《The Encyclopedia Arcane》 On the Biology of Elves An Extract from ¡®On the Sapient Species: An Anatomical Primer¡¯, by Senior Gosiah of Ithular:
Elves are a horned, bipedal type A1 species with pointed ears. They are the most beautiful of all species, and age not a day past their prime. Truly, that is all which can be said of them with any surety and safety. While I have spoken on many controversial and even taboo subjects within the bounds of this work, I have no doubt that the subject which shall bring me the most troubles in the coming days is this very entry. For you see, dear reader, while you are undoubtedly familiar with the concept of the civilized High Elves and the savage Low Elves, inferior to the High Elves in every way, I wish to disabuse this falsehood. There is in truth no difference betwixt the High and Primal Elves (as the ¡®Low¡¯ Elves call themselves) save where they live. I do not say this to disparage either of the two primary races of elves, but it is a simple fact. You shall never find a Moon Elf living in the blistering deserts of Kaishan, nor a Desert Elf in the bustling city of Vis¡¯Feror unless they are merely a visitor. For you see, dear reader, if you were to take a Primal elf from their home and place them within a city, within just a few years you in theory would find them almost indistinguishable from a High Elf born and raised within that very city (1). For all elves hold true the simple fact that they are capable of adapting to even the harshest climate or the most luxurious one, and each elf is perfectly suited for the situation they find themselves within. Where a human changes their environment to suit themselves, an elf changes to fit their environment. To be an elf is to change, and to be perfect. This is why they possess such beauty and such agelessness. An elf looks as they wish, and has a body which acts precisely according to their truest desire.
High Elves High Elves, also known as (approximate and mildly censored translations) Mongrel Elves, City Elves, Rubble Elves, and Gossamer Elves, are the elf most familiar to my audience. They are found in more civilized areas, predominantly those founded by the other species. Their frames are tall and willowy, their horns are elegant and usually multi-pronged. Their minds are keen, and usually possess great mental prowess and a powerful aptitude for magic. This aptitude is what frequently shapes their race, and is why you may see distinct races of elves living within the same city. Indeed, elves are particularly susceptible to magimorphosis, and there are some scholars who believe that all elven races are in fact the result of environmental magimorphosis (your humble author remains skeptical). Some of the more populous races of High Elf are as follows: Noble Elves are perhaps the most alluring of all elvenkind. Golden horns rest upon their brow like a crown, their usually violet eyes shine with a mesmerizing light. Their hair is fine, long, and straight, usually light in color, and while they lack significant amounts of strength and stamina, their fingers are quite adroit and nimble with incredible coordination. About half of all Noble Elves are ambidextrous, with the remainder equally split between dominant hands. Noble Elves are predominantly tied to mental magic, and even those who do not delve into their use are very in-tune with the mental state of others, due to a very low level of Empathic prowess present. This also leads Noble Elves to being particularly receptive to various mental enhancements of their own making, and curiously enough, enchantments and items based on the shape of Noble Elf horns have increased sensitivity to various mental magics. Silver Elves (occasionally known as Lunar Elves in locales with a moon) are slender even by High Elf standards, with silver horns framing their head like laurels and silver eyes which may dim or brighten according to the mood of the elf. I must take a moment to dispel a common myth, and that is that Silver Elves do indeed have eyelids, though it is a curious quirk of the race that many do sleep with their eyes open. Controlling the shape and luster of their eye color is apparently a sufficient replacement in many circumstances for the actual satisfaction of closing one¡¯s eyes. Their hair, while silver as well, does not change color. Silver Elves have a particular gift for artifice magic, and their horns usually take a shape reminiscent of whatever enchantment they are most fond of, though only rarely do their horns actually become independently enchanted. While Silver Elves frequently do have enchanted horns, this is a matter of culture and not a natural process. Golden Elves, sometimes also called Copper, Brass, or Solar Elves, have their most notable feature of course being the large copper-to-brass-colored curling horns representing one of the few High Elven horns which do not branch out. Despite their shine and luster, they are actually quite low in actual metal content. Instead, they are iridescent in a manner similar to a butterfly¡¯s wing. By contrast, their more mundanely reddish-brown colored hair and golden eyes are substantially more mundane. Their skin tone is usually slightly metallic in shades reminiscent of their horns, but lack the same iridescent properties. Like other High Elves, Golden Elves have a form of magic they are most adroit in, and for Golden Elves this is healing and life-enhancing magics. Thus, while their stature is not substantially different from other High Elves, they are usually substantially stronger and hardier than them, but this is not a biological change and merely a magical one (and thus shall not be explored in-depth at this time). Stellar Elves, contrary to what their name may suggest, have fairly subdued skin tones, hair colors, and even eye colors. When combined with their relatively subdued ear shapes, they are the most likely to be mistaken for human in general, were it not for their ivory-like horns and utterly sparkling eyes. In fact, in those lands without stars, they are still known as Crystal Elves due to the impression their eyes are liable to make on the viewer. Their horns, meanwhile, are likely to take on shapes which loosely correspond to locally recognized constellations (if any exist, of course). They are most skilled with divination and prognostication forms of magic, though are interestingly not the only elves with an affinity to that particular branch of sorcery. Tower Elves are perhaps substantially more uncommon than the other High Elven races I have thus far spoke upon, but are nonetheless interesting enough to warrant their own entry. They look rather akin to humans, but possess small horns which bear a striking resemblance to carved and polished wood (despite, of course, not actually being made of such) and their ears, while substantially less prominent than Noble Elves, still retain their characteristic shape. They have a strong tie to divination magics, but are predominantly found in towers of knowledge (which is what leads to their secondary name of Library Elves) and while they have particularly keen minds are among the most physically frail of elves. Dock Elves are the exception which proves the rule for High Elves being more magically adept and less physically powerful. With goat-like horns and a powerful build, Dock Elves may on occasion be mistaken for satyrs or fauns if their legs are obscured. Their eyes are often gray, and their hair is usually a stone gray color. There is even some debate as to whether they are not just Primal Elves who happen to live in cities, on account of their magic aligning quite strongly with the local Tapestry and general distinction from most High Elven traits, but to truly settle the matter would require a far more stringent exploration of the difference between High Elves and Primal Elves which this work shall not attempt. Drake Elves, while occasionally possessing some draconic heritage (see my discussion on Half-Elves later in this entry) do not have such as a requirement. Their distinctly draconic horns look directly metallic despite once again containing very little of actual metal, but come in all colors which True Dragons do (see my entry on Dragons earlier in this work). These elves often have truly prodigious magical strength and even a fair amount of physical strength, but do not have scales save for very, very few situations. Ruby Elves have ruby-red eyes and sleek, almost fluid-looking horns to accompany their general affinity for blood magic, and their hair is often black or a nearly-black dark red in color. However, despite their overall similar appearance to devil-blooded humans or elves rarely if ever possess any actual infernal ancestry. True to their race¡¯s nickname of ¡®Blood Elves¡¯ they have a strong affinity for blood magic. This manifests in a number of ways, the most curious of which is in their lungs, which, like aquatic elves, are filled with a gel-like liquid instead of air which doesn¡¯t inhibit their ability to breathe air, only enhances it. Unlike aquatic elves, they remain incapable of breathing water.
Primal Elves Primal Elves, otherwise known as Low Elves, Savage Elves, Wood Elves, Pure Elves, and Natural Elves are the other primary and indisputable group of elven races. Unlike their city-dwelling bretheren, Primal Elves have bodies substantially more adapated for their native environment and accordingly have a substantilly differentiated elven races. Indeed, there are some scholars which argue all High Elves are merely variations on a single type of Primal Elves. Such individuals usually name High Elves as City Elves (or the closest translation). In general, Primal Elves are shorter and possess substantially more muscle than High Elves. Their horns usually appear similar to that of animals within the area, and their eyes are even more likely to show no white, with a moderate chance of having a different shape for their pupils than as seen in humans or High Elves. Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! They are no less magically gifted, but their abilities usually manifest more in attunement to and connection with their surroundings. Indeed, some Primal Elves have mana which is utterly indistinguishable from the Tapestry of the environs which they make their home. This, yes, does not lend itself quite so well to more traditional displays of magic which I would wager you, dear reader, are most accustomed to, but to decry it as mere ¡®pedantic superstition¡¯ is so laughably incorrect that it is a disgrace to even consider such a thing. It is in fact this very feature of Primal Elves- that their mana imprint is synchronized so perfectly with their surrounding- which allows them to perform their High Weaves (2), predict the weather, vanish from most senses, sense danger, and more besides. Wood Elves are the most well-known Primal Elf, for reasons which I shall not delve into for this volume, and are accordingly what most imagine when attempting to picture a Primal Elf. Their skin tones usually match the wood or bark color of their native forests, their hair is usually a dark brown, their eyes the same color as native foliage, and horns strongly reminiscent of cervidian (most commonly deer) antlers. It is worth noting that despite rumors to the contrary, elves with unicorn-like horns do still possess two horns, and they have none of the normal purification properties of a unicorn¡¯s antler. Coral Elves are the most common aquatic elf, due to the warm, often tropical waters in which they usually make their home being particularly hospitable to life. Like most aquatic elves, they possess relatively large, flat feet, and a membrane connecting their fingers up until approximately two-thirds of the way up to their first knuckle. Many are bald, but those who do have hair usually are quite dark in color. Coral Elves have slightly warm pink skin, wide, turquoise eyes, and ears substantially smaller than even most humanoids, let alone elves. Their horns usually look like coral, with drastically distinct forms in each enclave. As they dwell relatively close to the surface, most Coral Elves are amphibious, their lungs filled with a gel-like substance equally capable of breathing in air as water. Arctic Elves make their home in the coldest parts of the world; where the Tapestry ties itself closer to Ice or Void and snow covers the ground. To combat the cold, their body is covered in a very fine fur or hair coating which makes them look white, despite their actual skin being pitch-black. The hair on their actual head is thick, but more colorless than actually white. They are one of the few elven races which are likely to grow facial hair. Curiously, some Arctic Elves possess none of these attributes, but for the sake of clarity I have given them their own section (see Polar Elves). Horns are most commonly have the appearance of tiny, curved icicles hidden by their hair, and their eyes are nearly entirely black to the point it is difficult to see their pupils are slitted. Polar Elves may be mistaken for a race of High Elf upon first appearance, for all that their light blue skin gives the illusion of an eternal chill. Their icy horns take on forms distinctly reminiscent of Royal Elves, and unlike the Arctic Elves they dwell among, possess no fur covering their bodies. Instead, their bodies are infused with ice magic such that even the icy chill of their homes is no more uncomfortable than a barely chilly day to you and I. Indeed, they possess a mastery of their home¡¯s element which rivals even the mightiest High Elves in their specialties in turn. Their eyes are the same slitted black as Arctic Elves, though their hair is properly white instead of colorless. Plains Elves are the closest to human of all elf races. While the color of their skin and hair varies with the type of plains they frequent, they possess nearly the same level of endurance as a human. Their legs are particularly long and powerful, with bottoms of their feet almost akin to Nemean hide, and their ears are large and particularly pointed even by elven standards. In fact, their ears are so long and so sensitive that the ear itself, in addition to the normal internal structure and eardrum, provides a secondary auditory function that can hear sounds too faint for most creatures to notice. Their horns are usually long and pointed straight up, which when combined with their ears, can look as though they possess four horns from afar. Jungle Elves are occasionally included as simply another subrace of Forest Elves, but to do so is a great disservice as they are as distinct as any other elven race. Their horns often look akin to natural tree branches or bushes, though only the most magically inclined in life magics ever have any buds or leaves grow upon them (there are no reliable reports of Jungle Elf horns ever bearing fruits, though some may produce small flowers whose color matches the eyes of the elf which bore them). Their eyes can be any color, but their hair still tends to be light to dark brown in shade. Most interestingly are their feet, which while not fully prehensile are still significantly more dexterous than most humanoids, and are capable of easily providing additional leverage when navigating the hazardous branches of the jungle. Thalassic Elves are the other primary aquatic race of elves, and live substantially further beneath the waves. Their skin is blue or green and occasionally slightly scaly, and while they possess the same gel-filled lungs as their Coral and Blood Elf brethren, their lungs double as a form of biological buoyancy control, allowing them to easily ascend or descend in the far ocean they dwell within at the expense of no longer being able to breathe air. Their feet are even wider and flatter than Coral Elves¡¯, nearly to the point of being flippers, and their hands are webbed past even their first knuckle. Some Thalassic Elves even have a small measure of their torso able to open up akin to gills, exposing more of their lungs to water for enhanced breathing; however this particular trait seems rare even among scaled Thalassic Elves. Their horns are fairly squat and stubby, often appearing as a pair of barnacles or other shellfish stuck to their foreheads, but rarely one will have something significantly more substantial, though with little apparent pattern or reasoning. Perhaps some other time we shall discuss the Winter Elves, Night Elves, Desert Elves, Ethereal Elves, Dream Elves, Summer Elves, Crystal Elves, Tundra Elves, or more besides, but there are alas far more races of elves than there exist quills in all of Ithluar and I must thus stop eventually.
Elvenkin While I believe an unbiased study of the matter would conclusively prove that High and Primal Elves are equally Elven, I now wish to take this opportunity to briefly study elvenkin, other elf-like individuals, whose status as members of the elven species are even more controversial despite remaining fully capable of siring offspring with High Elf and Primal Elf alike. Rejected by and in turn rejecting High Elf and Primal Elf alike, the Dr?h (or Drow, in more common parlance) are those who do not allow their race to be passively changed by their environment or magic. Instead, they take an active hand in shaping themselves according to their own desires (3). Dr?h have the greatest variance in appearance among any of single elvenkin, as their appearance is wholly determined by the whims of the individual. Skin tones of dark blue, violet, or even black are not uncommon, eyes oftentime silver or white, and horns similar to that of High Elves¡¯. They are masters in whatever magic they so desire, have incredible innate resistance to hostile magics, and may possess even some innate magical abilities depending on their form and the skill of the individual Dr?h as they sculpt themselves. They retain much the same biology as most elves, and indeed some even have some minor reflections of their surroundings akin to their kin. However, in many circumstances they either willingly or unwittingly lock their form in, preventing further adaptation once their transition to Dr?h is complete. Elves, with such incredible diversity in potential biology, are thus unsurprisingly one of the species capable of cross-breeding with other creatures and accordingly leads to the relatively common sight of the half-elf. Humans are the most common cross-breed, followed by draconic ancestry, but there are (possibly untrue) records saying that crosses with orcs, gnomes, and shaiar (4) are all possible without additional magic. Human half elves look mostly human, though while they do not grow horns their ears do tend to reflect their elven heritage. Though not quite so physically hardy as pure-blood humans, human-elf crosses do retain the magical strength of their parents in a curious way. Being human, their magic does not conform to that of their surroundings, but being elven their magic does conform to themselves. This is why human-elves are so gifted at magics which affect the self, and also why they are nearly as susceptible to magimorphosis as elves. Draconic half elves, like most dragonborn, look more like drakelings, though their horns are usually substantially larger than that of most drakelings, let alone dragonborn. Indeed, some possess horns on par with dragons themselves. Their draconic attunements are predominantly based on the environs which they grew up in (in contrast to most dragonborn whose attunement is set by their parentage, of course). Once this attunement is set, it is set into a self-contained loop wherein their elven heritage changes their magic back to their body¡¯s natural state, making them substantially more resilient to magimorphosis than most species. The third and final elvenoid I shall study today are that of the High Fae. While I do not fully ascribe to the theory that all High Fae are elves who were affected by and caught within Faerie, there are undoubtedly some which were. The Court of Horns is perhaps the most obvious example, but so too are the Courts of Hunt, Song, and Fruit. Furthermore, there is decent evidence to suggest that the King of Rain was once an elf. While other High Fae do bear a strong resemblance to the Faerie-claimed elves, there is strong scholarship to suggest that this is mostly due to influence of the Astral and Faerie Reflection, and of course the Court of Meadow is made of former devils. There exists of course a nigh-infinite amount to learn from the elves and their kin, and thus for further reading, I advise seeking out Consider the Elf, by Senior Arthial of Ithular, which does a masterful work of exploring the various races of elves and the particular pressures within their surroundings or magics which shape them into their forms, as well as some of the cultures and traditions which have sprung up around their peculiar nature.
1 This is, of course, something of a convenient fiction. At a minimum, the woodland-raised elf would have substantially different mannerisms than a city-raised one, but as elves maintain some subconsious level of control over their appearance, immigrated elves usually retain some facet of their original appearance, most often the horns, which they deeply associate with their self-identity. 2 Those unfamiliar with the practice of Weaving, and High Weaves in particular, may wish to refer to Foreign High Magics by Archmagi Illson, which does an excellent job of outlining the various feats which are accomplished by enclaves of Primal Elves through that discipline. 3 For those seeking a more in-depth look at the philosophies of the Dr?h, I would advise the curious reader to seek out Meshu¡¯s A Study of the Dr?h, as he delivers a far superior explanation than I ever could on the intricacies of the elven traditions surrounding this complex topic. 4 Who the Shaiar are is a mystery, as their description does not seem to perfectly cleave to any modern species despite their mentions appearing in multiple older manuscripts. Some scholars believe they may be apocryphal, or possibly an archaic name for Primal Elves. On the Structure of Reality Extract from the preface of ¡®Introduction to Cosmic Realmistry and Planar Structure¡¯ by H. Igran.
The study of Realms, Planes, and Demiplanes, known collectively as Realmistry, is the primary goal of this book. First, some establishment of terms: A Plane, as used in this work, is any single infinite reality which may be traversed without the use of Slips or Gates (whether artificial or natural). This includes the Plane of Fire, the Base Material Planes, as well as a single layer of Heaven or Hell. A Demiplane is a single non-infinite reality. They may be small, the size of a pocket (as can be created by Realmistry), as large as a mountain, or larger yet. Occasionally, a plane (such as the Bifrost) may not yet be proven whether it is infinite or not; such locations are known as Quasiplanes. A Realm is a collection of planes and demiplanes which all obey similar rules. For example, the Realm of Fire consists of the Prime Fire, Volcanis, the Ashwastes, and more. A single Plane or Demiplane may be a part of multiple Realms (such as Volcanis being part of both the Realm of Fire and the Realm of Earth), or a single Realm (such as the Prime Fire). What determines which Planes are a part of a given Realm is discussed beginning in Chapter 2. Understand, of course, that the Cosmos is impossibly complex and impossible for any mortal mind to truly comprehend. Even our best models are woefully inadequate to describe the phenomenal beauty and intricacies of the Planes and Demiplanes which make up our reality. That is not to say that Realmistry is completely intractable, of course. Centuries of work and countless theories have left us with a set of models which can independently aid us in our pursuit of interplanar navigation and exploration. These are, of course, the Standard Model, World Tree, Crossroads, Crystal Spheres, and Glorious Nebula models.
Standard Model The Standard Model is not especially concerned with the actual structure of the cosmos, but instead focused on the various types of realms which. Broadly speaking, the Standard Model divides planes into five categories: Mortal, Elemental, Divine, Primordial, and Liminal. Mortal realms are assumed to be the most familiar, as they are the realms where mortal life is most commonly found. This includes the Base Material planes, the Faerie realms, the Darkrealms, and in some models the Ethereal realm. Elemental realms are exactly what the name suggests, those overwhelmingly dominated by a singular element, and includes the realms of Fire, Water, Earth, Air, Void, as well as their overlapping regions. The Divine realms are those which the majority of Spirits originate from, such as Heaven, Hell, Elysium, Hades, and other realms which create angels, devils, einherjar and other fully sapient Spirits via natural or automatic processes. Primordial realms include the Outer Chaos, Maelstrom, and Green Lands, those realms which embody a natural process or are themselves said natural process (as is the case of the Morningstar). While they can create Spirits on occasion, they are rarely sapient from inception and must parasitize mortal souls (like demons) or be given the gift of a mind by a deity to truly gain awareness. Lastly, Liminal realms include the Astral Sea, the Ethereal (when not classified as a Mortal realm), and other connective planes such as the Winding Path and Yggdrasil. The Standard Model is generally useful as a shorthand, as realms within each category usually obey similar laws of reality (the Elemental realms being the most obvious example of this) and with the obvious exception of Liminal realms, it is typically substantially easier to travel within a single category¡¯s realms than between categories. This model has obvious flaws, of course. Some versions classify the planes of Light and Dark as Elemental, others as Primordial. Most notably of course, it does absolutely nothing for actually helping with interplanar travel, making it of middling use to aspiring planar manipulators and travelers.
Crossroads The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. The Crossroads may be broadly considered as a variation of the Standard Model actually useful for Realmistry calculations. Instead of directly categorizing different Realms, it assigns a set of values to each plane in existence, based on a number of measurable factors, which primarily aid in determining approximate distances between planes. While variations exist, the most common values utilized in calculations are Chaos, Order, Radiance, Life, Elemental, Divine, Power, and Mana. For more information on each of these measures, see Chapter 2. When used in conjunction with the Crystal Spheres, the Crossroads model is the primary method of calculation used in Planar Orreries assuming Slips are ignored. The Crossroads are also quite useful when attempting to estimate the distance between planes, and the tools it provides are exceptionally useful when attempting to divine from nothing your location in the cosmos. Unfortunately, the Crossroads are very inexact. In addition to not accounting for temporary or unusual planar conditions (making it useless for planar alignment work), treat all numbers you learn from your calculations as estimations, useful when traversing the Bifrost but never to be used when actually constructing a Gate or attempting to Planeshift.
World Tree The first model which actually provides proper structure to reality is the World Tree model. As per the name, it takes the form of a colossal tree stretching as tall as the cosmos is wide. Every leaf, root, and flake of bark is a distinct plane, all connected as trees are. The roots of the World Tree stretch throughout the Elemental realms, which serve as the foundation to the rest of reality. The trunk of the tree is the Base Material, with low-lying branches representing the Darkrealms and Arcadia. Eventually, it branches into the grand crown of the Divine realms and the vast complexity to be found there. In contrast to the Crossroads, the World Tree model is highly accurate for local Realmistry, regardless of where in the cosmos you are, so long as you are utilizing exclusively natural pathways, such as actual world trees, cosmic rivers, or natural planar gates to travel. Its branches do an excellent job of mapping out which planes and realms are adjacent to one another. It is still not a perfect model, naturally. As a simple example, given that Light and Dark are considered part of the Elemental realms, which means that it would map Arcadia and the Darkrealms as liminal in respect to the Elemental realms instead of to the Divine ones. Furthermore, it does little to account for the Primordial and Liminal realms. The former, it suggests as being beyond the tree¡¯s canopy and the latter simply does not fit within the model at all. Accordingly, it offers no explanation of Slips (which it considers merely another form of Liminal plane despite being quite incorrect) and does absolutely nothing to account for planar drift, making it utterly useless for calculating planar alignments.
Crystal Spheres In strict contrast to the World Tree are the Crystal Spheres, which, inspired by the view of planes from the Astral Sea itself, posit each individual plane as one of the eponymous Crystal Spheres floating within the Astral Sea, which is itself is in turn a series of crystal spheres resting within the Chaos Beyond. Realms are groups of planes which naturally cleave together tightly, staying in formation even as they drift and move in accordance with Astral forces, and liminal realms are akin to currents within the Astral or the Astral itself. This is the primary model used to determine proximity between planes for artificial travel, as well as a method for determining the effects of non-neighbor realms on one another. It is sometimes seen as a refinement upon the Crossroads, as it utilizes some of the same foundational principles for proximity calculation, but differs in a number of important ways- most notably in that it focuses on planes rather than realms. It is, of course, hideously difficult to do any appreciable work with for all that it is substantially more accurate at predictive capabilities than any other alternatives. Furthermore, it offers no proper explanation for Slips and cannot account for them. Glorious Clouds Perhaps the most technically correct model is the Glorious Clouds, as it and its predecessors are the only which actually are able to account for Slips. It posits that, with a significant amount of simplification for the sake of clarity, all realms are something like a diffuse cloud drifting through the Outer Chaos, intermingling and being disrupted by various forces. Adjacent realms are those which have significant overlap in area, while Slips are the result of a tiny amount of a plane being separated from the greater whole and drifting into the area of a plane they do not normally interact with. Obviously, the primary use of the Glorious Clouds is to account for Slip behavior and interaction. No other model has anything close to a proper explanation as to what causes nor how Slips manage to connect even the most disparate of planes in such a miniscule area. While very conceptually useful, the Glorious Clouds have very little actionable which can be done with the model. They are an important factor to consider with truly delicate Realmistry rituals, details for which are laid out in Chapter 26, but due to the odd nature of planes within the model, for nearly all situations which might utilize it, either the Crystal Spheres or Crossroads will function just as well. Choosing the proper model for your application is quite important, after all. Accordingly, as we move to Chapter 1 we will begin with an in-depth look at rituals which must utilize one model or another, and how to convert between models for truly sensitive applications. On the Use of Magimorphosis From the Summary of ¡°Utilizing Magimorphosis to induce health benefits¡±, a research project from Ithular Academy
Magimorphosis is a biological process undergone by all living creatures as an automatic response to exposure to magical energies. While some creatures (most notably trolls and elves) are particularly prone to experience magimorphic changes even from environmental exposure, most creatures need to be active practitioners of sorcery to experience even the faintest of changes. It is this latter form of creature which this research project concerned itself with, as elves¡¯ semiconscious control over their own bodies causes excessive interference with any experiments, and trolls¡¯ eternal regeneration renders it functionally impossible to measure any appreciable improvements to health. For more details, see Page 21. Magimorphosis is almost always entirely harmless. Other than in the most extreme cases of exposure to an element actively harmful to the body (such as necromancy) will there be any notable negative impact to biological performance. Furthermore, a sufficiently skilled and properly trained practitioner is able to suspend magimorphosis progression upon themselves, and can suppress more supernatural manifestations. However, without the aid of a healer, magimorphosis is rarely reversible without a corresponding change in magical proficiency. Doing so is usually described as annoying, and few mages will do so without good reason. A more complete list may of types of magic and their corresponding magimorphic symptoms may be found in Appendix A, but magimorphosis can be broadly categorized into four stages: The first stage of magimorphosis is very light, but almost always ocular (hence the colloquial term of ¡®Mage Eyes¡¯); the eye changes color, or reflections in it begin to grow more complex and less connected to reality. This usually begins after a few years of dedicated practice in a particular style of magic, often corresponding to a notable shift in the individual¡¯s personal mana. Alternatively, living close to a magical nexus or on a powerful ley line convergence with a majority type may trigger this stage. Stage 2 of magimorphosis is only ever seen in a dedicated mage, and while subtle, is usually readily obvious to any observers. Hair color may change, eyes shift in obviously non-natural ways, and minor magical manifestations may appear in close proximity to the mage. Stage 3 is mostly seen in archsorcerers and their intense pursuit of a single form of magic, as it requires excessive exposure to magic. At this stage, there is rarely any doubt that the affected individual is a mage, and changes usually affect the entire body. Spontaneous magical effects- such as those which usually accompany general spellcasting- are very common at this point, though they are rarely particularly powerful. Stage 4 is exceptionally rare and thus not all elements have adequate documentation as to their normal effects. At this point, the affected individual gains some level of firmly magical ability with a moderate to high usefulness. Some do not consider Stage 4 to be a proper display of magimorphosis, as it usually requires deliberate action on the part of the mage, but as it is a mostly-unstructured expression of mana exposure to biology, it is pertinent for this paper. Of particular interest to this research project is the magimorphic changes which accompany Life sorcerers, reproduced here for convenience: Stage 1: Minor blemishes on the skin vanish and the subject rarely looks tired or exhausted. Eyes begin to gain a slight sheen and appear mostly flawless, but do not change color. Stage 2: The subject appears to be in excellent biological health, their body rarely suffers from drowsiness after waking up (assuming adequate sleep), and minor physical blemishes are fixed (such as faulty vision, but not full blindness). Negative effects from age are diminished sharply. Stage 3: The subject gains a physique similar to that of trained athletes with even minor physical stimulation, and the amount of sleep required for full function is reduced by approximately one-third. Low-grade poisons, including most alcohols and drugs, become quite ineffective on the subject. The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Stage 4: The subject becomes biologically immortal, and becomes swiftly able to heal from most injuries. Sleep requirements are reduced to one-half normal. Poisons and diseases are strictly curtailed as well, as the body is effectively bathed in a constant low-grade healing spell. This is not full regeneration, and is usually limited to that which Lesser Wound Recovery is capable of fixing. The draws for these effects should be self-evident, particularly given that replicating their effects via ritual tends to be very dangerous. Unfortunately, given that to obtain these magimorphic effects via natural effects requires excessive study and practice in life magic above all other disciplines, this is not something accessible to the common mage. This research project is attempting to replicate the effects of life magimorphosis either in place of or in addition to other magimorphic manifestations, ideally in such a way even a non-mage might be able to benefit from the work. Notable extracts from attempted methods: Thousand-years-root extract was tried but rejected due to overexposure causing excessive aggression and an inflated sense of self-worth, but it provided immediate benefits to the subject as any high life-affinity substance is wont to. No permanent benefits were observed in any of the test subjects during the course of the study. Full exposure in healing magics was also attempted, the subjects being given multiple high-powered continuous regeneration talismans to be worn on their person and then immersed in a rank 6 mana convergence point for 24 continuous hours. Initial results were promising, with symptoms up to Stage 2 manifesting in as little as 12 hours post-exposure. However, these symptoms predominantly faded over the next month, and repeated exposure was substantially less effective. Total immersion in healing potion for 24 hours, under the effects of water breathing did serve to instigate Stage 1 symptoms on the tests, but only in nonmagical subjects. 1 week of immersion resulted in persistent Stage 2 symptoms, but necessitated daily changing of the healing potions. While no severe side effects have yet been observed, the expense of sufficient healing potions leaves this method impractical for any creatures larger than a rat, and does not function with awakened creatures besides. Ultimately, it was found that Elven medicine traditionally utilized for treating long-term wounds or birth defects was the best for inducing magimorphic-like changes with minimal side effects, as it increased the body¡¯s weight in the body-soul form feedback loop. With further research, this was found to be a refined variant of Radiant Anise serving as the primary active ingredient. While the full process is detailed later in this report, and is currently in-process of being published separately, a decent overview is as follows: Radiant Anise is crushed, then mixed with its nectar to create a thin syrup. This is then distilled, dried, cured, and ground into a powder, which is in turn added to a binder and formed into a medicine. With regular consumption of the medicine and a treatment program including a daily course of healing potions with a directed healing assist, sapient subjects began experiencing Stage 1 symptoms within 4-6 weeks of beginning. Results were substantially more promising in mages. Via utilization of a healing focus, Year 6 students were capable of guiding life mana through their body during meditation, achieving Stage 1 symptoms in as little as 2 weeks. However, at that rate, this process too quickly leads to the standard necrosis and charring of tissue common to overexposure to raw mana. Nonetheless, with additional training and access to higher-grade potions, there was a single subject who began to demonstrate low Stage 2 symptoms within the 12 weeks allotted for this project. Unsurprisingly, the influence of the Radiant Anise medicine led practicing elemental specialists to begin to display light magimorphic changes in accordance with their primary magic. Surprisingly, this did not seem to hinder the manifestation of life-type magimorphic effects as is normally the case when a generalist uses multiple forms of magic. While further testing is required, this indicates it may be possible for multiple magimorphic effects to be bestowed upon the individual simultaneously, broadening the potential use of this research dramatically. This process had the curious if unsurprising side effect of awakening a light magical gift in all non-mages who participated in it. While not a true Spark, it nonetheless increased the aptitude to life magic of those affected by a fair margin both with mundane rituals, and those later bestowed a Spark were more likely to be life-attuned. Future research will involve reducing the level of mana manipulation required for the technique to work, finding suitable replacements for the Radiant Anise for making the soul more malleable, and finding more effective methods of exposing the subjects to life magics. In addition, further projects are required to see what effects might arise from multiple distinct forms of magic manifesting magimorphic changes simultaneously. Supplementary research which would be useful includes improving the methods used for growing and refining Radiant Anise and investigating to see if awakened life sorcerers might be able to use their own energies for inducing magimorphic changes in themselves and in others. On the Forms of Magimorphosis From Appendix A of ¡°Utilizing Magimorphosis to induce health benefits¡±, a research project from Ithular Academy
The following is a semi-comprehensive list of known magimorphic changes documented to Stage 3 or 4, which sorcerers and archsorcerers are liable to undergo from extreme internal exposure to a focused form of magic. Any active effects usually end when a part of the body is removed or upon the subject¡¯s death, but some manifestations (usually beginning in Stage 3 or 4) involve actual transmutation of a body part, in which case the change persists. Note that while none of these are assured to happen, and may be halted by the individual, these are the most common effects for anatomy type A species: Air Stage 1: The subject¡¯s iris shifts to a light gray or sky-blue color. Breathing may begin to sound faintly like a distant wind, and on rare occasions hair and clothing may be momentarily moved as though by a faint breeze. Stage 2: Eyes which became gray during stage 1 take on the appearance of storm clouds, and close examination will reveal them swirling and blowing even in real time. Eyes which shifted to or were blue will instead gleam in even the faintest light, and white, cloud-like spots are likely to drift across them. Hair, fur, tails, and clothing will usually have the appearance of being moved by a faint breeze. Stage 3: The subject¡¯s sclera will take on the pattern and coloring of the iris, and the changes described in Stage 2 become even more pronounced. Their voice is always clear regardless of (nonmagical) wind level and is usually accompanied by the sound of a rushing wind. They are surrounded by a magical, albeit light breeze, even indoors, which buffets but rarely displaces light objects such as papers. Winged fliers report that this functions as a buffer to any main winds. Stage 4: The individual is constantly enveloped by winds, which with sufficient practice some subjects have been able to utilize as additional appendages. It also serves as a substantial aid to flight, particularly winged flight. Earth Stage 1: The subject¡¯s irises shift to match the color of the earth or stone they most commonly manipulate, and their body becomes more solid and defined akin to a statue. Stage 2: The subject¡¯s body becomes substantially bulkier and more sculpted, gaining the approximate appearance of a painted statue. Their pupils become a deep black, and sclera become white with faint marbling patterns, even if it was not already white. Stage 3: The subject¡¯s eyes physically transmute to become composite gemstones. The gem in question, oclite, has not been found anywhere else, but is expressed in a multitude of colors. Often, the sclera either becomes clear or turns completely white with no marbling, and the pupil becomes pure, opaque black. The iris can become any of a number of colors, but frequently corresponds to the eye color developed during Stage 1 or the eye color of the subject prior to that. Stage 4: The body becomes physically made of stone, but only becomes slightly denser. Hair fuses into a contiguous mass and ceases to grow, as do fingernails, horns, and fur. Despite this, biological function remains the same as in other Type A creatures, though the affected individual usually becomes substantially less susceptible to environmental conditions, infections, and some illnesses. Fire Stage 1: Eyes become slightly orange, yellow or reddish (or closer to the color of their non-mana flames), and reflections within eyes show flames instead of their normal surroundings. The body becomes warm to the touch as though the subject were constantly experiencing a fever (they can still develop a fever but it is rarer, and can still suffer from heatstroke). Type A4 species no longer need external heat to regulate their temperature while at rest. Stage 2: Eyes glow in a flickering manner, and the flame reflected in them becomes more obvious, shedding light themselves. Eyes and other distinct markings become fully red, orange, or yellow with a ¡®flicker¡¯ in sync with the variation of the eyes¡¯ glow. The subject¡¯s body becomes warmer, and only rarely do the subjects develop fevers. Furthermore, they become mostly immune to mundane heatstroke. In some subjects, hair begins to fall ¡®upward¡¯ and often turns fully or partially red or orange. Horns may have flames lick across their surface periodically, and wings usually resemble a flame¡¯s silhouette. Stage 3: Irises often take on the appearance of literal flame, and often even emit heat. In some subjects, hair, horns, and feathers literally become fire (most subjects suppress heat given off by it). In other cases, a flamelike glow begins to emanate from ¡®cracks¡¯ or from beneath the subject¡¯s scales and feathers. Stage 4: Eyes become literal balls of fire, heads become wreathed in manes of flame, and substantially larger areas on the body either turn into fire or have fire dancing across it. The individual becomes almost entirely immune to the kinds of high and low temperatures found in the mortal realms. Water Stage 1: eyes become blue/sea-green and begin to reflect rivers, oceans, springs, rivers, or other aquatic phenomenon, scales begin to feel permanently damp to the touch, and occasionally the subject¡¯s voice may echo with the sound of waves or rain. Stage 2: Hair begins to float in the air as though submerged, the subject usually feels damp to the touch (scales become consistently wet), and irises usually appear to have water within them that sloshes around in accordance with movement. Stage 3: Hair may begin to develop a bluish tinge, and begin to coalesce into a semi-liquid, semi-contiguous mass. Scales shift as though they were ripples on a pond, and horns become very smooth. In some cases, mist may begin to collect around the subject¡¯s eyes. Stage 4: Scales lose individual cohesion, taking on an appearance akin to skin or hide while retaining their full strength. Horns change to be the shape of a drop of water, stream, or wave. Clothing drifts through the air as though it were water similar to hair. Radiance Stage 1: Eyes whiten or turn slightly gold, they always reflect something apparently very bright (but shed no light themselves). Stage 2: Eyes begin to glow, and while the body does not properly radiate light, neither do shadows land upon it or exist within it. Notable markings, focus tattoos, and in some cases veins begin to glow. Stage 3: Significant parts or the entire body begins to glow slightly, eyes become mostly-uniform brightly glowing orbs. Stage 4: Parts of the body begin to turn into hard light, usually eyes, feathers, and wings, but if the subject had been missing any appendages they may regain a hard light equivalent. The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Shadow Stage 1: Irises shift to dark colors or outright turn black. Shadows landing upon the body seem slightly deeper, and hair and scales tend to darken. Stage 2: Subjects never appear to be in direct light, their shadow often gains a silhouette disconnected from the subject, eyes continue to darken. Any shadows cast upon the subject obscure substantially more than normal (an effect most pronounced with hoods, but also makes all parts of the subject¡¯s body look substantially more defined. Hair and scales usually appear black. Stage 3: Eyes become wholly black and seem to absorb light (a slight ring of light occasionally manifests around the pupil). The subject¡¯s shadow usually becomes independently mobile, and even in the brightest of light they appear to be in shadow. Hair is permanently very black and seems to absorb all light which falls upon it. Scales may have this appearance as well, or remain somewhat glossy. Stage 4: Tangible shadows roll off the subject, pooling on the ground around them. The subject may appear as an indistinct shadowy figure or as something akin to a living silhouette. Portions of the body may become composed of shadowstuff, though the degree of tangibility varies. Ice Stage 1: Hair becomes white or blond, eyes may become light blue and reflect drifting snowflakes. Skin becomes chilly to the touch and the subject gains increased resistance to colder environs. Stage 2: Subject becomes mostly immune to mundane frostbite, and their body cools substantially, their breath possibly creating slight frosting on some surfaces they breathe on. Stage 3: Subject¡¯s skin is cold enough to attract condensation and even frost. Scales often have faint buildup of ice in their grooves, horns attract a layer of ice, and hair becomes brittle and caked in snow and ice. Force Stage 1: The sclera gains a faint silvery sheen which seems to shine (but emits no light) Stage 2: The body appears to be a single object, with no clothing, hair, tails, or ornamentation lagging behind. Subjects gain a strong resistance to whiplash, and note that while their actual strength remains unchanged, they are substantially more capable of holding themselves still for long periods of time. Stage 3: Appearance, including clothing, becomes immaculate and immobile. Shirts will not ruffle, long hair will not blow back in the air, and items held become almost completely impervious to minor external forces (the subject is fully capable of affecting their own self), thoughas it provides minimal defensive utility. They also gain the ability to hold themselves in almost any position which they are physically capable of for an indefinite amount of time. Stage 4: The subject gains full control over their own body as though it were one of their own spells (enabling them to levitate or even fly), and their stasis becomes substantially stronger to the point of protecting from most nonmagical hazards. Most of their body glistens with a faint magical sheen. Illusion Stage 1: Eye color begins to flicker erratically, and reflections within the eye never show their actual surroundings in lieu of the subject of the last illusion cast. Stage 2: The subject¡¯s hair becomes illusionary, changing style and color either randomly or according to the subject¡¯s whims (reports vary), scale patterns undergo a similar situation, and the subject¡¯s face becomes slightly ¡®blurred,¡¯ all of their features becoming less distinct. Stage 3: The subject¡¯s entire body becomes indistinct, blurry, and incoherent, overlapping in a manner reminiscent of a poor illusion, obscuring the subject¡¯s original appearance in a way immune to most anti-illusion magics. Nature Stage 1: Eyes become brown or green if they were not already, or become more vibrant if they were. In some cases, pupils shift in shape to more closely resemble the preferred animal of the subject (if they have one). Stage 2: Hair becomes more green, and the subject¡¯s voice becomes distinctly reminiscent of their favored animal if they have one, or akin to the creaking of a tree if they do not. The individual gains increased empathy and understanding of all plant and animal life. Stage 3: Scales shift to take on the appearance of leaves, skin becomes the texture of tree bark, horns to take on the appearance of wood. If the subject has a preferred animal, their build and appearance shift dramatically and causes them to begin to resemble a partially-transformed Shifter. Stage 4: Leaves begin to grow within the subject¡¯s hair, or their scales. The subject¡¯s body changes more fully to match their preferred animal, and many gain the ability to wholly transform into their animal akin to a Shifter. Shifters gain no additional benefit from this. Storm Stage 1: The subject¡¯s eyes drift towards a gray-blue color with flecks of yellow or white, and storm clouds are often reflected within them. Stage 2: The subject¡¯s sclera become shot through with lightning, which casts light wherever it strikes. Eyes take on the appearance of storm clouds, and darken or lighten in accordance with the individual¡¯s mood. Hair becomes slightly misty and may begin to drift into the air slightly. Wings attract clouds and may begin to look a bit like solidified clouds. Stage 3: Hair and wings take on the appearance of clouds, often complete with faintly crackling lightning. Mist cascades off of the subject, and actions they undertake are often accompanied by faint thunder. Slight lightning may snap from the subject to what they touch. Death Stage 1: A cold light the color of the individual¡¯s magic awakens behind the pupil, replacing the normal reflection, but shedding light in accordance with magical power. This manifests even in the absence of physical eyes and may instead occur in the back of the subject¡¯s mouth. Stage 2: The body becomes emaciated and generally unhealthy. Hair loss is not uncommon, but the subject becomes exceedingly thin and gains the normal symptoms of malnutrition. Stage 3: The body begins to waste away, flesh rotting as it is overexposed to death energies. Eventually, the entire body will be rendered nonviable. The subject usually survives this process, but loses a substantial number of health benefits as they do so. The light which first manifested in Stage 1 often gives the appearance of the subject¡¯s skull being lit by some internal flame. Stage 4: The body becomes a fully self-sustained undead. The type of this undead depends on any preparations made by the subject in Stages 2 and 3, but if none were made a skeleton of some form is most probable. Life Stage 1: Minor blemishes on the skin vanish and the subject rarely looks tired or exhausted. Eyes begin to gain a slight sheen and appear mostly flawless, but do not change color. Stage 2: The subject appears to be in excellent biological health, their body rarely suffers from drowsiness after waking up (assuming adequate sleep), and minor physical blemishes are fixed (such as faulty vision, but not full blindness). Negative effects from age are diminished sharply. Stage 3: The subject gains a physique similar to that of trained athletes with even minor physical stimulation, and the amount of sleep required for full function is reduced by approximately one-third. Low-grade poisons, including most alcohols and drugs, become quite ineffective on the subject. Stage 4: The subject becomes biologically immortal, and becomes swiftly able to heal from most injuries. Sleep requirements are reduced to one-half normal. Poisons and diseases are strictly curtailed as well, and the body gains the benefits associated with being bathed in a constant low-grade healing spell. Divination Stage 1: The pupil of the eye takes on a color appropriate to the user¡¯s method of divination, most commonly a light blue or silver (for farseeing and mirror-gazing respectively). Stage 2: The entire eye gains a faint sheen the same color as the pupil, and begin to glow slightly from the pupil. Senses begin to shift more to magical effects rather than being tied to any biological organs. Stage 3: The iris and sclera both take on the full color of the eye¡¯s pupil and glow brightly. The subject gains a constant, weak form of arcanoception if they do not already possess such, and frequently begin to see additional colors in their surroundings. Senses which have been lost are regained at this point. It is at this stage in which the biological organs responsible for senses may begin to wither as they become redundant. Stage 4: A slight shimmer in the air in front of the subject¡¯s eyes manifests, their arcanoception sharpens, and the amount of colors they can perceive expands again. Furthermore, some report being able to see temperature. Senses become fully magical in nature, and usually shift in accordance with what the subject desires. Void Stage 1: The subject¡¯s eyes cease to reflect anything, and they find it substantially harder to be properly satisfied, leading to intense cravings. Stage 2: The iris becomes void-black and the body begins to waste away, the subject losing significant body mass. They no longer have a scent, and are quieter when moving about. Stage 3: The subject¡¯s eyes become wholly void-black, color leaches from their skin or scales, and most of their body mass wastes away, leaving them as skeletal figures. However, attention to this fact is similarly removed, making this paradoxically the least-noticeable Stage 3 magimorphic symptom. On the Elemental Realms From ¡®Introduction to the Planes,¡¯ by T. Ketzvih:

The Elemental Realms

The Elemental Realms are characterized by an overwhelming predominance of a single element, save for elemental ¡®pockets¡¯ of clumped-together material of a different element, but are technically defined by the following criteria: 1- Any substance not a part of the plane¡¯s predominant material is attracted to other foreign material across the entire plane. The exact mechanism wherein this happens is unknown, but is directly tied to the mass of the material and is not simply a surface phenomenon like on the Mortal realms. 2- If sufficient foreign matter (that is, material not part of the realm¡¯s primary element) is present, it will spontaneously generate more matter of the realm¡¯s type in a process known as Genesis. While insignificant in comparison to the infinity of the plane¡¯s existence, it does serve as one of the creation points for their expansion. 3- Elementals will spontaneously come into existence within a corresponding plane of existence, animate masses of a single element (contrast to mortal life, which is a combination of multiple distinct elements). Some speculate that an elemental is actually a motive spirit which merely inhabits local matter, but such discussion is beyond the scope of this work.
Water The Realms of Water are predominantly seen as an eternal ocean with neither surface or bottom, though as the realm abuts other planes this naturally becomes less true. Though the exact nature of the transitionary planes between elemental Realms is beyond the scope of this primer, further details may be found in the relevant realm¡¯s dedicated chapters. Even within Water proper, world-sized bubbles containing drifting bits of stone are scattered throughout the depths, and serve as the primary bastions of non-aquatic life on the plane. Free-floating plants serve as an abundant food source for truly massive behemoths, some of the largest creatures in any realm making their home in some of the emptier portions of the realm and planes. Illumination comes from either a false sunlight filtering through the waters, luminescent algae permeating the waters, the water itself glowing slightly at all times, or from luminous crystals functioning almost as a sun in the sections of waters where they are found. Genesis for Water is most common with stone and rock, in that a spring- usually tiny, but can be massive- forms and eternally releases water. A similar process occurs in air or other substances, but predominantly takes the form of mist or steam, allowing moisture to slowly accumulate; increasing humidity and potentially causing rain or snow. Venturing into the depths of Water itself is of course fatal; fierce currents of water coupled with strong water quickly serve to rip apart the flesh of any who venture into the metaphorical depths of the realm. Literal depth is of course fine, the lack of water pressure within most of the realms ensuring no creature is crushed under infinite tons of water (save for, of course, the Abyssal Depths).
Earth The Realm of Earth appears to be an almost solid mass of dirt and stone, the interior of some eternal mountain or continent. Within Earth exists a wide array of stone, metal, and minerals of all sorts. Mountain-sized gems, the most fertile grounds in the multiverse, veins of precious metal the size of entire worlds, crystal caverns glowing with otherworldly light, rivers of molten rock, lightless deserts of white sand, and more besides. Of all the elemental realms, Earth is the one which has the most civilization within it; thanks in large part to the immense amounts of building material at hand. Enormous cities, carved from rock and illuminated by radiant crystals, sprawl along the edges of the largest caverns and cracks, taking advantage of the gravity the pockets provide to give a solidity and stability to the constructions. Traveling too far into Earth¡¯s depths is perhaps not technically fatal- spending excess time petrifies all non-earth materials, of course, leaving a statue of whatever previously existed- but investigations into how long a soul remains ¡®alive¡¯ when preserved in such a manner are inconclusive. Genesis within Earth holds immense variation within the different substances which could trigger it, but is among the most sensitive to begin. Even a tiny amount of water will continually precipitate sand into whatever container or body of water is is a part of; air will grow dusty; fire will produce massive piles of ash which swiftly decompose into dirt; radiance will cause crystals to grow; void creates and enlarges stone; and shadow often creates metals. This is, of course, something of an oversimplification and nearly any form of earth can be created as a result of different kinds of Genesis, though there exist numerous research projects (many ongoing) as to how to create specific results.
Fire The planes of Fire are among the most immediately hazardous to non-natives. Anything unprotected immediately erupts into flames, and even in its pockets temperatures are still substantially higher than all but the hottest places within the cosmos. Closer to the edges of the realm, eternal wastelands of fire and ash, littered with volcanoes and eternally raging wildfires, are significantly more common. While life (even non-elemental life) thrives within all but the absolute deepest portions of Fire, it is by necessity almost entirely non-flammable and therefore bears little resemblance to the biological makeup of the other planes. It still has its wealth of civilization, of course. Some of the cooler pockets are almost bearable to foreign life, and even for those which aren¡¯t, heat regulation enchantments are a relatively simple matter. Within the deepest portions of Fire, anything and everything begins to spontaneously combust, even the enchantments used to prevent that very fate. A similar fate befalls any amount of matter sufficient to ignite Genesis; while the resulting conflagration rarely outright consumes whatever triggered it, it quite often leaves it as either a burned-out husk or an eternally burning star among infinite other flames. A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
Air An eternal sky, the planes of Air are simultaneously the second-most empty elemental realm (only after Void) and the second-most hospitable to life (after only Water). Depending on how deep within the realm you venture, the sky may be an eternal day, twilight, or night sky (in some areas even showing an Astral starscape). The air itself may be luminescent, or suns (believed by some to be a Slip to Radiance or Fire) may roam across the sky, forever out of reach. Microscopic stars may drift through the air, or strange constructs of metal, stone, fire, ice, or pure magic illuminate the skies in other realms. Flying islands the size of entire worlds drift through the planes, storms trillions of miles across roll across the realm, and winds both fair and foul sweep across the skies. Gales strong enough to scour stone to sand, lightning bolts as wide as a continent and so long they take eons to strike their target. Everlasting blizzards, hurricanes traveling at the speed of sound, and debris flung from distant explosions are some of the most visible of dangers, but are no more deadly than the invisible pockets of dead or poisonous air which serve as an eternal threat to those who need to breathe, as vast currents of wind could bring them to an unsuspecting world with almost no warning. In some areas, gravity may be balanced such that one could fall forever. In others, a passing breeze may blow two mountain-sized islands together in a crash which sounds startlingly like thunder. In some common yet no less bizarre locations, the normal realm rules for gravity seem to be nonexistent, leaving entire islands loosely floating together and with walking rendered impossible. Air¡¯s Genesis usually triggers at the heart of massive islands, but quickly demolish their creators as endless winds spew forth and leave a cloud of rubble in their wake. This is, naturally, the cause of many of the chains of flying islands orbiting a vast storm which are so common within the plane.
Void The prime Planes of Void are perhaps the least-hospitable realm to non-elemental life in all the elemental realms. While Fire may be nigh-unsurvivable for most mortal creatures, those beings which are unaffected by fire, or those who use it for food are able to thrive in it. The planes of void have none of that. While only the deeper planes actively will attempt to Void matter that enters them, even the shallowest of true planes of void is nothing but a vast, empty irradiated wasteland. Not even ground exists, nor does air, and only a few distant pinpricks of light, courtesy of tiny pockets of Fire and Radiance- only visible because there exists nothing, not even Shadow, to block them- illuminate any of the plane. Even those tiny flecks of fire offer little in the way of true nurturing, as without proper wards the light itself is hostile to most life. If that were insufficient, Void¡¯s Genesis is actively hostile in a way most other realms are not. In addition to creating more void, all of the matter which triggered the Genesis to begin- albeit a substantially more massive amount than required in other realms, about a world¡¯s worth of substance under extreme circumstances- is pulled into an infinitely small point, both becoming void and continuing to sustain the Genesis. Because the substance still exists, it continues to attract other non-void material and even light and grows all the more ravenous and deadly the entire time. As it does so, it is all but undetectable as it Voids all which approaches too closely. Indeed, the only reason they can be detected at all is by measuring how much they warp space and matter around them, or through the poisoned black light they shine with. Even then, what few motes of elemental dust that have clumped together are impossibly far apart, making travel within the Void all but impossible. Furthermore, magic often does not function properly in all parts of the Void, and nearly all ley lines are confined entirely to at most a single continent-sized mote of dust, though some very dilute ley lines may loosely connect several such worlds and even the stars they surround. In some planes of the Void, entire elements are entirely absent, leading to odd, magic-dead planar zones, or places where magic does not behave according to the normal rules of the elemental realms. That any life at all is capable of surviving is a minor miracle in itself, but it is telling that alone of all the elemental realms, it is only in the pockets that anything even remotely resembling biological life is able to exist.
Radiance Radiance has a reputation for being pleasant to see or visit, but that is largely due to having larger pockets than most other realms, often the size of multiple worlds. Energy is in abundance within the realm, of course, and simply by existing within the plane anything not composed of Radiance already continuously sheds light. This glowing, radiant appearance is a great boon to all life within the plane, and some of the most fantastic life within the cosmos originates from the realms of Radiance. It is of course this very fact which ensures that Faerie- so heavily influenced by Radiance- is so abundant with magical and powerful life. Radiance, while not the most efficient building material, can nonetheless be used as such and takes on the appearance of flawless crystal when condensed. This only serves to further emphasize the realm¡¯s brilliant beauty as cities built of the plane¡¯s primary element are constructed and refract the ambient light into wondrous rainbows. Simply existing within the realm is enough to be constantly feel energized, and it is this very property which proves so dangerous within the deeper portions of Radiance. Eventually, every atom of non-Radiance material becomes so inundated with energy- and with the nature of Genesis, produces so much energy- that it simply dissolves into pure, undiluted Radiance energy itself. Of course, surviving a stage of this process just below complete material dissolution is likely to leave any who experience it changed for the better, as the flood of energy never truly goes away.
