Lord Cabot's Grange is a Covenant of tradition mages during the Renaissance.
Amidst the Dales[]
Lord Cabot's Grange is a small and important Covenant that marks a cooperative effort between English Solificati, Verbena and Aided Euthanatoi. Such cooperation is still a new and rare thing, and many Awakened eyes have turned toward this fortified manor house, waiting to observe how the experiment might develop.
Thus, the Grange is clearly a Covenant in Spring, but it is the turbulent, rain-lashed spring of northern England. Even disregarding the likelihood of friction between the various mages of the Covenant, it must deal with the fact that it has become a sometime military headquarters. It shelters not only eccentric alchemists and witches and pagans whose nature has become too widely suspected, but also furious hunters whose sole concern is the slaughter of members of the Order of Reason.
Some feel that the physical nature of the Grange itself is wrong for its new role, as it is a grand home rather than a rugged fortress. It nestles in a valley, amidst a scattering of ancient standing stones and minor circles whose power is discernible by especially sensitive Verbena and the analyses of the subtlest Solificati. Its owner draws on the material wealth of a well-established wool-farming area, and he was born into a branch of an ancient, noble family. But despite its advantages, the Grange is a turbulent place. Who needs the Order of Reason when your own fellows might be out for your blood?
History[]
When the Traditions of Britain met in open council, there were those who spoke of building - new hearths and new philosophies. With the Compact of Callias newly brought down from Horizon and proclaimed, there was much talk of working together. With the Decade of the Hunt and the Siege of Stonehenge still recent memories, there was much proclamation of the need for eternal war against the Daedaleans, and more considered speech about the need for strongholds in war.
Amongst all this, an uncertain voice sounded strangely wise. Lord Michael Cabot was considered competent enough by his fellow Solificati, but now his ideas left them bemused. He spoke of the unpredicted strength of alloyed metals. He admitted that he had been in conversation with pagan witch-women on his own estates. he offered a roof for those who might need shelter. A few at least among his listeners chose to accept his offers.
Thus, several rode back with him to his family seat, which was becoming a place of power - a recently rebuilt manor house, not really fortified but defensible against small assaults. They proclaimed the place a sanctuary to the Traditions and to the fae, and they adapted it to its new purpose. Soon, strange riders were passing through Lytton Dale in the night, and strange conferences were taking place by sun and moonlight and by the flares of alchemical forges. The pagan witches of the Dale became advisers to these mystick workings, and wild-eyed followers of old, dark gods took charge of the stables and of strategy.
But Lord Cabot's Grange remains uncertain of its highest purpose. Is it to be a War Chantry, with all that implies of the likelihood of annihilation within a few years? A college of melded powers, pursuing strange lore with little regard for the pressing concerns of the moment. Thus far, the debate on this issue has been courteous - but tempers are being tested, especially as Lord Cabot himself repeatedly counsels caution and restraint to unswerving destroyers. And whenever visitors come to the house, especially members of the Traditions in good standing, each faction seeks their support.
Surroundings[]
Lord Cabot's Grange is located in the area where the rolling hills of rural Derbyshire descend to the coastal plain of Cheshire - a region that retains a wild and romantic aspect even in the 20th century, when roads and railways push through the hills, and great ports and industrial towns sit a few miles away in any direction. In the 1400s, this immediate area was given over almost entirely to sheep-farming, and inhabitation is sparse enough that the inhabitants of the Grange may go about their business largely undisturbed.
The Grange sits in the shelter of a steep hill in the valley of Lytton Dale. it lies well off any noteworthy roads, but something about the area - good soil in the valley, a south-facing slope to the hillside above - makes this spot feel pleasantly sheltered and even idyllic. There are many part-fallen ancient stone circles along this valley wall, which are actually Crays. There are no persistent or regular Shallowings in these parts, but there are occasional strange moments. The Solificati of the Grange are seeking to plot any patterns. The Crays do bring forth Tass, but in elusive forms. The advice of local witch-women is helpful in sorting through berries, mushrooms, moss, and spring water for quantities of more than matter.
