Introduction
An inheritor of the blood of King Minos and Circe – ancestors of traditions which had initially rejected Bonisagus’ overtures – Magus Anechkavanya is considered suspicious by many outside Ex Miscellanea and thought a Hedge Wizard. Despite this she is confident and proud of her abilities as well as heritage and is driven to eclipse this reputation through her activities within the Levant Tribunal and the many opportunities such a turbulent area of the Order of Hermes presents.
Apprenticed
Anya of Ex Miscellanea apprenticed Anechkavanya, then known as Tsdrig, at the age of 10 after identifying the youngster’s potential at age five through meticulous research into her lineage. Tsdrig’s birth parents were more than willing to give their young but unnerving daughter to this apparently pleasant and well meaning scholar. Tsdrig was taken to her new home the covenant of Adrasteia located in Cilicia Trachea, the rugged hinterland of the Cilician coast within the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia and given the name Anechka.
The Apprenticeship
Anechkavanya has a close and respectful relationship with her Parens who provided ample and thorough training - the focus being Creo, Perdo, Corpus and Vim. Anya spent a great deal of effort ensuring any vestiges of Anechka’s magical heritage which would be considered negative by detractors amongst the Order did not manifest. Only the strange cold breeze which can rise to a gale - when Anechkavanya casts spells of great strength – remains, though this appears only to raise the fears of those without magical resistance and is not of itself dangerous, or forceful. Anechkavanya has incorporated this warped magic into her casting sigil in an effort to disguise it. Her sigil is a light breeze carrying the smell and feel of a dark night in the crisp mountain air.
As part of her efforts to eclipse the Hedge Wizard reputation the proud and ambitious Anechkavanya – with the agreement of her Parens - sought additional training amongst senior members of the tumultuous Levant Tribunal. Anechka sent letters; two responded and agreed, a Bonisagus Seeker for whom she now feels a great deal of respect, and Hoplite of House Flambeau to whom she also owes a debt and whose powers she holds in great admiration. The Bonisagus Magus improved her knowledge of Magical Theory as well as introducing her to Medicine and Philosophiae. The Flambeau Magus improved her Penetration and Parma Magica as well as introducing her to Finesse. These two Magi are allied within the Tribunal and saw probable utility within the potentially powerful apprentice.
The Magical and Fae Bloodlines
Anechkavanya brings two of the Titan Helios’ blood lines together, as well as adding the heritage of Zeus and Dionysus. She comes from the lineage of Circe and the Greek Hero Odysseus, through Odysseus and Penelope’s son Telemachus who married Circe, as well as the God Dionysus through his marriage to Ariadne – daughter of King Minos and Pasiphaë – and is a distant cousin of Medea, Daughter of the Colchian King Aeetes. These familial connections manifest themselves in a powerful gift which terrifies normal people and animals while she additionally has the overt Faerie traits – courtesy of Dionysus and Minos - of almost translucent white skin and vivid grey eyes shot with bright ruby red flecks.
The gift runs more powerfully through the female line and has manifested in ancestors and relatives such as Circe, Medea and Ariadne.
Anya of Ex Miscellanea
Stern and encouraging, as well as kindly when needed, Anya was a good teacher for the young Tsdrig, whom she named Anechka during her apprenticeship. Anya needed to do little to prompt her student who, after understanding her position within the covenant and her possible future within the Order of Hermes, threw herself into her studies and practice with unerring determination.
Anya is an elderly but still vigorous Magus who knows the Levant Tribunal well, having been apprenticed to a Magus who traveled the Tribunals borders bringing new members to the Order, or striking down those few that she could not convince to join. She is thus well schooled and experienced in both diplomacy and combat.
Anechkavanya Hratchouhi Ex Miscellanea
During her apprenticeship Anechka was nicknamed Hratchouhi by the members of the Covenant, not just for her fire-flecked eyes but also the mostly hidden passion with which she pursued any objective she set her mind to – something that would only flare from strong and controlled presence when her pride was pricked or her drive buoyed. Named Anechkavanya at the completion of her apprenticeship she also adopted the Covenant nickname she had been given. Both as acknowledgement of the debt she owed to all those within it’s walls as well as pride in knowing that the name rang true for her drive as much as her appearance.
Tall but painfully slender and pale Anechka’s appearance has been likened by other Magi to an Icicle. The red flecks within her eyes belie this, as does her engaging wit with other Magi. With normals though, few get past her appearance and the power of her blatant gift to discover anything other than their own fear and the hatred that oft accompanies it. Not that she pays much heed to normals unless their actions impact upon her in some way.
