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A careful reading of Houses of Hermes: True Lineages reveals some fascinating groups and powers hidden within the Order of Hermes. While each power individually may not appear to be excessive or awe-inspiring, collectively there are certain groups who wield much more influence than might otherwise be imagined. This article, then, is an exploration of the implications of some of these powers and how they might affect the Order on a wider scale.
House Bonisagus, many would assume, is the ruling house of the Order of Hermes. It is the house of the original Founder (or Founders, if you prefer) and the house that conducts the most research into the esoterica of magic itself. Still, very little in the way of extra power has actually devolved to this house.
A magus Bonisagi may claim an apprentice from any other magus as his own. This is done with fair frequency, apparently, but this is far from a great power. Equally, the house must share its discoveries with other magi of the Order, so there is a bit of a balancing act.
The Primus of the house has an odd power, only useable with other Bonisagi - the ability to demand that they research a specific topic (see HoH: TL, pages 13-14). In a house the prides itself on personal research topics, this could be seen as very heavy-handed. Beyond this, however, he is the Praeco both of the Rhine Tribunal and the Grand Tribunal. In these twin roles he controls much in the way of the flow of debate on a great number of topics brought before Order of Hermes as a whole. As such he is able to cut off many debates, rearrange topics of discussion to his liking, and potentially eject many a troublesome magus. Anyone familiar with the modern "arcana" of political debates will quickly see that this latter ability is a much greater power than it might appear on the surface - through the ability to silence magi at the Grand Tribunal and decide the order matters will be brought before that body many overt and subtle shifts in policy may be decided upon.
The Primus also appoints individuals to the Colentes Arcanorum and the Tenentes Occultorum (HoH: TL, page 13). The members of the Colentes Arcanorum, however, are appointed by lot, so technically he has little say or power here; the members of the Tenentes Occultorum are appointed directly, and due to this the Primus has a fair amount of power and latitude. As the Spring member of the Tenentes Occultorum is always a newly-gauntleted member, this is a good way either to show favour to an up-and-coming young magus as an acknowledgement of promise or else to discharge a political debt to an old ally by appointing his apprentice. The other positions on the Tenentes Occultorum might be construed as marks of favour; conversely, this might be a good way to take a magus out of his laboratory and force him to spend time in the field. Still, as the members of the Tenentes Occultorum are magi Triamonae, this might prove to be a less important factor.
One of the few power structures with a bit of extra oomph in the house is that of the Colentes Arcanorum. This body may release a magus from the burden of researching a particular topic given to them by the Primus; there is a suggestion in the various passages regarding this notion that this happens often enough to be notable. The other power that this body has is the ability to remove the Primus from office, but in the entire history of their existence they have never used this authority; one wonders what extreme case would have to present itself for them to actually take this drastic step.
"Veto" means simply "I forbid." In and of itself this does not appear to be a very great power, yet the repercussions of its use by members of House Guernicus are considerable. The Presiding Quaesitor of any given tribunal may veto any proposal brought before that body. Of course the Primus of the Tribunal may in turn overrule the veto, but it is the Presiding Quaesitor who begins the action. By this one act, negotiations on almost any topic may be stopped short.
There is an inherent notion that all quaesitori are even-handed, fair, detached, and level-headed individuals, yet this might not always be the case. Consider the precedent set by the ruling of the Roman Tribunal on page 54 of HoH:TL. The tribunal as a whole favoured convicting Helvennia for the deaths of many apprentices in a short period of time, but the Presiding Quaesitor "insisted on the legality of Helvinnia's actions and she was acquitted." In this case we have a single quaesitor, albeit the most senior, essentially overruling an entire tribunal. This is far from a detached attitude. This also suggests many extra powers available to the Presiding Quaesitor of the tribunal.
