Anatolia

Geographically diverse, with a range of climates and terrain, Anatolia is the meeting of East and West. Two long, nearly unbroken mountain chains separate the coastal areas from the interior's heartland — a large plateau that composes most of the area. At the height of the Byzantine Empire, the entire land mass was controlled by the emperor, who partitioned it into several provinces. Since the decline of the Byzantine Empire in the 12th century, several of these provinces have been lost to enemies, most notably the Seljuk Turks. In 1220, the Byzantine Greeks only occupy the coastal areas, both west of the Taurus Mountains and north of the Pontic Mountains.

The Tribunal of Thebes has historically stayed in lands governed by the Byzantines. Preferring the relatively safety of the empire, covenants have favored the Aegean coast, the shores of the Sea of Marmara, and the Black Sea area. Anatolia's interior and parts further east are contested by Turks, Persians, Pechenegs, Cumans, and Georgians. However, conflict can also provide opportunity, and being in proximity to these cultures would allow magi to meet foreign wizards and other forms of magic. Magi have formed covenants in the far-flung reaches of the Tribunal in the past, but none remain in 1220. They have fallen either through lack of interest, mundane invasion, or mysterious causes.

Lying in northwestern Anatolia, Bithynia is a land of vast forests and rolling green hills, laced with fertile valleys and river basins. On the coast of the Sea of Marmara, it sits opposite Constantinople and the Thracian coast. A prosperous land, Bithynia is known for its wealth of fruit trees, especially oranges, and grain fields. Home to many old and important cities, Bithynia has been overrun by armies in the last twenty years, and many venerable cities have felt the brunt of these armed forces. Bithynia is the marcher lands between the Latin Empire of Constantinople and the Empire of Nicaea, and most coastal castles have changed hands many times. Peace has reigned for the last six years, since Theodore Lascaris signed a treaty with the Latin Empire, cementing it by marrying Emperor Henry's niece in 1219. Despite this peace, Lascaris is preparing an assault in 1220, and the obvious massing of troops along the border makes many Bithynians anxious.

In 1204, Theodore Laskaris fled to Nicaea after fighting heroically in defense of Constantinople. A large contingent of prominent Byzantines had also fled there, allowing Theodore to establish a court that mirrors the splendor and customs of Constantinople. In 1205, Theodore appointed the new Orthodox Patriarch Michael Autorianus, and the line of patriarchs has continued in Nicaea. Crowned Emperor Theodore II Lascaris in 1208, he is a staunch supporter of the Orthodox Church, though quixotically open to the possibility of ultimate Church union. His court welcomes Latin friars and papal envoys, perhaps a reflection of its highly intellectual and scholastic culture, and theological debates are common here. From the first, Theodore has vowed to retake Constantinople and to continue the empire until that day in Nicaea.

Despite initial setbacks, the Empire of Nicaea has fared well. Theodore has the savvy to ally with his neighbors to his own advantage. He has variously allied with and fought the Latins, the Bulgarians, and the Sultanate of Rum. His army is bolstered by Frankish mercenaries while he actively recruits native Anatolians. His career has many highlights, the most famous being his personal combat and victory against the Sultan of Rum, his capture and imprisonment of his treacherous father-in-law, Alexius III, and his push along the Black Sea to stop the advances of the Empire of Trebizond.

In 1220, the latest alliance with the Latins of Constantinople has broken and hostilities have recommenced. The Latin Empire and Nicaea are once again locked in conflict.

Always an important city in the Byzantine Empire. The summer home to emperors and the meeting place for several important religious councils, Nicaea is now the capitol of the new Empire of Nicaea. Organized like a grid, Nicaea's straight streets emanate from the city's cathedral, the Church of the Haghia Sophia, in the center of town. The imperial place is to the south, as is the Church of the Koimesis, the personal chapel of the emperor and his family. Massive, thirty-foot-high walls surround the city, studded with over one hundred towers, and three main gates lie in the center of the north, east, and south walls. The west wall abuts the Ascanian Lake, and smaller gates give access to the city's docks.

As darkness falls on Constantinople, and Infernal auras overpower Divine ones, Nicaea shines like a new dawn. The cumbersome bureaucratic administration that plagued Constantinople has been replaced with a more efficient system of imperial cabinet rule in Nicaea, with few administrators and more direct lines of responsibility. The rise of the Empire of Nicaea has caused a renaissance in art, literature, and learning. Imperial revenues pour through the city's gates, as taxes that once went to Constantinople now come here. The army is happy, bolstered by sev-

Order: Furies

Infernal Might: 20 (Animal)

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

Size: 0

Confidence Score: 1 (3)

Virtues and Flaws: Berserk, Tough

Personality Traits: Wrathful +6, Savage +4

Reputations: Harrower of Saints 2 (Infernal)

Hierarchy: 1 Combat:

Teeth: Init +2, Attack 12, Defense +9, Dam-

age +4

Soak: +5

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: Athletics 4 (pursuit), Awareness 3 (stragglers), Brawl 5 (teeth), Leadership 6 (demons of Nicaea)

Powers:

Coagulation, 2 points, Init –1, Corpus. Described in Realms of Power: The Infernal, page 31

Endurance of the Enraged, 0 points, Init 0, Corpus. Described in Realms of Power: The Infernal, page 42.

Obsession, 1 – 3 points, Init –5, Vim: Wrath. Described in Realms of Power: The Infernal, page 31

Weakness: Abhorrent Circumstance: sunny day

Vis: 4 pawns of Animal vis, one in each paw

Appearance: The demon looks like a large, savage dog with wild hair, slavering from its snarling mouth. It always appears to be stalking prey, moving low to the ground with its ears back and growling. Its bright red eyes fill its victims with dread.

The demons of Nicaea are only interested in murder and slaughter, and while they can talk, they rarely do so. Their favorite tactic is to creep up on a lone victim and rend him to bits. They can fight as a trained group, making them a formidable opponent. While full of ferocity, they are not fearless, and will flee from a superior group or strong individual.

eral years of successful campaigns, and merchants and craftsmen work hard to line their pockets with byzants. Outside the walls, cypress trees and peach orchards flourish, and the war seems very far away.

Theodore Lascaris is so eager to reclaim Constantinople, that he is willing to temporarily subject the Eastern Church to Rome to obtain the city. The pope has suggested that such an agreement is satisfactory, so now all Lascaris needs to do is convince the patriarch and the influential bishops of Anatolia. In 1220, Theodore Lascaris has assembled a host of ecclesiastical representatives whose goal is to end the schism between the Western and Eastern Churches. Besides the dogmatic issues of the procession of the Holy Spirit and unleavened communion bread, the political issue of papal primacy must be decided.

The Seven Demons of Nicaea

During the ministry of St. Andrew the apostle, who preached throughout Scythia and Anatolia, the people of Nicaea told the saint that seven demons lived outside the city and were murdering travelers on the road. St. Andrew promptly banished the demons, who appeared before him in the form of slavering dogs. Several days later, the saint encountered a funeral procession outside another town. The mourners told St. Andrew that a young man was killed by seven dogs who had invaded his bedroom. Realizing that these must be the same seven demons he had earlier banished, the saint prayed to God to resurrect the youth, who then became one of St. Andrew's followers.

The seven demons still prowl the highways around the city, although they are forbidden from entering Nicaea itself. They prefer to attack at dusk or soon after, and usually target lone travelers. Some of the city's inhabitants remember the legends of St. Andrew, but most think that corpses found along the road are the result of bandits or mercenary skirmishers from one army or another. The demons are not incredibly active, killing perhaps once every month or so. Large traveling parties won't draw the demons' attention, but solitary journeyers like a Redcap, for example, could fall prey to these Infernal beasts.

Located on the Gulf of Astacus in the Sea of Marmara, Nicomedia sits sixty miles east of Constantinople. Strong walls surround the town's central citadel, forums, an amphitheater, aqueducts and cisterns, and other trappings of Roman society. Nicomedia is one of the few cities in Asia Minor that hasn't been occupied by the Turks in the last hundred years. It has been occupied by crusaders, however. Soon after the fall of Constantinople, a band of one hundred knights sailed for Nicomedia. The population fled to Nicaea, a day's journey away, and the Latins easily took the city. The knights constructed a fortress around the city's church, and ruled in the city for almost a year before Theodore Lascaris moved to reclaim the city. Fierce fighting outside the city drove the crusaders back to the fortified church, and many knights died or were taken hostage. The defenders called for help, and Emperor Henry arrived with his troops. Henry and Theodore negotiated a truce — the city for the French knight hostages — and Nicomedia has been in Byzantine hands ever since.