Shadow Shadow, as befitting its nature, seems to have almost as much variety in its locales as the Material itself. Indeed, it is not uncommon for an unwary traveler to mistake portions of Shadow itself as being part of the Darkrealms, but while the mortal realm bears many passing resemblances to Shadow, upon closer inspection they are dramatically different. To begin, it can be quite difficult to determine whether or not one is within a pocket while in Shadow, as the elemental darkness which composes the planes fantastically mimic most other substances in existence, sometimes even copying color. Accordingly, vast mountains and rivers, trees and oceans, skies and even fires may all be formed out of shadowstuff with the average observer none the wiser. It is much more common for all such materials to be black or at least oddly shaded, but when within Shadow even normal elemental material takes on such an appearance thanks to the nature of world seeds within this realm. Genesis within Shadow is trivial to begin, and indeed all non-shadowstuff matter constantly creates it in large quantities: shadows, cast onto the ground or some other surface, linger. This quickly causes anything not constantly exposed to light or otherwise cleansed of the lingering shade to become ever darker as shadows accumulate. Commonly traveled paths within the plane grow in height, as traveling creatures cast shadows upon shadows, building up the ground faster than it can be worn away. The odd, shifting nature of Shadow makes permanent constructions difficult, but it is trivial to create temporary structures for those who know how to work the plane. Many nomadic denizens use this fact to raise entire temporary cities practically overnight, with architecture to rival even the greatest found in Liadi, only for their castles and walls to vanish as they move to their next destination. Like all other elemental realms, traveling too deep within Shadow is hazardous to one¡¯s health, but unlike most others, eminently survivable. Traveling too deep within the realm will slowly transform any non-shadowstuff material into shadowstuff, often with no external sign. Living creatures become shadow elementals and carry on the same fronts of civilization common on the shallower levels of the realm. Thus, if not too attached to mortality or standard life, it is perfectly feasible to travel as deep within Shadow as desired. On the Liminal Realms From ¡®Introduction to the Planes,¡¯ by T. Ketzvih:

The Liminal Realms

The Liminal realms are an unusual grouping. Not bound together by planar rules so much as the other realm categories, this is instead the primary name for those planes and realms whose primary feature is that they connect several other planes and realms together. Creatures native to Liminal realms have little in common with one another when they do exist, and may take after any other type of creature within the cosmos.
Astral Sea The Astral Sea is the only true Liminal realm (others being merely planes or demiplanes), and is difficult to properly describe. Its influence creates the Ethereal in the mortal realms, and is in some ways the strangest of all realms as it weaves across the entire cosmos, bordering every plane. In the shallow Astral planes, Thought and Will have tangible effects on their surroundings. People begin to show faint reflections of their innermost drive within their eyes, and moving is simply a matter of desiring as much. As one ventures deeper, their form changes to reflect their true being, and thoughts are just as tangible, if not more, than actual matter. Eventually, it is said, there is nothing but thought at the deepest reaches of the Astral Sea, ideas echoing across the planes and shaping reality. Traveling within the Astral is mostly a matter of imagining where one wishes to go, and the plane will naturally draw you to that location. As the Astral has locations truly dedicated to every thought in existence, travelers must take care to school their thoughts lest they find themselves drawn towards the Isles of Id. This process is naturally faster the deeper within the Astral one is, but the deeper one goes the higher the risk of fading into nothing but one of countless thought-echoes littering the realm, serving as the final memorial or remnant of ideas and beings so notable, potent, or close that reality continues to remember their existence millenia after the original died or moved on, a single eternal thought, echoing across the planes.
Akeron Akeron, also known as the River Akeron or the Akeron Sea, is the largest Cosmic River and the only one proven to be a true Plane. Its headwaters begin in the wake of Felisel the celestial mountain, before winding through the rest of the divine and primordial realms, as well as a good amount of the mortal realms, before joining the endless oceans in the realm of water. Yet its headwaters are also within the realm of Water, and it sweeps through the mortal realms and terminates into the divine realms, flowing both ways simultaneously. Yet others say it originates deep within Faerie, while others say it originates from the mythical Evergarden at the center of creation. Some say that it is a narrow stream with haunting banks all too close to the river¡¯s surface, others that it is a wide river with welcoming, grassy banks, and yet other reports still have it as a vast ocean only rivaled in size by Water itself. Regardless of the specifics of the plane itself, with a skilled navigator Akeron is easily the fastest natural method to traverse the planes, as distance is nigh-irrelevant. It takes but hours, days on the outset, to reach anywhere Akeron touches (which is to say, nearly anywhere in the cosmos which possesses liquid water). The unwary traveler must still be cautious, as the plane is not without its hazards. Without a skilled navigator, it is remarkably easy to find one¡¯s self hopelessly lost within winding riverbanks, whose currents rarely match the logic adhered to within the mortal realms. Or, alternatively, be lost to one of the endless dangers that lurk within, drawn from every drop of water within the cosmos.
Bifrost The Bifrost is the most prominent quasiplane (that is, a plane whose status as demiplane or proper plane is inconclusive) in modern Realmistry, as while it certainly seems finite in size, no one has ever managed to conclusively prove whether or not it is. The simplest description of the Bifrost is that it is a radiant, prismatic path or bridge. It shimmers with incredible beauty to all who see it, regardless of what senses they use to study it. Magically, it is a glorious tapestry of every form of mana (as known by each end of the Bifrost). Visually, it is a radiant weaving of every color the observer is capable of seeing. Auditorily, it constantly emits music pleasing to the ear of the listener and of a manner reminiscent of both the start and end of the Bifrost (what is pleasing to the ear, and thus what listeners hear, may vary within the same traveling party). More exotic senses likewise report that the Bifrost has a highly pleasing medley of sensations, and while seemingly home to impossibly complex patterns and shapes, the exact manifestation of such constantly changes and scintillates. You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. The Bifrost is unique among the liminal planes in that it always takes you precisely where you wish to go. Or more accurately, it takes all individuals in a group to wherever they wish to go. Upon entering the Bifrost, if no members of a group has a very clear idea of where they wish to go within their mind, they will simply be returned to wherever they left from. If at least one member of a group does have a clear destination in mind, the Bifrost will unerringly take them to that location. In some instances, the Bifrost takes the form of an actual bridge which must be walked along, while others describe it as more of a current or general pull and thus require no action to move. Regardless, while accuracy is never an issue with the Bifrost, that is not to say it is without its dangers. Should multiple members of a group all have different desires as to where to travel, only the one with the clearest picture (or strongest mind, some say) will win out and pull the others alongside them. Furthermore, it is impossible to truly predict how long a trip through the Bifrost will take. Divinations and calculations can determine an estimate on travel time, but given it is impossible to exit the Bifrost to any location but the end of the plane, the cost of a misstep can be high. On the outside, travel can take centuries or even longer in some situations, ancient corpses materializing in a location where their living selves once hoped to arrive.
Winding Path The Winding Path is a solitary, but true, plane. It manages to lead everywhere on every plane¡­ eventually. It takes the form of a path of some form. It might be paved with cobblestones or simply be a well-worn track in the dirt, may appear ancient or brand-new, may be treacherous and hazardous, but it is always the perfect size for groups traveling it. It is trivial to leave the path- simply stepping off of it, or flying too far above it will drop the former travelers in the corresponding point in the multiverse. Rejoining the Path via magic at that point would in theory return you to the same spot on the Path, but even minute changes in location may correspond to vastly different places on the Path. Groups entering or leaving simultaneously are usually able to stay together if they are careful, but when a half-step can make the difference between the welcoming fields of Elysium and the eternal blackness of Void there is always the risk of mishap. It is not uninhabited, however. While there of course exist many residents upon its eternal path who have found themselves upon the Path and do not wish to or are unable to leave, so too do the mysterious ¡®Riders¡¯ call this plane home. Reports vary on what the Riders are, but from those who see spectral steeds mounted by an elven warrior to those who simply see a faint whisp of light carried along by an unusual breeze, all agree that they ought to be called ¡®Riders.¡¯ Where Riders come from is just as great a mystery as their true appearance, if an answer to such questions even truly exist.
Yggdrasil Yggdrasil is the greatest world tree in the entire cosmos, the only one to be a true plane, and often said to be the absolute first, of which all others are offshoots or children. Like all World Trees, it is one of the stablest natural methods to traverse the planes. Unlike other World Trees, all known planes are located within the crown of the tree, which continuously grows. It does not reach every point on every plane, but where it does reach it is relatively trivial to embark or disembark, and continues to grow at all times. What is located at the bottom of Yggdrasil is unknown. Some believe that its base and roots are deep within the Outer Chaos, others believe it has no roots and simply extends forever, and some believe that it is but one offshoot of a much, much larger World Tree, connecting other cosmos beyond any being¡¯s imagination. Regardless of the truth, no expeditions sent forth have ever returned with a report beyond describing its trunk, and all of the demiplanes tucked beneath its bark, the strange and dangerous monsters which make their home there, and the paradoxical features which can be found along the First Tree.
The Darkness Between The Darkness Between is perhaps the most dangerous of all the liminal planes. It is an eternal, inky black void where all sound, all temperature, and all magic is simply faded away into nothingness. The only way to survive is to obey the strange and often paradoxical-seeming instructions all who enter the plane inherently know yet vehemently disagree upon what said instructions are. It is believed that failure to do so will result in instant death, but this has never been confirmed as none who have disobeyed the instructions the plane tells them have ever emerged. Some suggest that it is in truth an elemental realm between Shadow and Void, while others argue that with no elemental life to speak of and a lack of any discernible elemental genesis in the wake of normal matter passing through indicates that it is something else entirely. Regardless, The Darkness Between is easily accessed by both of the aforementioned realms and can be used to travel to any other place in the cosmos which has true darkness. This method of travel is strongly reminiscent of using the darkrealms to traverse the mortal realms, but stretches across all of reality. The actual experience of traversing utilizing the Darkness vary from individual to individual. Some simply find themselves at their destination in an instant, whereas others must walk for hours, days, even years before arriving. This has no bearing upon the actual distance traveled, and even the same journey involving the same individual may result in different experiences. Even following the plane¡¯s instructions and instincts perfectly is no assurance of safety. Those who spend too long exposed to The Darkness Between feel their instincts develop into whispers, then outright voices. In many circumstances, the whispers and voices may be sufficient to drive the listener mad. Those who later recover often speak of beings of the dark, and who are the dark itself, in descriptions not that dissimilar from the sorts of creatures occasionally described when deep in any realm. This has led some scholars to speculate that The Darkness Between may be several planes tangled together, and that those who get lost within the plane in truth stumble into a layer of the plane incompatible with mortal sanity, with some of those lost forever wander into a layer incompatible with life or even existence. On the Fey From The Periplus of Faerie, author unknown.
Of course, the landmarks are not what most refer to when discussing the wonders and dangers of Faerie. Those would be the eponymous Fey. Many travelers to Faerie make the terrible mistake of thinking that all fey are the same. They all live in Faerie, after all, and the strange and oft-paradoxical plane must surely produce creatures well-suited for it, and thus its inhabitants intelligent enough to speak must be no different than elves and orcs are on the outset, surely? Do not be fooled! For all that Faerie may seem to merely be a more vibrant and life-filled version of the Material and with larger lands- even fooling many so-called scholars of the planes- to underestimate it is to just as surely spell your own demise as to leap from the Edge itself. The laws of reality as you know them are different, yes, but do not assume that they are all different in the same way across Faerie. As you know by now, Faerie plays by its own rules and its inhabitants reflect that accordingly. While there exist nigh-limitless forms which the fey may assume, and just as many distinct types of their kind, my average reader hailing from Itlazoc is most likely to encounter one of three distinct breeds: the High Fae, the Alfin, and the Sprites. High Fae are elf-like in appearance, and for all that they superficially resemble the mortal races, are some ways the most alien in mindset and motivation. They are perhaps the most indicative of Faerie as a whole, inasmuch that they choose what rules they wish to follow. I do not mean this metaphorically, my dear reader, but quite literally. Each and every single High Fae is connected to an anchor, a Bind to reality, through which their every interaction with the world is focused through. The most common form of High Fae are those which bind themselves to a singular object or location, and in so mimic the status of a minor god within that domain yet often limiting their mobility. As this is perhaps something of a confusing idea to those unfamiliar, I shall endeavor to provide a few examples: Now, when a High Fae bonds to an item (or an individual), there is certainly a return to their Bind. Trees become magical and may grow incredibly large; waters flow pure; stones become inherently warding; fountains bestow good luck to those who treat them well; and mortals may gain any number of supernatural blessings from their union. Flight, immortality, the ability to heal wounds with a touch, or developing a new talent for illusions, music, or enchantments are some of the most common but far from exhaustive. What is most important to remember with these forms of High Fae is that to entertain them is to be prioritized above all else. They view mortals in much the way a mortal might view a small, unusually intelligent animal. Entertaining, and possibly worthy of adoption as a pet, but not truly a person. Do not provoke them, and generally attempt to avoid attracting their attention unless you are certain you know what you are doing, in a way which my guide will not be able to aid you. I hesitate to even mention this, for I am aware that many will attempt to do so before you are ready, but the greatest treasure a High Fae can offer is themselves. Truly, a friendly Fae offering to bind to you is one of the greatest boons which can be obtained from Faerie. Beware the unfriendly Fae, however, as the bind could just as soon be used to exploit you as a tool against their rivals, a disposable pawn in a much larger game. Alas, there is no easy way to tell if a Fae is friendly or unfriendly and thus any Bind accepted must be carefully considered. Instead of choosing their Bind as a material object or set of objects, some Fae instead choose to Bind themselves to something more abstract. The sound of waves crashing upon a particular beach, the first gleam of starlight each night, or a warm summer¡¯s breeze. These Fae are even less akin to the mortals they resemble and instead bear a distinct resemblance to, behave in a manner consistent with their bind, and in a far more direct manner than for the object-bound Fae, gain magics associated with their Bind. A warm summer¡¯s breeze is likely to be comforting, but may just as easily be cloying and stifling. The first gleam of starlight may be a herald to ill times or a mote of hope to those struggling. This is most obvious within the Grand Courts of the High Fae. Here, a singular Fae may bind themselves to a powerful concept such as Winter, Summer, Night, or Day and become nearly unto a god. Then, they call to order and command legions of lesser fae who are either without bond or with a bond related to their claim, each with a fraction of their ruler¡¯s power. Ensure you familiarize yourself with my notes upon how to interact with each of the Courts you are likely to encounter before seeking them out, for once again Fae are dangerous. If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Finally, a High Fae may bind for themselves a specific role to take, as if upon a stage performing a play. The more they play out that role, and the grander said role is in the story, the more powerful they become while acting within that role. They rapidly become incapable of anything but their chosen role, even as the story may shift around them. These stories may restart with the changing of their ¡®Seasons,¡¯ and a Good King may in one Season be a just and wise ruler, and in another merely be a powerless puppet to their Unscrupulous Advisor. Beware these Storied Fae! They are mighty, if limited, and it is all too easy to become ensnared within their stories if not cautious. Enjoy, but do not engage. In summary, the High Fae are odd and varied depending on their Bind (most commonly a local person or place) but are yet perhaps the least dangerous of the fey to entreat. Words are less snares for the High Fae, what matters far more is that actions are polite yet not affectionate, as they strike no bargain and twist no words. Interact with them as you would any other mighty being, be entertaining but not a prize to be claimed, beware being caught up within their stories, and you may survive untouched.
The Alfin are substantially more dangerous and strange, yet understandable in their own unique way. Alfin come in two primary forms; those who are named and those who are nameless. Named Alfin are broad in appearance and habit, though always possess importance and power in accordance with their name. They appear to be wholly solid, but rarely look like any mortal race (though they often bear some passing resemblance to one or more). Unnamed Alfin, by contrast, are semi-indistinct wispy spirits that appear to be approximately elven or goblinoid at first glance, about the size of a halfling. They may be brightly colored, and upon further examination indistinct features will become more defined. This is done in such a way that it is very difficult to notice that they are undefined, as they become defined in direct correlation to the attention they receive. Alfin make their home in some of the most dangerous parts of Faerie, and this indirectly makes them some of the greatest hazards you face. For all Alfin, life is akin to a story; or rather, many different stories, and as with any story, no unnamed background character may accomplish anything and are not truly ¡®characters¡¯ within their story. Unnamed Alfin do not truly exist, instead they appear when a named individual (which includes mortals) would become aware of them, and vanish when that individual is no longer aware of them. The countless crowds within the cities of the Alfin are not real, and if you do not notice them they will cease to exist once they are far enough away. Interacting with an Alfin makes them more likely to return in some form- speaking with an unnamed Alfin shopkeep, then returning to their shop at a later time will return that shopkeep into existence. Interaction also increases their awareness of their surroundings. A nameless face in a crowd is likely to not truly even be aware of their own existence, a shopkeep may only be aware enough to buy and sell their wares, but some may be aware of their own fleeting existence. Increased interaction with an unnamed Alfin will render them more real, more substantial, and have greater continuity of existence. However, they will not become truly ¡®real,¡¯ and will not continue to exist even when unseen, until they are named. The methods by which an Alfin may obtain a name are unknown even to me, but merely calling them by a name or otherwise giving them a nickname will not be sufficient (though are quite influential for making them more substantial). However, the one method I am aware of is that they can steal the names of another. Never give an Alfin your name. Once an Alfin is sufficiently aware, they will ask for it, and they will be exceptionally tricky about it. They may plead with you, they may bargain, they may promise all manner of treasures and riches, but never, absolutely never give your name to an Alfin. You may let them know a name by which they may call you, but never give them your name. They will take it and become real, while you become less. Being mortal, you will not cease to exist when others are not around. However, you will remain unnamed. A background character to someone else¡¯s story. Your mind will dull, your magic will fade, your body will weaken, defining features will fade away. Where you wander, the unnamed will not appear. If you attempt to move an object, it will be incredibly difficult and likely undo itself in time. You will be incapable of almost anything. If you attempt to fight one with a name, you will lose. Your only hope is to escape the realms of Faerie where the Alfin make their home before your identity fades too much. Escaping back to the Material, or even a more familiar part of Faerie, will allow you to re-establish your identity, take a new name and begin to define yourself around that. Do not return to the cities of the Alfin until you have a new name firmly established. If you are not quick enough, you will find yourself unable to leave, for what background character attempts to escape their story? Pray that there are no named Alfin within the city guards who would bar your egress, or that there exists a large group of travelers whom you might be able to join and travel away. Yet do not put your stock in prayer, for the gods all but cannot save you. The final type of fey I will discuss at this time are the Sprites. These are the ones you must most carefully watch yourself with. Make no promises, offer no insult, strike no deal, and offer no thanks. To make a promise is to be forced to do so, to insult is to invite retribution, to strike a deal will ensure you lose something valuable, and to offer thanks is to admit debt.
Sprites have an appearance not terribly dissimilar to gnomes, though roughly half to two-thirds as large, and with insect-like wings protruding from their back. Their word is law. They cannot speak a mistruth, but do not believe that makes them honest. If they strike a deal with another creature, that deal will become truth. Trading your sight will render you blind. Trading a shard of magic will remove the capability of utilizing that magic from your very being. Depending on the bargain struck, it may even be impossible to restore. Now, these bargains can, in very particular situations be useful. A Sprite is capable of trading anything, after all. They can sell you the sight they bought from one, the magic swindled from another, the beauty traded from a third. To insult a Sprite enables them to demand repayment for the slight, and leaves them free to extract retribution from their own power. To thank them is to enable them to demand almost anything in exchange for repaying the debt. Do neither, if you value your soul. For the foolish or brave, this is a great path to fantastic riches or power. But you must be exceptionally cautious, a fact I cannot overstate. If you have not yet been dissuaded, you may continue onto my next chapter, where I will explain more in-depth the rules for interacting with Sprites. On the Construction of Golems Transcript of a speech given by a Gian Family representative.
Every golem begins with an idea. From the simplest good golem used to till the fields, to the mightiest war golems, to the common clay golem so prized for its durability and reliability, no two golems are truly the same, and thanks to the delicate process involved in their creation, each must be carefully planned out. The first stage of any new golem¡¯s life is a request. What functions must it serve? Is it to serve as a mobile battalion, mage¡¯s bodyguard or a simple laborer?
At the heart of every golem is a core. While some war golems, particularly larger ones, may utilize multiple cores, the vast majority have but a singular incredibly complex core. A golem¡¯s core is not a power source, as is commonly believed, but rather a power processor, taking energy from the collector arrays and distributing it to the motor, control, and any axillary arrays. This heart is one of the most critical pieces to the golem¡¯s end function, and is accordingly carefully constructed. For this presentation, we will be looking at a standard clay golem, such as can be found on construction sites or aiding the city watch, and utilizes a fairly simple seven-layer core. The first layer is a perfectly polished Tarrenial glass marble untouched by anything material since it was made molten. Should so much as a mote of dust come into contact with the sphere, it would bond irrevocably to the substance, pushing all mana channeled into the core through that mote of dust, burning out the dust and subsequently the core itself. To prevent that scenario, the glass core is kept suspended within a specially-created void box, held aloft via pure force magic and allowed to cool over the course of nine months from when it was first created. After nine months and one day exactly, it is placed into a sixty thousand rune array designed for a single purpose: coat the perfectly spherical marble core with a millimeter of mana-infused mithril. On the day of the operation, four artificers work together to ensure that not only does the mithril coat the sphere perfectly evenly and simultaneously, but also that all one hundred and forty seven runes involved in managing the power flow of the golem within this layer not only form properly on a physical level, but also that they form properly on a magical level. Even the slightest echo from the Tapestry outside the formation array could ruin months of work, and they accordingly cannot waver even once during the three-hour ritual. Once the second layer is in place, it becomes substantially easier, though any mistake still bears the risk of ruining the core and rendering all work done until that point worthless. The third layer involves sixty-three runes that act as a buffer to the inner core and ensuring it isn¡¯t burned out, and is usually worked in pure copper, with the runes carved in by hand over the course of a week. The fourth layer is done in porcelain, and the two hundred and ninety runes used in this layer take the form of porcelain incorporating powdered silver and unicorn horn to be twisted into slightly-three dimensional shapes meant to isolate the inner workings of the core from the exterior Tapestry and attacks. The firing of the porcelain is exceptionally tricky, as the temperatures involved would be plenty to melt the third layer and rendering the entire core useless. To prevent this, for the entire 12-hour process a pair of artificers are constantly minding the inner core, performing a ritual meant to keep the interior cool even as the exterior is properly fired and initially begins to cool. The fifth layer is done in steel, and while the porcelain fourth layer contains heat ablation sufficient to allow the core survive being immersed in molten steel, it must still be carefully tended to in order to prevent the core from being crushed as the metal sphere is quenched in a potion designed to bind the golem to its control wand (or, for a personal golem, to the individual itself, utilizing their blood). Once the binding is done, forty four runes are carved into the exterior and enchanted. The sixth layer fills in the carved runes within the steel and coats the entire core with a specialty potion made largely from the resin of the glowpine but also including etrasai, black orchid nectar, and powdered wyvern scale. This is to ensure longevity of all the enchantments used in the core and prevent degradation as the golem ages. The seventh- and always final- layer involves carving out a perfectly-sized cavity within a large crystal, usually quartz, and utilizing a hundred thousand rune array to teleport the inner core inside the crystal. This outer layer is vital for the other runic arrays of the golem to properly interface with the core itself.
While the core is being made, the rest of the golem is still under construction. First, the housing for the core must be made. For this clay golem, it will be housed within the upper torso, close to the center of gravity. Around the core goes the control array, as it must be able to directly interact with the core. Despite common belief, the control array is not part of most golem cores, as once finished the core is immutable until broken. By having the array set around the core, it is possible to perform maintenance or apply upgrades to the array without dismantling the entire golem. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. The arrays for this golem is made by creating a full-sized model out of clay, then an artificer carves out over twelve hundred interlinked runes, then fills the entire array with iron. Once the iron cools, the clay it was cast in is broken open, the array is cleaned and polished, and it is prepared to be assembled into the actual golem. While every trace of the clay mold must be removed from the array, so too cannot even a single filigree of the runes be bent out of shape. To accomplish this feat, a careful application of air and water magic is used to first wash, then polish the iron. Once complete, a new structure of clay is built up around the array, using three kinds of clay. The first type of clay, and the type that will be used for the majority of the golem¡¯s mass, is clay taken from the banks of the Gishtai River. The river¡¯s properties help ensure that the clay is exceptionally pure, and capable of accepting repair magics with ease while being more resistant to hostile spells. The second type is used on all the golem¡¯s joints and anywhere which requires flexibility. This is a special clay mix, primarily based in clay from the Gishtai River, but mixed with springwood ashes, gem python blood, and water mana-infused sand. The third type, and the one used to directly coat the arrays that we see here, is taken from the banks of the Snowspring. The white clay is then brewed with crushed white jade, dust of living dreams, living shadow, and powdered lodestone, alongside several other trade secret ingredients. This mixture is carefully applied around the polished iron arrays, leaving not even the slightest gap. This will allow the basic control array to slowly modify itself in accordance with any long-term commands and training the golem is provided, to maximize its use. Once all the layers have been applied, the control array is ready for use and integration into the other arrays. While less critical than the control array and core, the motive and collection arrays are still very important in the actual function of the golem, as without them the golem is incapable of moving and being powered, respectively. The motive arrays for clay golems are carved directly into the inner layers of substrate, carefully designed to ensure that the golem is capable of just as easily crushing the skull of a dwarf as it is capable of delicately polishing a teacup. Furthermore, it needs to take into account the incredible weight of the golem itself, be capable of full actuation within the hand and other joints, and ensure that no single part of the golem bears too much of the construct¡¯s substantial weight. Indeed, the precise array must be custom-designed for each limb depending on the power of the core, the composition of the clay used in the construction, the local Tapestry, and even the time of year the golem is being created. It is for this reason that most golems are made in the summer, as the array required is simpler than that of any of the other seasons, but the artificers must then contend with the intense summer heat outside of any cooling enchantments which have the potential to disturb the local Tapestry in unexpected ways and necessitate a different configuration of runes. Each motive array is fairly simple for all that it is capable of doing- a single joint usually only accounts for about two dozen runes, but the sub-directors responsible for ensuring that, for instance, all the fingers work in unison may be as complex as a hundred runes once integration into the sensory arrays is complete. The sensory array is the next portion to be integrated into the golem, and is usually done in copper filigree inset into clay one layer above the motive array itself. An artificer carefully carves away the fired clay, mindful to account for and not hit any of the minute flaws which always appear as a result of the firing process, and later carefully applies force and fire magic to soften and hammer into place copper wire. It¡¯s important that the layers over the sensory array protect it from damage, but also not be so thick as to block the delicate feedback which the golem requires to function. This clay golem, despite a last-minute required adjustment to plan in order to prevent a minute crack from growing into a critical one, was a success, and will in theory be capable of feeling even a gnat flying around it through the disturbances in the air, sense changes in the local Tapestry created by mages merely walking around, and see in even absolute darkness. It even is integrated with the control array to serve as an additional layer of security to ensure none but its rightful owner is capable of giving it commands.
At around this stage in the process, any special features not part of the golem¡¯s core design are added and integrated. While this clay golem has nothing to be added, others of its kind may possess stored spell matricies, the ability to fire basic force or fire blasts, or function as a fully-powered wardstone. War golems are the most common recipient of these variable modifications, though we do receive some special requests to integrate them into more standard constructs on occasion. Combat golems are usually significantly more powerful and utilize a host of additional inbuilt magical arrays supplied by the military. There is nothing intrinsically unique about combat golems which enable them to have these additional features, but rather a simple matter of practicality: Only the military has sufficient magical strength to power these additional features. Some powerful sorcerers will provide arrays for their servants to have minor magical abilities of their own, but as enchantments without a mage to use them, are inherently quite limited. Though, of course, all of our creations follow the standard sumptuary laws forbidding individuals not in the royal line from owning metal-covered golems, and we do not make exceptions. The final stage of golem construction before assembly itself is to create the collection array. These are the enchantments responsible for powering not only itself, but the entire construct. The arrays, partially made of bronze and partially carved directly into the golem¡¯s body, are efficient enough that this clay golem, despite being capable of easily lifting more than ten tons, can run almost entirely off of the local Tapestry¡¯s ambient magic. Other golems may utilize lightning, fire, or raw mana as supplementary energy sources, but most are fully capable of utilizing nothing more than the energy in the air for basic functions. Once all the individual parts are complete, it is time to assemble them all. While extremely important, it is far less interesting and not terribly important for us at the moment. As demonstrated, an artificer suspends the torso in a large-sized frame, using force tethers to hold it in the air while the limbs- assembled separately through a combination of several construction methods- are attached by linking up the motive arrays on each piece. Then, they carefully run magic through the entire system to allow the rune-pairs responsible for passing power along to connect and begin standard functionality. Finally, the core is inserted, and the golem becomes properly animated. After an extensive set of tests to ensure all functionality is fully operational, the golem is rendered complete, given an official seal of creation, and sent to its final owner. This clay golem was commissioned by the Tariah guard, and will be tirelessly keeping the citizens there safe for decades to come. Any questions? On the Biology of Dwarves An Extract from ¡®On the Sapient Species: An Anatomical Primer¡¯, by Senior Gosiah of Ithular:
Dwarves are a bipedal type A1 species, standing on average 3¡¯8¡± and 180 pounds for the women, and 3¡¯5¡± at 160 pounds for the men. True to their name, dwarves are rarely seen aboveground, and are quite well-adjusted for life within the mountains and caverns wherein they make their home. (Translator¡¯s note: It is important to note that, in the original language, Ghibra, the word for ¡®dwarf¡¯ is more accurately translated to ¡®the people of stone¡¯ than carrying any connotations of height. ) With a natural lifespan usually topping out at circa one hundred years, they are far from the most long-lived of species, but their unique biology ensures that they make the most of all those years.
Truly, like all species, dwarves are utterly magnificent, and for the dwarf it is most especially apparent in their hair. Despite its initial appearance as akin to the fur of many fine creatures- most commonly compared to the lion due to its mane serving as an acceptable proxy to the dwarves¡¯ beards-albeit glossier and in a much broader range of colors than one might normally see. However, it is not akin to the hair found upon humans, halflings, and most elves either, but is far richer and more complex. Structurally, it is quite rich in metal, most commonly iron. However, if a dwarf clan hails from an area particularly rich in another form of metal, it is most obvious in their beards. The classic example of this is for the Xapeta, whose hair is a vivid blue color thanks to the cobalt-rich climes in which they make their home, but those who dwell close to copper may develop green hair, and so on. Only rarely will golden or violet beards be seen (thanks to gold and orchicalcum respectively), in no small part due to the diet required being prohibitively expensive for any but the wealthiest of dwarven family lines. While some metals can grant the dwarf¡¯s hair additional properties. However, all dwarven hair is exceptionally useful in a number of ways, regardless of the metals making up their structure: While the hair covering most of their bodies does grow from follicles in a manner not unlike that of most type A1 species, a dwarf¡¯s beard connects directly to their skeletal structure, making it the most sensitive and the most capable of radiating excess heat.
The skeletal system of dwarves, like that of giants, is composed of iron rather than calcium. Accordingly, unlike the white stone-like bones humans, wolves, and most other A1 species possess, the bones of dwarves are an exceptionally strong form of composite steel. As they still possess a similar internal structure as can be found in other A1 species, they are not as heavy as bones of solid steel would be, but they are still phenomenally sturdy yet flexible simultaneously, capable of elastically dissipating nearly five times the energy as a calcium-based counterpart before permanently deforming. This is not entirely positive, however. In the event that sufficient trauma is delivered to the bone as to substantially impact it, the bone will not break but instead bend. Without external treatment, this bending is quite likely to be permanent, and even with external treatment, sorcery is nearly mandatory and still results in a far longer recovery time to recover from a bend as a broken bone. Thanks to this unusual bone composition (and helped along by an intrinsic enchantment from which the thagadaz runic structure is based), the bone is an excellent conductor of energy. It collects heat energy from throughout the body and moves it in particular towards the beard, where as mentioned previously, it can be released into the air. This also renders dwarves exceptionally resistant to both electric shock and magic overload, as just like with heat, too much energy within the body is vented out through the beard. This also enables the skeletal system to serve as an aide to the thaumic system, though the standard organs are still present within the dwarf, and the bones merely serve a supplementary role in the distribution of internal magics. All of these combine to make ¡®dwarven bonesteel¡¯ to be an unusually good metal for many workings, and while few such tools and weapons ever venture past a single family¡¯s hands, many a dwarf culture has taken advantage of the superior steel as a source for their most heirloom weapons. Others naturally see such as an abomination, a scavenging of an honored fallen comrade, but I shall not so much as attempt to explore their culture in this book(1). If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.
Now, dear reader, I am certain you must be wondering what kind of digestive system the dwarf must possess in order to adequately process the no-doubt considerable amount of iron which the dwarf must consume to maintain such an impressive skeletal structure. In truth, their digestion is not substantially different from other A1 creatures, save for particularly well-developed molar-like teeth in the far back of their mouths, and of course that their teeth, like their bones, are made of steel and the tendons in their mouth are particularly strong, to aid the crushing of metal ores. Furthermore, like orcs, their teeth never stop growing, so they in fact must continue to eat ore and metal to prevent themselves from developing dental issues. Once the ore is ground to dust (or close to it), it is passed along to the stomach, where although the type of acid is consistent with most other A1 creatures save for being substantially more potent. It is not capable of fully digesting iron ore, but is capable of extracting sufficient amounts for the average adult dwarf. As a child, additional heat is required and thus the internals of a young dwarf, or a pregnant dwarf, may be nearly twice as hot as an adult dwarf may normally function at. Conveniently, this also provides a superior condition for their bones to come together, and their inherent enchantment is most useful in preventing other parts of their body from directly cooking! In truth, even as adults, dwarves have an internal body temperature, and a metabolism which runs substantially faster than most any other creature of their size. It is believed that this is once again due to the beard of the dwarf, as shaven dwarves may develop serious fevers as their hair is no longer capable of dissipating the incredible amounts of heat within them. Thanks to this exceptional metabolism, dwarves thrive best when capable of feasting on a daily basis, consuming nearly their own body weight in food every day! However, when such food is not available, dwarves may sustain themselves almost entirely through copious amounts of alcohol. Their metabolism converts the beverage into pure energy almost instantly, and thus only the strongest of drinks are capable of actually affecting their mental capacity in any meaningful way. Even still, it is often remarked that a liter of beer is just as filling to a dwarf as a pound of meat, which suggests that there is some additional source of nutrition which they can extract from their drinks beyond the obvious. Thanks to this excessive metabolism, dwarves are substantially less vulnerable to most diseases and poisons which other species may be susceptible to, though contrary to common belief they are not immune to poison.
The last particularly notable feature of dwarves distinguishing them from the other sapient species is their eyes. Their irises and pupils are even larger than that of gnomes, completely hiding their sclera from view while within their sockets. This enables them to dilate their eyes to a degree far higher than any surface-dwelling species is able to, and can pick up even the most minute traces of light within their caverns. As a tradeoff, they are naturally far more sensitive to bright light when in this state. Even an open flame is sufficient to dazzle or temporarily blind a dwarf with eyes in ¡®dark-sight¡¯ mode, but they are incredibly capable of adjusting their eyes to allow for the brightest of forges. Though the brightest light they can usually comfortably withstand is still far below what a particularly bright day might bring, they remain comfortable in the often just-as-bright forges they frequent. In addition, their visual perception range is shifted to a cooler range than most other A1 creatures. Though most violets and even some blues cannot be seen by dwarves, they are capable of seeing the invisible glow of light given off by creatures, and their own internal temperature is more than enough to give them light to see by even in the darkest of tunnels. Many wonder why dwarves have such incredible color-sensitive vision for a species which spends most of its time in darkness, but the simple fact of the matter is that the ability to precisely determine what temperature an object may be- and thus what color it releases- is of utmost importance, and it has been determined that dwarves are capable of distinguishing no less than three colors that humans and halflings cannot, and can distinguish between shades of orange and yellow invisible to most creatures (though suffer for this with a severely limited blue-sensitivity, as mentioned). This not only aids them in their darkened mines, but so too in their forges, as they are capable of precisely ascertaining the temperature of a metal with as little as a glance. However, even though their eyes are capable of comfortably withstanding the light levels seen most nights, most dwarves are not seen nocturnally. Why is this, you ask? It is thanks in large part to their beards! As sensitive as they are to wind and sound, the beard of a dwarf is simply not accustomed to the incredible amounts of stimulation which come from light breezes, let alone anything which may be slightly more insistent. It has been described as comparable to a bright, flashing illusion directly in front of your face by some dwarves who keep their beards in more traditional styles. There are of course dwarves who live on the surface, wearing smoked glasses during the day or only coming out at night, so how do they deal with this issue? Some simply learn how to deal with the additional stimulation, particularly those raised upon the surface and who are unfamiliar with the art of tracking a breeze to its source, or listening for the drip of water with their hair. This is not dissimilar to learning to ignore a particularly pungent odor, or a constant background noise. However, such dwarves are rarely able to learn to utilize their beards to their fullest extent, and those accustomed to using their beards as an additional sense never truly adapt. Thus, such dwarves adopt restrained beard styles compared to their underground compatriots, trimming back their hair and grooming it with wax and certain oils as to reduce the sensitivity of it. They feed it through rings, braid it into cords, or generally restrain it from sensing every errant cough, every drop of rain, and every conversation for miles around. It is not even particularly useful for spying, as the sheer amount of stimulation makes it all but impossible to pick out anything meaningful from the surroundings.
As a dwarf ages, their skin, muscles, and organs slowly begin to stiffen and harden. In time, they slowly become living stone (or in some cases, metal), until they eventually are more stone than flesh, and die. A similar phenomenon- Dwarf¡¯s Scar- has been noted in some humans and halflings, where scar tissue heals into bone, but despite being very similar, dwarves may harden into a variety of stone beyond simply the limestone-like substance which humans suffer from. They still decay after death, naturally, but the exact mechanisms by which their stone bodies crumble to dust is still an ongoing field of research. (2)
1 For those who are interested in dwarven culture, Ritisgar¡¯s Subcentris provides an in-depth analysis of the cultures present beneath Tor-Gammnar. 2 This, of course, assumes that none of the truly fascinating methods which dwarves are capable of utilizing to preserve their dead are used. These preservation methods can also stop their stone from decaying, and some mausoleums of dwarven clans resemble statue halls. On Elder Creatures - Monsters Selected passages from On the Mightiest, by Senior Heridath of Ithular:
Looking up the definition of an ¡®Elder¡¯ in most dictionaries is not particularly illuminating. Most simply list some variation of ¡°A mortal creature that has outlived its normal lifespan.¡± While technically true, it does nothing to explain what truly sets an Elder apart from merely being a particularly old individual, or even a standard immortal. What defines an Elder is that they have not simply bypassed standard mortality; they have surpassed it. There is no potion which they must rely upon to stay young, no ritual which halts their aging, no artefact which staves off death. An Elder is an Elder by their nature, and age will never claim their life. Many Elders are also resistant to disease, poison, and even injury, but that is a result of their status rather than the cause. Furthermore, they only grow stronger with age, and this never becomes self-destructive in the manner which some species suffer from, as with dragons or hydras. While no two Elders are truly the same, it is still informative to examine the methods by which various species may grasp the status of Elder, and the abilities common to them. Though even with that, I must stress that there is no such thing truly ¡®common¡¯ to Elders. All of them involve defying what is commonly thought possible by their very nature, and it can often not make sense the methods by which they surpassed their mortality. Then, of course, the radically different manners in which species may age likewise results in a number of truly unusual situations. Nonetheless, this is an exploration of the current scholarly belief for how each of the following Elder creatures come into existence, as well as the abilities they are most frequently associated with. Note that this list is not comprehensive, for in some cases- such as with the Elder Goblin- while it is theorized that one could exist, no individual has yet accomplished immortality in a manner consistent with what classifies as an Elder. In others- such as the case of Elder Shifters, neither their normal capabilities nor what happens with Elders are well-studied enough to ascertain what attaining Elderhood does for the species.
Elder Dragons are of course the most well-known type of Elder, and this is for good reason: they are all but living gods. Dragons, even before they hatch, produce a substantial amount of mana, far more than most creatures save the most powerful of mages do. This only magnifies as they age, growing larger and stronger, and most importantly more magically powerful. By the time they reach their first millennia of age, their mana outpouring is comparable to that of a large Slip (though much of this is consumed simply continuing their existence). When they are likely to die of old age after circa fifteen hundred years of age, it is from mana toxicity- they simply produce more mana than their bodies can physically handle, or even properly release fast enough. As dragons die of old age, they leave behind Dragon¡¯s Heads Slips, the source of some of the strongest local ley lines. In the years leading up to their death, they are akin to a demigod, twisting the world around them with their mere existence, and able to use spells more potent than any non-divine creature could hope to manage. Magically-inclined dragons who achieve the status of Elder Dragon tend to do so by focusing all of their magic into a single point, creating a crystal or orb of sorts made of pure mana. Ironically, this cuts the amount of mana a dragon gives off by a substantial amount, as what previously empowered the local Tapestry is instead focused to create a singular point of immense magical energy. This ¡®core,¡¯ be it set by their heart or held within their claws, functions as almost a rudimentary godhood, and the Elder Dragon ceases to need to concentrate or even be knowledgeable about the subject of their magical might- instead, it becomes almost an extension of their body. This allows them to accomplish feats impossible by conventional spellcrafting, with some Elder Dragons capable of creating life directly. Mountains may collapse, rivers may be rerouted, islands or even continents are raised or sunk at the barest whim. Many magical Elder Dragons possess a perfect control over their own form; some describe it as their true self becoming their core rather than their flesh, but regardless, they become capable (if not already so) of assuming the form of any creature they so desire, even taking upon many of their powers should they be within the Elder¡¯s vast, vast array of possible magic. Of course, not all Elder Dragons prefer to use magic. Some instead manage to, instead of having their magic burn out their own bodies, channel it and consume it. Far from bringing their own flesh to ash, these dragons grow with their ever-strengthening magical might. A ¡®small¡¯ Elder of this variety would be the size of a hill, a more average the size of a mountain, and rumors persist that the mightiest of all Elder Dragons may be the size of entire worlds, or large enough to consume them as the barest snack. Notable Elder Dragons include Vorshalinfexendrap, Watigrimdroxy the Light of Life (of the magical form) and Mount Ixruthis (of the physical form).
Elder Hydras are, curiously enough, set apart by their intelligence above all else. While a normal hydra is usually little more than a clever beast, growing cleverer as it ages and becomes capable of supporting additional heads, their life normally comes to an end as their incredible natural regeneration acts up and goes out of control in some way, regrowing one part of the hydra at the expense of some other critical part of its biology. Elder Hydras, of course, do not suffer this fate. Instead, they continue to grow and continue to be capable of sustaining more heads, but what truly sets Elder Hydras apart is that all of their heads work together, forming a singular incredibly intelligent consciousness within the former beast. The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. With this newfound intelligence, Elder Hydras are almost invariably seen with the most heads that their body can support, unlike normal hydras which do not grow additional heads until some external force severs one of their existing ones. Instead, Elder Hydras sever a head themselves once they are able to, and in this way grow all the more intelligent with time. Their regeneration is of course similarly extreme, but whether it is stronger than an Elder Orc¡¯s is unknown. There has, however, never been a single record of an Elder Hydra dying from anything, and all such specimens are naturally quite resistant to experimentation upon, regardless of any incentives offered. Notable Elder Hydras include Royal Ksiezniczka and Cunning Lerneas.
Elder Treants often appear indistinguishable from their non-elder brethren. The end of a normal treant¡¯s life involves them slowly becoming less and less mobile until they end up as a rooted tree once again, and Elder Treants undergo a similar transformation, but they retain their minds throughout the entire process and remain fully aware (whereas most treants naturally lose their conscious mind and become merely a semi-aware magical tree afterwards). At a minimum, they usually retain some level of a face, the shape plainly visible upon the trunk of the tree or woven from its branches, and may communicate freely with any passers-by. However, most Elder Treants do not stop there. Instead. They shed large branches from their canopy, which become something of a clone of the Elder Treant, sharing all its experiences and powers. In some cases, this offshoot even shares a singular mind with the main body, whereas in others the offshoot must return to the primary body of the Elder Treant to report upon its experiences. These offshoots are capable of venturing anywhere, and undergo a life cycle akin to a normal treant, at the end of which they settle into a tree shape permanently similar to how a normal treant would, though at this point the offshoot and the main Elder Treant are linked in mind if they were not previously, increasing the Elder Treant¡¯s range of influence. Within their range of influence, Elder Treants have full ability to cause trees of many sorts to grow and flourish or die, they can nurse sick and dying to health or curse an interloper to a swift yet painful death. Similar to normal treants, capabilities beyond this vary wildly depending upon the family of treant as well as the types of wood which they make their home, but any abilities which they possessed prior to becoming an Elder are retained and magnified, and any additional abilities which their offshoots may accumulate are similarly passed to the main body (though not magnified as much) Notable Elder Treants include The Great Oak and Thornwood.
Elder Giants, perhaps paradoxically on the face of it, shed their bodies and all the immense physical strength that comes with it. However, there is perhaps no other manner by which a giant could become an Elder. After all, giants normally simply find their body falling apart around them as they grow too massive; they become large enough that their own muscles can''t lift them from the ground, their limbs become so long that to move them is to either scour their skin from the air itself being unable to part with their motion, or they move slowly to avoid such a fate and become unable to deal with even minor annoyances. Even an Elder Giant cannot, it seems, escape these simple realities of flesh and blood. Thus, while their bodies may collapse, the spirit of the Elder Giant stands strong. Of course, seeing an Elder Giant does not seem like they are a spirit, but that is because Elder Giants manifest a new body around their soul akin to one which angels or devils might possess. Not truly flesh, not truly even material, yet flesh and material all the same. Elder Giants, as their most obvious power, are always larger than whoever they speak with, and are always the largest one in attendance at that. While there is a maximum size which they can grow to, though it only increases with age, it is large enough as to be academic in virtually all situations. The only exception to an Elder Giant being the largest creature in a group is when multiple Elder Giants are in attendance at the same location, in which case the largest is also the oldest. In addition, Elder Giants possess an incredible degree of foresight, capable of seeing far into the mists of time from their lofty positions. If that were not sufficient, Elder Giants, with a prodigious frame and strength even beyond their normal size, may in time grow larger than a continent, and strength enough to lift entire worlds. Their spiritual bodies also cease requiring food or drink, enabling them to recline for centuries and even be mistaken as islands, mountains, or even entire continents depending on their age. Notable Elder Giants include J¡¯tain and Atigane.
Elder Orcs are best described as warriors who fight with and win against their own mortality. Most commonly, they transcend their normal mortality while in the heat of battle against some other foe, and never truly stop fighting afterwards. It has been described in some instances as an orc becoming an Elder at the point where all their wounds dictate that they ought to be dead, when they have bled more blood than they possess in their bodies, when they have more wounds than not, yet continue to fight regardless. This transition into an Elder Orc maintains this heightened sense of self. An Elder Orc is all but impossible to kill, as not only is their hide all but impervious to damage, as not only do they heal any such wounds faster than any but the mightiest hydra, but mortal wounds will simply fail to kill them. Cutting an Elder Orc in half will simply result in two halves continuing to fight, each half utilizing a crude form of innate blood magic to form a second half of their own body until such a time as they are able to rejoin. In addition to this truly impossible degree of regeneration and immortality, Elder Orcs grow stronger and stronger as they fight- or experience any kind of heightened emotion- and this strength does not leave them. Their bodies likewise become all the more resistant to any damage which they are inflicted with. Should an Elder Orc be burned, it will become more resistant to flame. Should its skull be crushed, its bones will strengthen. They cannot be stopped, and can only truly be given pause, an action which only ensures they are stronger for the next attempt to subdue them. Notable Elder Orcs include Bloodfield.
Despite bearing the name, Elder Vampires (of the Stokas variety, naturally) are not a proper Elder creature. Instead, the power which they possess comes not from age (as undead, age is meaningless) but rather from the strength and families which they have accumulated across the years. It is perfectly possible, in theory, for a very young vampire to be just as strong as one of the most ancient of their kind, and a vampire from ten thousand years hence may be no stronger than a fledgling should all their families have died out. (Families of Blood: The Stokas Vampire, Geshath) On Elder Creatures - Civilized Species Selected passages from On the Mightiest, by Senior Heridath of Ithular:
While it is most common for one to imagine a monster when speaking of an Elder creature, to do so is to deny some of the most influential members of civilized species their due. Just as a hydra is capable of surviving death by old age, or a dragon capable of transcending mere mortality, so too can an elf, a gnome, even a human or avior. Indeed, not many may think of them as properly ¡®Elder¡¯ beings, they nonetheless are classified as such by most scholars (though not without some level of controversy, as with the halfling).
True Elder Dwarves are much rarer than might commonly be thought. While it is true that far more dwarves live past the century which is in theory their natural lifespan, this is primarily because dwarves possess among the easiest times claiming immortality for themselves via other means. Forging their bodies into ageless biological constructs, magical treasures, even blessings from their ancestors meant to alleviate the weight of time from their bodies. This, of course, prevents them from becoming an Elder, characterized by utilizing or overcoming aging through purely internal means. For a dwarf, whose aging process involves the slow petrification of their own body, this involves the dwarf surviving this process, their spirit overpowering the inanimate stone and forcing it to behave as though it were still alive. In doing so, the Elder Dwarf becomes less a creature of flesh and blood but closer to an animate spirit controlling a body. This new state of being confers upon the Elder Dwarf fantastic power of earth, stone, and creation; many of the mountain ranges which dwarves live in these days were raised by Elder Dwarves building their family a home. Some particularly powerful Elder Dwarves gain the ability to forge a spirit akin to their own directly into their creations, creating wholly alive and aware golems, truly living and truly able to grow under their own volition. In addition to these impressive powers of creation, Elder Dwarves, being closer to an elemental than a mortal, can survive even the destruction of their original body, so long as they are near stone, earth, or metal. In lieu of passing on, the soul of the dwarf inhabits the closest suitable material and sculpts for itself a new form, often one more magical or stronger than the body they were in before. Notable Elder Dwarves include King Vestri Ironstone and Diann Deeprunner the Mountainshaper.
Elder Avorae are beings of the wind and sky; while all avorae are prone to arthritic pains of various forms, a fate not even future Elders are immune to, some simply transcend this limitation. While it is most commonly observed in those with an affinity for wind magics, it is not limited to them, and those without a particular connection to the element invariably develop one after becoming an Elder. Elder Avorae internalize the winds in a way unlike any other creature. While they remain flesh and blood (and are the most likely of any species to maintain any of the foibles which come with advanced age as an Elder), their very presence inundates their surroundings with wind-type magics, enabling them to move anything near them as though it were nothing more than a moderately stiff breeze. They gain a perfected form of flight, can sweep away any who stand against them, and are capable of battering around massive boulders as though they were nothing more than motes of dust in a gust of wind. Some are even capable of extending this to a more physical direction, passing through solid objects as though they were not even there. Furthermore, they become exclusively reliant upon air to continue to exist; they no longer need to sleep, eat, or drink to live (but remain quite vulnerable to suffocation, as they require the constant connection to the air around them). Notable Elder Avorae include Isres the Wise and Elder Flynn.
Elder Elves may seem to be something of a paradox of terms: how could an elf, famed for being the only truly immortal ¡®mortal¡¯ species, outlive their natural lifespan? In truth, what it means for an elf to be considered an Elder of their species is different from most others: they must have transcended their bare mortal shell, becoming one with their surroundings in all things. Many elves have a soul which perfectly resonates with their home, but the Elders have a soul which effortlessly conforms to wherever they are. Their body may or may not change to match their soul, but many Elder Elves have such superlative control over their own bodies that they can mold it with but a thought. Some are even capable of assuming forms far beyond the standard elven shape, taking upon the hides of beasts or the feathers of birds should the desire strike them. Due to their perfect attunement with their surroundings, the Tapestry around them veritably leaps to their bidding. They possess little direct magical power (save for any which they may have mastered over the course of their long lives) as a result of this mantle, but not only does this perfect connection with their surroundings give them a nigh-inexhaustible source of power to draw upon, they may push their will out into the area, and may end or begin droughts with a word, dam up rivers or call upon them to sweep away any trespassers, and cause fields to lie fallow or flourish by simply passing through. They are the voice of the wilds, the voice of the earth, the voice of the heavens. This is not a short process, and while there exist very few records to the age at which Elder Elves achieved such a status, but it is certain that it takes at least a millennia of extensive traveling to truly even stand a chance of achieving such a vaunted mantle. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Notable Elder Elves include Soiran the Herald, Tesath the Singer of Rain, and The Blightfather.
Elder Gnomes are barely recognizable as the species they were born as, behaviorally. Gnomes, after all, are defined by their obsessions in a manner not dissimilar to humans or dwarves. Their apparent age is directly tied to how strong their desire to live is, after all, and so is much of their appearance. When a gnome ages, their body either darkens or fades, until it is eventually pure white or pure black, and they pass away. Elder Gnomes manage to survive this process, sometimes due to a genuine curiosity to learn of the other side of age, other times due to an awakened obsession with life itself. Regardless of the reason, they of course cease aging; how could the Fading affect them, when they have already faded? Being pure black or pure white, they are the most immediately recognizable as Elders, and they wholly lack the obsessive need to do things which their younger brethren experience, leading to drastically different behavior from them. Similarly, their innate magics change in response to their brush with death. While still capable of the same fey-like illusions and tricks as before, Elder Gnomes gain much more of a connection with the dead and the past. They may call upon the recently deceased- dead no longer than they have been an Elder, at most- to learn of the life of others, carefully considering and pondering every new piece of information they come across. In time, this develops into being capable of commanding echos of every soul they¡¯ve communed with, calling upon all their skills into themselves and conjuring illusions with much of the might the individual or group had in life. This overall leads to Elder Gnomes being far less of an individual force of personality as their younger brethren, becoming far calmer and more relaxed, for they¡¯ve touched upon death and found it insufficient. Notable Elder Gnomes include The Pale One, Til¡¯kazzilin Fetcher, and Horas Til of Gravestone.
