The Apocalypse Season: Fall, 1221 Full Members: Ahmed of Flambeau Hunter (Scott) Demoror of Quaesitor Teacher (Billy) Flamma of Tremere Head Protector (Eric) Malcolm of Jerbiton Lab Worker (Matt) Marlon of Tremere Head Hunter (Philip) Meles of Tremere Protector Tolas of Tremere Leader Members: Adric of Jerbiton Associate Member (Kevin) Muris of Verditius Associate Member (Donald) Selwyne of Merinita Associate Member (Chris) Mundane Leaders: Luigi, Iron Grog Grog Leader Guardian of Flamma Mundanes: Abruzzo, Silver Grog Guardian of Selwyne Arthur, Silver Grog Guardian of Verdan Benetto, Silver Grog Guardian of Malcolm Gussepie Guardian of Meles Iago, Copper Grog Guardian of Tolas Palatzo, Silver Grog Guardian of Muris Pazio, Silver Grog Sea Specialist Reginald, Copper Grog Guardian of Malcolm Samson, Silver Grog Guardian of Lysander Tiano, Silver Grog Guardian of Adric Turati, Mercury Grog Guardian of Ahmed * * * [Dramatis Personae]: Antonio Werewolf Garb Elf Noble Shen Seelie Prince Tomasso Werewolf Leader * * * [A Timeline of the Werewolves of Sardinia]: Spring, 1219 Magi of Dragon's Rise first meet the werewolves. The vampire, Gustare, tries to create animosity, but fails. Eventually, an agreement is reached, where the magi promise not to hurt the land in the North of Sardinia. -Rise Log #4, "Rage Across Sardinia" Winter, 1219 Werewolves become furious when Calios, a magus from Trames, upon Corsica, hurts one of their number. Magi of Dragon's Rise reconcile the problem. -Rise Log #6, "The Olive Branch" Winter, 1220 The odd fact that every seven years, werewolves go upon tree-eating sprees is learned. -Rise Log #9, "Dark Carnival" Summer, 1221 Werewolves are declared diabolic. -Rise Log #10, "Politics, as Usual" * * * [An Ancient Werewolf Prophecy]: These are the final days The signs are clear Even our pups know That this is the age of the Apocalypse The Men have corrupted the Earth Destroyed the Trees Slaughtered the Beasts Unleashed the Eternal Fire Now, the Wyrm rises To eclipse the Moon Devouring all within its grasp, Hunting the hunters. There is no garden To which we can flee. There is nowhere to hide. The end is upon us. * * * [From THE RISE LOGS OF TOLAS OF TREMERE]: My return to Dragon's Rise was a happy one. The trees, the hills, the buildings, they all looked like home, in a way that neither Vardian's Tomb nor Postestas ever had. I looked forward to again spending my time with Flamma, and then there was Luke, who I had only seen during his too brief visits to Literatus. Even the smelly villagers looked welcome. Almost. With me, I brought quite a group. There were Adric and Selwyne who I had discovered at the Tribunal, as well as the five new grogs that we had acquired on our meandering journey back to Sardinia. Abruzzo, Benetto, Palatzo, Pazia and Tiano are the names of the new warriors I have brought to the covenant. They all seem to meet the qualifications that I set forth for grogs, which is to say that they follow my orders, above all others, without question. I gawked for a bit at the huge dragon which lay upon our hill, and then, remembering that I had seven people watching me, acted as if I thought nothing of it. After sending out a general announcement that the Fall Council meeting would be held that evening, I went to my room, intoxicated by the familiarity of all I saw. When Flamma presented me with a letter from the Stonehenge Tribunal, my mood became even better. I learned that at the Stonehenge Tribunal of 1221, the Arch Magus Stephios of Tytalus had been fined a large amount of vis for his obstruction of an investigation that Flamma was conducting last year. For several hours, Flamma and I talked, happy to again be reunited. She spoke of the seven league boots that she had just finished working upon, while I talked of the politics of the Tribunal. It was a pleasant, idyllic afternoon. Finally, the time for the Council meeting came. A bit reluctantly, I walked down to the council room. I knew that the next weeks would bring much work. I opened the meeting by talking of the two missions that lay before our covenant. First, there were the werewolves. The Tribunal had declared them diabolic, so it was our duty to go forth and destroy them. Flamma and Ahmed were both quick to volunteer for the mission. Unfortunately, Ahmed spoke of helping me in the task, as if I had been planning to go along. Not wanting to appear a coward, however, I acted as though that had been my design all along. After we discussed the logisistics of the werewolf hunting mission, I next spoke of Rumbaru, the hedge wizard that Magvillus had tricked us into hunting