This season we inducted into our conventus the young magus Fluvant de la Caverne. He is a follower of Criamon and a filius of my friend Dirias, follower of Criamon. Fluvant is skilled in Imaginem magic and he is an initiate in the mysteries of House Criamon. He is eager to join our conventus so he can begin his career as a magus in a secluded areas that is rich in vis. We are pleased to welcome Fluvant because of the long friendship between our conventus and his pater's and because he will be a valued sodalis among us.
Fluvant read the Chronicle shortly after his induction as a magus and he was quick to recognize the undiscovered magical potential of the ancient mine near our compound. He persuaded the other junior magi to join him in exploring the mine. Together, they confronted the band of dwarfs who inhabit the mine and were able to come to an agreement with them.
The dwarfs claim that a beast they call a "dragon" has made its lair deep in the mine. This dragon stands between the dwarfs and their means of egress to their homeland. The dwarfs have offered to vacate the mine if we magi dispose of the dragon. Furthermore, they have offered to reward our efforts by granting us a sum of treasure, or by performing a service that we request.
The junior magi of the conventus- there are now four of them- are making plans to confront the dragon and either slay it or force it to terms. They have requested the assistance and support of the Council. Since the close proximity of a dragon is a danger to the conventus as a whole, we readily agreed to offer vis and assistance to the task of ridding the mine of the beast. Eirian Willowwood offered to create a batch of healing potions in case of injuries resulting from the encounter with the dragon or future misadventure.
With so many new magi in the conventus, it has become clear to us all that our conventus has begun its Summer season. A second generation of magi has arrived to build upon the work of the founding members. To facilitate further growth of Spiritus Draconis and to ensure the young magi have the resources they need for their magical studies, I introduced an amendment to the pactum to more generously distribute the vis that the conventus collects from its lands. After debate and revision, we passed the amendment by unanimous vote.
Pursuant to Amendment I of our pactum, we, the magi of Spiritus Draconis, approved by vote the following expenditures for the Year of Pisces 1365:
Additionally, Augustin Colaire's longevity potion failed in this Season, requiring him to brew a new one with all possible haste. The Council graciously agreed to loan him the vis necessary for this personal emergency, granting a loan of five pawns for the term of one year. Colaire is to repay six pawns by the end of Spring, 1366.
Finally, the Council declared that last year's surplus vis amounted to 26 pawns, so each magus is entitled to a share of 3 pawns this year. In the Spring, the following withdrawals were made:
Additionally, Rydderch traded 3 pawns of Animal vis to the Treasury and received 3 pawns Terram in exchange.
On the tenth day of Aries, 1365, the magus Rydderch and his wife, Gwenever, a mundane, were blessed with their second vulgar child, a daughter.
Three of the young magi -- Rydderch, Rhiannon, Mildred, and Fluvant -- spent the whole previous Season in preparation for the confrontation with the "dragon." Armed with new spells and sharpened skills, they led a detatchment of our eight best fighting grogs deep into the mine. Mildred assisted Rydderch in his laboratory preparations, but due to her youth and inexperience, I advised her not to participate in the actual expedition.
Descending the mine's central shaft to the fourth level, some sixty or seventy paces under the hill, they followed a low, winding tunnel to a wide chamber. There they encountered the beast: a fire drake the size of an ox. It attacked them on sight, striving to keep our warriors from entering its chamber. The magi had well-prepared our grogs with spells, and they resisted both its fiery breath and dreadful fangs to slay the beast. It was Gryffyd the Smith who landed the decisive blow, so grievously wounding the drake with his mighty axe that it could not even flee as the other grogs surrounded and killed it.
