is a royal capital, an ecclesiastical and scholarly center, and a center of trade. The city has grown to spread from the central island, the Île de la Cité, onto both banks. The right bank is the newest and most populous part, and perhaps half of the inhabitants live here; the remaining half is split between the Île de la Cité and the left bank. The stern city walls of Paris encompass the settlements on both banks in two semicircles; the area spanned by the walls is 3 miles from north to south, and two miles from east to west. Perhaps a third of the population of each bank lies outside the city walls, in clusters of a few large villages and towns. The city thus resembles about a dozen towns and villages that have partially morphed into one city, interrupted by walls, moats, and river channels, and connected by gateways and bridges. The various churches and chapels of Paris are nearly too numerous to count — from afar the horizon of Paris appears as a forest of spires. Smoke and stale air wafts from the city, day and night.

All kinds of folk may be found in Paris, but many Parisians are serfs — they lead a curious mixture of urban and rural life, working the extensive and rich farmland that extends for many miles around the city on behalf of their king. Paris is thus not a city that is dominated by industry or commerce, such as Ghent or the other huge cities of Flanders, although it certainly has a vast commercial district and just about any kind of craft may be found within. While Paris has much to recommend it, and some areas have a high Divine aura, there are without doubt Infernal auras hidden in the seediest parts of the city. On the whole, the place is a melting pot of avarice, heresy, petty crime, vice, and disease. All kinds of entertainments (of various degrees of lewdness, which may easily either horrify or seduce innocent visitors) and luxuries are available, for the right price, of course. One of the largest and most populous heretical cults is the Brethren of the Free Spirit (see also Guardians of the Forests: The Rhine Tribunal, page 46), whose members believe themselves heralds of a new age of the Holy Spirit and consider themselves immune to sin, enjoying pleasures wantonly and without remorse. The Brethren originated from theologians in the schools of Paris, but has found favor with many of the common folk. Secret meetings and masses are held regularly all over the city. Writers condemn the idolatry and sorcery practiced by Parisians, although this is mostly nonsense — the majority of the inhabitants are pious, to a greater or lesser degree.

Abélard and Héloïse

Peter Abélard was renowned as a brilliant but controversial philosopher and theologian. Born at Le Pallet in Brittany in 1079, he studied at Chartres and came to Paris in 1118. He was employed to tutor a young maiden named Héloïse, the niece of a local canon, Fulbert. The pair immediately fell in love, Héloïse soon gave birth to a son, Astralabe, and they wed in secret. Héloïse's life of secrecy became so difficult that Abélard urged her to move out of Paris and to go to the nearby nunnery of Argenteuil. When Fulbert discovered the marriage and her departure, he was enraged, believing that Abélard had abandoned her. In his fury, he had Abélard castrated, and both Abélard and Héloïse took vows as a monk and nun.

After the affair was discovered, Abélard retreated to St-Gildas-de-Rhuys, a monastery founded by St. Gildas in the 6th century on the southern arm protecting the Gulf of Morbihan (see Chapter 4: Brittany, Morbihan). He found it a wild place beset by dangerous animals, the language strange and horrible, and the monastic community unruly. The monks tried to poison him, but he escaped through a secret passage in 1132. Abélard later became a monk at St. Denis, and later, at the end of his life, at Cluny.

The Templar Treasury

The Knights Templar have a great temple in Paris, whose fabulously wealthy treasury is an early form of bank. The financial services offered by this Order arose from the need of pilgrims to the Holy Land to have access to their funds without wishing to carry large amounts of coin with them, for fear of robbery and destitution. A pilgrim may thus deposit suitable monies at a local commandery, sufficient for the costs of the whole pilgrimage (which are considerable, typically including outward and return travel, accommodation, and money for gifts and alms) in exchange for a receipt in the form of a coded parchment. Credit is issued by Templar establishments en route, and the coded receipt is adjusted accordingly. A similarly large "bank" exists in Jerusalem, where funds may be withdrawn.

Such services are by no means restricted to pilgrims; the Templars accept deposits and arrange transfers of money for merchants, nobles, kings, and the Church. Money can also be borrowed — the restriction on usury (the charging of interest) is sidestepped by the charging of "rents" which are payable when funds are borrowed. The treasury in Paris has accumulated a vast fortune from these practices. The Order of the Knights Templar finances wars, crusades, trading enterprises, and grand building projects.

Story Seed: A Dangerous Loan

A covenant in need of funds may be able to secure an extremely large loan from the Knights Templar. However, the magi should take care to attend to their repayments promptly and keep their magical activities secret from the holy order, otherwise they will find themselves with a very powerful enemy. Should the Knights discover that a group of questionable or heretical magicians seem reticent to pay their dues, they are not likely to delay in kicking up a storm, either politically or militarily.

Paris takes its name from the Parisii, a fishing tribe who first settled on the island in the Seine. Under the Romans, it was a town of moderate importance named Lutetia; the settlement spread and was centered on the left bank of the river. From the end of the 3rd century, the city declined with the waning of Roman power, and endured repeated disasters and troubles during the Dark Ages. In 451, Attila the Hun arrived at the city. The prayers of a pious peasant girl, Geneviève, kept his army from the gates, and the Huns moved on to Orléans instead. She later thwarted a Frankish siege of the city undertaken by Childeric, by smuggling food into the city by boat. Geneviève died in 512 and became the patron saint of Paris; many miracles were subsequently attributed to her. She is buried at the Benedictine Church of St. Peter and St. Paul, founded by Clovis.

The city burned to the ground at the end of the sixth century, and Viking raids were the bane of Paris in the nineth century. The first attack in 845, by savage raiders sailing up the Seine in shallow-bottomed ships, resulted in the sack of the city; the invaders had to be paid off with a huge ransom. In 885 Paris faced an even greater invasion, an army of tens of thousands on many hundreds of ships. Odo, Count of Paris, courageously led the defenses of the city and successfully ended the siege after ten months. The year 911 saw peace with the Vikings, now Normans, and in 987 Hugh Capet was elected King of France and made Paris his capital. Ever since, the city has flourished.

The appearance of the city in 1220 owes much to the current king, Philip II. It was he who erected the walls with their moats, and his giant castle, the Louvre. Under his direction, the cathedral of Notre-Dame has begun construction, a huge covered market has appeared, and many streets have been paved.

The mile-long island in the middle of the city, the site of the pre-Roman settlement, is the ecclesiastical and administrative center of Paris, with the grandest churches. This, the oldest part of the city, is a crowded and suffocating labyrinth of ancient timber houses. The giant cathedral of Notre-Dame, in the new French style, is located at the upstream end of the island atop the ruins of a Gallo-Roman temple. Construction work on this ambitious project began in 1163; the chancel was consecrated in 1182, and the nave is just about complete. Much work remains to be done, but when finished it will surely be the greatest church in western Europe. The Petit Pont, a short stone bridge built in 1186 to replace an older wooden construct, connects the Île de la Cité to the left bank. Two longer stone bridges cross the wider channel to the right bank. There are no great docks in Paris — the Seine is too shallow to allow oceangoing ships — although there is a bustle of river traffic consisting of smaller vessels. Most of the wares to and from distant lands are transported along a well-traveled road leading from the north of Paris to the harbor city of Rouen, in Normandy.