down. I explained that he had been behind both Nigel and the crusaders who had plagued our covenant in the past. Hunting Rumbaru was placed below slaying the werewolves on our list, however, for the Flambeau that Magvillus had promised had not yet arrived. After those two major issues were discussed, a number of small problems were brought up. Some farmers complained that crops were poor this year, and they were quietly reassured. I announced that Malcolm had stayed behind at Literatus, to copy some books that would improve our own library. The task was quickly deemed covenant service. Due to his excellent service at Literatus, Reginald was raised in rank, becoming a Copper grog. He seemed to be feeling the weight of the years, however, for as soon as he heard the news, he retired. When Malcolm returns, Benetto, one of the new grogs I collected, will be assigned to him. The whole time, Demoror whined, complaining about how I had let Postestas bully me into changing our votes at the Tribunal. I ignored him, for I knew that the majority of the covenant understood the necessity of occasionally doing a favor for Postestas. They did, after all, provide lab equipment and grogs that we still use even now. Marlon, who has been busy and unfriendly for several years, announced his newest plans at the Council meeting. He said that he would be inventing a great spell which would allow him to change into the shapes of many creatures of the wood. I had been expecting this announcement, and I began to talk of how good it would be to help Marlon in his task. By vote of Council, it was determined that the covenant would provide helpers for the creation of Marlon's spell, and in exchange, he would transcribe his spell, and we would distribute it across the Order. Thus, not only will my covenant gain reknown, but Marlon will also invent a spell of great enough a rank to qualify for Arch Magus status. He has begun speaking of taking Maria, who Nicholi is now teaching, as an apprentice as well. I think Flamma and I have finally convinced the boy of the benefits of the rank that we are seeking. At the conclusion of the council meeting, I allocated the new grogs. Palatzo has been assigned to Muris, Tiano to Adric and Abruzzo to Selwyne. Meles' grog died while I was gone, but he had already selected a new warrior, by the name of Gussepie. Slowly, our ranks are growing, seeking to reach the numbers ordained by our charter. Tonight, we are making our final preparations for the journey into the forest. I have assigned Luigi to select several additional warriors for the trip. Finally, we shall be rid of a force upon my island which I have found annoying in the extreme. Even better, vis shall be the reward for our troubles. * * * [From THE EPIC OF LUIGI]: At Tolas' orders, I gathered a handful of additional grogs. Samson I took, for I knew he was a good, stout warrior. I choose Arthur, because I still wondered of his loyalties, and wished to continue watching him closely. My final selection was Palatzo. He seemed the mightiest of the five new warriors that Tolas had choosen, and I wished to see if he would perform as well in the field as I hoped. Of course, Iago and Turati went upon the expedition as well, for they are the personal grogs of Tolas and Ahmed. Already, I knew that those two were good warriors. When dawn broke, the day after the council, I bid my Becki one final goodbye. When I met with the magi, I saw an amazing sight. With her, Flamma had her two morning stars, weapons which she had not carried in many years. I must say that I was the very slightest bit worried that Flamma would take such a precaution when her arcane powers are so great. It was fully a day before we arrived within the faerie forest. No sooner had we entered the woods, however, than the annoying inhabitants rushed out to greet out. It was no scrawny chicken-riding midget who met us this time, however, but rather Shen, the self-proclaimed king of the forest. Shen seemed quite angry, in that funny way that faeries get. He shouted and screamed about how we would not be allowed to kill his subjects, mentioning that some elf named Garb had warned him of our plans. I looked on curiously, waiting for him to throw himself to the ground and begin bawling. He didn't, and Tolas began to argue as well, saying that the werewolves were not subjects of Shen. Shen agreed, but still distrusted us. He declared that we could pass only if we left one of our number behind, as a token of trust. When Tolas finally agreed, I expected to be saying a pleasant farewell to Ahmed, for I knew he was the most useless of the