Covenants Chapter Six: Vis Sources
This page is part of the Covenants Open Content
Vis Sources
This chapter contains 45 vis sources, three for each Hermetic Art, ready for use in your saga, or to serve as inspiration for your own creations. None of the sources specify the amount of vis available, because that is dependent on how much vis you want in your saga (see ArM5, page 218). Just as sagas can be divided into low, moderate, and high vis sagas, so too can sources be divided between low, moderate, and high yield. The table in the insert gives some rough numbers; a source with a high yield should give about as much vis as an individual magus receives in a year. Remember that most sources yield only one type of vis, so most covenants want a wide range of sources.
The size of the source should be determined by the significance of the story involved in finding it, and how much you like the source in question. A high-yield source is more important in the saga than a low-yield one, so you should attach a high yield to the sources with the best attached stories. Obviously, this is also entirely dependent on the interests of your troupe, and thus not specified below.
Most of the example sources are designed so that getting initial access to the source requires a story of some type, but that collecting the vis thereafter does not. This is a good pattern, because if the same story repeats every year of game time it tends to become stale. That does not mean that a source cannot provoke further stories later in its existence, from time to time.
Creo
Apples of Hesperides
By Stuart Kenny
Years ago, a stranger visiting the covenant told a story about an apple tree that was a wedding present to Hera, queen of the gods, and of Hercules who labored to steal the apples from it. The stranger then offered a single apple seed in trade for one of the covenant’s most valuable books, claiming that the seed was descended from that very tree. Why he was believed none can say, but the deal was struck and the seed was planted.
Now the tree produces six golden apples each year, although, heeding the stranger’s advice, three of these are not harvested. If three apples are not allowed to rot where they fall to nourish the roots, then a stress die is rolled with as many botch dice as there are missing apples. For each botch, the tree forever produces one fewer apple per year.
The skins of the apples are pure gold and, once cut open, the flesh of a single apple will sustain a man for a week and is proof against many illnesses (+6 on rolls to resist illness). However, the apples are rarely eaten, as each contains Creo vis.
So far all attempts to get the tree to reproduce have failed, but the prospect of being able to create an orchard of visproducing trees has lured many a magus to try to unlock the secret.
The Crone’s Blood
By Richard Love
The Crone is an elderly woman who lives in a village near the covenant.
Despite her considerable age, she has not passed through menopause and her menstrual blood contains Creo vis. The Crone’s cycle is, however, slower than normal and she menstruates only once every two lunar cycles. This is a side effect of the particular Unaging Virtue that the Crone has.
The Crone is respected in her village; many of the villagers are, in fact, her descendants. She is often consulted by the villagers on matters of herbs, medicine, and minor magic. The Crone is not Gifted, but due to her age she has come to know something about magic. She is not quite sure what vis is, and hence does not know exactly why the magi want her blood, but she is aware that it is valuable to them. The Crone is also aware that her blood represents a powerful Arcane Connection to herself, which the magi could use to her detriment.
The Crone may be convinced to swap her blood for magical services that benefit the village, but she is not be willing to trade with hostile magi. In the event of the Crone’s death it may be discovered that one of her female descendants has the same affliction.
A Foul Gift from a Festering Meadow
By Gary N. Mengle and Sean Mitchell
In the woods there is a meadow from which comes the sweet, pungent smell of the decay of rotting flesh. In the summer, this sickly odor is enough to make almost anyone ill; even in winter there remains a bit of the awful stench. A Stamina roll against an Ease Factor of 6 to avoid retching should be made by anyone who remains in the meadow for more than a few moments. The number of carcasses here would seem to indicate that this place is some sort of animal graveyard, but the reason that so many beasts come here to die is left to the storyguide’s discretion.
Some of the maggots that arise spontaneously in the rotting carcasses (animal or human) have a golden coloration and contain Creo vis. Approximately half a dozen such maggots can be collected each summer no matter how many carcasses are placed in the meadow, but one must go through the grim, unpleasant work of rooting around inside the festering corpses to find the maggots with the particular virtue. The maggots only live for about a day before they die, unless they are kept with rotting flesh. In this case, they can survive much longer.
Vis Source Yields
Numbers indicate a given source’s yield in pawns per year. |
Intellego
The Lens of Wisdom
By Gary N. Mengle and Sean Mitchell
This crystal lens of astonishing workmanship, a hand-span in diameter and bound in a hoop of brass, has a most curious property. When the light of the sun at noon on the summer solstice is focused through the lens upon a blank parchment, indecipherable patterns burn themselves upon the page. It may be that these are the glyphs of some unknown writing, but thus far neither mundane scholarship nor magical investigation has revealed their nature or origin. One page can be prepared each year, and each contains Intellego vis. If the vis is removed from the page, the writing also fades.
The brass circle that holds the lens has the remains of a mounting bracket of some sort still attached. It may be that there was originally a stand or tripod on which the device rested, but if so, this has now been lost.
It is thought by some Hermetic scholars that the glyphs contain the key to lost secrets, and that if they could be deciphered a vast source of wisdom might be unlocked. If this proves correct, it could result in conflict among scholars vying for control of the lens. Even the most underhanded methods of obtaining the lens might be undertaken by those convinced of its great value.
The Waystones
By David Chart A group of ancient standing stones stand near the covenant. Each stone is taller than a grown man, and from each stone it is possible to see at least one other. When the stones are first encountered there are four of them, forming a path that can be followed from either end. If someone follows the path alone, going away from the covenant, starting at dawn on the Autumnal Equinox, he finds an additional stone at the end of the route, and his shoes contain Intellego vis. This process can be repeated each year, and, indeed, the covenant records might show that there were originally only two or three stones, allowing the magi to learn the method by which new stones can be found. It seems likely that the stones lead somewhere, but it is far from clear where.
The Tree of Truth
By Andrew Reimer
A tree has been found in a forest not too far from the covenant that bears a fruit not familiar in the local landscape. Villagers tend to avoid the tree because its fruit is quite bitter, but the steward of the local lord has stumbled upon another use for it. Before dispensing any judgments on local disputes, the steward eats a piece of the fruit, as he finds it helps him to clear his mind and see the truth of any situation. The steward has, in fact, been gaining a reputation beyond the local town for his wise judgments. If called upon to settle disputes in other areas, he prepares a supply of the fruit to take with him and has even gone as far as having his wife preserve a supply for the off-season. No others yet know of his secret.