A couple of smaller, mostly uninhabited islands are located a stone's throw upstream. These are overgrown with large copses of trees and are places of ill repute.

The King of the Beggars

This "monarch" controls a large gang of beggars, filchers, and burglars in the Parisian underworld, and sometimes goes by the title of "the Grand Coësre." The king claims taxes from his subjects, in the form of a share of their spoil. It is suspected, but not proved, that the king pays the mundane authorities of Paris to keep them out of his affairs. The king's edicts are enforced by the cagoux (master-thieves), who look after his interests and who are treated as his chief nobles. The cagoux collect the king's taxes, and drive out beggars who impose on his territory, which encompasses all the best spots in Paris. Beneath the cagoux are the archisuppôts (arch-thieves), who are usually recruited from the dregs of the clergy and who teach the king's law and train apprentice beggars. In return, the cagoux and archisuppôts have the right to beg in any manner they please, and are free from the taxes owed to the King of the Beggars.

Those beggars who work for the king are taught a slang or argot, from whence they get the name of argotiers. The argotiers are licensed by the King to beg in a specific way, and the number of beggars in each court is regulated so not to glut the market of potential dupes. The principle courts of argotiers are as follows:

Marcandiers pretend to be merchants who have been robbed;

Francs-mitoux pretend to have fainting fits in public places;

Malingreux use fat mixed with ashes on their face to give the appearance of a dreadful disease;

Piètres hobble around on crutches feigning lameness;

Sabouleux daub themselves with blood and use soap to make themselves froth at the mouth;

Polissons go about naked begging for clothes;

Courtauds-de-boutanche carry the tools of various trades and pretend to be out of work;

Hutins pretend to have been bitten by mad dogs;

Coquillards carry forged pilgrim certificates and ask for alms;

Calots sit slack-jawed, apparently dotards lacking in wits;

Capons trick their marks from their coins in card games;

Narquois are pensioned soldiers and extort money with threats of violence;

Millards travel into the countryside in groups and practice racketeering among the peasants;

Orphelines slit the money pouches of the rich to steal their wealth.

Not all the criminals of Paris are subjects of the Grand Coësre, but it is fair to say that he dominates the Parisian underworld.

Story Seeds: Beggar King Exploits

Two of Anacrôn's Hermetic ancestors (his great grand-parens, and that individual's own mater) still live among his unwashed hordes, bound into their moribund bodies and riddled with Decrepitude and Warping by the lineage's Death Prophecy. They long for death to end their plight, but Anacrôn will not allow it, for each death brings him closer to his own extinction. An enemy who wishes to strike at Anacrôn (and he has several) might start with his enfeebled and helpless ancestors.

A grog who has demonstrated his prowess in Paris is kidnapped by beggars; Anacrôn intends to make him into one of his cagoux in the coming year.

A group of characters passing through (or based in) Paris get involved in a "turf war" between Anacrôn and a pretender to his throne.

Anyone making an enemy of Anacrôn has to deal with his Hermetic allies, as well. He knows many dirty secrets about the members of the Normandy tribunal, as well as having some genuine allies who recognize his worth as a source of information. He might also claim support from unlikely allies through a cabal or Mystery Cult, or be acting as a double agent for the Quaesitores to uncover any High Crimes orchestrated by his apparent allies.

The south bank of the Seine was the center of the Roman city of Lutetia. Some Roman remains may be found, but the majority have long since disappeared. The forum and bath houses of Lutetia are now built over, and an ancient Roman necropolis a short distance to the south of the city walls is long overgrown and buried. The most visible Roman ruin is the amphitheater of Lutetia, just to the southeast of the city.

Nowadays, the left bank is the intellectual and scholarly district of the city. Numerous cathedral and abbey schools are located here; they have recently achieved the status of a university. (A forthcoming supplement, Art and Academe, will describe the university of Paris in more detail.) The outer reaches of this part of Paris, at least, are less crowded; the area resembles a contiguous group of villages, with some green spaces in between. The abbey church dedicated to St. Geneviève is located on a prominent hill. A short way to the west is the Abbey Church of St. Germanus, burial place of most of the Merovingian kings (except, notably, Clovis).

The bustling right bank is the largest city district, home to its commercial heart. It is also known as Le Marais (the marsh), since a couple of centuries ago it was nothing but swamp. The Capetian kings oversaw the draining of this land and claimed much of it for themselves. The great central market, Les Halles, was expanded and covered over in 1183 by Philip II so as to shelter the merchants; it attracts traders from far afield. The Hanse Parisienne is the name of the principal league of merchants in Paris, and they have great influence in the city. Just outside the city walls to the west is the Louvre, the monolithic fortress of Philip II, erected in 1190. This tall, square giant of a castle is home to his residence, treasury, and arsenal. Grand royal gardens and estates stretch off into the distance.

Just over a mile to the north of the city walls is the Montmartre (martyr's mount), a hill named after the martyrdom of St. Denis. Formerly known as Mons Mercurius (mount of Mercury), it used to shoulder a Roman temple, but a new abbey is now to be found on its slopes.

Anacrôn, King of the Beggars, Magus Ex Miscellanea

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

Size: 0

Age: 56 (Apparent age 40)

Decrepitude: 0

Warping Score: 4 (2)

Confidence Score: 1 (3 points)

Virtues and Flaws: The Gift; Hermetic Magus; Death Prophecy*, Life-Linked Spontaneous Magic; Affinity with Corpus, Minor Magical Focus (infirmity), Personal Vis Source*, Piercing Gaze, Puissant Leadership, Quiet Magic, Social Contacts; Crippled, Envious, Painful Magic*; Deficient Form (Imaginem), Infamous, Magical Animal Companion (Boiteux, a mastiff).