While earthquakes are not uncommon in Anatolia, Nicomedia has seen more than its fair share. Every hundred years or so the ground shakes and buildings fall, causing fires and calamity to the citizens. Some magi of the Theban Tribunal suspect that an ancient titan is imprisoned beneath Nicomedia, who rattles his or her bounds every century and causes the devastation. The citizens of Nicomedia would laugh if they heard this, for they know it is the dragon, wounded centuries ago by St. George the Megalomartyras (Greek for "magnificent martyr"), and writhing in pain in an underground warren beneath the city.

While most of the male titans who directly opposed Zeus were bound in Tartarus, those titans who remained neutral in the Titanomachy were bound elsewhere. Many female titans were bound in various locations, and unknown to the Theban magi, the great altar at Pergamos is the lock on the prison that binds the titan Klymene, the Titan-goddess of fame. Unique features of the binding have inadvertently allowed magi to draw on Klymene's power to fuel ritual spells, rather than on vis. However, if they overtax this prerogative, Klymene will be released.

Klymene is a Kosmokrator Spirit with a Magic Might of 50 (see Realms of Power: Magic, page 109). The imprisoning bonds have a strength of 50, which renews itself at the beginning of each year. Cast ritual spells deplete the bond's strength, by a number equal to the number of pawns of vis it would take to cast the spells as normal. If the bond strength is reduced to zero in a single year, the great altar cracks in half and Klymene is released.

Klymene will not take her release well. Knowing that Zeus was going to bind all the titans, she viewed her imprisonment as benevolent — a sweeter cell than Tartarus and a fate she shared with her sisters. Now released, she has no place to go and no kin to visit. A storyguide should use freed Klymene as best suits her saga. Klymene could simply return to the Magic Realm, leaving a ruined altar in her wake. She could soar to the top of one of the Tribunal's mountains and set up residence, disrupting the environment and perhaps the current inhabitants. Or she could race about the Tribunal lands looking for other female titans to release, to recreate the comfort and revelry they enjoyed before Zeus imprisoned them. (See Chapter 9: Magical Landscape for more on the titans.)

The legend of St. George the Dragon Slayer is widespread in Mythic Europe, from Jerusalem to Ireland, and many places adapt it for themselves, perhaps even Nicomedia. St. George was a Roman tribune (commander) from Cappadocia, an area in central Anatolia, who happened upon the king of a city offering his daughter as sacrifice to the dragon. Wounding the beast, he returned to the city with her dragging the creature on a leash. Various legends place this event in different cities, but the fact remains that something does lie beneath Nicomedia.

on the Hellespont. As a canonical saga begins, he has marshaled his forces and his invasion is eminent.

Hellespont

courses cautiously.

A large peninsula in northwestern Anatolia, the Troad offers a mixture of Eastern European and Mediterranean climates. The northern region, along the shore of the Sea of Marmara, experiences cold winters and abundant summer rain, while the western area, along the Aegean Sea, is milder, with long hot summers and inland drought. Seven rivers run from the plateau of Mt. Ida, cutting through gorges to reach the seas. The

This 38-mile-long, narrow strait separates Greece from Anatolia as it connects the Aegean Sea to the Sea of Marmara. Also called "the straits of St. George" by the French crusaders, it has long been a protective barrier and effective border for the ancient Greeks and Persians. Despite its narrow width, averaging from one to four miles wide, the Hellespont is tricky to navigate. Currents run both ways along the strait, depending on the

shores are lined with cliffs and small bays,

offering many suitable locations for defensible towns. Like Bithynia, the north half of the Troad is held by Latin crusaders. Since the

peace treaty of 1216, the situation has been fairly static. The Latin overlords are content to administer their lands and let the population prosper. Since recent military forays have been against the Bulgarians, many of the Latin knights and soldiers are elsewhere. Lascaris plans to capitalize on their absence by invading Troad and taking Holkos, a port

The port Holkos sits at the junction of the Hellespont and the Sea of Marmara.

Lascaris hopes to reclaim the city from the Latins and turn it into a second naval base for the Empire of Nicaea. Protecting the Hellespont and the Sea of Marmara, the navy's main targets would be Venetian sailing vessels. Historically, Lascaris' invasion was successful and the Latins, beleaguered by enemies from the north, sued for peace in 1221.

The Vantage Point of Xerxes

Near the town of Abydos, west along the coast from Holkos, a small, round hill overlooks the shore, offering a view of the entire Hellespont. Close inspection reveals the hill to be artificial, manufactured by human hands and weathered by time and winds. Originally built by Xerxes' sorcerer, Artabanos, during the Persian Wars, the hill once held a marble throne and offered enhanced magical vision to the viewer. To complete the task in a single day, Artabanos forced a druj to build the hill, after which he magically bound the demon beneath it, using her Infernal power to enhance the king's view. Her malevolence slipped through, however, and filled Xerxes with doubt and sadness.

The marble throne is gone, but the hill remains, as does the bound druj. Anyone standing on the hill can view the entire Hellespont and surrounding shores as if his vision was magically enhanced (much like the General Minor Virtue Keen Vision). However, the viewer is susceptible to the druj's power of Obsession (Realms of Power: The Infernal, page 31). The druj has an Obsession Trait of Doubt and an Infernal Might of 30. The hill has an Infernal aura of 3.

Once terribly important to the Greeks and early Romans, Pergamos has slipped in stature over the centuries. The old acropolis, built as a series of terraces overlooking the Caicus River and the plains below, is a cluster of Greek and Roman ruins. Its relevance to 13th-century Greeks is purely religious; Pergamos was one of the seven churches mentioned St. John's Book of Revelations. The Church of St. John the Apostle, built over an older temple dedicated to the Egyptian gods Isis and Serapis, serves the Christian community still living at Pergamos.

The city is much more important to Her-

tides and time of day, and sailors pilot their

metic magi because of the number of temples still existing here, albeit in ruins most of which have not been completely explored. First and foremost is the Library of Pergamos, so renowned in its day that it rivaled Ptolemy's library at Alexandria (in Egypt). While Alexandria was still using papyrus, Pergamos switched to parchment, leading Hermetic scholars to believe that some codices might still exist buried in subterranean secret rooms. Most of the contents of the library where given to Cleopatra as a wedding present from Marc Antony, but Seekers of Thebes have found some remaining texts in their searches. Other temples on the upper Acropolis are a temple to Dionysus and a Sanctuary of Athena Polias Nikephorus, the Bringer of Victory. Both temples have a Faerie aura of 3, and the library has a Magic aura of 2.

Two miles south of the Acropolis is the Asklepieion, a sanctuary of Asclepius built over a sacred spring of healing. Originally an extension of the Greek shrines at Epidauros, the Asklepieion became more famous in the second century due to its famous student and teacher, Galen of Pergamos, the founder of most medical theories of the 13th century. The Asklepieion has a Magic aura of 3 and annually produces 12 pawns of Corpus vis, in the shape of small clay body parts.

The Great Altar

Lying in the north of the acropolis, on a higher terrace than the basilica dedicated to St. John, is a large open-air altar. Rectangular in shape, the altar is forty feet long, twenty feet deep, and up to forty feet high. Ionic columns run atop three sides, crowning four large friezes, and the fourth side is a long series of stairs rising to the altar's central podium. The four stone friezes depict the battle between the Greek gods and the giant titans, as well as genealogies of all the major gods.

The altar is shunned by Christians, and St. John refers to it as "the throne of Satan" in the Book of Revelations. Hermetic magi know that it has a Faerie aura of 4, and speculate that it was once a magic site as well. The frieze shows the Greek gods, who are faeries, besting the titans, who are magical creatures. A curious side effect of the altar is that it will supply the supernatural power to empower any ritual spell cast by a Hermetic magus. The magus casts the ritual while standing on the altar, and does not need to expend vis for the ritual to work.

This site that allows "free" ritual spells has a drawback. Botched spells are tainted, as if the caster used faerie-tainted vis, and even correctly cast spells can have weird side effects. The locals consider it an evil thing, and have chased off magi in the past, believing them to be demon worshipers. The altar is not used much, because of this and since vis is so readily available in the Tribunal. Lucian and his Children of Olympus league are drawn to the site, however, and consider it important to their overall plan to initiate pacts with the Greek gods.

