Council Doorway
A large circular opening, glowing faintly with a silvery magical light, marks the entrance to the council chamber. It is set at the bottom of a wide staircase leading down from the main hall's floor, and a grog stands guard at all times. The guard is purely ceremonial – no mundane can pass through the gateway, not without a token. The gates open easily for magi.
This is an invested device, and the lab texts describing it are in the covenant's library. The doorway itself provides a +7 shape bonus, but only a lead (+4 material bonus) rune set inside it has been opened for enchantment (a small base-metal item, requiring 10 pawns of Viim vis to open). It has been invested with three effects:
ReCo 20 (ReCo B3, +1 Touch, +2 Sun, +1 Circle, +3 levels environmental trigger, +2 levels 2/day), Penetration 0, prevents any human from passing through the doorway. The silvery light appears to be related to the magus' sigil.
InTe 20 (InTe B4, +1 Touch, +2 Sun, +3 levels environmental trigger, +2 levels 2/day) detects if one of the tokens, designated at the time the effect is invested, is touching the doorway. These are small iron emblems, all made from the same ignot in the same forging, but their design isn't otherwise specified. The original lab text detailed six tokens being made, but the number can be varied if the effect is re-created.
ReVi 33 (ReVi B10, +1 Touch, +1 Concentration, +10 levels unlimited frequency, +3 levels linked trigger) suppresses the doorways' magic, allowing people to pass through. To activate this effect a person has to touch the doorway's sill with one of the tokens, and concentrate.
Contributor: Yair
Notes: technically the first two should be level 19, as 2 uses/day is only +1
Flour Maker
A small grindstone is used to grind wheat by the covenfolk. Although it is small, it suffices for all of the covenant's needs easily, allowing it to store grain which it buys at the annual Festival from the nearby villagers to enjoy fresh bread all year around. The item is operated by a single covenfolk, traditionally the most agile (and, often, young) member of the kitchen's scullions. (The item provides 5 pounds in cost savings on food expenses.)
This item was made as a lesser enchanted device. The lab text describing it is in the covenant's library.
ReHe 35 (ReHe B5, +1 Touch, +1 Concentration, +2 Group, +10 levels unlimited frequency). This small grinding stone does the work of a whole mill, although it is only used intermittently by the covenfolk. A Dex + Finesse roll of 6 is required to operate it properly; a dexterous covenfolk is assigned to it, who would usually develop a low Finesse score by Exposure.
Contributor: Yair
Notes:
Hunting Mask
The covenfolk use a magical device to aid their hunting – a mask of a strange design, made of animal hide. The item is old, and patched, but still functions. [The mask provides 2 pounds in coast savings on forestry.]
This was made as a lesser enchanted device. The lab text describing it is in the covenant's library. The mask provides a +4 shape bonus.
InAn 20 (InAn B3, +1 Touch, +2 Sun, +2 Smell) provides the wearer with a magical sense of smell, allowing him to detect the presence of nearby creatures hidden from sight. This is of substantial aid in hunting small creatures such as ermine or sable, when those scatter and hide.
Contributor: Yair
Notes:
Boar Herding Amulet
A small topaz stone (+5 material bonus), hung by a simple string, is used by the covenfolk herding the wild boar. It allows them to control the wild beasts. (The item provides 3 pounds in cost saving on forestry.)
This item was made as a lesser enchanted device. The lab text describing it is in the covenant's library.
ReAn 23 (ReAn B2, +2 voice, +2 sun, +2 group, +3 levels effect frequency), 6/day.
Contributor: Yair
Notes
Preserver of Books
A bulky marble clam shell adorns the eastern wall of the council chamber. It suffuses the room with its magical effect, protecting the books from rot.
This item was made as a lesser enchanted device. The lab notes describing it are in the covenant's library.
CrAn 20 (CrAn B2, +1 Touch, +2 Sun, +2 Room, +5 levels constant effect)
Contributor: Yair
Notes:
Cloak of the Raven
Type: Greater Item Vis: Opened: 24, Used: 24 Remaining: 0
Description: This is a black cloak woven of silk taken from the spider maidens of Iarnwood. It has a supple smooth texture that rivals the finest oriental silk, is light weight and comfortable to wear, yet is warm and hangs with the weight of a normal cloak. This is the natural quality of the material, not due to any enchantment. The clasp it is made of silver, ornamented in knot work.