Anechkavanya has yet to determine the best way to eclipse her reputation. Thus far she has concentrated on improving and perfecting her abilities. But she considers herself lucky to be within the Levant Tribunal as the political climate and conflict, both within the Tribunal and on the borders, offers ample opportunities to prove her worth to respected members of the Order.
The Hedge Wizard reputation
Anechkavanya’s reputation as a Hedge Wizard is a result of her ancestry, rather than the magical tradition she is trained in, or the way she practices her own magic – which is flawless. Her reputation is derived from the interpretations of her ancestors casting methods that have been intertwined with the fear these powerful women evoked when they lived and continue to inspire.
Quotes from some of the narratives familiar to members of the Order of Hermes which contribute to this reputation include:
Circe in Apollonius’ Argonautica Book IV
Here they found Circe bathing her head in the salt water.
….
A number of creatures whose ill-assorted limbs declared them to be neither man nor beast had gathered around her like a great flock of sheep following their shepherd from the fold. Nondescript monsters such as these, fitted with miscellaneous limbs, were once produced spontaneously by Earth out of the primeval mud, when she had not yet solidified under a rainless sky and was deriving no moisture from the blazing sun. But Time, combining this with that, brought the animal creation into order. The Argonauts were dumbfounded by the scene. But a glance at Circe’s form and eyes convinced them all that she was the sister of Aeetes.
Circe in Ovid’s Metamorphoses XVIII
The goddess was indignant. She could not harm Glaucus himself, and would not have wished to do so, since she loved him; but she was angry with the girl he had preferred to herself. In her rage at finding her love rejected, she straightway ground together certain evil herbs, whose juices contained horrid powers and, when she had reduced them to powder, mixed them with spells that Hecate had taught her. Then, wrapping herself in a dark cloak, she proceeded out of the depths of the palace, through the host of fawning beasts. She made her way to Rhegium, which lies opposite rocky Zancle, walking over waves that boiled with currents, treading upon them as if on dry land, and skimming dryshod over the surface of the sea.
There was a little bay that curved round in a smooth crescent, where Scylla loved to rest. When the sun, halfway on his course, was at his strongest, shining from the heights of heaven and reducing shade to a maximum, she used to retreat there, away from the heat of sea and sky. In anticipation of her coming, the goddess tainted this pool with her wonder-working poisons. When she had poured them into its depths, she sprinkled the waters with baneful root and thrice nine times, with magic utterance, muttered a mysterious spell, in strange and riddling words. Scylla arrived, and had descended into the water up to her waist, when she saw her loins disfigured by barking monsters…she found, instead of her own limbs, gaping mouths like those of Cerberus
Circe in the Odyssey Book 10
But while I was moving through the sacred groves
on my way to Circe's home, a goddess 360
skilled in many magic potions, I met
Hermes of the Golden Wand. I was going
toward the house. He looked like a young man
when the first growth of hair is on his lip,
the age when youthful charm is at its height.
He gripped my hand, spoke to me, and said: [280]
'Where are you off to now, you poor man,
going through these hills all by yourself
and knowing nothing of the country here?
Your comrades, over there in Circe's house, 370
are penned up like swine in narrow stalls.
Are you intending now to set them free?
I don't think you'll make it back yourself—
you'll stay there with the rest of them. But come,
I'll keep you free from harm and save you.
Here, take a remedial potion with you,
and go in Circe's house. It's a protection
and will clear your head of any dangers
this day brings. Now I'll describe for you
each and every one of Circe's fatal ploys. 380
She'll mix a drink for you and with the food [290]
include a drug. But she won't have power
to cast a spell on you. This fine potion,
which I'll provide you, won't allow it.
I'll tell you now in detail. When Circe
strikes you with her elongated wand,
then draw that sharp sword on your thigh and charge,
just as if you meant to slaughter her.
She'll be afraid. And then she'll order you
to sleep with her. At that point don't refuse 390
to share a goddess' bed, if you want her
to free your crew and entertain you.
But tell her she must swear a solemn oath,
on all the blessed gods, not to make plans
to harm you with some other injury, [300]
so when she's got you with your clothes off,
she won't change you to an unmanned weakling.'
"After saying this, the Killer of Argus
pulled a herb out of the ground, gave it to me,
and explained its features. Its roots were black, 400
the flower milk-white. Moly the gods call it.*
It's hard for mortal men to pull it out,
but gods have power to do anything.
