The History of the Covenant of Monadliath

The beginning

In the late 1140s a group of magi around the Order knew that their apprentices soon were going to be made full magi. Two of them, Hexageticus of Bonisagus and Electra of Tremere, lived in an excellent but cramped covenant (Lux Hermes) in the Normandy tribunal. Another, Thomasi of Verditius, lived in the tribunal of Rome where magi competes hard with each other.

They realized that they had to send their fili to another tribunal for the sake of the new magi but also as a way for the old masters to enjoy greater resources.

Electra of Tremere had had dealings with a Cavena of Flambeau who resided in the Loch Leglean Tribunal. Contact was made with her and yes, she said that there was a place for new magi in the Loch Leglean tribunal. They just had to find a place to found their new covenant, and by the way "I have an apprentice soon to be full magus, he’d be very interested in moving to a newly founded covenant" she added..

Hexageticus used his contact across the order to find someone who knew of a good site. It was a great joy to him when he found a description of a failed attempt to found a new covenant in the Loch Leglean tribunal. The old covenant had finally been abandoned around 1065, but they had at that time finished their fortress. It would be a good site although in great need of repair.

So the four, Electra, Hexageticus, Thomasi and Cavena, decided to sponsor the founding of a new covenant in the Loch Leglean tribunal.

The early years

Late 1150 a great transport of French grogs, Italian glassware, books, furniture and everything else slowly closed in on the Monadliath Mts. on the SE shore of Loch Ness. The covenant named Monadliath Covenant was founded early 1151. The first year was spent to make the somewhat ruined fortress inhabitable. The first years was spent in dire circumstances; there was no money, no one spoke Gaelic (Eustace was a Norman so he didn't speak Gaelic either) and everybody began to realize that they actually had moved into the midst of nowhere. The magi had to spend one season each year just to earn the covenant some income. But other things went well: An agreement with the local Thain McPherson McPherson was reached 1153 and about the same time contacts were made with the McKenzie covenant. These contacts would prove important in the long run. 1155 to 1156 Monadliath magi were engaged in a struggle to stop a French Knight Guillaume De Hagen from establishing his feudal domain at clan Campbell land. The struggle finally succeeded and it brought the covenant new contacts and a better reputation in the Highlands.

At the end of the 1150s the covenant had managed to gather resources to finally begin to rebuild their fortress and wall. The building work continued to and from until the autumn of 1163 when the fortress finally was renovated and rebuilt. A good source of income was found in 1162 that allowed the magi to stop their money gathering journeys 1163.

End of spring

In 1165 the Councilium Magnum of Monadliath covenant made the decision that Monadliath covenant was a summer covenant. The levels of accomplishment that custom in the Order of Hermes demanded had been reached in a mere 14 years.

Start of summer

As Isabella of Verditius quite and unexpected died 1167 it disrupted seriously the covenants inner workings. A crisis was in the making; not only was Willicanus without a mate but their four children was motherless. She had also died just as she was preparing Eustaces longevity potion (a thing to be regretted as Monadliath had put much energy into Isabella's skill as a good maker of longevity potions). Even worse war was approaching as the whole Loch Leglean tribunal slowly but more and more began to realize that the evil deeds of the magi at Blackthorn in the Stonehenge tribunal couldn't go unpunished much longer. Magi from Monadliath would surely partake in that war or to be more exact Eustace because he wanted it and Penthevs because his political manipulations worked too well.

And as predicted by Thomas the seer and librarian at Isabella's funeral, the tribunal of Loch Leglean decided at the tribunal of 1167 to allow those who wanted it to declare wizard war in the tribunals name on the magi of Blackthorn. Penthevs was made the Dux of the whole operation. The magi from Loch Leglean traveled south in the autumn 1168. A few weeks later all but one returned and three out of four magi from Blackthorn were dead. The war had been a success.

The surviving founders had managed to make their mark on the Tribunal. Now as two new magi entered Monadliath the question was if they will rise to fame or fall to obscurity. Only time will tell

Monadliath Covenant AD 1168, Sancta Cecili Virginis.

Thomas of Toulouse Librarian et Consor.