The saga begins at the Covenant of the Broken Crown. At the time, none of the original players had played Ars Magica before, so the main theme of this part of the saga was introducing them to Mythic Europe and the Order of Hermes. With Aelfric in charge at the covenant, the younger magi had little say in how things were run, but it was a chance to learn, both about how the game worked, and about the background of the saga.

The first part of the saga ends with the Broken Crown no longer being quite as suitable as it once was. They move to a new place, where they can have total say in what happens, and what they do.

Three new magi join the Covenant, Miriam of Tremere, Fenaris of Tytalus and Belars of Bonisagus. A Jezenky attacks some nearby villages, stealing children, and the covenant is blamed. The three magi, together with an older resident, Burhes, and some grogs, investigate the disappearances, rescue the children and slay the Jezenky.

Life at the covenant is peaceful.

Life at the covenant is peaceful.

One of the companions comes across a magical glade whilst hunting, and returns to tell the magi of it. A few investigate, and find a gateway to a magical regio that, according to some local fey, only opens during a solar eclipse. The next is due early next year.

The magi return to the glade during an eclipse, and find their way to a tower of a long dead magus, called Valina. Some artifacts and books are recovered.

Uneventful.

Uneventful.

Uneventful.

The magus Miriam is overpowered by her magical experimentations while researching one of the items brought back from Valina's tomb, and has a vision, of a place not far from the Broken Crown. Filled with a desire to go there, she and Fenaris travel to some ruins near Guildford, where they discover that some magi used to live there. Fenaris uncovers a high quality sword buried with a warrior in the crypts of the place, and fragments of a diary are found, which reveals information about the place's old inhabitants.

Aelfric and others journey to the Thames covenant to arrange plans for the coming Tribunal next year, and to trade for books. The nearby peasants discover a heavily mutilated body of a young woman, and go to the magi for aid. Miriam and Fenaris track the source of the body to the village of St Lazare, where a confused priest who has lost his way from God is performing diabolical rituals. They uncover the goings on, and are forced into a fight with a demon possessed man, which they barely survive. Gerard de Nimes, of House Flambeau joins the covenant.

Uneventful.

Uneventful.

Uneventful.

Caelwin prepares to leave the covenant, having finished his studies here. Some of the magi travel to London, to finish the book trade which Aelfric begun the previous year. On the way there, they witness the murder of a human messenger by a couple of Sidhe knights.

They recover a letter - intended for a lady in London, bearing news of the death of her daughter by a fey Lord Winterstoke, on the Isle of Thanet. They take to the letter to her, and as a favour, investigate what happened, discovering that the daughter wasn't as good as first seemed, and also that a human druid by the name of Aelni, possibly of the long dead house Diedne, works with Winterstoke. They take the news to the Quaesitoris at Thames Covenant, and return home.

The blind magus Felonious, a seer of House Criamon, arrives at the covenant.

Tax collectors under the authority of the chancellor William Longchamp turn up at the covenant, demanding taxes to pay the ransom for King Richard. While there, the collectors are set upon by bandits and murdered. The magi fight off the bandits, and earn the respect of a local lord, Sir Geoffrey of Leeds.

Uneventful.

King Richard returns to England in February.

Life at the covenant is pretty uneventful.

King Richard puts down a rebellion by Prince John, and has himself crowned king again in May.

Life at the covenant is uneventful.

Uneventful.

One of the covenant vis sources comes from a faerie pool guarded by a Kelpie named Bramman. The grog who collects it each winter returns to report that Bramman is missing, and some of the magi investigate.

They find Bramman at the pool, and he tells them that some Spriggan from nearby faerie woods have taken all his vis sources, and are trying to drive him from his pool. He offers a larger share of vis each season if the magi deal with them.

Investigating, it turns out Bremman is actually Ursal, a magical creature who is in league with the Spriggan, and the magus Aelni who are setting a trap for the magi. They defeat the unseelie fey, free the real Bramman and try to make their way back out of faerie.

The magi are lost in faerie.

It takes a few days to find the mortal realm again, but it is now summer, and also the Isle of Man rather than Kent. As the magi leave faerie, a couple of meteors streak across the sky, heading west, and one is weaving about in a very unusual manner. The magi estimate that the meteors probably landed in, or close to, Ireland, and after much haggling find a boat to take them to Dublin.

In Dublin, they discover that one meteor fell to the south, in the direction of the Wicklow Mountains, which strangely enough is where a meteor fell six months ago during the winter solstice (the night of the two meteors was the summer solstice). The other meteor landed in a glass blowers shop in Dublin, where it is being revered as the tear of the Virgin Mary.

Visiting the shop they meet Aed, an apprentice of the glass blower, and several guards and many pilgrims who believe it to be a sign from God.

Gerard starts a little distraction by setting fire to a nearby house, which empties the shop of all but the guards, allowing Felonious to get close enough to try some magic on the meteor to ascertain its properties. He fails, and is taken outside by Aed, who asks to meet with him after dark to talk about the meteor, but can't stop now because his house, and half the street is burning itself down…

Later that night, Felonious and Fenaris meet with Aed, who explains that he believes the meteor to be the egg of a demon. A sign is sent by God - so claims Aed - pointing the way to the Isle of Man, where Aed explains, a holy smith can help them. They go inside to examine the Tear closely, when someone claiming to be Cu Chulain strides in, and after much posturing attacks the guards, picks up the egg (all one and a half tonnes) and Aed, and flies off trailing fire and smoke. The magi decide to quickly head south to the Wicklow Mountains, where they believe the 'demon' has gone.