There are no villages very close to the Grange, although there are many shepherds' cottages round about, with some grouped together in twos and threes. This distance reflects an old tendency in the family to withdrawal into rural seclusion, and it adds to their reputation for eccentricity among other lords. most nobles prefer to swell by a decent-sized village with a market to fill their larders and extra hands. Servants from the Grange must make tiresome journeys every few days to keep the larder filled.
The Grange and Grounds[]
The Grange is a modern building and makes few pretensions to the status of a castle as the mortal world knows such things. its walls are steep and solid enough, embellished with turrets at each of its four corners, and topped with crenellation, but they are also pierced with numerous windows. (The mundane arts of the Solificati sometimes include glass-making.) The house may be an imposing tower, but it is built of brick and is lightly decorated externally with a little fancy brick-work. Even the turrets and crenellations have the look more of embellishments than of serious defensive measures. (Of course, its true defenses have more to do with the occupants than with the structure.)
The space around it is naturally level and has been smoothed and cleared over the centuries that the Cabots have ruled. Now, there is a square moat and neat gardens, which include a lush herb plot, low hedges shaped to form an enigmatic maze (created to Lord Vabor's own design), and a pleasant walk between rose bushes. There are additional buildings tucked away behind the main tower, both within and outside the moat.
Normal visitors approach along a well-maintained track at most points, which leads to the one bridge across the moat. It is barred with a heavy gate and watched day and night. The bridge itself is wood, made to be dismantled and lifted away in large sections in a few minutes, should a siege be anticipated. Then comes a straight, gravel-strewn path that leads to the front door.
The Main Hall and Kitchen[]
Most of the ground floor of the Grange consists of a single room - a great hall. It is furnished with simple wooden chairs, stools and tables, and it can swiftly be adapted for use as a dining room or audience chamber. The other main room on this level is a cramped kitchen, which has access to the cool cellar, which is used for food and drink storage. The house has a sophisticated system of chimneys and flues, so cooking smoke is efficiently channeled away.
Living Quarters[]
These are a jumble of many private rooms, laboratories, and servants' quarters; the latter are smaller and separated from the gentry's living areas, albeit with enough linking doorways to make the servants' jobs easier. Oak paneling is plentiful, especially where the gentry can see. Lord Cabot and most of his guests sleep in grand four-poster beds. The lord's personal quarters, which are sighted immediately above the great hall, are the usual Solificati chaos of valuable ornaments, rare and exotic materials, bizarre alchemical tools, and notebooks. The Three of Lytton Dale share a set of rooms, which are decorated simply. They do not suggest the actual power and status of the occupants.
There is also a small room adjacent to Lord Cabot's quarters, which serves as a communal library.
The Higher Levels[]
The highest floors of the Grange are used for storage and as accommodation for junior servants. Ceilings here are lower and fireplaces smaller and fewer. However, the entire house is well-made and relatively draft-free by the standards of the age.
There are walkways behind the crenellations that line the roof and stairways that lead up to these "battlements," but the Grange is poorly set for defense. It would take too long to deploy troops up here, and keeping them supplied with ammunition would be difficult. However, the decorative turrets at each corner of the building serve as functioning watch towers, and they may be manned if Cabot has cause to expect trouble.
Cabals[]
The established, Awakened household of the Grange is divided into three cabals. Lord Cabot himself is the master of the place in the eyes of the mundane world, and perforce acts the part in practice much of the time. But, when great matters of policy are to be determined, an informal council, made up of the leading members of the three groups, along with the faerie "ambassador" Celidas, usually convene. Cabot is the acknowledged leader of the place in the eyes of the Traditions, although it is no secret that the Chantry is divided into factions with ideas of their own.