Ilion, more commonly called Troy or "Ilium" by the Latins, was the great city of King Priam. It was razed by the Greeks at the climax of the Trojan War, around 1184 BC, according to the Greek historian Eratosthenes of Cyrene. Now, nothing stands on the sandy shores, and even the mighty Scamander River has run dry. Not a single stone remains; even the new city founded by the Roman Emperor Augustus has disappeared. The area holds no territorial significance for 13th-century Greeks, Byzantines, or Seljuk Turks. It does fuel political propaganda, though, with the many groups of Westerners claiming that they are descendants of the Trojans, and that the Latin occupation of Constantinople is Trojan vengeance against the Greeks.

Magi do find the site significant, although dangerous. So many stories surround Ilion that the site could be claimed the birthplace of storytelling. As a result, it is teeming with faeries, each eager to recreate a particular story. The entire beach and stony field has a Faerie aura of 2, and it is thick with hidden Faerie regiones, many of which overlap and interconnect in a confusing labyrinth. Magi of House Merinita claim that a faerie city exists in one of the regiones, accessible only by sea. The city is called "Ilion," and is perpetually preparing for the anticipated siege (City & Guild, page 58). Other regiones copy different scenes of the Trojan War, including the Greek ships and fortifications, the bloody field of combat, and the burning city of Troy. Powerful faeries mimic the central characters of the Trojan War, but none incorporate a character's tale completely, preferring to reenact a single scene from his or her life. Thus, there are several faeries calling themselves Akhilles, Paris, and Odysseus, just to name a few.

Without human involvement, the faeries dwell in lazy reenactments. A visiting human is like throwing chum to sharks; the powerful faeries want to snap the visitor up so he can participate in their tales, to the exclusion of the other faeries. Since they have some power over each other, things can get odd. Several faeries calling themselves Hektor will want the human to be involved with the tales of Hektor's death, his slaying of Patroklos, and his driving the Greeks back to their ships. The more powerful faeries can close off regiones, imprisoning characters to endlessly participate in the epic struggle of Troy. Locals know that those wandering the fields of Troy can disappear forever, and claim that the entire area is haunted by the ghosts of the fallen.

Every few Tribunals a magus suggests founding a covenant at Ilion and looks

The covenant of Wilusa at Ilion was quickly and efficiently built, its towers and buildings magically created in a Faerie regio with an aura of 4. This was not the regio that contained the spirit of Scamander, but a trick played on Droserius by a faerie calling himself Odysseus. The faerie has the power to close the regio's boundaries, and promptly did so. Odysseus continually subjects the covenant, now enchanted by him to look like Troy, to the final assault of the Trojan War. The magi respond, reflexively defending their covenant. Manipulating time, the faeries have continued the assault for over one hundred years, but the magi believe only a few months have passed. Odysseus is highly cognizant and

hopes to gather enough vitality to eventually change his tale.

Finding this specific regio is difficult. Other faeries lead investigators astray, trying to entwine them in their own stories. Investigating characters will have to be well versed in Faerie Lore to succeed, and diligent in exploring faerie regiones. The regio that Wilusa is trapped in is not the only faerie regio mimicking the fall of Troy, which means the characters could defeat the "Greeks" only to find out that this Troy is not Wilusa at all. Even if found and rescued, Droserius and his companions will not be eager to leave their covenant. Indicating that one hundred years have passed may change their minds.

for supporters. In 1109, the Tribunal acquiesced to Droserius of House Merinita and allowed him and four others to found the covenant Wilusa at Ilion. Droserius claimed that the spirit of the River Scamander existed in one of the regiones, and had vowed to act as the covenant's patron spirit. However, the covenant and its occupants had disappeared by the next Tribunal, and searches for any lingering evidence of them were in vain. Since then, magi at the Tribunal easily resist any suggestion of founding a second covenant.

Lydia is a mountainous region south of the Troad. Its Aegean coastline is a patchwork of cliffs and sandy beach coves, with several bays and natural harbors. The Hermus River — the second-largest river in eastern Asia Minor — runs through the center of Lydia, from the mountains of Anatolia to the coast where it empties into the Bay of Smyrna.

Lydia is an ancient region, ruled by various tribes and empires throughout its history. Since the fourth century it has remained a Byzantine province, even though it was overrun by Seljuk Turks during brief moments of the 12th century. Its most famous claim in legendary history is that it is the birthplace of the Amazons, the infamous tribe of warrior women. Lydia is also the site of many of Herakles' deeds.

Lydia is home to the cercopes — small, blue-green monkeys that live in the forests. According to legend, the cercopes were originally two mischievous brothers who Zeus turned into monkeys after they continually plagued Herakles. The transformed brothers multiplied to produce the species. Cercopes are rare and always found alone. Each is a magical creature, and it is a mystery to the Order how these creatures reproduce. Difficult to find, they are prized familiars for the magi of the Tribunal.

Once an important city of Anatolia, competing against Ephesus and Pergamos to be known as the "First City of Asia," Smyrna has declined since Constantine moved the capital of the Roman Empire to Constantinople. Since then it was seized by Turks, reclaimed by Byzantines, and then subjected to near-constant warfare between the two. Recent years have been better for Smyrna, owing to the strength of the Empire of Nicaea. This respite has done little to rebuild the city, even though it has quelled its fears of being conquered. More than half of the city is a broken maze of rubble, dilapidated buildings, and overgrown streets that lead nowhere.

Smyrna sits at the eastern end of the Bay of Smyrna, and is the royal port of the navy of the Empire of Nicaea, charged with protecting the Aegean Sea. Until August 1219, the navy's main targets were Venetian merchant vessels, but the recent commercial treaty between Venice and the Nicene Greeks has terminated aggressions. As the 13th century continues, the Nicene navy will concentrate on reclaiming the islands off the Aegean coast, namely Chios, Lesbos, and Rhodes. The harbor is busy, bustling with the activities of both military and commercial vessels, including the ships of the covenant of Alexandria. Smyrna has the largest Jewish population of any city in Anatolia.

Ten miles south of the city is the Palace of Nymphaeum. Built forty years ago by Andronicus I Comnenus, it is a favorite and the most-used imperial residence of Theodore Lascaris. To reach the Nymphaeum, travelers must walk through the old agora — the oldest and most ruinous section of Smyrna. Lone travelers report being accosted by an old man who calls himself Homer, who doggedly follows the traveler asking how his poems have fared and if the traveler wants to hear a recitation or two. The old man flees if threatened or if larger groups of people approach. Some magi think he is a faerie mimicking the role of Homer, who used to visit Smyrna and enjoy the idyllic banks of the nearby Meles River. A few Jerbiton magi speculate that the old man is the real Homer, transformed into a magic human by becoming a legendary artist (Art & Academe, page 129).

Ephesus' size belies its importance, for while it is not especially large or populated, it is a site famous for several religious events. It hosts one of seven churches mentioned in the Book of Revelations and has its own

Ephesus has not always been under Byzantine control. Like many southern cities, it was overrun and ruled by the Seljuk Turks for almost forty years, until it was reclaimed by the Byzantine Empire in 1100. It was renamed Hagios Theologos, but the city's population has dwindled to several hundred and its harbor has long since silted up, removing it from commercial and political activities. Despite earthquakes, conquerors, and denied access to the Aegean Sea, Ephesus continues to be an important city. Currently, the city is protected by a small garrison of troops. Without a wall, the city would be in trouble if the Turks attacked.

The homes of Mary and St. John have turned Ephesus into a pilgrim site. Popular with holy men as well, Ephesus has a long history of pillar-sitters and ascetics. St. John's Basilica — Ephesus' cathedral church — is built over the tomb of St. John and has a Divine aura of 5. The presence of so many pilgrims and monks gives the rest of the city a Divine aura of 3.

The Temple of Artemis

Considered one of the most monumental temples of the ancient world, the Temple of Artemis was the site of an early confrontation between Christianity and paganism. The temple was built on a sacred spring dedicated to Cybele, an ancient Earth Mother goddess. Destroyed by an arsonist, the temple remained a ruin. Even Alexander the Great's offer to rebuild the temple was refused. The Ephesians were stubbornly pagan, and continued to craft and sell votive images of Diana (the Romanized version of Artemis) even after the destruction of the temple. On one of his missions, St. Paul ordered the artisans to stop their pagan idolatry, an order they refused. To demonstrate God's power over the old gods, St. Paul prayed for divine intervention, and instantly the stone statue of Diana was shattered into rubble. The impressed Ephesians converted to Christianity.