Elder Halflings arguably do not exist. That is to say, there has never existed a single halfling which has received substantial agreement that they are an Elder, and thus it proves quite difficult to ascertain what commonalities they share. Simultaneously, it is very well-agreed upon that Elder Halflings do exist, or at least ought to, but theories for what an Elder Halfling would be like is controversial. Those curious may wish to read Under Hill and Over Streets, as an excellent exploration into the full suite of theories for what an Elder Halfling would be, however for simplicity only the currently predominant theory will be covered, though those interested are highly encouraged to undertake further research. An Elder Halfling takes the standard breaks of luck that the Species is most well-known for and magnifies it. They are never in a position to die, for their luck always ensures that something is on-hand to prevent it. A coat of mail passed down across generations turning away a spear¡¯s thrust, an assassin¡¯s hand slipping and poisoning the wrong dish of food, a potion of youth becoming mixed in with the halfling¡¯s morning breakfast. No halfling has accomplished immortality in the way associated with Elders, yet the prevalence of halflings accidentally stumbling upon agelessness in one way or another suggests a much stronger trend, particularly given how many of those accidental immortals have incredible strings of luck keeping them alive in other situations. Accordingly, it is very difficult to truly say what an Elder Halfling¡¯s typical capabilities might be, even more than it is for any Elder creature, as no two Elder Halflings are even close to similar beyond the strings of fate holding them to life. Should it be possible for them to ever be in a hazardous situation, they will escape unharmed, no matter how implausible such a situation might be. Notable Elder Halflings of this sort include Lin Ersolin, Ergrain Kull, and possibly Seven-Fingered Jack.
Elder Humans are in some ways reminiscent of Elder Dragons, there exist two distinct methods by which a human might become an Elder. The first is the most similar to other species; while the body of a human simply shuts down and begins to decay around them in normal circumstances, some humans- particularly those who regularly push their bodies to their limits- never surrender to any challenge, to any battle, refusing to allow their bodies to collapse around them, and some succeed. They manage to outlast even death, carrying on past the point of mortal exhaustion and into the transcendental state of becoming an Elder. These Elder Humans are truly physical and mental paragons, almost incapable of growing tired. With limitless stamina and a mind wholly immune to any external influence as only the start of their usual capabilities, Elder Humans may not possess the grand-sweeping magical prowess that other Elders may have, but with their strength, speed, and durability only increasing as they age, the mightiest Elder Humans are nigh-unstoppable juggernauts capable of felling mountains with an errant strike, can catch a falling star, and even defy minor gods yet survive unharmed. The second form by which an Elder Human may take is controversial, in whether or not it ought to be considered truly an Elder classification. It is, of course, the dedication of themselves, body and soul, to the completion of a task. Oftentimes, this is the defense of a particular location, or the duty to watch over a sacred treasure until a worthy inheritor comes to claim it, or the swearing to pass along an important message. In some cases, the human may be so devoted to carrying out this duty that nothing can dissuade them. Oftentimes, this will result in a particularly driven spectre carrying out the body¡¯s task it had even after death, but in others, death may never arrive. Their bodies may waste away or they may remain hale and healthy, but such Honorbound Elder Humans will only perish to the fulfillment of their task. Injury or poison, disease and starvation, none will prevent the human from completing their task. Wounds will heal, poison and disease will do nothing, starvation and dehydration may cause their bodies to wither, but their life will persist until such a time that their duty is complete. At that point, they pass away, often crumbling to dust or dissolving into motes of energy. Their life is complete, and so it is fulfilled. In the unlikely event that an Honorbound Elder does somehow die, they almost always linger as a spirit until their task is complete, at which point they too pass on. Notable Elder Humans include Heru of Alnus, Maximilian Alexander, Xoat the Wanderer (of the normal type), and Watcher Eru (honorbound, naturally). On The Mortal Realms From ¡®Introduction to the Planes,¡¯ by T. Ketzvih:
The mortal realms are, unsurprisingly, the most hospitable realms to mortal life within the entire cosmos. While many planes- and even realms in total- can be inhabited by mortals, it is the mortal realms from which all mortals come from, and there wherein they most feel at home. Rare, are the Voids large enough to swallow an entire world. Rare, is the fire which threatens to wipe out all life upon a continent. Here, all life can flourish freely, and mortal magic is at its most potent. Perhaps such is something of a disingenuous claim, given mortal magics are often made with the Mortal Realms in mind, but it is certainly the cradle of the most diverse sorcerous effects across the cosmos.
Material The Material realms- in particular the Prime Material, are where I (and presumably you) make our homes. It has the most pleasing balance of all the realms, where magic functions as it ought; all elements may be found in good (though rarely equal) proportion. The air is breathable to mortals, the ground will not give way in most places, and countless continents serve as islands within an eternal sea- or perhaps an enormous lake is surrounded by land, who can truly say? The Material planes are true planes, and stretch infinitely in all directions. This does indeed mean it is impossible to reach the edge of the world traveling by land or sea, and flying up or digging down will not lead to either the Divine or Elemental realms respectively, despite common legend. Instead, should you progress far enough, you will instead find another sky-island, or a cavern large enough to hold a world, or an ocean so vast it is impossible to fathom. The Material Realm¡¯s most interesting feature from a realmistry perspective is that it has the most Slips of all the realms. While nearly all Planes possess them in some frequency, only the Material Realm possesses true Slips in such quantity and with such frequency that it does seem that everything emits mana constantly. Should you kindle a flame within even Faerie, it will not gush forth fire mana. Water will not trickle forth mana of its own nature within the Darkrealms. And of course, mana does not behave anywhere close to the same way in the Ethereal, so it is meaningless to compare it thusly. But it is due to this feature which brings some of the strongest ley lines in the cosmos to the forefront in the Material. While the Elemental Realms have their own currents and eddies, and the Divine possess their tides of power, only in the Material will you find such massive and coursing, immaterial veins of magic rushing across the landscape, combining in strange and wonderful ways where they meet.
Darkrealms The Darkrealms are usually thought of as an echo between the Material and the Elemental Realm of Shadow, but to do so is to render it a disservice. While it does indeed bear superficial similarities to Shadow, predominantly due to the perpetual late twilight, eternal eclipses casting long and deep shadows across much of the realm, or simply due to massive barely-lit caverns occupying much of a given plane, it is important to note that everything within the Darkrealms is material. It will not bend and warp with the lightest touch of magic, and is indeed in many ways quite the opposite. The Darkrealms are some of the most impervious to external manipulation of all the realms. Scholars disagree on why this is, but some speculate that it is due to the Shadow-like nature of the realm absorbing and vanishing magic and other energies with barely a trace. As evidence, they point to the generally oppressive nature of the plane towards magic, and how even the simplest of spells can prove substantially harder to cast and significantly more tiring to maintain once it has been created. A basic light spell normally castable by a fourth year apprentice requires a sixth-year initiate instead, and similar increases in difficulty can be observed regardless of the type of spell being used. Others think that it is a shadow of another realm- be it the Material or another- and attempting to change the landscape while only interacting with a shadow is foolishness. As evidence, they point out how even once disturbed, the world of Shadow may slowly reset itself to a given state entirely under its own volition even when successfully changed, and how many planes of the Darkrealms bear a striking resemblance to the geography of other planes Mortal, Divine, and even Primordial alike. Similarly, Slips to the Darkrealms are especially common across the cosmos, and it is fairly easy to stumble into the realm through an unnaturally deep shadow. The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. Yet others believe all who enter the Darkrealms become less real themselves while they are within, as evidenced by the effects it can have on those who live there for generations. The darkness seems to permeate their very soul, and they become darker versions of themselves. In time, all species who live within the realm become little more than wisps of shadow, parasites able to latch upon interlopers not cautious to protect themselves. Regardless of the reason, affecting anything within the Darkrealms can be rather difficult. Not only are many of the inhabitants strange, dark-filled creatures who feast upon life while not seeming truly alive themselves, but the realm itself seems to interfere with magics. Neophyte mages find their magic all but impossible to call upon, archmages find their repertoire substantially harder to call upon, and even experienced planar travelers Yet for all its dangers, the Darkrealms have their immense uses. In nearly every shadow, the Darkrealms twist into a sub-plane, but between those and the relatively low population density for the mortal planes, the Darkrealms are often considered host to the greatest locale in the cosmos for hiding something important or trivial. However, this comes with its own price. Due to how common Slips to the realm are, it is certainly possible for the greatest hidden treasure to mysteriously appear on a plane halfway across the cosmos, having fallen through a temporary Slip to distant lands. This is still phenomenally rare, and many still view the chance as insignificant enough to warrant its use, but in time all which is hidden in the dark will come to light.
Ethereal Many of the Ethereal realms do not properly exist as their own separate layers of reality, but are instead overlaid upon other parts of the mortal realms, simply different. Venturing into the Ethereal from the Material often results in being within the same space, but different in some way. Perhaps walls become translucent and insubstantial, objects become more metaphor than real, and people become more defined by their power of will and magical aptitude than their actual bodies. Perhaps all is the same, other than being perfectly mirrored. Perhaps it is a portion of reality which can be warped and manipulated easier than true Material, lending itself to fantastic displays of warping the fabric of space around the interloper. It is possible to learn much while within the shallow Ethereal, capable of observing the Material while being all but invisible to it in turn. This, alongside the short-distance traversal abilities which can be gained from dipping temporarily into an appropriate plane, are the primary use of this realm. However, the Ethereal is substantially more than simply the shallowest planes. The further from the Material that you venture, the more the mind holds sway. While similar to the Astral in some ways, where it is thought which holds strength, the Ethereal is far more chaotic, and closer to a waking dreamland, a psychedelic axis of reality where anything is possible. A stray thought can rip through the plane like a storm, scattering all in its wake. Literal nightmares are just as real, just as physical as the strongest spell, but so too are the grandest daydreams. It is both wonderful and horrifying, and can change which is most prevalent within the span of a single thought.
Faerie Faerie is certainly the oddest realms which readers of this book are likely to visit, and is in many ways impossible to properly prepare anyone for. The realm itself cares little for rules except insofar as how best to change them unexpectedly for any visitors. Night may fall with the rising of the sun, winter may arrive as an army doing battle with the summer, climbing up a tree may result in becoming stuck within its roots, and walking backwards leads to different places than walking forwards might- and it may well change from moment to moment which orientation leads in what direction. While belief that planes are sapient or sentient may have fallen off as scholarship on the subject has progressed, Faerie is one of the few realms wherein belief that at least several of its planes are aware. This is due in part to the nature of godhood within the realm. While grasping divinity is far simpler on it than almost anywhere else in the cosmos, to do so is to become one with the Realm in a very unusual way. Its proclivities, and that of all other deities upon the plane, overlap and coalesce into a crude form of awakening. This pseudo-gestalt divinity manifests in a unique way upon each plane, and means that while less sensitive to change than the Ethereal, Faerie is no less strange and bizarre. While many of the planes bear a substantial resemblance to the Material, but far more lush with life and positively brimming with magic, others are all but incomprehensible to mortals. Planes where directions are measured in hard and soft, where seasons are armies at war with one another, where a simple name can make the difference between life and death, where beauty is traded for talent and magic is sold for the color of one¡¯s hair. All of those and yet stranger still can be found within Faerie. Magic is ubiquitous within the Realm. While Material realm magic is still technically unreliable, the plane itself is susceptible to strong enough belief. Thus, a well-practiced spell may do as much or more than it had ever managed before, and simply anticipating an event which ought to happen can often be sufficient to cause it to occur in reality as well. Or, in some particularly contrary planes of Faerie, its opposite. While I rarely discuss the inhabitants of the realms in this introductory section, the denizens of Faerie must be prepared for before any interaction occurs. Approaching them unprepared is all but worse than even a death sentence, but proper preparation can yield substantial rewards. Above all, be careful when dealing with Fey. On the Methods of Obtaining a Familiar From Cantrip to Cataclysm: A Comprehensive Guide to Becoming an Archmage, by Archwizard Ail¡¯Finas
Familiars: Familiars are one of the most iconic members of any mage¡¯s retinue. An otherwise-mundane creature, whose mere exposure to magic grants it exceptional abilities and whose presence likewise elevates its master¡¯s capabilities in new ways. Not all mages have a familiar, of course, but those that do tend to leave quite the impression, as the mouthpieces for the mightiest wizards in the world, an intensely intelligent creature as smart as their master, or even as an otherworldly being unlike anything else ever seen. Truly, they are the perfect microcosm of what it is to be a mage: simple interaction heightens both lives in fantastical ways, surely? Naturally, as with any situation that seems too perfect, it is. Relatively few familiars are genuinely wholly mundane creatures outside of the familiar bond, and oftentimes the ¡®benefits¡¯ which are received on either party¡¯s behalf amount to ¡®has a firm bond with another being.¡¯ In addition, there is no truly unique bond between a familiar and their master. While it is true that most mages will only bond to a single creature, it is more than possible to obtain multiple familiars, though this must be done with care. That is not to disparage the strength of the familiar, of course! They are iconic and ubiquitous for a reason, as the array of possible utilities which they may grant is vast. It is mostly to explain that the mere presence of a familiar is not what you desire. Grabbing a mouse and forcing it into a bond will almost never go well. Instead, one must choose their familiar carefully. Or more accurately, choose the method by which a familiar is obtained carefully, as one does not ever wholly choose one¡¯s own familiar. To this end, there are roughly three broad categories by which you can obtain a familiar: Binding, Summoning, and Construction.
Bound Familiars Binding familiars is the classical method of obtaining a familiar, and certainly the most well-established and oldest form. And of this old and distinguished form of bond, there exists the oldest and most distinguished of all, the Classical method. The concept behind a Classical bond is simple- using a ritual, create an ongoing magical pulse looking for the appropriate form of resonance between the caster and their future familiar. Once the future familiar has been located, it attracts them to the ritual site, where the ritual then binds its soul together with the caster. Depending on the locale, the type of creature which may be summoned this way is usually mundane. Classical bonding produces the most reliably positive results, as the bonded creature always shares a high degree of compatibility not only with the personality of the mage, but also their magic. Accordingly, familiars bonded in this manner are especially good at serving as a channel for their master¡¯s magic, and thus any spell cast on or through the familiar is easier and more powerful. Furthermore, it is the least likely to result in any personality damage, as the attracted animal is assured to be compatible with the mage¡¯s current personality and even true goals. A Classical familiar may often look unimpressive, but it is never a bad choice. This method is also the most likely to awaken magic within the familiar, in a manner appropriate to both the creature and the master, and such magics and powers are stronger within Classically bonded familiars than in most other familiar bonds. The second method by which a Binding-type familiar bond might take place is through a directed soul bond. Known as Chosen familiars, this is a much newer method (pioneered by Kiaski in 3928) which eliminates the first portion of a Classical familiar ritual, namely attracting a compatible creature, in favor of directing more power to the actual binding of the familiar. This allows for bonds between less compatible individuals, but has the inherent drawback of being between less compatible mages and familiars. A Chosen familiar is ideal when a mage has a specific creature which they desire to bond with, usually one less common or more magical than a mundane animal. Pseudodragons, drakes, unicorns, and ethrids are all common Chosen familiars. Over time, this type of bond deepens as the soul bond slowly morphs the two souls into being more compatible, but likewise has a substantially higher chance of bond rejection compared to all the other types. Even when completely successful, Chosen familiars have the highest chance of altering their master¡¯s souls and personalities in an undesirable way. Increased aggression, paranoia, and antisocial tendencies may all manifest depending on the new familiar, and even the mage¡¯s magic may be damaged if the familiar is suitably incompatible. This can be insidious, as well. What may appear to be a perfect bond before the ritual may still hide some misalignment on true personality or goals, to such a degree that the mage may not even be aware of it. Despite all the drawbacks, Chosen familiars are very popular for good reason; being able to directly bond to a magical creature can often lead to the mage developing minor innate magical abilities corresponding to the creature. Faerie dragons often grant an affinity for illusions to their masters, unicorns a measure of resistance or immunity to poison and disease, and so forth. While such backspill is perfectly possible with a Classical familiar, the odds of bonding to a sufficiently magical creature is far lower. The third type of bonded familiar are Pact familiars. These are familiars who by some innate magic are capable of entering into a soulbond of their own volition. Faeries, some dragons, and many outsiders are all capable of this phenomenon, and the nature of this familiar bond can vary wildly. In general, however, they still provide the standard benefits which are associated with familiars: A singular creature which is far more receptive to the mage¡¯s magic than other beings (such as how a draconic imprint or standard familiar bond allows the mage to wholesale bypass a dragon¡¯s normally formidable resistance to magic), an empathic or directly telepathic bond, and a heightening of the mage¡¯s magic in some form. Of course, due to the highly variable nature of creatures with this ability, it is challenging to say anything properly meaningful about this class of familiar as a whole, and I would encourage anyone considering a Pact familiar to seriously study their options and the dangers therein, as it is all too easy to accidentally end up with your soul sold to an imp or sprite with nothing to show for it in return.
Summoned Familiars The second class of familiar are summoned familiars, which encompasses familiars originating from a layer of reality other than our own. Elemental spirits, devils, demons, and angels all can make excellent familiars if handled properly, but are inherently less compatible with any mortal spellcasters attempting to bind them. In truth, naturally, to say that there are only three types of bonds is somewhat misleading. After all, many Pact familiars are summoned in a manner quite akin to a ritual classified as Summoning. To that end, Embodied Spirits are quite akin to a more normal bond, with an incorporeal spirit added as an additional party in the bond, acting a bit as a mediator and a bit as an additional familiar altogether. These familiars have something of an advantage in that even if the animal itself dies, the spirit possessing it persists and can be added into a new host via a substantially simpler ritual than the original binding, as well as the obvious advantages of not having to re-familiarize with a new familiar. The abilities which Embodied familiars usually grant to their masters are either perceptive or mental-type powers, usually connected in some way to the type of animal they are inhabiting (such as the ability to communicate with other creatures of that type). Furthermore, the mage also gains a weaker form of the benefits which correspond to the creature which the Embodied Spirit is utilizing as a host. The familiar, for its part, gains a form of the benefits normally associated with their host while retaining their full intelligence. Embodied spirits do have an unusual (but not assured) chance of causing slight mental dissociation between the mage and their body, with the mage thinking of their body as not so much ¡®them¡¯ so much as something which they merely control. This can have¡­ unfortunate consequences for the psyche, but is fortunately still rare even with Embodied familiars. Disembodied familiars, by contrast, are spirits without a permanent host. Oftentimes, they may reside in part or wholly within the soul or body of their master and only venture out to possess or scout the area. These familiars are inherently incorporeal and occasionally invisible, or occasionally appear as a ghostly spirit of some form often resembling an animal. They provide little in the way of direct magical power to their mages, but can serve as excellent sources of knowledge and wisdom, with inherent insight into the ebbs and flows of the planes, destiny, and magic itself. The bond with the mage also makes them uniquely attuned to their master, and can thus serve as an almost perfect tutor for many subjects. Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. Alternatively, Disembodied familiars may possess a compatible magical item, directly enhancing its power by utilizing their innate magical prowess to bypass some of the normal limitations of inanimate magical items without resorting to direct necromancy. While whether or not this use of a Disembodied familiar ought to be counted as a separate type of familiar is heavily debated, it is fundamentally the same type of spirit and bound in the same manner as a ¡®truly¡¯ Disembodied familiar. Regardless, many intelligent magical items either are or started their existence as a Disembodied familiar. Disembodied familiars, when bound into an item, do serve as excellent general magic foci, and there are theories that in fact all general magic foci involve a Disembodied familiar (or a similar spirit, at least) in some form. The third type of summoned familiar is the Animus familiar. Despite the name, there are in fact no animals involved in this process. Instead, the ritual is focused on calling out to an elemental or divine spirit and creating a suitable vessel for its habitation. While this vessel may well be reminiscent of a mundane animal, it is a true outsider, with no mortal biology. This type of familiar is usually the worst for outright channeling of magic, but it is bound to the mage¡¯s strength in such a way that there is little need for it to serve as a direct conduit of spell energy. Instead, it independently grows in strength and magical potency alongside its master, and the reverse may also be true. The type of spirit is intimately tied to the caster (elemental specialists always summon an elemental corresponding to their magic, for example), but beyond that connection virtually any kind of spirit, from a mighty primal elemental to a lowly demon, may all be called upon in this method. These are the most challenging to control, as they are the most free-willed of all familiar types. Overall, they are best for a mage who possesses a patron of some form or another (common among priests, for instance) and desire a bond with one of their patron¡¯s servants, and thus an indirect connection to their patron or god. This also binds them ever-closer to their patron, or the home plane of their familiar, which sounds substantially worse than it usually is. It does still tend to have a noticeable impact upon the mage¡¯s personality, however. The final type of summoned familiar is the Manifested familiar. In truth, there is some debate as to whether a Manifested familiar even is a true familiar, as it is not a creature by most metrics. Instead, it is functionally a form of autonomous spell. It is by far the most challenging type of familiar to gain, as not only is the ritual needed immensely complex, it is so intimately tied into the mage¡¯s personal magic as to require completely re-deriving the spell not only for each mage, but also each familiar the mage may desire. In return, a Manifested familiar is a functionally perfect channel for the mage¡¯s magic and can effortlessly both accept empowering magics as well as serving as a channel or source for any spells cast. In addition, the custom nature of the spell means that in theory a familiar can be perfectly suited for whatever task the mage so desires. They may be able to fly, or turn invisible, to shapeshift or to serve as an automatic scrying point, with the power to dominate small animals or possess a sapient being. These familiars may be capable of anything which magic itself can do, and thus are immensely variable in ability. It is not all good, however. The mage receives very little in the way of benefits back from a Manifested familiar, as it brings no magic of its own to the bond. In some cases, the mage may even find their magic weakened by the ritual, as a substantial amount of their magical potency may be locked away by their newly formed familiar. These familiars are usually the closest bound of all types of familiars, being little more than an extension of their master¡¯s will. Some have compared Manifested familiars to the avatar of a god; a living expression of a more powerful being¡¯s abilities and wholly representative of their will.
Constructed Familiars The third category of familiars, Constructed familiars, are a bit of an odd case. They are not, after all, proper creatures in their own right and like Manifested familiars are more an expression of magical prowess. Some categorizations outright include Manifested familiars as a type of Constructed due to many similarities, and is just as correct a choice as classifying them as Summoned. Most Constructed familiars are more than a simple spell, no matter how in-depth a ritual is needed. Golems of all sorts, many forms of undead, homunculi, and various forms of automata are the most common Constructed familiars, but beyond differences in their actual creation and abilities associated with their forms, all function broadly the same as familiars. They do not add any innate magical abilities to their master, but usually serve as an excellent conduit for further spells. They are most often linked via telepathy, and do not possess any mind of their own (though some do develop some level of sentience and sapience in time). They have whatever inbuilt magical abilities their creator manages to imbue within them, and nothing more or less.
The following guide is meant as a summary when making your decision, but keep in mind that there exists a counterexample for each and every statement made. For more information, do make sure to consult a dedicated work. In summary: All Familiars: Bound Familiars: Classical Familiars: Chosen Familiar: Pact Familiars: Summoned Familiars: Embodied Spirit Familiar: Disembodied Familiar: Animus Familiar: Manifested Familiar: Constructed Familiars: On the City of Ikraish From a private letter, written in an unknown language:
Greetings, my master. Located where the Rorshin River meets the Istland Sea, Ikraish is perhaps the wealthiest city seaward of the Redrock Mountains. One of the eldest cities in the area, having survived the fall of the Old Empire, it has managed to remain an independent city-state for nigh a millennia at this point, and it is only partially due to the lack of any appreciable threats. Their economic and cultural might is unmatched in the surrounding area, and there are at least three cities between it and any other locale which might contest it in grandeur. While many of its neighbors receive food, weapons, mages, or other vital parts of their well-being from Ikraish, they remain self-sufficient enough to not be wholly dependent on the city, yet. Given a few years and the incredible surge in prosperity the city has been undergoing over the last few decades, that is liable to change of its own accord, but as of now other than serving as the spiritual center of the Istland coast, exerts little of the direct control it might. With some prodding, it could well serve as a prime seat for the capital of a new Empire. What holds them back right now is perhaps how, for all the appearances they put on as a wholly united state, are simply how fractious the power structure of the city is. If they were to cease fighting one another for but a year? They could do much, yet they never would. While the majority of the city¡¯s power is technically held by the Lord-Mayor, an office currently held by Ori Visthall, it is hardly worth the title. No, instead there are what I would identify as eight primary factions which dictate the city¡¯s governance regardless of who sits at the head of the court. The first is the church itself; it has less in the way of economic might as the other factions, but is incredibly integral for cultural legitimacy for the other factions, as it is through the church that not only is the office of Lord-Mayor appointed (and can be revoked at will), but each of the seven other major players which control the economic aspects of Ikraish claim a patron god from the pantheon which the church represents, and are thus the primary mediators for all power plays. High Priest Elu is the one responsible for interpreting the will of the gods and nominating the Lord-Mayor. He also possesses a Bestowal, and while I have been unable to ascertain the exact nature of it, I do know that healing is within its purview and suspect it may pertain to water. Similarly unknown is if his second, High Priestess Erian, has a Bestowal of her own, though I suspect not. She has demonstrated no capacity for working miracles, and is strictly limited to the more traditional magics of the church, and in such magics may be more skilled than Elu. At minimum, he often defers to her for all ritual magics pertaining to light, sound, and fire. Whenever a ritual includes a water component, Elu will use that position, and if a ritual would not be disrupted by such, may pretend to utilize water in other rituals, potentially to disguise the fact that Erian is the primary classical mage within the church. The church¡¯s magics are primarily ritual in nature, and certainly the most sophisticated of all Ikraish. Two or three-element rituals are commonplace, with some of the most elaborate being seven-element and requiring the full host of priests and priestesses to perform. While I have been unable to precisely determine the actual effects of the spells, they are allegedly fairly standard blessings- favorable trade winds, good harvests for the surrounding area, and warding off malign spirits and disease. More common are the three social rituals- naming ceremonies, marriages, and funerals. These I have been able to ascertain for their effects, and are a minor disease and poison purging ritual in addition to the normal effects of a naming, a fertility aid, and a psychopomp caller respectively. The newly most powerful of the seven houses is House Goldleaf, and serves as the primary cause of the city¡¯s recent surge of prosperity. Originally an offshoot of the now-defunct House Greenleaf (which focused principally upon agriculture), Goldleaf specializes in material alchemy, particularly purification and the measurements thereof. About a century and a half ago, they developed a new method of purification unmatched elsewhere and became the principle issuer of coinage not only for Ikraish practically overnight, but as their reputation spreads so too does the cities which prefer Goldleaf coinage. Utilizing this wealth and power, they began to function as a bank, principal moneylender, and insurance seller for Ikraish. Essentially any money which goes through the city finds its way to Goldleaf, where it is re-minted into perfectly standardized coinage through their house magics. Silver ¡®Runes¡¯ are worth approximately one day¡¯s wages for an unskilled laborer or the average cost for a single rune upon a magical item, and are the primary coinage the city deals in, though it also utilizes gold ¡®Arts,¡¯ short for ¡®Artifacts,¡¯ and copper ¡®Lines,¡¯ more commonly nicknamed ¡®Scratches¡¯ as a larger and smaller denomination, respectively. They take their house-mark very seriously, and counterfeiting their coinage is considered the highest order of crime within the city. As the exceptional purity and consistency present in Runes and Arrays makes them exceptionally desirable in the surrounding, this is the primary benefit which Ikraish grants the grander area, and any disruption to their function would seriously impact the entire economy which is built around the city. They claim patronage from Morae the Crow, god of death and wealth. The second-strongest house is much more tightly contested, but it is my belief that the honor goes to House Errhol, which serves as the primary force behind the city¡¯s military. Of all the factions, it has the strictest divides between the other houses and families which cling to their own identity even as House Errhol increasingly attempts to render them irrelevant. This includes House Redleaf, The Sclir Family, House Orrin, and House Ishrael. Of all the factions, it is perhaps unsurprising that the house focused upon training city guards, defending the city from attack, and providing mercenaries for hire would have the most combat-relevant magic. Their local fireball is especially focused, and has very little in the way of explosive prowess. Instead, it manifests as approximately fist-sized and as hard as solid rock, yet as fast as an average mage-sling, capable of breaking bones or puncturing even orc-hide. It will not explode until it has come to a complete stop, and even then the detonation is very tightly controlled, hot enough to burn flesh but brief enough as to not start fires, and not hot enough to melt coins. Their cast time is on average ten seconds, but I have witnessed Senior Battlemage Tarik Redleaf perform a two-second version while losing no potency. Their mage-sling is mostly specialized for small, approximately coin-shaped projectiles, sometimes even using actual coins. More commonly, they utilize iron spell-disks inscribed with companion runes meant to further enhance the spell. Their spell foci for these are quite interesting, oftentimes utilizing staves which have been hollowed out to accept a stack of their projectile-coins. Average cast time for their mage-sling is as low as five seconds for a single coin, but the preferred version is a ten or twelve-coin collection taking approximately fifteen seconds. The head of House Errhol, Oclir Errhol, is capable of chaining multiple mage-slings together into a single cohesive whole, requiring three seconds to begin but thereafter able to launch five disks every four seconds. Other commonly used spells include a wind blast (either entirely in a burst or sustained, at seven and fifty-four seconds cast respectively), a directed torso-sized telekinetic shield attached to the focus (thirty second cast but can be maintained while using other spells), and a moderately flexible water whip (sixteen second cast) which the Sclir Family specializes in. Most members of House Errhol are of course mundane, favoring a weapon approximately between a spear and a glaive, a large dagger-blade resting at the end of a six-foot haft, and a shield made of cloth stretched over a wooden frame. Mundane and magical members alike favor cloth armor as made by the Salliar Family, with styles ranging from full scholarly robes to more typical combat garb, wrapped in many layers of cloth. This is usually kept pristine, but there is a single cord of cloth wound around the warrior¡¯s right arm. On a novice, this is pure white, but is never once cleaned or repaired, and accordingly the more experienced the warrior the worse condition the band is in, until Senior Battlemages who possess no band whatsoever. They claim patronage from Eirr, goddess of fire and war. The Terrestria Family, led by Elder Shias are the second faction in contest for the second most-influential, as they are responsible for creating and maintaining much of the city¡¯s infrastructure, with a particular emphasis on stone. While their magic is incapable of mending broken stone, they are capable of making exceptionally precise cuts and fairly advanced infrastructure-level terrakinesis. Sculptures crafted by them look all but wholly alive, and some of their most impressive buildings appear as though they were chiseled from a singular block of stone, such is the quality of interlocking stone that they have accomplished. Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. The Terrestria are similarly responsible for maintaining the roads and walls of Ikraish, and thus have a fair number of reinforcement-type rituals which they utilize on any stone of real merit. This renders it almost immune to all magics which they have encountered, instead diverting extraneous thermal and kinetic energy into the ground it rests upon. Even terrakinesis is inhibited, and a particular ritual- the specifics of which are a closely guarded Family secret- is required to ¡®unlock¡¯ the stone before any change could be made. It does possess a fairly substantial weakness however- the additional wards prevent any further strengthening being used upon the walls, and must therefore rely entirely on their own strength against mundane attacks. That supposed weakness is still obviated in large part from their excellent craftsmanship, however. The Family also has a few sub-families which focus more on earthenware, and it is therein where most mages of the family are trained in their craft, mastering fine-detail use of terrakinesis. They do not lack for strength, as utilizing a ten-mage ritual they are capable of levitating a three-ton solid block of stone nigh eighty feet into the air over the course of twenty minutes. They claim patronage from Jorun, god of the earth, order, and civilization. In the next ¡®tier¡¯ of influence lies first the Salliar Family. While less strictly essential to the function of the city as the prior four factions, their product- enchanted cloths- are nonetheless present in every corner of the city. Originally a fairly minor branch of sail-makers for ships in the port, Salliar developed a special blend of alchemical treatments and enchanted embroidery to render their sails all but impossible to burn, nigh-impossible to tear, and wholly impervious to rot. After establishing complete dominance within the sail-making trade, for what could compete with such perfect sails, they began to extend their reach into other textiles. Accordingly, Salliar Cloth is the material of first choice for armor, protection of fragile goods, and even protection of wood. Though highly enchanted weapons, or a sufficiently powerful spell, is capable of piercing even the finest cloth they make, mundane weapons and even neophyte mages stand little chance against normal high-quality Salliar Cloth, uncuttable and capable of lessening all but the fiercest blows. The lower grades, utilizing only alchemical treatment and no threaded spellwork, are still capable of turning aside a blade if caught on the right angle, while retaining full flexibility for the wearer and scarcely heavier than normal cloths. There exist rumors that they are working on or even have completed other forms of enchantments. Cloth which can be activated with a minor ritual to be as stiff as wood, or to stay hovering in the air, or to catch even nonexistent breezes as though they were a mighty gale. They are, however, unsubstantiated. Recently, leadership of the family passed to a relatively controversial choice, one twenty-year-old Herras Salliar, and he has been quite occupied attempting to secure his power base. House Greenwood seems to be sponsoring the rival claimant Hora Salliar, a substantially older and more accomplished weaver-enchanter, apparently with the hopes that a schism might result in Salliar being subsumed by them. The Salliar Family claims patronage from Oye, goddess of storms, the sky, and light. House Greenwood are the principle woodworkers of the city, and the most direct successors to the former House Greenleaf, which lead Ikraish for many years. While primarily focused in the docks, and House Greenwood does exercise a fair amount of control over the ships coming in and departing besides, they also are the foremost general woodcrafters in the city. One side branch of their faction- the Carver¡¯s Society- is proving surprisingly resistant to full integration, and counts within its ranks perhaps the single most talented carver-enchanter in the city, one Silia Vertur, but other than the singular exception, House Greenwod provides the highest-quality bases for enchanted tools in the city (though are still not that high a quality, their alchemical treatments decidedly lacking in comparison to home, and their runic templates highly inefficient), working closely with the Orestrian Family to equip any and all who require tools. Lead by Desmir Greenwood, House Greenwood has been attempting to expand to performing full enchanting work themselves, and some new prototypes of frictionless axles for wagons have been circulating throughout the city. Simultaneously, a substantial number of their number have been entering the church as new priests and priestesses, possibly representing a potential goal to pull themselves to additional relevance via church intervention, but there has been no evidence of this paying off for them thus far. They claim patronage from Desmes, goddess of agriculture, harvest, and bounty. The Orestrian Family are the primary metalworkers of Ikraish, and have the most extensive library on ritual arrays. It is, after all, them who Terrestria utilizes to create the tools for their stone-raising ritual, who creates the fireball foci and mage-sling staves and spell-disks for House Errhol, even the levitating platforms for House Firlan. Granted, they are less skilled with their actual use than the actual factions which commissioned their use, but it is best to not underestimate the polymage nature of Orestrian mages. Even their mundane members are capable of incredible work in the forge and at an anvil; though not the absolute specialist in most smithing professions (the Farrier Guild being an obvious example), they are nonetheless competent enough that many would sooner utilize their services than attempt to locate a superior alternative. They work in relatively close cooperation with House Goldleaf, the exceptional purity which the banking faction can command in their metals proving absolutely vital to the runework which Orestrians most commonly need. Alone among the major factions, Orestrian does not rely solely upon Salliar cloth for their armor, family heads instead preferring proper (though far from fully enchanted) scale mail for protection. Likewise, their spell-staves are almost pure metal and entirely self-made, though predictably their fireball and mage-sling are barely above the average proficiency of an Errhol mage. They also claim patronage from Jorun, but more in his capacity as a god of metal and craftsmen than the order and law which Terrestria favors. House Firlan is among the oldest houses within Ikraish yet is paradoxically the least powerful faction of the eight main players, despite being historically among the mightiest. This is due to, despite being the house primarily focused on external trade, being wholly dependent upon the others to adequately perform their function. And, with Goldleaf having commandeered such desire from the outside world, have struggled to retain their grip upon power. Now yes, all the other houses rely on the goods which House Firlan brings into the city, but House Goldleaf and the church control internal trade, it is the creations of Greenwood and Orestrian which enable them to venture beyond the walls, and House Errhol which keeps them safe. Thus, there is relatively little pressure which they are able to apply to the others in their negotiations, and house leader Mallie Firlan appears to be decidedly agitated at the situation. The house¡¯s speciality magic is their transport disks, platforms made of metal, wood, and cloth that are capable of floating slightly above the ground and follow their mage around diligently. The magic seems to be exhausting over long periods of time, as it is rarely in use for more than an hour, during the loading or unloading of a caravan or ship. A few especially talented members of the House are capable of having theirs active nearly constantly, and use the inherent awe of obvious magic as a marketing ploy. Ultimately, House Firlan has little in the way of focus on a particular type of goods they prefer to move; simply whatever is profitable and available. They are the oldest still-powerful faction (not counting the church itself) within the city, having been founded prior to the latest round of record loss. It is known that they were a major player in both the Salliar family and House Errhol coming to power, albeit unintentionally, though that may yet still be apocryphal. Regardless, their physical House is the most physically imposing beyond Terrestria itself, and is the most amenable to hosting travelers (though they consider it quite rude if a stranger leaves while buying nothing from them). At any given time, about a third to half of the house is beyond the walls, seeking their fortune one way or the other, and they command the largest fleet stationed within the city. They claim patronage from Iqis, god of the sea and trade. For the purposes of quick and silent domination, I would advise first an assassination of High Priest Elu and Priestess Erian. Both of them are true fanatics of the local gods, and will refuse to appoint a ruler they are not informed of by the gods. However, the next in line for succession, Priestess Illis (formerly Talia Greenwood) is susceptible to bribery and can be accordingly threatened or bribed to appointing you Lord-Mayor. Disposing of Lord-Mayor Visthall is optional, but not advised. The simple deposition of him and appointment of a new Lord-Mayor would go largely unnoticed. For a more complete takeover, allowing for a stricter seizing of the reigns of power, not only would Lord-Mayor Visthall, High Priest Elu and Priestess Erian need to be assassinated, so too would Senior Battlemage Oclir Errhol, House Head Volin Goldleaf, and their direct underlings need to be slain. Leave Vale Goldleaf alive however, as he is the highest-ranking member of that house liable to cede any power to an outsider in the balance of strength. House Firlan would likely back any coup presented to them which would flip the balance of power to their favor, and are one of the most important factions to leave relatively untouched besides; their external trade networks are far less replaceable than the artisans of their rivals. For maximum chaos or destabilization, assassinate the heads of all eight factions, then the replacement heads for Errhol, Goldleaf, and Firlan. Eliminate the entire church hierarchy, the Lord-Mayor¡¯s entire office, and burn Firlan¡¯s ships. Doing so will cripple the city for several years at a minimum and seriously weaken all the surrounding city-states while they adjust to losing their primary trade network, leaving a prime power vacuum to fill. Sincerely, Your loyal servant. On the Fireball Spell Class notes from a student attending the Es¡¯Takai academy of magic:
Fireball is an elemental explosive battle spell intended to inflict elemental or kinetic damage upon its target and often its surroundings. It¡¯s the single most-common battle spell in use across the world, and has so many regional and difficulty variants, and has been either independently or dependently developed by nearly every known magical tradition with sufficient sophistication to support it. There is no single definition for what is or is not a fireball, but broadly speaking it¡¯s an elemental spell involving a detonation stronger than that of the Flare spell, and usually is prevented from harming the caster by launching the spellframe towards a target as a projectile. The detonation itself utilizes both fire elemental magic and force magic, to create a shockwave and physically harm the target. There are two broad classifications of fireballs, detonation and projectile. While almost all fireballs have both a projectile and a detonation element, the fact that they fly through the air as a projectile and detonate has no influence upon their actual classification. Their classification, by contrast, is classified depending on which stage of the spell the spellframe is focused upon. The broad range of spells which are categorized as ¡®fireballs¡¯ distinctly aid their prominence, as nearly every culture benefits from such a potent magical tool able to be leveraged against any kind of foe which a warmage might face, be it a singular threat or a large group. As well as the two broad classes, there are lots of categorizations based on other features of fireballs: Blast fireballs Blazing fireballs Fragmentary fireballs Incendiary fireballs Meteor fireballs Scribbled on the margin: ¡°What determines if a spell is a fireball or mage-sling? Why is shattering crystal considered a mage-sling spell, and not a fireball variant? Is it because shattering crystal simply uses a random crystal independent of its foci? Is it about conjuring/manipulating matter?¡± Piercing fireballs Pyrotechnic fireballs Seeking fireballs Smokescreen fireballs, Stable fireballs Note scribbled in margin: ¡°Note: who by all the gods decided it was a good idea to use this to play hotrock. Get that story from Professor S sometime.¡± Swarm fireballs Variant fireballs A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. Note in the margins: ¡°Review other spell classifications in case Professor Kounis is the one grading the final.¡± Examples of different fireballs: Fireball Note in the margin: ¡°Who has that much time to spend overcharging a single spell? Meteor Swarm Pyros Torkai Eruption Iashala Note in the margin: ¡°:(¡° Chain Lightning Griadan Chapter art: On the Stokas Vampire From Families of Blood: The Stokas Vampire, by Magus Geshath:
Stokas vampires are a race of undead famous for their thirst for blood, fangs, and ability to create new vampires with ease. Despite only being able to infect humans, halflings, and elves, they are the most common form of vampire thanks to this ease of creating a new one of their kind. Stokas vampires are the authority of rulership made manifest, and many of their peculiarities, so strange and contradictory, make substantially more sense when viewed through this lens.
Introduction: The first and foremost ability which vampires possess is the Blood. It is what gives them life, what gives them strength, and what continues their existence. While most mortals require a vast array of disparate nutrients and forms of sustenance to remain healthy (food, water, magic, sunlight, an absence of miasma), vampires require only Blood. This Blood is intertwined with every aspect of what it is to be a vampire, and is required to make them exist, to spread, to appear as one of the living, to move, and to utilize their magic. Blood must be taken from a living creature, usually consumed in the form of physical blood, the more powerful the target''s life, as well as the more deeply drunk in, the greater the Blood which they may provide. Vampires, not being alive, do not produce Blood of their own. Blood is, of course, analogous to political power. Without political power, a ruler can do nothing, but with it, they can do everything. A king does not produce political power either, it must be bargained for or taken from others, and is the only thing a kingdom truly needs to exist. Each vampire is a part of a bloodline, roughly analogous to a single kingdom, and is first created by a Progenitor, then spread to all vampires which they create, akin to a warlord staking a kingdom and raising up lords. These lords share in the might of the king, and the king shares in the might of the lords, yet they both must work within their own might for all that they do. Similarly, so too is Blood thus shared between members of a bloodline. A vampire may claim Blood from any individual which they themselves have turned, regardless of the distance between them, and they may give Blood to the same. This restriction, of only being able to give or take Blood from vampires which they have personally turned, does not apply if they are a Progenitor or Originator, the top of the power structure. Thus, a vampire which turned themselves into a vampire may claim or bestow Blood from not only any vampire which they have turned, but so too any vampire which those vampires have turned, and so forth until the meanest fledgling. Should this original Progenitor of the bloodline later be destroyed, all vampires which they personally turned become Originators, and may freely claim Blood from any vampire within their smaller portion of the bloodline. This may be understood as the true noble line of a kingdom. Each lord under a king is limited in their abilities, and may be called upon by their king at any time, and so too may the king be capable of calling upon the meanest laborer within their lands for their duty. Likewise, the lord may ask their king for aid and authority when enacting their will, though they may not obligate the king to action. When a noble lineage is ended, so too is the kingdom shattered. Each lord¡¯s authority over their lands is strengthened, yet lose access to the greater might and alliance of the king above them.
A vampire most often appears as an exceptionally well-sculpted member of their race, save for unnaturally pale skin from a complete lack of blood within their body. A starving vampire, with little Blood, will look appropriately emaciated, losing their perfect appearance as their Blood no longer gives them the guise of a living body. A particularly well-fed vampire, by contrast, or one which simply possesses an inordinate amount of Blood (such as a Progenitor) may be all but indistinguishable from a living member of their race, with visible ¡®blood¡¯ and even being warm to the touch. However, even in this well-satiated form, many vampires possess a red gleam within their eyes, a drop of blood which is visible regardless of the darkness they may conceal themselves within. When a vampire is low upon Blood, they look more and more akin to an emaciated skeleton. When completely absent of all Blood, they are outright mummified; black, dry skin stretched out upon a skeletal frame. While they may superficially appear dead in this state, and for most intents and purposes are, being not even aware of their surroundings, this is merely a state of hibernation. They continue to possess a soul and should they be given Blood (from a spawn, their creator, or through simple exposure to living blood), they will awaken. This may be understood as a king, using or being driven from all the political sway which they possess. They do not die as a result of this state, but are powerless and completely vulnerable to any enemies which they may have made. Their kingdom appears dead, and there is nothing to be done until they find more political might either through their own efforts, the efforts of a subordinate, or a gift from a superior. To create a new vampire, all that is required is for a vampire to drain a member of a compatible race completely dry of their lifeblood, then infuse a substantial amount of Blood into the corpse. After some time, the specifics of which are kept secret, a new vampire has arisen as the spawn of its creator. This process is believed to be fairly exhausting to both the creator and the new spawn, and is akin to a king raising up a new lord, at the expense of substantial political sway, choosing one candidate over many others. The mightier the candidate, the easier the appointment, and so too does the greater the lifeblood of a spawn make it easier for their creator to turn them, requiring less Blood from their creator themselves to complete the appointment. Much of this Blood is consumed in the turning, and differing amounts of Blood are required depending upon the bloodline, but any excess Blood serves as the spawn¡¯s initial pool of power.
Powers: Though just as many kingdoms possess great strength in different fields, depending upon their lands and their peoples, the exact magics which a vampire may call upon varies with their Bloodline. However, just as there exist some powers universal to all kingdoms, so too are there some particularly common or outright universal powers that Stokas are able to utilize, as well as the embodiment of rulership which it emulates: You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.
Weaknesses: Stokas vampires, as the most common vampire, possess multiple well-known weaknesses. There is nothing inherent to a holy symbol which repels a Stokas vampire, contrary to popular belief (it is Gai-Shaddah vampires which are weak to symbols of faith). However, for those gods who stand in opposition to vampires, brandishing a symbol of their power makes it substantially more challenging for a vampire to utilize Blood. The exact magnitude of suppression scales drastically, depending on how opposed to vampires, or that vampire in particular the god is, how highly-ranked the priest is, and how mighty the god is in that location. Even the meanest priest is able to bar entry of a vampire hated by their god into a temple, yet a high priest of that same god may be unable to rebuke a vampire when within that vampire¡¯s court. This weakness is not limited to only gods, either. Assuming there exists adequate authority behind the demand, it is possible for anyone to forbid entry of a vampire into their home. In fact, they often require an invitation to enter any private land or structure, but this does not apply if the vampire has some legitimate claim upon the land¡¯s ownership (such as if they are a member of local law enforcement or outright the ruler of the area wherein the residence sits) or if there exists some standing understanding that others may enter, such as for theaters, temples, and shops. It is not sufficient to forbid vampires from entering a public space, either, so long as it would be generally acceptable for an unidentified individual to enter, so too would it be allowable for a vampire to enter. It must similarly be noted, this forbiddance does not outright stop them from using their Blood, nor does it even force them to use additional Blood with their actions or magic, usually freezing them in place. It simply causes all of their Blood to be more challenging to bring to bear, but as noted, it is far from an absolute. Thus, with practice or sufficient Blood within their power, it is possible for a vampire to all but ignore this interference. As with all kings, the power of a vampire is not absolute. As with kings, the will of the gods is often more than sufficient to prevent their political might from being brought to bear, or at a minimum cause substantial difficulty in the process. A king may yet ignore the will of the gods, naturally, and with sufficient allies, crushing a comparatively weak cult is trivial should they overstep their bounds even slightly. Similarly, no king may enter another foreign nation uninvited without inviting a war, but they may freely enter the lands of their vassals, regardless of the wishes of said vassal. Similarly, staking a vampire through their heart makes it impossible for them to use their Blood. While wood is the most effective, metal, stone, or even pure magic are all wholly serviceable alternatives. The distinction is entirely within how quickly the effect begins, but regardless of the material, removing the stake instantly frees all the Blood to be used to full effect. No matter how mighty a kingdom, it is never truly free from the dangers of war, or being cut off from communication. As the heart is the throne of the body, a stake through it will disrupt the use of power just as surely as a siege of a capital city will disrupt the normal flow of power in a country. Of course, when the siege is lifted, the power remains and may be used once again. Wood, being a commoner¡¯s material, is especially effective, as should commoners rise up against a king, the siege may begin, and thus the flow of power cut, far faster than any foreign invader could manage. Daylight is the most well-known weakness of the Stokas. The bright light reveals all, and the truth of the vampire is that they are a long-dead corpse, still walking around in defiance of all that Ought To Be. Thus, the truth of their existence is revealed to the world and it condemns their unliving flesh to death, unless they use an incredible amount of Blood protecting their body. It is speculated that it is not a particular power which allow powerful Vampires to protect themselves from the sun, but rather that they may heal themselves fast enough to be seemingly uninjured by even the sunlight itself. This weakness to daylight is akin to the most potent of all weaknesses of rulership: the illusion of authority. To be a ruler is to be unseen, to be beyond the common folk, to be almost divine, and thus is your authority to rule. A ruler should never be seen outdoors by the common folk, doing common things, to do so is to reveal their mundanity. Instead, all appearances must be controlled and careful, never giving the appearance of weakness, for the appearance of weakness is weakness to a ruler, and nothing ends rule faster than the appearance of weakness. As with all Corrupted beings, silver is a particularly effective tool against vampires in a way completely unrelated to their other abilities. In particular, it cuts off their connection to Blood, meaning wounds inflicted by silver weapons cannot be healed by Blood until the wound is fully cleaned. They may even find it difficult to use magic, as a vampire¡¯s magic depends upon Blood, save for a few exceptionally rare outliers. Lastly, as a vampire¡¯s appearance is a product of their Blood, so too does silver not reflect them. On the Stars and Day As told by the flame-dancers of Pyrreh Long ago, there was only The Crow, for he had consumed all the life of the world. He swept across the sky constantly, his shadow casting an eternal night across all the lands. And without light, without day, without suns, without even the stars, nothing could live. So, Irre decided that she should do something, you see. So she took a bit of fire, and tried to make a light. But as soon as Crow saw the light, he swooped down to try and grab it. But, because it was fire, it simply snuffed itself out as soon as he came close, the beat of his wings mighty enough to put out any flame. But that made Crow angry, you see, for Crow loves shiny things, like coins and fairies, and fire. But because the fire went away when Crow came by, he thought that fire was trying to trick him, so in retribution he swiped his claws across the ground, tearing up rock and forest. You can even still see the place where he dragged his talons, digging through stone and carving deep rivers, to this very day. But Wicked Crow was clever, you see, so Irre couldn¡¯t trick him. She tried to bait Crow down with food, but Crow didn¡¯t care for food. All she could offer were sacrifices, you see, but Crow doesn¡¯t care about the dead. They¡¯re already his. But Irre was also clever, you see, so she gathered together all the people she could, those few who could survive the eternal night of Crow, and she schemed with them. She gave them a spark of her own divinity, bathing them in eternal fire. For when Crow next looked down upon the earth, he saw many, many people upon the cusp of death, fighting and burning, and that were shiny as well. So, he flew down and plucked away each of Irre¡¯s chosen, putting them up in the sky where he kept the rest of his treasures, and all the souls he¡¯d ever taken. There, they glimmer to this day, giving us the stars. But this was only the first part of Irre¡¯s plan, you see. For one by one, they leapt from Crow¡¯s nest, burning their fire as brightly as they could as they fell, bringing day to the world through their twice-sacrifice. And every soul who dies wielding a part of Irre¡¯s power, carrying a hint of that divine spark of fire, they too are taken by Crow to his nest, and keep life living one day more.
As told by the coastal peoples of Estoella The stars are bubbles from the Divine Ocean, far above us as they float to the surface, carrying the air which the gods themselves breathe, releasing the divine breath onto the world and bringing life.
As told in the shallows of the Deepwoods From Haitar¡¯s body, then, the gods created the earth. His blood became the oceans and rivers, his breath became the sky, and his skin and bones, the rocks and dirt. But it was his mind which the gods were most pleased with, for with it they were able to create a vast tree, connecting the earth to the heavens, so that souls might be able to follow it to their eternal reward. But as it is a tree, it can of course bear fruit and must be tended to, each one visible from the earth below as the stars above. Our worship and offerings are what the Tree of Worlds needs to thrive and grow, you see. Our prayers are the air it breathes, and sacrifices are how it is watered. But the gods saw fit to reward us for our service, and they made the tree produce great fruits, from their own table. And every day, Desa plucks a single fruit from the great tree, from its branches within her garden, and gives it to the earth, as a reward and thanks for the worship and aid which the mortals have given the gods. And so long as we continue to worship them, the tree will continue to flower and fruit and we will carry on receiving the fruits of day.
As told by the Iirlan peoples of the Deepwoods Long ago, you see, Hecathar hoarded all the life in the world. Within his garden, he held the Tree of Immortality, which grows great fruits so radiant and bright that simply touching one can strip years of age off a person. To eat one is to taste true bliss, and to become a god. This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. Now, tricky Lirasil wanted a fruit of his own, but had been rejected when he sought them out himself. So, one night he crept into the garden and stole away one of the fruits, becoming a god. However, in the morning when Hecathar walked among his garden, he noticed the missing fruit, and swore to catch the thief. Now, Lirasil wanted another fruit, not content with but a single one of the divine fruit. So the next night, he crept back into the garden, but just as he plucked the fruit from its branch, Hecathar sprung upon the thief. Startled, Lirasil let go of the branch by which he was holding onto, and fell, still holding the fruit. He was so startled, and so desperate to escape Hecathar, that he fell all the way to the mortal world, bringing with him the first day. When Lirasil saw the good which his day brought to the people of the world, he began to continue to return to the orchard and continue to pluck fruits from right under Hecathar¡¯s watchful gaze, escaping to the mortal realm each day and sneaking back into the divine garden each night.
Response given within the Halls of Glintstone There¡¯s no sky, boy, it¡¯s just a cavern far higher than you or I could ever see. The stars you see are proof ¡®o that much, they¡¯re the vast gems stuck in there, and each day Gorah tosses another one down to us, where he¡¯s building up his treasure. One day, he¡¯ll pluck the last star from the sky and rest upon his treasure, you¡¯ll see.
