The Sisterhood

History

The Sisterhood dates back to the dawn of time, when humans first came to these islands. They took on the task of guarding the knowledge and wisdom, and the source of the magic that flowed through the enchanted island. For millenia they carried out these tasks well, raising a True King in moments of crisis, otherwise advising the rulers and raising Champions of Britain. As each True King and Champion approached death, the Sisters would take them to a regio, and bind them there in magical sleep, ready to assist their country in time of great need. Six True Kings were raised, and three were summoned to aid their country. One was raised to oppose an invasion in the Bronze Age, another to oppose the Celtic migration, and the last to oppose Julius Caesar. In each case, the invasion was defeated, although Celts and Beaker folk did migrate peacefully to Britain and settle here.

In 35AD came the first disaster. Joseph of Arimathea came to Britain, bringing with him the Grail and warriors of Rome. Divine and military power together defeated the Sisters at Glastonbury, although they raised the remaining Kings to help them, and the Serpent was slain and the Tree cut down. The Sisters barely managed to escape with their lives, wisdom, and the acorn from which a new tree could grow. In 46, the Roman armies invaded again, and this time no King could be raised to prevent them.

After the Romans left, the Sisters, under Vivian, a particularly energetic Lady, tried to bring the state back to what it was before the disaster. They were trying to bind the people and faeries together, but the Saxon invasions were threatening to undo their work. Accordingly, they raised a True King, the half-fay Arthur Pendragon, to unite the country, and for a time it worked. However, they discovered that only the pure of heart, and of True Faith, could approach and remove the Grail from Glastonbury. Accordingly, they encouraged the knights to become Christians, and to quest for the Grail. Some became Champions of Britain instead, and the divisions that ensued in the company finally proved fatal. Wight's attack was the beginning of the end, and then Galahad achieved the Grail Quest, but died, in bliss, and Percival, although he could have removed the Grail, felt himself to be unworthy, and left it there. Before more questers could be sent out, the final battle against Wight took place, and the True King was slain. For the first time, the Sisters were not able to put him to sleep.

This renewed failure broke the Sisterhood, and it went into a protracted decline. They lost all access to the records at Stonehenge, and lost more and more of their power. Alfred was a True King, and for a time it looked as though they might be beginning a renaissance. But Alfred chose to turn to the Church, and the Sisterhood lost its influence. Finally, in the eleventh century, they could do nothing against the Normans except watch. Late in the eleventh century, servants of the king came and offered them support in return for making William Rufus into a True King. Seeing no alternative but extinction, and lacking the wisdom of her predecessors, Hild agreed.

Malkurrag then had Rufus captured and bound into the ritual that used the True King to drain all the magic from the land, and give it to him. He made sure that Hild knew exactly what she had done, and the knowledge drove her mad. She killed herself, after first slaughtering some of her followers, and the remaining Sisters fled north, taking refuge in the Pennines. There, they continued to pass on their knowledge, but in a sadly reduced form.

Powers and Duties

The Sisterhood are the guardians of the knowledge and enchantment of Britain, and they have failed. If they were to return to their full power, they would have complete knowledge of what occurred within Britain, the ability to transport themselves and others anywhere in the island in the twinkling of an eye, the ability to improve crops and beasts, and the ability to make people get along better. Very little of their magic is flashy, but it all tends to improve the quality of life within Britain. It also enables them to keep the fay happy, and ensure that the relationship between the humans and faeries of Britain is a friendly one. They have, potentially, the ability to raise magical auras, but that would require the restoration of the Tree and Serpent.

They can also create Champions and True Kings. These are primarily military and rulership positions, and the abilities that come with them enhance natural abilities along those lines. Only women can be Sisters, and only men can be Champions or True Kings. At some point, I must work out a system for this, but at the moment their powers only extend to extraordinary talents. Nevertheless, those trained as Sisters are linked to the power of the land, and if and when the Grail is removed and the Tree and Serpent restored, they will immediately gain more power.

Current Situation

There are currently five Sisters, only two of whom have any significant power. They live in the northern Pennines, pretending to be a small convent. They know that they made Rufus into the True King, and suspect that his death had something to do with the plight of the land. They also regard the Grail as a bad thing, and Glastonbury as righfully their place, but they no longer remember the details. Certainly, they do not remember how to enter the regio.

Aedgifu

Aedgifu is the eldest living sister, at ninety one. She is rather senile, and what power she once had is far beyond her control. The others care for her nonetheless, and make sure that she eats. She has Visions from time to time, and may well have a useful one in the near future.

Kate

Kate is the effective leader of the Sisters. In her late fifties, she is starting to show the effects of age, but she is still vigorous. She has supernatural abilities concerning wisdom, knowledge, and counsel: she also has a very quick mind. The result is that she has more information to go on than most people, and can put it together well. It is largely due to her that the Sisterhood has not fallen apart: the other three were all initiated by her. She also gets Premonitions, which may account for why the group gets in touch with the covenant.

Margaret

Margaret is in her late thirties, and rather resents the Sisterhood. She is very beautiful, and had dreams of marrying into the nobility. She was seduced away by her own fantasies of great magical power, but her supernatural affinities with animals, weather, and nature in general have not provided what she sought. She will see the covenant as offering this, and may seek training. Of course, she is incapable of it. One of Malkurrag's servants will probably hear of it, and seek to corrupt her: he wants to totally destroy the Sisterhood, because they remain a threat to him.

Maud

Maud is in her mid twenties, and a bit simple. She sings beautifully, and creates lovely songs about the wonders of the country around her. However, she has absolutely no drive or ambition, and serves mainly to smooth over frictions that Kate cannot. Kate has a great deal of affection for her, but recognises that she is not the hope for the future.

Isabel

Isabel is the hope for the future. She has strong Sidhe blood, and a couple of faerie virtues which give her the power necessary to be a Sister. She is also passionately devoted to the idea of bringing about the Enchantment of Britain again. Unfortunately, she is only fourteen, and lacks experience and wisdom. Kate desperately hopes that she will live long enough to train Isabel, because she recognises that the girl could be a far greater sorceress than she is. Isabel could be trained as an Hermetic maga, although she does not want to be.

Plans and Activities

As a group, their only immediate plans are for survival. Kate will contact the covenant in the near future, looking for assistance, and will give them the information about Rufus when it becomes relevant, but she cannot look to grand plans. Partly this is due to realism, but part of it is a defeatist tendency. Once the covenant has been contacted, Margaret will seek training there, and generally be a complete pain. Malkurrag's chances of corrupting her depend a good deal on how she is treated by the magi.