Chapter One: Introduction

Today, the Order of Hermes enjoys a new golden age of cooperation and enlightenment. The trials of the past have been overcome and the Order is all the stronger for the strife it has endured.

But the history of the Order is defined not only by political shift or internal conflict and resolution, but also by the lives and achievements of its individual members. This book introduces five such magi who shaped the Order as it exists today. All of these magi have become legends within the Order, though the truth behind their stories has been embellished and blurred by time, deception, and rumor. But their stories are far from finished — each has left behind treasures waiting to be rediscovered by living magi.

Magi of Legend

Each chapter is devoted to a single magus, presenting a faithful telling of that wizard's story as well as describing his or her singular achievements. Each chapter also provides the framework against which stories of the magus' rediscovery can be told, and once-lost legacies can be brought back to the Order.

Conciatta of Bonisagus

Lifetime: c. 885 AD – 1007 AD (Final Twilight)

Overview: A brilliant researcher who advanced Bonisagus' theories, unifying the four Realms under Vim magic. It's said she left behind the secret of fueling Hermetic magic with Divine auras. But her spirit — fractured into four aspects — guards this secret and more.

Conciatta of Bonisagus occupies a singular place within the Order. Early in the tenth century, a hundred and fifty years after the founding of the Order, Conciatta successfully extended Bonisagus' grand theory such that all the four supernatural realms were included under the art of Vim, something that the original theory did not support and generations of magi before Conciatta wrestled with. But while her advances forever changed the theory and her name lives on both in the primers that apprentices study and in the hallowed records of House Bonisagus, perhaps her greatest discoveries have yet to be published.

Conciatta spent her early years defending herself against the prejudices and preconceptions of her House and the stigma arising from a master fallen into corruption. But against this backdrop of hardship she published an extension to Hermetic Theory that few among her peers even thought possible. Her fame spread as fast as copies of her work, and soon the whole supernatural world was laid open to the Order of Hermes.

With the aid of her loyal friend and later husband, Currito of Jerbiton, Conciatta traveled Iberia and beyond seeking out auras, regiones, and powerful spirits from which she could learn. She was not content with her initial discoveries, though, and became driven to extend Hermetic Theory further. For many, especially those in House Bonisagus, this was a sign of hubris, or even delusion; she had made her great discovery and to attempt more was surely arrogance. And so she became isolated. Fearing ridicule, she did not share her research with the Order and she became withdrawn.

Those magi she did meet on her travels later talked of ramblings concerning a lost city, a city ruled and populated by ghosts, and even a trip to Hell itself. Through this the loyal Currito followed her and protected her. But eventually, he too left and Conciatta continued her research alone.

While the name of Conciatta is known to every apprentice brought up in the Order, her fate is only guessed at. Her original research is venerated but her arrogance, at least within House Bonisagus, is held up as a cautionary tale.

Currito rarely talked about the research and discoveries that he'd seen; indeed, he rarely talked about Conciatta at all. But in his less-guarded moments, when he felt the time was right to tease out some of her secrets, he told of a great prize — the ability to fuel Hermetic magic from the aura of the Dominion itself.

Fortunata of Jerbiton

Lifetime: 986 AD – 1123 AD (Final Twilight)

Overview: A master of ancient magics, who created a Mystery Cult of her own. Her hidden island is still the domain of spirit servitors that are bound into and power magic devices.

Fortunata of Jerbiton is famous as a writer, historian, and translator of ancient texts, and for having acquired power as a supernaturally gifted necromancer who bound spirits as servants, or as power for her devices. She traveled surrounded by a shimmering cloud of spirits, and her familiar (some say lover) was an incorporeal spirit.

She was a daughter of a prince of Milan, but on her Gauntlet she adopted the Hermetic name of Fortunata of Jerbiton. Her parens was proud as she became known as a fine scholar, but she was wracked with envy of other magi, and came to desire magical power more than the art of her House. Spurning the ideals of Jerbiton, she mastered ancient rites of power and created a Mystery Cult for herself — but the sudden acquisition of power led rivals to accuse her of dealing with devils, and of using magic to spy on other magi. Though false, the rumors and accusations drove her to retire to a hidden island in the Mediterranean, where she stored her Initiation Scripts, spells, magic devices, and bound spirits.

Hérisson of Bjornaer

Lifetime: c. 857 AD – 1002 AD

Overview: An advocate of peace slain on the eve of the Schism War, whose pacifist teachings changed the philosophy of House Bjornaer. His magical garden hosts a war of its own even today, as well as the secret of growing vis.

A magus of House Bjornaer who lived immediately before the Schism War, Hérisson's heartbeast was an urchin (hedgehog). It is rumored that he was a descendant of one of Myanar's followers who fled to House Bjornaer after losing a contest for leadership of House Merinita to Quendalon, and his magical aptitudes lay principally in the Arts of Herbam and Vim. To Bjornaer magi, he is the most famous member of Clan Arelie, and the spiritual (if not actual) father of the Harmonist movement.

The time in which Hérisson lived was a time of great strife, both between the expanding mundane populace and the Order, and between members of the Order itself. Hérisson believed these tensions to have a fundamental cause — the struggle over a limited supply of raw vis. Magi resented the clearing of forests and wildernesses to make room for agricultural land, since these places contained magical resources upon which they relied. Magi also quarreled with each other over the ownership of vis sources, the lust for which Hérisson held to be at the root of the strife that ultimately lead to the Schism War. Hérisson claimed to have found a way out of the cycle of conflict, a route to practically unlimited vis, and he was a fervent preacher of the way of peace to any and all who would listen to him.