*House Virtues and Flaw

Personality Traits: Jealous +3, Spiteful +3, Bitter +3

Reputations: King of the Beggars 3 (Local)

Combat:

Club: Init –2, Attack +2, Defense +1, Damage +3

Dodge: Init –3, Attack 0, Defense 0, Damage 0

Soak: +1

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: Argot 4 (Parisian beggars), Argotiers Lore 4 (Cagoux), Artes Liberales 2 (rhetoric), Awareness 2 (potential marks), Brawl 1 (self defense), Chirurgy 2 (bruises), Civil and Canon Law 2 (begging), Code of Hermes 1 (regarding mundanes), Concentration 2 (when in pain), Finesse 2 (Corpus), Folk Ken 2 (potential marks), French 5 (Parisian), Guile 4 (to the charitable), Ile de France Lore 3 (criminals), Intrigue 4 (Hermetic), Kingdom of France Lore 2 (beggars), Latin 3 (coarse), Leadership 5+2 (beggars), Legerdemain 3 (slitting purses), Magic Theory 6 (studying from vis), Paris Lore 4 (underworld), Parma Magica 4 (Corpus), Penetration 3 (Corpus), Order of Hermes Lore 3 (rivalries), Single Weapon 1 (club), Stealth 3 (sitting still)

Arts: Cr 13, In 6, Mu 8, Pe 10, Re 8; An 8, Aq 5, Au 5, Co 15, He 4, Ig 5, Im 3, Me 14, Te 5, Vi 8

Twilight Scars: His Gift attracts rather than repels vermin, his breath smells of violets, his shadow is blood red rather than gray.

Equipment: A wooden trolley with rickety wheels. His talisman is a wand crudely carved from a human leg bone, and inlaid with three small bloodstones. It grants him the following bonuses: +4 destroy human body, +4 blood and wounds. The talisman currently has two enchantments:

Agony of the Uncharitable Stranger

PeCo 30
R: Voice, D: Conc, T: Ind
Pen: 20, 24 uses/day

The target is riddled with stabbing pains. (Base 4, +2 Voice, +1 Conc; +10 for Penetration Total of 20, +5 24 uses per day)

Hobble the Foul-Mouthed Wretch

PeCo 40
R: Voice, D: Sun, T: Ind
Pen: 20, 24 uses/day

The target is lamed for the duration of the spell.

(Base 5, +2 Voice, +2 Sun; +10 for Penetration Total of 20, +5 24 uses per day)

Spells Known:

Agony of the Beast (PeAn 15/+19) Arm of the Infant (MuCo 20/+24) Aura of Rightful Authority (ReMe 20/+31) Bane of the Decrepit Body (PeCo 25/+40) Circle of Beast Warding (ReCo 5/+28) Cripple the Howling Wolf (PeAn 25/+23) Disguise of the New Visage (MuCo 15/+24) Gift of Frog's Legs (ReCo 15/+32) Loss of But a Moment's Memory (PeMe 15/+25) Panic of the Trembling Heart (CrMe 15/+28) Posing the Silent Question (InMe 20/+21) Prison of Flames (MuIg 20/+14) Stench of Twenty Corpses (CrAu 10/+19) The Irresistible Pressgang (CrMe 40/+28) The Twisted Spine (MuCo 25/+24) The Wound that Weeps (PeCo 15/+26) Trust of Childlike Faith (PeMe 10/+35)

New Spell: The Irresistible Pressgang**

CrMe 35
R: Touch, D: Year, T: Group, Ritual

A group of men are granted a Loyal +4 Personality Trait, with the object of this fanatical loyalty being the caster. This spell is both a powerful and a continuing mystical effect, and the targets will accumulate a total of 5 Warping Points by its end.

(Base 4, +1 Touch, +4 Year, +2 Group)

New Spell: The Twisted Spine

Mu(Pe)Co 20
R: Voice, D: Sun, T: Ind

The target is crippled as his backbone warps and twists. He will be in agony every time he tries to move.

(Base 3, +2 Voice, +2 Sun, +1 requisite)

Vis: Anacrôn's Personal Vis Source is in the skin he scrapes from his leg-stumps. This yields Corpus vis, but is also very painful for him.

Appearance: Anacrôn's legs were removed above the knees when he was just a boy, and since then he has propelled himself on a two-wheeled cart, sometimes pulled by two mastiffs. His ragged clothes mark him as a beggar, but nevertheless he is possessed of a remarkable personal charm, and underneath the layers of filth and seething hatred is a handsome man.

Anacrôn is an eremite magus of House Ex Miscellanea who lives in the streets of Paris. He is a deeply unpleasant character, embittered with the world and possessing a general loathing for all of humankind. Anacrôn has no legs, and is pulled around on a wooden cart by two huge dogs, one of which is his familiar and the other his Magical Animal Companion. His master cut off his lower limbs when opening him to the Arts, for the magic of his tradition is one founded on pain, hatred, and infirmity. The lineage shares a Death Prophecy, which states that one can only be killed when he is the eldest of his tradition alive. When Anacrôn became of sufficient power to take over the gang of criminals in which he was raised, his pater invested him as the new King of the Beggars (see insert) and left Paris, just as his own pater had done to him. Where they went, and what they are doing now is a mystery to Anacrôn, who greatly enjoys the power he currently commands. Through his position as King of the Beggars, Anacrôn has access to individuals who are prepared to perform any task for the right coin, and hears all sorts of gossip and news that is of interest to the Order. He sells access to his resources for vis and enchantments, and his most common clients are Eboris (see below) and Fudarus. He is never involved directly in the crimes he orchestrates, which are committed through the agency of his gang. He has twice been accused of interfering with mundanes. The first time the Tribunal ruled that his activities had not brought ruin. The second time did not even make it that far; a declaration of Wizard's War against his accuser by Harpax (see Chapter 4: Brittany, Fudarus) resulted in no charges being filed. Suffice it to say that Anacrôn has powerful allies; and many wonder why he is so strongly supported.

Eboris is the senex of Paris, but this covenant is new to the city, having existed only sixteen years. Anacrôn and his family have been here for over a century, and he and Mathieus are still negotiating the terms of their relationship through their actions within the city. If it comes to war (something which both seek to avoid), Anacrôn has the advantage of numbers on his side, as well as an intimate knowledge of Paris and the instinct of a killer.

Every year, assuming he can find the vis, Anacrôn rounds up at least ten capable fighting men, casts The Irresistible Pressgang, and promotes them to the rank of cagoux. When this spell expires after a year, the Warping incurred often leaves the cagoux mentally deficient (Simple-Minded, Short Attention Span, and so forth); so they join the ranks of the calots and Anacrôn searches for more victims.

Anacrôn's familiar is a brindled mastiff called Affreux, and Affreux's son Boiteux is Anacrôn's Magical Animal Companion; the two dogs pull his trolley. Affreux has been invested with the power to create a ward that repels people, and the ability to grow to the size of a bear.

A covenant is a home, but it is also a tool. Many covenants look similar, because most magi desire to study in comfort. Conventio Eboris is not a tool for study. Its leader, the most prominent witness to the death of history, has not recovered from his loss. He designed this covenant as a commemoration, but it is really a mechanism for his grief.

Constantinople, the new Rome, was the center of civilization. It was the tool of God. Its civilization was meant to usher in an age of peace and stability, in preparation for the return of Christ. In 1204, foreigners murdered the city and scraped off its skin. For Archmagus Mathieus, as his city died, the autumn of the world ended.