Lying on the slope of a hill outside the city, the temple has a Faerie aura of 2. Most of its remaining stone has been taken and used for other building projects, but the

shell of the temple remains — including the broken head of the statue, covered in moss and resting in a corner. Stepping over this head on the eve of Diana's festival, August 13th, leads to a Faerie regio with an aura of 4, in which the temple still stands in all its former glory. A faerie calling herself Diana lives in the regio, surrounded by a herd of faerie deer who are her staff. She will ask visitors if they want to hunt with her. Those accepting can follow the faerie outside the temple into the regio's forest, where they can hunt for stags. She rewards successful women with small prizes. Men, however, she tempts by bathing in small pools, hoping that they will gaze on her nude body. If they do, she becomes violent and commands her stags to attack.

The Cave of the Seven Sleepers

According to legend, during the Christian persecutions of the Roman Emperor Decius, seven men fled Ephesus with a Roman patrol hot on their heels. They ran into a cave that the Romans sealed behind them. Trapped, the seven Christians laid down to sleep. An earthquake awoke them, breaking open the sealed entrance. When they departed the cave, they discovered that it was more than a hundred years later. Decius was gone and Christianity was the official religion of the Roman Empire. The men lived long lives and died of natural causes. They were buried in their cave, which has become a famous pilgrimage site for 13th-century Christians. The Qur'an also tells the legend of the seven sleepers, but curiously includes a dog in the story.

The cave has a Divine aura of 3 and is a few leagues outside Ephesus. Originally, the cave had a Magic aura and regio. While the Magic aura has been replaced by the Divine aura, the regio still exists — it is difficult to access, but present. It has a Magic aura of 6 and has dilated time (Covenants, page 7). The Redcaps of Alexandria speculate that vis could be harvested from the site, but the harvester would have to spend the night, and there is no telling how much time would pass outside the regio.

The southern-most province of the Empire of Nicaea, the Theme of Thrakesion runs from Lydia to the Maeander River and its fertile river basin. Formerly the Greek provinces of Ionia and Caria, it was once heavily settled with numerous towns and seaports along the Aegean coast. Centuries of war with the Seljuk Turks have centralized the population into walled cities, the most significant being Philadelphia. The Maeander River has been the effective southern border of the Empire of Nicaea since 1211, when Theodore Lascaris defeated Kaykhusraw I of the Sultanate of Rum at Antioch-onthe-Maeander.

Maeander River

The longest river in eastern Asia Minor, the Maeander winds its way from the interior of Anatolia to the Aegean coast. It is notoriously swift and deep, although it is not always that wide. It cannot accommodate large ships, and only small sailing and rowed vessels can use it as a route.

The Maeander has several tributaries, both large and small. Of particular note to magi, especially Redcaps, is one that leads into a small cave. Sailing up this tributary and through the cave, the river leads to the Alfeios River in Elis, a district on the western shores of Peloponnese, Greece. This subterranean river is magical, but its distinct properties lie outside current Hermetic theory, and Redcaps merely refer to it as a "natural Mercere Portal." Using the river, it only takes an hour to sail from the Maeander to the Alfeios, a journey of several days across the Aegean Sea. Unfortunately, the Maeander is too muddy and narrow for magi to use Alexandria's glass submarine.

Philadelphia

At the foot of Mt. Tmolus, on a high plateau overlooking the Meander River valley, Philadelphia occupies the marcher lands between the Empire of Nicaea and the Seljuk Turks of the Sultanate of Rum. A strongly fortified city, Philadelphia has long served as the buffer against the advances of the Turks. Its most glorious moment came in 1211, when Theodore Lascaris led his soldiers from the city to defeat Sultan Kaykhusraw and his army. Philadelphia is famous for its archers, and Nicene Greeks claim that there are no better in the known world.

In addition to its military accolades, Philadelphia contains one of the seven churches mentioned in the Book of Revelation. Greek theologians believe it was the headquarters of the nascent Christian Church. The city has a Divine aura of 4, much higher than usual for a city, and the aura increases to 6 in the city's main church. Like Nicomedia, Philadelphia has a history of earthquakes. The last and most devastating happened in 17 AD and nearly destroyed the city. Citizens started living outside the city's walls at that time, retreating to the city only when threatened by foreign invaders.

Vineyards are plentiful along the slopes of Mt. Tmolus, and one in particular has been bearing fruit for centuries. Wine pressed from the grapes is especially potent, and women are extremely susceptible to its intoxication. Hermetic investigation has revealed that the vineyard was once used as a festival site for the rites of Dionysus, where satyrs and

The battle of Antioch-on-the-Maeander is told in both French and Greek chronicles. Both state that the Turks had the upper hand, until Theodore Lascaris met Kaykhusraw on the battlefield. Astride a monstrously-sized horse, the sultan struck down Lascaris, but was slain before he could kill the emperor. French sources say that Lascaris did the killing, but Greek sources mention a mysterious French knight who appeared out of nowhere and slew Kaykhusraw. This event effectively saved the Empire of Nicaea and quelled the Turkish threat for many years.

A rumor in the Tribunal claims that

the knight was a magus in disguise. Magi are not supposed to interfere with mundane affairs, and if this rumor is true, it would be an egregious offense. Located at the distant border of the Tribunal, Philadelphia and the battleground are not easily accessible. A senior magus may ask the player characters to investigate. With the Tribunal of 1221 coming up, he would like to solve this mystery before the meeting. Perhaps he suspects someone and wants the player characters to gather proof. Or, he may himself be the culprit and wonder how easy it is for someone to uncover the truth of his involvement.

maenads — women excited into frenzy by wine — used to congregate. The vineyard sits in a Faerie aura of 3, and the grapes can be distilled to produce Mentem vis, at the rate of 1 pawn per hundred gallons of wine. Hermetic magi have not detected any satyrs, even though rumors abound about the race. Philadelphia's women know that if enough of them get drunk and start cavorting about, the satyrs will come.

Mt Sipylus

Near the headwaters of the Maeander River, Mt. Sipylus stands 5000 feet tall, visible from Smyrna and the Aegean coast. An extinct volcano, its peak is a crater lake. According to legends, Mt. Sipylus was the home of the Greek god Tantalus, a son of Zeus who lived in a regal city atop the mountain peak. His city was destroyed when he betrayed his father, but his treasury still exists, submerged below the murky floor of the crater's lake.

The legends vary concerning Tantalus' specific betrayal, but each carries a tantalizing hint at unknown lore. Diodorus wrote that Tantalus revealed secret information learned from Zeus, which excites Bonisagus magi investigating breaking the Hermetic limits of magic. Pindar said that Tantalus stole nectar and ambrosia, the Greek gods' food of immortality, and magi from Epidauros wonder if such items could improve Longevity Rituals. Verditius magi are interested in a third legend, which says that Tantalus refused to return a golden god automaton that protected the temple of Zeus at Crete. Regardless of their motivations, seekers have failed to uncover Tantalus' treasury or any of the magical artifacts so far.

East of Bithynia, the southern shore of the Black Sea is divided into two provinces, Paphlagonia to the west and Pontis in the east. Both provinces are mountainous, with only a thin coastal shore of arable, inhabited land. The coastal shelf houses a thick, deciduous forest and offers a temperate climate, mild in the winter and humid in the summer. The area is bordered on the south by the Pontic Mountains, and a few large rivers cut gorges and valleys on their way to the Black Sea, providing fertile valleys of fruit-bearing trees: hazelnuts, plums, cherries, and pears. The mountains are covered with dense forests, and their summits are snow-covered most of the year.