magi. Instead, Tolas asked which of my warriors would volunteer to remain. I was astounded, and suggested we make little elf cutlets out of the smug faerie. Tolas won though, and so Iago was left behind, proof that we would not hurt any faeries while killing the werewolves. * * * [From THE RISE LOGS OF TOLAS OF TREMERE]: After leaving Iago behind, we stopped for a brief time to make some final preparations. All three magi were enchanted with Gift of the Bear's Fortitude, and several Wizard's Sidesteps were cast. Then, I began to concentrate upon a Intellego spell, designed to sense nearby minds. These preparations seemed to be well timed, for it was only a short time afterwards that I first detected five werewolf minds. A hill lay before us, shrouding the werewolves' glen. It was clear that the wolves lay there. When Antonio, the werewolf that we had spoken with many times before, approached over the hill, I watched warily. I did not want to make the first strike, and risk Flamma being overcome by a sudden fit of kindness. Antonio began to chat amiably, and I almost screamed. Ahmed and Flamma were listening intently, as if a great orator were talking. I thought that all my plans had gone amiss, and, despite my work spent in getting werewolves declared diabolic, Flamma was once again going to make promises of friendship to them. My worries were banished, however, when I heard the two magi chanting "Creo Ignem" in unison. Antonio was immolated. And thus was the final battle begun with those damned protectors of the woods. * * * [From THE EPIC OF LUIGI]: As Antonio's screams slowly faded, a moment of silence lay across the woods. The birds and beasts were quiet. Not even the winds dared to rustle a single branch, lest the beautiful tranquility be broken. Then, slowly, we began to see a glow coming over the rise. As the light spread, a noise too came to our attention. It was a howl. A howl of grief. A howl of vengeance. A howl of warnings. It filled our ears, nearly immobilizing us. Then, three of the werewolves charged over the hill. Behind them, a golden falcon rose above the hill, lighting the entire area with an unholy glow. Where before the werewolves had approached us either in the form of wolves or men, now they seemed to be some manner of inhuman monstrosity. They were neither men nor wolves, but something in between. Somehow, they incorporated the worst features of both species. So terrible was their appearance that several of my grogs were terrified by their very visages. Only Samson charged forward, while I bravely guarded the magi. And thus, the battle was upon us. At first, Flamma kept the creatures from us by surrounding them with stone. Unfortunately, the idiot Samson was captured too, so Flamma was forced to blow a hole in the stone ring in order to preserve Samson's worthless life. As I charged forward to help Samson, I was impressed, for he had already cut down one of the three werewolves that he had faced. I must say that that as I fought the werewolves, they were fiercer than I could have imagined. It seemed as if they were some how drawing power from the glowing falcon that flew overhead. Still, I was not daunted. I fought bravely against the two captured werewolves, my faithful grog, Samson, ever at my side. Unfortunately, as Samson and I faced the two werewolves within the ring of stone, two more of the creatures burst out of the forest, attacking the magi from behind. Even worse, grogs that I had left behind were not nearly as stout as Samson and myself. Thus, they were frozen by fear, leaving the magi to deal with the werewolves by their own means. * * * [From THE RISE LOGS OF TOLAS OF TREMERE]: When that idiot, Luigi, charged ahead, seeking only his own glory, I was left nearly defenseless, surrounded by incompetents. When I heard the howls from behind us, I knew I was in trouble. Turning, I saw two werewolves running from the forest. The first seemed to be made of pure silver, while the second was surrounded by some manner of Imagonem magics, making it nearly impossible to see him. Clearly, the worthless warriors had been sent to the slaughter while the great magical leaders attacked safely from behind. For a moment, I wonder if, perhaps, we fought magi. Flamma disappeared into her magic box while the grogs stood paralyzed with fear. Ahmed too seemed immobilized, although I am sure it was stupidity, not terror, that froze him. As the shimmering wolf charged straight at me, fear took control of my mind too. My grog was far away, held captive by faeries, and those about me were all petrified. Quickly, I began to cast a spell of Rego Corporem, hoping