Mathieus once had a covenant, sodales, family, servants. He had plans, ambitions, and dreams. When the crusaders marched on the City, he returned from Valnastium, where he was consulting the library. He was able to cross the besiegers' lines using his magical abilities, but was unable to avert the sack of the City. Afterward, Mathieus was able to gather some of his covenfolk and smuggle a few of his covenant's resources to a ship in the harbor. His family was dead, and his covenant was destroyed, so he commanded his servant to sail to Marseilles. From there they traveled overland to Paris. The reasons behind his choice remain unclear, but he seems to have desired to leave the Latin Empire.

Mathieus is the scion of an aristocratic family in Constantinople, and plays the role of exiled nobleman. For the first two years, he did not have a covenant: he was legally a wandering magus. His political role was insignificant, so he did not annoy the Quaesitores. He seemed to content to provide patronage to artists and scholars in the vibrant community gathering around the court. But Mathieus has been slowly drawn back into Hermetic circles by his Primus.

At the Primus' request, Mathieus has acted as host or guide for the Itinerarium on several occasions. The Itinerarium is a great tour of artistic cities designed to acculturate Jerbiton apprentices. Following graduation, some of these apprentices have returned to Paris, to explore its culture more fully, and they often stay with Mathieus. His home is now a small covenant whose members do not perform magical research. A Redcap also lives at Mathieus' home. He acts as Mathieus' chief household servant (his majordomo).

Paris is the greatest city in Europe. Late last century the King of France established a permanent home here. This has led the major nobles of France, and some small surrounding states, to build palaces in the city also. This influx of wealthy patrons has made Paris a center of culture and learning. The foundation of the court and university has changed the character of the city. It is filled with wealthy young men who need have little fear of mundane authority due to their social connections. At night, the city seethes with sex and violence, turning at daybreak into a center of commerce and philosophy. Other magi are interested in the opportunities the city provides by day, but Mathieus' guests revel in the city's nocturnal life.

Mathieus' house is on the Rue de la Tabletterie, and is the office for an ivory-carving business. It was once a pilgrims' hostelry, and is impressively large for this part of town. The house is three stories high, with many levels of basement. It has been refaced in a style that local aristocrats see as belonging to the new money.

Mathieus explains that he chose to live well, but in a poorer part of town, so that he would not seem to be threatening the local nobility. It also allowed him to ignore the fools at the university. The lacuna (space lacking any Aura, including the Dominion) in the basement also likely influenced his choice. A few of Mathieus's sodales do not live in his house, but are scattered through the city.

Mathieus has a lot of informal influence in this part of town. He does not officially own a brewery, a public house, or a brothel, but he has silent shares in at least thirty businesses in the quarter. He has some contacts within the criminal class, and most of the local thugs have been warned that his guests are never as unlucky as those who harm them.

Magi of House Jerbiton believe that magic tempts them to waste their lives, and that places like Mathieus' house act as a preventative by engrossing the young. Old magi need less protection from the temptation to do laboratory work, because senior magi receive less additional power for every season of a diminishing lifetime. Young magi are at the greatest risk of disappearing into a laboratory for a few decades, emerging with skills that are in no way novel, viewed historically. Sending senior apprentices, or young magi, to a vibrant city provides them with enough experience of a properly lived life that they can resist the addiction to laboratory fumes that so many other magi seem to develop. Further detail on the House's philosophies and goals may be found in Houses of Hermes: Societates.

Political Neutrality

Conventio Eboris owes no feudal dues, and seeks none. The advantage of their lifestyle, which precludes Hermetic study, is that they do not want most of the resources over which other magi feud. This makes them wealthy, because even their modest vis income provides a surplus for trade. The House of the Ivory Carvers is increasingly a neutral site for negotiations between covenants in conflict. Mathieus' neutrality aside, magical warfare under the nose of the King of France and bishop of St. Denis is a crime that few magi would be foolish enough to engage in.

The Intinerarium

It was traditional, before the fall of Constantinople, for Jerbiton magi to send their apprentices there for a few seasons, so that they could develop the rudiments of taste and polish their manners. After Constantinople fell, this tourism needed a new focus. In most years, it travels from Paris through the Alps to Valnastium, then down into Italy. Conventio Eboris serves as host for the initial stage. The young, rich almost-magi are expected to get into trouble, and to do the stupid things that are forbidden the dignity of a magus. Mathieus ensures that his guests remain on the right side of the line between foolish and asinine, or finds ways of hiding their mistakes. Under Hermetic law, the masters of the apprentices remain responsible for their behavior, so some accompany their charges. Mathieus is handsomely repaid for his hospitality in favors and social contacts.

Revels

Mathieus attracts magi from other houses to his home with celebrations that eulogize great magi. These celebrations are feasts and games played through the Parisian night. Some magi have noted that if Mathieus designs an interesting entertainment, his revel might eulogize an obscure magus from hundreds of years ago. At least one of the magi he has eulogized never existed at all.

Mathieus always claims to eulogize real individuals, for real accomplishments. He claims that an unnamed Tytalus magus tricked him with a false biography. The participants remember it as a particularly amusing event. Some suggest that if the maga commemorated did not exist, then surely she should have.

Mathieus collects items for his revels from all over Europe. He often sends letters offering payment for strange items to young magi about whom he has heard amusing stories. This is a way of inviting them into his circle of acquaintances.

Assisting the Quaesitores

Mathieus is the Warden of Paris. That is, members of House Jerbiton accept that he has dedicated himself to its preservation, and usually inform him of their activities. Local Jerbiton magi are expected to give him some assistance if he requests it, when Paris is endangered. Mathieus is also a convenient injured party for the Quaesitores.

That is, Mathieus is willing to assist the Quaesitores by claiming that the activities of other magi have caused him difficulty with the mundanes. An injured sodalis makes an undesired activity a breach of the Code. Paris, as the home of many important mundanes, is considered a particularly sensitive site by members of this Tribunal, so even minor infractions are punished if a sodalis demonstrates that he has been harmed by meddling with Parisian potentates.

Mathieus is not a hoplite, but is willing to enforce the Code in Paris. His skill with illusions, experience in urban spellcasting, knowledge of the resources available within Paris, and band of young allies make him a formidable opponent for a covenant of young player characters. His political connections make him a dangerous opponent in extended conflicts.

Intelligence Services

Marcus of Paris, Mathieus' chief servant, is a Redcap who can be hired to provide information about life in Paris to other covenants. He haggles the details of each contract, so they can be as simple as a weekly letter, or as complicated as the recovery of private documents. Marcus sometimes passes work on to the younger magi of the covenant. When nobles disperse back to their regional seats of power, he hires the servants of local magi to keep him informed of their activities, on behalf of his clients.