Hérisson never saw his teachings bear fruit. On the very eve of the Schism War he was slain in a Wizard's War by a member of his own House, who accused him of colluding with House Diedne. Whether these accusations have any basis in reality is unknown, but it is certain that Hérisson met with prominent members of the Order — House Diedne included — in an attempt to sooth the brewing tensions. His legacy is felt even unto this day however; following the end of the Schism War with the destruction of House Diedne, his pacifist teachings were the impetus for the formation of the Concordiarii (the Harmonists), a political movement within House Bjornaer that holds that humankind is not intrinsically inimical to the magical world, and that magi can dwell alongside nobles, priests, and peasants. No evidence of his research into vis production exists, and some claim it is just a myth — an embellishment by his followers who seek to elevate their hero's reputation. Others believe that the answers are to be found in Hérisson's Garden, his legendary sanctum and laboratory, but its location has never been found despite more than two centuries of searching.

Hermanus of Tremere

Lifetime: c. 940 AD – 1098 AD (Final Twilight)

Overview: A master strategist and obsessive constructor of magical defenses charged with protecting Coeris, who disappeared along with part of the covenant itself.

Hermanus of Tremere was a veteran of the Schism War who took on the responsibility of making the domus magna of House Tremere — the covenant Coeris — into a location that was secure enough to safely protect the accumulated riches of that House. Hermanus headed the Vexillation of the Adamant Rook — a group of enchanters — and for many decades poured his full energy into creating defenses for the covenant. Hermanus marshaled all of the knowledge, vis, and talent that House Tremere could muster into this single goal.

In 1070, the Primus of House Tremere declared the defenses of Coeris to be adequate and dissolved the vexillation. But Hermanus did not cease his task of continuing to strengthen the defenses of the covenant, and for the next 28 years he crafted, studied, and politicked constantly, all with a mind to shoring up what he saw as weak spots in the defenses of Coeris.

In 1098, a portion of the covenant of Coeris — including Hermanus, his laboratory, and several rooms surrounding his laboratory, along with their contents and secrets regarding the domus magna's defenses — suddenly disappeared.

The achievements of Hermanus that gave him his legendary reputation were not in the opponents that he vanquished or in magical understanding that he discovered, but in the accumulated defenses created by more than eighty years of single-minded dedication to a single vision both in politics and in the laboratory.

Thomae of Tytalus

Lifetime: c. 1122 AD – 1198 AD

Overview: The flamboyant creator of the most audacious enchantment the Order has yet seen — a flying castle — and a host of lesser magic items. Both the adventurous Thomae and his castle went missing only a few decades ago.

Thomae of Tytalus was a 12th-century magus famous for his flying castle. This vast structure, apparently made of magical bronze, caused great alarm in the Order. Many elder magi felt that the nobility would not permit such an obvious threat to their rule. To avoid Wizard's War, Thomae agreed to hide his castle in a distant range of mountains. After a few years, Thomae became bored and secretly flew his castle to many of Europe's desolate locations. The castle vanished on one of these journeys. Efforts to find Thomae have failed, but he vanished only 22 years ago. Most magi assume that some hint of him will emerge, eventually.

Thomae is remembered as a master of the magic of flight. His castle was itself impressive: a mobile covenant that he could set down in any abandoned place, seeking excitement and doing mischief in obscure parts of Europe. His lesser enchantments also aroused the envy of magi — his magic items, it is said, could defend the castle from any attack, and could grant his entire turb the power to fly. His riches, pilfered from the far places of Europe and Africa, may be exaggerated in folklore, but many magi ask themselves "If I had a flying castle, where would I go? What would I do?" Many wonder what Thomae's answers to these questions were.

Many factions of wizards are interested in finding Thomae's castle, and would pay handsomely for the device if the player characters did not wish to retain it. The Hermetic Architects wish to examine it for breakthroughs in the mysteries. The militant houses want it as a weapons platform, a logistical device, or a drop-in command center. House Mercere wants to use it as an exchange point for messages. Even the lesser items of Thomae — rumored to allow easy transport between the flying castle and the ground, manipulate the weather, and spew gouts of fire at enemies — might prove valuable to the player characters.

What the Order Remembers

Each chapter has a section listing the Order's recollections of that magus. As legendary figures, the important facts are known by all, while the details of their lives may be recorded only in the dusty and forgotten histories of the Order.

When a player asks what his character knows about one of these legendary magi, make an Intelligence + Order of Hermes Lore simple roll and consult the following chart:

Ease Factor	Category
0	Known by All
6	Widely Known
12	Uncommon Knowledge
18	Lost Secrets

The character recalls all relevant facts and rumors about that magus up to and including the Ease Factor they achieve. Characters may also conduct research in an appropriate library (see Covenants, page 98 for additional research rules).

Note that some of the Order’s recollections may be false; these magi have become figures of story and legend and as such can no longer influence how they are presented. As well as distortions, there may be some blatant untruths that persist.

Certain groups of magi may remember more about a given magus due to specific reputations, or House Acclaim. Conciatta's early research, for instance, before she cloistered herself away, earned her the rank of Cannophori, providing Bonisagus characters with a +3 bonus to their rolls. Each chapter lists any modifiers that apply.

Some knowledge may also be restricted to certain groups. Much of the work Hermanus achieved in his lifetime may be a closely guarded secret within House Tremere and unknown outside the House, or have simply been forgotten by the wider Order. Similarly, through the years, rumors may have turned into falsehoods. All such items are marked where appropriate.

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.

Open License Markdown version by YR7 & OriginalMadman, https://github.com/OriginalMadman/Ars-Magica-Open-License

Legends of Hermes Chapter One: Introduction

See Also