Beyond the chamber the drake was defending lay a small, stone door that opened into a crawlway some ten paces long. That connected to a large, vaulted chamber that was the dragon's lair. A great pile of worked silver, paid by the dwarfs as tribute to the drake, was but the least of this chamber's treasures. For beyond the silver stood an ancient marble statue of the god Vulcan. In the pedestal of the statue was a secret compartment. This contained the chamber's truly priceless treasures:
Clearly, the dragon had made its lair in a forgotten shrine to Vulcan, no doubt abandoned since the Romans closed the mine. [Storyguide's note: the legend of the Roman mine is detailed in the Chronicle entry of 1341] The scrolls are certainly important historical artifacts that may offer us a rare glimpse into the ancient and mysterious Cult of Vulcan.
The belly scales of the drake contained two rooks of Ignem vis. Pursuant to Article IV of the covenant pactum, the victorius magi brought the corpse before the Council. The vis was collected and the Council voted to deposit half in the Treasury, and distribute the other half among the participating magi as a reward for their intrepidness. The head of the drake was undamaged in the battle and is now mounted on the wall of our Council chamber. The hide, claws, scales, and sundry remains of the drake were divided among the magi to stock their laboratories. We found that its flesh is foul and inedible, but its fat makes a tallow with excellent alchemical properties.
The dwarfs who inhabit the mine had offered to reward the covenant for slaying the drake. They asked us to name our own reward, and the Council took this topic under deliberation in a special session. It was decided to request of the dwarfs an enchanted artifact that might serve as a replacement for our Aegis of the Hearth, Since the dwarfs' capacity for enchantment exceeds even that of Hermetic magi, we hope that we can later study this artifact and perhaps extend our Order's knowledge of wards against magic. At the very least, the conventus will benefit greatly from a protective ward that requires no annual upkeep in vis. The dwarfs spent the rest of the Summer creating our ward.
During a visit to the Abbot of St. Asaph's, I made the acquaintance of a Welsh monk named Davydd ap Davydd. Davydd is a scholar who can read both Latin and Greek; moreover, he possesses a rare and wonderful codex in Arabic, which he obtained in the Holy Land. Davydd believes this tome to be one of the works of Aristotle, but alas, none of us can read the heathen scrawl in which it is written. It occurred to me that our covenant's magical amulets of translation might allow us to decipher the book. I offered Davydd the opportunity to study at our covenant and use the amulets, in echange for a translated copy of this rare and wonderful book.
At the seasonal Council meeting, I, Augustin Colaire, moved to create a new covenant office, that of Autocrat, in accordance with the provision of Article III of the covenant pactum. The power and duties of the Autocrat shall be to act as Treasurer of the covenant's mundane wealth; to oversee the procurement and distribution of all mundane provisions and supplies, including laboratory equipment; to hire and discharge paid servants; and to oversee the activities of the covenant's servants. The motion to create this office passed, relieving the Council of much tedium. The Council appointed as its first Autocrat Gwenever, wife of the magus Rydderch and longtime consors of this covenant.
In this Season, the Council expended vis as follows:
In this season, Eirian Willowood, esteemed colleague and founding member of this conventus, departed on a leave of absence for Arcadia. The Council agreed to retain her name on the roll for a period of up to ten years, or until her return. Eirian vacated her laboratory space and her belongings were placed in locked chests in the store room. Eirian took her sigilum with her on her journey.
The dwarfs of the mine delivered to us our reward for slaying the drake: a powerful enchanted statue that protects our covenant similarly to the Hermetic Aegis of the Hearth. We are eager to learn how the dwarfs invested so powerful an enchantment, equivalent to a Hermetic ritual. Verditius Clementis immediately began a detailed study of the statue in hope of unlocking the secret of its enchantment.
Also of great interest are the scrolls from the Roman shrine of Vulcan. One of these is a letter from the local priest of Vulcan, describing the great magical powers of the ancient Druids and their implacable enmity with the Roman settlers. The others appear to be ritual scrolls of the ancient Cult of Vulcan. The Cult of Vulcan is the forerunner of magical tradition of Verditius, just as the Cult of Mercury is the forerunner of the tradition of Bonisagus, Guernicus, and most of the other Founders. Clementis and Rydderch agree that the scrolls are of great historical value; they may even contain lost magical secrets. Rydderch spent the season deciphering the most promising-looking scroll, which he concluded is a highly-ritualized formula for constructing an enchanted shield that protects its wielder from magic.