Soon after the conquest of Constantinople, the Komnenos brothers, Alexios and David, conquered both provinces. But in 1220 the Black Sea coast is controlled by three political factions. The Empire of Nicaea extends from Eastern Bithynia midway through Paphlagonia to the city of Amastris. Further east, where Paphlagonia meets Pontus, the Seljuk Turks' rule is centered at the city of Sinope. The furthest half of Pontus is controlled by the Empire of Trebizond. Despite being the border between the Nicene Greeks and the Seljuk Turks in the west, and the Seljuk Turks and the Empire of Trebizond in the east, the southern coast of the Black Sea is not an active war zone. The last major fighting occurred in 1214, when Theodore Lascaris took Amatris, the current eastern border of the Empire of Nicaea. Things have been calm since then. Merchants of all three kingdoms regularly meet to exchange goods, and the three major cities have accepted Genoese and Venetian trade agreements. Foreigners must pay a tax on their imported goods, but otherwise these cities are open to traders.

The area's three largest cities are Amastris, Sinope, and Trebizond. Amastris and Sinope appear very similar. Both are fortified ports with markets that lay outside the walls. Both are peopled with indigenous Greeks, whose families have lived in the city for generations. And both have a healthy mix of foreigners. Amastris has more people of Scandinavian descent because it was once the end point for mercenaries traveling from Russia, while Sinope has more people of Persian descent. In 1220, both cities pay tribute to their lieges and govern themselves as best they can. Because of its Muslim overlords, Sinope has a high degree of religious tolerance, allowing its citizens

to practice Christianity, Islam, or Judaism as

they wish.

The Empire of Trebizond was not created as a result of the Fall of Constantinople, but was contemporary with that event. Alexios and David Komnenos, grandchildren of the Emperor Andronicus Komnenos, seized Trebizond in 1204. Planning to establish a kingdom, David pushed east taking Paphlagonia and Heraclea, provoking the Sultanate of Rum to war. David then battled the Empire of Nicaea, which fiercely resisted. In 1212, the Empire of Nicaea retook most of David's conquests. Two years later the Sultanate of Rum drove north between Nicaea and Trebizond, killing David Komnenos, but it was unable to approach Trebizond through the mountainous countryside.

Trebizond in 1220 is still ruled by Alexios Komnenos, with the support of Georgian troops and Latin and Seljuk mercenaries. Isolated from their enemies in Nicaea, Trebizond is still threatened by the Sultanate of Rum. Taking the imperial title of "Emperor and Autocrat of the Romans," the 38-yearold Alexios also rules Cherson and Kerch on the far side of the Black Sea.

Trebizond

The city sits on a sloping area of ground, declining toward the Black Sea with the Pontic Mountains at its back. Two parallel precipices run on either side, making the city naturally defensible and picturesquely beautiful. Added to these geological fortifications are massive walls that surround the city, and two tall towers that protect the bridges that

Hidden in the bowels of the city of Sinope is a heretical Christian sect that has substitute the Babylonian god Serapis for God. Originating in Babylon, Serapis was brought to Anatolia by Alexander the Great. With his death, Ptolemy took the cult statue to Alexandria in Egypt, where he blended stories of Serapis with popular Egyptian gods, hoping to create a single deity. During the reign of Emperor Hadrian, Egyptian Christians started worshiping Serapis. The sect was thought destroyed in the fourth century, but the cult statue survived, and remnants of the sect smuggled it to Sinope where it has remained ever since.

In Mythic Europe, Serapis is a False God (Realms of Power: The Infernal, page 37). Serapis' cult numbers approximately 200 followers, including a dozen priests who lead the congregation. Few of these followers know Serapis' true nature, and the demon uses his Shroud the Stench of the Pit ability to mask the Infernal nature of any Supernatural Abilities he bestows upon his servants. His priests do not actively antagonize or argue with clerics of the Eastern Church, preferring to copy their dress and function to covertly proselytize new followers. The Greek ruler of Sinope, Etoumes, has recently taken one of these priests as his confessor, to the thrill of Serapis. While a vassal of the Seljuk sultan, Etoumes is not a Muslim. This can only lead to woe in the years to come.

In the mid-fifth century, King Peroz of Persia led a large army into Eastern Anatolia against the Ephthalites, a tribe of nomadic Huns. He wore a beautiful pearl earring, the largest and most magnificent pearl ever seen, and one reputed to have magical properties. According to legend, the pearl was discovered when a fisherman noticed a shark of great size and ferocity. The shark was following an oyster, which swam near the shore and occasionally displayed its pearl for the shark to marvel over. Thinking his king would reward him, the fisherman jumped into the ocean, grabbed and flung the oyster to the shore, and was promptly devoured by the shark. The pearl was given to the king, who noticed that the shark still wanted it and circled viciously in the ocean by the shore. Whenever the king went near the ocean,

the shark was sure to appear.

Peroz died in battle, falling into an enemy trench that his force had been tricked into. Ripping the pearl from his ear, he flung it aside so that it wouldn't be buried with him. Since that time, the pearl has occasionally resurfaced. If the bearer is near water, the shark soon appears, eager to retrieve the pearl.

Lately, fishermen from the Trebizond docks have noticed a large, extremely fierce shark prowling their shores. Attempts to kill the shark have failed, and several fishermen have lost their lives in the attempts. Remembering the legend, they are sure that the pearl must be somewhere in the city. They say that the shark is certainly a magical creature, and wonder at the potent magic that must be inherent in the pearl.

span the precipices. The castle sits behind the city, separate from it by a narrow valley and additional walls and fortifications. Emperor Alexios Komnenos and his family live in the castle. Trebizond's weak points are its harbor, which lies alongside a short promontory, and its marketplace, which is built outside the city's walls.

Alexios is on peaceful terms with his neighbor the governor of Sinope, who is loyal to the Seljuk Turns, and receives tribute from Cherson, a city on the northern coast of the Black Sea. Trebizond has always been a prosperous if provincial city, and Alexios has done much to increase the city's revenues. Resting at one end of the Silk Road trade, the city market sells exotic goods from the East. Western merchants snap up these goods, providing a lucrative business for the native traders. Since everyone has to pay some amount of tax, whether buying or selling, Trebizond is a

very rich city.

Like his grandfather, Alexios is a patron of art and literature. Leaving theoretical dogma and institutional learning to Nicaea, Trebizond concentrates on esoteric literature. Alexios has bequeathed titles and stipends to a host of astronomers, alchemists, and experimental philosophers. Since the city has always looked East for trade, it is much more sympathetic to Persian and Arabic learning than are other Greek cities. Among the numerous tomes and scrolls in the many libraries is an uncorrupted copy of Ptolemy's The Geography, re-translated from Arabic into Greek. Because Trebizond scholars are so isolated, the magi of Anatolia have no idea that this text exists. Those interested in celestial magic or the secrets of Ptolemy's magical coordinates would give their eyeteeth for the text (see Ancient Magic, pages 89-91).

Several Magic auras have formed in the city, due to its natural beauty. Most of them are centered on the various gardens and arboretums throughout the city. Magic has seeped into the various plants, and Trebizond has a wide variety of magical herbs, fruits, and hardwood. One grove of trees grows so strong that its bark is as sturdy as iron, and pieces must be soaked in water for a year before they are supple enough for craftwork. Aristotle noted some of these plants in his works, including a vine that drips honey that can cure insane people and epileptics. Several plants, if properly harvested, would produce annual vis.

Recently Trebizond has been harried by bardi, a type of shapeshifting spirit that takes the form of a female jackal. Solitary in demeanor, a bardi is known to wail just before a death, presaging the event to listeners. The clergy claims the bardi are demons, but the townspeople think them faeries. Magi have yet to capture one of these creatures and investigate it thoroughly. A bardi is unnervingly accurate, however, and everyone who has seen its jackal form and heard its wail has lost someone dear in the near future.

Alexandria is a Mercere covenant, the bureaucratic center of the Theban Tribunal. Founded after the demise of the first Mercere covenant, Miphoria, it houses most of the Redcaps of the Tri-

bunal. This autumn covenant also serves as a retirement house for Redcaps too old or too Warped by Twilight to effectively fulfill their duties. Despite certain difficulties created by the current machinations of the mundanes, Alexandria continues to be the hub of the information network of Thebes.

Alexandria is the second all-Mercere covenant in the Tribunal's history, formed after the decline and fall of the first, Miphoria, in the early 11th century. Located on the coastal outskirts of Smyrna, Miphoria had relied on fantastical and overt magical means of transport, including riding a species of giant magical sea turtles. The Tribunal decided that its members were drawing undue mundane attention to the Order, and asked them to keep a lower profile. Deprived of the sea turtles, Miphoria floundered, and by 1063 most of her Redcaps had taken up residence in other covenants.

