Roster: between 12 and 18 magi (exact number unknown due to scattered and distant locations), most of them working alone and occasionally collaborating with other Bonisagi; their consors and acolytes number around 30.
        Primus:
        Domus Magna: still located at Durenmar near Duren in Poland, as it has been for more than one thousand years.
        Sphere Focus: Ars Vis, the Prime Sphere, in terms of meta-magick and the nature of magickal energy
        Secondary Spheres: Ars Mentis for protection and increased mental ability, and experiments with the complex Ars Temporis and Ars Conjunction, the Time and Correspondence Spheres.
        Allies: Houses Shaea, Guernicus, and Ex Miscellanea
        Enemies: House Tytalus
        Common Abilities: History, Cosmology, Chemistry, Philosophy, Hermetic Law, Hermetic Lore, Mage Lore, Realm Lore, Mythic-Beast Lore,
        Common Backgrounds: Sanctum, Library, and Status

        History: This is the House that claims the very founding of the Grand Order.  In 767 AD the great philosopher-magus Bonisagus codified a set of magickal laws and methods that allowed wide ranges of magick to fit under the parameters of certain Arts and Forms -- what are today known as the Spheres.  With the help of the maga Trianoma, Bonisagus gathered the remains of the Cult of Mercury, who had scattered throughout Europe after Rome's collapse, into lodgings outside the Germanic town of Durenmar; when they offered these magi a form of magick that did not require multitudes of participants and expensive components, many of the Mercurians agreed and took up study under Bonisagus.  The first twelve who joined with Bonisagus were some of the most powerful magi in the land; a violent Iberian noble called Flambeau, the Roman transmuter Mercere, Guorna the Fetid's hot-tempered Norman pupil Tytalus, Guorna's clever but weaker Bulgarian pupil Tremere, the refined Roman noble Jerbiton, the Roman talisman-maker, a strange Bavarian riddle-mage called Criamon, the nature-maga Merinita, a Germanic barbarian shapeshifter-woman called Bjornaer, a reluctant Roman magus known as Guernicus, and a Hibernian Druid called Diedne.  These twelve each took pupils eventually and taught them the Hermetic theories they had learned from Bonisagus; along with Bonisagus' later apprentices, these new magi made up the first bastions of the Grand Hermetic Order.  They were the Twelve Houses.
        As the other founders took their studies of Hermetic Theory in many direction -- warfare, exploration, enigmas and riddles, the search for power and status -- Bonisagus taught his students another way.  He required diligent study and intense focus, not to mention high levels of intelligence and creativity, and guided his students along pathways whereupon they explored the very nature of magick itself.  These magi alone understood how little that day's magi knew of magick -- even the powerful magi of the newly-arisen Hermetic Houses.  They worked quietly, persistently, and often at great danger to learn more, to push the boundaries of magick and reality, to learn more about the magickal places and beings of Mythic Europe.  They worked alone far more often than other magi, and were reclusive, often holing themselves away in towers or laboratories for months or years.  But these quiet scholars were greatly respected by the other magi of the Order, since their learning was directly descended from the Order's Founder.
        Certamen w/Tremere
        Throughout the rest of the Order's history, which the other Houses filled with wars and intrigues, the magi of House Bonisagus worked quietly in the background, solidifying the Order's grasp of the laws of magick, strengthening and stabilizing the Order through careful political actions and diplomacy.  They created powerful potions to lengthen lifespan, aided House Verditius in the perfection of talisman-making techniques, quantified and gained control over "vis" (the raw magickal energies that flow through the world), and developed many of the spells that made up the spellbooks of the next five centuries.  Some in the 1200s, however, claimed that the Bonisagi became less and less creative and original as the centuries passed, and that they fizzled down to merely minor improvements and highly specific inquiries.  in the late 1200s some radical mages in House Bonisagus, and from other Houses, began searching for new perspectives on Hermetic Theory, hoping to change some of the basic assumptions, such as the division between Techniques and Forms.  This movement was much feared and opposed, but eventually led to the codification of the Spheres as they are known today.
        Current State: House Bonisagus is greatly scattered today.  Most magi believe there are only about 5 or 6 magi in this august House, the most prominent of those known being the Society Bonisagus, a group of four magi who associated themselves heavily with the labyrinthine politics of Doissetep.  There are actually around 16 magi in this House, but most of them are hidden in laboratories and libraries in distant parts of the world, or in Astral Realms.  After the destruction of Doissetep, there are few politically-oriented Bonisagi left, though one or two may still focus their attentions on the political arena in some strategically important covenant, using their membership in the founding House as leverage.
 