Marcus also finds skilled people willing to enter the service of covenants, in exchange for a fee from either party. Many characters, with all kinds of unlikely backgrounds, drift to Paris. Marcus recruits the best of them, trains some in a little Latin, and sends them to covenants throughout the tribunal. A young covenant using Marcus' services will gain a complete complement of servants, but they are likely to have colorful histories.

Story Seed: Rescuing Constantinopolitans

Venetians enslaved many of the people of Constantinople after the invasion. One slave, sold to a covenant in the Roman Tribunal, overhears Mathieus' name while his masters converse over dinner, and arranges for a Redcap to carry a message. He asks for rescue for himself and some other members of the fallen covenant. Mathieus fears this is a snare set by Venetian magi, who know how much he loathes them. He asks young magi to scout the situation for him, and to smuggle away anyone they can.

Story Seed: Treasure in Constantinople

Mathieus was able to remove only a small portion of the wealth of his fallen covenant when he fled Constantinople. To keep the treasures of his friends from theft by the scum who had murdered them, he sealed them away. Now that sufficient time has passed, he feels it might be possible to extract these items. He will not travel to the East himself; he does not want to see the parasites feeding on the corpse of his city. A band of trustworthy young magi, of sterner constitution than his usual companions, might find aiding him lucrative.

Archmagus Mathieus of Constantinople, filius of Maria of Constantinople, follower of Jerbiton

Age: 104 (Apparent age 65)
Personality Traits: Brave +3, Genteel +2, Debauched +1, Sad +1

Mathieus follows the Jerbiton philosophy of sufficiency. He believes he has learned enough magic to allow him to do as he likes for the rest of his life. Further study would allow him to fool larger crowds, and perform better in certamen, but this fails to recompense him for his effort. Further study simply isn't worth the time.

For a long while, Mathieus knew that increasing his ability to perform magic was not fulfilling, but did not know what he wished to do instead. He spent those years indulging in many of the vices of the rich. He now has a series of goals, although he does not believe he will fulfill any of them. They include:

• Support of the French Crown, because its strength is redesigning Paris into a city with the potential to sponsor great acts of beauty. This may cause conflict with the agents of significant French dukes, agents of the English Crown, and the minions of Italian princes.
• Support for the rising generation of Jerbiton magi, called Antigones. Mathieus supports the Order as the best tool for peace currently available, but simultaneously believes it is a poor and weak tool, which he hopes the Antigones will repair. He hosts part of the Intinerarium, which provides leading Antigones with an opportunity to meet almost every aspiring Jerbiton magus, and evangelize antigonic philosophy. This may provoke concern from more traditional magi when the Antigones begin to make political demands of the Order.
• Revulsion for Venice, and for those covenants he blames for the success of the Fourth Crusade. This includes support of the French Church, which Mathieus sees as a counterbalance to Venetian influence on the pope. He also dislikes and distrusts the many covenants in the Roman Tribunal that have chapter houses in Venice.

Story Seed: Folk Magicians

The Gift is rare, but Paris is the largest city in Western Europe. Hidden in its population are many people who Hermetic magi did not discover before their Gifts manifested. The Order is blamed for the failings of these people, so Parisian magi need to police these urban hedge magicians. Some can be bought into the service of the Order. Some can be warned to avoid attention. Some are executed.

Story Seed: Succession

This covenant is dependant on a single magus, who is elderly and has no surviving apprentices. Many magi would find it convenient to be designated as Mathieus' heir. He claims not to want anything that they could provide for him. Currently his designate is Constantina fillia Andru of Jerbiton, a young firebrand trained by the Primus, but he selected her mostly to annoy people badgering him to choose an heir. He could be convinced to select the player characters if they can offer an event or experience sufficiently novel.

Sweated Shillings

Young Magi: Usually Fun-loving +1 and slightly manic in their attempt to fit a whole lifetime into a year.

The Sweated Shillings are the gaggle of young magi who live with Mathieus. The membership of this band is in constant flux. The name refers to coins that have been shaken in a bag so that some of their silver is broken off. They often repay Mathieus' hospitality with a crisis that they flee, leaving him to fix. He is repaid in "bad coin." Magi from other covenants often find it hard to keep track of who Mathieus' followers are: they seem as interchangeable as coins with the details rubbed off. There are always at least three magi here with Mathieus. During the Tour this number rises sharply, as magi volunteer to keep an eye on the apprentices.

Story Seed: Tremors at the End of the World

The supply of ivory that comes to Paris enters Europe through a tiny kingdom called Trebizond, at the edge of the Hermetic World. This means that disruptions in the trade routes through Asia are reflected very accurately in this covenant's ivory supply. If the supply suddenly stops, Mathieus may warn his Primus that something odd is happening out in Asia. Andru knows that the last time this happened the Huns were coming, so he will arrange for a group of magi to investigate. A glut of inexplicable ivory also attracts Mathieus' attention. If a huge consignment of walrus ivory finds its way to Paris, Mathieus will want to know who harvested these animals, how they managed it, and what they plan to do with that much money.

The lands around Paris, the heart of the French kingdom, are rich fields dotted with numerous ancient monasteries and densely populated with prosperous villages. About a day's travel out from Paris, a ring of large towns may be found on the roads radiating out from the city, or up and down the River Seine. Just beyond, to the south, southwest, and northeast, the expansive forests of central France begin.

The great royal abbey and famous Basilica of St. Denis enjoys the patronage of the French kings, whose predecessors are buried in its crypt. The wealthy royal town is located a half-dozen miles north of Paris, downstream on the Seine (although the distance along the river is at least twice as long), at the site of an old Roman town where the road from Paris to Beauvais passes by a wide bend in the Seine. The martyr and patron saint of France, St. Denis (see Chapter 2: History of Mythic France, St. Denis) was buried here, and pilgrims soon followed. The monastery was founded by Dagobert I in the seventh century and further expanded by Pepin the Short in the following century. Its most famous abbot was named Suger — he became a firm friend of Louis VII while they were both studying at the abbey as boys. He was later elected abbot in 1122 and remained a close confidante of Louis when he became king. When the king departed on the Second Crusade, he nominated Suger as his regent, and his loyal and just stewardship of the kingdom won him great acclaim and the moniker "father of the land."

The Basilica of St. Denis, dating from the 1130s, is a miraculous and groundbreaking structure — the first ever church in the new "French style" (the modern reader may know this as "Gothic," although this term is not used in the 13th century). Abbot Suger received a divinely inspired vision of the heavenly Bethlehem, and resolved to build the church in this image. It has a graceful, airy nave with pointed arches and slender columns that seem almost impossibly tall, allowing the use of stained glass windows to an extent never before seen, and giving an astonishing display of color and light. These innovations are beginning to be copied, although the new style has yet to spread widely outside of northern France. Recently, a huge spire was added to one of the towers. The richly decorated royal tombs are the resting place of the first Christian Frankish king, Clovis, and his son Childebert, as well as most of the French kings since the seventh century.

