Roland Whitney, filius Ramdolph Whitney, of House Ex Miscellanea

our knock at the door brings a swift and pleasant reply. "Ah come in, come in!" Your host seems genuinely glad to see you, a rare occurrence in the rather secluded and overly suspicious world of the Magi of the Order. You are surprised at the generosity presented you as you are lead to what is obviously the very best spot by the fire.

"Come now, I know you have come to allow me tell you a tale of a mighty griffin! It is a story that I know should put to glorious song to give it the honor it deserves. Listen! Listen to the beginning. It is to be a fabulous tribute to the acts of my Sodalis." A rapid burst of music leaps from the lute which was heretofore silent and in a pleasant voice, your host begins to sing. "Wings like the seraphim and a gaping maw with teeth the size of daggers. The size of the thing would cause strong men to blaspheme like grain baggers..."

He shrugs.

"Well, it's a start, anyway!"

Laboratory

[forthcoming]

Hermetic Grimoire (TechForm Level/Bonus)

Ward Against Biting Insects (ReAn 10/+9), Lungs of the Fish (MuAq 10/+11), Shelter for a Rainy Day (ReAq 5/+11), Ward Against Cold and Damp (ReAq 10/+11), Ward Against Faeries of the Water (ReAq 15/+11), Chamber of Music (CrAu 5/+9), Jupiter's Resounding Blow (CrAu 10/+9), Sounds of the Quenching Draughts (InAu 15/+9), Physician's Eye (InCo 5/+8), Grip of the Choking Hand (PeCo 15/+7), Stout Lance of the Chevalier (ReHe 10/+8), Ward Against Faeries of the Wood (ReHe 15/+8), Vision of the Slathering Beast (CrIm 15/+9), Sight of the Transparent Motive (InMe 10/+9), Two Minds Made One (InMe 15/+9), Grasp of the Sandman (ReMe 15/+9), Ward Against Faeries of the Mountains (ReTe 10/+10), Sense the Nature of Vis (InVi 5/+9), Circular Ward Against Demons (ReVi 15/+9).

*Mastered spells

Vis Supply

1 pawn of Aquam (swamp beast),

1 pawn of Auram (dragonfly wing),

1 pawn of Herbam (sprig of mistletoe),

1 pawn of Intéllego (ashes),

2 pawns of Muto (drake scales), and

1 pawn of Terram (rose quartz).

Background: Your host is one Roland Martin Lorenzo DeFeniere Whitney. Son of the English Magus, Randolph Whitney of House Jerbiton and his lady Graziana Testorio, daughter of a small but competitive shipping family from Italy, Roland began life simply called Roland Whitney. The story of his parents' meeting was itself an epic tale of love at first sight and parental disapproval which eventually happily resolved itself after the lovers married and produced a grandchild. The familial reconciliation itself produced a smart little shipping business for the small but robustly mercantile Italian branch of the family which relocated itself to Londinium. When Roland's young father sought entry into the Covenant of Londinium he found that bringing a shipping company as a dowry didn't hurt at all.

With the extended family at peace with itself and the young Randolph happily ensconced in the halls of Londinium, the baby Roland gained several names to commemorate the blessed events. All of the blessed events! He gained Martin (Mar-teen') from a paternal ancestor who had also been a Jerbiton of some note in France, Lorenzo from the dear lately departed and greatly loved maternal sire, and DeFeniere from his own godfather and Primus of Londinium, Balthazar DeFeniere of House Jerbiton.

In the early and formative years Roland found magic only in his music. He sang in every choir that would have him as a boy and glorified in the sound of the human voice. Indeed he became the darling of all of the covenfolk and merchants. Even the rough sailors softened when Roland would loudly sing his own childlike versions of their shanties. He failed only to charm his father who was busy much of the time with his assignments at court and apparently considered his son merely a performing ape. Except for the passion which secured the heart of Graziana, Randolph was not an overly emotionally demonstrative parent. He loved his son, but never learned to show it.

Earlier than most Roland's voice began to change and he discovered the lute and a second "voice" that entranced him all the more. The change did not destroy his lovely voice and he ended up with a pleasant and vibrant tenor. His mother encouraged his love of music and daily dreamed aloud that he would enter the ranks of the church to sing for the Holy Father in Rome. Unfortunately the dreams of Graziana were dashed when it was discovered that young Roland had magically produced music in his chambers to accompany himself in his pursuits of composition.

The father, being what he was, demanded that once our Roland showed the slightest hint of magical capability he was to begin training in earnest. Indeed he did begin and among his first lessons were those taught by a magically imposed silence. When Roland was allowed to speak it was only to recite Latin texts which his father, now Pater, selected for him. The training must have been hellish for both father and son since it became apparent to all that to perform any act of magic in front of his father was impossible for Roland. It wasn't that Randolph was intentionally cruel, he simply had a harsh training and believed that an unrelenting and strict method was the only way.

It was no secret that not all of the Covenant approved of what they believed were excessively harsh methods which Randolph employed to teach their darling Roland. At the behest of his tender hearted mother, and a politically soothing suggestion from Balthazar, Roland's father relented and allowed a rather unorthodox solution. The entire covenant claimed Roland as apprentice. Out from under the strict and demanding methods of his father, Roland advanced in his studies and after 12 years became a mage of adequate, if generalist, skills. The Gauntlet was to be entirely up to Roland's father who did not believe that Roland could succeed. In the end Roland surprised everyone by securing a minor title for his family for some service he rendered the king.

To have a happy ending to the tale of strife between father and son would have pleased everyone. It was simply not to be. Although Randolph softened toward his son in the afterglow of complete success of the Gauntlet, Roland has not yet learned to forgive his father. It was not completely unexpected that when the time to choose came, Roland chose to become a member of House Ex Miscellenea. Randolph was not pleased but realized that the influence of Ex Miscellenea might give his son the boost he needed to become a respectable Magus. He even went so far as to petition his friend and fellow Jerbiton, John Austhwaite, to give Roland a place within Austhwaite Manor. Roland believes that John sought him and gave him a position in order to ease the troubles that had plagued the Summer covenant. It is truly a shame that Roland did not study his Jerbiton heritage more fully, else he would surely recognize that he had been very subtly and completely set up. As it is he feels that he has escaped the dreaded Pater and come to a place where he can make his own name.

Roland sought the hand of the Lady Margaret Armestronge and a skeptical Sir Christopher consented. The two are expecting a second child, their first child — a daughter — having been born in 1225. Their daughter was christened Michelle Christine Whitney, her first name coming from the late Prava Sagitta. Roland has been known to flirt with the ladies, which has gotten him into trouble, particularly with the Lady Lena Lancaster (see the story Whose Kid is That?). However, Roland is a devoted husband and father.

Roland gets on well with the other magi at Corona Montis, though they feign (?) great annoyance with him. The two Bonisagi tend to deride his "frivolous" comfort spells (in fact, Roland has invented more spells than any of the other magi at Corona Montis), and Prava Sagitta went so far as to create a spell to sever the hapless bard's lute strings. Yet there is something infectious about Roland's unwavering lightheartedness. It seems a welcome contrast to the more serious matters which face the covenant, and the repartee which takes place among the magi hides an unspoken affection.

Illustration by Patrick Murphy.

This page last modified August 26, 2011 11:07 PM

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