Indeed, the fruit of this tree does have magical properties and Intellego vis can be extracted from it. Several questions remain, though. Could this tree be in some way related to the Biblical “tree of the knowledge of good and evil” as described in the creation story? If so, what possible effect might the use of the tree have on the mortal soul?
Muto
The Chrysalis of Rebirth
By Gary N. Mengle and Sean Mitchell
Some distance away from the covenant, there is a field of wildflowers of many vibrant colors. Each year, caterpillars nest in and feed upon these flowers. The butterflies that these caterpillars turn into burst free from their cocoons at dawn on a single day, the twentieth of July, and on that day the field is ablaze with a dazzling riot of color, the sort of natural beauty that would tempt the heart of a poet.
Awe-inspiring though this may be, the butterflies do not contain vis, nor do they have any particular virtue other than their odd habit of all hatching at the same time. However, some intact cocoons can be found each year from which no butterfly hatched. These each contain a pawn of Muto vis, and exhibit an odd, almost metallic luster. These must be harvested before the sun sets on the day of the hatching, for after that time their power dissipates if not collected, and finding the unspent cocoons in a field full of them is no small task; many hands may be required. It may be possible to instruct grogs or covenfolk to collect all the cocoons, burst or whole, for later sorting at the covenant’s convenience.
Covenant Workshop
By Nick Simmonds===
This covenant has a mundane workshop wherein talented grogs shape items that require an expert’s touch, yet are too common to bother the magi with. Ironically, performing such work in the presence of a magical aura has caused the magi to pay inordinate attention to these items. The sawdust, metal filings, and other detritus that builds up here can be collected and used as a source of Muto vis. A normal year’s work results in a certain amount of vis, although collecting more than half of that requires the magi to be in the workshop so much that the grogs begin asking for quick spells to assist them in tricky or time-consuming tasks. As spells don’t leave the same scrap behind as normal handiwork, this results in much less vis available overall for the next year. The magi may refuse to assist the grogs, but consistent refusal to spend a moment assisting in such vital covenant tasks when the magi don’t have to go out of their way may foster resentment among the grogs and result in the covenant’s loss of necessary skilled workers.
Subtle use of spontaneous Perdo magic around the covenant may increase the amount of maintenance work needed, and thus indirectly affect the amount of vis that collects in the workshop, but wise magi would be rightfully nervous about using magic to harm their own covenant; spending spare moments over the course of a year breaking things adds a stress die to the total vis available here, but a botch means that something disastrous has happened which harms the day-to-day workings of the covenant, makes the manipulation obvious to the staff, or both.
First Freeze of the Winter Spirits
By Andrew Reimer
With the approach of each winter, the spirits of Snow and Wind descend from their high places to bring about the change of seasons. Before moving further into the occupied lowlands, they first stop and frolic in the cold waters of certain mountain lakes, celebrating the coming of another winter during which they reign.
An isolated lake lies nestled in a col near the top of a mountain. This lake is in fact the favored spot for Snow and Wind to celebrate the coming change of seasons, and is the first of all the lakes to freeze over each year. Upon the eve of the first snowfall, a localized snow storm with high winds overtakes the col for several hours. During this time, the entire lake freezes over. Any water that is collected at the point of turning into ice is a source of Muto vis, as it embodies both the change of water to ice and autumn to winter.
Snow and Wind do not take offense at the presence of other parties at the lake, but might amuse themselves at their expense, so those who would collect this vis are advised to dress warmly!
Perdo
Circle of Destroying Angel Mushrooms
By John Post
Deep in the heart of a cold and sinister wood, an Unseelie faerie lord holds court on the last day of winter. The lord hosts a great melancholy feast marking the end of the Unseelie faeries’ period of ascendancy, and a mortal is brought to dance for the dark lord. The mortal is compelled to dance past the point of exhaustion to his eventual death. Although the dance occurs in a Faerie regio, it leaves footprints in the mundane world.
In late spring, destroying angel mushrooms appear where the doomed dancer’s footsteps landed. These tall, pure white mushrooms have slightly convex caps, which become flatter as they mature. The mushrooms are deadly poisonous; one bite easily kills a man, and they contain Perdo vis. Once harvested, the mushrooms do not reappear until the next year.
After the characters become accustomed to collecting the vis, they should discover its source. They might learn that peasants in nearby villages are afraid to venture out the evening before the Vernal Equinox. Many spend the night on holy ground, guarded by the Dominion. Successful Awareness + Folk Ken rolls against an Ease Factor of 12 allow characters to recognize the pattern of mushrooms as similar to the steps of a popular dance. A character with Second Sight may recognize the contours of the Faerie regio, or stumble into it accidentally and discover the dancer’s decaying corpse. Should the characters investigate at the wrong time, the Unseelie might abduct one of them for their ritual.
The Heirloom
By Sheila Thomas
One of the covenant’s washer-women has a piece of pumice stone that she uses to remove particularly stubborn stains. She does not like to lend it, as she has never had anything so effective. The stone contains a little Perdo vis. It is highly unlikely that the magi take any interest in their laundry or that they are in the habit of engaging a washer-woman in casual conversation, so it could take a long time — and perhaps exceptional circumstances — before any of them hear about this.
If questioned, the washer-woman says her mother gave it to her. Intellego Terram of high enough level will reveal that it came from close to the foot of a volcano. The location and nature of this volcano depend on where the covenant is situated. The volcano may have been extinct for so long that it does not appear to be such. If in Stonehenge, it is near Conwy on the North Wales coast; if Loch Leglean, on the Isle of Arran; in Normandy, one of the puys of the Auvergne; in the Roman Tribunal it is Vesuvius; or it could be Krafla in Iceland.
If the magi travel to the source of the pumice, it takes them a while to find the particular, fine-grained rock full of holes that contains Perdo vis. A few pawns may be taken from the seam periodically. If the source is far from the covenant, this may mean negotiating with someone to act as a local agent.
