The Gaming Den

20 January 1219. Winter. Three Lakes covenant.

The hall is dark and sturdy, it's walls thick enough to hold back the deep winter snows that pile up outside. It's warm in here, thanks to cunning architecture and diligent repair work, but mostly thanks to the Creo Ignem spell with Room target which is enchanted into the unlit brazier in the middle of the hall. In the hall stand twelve wizards: nine with their apprentices beside them, and three behind a table at the high end of the room.

The middle of the three, a tall man who stoops like a vulture, looks impassively down the hall. He begins to speak with a voice like a tolling bell, intoning words with the solemn rhythm of religious ritual.

"Who stands forward this day to be recognised as a magus of the Order of Hermes?"

After some nudging from their parens, the apprentices say in a ragged chorus, "I do."

"Be you welcome here, then. Bonisagus taught us that we shall teach for fifteen years, and then we shall test the student's worth, each by their house." He pauses, and snaps his fingers, filling his cup with barley water with a minor act of spontaneous magic, then takes a long sip from it.

"Let the apprentices come forth, each by their house according to precedent. Does any here seek to join House Guernicus?"

After a nudge from her parens, a chubby, acne-ridden girl steps forward. "I do."

"Who sponsors you?"

Her parens clears his throat. "I do."

"Then tell me..." He pauses for a moment, eyes to the ceiling as he remembers the details. "In the case of Fjodr Eigilovich Ex Miscellanea against Sebastianos of Jerbiton in 1199, where Fjodr claimed that Sebastianos's membership of the Teutonic Knights and participation in the Baltic Crusade was interference with the mundanes, what was the lawful verdict of the Tribunal at Novgorod?"

She umms for a moment before answering, but it's evidently nerves rather than memory: she's clearly been coached for this. "The Tribunal held that as Sebastianos fought as a mundane knight, using no magics or enchanted items, there was no forfeit."

"It was so, and thus it is law. On behalf of House Guernicus and the covenant of Three Lakes, I find that your instruction has been sound."

The figure to his left, a woman with eyes as black as night and clad in long grey robes speaks next. "On behalf of House Tremere and the covenant of Leczyca, I find that your instruction has been sound."

The third one speaks next, a gruff man with a huge beard. "On behalf of House Ex Miscellanea and the covenant of the Great East, I find that your instruction has been sound."

"We are of one mind. On behalf of the Order of Hermes, we welcome you as our sister and our equal. Among us, which name do you wish to be known by?"

She's evidently thought long about this day and blurts out the answer. "Hesperata of Guernicus."

"Then be you welcome in the Order of Hermes, Hesperata of Guernicus." He pauses and spontaneously creates more barley water. Beside him, a scribe scribbles furiously, then carries a page of parchment to her. "Here, may this serve you as a voting sigil at Tribunal until you have leisure to fashion one more to your liking."

She retreats, bubbling with happiness. The quaesitor turns back to the remaining eight. "Does any other here seek to join House Guernicus?" A pause. "Does any here seek to join House Bonisagus?"

Your sponsor whispers in your ear, "Go on. This is a formality for the Tribunal; we did the real thing back in autumn, remember? They won't fail you, even if they do want to make you sweat."

A small, slender man with mousy hair and green eyes, wearing roughspun brown robes and fidgeting within his sleeves, steps forth.

"I do."

Who sponsors you?"

Your sponsor - you'll never quite be able to think of him as your parens, not after all of that - stands forward. "I do."

"Then demonstrate your understanding of Bonisagus's theory. What would the magnitude be of a Sight-ranged spell which gives a single normal person two points of Warping?"

[[17 on Magic Theory, 18 if my Inventing Spells Specialization applies; I'm assuming that passes]]

"Assuming you are referring to the twice-revised Warping scale as put forward by Theophilus of House Criamon, and furthermore Bonisagus' original understanding of magnitudes, such a spell would be of magnitude five."

He sighs at the obvious showing off. "Your understanding of Bonisagus's theory is good. On behalf of House Guernicus and the covenant of Three Lakes, I find that your instruction has been sound."

"On behalf of House Tremere and the covenant of Leczyca, I find that your instruction has been sound."

"On behalf of House Ex Miscellanea and the covenant of the Great East, I find that your instruction has been sound."

"We are of one mind. On behalf of the Order of Hermes, we welcome you as our brother and our equal. Among us, which name do you wish to be known by?"

"Um, Petrus."

The scribe scribbles again and the parchment is brought to Petrus. It bears his new name, asserts that he is neither German nor a Magyar, and certifies that his Gauntlet was witnessed by Quaesitors Athanasia ex Tremeri, Etrusco ex Guernici and Ahmed Caush Ongunar ex Miscellaneii. The parchment is also lightly warded against various forms of harm for Moon duration.

"Does any other seek to join House Bonisagus? No? Does any here seek to join House Flambeau?"

A muscular apprentice, the set of his shoulders well suited to wearing mail, steps forward confidently. "I do."

The ritual passes as before; he is challenged to cast Pilum of Fire to prove himself, and is then welcomed into the Order. He takes the name of Maximus of Flambeau, receives his sigil, and steps back.

"Does any here seek to join House Tytalus?" There is a pause while he wants for an answer; none comes so he resumes, naming one house at a time, waiting after each for a response."Does any here seek to join House Mercere? Does any here seek to join House Merinita?

"Does any here seek to join House Bjornaer?"

A tall, broad shouldered apprentice, with long unkempt brown hair, steps forward haltingly, intoning the words repeated so many times before.

"I do."

Leetkeis wrote:A tall, broad shouldered apprentice, with long unkempt brown hair, steps forward haltingly, intoning the words repeated so many times before.