A central location had greatly facili-

tated the bureaucratic responsibilities of Theban Redcaps, and a second attempt was deemed sensible. At the time, Methodius was the most popular Redcap in the Tribunal. Claiming to be a descendant of Alexander the Great, he had gained notoriety by discovering Alexander's flying device in the lands of the Seljuk Turks. Returning to Smyrna, Methodius selected an old fortress on the south side of the city for the site of the new covenant, atop Mt. Pagus. Not only did the fortress contain a Magic aura, several regiones sat inside the dilapidated walls. Though it was haunted by the ghostly remnants of Alexander's army, Methodius bound an eidolon spirit that lingered with the ghosts to act as Alexandria's patron spirit. The damaged walls were left as they were, so as not to attract military attention. Wooden houses were built in the aura, and stone houses were built in the regio. The building program was finished in 1075, and Methodius named the covenant "Alexandria" as a nod to the many cities built by his famous forefather.

Alexandria prospered due to the efficient centralization of Mercere duties and the many trade agreements the covenant made with nations along the Aegean Sea. As its coffers swelled, Seekers funded by Alexandria discovered the glass submarine, another of Alexander the Great's artifacts. The two artifacts drew Philagrius — an inventive Verditius magus — to the covenant. He discovered that the submarine and flying device are both mechanica, crafted by the descendants of the legendary Heron (Ancient Magic, Chapter Six).

But all was not rosy within the covenant. The powerful Longevity Rituals the covenant members imbibed led to magical Warping. Though many lived to an advanced age, some accumulated many magical Flaws. As a member's Warping grew worse, he would avoid mundane society and counterproductively spend more time in the regio. Alexandria's reputation changed from that of an awe-inspiring covenant of merchant adventures and savvy political contributors, to a retirement home for bizarre Redcaps.

Alexandria continues to satisfy its purpose in the 13th century despite all this, although the covenant has experienced several negative consequences from the fall of Constantinople. At the Tribunal of 1207, Petronas, who had served as logothete for almost a hundred years, abdicated his post. His replacement, Leontius, is unsatisfactory. Seven years later, at the Tribunal of 1214, he narrowly escaped being ostracized. Also, the Emperor of Nicaea recently has stationed a small garrison of imperial soldiers in the castle, expelling the covenfolk and making entry into the regiones difficult. The garrison is there to protect Smyrna from invading Turks, and does not know that a regio resides inside the walls.

The ruined citadel housing Alexandria sits atop Mt. Pagus, a small mountain to the south of Smyrna overlooking the city and the bay. Its stone walls and towers have deteriorated with time, leaving only a shell of a fortress. Alexandria has not rebuilt the wall, only cleaned up the interior and built several wooden houses to hold its staff. Lascaris' soldiers currently reside in these houses. The dilapidated citadel has a Magic aura of 1.

Two regiones lie inside the aura. The first, which has a Magic aura of 3, houses the majority of the covenant's ghosts. Simple cloth tents form a grid, similar to the military bivouacs of Alexander the Great's troops. The second regio sits in the center of the tent complex and has a Magic aura of 5. The main buildings of the covenant sit here — beautiful stone buildings that are home to the retired Redcaps and serve as the storehouse for the records of the Thebes Tribunal. Alexandria has two fully functional Hermetic laboratories, only one of which is currently in use.

Alexandria maintains several buildings in Smyrna, mostly warehouses used for commercial interests. The covenant owns three ships resting in the harbor, including one chained to the glass submarine.

Stated Purpose

Alexandria exists to provide a central location for the bureaucratic operations of the Tribunal and a safe and convenient location for the Tribunal's Redcaps.

Patron Spirit: Fides

Fides is an eidolon, a spirit of emotions. She is the spirit of loyalty, created by the steadfast allegiance that Alexander's troops expressed to their leader. With Alexander's death and the collapse of his empire, Fides resided with the troops, finding those stationed at Alexandria in Smyrna to be particularly devoted to their fallen leader. Many of those most devoted became ghosts, their spirits anchored by their slavish devotion to Alexander's notion of empire. Fides thrives in this environment, and lives among the ghostly tents of the first level of the regio.

Methodius' binding of Fides included the promise that the new occupants would continue to pay tribute both to Alexander and his empire. Methodius was able to connect these requirements with the Theban Tribunal, so that rather than conquer the world, Fides is satisfied with the "Hermetic Empire of Thebes." She demands that the members of Alexandria stay loyal to this empire, the Order, and promises to stay there for as long as they do.

Many of Alexandria's members are quite old. They still participate in Tribunal politics, but are not as enthusiastic as they were in their youth. While enjoying their riches, they are somewhat imprisoned inside their covenant. Food and supplies have to be sneaked in, and any member wishing to leave has to sneak out. The Redcaps have the vis to buy powerful Longevity Rituals, and often take them in their mid-thirties. Five of the 15 unGifted members are over 130 years old, and considerably twisted from accumulated the Warping of their Longevity Rituals. But they have little desire for life outside the covenant's walls, anyway. They spend their days retelling stories of their youths, recounting past exploits, taunting the ghosts, and generally annoying each other.

Five of the members are considered middle aged by their sodales, ranging from sixty to a hundred years old with Warping scores from 3 to 5. These are the most active members who actually live at the covenant. They participate in the political system of the Tribunal, serving in the more prestigious posts. They also run Alexandria, see to the needs of their elders, oversee the covenant's merchant efforts, and maintain Tribunal records. The five youngest members don't actually live at the covenant, preferring houses in Smyrna or other towns altogether. They perform their duties as messengers and heralds, and try to gather the political clout that will enable them to receive more important duties.

Alexandria has 15 Redcap members, none of them Gifted, and one Bonisagus maga named Catella.

Leontius of House Mercere

Age: 132 (Apparent Age: 82) Personality Traits: Worried +3

Leontius is a tall, thin man with a receding hairline and long gray mustache. He has recently Warped enough to gain his first Major Flaw. Though unGifted, a prior Supernatural Virtue allows him to enjoy the same potency a Longevity Ritual would grant a magus. To his shame, he developed "The Curse of Lycaon," the colloquial term for lycanthropy. His transformation is not linked to the lunar cycle, but is dependent upon his mood. When he becomes excessively anxious he changes into a wolf.

Leontius is the current logothete of the Tribunal, a position he rues accepting. Despite his best efforts he has failed. Records have been lost, lists have gone missing, and the all-important book registering tokens and shards has been found to be faulty. He knows the Tribunal is displeased and plans to resign at the next gathering.

Proximios of House Mercere

Age: 91 (Apparent Age: 42)

Personality Traits: Intense +3, Eloquent +2, Humble +2

Proximios is broad-shouldered, handsome man with dark, neatly combed hair. He is a blood descendant of Andreas, a mythic hero who performed admirably in Justinian's Persian Wars in the sixth century. While not a professional warrior, Andreas nevertheless defeated two Persian champions in hand-tohand combat, using his skills as a professional gymnast to beat the more heavily armed opponents. Proximios' mythic ancestry has given him astonishing abilities, including the performance of near-legendary feats of acrobatics. At the beginning of his career, he used his gymnastic skills to impress magi who received his delivered messages. Lucian, head of the covenant of Aegaea, especially enjoyed these performances.

Proximios has a very good reputation as an efficient and quick-thinking politician, even though he has never been placed in a position of authority. Always an assistant, he has nevertheless made a name for himself. Because he is so involved with Tribunal affairs, for the last twenty years he has been excused from regular Redcap business, and has not acted as a messenger.

It was Proximios' idea to change the length of the term of logothete for the Tribunal, from serving for seven years, like the other political positions, to an undetermined length of time. His argument was that a longer logothete term would lead to consistency, and would remove the need for a new logothete to review past records and familiarize himself with the post. Many magi agreed with Proximios. Besides seeing the new term as efficient, it placated those who repeatedly suggest that the overseers of the Tribunal change too often.

Many Redcaps believe Proximios should be the next logothete, and plan to propose the measure at the Tribunal of 1221. Proximios is staying quiet about it, neither admitting nor denying his desire for the post. Most think it is his humility that keeps Proximios silent.

(See also Chapter 3: The Order of Hermes, The Order of the Vigilant; and Storyguides see Chapter 12: Infernal Landscape, An Enemy Within.)