The Stone of Death
By Paul Tevis
The ancients knew much about how the heavens affect the earth. They were great astronomers, and they wrote much about how the stars and planets influence human events. Although the Christian Church has declared that astrology is anathema to the doctrine of free will, many magi heed the words of Hermes Trismegistus: “As above, so below.”
The Stone of Death is of an unknown age, but it is undoubtedly ancient. The stone measures two paces long and half a pace wide, and it protrudes no more than knee-high from the ground. Its major axis is aligned with setting sun on the winter solstice.
The ancient Egyptians divided the sun’s path through the stars not only into the familiar signs of the zodiac, but also into thirty-six decans, three in each zodiacal house. The third decan of Gemini is ruled by Saturn, the planet of death. When the sun rises in this decan, beginning the second week of June, the stone is shrouded in a light mist. If an animal is sacrificed each day for the ten days that the sun remains in the decan, at sunset on the final day Perdo vis forms from the blood. Each sacrifice must occur at the rising of Saturn. An Intelligence + Artes Liberales (Astronomy) roll against an Ease Factor of 12 determines the proper timing for the sacrifices.
Rego
The Honey of Kings
By Paul Tevis
Pliny the Elder writes in his Natural History that bees are the most remarkable creatures. Bees, who make both honey and wax, are the only animal created specifically to serve humanity. They live in communities, they elect their own government, and they possess their own set of morals. Of particular interest to Pliny is the king-bee, of whom he says, “The obedience which his subjects manifest in his presence is quite surprising. When he goes forth, the whole swarm attends him, throngs about him, surrounds him, protects him, and will not allow him to be seen. At other times, when the swarm is at work within, the king is seen to visit the works, and appears to be giving his encouragement, being himself the only one that is exempt from work: around him are certain other bees which act as bodyguards and lictors, the careful guardians of his authority.”
In some places, where certain flowers grow, bees make a special honey to feed to their king. When the proper flowers are in bloom, this honey takes on magical powers. If the king can be convinced to bring it forth from the hive and to make obeisance to a magus, the honey is transformed into Rego vis.
The King Enthroned Forever
By Gary N. Mengle and Sean Mitchell
A rock outcropping on the coast was carved long ago by unknown hands into the image of a seated man of regal bearing, facing ever outward to the open sea. His beard is long and there is wisdom in his deep-set eyes. The weathered image is five times the height of a man, and can be seen clearly by ships passing along the coast. Each winter, a jagged, gleaming ring of ice forms upon his brow. This winter crown contains Rego vis.
The locals say that the image is of a king of ancient days, who watches over his people still, and who will rise again when the time is right. They say that he watches the sea, waiting for a sign that he is needed once more, but they cannot agree on exactly what he is waiting for. The local parish priest believes the icy crown resembles a crown of thorns, and the image to be that of Christ, who will return at the end of the world to judge mankind and establish the kingdom of God on Earth.
Parliament of Ghosts
By Jeff Kyer
In the depths of the forest lies a small meadow surrounded by ancient cedar trees. Throughout the area are numerous small barrows and the occasional piece of ancient statuary. Few travel this way, and even hunters and shepherds avoid the area — it has a well-earned reputation for being haunted. The clearing and its surroundings have a Magic aura of 3. Long ago, this was a pagan graveyard. The dead here are not under the auspices of the Church and their spirits linger on, haunting the surrounding forest. Once a year, these “villagers” return in strength to hold their moot. just as they did in life. Mootnight changes from year to year, being the first full moon after the Spring Equinox. Mortals brave enough visit on that night are invited to sit in judgment over the conflicts between the restless dead. Some cases are quite strange, such as that of the woman who remarried — and whose husbands both claim her as wife. Other ghosts bring up mundane concerns, such as the well-being of their descendants, or demands for vengeance on those plundering their graves. A mortal lawgiver who is just and wise — as well as brave! — is rewarded by the ghosts with Rego vis (in the form of corroded copper pennies), long-lost treasure, or even secrets that only the dead may know. The foolish or weak-willed are haunted or driven mad by the angry ghosts.
Animal
Faerie Furries
By Sheila Thomas
There is a sallow tree, so old that no-one living can recall a time when it did not look like the oldest tree in the world. It grows at the edge of a patch of ancient woodland and not far from a small pool of still, clear water in the corner of a flower-studded water meadow that lies beside the lazily-curving middle stretches of a sizable river not too far from the covenant. Although of venerable age, the tree is still vigorous, and some say this is because the fay care for it. Every spring it is covered in large yellow catkins. Before the catkins develop, they appear as fat, furry little silver-gray buds. By the light of a new moon, a few of these take on the appearance of tiny little kittens. Locals say these are fairy cats and fear to go anywhere near then, lest the fay come to defend their property.
If gathered by moonlight while they look like kittens, each little kitten-bud contains one pawn of Animal vis; once cut from the tree, they look like normal pussy willow buds but retain their vis. If it suits the storyguide, small trickster fay harass collectors from the moment they take the first kitten-bud.
Golden Geese
By Stuart Kenny
The covenant maintains a large and rather special flock of geese. For as long as anyone can remember, sometime each spring one of the yearlings of the flock begins to lay golden eggs. To magi the bird is more valuable than the gold, for the goose contains Animal vis. However, the bird needs to be identified quickly: each golden egg laid after the first reduces the goose’s vis by one pawn. Once all the vis is consumed, the goose is completely normal, producing nothing but mundane eggs.
Naturally, only the most trusted and alert covenfolk are assigned to care for the geese. Beyond the usual care and protection of the flock, the geese must also be penned in small groups each spring until the golden egg layer is identified. Once the first egg is laid it is a simple Intellego Vim effect to identify the correct bird for slaughter, but the size of the flock has so far precluded checking every bird. There appears to be no way to detect the golden goose until after the first egg has been laid.
Traditionally, the covenfolk who finds the golden egg is allowed to keep it, as long as the correct bird is identified. This leads to enthusiastic egg hunts and great vigilance against thieves. (Note: The amount of gold in the egg, like the yield of vis, should be set to suit your saga.)
The Treasure of the Thieving Magpies
By Ulrich Willmünder
Over the course of centuries, attrition and erosion have worn down a onceproud mountain, and have produced a large field of rubble on the lower slopes below a ridge called the Devil’s Chimney. Below the field of rubble lies a dark and wild magical forest, inhabited, among other animals, by a large flock of magpies.