The Lendit fair is held annually in the month of October, in fields just outside St. Denis. It was started by the abbey in 1109 as a means to raise funds, and it has grown rapidly since, even attracting international merchants. Many hundreds of traders' stalls may be seen. Parchments and writing materials are a particular specialty of the fair, as buyers from the university in Paris arrive to purchase

In the sixth century, Clodoald, a grandson of the great Merovingian king Clovis, fled to this spot by the banks of the River Seine, six miles downstream from Paris. His father, Clodomir, had perished in battle and his brothers had been murdered. To avoid the same fate, he cut off his hair; something the Merovingian kings never did, since their locks granted them mystical powers. The young man took refuge in the small settlement of Nogent and founded a monastery there, becoming its abbot. He died in 560 and was buried here; his tomb soon became a site of pilgrimage and the town was named after him. St. Cloud now belongs to the bishops of Paris.

The Bridge of St. Cloud

A centuries-old wooden bridge crosses the River Seine at St. Cloud. It has been patched up several times, and bears a tall wooden tower at each end. This is the place at which Clodoald tore off his hair, symbol of his kingly blood, and swam the river. A legend relates that any king who sets foot on the bridge will be struck down dead. No one knows if this is true, although, mindful of this curse, French rulers take care to always cross the river here in a boat. Even a faerie king may be subject to this fate. The bridge has a Magic aura of 2.

The Oriflamme

The greatest treasure of the Abbey of St. Denis is a sacred banner known as the Oriflamme, the royal standard of the King of France. The name stems from the Latin Aurea Flamma, meaning "flame of gold;" indeed the banner is the color of flame. It is unfurled and flown from a lance at the head of the king's forces in battle, although it may only be displayed in the king's presence. The Oriflamme was taken by Clovis from the Roman king Syragius at the Battle of Soissons (see Chapter 8: Flanders and Picardy, Soissons) and was possessed by Charlemagne.

The Oriflamme certainly has great powers; it may bolster the morale and physical stamina of the king's troops, and it seems to override any other supernatural effect that may be present. It was most recently deployed at the Battle of Bouvines in 1214 in Flanders, where King Philip won a great victory and captured the Count of Flanders, Ferdinand, as a hostage. Magi have taken an interest in the artifact, but are unable to ascertain whether the relic is Divine or Magical in origin — no magus is willing to admit to having tested his magical powers against the banner.

Chartres, named after the ancient tribe of the Carnutes, lies beside the River Eure in the rich Beauce plain, lands owned by the Counts of Champagne. Atop a gentle hill near the river is an ancient well, which has been a site of worship in various ways down through the ages. First it was a druidic sanctuary, and then a Roman temple to the mother goddess. Christian missionaries conveniently interpreted the latter as a representation of the Virgin Mary, and the site has been dedicated to the veneration of the saint ever since. This explains Charlemagne's gift to Chartres of the Sainte-Chemise, the tunic worn by the Virgin Mary when giving birth to Jesus. Chartres was sacked by Vikings in 858, and the bodies of martyrs were thrown down the well.

The Cathedral of Chartres now stands proudly at the summit of the hill, next to the old well. Disaster struck in 1194 when lightning caused the Great Fire of Chartres, destroying much of the city and nearly all of the church. (There were two earlier serious fires, in 1020 and 1134, each destroying much of the town.) One of the giant steeples survived the fire and remains. The good folk of Chartres feared the worst, that the Sainte-Chemise, their treasured relic, had been destroyed. Three days after the fire, however, a group of priests were found huddled and locked in the treasury with the relic. A visiting papal legate declared the relic's survival to be a miracle; this was interpreted as a sign that a greater cathedral should be built, and precisely this was undertaken. Monies for this project were donated generously from far afield, and the city folk took to the task with fervor, voluntarily hauling the stones from the nearest quarry. The construction proceeded at an incredible pace, and in 1220 the new giant nave, modeled after St. Denis in the French style, has just been finished. Plans are afoot to add yet further to the cathedral and build a greater steeple. The crypt of the church is the largest in France.

Chartres prospers from and is largely dependent on its fairs for pilgrims. On each of the four feast days of the Virgin Mary (the Purification, the Annunciation, the Assumption, and the Nativity), the streets and markets surrounding the cathedral are converted into a bustling fair, visited by hordes of pilgrims who have come to view the holy relic.

About 30 miles south of Paris, on the left bank of the Seine, is the forest of Fontainebleau. This is a rocky and diverse wilderness, about 20 miles across in each direction, consisting broadly of parallel sandstone ridges interspersed with limestone — a dry landscape of hillocks, ancient druidic groves, and small gorges. The majority is a woodland rich in game, but it is not thickly forested; occasional hunts are held, and there are a few hunting lodges. Apart from these, the only settlement of note is a tiny hermitage, although it is rumored that Parisian criminals often come here to hide. The wettest part of the forest resembles a moorland dotted with ponds and crevices. Another part is barren and desert-like in appearance, with strangely shaped boulders scattered all around, several of which seem to resemble animals, or even people.

The Fountain of Fair Waters

In the middle of the forest of Fontainebleau is a Faerie regio, at the center of which is a spring named Fontaine-Belle-Eau, from which the forest takes its name. It has a Faerie aura of 6. A beautiful nymph, whom the ancients believed to be an embodiment of the goddess Diana, dwells by the waters and is accompanied by a placid white stag. All kinds of tame forest creatures, often boars, may be found within her domain. Seldom does a person stumble into the regio, but keen-nosed hunting hounds occasionally find it by accident. Any dogs (and their owners) who act with humility may be tolerated, or even rewarded, but those who persist with their hunt will likely be cursed, and may never return. This may explain the anthropomorphic shapes of the boulders in the nearby forest, which may be harvested for Animal and Corpus vis.

Once one of the great covenants of the Normandy Tribunal, Lapis Crudus is a shadow of its former self following a number of severe setbacks, the most serious of which trapped the magi within their regio for over eighty years. The magi of Lapis Crudus have recently discovered a way in which they can circumvent their faerie-wrought trap, and are now trying to rebuild their former reputation.

Lapis Crudus was founded on the spoils of the Schism War, and was an important player in the politics and culture of the Normandy Tribunal for the century that followed. Its formation was sponsored in 1064 by the Grand Tribunal in an attempt to heal the rift which had formed between the Houses of Flambeau and Tytalus (see Chapter 3: Hermetic Culture, History of the Normandy Tribunal), and consisted of two members of each, plus a follower of Jerbiton and a Bonisagus of Trianoma's line. Many of the modern followers of Flambeau in Normandy can trace their descent back to the members of Lapis Crudus; for a while they were the only two Flambeau in the tribunal. Over time, the membership became more cosmopolitan as the covenant grew, and the covenant sponsored two vassals, both of which were short-lived.