Meeting resistance from the city guards who refuse to open the gates at this time of night, the gates fall apart, and a small fight breaks out, in which magic is used openly. The group hurries from Dublin, and massacres a group of Norman knights sent to pursue them.

Rumours about demon summoning sorcerers begin to spread in Dublin…

The group find Lombard covenant, which has heard of a gathering of many mercenaries within the mountains, but have not bothered too much about them, since they seem to be as anti-Norman as the Lombard magi. The PC's return north to find the sign of the cross, which is back on the Isle of Man (where a cave containing remains of a dragon and its hoard is found). The iron cross is taken to a smith, and forged into a holy sword. While waiting for the smith to finish his work, the smithy is assaulted by a group of bandits, led by Aelni.

Aelni slays Gerard de Nimes with a bolt of lightning, before being taken down himself by Fenaris and the other grogs before he can make his escape.

Returning to the Wicklows, and Lombard, the magi discover that Caecus and the Quaesitor Sabh of Ashenrise covenant have been tracking down stories of some magi running amok in Dublin. Agreeing to turn up for the next Tribunal to answer for any crimes, they persuade the other magi to aid them against Cu Chulain. His castle is discovered, and they creep inside, to do battle with the demon and his minions, while some of them remain outside to cause mayhem amongst the mercenaries gathered there. With the use of the holy sword, Cu Chulain is destroyed by Fenaris, and Aed is rescued. The library of Aelni is burnt, though not before Caecus was found there looking through it.

The magi return to England.

A new magus, Asling of House Merinita joins the covenant.

A new magus, Magnus of House Bjornaer joins the covenant. His heart shape is a wolf, and while out hunting, he comes across some wolves of unusual size in the woods outside the covenant. They do not say why they are here, but seem to be patrolling the area.

Uneventful.

A letter arrives for Gerard de Nimes, from someone in London calling herself Aelflaed. She mentions previous meetings, and offers a possible exchange for some new books she has. Some of the magi head to London to talk with her. She denies knowledge of magic herself, but has a large library of mundane works. An exchange of books is agreed.

A few magi in the covenant, especially Asling and Miriam, find the place uncomfortable, though they cannot discern the reason why.

The magical aura of the covenant is engulfed by the Dominion, making a lot of the magi very uncomfortable. The source of the change is tracked down to the holy sword which was brought back from Hibernia. It is taken to the nearby village of Wadhurst, and kept in the church there. The aura of the covenant though does not recover.

Uneventful.

Thieves are discovered raiding the covenants library, and the sanctum of Asling. Asling is seriously hurt by an iron dagger, but otherwise the thieves are apprehended before they can cause any serious harm. Felonious interrogates them, and discovers that they are from the White Rocks covenant, and have been sent here to obtain books or magic of interest to the magi there. Since the Code of Hermes was not broken, the Broken Crown has no official recourse. They decide to do nothing, since they lack any effective means of returning the favour without breaking the Code themselves.

Uneventful.

The magi are disturbed by lights and noises from the nearby village of Wadhurst. Investigating they discover the magus Silis and several knights fighting giant wolves. Silis claims that the wolves have been sent by a powerful faerie called Winterstoke, who is starting a war against all faeries and magi in the region.

Aelfric sends some of the magi to talk to Winterstoke, to find out what he wants, and whether he can be bargained with. With the help of Silis, they enter his domain, and find their way to his castle where they are met by Elwing, a fey knight who seems friendly to Miriam, and claims to have known her father. Asling prepares a song to try and win the friendship of the Lord, while others explore the faerie city. Meeting Winterstoke, Miriam angers him, and gives Asling no chance to sing her song.

They are told that it is the fault of the Queen of Winter, who has forced Winterstoke along this path, and until she returns, the aggression will continue.

Afterwards, Elwing informs them that the only person who knows where the Queen is is the hag Yag Domig.

Visiting Yag Domig, she agrees to take them to the Queen on the condition that one of the young magi shows her love and kindness for a single night. No-one is willing to take the ugly hag up on her offer, and Asling tries to change Miriam into a man, so that she can. Neglecting to get her permission first, Miriam is very upset, and retaliates with a spell that destroys Asling's mental abilities.

The magi return to the Covenant to find that Aelfric has fallen into twilight during a fight with some fey there.

Felonious sends his familiar, Archimedes, on a scouting mission to Stonehenge, to look for possible sites for a new covenant.

Miriam leaves the Broken Crown, hoping to take up residence at White Rocks.

With Aelfric still suffering side effects of Twilight, the magi investigate an empty underground complex near Stonehenge. The lower levels have a high magical aura, and the place seems to have been deserted for a thousand years. Magnus moves in on a permanent basis.

Winter does not end in Kent.

Fenaris organises laboratory equipment and books for the new place.

The severe winter continues.

Work is performed on copying books out of the Broken Crown library, ready for a move to the new place.

King Richard returns to England, forced there by the Church and the Barons, who are worried about the state of things in Kent. Several nobles and church officials are hung for diabolism around the Isle of Thanet.

King Richard and a small army of knights rides to Wadhurst near the Broken Crown where rumours say a holy sword is being kept. The magi let them take it, not wishing to interfere with the King of England. Holy rites are performed in Thanet, hoping to end the unholy winter.

More work is carried out in copying books.

Much copying is done.

Much copying is done. A message is received for Miriam, Felonious and Fenaris to attend the Hibernian Tribunal in spring next year.

Much copying is done.

Fenaris and Hareb move permanently into the new covenant.

The first part of the saga ends with the Broken Crown no longer being quite as suitable as it once was. They move to a new place, where they can have total say in what happens, and what they do.