Every spring, the melting snow reveals some new rubble broken down from the mountain and the Devil’s Chimney. Among this rubble a number of pure white, slightly glowing crystals can be found, which contain a pawn of Terram vis each. The vis could be easily harvested each spring — if it were not for the magpies.
The magpies of the forest view the beautiful crystals as their natural possession and search the field of rubble as soon as the snow starts melting, and they attack anyone coming near the field. While the attack of a single magpie is no danger for a grown man, being attacked by a large flock on the slippery rubble of the mountain slopes can easily be fatal.
Once the crystals are brought to a magpie’s nest, the vis is lost. But one of the eggs bred in a nest decorated with crystals hatches a magical magpie containing Animal vis — or making an interesting familiar. Stealing hatchlings, however, results in the wrath of the whole flock.
Aquam
The Purest Stream
By Paul Tevis
High in the mountains, fed from melting snow, lies a stream of crystal clarity. As it rushes down the mountainside, it collects neither dirt nor leaf. The village at the base of the mountain enjoys considerable fame for the beer that the villagers brew from its sparkling water.
Magi are less interested in the villagers’ beer than they are in its source. Halfway up the mountain, the stream pours over a small waterfall. On a ledge at the top the fall lies a stone inscribed with a Hermetic rune for Aquam. On auspicious nights of the year, a magus who sits upon this stone may thrust his hand into the water and cast Distillation of the Purest Stream (see below) to recover Aquam vis. This requires a Concentration + Strength roll against an Ease Factor of 15, due to the frigid water and the strong current. If the magus is protected against the cold, the Ease Factor drops to 9. If the Concentration roll fails, no vis may be gathered that night.
For a day after the vis is collected, the water from the stream (and any beer brewed with the water) tastes brackish and foul.
St. Swithin’s Soupbowl
By Matt Sprengeler
The tale of St. Swithin’s burial is known by churchmen throughout Christendom. The holy scholar wished to be laid to rest in a modest grave, but when he died, well-meaning folk instead interred him in a splendid tomb within Winchester cathedral. A downpour struck, and it rained for forty days and forty nights until the saint’s body was moved to a more humble resting place. Even now, the people of Winchester say that rain on St. Swithin’s Day (July 15) is a portent of more rain to come.
So it is with the lonely stone column called St. Swithin’s Soupbowl. As tall as a man, it stands atop a bare hill, sporting no decoration save rust-colored lichen. The column is crowned by an ancient stone bowl that seems to be of a piece with it. In truth, the bowl was set there centuries ago by fierce Viking raiders who originally carried it off from southern England, and may have carried it to anywhere in Europe. Whether Swithin himself ever touched it is unknown, but if it should be filled with water by sunrise of his day, the liquid within becomes Aquam vis by sunset. Filling the bowl with regular water results in some vis, but if rain falls overnight and fills the vessel, it produces twice as much. Moving the bowl from this spot breaks the vis-producing effect.
The Water of the Waterless Valley
By Ulrich Willmünder
High up in the mountains lies an unusually fertile vale called the Waterless Valley. While it does rain or snow there occasionally, there is no brook and no pond that holds water, and no glacier ends here, melting its ice, to water the valley. Even though the valley reaches up to more than 9.000 feet, access from the main valley to the south is relatively easy, and, despite the lack of water, it is used to graze goats.
Legend says that for one day in spring, when the snow melts and the weather is warm for the first time, a small river flows through the valley, providing enough water to last the valley for a whole summer. No one remembers actually seeing this river though.
In fact, the valley is covered with a network of very small streams, all hidden from the mundane eye in a magical regio, which can be found by the usual means, but cannot be entered, because it is barely a few inches thick. On the first warm day in spring, however, the regio can no longer contain all the water, and it overflows at a random place in the valley. This overflowing water contains Aquam vis and can be harvested with simple buckets. The amount collected depends mainly on the skill of those catching it.
Auram
The Lightning-Bringer
By Gary N. Mengle and Sean Mitchell
A cunningly wrought device once rested on the top floor of the tallest tower of an ancient covenant — the LightningBringer. Invented almost a century ago by a Tremere Archimagus, it was his greatest achievement. The Lightning-Bringer consists of a number of copper spheres of varying diameters, connected by thin, spiral rods of gold to several dozen glass vessels. The whole device is highly magical even when not in operation.
On the night of each new moon, the device calls up a powerful thunderstorm, and attracts to itself the lightning from the tempest, accumulating it as Auram vis. The glass vessels, about a quart in capacity, are specially enchanted and can store the vis indefinitely. They can be detached for storage and replaced with spare containers.
The entire mechanism must be continuously maintained, as many of its components are fragile and not easily replaced. This requires the occasional dedication of an entire season of work, though the Lab Texts of the long-dead Tremere can be used to guide the magus who keeps up the device. It seems that some non-Hermetic techniques were used in its construction, making the whole enchantment very difficult to reproduce.
The Peak of Storms
By Paul Tevis
The Peak of Storms is never visible, as the top of the mountain is always hidden by clouds. In winter, a cold wind blows down its slopes, threatening to freeze an unwary traveler solid. During the spring and summer, thunderstorms form around the mountain. On Midsummer’s Day, a great storm cloud takes shape over the peak, and at noon a tremendous thunderclap splits the air. It is said that any child born that day in the valley below will have the power to speak with the four winds.
Climbing the mountain is treacherous. In winter, it is almost impossible, as snow covers the upper slopes and the frigid winds blow with great intensity. In the summer it is easier, but not without danger. The more serious threat comes from the fogs that hide the peak. A climber may become lost and stumble into one of the ravines that dot the slopes. During a summer storm, the ascent is almost as dangerous as in the winter.
If the peak is reached, the climber finds an ancient and charred tree. Each Midsummer’s Day this tree is struck with a bolt of lightning. If an agate pendant is hung from the tree on that morning, when the bolt strikes it the pendant will be transformed into Auram vis.
The Reed Melody
By Oscar Diez Martínez Maria was a beautiful young woman who lived in a nearby village. She had been in love with a local farmer named Juan since they first met. They wanted to marry but her father was against the marriage because he had promised Maria to Lucas, the mill official appointed by the local baron. To avoid further problems, Maria’s father forbade her to meet Juan. This did not stop the love between Maria and Juan, but merely forced them to meet in secret.
