The Spook's Bestiary - By Joseph Delaney Page 0,19

of goat mages they work alone.

The only nonhuman mages that have come to my attention are the Kobalos, and there is some doubt about their actual existence. But if the report I’ve heard proves to be true, one day they may pose a dangerous threat to the County as they wander farther south toward our shores.

Like witches, whatever the type of magecraft they practice, each mage varies in ability. The weakest may be no more than fairground conjurors faking most of their tricks to take coins from gullible audiences; the strongest may rule a kingdom, although often they are the hidden power behind a throne.

Mages tend to use longer and more complicated spells than witches, reading them aloud from a grimoire. They also use a pentacle, a circle encompassing a five-pointed star, at each point of which is placed a black wax candle. Such pentacles must be drawn very precisely, and the magical symbols within must also be accurate; the survival of the mage depends upon it.

He may stand at its center, safe from the demon, or Old God, that materializes beyond its protecting boundary. The danger here is that the conjured entity —brought from the dark against its will—may take revenge on innocent people nearby. Sometimes this is deliberate, the conjuring a premeditated act of violence against the mage’s enemies.

The safer alternative is when the mage stands outside the pentacle and conjures the entity to appear within it, where it is bound until dismissed.

DEALING WITH MAGES

When dealing with live mages, the techniques used to slay or confine witches usually prove successful— except for salt and iron, which have no effect at all.

A malevolent mage is a servant of the dark and may be bound with a silver chain or slain with a silver-alloy blade. Rowan wood can also cause some mages severe pain, while others have a tolerance for it. A spook has some degree of immunity against magecraft, but the struggle can become physical: When threatened, most mages quickly resort to extreme violence.

Unlike witches, dead malevolent mages are not bone bound and cannot leave their graves. Their spirits pass through limbo to their natural home in the dark. Some mages do live extraordinarily long lives, and indeed much of their magic is designed to achieve that end; while malevolent witches accept death through natural old age, knowing they have a physical existence beyond the grave where they will still be able to satisfy their blood lust.

Merlin

Merlin is perhaps the most famous mage of all, the power behind the throne of Arthur, a warlike Celtic king. Merlin had a human mother, but his father was reportedly a demon, and from him he inherited magical powers, including the ability to shift his shape into different people or even animals.

In later life he increased his existing power by learning to use the energy of a dragon, which is a very dangerous thing to do. He then fell in love with the witch Nimueh, who pried out his magical secrets, drained him of power, and used it against him. She trapped Merlin within the aura of a powerful dragon. He still sleeps and will remain there until the end of the world.

Merlin

TYPES OF MAGES

Goat Mages

Goat mages dwell in Ireland and derive their power through Pan magic, routinely sacrificing goats to that Old God.1 The idea is that, through worship and blood letting, Pan will grant them power. Fortunately, Pan is unreliable, and the mage is more likely to be driven insane. When, on occasion, Pan does reward the mage, the power received is used with unpredictable and devastating effects. (Pan magic is akin to madness.)

Goat mages have a major annual event, which is very sinister and dangerous. A goat is tethered to a high platform and worshipped for a week and a day. Human beings are sacrificed to the cloven-hoofed creature, which is gradually possessed by Pan, the horned god. Soon the goat acquires the power of speech, stands upon its hind legs, and grows larger, dominating the proceedings and demanding more and more sacrifices.

A Goat Mage

The power derived from those eight days of bloodshed lasts the mages for almost a year. Some years Pan is not contacted and the mages must flee, scattering themselves to the winds. They are then totally vulnerable, and their enemies, a federation of landowners to the southwest of that land, hunt them down. But in a good year, when their power is in the ascendancy, they are greatly feared. Then they travel unchecked, seek out their