Catella of House Bonisagus

Age: 41 (Apparent Age: 39) Personality Traits: Patient +3, Cheerful +1, Determined +1

Catella is the only Gifted member of Alexandria. She joined the covenant directly out of apprenticeship, two years before Constantinople fell, when the reputation of Alexandria was still good. Drawn by the artifacts of Alexander, she has been investigating them, but in twenty years she has made little headway. Because of this interest, Catella has been given the responsibility of loaning them out, which both excites and frustrates her. She likes being in charge of the artifacts, but dislikes that they are not always available for her investigations. In the spirit of cooperation, Alexandria has made borrowing the artifacts easy, and Catella complies with this decision even if it interrupts her personal plans.

A dozen mundane covenfolk live in Alexandria, residing in the inner regio and serving the needs of the Redcaps and the maga

Besides the two artifacts of Alexander, Alexandria has a handful of magical items aimed at making a Redcap's traveling life easier. Cloaks that shed water, items that measure vis, and flasks that keep wine from spoiling are common. Once given to a Redcap, these items become the property of the holder. The Alexandrian artifacts, described below, are public property of the covenant and may be used by any member. They may also be loaned out to any magus in the Tribunal who has a positive tally of tokens over shards. The borrower must provide a deposit — either a lump sum of vis or magical items valuable to the borrower — and must return the item in a specified amount of time. The longer the item will be borrowed, the larger the deposit. In addition, the borrower must pay 1 pawn of vis for each week that they he retains the item.

The Flying Device

The flying device is a large, chariotshaped transport with two wheels, waist-high railings, and a long hitch. Like the glass submarine, the flying device is also a mechanica invented by an ancient mechanician. It is not a simulacrum, however, and only has a single instilled power. When activated, the flying device can float into the air as effortlessly as a puff of smoke. Other than this vertical ascent, its direction cannot be controlled, making it submissive to breezes and winds. The hitch must be yoked to a team of flying beasts, which then pulls the device and theoretically can be controlled by reins, much as a team of horses.

The tale that Alexander hitched gryphons to the device cannot be substantiated, but rather points to the megalomania inherent in many of his legends. The Red-

caps of Alexandria have found that almost any team of flying beasts can pull the device, provided that their combined Size is +8. The hitch is long enough to hold four beasts, and the chariot large enough to hold six Size 0 passengers. In the past, Alexandria used flying horses to pull the device, each horse having a magic horseshoe nailed to its hoof that allowed it to fly. Unfortunately, the horses escaped two years ago, while wearing the magic horseshoes. The device has sat idle since. The flying device is a level 39 effect (ReTe base 3, +2 metal, +4 Size adjustment, +2 Sun, +1 level for two uses per day, +3 for environmental trigger sunrise/sunset).

The Glass Submarine

Legends are deliberately vague as to the exact nature of Alexander's underwater device. It is most often called a "bathysphere" and envisioned as a glass bubble suspended from a ship with chains. In actuality, the glass submarine is an awakened simulacrum, or "anima," a sentient mechanica made of iron and shaped like a giant dolphin. The submarine is the size of an elephant and able to hold five Size 0 passengers within its hollow guts. It is indeed tethered to a ship with chains of iron, to prevent it from swimming off. Like a horse, it can transport people, but is a living, thinking thing rather than a simple enchanted device that responds to commands.

The glass submarine is chained to a ship owned by Alexandria and docked at Smyrna. The ship is continually under guard, and to avoid suspicion, used just as often as the covenant's other merchant vessels. Even when manned, the submarine often remains chained to the ship, which follows the submarine on its voyages. The chain is six hundred feet long and allows the submarine a great deal of mobility. When manned, the chain can be released and the submarine can roam unfettered.

Moero's Garden is a covenant of Jerbiton magi living in Nicaea, the new capital of the displaced Byzantine Empire. Aristocratic and effete, its members were expelled from their original site in Con-

stantinople and eagerly seek to return. Until then, they make do as best they can, pursuing their artistic interests and dignified lifestyles.

Moero's Garden was founded in 1163 during the glory years of Emperor Manuel Komnenos. Ionnia of House Jerbiton, a minor Byzantine noble and lover of women poets,

Because the glass submarine is an awakened simulacrum, it has Characteristics and Abilities similar to a regular dolphin. It has powers because they were instilled in it, not because of its essential magical nature like magic creatures. Consequently, it does not need to spend Might points to activate its powers.

Magic Might: 12 (Terram)

Characteristics: Int –3, Per –2, Pre –5, Com –6, Str +7, Sta +1, Dex +3, Qik –3

Size: +4

Virtues and Flaws: Lightning Reflexes; Poor Eyesight

Personality Traits: Playful +3, Loyal +1 Combat:

Dodge: Init 0, Attack n/a, Defense +0, Damage n/a

Soak: +8

Wound Penalties: None, see below.

Abilities: Awareness 2 (food), Brawl 2 (dodging), Survival 3 (Aegean Sea), Swim 5 (Bay of Smyrna)

Powers:

Supple as a Fish, 0 points, Init +0, Terram. This instilled power allows the anima to swim as naturally as a fish. ReTe 34: base 3, +2 metal, +3 Size, +2 Sun, +1 level for two uses per day, +3 levels for environmental trigger sunrise/sunset, +1 complexity.

Transparent Skin, 0 points, Init +0, Terram. This effect changes the opacity of the anima's skin so that it is nearly transparent, making it difficult to spot and allowing interior riders to clearly see through it. MuTe 24: base 1, +2 metal, +3 Size adjustment, +2 Sun, +1 level for two uses per day, +3 levels for environmental trigger sunrise/sunset.

Habitable Bowels, 0 points, Init +0, Auram. This effect produces a slight breeze within the anima's interior, providing air for the riders and making the experience slightly more comfortable. CrAu 19: base 1, +1 Touch, +3 Structure, +2 Sun, +1 level for two uses per day, +3 levels for environmental trigger sunrise/sunset.

Appearance: The anima looks like a huge dolphin made out of iron.

The anima is an ancient construction, built before Alexander discovered it. The builder used 9 of the12 available slots for vis, meaning that it could receive more enchantments from a trained mechanician. If investigated, it will provide three Insights for hermetic integration for each investigator.

The anima can be boarded through a large, water-tight hatch on its back, approximately in the location of its blowhole. There is room for five Size 0 people inside, although filling it with five will make it quite crowded. Larger characters will fit, but will have a difficult time climbing through the hatch.

Because the anima is made out of iron, it does not have Wound Penalties like living creatures, but Damage Levels like commercial products (see City & Guild, page 77). Whenever an attack does damage greater than the anima's Soak, it must make a stress check to avoid losing a Damage Level. Roll the anima's Stamina (+1) plus a stress die against an Ease Factor equal to the excess damage. If the roll fails, the anima loses a Damage Level; if the roll botches, it loses additional Damage Levels equal to the number of botches. The anima has 15 Damage Levels total. It suffers no penalties as it accrues damage (loses Damage Levels), but when the last one is lost it bursts asunder and is destroyed.

Repairing the submarine is difficult, and can only be done by someone with a score in either Mechanica or Automata. If a character has one of these Abilities, she can repair a number of Damage Levels equal to her score in a season. Catella does not yet have a score in Mechanica, but a handful of Verditius magi throughout the Tribunal are skilled in Automata.

carefully searched the older sections of the city for the home of Moero, a prolific poet living around 300 BC. Discovering that the site rested in one of the city's several lacunas, she summoned Moero's ghost and asked her to serve as the patron spirit for a new covenant. With this accomplished, Ionnia asked some of her sodales, all Jerbiton magi with aristocratic family ties, to join her. She dedicated her covenant to finding literature and art of the early Byzantine period, which House Jerbiton considers a very laudable venture. A condition of membership was that the magi could not work for a living, copying the conditions of Roman senators and Byzantine nobles, and that their income had to be derived from land toiled by others' hands. The covenant prospered, leaving its members time to indulge their literary and artistic proclivities.

During its time in Constantinople, Moero's Garden did not participate in the mundane affairs of the emperor. While they attended social functions, they rigidly resisted close connections to the imperial family and mundane politicians. Rather, they focused on beautifying their covenant, taking expensive holidays abroad, and visiting the sites in the Theban Tribunal that house ancient architecture and paintings. The magi were overly trusting of both the Hermetic political system and the emperor's rule, assured that no harm would come to them as long as they remained politically uninvolved with the emperor.