They used to meet on the shore of a nearby river, near a thick formation of reeds that were swayed by the wind. Maria always reached their secret meeting place first, and sang a tune to indicate to Juan where she was. One day Maria’s father discovered that they met in secret and burst into the lovers’ secret place, accidentally pushing her into the river. Maria’s head hit a rock and she drowned in the stream.
Since that day, in the season when the winds are strongest, the reeds try to use the air to sing Maria’s song, but they cannot perform all the notes. If somebody completes the melody with the correct notes, the air that goes through the reeds can be harvested to obtain Auram vis.
Distillation of the Purest StreamReVi 15 R: Touch, D: Mom, T: Ind Concentrates the essence of a stream of exceptionally pure water into a pawn of Aquam vis. The purity of the stream determines how often the spell may be cast successfully upon it. (Base 10, +1 Touch) |
Corpus
The Hangman’s Oak
By Ulrich Willmünder
A couple of decades ago, the smith of a village was found guilty of murdering both his wife and a wandering monk who was a witness to her murder. An enraged mob of villagers caught up with the fleeing smith and hanged him to death on the strongest oak near the village, the very same oak under which the smith had disposed of the corpses of his victims. Ever since then the oak has been known as the Hangman’s Oak, even though the village was then so small that it had hardly ever seen any crime.
By 1220, however, the former village is a thriving town with prosperous merchants, a small church, and its own baron. With wealth came greed and other sins, and thus the need for regular jurisdiction. While it is still very rare for a man to be hanged in the town, it does happen about every other year. And since there already is a place named after a hanging, the culprits sentenced to death are hanged from the Hangman’s Oak.
In each year in which a man is hanged from the Hangman’s Oak for his crimes, the oak produces one blood red acorn on the very branch that the man died on. This acorn contains Corpus vis and only one acorn grows, no matter how many men are hanged. And beware: If the hanged man was not guilty, this acorn might be infernally tainted!
Lovers’ Violets
By Nick Simmonds
There is a hill between the covenant and the nearest town, known to be a favorite spot for lovers to hold midsummer trysts; it is within walking distance but far enough for discretion. The hill is also under a Faerie aura, which may have something to do with its bawdy reputation. During the spring and summer, a magus could hardly swing a familiar without striking a shepherd, dairy maid, noble’s son, or bar lass in flagrante delicto.
This hill is thick with deep purple, almost crimson, violet blossoms. Harvested, each blossom holds a minute amount of Corpus vis. A barrowful of the plants holds about one pawn. Over the course of the year the hill might produce a large amount of vis, as the flowers blanket the ground throughout the spring and summer months. However, they are also a favorite gift from one sweetheart to another, and a substantial amount of vis may thus escape into the town each year — briefly admired, then composted. Greedily claiming all of the flowers for the covenant could sour relations with the town, but periodic harvesting of up to half the yearly yield only results in a mild reputation as wizardly voyeurs — perhaps beneficial, as it could make the magi seem more human.
If transplanted to covenant grounds, these violets bloom each year provided they are within a Magical or Faerie aura. However, they won’t produce vis without often being in proximity to the same sorts of activities found on the hilltop.
The Spring of Asclepius
By Paul Tevis
The Romans loved to bathe, and they built great public baths and temples around natural hot springs, such as the one at Aquae Sulis. They developed complex bathing rituals, and they believed that these springs possessed healing powers. In some cases, they were right.
Deep in the woods, safe from prying eyes, lies the Spring of Asclepius. A small pool of water, large enough to contain a single person, breaks through the rocky terrain. The water is quite warm, and steam rises from the water’s surface. Carved into the stone above the pool is the Latin inscription, “May the blessings of Asclepius be on those who cleanse themselves here.” Anyone recovering from a disease who spends at least an hour a day in the pool each day of the recovery period receives +3 bonus to the Recovery roll. While the pool’s restorative power is remarkable, magi may be more interested in the spring’s less obvious treasure. A piece of cloth may be hung over the pool to shade the bather. At the end of each season, if the cloth is washed and the collected water is evaporated, Corpus vis may be harvested from the residue.
Herbam
The Cursed Tree
By Paul Tevis
Deep in the forest, along an old road, there is an oak tree that blooms out of season. In the spring, just as its neighbors are budding, its leaves turn golden and fall. It sits barren all summer, naked under the midsummer sun. In the fall, when all the trees around it are losing their leaves, its new covering emerges. It keeps its foliage throughout the winter, shining like a green beacon when all around is white. Some say that in the dark of winter, you can hear the tree moan under the weight of its snow-covered leaves. They say that a saint once was traveling along the road and sought rest under the tree. It was late summer, but the tree had already lost all of its leaves, so the holy man found no relief from the sun. Angry, he cursed the oak, as Christ had cursed the fig. The tree immediately sprang into bloom. From that day forward, the tree has been as it is now.
On the eve of the first day of spring, the tree sheds all of its leaves. At sundown on that day, a single golden acorn falls from the tree. If the acorn is buried and sprouted overnight (see below), then at dawn on the first day of spring, the sprout is transformed into Herbam vis.
The Gargoyle’s Blossom
By Matt Sprengeler
In a cavern deep below ground, a stone hand rises from the rocky floor. It seems to be the work of a cunning sculptor. Every detail is perfect — the size, the proportion, even the ragged edges of the fingernails. Most remarkable is a detail that no craftsman ever wrought with stone. The hand clutches a beautiful red rose, a plant that grows from its stony grasp even though the blossom has never seen the sun.
No sculptor created this scene, and no gardener tends the rose. The hand is all that remains of a lowly faerie, an ugly mountain spirit named Tulgank. He loved a fair maid of the Seelie court; she disdained him. One day he stole a rose from a human gardener and presented it to the object of his desire, but his temerity displeased her. More powerful than he, and of higher rank, the Seelie caused Tulgank to meld forever with the floor of his home cavern. His life ended, but his love has kept the rose petals alive. The petals grow slowly, even without light or water, and can be harvested for Herbam vis. The rose’s stem was turned to stone along with Tulgank, so it cannot be removed from his petrified hand. Should the entire hand be removed from the earth, it contains ten pawns of Creo vis, but the flower immediately dies.