"I do."

"Who sponsors you?"

Your parens responds solemnly: "I do."

"Then demonstrate your claim. Take the form of your heartbeast."

The apprentice takes a long sigh of relief, before shifting into a large brown bear. A shredded robe lies beneath his impressive paws.

Leetkeis wrote:The apprentice takes a long sigh of relief, before shifting into a large brown bear. A shredded robe lies beneath his impressive paws.

The Quaesitors look upon it as if it's the most natural site in the world, nodding in approval.

"On behalf of House Guernicus and the covenant of Three Lakes, I find that your instruction has been sound."

"On behalf of House Tremere and the covenant of Leczyca, I find that your instruction has been sound."

"On behalf of House Ex Miscellanea and the covenant of the Great East, I find that your instruction has been sound."

"We are of one mind. On behalf of the Order of Hermes, we welcome you as our brother and our equal. Among us, which name do you wish to be known by?"

"Thank you brethren. I wish to be known as Orsen."

"Be welcome among us, Orsen of Bjornaer." You receive your temporary voting sigil and step back.

"Does any other seek to join House Bjornaer?"

A thin ...magus? maga? steps forward, their hair a shock of orange-red, carefully combed back and gathered at the base of the skull in a thin iron ring so that it "only" splays out wildly past there. Their robes are supple leather, with scales of stiffer leather laid over their stomach and to create something like a scaled skirt around the back and sides of their hips. If it seems like they hesitated, it's only because their motions are more akin to the release of a crossbow arm, constrained and still until they jolt forward, to stand still and draw up again. "I do," they say confidently, with a slight smirk.

Prak_Anima wrote:A thin ...magus? maga? steps forward, their hair a shock of orange-red, carefully combed back and gathered at the base of the skull in a thin iron ring so that it "only" splays out wildly past there. Their robes are supple leather, with scales of stiffer leather laid over their stomach and to create something like a scaled skirt around the back and sides of their hips. If it seems like they hesitated, it's only because their motions are more akin to the release of a crossbow arm, constrained and still until they jolt forward, to stand still and draw up again. "I do," they say confidently, with a slight smirk.

"Who sponsors you?"

Your parens gives you an encouraging smile. "I do."

"Then demonstrate your claim. Take the form of your heartbeast."

Nidratr takes the form of a squirrel, and hops out of the crumpled robes. Standing on their back legs, they look to Orsen and his shredded robes and gives a slight smirk.

Prak_Anima wrote:Nidratr takes the form of a squirrel, and hops out of the crumpled robes. Standing on their back legs, they look to Orsen and his shredded robes and gives a slight smirk.

"On behalf of House Guernicus and the covenant of Three Lakes, I find that your instruction has been sound."

"On behalf of House Tremere and the covenant of Leczyca, I find that your instruction has been sound."

"On behalf of House Ex Miscellanea and the covenant of the Great East, I find that your instruction has been sound."

"We are of one mind. On behalf of the Order of Hermes, we welcome you as our brother and our equal. Among us, which name do you wish to be known by?"

"Thank you brothers and sister, among the Order, my name will be Nidratr."

Nidratr receives his temporary voting sigil.

The next House to be called is Jerbiton, and another apprentice steps forward: a little short thing, little more than a boy, with the beard of a twenty-year-old who's been trying to grow a beard. He is asked to create a thing of beauty, and responds by drawing on the floor, with simple Creo Imaginem magic, a geometric proof that the earth is round and an estimate of its radius. He is welcomed into the Order, takes the name Constantinos Julianos and receives his sigil.

House Criamon is called to no response, then House Verditius to no response. House Tremere gets one: a slender young woman. She is challenged to certamen with her parens for the right to join the House. After a brief flurry of shapes in the certamen circle in the rear of the hall, she is defeated soundly. Nonetheless, her understanding of the techniques of certamen is recognised, and she is welcomed into the House. She takes the name Agrippa.

Unlike the others, her voting sigil is handed to her parens. However, she is given something else instead: a set of blue-black robes, floor-length and deep-hooded. Her eyes absolutely light up when she receives them, and she retreats from the ceremony to put them on.

Finally: "Does any here seek to join House Ex Miscellanea?"

A short, thick-set maga with close-cropped black hair and simple grey robes steps from the group.

"I do."

"For Ex Miscellanea we respect that we can be no judges of your magics. However, we must judge you by whether you have been taught the ways of the Order. Therefore, answer me these three questions.

"Firstly, can you name the four Elemental Forms?

"Secondly, can you name all the regional tribunals?

"Thirdly, how often do the regional tribunals meet?"

"Auram, Aquam, Ignem, Terram," She pauses, then continues in a singsong

"Alpine, Hibernian, Iberian, Levantian, Loch Leglean, Normandy, Novgorod, Provencal, Rhine, Roman, Stonehenge, Theban, Transylvanian,"

And she drops back into her normal voice to say, "Once every seven years."

"On behalf of House Guernicus and the covenant of Three Lakes, I find that your instruction has been sound."

"On behalf of House Tremere and the covenant of Leczyca, I find that your instruction has been sound."

"On behalf of House Ex Miscellanea and the covenant of the Great East, I find that your instruction has been sound." Ahmed Caush looks at you suspiciously, evidently unsure of this foreign Ex Misx magus, but doesn't deviate from the script.

"We are of one mind. On behalf of the Order of Hermes, we welcome you as our brother and our equal. Among us, which name do you wish to be known by?"

"From now on, let me be Camille."

Camille receives her temporary voting sigil. Only one apprentice now remains.

"Does any other seek to join House Ex Miscellanea?"