Lord Cabot's Circle (The Scholars of the Wordless Book)[]
When Lord Cabot volunteered his home as the foundation-stone of a new and extraordinary work, helpers and allies formed about him. Nicholas of Norwich is a fellow alchemist and friend of the new leader whose wisdom he values above rubies. Blue John is a minor but admired figure among the pagan covens, and he was inspired by Cabot's impassioned speeches. And the dour, aging Donal of Mourne perceives that destruction will fall on his own folk if the ventures that this English lord proposes are not successful.
Lord Cabot's Circle remains the most influential cabal within the Grange, and its members spend much of their time either dealing with the mundane requirements of the house or representing it before the rest of the Traditions. Time has made friends of the four, and they spend time discussing magickal theory and their views of the world. For this reason, Nicholas refers to them as "The Scholars of the Wordles Book." He would love to see them grow into something of an academic collage. However, this alliance remains a loose one of convenience. It would not be at all hard for circumstances to divide it.
The Three of Lytton Dale[]
A pagan coven, native to Lytton Dale, who the newly Awakened Lord Cabot identified and subsequently invited into his new Chantry, the Three are not especially powerful - but they are knowledgeable about the land and its magickal and mundane aspects. They have determined to carry themselves with pride, despite their lack of social rank in the mundane world, and despite the fact that some members of the Chantry regard them as only having gained membership by luck rather than by strength or status. To the outside world, they must pass as servants and washer-women in the castle household, but this fact does not worry them; the wise do not concern themselves with surface appearance.
Mother Barnes is the acknowledged leader of the coven. Jane Woode is competent enough in the arts of Life, but she is still young, and Hilda Charnway is little more than an apprentice, although she shows promise in several spheres.
The Blazing Spear-Shaft[]
It was always agreed that Lord Cabot's Grange should serve to sustain the embattled Ancient Powers of England - or be a mystick fortress from which the struggle for survival could be prosecuted. this, the Hunt claims the right of riding forth from this place. The hunters needed immediate aid and strategic thinking, and they left some of their number around the hearth. A cabal formed that represented their interests.
The Blazing Spear-Shaft consists of whichever vengeance-minded pagans or fae happen to be in residence at the moment. However, the permanent members of the cabal are two Aided Euthanatoi who have accepted the arcane role of strategists, advisors and prophets of Destruction. As the Chantry came to make common cause with the faerie folk, Celidas, a sidhe representative, came to the house. Because of what he represents, he had come to be treated as a member of the Spear-Shaft.
This cabal is wild and deadly. It exists for vengeance and slaughter. Even the other pagans in the house find it frightening. However, its determination and acknowledged importance, and the patronage of the honored Mistridge Verbena councilor Nightshade, make the Blazing Spear-Shaft hard to defy.
Members[]
- Lord Michael Cabot, Leader of the Scholars of the Wordless Book Cabal
- Nicholas of Norwich, Solificati, Member of the Scholars of the Wordless Book Cabal
- Blue John, Verbena, Member of the Scholars of the Wordless Book Cabal
- Donal of Mourne, Euthanatos, Member of the Scholars of the Wordless Book Cabal
- Mother Barnes, Leader of the Three of Lytton Dale Cabal
- Jane Woode, Verbena, Member of the Three of Lytton Dale Cabal
- Hilda Charnway, Verbena, Member of the Three of Lytton Dale Cabal
- John Carpenter, Leader of the Blazing Spear-Shaft
- Marie Jones, Euthanatos, Member of the Blazing Spear-Shaft
- "Lord" Celidas, Member of the Blazing Spear-Shaft
- John Welland, Lord Cabot's steward
Consors and Servants[]
The Grange can muster a full working household, although the numbers are slightly lower than might be expected for a manor of this size - about 15 servants in total - as the resident mages are accustomed to self-reliance. Of Course, Lord Cabot has had to ensure that the servants he retains or employs are willing to tolerate association with his strange household. Fortunately, he has an excellent steward, John Welland, an old family retainer, who advises him well. The Three of Lytton Dale are well-acquainted with most families in the area and know exactly who shows tolerance for pagan ways. An additional number of shepherds are employed by the estate, but they live in cottages up and down the valley. They can be called on for any short-term project requring additional labor, and they are mostly loyal enough to warn Cabot of any strangers they see lurking.