As told in the city of Deepfalls In the beginning, there was only darkness in the heavens, and the gods could not see what their followers were attempting to do. They could not tell to whom the sacrifices being burned were meant to go to, could not reward the faithful or punish the wicked. But, they looked jealously upon the fire of man, which they used to see one another and offer their sacrifices. So, Istuthlar set his servants out to gather up all the fire upon the earth, taking it from all peoples. Once he had all the fire in the world, Istuthlar set each of his servants on watch, with a bit of all the world¡¯s flame set within a lamp, burning divine oil ever-so-brightly. Whenever a mortal wished to make a sacrifice, he would send a servant down with their lamp to ignite the flame. Now tricky Irath grew annoyed at Istuthlar for taking all the sacrifices solely to himself, so one night while Istuthlar was asleep and not watching his servants as they surveyed all the world, he stole out to the heavenly fields they stood upon and tripped one of the servants, then ran away. As the servant fell, they released their grip upon their lamp, attempting to steady themselves. This star fell from the sky, bringing the first full day and giving fire back into the world. So great was this first sun, this vast drop of fire, burning all the oil within its lamp that it burned the earth itself, creating the Chasm. Now, every day Irath sneaks out and trips another servant as they stand upon their watch, giving fire to a new part of the world, that they might all give sacrifice to the gods.
Response given by the island peoples of Ostiel The stars are but the light of the celestial sea far above us, sparkling and illuminating the heavens as they do the earth. Day is but caused by the great Ostithe, splashing about and sending drops of water falling to the earth below and causing the tide as it floods the oceans wherever it lands. If you want to see what the stars are, go look in the water.
As told by the Glizzaitl of Deepfalls They¡¯re there to hold the sky up, of course. Back when the gods built us our home, they needed something to hold out the eternal chaos, and so they draped a great black sheet against the roof, and stuck it as tight as they could, the stars as their nails. Now of course, the chaos didn¡¯t much like being held out from here, so now Tiktilli is running around constantly tryin¡¯ to repair it each day when a nail falls out. ¡®S all there is to it, and if they land on ya, well yer in for a bad time, just look at the big hole.
From the Industrial district of The Great City One day, Caris was working and trying to brew something spectacular. Nobody knows what it was, for she refuses to say, and insisted that it would speak for itself once it was completed, but we do know what was in it. Divine fire, fruit from the Tree of All, dust from the Iluv, mithril from the deep stone, and the souls of a thousand thousand faithful. When she finally completed it, she rushed to the foot of Mount Sianad to deliver it to the other gods, but she tripped and sent the potion scattering into a thousand thousand droplets, spread across the sky. Each droplet was one of the souls of the faithful, of course, and as they fell to the ground they brought with them both the day and as they landed, were reborn as a being of divine might, becoming a dragon. When a dragon dies, its soul returns to a drop of the divine elixir in the sky, bringing about another day once it falls to the earth once again.
As told by the Hunters of Isalar For then Isular saw all the evils of the Dark Ones, and gathered to himself his angels. To them, he said that they must watch for his children, that some of them were corrupting themselves and debasing their own nature in a vain attempt to surpass even his own might. So, he set them out on watch. For the Dark Ones, yes, but so too any other Corrupted beings which might attempt to harm the mortals of the world, both of his own people but also those of all species. Whenever they see an evil being born, they fly from the sky, bringing the day and pushing back the wicked things of the night, and seek to vanquish all Corrupted as a being of pure silver. On the Nature of Bestowals From a sermon by High Priest Ethalar: And so too do the gods Bestow upon their servants a gift of their might, that they may be closer to the divine. Those angels who serve the heavenly realm, each granted authority over a piece of the divine to bring the rains, to guide the winds, coax the seedling from its slumber. It is they who paint the sunset with their wings, they who brush dew upon the ground each morning! It is their duty to maintain the world, and a heavy burden it is. Such, give them praise. And so too, may a particularly devout and holy mortal, be given such a blessing. Those chosen by the gods in such a manner are truly blessed to be Bestowed with such grand authority. Heed their words, for they are wise and chosen to be exalted above all others. Such, give them praise. Yet may ye all beware those most wicked creatures who have been corrupted by the Dark, for their very soul has been tainted into a wicked mockery of the Bestowal! They have been inflicted with the curses of their masters, and can be quite dangerous as they blight fields, inflict sickness, and deliver kill livestock with but a glance. Truly, there exists no redemption for one afflicted by the Dark Gods, as their every thought is devious and turned only to spreading ruin. To be given such a ¡®gift¡¯, let alone be practiced in its use, necessitates many a foul disease or innocent sacrifice be offered to the wicked and the damned.
From The Ikar: To be Chosen, to be Bestowed with power by a god or their servant is to possess a mighty destiny, and it is thus most important to fully comprehend the magnitude of the gift given. For to be Chosen is to possess a shard of divinity itself, a direct connection to the gods, to be made unto the angels themselves. It is to act as the ambassador of the gods themselves, using their might upon the earth and with your very action, expand the domain of the divine. When the Bestowal is first given, it is but a dim star, the capability granted but the tiniest spark of the god¡¯s divine might. Orrae¡¯s Bestowal of Flame may begin as but a simple ability to cause a sacrificial flame to light itself. Yet as the gift is delved deep within, as it is explored and mastered through discipline and mastery of scripture, practicing and mastering the gift, it shall not only be easier to call upon but so too will new abilities unveil themselves, the divine gift expanded and empowered as a second, third, or yet more still Bestowals are formed within the soul. This expansion, this budding of divine might, is the true purpose of a Bestowal. To produce a bud, it is necessary to push beyond the limitations of the initial gift. A Chosen capable of lighting a flame may expand to grant control over flames, or to summon pillars of fire to defend the temple, or to heat a piece of metal to be forged, or used to soothe those chilled. In doing so, not only does the Chosen demonstrate the might of the divine but so too do you spread their domain unto new fields, serving not only as an exemplar but a forebear as well. It is thus the duty of the Chosen to train, and to expand, then pass on their skills to the next. For the gods need not grant their Bestowal upon each and every soul. Those they raise up to enact their will, those angels and spirits, and yes those priests possessing of their own Bestowal, who may pass along the gift of divinity. This is a gift, it is passing along hard work and dedication to another, that they may take and expand upon the work already done, reaffirming the original gift or carrying onward, forever growing the divine reach of our patrons and growing in power. Yet not any may take this gift. Only those truly in alignment with the divine may serve as their living temples, their channels into the world. Those with wickedness in their heart may never receive a Bestowal of the Holy, just as those without stain cannot receive the Corruption of the Profane, as- This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. (A large section of the text has been rendered illegible, faded with magic and written over by a different hand) Absolute nonsense! Bestowals have nothing to do with being so good that you begin to embody your god in action as well as mindset, they aren¡¯t any kind of reward, nothing like that. Doesn¡¯t matter if you get it handed by a god itself or an elderly priest who wants to retire, it¡¯s all the same once it¡¯s in your soul. A Bestowal is an enchantment, nothing more and nothing less. Well, an exceptionally sophisticated enchantment which relies upon a godly portfolio to function, but an enchantment nonetheless! You don¡¯t get them from ¡®living the true life¡¯ a god wants you to, you don¡¯t get it by doing all your sacrifices and dedicating yourself to a single deity, you get it by being the closest mortal in reach to whatever spirit is trying to pawn a job off to someone else. You get a bit of magic, sure, but it¡¯s rarely anything you couldn¡¯t do with a proper ritual. What¡¯s more, you only get that one bit of magic, unless you want to spend months or even years trying to figure out how to use a power to make someone bleed out faster to heal, or control a river of blood, or what have you. Oh, it¡¯s possible, alright, but you gotta fight it, basically trick it into thinking that it could always do that thing, then and only then will your second-rate magical spark split itself in half and you get to start the whole process over again if you want to learn a third spell. And if you want to be able to pass off the Bestowal to someone else? Well, good luck. Hard to tell half the time why the stupid thing won¡¯t be passed along, even when the recipient is the most eager-eyed and hearted lad to ever serve. No, there¡¯s no godly will behind passing the spark, it¡¯s just based on the person¡¯s magic, I¡¯m sure. Oh, and you better hope that if you don''t get a Bestowal that used to be its own spirit! The last thing you want is a chatty angel giving you lectures about how best to use its magic and morality at every waking moment. Sure, it can give some pretty good advice, and even act on its own like it used to, but it is not worth having it for a chatterbox endlessly yammering on in your head. If that happens, try to bud off a new power as soon as possible and pawn off the original spirit to some other poor sap.
From A Study of the Gods, by Istal A Bestowal is a single idea, a single divine spark, granted, or Bestowed, to a non-deity. Some servitor spirits, such as the angels, may be nothing but a Bestowal, a fraction of divine might given form, thought, and word. The Crow¡¯s Arch-Heralds are the Omens of Death, Wealth, and Rulership, each wholly encompassing an aspect of the Crow¡¯s domain. Each of these Arch-Heralds in turn grant a section of their granted domain to their servitors, who may pass it along to yet more, each fragment more specific than the last. The Omen of Death, as an example, has passed off a fragment of its divinity to the Omen of Pestilence, who may in turn Bestow dominion over a single disease to either a new spirit created as an embodiment of the Bestowal, or passed to a mortal with the authority to inflict or cure that disease as they see fit. This divine idea fundamentally alters the magic of whom it was granted to, making it trivial for them to work magics pertaining to their idea, requiring neither focus nor chant, yet very difficult to explore beyond that for the simple reason that their magics no longer work as is typical and thus common spells function quite differently for them. This loss is rarely felt, as the powers granted by the Bestowal easily surpass the mortal magics which could be learned in a similar time, and may be grown and propagated beyond the initial ability. Just as a tree, when mature, may produce seeds, so too does a Bestowal. Substantial mastery of one¡¯s gifting enables them to push beyond the basic limits imposed by the Bestowal and produce a second Bestowal within the soul. An example of this may be that of a Water Bestowed, whose initial Bestowal enabled them to summon pure water, gaining the ability to summon ice, or salt water, or to unleash the summoned water in a mighty wave. There is no apparent limit to this expansion of power, all that is required is the Bestowed commit enough time and mental energy to exploring and developing their gift. This is where the final note of Bestowals becomes relevant, namely their ability to be passed onto another. A Bestowal may not be given to any who already possess such a gift, whether it comes from a spirit or a mortal, but must be given to someone new. It may be given to one who formerly possessed a Bestowal but either lost or gave away all their power. Regardless, this new Bestowal functions just as any other Bestowal would, and the one who passed on their Bestowal loses the ability they gave away. It is possible to reclaim this power in time, but requires a new method than was initially utilized. In this way, a single Bestowal may bud and feed into entire temples, families, even civilizations, so long as the gift is well-exercised and constantly pushed to its limits. In doing so, the portfolio of the god is shaped as certain aspects of their domain are expanded and others diminished. In some cases, this can result in the same god having radically distinct domains between two cultures, as the natural associations and developments develop in completely different ways, led by the Bestowals granted. This, in turn, leads to the natural question of what defines a godly domain? Why does The Crow not have dominion over disease within the lands of Illuviar, where Carame¡¯s Bestowals pertain to plagues instead? As we move on¡­. On the Nature of Souls From A Brief Primer for the Modern Mage, authors including (the list spills on for some time)
The soul is at the heart of all magic. It is what connects the body and the mind to the ethereal, what enables thought and action to push against the elements and enforce change upon reality. Accordingly, a basic understanding of it is essential for any mage to understand not only how they cast the spells they do but also why some magical disciplines are simply incompatible.
To think of the soul being like the body is a fundamental misunderstanding, as each ¡®part¡¯ of the soul is not some distinct portion of the soul, but rather a function which the same fundamental object takes. This can be seen in how a piece of the soul may be partitioned off in any manner chosen, and the budded soul is able to be fully self-sufficient upon its own, even becoming a separate entity from the originating soul in time, developing any portions of the soul which the donating being may have lacked, such as a fragment of a tree¡¯s soul developing a Mind if placed within a sentient but soulless creature. In addition, a single fragment of Aura may be studied to learn of the Akash or Icon, and may be utilized to draw from the Reserve. Yet at the same time, the soul undeniably does have a shape, an exterior and an interior. It is impossible to access the Anima without first piercing the Abla, and the Reserve undoubtedly passes through the Shape before it leaves the soul. The soul is the exact shape of the person, yet it is also an iconography unique to that individual. It is a perfect sphere nestled within the body and a diffuse presence filling the surroundings of a person simultaneously. Souls are composed of quintessence, the same stuff which the Divine realms are formed from. The religious connotations of this besides, it is important to understand that souls do not operate by the normal physical laws. However, as this is intended to be an introduction to the soul¡¯s functions, we shall take it as a given that the soul does what it does and not prove its various aspects. The diligent student may be interested in the mathematical analyses of the soul¡¯s properties which advanced necromancy textbooks may provide, should they desire to learn more.
The souls of most living beings are predominantly Radiance-aligned, with all the wild and insurmountable nature which accompanies that particular element, but some souls may utilize any of the other Foundational Elements instead. This is what distinguishes an Elemental from other types of beings, with the exception of Shadow-aligned souls, which is the domain of undead creatures (and is the reason which Radiance and Shadow are occasionally referred to as the Life and Death elements). While each of these have their own fascinating behaviors, for the purposes of this introductory lesson we shall proceed with the assumption that the studied soul is the Radiance-aligned soul of a sentient mortal creature. There are roughly three sections to the soul: The Aura, the Mantle, and the Core.
Aura The Aura is the outermost part of the soul, comprised of the Abla and Mind. This portion of the soul is dedicated to interaction and protection, interfacing with the world around it to defend the soul. This is often done by pushing potentially damaging magics and energies to the physical body, and is why non-physical attacks, such as pure Shadow, physically harm their target. It may be useful to conceptualize this reaction as akin to a fever, an automatic protective response which can nonetheless cause great harm to the individual. Furthermore, this mechanism can of course be overwhelmed, and leads to soul damage. Furthermore, the Aura is the only part of the soul which can be consciously controlled by the individual. This is most obvious with the Abla, as many magical disciplines utilize proficiency in utilizing it to directly cast magic, stabilize the local Manic field for their own spells, or overriding the Manic field with their Mind and/or Icon, among countless other uses. Nearly every spellcasting tradition utilizes the Abla in some way, but for my example I shall reference Psionics, which manifests the aura physically, either as a force or non-mana energy construct. The other part of the Aura is the Mind, which is the manner by which the soul connects and perceives the world around it. Magical senses nearly all rely upon the Mind in some form, and some magical disciplines utilize the Mind to directly override portions of reality with their own will. The Mind likewise is the portion of the soul which holds all of the individual¡¯s memories and thoughts, directly interacting with the brain (if they possess one) as one of the two intermediaries between body and soul. Likewise, the Mind is the most prone to observation or detection by other magical senses. When viewed with a soul sight spell, it is the Mind that is responsible for the behaviors and characteristics (usually manifesting in colors and patterns) which make it possible to determine emotion, though that can be obscured by the Abla with sufficient practice. Similarly, it is the Mind which Mentalism most interacts with, both when the caster is attempting to overpower the will of the world and as the target for when they attempt to control a living being.
Mantle The Mantle is the middle layer of the soul, and is where the Shape, Reserve, and Icon all reside. Of all three, the Reserve is the simplest to explain, as it is the portion of the soul which holds and produces magic. The exact mechanism by which the soul creates mana is under continuous debate, given how closely tied it is to the debate for the origin of magic itself, and suffice to say that each Grand Theory of Magic possesses their own explanation for the mechanism by which the soul produces mana (some assign this role to the Anima). Investigation into that topic is left as an exercise to the diligent student. Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. Regardless of the method by which it gains mana, the Reserve is the most reliable method of storing magical energy ever found, discounting a few Divine Artifacts. Mana within it functionally never leaks out unless the Reserve is seriously damaged, or when it naturally releases mana beyond its capacity to contain. It can be extracted from, naturally, but doing so utilizes a different method than what occurs when mana passes through the ¡®membrane¡¯ which the Reserve functions as. While most classical magical disciplines rely heavily upon the Reserve, it is Enhancement which most explores its potential. It pushes the mana contained within the Reserve to the rest of the soul and body, empowering both directly instead of attempting to direct it out through the Shape and into the surroundings. The Icon can in some ways be best summarized as the ¡®fingerprint¡¯ of the soul. This is not directly connected to the actions of the individual, but is rarely wholly divorced either. It serves as a semi-abstract summary of the person¡¯s soul in its entirety, yet in a manner disconnected from their Mind and Akash. It is, in some ways, the ¡®inner self¡¯ of the person, and reflects their true intentions and inner drive, modified by any corrupting influences upon them. Enchantments which divine if a given person is ¡®worthy¡¯ often rely upon the Icon, if they do not commune with a god or other divine being. Furthermore, it uniquely impacts the mana of the person, and is widely believed to be the source of mana signatures. It is also one of the two parts of the soul occasionally known as the True Name, and is the more commonly used of the two. Unlike the Ren, the Icon¡¯s True Name can and does change over time in response to experiences underwent by the soul. In some cases, it can interact with the Shape in unusual ways to grant talents unique to the soul. Some Bloodlines reside within the Icon in some form or another, and it serves a foundational role in Essentialism, as it is the basic source from which the user¡¯s Will is imposed upon reality. The Shape is the portion of the soul most often responsible for innate magics. It acts as a sort of spiritual muscle and sculpture simultaneously, and with its position right along the edge of the Reserve, has the most direct access to mana of the entire soul. It is also the easiest part of the soul to actually change (the Aura does not fundamentally change, it is simply controlled), and simple practice will leave an indelible mark upon it. Shaping relies upon this fact, attempting to build up the Shape¡¯s capabilities with minor magical abilities, blossoming from a basic Spark spell into all manner of non-spell magical capabilities that may be called upon with no more difficulty than moving an arm. In addition, many disciplines seek to artificially impose some change upon the Shape. Crystalurgy is the most prominent form of these artificial changes. When a crystal is absorbed, it imprints a specific magical formula upon the Shape, functionally enchanting it as though it were an artifact and forevermore giving the Shape a method by which it can influence the world around it. Thanks to the flexible nature of the Shape, these abilities can be grown through simple practice, but can only rarely be changed fundamentally once set. It is, simply, easier to add to the Shape than to take from it.
Core The Core of the soul, consisting of the Akash, Ren, and Anima, is where the most foundational portions of the soul are located, and as the deepest part of the soul is the most difficult to observe and interact with. There exists some belief that a sum total of all that a being has undergone and accomplished is stored within the soul, in some portion of the soul. Some assign this property to the Ren or Akash, but neither properly possess the correct capabilities. The current leading theory is that there exists an undiscovered portion of the Core known as the Records which documents this, but its existence remains purely theoretical. The Akash is the part of the soul which matches to the body, and acts as the template which automated healing spells, including divine spells, are based from. This is the part of the soul which keeps the metaphysical anchored to the body itself by serving as an excellent match to the body. Shapeshifters who possess multiple ¡®true¡¯ forms, such as werewolves, may possess multiple Akash, one for each of their forms, which informs their bodies as to the correct states wherein they may exist in relative stability. Over time, the Akash shifts in accordance with the body, as beings grow older, and Magimorphosis is the result of extreme exposure to mana (usually from the Icon and Shape) influencing the Akash in their own way. Natural fleshcrafters, including elves, have a far more mutable Akash than typical, enabling them to have their shapeshifted forms function as their ¡®true¡¯ forms for those spells which care about such things. Biomancy, naturally, interacts heavily with the Akash, as practitioners of Biomantic disciplines seek to remake their bodies to be naturally magical, and to do so in any true factor necessitates alterations. The Ren is the other of the two things sometimes known as a True Name. Unlike the Icon, however, the Ren is wholly static. The True Name which it imparts is formed alongside the soul and does not change for the entirety of the soul¡¯s existence. There is no proof that the Ren has any bearing or relation to the personality or capabilities of the individual bearing it, and certainly has no influence over personality. It is, however, completely unique with an infinite number of possible expressions, as proven by Elstat¡¯s Theorem and Torvil¡¯s Proof. No two souls are capable of possessing identical Ren, and thus if two Ren are identical, they originate from the same soul. Binders naturally utilize the Ren frequently, utilizing the knowledge that comes with knowing a soul¡¯s Ren to bypass many of the soul¡¯s defenses. However, it is Inheritamancy which bears a particular mention here, as it is the only discipline of magic which actually seeks to utilize a Ren as an aid rather than a method of control. This is accomplished by bestowing a powerful bloodline onto one of the parents, often overriding virtually all else about them beyond the power of the Bloodline. This occasionally results in the child possessing the Bloodline as a part of their Ren, granting them a potent magical ability which possesses essentially none of the normal drawbacks which come with such and has a far higher likelihood of being passed on. Lastly, the Anima serves as the very core of the soul, a power source and basic structure of the rest of the spirit. It is the Anima which the rest of the soul is built upon, and is completely impossible to destroy, though its indestructibility has not yet been proven. It serves as the power source for the rest of the soul, enabling it to continuously function, and either directly or indirectly fuels the production of mana. Regardless, the healthier and more powerful the Anima, the stronger the surrounding core and being is. It is this very fact which makes dragons so potent, as their Anima (unlike most living creatures, dragons never stop growing their Anima, which grants them strength beyond belief). Similarly, Cultivators seek to grow their Anima, making themselves and their souls substantially stronger and healthier. However, influencing the Anima is exceptionally challenging. On the Training of Mages From A Summary of the Forms of Power, by Priestess Istai (Formerly Elah Salliar)
The process of becoming an archmage is a long and complicated one, beginning as early as the age of seven, when the child is first old enough to properly understand instruction. At this point, they are inducted as a villai and begin learning all the important, yet mundane, pieces of knowledge befitting one of Ethluil. This includes reading, writings, mathematics, religion, as well as proper care of one¡¯s beasts, tools, and ritual components. Depending on the precise opportunities afforded to the villai¡¯s family, this may be served at a temple, court, fortress, manor, or other positions of status, preferably one with ready access to a Tower. The villai becomes familiar with humility, respect, and proper curiosity at this point. Once they are deemed ready, usually at the age of ten, the villai is introduced to the appropriate spiritual exercises required to exercise their magical talent. This is usually initiated by the Ritual of Thoth, which as a matter of course drains all mana from the villai while stressing their soul, giving them a rudimentary sense of each. Over the next several years of education, villai slowly learn and are introduced into the methods by which they can call forth their magic at will. Once they are capable of casting Flare on command, they are considered officially graduated from being a villai, which usually occurs a few years before adulthood, usually about eighteen. At this point, they are officially made an apprentice, serving and learning alongside a more experienced mage and assisting them with tasks mundane and magical alike. During the course of their apprenticeship, the apprentice begins to learn more complex spells from their master. This begins by simply observing the mage at work, and how to cast proper spells. In time, they become a secondary caster in more complex spells, adding their prowess to their master¡¯s, until eventually they are able to work in concert for pair casting. Similarly, throughout this time, the apprentice becomes more familiar with casting utilizing tools; foci, wands, and staves. They learn the spells required for summonings, caring for familiars, and to properly assess the highest-quality ritual ingredients. They also learn the basics of runic inscribing, become more skilled at learning new spells, and may even develop their own specialty. This stage of a mage¡¯s training may last a decade or more before their master pronounces them proficient in rituals, often marked by the apprentice developing a spell of their own creation. Whether or not the spell already exists is immaterial, what matters is that the apprentice was not taught the spell nor did they learn it in some scroll or tome. This ¡®First Spell¡¯ is traditionally quite important in the apprentice¡¯s future career, serving as the backbone upon which all their other works will be measured against, and informing other mages much of the apprentice¡¯s style. A weak or impractical spell is often seen to reflect on the mage, whereas the creation of a genuinely useful spell is seen as the sign of a prodigy. Thus, many apprentices may delay for several years perfecting their First Spell. While not tradition, it has become more common in recent years, as such tools have become more readily affordable, for their master to commission a foci or staff of the apprentice¡¯s First Spell to demonstrate their faith in their apprentice. That it demonstrates their own success and wealth to afford such an exceptional gift is, of course, purely happenstance, and the ostentatious nature of many of these staves is complete coincidence. The final step of any mage¡¯s training is learning the Tabula Rasa. It is knowledge of how to cast this, and thus reliably utilize more complex spells, which marks a genuine mage from a mere workman or dabbler. Until this point in their training, it is withheld from the apprentice as to prevent them from attempting to cast without their master at-hand to oversee them and prevent them from performing some catastrophic ritual.
Once the First Spell is complete, and Tabula Rasa mastered, the apprentice is made a full mage in a ceremony of empowerment. The ceremony is preceded by numerous blessings and rituals meant to empower the mage, to make their magic quicker to call upon, and a multitude of other benefits meant to purify and sanctify themselves in the eyes of the gods as well as empower them in their future as a mage. The ceremony itself culminates in the apprentice, clad in undyed, ceremonially and magically pure robes, with no staff to aid (though they are of course presented with all the materials required for their casting) casting their First Spell from start to finish, beginning with the Tabula Rasa, and continuing for potential hours as they publicly demonstrate the evidence of their magical might. Once the First Spell is cast, their master presents them with two objects, a book and a staff, each wholly blank, and instructs the new mage to, ¡°Rise, in the sight of gods and mortal. Learn and teach, command and bargain. Master and serve. Rise, Mage, and know you are worthy.¡± Once a proper Mage, the path of the magician splits, depending upon their specialty and background. Of course, those who are nobleborn usually return to their family. Others may enter the clergy, becoming full Clerics. Others still swear themselves to a higher-ranked noble house in military service to serve as an official Warmage. Yet others join guilds to become Shapers. Very, very rarely will a mage decide to leave civilization altogether to settle a new plot of land somewhere, and this process is rarely done immediately, but instead is delayed until such a time that they have a full support network built up and may relocate as a whole. Some choose to abandon civilization altogether, and those (as well as those who break their oaths of service) are known as Warlocks, masterless and aimless within the world, shunning all as they shun them. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. Almost regardless of circumstance, mages begin construction of their Tower if they do not move into a preexisting one. For Warmages, this is usually done at a location of strategic importance, granting a fortified position from which they may keep watch. Shapers add theirs to their guild¡¯s hall, Clerics add an additional tower to their temple, and so forth. Some mages, particularly Warlocks, prefer to set their towers in as inaccessible a locale as they can manage to dissuade visitors, but such mages are rare. Scholars assert that the affinity which wizards have unto towers is due to the propensity of spells to be better cast within a circular room, and attempting to build a circular room in a more horizontal building is often impractical. Warders say it is due to the relative ease in which wards are capable of projecting themselves upwards, and thus maximizing the amount of space warded by a single array. Clergy say it is due to magic being less unpredictable the further from the ground (and thus closer to the heavens) it is performed. Nobles say that it is purely a status symbol, that having a larger tower is indicative of greater wealth and magical might. Military leaders point to the defensibility of such a structure, that it is far easier to protect valuable goods and secrets by raising them off the street. In truth, it is all of these and more besides. There are a multitude of factors which lend themselves to the tower design being the most prominent, and it is not as though it is a universal structure either. It does remain the iconic symbol of a mage-in-residence, and for that reason alone it might yet endure. The more mage towers which make a part of a building, the better-defended, the wealthier, and the more powerful it is. These factors are well-known. As a mage grows in power and skill, they will continue to build their tower, usually upwards, and often grow their support alongside it. After all, being a mighty mage requires far more than a mere lifetime of training. This ¡®tower magedom¡¯ is on occasion considered a separate stage of magehood, which begins with tower residency, continues as the mage sources and collects the artificers and alchemists, the beastmasters and smiths, the warders and scribes, and the hundred and one other specialized professions which feed into their magics.This stage of magedom is where most mages reside in, and stay their entire life. As time continues, they continue to make and refine their spells, bind familiars, write books, master magic, and grow in power and knowledge. Most mages take on their first apprentice roughly five years after founding their tower, though some reclusive mages may never do so.
As mages continue to grow in their magical prowess, they may begin to gain one of several titles. The most common of these are as follows: Sorcerer: A specialist in a single type of magic. This is often elementally-inclined, but may be as narrow as a single spell or as broad as a class of spells, such as divination, healing, or warding. However, the broader the category, the more difficult it is to earn the title, as it requires familiarity enough with the given magic that a Tabula Rasa is often not needed to cast the corresponding magic. Wizard: The nigh opposite of a sorcerer, a wizard is one who possesses at least passing familiarity with most types of magic, such that they are capable of accomplishing nearly any goal without the aid of another full mage. Exceptions are of course granted for large workings and cooperative casting, but the mage must be just as or more knowledgeable than any other mages taking part. Magus: One who has taught many apprentices, above and beyond the normal requirements. These mages are often likely to share even personal magics with their apprentices, and view the pursuit of magic as a pure and philosophical goal unto itself, separate of all other ends. They are intimately knowledgeable with the nature of magic, and require little in the way of actual magical might to earn this title. It is most common with elderly mages not because they are more altruistic, though some are, but merely because few mages wish for their knowledge to be lost with their death. Shaman: Sometimes thought of as little more than sorcerers specializing in binding spells, a shaman is more accurately one who utilizes the spirits of the land as additional participants in their casting. Particularly skilled Shamans occasionally eschew the Tabula Rasa altogether in larger workings, preferring to allow the full interference of the spirits, bargaining with them beforehand with both word and spell to ensure they aid, not harm, their workings. Artificer: A title often given to mages working in guilds, an artificer is a mage truly dedicated to the craft of foci and magical items. In particular, they must create a proper magical item of their own, an object with persistent magical properties and not simply an advanced focus for a spell. The usual dividing line for this is whether or not an unawakened individual can utilize all of its aspects. Thaumaturge: While rarely granted outside of the church, a thaumaturge is a worker of miracles; they have at one point or another served as the channel for a divine spell. In theory, this is the simplest of all titles to obtain- to the point wherein mundanes are entirely capable of earning it- yet remains the rarest of the ¡®common¡¯ titles.
The final goal for many a mage is of course the vaunted title of Archmage, and while the precise requirement to become such varies somewhat, they all possess a single commonality: the ability to cast a complex spell with a single gesture and a single word. This feat, of course, is no simple matter of mastery. It is impossible for any mage to become so proficient as to cast a spell with naught but will, save for an act of Thaumaturgy. Instead, this represents the culmination of decades of research for the mage to have tools perfectly suit them, rare and custom ingredients perfectly attuned to the mage, and development of the spell to customize it utterly for the mage¡¯s own mana. To do so requires becoming proficient in nearly all forms of magic, becoming a true specialist in one or more fields, accustoming one¡¯s self to the spirits of the land and peering into the heart of magic itself, to say nothing of the requirements inherent to the creation of the tools required, which rarely does not involve the mage throughout the process. In that way, an archmage is usually a sorcerer, wizard, shaman, magi, artificer, and more simultaneously. They are, after all, the true peak of magehood, the culmination of decades of drive and learning, and a veritable city of support from their first teachers to other mages in their employ, all funneled into a singular, mighty title: Archmage. On Tabula Rasa From The Cornerstones of Magic, by Priestess Istai (Formerly Elah Salliar)
If there were to be a single spell which can be said to be solely responsible for modern spellcasting, it is Tabula Rasa, the Blank Slate spell. At risk of oversimplifying, it resets the local Tapestry to almost exactly the same condition every single time, enabling spells and rituals to be readily and repeatedly cast far, far easier than historically was the case. It is the first spell cast in any ritual, serving as the foundation of the rest of the working. Under normal circumstances, magical echoes may linger in any confluence of mana, be it a spell, power, or even natural eddy. This can cause unpredictable tangles and snarls of mana that can throw off any but the most brute-force and simplistic abilities. This is why nearly all external magics for magical creatures are simple expressions of an elemental phenomenon, be it a shield, lightning bolt, or cloud of darkness. Anything more complex simply requires more setup than a natural ability could feasibly assure, and even then retains a high risk of catastrophic failure (Divine magics, such as that of the Blessed, are a literally miraculous exception, but will be studied in due time). This is of course thanks to the precision to the nearby Tapestry which learned magic relies upon to work change upon the world. In antiquity, it was only truly feasible to use rituals through very specific setups, such as during astronomical events like a Twin Day, which floods the world with enough magic as to functionally wash away all minor perturbations and enabling consistent casting during these events. This is thus why so many rituals require a powerful confluence of magic in some form or another. While some Elven traditions utilize the natural propensity they possess for magic to enable yet force them to manually account for any slight perturbations in the Tapestry, grand rituals atop a volcano, during a grand thunderstorm or earthquake were the only true method of ensuring a modicum of reproducibility, and thus casting, learning, and utilization of magic.
Tabula Rasa was first developed by High Archmage Alara Ethluil approximately six hundred years hence, by studying the manner in which spells impacted the Tapestry. At the time, magic was thoroughly unexplored, subsiding largely upon the ritual scraps still known past the collapse of the Old Empire. A few of what we would today call druid cabals existed, sharing what few secrets they possessed among their members, all located at natural ritual points, such as the ever-mentioned volcanoes, enchanted glens, and stormy isles. Their magics were potent in the places it could exist, but did not travel well. Coupled with their natural secrecy and magedom was very much considered to be the realm of the hermitical and outcast. Even in those locales wherein society could safely form a town around a ritual point (without seriously disrupting the local Tapestry, as happened often with forest-based sites), magic remained an elusive and secret art, occasionally melding into the noble class (in such cases where spells were practical enough for political leverage) or remaining an underground cult. More mundane magic still abounded, of course. Witches still used Flare variants to light their cooking fires and small gusts of wind to remove dust from counters, alchemists utilized finicky, unreliable rituals and spells to refine their ingredients, and village healers called upon the gods to heal the sick and wounded. Ikraish grew at this point, leveraging the ability to trade magical goods despite the Tapestry this close to the ocean being far too chaotic for ¡®traditional¡¯ casting methods. Due to their unreliability, such household charms were rarely explored with any real regularity and were often considered wastes of time and curiosities, often not even worth bragging about even if one could truly call upon their magic. Usually, it was a skill for the house-tenders to master, spinning thread and learning a few basic cantrips to aid around the house. Alara Ethluil was one such witch, a housewife born with the talent to see the Tapestry. She used this ability to expand her magical repertoire from the absolute basics, able to use the eddies and calm spots of the Tapestry to cast her spells far more reliably than any of her peers. Driven by incredible curiosity, she poked and prodded her magic, watching how spells influenced and were in turn influenced by her magic. Over the years, this grew and developed as she learned how best to chain multiple spells together, priming and eventually setting off a magical effect far more complex than a single spell could manage. However, Ethluin magic was not truly born until she created the Tabula Rasa, enabling all of her spells to be cast quickly, consistently, and with almost no chance of failure and making her the first mage. With few willing to actually learn magic from her, she instead experimented in private and with her children, gradually becoming more and more adept at spells. While without tools she was incapable of casting any rituals quickly, she was more than able to fulfill her personal duties with a mere single spell or two a day, the hours a foci-less ritual takes not a true obstacle for her. Once Tabula Rasa became more widespread, it swiftly came under the exclusive purview of first the nobility, then mages altogether as the more familiar limits of magic became apparent to them. This new breed of mage remains the predominant school to this day, though the modern Tabula Rasa is of course substantially more refined than Ethluil¡¯s original spell, being faster, easier, and less tiring to cast. The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
Now, Tabula Rasa is not a perfect spell. It does little, for example, against the massive magical confluences that wiped clear the Tapestry for the ancient mages. Water magic will always be more prevalent proximal to the ocean, life mana more prevalent in a forest, and fire mana more common around a volcano. Furthermore, it does not keep the mana calm, merely overrides it momentarily. Further casting will of course disturb the mana, interfering with future spells unless a new Tabula Rasa is cast or the snarls are accounted for in some manner. It is, however, very flexible in its affected area. While older versions of the spell uniformly wiped an area of the Tapestry clean, the modern Tabula Rasa may be cast to precisely include only the area in which the spell is constructed, usually near the caster¡¯s hand.
It is worth noting that Tabula Rasa from different individuals are not wholly identical. It, like all magics, varies ever so slightly with the precise mana possessed by the mage. In many ways, they even outright conflict unless the mages are specifically trained to work together (as is occasionally the case with close partners), but it is of course possible to learn to cast in another¡¯s Tabula Rasa, as evidenced by apprentices who need to do just that for the entirety of their apprenticeship until they are dubbed a full Mage and learn the spell themselves. For multi-mage rituals, it is often the case that a single individual is designated the caster and maintainer of Tabula Rasa, as it is far simpler to learn how to make a single spell function within another¡¯s Tabula Rasa than it is to make multiple castings of the spell work together. It is theorized to be related to the nature of the caster¡¯s soul, and is what results in nearly all mortal mages possessing such similar Tabula Rasa, for all that ¡®similar¡¯ still prevents sensitive magics from functioning. It is usually believed that part of what allows sorcerers to be so skilled with their selected element is that their soul has in some way changed to reflect their magic, but that assertion is hardly proven. It is an undeniable truth that the Tabula Rasa of a pyromancer is less conducive to water magic as that of a hydromancer, just as the reverse is likewise true, yet there are many possible alternative explanations.
While it may seem as though spell staves bypass the normal requirement of utilizing Tabula Rasa to cast their spells, this is in fact very untrue. One of the principle purposes that the foci serves is acting as a continuous cleanser of the Tapestry, functioning as its own Tabula Rasa in addition to acting as a supplement for the rest of the casting. It is not, of course, an actual Tabula Rasa, and while different scribes may utilize different methods, one of the more common is to magically isolate the interior of the focus from the exterior. In this way we can begin to understand a portion of how the Tabula Rasa truly functions. Like the mages of old, the normal chaos within the Tapestry prevents delicate spellcasting, but under a suitably powerful magical force, the disturbances do not vanish, but are instead washed away. However, unlike the mages of old, Tabula Rasa is both portable and usable under any circumstances, as well as not carrying any inherent elemental bias beyond that of the caster, leaving such matters to the primer spells, thus making it an excellent base for any type of casting. This is, of course, what leads to the joke that Fireball is a Tabula Rasa for pyromancers, and while this is not strictly false, neither is it properly true. The simple fact of the matter is that most spells simply do not possess the power to wipe clean the Tapestry with their mere existence. Mages are not limitless fonts of power, unlike a volcano or ocean. Spells are limited, weak, and many spells are indeed designed to have a minimal impact upon the Tapestry, Fireball included. The reasons for this is twofold: First, energy spent affecting the Tapestry is energy not spent changing reality. Second, impacting the Tapestry with a cast spell decreases the amount of time required between actual Tabula Rasa castings. This latter reason is of course related to how counterspells function, and indeed the Counterspell most commonly in use was derived from very similar principles as Tabula Rasa.
There are, naturally, many opportunities in which a Tabula Rasa is not required for spellcasting. As mentioned earlier, ancient mages did not possess the spell and so relied on naturally occurring stable (or at least consistent) areas of mana. Some modern mages have even replicated that feat within their towers, utilizing an unknown method to permanently enchant their tower to maintain a continuous Tapestry-cleaning effect, making all their own magics much simpler to utilize. It is, however, often believed to be tied to casting in the same location for decades and may simply be the result of sheer practice. Similarly, some internal magics do not require a Tabula Rasa, the spell already adequately sheltered by the soul and thus requiring far less in the way of external shielding. On Fatebinding From A Study of the Means of Magic, published by the Grand College
There is power in possibility. Some say that magic is possibility itself, made manifest by the gods and given to the mortal races so that they may fully grasp their potential. Regardless, it is an undeniable truth that choice is a powerful magical tool. The magical difference in blood given willingly or taken for a ritual is proof enough of that much, as is the method by which certain cursed objects may only be passed along to a willing recipient. Of all the methods wherein possibility, and choice, is utilized in magic, Fatebinding is perhaps the most impressive, serving as the discipline behind Oaths, Covenants, Curses, Seals, and even Prophesies. Fatebinding, at its heart, is about determining an event which will, or simply could, happen in the future and connecting it to a working of magic. Once that event is decided, it becomes entwined with the ritual¡¯s nature, and until that event comes to pass, the magic will not fade. Once the event does occur, the magic unravels completely, returning to the ether. As a result of this limiting of possibility, the ritual having a definite and known end-method, the power of the ritual is greatly amplified, enabling things which may otherwise be impossible. This does not inherently prevent the magic being broken in another way, but does make it far more difficult to remove in a more typical manner.
Oaths are the most common example of this kind of working. It is self-evident that Oaths have power. Even a mundane Oath, or merely a simple promise is more than sufficient for some creatures, such as Fey and Devils, to spin elaborate webs of magic, ensnaring a soul in a trap of their own design. But when made as a portion of an appropriate magical ritual Oaths possess far, far more power. Through the willing sacrifice of choice in the individual¡¯s life, the magic is able to bind itself into their very life and soul. Thus, all Oaths require that the Oathbound themselves be capable of breaking their own Oath, as without the ability to break the Oath, there is no possibility surrendered for the Oath to connect to. Naturally, the more restrictive the Oath, the more ways in which the individual may break free of the enchantment, the more power is granted. This is due to a two factors, firstly that the more possibility surrendered to the magic enables the ritual to be that much more powerful, but also that it is able to be connected all the tighter to the Oathbound¡¯s very being. Of course, other beings may also break their Oath through little fault of their own; an Oath to serve a noble is broken if that noble casts them out or exiles them, or a Vow to never pick up a sword again may be broken should they be tricked into doing just that. Curiously, some Oaths are not broken upon the death of the Oathbound. While this may not initially seem odd, consider that all Oaths are united in that they are all capable of being broken through the conscious action of their Oathbound, and upon death the Oathbound is no longer capable of any conscious action. Some say that this is because those individuals are fated to be raised from death, but a perhaps more likely explanation, given Oaths are incapable of inherently divining the future (and the blessing would travel with the soul as it passes along to the Divine, not remain with the body), a more likely explanation is that the lingering Oaths include at least a single method wherein one other than the Oathbound themselves could break the Oath, and thus so long as that possibility remains, so too does the Oath.
The inverse of the Oath is the Curse. Like an Oath, the magic only persists until a specific action is undertaken, but that action need not be undertaken by the individual. There is some debate as to whether the distinction between a Fatebound Curse and an Oath is merely whether or not the subject of the spell prefers the existing state of being, but Aranad¡¯s Principle suggests a more fundamental distinction, as does the fact that some Curses may only be broken by a specific counter-curse which the subject of the curse may be rendered incapable of casting (such as a Curse of eternal sleep). Regardless, an Oath is something internal and a Curse is external. In truth, Cursing is utilized more as a method to enhance the power and longevity of another spell, and not as the entirety of the spell. Of course, what makes a Curse Fatebound is that it must have a breaking clause. No Curse can exist without some way to end it. Be it a specific counter-curse, the kiss of true love, or the destruction of an artifact, all curses possess some choice, some action which may be undertaken to wholly undo its effects. It may be difficult and harrowing, but it cannot be impossible. What exactly the escape action is depends largely upon the skill and strength of the caster, it usually (but not always) also allows the individual to die to escape it. The exact form which the curse manifests in is practically immaterial. Other than serving as a vast power source for the magic, and thus inherently encouraging more flashy curses such as transfiguration, a Curse can be used to amplify any other form of magic. This makes it rather popular in power-intensive rituals, such as domination or necromancy.
Covenants are somewhere between an Oath and a Curse. They are, to be reductionist, an Oath made between two or more individuals, with a Curse tied to whoever might break it. More accurately, they involve an indelible combination of fate, wherein two individuals both bind their actions together, and should one of the sworn break their word, the other is granted compensation in the form of the magical prowess the other possessed in addition to their own. A life-pact, for instance, combines the life forces of two individuals, and should one break their word, they die while the other is imbued with the life force of the deceased, so long as they maintain their portion of the Covenant. They are dangerous and tricky, yet remain an integral part of Fatebinding, and will not be further expounded upon due to their danger.
Seals are where some of the truly more unusual and powerful aspects of Fatebinding begin to become apparent. A Fatebound Seal, like a Curse, must be possible to break, must have some exit clause, and cannot be absolute. A magical lock which is part of a Seal must have some method of opening, or it will fail. If the key is destroyed, the lock will unravel. If the key is lost, it will either result in the lock unraveling or the key eventually being found again, fate itself ensuring the Seal may always be broken. It is, in short, impossible to create an utterly inescapable cage using a Seal. However, it is possible to create a cage that is very, very difficult to escape from (or, as the magic is the same, a vault that is exceptionally difficult yet not impossible to breach). With the proper application of Fatebinding, a cage is inescapable in any manner but the chosen method. A mundane cage may be utterly useless at holding within it a swarm of rats, or a ghost, a fey or a devil, but a Sealed cage, with a key for its lock, can prevent creatures from slipping out in the gaps between the bars, prevent them from breaking the walls, passing through the walls as though they didn¡¯t exist, or any number of alternative methods. This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. Fate begins to act oddly, the harder a Seal is to break. Keys constantly tended to by eternal watchmen mysteriously get replaced, fragments of maps begin to manifest, and individuals begin to dream of what lies beyond the Seal, reaching within to speak with those contained therein (it is, of course, impossible for those within to reach outside of their prison, as that would constitute a manner of escape). It can result in making the securest of all Seals becoming an exceptionally complicated puzzle to solve, with many, many Fatebinders dedicating their lives to determine the optimal solutions. The distinction between a Seal and a Curse is broadly that a Seal is tied to an object or location, whereas a Curse is upon an individual. Thus, Seals are preferable to utilize against those who might be able to break curses upon them, are exceptionally resistant to hostile magics, or simply any time that multiple individuals, whether simultaneously or in sequence, must be imprisoned. Similarly, with Vaults (which are not distinct on a magical level, but is a difference solely based on implementation) it can be useful when trying to withhold entry from all but a select few, some of whom may not be present when first casting the spell. A common example of this is the legendary Terathain, which could only be drawn by the True King of Vale, despite the caster not knowing the identity of the True King of Vale, only knowing certain aspects of who they must be.
The final, strongest, fascinating and certainly most dangerous form of Fatebinding is Prophesy. Seers and Diviners can and do predict the future, a true Prophesy shapes the future. While those capable of making them are rare, and doing so is widely considered one of the most difficult fields of magic, when made, a Prophesy defines a certain point in the future that the spell will attempt to ensure will happen. It is often considered to be something of a waste, as nearly all things which a Prophesy could do, a mage skilled enough to make that Prophesy could already accomplish, but once cast, it will happen. Now, that is something of an exaggeration. Prophesies can be broken (humans are particularly infamous for doing so regularly, most notably the Eliwaz Prophesy broken after King Ellis the Undaunted famously refused to kill Queen Areith the Loyal in his youth), but they are very tricky things and the very act of attempting to subvert the Prophesy will often result in it coming true. As an example, a king Prophesied to only be able to be slain by a specific sword ordered the sword to be destroyed, only to have a fragment of the shattered sword strike him in the throat, slipping past his armor and wards alike to fatally wound him. Prophesied individuals will survive improbable odds to fulfill their destiny, artifacts which by all metrics ought to have been lost forever find their way into the hands of those most suited to serving Fate, spells go awry, storms appear or vanish, and stranger things alike conspire to guide Fate along its due course. There are, to simplify a fair amount, two measurements pertaining to a Prophesy, best thought of as a rope. The Pull of a Prophesy is how thick and strong the rope of Fate is. A strong rope will not snap as easily, whereas a single thread can be broken by simply pulling on it. The second measurement is Freedom, and can be thought of as to the length of the rope. The longer the rope, the more leeway those bound by Prophesy have outside of their Fate. A short rope means that the Prophesy is very likely to come true at any given moment, whereas a long rope may remain unlikely and allow for substantial deviation from a single course of action. All applications of Fatebinding are disciplines which one can easily devote their entire life to understanding whilst still coming nowhere close to grasping all of its complexities, a fact especially true of Prophesy. However, for the sake of basic comprehension, the Pull of a Prophesy is largely related to how likely an event is to happen at the moment the Prophesy was given, and the Freedom of a Prophesy is how likely it could come true eventually. A very specific Prophesy, which is likely to happen very soon has a very strong Pull and very little Freedom. For example, a death-curse of ¡®You will fall upon your sword this day¡¯ results in a Prophesy that is exceptionally likely to come true, assuming the caster is strong enough. However, ¡®A sword forged within the depths of Hell will be your doom¡¯ possesses much more Freedom while having less Pull. Now, it may seem that a Fatespeaker ought to maximize their Pull, and minimize Freedom. While this is true in most cases, having an exceptionally strong Pull with basically no Freedom requires the Fatespeaker already be personally able to undertake the task Prophesied, in such a way that would usually be easier to utilize (this is why Prophesy is often seen as a waste). The more Freedom a Prophesy is given, the more the Fatespeaker allows the universe itself to intervene, enabling them to use more Pull than they might otherwise. No Prophesy is wholly unbreakable, of course. Should a Prophesy be rendered wholly impossible to fulfill, wherein there exists no course of action that the Pull cannot call upon, it breaks. The effects of the broken Prophesy are variable, but are rarely good for any involved. In the event that one Prophesy directly contradicts another, whichever is stronger will win, breaking the other. One of the most powerful parts of Fatespeaking is that the Prophesy will not weaken. It is impossible to tire it out, impossible to counter it or usurp control over it. It can only be twisted and fulfilled. Nearly breaking it does nothing for the next time it is strained. If a Prophesy is unbroken, it is just as strong as it was when first cast, be it a minute later or a century. This is usually accepted to be due to the Prophesy¡¯s effect being a single moment in the future, and thus could obviously not weaken before it happens. There are of course many peculiarities with this theory, yet no superior concept has yet been offered. Furthermore, a clever Fatebinder may protect something or someone by making them the subject of a Prophesy determining that they will undertake a certain action upon a certain day, then go on their way confident in the knowledge that their ward is certainly safe. Yet Fate can be cruel and fickle. A Prophesy stating that an individual will meet their grandchildren may result in that person dying early, their grandchildren also dying early and passing along to the afterlife and meeting there. Even that is without covering the normal maximums of the Prophesy, which may well break If a given situation is beyond its power to salvage.
Those curious regarding the methods and spells utilized by Fatebinders are encouraged to do so, but anything less than a thorough exploration of the costs, risks, and techniques required is to invite disaster, so I will not be exploring them in this text. On the Classifications of Mages Extract from the forums of planescry¡¯gld:
TheChronicler17 So given the extreme amount of debate that¡¯s been going around our community these past few weeks about whether or not Gizzel Fillar truly could be considered a Shaman, I figured it would be worth taking a look at the different titles that mages have historically been awarded, and try to piece together whether any of his claims have any basis in history. You can find a full list of my sources, and the logic used to determine my summaries here and here. Arcanist: Often considered Warlocks, yet decidedly not, Arcanists were Mages that did not require an external focus and were instead capable of casting a full spell or even ritual in a roughly-equivalent time to a standard Mage with a full set of tools. Artificer: A mage capable of creating an independently magical item (that is, not merely a focus). I will explain my reasoning a bit more to preclude the inevitable rebuttal, and yes, while etifikars, in the oldest usage of the word, were those who created magical foci, the term changed to refer to those who created magical objects almost as soon as the first Warlock did so. Battlemage: The Mage equivalent of a career warrior, a Battlemage, sometimes also known as a Warmage specializes in combat magic, and is able to cast spells and even rituals in a timeframe relevant in an actual fight. Note that this does not include Siege magics, as any mage was expected to contribute to Siege-Mage tactics should their country go to war. Binder: Then as now, any Mage capable of Fatebinding was considered a Binder, but then the definition also included those simply versed in mere contract magics, and even restraining magics in some cases. In truth, any magic capable of restricting action was considered Binding magic, the distinctions which set Fatebinding apart not widely known enough. Cleric: A religious mage, part of the clergy for the temple. No additional prowess was required, simply an association with the church, but there was usually an expectation that they would be at least moderately proficient in blessings. Their association with healing magics were the result of divine foci and training, but were not inherently connected to life (as can be easily evidenced by priests of the Crow). Druids: Mages which did not rely on their own mana to cast rituals, but instead used minor spells in conjunction with nearby ley lines to leverage the Manic field itself to accomplish grand ¡®natural¡¯ feats of magic. Elementalist: Similar to a sorcerer, an Elementalist specializes in a single element, but an Elementalist takes this to the next level, their natural magics by default materializing in their element instead of a standard Flare. Enchanter: The modern word ¡®Enchanter¡¯ could be feasibly traced back to etificar or sechetes, which are likewise early terms for ¡®Artificer¡¯ or ¡®Psychic,¡¯ making this an annoying title to try and track down. Sources used Enchanter for either one who enchanted magical items, as an Artificer, or those who enchanted individuals, as a Psychic. Accordingly, either usage is historically accurate. Envoy/Bestowed/Blessed/Damned: One chosen to carry a divine Bestowal, back when that meant something. All four names referred to essentially the same group, with Blessed/Damned mostly serving as political terms for whether or not the Envoy was considered to be ¡®approved¡¯ by the temple of the time and place they were active. Invokers: Invokers relied primarily upon Invoking magics, utilizing their voice as their primary spellcasting tool. This didn¡¯t technically include Songmages, as they weren¡¯t properly developed until centuries after the first Invokers. Mage: A formally schooled mage, one who underwent the time¡¯s full education course to become proficient in the foremost branch of magic of the day. Magus: A mage-scholar, often one willing to share their findings with others. A Magi is interested for personal reasons in the fundamental structure of magic. They were predominantly diviners and devoted much of their time to attempting to understand the Manic Field. Muse: Muses were mages whose primary focus was upon empowering others, usually through enhancement spells, created Enhanced as their primary specialty. Some also taught their Musees about magic, but this was far from a requirement. The very first Muse actually used their slaves as their targets, utilizing them for relatively menial tasks. Mystic: Mystics turned the majority of their magics inwards, imbuing their own bodies with exceptional magical might. This is distinct from a simple enhanced because a Mystic specifically empowers themselves, rather than relying upon alchemical and external rituals to strengthen their body. Psychic: Broadly, any mage capable of controlling or reading the mind of another was considered a Psychic, as were any able to use Flare with out gesture, chant, or focus. The conceptualization was that any mage capable of casting with only their mind, or upon the mind of another, was special in some way. Seer/Augur/Diviner: Other than the distinction that Seers predominantly looked at the present, and Augurs into the future, with Diviner being the generic term for each, all three were those specializing in scrying, detection, and other divination-type magics. They had a reputation for being all-knowing, but any mage capable of reliable mage sight was considered a Diviner. Summoner/Caller: Often associated with Warlocks, a Summoner was simply a mage capable of summoning a ¡®spirit,¡¯ which included any non-Mortal being, as well as Fae and Shadelings. Shaman: Similar to an Arcanist, Shamans did not require ritual foci, but instead of simply direct-casting the required spells, they built up a collection of ¡®spirits,¡¯ animate spells similar to a proto-familiar, capable of handling some of the difficulties of casting autonomously. For them, all rituals they performed were connected. Shaper/Adept/Weaver: A mage specializing in crafting, usually nonmagical. Technically, Artificers are also Shapers/Adepts/Weavers, but the lesser title was rarely used in conjunction with Artificer barring very particular circumstances, the most common of which being considered an Archadept, Archshaper, or Archweaver. The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. Sorcerer: A specialist in a specific element. This title seems to often be given only to those who possess a natural aptitude for the element, but is also given on occasion to those who mastered usage of the element with extensive practice. There is also some connotation of only being good at the one element, but that seems to be predominantly based on the fact it is very difficult to be considered an ¡®expert¡¯ in one element, let alone multiple Thaumaturge: An individual, mage or not, who had served as the channel for a divine working at least once. Note that while all Envoys were Thaumaturges, not all Thaumaturges were Envoys, but Clerics were the most likely to be a Thaumaturge. Of all the titles I looked at, Thaumaturge was the one most liable to be used in political maneuvering, granting the distinction to Clerics whose ¡®divine workings¡¯ were suspect at best. Transmuter: In an unusual bout of simplicity, a Transmuter was any mage capable of Ritual Transmutation, wholly transforming a substance into another while using no alchemy. Warlock: One who broke a law of magic. Yes, originally Warlock was if not complimentary, at least something intended to convey awe or mystery. Practitioners of other ¡®contradictory¡¯ magical disciplines, or simply those who first encountered a breakthrough in magical spells would be considered Warlocks. Witch: Mages which didn¡¯t undergo formal schooling, but instead focused on learning minor spells generally useful in day-to-day life. Some used rituals, but predominantly relied on alchemy for anything complex. Housewitch was a common role in older societies, mothers teaching their daughters a few spells, who would then teach their children, and so forth. All informal schooling, nothing formal or structured. Wizard: Not the ¡®jack of all trades,¡¯ commonly associated with them but rather a mage who could be reasonably expected to deal with any magical problem presented. Whether this was done with a single, exceptionally broad spell or ritual, or by knowing a multitude of unique rituals and the ability to quickly learn or develop a new one should the need arise was irrelevant to the title, though definitely trends to the latter meaning. So there you go. If this gets popular enough, maybe I¡¯ll look at some of the¡­ modifiers, whatever the word is. Like arch- and hedge-. But for now, this already got way out of hand for what was going to just be a post about the history of Shamans, and I¡¯m not sure I even really managed that.
coremagicsfireball oh **** off, warl*ck hasn¡¯t meant ¡®genius¡¯ in centuries
billtme Yeah no Guzzle Flounder is totally not a shaman don¡¯t care how you wanna twist the definition.