The dwarfs appear to have honored their bargain and vacated the mine. We wasted no time in exploiting their absence and restoring the mine to operation. The place still seems to be infested with some kind of meddlesome goblins, who stealthily sabotage our works. Mining is still difficult and hazardous, but at least we are able to proceed. Our mundane treasury will shortly be restored to a comfortable balance.
The monk Davydd ap Davydd has enjoyed his stay at the covenant greatly. He works busily at translating his tome of Aristotle, and seems unconcerned to be surrounded by magi. Indeed, Davydd is an inquisitive and scholarly man whose company is most pleasant and refreshing in this rustic land. The Council decided to invite him to reside here indefinitely as scribe and mundane librarian, and to our delight, Davydd accepted.
Elusdan was grievously hurt early in the season. While out hunting, his party stumbled into the Forest of Shadows and Elusdan was elf-struck. Several of the younger magi - Rydderch, Mildred, and Fluvant - and some grogs set out in search of the faerie who had afflicted Elusdan, hoping to find some way to get it to undo the damage. They were guided by Gwenever and by Elusdan's son, Caradoc.
Their search led them to the faerie mound in the Forest of Shadows where, years ago, Rydderch and Catrin had bested Morydic of Blackthorn at certamen. The mound was guarded by a small, flying imp that flung elf-darts, and by two misshapen dwarfs who magically grew to giant-size. A battle ensued and our magi and grogs made a good account of themselves until the fighting was interrupted by the sudden appearance of Haterius of Blackthorn.
Haterius invited them inside the mound, where they came into the court of the faerie Prince of Holly. The Prince claimed his guardian had shot Elusdan because the mortal had trespassed near the mound; he agreed to lift the curse if the magi would do a favor for him first.
Deep in the Forest of Shadows was an unhallowed clearing where some monstrous evil had once happened. A tall, ragged-cloaked hag led the magi to this place by the light of a pale lantern. Silently, she pointed to the huge, rotted stump of a tree in the middle of that unhallowed clearing. Digging into the rotten wood and black earth in the hollow of the stump, the magi and grogs uncovered the bones of human being, along with a quantity of silver. They could sense the invisible presence of evil in that place- perhaps a demon in spirit form. They took the silver and used magic to burn the stump and bones until they were ashes. This seemed to satisfy the faerie guide, who led them back to the Prince's court.
The Prince of Holly upheld his part of the bargain and sent his imp to cure Elusdan. Furthermore, he forgave the long-past transgression of the grog Cedric, who had accidentally cut down a faerie tree, and declared the enmity of the fae toward Cedric finished.
The magi decided to divide the silver they found- many pounds' worth- evenly between the covenant and Elusdan's household, because Caradoc had helped in securing it. Elusdan, needless to say, was deeply grateful to the covenant and sent us several gifts to show his thanks. Among these was a fine horse that is a welcome addition to our stable.
Also in this season I, Augustin Colaire, repaid to the Council the loan of five pawns of Vim vis, plus one pawn interest.
Verditius Clementis found that the statue enchanted statue the dwarfs made for us is completely opaque to magical investigation. He regretfully abandoned efforts to analyze it.
Rydderch deciphered the remaining Roman scrolls. They form a fragmentary ritual text that seems to resemble the Hermetic rituals for enchanting artifacts. This lends credence to the belief that House Verditius is descended from the Cult of Vulcan, and affirms the great historical value of the scrolls. Furthermore, Rydderch reports that the scrolls do contain arcane lore unfamiliar to him, but which laboratory experiments confirm is legitimate. The scrolls are therefore a valuable magical text that may one day allow the Order to increase its understanding of enchantments.
In this season, the Council distributed vis as follows:
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