Investments
InMe 30 Activation of the Linked Trigger (B: 15, R: Touch +1M, D: Concentration +1M, T: Individual; Auto-Concentration +5L) The wearer of the cloak must allow this effect to penetrate when they initially put the cloak on, but thereafter it remains active for as long as they wear it. It reads the wearer’s surface thoughts, and allows him to activate/deactivate effects by silent mental command.
CrAu 48 Wings of Soaring Wind (B: 5, R: Touch +1M, D: Concentration +1M, T: Individual, Highly Unnatural +2M, Rego Requisite +1M; Auto-Concentration +5L, +Linked Trigger +3L, Unlimited Use +10L) As per the spell of the same name, the cloak carries the wearer aloft in flight. The top speed is around 40 mph, and a Finesse roll may be needed for any tricky maneuvers such as hovering in place. The Cloak maintains concentration, so there is no danger of falling from the sky because you forgot to think about your flight (though not paying attention could cause other accidents as always). This power has an unlimited amount of use.
PeIm 39 Shroud of Silent Invisibility (B: 5, R: Touch +1M, D: Concentration +1M, T: Individual, Changing Image +1M, Improved Effect +1M; Auto-Concentration +5L, +Linked Trigger +3L, 50 uses per day +6L) The cloak and whomever wears it turns invisible. The effect is enhanced, so they don’t even cast a reflection or a shadow, and additionally all of their movements are made silent too. Refer to page 33 of iSocietates[/i] for information on how invisibility affects stealth and combat. The enhancements of this effect do not change those modifiers. Rather, they should be taken into account when determining rank for “Clarity of Signs”. The fatal flaw of this effect though is air. His voice can be heard as it carries on the wind, his breath can be felt, he leaves his scent hanging in the air, and any wind disturbed by his movement can be felt. The item maintains concentration on this effect, which can only be used fifty times a day.
MuCo 49 Assuming the Raven’s Form (B: 20, R: Touch +1M, D: Concentration +1M, T: Individual, Animal Requisite necessary for effect, multiple other requisites included to transform wearer’s belongings as well +1M; Auto-Concentration +5L, +Linked Trigger +3L, 50 uses per day +6L) This allows the wearer transform into a Raven. All of his possessions are changed into feathers, so he does not loose them buy may not be able to use them for the duration. The item maintains concentration, and they can change back at will. This may be used 50 times a day.
InIm 34 Eyes of the Raven (B: 3, R: Touch +1M, D: Constant +2M & +4L, T: Vision +4M,) This effect, which is continually active on the wearer, allows them to see in total darkness as if it were daylight.
InIm 30 Ears of the Raven (B: 1, R: Sight +3M, D: Concentration +1M, T: Hearing +3M; Unlimited Use +10L) By focusing his attention, the wearer can hear what is transpiring at any location he can see. He can hear a conversation whispered on the other side of a crowded room as long as he can see the participants.
Contributor: Mark Faulkner
Notes:
The Staff of Donald the Mighty
Type: Greater Enchanted Device
Vis: Opened: 16 (20), Used: 20 Remaining: 0
Description: This is an iron-shod quarterstaff made of hard oak wood, inscribed with the Verditius Elder Runes for Creo and for Auram. It was created by Donald of Verditius who had planned to use it in a Wizard War against the hated Reynald of Tytalus. He spent nearly three years crafting the item, but his rival was assassinated by another enemy before he had the chance to declare his challenge.
Investments:
CrAu 80 Bolt of Mighty Lightning (B: 5, R: Sight +3M, D: Momentary, T: Individual, Exceptionally Unnatural +4M; Runes +10L, Unlimited Use +10L, Penetration 40 +20L The wielder points at his target while thumping the end of the staff against the ground or something, uttering the command word. A bolt of lightning then flies forth from your outstretched hand to the target, inflicting +30 damage.
CrAu 80 Strike of Mighty Thunder (B: 5, R: Touch +1M, D: Concentration +1M, T: Individual, Exceptionally Unnatural +4M; Runes +10L, Item Maintains Concentration +5L, Unlimited Use +10L, Penetration 40 +20L The wielder strikes the end of the staff against the ground or something, shouting the appropriate command word to activate or deactivate this effect. When active, the staff strikes a blow in combat equivalent to that of a bolt of thunder, inflicting +30 Damage.
