Schola Pythagoranis
(The School of Pythagoras)
Covenant Members
Magi
Peter of Yorkshire
114 years old, 83 years out of apprenticeship. Filius of Maxentius, follower of Jerbiton. He was trained at Rosa Aurea, and spent the first thirty seven years of his life as a magus there. Matthew was also trained there. He left to found Schola when Matthew was trained, and the new magus came with him. Peter had spent much time in the previous years copying from Rosa's library, and these books formed the core of the new covenant's library. Since leaving Rosa, he has concentrated on getting the new covenant firmly established, a job that he thinks he has just about completed.
He is as interested in mundane as magical learning, and spends much time studying mundane things. This makes him relatively weak as a magus, but he doesn't mind, because he sees a broad culture as very important. It is as a result of this attitude that he will admit mundane scholars as full members of the covenant.
Matthew of Durham
77 years old, 46 years out of apprenticeship. Filius of Peter, follower of Jerbiton. He was trained at Rosa Aurea, but came with Peter to Schola when it was founded. He has more of an interest in art than Peter, but nothing like his master's strength of will. Thus, he is trying to introduce a more artistic element into the covenant subtly, by encouraging the illumination of the manuscripts, rather than simple utilitarian production. He is a fine illuminator himself, and would, if he dared, try to get membership of the council for a particularly fine artist that he has worked with.
Despite these artistic leanings, however, Matthew is still committed to scholarship, and is learned in mundane matters.
Richard of Ely
26 years old, 3 years out of apprenticeship. Filia of Matthew, follower of Jerbiton. Richard is actually female, but has been passing as male ever since the start of her apprenticeship, in order to fit into the all-male world of mundane scholarship. She now uses Im�ginem magics to maintain the facade, and is used to thinking of herself as male. However, she is less interested in mundane scholarship than her line. She wants to concentrate on magic, and has dreams of becoming an Arch-Mage. These dreams may lead her to leave Schola in the future, but for the moment its library is adequate to her needs. She is attracted to Simon Fitzearl, but not quite sure what to do, since, apart from anything else, he thinks that she is male.
Thomas Mercurius
58 years old, 43 years out of apprenticeship. Filius of Gerard, follower of Mercere, unGifted. Thomas has become very much a part of the scholarly community. Indeed, House Mercere have warned him on a couple of occasions about neglecting his Hermetic duties in order to carry messages between mundane scholars. As a result, he is now rather more careful to avoid getting Hermetic duties: he doesn't visit covenants other than Schola, and the magi there know not to give him messages for other covenants if at all possible.
Among the mundanes, Thomas's lack of Gift is no handicap, and he is a well-respected scholar in his own right. He travels to Paris, Bologna and Salerno with great frequency, and is perhaps better known in more places than any other individual scholar. He is planning a trip to the centres of Arabic study, and plotting a suitable justification for it with Peter.
Henry of Abingdon
48 years old, 20 years out of apprenticeship. Filius of Theophrastus (of Spina Nigra), follower of Tytalus. Henry has the typical Tytalus love of conflict, but it is purely intellectual conflict that engages him. Theophrastus despises him as a result, and sees him as a weakling. He spent an extra year in apprenticeship, as he failed the first Gauntlet that he was set. As soon as he was a full magus, he came to Schola, and here he hones his argumentative skills in discussing abstruse points of theology, logic, and law. As a result of this mundane orientation, he has a lot more respect for intelligent mundanes than most members of his House.
Companions
Alfred Clubfoot
43 years old, Alfred is a scholar with a particular interest in medicine. He is a full member of the covenant council, and he hasn't been clubfooted for several years: Peter healed him. As a result, he has an almost religious reverence for Peter. He dislikes Henry, however, because the upstart will insist on arguing medicine with him, about which Alfred knows far more.
William Boston
38 years old and married, William is also a full member of the covenant council. He is a mathematician, and has written several volumes on the Quadrivium which are in the covenant library. He is more loyal to the covenant than to individual members, because it pays for his living, and keeps his family alive and comfortable, while letting him continue with his studies. He has four children, all girls. The eldest has been married to a butcher in the town for three years, while the youngest, Sylvie, is only 8 but has already figured out more about the magi than she should have.
Simon Fitzearl
25 years old, Simon is a very promising classical scholar, but he has a tendency to run around after the ladies rather too much. This would have got him in more trouble than it has, were it not for the fact that Peter has rendered him infertile without his knowledge. The older scholars are trying to convince him to quiet down, and not waste his talent.
Peter the Less
35 years old, and the illuminator that Matthew is so impressed with. He is truly gifted, and has produced some beautiful books for the covenant. Peter of Yorkshire was easily convinced to pay him out of the covenant funds, but so far Matthew has not been able to get up the nerve to ask for a place on the council. Peter doesn't care: for the moment, he just lives for his art.
Grogs
The covenant has two dozen servants, of which only three are what would normally be called grogs: soldiers in Cambridge would draw too much attention. All the male staff are, however, trained in melee with cudgels and daggers, and have leather jerkins available in case of trouble. This training does not provide a high level of skill (2 at most), but does give something of an edge in defending the covenant.
Covenant Site
The main building is the School of Pythagoras, in John's. This contains the libraries and the laboratories, as well as Peter's living quarters. The covenant also owns three substantial houses in the town, which house the rest of the covenant. An outpost, with a laboratory, is situated half a day's ride north of Cambridge in a magic aura of 2 (1220). The main covenant is in the Dominion aura of Cambridge, which is 2.