Then Hermes left, up through the wooded island,
bound for high Olympus. I continued on
to Circe's home. As I kept going, my heart
was turning over many gloomy thoughts.
Once I'd made it over to the gateway [310]
of fair-haired Circe's house, I just stood there
and called out. The goddess heard my voice. 410
She came out at once, opened her bright doors,
and asked me in. So I went in with her,
heart full of misgivings. She led me in
and sat me on a silver-studded chair,
a lovely object, beautifully made,
with a stool underneath to rest my feet.
She mixed her potion in a golden cup
for me to drink. In it she placed the drug,
her heart still bent on mischief. She gave it me,
and, when I'd drunk it, without being bewitched, 420
she struck me with her wand and said these words:
'Off now to your sty, and lie in there [320]
with the rest of your companions.'
"She spoke.
But I pulled out the sharp sword on my thigh
and charged at Circe, as if I meant to kill her.
She gave a piercing scream, ducked, ran up,
and clasped my knees. Through her tears she spoke—
her words had wings:
'What sort of man are you?
Where are you from? Where is your city?
Your parents? I'm amazed you drank this drug 430
and were not bewitched. No other man
who's swallowed it has been able to resist,
once it's passed the barrier of his teeth.
In that chest of yours your mind holds out
against my spell. You must be Odysseus, [330]
that resourceful man. The Killer of Argus,
Hermes of the Golden Wand, always told me
Odysseus in his swift black ship would come
on his way back from Troy. Come, put that sword
back in its sheath, and let the two of us 440
go up into my bed. When we've made love,
then we can trust each other.'
"Once she said this,
I answered her and said:
'O Circe,
how can you ask me to be kind to you?
In your own home you've changed my crew to pigs
and keep me here. You're plotting mischief now,
inviting me to go up to your room, [340]
into your bed, so when I have no clothes,
you can do me harm, destroy my manhood.
But I won't agree to climb into your bed, 450
unless, goddess, you'll agree to swear
a solemn oath that you'll make no more plans
to injure me with some new mischief.'
"When I'd said this, she made the oath at once,
as I had asked, that she'd not harm me.
Once she'd sworn and finished with the oath,
I went up with Circe to her splendid bed.
Medea in Apollonius’ Argonautica Book IV
She [Medea] boiled with rage. She longed to set the ship on fire, to break it up and hurl herself into the flames. But Jason calmed her. She had frightened him.
And she [Medea] reinforced her words with magic; scattering to the four winds spells of such potency as would have drawn wild creatures far away to come down from their mountain fastnesses.
Medea went up on the deck. She covered both her cheeks with a fold of her purple mantle, and Jason led her by the hand as she past across the benches. Then, with incantations, she invoked the Spirits of Death, the swift hounds of Hades who feed on souls and haunt the lower air to pounce on living men. She sank to her knees and called upon them, three times in song, three times with spoken prayers. She steeled herself with her malignity and bewitched the eyes of Talos with the evil in her own. She flung at him the full force of her malevolence, and in an ecstasy of rage she plied him with images of death.
Medea in Ovid’s Metamorphoses VII
The king lay relaxed in deathlike sleep and his attendants too were in a deep slumber, caused by Medea’s spells and by the powerful magic words she had pronounced.
The new bride whom Jason had married was consumed by fire, kindled by the Colchian’s poisons, and the seas on either side of the isthmus saw the king’s house in flames.
Ariadne in Catullus 64
… I am forced to bring forth from my very
Marrow, helpless, burning, blinded by mindless passion.
But since they are true children of my inmost heart
Be sure you suffer not our grief to go for nothing,
…After she had poured forth these words from her sad heart,
In anguish claiming punishment for cruel deeds,
…Theseus’ self, his mind thick-sown with blinding dark,
Let slip from his forgetful heart all the commands
Which hitherto he had kept constantly in mind…
These commands, hitherto kept constantly in mind,
Drifted from Theseus like clouds driven by the wind’s
Breath from the airy summit of a snowy mountain.
Euripides Medea
[Enter the Messenger, coming from the royal palace]
MESSENGER
Medea, you must escape—leave this place.
You've done an awful deed, broken every law.
Take ship and go by sea—or go overland
by chariot. But you must go from here.
MEDEA
What's happened that I have to run away?
MESSENGER
The king's daughter has just been destroyed,
her father, too—Creon. You poisoned them.
MEDEA
What really splendid news you bring. 1330
From now on, I'll consider you a friend,
one of my benefactors.
MESSENGER
What's that?
Are you in your right mind, lady, or insane?