TheChronicler17 @coremagicsfireball I feel as though it¡¯s only fair to utilize the original definitions when trying to determine the proper title for a proper Mage, or at least try to. Yes, I know that as often as not they were political titles but that¡¯s not really what¡¯s being discussed these days. I really would prefer leaving that kind of discussion for the other thread, though, and keep this one focused more on the classical definitions of the titles, if you wouldn¡¯t mind.
GiarrBestMage @TheChronicler17 Let¡¯s not kid ourselves, Warlock never meant ¡®magical revolutionary,¡¯ it was always a mage that broke a social law and so was an outcast. That cut them off from the support networks vital for a mage and so needed to use unconventional magics, not unlike a witch, but with way more power and sophistication. That they tended to have really impressive and off-the-wall magic was because they would kidnap people for blood sacrifices and contract demons for powers most people weren¡¯t familiar with, not because they were smarter or whatever.
TheChronicler17 @GiarrBestMage This really should be going in the other thread but¡­ Warlock definitely was used like that, yes, but if we look at some of Oril¡¯s works, she used ¡®warlock¡¯ (well, technically ¡®waerlaga¡¯) in the context of foreign mages, using magics they were unfamiliar with. It¡¯s closer to ¡®barbarian¡¯ in that respect, simply an outsider. Gallas¡¯ work also has that same usage, predating Istai¡¯s writings by at least two centuries, to describe ¡®a worker of new or unknown magic¡¯ rather than ¡®an unknown worker of magic.¡¯
MaxTheEternal @TheChronicler17 why did you say that mages were expected to contribute to siege magics? if were talking about the old use of the words, siege magic wasnt a thing until the time of the violet emperor, centuries past the first warmages so they wouldnt have that distinction
ImMagical Elementalist wasn¡¯t a thing for at least a thousand years after the rest of the terms you use came about?
TheChronicler17 @MaxTheEternal You¡¯re right, in that they wouldn¡¯t have had that distinction, I simply included that disclaimer for the modern audience, to draw the distinction between group siege rituals and genuine individual combat prowess. @ImMagical Technically true, but there was a conceptualization of the Elementalist as a distinct entity from ¡®normal¡¯ sorcerers, sometimes called ¡®True¡¯ or ¡®Born¡¯ sorcerers. I just called them the Elementalist for the sake of understanding.
ImMagical But isn¡¯t this whole thing about using the old names for mage types?
TooCooFooNoo [Removed by Moderator]
PhilosopherStoned ¡®Transmuter¡¯ is definitely more complex than you¡¯re giving it credit for Early transmutation rituals required at least some amount of alchemical potion as a focus or material, so there wasn¡¯t really such thing as an ¡®alchemy-free transmutation¡¯ given alchemical transmutation also required a ritual
kittyycatt You missed so much, what about spellweavers, mesmerists, beguilers, paragons, paladins, aegises, evokers, warders?
TheFiveAndOnly What a bunch of utter *****
TheChronicler17 @kittyycatt Ugh, I can¡¯t believe I forgot Warders. Tell you what, maybe I¡¯ll do a part 2 if this gets enough attention, and make sure I get some of the ones I missed, alongside the modifiers? So if you want me to cover it, share and pass it along.
TOMysElf sparks this is cool good job!
gotchuuuuuuuu first
VoriTell Caller and Summoner are not the same thing, come on, if it¡¯s a fae or shadowling, it¡¯s not a non-Mortal summoning so it¡¯s a Call. This is basic stuff.
ScratchALitch @gotchuuuuuuuu shut up
godsbiggestfanny @VoriTell that¡¯s what it became. What @TheChronicler17 is talking about is the original use of the words, when they didn¡¯t know that fae and shadelings were Mortal.
TheChronicler17 What @godsbiggestfanny said
VoriTell Except Caller wasn¡¯t used until there was a need to distinguish between Summoners and Callers, so Callers were always in reference to the other Mortal creatures.
gotchuuuuuuuu @ScratchALitch no you shut up
TheChronicler17 @VoriTell no, the word used can be translated into either Caller or Summoner, it¡¯s just with modern reexaminations that people are putting the idea that they weren¡¯t used interchangeably forward, which I explained more in my Reasonings document.
whatmyelffingerstype No mention of Changers?
TheChronicler17 @whatmyelffingerstype As I mentioned to @kittyycatt, there were a bunch of really stupid omissions that I might cover in a part 2 depending on how well this is received.
ScratchALitch @gotchuuuuuuuu go home and play with your dolls if you can¡¯t be mature enough to take this seriously
tossoff59817a Wait there are people defending Gizzel?
pinkhairblackskin @coremagicsfireball oh don¡¯t be sutch a pain, Warlock¡¯s a long-storied title
GreenheartTheGrandFan @TheChronicler17 this is so cool!
(1-30 of 3,018. Next. Last. 1 2 3 4 ¡­ 99 100 101) On the Use of Bloodworms Proposal by Magi Hewar Ingran to the Archcouncil of Erabask:
While many of my colleagues are disgusted by the Iaxi¡¯s practice of what they decry as ¡®disease and blood magic,¡¯ refusing to learn more of the manner in which they cast their spells, I find their methods to be quite fascinating and, if not directly integrated as-is, at least worth considering minor adoption into the Standard Discipline. Accordingly, this letter is targeted to explain the origins and benefits of their Discipline, as to hopefully engender at minimum some discussion, even if partial adoption may be not yet an option. Iaxin magic has always been based in blood sacrifice. While most cultures relied on their own might, Iaxin mages developed the tools needed to harness and direct life energy and souls incredibly early. The reason for this is lost to time, alas, but I suspect it may have been due to local mana confluxes being hostile to mortal life, sharply curtailing any mage which drew deep upon their own reserves. Regardless of the reason, their rituals and spells focused principally upon directing the incredible power they could call to bear through the death of even the meanest creature. Unlike what their current reputation may lead you to believe, most of their sacrifices did not rely upon civilized, let alone sapient, deaths. Instead, they most commonly utilized rats, pigeons, even plants for their minor workings, using human, elven, or orcish sacrifices only for the grandest of rituals. Yes, they did indeed use blood sacrifice of individuals, but evidence suggests that it was usually only done with condemned criminals, not dissimilar to how necromancy was historically treated in Erabask. Now, any mage who has utilized the life of a sacrificed creature can inform you of the problems with this approach. Utilizing the mana of another is difficult enough, but shaping death into anything even remotely sophisticated is nigh impossible. Thus, Iaxin mages also developed the tools to sacrifice themselves to work intricate workings. After all, your own life-force and soul are perfectly matched to your mana, and is therefore far more responsive to direction than the same amount of power from another is. Of course, they rarely killed themselves in these self-sacrificial spells, but even still inflicted damage upon their very soul, leaving them with all the associated health issues. I also wish to disabuse the notion that Iaxi was unaware of mana, or how to call upon the mana that they produced in a non-harmful manner. They did eventually develop similar tools as Verdur and Bosin, but never managed to develop the artifice and structure required for standard focus-based casting. Instead, they used their mana as their focus, shaping incredibly complex magical patterns and pushing the life-mana of their sacrifice through the pattern, enacting their will with far less tools than a corresponding Verdurian mage would require. However, all of the classical issues with their magic was solved by the person they call ¡®Zabe.¡¯ Whether Zabe was a man or woman, human, elf, dwarf, halfling, gnome, or what depends entirely upon who is telling the story, and it usually matches the species of the teller. However, what they generally agree upon is that Zabe created the first bloodworms and bestowed them to their chosen people, a self-sacrificial creature purely existing to empower Zabe¡¯s ¡®true inheritors.¡¯ Insofar as I have been able to determine, Zabe was a real person in some form, though all details of their life has been fully obscured by incredible amounts of propaganda and mythologizing. What most records agree upon is that Zabe was the first to actually utilize bloodworms as a source for magic. Now, all of the details that follow are purely my own hypothesis, based on several historical sources I could find, as well as ancestral divinations of bloodworms, coupled with the expertise which I and several others have with blood and medical magic. Thus, it may be utterly incorrect. Zabe was a mage-healer in the jungle region of Etrix, where a peculiar wasting disease wreaked havoc upon the native population, caused by a bloodborne infection of nigh-invisible parasites and transmitted by blood transmission, such as through biting insects. Normally, magical and divine healing managed to keep the plague in check, but like some parasites are wont to do, a particular strain of this ¡®Jungle Fever¡¯ managed to hide itself perfectly within the patient¡¯s soul-pattern, rendering it almost invisible to many diagnostic spells and even most cures. It wasn¡¯t even considered a proper disease by the natives, merely one of the ways in which the body could fail, until Zabe caught it. As a (blood) mage, Zabe was able to identify the foreign bodies streaming through their bloodstream, and in a single stroke, killed the tiny parasites within their body and used the life of the disease itself to power their spells. Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. Because of how the parasite¡¯s soul blended so perfectly with the body¡¯s soul, the mana drawn from their death perfectly matched Zabe¡¯s mana, and meant that the spells responded in a way previously only seen in self-sacrifice workings. It veritably leapt to its usage, and Zabe knew that it was a massive development. They didn¡¯t go public with their discovery right away, no. As part of their healing training, Zabe knew minor biomancy, and persuading the previously far-too-small creatures to grow to be large enough to see with the naked eye, and gather a correspondingly large amount of life energy, was well within their capabilities. This first generation of bloodworms, while incredibly potent, carried with them a fair number of problems. Firstly, it carried with it all of the same symptoms that Jungle Fever did, including lethargy, fever, and a susceptibility to other illnesses. However, a skilled healer, such as Zabe, was well able to counteract these symptoms, utilizing the life of mature bloodworms to continuously heal and empower their body. Using this power, Zabe formed the Zabetan Dynasty, a direct predecessor to the recent Itraic Dynasty, and eventually passed along the secrets of bloodworms and their usage. What species the Zabetan Dynasty was is weirdly controversial, though it is perhaps unsurprising given the amount of authority it can bestow. I¡¯ve found no less than five mutually contradictory reports on their identity (usually coinciding with the identity of the ruling class of the time), and several sources insist that the Zabetans bore no actual blood relation to Zabe themselves, but were instead mere apprentices to the ¡®greatness of Zabe.¡¯ This secret was passed along for generations, and with centuries of skilled alchemists dedicating their lives to slowly modifying the bloodworm, it eventually settled into something more closely resembling its modern form. This more developed bloodworm carried no symptoms beyond an increased appetite (as the bloodworm consumes nutrients for itself). While the Zabetan dynasty eventually fell, and the secrets of bloodworms were released accordingly, it still served as a potent tool, being able to on a whim call upon magic perfectly attuned to one¡¯s self, with no lingering health damage. That leads us to today, and the ¡®modern¡¯ usage of Iaxin magic. Bloodworms are a mostly-benign harmless symbiote with mages, growing in their bloodstream and reproducing predominantly harmlessly, having been magically altered to only consume any nutrients which the body does not require itself, and even helps produce some important nutrients which the body is unable to produce on its own. Most incredibly, the nutrients it consumes and produces are not only tied to one another, but also variable, seamlessly suiting whatever species it is inhabiting, consuming excess and producing what is required. In that way, bloodworms are very nearly a health boon to even nonmages, resulting in resistance to a number of diseases and malnourishments, with correspondingly longer lives (assuming the bloodworms do not die of starvation, as they will die far sooner than their host). They reproduce and die all on their own, their bodies dissolving almost supernaturally well, preventing any interruption of the blood flow from the corpse of a sacrificed bloodworm. Passing them from one host to another is a matter as simple as extracting a small measure of blood from a mage and bestowing it to another (though I advise a basic cleansing should this practice be adopted into the Standard Discipline, as the bloodworm would survive it as long as the blood remains attuned to the original host, while other diseases would be removed). Newborn bloodworms are invisible to the naked eye and can be found in every drop of an Iaxin mage¡¯s blood, after all. Some families of bloodworms, lost after the fall of the Itraic Dynasty, were said to protect their host from toxins, consuming poison and creating healing elixir, but that may well be apocryphal. What is not apocryphal is the incredibly robust souls that bloodworms possess. When I first heard tell of the discipline, I will admit to being disgusted, yes, and skeptical that a mere parasite could provide sufficient power, even in death, to be superior to current methods. However, after studying a specimen myself, I can firmly put this question to rest. They, gram for gram, possess nearly as much power as a dragon. A mature bloodworm has nearly as much life-mana as a reasonably healthy adult mundane dwarf does. Sacrificing a bloodworm is not terribly challenging either, contrary to my expectations. Historically, Iaxin mages used an array of various internal spells meant to kill their symbiotes. One particularly curious method I found was a self-contained constriction spell, which momentarily tightened their blood vessels so quickly and powerfully as to cut a bloodworm in half. I cannot say I would advise this method, but it certainly does paint an amusing picture. Shortly before their fall, however, Iaxia developed a new method which uses the incredible life-density inherent to the worms to simply ¡®poke a hole¡¯ in the soul of a mature bloodworm, and like an overfull flask, gushes forth a stream of power. Immature bloodworms were still slain through more traditional methods, but I am certain with even a minor amount of research, modern necromancers could find a cantrip suitable to selectively killing a single bloodworm, and thus utilizing their incredible potential with the modern mage. I trust that the Council is willing to look past the instinctive rejection of Iaxin magic to its potential as a manner for mages to cast powerful magics nigh-endlessly, a way to improve the health of mages and mundanes alike, and generally supplant current unsafe and unethical sacrificial magics with one that is more effective and less morally repugnant. Your humble servant, Hewar Ingran. On the Regalia of a Mage-King Introductory orientation given to a new attendant of King Relikar, a relatively short while after his coronation.
So this first layer over the king''s smallclothes is this here cyera shift, see how thin it is? It¡¯s got an enchantment woven into the fabric with thread made from a blend of fireweb spider silk and summit reed thread, braided into the thread as it was being made. It was all one string, if you can believe it. So! It¡¯s very important that this is cleaned every night, as any built-up grime or dirt can interfere with the magic itself. You can actually see how the enchantment works, and how functional it is. See how the red dragon is shimmering? That means it¡¯s currently adding heat, and you can touch it here to get a sense for that. Once it goes on, the red dragon will dull some and the blue one will instead shimmer more, as it serves as a coolant underneath all the other layers. The most important thing to make sure is clean is this knot-connection of runes right here, because that does¡­ something to help figure out what the correct temperature it should hold the person at is. Don¡¯t look at me, I just know how to care for it. To clean it, we have this potion here, the red and blue glimmery one, made by mixing the last light of day with the breath of an ice elemental, which I think Master Runehold has bound in his tower, in the freshest springwater, the ash of burnt cinnamon, and a bit of golden olive oils. Now, while we can clean it, if any of these runes, or any of these patterns have any tearing in them, you need to get it to Master Runehold to fix it. What? Just because I know what the thread is made of doesn¡¯t mean I get how it works. I can make tiny repairs, like here and here, but anything substantial needs an actual mage to look at it, not just a house-witch. Next are the pants. These are also cyera, but feel that? That¡¯s the best Salliar cloth you¡¯ll find. It¡¯s naturally abrasion resistant and almost impervious to dirt and grime. If they do get dirty, we can wash them with just normal soap and water, but it¡¯s so rare to need it when working here it¡¯s kinda inconvenient. Make sure the water is totally clean, though. If they somehow manage to get damaged, don¡¯t even bother trying to fix them, your needle won¡¯t pierce it. Really flexible too. They fasten here at the waist using these runes, stitched out of clinging vine fibers instead of a belt like you or I would use. You don¡¯t need to be a mage to use them, we¡¯ve got this wand here, just dip it into this potion, then tap it and it¡¯ll tighten and hold itself up. Same thing down here at each foot. We release them by using that same wand and uh¡­ this potion! Green goes on, white comes off. Remember that. The socks don¡¯t connect to the pants, but these runes are made with a string with some kind of weird treatment on it. I don¡¯t know, ask an alchemist, the shimmery blue string. It¡¯s got some really complex name, but it¡¯s boring and we don''t really need to know that stuff do we? Anyway, those will dispel any water that gets on them, which makes washing them a pain, let me tell you. But make sure you scrub them really well each night, that uses a general cleaning potion, made of a bit of unicorn blood, rainwater, and goldblossom nectar. No, no temperature control here, just the dryness magic. Something about interference or whatever. We have a few pairs of these, but they need to be kept clean as well or else they¡¯ll stain and that might interfere with the stitching. You don¡¯t want to have his highness find we failed our job with these clothes no you don''t. Then here¡¯s the shirt, this one is really important and you need to match it properly for the day. If it¡¯s a combat outfit, use this black one. See these runes here? Those don¡¯t actually do anything on their own, but serve as the formation for a lot of his war spells. I know, right? I thought much the same as well, but while he doesn¡¯t need it, he says it helps remind him of who he¡¯s fighting for, and helps him just like prayer does. I don¡¯t know what most of the runes actually do, though... Oh! I do know this set. These are for mighty leaping, which pair with¡­ ah, here are the boots that go with it. See these, how they match? Yeah, these are the combat boots. They¡¯ve got a lot of different spells on them, but you¡¯d have to talk to Armorer Tol for more information about them. Hm? Oh, they actually do have metal in them. Right here, if you fold back this little flap, you can see that? That¡¯s mithril weave, it¡¯s basically just another fabric layer, but it was actually woven with some inherent runic enchantments to automatically stiffen in response to really hard impact. See how soft they are? Okay, hold them steady and¡­ Oops. Ah well, if the hammer broke from that it probably was on its last legs anyway. Doesn¡¯t really matter. I actually got to see them get tested for the king, they dropped an entire anvil on them, bounced off like it was nothing. Didn¡¯t even sink into the ground until after it bounced. We need to make sure they¡¯re spotless, so we use this lightoil polish everywhere the mithril can be reached, and the rest of it we use this brush- see these bristles? They¡¯re unicorn tail hair, and they help get things just so clean, I wish we could use them on everything, but it¡¯s just the boots. Don¡¯t use them on anything else, it apparently messes up the brush and you¡¯ll get in major trouble. Anyway, we use this stonevine nectar potion on them, keeps the magic running ever so nicely! These here are the casual boots. See how soft they are? That¡¯s wavestrider hide, and they make for some of the absolute most comfortable boots that can exist. Then this stitching here helps with walking and jumping in its own way, helps him walk or run on anything. If you want to know a little secret, I think he uses them to do his water-walking trick! This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. I know! It¡¯s so scandalous. These also get unicorn hair brushing, using this brush instead- the labels will help you keep them apart- and with these we use this potion, made of floatstone dust, water from the Everfalls way upriver, and a bit of acacia oil. Gotta do it every night, even if they aren¡¯t worn! Also, make sure to really work them into the folds here, and into this seam. Back to the shirts. There¡¯s a lot of different shirts, you can see, depending on what he expects the day will entail. The red shirts are for his decree days, these blue ones are more general wear, the green ones are on training days, black are more combat shirts, but they¡¯re different in some way. I don¡¯t know how, but he¡¯ll specify which he wants. Then these white ones, I don¡¯t know! He does something private when he wears that. Don¡¯t know what it is, but I bet it has to do with the church. Yeah! I know, it¡¯s so exciting. But we can¡¯t get distracted. I don¡¯t expect you to remember all of this tonight, but a couple more days watching me prepare everything and you should be ready to help by the end of the week. Oh, no, not with the King himself. Honestly, even I only sometimes help with that, it¡¯s usually Lady Zenu who takes the lead with that. But I know how to do it, for when she is called away! I know, it¡¯s so exciting. What? Oh, but of course I do this! I¡¯m important to him, I¡¯ll have you know. I think he might even know my name. Really! He even thanked me last week when Lady Zenu was busy and I helped him get dressed. No, I¡¯m not exaggerating, honestly! I know this. Look, just because- Okay, so being a bit more quiet, we should keep going. It¡¯s important to know this, and we can get you some practice with Lady Runehold. She¡¯s got a much simpler outfit, but the most important bits are still the same. She¡¯s who I usually help with, anyway. Now, once the shirt is on like so, make sure to fasten it here and here, and tie down the shoulder here, so it is tight against his skin and doesn¡¯t bunch. Oh right! I almost forgot, we use the same potion that we do on the socks with the shirts. Make sure it¡¯s clean, though, don¡¯t reuse them. So, this roll of cloth is the most important thing. Every night, it gets washed in this here basin, and nothing else is washed in this basin, and the water is changed every tenth day right at First Shade, so make sure you¡¯re done with it before the morning. I don¡¯t know what all goes into this one, but I do so love watching the sparkles whenever it gets touched. See? It ripples so silvery when you poke it, I love it. You need to wash the entire thing every night, then it¡¯s important to lay it out like so on this hangar, and hang it inside this box, which dries it. Don¡¯t let it touch the walls of the box, it has to only touch itself and the white wood hangar it¡¯s on. Then, the hardest part, but you¡¯ve done this before, right? We have this cloth, and you need to wrap it around him in a Tonshin-style robe wrapping. Always start on the right shoulder, yes, then around the torso, loop it here around the waist, hold it here while you pull it around, tuck, then over like so, and down one arm and back up, down the other arm and back up, then over the shoulder and tuck. Then, you¡¯ve got this other fabric, that folds in here and goes down one leg, and then back up the other. Eh¡­ that wasn¡¯t that good, but you get the idea, and it really needs three people who know what they¡¯re doing. When it¡¯s done properly, all the different embroidery lines up and makes¡­ well, you¡¯ve seen the design it makes. To help hold it together, we pin it here with this. We don¡¯t need to do anything super special with it, just give the outside a little polish to keep it looking nice, but see inside, that little flame? That¡¯s because it¡¯s holding a little bit of phoenix bone and ash, so it¡¯s always burning. But anyway! Then you put the belt on. But on the belt, you need to put these on it first. We don¡¯t have any of the actual pouches at the moment, Master Runehold takes care of them and only brings them out when it¡¯s time to actually use them, but here are some that are basically identical, just empty. For a court day, we use these more slender pouches, see? You need to make sure that the openings align with the openings in the outer robe, but these larger pouches are used for any time he¡¯s actually going to be fighting. Lots more room, lots more compartments, no, I don¡¯t know what goes into them. I think it¡¯s lots of jewels and gold, maybe some leaves from a golden apple. You know, goldleaves. What? I¡¯m serious. But once the pouches are on, we put daggers on it. This one, see? I think the sapphire¡¯s my favorite part, but the engravings! And the blade. I heard it¡¯s actually dragonbone, not crystal. I know. You need to test the dagger each night. We¡¯ve got these little strings here, see? You lay one over the blade, and if it cuts the string in half, it¡¯s good. If so we just rub the blade with this heartblood oil, and polish the stone with this gemstone polish. Otherwise, we need to pass it along to Tol for proper sharpening. So you need to be really careful when sheathing it, and make sure it¡¯s fastened in place right here, and with this knot. You need to make sure that it¡¯s not too tight, so it can¡¯t be undone easily, or too loose, so it falls out. It¡¯s tricky, but you¡¯ll get it eventually. Then make sure you fasten the belt here, and if it¡¯s a war outfit, use this pin, but if it¡¯s a court day, use this one. I don¡¯t know what the difference is between them, sorry. Oh, the belt? It¡¯s made of unicorn hide, apparently, and the old lord wore it to help fend off poison and disease. I don¡¯t know why our king wears it still, but maybe he just likes how it feels. It is quite soft, yeah. Make sure you don¡¯t pin it too hard, either. There you go, just right. See? Not so bad over all. One day, you¡¯ll learn how to do the hair¡­ once I do, and maybe one day you¡¯ll even help put his horn ornamentations on! It¡¯ll be great, just you see. Being able to know each day that you helped dress the king, that you were able to help his magnificence? It¡¯s great! Especially once you learn a bit more about how all the weaved embroidery helps- Oh! Lady Zenu. I wasn¡¯t expecting to see you. Yes, Lady Zenu. No, Lady Zenu. Yes, I was just helping Felilia learn how best to serve the king. Of course, Lady Zenu. Yes, Lady Zenu. Yes, the shift is clean Lady Zenu. Of course, Lady Zenu. I will get started on that right away, Lady Zenu. Come on! You heard her. Let¡¯s get moving. On the Development of Teleportation From a brochure published by Alset Technologies:
The first form of teleportation that mortal mages managed to develop were the class of what we would consider blink spells, short-range movement rituals which didn¡¯t appear to travel through the intervening space. These spells were expensive, usually limited to line of sight, and required expensive components from creatures who demonstrated instantaneous movement capabilities, such as phoenixes, warp hounds, unicorns, crevasse rats, and more. It was also dangerous if done incorrectly and very limited range, leaving it largely impractical outside of very niche circumstances. Of course, it was no less practical than any other magic of the time, and the inherent mortal fascination with teleportation ensured that interest never truly died out, but it remained a niche way to traverse short distances for most of recorded history. It wasn¡¯t until Archartificer Bralin Aliar developed the first teleportation beacons that true Teleportation became a reality. This first form of beacon was incredibly limited, being wholly immobile and only capable of teleporting a caster from an elaborate teleportation platform (which the entire beacon was built around) to a second, equally elaborate beacon. It was only able to go in one direction, required two entire Convergences dedicated solely to its operation, and a modified blink-teleportation ritual that required nearly an hour of direct casting. This platform had no safety enchantments, accidents were common, and they consumed truly fantastic amounts of resources to use, with a brazier burning phoenix ash, unicorn blood filling the ritual circle¡¯s channels, and other incredibly rare and powerful components related to the selfsame creatures that had inspired the very first blink-type spells. Even then, a strong storm, extreme amounts of active magic, or even a single contaminant in the boundary wards could cause the entire ritual to fail, wasting the entire attempt. It still revolutionized transportation, and no-doubt helped the Ethizarian Empire limp along for an extra century, with the incredible flexibility it provided when deploying Archmages for duty. Even with only four true teleportation stations, they quickly developed and expanded the technology. By the time of the Empire¡¯s collapse, they¡¯d gotten the ritual down to as little as a fifteen-minute cast and (through clever overlaying of the sending and receiving enchantments) a single teleportation station could be used as a destination or sending pad, though still to only a single other paired station. After the final collapse, knowledge of the teleportation stations was lost for several centuries, until uncovered notes and further advancement in the field of artificery lead Arish El Kaia to develop a drastically simplified ritual. At the heart of this new design was a teleportation crystal that still relied on many of the selfsame innate teleporters that had been so integral to developments thus far. However, thanks to the then-new Eltimari Principle, this crystal was permanent, and even should it fall out of maintenance, it would retain its magical properties and drastically cut down the cost for each individual teleportation. Furthermore, by consecrating the central crystal as a Roadstone, a spirit of the road was bound to the teleportation system, enabling them to, for the first time, utilize a single teleportation platform to truly enable travel to multiple locations. No longer were complicated chains of teleports required, nor endless pairs of teleportation platforms, so long as a location had a crystal, any other teleportation Nexus could use it as a destination. Naturally, the means of their creation was a closely guarded secret, and to this day the exact methods have not been fully duplicated, and traveling likewise required the agreement of the gate-spirit at both the arrival and destination Nexuses. It similarly still required a modified blink-type spell to cast, but thanks to advancements in foci, it was possible for an archmage to travel anywhere within the Fractured Alliance in a single afternoon. No substantial developments were made for a couple of centuries, until the Kas-Vital Anchor Principle was discovered. Originally researched as part of a failed branch of target-seeking combat spells, the ritual circle proved to be very compatible with the teleportation nexi. By extending the same principle utilized to teleport the active spellwork of the traveler¡¯s modified blink, the Nexus teleported its own magical framework to a prepared location, enabling any properly-constructed Teleportation Circle to serve as the destination for a teleportation Nexus. This did roughly double the power strain on the Nexus, but with a new Nexus configuration created by the Bileri Family (the predecessors to the Transportation Guild) it was more than capable of handling the load. This was, once again, a revolution in teleportation, as the anchor circle was, while not simple to create, was order of magnitude cheaper and easier to install, with maintenance costs slowly becoming feasible for smaller locations to afford. Even as destinations grew more numerous, however, teleportation was still quite a niche form of transportation, with the required ritual still quite complex even for experienced mages. Thus, it remained reserved in practice, and occasionally by law, infrastructure solely for nobility and royalty to use. By the time Fizzalinit Ieshrilian developed the Anchor Reversal Principle, having a teleportation circle was an outright prerequisite for officially becoming a city. Once the Reversed Anchor teleportation circle was developed, having a robust teleportation hub, with multiple Circles in use, was all but required for any city that desired any level of freemage inhabitance, travel, or trade. The ritual required to utilize the teleportation Nexus was still quite complex, a spell so heavily modified from the original blink as to be almost unrecognizable, but with the Reverse Nexus, it first began to integrate divinatory components as well as the actual travel magic. With the divination, channeled through a compatible Circle, a nearby Nexus was signaled to send the entrance to the requested location, enabling the mage to teleport from a known Circle back to the Nexus, and from the Nexus out to any other Circle it was connected to, or another Nexus. The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. With continued refinement of the Nexi and the Circle alike, it was only a few decades before Itzillin Xalistar managed to create a properly portable teleportation circle, enabling a mage to carry around a platform that they could place at any arbitrary location, instead of the formerly location-locked Circles that the nexuses required. Elziar Ttaxian took that concept one step further, distilling the Teleportation Circle into an arbitrary spell formula, only requiring the mage know a ritual to inscribe and charge the circle on any flat surface they may encounter. The next obvious step was held back for a few decades by a simple power limitation imparted in large portion by the sheer numbers that teleport nexi were transporting at any given time, making their locales bustling metropolises no matter how traditionally inhospitable the Convergences they were built on would normally be. It was eventually solved by further refinements lead by the Transportation Guild, and enabled free teleportation between any two teleportation circles, provided one knew the appropriate directions to pass along to the Nexus for their direction, and assuming that the target circle was still in existence (that is, not a temporary departure circle, which was the one of the predominant modes of teleportation at that point). A couple of decades later, Tross Kas lead a research team enabling individual nexi to cooperate to pass along a single teleport, creating a true teleportation network, as a teleport was no longer limited to within the range of a single Nexus or between nexi only. After Illzian Kazador, working with the Transportation Guild, managed to refine the spellform teleportation to the point where a Teleportation Circle was only trivially required as an anchor for the actual spatial working, a new wave of artificers trying to push Teleportation to be fully portable, with need for nothing but a standard-sized focus to tap into the full network. It was Treil Kazador and Albert Spears who eventually succeeded, with an orb a foot in diameter capable of sending a powerful enough divinatory flare to the nexus, and serve as an adequate framework for the teleportation spellwork. Within five years, it had been reduced to three inches in diameter, and over the following decades became a staple in every mage¡¯s toolkit. It was, after all, around this time that the Arcanic Revolution was taking place, and the ability to freely teleport from anywhere at any time to nearly every city, town, and ritual site was a truly staggering development. Less than twenty years later, a research team lead by Alia Kazador developed place beacon, which enabled trivial teleportation to functionally any place a mage had been previously. That same research team, this time led by Itzzillin Errasil, later developed what was then referred to as signal location, once again allowing an unparalleled amount of free travel. It was around this time that Teleportation Networks installed the precursors to the modern safety systems, as freely-directed teleportation opened up the possibility of unsafe teleportation targets, and began to intentionally fail easier than they did previously. A malformed longstep could still result in the caster appearing within a solid object, but with the new safety regulations, a properly cast one was almost perfectly safe, with many ¡®mortal tolerances¡¯ programmed into the network and preventing appearing miles above the ground, deep underwater, or in the middle of a sandstorm. During this golden age of development, Umbra Asena¡¯s General Teleportation served a truly incredible role, combining no less than four spells: Signal beacon, to notify the Nexus of the caster¡¯s existence and desire to travel, two separate spells indicating first the manner of identification they were using and the identification for their actual destination, and only then were they able to begin to cast the actual longstep (barely recognizable from the blink variant it once was) that would teleport them, though the network, to their destination. Of course, this development was only made possible by Liarraza Kialamoor¡¯s recent addition to the Nexus, enabling them to accept a new kind of identification, based on common identifiers. No more, was a city¡¯s teleportation hub a string of magical impulses that a mage needed to perfectly convey to the Nexus, a simple will-based identification of the desired location was sufficient. Of course, this only worked with places that both the Nexus and the caster was familiar with, but it allowed Asena¡¯s General Teleportation to default to this usually-superior mode of identification, cutting out half of the normally required steps. A much easier target for simplification. Another new location protocol was introduced within a decade, meant to work with General Teleportation by, instead of providing an impression of the desired location to the Nexus, instead provide mathematical coordinates to the network, directing the mage through the network and to any point within the Nexus¡¯ range, with startling precision. In time, this was even integrated with the Kialamoor Location System to allow for mathematical precision based on a freeform location, and integrations with more advanced scrying systems enabled a mage to safely identify if their target location was safe before teleporting, once again drastically lowering the number of accidents that happened during travel. Finally, we reach the great Ixolai Alset himself, whose advanced translocation spell, utilizing modern spellframe techniques now enable true, proper teleportation utilizing nothing but an artifact. This brought teleportation to the relative masses, as no longer did a traveler need to know an actual spatial magic spell, but simply the divination half of General Teleport. This incorrectly-named (as it is not spatial magic in the slightest) Greater Teleport is capable of instantaneously moving anyone to anywhere within its network, by sheer virtue of putting all the actual transportation magic as a duty of the teleportation Nexus. With the newly-developed Beacon Amulet, even that is no longer a requirement! All that is now needed for travel to anywhere within a teleportation network is simply the ability to activate an enchantment, a clear destination, and off you go, the Nexus taking care of everything else. On the Primordial Realms From ¡®Introduction to the Planes,¡¯ by T. Ketzvih:

Primordial

The Primordial Realms are something of an odd grouping. Officially, they are all those Realms which cannot be properly sorted into any of the other categories, yet even a casual inspection of its members reveals that this is far from an adequate description. According to some, they are all the realms which embody some deep, fundamental aspect of reality, but in a way even deeper than the Divine realms and their existence as the ur-examples of mortal ideas. Primordial realms are thus more akin to the base concepts which the entire cosmos exist upon. Yet, what base concept is the Morningstar built upon? The Maelstrom? While I present a definitive answer for the purposes of this text, many of the Primordial realms are far more complex than a book could possibly describe. Perhaps they are those realms which do not have a god ruling over them? No, even then it is not wholly accurate. Deities of the Primordial are far less likely to interact with mortals, yet they exist nonetheless and may be far, far more vengeful when seeking to punish an interloper into their lands. Regardless, all Primordial realms are basically incomprehensible to mortal minds. When traveling to them, unless special preparations; magical, spiritual, and mental alike are taken, then they appear as a facade of sorts. This is not an intentional shield for the sanity of mortals (insofar as can be determined), but rather the natural result of non-native life manifesting within the realm. Why this is the case remains a point of ongoing research, but is speculated to be the simple result of the realm attempting to remain in-phase with all of its contents.
Green Lands The Green Lands, for all that they possess the most benign facade, are perhaps the most genuinely incomprehensible of all the Primordial Realms. It is the nexus of all of time across the entire multiverse, every past and every future accessible from within its bounds. While the exact machinations of time are best left for a study in advanced Chronistry, it will suffice for our purposes to say that time is not a single sequence of cause to effect. Rather, when not subjected to the forces of a singular timestream, it is more clearly a mass of tangled snarls, of subsequent moments of ¡®present time,¡¯ each a focus for countless possible pasts and futures. The facade of its primary plane is an infinite meadow, verdant and green for all that it is completely absent of all other forms of life. Venturing deeper into the realm unveils facades of cities and ruins, caves and rivers. Other than any moving water which may be present, everything is green, usually said to be covered in thick green moss, giving this Realm its name. This culminates in the City of Then and Now, an emerald city where time is traversed just as surely as any street and bartered with like a copper coin. Breaking past the facade takes one outside the bounds of time, watching the loom of time spin by, pasts becoming the present becoming futures. Green Land Primordials are perhaps the most singularly powerful category of being, as they all possess a unique relationship with time. At its most benign, this manifests in the Kraz-Viol Samsara, who are united in that upon death, their soul is returned to the moment of their birth/creation, granting them nigh-omniscience for everything pertaining to their life. (In truth, the soul of a Samsara is not truly returned, but simply always existed that way, yet a full explanation of advanced Chronistry is beyond the scope of this book.) This extends to the excrons, whose existence as innately outside of time, even upon leaving the Green Lands, renders them all but omnipotent.
Chaos Beyond The Chaos Beyond, sometimes known as the Far Realm, borders every realm at its most distant plane, and is the most varied and chaotic of all the Primordial realms. In this place, reality itself shifts unpredictably and concepts, not matter, are all that truly exists. What exactly the heart of the Chaos Beyond is like, if it truly even has such a thing, is unknown and largely believed to be futile, for nothing can survive its shallows. Spells go awry, being twisted beyond their own existence into foreign forms and concepts. Those who venture into it never return, and the Primordials which exist are so incomprehensible to the minds of mortals, elementals, and even divines as to be meaningless. It is a place of madness, the darkness beyond the stars of the Astral, the skies above the sky of Heaven, the bedrock deeper than the deepest layer of Hell, the bottom of the Abyss. Those ¡®Primordials¡¯ which have appeared within the lands of sanity are never in their true form, but simply translated and given shape by either the rare spell capable of reaching them or more commonly the ¡®echo¡¯ of a ritual, carrying with it a fragment of such a being¡¯s reflection. Even these reflections (which shall be referred to as the Primordials of the Chaos Beyond for simplicity) invariably wreak havoc upon reality, forcibly altering the manner in which the lands they appear within either temporarily or forever.
Abyss The Abyss is often said to be the heart of all evil in the cosmos. That is ridiculous. ¡®Evil¡¯ is not some cosmic force which infects the souls of man and causes them to perform heinous acts. That is merely the measure of the soul. The Abyss is, however, the heart of malevolence. It is actively hostile to all existence and being which is not itself, a force of destruction and hatred which still does not ¡®infect¡¯ the rest of existence any more than the Green Lands ¡®infect¡¯ reality with the passage of time. It is simply a planar manifestation of the phenomenon. Abyssal Primordials, known more commonly as demons, are the Primordial which most of my readers are most likely to be aware of. Unusually for Primordials, demons are actually relatively comprehensible by mortal minds, likely due to their Primordial nature being an emotion common to most forms of life. This actually makes demons the least constrained to their base nature, and while it is not likely by any metric, it is not uncommon for a demon to overcome their base nature and genuinely transcend their origins. This incidence is of course far less common than mortals setting aside malevolence in favor of cooperation, but is in many ways comparable to a mortal becoming an Elder creature. A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. Digressions on the nature of demons aside, the Abyss¡¯ facade is that of an endless void, an eternal pit of unknown (yet massive beyond conceptualization) size. Within this void, planes drift like islands whose facade resembles any number of other environs, yet invariably featuring structures, either natural or ¡®artificial¡¯ which the traveler describes as appearing ¡®hostile.¡¯ The exception which proves the rule are the Planes of Bliss, which are described as impossibly welcoming and inviting as to prevent the wanderer from ever leaving. Despite the relative commonality of traveling to the Abyss, it is important to remember that all sights and descriptions of the Realm are indeed merely of the Facade, and the true appearance of the Abyss is just as incomprehensible and indescribable as any of the other Primordial Realms. The Abyss, as a final point of note, is the most likely of all the Realms for a Slip to open, as being foundationally made of malevolence means that it is entirely possible for any mortal with a grudge to connect to the realm purely through their desire and hatred. This is especially common among mages with powerful souls, and is why careful emotional control and detachment is so commonly espoused as a virtue among practitioners of sorcery.
Maelstrom The Maelstrom is predominantly theorized to be the Primordial realm of chaos and destruction, though such a descriptor is close enough to that of the Abyss that it is clearly insufficient for the realm. However, the Maelstrom is fairly universally agreed to be impartial with its destruction, contrasted with the desire for harm the Abyss demonstrates. Its location within the grander cosmology shifts not quite randomly, but certainly unpredictably on longer time-scales, and wherever it passes planes have been ripped from their realms and chaotically reshuffling both their location and their occupants and contents. In fact, there is ongoing debate as to whether the Maelstrom even is a realm, as it seems to have no consistent set of planes which make it up. Some planes have been within the Maelstrom, even the heart of it, for as long as anyone has been able to keep records of such things, yet none have managed to determine whether they are truly a permanent part of the realm. The facade of a plane within the Maelstrom is that of the original plane¡¯s appearance, save that it appears randomly rearranged, with oceans ending suddenly as a giant wall of water, only for a mountain to then grow out of that wall of water, with no clear point wherein water is replaced with stone. The Primordials of the Maelstrom, collectively known as the Apep, are intensely variable in form even within members of a species, however there do remain enough trends (usually in the manner in which their presence affects their surroundings) that they are capable of being categorized and recognized. Of course, while the chaos is certainly the most notable aspect of the Maelstrom, it too is an aspect of destruction, and some planes that it consumes are not later released, but instead wholly broken down into its smallest constituent parts, then usually recombined with a plane somewhere later on. Other times, these fragments drift into the Morningstar, and are spread in that manner.
Morningstar The Morningstar is the Primordial realm of creation, and is the largest realm in all of the cosmos save for perhaps the Chaos Beyond itself. Each and every action taken within the Morningstar spawns new planes, new collections of planes, and is the source of all new planes, and is often believed to be the source of the additional substance which existing planes expand with. Its facades are highly variable, yet always include some aspect which is associated with growth or creation. Massive factories, lush forests, volcanoes, and eternally flowing fountains are all common features of the Morningstar, yet to put any limits upon this realm is to understate what it is and what it can do. Even its Primordials are entities of existence and creation, from the living planes that are the albeists, to the infinitely long, infinitely growing ouropoiesis. Less well-known are the brightmuses, creators and inspirations for ideas, as that too spews forth from the Morningstar.
Uror Uror, sometimes called the Loom of Fate and occasionally thought to only be an offshoot of the Green Land, is the Primordial realm of fate. Its facade is described as a transitionary space, and one of the most genuinely useful Primordial realms, to the point that some consider it an honorary Liminal plane. Countless strings, planes in their own right, are looped together to fashion the connections between everything in existence. The stronger the connection, the more defined and ¡®real¡¯ the facade representing the connection is. Past the facade, it is said that Ilinor the Fatespinner sits pulling upon the threads of fate to guide the paths of every being in the entire cosmos. It remains inconclusive whether Ilinor is a deity, an exceptionally powerful norn, or even exists to begin with. It is considered just as inadvisable to attempt to utilize Uror to sever one¡¯s fate, to eliminate connections of either their own or their enemies, or to strengthen such connections, just as attempting to change one¡¯s past or future is inadvisable within the Green Lands. Doing so goes poorly, often leaving would-be fatestealers as literal shades of their former selves, either torn asunder by bonds far too strong for their own existence or erased from the ability to affect or be affected by anything.
Akasha The Akasha is the Primordial realm of knowledge, and thus contains nothing less than the sum total of all information in all of existence. Every theorem, every passing thought, every discovery, all exists within the realm whose Facade is often described as an infinite library. Of course, the Akasha possesses all knowledge, including false knowledge, and this is an important fact to keep in mind when utilizing it for divinations. Further compounding this difficulty is that even true information may not be true for the location believed to be queried. Thanks to interactions with the Green Land, it also contains knowledge about what could be, or could have been. That this extends to radically different interpretations of fundamental reality is a matter I shall leave for the philosophers, as it is also possible that such knowledge is simply incorrect information, regardless of the minuscule likelihood some of the misconceptions could have come into being naturally. Once a new thought is made, a new fact discovered, the Akasha grows to incorporate that new information. This has lead some to speculate that the Akasha is in fact a form of universal afterlife, keeping the true records of a being¡¯s essence in perfect preservation, and that record of a being, that perfect creation of everything they ever were, may manifest as something approximating their existing personhood once their information is ¡®complete,¡¯ becoming a bookkeeper. That there is no evidence for such a thing has not stopped these people from persisting in their beliefs, yet the Akashic Cults remain a pervasive enough presence that they demand mention. Conversely, in the event that something is wholly annihilated from the Akasha, so too does that information vanish from the entire cosmos. This process is known to be possible, and to even have happened, yet naturally what information was destroyed is unknown. There are many, many failed attempts, however, as evidenced by the number of concepts whose only record is the knowledge of their destruction, itself found within the Akasha. Many of these failed removals are best left unexplored, yet the original identity of the Plaguebringer is one such surviving factoid. Primordials associated with the Akasha are odd. While some, such as the bookkeepers, are undoubtedly persons in their own right, fully sapient and aware entities comprised of pure information and naught else, there is even less of a clear divisor between what is and is not a Primordial or simply a feature of the realm, or even just a property of information itself (if there even truly is a distinction between the latter two possibilities). As an example, memetins are little more than a single facet of knowledge, a solitary idea which resides within the mind of another, and is spread like any idea, growing and mutating as it progresses. In many ways, memetins act like a living being, and with the appropriate spells it is possible to establish rudimentary communication with the memetin. It remains unclear, however, thanks to the rudimentary ¡®intelligence¡¯ of these simple Primordials, whether there is a true conversation occurring, or simply a set of divinations which can learn information about the origin of a solitary idea. On Classifying Enemies From the Guidebook on Greencloak Regulations and Procedures, as released by the Kingdom of Relikar
In order to better respond to the wide array of threats in which the Greencloaks find themselves facing an increasingly complex and developed empire, the office of the Archking has deemed it necessary to create a guide for tactics which ought to be utilized when facing various foes. As to better serve these purposes and to aid in effective communication when in or out of active combat, it is necessary to create a guide outlining the categories of foes which might be faced. For the sake of standardization, these categorizations shall also be adopted when classifying Cloaked personnel, yet procedures in this handbook shall be focused primarily upon combating rather than working with mages and Blessed. Due to the excessive variety found within our foes, this work is by its very nature not capable of capturing every nuance of the types of powers which monsters, Rebels and False Chosen may present, and so is instead intended to better capture the nature of tactics required to deal with them. Thus, a Rebel who possesses the strength of a hundred men, and a monster who is able to transform any who they touch to stone are each classified in the same way, as the required tactic- avoid contact- is roughly analogous in each situation. Furthermore, it is important to recall that while your foes may possess a given suite of magics and preferred tactics, they remain individually dangerous and cunning and are able to deviate substantially from their standard operating procedures. A Brute may deviate from their standard sword attacks to throw a massive boulder, a Kinetic may possess a poisoned dagger hidden within their clothing, or a Cloud may possess the unknown feature of being composed of toxic gas. Remain vigilant regardless of their known categorization.
The first category pertains to the primary weapon the target utilizes in combat. A Warrior¡¯s primary weapon is either themselves or weapons they directly wield. A Mage¡¯s primary weapon is their surroundings. A Rogue¡¯s primary weapon is information, either obtaining or restricting an abnormal amount of it. Lastly, a Captain¡¯s primary weapon is other people. Due to the incredible variety each of these categories refer to, it is thus necessary to utilize further subcategories for each form. Warriors may be Brutes, Runners, Snipers, or Grotesques. Mages may be Kinetics, Trappers, Archs, or Swamps. Rogues may be Infiltrators, Creepers, Seers, or Clouds. Captains may be Nobles, Medics, or Druids.
A Brute is a Warrior whose principle danger comes solely if they manage to obtain physical contact with their target. Brutes may be exceptionally strong, or possess a mighty ability that is limited to touch only, but the priority when facing one is to prevent direct contact. A Runner is a Warrior who possesses exceptional mobility, such as enhanced speed or some form of readily-usable flight. This category is reserved for those who specifically derive much of their danger from this ability, and demonstrate fairly limited alternative offensive options beyond quick reposition with their weapon. For more generic information on the mobility of a target, see the Mobility classifications section. A Sniper is a Warrior who possesses some kind of direct ranged attack. This could be a method to throw boulders at regular intervals or a particular propensity for fireballs. A Grotesque is a Warrior whose presence itself is hazardous. Whether their visage induces madness in all that behold it, or emanate a cloak of flames centered upon them, or possess the capability to transform into an enormous cloud of poisonous gas, all Grotesques require exceptional caution when engaged with.
A Kinetic is a Mage whose principle weapon is in some way the area around them. This may be limited to a single element, such as water or earth, or more general. It can also refer to mental control of lesser creatures or plants, any additional life which cannot be easily broken into individual targets. A Trapper is a Mage who has in some way set their chosen battlefield with a variety of pre-set hazards and necessitate exceptional caution when simply attempting to engage. An Arch is a Mage that possesses substantial broad-scale magical abilities or an ability which varies depending on circumstance. Their prowess is wide and varied, and they often possess superb control over magic itself, countering or taking control of existing spells and effects for their own use. A Swamp is a Mage in possession of a area-of-effect debilitating ability whose effects may or may not be obvious yet whose primary impact is upon the combat capability of those facing them. Slow-acting poisons are not considered significant enough on their own to warrant a Swamp rating, the ability must actively impede combat capability when facing the Mage.
An Infiltrator is a Rogue whose specialty in some way involves the infiltration of a group in a way that no members of the group are aware of the Rogue¡¯s presence. The most common way this may occur is through shapeshifting, however there have been instances wherein a Rogue possessed the ability to insert their presence into the memories of those who viewed them, making it seem as though they were an existing part of a group. A Creeper is a Rogue capable of becoming invisible or generally unseen. While Invisibility and illusions may be the classical Creeper abilities, casting enormous clouds of darkness or dust to obscure sight or other primary senses is also classified as a Creeper tactic. While when engaged the two forms of Creepers require largely similar tactics, Creepers whose tactics are non-obvious when in use (such as invisibility or insignificance) require additional countermeasures deployed, as outlined later within this text. A Seer is a Rogue who possesses abnormal levels of information and some way of gathering more in unconventional ways. Mind-readers and precognostics are the most iconic forms of Seers, yet Seer is perhaps the most common of all categories which can be obtained via purely mundane training methods. Traitors from among the Cloaked will often be considered Seers, purely due to the amount of knowledge which they possess in regards to the procedures and tactics employed by our organizations. Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. A Cloud is a Rogue who may transform themselves either fully or in part into a diffuse substance (such as a cloud, swarm of insects, or living shadow) and can thus pass with far less notice into restricted spaces and more easily avoid many forms of mundane weaponry.
A Noble is a Captain with some form of ability to conscript nominally unwilling participants into service. This often carries with it the possibility of members of a Cloak team being pulled under the sway of the Noble. Individuals under sway of a Noble may be more reckless and undertake more suicidal actions, as they very rarely possess any level of individual worth (even any level of individual autonomy) while under the Noble¡¯s sway. Effect is often broken upon death, but is not assured. A Medic is a Captain whose presence supports and empowers other individuals. This is the broadest form of Captain, and many Captains include this effect to some degree, yet for a Captain to have specifically the ¡®Medic¡¯ designation this must be the primary way in which their presence impacts the individuals they utilize as weapons. As the name suggests, this commonly includes healing capabilities relevant within a single combat setting. A Druid is a Captain whose weapon is non-person creatures that are yet large enough to be considered individual combatants, rather than an indiscriminate mass. There are few to no worries of a Druid being a Noble, but even should the Druid not possess any direct Medic capabilities, the animals they direct are frequently more dangerous than their natural counterparts, due to either fearlessness or increased intelligence directing their actions.
The next classifications deal with danger and degree of preparedness required when facing a target, and are known as Lethality, Armor, and Mobility. Lethality is measured as Bandage, Potion, Clinic, and Zero. Armor is measured as Robe, Shield, Metal, and Scale. Mobility is measured as Crawl, Walk, Jog, and Dash. A Bandage target is one whose abilities either are not terribly fast-acting or hard-hitting, such that normal recovery (usually ¡®a good night of sleep¡¯) is sufficient to recover from an attack or other exposure to the ability. This includes most targets who prefer unarmed combat without a Brute ability. A Bandage Noble may take substantial time, on the order of weeks to months, to conscript a target. A Potion target is one whose preferred tactics usually require a potion to recover from. This includes targets who utilize basic weaponry without their abilities drastically magnifying their effects, as well as some Brutes who prefer unarmed combat. A Potion Noble usually requires hours or days to conscript a target. A Clinic target is one whose methods of combat are highly dangerous and quickly lethal, requiring fast action from a healer to survive upon contact. Grievous wounds, fast-acting poisons, and overwhelming amounts of magic are all expected at this level, and the chance of taking casualties are high. A Clinic Noble can feasibly conscript a target within a single engagement. A Zero target is immensely lethal, with chance of survival (or equivalent, for nonlethal abilities) being functionally nonexistent should so much as a single attack connect. Overwhelming strength, virulent toxins, decay and soul magics, and petrification are all common weapons of Zero targets. A Zero Noble can conscript a target within seconds.
