The Fourth Object enters the historical record when an Arabic traveler gives it to a serving girl in the palace of the Holy Roman Emperor, Frederick II, in 1224. It was, then, a single sprig of blue flowers. How little did he understand the significance of these tiny blossoms! The cerulea plants first propagated from this sprig…
Read MoreThe Third Object
The Third Object seems to be a mortarium, a dish-like vessel used for grinding in the Roman Imperial period. In function it is much like a mortal and pestle, or a ball mill, and indeed, this object was retrofitted as a ball mill by the magus who owed it: a small sphere of steel which can…
Read MoreThe Second Object
The Second Object is a golden ring, set with a large diamond, of unusual clarity and cut. It is presumed to be of magical manufacture. The ring has a small, smooth split in its back, if the setting be considered the front, but this is not, apparently, damage. Some Verditus magi have suggested it is…
Read MoreThe First Object
The First Object is called such merely by tradition, and because this assemblage is clearly a discrete object that has been broken into parts, much like the Fifteenth Object. Such was this Object’s lack of grandeur that for many years, this Academy did not accept its place in the Sequence, and considered it a secondary product of the manifestation of the Eighth…
Read MoreThirty Objects of Desire
Thirty Objects of Desire is my response ot the NaGaDeMoN and NaNoWriMo challenges, although I am not following the rules for either. I aim to post daily, for 30 days, creating a saga arc and story seeds for the Ars Magica roleplaying game. Quick links 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 …
Read MoreQuick Asides: The Larch
A new piece of mythic lore, for those facing the might of the Flambeau, or other wizards skilled in fire magic. In On Architecture, the author records that Julius Ceasar once tried to subdue a tribe who had a great wooden tower before their fortress. He had his men rain down fiery arrows on it,…
Read MoreQuick aside: Haruspexes
I’m listening to the Librivox version of “On Architecture” by Marcus Virtuvius Pollio. I’ll note anything interesting (beyond, by the way, a very detailed guide on how to design Roman and Greek rooms, which are fun for people who like high-detail sagas.) I knew, and I presume we all knew, that Romans, before founding a…
Read MoreBritish Goblins Chapter One: an example of stripping down text.
The text to be mined For this first chapter, I’ve decided to quote the complete text and colour code it to show what I’m looking for. In future chapters I’ll just publish my condensed notes. The idea here is to show you how the mining process works. The colour code is as follows: people or creatures, places,…
Read MoreBritish Goblins Project: first steps
I’m going to work with British Goblins in much the same way I would if I were writing a brief piece for an Ars book, or for the Sub Rosa fanzine. I’m not saying all of the authors work this way: I know that most of the ones I’ve collaborated with have different techniques. The…
Read MoreNow that its crashed and burned I can discuss this project
Have you ever wondered what might have happened to Ars Magica’s faeries if the old style of thinking (“The Celts Were Right!”) had continued, and been coupled with our modern research techniques? I was trying to do a “two great tastes which taste great together” thing, mixing my Ars Magica writing and Librivoxing by recording…
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Games From Folktales 