to throw myself far from the beast. Unfortunately, I had let fear take control of my mind, and I fumbled over the gestures and mispronounced the words of my spell. Suddenly, I was surrounded by a cold blackness, and for a second, I thought I had made my final mistake. Then, I was in the cold waters of a large body of water. Later, I would find that it was the Adriatic Sea. My mispoken spell had taken me further than I had thought was Hermetically possible. It was a long trek back to Dragon's Rise, and the whole time, I worried. Without me, I was sure that disaster had befallen the small, embattled party that I had left in the Faerie Wood upon Sardinia. * * * [From Iago's Personal Report to Tolas of Tremere]: Shen really is a nice guy, and I only had to talk with him for a little bit before he said he'd free me. So, I hurried off, hoping to catch up with you all. I think I arrived just in time. When I heard a battle, I started to run. Soon, I was close enough to see the battle, and it was clear that it was going badly. I could not see Luigi or Samson due to that huge stone wall. Ahmed was in the open however, surrounded by frozen grogs. I saw you for a second, but as I was running up you disappeared. As I closed on the battle, several spells were cast at the silver wolf. It continued on, however, seemingly unhurt. The shimmery wolf still charged too, passing where you had been. He smashed into Ahmed, who let out a yelp of surprise. Then, the entire area was plunged in darkness. Somehow, Flamma's spell turned the tables for us. Perhaps it was because the wolves could no longer draw power from the glow of that golden falcon. Or, maybe it was because several of us grogs were used to fighting in the utter black, for Flamma casts that darkness spell often. True, the wolves were creatures of the night, but Flamma's magical darkness is a great one, surely more than the wolves had ever seen. As I joined in the battle, the other grogs were recovering from their paralysis. The werewolves were hidden from them, and it had been the awful sight of the creatures which had frozen them. So, Palatzo and Arthur and Turati and I all fought, now by sounds alone. There were accidents, I will admit. I nearly cut Turati in two, once, due to a case of mistaken identity. Within the circle of stone, Luigi and Samson each managed to kill their opponent. The other grogs and I were only able to hold the last two wolves off, but it was enough. Again and again, Flamma and Ahmed cast spells of water and flame. It was the shimmering wold who fell first. Even in the darkness, we could see him for a second, as he fell, outlined by Flamma's flame. After the shimering wolf fell, we heard the final wolf retreating. And thus, the battle was ended. When we carried Flamma's box away, the circle of darkness was finally broken. I was quite surprised to see that there were no deaths. We were all quite worried about Flamma however, for she did not come out of her box after the battle. We had nearly given her up for lost, when, a full hour later, she finally emerged. It seems that when she had cast her last spell, the one which had killed the shimmering wolf, she had fallen unconscious, so tired was she from her many castings. I had not realized that we had all come so close to death. * * * [From THE EPIC OF LUIGI]: After Flamma finally returned, she and Ahmed argued for some time. Ahmed wanted to take the leaves from the tree that stood in the center of the werewolve's glen, while Flamma was afraid to, saying that it would hurt the magic of the faerie realms. I still am not sure why she was so concerned. Just as we were about to leave, for Flamma had, of course, won the argument, a little pixie approached us. He assured us that it was fine to strip the tree, and so we did. We returned home, our mission mostly successful. Only one of the wolves had escaped, that shiny silver one, but we were sure he would not be a threat alone. And then, there was Tolas. Flamma was nearly frantic over his sudden disappearance. She was quite relieved when, back on the covenant, Demoror discovered he was in Greece. Clearly, he had miscast a spell. No great surprise. A little council meeting was held afterwards, and Samson was credited one year towards his next raise in rank. I was a bit disturbed, for it shall encourage my other grogs to do such stupid things. Ah well. I suppose that the dumb ones shall be slain. Such is life. And thus was the matter of the werewolves upon Sardinia ended. Where once there had been seven, now there is one. Surely, he has already fled our island, finally leaving our home to us alone.