To commit this crime against the royal house, [1130]
and then be happy when you hear the news,
without being afraid?
MEDEA
I have some remarks to offer in reply.
But, my friend, don't be in such a hurry.
Tell me of their deaths. If you report
they died in pain, you'll double my rejoicing. 1340
MESSENGER
When your two children came with their father
and went in the bride's home, we servants,
who had shared in your misfortune, were glad,
for a rumour spread at once from ear to ear
that you and your husband's previous quarrel [1140]
was now over. Someone kissed the boys' hands,
someone else their golden hair. In my joy,
I went with the children right inside,
into the women's quarters. Our mistress,
whom we now look up to instead of you, 1350
before she caught sight of your two children,
wanted to fix her eyes on Jason only.
But then she veiled her eyes and turned away
her white cheek, disgusted that they'd come.
Your husband tried to change the young bride's mood, [1150]
to soften her anger, with these words,
"Don't be so hard-hearted with your family.
Check your anger, and turn your face this way,
look at us again, and count as friends of yours
those your husband thinks are friends of his. 1360
Now, receive these gifts, and then, for my sake,
beg your father not to exile these two boys."
Once she saw the gifts, she did not hold out,
but agreed in everything with Jason.
And before your children and their father
had gone any distance from the palace,
she took the richly embroidered gown
and put it on, then arranged the golden crown, [1160]
fixing it in her hair at a bright mirror,
smiling at her body's lifeless image there. 1370
Then she stood up from her seat and strolled
across the room, moving delicately
on her pale feet, delighted with the gifts,
with a great many glances to inspect
the straightness of the dress against her legs.
But then it happened—a horrific sight.
She changed colour, staggered back and sideways,
trembling, then fell into her chair again,
almost collapsing on the floor. An old woman, [1170]
one of her servants, thinking it was a fit 1380
inspired by Pan or by some other god,
shouted in festive joy, until she saw
the white spit foaming in her mouth, her eyes
bulging from their sockets, and her pale skin
quite drained of blood. The servant screamed again—
this time, to make up for her former shout,
she cried out in distress. Another slave
ran off at once towards her father's palace,
and another to the girl's new husband
to tell him the grim fate his bride had met. 1390
The whole house rang with people's footsteps, [1180]
as they hurried back and forth. By the time
it would take a fast runner to complete
two hundred yards and reach the finish line,
her eyes opened—the poor girl woke up,
breaking her silent fit with a dreadful scream.
She was suffering a double agony—
around her head the golden diadem
shot out amazing molten streams of fire
burning everything, and the fine woven robe, 1400
your children's gift, consumed the poor girl's flesh.
She jumped up from the chair and ran away, [1190]
all of her on fire, tossing her head, her hair,
this way and that, trying to shake off
her golden crown—but it was fixed in place,
and when she shook her hair, the fire blazed
twice as high. Then she fell down on the ground,
overcome by the disaster. No one
could recognize her, except her father.
Her eyes had lost their clear expression, 1410
her face had changed. And there was blood
on top her head, dripping down, mixed with fire.
The flesh was peeling from her bones, chewed off
by the poison's secret jaws, just like resin [1200]
oozing from a pine tree. An appalling sight!
Everyone was too afraid to touch the corpse—
what we'd seen had warned us. But her father,
poor wretch, didn't know what she's been through.
He came unexpectedly into the house
and stumbled on the corpse. He cried aloud, 1420
embraced his daughter, and kissed her, saying,
"My poor child, what god has been so cruel
to destroy you in this way? Who's taken you
away from me, an old man near my death?
Oh my child, I wish I could die with you." [1210]
He ended his lamenting cries. But then,
when he tried to raise his old body up,
he was entangled in that woven dress,
like ivy wrapped around a laurel branch.
He struggled dreadfully, trying to get up 1430
onto his knees, but she held him down.
If he used force, he tore his ancient flesh
clear off his bones. The poor man at last gave up.
His breathing stopped, for he couldn't stand the pain
a moment longer. So the two of them lie dead—
the daughter, her old father, side by side. [1220]
It's horrible, something to make one weep.
Concerning you there's nothing I will say.
For you'll know well enough the punishment
that's coming to you. As for human life, 1440
it seems to me, and not for the first time,
nothing but shadows. And I might say,
without feeling any fear, those mortals
who seem wise, who prepare their words with care,
are guilty of the greatest foolishness.
Among human beings no one is happy.
Wealth may flow in to produce a man
more lucky than another, but no man, [1230]
is ever happy, no one.
[Exit Messenger]