A Robe target is no more resistant to attack than an unarmored dwarf. Unarmed combat has the potential to be usable upon this target, and a solitary powerful attack is liable to be lethal. A Shield target is one who is no more resistant to attack than a fully warded and armored battlemage. Many standard attacks will be minimally effective, and multiple otherwise-lethal attacks may be required in concert to properly eliminate the target. A Metal target is one who is no more durable than an adult dragon. High-grade penetrative attacks and weaponry ought to be employed, and no single attack should be assumed to be lethal. Metal targets also include those who possess substantial regeneration that is believed to be insufficient when returning from full bodily destruction. A Scale target is as or more durable than an adult dragon. Excessive force is required to stand even a minor chance of overcoming their defenses, often requiring Zero-level attacks to wound. This also applies to targets with extreme self-healing capabilities and may require repeat complete bodily destruction before they are liable to truly die.
A Crawl target¡¯s normal maximum speed is no faster than the standard endurance run of an unenhanced human. It is reasonable to expect unaided movement could keep up or surpass these targets in speed. A Walk target¡¯s maximum speed is equal to or less than what the standard Greencloak is expected to have at their disposal, and can be fought safely either at parity or with an advantage. A Jog target is capable of movement faster than a standard Greencloak has at their disposal, yet not so fast as to be impossible to see or otherwise strike. Fights against such targets will be very difficult, and escape (if desired by the target) is nigh-assured without special preparations. A Dash target possesses extreme movement capabilities, faster than can be reasonably be expected to follow with standard methodologies. Defensive strategies should be employed if they are on the attack, and pursuit when they are on the retreat is assumed futile.
The remaining categories have to do with threat management or similar tactical decisions, often determined based on analysis of the grander situation and any peculiarities of a given target, each possessing four ranks. A Capture score is measured as Pillow, Chain, Knife, and Dust. A Growth score is measured as Ashes, Embers, Sparks, or Flames. A Pillow target must be prioritized to be kept alive while restrained, with their ideal state being completely incapacitated and/or unconscious. This may be due to extenuating circumstances, such as a valued target fallen under sway of a Noble, or due to some quirk of a power, such as an Infiltrator who upon death possesses a new victim, restarting the hunt for them. In a war setting, many opposing targets of value would be given a rating of Pillow due to their high value to the war effort. A Chain target is the default capture rating. They are to be captured if possible, yet their death should not be specifically avoided if doing so would place substantial risk upon any Cloaked. They similarly possess no oddities which should make their restraint unusually difficult. A Knife target should be killed. For whatever reason, their capture is either impractical or directly dangerous, and thus the focus when facing them should be on direct and maximum lethality. A Dust target requires additional effort to stay dead, and their death is a priority. When faced in combat, complete and total annihilation including that of the soul should be attempted. Standard lethality is insufficient for a Dust target, yet they are dangerous enough that attempting to be captured is unadvised.
An Ash target is one whose power will naturally wane over time and thus delaying confrontation is a valid tactic for engaging Greencloak teams. In many cases, they will self-solve their own threat. A Spark target is assumed the default, a target whose power possesses no particular inherent growth ability, yet distinctly has the possibility to grow in mastery and skill, increasing their threat over time. Sparks ought to be assigned a standard priority, to be dealt with as soon as is feasible and once no higher priorities are in place. An Ember target is one whose abilities will naturally grow substantially over time. Many new False Blessed fall into this category, with the early days of their new abilities being spent establishing their limits and growing them. However, this also includes some Druids whose menagerie will continue to expand the longer they are allowed to grow and flourish unchecked. A Flame target is the highest priority, possessed of power that will dramatically grow if given any time. Nobles whose mere presence is enough to instantiate rebellion, Brutes whose might comes from an ability to craft fantastic arms and armor for any situation, or Medics whose empowerment is permanent and untethered from their proximity, enabling them to raise an army of Brutes or more the longer they are left unchecked. They must be prioritized at all cost, including pulling multiple Cloaked teams together to end the threat before it threatens to overwhelm existing response mechanisms. On the Magical Elements From Introduction to Elemental Theory, published by The Grand College:
Elements are the utter foundation of all magic, and are central to all spells and magical education, from the most basic casting classes to the most advanced archmage¡¯s foremost research. They are most well-known as substances or individual concepts, fundamental aspects of the universe which magic taps into for much of its power, and are combined in different ways to create spells. There are some curiosities, such as what precisely the ¡®Significance¡¯ element is, but it is otherwise fairly straightforward. As education advances, this rather simplistic view of elements is expanded into the more nuanced view that elements are the different axis upon which magic interacts with the world. Next, one learns of elemental aspects as the ¡®directions¡¯ an element may lean, and how an element may differentiate itself, giving itself meaning beyond its mere existence. Also taught are the ways in which a given form of elemental mana behaves, and can thus be manipulated in predictable ways. I shall not pretend that at this stage you are truly prepared to leave behind all the lies of education, for you are not. Mana is more complex than anyone is capable of comprehending, its elements an unknown fragment of an infinitely intricate and fantastic Tapestry which permeates nearly every inch of an inordinately infinite cosmos. The lie which you are currently suited for are Zolicar¡¯s Five Forms of Elements, known as Contact, Behavior, Aspect, Associations, and Locality. These five characterizations of an element provide an even greater approximation in the manner which mana may act, with a single ¡®element¡¯ providing all the information required to know how that mana will perform within a ritual.
Contact is the terminology given to the interactive axis of mana, the first ¡®truth¡¯ learned when studying elements. It is defined as those attributes of reality which magic may directly act upon or through. That there exists a Sound element means that magical rituals look upon the sounds present within a spell directly. The words and sounds spoken during the casting of a spell (the invocation) are capable of directly influencing the outcome of said spell. Without the Sound element, the words spoken wouldn¡¯t matter, just how they impacted the Air, if that element were involved in the casting, and any Significance they may have to the caster. This example of Sound serves as an excellent practical example as to the tendency of mages to isolate themselves from the outside world, high in their towers for exceptionally complex or delicate rituals. While the motion of air that is caused by sound is miniscule, and thus functionally a non-factor in these rituals, the mere presence of external Sound can disrupt some magical procedures. Without Sound as an element, this would not be a concern. A common example to demonstrate the manner in which Contacts can manifest is to utilize a hypothetical ¡®Spoon¡¯ element. Should the spoon element exist, it would mean that a ritual could utilize the presence of spoons specifically, and the variation that exists within that utensil, as an active component in the ritual, rather than indirectly utilizing the Significance of a spoon as a method of consuming food, or the Wood or Metal within that spoon. Similarly, spells would be able to directly interact with a Spoon as an output. Such Spoon-elemental spells could be capable of conjuring or controlling spoons directly and simply, instead of a spoon-shaped collection of force, metal, or other element.
Many mages will be familiar with the concept of Behavior, though they may not be aware of such. Simply put, Behavior is the manner in which an element acts- Stone mana is solid and unmoving, Water mana is fluid and flexible, Light mana is fast and straightforward, Dark mana vanishes under scrutiny yet returns unchanged. However, these Behaviors are not truly tied to any single Element. Stone mana may Behave as Water, fluidly sweeping around obstacles instead of crashing into them head-on. This is most commonly seen within a mage¡¯s Visualization. When a mage settles their mana into a Visualization, they are in truth applying a unique Behavior onto their own magic, defining the manner in which it will act. It is common for this Visualization, and thus for an element¡¯s Behavior, to be tied to the element itself, yet two Water mages may possess two radically different Visualizations; one sees it as a gentle spring, a flowing thing that brings calm and serenity. The other views it as a massive and deep ocean, hazardous and unpredictable with grand storms appearing at a moment¡¯s notice. Neither of these Visualizations is more ¡®true¡¯ than the other, insofar as the Contact is concerned. Rather, they are two different Behaviors which may be relatively trivially applied to an element. That they are associated with the Contact grants them no more or less ¡®legitimacy¡¯ than a Behavior seemingly totally alien to said Contact. Dark mana which grows and flourish like a plant, or Fire mana which vanishes like the Darkness when confronted, only to return instantly when left alone once again. While these Behaviors are most commonly associated with a certain type of mana, they are not restricted to these, and some truly fascinating results may result from these unusual pairings.
Aspect is usually introduced as an explanation for how a single element may have such grand variations within it, and many behaviors whose explanations truly lie within Behavior or Association are sometimes attributed to Aspect. It is how some fire magics only burn, others heal, and others are used to cook. This is due to Fire potentially being destruction-aspected, warmth-aspected, or cooking-aspected respectively. These aspects are not unique to a single element either, and it is equally possible for Water to be cooking-aspected, warmth-aspected, or indeed even destruction-aspected. You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. However, it is important to keep in mind that while there are Aspects which share a name with a Contact, such as Light, Darkness, or Life, these are a fundamentally different phenomenon. An Aspect can never serve the role of a Contact, and a Contact can never serve the role of an Aspect. This is why ¡®Sharpness¡¯ is not a Contact/element despite the ability for supposedly ¡®neutral¡¯ mana (or in truth, mana possessing a mana Contact) to possess that Aspect. The relationship between these is commonly described as a form of sculpture, with the element as the substance it is carved from, and the aspect as the shape the sculpture forms. In this way, it is possible for a cube or sphere to be composed of either ice or stone, but it is not possible for a cube to be composed of ¡®sphere.¡¯ In fact, Aspect is disconnected from Contact, as no Contact-Aspect pair has ever been proven to be impossible. Darkness-aspected Light, light-aspected Dark, burning-aspected Ice, all of these have not only been theorized but actually found, while some more unusual combinations (malignant-aspected Time, mundane-aspected Significance, and sight-aspected Friendship) have never been documented, it is believed that they could exist. Such Aspects are the ¡®meaning¡¯ given to a manifestation of an element, ascribing the aspects of a given Contact which are being emphasized. Each Contact is infinite in detail and in breadth, and these Aspects serve as a way to translate the infinite into the finite world wherein we live. However, Aspect-less elemental manifestations are not somehow purer or closer to the ideal element, they are simply overtaken by a lack of direction and left to whatever Aspect that reality seeks to guide it along, inherently granting it the ¡®mundane¡¯ Aspect. In this way, it may be said that no mana is ever truly without an Aspect.
Association is the position that the element has within a grander matrix of elements, which other elements it¡¯s close to. It is generally thought to be static, and very, very rarely changes or manifests any differently between individuals. Associated types of mana are those which are near to the element in question, and are based on the cultural understanding of an element. This is similar to an Aspect, yet instead of determining how a given incarnation of an element behaves, it influences how that element interacts with other elements. To utilize the hypothetical Spoon element once again, Metal or Wood might be Associations for the spoon, depending upon if the culture of the caster predominantly utilized metal or wood for their spoons. Both could also be Associations in the right situation, or neither might. However, it might enable in some cases the substitution of a wooden spoon where otherwise Metal may be required to undertake a ritual, should Metal be one of the Associations with the Spoon element. A real-world example is the Sound element. In many locations, it has Association with the Mind element due to the role speaking partakes in the development of the mind. Thus, it is possible for casters to wholly substitute the actual speaking of a chant with merely enunciating it within their mind. Even in the absence of Sound, the Association between Mind and Sound is sufficient for the magic to still occur. This is not due to speaking somehow being a ¡®redundant¡¯ part of the magic, and the result of simply ¡®being good enough at magic¡¯ to ¡®will their change into existence,¡¯ but rather the result of stressing their Mind possessing the required Associations to functionally substitute itself for a spell incantation. Even once the mage no longer mentally performs the chant, this is due to their Mind bridging the gap between the mage and the Sound element, substituting itself for the proper invocation. Even a novice is capable of such a feat, utilizing one element with the proper Associations in place of another element within a ritual. Significance serves as an apt example, wherein a mage who is well-associated with a particular spell or ritual will find themselves capable of casting that spell much easier than might otherwise be expected. Significance serves to smooth out any other missing elements, or to countermand some disturbances that might otherwise cause the spell to fail. As an example of the reverse manner in which Association functions, it is this feature of an Element which allows many Water spells to function upon other Elements such as Blood or Ice. While distinct elements, the Association they possess with one another (or even only in one direction) enable many spells to be cross-elemental.
Locality is the most unusual and least-understood of the Five Forms, and is in many ways the central tenet of the Five Forms. For you see, at this stage of your education you learn one more fundamental truth: Elements are not natural. Or at least, not all of them are. Elements are instead created, sometimes through debatably-natural processes or spoken into being by gods or archmages. From their creation, they spread out across space and time through means unknown. This may restrict the element to a certain geographical region, its use to a specific class of people or even to outright individuals. If a sufficiently powerful being decided that they did indeed wish for a Spoon element, they would be capable of doing so through a complex and mysterious process, and after which Spoon would be a facet of everyone¡¯s magic¡­ in certain circumstances. This is what Locality is, an unusual combination of the creation and creator of the element, coupled with proximity to that creator, and a number of other factors indelibly tied to the source, or originator of that element. It determines the accessibility of an element, whether or not it is existent for a given person. Naturally, this explanation of Locality is its own lie, but this is the lie that will be further explored as you venture deeper into your understanding of elements. Fundamentally, even the same Element may function completely differently or not at all in some portions of the cosmos. Purportedly, ¡®Shadow¡¯ is not an element in many parts of the Plane of Void, and what determines Significance can be determined wholly by the whims of particularly mighty entities deep within Faerie. This is not even accounting for those Elements which do not exist outside of certain planes or even smaller areas. The City-States of Cos possess the unique ¡®Hero¡¯ element, which bears many Associations with Fate and Significance, yet still obeys its own idiosyncrasies which contrast the local Associations and Aspects of those elements. In some cases, an Element may have its Locality restricted to its creator. What sort of element Elder Maximilian Alexander created is unknown, but it is known that he possesses it, and is commonly theorized to be his own variation upon the Hero element. On Blood Magic Extract from Elements of Magic: A Guide to Spellcrafting Essentials, by Elgath Zolicar
Introduction: A relatively common Material element, Blood Magic is oft-maligned due to the nature of its substance. However, once the superstition and unethical magical practices have been stripped away from the element, we are left with a form of magic with a startling degree of versatility and range of associations.
Contact: ¡®Blood¡¯ is magically defined as a vitreous humor within living beings. While the ¡®default¡¯ Contact for the Blood element is a crimson in color, utilizing iron in order to transport oxygen throughout the body of complex life, this is not the only form in which it can manifest. All that is fundamentally required is that it is a liquid humor whose purpose includes the distribution of required nutrients to the body. Accordingly, black, blue, yellow, green, and even other colors may appear, depending upon the element¡¯s Locality. Most commonly, the color of blood matches the color of the caster, and blood magic is always easiest to use upon blood which closely matches that of the mage. In cases where the caster possesses no blood, it defaults to the closest cultural zeitgeist. Microscale life, consisting of a countable number of cells and thus with no need for an internal transfer of nutrients, does not possess Blood. The mechanisms utilized to transport substances within their cells do not count as Blood, though the internal loose fluid found within insects does, as does tree sap in some circumstances (believed to be tied in some ways to the magic¡¯s Locality). Should an artificial fluid be introduced into a subject which is capable of performing the majority of functions which Blood undertakes, that fluid begins to function as a Blood Contact. It is in this way which some mechanical golems do indeed possess Blood, most commonly as some form of oil.
Association: I divest from my standard format for the sake of Blood, as it is unusual in that it possesses four distinct classical Associations within the Standard Model alone, with each of these Associations drastically impacting the common Behaviors and Aspects for Blood. There also exists a fifth Association, which was intentionally engineered to balance all four of the more organic Associations. When that manifested as its own distinct Association rather than an archassociation, there have since been several further attempts at combining all four (five, now) distinct Associations into a balance of all of them.
Aspects: As an excellent example in the manner in which all components of an Element interact with one another, each of the four ¡®classical¡¯ Associations influences the ways in which Aspects manifest. Some of the more common aspects are as follows: Life Death Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! Sacrifice Infection Binding
Locality: Blood magic is fairly universal, and predates all written records, involved in many of the oldest rituals. It has been indelibly tied to sacrificial magic in nearly every culture which has that discipline. The primary Locality influence upon blood was mentioned previously, in that the ¡®default¡¯ blood, affecting the color and easiest form wherein Blood can be controlled, is usually tied to the color of the individual¡¯s blood or the most common type of blood in their surroundings. This is particularly notable in spiritual undead, where their Blood magic usually manifests with their ectoplasm or spiritual substance. This occasionally even extends to an inability to control more material blood, but may extend their reach into broader ectoplasm/soulstuff manipulation instead. Also worth mentioning are many forms of Vampire, who utilize a blend of Blood and Death magic as a substitute for Life magic in their daily functions, and accordingly have a slightly altered Locality. This Locality twists any blood magics to be more parasitic and self-focused in nature, losing much of its propensity to affect others but in turn becomes more variable and potent when called upon by the vampire to enhance themselves or cast other magics. On Friendship Magic Extract from Elements of Magic: A Guide to Spellcrafting Essentials, by Elgath Zolicar
Introduction: Whilst oft-mocked by mages first learning of the element¡¯s existence, Friendship is a core part of the Karmic elements, serving as a counterpart to Hatred in the way it interacts with positive relationships between two or more individuals. It serves as the core part of many communal and beneficial spells, and serves as an excellent substitute and assistant to Mind magics in diplomacy. A Friendship mage may be capable of powering truly incredible works of magic through simply their bonds with one another, or granting a blessing to an entire culture with a single spell.
Contact: Friendship is the existence of positive relationships and emotions between individuals or existing within a group. At the small scale, this is the relationship between a parent and their child, lovers, or two friends. At the larger scale, this is the pervasive ethos of a culture, a guild, or even an entire plane. Elemental Friendship is why some spells function differently (or perhaps only) upon those who are willing or otherwise acquainted with the caster, how self-sacrificial spells based upon Love possess such potency, and is the most direct way in which appropriate spells may receive a direct empowerment. Friendship, when utilized in a spell, is not consumed, though it can be stressed and overuse has been reported to have actual damaging effects upon the relationship the magic is utilizing. This often manifests in concerns that the friendship is solely a tool utilized for magical potency and not a genuine relationship on its own merits, akin to a friend constantly asking for money. Intellectual disbursement of the notion always fails, as no matter how genuine the friendship may be, the magic is utilizing the strength of that relationship as fuel and weakens it inherently, just as utilizing fire as fuel may extinguish it.
Behavior: The most common default Behavior for Friendship has its mana acting within a self-perpetuating feedback loop. Similarly to Elemental Life, Friendship mana strengthens itself over time, but it requires a constant cycling and maintenance of Friendship- the magic, left entirely on its own, will not flourish. However, as the mana increases in strength it likewise improves in resilience and pervasiveness, making it harder and harder to destroy via an outside force. The strongest workings of Friendship can even become more powerful with external pressure, leaving the only way in which they could end is via exceptionally long-term neglect, allowing the mana to slowly fade or become corrupted. When utilized in a more offensive manner, Friendship may also possess a Behavior more reminiscent of Poison, slowly accumulating outside the notice of any watchers. In other instances, Behaviors similar to Light or Sound are harnessed in spells utilized for mass appeal or instantaneous improvement of opinion with less care for their long-term efficacy (such as with Charm spells).
Aspects: Elemental Friendship, naturally, possesses Aspects pertaining to different forms of friendships and relationships.
This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. Association: Friendship carries a few very core Associations, with many other drifting into and out of its suite with quite some regularity. Mind is foremost among these, yet Fate, Significance, and Contract are all nearly as closely tied. More loosely surrounding the Element are Fire, Blood, Life, Death, and Nature. However, nearly every mage which utilizes Friendship has a slightly different set of Associations, and Friendship Archmages have been documented as being capable of casting some simple and even some moderately complex spells while substituting all or nearly all components with Friendship equivalents.
Locality: Friendship is a fairly universal Element, though its prevalence varies wildly from place to place. It is in particular found anywhere civilization may be. In some locales, it is instead known by Elemental Love, Heart, Family, or Community, but despite minor alterations in the manner in which some effects manifest, it fundamentally remains the same element. On Bloodlines From the introduction of On Dynasties and Ancestry: A Guidebook to Bloodlines, by Senior Gosiah of Ithular:
To my dear readers. The study of Bloodlines and the ways in which they influence the magic and bodies of their holders has long since been a study of the Ithular Academy, yet the mysteries of inherited power have remained just that for far too long, mysteries. They have been split among countless research papers, written in incomprehensible language too dense for any but the eldest scholars to glean any information from. This tome is not intended to supplant the vast body of knowledge which my peers have collected over generations. Rather, this work is meant as a guide and map to the immensely complicated world of Bloodlines and their ilk as their experiments and trials undertaken over the course of centuries are hard to understand so I have carefully collated and described their conclusions in precise, but simple terms for us lesser scholars to understand. Thus, much of what I say will be reduced often to the point of uselessness for truly advanced work, and I caution any of my readers from rashly acting upon the knowledge contained herein. Instead, look to the works I shall direct you to for more of the information required to truly innovate, to expand their own knowledge and familiarity with this, the greatest of all studies. To ensure that you and I, dear reader, both understand my claims, I will begin by defining the terminology I will be using in this work: A Bloodline is magical capability inheritable by one¡¯s children (or of course, inherited from one¡¯s parent¡¯s). This may seem self-apparent, but utilizing that definition will become important as we explore the many ways in which they can manifest.
The first misconception I wish to clear away is that Bloodlines all originate from an individual¡¯s ancestor procreating with a mighty magical being, such as a dragon, demon, or angel. Indeed, for all that it is the most common understanding of what a Bloodline is, there are in truth very few Bloodlines instantiated through the genetic crossbreed of different species. These are, however, the most visible of all Bloodlines. As will quickly become a running theme with everything within this discipline, there exists substantial debate as to what precisely classifies as a Crossbreed Bloodline. To begin, nearly all schools of thought distinguish two broad categories of Crossbloods: Xeno and Ntopio. Within those two categories, there are some who believe that Ntopio Bloodlines are not ¡®true¡¯ Bloodlines, and others who define ¡®Teras¡¯ Bloodlines as distinct from Ntopio, despite the most common definitions of the distinction between Ntopio and Xeno Crossbloods defining Teras as firmly Ntopio in form.
Firstly, Xeno Bloodlines are born from crosses of entirely different classes of life. Whether Elemental and Mortal, Primordial and Divine, most of these offspring only exist due to magic, be it intrinsic or external. Still, these beings can often be singular across the cosmos, impressive with their dual nature. Most Xenoblooded principally manifest as one half of their heritage or the other, acting as Mortal with Primordial attributes, Elemental with Liminal features, or some other combination which massively favors one side of their parentage. This split is not static, however, and one born as a nearly completely mundane Mortal may find themselves becoming almost entirely Elemental as they age, or with an unusual ability to change between a Mortal and Elemental form at will. In exceptionally rare cases, each class of life may land in perfect balance, creating a (for example) fully Primordial and fully Spiritual being simultaneously, with all of the opportunities afforded to each parent wholly embodied within the child. Xeno bloodlines can indeed propagate across countless generations, at least in theory, though the incredibly distinct classes of life which make up their existence may often render these beings sterile. Even among those who are capable of producing offspring, there has never been a recorded instance of a third or fourth Class of life being integrated with their descendants. Though unproved, it certainly seems nigh-impossible for a Xeno Bloodline to integrate more than two classes of life. These Bloodlines do remain potent for many generations when relevant, though, and are usually accompanied by drastically distinct physical appearances.
Secondly are Ntopio Bloodlines, which are merely the result of different species of the same class of life. Some of these are even capable of existing without the use of additional magic, though without magic such offspring are often infertile. As mentioned, Ntopio Bloodlines are a fairly debated topic. Some creatures, such as mules or some mud elementals, are debatably entirely mundane for their normal class of creature, with no substantial magical benefits from their existence. Of course, it can certainly be argued that as with all species, they possess unique magical interactions when compared to their parents, and could thus be said that they possess magical capabilities due to their potential. However, this is not truly a magical ability granted by their parent. It is inheritable, yes, but it is not a meaningful magical ability in any true sense of the word, merely an expression of Corizan¡¯s principle of Magical Uniqueness. Therefore, by my definition of Bloodlines, such creatures do not possess Bloodlines. Some even classify elves with parents of different races as possessing Ntopio bloodlines, which is patently absurd.1 However, that is not to say that all Ntopio ¡®Bloodlines¡¯ are undeserving of the latter half of their title. Half-elves undoubtedly possess sorcery-related capabilities inherited from their parents, possessing, on average, stronger magical wills than the average elf and much more flexibility in body and soul than the average human. Similarly, mortals with dragon¡¯s blood running through their veins invariably possess grand magical and even physical might compared to their mundane kin, without question acting as a proper Bloodline. Ntopio Bloodlines are, in summary, the first place wherein the true messiness of Bloodlines becomes apparent, and may easily overlap with other forms of inherited ability. Further complicating some things are the way in which some of these Bloodlines stabilize and become their own unique species after some generations, self-propagating and biologically distinct (such as Rayin Shifters, who descended from the offspring of an elf and a human werewolf) Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.
Teras Bloodlines are something of a ¡®fix¡¯ to the nigh-meaningless category of Ntopio bloodlines. Teras Bloodlines are borne of the union of two creatures sharing the same class of life, but are radically different types of creature within that class. Dragons and any other Mortal are one of the classic examples, but whether or not the offspring of phoenixes and thunderbirds is contentious even within this already-debated category. Some (such as Tian and Soricqlsay) maintain that the offspring of creatures with different body plans are Terasblooded, others (such as Balin, Hexira) that any creature pair which requires external magic to mate are Terasblooded, if basic biological functions or order of thinking are different, or countless more. It is often stated in jest that there are more opinions upon what counts as a Terasblooded than there are Terasblooded currently living, a joke whose truthfulness has never been conclusively settled. Thus, Terasblooded remain a fine theoretical solution to one portion of the Ntopio Bloodline problems, yet riddled with its own iniquities and issues. These Bloodlines are often only true Bloodlines if one or both parents are highly magical on their own, and there is no inherent boon to this cross-matching of species. Overall, despite the legendary tales of Heraldian/Thunderbird crosses shaking the heavens themselves with their triumphant rumbles of thunder, most Crossblooded are in truth minor figures, whose heritage is a matter of curiosity rather than any real import, not possessing a true Bloodline.
In strict contrast to the rare and minimally impactful Crossblooded Bloodlines, Marck Bloodlines are ubiquitous and omnipresent, and shape the shape of magical dynasties more than any other force in the cosmos. Marck Bloodlines are built upon Zor-En¡¯s Law, which states that the soul is influenced by magic both external and internal, gradually changing to better suit the magic it is exposed to. Just as Zor-En¡¯s Law defines and is responsible for magimorphosis, it likewise is the guiding principle behind magical practice. Just as the physical body grows and improves itself with exercise, so too shall practicing a spell slowly make the soul better at casting it. However, unlike physical exercise, this soul-exercise is inheritable, and the child of an exceptionally potent mage is liable to have proclivities which match their parent (or parents). This can be most easily seen in how a parent displaying symptoms of magimorphosis may pass along those symptoms to their children, or at minimum drastically increase the probability of their children manifesting magimorphosis of a similar or matching form of their parent. Marck Bloodline inheritance is of course not complete, as can be trivially evidenced by the child of an archmage not being an archmage from birth solely thanks to the merits of their parent. It is, however, omnipresent and incredibly influential on the scale of civilizations. Naturally, dear reader, magical proclivities may just as easily be negative as they are positive. An active repulsion to or hatred of a form of magic is unlikely to be passed on to children, though that is solely due to such hatreds rarely being nearly so defining to the soul as decades of practice can be. That does not make it impossible, it is important to note, simply rare.
The primary fact I wish to impart regarding Marck Bloodlines is a simple one: Marck inheritance is only a single generation. A mighty archmage may have children who are veritable prodigies in the art of magic, yet should any of them not practice sorcery, their children will have almost no benefits from their grandparent¡¯s magical might. There are no ¡®dormant¡¯ Marck bloodlines. It is the parents and the parents alone who define this form of inheritance for their children.2 I will of course provide the caveat that it is far, far easier to maintain a Marck Bloodline than it is to develop one, as the natural proclivity for magic passed from parent to child already lends itself well to deep integration into the soul, and it requires truly abandoning or wholly ignoring a bloodline for a child to have no trace of the family¡¯s specialty. A water specialist from a long-lasting bloodline of fire mages would have a child whose inherited proclivity was water, not fire, no matter how incompetent of a water mage the parent may have been. 3 With proper maintenance, training, and support, Marck Bloodlines are capable of growing to truly fantastic heights. Each generation possesses greater potential than the previous, and while it may be a relatively fragile form of inherited power, it is undoubtedly effective. Some of the mightiest mages of all time, such as The Green Mother, are the culmination of countless generations of extreme training and the effort of entire dynasties focused into singular individuals.
The third and final major type of Bloodlines are in truth the most iconic. Family spells, impossible to cast by outsiders yet as effortless as breathing to the dynasty¡¯s heirs. Lineages of mind mages and skinchangers, pyromancers completely immune to their flames, and more besides. Inheritance Bloodlines, as they are called, are the result of a single spell or magical ability tied into the soul¡¯s very core, bound so tightly that it is passed along from parent to child effortlessly. It may skip many generations or express itself in unusual ways if the conditions for its manifestation are incorrect, but indelibly tied to the very core of the lineage. These are the most broad of all Bloodlines in effect, and may range from a body-enhancement spell to full psychic powers, the ability to innately manipulate fire magics, or even teleportation. Indeed, the only commonality of all of these disparate capabilities are their origin. Rather than an emergent property of life, as is the case of Crossblooded and Marck Bloodlines, Inheritance Bloodlines are all artificial. At some point, every Inheritance Bloodline¡¯s Progenitor underwent a ritual or trial which imprinted the power onto their soul, establishing the lineage then and forevermore. In some circumstances, an Inheritance Bloodline may not have been willfully instantiated by the Progenitor, and was instead a divine gift or, as was the case with the Velinor Dynasty, simply the result of an incredibly unlikely set of situations and environments. These Inheritance Bloodlines functionally transform their recipients into a form of magical creature and can even allow their Inheritors to utilize magic with little to no external infrastructure, beyond the work of their ancestors. Metaphysically speaking, Inheritance Bloodlines are indelibly tied to the soul¡¯s Core, an intrinsic part of the being¡¯s identity, and due to being part of the soul from early development, can have an incredible amount of influence over the other portions of the soul as they grow. It is worth noting that both Inheritance and Marck Bloodlines can affect many of the similar things, such as affinity for a particular element, and may culminate in truly impressive results for highly disciplined families and dynasties.
1 Contrary to the common misconception, the offspring of distinct elves are not, by any definition, inheritors of any bloodline, Ntopio or otherwise. This is because all elven races are in fact merely distinct manifestations of the exact same species, merely with (albeit drastically) different features based on their immediate heritage and surroundings. For more information, see my other work, On The Sapient Species. 2 This stands in strict contrast to both Crossblooded and Inheritance Bloodlines, which may naturally lie dormant for many generations if the conditions for them expressing themselves are not met. 3 I am ignoring, for the sake of simplicity, rituals such as the Ceremony of Everbloom Ascendant, which may ¡®awaken¡¯ a ¡®dormant¡¯ Bloodline in a prime candidate, as they in no way function in that manner. It is in truth more akin to creating a wholly new Bloodline, with some caveats (see Appendix C for details). On The Dangers of Unlicensed Gear A collection of PSAs published by the Crafter¡¯s Regulatory Guild in concert with the Adventurer¡¯s Society:
Get good gear! Don¡¯t fall prey to shoddy craftsmanship and counterfeit creations! Never buy conjured goods! When adventuring, know the Kohs Rating of all your equipment! Get your gear properly attuned! Don¡¯t give your enemies a sword! Armor not attuned is a prison for yourself! Buy Attunement, not a tomb!
The Kohs Rating of your gear is the single greatest contributor and factor for survival, don¡¯t skimp on it! If you don¡¯t see a Kohs Rating and Guild seal, stay away! - Charlatans will sell a pile of rubble disguised as a sword! Don¡¯t be fooled! - Your sword and shield are not truly yours until they¡¯re Attuned! Don¡¯t skip Attunement, it will save your life! - If outside of Guild-regulated areas, test all purchases with Repair Oil to ensure they aren¡¯t simply shoddy temporary conjurations! - Just because a rope, sword, shield, or lantern works when you test it in the city, that doesn¡¯t mean it will stay functional out on the Frontier! Don¡¯t be fooled by unscrupulous merchants and craftsmen! Test it thrice or it''s your life. - When venturing into the Frontier, MFP ratings can reach as high as 5,000 Kohs! That¡¯s sufficient to cause mechanical watches and lanterns to stop working altogether, potentially even permanently break! Slip-Travel can expose your gear to MFPs of up to 30,000 Kohs, sufficient to permanently render wagons non-functional. - Gear needs healing too! Without a spirit, items you purchase won¡¯t be able to be repaired! Make sure all your purchases have a high enough resistance to the environments you¡¯ll be taking them to, to avoid breaking their spirits and keeping them from being mended! Ensure all destinations are within your gear¡¯s tolerance! See guild boards for more information on travel guidelines. - All items you purchase and do not intend to discard should be attuned to you, a service available at any Guild-approved shop! A blade not attuned is a blade at your own throat! - The Kohs Rating lets you know the Manic Field Pressure a creation can withstand, even in actively hostile environments. It may be tempting to save a few coins buying gear from civilian and domestic shops, but resist this urge! These items are frequently mage-conjured or otherwise mass-produced, meaning they have little to no Kohs Rating. You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. Simple objects, such as most basic gear you may be seeking, may give the illusion of working fine even in MFPs in far excess of their rating, but do not be fooled! Just because a metal stick does not obviously stop working when on the frontier does not mean it¡¯s working properly. When exposed to MFPs in excess of its Kohs rating, swords will dull and rust extremely quickly, cut less surely, and break more easily. Clubs may rot and splinter. Bows may snap their strings and warp. More complex devices, such as watches, cease functioning more obviously, but do not make the mistake of assuming they are the only things affected by high MFP environments! - When a Certified Crafter creates an object with a Kohs rating above 10, they do so by magically crafting the item, bestowing meaning into its essence through their mana. During the creation of an item, much of the effort is then spent redefining the materials into functioning as a cohesive whole. A sword may be made of different kinds of metal, wood, leather, and a gem, and each of those materials begins as a single object. In order to function as a ¡®sword,¡¯ a craftsman must work to realign the internal mana of each of those substances to work in harmony, to bleed in with one another and feed into a cohesive whole, a cohesive vision and purpose. The physical shape of the object is but one, exceptionally minor, factor in creating a quality blade capable of withstanding the rigors of extreme use. For those familiar with the manner in which magical repairs function, it is the same principle. The principle distinction is fundamentally how ingrained the object¡¯s Purpose is within the item¡¯s spirit. Items with a weak Kohs rating have a very loosely-defined Purpose, one which can easily be overridden by spells (direct or indirect) or even the environment itself. Furthermore, the higher the Kohs rating, the easier it is to repair an item with magic. It is always better to overbuy Kohs ratings, as the decreased repair and maintenance costs will surely pay for themselves in time. When an item possesses insufficient Kohs rating for the environment it is within, its personal definition, its own spirit, begins to be affected by its surroundings, working subtly differently than it should. This is most obvious with complex machines which rely upon very precise conditions to function correctly, but even simple items are not immune to this effect. While few areas on the Material possess a high enough MFP to cause something as simple as a wagon wheel to fail, it is not impossible, particularly during or after Slip-travel. Exceptionally strong Life MPF may result in a wooden wheel becoming alive once again and sprouting branches and leaves, high Fire MPF may result in a wooden wheel catching fire spontaneously, high Water MPF resulting in the wagon itself floating into the air, and so forth. The reasons for these actions are all the same, of course, and are due to the ¡®intended¡¯ nature of wood when interacting with various powerful elements. Wood that is Living grows branches and leaves, Wood in Fire burns, Wood in Water floats. Of course, for any of these behaviors to overpower the truth of the wheel being a wheel, the MPF must be far, far in excess of its Kohs rating, where the spirit of the object is so thoroughly overwhelmed that its nature is completely overridden. - ¡®Made in a zero-mana environment¡¯ or ¡®null mana creation¡¯ is perhaps the greatest indictment of any shoddily made work possible. If it were true, such creations would be some of the absolute worst performance of any items of their type. Mana, fundamentally, gives things meaning. In a no-mana environment, particles and matter act all but randomly, a few basic physical laws dictating their every action. Heat is mere random motion, objects have no firm-defined boundaries, life is only held together via exceptionally fragile abuses of null-mana random actions such as pressure, and it all tends towards utter meaningless chaos, a homogeneous existence with no interest or meaning. It is only the presence of mana which prevents this state of being and allows reality to function correctly. It is only thanks to mana that fire in a lantern or on a torch is prevented from burning or harming the torch or lantern, instead focused entirely on burning its fuel as steady light. Cooking fires from untreated or mana-free wood will burn the food over it with the slightest provocation. When an item is made with absolutely no mana, its spirit is never changed from what it was originally, and has a Kohs rating of zero or even less. Exposure to any mana whatsoever will begin to disrupt its function, though it¡¯s often not noticeable until triple digits of exposure except for very delicate devices. The metal in a watch may be too hard, or too heavy, or too flexible, and the entire device will drift first from proper calibration, or even stop working altogether, possibly even permanently, if exposed to a suitably strong MFP. If that were not enough reason to avoid any gear supposedly created with no mana whatsoever, such items would be nigh-impossible to repair. Without a cohesive spirit to guide the magic, even Repair Oil or a simple Mending spell would revert metal into ingots, wood or paper into a dead branch or section of a tree, leather into either cured or uncured hide, cloths into unspun wool or other natural threads, completely ruining the item itself similar to temporary conjurations. - Too many novice adventurers dismiss Attunement as a needless expense, particularly after buying gear with an adequate Kohs rating. They see it as pointless, for their gear is already made resistant to the extreme conditions on the Frontier, surely? This is a fatal mistake, one few live to regret! A sword is simply a sword. It is a passive object designed to fight, to cut, to sever. It is a simple, non-judgemental item. It does not care who wields it, it does not care what it cuts. It does not care if the one who bought it has it by the handle, or if an enemy Kinetic is using a spell to cut the head off of its ¡®owner.¡¯ An Attuned sword is your sword. It is your constant companion, a reliable tool against all the monsters and dangers of the Frontier. Attuned weapons are less likely to harm their owner, whether through accident or malice. An enemy Kinetic must break a part of the weapon¡¯s spirit to usurp control from its owner, to wrench it from your grasp and use it for their own ends. It¡¯s not impossible, but the better the Attunement, the harder it is! Higher-quality Attunements make it even harder for enemies to take your weapon, to imprison you in your own armor, to lift you by your own shield! Don¡¯t skimp on Attunement!
Halir¡¯s Principle states that any technology is reliant upon the conditions of its creation to function, and substantial deviation from those conditions will cause it to cease working. The more sensitive and delicate an object, naturally, the more affected it will be by Halir¡¯s Principle, to the point where even minor disturbances from its constructed state may interfere with its function. Should a pocket watch, for instance, have insufficient or entirely lacking definitional enchantments, a moderately strong deviation from the background Metal or Time mana it is accustomed to will cause it to slowly lose calibration, drifting further and further from accuracy. With substantial enough Manic exposure, it may even cease functioning altogether or be permanently ruined. However, should the watch be properly created, with a high enough Kohs rating, not only will it be less likely to cease functioning, but it may well function better. This is because the Kohs rating fundamentally represents how resilient the spirit of an item is, and requires imbuing the item with well-defined functions, ideals, and purposes. Furthermore, a high Kohs rating means that these conditions are locked into the item, protecting it from Halir¡¯s Principle. In the example of the pocket watch, a high-Kohs device would have Metal imbued with Reliability, Mechanical, and Eternal Aspects, among other where appropriate may allow it to continue functioning long past when a lower-rated watch would be ¡®broken,¡¯ the cogs ticking in perfect time regardless of physical defects or missing teeth it may normally suffer from. On The Fundamentals of Magic From An introduction to Discrete Arcanology, by Tel Kaizer: ---- The most important breakthrough to modern sorcerous traditions was thanks to the efforts of Halar Kasvortan, whose life-jolt experiments proved that Mana is not a singular type of energy, but instead two different forms of it (which have since been determined to be Qi and Mana). While laypeople may think that there exists but a single form of energy which all mages manipulate (most commonly referred to as Mana), as any properly trained mage could tell you, this is simply not true. Magic is a complex interweaving of countless forces and energies in ever-changing ways, but there do exist four primary pillars upon which magic rests: Mana, Qi, Lyn, and Shai. Each of these is radically different from the others, yet similar in a few key ways. Most notably, all four possess a limit. This limit is intrinsic to the phenomenon in question and cannot be overcome in any way, as reality itself bends to ensure it remains absolute. This model is naturally not complete, as it does not adequately explain the magical properties of multiple realms and planes, or even some areas of the Mortal Realms, but is sufficient for most local analyses. Mana: The Manic field is the most important of the four fields of magic for the average mage. It is something of a connective fiber between the other three forms of magic, even all of reality. The Manic field functions as a sort of ¡®continuity effect,¡¯ wherein it pushes the behavior of natural phenomenon to occur in specific ways, based not only on how they have acted previously, but also how it is expected to act, and in some situations, even how it would act in most situations. Furthermore, Mana serves as an excellent converter of energy as it attempts to enforce its view of how reality ought to act, causing wood to burn more cleanly as it is converted to heat and light, and so forth. Mana, to be clear, is not sentient, but it decidedly has preferences based upon rules too complex to examine at this moment, and remain murky even to this day. Within a spell, Mana serves the role of the actual spell-frame, translating a set of instructions into a series of actions and behaviors. Limit: Any single portion of the Manic Field is incapable of having fewer than three distinct interactions/sources at all times. Attempting to push past this limit makes itself one of the interactions, drawing from the past and future in an incredible feedback loop that draws enough power to end any spell. Qi: Qi is the key form of energy utilized as the foundation for not only all spells, but all reality as well. It is attracted to itself and forms exceptionally powerful bonds as it attempts to coalesce into a single object. In this way, Qi serves as the energy at the base of all material and material existence. From souls to elements, everything is merely different expressions of Qi. Within a spell, Qi functions as the power source, being converted by mana into the energy required to enact the mage¡¯s will upon the world. It is also the base of all enchantments, as it locks itself into a certain configuration capable of sustaining a Manic field expression. It obviously also plays a key role in any spell which conjures something material, as spell-conjured matter can be just as real as preexisting matter. Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. Limit: It is impossible for anything to become more energy-dense than Qi is. As the density of energy increases within a certain volume, so too does the volume of that space leaving the energy per cubic inch constant. This may be seen when additional energy is added to a single ¡®particle¡¯ of Qi- its volume increases, though not its size. In this way, the interior volume of an exceptionally energy-dense object may be larger than its exterior. Should this process continue long enough, the manner of expansion is theorized to rupture and form a Slip, the extra energy within the mote of Qi becoming a connection between two planes. Lyn Lyn is in many ways the opposite to Qi, and is found in two or three forms, depending on classification. While Qi attempts to concentrate all energy within the cosmos in a single point, the first form (or two) of Lyn is known as Jolt, and constantly attempts to be everywhere in the cosmos, and in an amount proportional to the amount of matter present. Should matter exist with no Lyn infused within it, Lyn will seek to neutralize itself with the matter. Curiously, this property of Lyn is not neutralized by the Qi it is absorbed by, and once sufficient Lyn is present in some matter, it reaches equilibrium and proceeds to ignore the matter in all future interactions, though a disturbance of the equilibrium, whether through natural phenomena or spells can still cause Lyn to shift. Not all Lyn actively merges with the Qi which makes up matter, and indeed the majority of Lyn does not do so. Instead, it falls into a strange equilibrium with other motes of Lyn wherein through both surrounding and being absorbed into an atom of Qi, it fully permeates the Qi. However, this is done unevenly (as it is based upon the Qi structure) and can thus result in different atoms being bound together by their Lyn and its desire to be perfectly spread out. This interpretation of how Lyn acts is in some contention, and some models instead claim that Jolt Lyn is instead two distinct forms of Lyn, often called Light and Dark Jolt, and in truth Dark Jolt is found inherently in nearly all of reality, and Light Jolt merely seeks to neutralize all Dark Jolt, reaching a stable state once each amount of Dark Jolt possesses an equal measure of Light Jolt. The second (or third) form of Lyn is known as Lode, and is the result of a stable loop of power being created within an object. This stable loop of power attempts to align itself with and connect to other loops of Lode to spread its own existence. This form of Lyn is less utilized than Jolt, but still has its uses in kinetic spells and in creating passive auras. In spells, Jolt is often utilized to move energy from one portion of a spell-frame into another, to counter Qi¡¯s tendency to clump together. Lode, meanwhile, is utilized to create fields of effect which may affect a subject without direct contact. Limit: Lyn always travels at a fixed rate, and that speed is the fastest speed allowed within the cosmos. Should anything other than Lyn attempt to travel faster than it, the time experienced by the other thing slows down in time, such that Lyn always travels at that exact rate. Shai: Perhaps the oddest of the four pillars, Shai is unusual in that it does not possess continuity of existence. That is, there is no single ¡®Shai¡¯ field of energy permeating all of existence. Instead, Shai is the metaphysical force which pushes for things which did not exist to continue to not exist. When matter or energy is pulled from nothing, it does not come alone: instead, it is accompanied by an anathema, which, if ever the two do meet, they utterly annihilate one another in a whisper, leaving nothing behind once again. In spells, Shai is utilized in countless intermediary steps, creating cause and effect and in so doing, doubling or greater the amount of impact a given spell-frame can have upon reality. At its most basic, spells utilize Shai to pull more energy into reality than they otherwise would, but more advanced spells utilize this complex web of anathema and creation to summon in presences and concepts which would otherwise be completely absent from the working, the way in which Associations function within magical elements. Limit: Fundamentally, Shai cannot last forever. While a sufficiently skilled mage is capable of pushing off the destruction of their Shai-conjured substance for a very long time, it must have some ending. However, the more relatively unlikely the anathema is likely to come into contact with and restore its own balance, the more that Shai will push to ensure it does happen. The greater the energy which Shai is attempting to restore, the stronger the push. On the Origins of (Some) Species Extract of a journal entry, reproduced within Conspiracy Theories of History
They live among us! They¡¯re all about, I tell you. I have lived with this secret too long, I record it here in my journal in the hopes that one day another may find it and be exposed to the truth as well. You wont believe me, I know. I was mocked and ridiculed, but you must open your mind, open your eyes. Look at the world and see. The world is wrapped in a spell, an enchantment, an illusion, and you must see. The magi and the nobles, they do not wish you to see what is in front of you, but you must see. You can see, simply by looking around you. It is plainly written in the world, from the earliest points of history, the story you all know. When the gods first created the cosmos, laying down the firmament and filling it with life, they brought forth the multitude of the True Races. These were the elves, the dwarves, the avior, the humans, the giants and dragons, the ruxsi and the johta, the creal and the esgerath. From the highest mountains to the depths of the ocean, to deepest underground, the ten races were sent forth and lived across the entire world. To each of them was given a gift, by the god who made them. The elves were given the gift of adaptability, of self-control. All the lands of the cosmos would welcome them, and they would be one with the lands around them. The dwarves were given the gift of creation, of crafting. Their workings would be solid and masterful, craftsmen beyond compare. The avior were given the gift of order, of cooperation. Their civilization would be harmonious and efficient, each member of the flock perfectly contributing to the whole. The humans were given the gift of freedom, of self-determination. Nothing would constrain the spirit of humanity, and they would transcend all limits upon them, unbindable and uncontainable. The giants were given the gift of sight, of prophesy. Their visions would be beyond the mere physical as they saw from their great height the shape of things yet to come. The dragons were given the gift of life, of growth. Unlike the petty humanoids they shared the world with, dragons would never cease to grow, never grow weaker or feeble with age. The ruxsi were given the gift of patience, of time. They were here the longest, and could wait an eternity for their opportune moments if needed. The johta were given the gift of strength, of war. They were the mightiest of all, with power beyond compare constrained within their bodies. The creal were given the gift of nature, of harmony. They were to commune with the lands themselves, one with the trees and vines that their bodies were comprised of and empowered by. The esgerath were given the gift of magic, of sorcery. They all possessed incredible might with the sorcerous and arcane, with a grasp upon the Tapestry never seen since. But there were no halflings, no gnomes, no goblins, none of the companion races we have grown to know these days! And why, you ask? Where were the false races in these early days, then, if they were ¡®created¡¯ alongside all the other progenitors? They came later. Not the story they would tell you but it''s the truth. The god of secrets was jealous of the civilizations the other gods had made with their races. Of the dwarves in their citadels of stone, the humans changing the lands to suit them, the elves with their graceful buildings in the boughs of great trees. And so the nameless god created the caduk. The caduk were given the gift of secrecy, of infiltration. They could change their bodies however they pleased, and had a grasp upon illusions and shadows they could use to mimic the magics of any of those they sought to infiltrate. They would escape notice by forever changing their bodies, such that no magic could expose their lie. A sacrifice readily made, and one which that made them the greatest infiltrators of all the cosmos. For infiltrate they did. The humans were the first to fall, as the ¡®harmless¡¯ halflings arrived in their villages, at first disguised as children. For you see, the one failing of the caduk was their stature. No more than half the height of a man at their tallest, they were wholly incapable of truly becoming one with the societies they sought to undermine. So the halflings first presented themselves as children, to disguise their stature. They even sought to mimic the freedom of humanity! As a divinely-granted gift, they failed for not the last time, but they managed to twist their false magics of deception into an innate brand of luck magic they carry with them to this very day, all a mocking facsimile of humanity¡¯s unbound and limitless potential. This is what they did for all of our races in some way or another. A broken and distorted reflection of our blessed races but not a true one. If this isn''t true then ask yourself why else would the halflings be so similar to humanity but yet so different? Think about it and the answer becomes obvious. I''m not here to tell you what to believe but rather to open your mind. If that isn''t enough for the more stubborn amongst you, listen here. Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. Humanity were not the only ones infiltrated. No, not at all. Next were the dwarves, already susceptible to infiltration due to their short stature, found themselves inundated by gnomes. Incapable of replicating the wonderful craftswork of their targets, they instead worked to learn the ways in which they could build differently, and became masters of complex and tinkering technology, creating new metals and intricate devices absent of the soul of a craftsman yet ¡®impressive¡¯ enough for them to weasel their way into dwarf society. The adaptability of the elves proved problematic to the caduk for a short while, yet they too fell as their own brand of gnomes came to dwell among them through mundane infiltration. These caduk kept much of their illusionary prowess, and their bodies settled into coloration changes. They even managed to attain a fraction of the elves¡¯ immortality, yet while the elves longevity was based around becoming static, the immortality of the gnomes became based on constant change, particularly of mind. The gnomes of the dwarves and the gnomes of the elves, of course, eventually collapsed into the species we know as the gnomes of today, having absconded with the craftswork of the dwarves and the immortality and attunement of the elves. Does this not prove my point? What else but twisted magic could make such a race that blends not one, but two, elder races together? The avior, with their incredible dimorphism, never even noticed as the quotians entered their society, despite their capability for mimicry alone, losing the ability for innovation as their magic sabotaged their own voices as it imposed ¡®order¡¯ to fit in best with the avior around them. However, they retain their ancestral affinity for shadow and darkness magic, many of them even keeping complete shapeshifting ability. The caduk attempting to mimic dragons split in twain which serves them right!. Some became the first pseudodragons, copying the shape of their target while being incapable of anything else their superior targets possessed such as the glorious magics dragons are famous for. Does that not make you wonder why? Humm. Think about it and you can see for yourself what I say makes sense. Others became the kobolds, only paying tangential respect to the shape of the dragons, but their magic became more focused upon the draconic form, infiltrating the magnificent dragons through supplication rather than subterfuge, a position they remain in to this very day as such mimicry of natural creatures deserve. If you called me crazy when you started reading you must now admit I have facts and logic on my side do you not? Those seeking to infiltrate the ruxsi failed utterly, and became the degenerate race of wetlands known as the boggard. Even the caduk¡¯s endless patience was insufficient next to the eternity which the ruxsi could preserve themselves, their attempts to ingratiate themselves never proceeding over generations like so many others managed. A similar failure befell those seeking to become one with the esgerath. The ancient serpentfolk¡¯s command of magic brooked no impostors, and what caduk attempted to broach their enclaves found themselves enslaved, their bodies twisted into the serpentine forms of protection and magic we know as naga reduced to little more than dogs for their insolence. But not every race was so fortunate or prepared. The johta were the most complete to fall. Despite being wholly outclassed within the realm of strength, the caduk simply overwhelmed the johta with sheer numbers, cleverness, and wits to steer and control the savage creatures of war. Eventually, the johta and caduk interbred, giving rise to the orcs and the various species of goblins, combinations of traits between the johta and caduk. Orcs took the strength of the johta and little from the caduk. Hobgoblins took the strength of the johta and the numbers and organization of the caduk. Bugbears, the malice, stealth, and intelligence of the caduk. And lastly the common goblin, which took the numbers and intelligence of the caduk yet little of the johta¡¯s strength. Weep for our fallen brethren for they lost what the God¡¯s gave them and have been dragged into the mud. For those that doubt my words saying those races have nothing to do with each other then ask yourself two questions. Why can each of those races breed together? And secondly why can those races have throwback births that all seem similar and possess great strength and intelligence unlike both of their brethren? That is because they all came from the same source and the God¡¯s chosen children are tenacious even if utter defeat, unwilling to give up even after so many generations. The last of the races to be infiltrated, and arguably have yet to, are the giants. Were I to have pity for any of the caduk (though I do not), it would be for the diminutive shapeshifters who attempted to blend in with the peoples whose defining characteristic is their truly incredible size. Unsurprisingly, a being the size of a halfling was wholly incapable of disguising itself as even an infant of the smallest giant, yet it did not stop them from trying. They became the first trolls, as their body and mind sought to transform them into a ¡®greater¡¯ form continuously, incidentally granting them all but complete immunity to injury. However, the ravenous hunger that accompanied this twentyfold increase in size drove them utterly insane, a condition which never left the species. The remaining caduk fled into the dark corners of the world, where they became the doppelgangers, the darkfolk, and the other body snatchers of the night for what else could make such foul creatures but the spawn of the god of secrets. For now, you see. The true depths of the false ones. They have come for us, they seek to live among us. For generations, they have positioned themselves in every civilization, waiting for their time to strike. Do not give up vigilance! The nobles, the magi, they will dissuade you! They will call me mad! They will dismiss the evidence, they will call things what they are not, you must stay true! They aren¡¯t all in on it, but enough of them are. Stay vigilant! Do not fall for their lies!