Much is made of the Traditionalist versus Transitionalist split in House Guernicus, but exactly how much power do the Transitionalists truly hold? House Guernicus is ruled over by the Magvillus Council. While the Outer Council is generally representative (one quaesitor from each of the non-Guernicus houses along with the Presiding Quaesitor from each of the tribunals), the Inner Council, a position held for life, only accepts a member (A) when a councilor has died and (B) when that member has been invited in by the surviving members of the Inner Council. This is therefore a self-perpetuating group. The Transitionalists would most likely be shut out from decisions made about the direction of House Guernicus in general, barring some sort of extreme case.
On page 59 of HoH: TL we also find that magi may appeal cases heard before any tribunal up to the Magvillus Council, essentially placing the Council as the High Court of the Order of Hermes. Curiously, the only circumstance under which a magus may appeal a case, apparently, is the lack of ability to pay a given fine. Equally it is noted that such appeals are exceedingly rare. One wonders if this Magvillus Council ever intervenes in cross-tribunal cases; there is no proof that such is the case, but it would seem logical.
The Covenant of Magvillus itself, home of the house and the Magvillus Council, is an interesting place. With massive defenses, both mundane and arcane, it has withstood many demands for proof of ownership of its land. Nearly inaccessible, no mortal has tried to breach it. No-one except a Redcap or a quaesitor may enter without specific permission. The Inner Council, along with the Primus of the house, sit here in permanent residence; the Outer Council members are given tokens to transport them instantly to the covenant, yet only to a "safe house," rather than within the covenant walls themselves. This, then, is a house that prizes its secrets and its secrecy; even the Outer Council is held at what could be described as a "safe distance." House Guernicus is not a trusting institution.
House Mercere has developed into a curious institution. Few of the members of this house are Gifted and thus actual magi. All members of the house, however, are considered to be magi, right down to voting rights in tribunal, though these voting rights, by tradition, are rarely exercised. How may a house built upon these lines wield power in the Order of Hermes? Surprisingly, this house has a great number of subtle and not-so-subtle powers.
The Redcaps are entitled to fees for their standard delivery rounds; one assumes these go not only towards the livelihood of the Redcaps themselves but also as a means of financing "safe houses," paying traveling expenses, and the like for this house. In addition Redcaps receive payment for formally delivering and publicly witnessing declarations of Wizard War and for acting as Directed Proxy Voters during a tribunal meeting for those unable or unwilling to attend. On top of this the folios created by the Colentes Arcanorum of House Bonisagus are sent around to various covenants, and a small fee may bring the folio quicker or have it stay longer. In other words, Redcaps are notaries public, brokers and merchants for the Order as a whole. One may only assume that there are a great number of other circumstances under which payments change hands.
The notion of House Mercere as essentially legal notaries or summons servers is a fascinating one. In HoH: TL, page 47, we read: "[f]or a fee, a Redcap can ensure the declaration of [Wizard] war is delivered within the appropriate time. He then reports back the successful delivery to the sender. This Redcap also acts as a legal witness to the declaration. This means that hostile magi do not meet each other beforehand and ensures there is no dispute over the legality of the declaration." While nothing is mentioned regarding the specific fee charged nor how often Wizard Wars are declared via a Redcap as opposed to without one, with the growing use of legal machinery in Mythic Europe as a whole one could easily imagine that this is becoming a much more standard practice. This also places House Mercere in an interesting role vis-à-vis House Guernicus. The Redcaps have, in a way, become deputies to the quaesitores. The interests of one house are tied to those of another house, which also suggests that they would support each other in many matters regarding the Order as a whole.
With Redcaps also jobbing out their services as proxy voters (see HoH: TL, page 48), they also further communications within the Order of Hermes, but in addition they further cement the usefulness of House Mercere in general - here is an easy way to make one's voice heard in tribunal without needing to interrupt current lab work. Again, no specific fees are mentioned, but they would probably be in excess of the three shillings commonly paid for a covenant visit, simply because of the care that would need to be exercised in casting votes correctly on top of the time required in actually attending the tribunal meeting. It is interesting to note, however, that the two houses so obviously allied here, Mercere and Guernicus, are the houses most silent at the tribunal meetings themselves; perhaps proxy voting is a way to gain a voice during these proceedings.