Mallorn Dandelions
By Nick Simmonds
A hill just outside the covenant, within a small faerie aura, grows thick with dandelion blossoms every spring. Each year, these dandelion blooms turn to seeds, becoming white puffballs as normal, but due to their faerie nature they don’t release their seeds and don’t die down in the winter. Instead, the next spring the new blooming pushes the old seeds out all at once, and the hilltop is blanketed with a tempest of tiny white clouds. If collected, these yield Auram vis, although this generally requires someone with the capability of flight or a touch of Herbam or Auram magic to gather those seeds that float out of arm’s reach. A grog, or magus without the proper skills, is still able to pull together a small amount of vis before losing the rest of seeds in the wind.
If, instead, the dandelion blooms are harvested while still golden, it is possible to ferment a light wine from the flowers. If left to age until the winter solstice, this wine yields Muto and Herbam vis, or if drunk, grants the drinker the Ability Second Sight 1 for 24 hours (or gives a +1 bonus to Second Sight, if the character already possesses the Ability).
Ignem
Firebrand’s Rantings
By Nick Simmonds
A nearby town has an elderly wise woman who is critical of the local mayor and his cronies. She’s right to be so, as he’s done a poor job of running the town, and he unfairly favors his friends in disputes. He’s not done badly enough to be run out by the townsfolk, but some have voiced complaints to the parish priest, thus far without result. No one feels that things are bad enough that they can’t be borne. No one, that is, except the wise woman. A childless widow, she feels that she has nothing to gain from silence, and is more than willing to harangue these men. She is kind-hearted, but she speaks her mind, and the coterie in charge of the town has made her angry. They try to avoid her, as she’s too well-respected to deal with as they’d like; from time to time, though, she catches one and brings down on his head a jeremiad that some townsfolk swear can scorch the thatching of nearby homes.
A magus with Rego Vim magic can catch these rants on a specially prepared comb, where they take the form of a bright red wool that contains Ignem vis. How many pawns are available annually depends on how often she catches one of the mayor’s friends out and about. Clever magi may be able to influence this, but too much invective may cause the mayor to take action. Some magi may also feel obligated to help the town.
Sprouting Out of SeasonCrHe 20 R: Touch, D: Sun, T: Ind By the use of this spell, the seed of any plant can be sprouted in a single day or night. (Base 5, +1 Touch, +2 Sun) |
Mithras Shrine
By Jeff Kyer Built high upon a rocky hill, the spire of the Church of Saint Michael is visible for miles and it is one of the more popular churches in the region. This church stands upon a pagan holy place: an ancient cave-shrine to Mithras. Established by Roman legionaries, this mithraeum lies past several neglected catacombs beneath the church (though magi may want to make a less noticeable route to the place). The altar at the heart of the small temple is still intact and the bas-reliefs carved into the surrounding walls show the bull-slayer bringing light and life to mankind. However, these stones are covered with a thick layer of nitre that sweats from the rocks. If gathered properly, this material yields Ignem vis.
During much of the week, the local aura on the hill around the church is Divine, ranging from 2–3, but the mithraeum retains a Magic aura of 3. However, on Sunday, the Divine aura rises to 4 (and even higher on feast days), submerging the magical aura completely. Eventually, this will destroy both the aura and the vis source. Magi wishing to preserve the site may want to revive some of Mithras’ rituals or somehow do away with the church overhead — without breaking the Code of Hermes. Worse, these efforts may result in Infernal influence, or backfire and raise the Divine aura higher — particularly if churchmen have been martyred by “evil wizards.”
St. Laurence’s Beam
By Sheila Thomas
At the cathedral closest to the covenant, there is a stained glass window that depicts the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost in the form of tongues of fire above the head of each of the apostles. On the feast of Saint Laurence, 10th August, the light of the mid-day sun produces a brilliant beam of light by shining directly through a particular piece of golden yellow glass that forms part of the image of the halo of light around the dove representing the Holy Spirit towards the top of the window. On a fine day, the beam is stable for an hour or so before the sun moves too far. The beam of light, in this place, on this day, contains Ignem vis.
The window is situated prominently at the cathedral, in the south wall near the altar, or, if the cathedral is large enough to posses one, at the end of the south transept. The magi may be able to find a way of harvesting the vis, perhaps by making an enchanted item of glass based on Gather the Essence of the Beast, which a grog might take into the cathedral without being noticed. It would be difficult, though not impossible, to remove the significant piece of glass, but it would not have the same effect elsewhere.
Imaginem
The Lake of Mirrors
By Nicholas Peterson
This mountain lake is surrounded on all sides by rocky peaks, sheltering it from the outside world. Perhaps this has created a natural reservoir for Imaginem vis, or perhaps there is some unknown factor which causes the vis to pool here.
The terrain around the lake blocks all but the strongest winds from reaching the water. As a result, the surface of the lake is completely still nearly all the time, and reveals a perfect reflection of the sky and hills above it. Anyone who looks at his own reflection sees himself, not as he is, but rather as a Platonic ideal of himself: his own perfect form. If the water is collected in a container, it still reflects the unnatural image, which is actually a distillation of the vis contained within. When the vis is drained from the water, it does not lose any of its clarity or stillness, but now instead reflects a dark image of anyone who gazes upon it. Magi who have tapped the waters for vis see themselves as old and decrepit, with the worst of their physical features emphasized. More than one grog has been driven screaming from the sight of the “cursed reflecting pool” left over once the magic has been worked.
Reginald’s Rebec
By James Hazlerig
No one knows the exact origins of the three-stringed fiddle played by the wandering minstrel Reginald, but all agree that it is a rebec of exceptional quality and beauty. Reginald inherited it from his father, also a minstrel, who gave varying accounts of how he acquired it. In some versions of the tale, Reginald’s father won the rebec in a competition with a fay lord; in other versions, he found it on the steps of a church one Easter morning. When pressed to say which version he believes, Reginald simply smiles and plays another tune.
