Nerius, Filius of Rodkin, Follower of Criamon, Patron Saint of Magic and the Order of Hermes.
I plan to write up a complete history of Nerius at some near point (and have for over a semester, so God Alone knows when it will actually happen; if this covenant is actually the one chosen, it will be over the Christmas break (without a computer!:( )), but in the meantime, here is quick rough draft:
St. Nerius was born in 921 or 922 A.D., and abandoned on the steps of the monastery of St. Denis, in the province of Loire-Atlantique in the northwest region of France (near Nantes, along l'Erdre river). The monks there, a devout and spiritual group, took him, giving him the name Pete. He was trained to be a monk, a training for which he had a real calling, but when he was 11 years old, the magus Rodkin appeared and took him away to be an apprentice; eventually Rodkin gave him the Hermetic name Nerius after a character in _The Travels of Fedoso_. He became a competent, if not brilliant, magus; perhaps he would have been more brilliant if was a un-worldly as he was - he much preferred meditation to lab work.
He lost much of his early, Christian beliefs, instead adopting the standard Criamon teachings. Then, in 986, he was lead by his riddle to a forgotten lake where he saw a vision. The vision convinced him that the "Enigma" was God. He declared his renewed dedication to God; he began preaching to other magi of how their gift was a gift from God, and should be used in their service, and generally urging the magi to become servants of God.
He performed several miracles, including the destruction of an otherwise indestructible Demonic magic item, winning Certamen contests against people many times his power, predicting the future, turning a demonic aura into a Dominion aura, and so on. His efforts as a "missionary to the magi" met with fair success; many (esp. in the less power-hungry houses) were drawn to spiritual and mystical Nerius.
Despite his wisdom as charisma, he is best remembered, not for the way of his life, but for the way of his death. It was in 1006, on the eve of the Schism War and the beginning of the destruction of House Diedne, that the magi of the Normandy Tribunal met amid a dark cloud of suspicion and anger. Words were coming to blows; House Tytalus, with Fudarus (its Domus Magnus) only a few miles away, was pushing for the destruction of Diedne.
In this, as in all of the wars and destruction and anger in this period, Nerius was a voice for calmness and restraint. He urged the tribunal to restrain Tremere and Tytalus, though they very powerful in the region. Tempers flared, until finally a young, headstrong Tremere magus challenged Nerius to a duel of Certamen to give up his Christian beliefs.
Now, it was a well-known fact that, ever since his conversion, Nerius would always win any Certamen contest he found important; even without God's help, he was many years older that the young upstart, so that he could have won was beyond doubt. But he refused, and proclaimed that no man's beliefs could be fought over; this was beyond the jurisdiction of the Code.
The Tremere faction saw its chance. Refusing to either fight a Certamen or to abide by it was against the Peripheral Code; they called for a Wizard's March against him. Extreme, but this was near Fudarus, and Tytalus might have the power to push it through. Others, including the Praeco, tried to block them, but Nerius forbade them, saying that they must not risk their lives for him; that God would watch out for him. With rising hysteria, the followers of Tremere and Tytalus and Flambeau pushed through the vote - Nerius was cast out of the Order and a Wizard's March was declared against him.
As one, the magi of those houses turned to Nerius. With blatant disregard for the sanctity of the tribunal chamber, they cried out their hate in the language of magic. Thrice a dozen spells of fire, destruction, and harm hurled towards Nerius - and died without effect. Again the spells rained upon him, and again, but nothing touched him. And those present perceived that he stood within a circle of light, and that none of his enemies' spells might enter that circle. And the gathered magi became silent, peering upon this miracle. And then Nerius spoke.
"Behold ye, and see that God's will is stronger then thy own; and recall that when thou leaves the world, thou shalt be judged; and all thy arts and all thy rituals shall not avail thee against His will; even as they have not availed thee against His humble servant. And look to the hatred that festers in thy breast, and think of what thou hast so casually attempted this day. For if thou continues on thy present course, driven by the seas of anger, thou shall be driven unto the rocks, and sink there. But thou has the power to turn thy course, and to steer unto the greater good. Choose wisely, all ye here, before it is too late.
"And I say to those who would kill me, that I still hold to the oath I swore, for all that they do not. Only remember, it is by His will, not thine, that this happens."
And he stepped out of the circle.
In subsequent years, as magi turned away in shock and horror from the violent of the Schism War, the legend of Nerius grew. Some believe that his influence saved Bjornaer, that without his words and his numerous followers the Schism War would have been even worse; though Bjornaer is not, on the whole, a Christian house, they respect Nerius. Many believe that his memory and those who revere him have done much to prevent such a catastrophe from happening again.
His followers are many and varied. Even the most powerful magus cannot completely escape his upbringing, and Christianity is deeply ingrained in many a magus's heart. They continue to strive for peace within the Order, for union with the church, and for inner devotion to God among magi. The Church, for all that it generally dislikes magi, canonized Nerius (under his _Hermetic_ name) in 1081. For all the hostility of the Church to the Order, they still, officially, claim that the Gift is indeed from God; a gift which can be used for good...
Needless to say, Tremere, Tytalus, and Flambeau hate the guy.