The delivery of the folios is a curious role for the Redcaps. On the one hand they are aiding House Bonisagus in fulfilling its institutional requirement to share knowledge. On the other hand (HoH: TL, page 22) there is quite a bit of negotiation regarding who is able to see the folios when and for how long; the implication here is that palms may be greased to see that the folio remains a bit longer or comes to the covenant a bit quicker. Even if money itself is not exchanged, certainly there are the other "intangibles" - better food, willingness to serve as a Mercer House, noted kindness to Redcaps, etc. - that would affect such decisions. The folios are important works, a vast lending library of magical lore; staying on a Redcap's good side, therefore, is helpful to advancing one's personal career as a magus.
House Mercere is also noted for its vis banking. As they are willing to exchange vis on a roughly 2:1 ratio, it becomes quickly obvious that House Mercere has a lot of vis to spare. Vis, in the Order of Hermes, equals power, pure and simple. What does the house do with all of this spare vis? Some of it, obviously, is used as capital to fund further investments and exchanges; some of it is likely used to create the magical items that the Redcaps so desperately need. Still, the house must have a fair stock just sitting in its vaults, useable at a moment's notice. This means that the house could easily fund all sorts of research projects, back one side or another in a Wizard War, or otherwise affect the outcome of dozens if not hundreds of magical projects. Vis qua vis is worth very little; vis when used is a potent force, and those who control large amounts of it have much potential power. This also means that it would be easy for House Mercere to work on large-scale projects and even tempt others to do the work for them. And if a member of the house were ever in need, the house would be able to aid them either directly (using the vis itself) or indirectly (hiring almost anyone for the right amount of vis); certainly the house could afford to be generous in its recompense.
All of this suggests that House Mercere is a highly organized institution, perhaps more so than any other single house in the Order of Hermes. It becomes probable also that the house is engaged in more than magical commodities exchanges. Might they also have dipped into inter-regional trade, modeling themselves after some of the great merchant houses of the 12th and 13th century? If so, what power do they hold over covenants in general, with the ability to find, or even potentially withhold, bulk merchandise, including staples such as wheat and wool? Rare is the covenant that is an utterly self-sufficient institution. If this house is able to regulate the flow of basic commodities throughout the Order of Hermes, they would be able to more or less dictate which covenants would be able to survive and which would not. Overall, then, it is in one's best interest to remain on the good side of the Redcaps.
The most direct power wielded by House Tremere is that of voting. This is a house that is able to stay "on message" to a much higher degree than any other house simply due to the fact that so many voting sigils are concentrated in so few hands. Incumbent with this, however, is the need for the holders of such sigils to actually physically attend the tribunal meetings. To miss a meeting would remove much more than a single vote from the proceedings. Still, it is easy for the house to come to a bloc consensus on many issues and deliver a great number of votes all at once. No, the house does not control votes to the same extent that it did prior to 848, but still it is a much easier house to organize than, say, Ex Miscellanea, especially within the Transylvanian Tribunal.
House Tremere also has caches of materiel scattered throughout Mythic Europe for use by its magi. One must again assume that the Transylvanian Tribunal is particularly well stocked in this regard, simply given that 41 of the house's 92 magi reside there, but other areas would also have such caches and/or supply houses. Due to these stocks, the house is able to provide many readied defenders of the Order on short notice, especially if that defense is in the best interests of House Tremere in general.
Power is not always obvious. Sometimes it is found in odd rules, minor allowances, and customs of curious lineage. The magi of the Order of Hermes are human beings, when it comes right down to it, and as such they have a fondness both for orderliness and for personal power and safety. Each of the houses detailed above has garnered some peculiar traditions that grant them small measures of prestige and security.
None of this material is meant to provide a paranoid vision of the Order of Hermes. Instead, what is found here is a glimpse of how the Order as a whole organizes itself on a day-to-day basis, both in terms of a collegiate whole and that of individual Houses. Certainly as future supplements on the other houses appear we will discover further hidden institutions.
Text copyright © Angus Macdonald 2006.