Most servants ate men, but some are married or otherwise part of families. Their spouses do not live in the Grange, and some divide their time between the great house and cottages in the Lytton Dale village. There are no full-time men-at-arms, although some of the grooms are competent longbowmen and own some scraps of armor. If the place came under frontal assault, they and the mages would have to hold off the attack until allies from the Traditions and fae are summoned.
The only servants in the place to have serious authority in the household and estate are Welland and a butler. The latter, along with the cooks and brewer, are used to strange interference in their work by the lord and his friends.
Politics[]
Although the divisions within Lord Cabot's Grange are more potential than active, the great danger is that they cut right through the resident cabals. They manifest in arguments over policy, but these arguments grow more heated every week.
On the one hand are those who see the place as the headquarters of the Hunt and the work of the Hunt as far from finished. This faction includes the Blazing Spear-Shaft, who count on support from Donal of Mourne. However, the older Euthanatos feel weary of slaughter and foresee a need for peace as well as a threat of destruction. The Verbena feel sympathy for this opinion, although individuals from this Tradition within the Chantry are not hunters by nature. As for Celidas - he is fae, and his ideas of the world are others' frenzied dreams. He represents the Hunt, but none feels safe anticipating his sympathies.
The obvious opponents of this view are those who would make the Grange into a place of scholarship, such as Nicholas of Norwich. Cabot wishes to use the Chantry as a means of examining all aspects of magick, and of merging those elements that seem compatible. Such elements include devotion to the Wheel, but the first thing to do is to study.
The Three of Lytton Dale find themselves in agreement with this idea. They are uncomplicated rural wise-women at heart, and although they are pagans who recognize the Verbena as their sisters, they are used to the idea of merging whatever ideas accomplish their ends. Their rituals include recognizable Christian fragments, and they are willing to learn of new medicines from the Solificati. They find the pure, ancient beliefs of the Aided Euthanatoi, with their invocation of dark old Celtic powers, unnerving. Even Blue John finds these three witches a little lax. In any case, they have known the lord as a friend (of sorts) longer than they have known these others. The pagans of the Grange are by no means united.
And lastly, to add to the confusion, the Grange is open to visitors, who are likely to find themselves drawn into its debates (and its potential internal battles). The most likely eventuality is for the Blazing Spear-Shaft to press for some great military project with the ominous support of a passing war party, but visiting Solificati or Heretic scholars are as likely to find Nicholas of Norwich publicly asking them to support his ideas, or to agree with him that war parties striking directly from this area are likely to draw Daedalean attention to this small and lightly defended house.
Future Fates[]
| “ | From A Walking Guide to Northwest England, 1996: "...Further up the valley are handful of shattered brick walls; to reach these, the path passes over a partly-filled ditch. This is all that remains of the moated house from which the Cabot family once ruled this area as feudal lords. "Lytton Dale Grange was clearly an impressive building; some accounts from the Tudor period suggest that it was even comparable to Hardwick Hall, or Lord Cromwell's tower at Tattershall, although it may not quite have matched the scale of either. Evidently, the Dale's sheep were a profitable business. However, the prosperity that built the Grange seems, ironically enough, to have destroyed it a little later; when it fell into disuse in Elizabethan times, bricks from its walls were apparently used to build shepherds' cottages on what used to be its estate. The last of the Cabot family moved out of the remnant of the house that they were still occupying after a fire in Civil War times; they had taken the Royalist side, which must have wrecked any chance of their regaining prosperity. "There are also faint traces of a couple of stone circles, further along the way, but it took aerial surveys to confirm this. One or two of those shepherds' cottages have substantial slabs of stone in their structure, which has lead historians to suspect that these Stone Age ruins, too, were assailed for building materials. |
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Gallery[]
References[]
- MTSC: Mage: The Sorcerers Crusade Rulebook, p. 99 (Mentioned)
- MTSC: Castles and Covenants, p. 83-91