1229 Part 4: The Decade Update

 Winter 1229

Not much happens this season. Jabril spends a great deal of Mythic Pounds, 200 in total, establishing laboratories at Alexander’s Camp and the tombs of the Bilad al-Rum, all the better to study Herbam and Corpus. While he certainly doesn’t abandon the Hill of the Dead, Bilad al-Rum is both safer and more comfortable. The tomb turb is relocated there, and he casts Aegises at Aghurmi and the two new laboratories this year rather than his normal sites. 

For this season, he spends time beneath the waving palms of the Camp, studying Herbam and spending 1 pawn of Vis. 

Vis study: rolled 4+2+3=9 xp to Herbam, bringing it to 3. 

Aging roll: rolled 7+4-1-5=5, meaning Jabril’s apparent age increases to 36.

Decade Update

Jabril has officially been at Siwa for ten years, so let’s look at how he and the Covenant have changed in 10 years. We begin with Jabril himself. (In making this update, I realized I had accidentally put his Auram at 5 on the original sheet, when it was and remains 0.)

Jabril ex Miscellanea at the beginning of 1230

Characteristics: Int +2, Per +0, Pre +0, Com +1, Str +0, Sta +2, Dex +0, Qik +0

Size: 0

Age: 37

Decrepitude: 0

Warping Score: 2 (15)

Confidence Score: 2 (31)

Virtues and Flaws: The Gift; Hermetic Magus; Summon Animals*, Inoffensive to Animals*, Affinity with Rego, Affinity with Animal, Personal Vis Source, Self-Confident, Animal Ken, Cautious Sorcerer, Free Study, Independent Study, Study Bonus, Minor Magical Focus (Asps), Mercurian Magic, Lesser Benediction, Performance Magic (Neo-Mercurian Magic), Study Requirement*, Incompatible Arts (MuCo, PeAn), Feral Upbringing, Seeker, Warped Senses (sensitive taste), Baneful Circumstances (very cold), Cabal Legacy (Neo-Mercurians), Infernal Stigmatic, Wrathful, Ceremonial Spontaneous Magic, Weak Spontaneous Magic

*House Virtues and flaws

Personality Traits: Wrathful +6, Dangerously Curious +3, Reclusive +1

Reputations: Master Seeker +1 (Hermetic)

Combat:

Dodging: Init 0, Atk n/a, Dfn +3, Dam n/a

Soak: +5 (from enchanted robes)

Fatigue Penalties: OK, 0, -1, -3, -5, Unconscious

Wound Penalties: -1 (1-5), -3 (6-10), -5 (11-15), Incapacitated (16-20)

Abilities: Animal Handling 3 (snakes), Animal Ken 3 (asps), Arabic 3 (Egyptian dialect), (Egypt) Lore 2 (geography), Artes Liberales 2 (ritual magic), Athletics 2 (contortions), Awareness 3 (alertness), Brawl 2 (dodging), Etiquette 2 (Egyptians) Finesse 4 (precision), Folk Ken 4 (nomads), Guile 3 (elaborate lies), Hunt 2 (tracking), Latin 4 (Hermetic usage), Neo-Mercurian Magic 2 (Personalities) Magic Theory 5 (inventing spells), Order of Hermes Lore 1 (History) Parma Magica 3 (Mentem), Penetration 1 (Creo), Stealth 2 (natural areas), Summon Animals 5 (asps), Survival 2 (desert)

Arts: Cr 7, In 5, Mu 1, Pe 2, Re 16, An 15, Aq 1, Au 0, Co 10, He 3, Ig 5, Im 0, Me 0, Te 0, Vi 4

Twilight scars: 

— His hand is black and scaly like a serpent’s skin, but cool and refreshing to the touch.

Equipment: Enchanted Neo-Mercurian Robes, Bracelet of Trust, hyena pelt, mummified asp that sheds and regenerates its skin yearly (personal vis source, 4 pawns Animal/year)

Encumbrance: 0 (0)