CrAu 35 Winds of Circling Protection (B: 3, R: Touch +1M, D: Concentration +1M, T: Individual, Unnatural +2M, Rego Requisite +1M; Item Maintains Concentration +5L, Unlimited Use +10L) As per the spell with the similar name.
Contributor: Mark Faulkner
Constantine the Familiar Butterfly
Viola of Merinita is a half-faerie maga raised in the faerie regio of her father. Her name and her sigil, the color, form, and scent of violets, reflect the violets that filled that regio. As a magus who specializes in Muto and Imaginem, Viola chose a butterfly for a familiar, because of its obvious assocation with the Art of Muto. Her particular choice was a male purple emperor, a large butterfly found throughout Europe, because the male of that species is notable for the violet sheen that its wings take on when viewed from certain angles—both the color and its mutability fit Viola to a T. She named her new familiar Constantine, after the famous Byzantine emperor (at the time, she was living in Thebes Tribunal, and anyway she appreciated the Byzantines' renown for subtle diplomacy).
As a magical butterfly, Constantine has the following basic stats (note though that before being bonded, he had Cunning rather than Intelligence):
Size: -12 (wingspan of about 3.5 inches)
Might: 17 (this assumes he's a grog-level character)
Intelligence: -3
Perception: +1
Communication: +3
Presence: +4
Strength: -24
Stamina: 0
Dexterity: +3
Quickness: +9
Virtues: Magic Animal; Great Presence, Luck, Unaffected by the Gift
Flaws: Carefree, Magical Friend, Proud
Magic Qualities: Improved Abilities (x2), Improved Defense, Lesser Power
Magic Inferiorities: Susceptible to Deprivation
Personality Traits: Purple Emperor +3*, Curious +3, Gregarious +3
Abilities (before bonding): Athletics (acrobatic flight) 5, Awareness (searching) 1 (but with 10 XP's), Brawl (dodging) 2, Stealth (hide), Survival (woodlands) 3
Of course, after bonding, Constantine instantly knew the languages Viola spoke, and also began to acquire other skills, like a normal character. These new Abilities included Area Lore, Folk Ken, Order of Hermes Lore, Faerie Lore, and, in preparation to help out in the lab, Magic Theory. Since his Int is -3, even with the specialization "lab assistant", he won't be any real use until his Magic Theory reaches 3; in the meantime, Viola uses Training to instruct him in that Ability (the one time she couldn't do this was the season she first bound him, since he wasn't intelligent yet, but she can instruct him while she's enchanting his bond later), and even after his Magic Theory reaches a useful level, she uses Training whenever his lab bonus isn't needed in a given season. All this, though, assumes some house rules that allow a familiar to learn without consuming massive quantities of vis; otherwise, he's pretty much stuck with what he's got.
Given that Constantine is so tiny, even with his Might, the required Lab Total is 0. As it happens, though, Viola has a MuAn Lab Total of 41 at the time of bonding; her real specialty is Im, but An is more useful for enchanting familiars. That (and eight pawns of vis) gives her 40 points to work with, which she distributes among the cords as follows:
Golden Cord: +3 (30) (Viola is terrified of botches and Warping—she wants to live a long time.)
Silver Cord: +1 (5)
Bronze Cord: +1 (5)
To date, Viola has enchanted the following effects on the familiar bond with Constantine:
CrMe 15, Mental Communication (by Constantine) (Base 4 - which means it includes images and emotions - Touch +1M, unlimited uses +10L), two pawns of vis; Constantine often adopts Viola's air of constant distraction, while Viola starts to twitch her ears like antennae occasionally.
MuAn 26, Feet to Hands (Base 5 - a minor unnatural change, since a butterfly already has prehensile feet - Concentration +1M, Touch +1M, 50 uses/day +6L, bond maintains concentration +5L), three pawns of vis; Constantine takes on some of Viola’s independence, while Viola's hair takes on a violet sheen when struck by light at just the right angle (it already changes colors with the seasons, an expression of Viola's partly fae nature, and this new quirk makes the hair especially bizarre).
MuAn 26, Stupendous Size (similar to Growth of the Creeping Things, but increases size by a factor of 10 rather than four - making Constantine's wingspan about a foot and a half) (Base 4, increased effect +1M, Concentration +1M, Touch +1M, 50 uses/day +6L, bond maintains concentration +5L), three pawns of vis; Viola takes to rustling her garments while resting, as if flapping wings, and Constantine starts to ignore people who annoy him.