Compiler¡¯s note: While the ¡®ten species¡¯ theory does have some small merit behind it, it originated in a time when half of the species currently said to be the ¡®True Races¡¯ were unknown, and the remaining one were the so called ¡®false races.¡¯ That said, a version of it does still survive in some scholarly circles to date, in no small part thanks to modern ancestral divinations indicating that the multitude of distinct civilized species did all branch from a handful of Progenitor species in the distant past, with bloodlines, crossbreeding, and similar effects branching the tree of life into the numerous species alive today. Contrary to the claims of this ¡®revelation,¡¯ halflings, gnomes, goblins, trolls, and so forth have given no sign of sharing any ancestor in common, but do all share ties to their ¡®associated¡¯ species (the exception being gnomes, of course, having ties to both dwarves and elves). The theory of the ¡®secret race¡¯ is widely mocked by scholars whenever it appears, yet has never been firmly stamped out despite that. This specific permutation of Secret Race Theory even manages to get some aspects of Progenitor theory incorrect, as (among others) it claims that elves were giving the gift of adaptability, despite the generally-agreed-upon stance being that elves were given the gift of Perfection, a trait sadly lost to the Savage Elves as they broke off from High Elves. On The Mastery of Magic People used to fear magic. It was seen as a tool of the divines, unpredictable and tumultuous. The signs could be predicted, of course, but by then it may well have been too late to avoid the outcome. It commanded attention wherever it appeared, but even in those days there was a distinction made between High Magics and Low Magics. Low Magics were more predictable. Dangerous and uncontrollable, perhaps, but the rules it obeyed were more obvious. While wild magic surges may have been deadly, they were rare and could be avoided by not spending overmuch time in the lands prone to them. It did not take a particularly long time before the very first mages learned to utilize the Low Magics, summoning it with staff and wand to provide light, to bless their food, and ward against the creatures of the night. From there, the first artificers learned how they might use Low Magic in their crafting endeavors. While they were unable to create any weapons which carried magic with them past their creation, such mage-forged blades were harder, stronger, sharper, and more powerful than anything created in a mundane manner. And so, low magic was tamed. Mages developed their understanding of it, mastering it and bending it to their will for transportation, warfare, and countless other disciplines. Alchemists utilized it to enhance their potions, artificers created better and better weapons, and low magic was captured in mage-wrought cages to illuminate cities and houses alike. However, even as Low Magics were tamed, High Magics remained a mystery. Its appearance frequently spawned wild magic storms of Low Magics, it commanded its attention by its very nature, and was completely and utterly unpredictable, yet feared by all. It was, in a word, magic. Gods wielded it as a weapon, for it came from their domain. It was said to strike down heretics, and was often deadly, to creatures and plants alike. Those who did survive were changed. The scars it left were utterly unique, and recognizable on a corpse unlike anything else. Trees which died to magic may be left standing as a twisted and hollow shell of their former self. Frequently, even the ground itself could react to magic, white sand turning black as it sought to expel its corruptive touch and becoming an ugly, twisted and sharp thing. But other times, when certain rocks were exposed to magic, they were changed. They possessed a pull which lesser rocks and metals bowed to, which seemed to defy all known laws of how things moved and were acted upon. These were the first magical metals, and their presence was confusing. It was impossible to work them without them breaking, yet when shaped in the proper manner they could be used to extract iron arrowheads from bodies, or in time it was found they could be used in divination artefacts to unerringly know the way to travel. No culture escaped the presence of High Magic, and all feared its touch. Superstitions arose as to how to avoid falling to High Magic, be they mundane methods to avoid its actual impact or simply ways in which one could avoid the notice of the gods, to prevent their judgment. Even as the Low Magics were tamed and mastered, High Magics remained a complete and utter mystery. But then, a small ritual- perhaps one of the very first- was developed. Certain stones, and the processed resin of some trees, could produce the smallest sparks of High Magic. It was a simple ritual, certainly making nothing actually usable, it was nothing more than a minor party trick for novice mages to boast of, to teach and to awe. But, it was the first time people managed to, in whatever small way, use High Magic with their own hands. It was the start, the first sparks of something great. A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. In time, this minor working was expanded, the first sparks carefully fanned and fed by generations of mages working in concert. Ritual devices were created, that would repeat the ritual of High Magics, to create a larger spell. Metals were first believed to be antithetical to High Magic, the cold iron destroying the workings of mana. However, in time it was found to be much the reverse. Metals attempted to amplify and expand the reach of High Magic, but the primitive High Magic spells of the time could not handle such strength, flailing and fizzling aimlessly instead of becoming amplified and channeled to grand effect. Then, a breakthrough. Alchemists learned of a way in which they were capable of calling upon High Magic through their reagents, creating it within a potion bottle for the minor tricks they knew how to utilize it. It was far from the heavens-shattering spells which the gods worked, yet this smaller High Magic was useful in its own way. First, they used it to create light. Low Magic had been utilized for illumination for centuries, yet it was suboptimal in many ways. The magic had a tendency to flare out of control, to damage it surroundings, and was incredibly pollutant for any with the appropriate senses. So, High Magic was tamed and turned into light. That was but the beginning. They used it to create golems. None have as of yet awoken to self-awareness, yet it is surely inevitable. These golems were feared and despised, then accepted and relied upon, used to build ever-higher into the heavens and used by craftsmen to achieve a level of output and quality long thought unimaginable. They used it to create wonders. High Magic was used to transmute water into fuel, to gild the lily, to fuse metals into a single whole. They used it to revive the dead, to restore life to dead limbs, to divine the internals of the body without harm to the patient. At first, this was done by utilizing strange lights to see through all things, but in time they mastered the ability to utilize high magic itself to peer into the impossible. They used it to scry across the world, creating ever-smaller magic mirrors capable of seeing ever more sights. The magic mirrors became more sophisticated, and they were used to connect such wildly disparate locales in such fantastic manners they became something else entirely. And it was made into an Akash. A world-spanning field of magic, maintained by massive runestones of Low Magic-processed stones yet brimming with High Magic. Not merely inscribed with runes upon the surface, these runestones are massive and impossibly complex. Each stone is comprised of dozens of individual and independent sections capable of separate maintenance and use, and they all contain a motive spirit of sorts, brought to life by High Magic and speaking a language incomprehensible to mere mortals at such speeds as to be utterly maddening. It is only through several layers of abstraction through magical languages wherein these spirits may be instructed, changed, or spoken to. These motive spirits are beings of magic, of impossible memory and incomprehensible methods. They communicate with one another to retrieve nigh any piece of information in existence and return it to the one asking in fractions of a second. Global networks of runestones correspond and collaborate with every passing moment, passing matters of grave import directly to the eyes and ears of the one requesting it and none other, the response itself enchanted to be resistant to tampering or eavesdropping, impossible to comprehend yet aware of its own being enough to know if one has attempted to intercept it. Today it is taken for granted that one may call upon the magic of the gods, generated by mage-wrought substances developed by an alchemist, feeding a non-sapient being of pure magic and which lives within a portable runestone, capable of requesting any information in existence from anywhere in the world and expecting a response within fractions of a second. It is taken for granted that they will not wont for as much power as they could ever use, to empower their comfort enchantments, to turn night into day, to clean their homes and cook their food. And all of this was done for them, so few comprehending the mysteries and innumerable hours spent by mages, by alchemists, by artificers, to give them the ability to work nigh any spell they choose, whenever they wish. People used to fear magic. On the Laws of Power A Summarized philosophy of the Eleventh Circle:
The pursuit of power is the highest of arts. While some may seek to improve their mind, or fill their coffers, the Eleventh Circle recognizes that these are merely affectations or pieces of the Path of True Power, whose reach stretches to all facets of mortal existence. It is still worth scoffing at those who simply seek combat strength and call that ¡®power,¡¯ for such beings are delusional and worthy of equal parts scorn and pity. Such individuals have invariably strayed from the true Path and call themselves firm adherents of true power, they eschew Wisdom and call themselves wise. The true Path is comprised of three Laws: The Law of Knowledge, The Law of Community, and The Law of Will. Each Law contains several Tenets meant to guide the adherent along their path, and no one of the three is any more or less important than the other; though they fill different roles, they must all be given due consideration.
The Law of Knowledge To have Knowledge of something is to have Power over it. It is knowledge which guides the disciple through power, for all the strength in the cosmos is useless without knowledge of how to utilize it, but proper knowledge may overcome much in the way of lacking strength. A spell to control animals will not typically provide assistance in rerouting a river, yet may be accomplished with the requisite knowledge of animals and rivers alike. Similarity Things which are alike act alike. It is no more possible to know everything than it is to have all the power in existence. However, it is similarly impossible to predict precisely what will be encountered, which requires your expertise. Thus, seek to learn a broad spectrum of things to such a degree that you may loosely understand the nature of something new you encounter. People with certain traits will act similar, metals of a certain forge will act similar, and magics of the same form will have similar results. Passing familiarity is better than ignorance in all cases, but remember that similarity is not identicality, and preconceptions may do more harm than assistance. Wisdom Act when appropriate. It is often more potent to not act when given the opportunity to. Before acting, think through the possible outcomes of a situation, which favor you, which do not, and seek to ensure as many outcomes as possible are beneficial to you, while minimizing the outcomes which are not to your favor. Curiosity Suffer not ignorance to linger. Confusion is the indication that your knowledge is incompatible with reality. Should a piece of knowledge you encounter seem to conflict with what you know to be true, this sparks confusion. As true power is in reality, not imagination, seek to eliminate this confusion by aligning your knowledge with what reality reflects. Do not allow this mismatch to linger, as that confusion is indicative that your knowledge is flawed. Recognize and encourage confusion in yourself, stoke it and learn of its root, such that you may resolve the confusion and gain the knowledge you formerly lacked. History To know where something was is to see where it is going. The state of the world can often be confusing, and seeing a single moment in time is insufficient for a disciple. Studying a fountain for mere minutes will not inform you as to whether the fountain is filling up or emptying over time. To see the trends present in your surroundings is to know whether they need correction to meet your needs. If a foe is already in decline, it is less important to eliminate them as a foe growing in strength, never mind their own strength at the present moment. If something has occurred without fail repeatedly in the past, expect it will happen in the future as well. Identity To know the pieces is to know the whole. Occasionally known as the Tenet of Composition, the Tenet of Identity centers around the idea that all things are made of constituent parts acting with one another and averaging out into a whole. An army is made of individuals, to understand the individuals is to understand the army. A sword may be made of wood or of steel, and to know of steel and wood is to know of how the sword will behave when struck. The more fundamental your understanding of your subject, the better you are able to use your power upon them. Mastery Leverage your strengths. It is important to choose a specialty. To learn everything is to learn nothing. Attempting to dabble in every field is to ensure that you will never surpass a master in any of those fields, and thus bring yourself to irrelevance before you have accomplished anything at all.
The Law of Community Power acts through others. There is comparatively little that a solitary individual is capable of, yet with the aid of others the entire world opens up before you. Power enacted through the cooperation of others is still power, and just as investments in your Knowledge and Will are important, so too is it vital to invest within the Community, that you may later extract power from it. It is pointless to attempt to act as a wholly independent actor. Much power may be drawn from the wisdom and actions of those around you, and much power may be expressed through the actions of others in concert with your desire. A failure of community will see a disciple hounded and slain by their surrounding mortals as they turn against the threat in their midst, or toiling for an eternity on challenges which may be trivial with the aid of those around them. Power begets community, and to eschew it is to eschew nigh all of what may be accomplished by walking the Path of True Power. Loyalty Act only when needed. It is tempting, as one expands their power and their capability, to desire to do everything entirely on their own, simply because they are capable of it. It is important to resist this urge, however, as merely continuing to act as you were when you were weaker is to waste your potential. Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. There is value in continued practice of your foundational skills, yes, but do not allow this to be an excuse to retain control over things which others are perfectly capable of performing. Of course, do not allow them to slip from your control entirely- ensure that your underlings are performing their tasks adequately and to your standards- but proper selection will prevent this. If an agent fails you, it is often not their failing, but yours, for giving them a task which was beyond them. Correct yourself before you correct them, and recall that failure is the greatest teacher for your agents just as surely as yourself. A costly mistake is only a mistake if nothing is gleaned, but a costly lesson forges an invaluable agent. Learning Experience need not be your own. The Law of Knowledge states that having knowledge of a thing is to have power over it, yet it is not required, nor is it advisable, to learn everything wholly under your own power. Just as the tenet of Loyalty says you should find others to act in your stead, the tenet of Learning is that you should find others to learn in your stead and then learn from them. Communities have existed far longer than any individual, and they possess grand memories. As always, do not blindly trust those around you, but all possess some small amount to be learned from, even if it as an example as how not to act. After all, a mistake undertaken by another is a mistake which you need not make, should you Learn properly. Supply Allow others to act for your benefit. Just as you should allow others to provide you with knowledge per the tenet of Learning, so too should you allow others to provide you with goods and supplies. There is no grand secret to be found in the growing of wheat, in the making of bread. There remains value in the knowledge of how it is accomplished, yes, but the value attained from making your own bread with each passing day is wholly eclipsed by the other tasks you could attend to during that time. Similarly, do not refuse gifts freely given out of pride. When granted a gift, utilize it to further your own aims. It is not weakness to benefit from the efforts of others, just at is not weakness to allow others to benefit from your efforts, and effort spent preventing others from benefiting is effort not spent upon yourself. Honor Hold fast to a code of conduct. You will interact with many others as you walk the Path, and they will be most eager to work with you if they feel as though they are capable of predicting your actions. Nobody likes uncertainty, so seek to eliminate as much uncertainty as possible for those who seek you out. Furthermore, many codes of conduct grant certain allowances for others who follow the same code of conduct, and by acting in a suitably Honorable manner, it is possible to predict what those around you shall do. This is obviously useful as per the tenet of History, as knowing how a foe has acted in the past may be enlightening for the ways in which they act in the future. Of course, there is no requirement to actually follow said code of honor. With the Law of Community, appearance is reality. To appear to follow a code of honor in public, and break it when none will see, is no different from following a code of honor at all times. It is, of course, important to recognize the risk of a breach of honor in secret becoming a breach of honor in public, but it remains a tool for use. Investment All power must be grown. While it is considered obvious that one must endeavor and invest within one¡¯s own Knowledge and Will to grow them, that they will not expand and strengthen themselves upon their own merits, let alone if one seeks to actively undermine them, this is often forgotten in matters of Community. Your Community is a foundation for your power just as surely as your Knowledge and Will are, and do not neglect them in your pursuit of power. Do not empower your enemies, of course, but do not mistake those loyal to you as being your enemies. They are resources and must be handled accordingly. Alliance Enemies harm you, allies help you. As you walk the Path of Power, you will be beset by countless enemies seeking to harm you. This may be out of jealousy, of principle, of spite, or countless other motivations. These enemies must be dealt with through whatever means necessary to ensure that they do not impede your progress along the Path. However, this does not mean that they ought to be eliminated. Indeed, many enemies cannot be dealt with in a fully permanent manner, and will constantly seek to act against you as long as they remain your enemy. Even for those enemies which can be dealt with in a permanent matter, it is often indivisible to do so. An enemy made an ally has been vanquished just as surely as one who has had their soul annihilated, even moreso. The memory of an enemy can be just as potent as the enemy themself, but an enemy made an ally not only has no lingering spite, but so too adds their power into your own. Even for those who were not your enemies, but instead merely neutral, seek to bring them into the fold as an ally, for to do so is to follow the Tenet of Supply, gaining resources from others where formerly none existed.
The Law of Will Will forges Power. It is the Law of Will which drives forth a disciple, and Will which prevents them from falling to temptation. Will is, simply, one¡¯s own self-control, the mastery of one¡¯s own mind and impulses. A failure of Will has two possible outcomes. The first is the most common, particularly outside of the Circle, and is simply a failure to self-actualize altogether. Laziness, lack of ambition, or any number of other failures may intercede in the life of a disciple, and Will is the Law which dictates the success of the disciple. The second is altogether more insidious, and is the failure to control power once it is held. To become self-actualized as a locus of power, yet to fail to control one¡¯s self is a surefire way to lose the power so carefully accumulated. Drive Power does not exist without a direction. Even the greatest talent does not ensure power. Without a true desire, a true Drive to follow the Path of Power, none shall walk far along its length. Know the form you desire your power to take, and pursue it utterly. Know if you desire mastery of the flames of creation, or if you desire physical might to vanquish even gods. Know what you strive for. Do not be swayed by those who insist you must use your power for something, keep your eyes fixed upon the power you strive for and do not waver. Discipline Power is an eternal road. The Path to Power is not an easy route. It requires constant, unceasing work to both grow your power and to ensure that you do not lose it. This is not an easy job, and requires incredible amounts of dedication, routine, and habit to maintain. Be Disciplined, or find yourself losing all you have accumulated. There is no end-state wherein your power is ¡®sufficient,¡¯ there is no situation where you need not progress. Always be growing your power, always be improving yourself and growing in mastery. Honesty Extinguish self-delusion. There is no single person who is equally skilled in all things. There will always exist some variation in your particular strengths and weaknesses, and it is important to not delude oneself as to what those strengths and weaknesses are. It is a waste of your time and that of everyone else to pursue the wrong form of power. It is certainly possible for a mundane to become an archmage, or even a gnome to become physically stronger than a dragon, yet they will be better served pursuing power by some other means. If you seek to fight the reality of your situation, you add reality to your list of opponents to overcome, and per the Tenet of Alliance, the fewer enemies you face the easier your Path will be. Instead, work with reality, make it your ally, and walk a far simpler and easier Path. There exists nothing in reality which will reward you for taking a ¡®harder¡¯ Path. Focus your efforts on that which you are well suited for, and be Honest when your skills and situation change, changing your approach accordingly. Focus Stray not from the Path. Countless numbers of the tenets will provide distractions, and even the tenets of Mastery and Similarity seem to be at odds with one another. This is the value of the tenet of Focus, as you must ensure you always act in the way which grants the most value to your growth. Do not be distracted when learning of how to create a staff, or how to develop a ritual. Allow the Law of Community to aid your growth and stay with single-minded Focus upon your Path, pulled off by neither trap nor trick. Do not grow complacent and wander from the Path merely because you possess ¡®sufficient¡¯ power. This is a lie, one which will cause your direction to be corrupted and cause you to lose what you have earned so far, as per the Law of Discipline. To follow these Laws is the highest calling, to master oneself and the world around them is the highest goal, and regardless of one¡¯s position in life, it is always possible to benefit from growing one¡¯s own power. On the Domains of Gods Weep, my child, for the old gods. For they built themselves a domain of might, and the prison they now slumber within. Lament, my child, for the new gods. For in avoiding their prison they consigned themselves to madness. The gods are immortal, this is known yet rarely comprehended. Their existence is eternal, yet they were once mortal as you and I. Their domains blossomed from their very core, expressions of self and intended to enforce their Will upon the world. Their domains grew and thrived, for the path of godhood is one of eternal growth, never one of loss. First they named a concept, an image of reality upon which they represented, for which their power would be built upon. Be it focused upon themselves or a change to reality outside, this became foundational. A single action or idea, an attribute that they claimed for themselves. The assurance of cold steel, a promise of defense, death itself or the end of the universe. In this way they became demigods. As their intent for the world was made manifest, anchored in speech and their own image, they began to see the shape of the path before them. A treasured artifact, brought into full being with themselves, or an ideal manifested upon reality, the Domain made manifest as a bridge between the real and the surreal. As an aspect of them was brought to light, which they defined themselves within. Foundational pieces of reality which they themselves associate with. The existence of monsters in the darkness. The comfort of a hearthfire. That all will die in time. They tie themselves to reality, establishing their connection to infallible Truths which they can neither cross nor comprehend crossing. As their authority over all flourished, they set themselves a place, to establish their court, the role in which they take in the story of reality. Will they be a mighty hero, or the King Under the Mountain? The Monster in the Shadows, or the Noble Sword of the True King? Do they hold court in the palace under the waves, or are they a wanderer of the roads, never content to settle down? They gain much power from acting within their role, or within their kingdom, but lose it when straying beyond their bounds. Reality knows to listen to them when they appear within their place, yet outside of it they are baseless and weak. Their dominion was established as they reflected upon the facets of themselves. Kings may be cruel or merciful, warmongering or peaceful. Swords may be ornate or simple, status symbols or instruments of war. Monsters may prey upon the innocent or the wicked, or pay no heed to such trivial things. As they donned their mantle, so too did they obtain their supplicants. Be they mortal or natural, the supplicants were their servitors, their actors where they could not be. The mercurial winds of change or a society of priests; the sunrise itself or the beasts of the wild places, they would seek power and be granted it by the mantle of the god, serving as extensions of the being¡¯s own will and with a fraction of their might, and in so become dependent upon the god for their wellbeing. The gods are immortal. They are eternal. Yet they grow, and change. Though content to exist into infinity, these gods began to grow bored, stale, they began to learn and change, only to find themselves chained. They could not act upon their learnings, they could not hope to relieve the monotony of their being, for they found themselves within prisons of action, with all the might and freedom in the cosmos to act in a uniquely singular way. They were prisoners in the roles, in the Domain, which they spent untold eons crafting to fit themselves perfectly. Yet it is no less a prison for that it is one they made themselves. As their Domain grows, it becomes ever more restrictive, building upon all that they were and all that they are. Yet while gods are eternal, their thoughts are not. Their minds grow and change as well. What began as a mere slight dissonance between their thoughts and Domain grew and grew, until they were at war with their own being. Their Truths no longer seem true, their Anchors hold them back instead of steadying them, their Places feel more like a prison than a home. If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Acting contrary to their Domain would not harm them, save for some extreme examples, but it would deprive them of much of their strength, and once one has tasted omnipotence what could losing it be called if not harm? Their enemies waiting to pounce, their duties demanding they stay in full strength, their own homes deeply integrated with their power and dependent upon them to simply exist. Thus the Old Gods were left with a few simple choices. They could continue the war between their present and past selves, torturing themselves as they acted in ways they did not agree with, yet were forced to in order to maintain their strength and thus their responsibilities. They could choose to deny their past selves, falling from their heights of power and either only occasionally taking up their old role when needed and otherwise existing as eternal, yet mortal beings, or outright breaking it and forging anew a new godhood. These gods would inevitably find themselves locked in a similar situation in time, however, as their values and core self continued to drift. Or, they could surrender themselves to their own choices, wholly embodying their Domain without a hint of their true personality evident. It is debatable whether these beings are even properly conscious, as by all metrics they are more akin to a shell, acting as its station demands yet with no true being aware of its own existence. They are in a state of eternal slumber within their own body, acting yet entirely separate from their own being. Now the New Gods were clever. Many saw the folly of their elders, and sought to avoid the same pitfalls. So they created domains with flexibility inherent to their very being. Their anchor was their freedom, their truths were that of experience and change, their places were those of wanderers and explorers, always learning and finding new locales. Their facets were that of multitudinous expression, and their supplicants were tasked with self-expression and personal growth. And it worked, all too well. Never could these new gods find a comfortable role to fill, never could they grow complacent with their lot in life. They could not settle into stable relationships with the titans of eternity which were the old gods. These New Gods were too chaotic, too unpredictable. They would be wrathful one moment and overjoyed the next with seemingly no connection betwixt the two. They were at war with their old selves just as surely as the old gods were, but these new gods found their domains pulling them to change the values they held dear, to be different and to develop even in ways they may not have preferred. They became incapable of permanent decisions, for permanence is anathema to their domain. Perhaps worst of all, they became incapable of settling into complacency, incapable of losing themselves to a domain and familiar role within the cosmos, for there is no familiar role to be found when their being must change with each passing century, there is no domain to be lost into when it must be found anew each millennia. Instead, those who succumbed to their nature became insane, forever being forced to reconcile the need to change their core self constantly with a mind which did not change nearly so rapidly. And so is the fate of all who seek to build their domain, to establish their godhood. To build the perfect suit, an existence tailored perfectly unto yourself such that every last stitch is perfectly in place. It fits ever so snugly and is ever so comfortable. It is perfect in every way, unchanging and eternal, and provides power and wealth, security and purpose. Nothing could ever change it, could ever mar it. But the wearer will. First, a single stitch is uncomfortable and is ever-so-irritating as the wearer grows. Then, as they seek to scratch their itch they begin to move and pull against the suit in ways it was never meant to stretch, further aggravating the wearer. In time, there is only madness or oblivion for these eternal entities, driven to slumber from the pain and boredom, or insanity from change and paradoxes. So weep, my child, for the old gods. For they built themselves a domain of might, and the prison they now slumber within. Lament, my child, for the new gods. For in avoiding their prison they consigned themselves to madness. On Song Magic Extract from Elements of Magic: A Guide to Spellcrafting Essentials, by Elgath Zolicar
Introduction: Elemental Song is a fairly rare element, as far as such things may be considered, yet for those locales in which it may be found, it is deeply interwoven with the very fabric of society and magic itself. It is a profound element, between Divine and Karmic. It is the music of the spheres and the core values of civilizations, joyful and somber, glorifying and intimidating. Many cultures say that the soul is made of Song, and when they play their songs it is a claim that can be difficult to refute, despite the lack of similarities between Soul magic and Song magic.
Contact: Elemental Song is most closely tied to two things: Repetition and patterns. While it is indeed very similar to Elemental Language and Elemental Sound, Elemental Song holds nearly as many similarities with Elemental Significance due to this feature. Any periodic pattern, particularly audible, is a contact for Elemental Song, but the more broadly-sweeping the pattern is repeated, the greater the Contact. The most effective Contact is a sound-based pattern with repetition within it, but then repeated by countless different people across many years. For instance, folk songs act as the single greatest channel of Elemental Song currently known, when utilized properly. When utilized in a ritual, Elemental Song offers little in the way of power to the spell. However, it does offer an impressive degree of control over the output, capable of serving as modulator and direction with ease. It also acts as an excellent means of cooperative casting, as the Song is quite similar between (and is even strengthened by) multiple participants.
Behavior: As a Song is established, it becomes more prone to repetition. A catchy tune worms its way into that of the listeners, living within their mind forever and prone to spreading itself. It shares and binds together those who experienced it as one. So too does Elemental Song. It is prone to leave lasting effects which are terribly difficult to remove, and may even spread themselves at times (though such a thing is exceptionally rare and only exhibits itself on the most masterful of Songs). It is self-reinforcing, however, as the wider it is spread the stronger it becomes and thus spreads more. In this way it is similar to the behavior of Fire, but it does not grow and consume, rather it serves to magnify itself, an echo that grows louder over time.
Aspects: Elemental Song is particularly prone to changing its Aspect, and is one of the simplest elements to control in such a manner. Simply changing the Song being sung is often enough to change the Aspect of the magic, and various Song aspects are frequently called ¡°The Song Of¡± the appropriate aspect, such as the Song of Death or the Song of Eternity.
Association: If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Song is an exceptionally complex and deep affinity. While Sound and Language are the most typical Associations drawn for Song, it carries nearly as many ties to Significance and Fate, with substantial influence drawn from Friendship, Hatred, and other Karmic elements. Song has heavy binding properties, bringing together entities into a single culture. In that way, it ties deeply into Mind and even Soul elements, acting as a form of gestalt soul for an entire civilization. It is the memory of the world, and all who hear it understand as much instinctively.
Locality: Song does not always form a terribly deep impression on the Tapestry, but where it does manifest it is always intensely unique, highly reflective of the culture which utilizes it. The Tas¡¯Kail utilize Song in their warchants, and specialize in unifying their own allies while casting their enemies into disarray. All of their Aspects are in this way very dual-natured and asymmetric in effect. The Rilan utilize Song as a form of charm magic, originally for animals yet are fully capable of ensnaring even the sharpest minds within their beguiling Song. Myriad Song encourages the listener to join in for the chorus, Life-aspected Song promises abundant life should they submit themselves to the song, even Travel song encourages those who hear it to follow along the Mage, even to their own death. Furthermore, Song mages must adapt to the culture they are within, for maximal effectiveness. When trying to work with Song magic, the most effective Song is one which is native to the region they are within, and attempting to bring in the Song, the culture of another locale, replacing their Song with your own, is far less potent than working with the existing Song. Song magic, in this way, is one of the most obvious Locality-affected elements that there is. On Time Magic Extract from Elements of Magic: A Guide to Spellcrafting Essentials, by Elgath Zolicar
Introduction: Elemental Time is one of the most foundational elements of magic, and is involved in every single ritual which does not explicitly seek to exclude it. It is, however, quite temperamental and dangerous to work with, being so foundational that any slight deviation from its natural flow can prove fatal to the unprepared. It is a truly Primordial element, and due all the respect that comes with that categorization
Contact: Time is the passage of, well, time. The constant rate in which we are all capable of doing things. Accordingly, its contact is the simple ongoing rate of one second per second which all mages move into the future, or the lack thereof. Locations of accelerated or retarded time, stopped time, or even reversed time all act to interact with the element. However, by far the most common way in which Time involves itself with spells is the way in which portions of a ritual happen sequentially, rather than simultaneously (again, with very notable exceptions), and with very specific timing. It is also, however, the experience of time passing. The agonizingly slow moments of waiting or the state of flow which one may find themselves in when performing a task they are very familiar with, each of these also are Contacts for Elemental Time, and is why some spells are so difficult to perform without adequate focus. The simple change in perspective from a ritual being an exceptionally challenging task to one which needs less thought can be sufficient to disturb Elemental Time enough to change the parameters of the spell.
Behavior: Time magic is a very steady, straightforward element. It is ideal for spells which act consistently across their entire span of effect. This is most intuitive when paired with Time, as a spell outputs a constant effect for its entire duration, but is also useful generically to ensure that no portion of an effect is more concentrated than any other. Working Time magic with other Behaviors is very tricky and quite dangerous, though Water is fairly compatible, with its emphasis on changes of form and smooth, steady flow. It is one of the few other Behaviors which makes Time magic marginally safer to utilize, as its ability to speed up, slow down, or freeze acts as the vast majority of entry-level time magic one tends to wish to utilize.
Aspects:
Association: Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. Time has relatively few Associations, but Earth is one of the primary exceptions. The shared concepts of solidity and eternity between the two elements lends itself to substituting one for the other- solid stone may be utilized to shorten the pauses in a lengthy ritual, and substantial pauses in casting may substitute for even a mountain being consumed by a working. The other primary Association Time possesses is with Space, as both many of Space¡¯s simpler workings may be reenacted with Time (such as teleportation being replicated via stopping time), but also because the two are often used in conjunction to uniquely describe an object¡¯s point of existence.
Locality: Time, as a Primordial element, has functionally no Locality save for the ways in which Time may be distorted in certain areas and thus interfere with particularly delicate spells. Its universal consistency therefore results in no substantial variation depending on the identity and location of the caster. On the House-Witch
A lesson told by Tefina to her daughter, in the Age of King Eldricar II:
My daughter, there are three kinds of mages in this world. The first are the nobles in their high towers, spending their days boasting of their knowledge of the world, pretending they know of reality, and that it is theirs to command. The second are the priests, who claim to be the inheritors of all creation, whispered secrets from their gods and given, like little spoiled children, whatever they ask for. The third kind, are those such as me, and soon to be you. We are witches, and we were here first. The men, oh how they love to stamp about and claim they¡¯re the masters of all the lands. The king in his high castle, the soldiers and the smiths, parading about being all self-important and thinking that the ability to yell loudly is what gives them power. But do you know where they all return in the evening? Their homes, their beds, their wives, and it is there that true power lies, for the household is the domain of the witch. No witch need ever worry about their husband beating them, making demands of them, or blaming them for their misfortune. It¡¯s because we¡¯re clever, dearie, and because we know our households. When you grow up and get yourself a husband and gain your own home, you¡¯ll start to learn the little tricks. The squeaky floorboards which can alert of an intruder, the drafty part of the roof where sudden gusts of wind can come through, the tiny hole in the roof from where water can drip through. We know our homes, and our homes know us. But just as important, if you place a bit of bread out here while humming the Offering of Hospitality, you¡¯ll attract the brownies and they¡¯ll give you a hand. Just treat them well, be kind to them, and you¡¯ll never suffer. The really clever ones, like little Old Silver here now, he¡¯s the kind to help you figure out the little eddies of magic where a snap, a little diddy, and an old ember will let you light a fire in the hearth just like so. Yes, you are a clever little one aren¡¯t you? There you go. While the menfolk always go to boss around those they come across, what a witch is good at is listening, learning, and using your household to your own benefit. Those floorboards which squeak so loudly when trod upon? Well, the right treatment and they¡¯ll start to warn you about anyone nosing about where they shouldn¡¯t be, whether in the garden or just down the hall. And yes of course sweetie, I¡¯ll teach you all of this in time, and I¡¯ll teach you everything my mother taught me, and the tricks I learned myself. By the time you¡¯re a grown woman and need to make your own household, you¡¯ll know everything I know about this house, and you¡¯ll be well-set to do it in your own house as well. You¡¯ll know how to persuade our sticky door towill stay firmly shut to anyone who wants to hurt us, get the drafty breeze to lend its breath to help us dust, and to let the leaky roof know when we want to keep water out, and when we want lots of fresh water for washing or cooking. Now, the menfolk don¡¯t understand. They don¡¯t know how we persuade a rock to cry for us, for the wind to lend its breath, but it¡¯s not so hard, just a listening ear and sage advice. Because that is how a household is made. It is our words which raise children, and our words which raise a house. Should our husbands go against us, they go against the household, and the household would never allow that. But remember, our strength comes from being wise, from being subtle, from listening and learning. Let the menfolk assume they run the world, because then they leave the household for us. Let them deal with the chaotic, messy outside with all of its problems and mysteries. We are witches, we are our household and our household is us, why would we ever leave? And someday? You¡¯ll teach your daughter, and she¡¯ll be a fine witch of her own.
A warning from a sworn court mage in service of King Eldricar XIV to his son:
Beware the witch, my son, for their appearances may be deceiving. Though untrained and unlearned, the magic of a witch is nonetheless potent and strange. With their bubbling brews and mastery of their own domain, to assault a witch within her home is tantamount to, if not worse than, assaulting an archmage in their tower. This is because a witch¡¯s home is their magic. Though they lose power when outside of it, when inside of it they are power incarnate. The magic within is challenging and difficult to contain, heightened by decades of their own spells and difficult to wipe clean with even Tabula Rasa, but to them it is but second nature to set your staff on fire with a laugh, to bar the door to your entry, and brew up all manner of noxious poisons from which they may slay you while you are none the wiser. If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. They mock you and scorn you, using magic that you have never seen before and never will see elsewhere as easily as breathing. They need no reagents, no foci, no grand arrays to work their magic, for it is always at their fingertips. The closest thing they have to a staff is a broom, from which they can call forth water, fire, wind, and more. Knives which dance to prepare vegetables may be just as easily turned against your skin and flesh, and if they claim to be capable of turning you into a newt, do not scoff and doubt that such a thing is impossible. For their very existence is impossible, what is one more thing?
Extract from The Primitive Magics, by Scholar Kitzveh of the Grand College:
Witches, I have noted, are split between heavy and nigh-nonexistent usage of Elemental Song. While at first I thought that their daily routines, always the exact same steps undertaken the exact same ways as they wake up their household, make breakfast, and clean their homes, must surely have been part of a grand ritual feeding off its own repetition for substantial Song and Significance, I no longer think that is the case. Rather, I believe that witches in truth have no clue what actions they undertake to cast their spells. This is in many ways understandable, given the number that they cast at any given time, but ultimately I believe they are simply performing the exact same motions with each day because they know that to do so is to empower their spells. They do not know whether their hand-washing is a key part of their daily ritual or simply a useless affectation, so they undertake it every day for fear of interrupting their protections. It is remarkably superstitious, for magic, and makes many witches a complete nonfactor in terms of true danger. While it may seem as though they are capable of freeform magical usage, they instead act according to a strict script and cannot deviate from it, lest their spells be ruined and they be forced to start anew the following day. Now while they may be ignorant, but they are dangerous in their ignorance. Even the most experienced witch still does not command the elements, but they assign personalities to their spells, and will make no apology should their magic misbehave as they assign the agency to the fireplace, or the wind, to the magic itself misbehaving. Interrupting their spells does not cause the immense power their workings have accumulated to merely dissipate, after all, and such outlashes of magic are often focused directly upon the disruptor. Now, I said that most witches are unaware of how they cast their spells, and this was quite intentional. For some house-witches, particularly the elder ones, are quite aware of what they do, magically speaking, and are singing their Song of Significance, their daily routine not one of habit but of power. They dance through the day, their every action feeding into and preparing for a dozen spells at a time. It is a naturalistic and truly impressive display of spellcrafting, made all the more impressive by their awareness and conscious manipulation of the magic around them. Alas, it is impossible to determine whether a witch is the former or the latter kind with simple casual inspection. It may be tempting to provide minor interruptions to attempt to assess if the magic around them collapses, but such thoughts are mistaken. Minor interruptions, and oftentimes even major ones, are easily handled by all forms of witches, smoothly accepting the disruption caused by you or even their children with utmost ease, somehow not disrupting their countless ongoing rituals even as other people, mages, animals or more seek to throw their work into chaos. Neither are weakened, and some are even strengthened instead, pulling order from chaos and making something beyond their comprehension.
Extract from Not just Wands: Magic Through the Ages, a Codex Publication
The pinnace example of magical creativity and variety has to be the witch. Despite their contentious history as a heretical existence, sometimes a mystical creature meant to be purged or an abomination against the laws of magic, more recent analysis with some of the few remaining traditional witches have told a much different story. While most mages utilize Rasan techniques to stabilize the magic around them and thus create consistent conditions for their own rituals to create consistent outputs, witches do so through sheer practice. While yes, there do exist some mild Elemental Significance benefits drawn from the witch¡¯s household being ¡®theirs,¡¯ Significance is no less fickle for them as it is for anyone else, and that makes an unreliable base for casting. Rather, what makes a witch so potent within their home and powerless elsewhere is simply that they are intimately familiar with the Tapestry within their domain, and even at shaping it to better suit their needs. Through simple practice, they have managed to learn how to work around or with the strings of fire, of water, of light, of shadow, and more to pluck their symphony of magic. They cannot simply summon fire wherever, but they do know a small ritual that may be performed upon their hearth in a very specific way which will create a semi-natural magical phenomenon of a lit fireplace for as long as they desire. In addition, some were very basic summoners and binders. They did not possess the tools which modern mages have for empowering and guiding spirits, their communion with native beings was remarkable for their time, and in fact much of modern shamanism was born either in part or wholly from adapted witches¡¯ rituals. The skilled ones also rearrange and shape the house to better suit their mystical needs, acting more upon instinct than a properly-developed mana sense. It is perhaps accurate to say that the witch¡¯s entire house is their focusing tool and ritual circle, and they are constantly utilizing it and improving it. No wonder, then, that they are such unparalleled masters of their own domain, for what mage could possibly hope to beat another while inside their staff? On Skill Selection A System message to a thrice-blessed:
Those with a single skill often fixate upon seeking to accomplish as much as possible with their gift, taking a broad skill such as [Spellweaving], [Swordfighting] or [Exercise], as has been the latest trend. Do not mistake me, I understand the appeal. Every child grows up with the hopes that they may develop a second, or even a third skill in time, and when such dreams fail to materialize they look to maximize the scope of their one skill, spurred on by tales such as Alanne of the Blade or Betair of Fell Magics, leveraging a single skill into a breadth of power worthy of legends. However, I must encourage you to reconsider. There exist hundreds, thousands of dual-skilled hopefuls with similar designs, and their ability to take supplementary skills will enable them to consistently outperform you. Even if you are from a small town, you gain nothing by attempting to directly compete as a generalist. Also consider that Alanne and Betair are legendary figures, and that status is despite, not because of, the mastery of their solitary skills. Yes, it is possible for you to evolve your skill, and to sculpt your subskills in such a way that you establish your own niche within your general specialty, but then would you not have simply been in a better position sooner if you had begun within that niche? Even a level 50 [Weaving] skill will benefit you less than a level 5 [Cure Hide] or level 10 [Thread-Spinning] skill within their scope of influence. If you must take a broad skill, I can only advise you to exchange it with a new skill once you have determined which portions of your skill you use most often. It is within these specific, niche skills where you will find your greatest value. There is always demand for a new scribe with [Elegant Handwriting], a new soldier with [Shield Block], battlemage with [Fireball], or courier with [Marathon Running], and you can truly make your skill your own in a way which those with more skills than you could never so much as dream of. Each new subskill, each skill evolution, is more potent than the last, and you will be capable of dedicating all of your efforts to your solitary skill. Never forget, Alanne of the Blade was said to have begun with a simple [Parry] skill. It was through tireless devotion to leveling, expanding, and evolving it that she became the Sword Saint. That is the true way forward, begin narrow and grow. Do not stunt your growth attempting to do everything poorly, but by becoming the very best at a single perfected skill.
Possessing two skills is an uncommon feat, I do not wish to diminish the elation you must be feeling at this time, but it is important to know this does not make you twice as powerful as your peers with a single skill. After all, they have the ability to focus all of their efforts into growing that single skill, and much of the time that single skill will be very specific. A [Piercing Spear-Thrust] will overcome a similarly-leveled [Armor Mastery], but a [Strike] will fail against a similarly-leveled [Shield Block]. You may still follow the advice I have given to those with a single skill just as surely as it applies to them, but you are yet capable of far more. For while there is power in specificity, the true potential of a second skill is within its versatility.
There are many different strategies which dual-skilled individuals employ. The first and most common is to take two complimentary skills, which may each be practiced in very similar situations. For instance, [Marathon Running] and [Sprinting] carry obvious overlapping use cases, and they may both be leveled simultaneously by running very fast for a very long time. This approach carries with it the obvious benefit that the two skills are thus very easy to merge due to their compatibility, and is equally scalable. Merging [Marathon Running] and [Sprinting] into something akin to [Footracing] subsequently allows for the development and even later merging of additional skills such as [Delicate Steps], [Wall-Running], [Steady Footing], or more. It is also, naturally, possible to take two skills which do not particularly overlap with one another but nonetheless possess great synergy, such as [Marathon Running] and [Meditation] enabling particularly skilled individuals to run literally forever, meditating while they run. This can be quite potent when executed properly, but should be done with care as most skills do not provide any particular benefit when utilized by the same person.
The next approach is to take a broad skill, such as [Smithing], and a very specific skill that pairs well with it, such as [Precise Hammer-Strike]. This is often done with the explicit goal of merging the specific skill into the broader skill, and is quite effective in that regard, providing a steady supply of improved skills and incredible utility between each merge. They manage to reap the benefits of a broad skill, while not forcing themselves to reach nearly the pinnacle of power before possessing potent tricks of their own. Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. It is of course important to remind those of you planning to take this opportunity that merges are usually inferior to a skill evolution. While merging [Lightning Magic] and [Lightning Strike] is not by any means a poor option, frequently granting a [Lightning Strike]-type subskill and enabling easy casting of offensive lightning magic even without a dedicated skill for it, not only will such a merge cause you to lose much of the progress you gained with [Lightning Strike] as its own skill, including most subskills, so too does it in many ways reset any progress made in evolving [Lightning Magic] purely through its own efforts. Lightning cast with [High Lightning Magic] or [Storm Magic] is oft substantially more powerful than even a [Lightning Battlemagic] skill resultant from merging [Lightning Magic] with [Lightning Strike] and a subsequent [Steady Casting]. This is not to denigrate skill merging, of course, as it remains one of your most potent tools as a dual-skilled individual. I simply seek to remind you that merging skills is not lossless, either in the combined capabilities of each skill individually, or in the influence it has in advancing your skills in other ways, even when unambiguously positive. The other route, and certainly the safer one to take with this combination of specific and broad skill, is to utilize your specific skill as your primary, with the broad skill acting as a supplement. [Crafting] can enhance [Precise Hammer-Strike] directly, and to great effect, making it far easier to level the latter and develop subskills for it, even without merging the two.
The most ambitious twice-blessed, meanwhile, take one broad skill and a skill meant to support its growth. While undeniably potent when successful, it carries a substantial degree of risk due simply to how challenging it is to work with any broad-scale skill. Unlike supplementing [Fire Magic] with a [Fireball], supplementing [Fire Magic] with [Skill Mastery] provides no particular advantage when casting spells, and thus attempting to actually utilize [Fire Magic] must be capable of casting their spells manually every time they wish to utilize one until they develop an appropriate subskill. Yes, this feat becomes properly possible for the average mage with a second skill to speed up their subskill acquisition (or otherwise generally aid in spellcasting) or skill leveling, but it is still no mean feat. Even for those who do not wish to tread the difficult path of the free-casting mage, taking a skill pair such as [Crafting] and [Learning] presents all the same difficulties of any broad skill- the minor benefits per level, difficulty leveling, and requirements to develop subskills to mimic even a fraction of the power of a dedicated skill- and tends to obviate the difficulty of one, or at most two of them. This still leaves you at a disadvantage not only compared to your dual-skilled peers with one or two immediately useful skills, but also to the single-skilled, with a single mastered skill at their disposal. The incredible potential, of having a high-level and useful incredibly broad skill, is of course why people still choose this path, but it is a difficult and long road to walk, as while the benefits after decades of work may be great, so too would dedication to any path provide great rewards after that much time.
Those of you fortunate enough to possess three skills are best to pay heed to much of my advice given to dual-skilled individuals, as all of the advice there is wholly applicable. In fact, skill merging is even more appealing for the thrice-blessed, as merging three skills simultaneously is often superior to even the best skill evolutions. Furthermore, the synergy of three skills working in combination with one another is truly grand. [Footwork] and [Melee Combat], with the potency of a skill such as [Sword Strike], has been the start of many a legendary warrior. Each improves the other, and the drawbacks of two broad skills are negligible when obviated by something immediately useful to supplement them. I shall not recant all of my advice for the double-skilled to you, for you may infer how they are improved with a third skill. Instead, I shall endeavor to present an option which a third skill has opened to you: Knowledge. To know the details of your skills, to know the details of other¡¯s skills, these things are powerful. For warriors, knowing whether your opponent possesses [Shield Block] or [Sword Strike] may be the difference between life and death. For administrators, seeing if your assistant possesses [Sabotage] or [Elegant Handwriting] as surely vital, just as a craftsman benefits from knowing whether the traveling salesman possesses [Glib Lying] or [Find Hidden Treasure] or knowing if a newly-hired assistant speaks the truth that their [Weaving] skill is indeed level 20. Even your own skills contain hidden depths, nuance and detail far beyond that which their pitiful descriptions may be capable of conveying. Subskills and evolutions, merging and skill unlocks, all of these are but the very start to the truth underneath. I have done my best to convey what you receive, but predictions and details are beyond my power. It is for this reason I say those who possess three skills are best suited to take one which grants information. [Status], [Appraise], and their ilk may be challenging to earn, and are best earned via evolving something similar into them, but the knowledge they provide may be the most valuable thing you could do with a third skill. You would still have two other skills to work with, as many as most could ever hope to have, but with the introspection and knowledge to truly maximize them. Of course, you could even seek to combine them, make information your true calling. Combine [Status] and [Appraise], develop [Share Skill], and perhaps one day you could join me, pushing forward the system for everyone, providing knowledge which all may better themselves with. What higher calling could there be?
On Arcanoception Fifth Mage Jesvial, to her new apprentice.
First lesson. The first and most important feature of any true mage is an ability to sense mana. Just as a painter must be able to see, or a musician need to hear, and an acrobat requires balance, so too must a mage be capable of sensing magic. To attempt to cast anything complex without one is to attempt to paint a masterwork while blindfolded and wearing extraordinarily thick gloves, while drunk. Now, it is entirely possible to learn to cast some basic spells without the personal ability to sense mana, of course. But I do not recommend this approach. You would require sheer stubbornness and an ungodly amount of practice for each spell, or be exclusively confined to visual spellcasting alone. While it is true that practice and inherent visibility of spells are tools that even true mages must master, neither are genuinely sufficient to elevate one to the status of a true mage. Those who rely simply upon practice are incredibly inflexible with their effects and far, far too prone to interruption. They cannot adapt or improvise their magic, and while that may be sufficient for a smith or seer, whose lairs are carefully tended-to, who possess a routine that enables them to enact the rituals required for their jobs, the moment something doesn¡¯t work perfectly for them they are incapable of recovering. If an ingot of bronze contains slightly too much copper, the smith¡¯s artifice fails. Should the seer not be properly purified, their divination will go awry. If the cook breaks their knife, they must relearn their spell practically anew. If the warden ventures too far from home, their protections may fail. The healer who overslept will be incapable of plying their trade, and more besides. Furthermore, the amount of purification rituals which they must enact, cleansing their every last tool and foci of all possible variation, ensures that they can never properly grow, or experiment, or, yes, fight. It is no accident I list no warriors among those who can simply manage to practice until they become a proficient mage. Relying upon blind practice will make it trivial to counter or disrupt your spells, oftentimes without even requiring magic to do so. There is no situation in which you should rely solely upon blind practice to cast spells. What might take another years to learn you will master in a day, once your senses have formed. While visual-only spellcasting is certainly vital when learning how to cast any spell, particularly those beyond your affinity, you must be aware of its limitations and not mistake its commonality even among true mages as any kind of substitute for genuine arcanoception. After all, casting a visual spell can easily be twice as hard or even harder than the spell would normally require. This is ultimately due to the nature of a visualized spell simply being a customized magic-detection spell providing information relevant to the caster. You read the runes and may glean from that the status of your spell, and that informs you what adjustments you need to make your spell work. But of course, I won¡¯t linger on what I assume you are already familiar with, I simply mention it to serve as a counterpoint to what a proper mana sense will bring you. Simply possessing some form of mana sense brings the world alive in a way I cannot properly describe. Attempt to describe sight to a blind man, or explain to a deaf man how to hear, and you will understand. Even though most forms of arcanoception are tied to normal senses, it is true, the ability to directly sense the flows of magic is utterly exquisite. However, such descriptions are rarely sufficient to encourage others to seek the experience out, given the difficulty. Now, some individuals do take a shortcut to mana sense in the casting of various mana-detection spells. While this can, once again, draw you closer to the use which a true mana sense can provide, it remains insufficient. Now, of all the methods I have described so far, this is the one which even true mages utilize the most. Senses are fallible, even magical ones, and spells that enable a mage to sense mana not of their own element, to better process detail at further range, or further back in time, that magnify details or filter out noise, all of these things are vital tools for a mage, and many go so far as to seek to develop their personal arcanoception to do so automatically. This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. Hm? Ha! If you manage to find a mana-sight artifact, go right ahead! You won¡¯t find one, though. And I¡¯d still expect you to develop some other form of mana sense, just maybe not sight. The first and most common means of developing mana sense is to tie it to one¡¯s sense of sight. This carries with it the benefit of being the most generally useful form of arcanoception by default, providing very accurate location and composition data at a distance and with minimal effort. It is so common that mana sense is called mana sight as often as not, even when referring to other sensory ties. Furthermore, mana sight provides as much benefit to the sense of sight as the reverse. After all, mana is not blocked by many things which do block light, and basic illusions will frequently fail to account for their disruption to the surrounding Tapestry. Next most-common is to tie it to hearing. Unlike with sight, it is far easier to be alerted to magic being worked in proximity, though it is of course less detailed than with sight. However, that does not mean it is imprecise. It is possible to glean very accurate information from the rhythm, tone, pitch, and more from the sounds perceived, and many mages describe it as almost natural to develop new spells with hearing-based arcanoception, as they develop their ability to hear complimentary sounds and can pick out what a given working is missing for an aimed effect. More common among craftsmen is the sense of touch. While by far the most detailed and precise form of mana sense, it rather obviously carries the rather stringent limitation of being exceptionally close-ranged. While physically touching an object isn¡¯t always required, it is exceptionally rare for any mages to feel more than a couple of feet beyond them, and even that is highly imprecise. The benefits are of course a truly unparalleled degree of perception for objects you are close enough to, and a natural advantage when spellweaving, being capable of feeling the threads of magic around you as a true extension of yourself. Smell and taste is the final traditional sense to tie arcanoception to, and while all forms of mana sense are useful and have their place (and any form, even scent, is infinitely superior to not having it at all), I cannot recommend it for most mages. It carries a particular advantage in finding magic, as scent-based mana senses are on average the most sensitive to minuscule traces of forms of magic from truly spectacular distances, or at detecting small measures of a particular type of mana in a particularly chaotic thrum of magic, it has far too little detail in regards to the structure of that magic to be useful for the average mage. That said, there are some mages who have done excellent for themselves with scent-based mana sense, they are just overwhelmingly those whose specialty is not in making magic, but tracking and identifying its use. Now, every so often someone tries to be clever, and decides to just plug their mana sense directly into their soul and gain it as a wholly new sense, disconnected from any of their others. I don¡¯t personally advise this, though there are distinct advantages. While the specifics vary immensely between individuals, it usually results in something somewhere between hearing-based and touch-based arcanoception, where within a fairly wide range of the person they can very accurately detect magic, and with a moderate degree of precision. Some describe it as simply knowing where magic is, as though through a fleeting memory. Unfortunately, it is also by far the most difficult form to master, as with no familiar sense associated with it, you must learn to process its input anew, and be wary of hallucinations the entire time. Learning to differentiate real from imagined is never easy. This process never takes less than months, with it more commonly taking years to decades to reach so much as a basic level of proficiency with it. Now, this does carry the benefit of being the most flexible to develop, and it is far easier to grow and overcome the limitations you encounter than those tied with other senses, but unless you are already immortal, I advise you begin with another sense. Now, I suppose you expect me to tell you that once your mana sense is developed, you¡¯re done? Hardly! A mage¡¯s mana sense is their lifeblood. A proper mage should never cease developing their senses, and it is that very thing which in many ways defines the quality of a mage. In time, as I mentioned, you¡¯ll want to tie automatic filters and processing into your arcanoception, but so too will you want to expand the number of ways you may sense mana. Each new sense can provide new information, after all, and information is always a mage¡¯s true weapon. On Populus Species Message Log for User Iftual Kai Zenti Zenti Mil, audited in the wake of the Decadis Incident.