Covenant Buildings
The School of Pythagoras is a large stone building, with ample space for the two libraries, Peter's quarters, and his laboratory, as well as accomodation for two servants. The covenant owns three other buildings in Cambridge: a house near St Sepulchre's (Grammar), a house overlooking the market (Logic), and a house near the Trumpington gate (Rhetoric). Grammar houses Matthew, his laboratory, guest quarters suitable for one magus with a small retinue, and a couple of covenfolk. Logic houses Richard and Thomas, when the latter is in Cambridge, five servants, and the stationer's shop. Rhetoric houses Henry, another half dozen servants, and less salubrious guest quarters, as well as the covenant stables.
The outpost is a small stone tower holding a laboratory, living quarters, and quarters for three grogs.
Constitution
All magi have an equal vote in the running of the covenant, but one of their number, the Warden (currently Peter) has responsibility for day to day decisions. In addition, votes at the council can be granted to mundane members of the covenant if that is thought to be justified. These votes are usually granted to scholars living with the covenant. The council makes all important decisions, such as who gets to use the laboratory with the magic aura in the event of competition. The Warden has casting vote in the event of a tie, so that the side that he votes with wins (i.e. he normally votes on issues).
The members of the covenant (mundane as well as mystical) are committed to writing one volume for the library every two years. There is an expectation that they will have performed researches in the meantime in order to make the book a valuable contribution, but that is not a requirement, since Peter understands that everything can go wrong.
Mystical Attributes
Library
Laboratories
The laboratories are of average quality, but there are no spare, so that any new magi have to spend the time to set up their own labs.
Vis Supplies
Protected Supplies
Seven pawns of Mentem per year. Silver butterflies that live around Whaplode Fen (45 G4) can be gathered to produce the vis. (One pawn per butterfly).
Eight pawns of Corpus per year. The source is a pool of quickmud in the fens, which heaves up human bones every year. The pool is one mile south of Ely.
Five pawns of Im�ginem per year. These are gathered in the weeds in a magical pool of water which reflects the viewer with the person he loves best behind his right shoulder, and the person he hates most behind his left. Only the person involved can see these images. The pool is in White Fen (45 G7).
Five pawns of Vim vis per year. The rain at Coveney (35 H1) on Midsummer's eve, if caught in silver bowls, will provide this much vis.
Magical Artifacts
The covenant has no magical artifacts that are owned in common.
Mundane Resources
Income and Reserves
The covenant has substantial reserves, the remains of the treasure that Peter found in the early years. It also gets a good income from its book trade, conducted from Logic. This income suffices for normal purposes, and the contacts with all those interested in buying and selling books means that the covenant is often able to acquire rare and interesting manuscripts cheaply and easily.
Mundane Library
The mundane library is very good indeed, and contains a large number of original works by members of the covenant.
Equipment
Any mundane equipment can be acquired, although large items would take time. As a matter of policy, the covenant does not bother with artistically valuable items, or things studded with precious stones, except for books.
Treasure
The only treasures possessed by the covenant are books, described under the libraries. The treasures that Peter found have been bartered into more negotiable form over the years.
Other Notes
The covenant owns enough horses to mount all the magi and several of the covenfolk.
Relations
Hermetic
Stonehenge Tribunal
The magi of Schola take little part in the Hermetic politics of the tribunal. Peter attends the Tribunals, in order to make sure that no-one tries to damage the covenant, but he rarely brings any issues forward, and tends to abstain on most issues. Richard may change that.
General Interaction
Reputation
The magi of Schola have a reputation for not being proper magi, and being far too obsessed with the doings of mortals. This leads to their power being looked down on, as well as their opinion.
Redcaps
Redcaps are accomodated in Grammar when they visit the covenant, and well-treated, so they will tend to make Schola a stop on any journey that takes them near it. However, the magi generally are not interested in Hermetic gossip, so that they learn less from this favour than they might.
Quaesitores
The Quaesitores are a little suspicious of Schola, as it is very much involved in the mundane world. However, the magi do not seem to use magic in their involvement, and there certainly seems to be little risk of their bringing ruin on their sodales. As regards Hermetic infringements, they are inclined to believe that Schola is innocent: they have no visible interest in spying on other magi, dealing with demons, or annoying the fay, and there is no evidence that they have ever done so.
Other Covenants
Cad Gadu
Caligo Fulgens Crepusculi
Domus Doctrinae
Insula Sancta
Peregrinatores Glandis
Rosa Aurea
Scopulus Ungularum
Silbury
The home of the Praeco, but a bunch of ineffectual old magi, declining into senility, with no apparent desire to do anything about it. It will probably fal to internal decay very soon.
Spina Nigra
Turris Papilionum
Other Tribunals
Non-Hermetic
History
Schola Pythagoranis was founded by Peter and his newly-trained apprentice Matthew in 1173. The covenant of Saxenburh, founded by Saxon magi fleeing the Norman conquest, had not been heard from for two Tribunals, and it was generally assumed that it had died. Peter set up his covenant in Cambridge because it was conveniently sited on the edge of the Fens, where all the magic was, but was accessible for the scholars whom he hoped to attract.
In the early years Peter set the covenant up, attracted Thomas to join as a Redcap, and then Henry of Abingdon joined as well. In addition, a number of scholars had come to the town. In 1209, the university of Oxford dispersed, and Peter made use of his contacts to invite substantial numbers of scholars to Cambridge. Here, they set up their own university, with which the Schola Pythagoranis was closely associated.
Copyright David Chart 1995-1998