MuAn 30, Speech (base 15 - for a butterfly, this is a major unnatural change, since it can't even make sounds to begin with - Concentration +1M, Touch +1M, bond maintains concentration +5L); three pawns of vis, Constantine takes on some of Viola’s incomprehensibility (thankfully, not all of it), while Viola waves her hands meaningfully while talking, as if to communicate using the patterns they describe in the air.
MuCo(An) 36, Wings of Gossamer (turns Viola into a purple emperor butterfly - unfortunately, the female of the species is rather drab, but Viola's sigil nonetheless gives her wings a violet hue) (Base 20, Concentration +1M, Touch +1M, 2 uses/day +1L, bond maintains concentration +5L), four pawns of vis; Constantine begins to undergo color changes that accord with the seasons (not unusual for some animals, but adult purple emperors don't normally live to see winter), and Viola's appetite is now stimulated by flowers in bloom.
Contributor: Scott Orr
Notes: Remember that Viola gets a +5 to enchant any Mu effect into the bond, and a +5 for any An effect; a MuAn effect gets a +10. Viola also has a Magic Theory specialization in enchanting items, which (arguably) gives her a bonus of +1 to enchant the bond, though it doesn't help with the original binding (oddly, a lab specialization in items appears not to help with enchanting familiar bonds, since there's a separate specialization for familiars). Note finally that lab texts are not useful for enchanting familiars, since a given text applies only to the particular maga and familiar for which it's produced.
Viola’s Lab
When Antonio invited Viola to join the covenant at Andorra, she found the library impressive, but what really attracted her was a remarkable discovery she made on the covenant grounds.
Many years ago, in 1050, a lab set up outside the castle walls, in a secluded glade with a faerie aura, by Ihsahn of Flambeau, an elderly and Twilight-addled magus, disappeared into a regio, leaving a swath of bare ground nearly 10 paces across. Ihsahn mentioned the event to a couple of his closest sodales and a handful of covenantfolk, but, while the newly empty space was clearly visible from the castle’s wall and towers, the development had little real impact, since the magus continued to use the lab normally. As time wore on, plants took root in the vacant square, which came to be dominated by a young black pine growing in its center. The square itself was clearly marked by four “walls” of bushes around its perimeter.
When the Flambeau passed into Final Twilight a couple of decades later, the other magi were able to enter the regio easily enough—to do so required an individual using Second Sight or Piercing the Faerie Veil to place a foot in a specific position while crossing the “threshold” (a gap between two bushes at the mundane level, matching the front door of the building in the regio)—but none of the magi at the time had Second Sight, no one wanted to have to cast a spell each day just to enter his own laboratory, and labs were not in short enough supply to make it worthwhile to enchant of an item to do the trick. Thus, the magi scavenged the specialized equipment and ingredients they could make use of, and then abandoned the lab. The magi were reluctant to tamper with the area’s magical nature by casting spells to transform it, not knowing what risks this course of action might hold; the grove became a secluded refuge for solitary poets and sulking children. The lab was not exactly forgotten—the black pine continued to grow, and eventually towered over the walls of the castle, as well as the surrounding trees, a visible reminder that prompted every child born in the covenant to ask her parents for the story of its origins. However, no one had reason to visit the laboratory, apart from the occasional exploring apprentice, and later magi seldom considered the possibility of making use of it; the few who did found the lab’s interior a little too strange for their tastes.
When Viola visited the covenant in the early winter of 1220, at Antonio’s invitation, she became extremely curious about the large pine. She asked to see the pine and its surrounding grove of bushes, and she immediately spotted the entrance to the regio (Faerie aura 5). Stepping inside, she passed through the Ihsahn’s former living quarters to find a well-equipped and fully functional lab (Dedicated Building)…more or less. A stem from an ivy plant growing from the base of the pine had found its way into the regio through a broken floorboard (which makes the lab Deformed)—this is actually a second entrance to the regio, though any human would be hard-pressed to make use of it. The ivy had thrived in the confines of the lab, which, despite its numerous windows, skylight, and unnaturally bright interior lighting (Magical Lighting as Excessive Lighting; unless commanded otherwise, the lighting only functions during daylight hours), was still shady compared with an outdoor area lit by direct sunlight. The plant sent its shoots throughout the room, covering the walls and virtually every other vertical and horizontal surface (Infested). At the center of the building (which was offset a bit from the center of the lab itself), four stems wound around square pillars supporting the roof at the corners of a skylight. The original occupant had enchanted the skylight to exclude rain, wind, and other foul weather, while admitting sunshine and (except during the colder months) fresh air (ReAu 24—Base 5, +1M for precision, +2M & 4L for constant effect). Though the building now formed a regio, light continued to pour in through both the skylight and, once, they had been unshuttered, the windows (through which the glade at the mundane level was still visible, giving the lab Idyllic Surroundings). It was at the skylight that Viola made her most interesting discovery.