An unfortunate incident in 1118 revealed the location of the covenant and the nature of its inhabitants to several prominent noble families, who all sought to use the magi for their own ends. Lapis Crudus was forced to retaliate with a combination of subtle threats and blackmail, but neither were sustainable in the long term. Seeking a way to free the covenant from this political mire, Aries of House Flambeau tricked a powerful faerie called Candidus (see insert) into providing protection and concealment for the covenant, keeping it safe from harm. Candidus fulfilled the pact by moving the covenant into a faerie regio; but, resenting the manner in which he had been dealt with, he also sealed the borders of the regio, trapping everyone within. Fortunately, some of the covenant's sources of vis were located within the regio, but the magi needed to consume the output of these seisins to provide themselves with food and tools. That is, until one of their number devised a way to transfer non-living goods into the regio, and the magi got their first taste of meat and wine for nearly seven decades. The trapped magi were forced to rely on their fortunately large vis stocks for their study, and between them exhausted the library's capacity to teach them. There were some attempts to free the trapped magi, but Lapis Crudus's vassals, seeing a chance for independence, were not sufficiently motivated to achieve this goal, and the covenant was quickly forgotten.

Five years ago Aries succumbed to Final Twilight. With his demise, Candidus was prepared to renegotiate the pact. Since this time, members of the covenant have been able to leave the regio, but only if they are simultaneously replaced by someone from the outside entering the covenant. Further, the transfer must be between people of the same social standing, thus if a magus wants to leave, a magus must replace him. However, the person entering the covenant can bring with him whatever he is able to carry.

Candidus

Candidus is a powerful faerie who dwells in the forest of Fontainebleau. He seems to accumulate power by making bargains with mortals; simply making a pact with a human grants him the ability to fulfill its terms. It is possible that he does not actually possess the seemingly limitless power to grant wishes, but instead acquires them from other faeries or humans through other pacts. He always requests unusual things in return, such as the breath of a stone, or a person's reflection, or the lament of a dying dragon; with a magnitude of difficulty commensurate with the task being asked from him.

Candidus appears to be a short man with skin the color and texture of chalk, which is where he acquired the name (which means "chalky white" in Latin) given to him by Lapis Crudus; they do not know his real name. He has no eyes, not even any eye-sockets, just skin where his eyes should be, although he does not appear to be blind. His hair is also white, and he affects clothing of dark blue.

Lapis Crudus is situated in the forest of Fontainebleau in the Ile de France. At the western end of the forest is a barren sandstone massif called Les Trois Pignons, with deep dry valleys forming star-like patterns between the bouldered rock. At the middle of one of these stars is the covenant of Lapis Crudus. Because of the regio in which the covenant is trapped, the only visible sign of the covenant is a few rough shacks that house what appears to be a band of outlaws, but who are actually some of the covenant's grogs. One of the huts straddles the regio boundary, and anyone within the hut can see and converse with anyone in the same hut on the other side of the regio using a magical mirror placed there for this purpose. For many years this hut was the schoolroom and scriptorium of Somnifer, who actually managed to train an apprentice from the other side of the regio. He also copied books held up to the mirror, then used magic to rearrange the ink from its mirrored form. Before the recent change in circumstances, the magi used magic to transfer supplies placed in this room, but no living thing could make the passage. Now, this room is the gate to the regio — if two persons each walk towards the mirror (and each other) from opposite sides of the regio boundary, then they change places. The persons must have comparable (but not necessarily identical) Social Status Virtues or Flaws to effect the passage to or from the regio — a magus must swap with a magus, a churchman with another churchman or academic, an outcast with another social pariah, and so forth. This is the only manner by which people may cross the regio, and grogs heavily laden with supplies regularly swap places with those trapped inside.

Within the regio, the covenant sits in a Faerie aura of 7. It is a collection of a dozen or so buildings made of the same sandstone as the surrounding rocks. It only receives direct daylight when the sun is at its zenith because of the height of the rocks surrounding the region. Each arm of the star-shaped valley contains the sanctum of a different magus, with the central area containing the living quarters of the grogs and servants. The Bleeding Stone — from which the covenant gets both its name and its Corpus and Terram vis — is located in a cavern below the council chamber at the center of the central valley. The vines that grow down the sandstone cliffs to the valley floor are a source of Herbam vis. The covenant has numerous minor magical enchantments employing the arts of Herbam and Terram, created by the magi during their captivity. Thus, doors open up inside walls as persons approach them; all of the roofs can be commanded to become transparent to let the light in, and even the lowliest cook has a magical chopping knife. The covenant also has a large magical library, including several rare tomes of high quality, and many tractatus written by the trapped magi until their supplies of ink and parchment were exhausted.

Lapis Crudus has been separated from the rest of the world for nearly eight decades. While the scrying magics of Somnifer (see below) have allowed the covenant to keep abreast of the major events of this time, the magi have a strange disconnection regarding the Order, and seem unusually naïve. They are keen to leave the covenant and experience the world anew, but their perceptions have been warped by the strong Faerie aura and they have a twisted view of the world beyond their bounds.

Lapis Crudus has three magi, two of whom are detailed below. All are ancient, and all are unusually specialized due to the restricted resources they have had access to for the last eighty years. Each magus has accrued one Warping Point a year for the last eighty years of entrapment from the aura alone, and more from their Longevity Rituals. The opening of the regio might be just in time to rescue them from a descent into Final Twilight. Somnifer's filius, a magus by the name of Languidus, has been representing the covenant's interests at Tribunal for the past decade, but has refused formal membership of the covenant. Lapis Crudus has not participated in the Tourney since its sealing-off, and all its legacies are deemed to have lapsed.

Somnifer of Merinita

Age: 113 (Apparent age 30)
Personality Traits: Sleepy +5, Thoughtful +2, Attentive –2

A master of magic pertaining to dreams, Somnifer kept the rest of the covenant appraised of the outside world during their captivity thanks to his ability to cast his mind forth in spiritual form and enter the dreams of those he encounters. He managed to find his apprentice through his dreams, and entice him to Lapis Crudus to receive training through the enchanted mirror. Somnifer has difficulty distinguishing dreams from reality, thanks to his Warping, and it is often difficult to determine whether he is awake, or just sleepwalking.

Mnemon of Tytalus

Age: 97 (Apparent age 60)
Personality Traits: Impatient +3, Sly +2, Apparently Trustworthy +1

Mnemon was just one year from his Gauntlet when the covenant was trapped in the regio, and has never fully partaken in the culture of conflict within his House. He is a master of Rego magics, and has become adept at creating spells of transportation while trying to find a way to escape Candidus's trap. He created the mirror that now forms the gateway to the covenant, and was the architect of the renegotiation that relaxed the walls of the covenant's prison, although no one is sure what he was forced to promise Candidus in return. Mnemon is frustrated by slow modes of movement — like walking, or running — and has a disconcerting habit of instantly transporting himself over short distances, or summoning items instantly to his hands.

