Methodios

Methodios was a young mage in Skopentzana during the reign of Maleinos II. Given his relative youth, he was not as knowledgeable in magic as his older peers but was considered an expert in defensive wards.

During the civil war between Maleinos and his grand domestikos Stylianos the border forts were stripped of their defenders by the warring factions leaving the Empire vulnerable to barbarian invaders. Methodios joined an expedition of mages led by Koubatzes to try to divert marauding Khamorth tribesmen from the city by magic. When they encountered the tribesmen, he took a lodestone that was free to hang from a silver chain and had a stout needle piercing it from his saddlebag. He swung it by the chain while murmuring a charm and passed his free hand above it. The lodestone began to swing by itself while Methodios studied it.

Methodios was somewhat puzzled by the Khamorth magic but concluded they had few protective wards. Koubatzes and three other mages set out an amulet on a square of blue silk, surrounded it at the cardinal points and began chanting. Magic built up and Koubatzes cast the spell against the Khamorth scattering them. However, a minute later Methodios staggered and gasped out that it was a counter spell. Fear grew in each person until they fled. Methodios was one of the last but eventually he broke and fled in a panic. Fortunately he returned safely to Skopentzana unlike many others in the expedition.