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1152 AD

• Grogs: 30
• Castellan: Baldwin
• Aura: 6
• Season: Winter
• Reputation: Politically powerful but stagnant.

Background

The second oldest covenant in the Tribunal of Stonehenge well protected from outsiders by virtue of its inaccessible location high in the Black Mountains. The covenant is almost permanently shrouded in mist, and can only be approached by the single narrow path that winds its way up the mountainside. Built into the very mountain, Blackthorn leads into a network of caves that extend deep underground where the older magi have built their laboratories and sancti. The deeper one travels the stronger the magical aura becomes. Eloria once claimed to have measured magnitudes as high as 8+ in the deeper catacombs. There is said to be a magical entity that resides deep in the caves, the nature of which has never been revealed. The caves may also extend to a magical regio, but the existence of such is little more than speculative. Rich seams of gold and silver once existed, but they have now been all but mined out. The strong magical aura has warped many of the grogs; their skins are pale, almost white, and some are said to have developed the ability to see in absolute darkness. Morale at Blackthorn is poor, not helped by the fact that Blackthorn has great difficulty in attracting new soldiers.

Recent history

Often the Prime covenant of Stonehenge, Blackthorn has had a long and eventful history. In the autumn of 1115, Blackthorn was attacked by the unnamed house, which sent a dragon against the covenant. Blackthorn is still in a process of recovering from the assault and much of its mundane library was destroyed. In 1119, Blackthorn and Severn Temple were part of an alliance that lasted until the events of 1148. In this year it was the site where Quaesitor Ruaridh attacked and killed magus Madoc and in so doing also destroyed much of what was left of the mundane library. On that same fateful night the diabolist Venius summoned a demon in the covenant's great hall and was only stopped by magus Astrius and what appeared to be the ghost of magus Ruaridh. In the summer of 1150, maga Dialectica left Blackthorn to join Severn Temple covenant as Pontifex.

As the home to the Praeca, an Archimaga of Mercere and the senior Quaesitor, Blackthorn still has a fair degree of political clout. However, without younger magi to take care of everyday affairs the covenant has slipped into Winter.

Visitor's library

Blackthorn has a huge magical library, which thankfully is stored so deep in the mountain that it survived the Wyrm's attack. The copy of Arcania Mundi, a famous tome written by Bonisagus himself, was untouched by the flames that gutted much of the covenant. However, much of the mundane lore was lost to the fires, a major covenant and Tribunal resource now lost forever. However, the visitors' library survived fairly intact.

Major vis sources 

Intellego, Rego, Imagonem and Vim