Things changed when the crusaders stormed the walls and seized the city. The beauty of the city was horribly scared, and while Moero's Garden escaped the initial destruction, its members were not confident that it would remain untouched. The crusaders' reputation for looting made them fear for their library and collected artifacts, and when the chance to leave the city came, they followed the majority of the affluent Greeks and fled. They carried what possessions they could, but the vast majority was left behind. They fled to a chapter house they had established in Nicaea, the ancestral home of Hipparchus of Nicaea, a famous Greek astronomer who lived around 190 BC. This former summer home has become the entirety of their covenant.

The home of Hipparchus sits in a corner of Nicaea in a section devoted to merchants and their families. It is a large building three stories high, with both an outer and inner courtyard. Palatial by merchants' standards, the members find it squalid, cramped, and undignified, despite their best efforts to rehabilitate the place's aesthetics. The top floor of the building is divided into laboratories, the second floor is the magi's living quarters, and the covenfolk live on the ground floor. Their library and artifacts of art are stored in the basement, a condition which continues to horrify them.

To make matters worse, the new site rests in a Divine aura of 2. While not an insurmountable obstacle to the magi, their apprentices find it difficult to cast spells and complete their final years of apprenticeship at the covenant.

Stated Purpose

Moero's Garden's original purpose was to assemble the splendid artifacts and literature of the past to highlight the harmony and peaceful cerebral delight of beauty, which would temper hot emotions and promote a sense of well-being and serenity throughout the Order. With the fall of Constantinople and the scattering of the treasures she once held, Moero's Garden also seeks to reclaim items that were lost.

Patron Spirit: Hipparchus

Moero's Garden's patron spirit is the ghost of Hipparchus, summoned and reluctantly bound by Ionnia. While Moero's ghost is still bound in Constantinople, the Tribunal stipulates that a covenant's patron spirit reside within the covenant, forcing Ionnia to bind this second ghost. In terms of Might, Hipparchus' ghost is not powerful, nor is it happy to have been disturbed from its centuries-long slumber. Consequently, the ghost torments those he can, primarily the covenfolk because the magi are too powerful for it to affect. It spends its day pulling hair, tipping over bowls of wine, and blowing out lamps.

When things get really bad, Ionnia placates the ghost by spending time with it, gazing at the stars and discussing astronomy. Hipparchus' ghost enjoys such evenings, which effectively sooths it for a week or so.

The members are afflicted with the idea that, like aristocratic nobles, they should not have to work to earn their living. They do not wish to sully their hands or their magic with labor, and feel entitled to lives of ease. This becomes increasing difficult the longer they are removed from Constantinople. The covenant's finances are managed by Pastor, the autocrat, and they are dwindling. Money is not the only threatened resource. Displaced from Constantinople and the rich vis sites surrounding the city, Moero's Garden has only found one vis site to replace the many it lost. Most of its vis comes from the generosity of other magi around the Tribunal, whose gifts of vis are greatly appreciated.

To compensate for the covenant's failing fortunes, Pastor has become the financial backer for several craftsmen and artists in Nicaea, using the majority of the covenant's treasure as seed money. Over time, the craftsmen have become fairly wealthy and are an important source of income for Moero's Garden. Two of the artisans are able to create enchanted commodities; Nonna is a cosmetic manufacturer who can produce wondrous items (City & Guild, pages 70-73) and Ampelius is a maestro who paints breathtaking religious murals (Art & Academe, pages 133-135). The magi enjoy the craftsmen's income, but shudder when they realize that their wealth is linked to crafters. Ampelius enjoys a better reputation because he is an artist, but the magi would rather appreciate his work than acknowledge his financial contributions.

Four of the seven Jerbiton magi are members of the League of Constantine and think that the covenant should support the Emperor of Nicaea in his attempts to regain Constantinople. The two youngest members, Trasaric and Helladius, claim that the city fell because covenant members idled away their days instead of protecting their homeland. Ionnia and Syagricus disagree, saying that Constantinople has suffered calamities before and always righted itself, and this current occupation will pass with time. The covenant is undecided, with equal members agreeing and disagreeing with the pair.

Moero's Garden has eight magi: seven of House Jerbiton and one Tytalus maga with the

Gentle Gift. Three of the Jerbiton magi have apprentices who will soon be gauntleted.

Ionnia of House Jerbiton

Age: 107 (Apparent Age: 91)

Personality Traits: Poetic +3, Blunt +2, Frivolous +2

Ionnia is a tall woman, with thinning, white hair and dull blue eyes. She dresses in sumptuous robes and adorns herself with gold necklaces, jeweled rings, and gem-encrusted bracelets. In her early years, before founding Moero's Garden, Ionnia made a name for herself by collecting all the poetry of Kassia, a ninth-century nun and the most famous female poet of the Byzantine Empire. A master of Rego and Mentem magic, Ionnia's ability to summon and interrogate ghosts has been a great aid in her quest for ancient poetry. The collection is marvelous and collecting it earned Ionnia a famous reputation with House Jerbiton.

Because Longevity Rituals have never worked very well for her — she has the Hermetic Major Flaw Difficult Longevity Ritual — Ionnia is extremely frail and not long for this world. This doesn't seem to bother her, and while she mourns the loss of her original covenant site, she finds contentment in her idle pastimes, communications with her two living daughters, and early evening social engagements. While she has served the Tribunal in the past, she declares herself too old for politics anymore, although she plans to travel to Delos for the next Tribunal meeting to sacrifice vis to the covenant's patron spirit.

Syagricus of House Jerbiton

Age: 102 (Apparent Age: 43) Personality Traits: Outspoken +3, Opinionated +2, Kind +1

Syagricus is the oddest Jerbiton member of the covenant, both in temperament and physically. He is a genuine hermaphrodite and seems quite proud of it. He dresses to accentuate both his male and female gender, wearing a full beard and a dress that accentuates his bust. His sexual nature is inexplicable but medically proven, and Syagricus sees his true nature as beautiful and refuses to hide it. His sodales are very accepting of his nature, but would prefer he didn't mention it as much as he does.

Syagricus happily imbibes his Longevity Ritual, which is a daily mixture of specially prepared herbs and powders drunk at noon, and is hale and hearty. Interested in art, etiquette, and a pleasant life, much like his sodales, he is more determined to regain the covenant's objects of art lost when they fled Constantinople than in continuing a hedonistic lifestyle. Syagricus has joined Valnastium's league of New Iconophiles (Houses of Hermes: Soceitates, page 54), and travels to Constantinople at least once a year to search for the lost pieces of art.

Syagricus' apprentice, Pancratius, is due to be gauntleted in 1221, and hopes to receive the honor at the upcoming Tribunal. Pancratius will likely join Moero's Garden as a full member, and Trasaric and Helladius hope that he will side with them in assisting the emperor, tipping the vote in their favor.

Ziper of House Tytalus

Age: 129 (Apparent Age: 65) Personality Traits: Conniving +3, Obsequious +3, Busybody +2

The oldest magus at Moero's Garden, Ziper joined after its relocation to Nicaea. He usually dresses in white robes and a red overlying toga. He is stooped and wrinkled and completely bald. His appearance is deceiving, for while he looks venerable, he has the energy and acumen of a youth.

Ziper feels that the covenant needs new members, that its size is a detriment to its standing in the Tribunal. He has proposed that Nanno and Ampelius be accepted into the covenant as members of House Jerbiton. While not magi, they can effect minor enchantments within their creations. Proximios of House Mercere (see The Covenant of Alexandria, earlier) supports his position, citing how beneficial his House of unGifted people is to the Order, and theorizing that unGifted members in House Jerbiton would only contribute to its success. The other members, apart from Syagricus, are horrified at this proposal, not because Nanno and Ampelius are unGifted, but because they are craftsmen! Both artisans, Nanno more so than Ampelius, think the life of a magus must be wonderful, and threaten to travel to Delos and ask the Tribunal as a whole for membership.

Of the forty or so craftsmen and servants that work for Moero's Garden, the most important is the autocrat Pastor. Besides managing the day-to-day business and finances, he has been put in charge of managing the covenant's vis stores, which are ever-decreasing. His wife, Viviana, is the covenant's main scribe, responsible for preserving and organizing Moero's Garden's library. Besides the vast collection of poetry, the library contains several summae and tractatus on Rego and Mentem magic, written by Ionnia, as well as tractatus of her personal poetry.