The Fiftieth Manerean Conjugation is scheduled to take place in the last week of this year of 424 at Covenant Isrillion, which was chosen to host the event as part of a traditionalist attack on the covenant and its suspect young magi three years ago, at the Forty-Ninth Conjugation of the spring of 421. While it is usually considered an honor for a covenant to be chosen to host the Manerean Conjugation, in this case the selection was intended otherwise: the question of the Isrillion magi's possible diabolism had still been very much a hot issue in the spring of 421, and the covenant's members' desire to avoid further attention from outsiders had been painfully evident to the convened House Manere. Furthermore, the only other Manerean Conjugation ever to be held at Isrillion—the Sixth, of 289—had been so infamously dreadful that even in the fifth century, suggesting that a conjugation be held at Isrillion was a common joke, a cheap way to get a laugh from the assembled House.
Forced much against their will to accept the House's resolve to conjugate at their covenant at the end of this year, the leadership of Isrillion has claimed that in order to prove that their covenant is still capable of protecting its magi against mundane invasion, the Shield of the Order will do its utmost to prevent House Manere from assembling there come conjugation; it has challenged the House to see if it really can break Isrillion's military defenses without the use of magic. No one is quite sure whether they are serious about this or not. A rumor has recently been circulating, however, that the Isrillionites have turned to their old client covenant of Fumus et Specula for aid. If true, this would seem to suggest that they are hoping to use imaginem magics to hide their covenant or otherwise make it difficult for the Manereans to convene there this winter.
The Fiftieth Conjugation is of particular concern to Manereans because the current Primus, Irrumator, has announced that he will not serve a third term as leader of the House. It will therefore fall to the attendants of this year's conjugation to acclaim his successor. Although a number of magi have been discussed as possible candidates for leadership of the House, none have emerged as front-runners, and the field is still wide open.