To a musician, the magic of Reginald’s rebec lies in its exceptionally sweet and ringing tone, which grants a +3 bonus to any Music rolls made with it. To a magus, however, the rebec has even greater value. When the instrument is played on a regular basis by a performer of sufficient ability (Music score of six or higher), Imaginem vis accumulates in the horsehair bowstrings. The vis can be harvested when the bow hair is changed, a part of instrument maintenance that usually occurs about once a year. The amount of vis which accumulates in a season is based on the performer’s Music score and Presence.
Playing the rebec on a regular basis is a time-consuming activity that cannot be combined with any other profitable activity for the season, except work as a professional minstrel.
The Sound of Silence
By Ulrich Willmünder
The mountains are well known for their extensive caves. Many of these caves have Faerie auras, and some of these caves are known to the peasants of the area as echo caves. One cave to the south side of the mountains is famed for the delay of its echoes — the cave actually repeats a whole sentence back to the caller, sometimes repeating it for hours.
Magi of the Order have argued that echoes of such strength must be magical in nature, but all attempts to capture echoes containing vis have failed. Echoes are far too normal for this place to contain vis: bats and other small animals visit the cave, sounds from outside are echoed, and the occasional visitor enjoys a game of echoes.
Silence in this cave, on the other hand, is something almost unheard of. In a moment of complete and utter silence the cave accumulates Imaginem vis, stored in the sound of silence. Magically silencing the cave keeps the vis from forming, but blocking sounds from coming in does not affect the accumulation of vis. Once this is done, it takes at least eight hours for all echoes to fade. Capturing the vis with a Rego Imaginem spell is relatively easy, but it must be done in complete silence. Once the silence is captured, however, the opposite of silence is heard — a noise that takes days to fade away.
Mentem
The Box of Unguarded Thoughts
By Gary N. Mengle and Sean Mitchell
A small, intricately wrought silver coffer, whose is lid is inlaid with motherof-pearl and carved in the shape of a writhing serpent, this box collects the stray thoughts of people nearby and distills them into small silver coins of an unknown but apparently ancient minting. These coins each contain a pawn of Mentem vis. Particularly powerful or intense thoughts may even (at the storyguide’s discretion) be an Arcane Connection to those from whom they are gathered. Once the coffer has filled with coins, it can gather no more thoughts until it is emptied.
The box makes an excellent personal vis source for a magus, and may be the subject of investigation, for the nature of its powers is not readily apparent, and is certainly non-Hermetic. Such a device would be keenly sought-after by curious magi, or those seeking to gain Arcane Connections to unwary enemies. It may also be possible to extract the thoughts themselves from the coins, and thereby gain insight into an enemy’s mind. This use would almost certainly be seen as a violation of the Hermetic proscription on magically spying on other magi. Indeed, mere possession of the box could be regarded by narrow-minded Quaesitors as a breach of the Code.
Howling of the Winds
By Emre Arin
Even before the Order’s founding, a pious warrior-noble had begun the cleansing of fay creatures in his lands in the name of his emperor and the one true God. Surely he was blessed by the Creator, because he could discern the sorcerous from the mundane with a look of his azure eyes, and feel the presence of witchery in his bones from a mile away. Clad in his armor and unfailing in his faith, he led his zealous retinue on lengthy hunts in the dark groves of his wondrous prey. One by one, all of the legendary creatures left the mundane world. Only one of them, the last of the nymphs in his lands, refused to leave her spring. Faced with stubborn defiance, the noble furiously hunted the fay down to her sacred lake. As his vengeful spear was about to plunge into the nymph’s heart, she was still facing him with her own unflinching azure eyes.
However, hers was not the gaze of rejection and enmity but of hope and compassion. Unfortunately, she was alone in her feelings. A cold wind had started to blow from the lake as the bloody work ended and the noble, too, slumped to the ground with a wound in his chest and peace in his heart. His spear had not one but two piercing ends, one for his unbearable secret, his faerie mother, and one for his own heart upon the completion of his life’s torturous work. The nymph had died with her eyes wide open with grief, the memory of her son’s demise and her utter failing in his salvation clear in her mind. Her essence never truly left this world. Since then, mothers shun that cursed lake’s shores. And only those women with children — and no man whatsoever — can hear the nymph’s sobs in the shuffle of the waves and the rushing of the winds. After a mother listens to it, her heart breaks with unbearable sorrow of the nymph, and she begins to shed tears of regret. The tears collected in the purest of vials carry potent feelings and Mentem vis; they taste like bitter, howling winds.
A Monk’s Head
By Ulrich Willmünder
Brother Paul of Bolzano was a pious canon of the Augustinian order. When he died horribly at the hands of diabolists, everyone who knew him assumed him to be a saint and martyr. But Brother Paul had not always been the friendly and pious monk everyone remembered. In his youth he had been a petty thief and had only joined the order to evade persecution. He had found his true calling in his service to God, but the sins of his youth remained to be repented.
Because of Brother Paul’s background, then, he was not the pure and innocent soul the diabolists needed to complete their unholy ritual — with nasty and fatal results for them. When a group of men led by a Hermetic maga later investigated the scene, they found Brother Paul’s severed but otherwise unharmed head among the infernal paraphernalia and the diabolists’ horribly mutilated and burned bodies. They thoroughly cleansed the area of all evidence of infernal doings and took the head away to give it a Christian burial.
On their way back, however, on the 25th of January, the day of the celebration of St. Paul’s conversion — and the anniversary of Brother Paul’s acceptance into the Augustinian order — the head began to weep for Paul’s soul, shedding bitter tears containing Mentem vis. Overcome by greed, the maga preserved the head magically instead of burying it, but over the course of the years it has been lost.
Terram
Aetites
By Arseny Kuznetsov
Mentioned in Pliny’s Natural Histories, these rare stones can be found in eagles’ nests. Also called eagle-stones, they look like yellowish pebbles, approximately an inch in diameter. If one is shaken carefully, a quiet rattling can be heard — it is made by a smaller pebble, held inside the larger one, not unlike a nut in a shell.
The smaller stone, if removed from its “womb” undamaged, holds one pawn of Terram vis.
Nobody quite agrees where the stones come from. Some scholars say that eagles are naturally able to find them among common pebbles, and bring them to their nests, while others theorize that the stones are transformed while held in the bird’s goiter.