PRIORITIES OF A POLITICAL BONISAGUS MAGUS

1. Preserve the Order.
2. Bring honor and prestige to House Bonisagus.
3. Achieve personal fame and status as a magus.

1. Further Hermetic Knowledge.
2. Bring honor to House Bonisagus.
3. Achieve recognition as a magickal theorist.

        Roster: 31 members, and 16 Quaesitores in other Houses; its consors and acolytes number nearly 120.
        Primus:
        Domus Magna: the secretive covenant Magvillus, in Italy, east of Naples
        Sphere Focus: Ars , the ??? Sphere, in terms of ???
        Secondary Spheres: Ars Temporis (Time) and Ars Mentis (Mind) for investigative purposes
        Allies: Houses Bonisagus, Shaea, and Flambeau
        Enemies: Houses Janissary, Tytalus and Ex Miscellanea
        Common Abilities: Investigation, Alertness, Hermetic Law, Hermetic Lore, Mage Lore,
        Common Backgrounds: Status, Contacts, and Arcane

        History:
        Current State: House Guernicus has always had a stern reputation, as well as a powerful and precarious place within the Order.  It has been accused of taking advantage of its power... it has been accused of being partial to one House or another.  It was even accused of plotting to take over the Order, once in the dark ages and again in the 1800s.  Some members of House Guernicus are currently seeking to mend the stern and dour image the House has gained  over the centuries, and try to portray to other magi that the Quaesitori are impartial, fair, and righteous judges who seek what is best for the Order.  Some magi bani Guernicus grumble at these PR efforts, saying that the House need not defend itself on any level but the legislative, that such wheedling and pursuing favor demeans the esteemed House as a whole.
 

PRIORITIES OF A GUERNICUS MAGUS

1. Be faithful to the Code.
2. Resolve disputes constructively.
3. Earn personal honor and recognition within your House.
4. Earn honor in the Order.

        Shaea magick is Egyptian magick, that of Names and Naming.  More Shaea magi are women than in any other House, and most Shaea magi were of middle-eastern descent until this last few decades.  House Shaea concerns itself with preserving the histories and tomes of the Order, with the name-magicks of ancient Egypt, and with the issue of education in the modern world.  In this latter concern, they often work beside the magi of House Fortunae.

        Roster: around 20 magi, and its consors and acolytes number between 70 and 80
        Primus: Maraksha Kashaf
        Domus Magna: when the Library at Alexandria burned, House Shaea's domus magna was moved to the Hall of Khesef-hra-khemiu in Northern Egypt.
        Sphere Focus: Ars Vis, the Sphere of Prime
        Secondary Spheres: Ars Materiae (Matter) for talisman-magick, Ars Manes (Spirit)
        Allies: Houses Guernicus, Bonisagus, and Fortunae
        Enemies: Houses Fortunae and Ex Miscellanea
        Common Abilities: Language, History, Cosmology, Anthropology, Hermetic History, Hermetic Lore, Mummy Lore, Bastet Lore, Strider Lore,
        Common Backgrounds: Library, Consors, and Talismans

        History:
        Current State: House Shaea has spent the last century gaining power and influence in the modern world.  Shaea magi previously kept to themselves, secluding themselves into their libraries in Egypt, Persia, Africa and the Middle East.  But recently these magi have joined the younger House Fortunae in taking an interest in the education of the Sleeper world, and this has necessitated a presence in areas such as Europe and the US.  Shaea still focuses much of its efforts on Third-World countries such as Africa, Egypt, and other places with horribly poor education systems, focusing on the simple ability to read and write, and leaving worries about Universities and advanced mathematical courses to House Fortunae.
 

EGYPTIAN TERMS
        Aufu, the physical body.  One of the five bodies of a human.   Corresponds to the Qabalistic "Guph".
        Haidit (or Khaib or Khaibit), "shadow."  The subconscious.  One of the five bodies of a human.   Corresponds to the Qabalistic "Nephesh".
        Ka (or Khat, or Khaba), the "body of habits".  The Ka is the etheric double, and lives on in the tomb after the body's death.  Some consider the Ka to be the equivalent of the astral form.   Corresponds to the Qabalistic "Tselem".
        Khu, "clear" or "luminous".  The immortal part of the soul, the causal body.  Symbolized by a plume of flame.   Corresponds to the Qabalistic "Yechidah".
        Khabs Am Pekht, "Light in Extension."  A phrase used by the HOGD.