Although new blood has entered the covenant in the last few years, most of the covenfolk were born here, and some are members of the second or third generation within the regio. Consequentially, most of the covenfolk are heavily Warped; acquiring a Warping Score of 3 by the time the reach puberty, and a Score of 5 in their late forties (ArM5, page 167). They are used to employing magical items to assist their tasks, and express surprise if they discover that this is not the norm in the Order.

Beyond the forests of Yvelines and Fontainebleau lie the southernmost holdings of the French king. The wide valley of the River Loire emerges from Burgundy and stretches around in a huge, gentle loop, before passing into Anjou. The Church has an extremely powerful presence in these lands, with the seats of two archbishoprics, and a handful of ancient scholarly centers.

Sens takes its name from a Gaulish tribe, the Senones. Under the Romans, the city was the capital of the province of Senonia. Nowadays, Sens is noteworthy for its status as the seat of an archbishopric, which oversees most of the bishoprics of the Ile de France, including Paris, and several in Champagne and Burgundy. The splendid Cathedral of St. Étienne is the second-earliest church in the new French style, after St. Denis. Work on it began in the 1130s, and the majority is now complete; its construction has been copied by several other cathedral architects, for example William of Sens, who worked on the Cathedral of Canterbury in England. Sens is also home to a rich episcopal palace and treasury holding numerous relics, including the alb (a large outer vestment) of St. Thomas Becket. Much of the city is on the right bank of the River Yonne, adjacent to an island in the river and surrounded by ancient ramparts and a moat.

Story Seed: Though the Looking Glass

Now capable of leaving their regio, the magi of Lapis Crudus must entice other magi to take their place within the regio should they wish to rove abroad. They may offer seasons of study in the vast library of the covenant as an exchange, but once out of their prison, they are reluctant to return.

Assuming he can get someone to take his place at the covenant, Mnemon has to fulfil his agreement with Candidus. Sensing his desperation to leave, Candidus bound him into a fearsome task, which could impact the site or the resources of a player covenant. He might destroy a vis source that was dependent on the local fae, or kill a magical guardian, or interfere with mundane politics in an attempt to have the covenant disbanded.

Before becoming trapped, Lapis Crudus was one of the liege covenants of the tribunal, but without the ability to enforce its Oath of Fealty, its vassals have become independent. Now Lapis Crudus is able to partake once again in politics, it will try to reassert its former control. The player characters may be members of a covenant that Lapis Crudus claims as a vassal.

Orléans, by the River Loire, sits at a spot that was once the center of Gaul, and home to the Carnutes tribe. A great annual assembly of druids was held nearby (see Fleury, below). The Romans named the settlement Aurelianum, after the emperor Aurelius; it narrowly avoided destruction in 451 when an army of Visigoths and Romans relieved the siege of Attila the Hun at the last minute. In the early sixth century, Orléans became the capital of the Merovingian kingdom of Burgundy under Clodomir, the second son of Clovis, whose territory was split among his four sons.

Orléans is most famed for its venerable cathedral school. The sixth-century Burgundian kings commonly sent their sons here for education, and it was developed by the renowned bishop Theodulf in the eighth century. The eldest sons of both Charlemagne and Hugh Capet were educated here, and it has attracted students from many of the Christian kingdoms of western Europe. A recent ban on the teaching of law in Paris, handed down by Pope Honorius III in 1219, has resulted in a new influx of students into the city. If your saga follows real history, the pope will bestow the status of university on the school of Orléans in 1235.

Fleury lies 20 miles upriver of Orléans on the Loire; its famous abbey is the resting place of St. Benedict and is a significant site of pilgrimage. The establishment was founded by Benedictine monks from Orléans in the middle of the seventh century, by an ancient sacred grove where an annual assembly of all the druids in Gaul took place. Soon thereafter, the remains of St. Benedict, the founder of western monasticism, were relocated here from Monte Cassino in Italy. Numerous miraculous healings were attributed to this relic, and pilgrims soon began to arrive in the thousands. The exquisite Basilica of St. Benedict, a lofty structure in the old style built of white stone, was recently finished in 1218 after a century and half of work. It houses the shrine of St. Benedict in its crypt.

One of the most famous figures in the history of the monastery is the Goth Theodulf, a brilliant poet-scholar from Charlemagne's inner circle, who became bishop of Orléans. He founded the monastic school, which soon became a source of great manuscripts. However, Theodulf fell out of favour after the death of Charlemagne, and the abbey later suffered Viking raids. The fortunes of Fleury were restored in the latter half of the 10th century under Abbo, a close confidante of Robert II, and an influential and famous scholar. Under his leadership, the library was expanded and attracted greater fame. A tome entitled History of the Franks was written here at this time by a monk named Aimon, which has since become adopted as the semi-mythical official chronicle of the royal Capetian house. (This should not be confused with the more famous and ancient work penned by Gregory of Tours; see Chapter 6: Anjou and Aquitaine, Tours.) The book has the following statistics:

Summa, Organization Lore: French Royalty (Level 3, Quality 9);

Summa, Area Lore: Ile de France (Level 2, Quality 9);

Summa, Divine Lore (Level 3, Quality 9).

A sturdily fortified city at the southern end of the Ile de France, Bourges is the seat of an archbishopric which has primacy over much of Aquitaine. In 1100, the Count of Bourges sold his lands to the French king, Philip I, to finance his crusading, and they have been in royal hands ever since. After the marriage of the Plantagenet Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine in the middle of the 12th century, however, Bourges was left in the somewhat precarious position of being the only royal domain belonging to the French crown south of the Loire. As a result, the French kings massively strengthened the defenses of Bourges, a project lasting three decades and completed under the current king, Philip II, in 1190. A giant stone wall, replete with extensive earthworks and surrounded by a moat, encompasses the whole city. The southern wall is interrupted by the Great Tower, a prototype of the fortress of the Louvre in Paris and a mighty keep in its own right, with its own moat and towers. Even the bridges of Bourges are fortified. The end result is that Bourges is an unmistakable symbol of the strength of the French crown to the duke of Aquitaine, the English king Henry III.

The half-built Cathedral of Bourges is in the new French style, started in 1195 under the direction of the then-archbishop, Henry de Sully, and is also a project partly designed to convey the power and prestige of the Capetian line and of the archbishops. The successor of Henry de Sully, William de Donjon, oversaw the project with great diligence and industry, but he died in 1209, causing the work to mostly cease for a number of years. However, this was a blessing in disguise for the cathedral, since William was canonised in 1218 — ever since, pilgrims have flocked to the city, and many generous donations have funded the project, such that construction has resumed at an eager pace. With the steady flow of pilgrims and monies into such a well-fortified city, the population of Bourges is expanding rapidly.