Welcome! System has initialized for new User. Beginning integration. Please wait
Answer
Mana has reached sufficient density to initialize System access.
Error
Body not found. Offer: Would user like to recreate previous body utilizing existing records?
Error
User has no preexisting records. Allow scanning of soul to recreate previous body? If declined, user will need to recreate body from System interface.
Confirmed
User has selected manual recreation of body. Type: {Bipedal Quadruped}. Please provide species for base template creation.
Answer
The most common {Bipedal Quadruped} species which the System has records of are as follows. For additional information, query a humanoid type.
Human
Elf
Dwarf
Avior
Gnome
Halfling
Corvus
Orc
Goblin
If none of these creatures adequately match user¡¯s species, query here for additional options. If the user was a member of an aquatic species, query here.
Human
Strengths Endurance, Willpower, Stability
Weaknesses Memory, Attunement, Affinity
Description A pack-based endurance hunter. Adept with thrown weaponry. Native to grasslands. Capable of surviving in most moderate climates.
Skill Steadfast. Utilize Willpower in place of Health, Stamina, or Mana.
Elf
Strengths Variable
Weaknesses Variable
Description A pack-based forager. Adept with Spellweaving. Native to forests. Capable of adapting to survive in any climate.
Skill Adaptive. Freely reassign stats and resistances.
Dwarf
Strengths Resistance, Dexterity
Weaknesses Agility
Description A pack-based scavenger. Adept with stone and metal. Native to subterranean glens. Best in dark and cold climates.
Skill Soulforger. Created items naturally reflect your skills, stats, and resistances.
Answer
Strengths are indicative of which stats typically grow faster for these species independent of all other sources of stats. The degree to which they grow varies, and some individuals may experience growth in excess of their species¡¯ Strengths. The number of strengths is not indicative of the rate of growth, and a species with two Strengths may possess higher or lower growth rates in said stats than a species with three Strengths. Weaknesses are similar, though indicate a lower average rate of growth in lieu of a higher one.
Avior
Strengths Agility, Perception
Weaknesses Endurance, Resistance, Strength
Description A solitary aerial predator. Adept with Ritualism. Native to mountainous regions. Ill-suited to cold or windy regions.
Skill Windborne. Spend Mana to influence local air currents for flying maneuvers.
Gnome
Strengths Dexterity, Intelligence, Focus
Weaknesses Agility, Strength
Description A colony-based scavenger. Native to crepuscular forests. Best in warm, humid climates.
Skill Spark of Life. Spend Mana to animate a touched object.
Halfling
Strengths Dexterity, Agility
Weaknesses Willpower, Perception, Focus
Description A pack-based ambush hunter. Native to landwaves. Ill-suited for rocky or coastal regions.
Skill Lucky Escape. Evade capture, notice, or restraints.
Corvus
Strengths Perception, Intelligence, Memory
Weaknesses Resistance, Strength, Affinity, Focus
Description A pair-oriented aerial scavenger. Ill-suited to warm climates.
Skill Clawed Grasp. Store a held item in a personal pocket dimension.
Answer
Corvus are not crows or ravens, though they do share many common features.
Answer
Corvus wings are not prehensile.
Orc
Strengths Strength, Resistance, Endurance
Weaknesses Focus, Memory, Intelligence, Perception
Description A pack-based pursuit hunter. Adept with strength. Native to subterranean deserts and rocky valleys. Best suited for more moderate climes.
Skill Furious Strength. Greatly increase strength with lost health, spend health to magnify effect.
Goblin
Strengths Dexterity, Agility, Willpower
Weaknesses Affinity, Focus, Stability, Memory
Description Colony-based scavenger. Native to subterranean deserts and rocky valleys. Ill-suited for grasslands and more extreme colds.
Skill Bouncy. A portion of all incoming kinetic damage is instead translated to imparting physical momentum to the user. Increased resistance to deformation-related damage.
Answer
Some less common {Bipedal Quadruped} are as follows.
Giant
Ruxsi
Kobold
Esgerath
Naga
Engli
Troll
Kitsune
Sheff
Cewri
If this list is once again inadequate, query here for additional options.
If user was a more unusual form of {Bipedal Quadruped} with substantial influence upon their normal biology, query here instead.
Giant
Strengths Strength, Resistance, Perception
Weaknesses Agility, Dexterity, Spirit
Description A solitary pursuit hunter. Adept with divination. Native to all climates, ill-suited to subterranean climes.
Skill Keen Eye. Spend stamina to peer through some objects.
Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Ruxsi
Strengths Memory, Willpower
Weaknesses Resistance
Description A pack-based ambush predator. Native to warm boglands. Ill-suited to temperate or cold climates.
Skill Suspend. Spend mana to slow or pause biological functions.
Kobold
Strengths Agility, Affinity
Weaknesses Strength, Stability
Description A pack-based ambush hunter. Native to rocky deserts and mesas. Capable of surviving in most moderate climates.
Skill Draconic Spirit. Increase attributes and gain bonus skills when living in proximity to a dragon-type creature.
Esgerath
Strengths Spirit, Focus
Weaknesses Resistance, Strength
Description Solitary arcanivore. Adept with spellweaving. Native to warm forests, rainforests. Ill-suited to cold climates.
Skill Arcane Inheritance. Spend mana, health, willpower, stamina to create personalized magic focus.
Naga
Strengths Agility, Memory, Spirit
Weaknesses Intelligence, Perception, Stability
Description Solitary arcanivore. Adept with manifestation. Native to subterranean wetlands. Capable of surviving in most climates.
Skill Ascent. Spend mana to treat water or air as a solid surface.
Engli
Strengths Affinity, Stability, Spirit
Weaknesses Memory, Willpower
Description Solitary airborne predator. Adept with radiance. Native to mountainous regions. Capable of surviving in temperate non-subterranean climates.
Skill Radiant Ascent. Regenerate mana, stamina, when immersed in bright light.
Troll
Strengths Strength, Endurance, Resistance
Weaknesses Intelligence, Memory, Willpower, Stability, Focus
Description Solitary ambush predator. Potent regenerator. Capable of surviving in any environment.
Skill Endless Maw. Consuming food in excess of normal biological limits automatically restores health
Kitsune
Strengths Focus, Affinity, Intelligence
Weaknesses Strength, Resistance
Description Semi-biological trickster. Adept with illusions. Native to temperate valleys and forests.
Skill True Illusion. Spend mana to reinforce sensory experience of sustained illusion, making it more difficult to pierce or discover.
Sheff
Strengths Spirit, Variable
Weaknesses Variable
Description Animalistic shapeshifters. Associated with a single vertebrate non-humanoid species.
Skill Manifest Spirit. Spend stamina to channel features of alternative form without transforming.
Cewri
Strengths Strength, Stability
Weaknesses Dexterity, Perception
Description Solitary foragers. Native to forests. Ill-suited to subterranean or hot environments.
Skill Immobilizing Grasp. Spend stamina to disable use of mana, stamina from grasped creature smaller than you.
Answer
The following species have been grouped together due to substantial changes from their base body, usually due to the influence of another realm or plane in one form or another. This means their natural body types may resemble one of any other {Bipedal Quadruped} and in rare circumstances may be capable of eventually earning species-exclusive skills from their origin species.
Changeling
Graveborn
Cinderling
Umbran
Fragment
Radiens
Changeling
Strengths Focus, Affinity
Weaknesses Willpower, Stability
Description Faerie-influenced mortal being. Capable of surviving in most climates.
Skill Inherit Role. Gain additional experience when interacting with high-level individuals in proportion to the degree to which you impact their decisions made.
Graveborn
Strengths Attunement, Resistance, Willpower
Weaknesses Spirit
Description Hades-touched mortal being. Adept with death magics. Capable of surviving.
Skill Harvest Spirit. Gain additional experience when slaying another creature.
Cinderling
Strengths Affinity, Spirit, Attunement, Willpower
Weaknesses Resistance
Description Hell-influenced mortal being. Adept with fire magics. Capable of surviving in extreme climates, ill-suited for temperate climates.
Skill Infernal Deal. Enforce contract with user¡¯s and target¡¯s mana as collateral.
Umbran
Strengths Agility, Perception
Weaknesses Stability, Resistance
Description Shade-grasped semi-elemental. Capable of surviving in low-light climates.
Skill Manifested Shadow. Exchange positions with own shadow for small mana cost.
Fragment
Strengths Spirit, Focus, Attunement, Stability, Affinity, Intelligence, Willpower, Perception, Memory, Strength, Endurance, Resistance, Dexterity, Agility
Weaknesses
Description Semi-elemental divine avatar. Adept with magic. Not native. Capable of surviving in all regions.
Skill Divine Bestowal. Imbue a fragment of power into another item or being to empower it and make it semi-divine.
Answer
Fragments are no less capable of growth and mastery than any other species. Their attunement to the divine often results in substantially higher growth rates than is typical.
Confirm User as Fragment species?
Warning This choice is irrevocable.
Acknowledged
Please apply appropriate adjustments to base Fragment body, appearance, and biological modifications to best match user¡¯s original body.
Answer
User is requested to not apply biological modifications not already a part of their original body, to reduce likelihood of unforeseen rejections. As knowledge of existing modifications was denied alongside in-depth soul scan, user is provided with common options which this System is capable of applying. Specialist modifications may need to be re-applied after System instantiation of new body. Apologies for any inconvenience.
Answer
User has indicated they have recreated their body. Beginning biological initialization.
Alert
Skill {Divine Bestowal} has been utilized to ascend item {Rock} into artifact {Primal Focus of Xalfa}
Alert
Skill {Divine Bestowal} has been utilized to ascend item {Guardsman¡¯s Spear} into artifact {Pilan, The Spear of Pierced Heavens}
Alert
Title Unlocked
{Demigod of Blood}
Admin notes: Instantiating a new bodiless user defaults to higher permissions level than it should. Declining automated body recreation should not grant access to divine-level species options. TODO: Prevent disembodied users with no body records/history from defaulting to full Admin Biological Modification interface when they decline automated reconstruction. Require direct Admin correspondence for all changes? TODO: Lock down all Fragment-related options to require direct confirmation from superadmin. On Innate Magics A lesson from an Imperial Sage:
Nah. See, even when you have two ostensibly-identical Talents, they¡¯ve still got their own unique quirks. Innate skills are a good example there, honestly. It¡¯s pretty typical that, if a skill is more than a freshly Awakened individual could utilize, there¡¯s some form of cost reduction built into it. Sometimes that¡¯s just a flat cost reduction, but other times it¡¯s almost pre-modified. Depending on the culture, and yes we¡¯ll get back to that, it might be particularly well-inclined towards channeling through a focus, or more strongly tied to physical motion than the normal skill would be. So take three people with innate [Fire Manipulation], all of them freshly awoken. One of them has the entirety of their Talent dedicated to just reducing the cost, and that brings it down to roughly one-third its normal price, letting them cast it an average of six times. But, they have no limitations or specializations, and if they want to later limit it, they can do so just as easily with anyone else who has that skill. The second person comes from a very martial world, where self-discipline, physical acumen, and personal mastery are all incredibly important. Their [Fire Manipulation] certainly can be utilized even if they¡¯re chained up and hanging from their feet, but it might demand their entire mana pool to do so. But, if they utilize a form of martial arts in conjunction with their skill, their costs may be a tenth of what it is normally, letting them use their skill twenty times before they exhaust their mana. The third person lives on a volcanic world, where fires are big and dangerous and above all, terrifying. They¡¯re accustomed to heat, and the idea of manipulating small amounts of fire isn¡¯t really a concern for them at all. So, their [Fire Manipulation] is twice as expensive than it would be even for the base skill, and they have far less control over it, but in exchange they can control a hundred times as much fire as that base skill could with that mana. They¡¯ll throw a fireball the size of a house and utterly exhaust themselves, but for that moment they were either pacifying or channeling the wrath of the volcano. And that¡¯s just the most basic overview. Every innate skill has that form of nuance. And yes, usually innate skills will warp themselves in a way wherein their holders can utilize them from the moment they¡¯re obtained. I knew one gal who received an innate [Meteor Storm], but with the curious adaptation that let her put as little mana as she wanted into it, and still have it work. Last I heard of her, she¡¯d pushed that even further into manifesting her projectiles as stone arrows, then firing those off with a bow as a sniper. So yes, every Talent is unique. Especially the first Talent, as that does a good job of establishing the theme for the entire set. And yes, everyone always likes to think that they can absolutely predict what someone¡¯s Talent will be because their grandfather was a dragon, or because they have such a strong pull to travel, they grew up on a mountain peak, whatever. Well, the first rule to predicting Talents is that there is no predicting a Talent. The second rule is that all further rules have an exception. Yes, a bloodline will affect a Talent. So will personality, culture, birth location, desires, childhood friends, siblings, exposure to powerful magic, what your parents did for a living, what you had for breakfast that morning, what your skills are like, what your drive is like, all of it. The problem is, there¡¯s no telling which one will take precedence. I knew one man who awakened a first Talent of ¡®Innate understanding of waffles,¡¯ which he attributed to having an absolutely stellar breakfast that morning, and awakened while hungry. It¡¯s really common if you Trigger- that is, Awaken yourself through insight, you¡¯ll get a Talent relating to your Trigger. But of course, a good ninety percent of people with a bloodline Awaken a Talent relating to that bloodline in some form. And sometimes, a Talent comes completely out of nowhere, defying every prediction and is in complete defiance of their bloodline, personality, desires, practice, all of it. Because of how complex people are, you can always explain a person¡¯s Talent as indicative or representative of some part of a person¡¯s personality, but the simple truth of the matter is that it¡¯s just not true. No, the boy who grew eyes in the back of his head didn¡¯t get those because he looked over his shoulder a few times. No, the girl awakening with an innate [Raise Dead] didn¡¯t do so because she was sad her goldfish died when she was eight. Sometimes, weird things just happen, and that¡¯s just how Talents work. Trying to divine someone¡¯s ¡°true personality¡± based off of their Talent is pointless, because there are countless reasons that you might argue ¡°why¡± someone awakened their Talent. Maybe the [Raise Dead] girl really was sad her fish died, or maybe she is afraid of death, or perhaps she harbors the desire to kill and reanimate her bullies. Maybe she was enamored by a story of a friendly necromancer, maybe it was because she saw an undead at one point, maybe it¡¯s because she didn¡¯t sleep well the night before she awakened, and she felt like a zombie the day of. It¡¯s pointless. Now, there are certainly interesting trends to follow with cultural awakening trends. It¡¯s less common in further reaches of the Empire, where the lack of truly powerful people tends to result in a relatively weak cultural identity, splintered between continents, counties, even cities. But closer to the core? It¡¯s far, far more common. Be it innate skills tied to physical motion, a skew towards Talents which grant innate understanding of a subject, a specific mana type that shows up with unusual frequency, or Talents which enact physical change on their recipients. You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. Speaking of Innate Understanding Talents, those are actually one of the most interesting categories of Talents I¡¯ve found. It¡¯s difficult to properly describe how they work, as they certainly blur the line between what is simply due to a Talent and that which can be accomplished through mundane work. One way to understand how they work is that they feed a consistent, low-level divination directly into the mind of their holder, imparting them with a bit more understanding than they had before. This manifests as a level of intuition for what must be done to accomplish a given task, though almost never the how. An archer need not understand the way in which winds whip their arrows, the drag their feathers impart to stay stable, or the kinematics behind projectile motion for their Talent to nudge them into holding their bow just so. It¡¯s an effect which can be difficult to even notice, if unprepared for its effects. But it¡¯s certainly potent over time, if given the chance to flourish. Because, simply put, it is always informing the user of just a little bit more than they know right now, without the influence of their Talent. If they aren¡¯t careful, that innate understanding can stifle their ability to further hone their skills. That is, ultimately, where most people with innate understanding end up, moderately skilled in their area of expertise and unable to teach anyone what they instinctively know. But at the same time, innate understanding also is far and away the initial Talent which has the most potential for expansion. Because it always provides just a little bit more knowledge than what the user already has, if they put in the effort and the time to expand their knowledge the way a non-Talented individual might, they can learn faster and always be a step ahead of their peers. Truly pushed to their limits, those with innate understanding of a subject can do things which utterly defy comprehension. Talented swordsmen may fight blindfolded, Talented enchanters can invent new runes with a day¡¯s work, Talented alchemists can create potions perfectly tailored for an individual without taking a single measurement, Talented scribes may flick their wrist and cause their splatters of ink to land in beautiful calligraphic shapes. The downside remains the same, even at this highest level, and such is where the debate lies. The runes which a Talented enchanter makes on instinct can only be made on instinct, and they might have no insight into why a given rune works one way in some contexts and in a different way in others, they only know that it does so. This has led some people to believe Innate Understanding is more akin to very specific reality warping, where existence itself bends its own laws to support what is impossible for anyone else to accomplish. Even despite my own belief that innate understanding is merely divination, and theoretically replicable by anyone, I certainly have seen wondrous feats which call into question that certainty. Now, that can certainly be muddled by the individual¡¯s other Talents. After all, by the time any smith, or enchanter, or even warrior is doing anything which defies easy explanation, they certainly have earned their second Talent if not their third, and those rarely provide nothing of value to their work. It is somewhat interesting that Innate Understanding so rarely appears within the ¡®growth¡¯ Talent, given its infinitely scalable nature, and seems to lend credence to the divination theory. That instead of ever-stronger changes to reality, it is a static ¡®one step more¡¯ for those who hold it. But I digress. The second Talent one gets is one of the most wildly contentious topics, as unlike the first Talent, there appears to be absolutely no limit to the ¡®growth¡¯ it can provide. Whereas a first Talent can at best double a given attribute (without enacting a penalty somewhere else), the so-called ¡®growth¡¯ Talents may vary so wildly in scope it¡¯s positively laughable. A portion of that is inherent to their growing nature- as one grows stronger, so too does their Talent. What may have once been an ability to make fire burn a few degrees hotter would grow into an empowerment strong enough to allow a candle to burn stone. It can occasionally be lost as they grow stronger for other reasons, but the boost from the second Talent does grow. Of course, not all growth Talents grow equally, and that, I have noticed, often depends on the effort required to grow the talent. Most automatically grow slightly stronger alongside their user, no further effort required. Others require time to reach their full potential, to a maximum determined by their subject¡¯s strength. Others still require active practice, or learning applications for the Talent, and a scarce few do nothing on their own unless the user actively seeks it out. For instance, I know of one young man who received a Talent which could permanently increase his resistance to certain sources of damage, but only when exposed to that type of damage. Another lady I once met had her sword strikes grow in potency the more often she had performed that exact maneuver, and one lad gained a permanent boost to his magic every time he drank a certain type of potion. Broadly speaking, the more difficult a Talent is to grow, disregarding the difficulty of growing stronger itself, the stronger its maximum effect (relative to the overall strength of the user) is. There even exists a certain category of growth Talents which require their users to be driven, for if they grow in strength too quickly, they forevermore lose whatever potential power they may have gotten. The young man whose magic grew with each potion he drank, could only benefit from a finite (but exceedingly large) number of potions at each stage of his growth, but if a potion was missed, the number of potions he could drink during his next stage would not increase accordingly. Those can appear in any form of growth Talent, be it growth from time, study, practice, or exposure, and are once again stronger than their normal counterparts. It is somewhat fitting, overall, that there still exists a sense of fairness within Talents. It is very, very rare that a Talent could be said to be strictly superior to another. Overall superior, certainly, but not in every sense. A higher boost requires a greater sacrifice, more effort, while the weaker Talents are often the easiest to use. It¡¯s a part of why they¡¯re just so fascinating, finding the peculiarities that make even seemingly-identical Talents distinct. On Stat Selection A lesson given to children in the port town of Heshkiad:
Generation I¡¯m sure many of you have been told that mana Generation is ¡®the most important stat,¡¯ haven¡¯t you? It is, after all, the foundation for all magic. If you can¡¯t make mana, you can¡¯t use skills, you can¡¯t use most enchantments, you can¡¯t do anything. Well, that¡¯s a bit overblown, every stat is important and I hope none of you try to unbalance yourselves! Generation is absolutely important, but it¡¯s got a bit of a reputation for just being boring. Eat your vegetables, go to bed on time, do your homework, assign your points into Generation, that sort of thing, am I right? But did you know that Generation can be exciting? Even if you never make some massive discovery, get absolute piles of experience, and boost your Generation up so high that you can use skills forever, there¡¯s so much you can do with Generation to either cut down on how many points you need to put into it, or make the points you do put into it so much more useful! How many of you are familiar with substats? Okay, okay, that¡¯s pretty good. For the rest of you, substats are ways where you can focus the effects of a stat down even more. So, for mana Generation, maybe you focus on substats which increase how much mana you make when you sleep, so you only generate mana while snoozing. If your goal is to be able to Generate mana to refill your Capacity every day, do you know what that does? Yes, it means that you can always track exactly how much mana you have for the rest of the day, for one, but it also makes your Generation more than four times as effective as it would be if you just had it refilling throughout the day! And if you sleep for, oh, about one third to one half of the day, now you¡¯re actually getting more mana than you would otherwise! And, if you ever need to get just a bit more mana, just take a nap and get a bit of mana that way! Oh, you don¡¯t like naps, you say? Well, that¡¯s fine. What about generating mana based on how much you¡¯re out in the sun? I bet some of your parents do that. After all, if you¡¯re going to be out on a ship deck all day, why not get extra mana for your skills? Of course, then you have to worry about cloudy days, and wintertime can be quite annoying, but the summer is great! But that¡¯s still not interesting, you say? Well, what about tying your Generation to eating or drinking? Imagine if every glass of water you drank gave you a big bump to your mana! And as long as you could drink, you¡¯d keep getting mana! Or, if you¡¯re a priest, you could tie your Generation to be enhanced so long as you¡¯re in a temple, and look at that, you¡¯ve basically gotten a free boost to your Generation at all times, because when did a priest ever leave their temple? Hah! Good one. But say you take it a step beyond that. Some explorers tie their Generation to the mana in the air around them. Do you know why? No, it¡¯s not because the oceans are so much richer in mana than land, much the opposite. No, it¡¯s not because of how many enchanted items they have on their ships. It¡¯s because that lets them sense when they¡¯re getting close to a mana spring, or other source of magic, which are almost always close to land, or can be tricky to notice on the seas. There are other ways to do that, but do you see the potential? Yes! Yes, now you¡¯re getting it! You could make it so that you Generate mana while eating magical foods, or while meditating, while using skills, while in darkness or near fire or out on the ocean. No matter what you want to do, there¡¯s a way to use substats to boost your Generation while you¡¯re doing it. Oh? You still think that¡¯s boring? Well, what if I told you that some people have synergized their Generation, Capacity, and Skill stats such that they have a precise number of skill uses each day? It¡¯s true! Instead of just having a flat mana amount which can be spent however; they¡¯ve used substats to give them more skill uses, but only in certain proportions. Some of them take it a step further, getting all of their skill uses back at a specific time, like sunrise, or noon, or sunset. Because you can also do that, concentrating your Generation to happen all at once at a specific time. You can even make it so that you regenerate your mana when you run out! I wouldn¡¯t recommend that, because that¡¯s actually less efficient than just regenerating it normally, but if you really want to, you could allocate some of your Generation to be more effective when you¡¯re low on mana. Or high on mana! They both work equally well. Of course, moderation is key, and while my illustrations are extreme, you shouldn¡¯t put all of your generation into only a single strategy. Perhaps you¡¯ll split it between general Generation, with extra speed while you¡¯re sleeping, and, if you really want to, maybe a few points dedicated to increasing your Generation when you get low. Cohesion Now, mana Cohesion is often overlooked, next to its flashier and ¡°more important¡± neighbors, but is certainly not something to be disregarded. While having dozens or hundreds of skills and utilizing them constantly is more desirable upon its own, Cohesion is vital in ensuring that your skills will actually work as you desire them to. See, on its own, mana likes to run everywhere, like trying to pick up water or dry sand. You can¡¯t get any kind of grip on it, you can¡¯t use very much of it, and you certainly can¡¯t build anything with it. But Cohesion makes all of your mana a lot stickier. No, not like honey where you can¡¯t get it off your hands, but like wet sand. Wet sand you can build sandcastles out of, it holds its shape more, and it¡¯s going to do a lot more work for you overall. If you have enough Cohesion, then your mana will be like sandstone. Not only is sandstone much, much easier to build something impressive out of than even wet sand, but it¡¯s so much more solid and that solidity makes it powerful. Would you prefer to have a shield made out of paper, or out of steel? Cohesion is much the same way. Any experienced explorer can tell you, reliability is the absolute king when out in the unknown, and cohesion is how you get that reliability. But Neshia, I can hear you saying, I don¡¯t want to be an explorer! I¡¯m just going to stay home and make personal discoveries to grow! Well, little one, then you want Cohesion even more! Because Cohesion is also essential for proper mana control. Trying to really push your skills, figuring out new uses for them and pushing for them to evolve, all of that is best done when you have excellent control over your mana, pushing and pulling your skill every which way. As your parents can tell you, just having a skill doesn¡¯t make you a master of it, but how do you expect to master a skill if you can¡¯t control it? Believe me, you don¡¯t want to be the unfortunate person permanently stuck at a low level because you don¡¯t have enough control to make any discoveries with your skills! Very few people get experience by making big, grand discoveries of new laws of magic, new species, new lands or hidden coves. Most of us just level by making the small discoveries, learning about ourselves and our skills, and maybe teaching one or two people to keep growing, but if you can¡¯t control your skills, how will you ever learn about them, hmmm? Skill Of course, everyone wants skills, but don¡¯t be so hasty in just trying to get hundreds of skill slots, then fill them all up as fast as you can. Your Skills stat governs everything about your skills, and proper distribution of substats can make the difference between an absolute hero¡­ and some poor level zero! As you increase your skills, make sure that you also improve the quality of your skill slots, not just their quantity. Did you know it¡¯s possible to very nearly upgrade a skill, just by putting it into a properly-managed skill slot? Imagine that, getting a brand-new skill and instantly having it be twice as strong as normal, with room for a dozen new subskills. It¡¯s like leveling any skill you put into the slot, whenever you want! Also, this is where you can do fun stuff with the Skills themselves. Most skills don¡¯t require much to use, that¡¯s true. But did you know you can reduce the cost and increase the effectiveness of a skill if you modify the slot it¡¯s in to require you to say the name of the skill being used? You can do all kinds of tricky modifications to make the skill harder to use, in exchange for it being stronger when you do use it! That¡¯s why you¡¯ll see so many spellcasters chanting in preparation for some massive skill, they¡¯ve used their Skill substats to empower the skill if they chant! Whether the chant has to mean anything isn¡¯t particularly important, it can be gibberish or fully meaningful, it just depends on how the skill is modified. You can even overlap that with boosts to Cohesion and Power¡­ but I¡¯m getting ahead of myself! There¡¯s even some tricks you can pull with the Skills stat that allows you to speed up how quickly you can move skills around. One of my more advanced students has a single skill slot which is immensely powerful, with double strength and half cooldown and plenty of other very potent enhancements, then she increased her skill-moving speed so she can change her primary skill depending on the weather! Isn¡¯t that cool? Power Power is, naturally, how much mana you can use at a time, how much force you¡¯ve got with your magic. It¡¯s the muscles of your soul, the oomph behind all of your skills. ¡®Course, I bet I don¡¯t need to tell you all about that now, do I? Not when you can all see the flashy lightning bolts and giant cannon-shots of the strongest explorers out there. But, what you might not be aware of is how important proper power substat distribution is! It¡¯s all well and good if you¡¯ve got hundreds of Power and every skill you have is going to rival dragons, but if you¡¯re quick and clever you can get that much oomph with just a handful of power, maybe just a dozen points, the sorts of thing you could manage if you¡¯re really dedicated to your studies and eat all your vegetables. The trick? Proper specialization. Substats aren¡¯t just about focusing on one aspect of a Stat over another, like making your arms stronger than your legs, or your Generation only happening while you sleep. Say you¡¯re going to master the use of a cutlass, so you want to make sure that you can use every bit of power possible with your sword skills. Well, you can specialize your Power so that, instead of only having say¡­ five Power, you could get ten, twenty, thirty or even more Power behind all of your skills that you use through your cutlass. Sure, you might not get as much Power to your running skills, and you¡¯d want to make sure you also have either general Power, or stats dedicated to your pistol, but that¡¯s why you make sure you still have some general Power, and overlap your specialties wherever possible. Just like with the other stats, an extra ten Power for cutlasses, and an extra ten Power for fire, is an extra twenty when using a fire skill with a cutlass! One path that I do wish to warn you away from however, children, is being too specific with your Power. The temptation is there with the other stats as well, of course, but Power is the most tempting. There¡¯s always some poor fools who think they¡¯re so clever, choosing a specific object as a focus. Maybe it¡¯s their grandpa¡¯s wand, or their first pistol, or their mother¡¯s necklace. They get incredible bonuses while using that item, of course¡­ and then they outgrow their wand. Or they lose their necklace, or their pistol misfires and blows itself up. Then, all of that experience they spent improving their Power that way? Gone. Just like that. The same sort of thing can happen if you try to give a lot of Power to a specific skill. It¡¯s fantastic for getting more experience with that skill, but then what happens if you evolve the skill? Or in some cases, just upgrade it? All of a sudden, that skill is no longer has a massive specialty bonus, it¡¯s just the same as any other skill. So heed my words, children. Specialization is your friend, but all things must be done in moderation. Capacity Just talking about mana Capacity might seem a bit boring after that, doesn¡¯t it? Well you¡¯d be wrong! Hah! Everything you can do with Power, you can also do with Capacity. The exact way it interacts with your mana Generation depends on how you set that stat up, but as for how it feels, if you¡¯ve got an item tied to your Capacity it tends to feel like you picked up a battery. You use a necklace as a Capacity specialty, if you¡¯re wearing a necklace then it feels like you can draw the extra mana out of the necklace itself. Of course, the way to get the most out of that is to also make that mana only usable on skills with that item as well. You use a staff to channel your skills? Well, why not make the mana which you can only reach while using a staff, only be able to be used on skills while you¡¯re holding a staff? Yes, you can do that. This is why System education is so important, because while yes, the first person to discover that got incredibly powerful as a result, that¡¯s both from the earned experience and the use of that trick. So now, when you follow in their footsteps, it¡¯s like you¡¯re getting experience points for free! If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Just like with Power, you don¡¯t want to dedicate Capacity to a single skill. Instead, what you¡¯d do there is synergize your Capacity and Skill such that you have a certain amount of mana Capacity dedicated to only be used with that skill slot. Yes, it¡¯s not as good as directly dedicating it to a specific skill, but it¡¯s far better than never being able to evolve the skill again. This is, as I alluded to previously, the synergy by which you would have a finite number of skill usages per day, which restore themselves daily. Another thing you can do if you want to get tricky with Capacity is, much like with the physical stats, you can make your mana storage overlap with a certain part of your body, or hover just outside of it. If you do it right, you won¡¯t even lose the mana if you lose the body part. Most of the uses for that come with Aura, but there are some very interesting consequences to changing where your mana is stored. Even if you don¡¯t plan on becoming a Chakra initiate, or developing a Mana Core, there are many cases where using stats to expand or reinforce the natural mana pathways that flow through your body can be useful. Aura But overwhelmingly, you¡¯ll do so because you want to do something in particular with Aura. Aura is a tricky stat, all things considered. It¡¯s the only stat that¡¯s both physical and magical, and I¡¯m sure all of your parents have told you the stories about what that means. I certainly won¡¯t be repeating them here, not least because I don¡¯t want to make most of your parents mad at me for telling you the wrong thing, so I¡¯ll focus on what it means, System-wise, for your Aura to be the bridge between your body, your magic, and the world around you. If you just put stats directly into Aura, without any direction or specialization, it will make your body and your magic more in-sync and materialized. What does that mean? Well, practically speaking it means that for you physical-types, your body-based skills will get more of a benefit from your physical stats. In addition, you¡¯ll find anything you wear or wield is hardier and more effective, as your Aura applies a portion of your physical stats to things that are magically close enough to you. Enough Aura and Recovery, and you might find that your clothes start fixing pulled threads on their own, or knives sharpening themselves¡­ but that takes a lot of Aura, or some dedicated substats. You magic-types, it helps out your body with your magical stats. An excessive amount of mana Generation will help soothe physical aches, using a lot of magic at once will be less likely to cause you backlash, and your skills will recover faster and with less strain. In addition, it will help your presence, your influence upon the world. That is¡­ an entire lecture unto itself, but you know how experienced explorers, and nobles, will have that draw to them, the way in which they seem more real than everyone else? That¡¯s Aura. It will also help you sense mana better, perceive your skills better, and many other minor things which everyone loves. But, you want to find out the interesting things you can do, what benefits it gets from mana Capacity? I thought so. Aura is how you can turn yourself into a magical creature. Oh, you don¡¯t understand? Except you, young lady, you can stop saying you want to be a unicorn. It¡¯s not quite like that. Aura, as a bridge between the magical and physical, lets you make your body magical. It¡¯s not quite a Skill, but if you push mana Capacity into your hand, your hand can become magical. Maybe it starts glowing, maybe it lets you stick to things to climb them, maybe it can start to phase through thin objects to touch something past it. There¡¯s a lot you can do with Aura, though it¡¯s less versatile than a proper Skill, of course. But, naturally, if you have a Keen Eyes skill, and you use your aura to assign that to your eyes, then that skill will be more effective! Oh, ohohoho! Good catch, boy, good catch! You caught me out, you shouldn¡¯t use aura to tie a specific skill to a part of your body, I misspoke! You should assign a specific skill slot to a body part. A visual Skill slot can be tied to your eyes and you¡¯ll be perfectly safe. You wouldn¡¯t want to put a swimming skill into that slot, but any number of visual skills would work great! And then, Aura is also why high-level beast parts are magical. A unicorn¡¯s Aura is predominantly focused in its horn, so that¡¯s the most magical part of it, even after the unicorn is dead. But you don¡¯t want to die to be useful, you say? Well, you don¡¯t need to be dead to, say, cut your hair. If you have a Smooth Thread skill, perhaps you use your Aura and Skill to assign that skill to your hair, and then you can cut your hair to get a lot of permanently smooth threads. With the proper care, you can even change yourself, using an Iron Skin skill to permanently transfigure your skin to iron, reshaping your body even after the skill itself has been evolved or abandoned, and getting some of the effects even without active mana expenditure, though usually with some amount of stat expenditure. And it continues on as well. Do you know how artifacts are made? Not just enchantments, but proper artifacts, the sorts which are inherently magical, empowering people for centuries. Yep! That¡¯s Aura too. At a high enough level, anything you use will become slightly magical, but soul-smiths will assign Aura to a specific item, alongside other stats, maybe even a Skill, and then leave it like that, permanently giving those magical properties to the object. It often requires a Skill to actually make that change entirely permanent, but that¡¯s how it¡¯s done! Also, Aura is how familiars are made, diverting a portion of your stats to a lower-level creature¡­ but that¡¯s certainly more advanced than this class is meant to be! Dexterity Now, the physical stats I hope you¡¯ll all be a bit more familiar with? If we follow the pattern around, what comes next? Yes, Dexterity! And Dexterity helps with¡­ That¡¯s right! Self-control. No, no, not like that. It¡¯s control over your body. Dexterity is what helps you do clever tricks with your writing, or flick a rope into a knot from ten feet away, or to do a triple backflip from a handstand upon a mast. It¡¯s how graceful you are, and how precise your finger-wiggles are if you want to use a modified skill. Yes, Dexterity is an excellent pair for those skill modifications. If you want anything more complex than a finger-snap, it can be useful if your hands are already ahead of you! Not that you have to focus Dexterity just on your hands, of course, though plenty of people do. Dexterity helps your entire body, your balance and your sense of touch. It¡¯s mastering your body, and that extends to every part of you! That¡¯s why it¡¯s popular for announcers and singers, your voice is a part of you too! Bards love their Dexterity, for its aid to their fingers and their tongues alike. Rumor has it that with enough dedicated Dexterity, you can even move your eyes and nose and hair, changing what you look like! I don¡¯t know if that¡¯s true, no. Do you think I¡¯d have this much gray hair if I could change its color? Ha! Oh, and did I mention that Dexterity pairs exceptionally well with Aura? That¡¯s what being neighbors will do for you, I suppose. But no, it doesn¡¯t just make your clothing more flexible- though it does do that. But it also helps extend your precision of movement to your surroundings. With just a bit of Dexterity and Aura synergizing, you¡¯ll find that your floorboards no longer creak if you don¡¯t want them to. A bit more, and you¡¯ll be climbing up rigging without the ropes sagging. More, and you¡¯ll be walking along the top of sails like they were a solid deck. I¡¯ve even heard that if you get loads of Dexterity and enough Aura to pair with it, you can walk on the water itself. Personally I think she cheated with a Skill, but that¡¯s beside the point. There¡¯s no most useful stat¡­ but Dexterity is a favorite of mine. Recovery Can anyone tell me what Recovery does? Yes, it helps you recover when you¡¯re out of breath. Yes, it helps you heal after you get hurt. But what else¡­ You! Yes, you. That¡¯s right! It also helps you live longer. Now, I¡¯ll keep this simple, but all of your organs, your squishy bits inside of you, that¡¯s right, those are all empowered by Recovery. It doesn¡¯t just help you recover from things, but it also helps keep everything running smoothly. It¡¯s not Resistance, which will keep you exactly the way you are, but it¡¯ll help keep you the way you should be, and do it faster. If you¡¯ve got lots of Recovery, you¡¯ll be able to eat a lot more because it speeds up how quickly you can eat. It also makes everything run much more effectively, your eyes brighter, your sleep more refreshing, all of that! And yes, of course you can apply substats. You can do substats with everything. One of my favorite tricks to do with Recovery is to assign a conditional for something you won¡¯t do while recovering, because it¡¯s much more passive. So maybe if you say you won¡¯t eat a certain type of food, then all the times you aren¡¯t eating that food, you get a boost to Recovery! Yes, yes, you can do that with anything else, but what makes Recovery special is that with the proper substat distribution, you can use it to never sleep again. After all, Recovery is all about restoring yourself to the way you should be, and while it can require quite a few points, more than you¡¯re likely to be able to manage, it¡¯s possible to replace basic needs with simple stat distribution! Tell me that isn¡¯t neat. Yes. You do need to be very careful, because Recovery can certainly depend on your biological functions to work. You need a set of very dedicated substats providing your body with the replacement for sleep, or food, or water, breathing, or anything else like that. But, once you get there, you have an immensely powerful tool which you can use for all other substats! You know about oaths, I¡¯m sure? Well, those are just substat distribution, giving someone a boost to their stats so long as they never tell a lie, or faithfully serve the king, or never harm a patient yes. But, a very potent oath is one of the eternal fast, getting a huge boost to your stats, so long as you never eat. Once you eat, those stats are basically gone for good. Yes, like if you focused your magic stats on a single skill then evolved it, just like that. But it¡¯s worse, because you can¡¯t un-eat, so those stats are just gone. It¡¯s very powerful, and of course is offset by the fact that most people don¡¯t live for very long if they stop eating. But if you manage to get your Recovery stats to replace your need to eat, eh? Have I done that? Goodness no! I love my food too much, and boosts to my stats aren¡¯t worth my sanity, no thank you. Besides, I¡¯ve had better things to do with my points than put a bunch of them towards not eating! I don¡¯t even know the math, if I have enough stats that I would have come out ahead on that trade. Perhaps if I had some other pressing reason, like if I were one to embark on long voyages often, being able to reduce how much food I need to consume would be a welcome addition. But such is not my lot, I am simply here to enlighten you to everything the System can do. Certainly speak with your parents before making any oath, or really assigning any stats in general! They know what you want better than I do. Mind Mind is a tricky stat, because you can screw yourself up real bad with it if you aren¡¯t careful. Fortunately, if you don¡¯t delve too deep into substats, and you content yourself with what mostly amounts to improved senses, faster reflexes and thinking speed, and better memory, you¡¯ll do fine. But with the right teachers to help you with what you need to do, and I certainly am not qualified to do so, there are so many things you can do. I¡¯ve heard of people getting the ability to think two different things at the same time, be able to hear and process everything said within an entire city block, or be able to tell what people are thinking just from looking at their faces. It can make you better at math, it can make you intuitively know where you are across the worlds just by looking at the stars, it can make sure you never forget something ever again¡­ and it can also make you incapable of saying the letter ¡®E,¡¯ sleeping without reciting the alphabet backwards, speaking at anything resembling a normal speed, tearing your gaze away from a particular green pebble, or a thousand and one other ways in which you can permanently mess yourself up. For this one, just go with the base stat and don¡¯t try to get clever, in more ways than one. Strength Strength is the other stat you need to be careful with, but this time it¡¯s more a matter of making sure you don¡¯t have too much of it! As I¡¯m certain you¡¯ve been told, if you don¡¯t have enough Resistance, you could hurt yourself with your own Strength. If you don¡¯t have enough Dexterity, you could hurt something or someone else with your Strength, when you didn¡¯t mean to. However, the danger is¡­ somewhat overstated. Don¡¯t get me wrong, Strength is tremendously useful and powerful, and with power comes danger, and Strength must be carefully balanced to make sure everyone is safe. But what you may not know, clever substat usage can help with that! If you, say, focus on the Strength substats pertaining to lifting stone, then you don¡¯t have to worry about breaking your arms¡­ so long as you don¡¯t drop them on yourself. Similarly, if you focus on being able to deform metal, you don¡¯t need to worry about breaking someone¡¯s hand when you greet them, unless their Aura has made their bones into solid steel. If you are a sailor, dedicate your Strength to being aboard a ship and docks, so that you are stronger than ever when on duty, yet never need worry about harming your family when you come home. Another approach which some take, particularly those more inclined towards magic but nonetheless with brief moments wherein Strength would be useful, is to tie your Strength to mana expenditure. Similar things may be done with other stats, of course, but Strength is uniquely useful in that not having too much of it can be just as great a boon as having a large amount of it. For those less interested in spreading your stats even thinner, to have both Strength and magic, there is always the option of setting your substats in a way that you will tire yourself out much faster when using your greater Strength, that it requires a conscious effort to call upon the stat. The reverse is also true, naturally, in that you may make your Strength far more natural to call upon even without increasing your maximum power, never tiring under the heaviest of loads. Naturally, such usage of Strength can be dangerous, but it is most useful when remembering that Strength is also internal, and it is the Strength stat which you must explore if you wish to run as fast as the wind, or be capable of barreling through walls. However, with both of those examples, Resistance is to be a close ally and dear friend, ensuring that you do not harm yourself with your own might. Resistance Resistance is the final stat, before we return once more to Aura. It is, of course, your body¡¯s ability to resist harm. Be it the claws of a cat or the blade of a mugger, the heat from your oven or the ravages of the plague. Resistance is all that stands between you and everything that wishes to harm you, from your own Strength and elemental Skills, to the weather, monsters, and your own fellows. Naturally, its substats are as versatile as anything else. Specialize your Resistance against metal shot to turn aside pistols yet fall prey to knives, or enhance your body while wearing armor. Enhance your armor itself together with Aura, Resist the persuasive words of a conman or a siren to ensure you cannot be forced to break an oath or vow. Empower yourself to Resist the elements while outdoors, or protect yourself from your own Strength. Delve deep into it and discover its intricacies, for there exists an infinite amount of potential, an endless well of experience, and it¡¯s waiting for each and every one of you to piece it all together. On Intelligent Species Extract from a letter by renowned Naturalist Dalleh Ciwerel:
Within the naturalist community, there has been a great deal of debate regarding the ¡®forerunners¡¯ species of the Five Folks, a discussion which has caused a great many schisms between naturalists. These schisms have in turn weakened our legitimacy and our unity in the face of the deists and their assertions that all life was sprung fully formed from the minds of the gods. For this reason, I present my evidence for the forerunners of each of the five Folks, as well as the animal from which they bear the closest resemblance. Though I may overstep the bounds of my proposal, I also outline what I believe is the most likely situation which led to the development of full person-level intelligence from within each of these five species. In this way, we may definitively center our research into finding evidence for the divine tampering which either created the first of the other Folks ex nilho, or, as the case may be for such things as the umbran, finding the being or group thereof who were first transfigured into the new species. Among the humanoids, I see no species so clearly placed as the Human (Homo Sapiens) as the most preeminent forerunner species as the Folk¡¯s own namesake. We may first set aside beings such as the changelings, umbran, and so forth, on account of their nature being proven as simply an altered state of a different being. We may thereafter discount giants, halflings, gnomes, goblins, and others of substantially larger and smaller build. These beings have a size easily considered abnormal among humanoids, whose adult height ranges from four foot to ten foot across the vast majority of beings within that Folk. From here, there are several species which bear obvious biological crosses with other Folk, and may thereby be easily eliminated from forerunner consideration on account of their obviously unnatural origins. This naturally includes not only kobolds (already eliminated on account of their stature), but scaleborn, drakelings, sheffi, merfolk, and so forth. Humans, elves, avior, dwarves, and orcs are the most common and least-magical of the remaining beings. Avior are easily dismissed on account of their feathers and flight capabilities. Orcs may be discounted on account of their facial structure being so radically different from that of the other humanoids, in addition to their complexion skewing quite differently from most other humanoids, due to the chemistry within their skin being so different. Dwarves are likewise set apart due to their metallic skeletons, shared with no other humanoids save giants, whose ferrous bones are so different than dwarves it is arguable whether they could even be said to have such overlap. Thus we are left with elves and humans. While it might be obvious to dismiss elves on account of their horns, a feature shared by very few other humanoids, it is the nature of their adaptability which obviously disqualifies them. That no other being (unless one counts a troll as a being) would have such an enormous and hugely beneficial capability to persist within all environs is deeply suspicious. Surely, if the elves had been the forerunner of the humanoids, such adaptability would have been widespread? Therefore, we are left with the human as the primary candidate for the forerunner of the humanoid Folk. The only predominantly unique feature of the human¡¯s biology, its impressive endurance and persistence, is only absent from other humanoids due to biological incompatibility. Dwarves have a completely different method of heat management, elves¡¯ adaptability is in direct opposition to the spiritual persistence of humans, orc skin is too thick and tough to support sweat glands, and so forth. Therefore, we may comfortably conclude that humanity were the original humanoid, with others being adapted from their base template. Looking to the natural world for the creature which they are most similar to, we find the chimpanzee, an arboreal-based tribal creature with smaller and less dexterous hands, thick hair across their entire bodies instead of just their heads, and a more hunched gait. On account of its life within forested areas, its hands remained adapted for tree-climbing. Humans, by contrast, migrated to large plains and developed a more upright gait, their signature endurance-based hunting style, and most crucially developed the motor skills required to optimize projectile weapon usage. This began as simple stone-throwing, but as they expanded it to spear creation, this necessitated the development of skills required to make tools, and thereby set off the gradual accumulation of knowledge. Though the aviaries are somewhat more complex to determine a forerunner, I believe it is nonetheless possible to determine the original as wendals (Whento Magus). Much as we have done with the humanoids, we may discount species such as the roc and the flittle on account of their size far outside the normal wingspan we see among aviaries, of three to nine feet. Though nearly all aviaries contain some intrinsic magical capabilities and thus cannot be so easily filtered out as emberlings and umbrans with humanoids, entities such as thunderbirds, phoenixes, and caladrius have such a firm elemental grasp that a biology based upon their body types must have a powerful elemental skew, something not seen with the roc, siren, ossin, and similar aviaries. From there, we may eliminate xao, garu, ciever, and similar species on account of their abnormal wing-sets. At this point,we are left with wendal, tengu, and bohes. The tengu¡¯s innate inability to make any sound it has not heard is clearly not a natural trait, and may thus be eliminated from consideration. The bohes, comparatively, may be eliminated on account of their prehensile wing-feathers, a feature typically only seen elsewhere with the flittle. Therefore, we may conclude that wendal is the forerunner for the aviary Folk. The unique feature of wendal biology, namely its innate feather-casting, represents a natural beginning point for the overwhelmingly (compared to the other folk) magical nature of aviaries, and wendal mobile pinions, much like human endurance, seems to be predominantly excluded in favor of adaptations which would directly conflict with the ability to individually manipulate feather positioning. The exception to this is, naturally, aviary such as bohes and flittle whose biology has exemplified this trait to an excessive degree, granting them full prehensility. It is somewhat more difficult to determine the closest relative to wendals as it was for humans, but their beak and overall color scheme is much closer to that of crows, compared to the next-closest contender of the grey parrot. We see in the crow a similar body type to wendals (though obviously lacking their mobile pinions), but their lower body is substantially more flexible and well-developed. Ironically, compared to humans, whose body type adapted for life outside forests, wendals adapted for a thicker forest, with claws and legs much more suited for climbing in trees compared to crows. In addition, crows possess an underdeveloped set of vocalizations compared to wendal voices. Appearance-wise, crows resemble a more muted, entirely black wendal. Some crow subspecies do share their trademark white underbelly, but no crows possess anything approximating the iridescence of wendal wings. This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. Wendals seemingly developed their biology as a necessity for their innate magic-casting. Their home of dense forests prompted them to develop muscular control over individual feathers, as well as their broader vocal range, as part of their ability to ensnare the minds of prey and tame animals to perform tasks which they were unsuited for, as well as to telekinetically move branches and trees to create larger communal nests. With intentional caster-based magic, it is unsurprising that they developed the intelligence needed to further build out their magical capabilities. Krakares are, despite what one might suspect, a Folk for whom their forerunner is not the kraken. Despite the Folk¡¯s eponymous and most iconic member, I have instead identified that dasnae (Densmo Genios) are the most likely originator. As with the humanoids and aviary, we can trim out the species with the most outlying features and therein determine the average, and thus most likely forerunner. For this reason, the kraken may be eliminated on account of simply being the largest species within the Folk. For the same reason as giants and rocs, their massive size is a strong indication of their outlier, rather than average size. Similarly, podes and cutil may be eliminated on account of their diminutive size. Similarly, land-dwelling is an outlying condition and therefore mimics, cranids, usurpers, and similar may be discarded. Then, given the number of kakares with no particular magical ability, we may once again exclude the particularly magical species, such as eelimel, wahteres, and suiqu. Of these, the only remaining common krakares are dasnae and tenarwe. Tenarwe, however, may be eliminated from consideration on account of their limbs- while the number of limbs does vary between the krakares Folk, the vast majority of them only possess arms (which have suckers or cillia along their entire length), rather than tentacles (which possess suckers only at the very end). Furthermore, as they possess four sets of tentacles, rather than arms, are an outlier among the Folk. While dasnae do possess a number of suckers which other krakares lack, this is, in my opinion, due to the more subtle ways in which such things interfere with other common krakares abilities, such as camouflage and their mind-links. Much like how humans and wendals had some of their less compatible features removed to make biological room for the specializations and alterations which deities imbued them with, so too did the dasnae. When looking to compare dasnae to their cousins, we find the octopus, and most specifically the coconut octopus, as the species with the strongest similarity. It is substantially smaller than their intelligent cousins, and lives predominantly in shallow, tropical waters, hiding in loose debris for protection. All of its arms are of roughly equal length, none of which are forked, and possess no cillia, instead simply having exclusively suckers, and only on the underside of its arms. Furthermore, they possess no neural overlap with their offspring, much like most other species, and with a lifespan not incomparable to dasnae, this prevented them from developing the intricate tool-use and ancestral shared memory of their more advanced cousins. It is fairly clear that dasnae grew larger and developed their tool usage as a means of creating armor and camouflage, with suckers covering both sides of their arms to better allow for the gripping of armors, mobility aids, weapons, and props to aid it in hiding. This naturally allowed the underside of their arms to develop cillia for even-finer manipulation of objects. The original purpose of their larger, forked arms are unclear, but given their present use it seems probable that these were utilized even then to facilitate the relocation and use of larger-than-usual objects. Gounar are, by comparison, mercifully simple to find their forerunner, though perhaps it is overestimating the ease on account of how long it has been known that ruhits (Hruna Callides) were the first of their Folk. We may once again discard the particularly large and small specimens, such as minotaurs, wargs, and redalls, and the more magical species like the taskor, vixell, and ekkoi. We may once again discard those species who are obvious crosses with other species, such as sphinx, boggards, and centaurs. At this point, we are left with only ruhits, despite its comparative oddities, it is the only species unambiguously left un-crossed with any other Folk. Were it not for the history of their known status as forerunners, their comparative oddities might otherwise lead to them being eliminated early, yet we may consider ourselves fortunate that in this, at least, we possess divine confirmation to the rightness of our knowledge. However, it is far more difficult to find their cousin species, as raccoons are so rare. But, with a side-by-side comparison it becomes obvious with their similar gray and black banded fur, nimble forelegs, and striped tail. It is, however, easy to likewise see their differences, with the raccoon¡¯s substantially smaller and non-prehensile tail, less-developed hands, and more balanced torso and hindquarters. They do still share some of their more intelligent cousin¡¯s propensity for fastidiousness, and are quite clever in their own animal way. However, it is clear that ruhit developed their tool usage and higher intelligence on account of creating more elaborate traps, and engineering their overall surroundings for surprise attack artifice.
*The rest of this page in the original manuscript has been rendered illegible with large amounts of ink blotted over it. The only thing which may be derived from this section is that it begins with the word ¡°Finally.¡± There is no sign of this excess scribbling on the next page, which has been written in something of a more hurried script.
Finally, dragonoids are obvious, with the ¡®true dragons¡¯ (Draco Draco) well deserving of their name. While leviathans may dispute that claim, as will ryugan and others, their claims are obviously inferior and incorrect compared to the powerful magic, majestic wings, intimidating scaled bodies, very, very sharp claws and very, very, large teeth which the true dragons possess. Likewise, I dare not suggest that the true dragons possess any mundane cousins. After all, they were sculpted wholly by the gods in the earliest days of creation, the apex of all beings, granted the gift of overflowing life by Gydem himself, and possess this radiant glow that far outshines any mundane saurians, not that there is any particular reason to call attention to that clade of mere animals. Therefore, I present my evidence that four of the five Folk do, indeed, possess a forerunner which came about naturally via entirely non-divine means, granting strong evidence that the gods utilized existing templates for their creations.