Stacking a chair on top of two tables, Viola climbed through the skylight, and discovered a second, higher level of the regio (Faerie aura 6). The upper level must have developed later, after the passing of the magus into Final Twilight, because it went unmentioned in the covenant’s lore, though it seems hard to believe that it hadn’t been found by an adventurous apprentice or two. Rather than mimicking the lab on the level below, the upper level represented an idealized version of the grove at the mundane level (further evidence that it must have formed after the lower regio level): a wall of bushes similar to those at the mundane level enclosed a circular space 10 paces across, with the familiar black pine (which existed at both the mundane level and in both levels of the regio) at its center. The four stems of the ivy joined to wind around the tree, appearing from nowhere 10 feet up the trunk (the height of the lab’s ceiling), and growing both up and down from that point, and Viola found herself clutching the tree there. Gripping the ivy for support, she descended into a tiny world inhabited by fae versions of the plants and animals living in the mundane grove.
The upper regio experiences essentially the same weather as the world outside, though the enchantment on the skylight seems to have warped it a bit, making its weather always milder than the mundane version. The most important inhabitants are the pine and the ivy, both of which are awakened. A few of the plants can move around freely, though neither they nor the animals visit the lower level of the regio very often—for the most part, the vine has this room to itself. It had wormed a couple of shoots into the living quarters, but Viola had the one that invaded her bedchamber removed. Fortunately, ivy tolerates pruning quite well, both physically, and, in this case, emotionally, meaning that the floor and work surfaces can be cleared relatively easily (or the ivy will simply move itself out of the way).
In those seasons when Viola works in the lab, she is assisted by a Servant, a sharp girl (Int +2) named Anais, who was born in the covenant. At present, the upper level has not been incorporated into the lab, and so the Regio Virtue modifies only the Warping, and not the Size. For purposes of lab work, the aura for the lab as a whole should be considered to be 5 (the aura of the lower level). The regio consists of the entire building, including Viola’s living quarters. Since the regio entrance is the most easily defended point in the building, Viola’s sanctum begins here: any individual entering the regio by crossing between the two bushes will find himself opening a door marked as Viola’s sanctum; the opening of the door is the act that by which someone enters the regio. It’s certainly possible for someone to stop before opening the door, and thereby to avoid entering both the regio and the sanctum, but the sight of the sanctum marking is fleeting enough to qualify as a Missing Sanctum Marker. Viola also maintains a room inside the castle for meeting with visitors; she’d rather not advertise the location of her lab, vulnerable as it is outside the covenant’s defenses.
The lab is part of a summer covenant with excellent outfittings and a full complement of specialists. Because of this, all of its labs have Superior Construction, Superior Equipment, Superior Tools, Magical Heating, and Magical Lighting.
Beginning Lab Stats:
Size: 0 (0)
Refinement: 0
Base Safety: 0
General Quality: +2
Upkeep: 1
Safety: +5
Warping: +1 (Devious)
Health: +3
Aesthetics: +2
Specializations: +1 Items, +1 Vis Extraction, +1 Mu, +1 An, +1 He, +2 Im
Free Virtues: Dedicated Building (+1 Upkeep, +1 Aesthetics, +1 Re), Idyllic Surroundings (+2 Health, +1 Aesthetics, +1 An), Superior Construction (+1 Safety, +1 Aesthetics), Servant (+1 Safety, +1 Aesthetics, +1 Me), Superior Equipment (+1 General Quality, +1 Safety, +1 Vis Extraction), Superior Tools (+1 Safety, +1 Items), Familiar (+1 General Quality, +3 Safety), Magical Heating (as Superior Heating; +1 Health, +1 Aesthetics, +1 Ig), Magical Lighting (as Excessive Lighting; +2 Im), Regio (+1 Warping)
Free Flaws: Deformed (-1 Safety, -1 Aesthetics, +1 Mu), Infested (-1 Safety, -1 Aesthetics, +1 He), Missing Sanctum Marker (-1 Aesthetics)
After taking over the lab, Viola spends two seasons to add the Natural Environment Virtue, which occupies the space (Size +3) of the upper regio level; the extension also adds the Inhabitants Flaw, and the Faerie Ingredients Virtue. The change includes building circular staircases up into the skylight (simple plank steps on an open frame), and around the tree (plank steps fastened around the trunk). The addition of the upper level does not add the Exposed Flaw, since half the lab is not exposed at all—and Exposed isn’t necessarily required for a lab that includes a Natural Environment. Presumably, since it’s normal for a regio laboratory to include two levels, Awkward Shape should not apply, either, perhaps, because a lab in a regio is Well Insulated almost by definition, and the two effects cancel one another out (their net effect would be –1 Safety, but it could be argued that a regio is more insulated than the typical Well Insulated lab).
