The Devils of Richmond
Geoffrey, the constable, is a member of the York coven, and thus has some diabolic gifts, probably including a servitor demon or two. As of 1219, he has not finished building up his own coven, but he has started. The idea is to control Richmond and the Dales, especially Swaledale. At the moment they are working on a priest, who will be sent to Grinton when he is corrupted. A Jewish moneylender, not Jacob, is in the group, and is enmeshing people in toils of debt. Isaac. A manorial lord from Swaledale. A monk from Richmond Abbey, and one from Jervaulx. Another lord, from the east. The wife of the castellan of Castle Bolton. That makes seven. They are working on the priest, and will get him soon. Eight. Magus from the covenant, nine. Barnard Castle, Bowes Castle, Egglestone Abbey. Hang on a tick: need to look at the bigger picture. Geoffrey is probably working on a smaller canvas. Substitute Middleham Castle for Barnard. So, Richmond is responsible for the Dales, roughly speaking. Richmond and Swaledale are to be the centre of power.
The old priest of Grinton has been removed, and will be replaced with a diabolist, in order to corrupt the people of the valley. The appearance of the covenant will seem like a stroke of luck to Geoffrey, since it provides him with somewhere that he can anchor his power at the other end of the Dale. The corrupt lord in Swaledale encourages general sin and dissipation, trying to push people towards cruelty. They are moving to replace all the priests in the area with lax individuals over the next twenty years.
Geoffrey
Constable of Richmond, leader of the Richmond coven and member of the York coven. He is in it for the power, and he has a diabolic promise that he will live for at least seven years after the awakening of Malkurrag. He is in his mid-thirties at the moment, and he is a cruel man.
Isaac
Jewish money-lender in Richmond, and corrupted through greed. He uses the hold of debt over people to force them to perform sinful acts, which net him significant profit as well. Those who refuse, he turns over to Geoffrey, who strips them of all their possessions, thus often forcing them into thievery. Isaac is trying to build his own coven, which will bring him more money, and has his own familiar demon. His coven has two other members at the moment, Aaron, another Jew, and Matthew, a Christian trader. He dislikes Jacob, but has not been able to act against him yet.
Aelfred
Aelfred is the lord of a manor towards the Eastern end of Swaledale. He is a dissipated and rough individual, given to throwing feasts and hunting parties. If all that happens during one of his hunts is a rape, then people count themselves lucky. He invites the other lords to his feasts, and watches to see which of their sons is the most suitable heir. He has no intention of building his own coven, since it would take far too much effort.
Brother Martin
Martin is a Benedictine monk at Richmond Abbey. He was seduced through the lure of forbidden knowledge, and still lives an ascetic life. As a result, he is widely believed to be a strong candidate for the position of Prior when the current Abbot dies. This is likely to be soon. He harbours dreams of turning the abbey into a centre of diabolist worship, and has already started working on John, one of the younger monks, and Aelric, an older, rather bitter, man.
Brother Gregory
Gregory is a Cistercian at Jervaulx. A new recruit to the coven, he was drawn in through luxury: fine food, fine clothes, fine wine. He is a little scared about where he has ended up, but his soul is now damned, and the coven also provides fine women, so he is not about to leave. He is terrified of discovery, and thus is trying to puch Jervaulx away from its austere life, to render himself less conspicuous. At the moment, he has no thoughts of creating another coven.
Henry
Henry is the lord of a manor out on the plains. He is a cold man, with rigid ideas of justice, and he seems much older than his twenty years. He has been a member of the coven for five years already, and his father was murdered by demonic means. He now rules the manor with an iron fist and a scourge of scorpions, driving his peasants into sinful actions. The local priest used to preach against him, but he was driven out and a more tolerant one installed. He is increasing his wealth and power at the expense of the lords around him, and is ambitious to replace Geoffrey as leader of the coven. He is also trying to create his own coven, because he knows that he will thus gain diabolic favour and power. He has already recruited Siger, the leader of the mercenaries he employs, and Isabel, his daughter. He is working on Simon, the local priest, and expects to recruit him soon, and on William, the younger son of a local lord, through his ambition.
Matilda
Matilda, the wife of the Castellan of Castle Bolton, is a beautiful woman corrupted through her lust. She has been given access to demonic philtres that keep her husband ignorant of her mesalliances, and other gifts that enable her to seduce whatever she wishes. She doesn't even confine her affections to humans, let alone men, and has fucked most of the horses in her husband's stable. The philtres give her a great deal of influence over her husband, to the extent that she controls the castle. She has no intention of building her own coven.
Giovanni
Giovanni is an Italian, currently being seduced to diabolism through his pride. He is being led to see himself as the heir of the Greek philosophers, and rather above the petty restrictions of the Church. He is already a pederast, and Stephen, the altar boy at his church, is his lover. The diabolists have already introduced him to spurious texts that have led him to the kidnap and rape of a couple of boys, and will soon draw him truly into the coven.
Bowes Castle
Geoffrey has his eyes on a couple of candidates at Bowes Castle. One is the guard captain, who is losing his skill to old age, and could be worked on through that. The other is the steward, a greedy man who has been engaged in peculation for years. The combination of greed and fear should be sufficient to draw him into the coven. He is working on both, trying to judge who is more useful.
Egglestone Abbey
Geoffrey is a regular pious visitor to this abbey, and he has his eye on Brother Egbert, who is obviously gay and in love with several of the novices. He is not sure whether Egbert has done anything yet, and he is trying to find out so that he can plan his campaign more carefully.
Middleham Castle
There are three candidates here. 'John', one of the soldiers, is actually a woman, but obviously dearly wants to be a man. She might even be willing to sell her soul for the chance. William, the eldest son of the lord, has shown signs of a quick temper and a natural cruelty, which could both be developed into something useful. Finally, Mary, a serving wench, is almost corrupted already. She has spread her legs for anything male in the castle, and torments those children under her in inventive and sadistic ways. The trouble would be getting her the power to be useful. 'John' is the best bet, due to a combination of easy corruption and potential power.
Copyright David Chart 1995-1998
