Session 8
Summer 1222
Session 8, coming
Pre-Tribunal
Towards the end of the Spring season, Neanne calls a covenant meeting and proposes that the traditional day-before-Solstice mandatory meeting be held on June 14 so that the magi can head out to Tribunal with all the covenant business taken care of. The magi, plus all the Redcaps, form a large travel party to southern Wales for Blackthorn. The journey takes five days and the magi arrive on June 20th.
The traditional magi fair to trade books, services, magical items, apprentices and the like is in full swing. Veloxia seeks some primers in the Arts while Obscurus Ignis seeks books on Penetration and Finesse. Magni greets members of Conventus Muri for a reunion. Magi shake hands and do initial feeling-out for votes.
Veloxia is pulled aside and asked to meet in a spot a couple of miles from the Tribunal. She meets the Tribunal's Bjornaer who welcome her to the local "sept", the Bjornaer local family unit.
The Jerbiton party takes place with the somewhat surprising invitation to Obscurus Ignis whose Gentle Gift and noble lineage plays in his favour. He makes several contacts there. (Adria and Geoffrey are assumed to have attended as well.)
Magni finds the various Quaesitores and offers his services for helping enforce Hermetic Law. As he acts to bring the lawless to justice, he will begin earning a reputation as a Hoplite. As Aduro's filius, exactly nobody is surprised by this at Tribunal.
Neanne and Aulus run a poorly attended colloquium for theoretical-minded magi. It is mostly Bonisagus and Verditius magi who attend, two houses which are underrepresented in the Stonehenge Tribunal.
There are discussions about reviving the Flambeau competitions and a regional Verditius Contest for the next Tribunal.
Tribunal
Post-Tribunal
The Tribunal wraps up and the magi head home, taking five days to head back. With the first week of the season taken up with Tribunal, the magi settle into their seasonal activities to catch up on their work.
A couple of days after returning from Tribunal, Aulus calls a covenant meeting and introduces three Quaesitores who have travelled from the Magvillus, the home of House Guernicus and headquarters of the Quaesitores in the Roman Tribunal. Aulus explains that he has been asked to serve as the Proctor of Hermes at the Roman Curia. The Quaesitores explain that the Order maintains a representative at the Papal Court to intercept and deal with any magus who petitions the Pope. A proctor is the representative for a powerful nobleman or organization with the authority to represent that party's interests. The Pope is aware of the Order and allows a magus to speak for the Order.
Because of his Gentle Gift, command of Hermetic Law, and his demonstrated attempts to bring peace in the Stonehenge Tribunal, the Quaesitores have asked him to serve as the Order's proctor. The benefits would be that Aulus would be raised to the position of Quaesitor and serve for two years (the maximum amount of time one can serve as a proctor). The covenant would then have local Quaesitor which is a measure of prestige for Nova Semitae. Unfortunately, he would be busy for the next seven years -- three years to train in Hermetic Law and Canon Law, followed by two years as the proctor to the court of the Archbishop of Canterbury, then transferred to the Roman Curia. In exchange, Magvillus would send supplemental law books which would be donated to the covenant's library.
Aulus asks for a dispensation for his training and service at the various ecclesiastic courts to count as covenant service. The motion is put before the council and is passed unanimously.
Experience Points
Characters participating in Tribunal receive +5xp. All magi.