Tribunal 0
1217 has just ended. It is April 2, just barely into 1218. Nearly two dozen young magi, some of whom are only about to presumably pass their gauntlets, have streamed into the grand hall at Harco. There is plenty of food set about on tables and the room is decorated with early spring flowers, making this look like a banquet. But there is also parchment set on the table surrounded by many chairs, making this look like a meeting of Guernicas or Bonisagus magi.
One older magus keeps an eye out as the various journeymen magi and senior apprentices arrive, not talking to anyone. Bits of gray in his beard and speckling his head reveal a significant age since he must surely be under a Longevity Ritual. Once he has counted who has arrived, he taps the floor repeatedly with his staff until he has everyone's attention. There is nothing extraordinary about the tapping, just that he is persistent and a hush slowly spreads over the crowd.
"Greetings, everyone. I am Alexios ex Guernicas, and I have been tasked to instruct you on what to do in preparation for your great venture. As you all know, the Order has decided expansion into Africa should be done. There is a great amount of space there, bound to have vis and Gifted children. To maintain neutrality between the current Tribunals, ideally a new Tribunal will be created. As more senior magi are busy training apprentices and doing research, and they have established laboratories they are loath to relinquish, over the past year you have all been recruited to settle Africa. The five Redcaps among you have searched and found a number of locations they think you will find suitable for establishing covenants.
"Until one year after the next Grand Tribunal, none of you will be considered orbus for not being a member of a Tribunal. Your representatives shall present themselves at that Grand Tribunal. If you have sufficient numbers and present yourselves well, you will officially form a new Tribunal at that point. If not, any existing covenants will be absorbed into nearby Tribunals. Until then, you should conduct yourselves as a Tribunal to prove the viability of a Tribunal there.
"After the Redcaps have described the locations they have found, you will meet amongst yourselves to determine who will settle where, how your Tribunal will make decisions, and the like. Brontion ex Guernicus will be your Quaesitor and see that everything is conducted properly. In one year you will meet here or in Africa as you decide and begin to settle Africa. I now leave you in the hands of Benedict, Giovanni, Qais el-Sarwar, Tallak Thorstennson, and Tello. Enjoy the food, and good fortune in your venture."
With that he promptly walks for the doors and departs, determined but not in a rush. The doors close behind him, leaving 21 of you together in the room with no one else.
You'll want to introduce yourselves as you were one year ago. So, if you're starting right out of gauntlet, you'll be an apprentice introducing yourself. If you're starting one year out, then you just passed your gauntlet. If you're starting more years out, then you have a little bit of time as a magus under your belt. Feel free to doing some mingling stuff, and that mingling can by asynchronous with the rest of the discussion.
The locations the Redcaps describe are the ones you've settled on already. As we've already organized who is going where, we can assume that gets done after the Redcaps describe the locations. So we can proceed onward to establishing some norms for the Tribunal in-character.