Over the next few years, Viola spends three seasons on Refinement of the lab (her Magic Theory is nearly at 6 before she begins), making it Highly Organized (she doesn't have any Personality Traits that make gaining Spotless likely) and giving her three more points of space for Virtues; however, Highly Organized is eliminated once her familiar (or, arguably, her servant, Anais) assists her in the lab. She trains the flora and fauna to act as a Lesser Horde, and spreads the equipment out a bit, making the lab Spacious, and she also improves the Magic Theory score of her familiar through Training and Exposure. Finally, she makes her animate faerie wine casks, a Vis Source, part of the lab. Later, if she increases her Magic Theory or is willing to take on a Minor Flaw, she might consist add Pot Plants to the lower level, to provide a little horticultural variety, but the stats below do not include this final Virtue.
The end result is a lab that's potent and not too dangerous, but very liable to warp its products. All of this fits its owner's personality quite well.
Final Lab Stats:
Size: 3 (3)
Refinement: 3
Base Safety: 0
General Quality: +5
Upkeep: +1
Safety: +7
Warping: +3 (Devious)
Health: +3
Aesthetics: +4
Specializations: +1 Experimentation, +1 Items, +5 Mu, +3 An, +3 He, +2 Im
Major Virtues: Natural Environment (+2 Aesthetics, +1 An, +2 He)
Minor Virtues: Spacious (+2 Safety, +1 Aesthetics), Lesser Horde (+1 General Quality, +1 Upkeep, +1 Safety, +1 Aesthetics, +1 Muto), Vis Source (-1 Safety, +1 Warping, +2 Muto)
Free Virtues: Dedicated Building (+1 Upkeep, +1 Aesthetics, +1 Re), Idyllic Surroundings (+2 Health, +1 Aesthetics, +1 An), Superior Construction (+1 Safety, +1 Aesthetics), Servant (+1 Safety, +1 Aesthetics, +1 Me), Superior Equipment (+1 General Quality, +1 Safety, +1 Vis Extraction), Superior Tools (+1 Safety, +1 Items), Familiar (+2 General Quality, +3 Safety), Faerie Ingredients (+1 General Quality, -1 Upkeep, +1 Warping, +1 Experimentation, +1 Muto), Magical Heating (as Superior Heating; +1 Health, +1 Aesthetics, +1 Ig), Magical Lighting (as Excessive Lighting; +2 Im), Regio (+1 Warping, +3 Size)
Free Flaws: Deformed (-1 Safety, -1 Aesthetics, +1 Mu), Infested (-1 Safety, -1 Aesthetics, +1 He), Missing Sanctum Marker (-1 Aesthetics), Inhabitants (-1 Safety, -1 Aesthetic, +1 An)
Contributor: Scott Orr
Notes: Yeah, I know it's not a magic item, but it seemed like it would be useful to provide an example of a very personalized lab. The original version had the regio appearing in the middle of a single-story building within the covenant grounds, creating an overgrown courtyard accessible only through the living quarters of the original magus (the regio in this version encompassed only the lab itself), which also meant that the lab had no windows, only the skylight, and of course, no Idyllic Surroundings; the upper level of the regio was walled with ivy, straight up for 10 feet, then sloping off into the distance, rather than bushes. The living quarters were converted to storage (no one wanted to live there, as the late magus was so strange), and the roots of the pine had begun threatening the rooms around the courtyard. The fact that the regio was inside the covenant grounds meant that the lower level had to have an aura at least one higher than the covenant's, and the upper level an aura one higher than that, which is one reason it ended up getting moved outside the castle. I really like the creepiness of the original version, though.