Aetites are also known as “pregnant stones,” and indeed, give a +5 Material bonus to fertility if used as an element of an enchanted item or a talisman.
Aetites can only be found only in regiones where small rocks and pebbles occur naturally in adequate quantities. Since eagle families nest apart from one another, there is usually only one nest in a single area.
When collecting aetites, one must be careful not to chase off the eagles occupying the nest; empty nests cease to produce vis.
The Cave of the Nameless Goblin
By Paul Tevis
The underground world is the home of the goblins, faeries who live in perpetual darkness and whose subtle magics have made them masters of the shaping of stone. Long ago, one noble house rose up against the goblin king. The rebellion was put down, and although many of the traitors were executed, the leader’s life was spared, because he was a cousin to the king. As punishment for his crime, he was stripped of his name, transformed into a stalactite, and hung from the ceiling of an isolated cave. The king decreed that his punishment would end when a stalagmite grew up to meet him.
Even in his transformed state, the nameless goblin retained his power over stone. The stalagmite beneath him grew at marvelous rate. Some goblins feared he would be released, so they crept into the cave and broke off the stalagmite. When the goblin king discovered this, he forbade any goblin from entering the cave. When a maga found the cave, however, the goblins were happy to explain how she could help.
The stalagmite grows upward at a rate of a hand’s-breadth per season, but it is narrow and may be easily snapped off at the base. Each season’s growth may be ground to powder to yield Terram vis. If the stalagmite is not broken, it grows to the ceiling in three score years. The cave may be guarded by the survivors of the goblin rebels.
The Rock Shepherd
By Oscar Diez Martínez
There is an entrance to a huge underground cavern on the shore of a small river. This cavern is filled with stalagmites and stalactites in strange and marvelous shapes that remind one of a garden.
This rock garden is looked after by an ancient earth elemental. He was summoned a long time ago by the magi of a now-fallen covenant to keep the garden and supply the magi with strange minerals and gems.
The elemental had a very lonely life because he had no friends, save for a little water elemental who dwelt in the plentiful river. With the time this friendship became true love. But one day when the earth elemental went to see his lover he found that the river was almost dry because a mill’s dam had retained the flow. He never found her again.
Since then, the earth elemental starts a pilgrimage every year when the winter is over. He carries the most beautiful rock from the garden, whereon he has engraved his lover’s name. He puts the rock on a small and rough altar outside the cavern and spends the whole night calling his lover and weeping. On the following morning he lets the rock be swept away by the current, hoping that she will read the rock and remember him.
The rock (which will not travel far away since the current is not strong enough to pull it) can then be harvested, and after treatment in a Hermetic laboratory, it yields both Aquam and Terram vis.
Vim
The Auberge
By John Scott
On an island mid-river the ruins of a Roman villa stand. Only a few stones remain, including one on either side of a doorway. Walking through those stones at dawn, from outside to in, allows anyone to pass into the level 1 Magical regio.
Inside is a slightly less ruined villa with three shabbily dressed inhabitants; an old man (the Penates: guardian of the storeroom), an old woman (the Lares: guardian of the house), and a young girl (Vesta: guardian of the fire).
Initially suspicious, they question those entering, displaying a surprising amount of out-of-date information about the Order of Hermes. The Auberge was once a Mercere way station, long since forgotten. Once they are reassured, they offer what little food they have in welcome.
Unless the magi have a way of leaving the regio other than the now-sealed door, they have to stay overnight. Entry and exit are only possible during the diameter duration of the sun rising. When they wake in the morning, the villa is less disreputable than before — the walls a little higher, the fire a little brighter.
After a month’s occupation, the villa is restored to its full glory, the three inhabitants dressed as prosperous Roman servants. When the visitors eventually leave, they are presented with knapsacks of food. The food of the magi contains Vim vis — a number of pawns based on the number of full weeks they occupied the Auberge.
The Cave of Magic
By Paul Tevis
Legends tell of hollow hills, where faeries dwell and plot. Some of these mounds are gateways to Arcadia, while other barrows hold the bodies of ancient warriors and their restless spirits. The hollow hills are not to be entered lightly, and tales of hidden treasures have drawn more than one unlucky soul to his doom.
One such hill holds a curious chamber that many magi would brave barrowwights to find. The cave is no more than three paces wide, and a full-grown man must stoop to stand within it. The low ceiling is covered with crystals that reflect light so well that a single candle inside the hill will create a light as bright as day. The light from a torch would blind anyone unlucky enough to see it.
The floor at the center of the room is inscribed with an ancient circle and marked with symbols in an unknown language. If one pawn each of Creo, Perdo, Rego, Muto, and Intellego vis are placed around the edge of the circle and left there for a full season, Vim vis forms at the center of the circle. At the end of the season both the Technique vis and the newly-created Vim vis may be recovered, or the Technique vis may be left in place to continue generating Vim vis.
Housework Is A Bad Idea
By Sheila Thomas
A spider’s web in a dark corner of the covenant library has been gathering dust for twenty years or more. No spider has used it since it was newly spun. It happens that this point is adjacent to, or in line with, a laboratory where vis distillation goes on periodically, or else it is close to the place where the magi store the covenant’s vis supply. Over the years, the dust in the vicinity has absorbed something of the surroundings and has collected on the web so that the dusty web, when first discovered, contains Vim vis.
If the web is removed, another will eventually be spun there and will start to accumulate dust that produces Vim vis. The web must be natural, and in just the right place with just the right orientation, and the time it takes for a new one to appear is variable. The characters have a choice of harvesting a little frequently and then not knowing how long it will be before they can start counting the time again, or of simply being patient.
Any covenfolk who work in the library need to know about this, especially any servants with the task of keeping the place clean.
Attribution
Attribution Based on the material for Ars Magica, ©1993-2024, licensed by Trident, Inc. d/b/a Atlas Games®, under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International license 4.0 ("CC-BY-SA 4.0"). Ars Magica Open License Logo ©2024 Trident, Inc. The Ars Magica Open License Logo, Ars Magica, and Mythic Europe are trademarks of Trident, Inc., and are used with permission. Order of Hermes, Tremere, Doissetep, and Grimgroth are trademarks of Paradox Interactive AB and are used with permission.