Spells known: Woolen Steed of Araby (ReAn 15) +33

Sense the Nature of Vis (InVi 5) +11

Boundless Wealth of the Oceans (CrAn 20) +24

Momentary Command of the Harnessed Beast (ReAn 25) +33

Aegis of the Hearth (ReVi 20) +22

Summoning the Creeping Death (CrAn 25) +31

Let the Sun Not Bother Me this Day (PeIg 10) +9

Starry Harness of Khonsu (ReAn 35) +33

Sumptuous Pearls of the Desert (CrAn 25) +24

Wizard’s Leap (ReCo(An) 15) +28

Chirurgeon’s Healing Touch (CrCo 20) +18

Wizard’s Communion (MuVi 25) +7

Comments: I am really liking the way Jabril is developing so far. His first Twilight Scar adds a lot of character. His abilities have branched out and developed far more quickly than my previous tries at this, likely due to Independent Study. His Arts have not developed nearly so quickly but he’s coming along in his ReAn specialty. That being said, it’s time to start branching out so we can take an apprentice by the end of the decade, and to better arm him to cleanse the regio and defend the new Tribunal. My mechanical goals for the next decade are to get a score of at least 5 in every Art, learn a demonslaying spell, and initiate Hermetic Theurgy from the Mercurians so I can start developing spirit spells. Story-wise, we’re going to be pushing to cleanse that regio and to develop the new Nile Tribunal, which is likely going to continue to be a goal for the next few decades. Jabril is certainly ambitious enough to want a central role in the new Tribunal, likely eventually aiming for Praecoship once he’s old enough. That being said, it’s a long, hard road even to get the Nile recognized. A tertiary goal is to find a familiar and bind a talisman, but to be honest, that will likely only happen if he has a few quiet years.

Covenant of Siwa Oasis at the beginning of 1230

Season: Spring

Tribunal: Levant (for now)

Founded Year: 1219

Current Year: 1230

Aura Type: Magic

Aura Strength: Aghurmi, Abu Sharef, and Bilad al-Rum have strengths of 3, Alexander’s Camp, the Jabal al-Mawta, and the Spring of the Sun have strengths of 2.

Aegis Level: 20, Pen 11

Governance: Militocracy

Living Conditions: 2 for magi, 0 for others

Loyalty: 0

Hooks: Road, Multiple Sites, Unsafe, Regional Produce, Tribunal Border, Regio

Boons: Peasants, Militocracy, Important Building x3, Strong Community, Difficult Access, Edifices, Ungoverned, Exceptional Book

Vis Sources: Herbam (Spring, 4 pawns), Ignem/Aquam (Winter, 6 pawns), Corpus (Summer, 5 pawns), Vim (Spring, 6 pawns)

Finances:

—Total Income in 1230: 140 Pounds

—Gross Expenses/Net Expenses: 71/62 Pounds

—Cost savings: 9 Pounds

—Available Funds: 787 Pounds

—Income Sources: Wizardry (Varies between Greater and Typical, this year 100 pounds), Trade (Lesser, 40 pounds)

Laboratories: 3 in active repair and use (Aghurmi, Alexander’s Camp, Bilad al-Rum), 1 vacant (Jabal al-Mawta)

Library:

—Summae: Amplification of Power (Penetration, Q10/L4), Creation and its Consequences (Creo, Q12/L15), The Third Eye (Intellego, Q12/L12), The Left Hand (Perdo, Q21/L6), On the Subtle Art of Rule (Rego, Q15/L20)

—Tractati: On the Parma (Parma Magica Q10), On the Dead (Corpus Q11), Shapeshifting (Muto Q9), The Hierarchy of Hell (Infernal Lore Q9), The Curse Scroll (Demotic Q10/Tamazight Q10)

—Lab Texts: 200 levels + Starry Harness of Khonsu and Sumptuous Pearls of the Desert (it feels unwieldy to type out the whole list but I can if people want to know)

Inhabitants: 1 magus, 5 specialists, 12 turb, including captains, 11 miscellaneous for a total of 29 inhabitants (not counting Siwa village, which is more of an ally).

Comments: Looking at our ledger, the covenant has come quite a long way in 10 years. Early on, there were a few years where the only thing keeping Siwa financially stable was the store of Mythic Pounds from the early use of pearl income. There is an extensive staff for Jabril, as well as several sites of interest being used. That being said, we still don’t have the Vim income to protect every site, so I’m still forced to leave the Hill, Siwa, the Spring, and the still uncontrolled Abu Sharef vulnerable. I may see about potentially trading our vast stores of Corpus and Aquam for more Vim with Venti Rosa in the next few years. 

Regardless, the covenant is in a strong place, but still has a great deal of room for improvement. 

I think I might take a break from this for a few days before returning to 1230, but who knows? I’ll update when I come back.