Grimoire-5

This worldline appears to have been an historical echo of  until 1119, when Walloonian clockmaker William of Mons invented a primitive linotype machine (much to the confusion of outtimers), and a printing press; papermaking spread faster as side effect, with books becoming common and fairly cheap by 1130. The White Ship still sinks in 1120, but Stephen of Blois was on board, and drowned, leaving Empress Matilda to inherit relatively unopposed when Henry I died of a 'bad belly' in 1138. Cliodynamic evidence suggests that this Quantum 6 worldline was on Quantum 7 or 8 prior to 1120. Matilda reigned until her death in 1162, when she was succeeded by her son Geoffrey FitzEmpress as King Geoffrey of England (the first coronation on this worldline to be announced in a newspaper). Geoffrey still rules England in 1190, along with his eldest son (and junior King) Fulk, Count of Anjou, who has taken on more and more of the King's duties, of late.
Technology-wise, this Earth is (at least in Europe) closer to the 15th or 16th century than the 12th or 13th, save that gunpowder has yet to spread to Europe, and thus armour is not yet made to try to counter it; newspapers and literacy are nearly as common as they were in the mid-17th century on Homeline. In the Islamic world and parts of Asia, black powder is as much a toy as it is a weapon, but the advancements of science in Europe are passing East as time goes by, and in many cases, being matched. Advanced sailing ships have reopened Vinland to settlement, and thus the technology of Europe passes West, as well, albeit with greater difficulty, as the native peoples of the Western Lands lack immunity to many diseases that the Europeans carry. Africa likewise grows more learned, especially in the expanding Ghana Empire, and the Zagwe Kingdom.
The increased availability of books leads to both an increase in literacy, and an increase in the availability of Book styles, which are less hidden or secret in this era than one might expect. Most practitioners use single-Book styles, though the actual number of distinct single-Book styles is rather smaller. Multiple-Book styles are still more common than Path styles, however. The most common distinct Path style in Europe is Western Ritual Alchemy, which uses Alchemy as the core skill, rather than Ritual Magic. The Paths are Via Animalia (Animal Control), Via Bellator (Combat Abilities), Via Toxicum (Hostile Elixirs), Via Magicae (Magical Abilities), Via Medicinae (Medical Elixirs), Via Animus (Mental Abilities & Mental Control), and Via Virtus (Skills and Physical Abilities). The style was quite rare before 1119, and may have been at risk of dying out, due to secrecy and poor communications; no-one is known to use this style with the Path/Book Adept (Material) advantage, though some have been known to possess the other forms of PBA. Herb Lore-based (mostly oral) Book styles are more common than Alchemy, but are in nearly all cases local styles, with few or no practitioners beyond their home regions.
Mystic Symbols are rare on this Earth, and few of those that do exist grant any form of Path/Book Adept (granting some variant of Limited Magery is far more common), though some magical styles do have efficient methods of learning a style-appropriate form of this advantage. Familiars are spoken of in this worldline, but there is little evidence that they are not simply trained and/or possessed animals that the mage or spirit enhances with magic (id est, they do not appear to grant the mage new abilities).
So far, no-one native to  seems to be aware of Infinity or Centrum, though a few have joined the Cabal, or had contact with them.
Category:Quantum 6
Category:Low Mana