Untitled - The Secrets of the Mind & Body Shaping

a time to honor one’s predecessors in the
company of one’s mystical family.
The Gathering begins on the night
of the full moon closest to the summer
solstice, and magi begin to arrive up to a
fortnight beforehand. Only Initiates into
the House Mysteries are permitted to
attend, and they assemble in human form
at the center of Crintera, on top of a huge
wooden platform. A pool fed by a substantial
stream lies nearby. Those awaiting
Initiation must wait on the ground.
The Bjornaer Council intone an ancient
Gothic ritual which is supposed to ensure
that no shapeshifters are present at the
meeting, for it causes all those with a
heartbeast to simultaneously assume that
form. After this initial change, individuals
are free to take whichever form they
prefer, although human form is most
prevalent, for sheer ease of communication
rather than anything else.
The Ritual of Twelve Years is then
conducted for each applicant to the
House; all who fail the Initiation are then
escorted to the lowest level of the regio,
out of Crintera and forever barred from
House Bjornaer. Nominations for vacant
council seats follow the Initiation, with
the actual vote taking place much later in
the Gathering. All Initiated members of
the House, whether they have completed
their apprenticeship or not, have the right
to vote.
The only other organized event takes
place towards the end of the Gathering.
All Initiates assemble — seated — to hear
the Eagle Elder present the news of the
Order, and the Horse Elder recites all
news from within the House. Finally, the
Bear Elder announces any political decisions
to be pursued over the next twelve
years. Everybody present has the right
to speak, signifying their desire to do so
by standing up; points may be debated
and decisions changed as a result of these
debates.
During the rest of the Gathering,
which lasts about a week, the House
honors the memory of its lineage. Those
skilled at the performing arts prepare
songs, sagas, or mystery plays that revolve
around famous ancestors, or their own
deeds in pursuit of the secrets of the
House. Each member of the House strives
to uncover as much information about his
Houses of Hermes
lineage as possible, as this information is
vital in the pursuit of the Inner Mysteries
of the House. It is also a time for the
reaffi rmation of old friendships and the
settling of grudges.
No Bjornaer magi discuss what goes
on at Gatherings with magi from other
Houses. They neither confi rm nor deny
anything rumored to have gone on, which
has added to the mystery of the Gathering
amongst the curious magi of the Order.
The most paranoid members of the Order
intimate that House Bjornaer have very
good reasons for wanting to keep the
business of the Gathering a secret.
Sagas with Bjornaer magi should not
neglect the Gathering of Twelve Years
(the next few will be held in 1227, 1239,
and 1251); players without Bjornaer characters
should be given signifi cant characters
to play during the event. It is a great
opportunity to introduce powerful and
enigmatic members of the House, make
new friends and enemies, and resolve
internal matters, as well as introduce story
hooks that lead the characters into new
adventures. All characters who attend a
Gathering of Twelve Years should gain fi ve
experience points (as Adventure experience)
which can be applied to any appropriate
Ability used during the Gathering.
The Apprenticeship of
a Bjornaer Magus
There are two distinct phases in
the training of a young Bjornaer magus,
known as the sleeping years (from
Opening the Arts to the Ritual of Twelve
Years) and the awakened years (from the
Ritual of Twelve Years to induction into
the Order).
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tHe sleePing years
When Gifted children are found by
a Bjornaer follower, they normally spend
at least two years with the magus before
apprenticeship begins. During this period
the child is taught Latin and closely
observed for his temperament and personality.
If deemed suitable for the sept, the
child is taken as an apprentice, otherwise
he is passed on to another magus. A new
apprentice is called a catulus, or “cub.”
The catulus period is very different from
the apprenticeship of other Hermetic
magi. Catuli are the common property of
the sept; all magi of the sept take a turn
in teaching the catulus, and likewise, all
members have an equal right to his assistance
in the laboratory. As sept members
tend to dwell in close proximity, this
regular travel does not impinge upon an
apprentice’s study. During the sleeping
years, a sept attempts to guess the heartbeast
of the catulus, based on his personality
and physiognomy. This is important,
for the Initiation of the Heartbeast might
fail if the catulus is unsuited to the sept.
Little mention is made of the cultic practices
and beliefs of the House to a catulus;
such secrets are revealed in the season
immediately prior to the apprentice’s
Initiation into the House Mystery, giving
him only suffi cient understanding to get
him through the ritual. A catulus apprenticed
to a magus without a sept receives
training under one magus, much like a
standard Hermetic apprenticeship.
tHe aWakened years
Shared training ends when the Ritual
of Twelve Years is conducted and the
apprentice takes his heartbeast shape for
the fi rst time. At this point he is considered
to have passed his Apprentice’s Gauntlet
and is a member of House Bjornaer, with
a voice equal to any other member of the
House. However, the Code of Hermes
specifi es that an apprentice will receive
15 seasons of training over 15 years before
joining the Order. A single magus therefore
takes over the training of the Initiated
apprentice until he is ready to swear the
Oath of Hermes and become a full member
of the Order. The identity of this mas-