The Eyes of The Emperor - Lorebook

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Magic


The ability to do magic is so uncommon in Panthos that most commoners assume that only Ashir are capable of magic. In truth, knowledge of magic isn't solely reserved for the Ashir. Secret societies exist throughout the lands that dutifully protect what little knowledge they posses of magic. Out in the wilderness, tribes still exist that have passed down shreds of magical understanding from generation to generation. While magic is acknowledged in broad society it is often wildly misunderstood, even in places of higher learning.

The terms mage, spellcaster, spellweaver, caster, wizard, witch, and magician are all synonymous and may be used interchangeably in the lore and in the RP.

Fundamentally, all magic stems from purposeful manipulation of a life-energy called The Maluin that permeates all of existence. You can think of it as a fundamental force of nature, like gravity. See 'The Maluin' for more details.


    • The Maluin can only be transformed. (Something cannot be created from nothing).
    • The Maluin's will cannot be broken. (This law means that it is impossible to turn water into stone or vice versa. Water could be transformed into steam or ice, but it cannot become a different substance altogether. Since in-game characters are not fully aware of how the Maluin work they understand this limitation as the Maluin having a will of its own.)
    • The Maluin cannot be cheated. (This is to say that any spell is as taxing on the caster as attempting to accomplish the same thing by mundane means. In other words: what you put in is what you get out.)
  • Magic can broadly be divided up into two classes or so-called ‘forms’. In the common tongue these are longform and shortform. While the ability to perform magic is not unique to Ashir, the shortform is.

    An overly simplistic understanding of the differences between the two forms would be that longform magic requires preparation whereas shortform magic is (near) instantaneous.

    All magic is a transformation or reconfiguration of the life-force (the Maluin) that permeates all things. The most distinct difference between these two forms is the way in which the desired transformation takes place. Longform magic is a slow, coaxing process, nudging or ‘persuading’ the Maluin into the desired state through (shamanistic) ritual or ceremony. Shortform on the other hand is much more direct and forces the Maluin into a different configuration (almost) immediately. Ashir are uniquely capable of shortform because their animus act as a direct channel to the Maluin.

    The benefit of using shortform is that the effects are immediate. However, even Ashir may sometimes choose to perform a spell in longform since longform spells are almost always more powerful. For example: an attuner may be able to cause a much bigger storm to rise if they perform a defiance spell over the span of several days (see Attunement) because they are able to spend much more time to set nature against their enemies when using longform.

    It is important to understand that the same spell can be performed both in long- and shortform. Long- or shortform are simpy the how part of a spell and have no bearing on the what.
  • When any magic is performed, the energies that make up any thing or living being are being transformed into a different state. These energies are collectively called the Maluin which, while not sentient, seem to have a kind of will to the spellcaster. The act of magic is to either coax or force the Maluin into some altered, desired state.

    The in-game understanding of the Maluin is limited. While the Maluin are understood to be a kind of collective energy, the individual energies that make up the Maluin are not fully known or understood. You can think of it like knowing the concept ‘color’ but being unaware that there is such a thing as ‘red’, ‘green’ or ‘blue’. Only very experienced characters may have a kind of intuitive understanding that there are distinct facets to the Maluin, but this understanding will not necessarily be of any utility to them in-game.

    In reality there are eight different Maluin, each of which govern a different aspect of existence. The eight Maluin are: sef (flesh), aht (mind), vih (wind), hod (wood), pek (stone), besh (flame), qur (wave), met (time). You don’t have to remember these, but the information is included here for posterity. Again, the best analogy is to think of these as colors. If reality is a canvas, then the Maluin are the colors that make up the artwork.

    Once again, your character will be unaware that there are eight Maluin and instead think of the Maluin as one, abstract concept describing the life-force that permeates all things.

  • You do not have to fully grasp the complete magic system in order to play. You can simply pick a discipline of magic for your character and stick with the spells and capabilities outlined within the description of that discipline. All you have to understand is this:

    • Magic is done by manipulating a life-force energy that is called the Maluin.
    • Magic cannot create something from nothing.
    • Magic cannot transform substances into completely different substances (for example, rock cannot be turned into water, glass can't be turned into fire, etc).
    • Performing magic exerts the caster as if he/she were doing whatever the spell does by mundane means.
    • Every spell can be performed in one of two different ways: in an immediate way where the result is instantaneous, or in a ritualistic/shamanistic way which takes much longer but generally results in a stronger spell. As an Ashir, your character can perform magic in both of these ways. Non-Ashir can only perform magic in the ritualistic way.

    However, for the type of player that likes to get creative with their magic, the information below should give a good overview of its inner workings and may help give you some ideas how your character could utilize magic in inventive new ways.


Disciplines.

While the disciplines listed below are taught as separate skills to young Ashir, it is possible to mix and match abilities from the various disciplines. For example: necromancy could be achieved by combining elements of Muification and Proferement. The mixing and matching of disciplines is not taught and is only talked about to young Ashir when they’re being warned against it. To mix various disciplines is to chart into unknown territory with uncertain and often unstable outcomes. Given the risks, only particularly inventive, eccentric or experienced Ashir ever even consider dabbling with magic in this way and even then they would most likely keep their mouth shut about it.

Please note that all spells listed below allow for leeway in their outcomes. Each spell can be performed exceptionally or exceptionally poorly and the results will be quite different. Therefore you should not think of a spell as a single, deterministic thing but rather as allowing for a broad spectrum of possible outcomes. In other words: there is no single "fireball" spell, but there are spells that would allow for creating a fireball and how successful the fireball is depends on the skill and experience of the caster.


  • Mentalism is the magic that allows for mind reading, mind manipulation, mind shielding and telepathic communication. Beginning to intermediate mentalists must physically touch or at least be very near to their subject. The only exception to this is the telepathic communication between an Ashir and his/her animus due to their natural bond. Still, even Ashir will eventually be unable to communicate with their animus if they’re too far apart. This limitation becomes less of an issue as the bond between Ashir and animus matures with age.

    All Ashir are taught mentalism from a young age up to a basic level to communicate with their animus and to shield their thoughts from each other. While this comes naturally to Ashir, the finer points of mentalism are much harder to master. Mentalism is not without danger. A mentalist who overextends himself may suffer mild or intense headaches, become temporarily disturbed, become scatter-minded or even become schizophrenic in the worst case.

    • Telepathy - the ability to communicate mentally. All Ashir can communicate telepathically with their animus and are also able to shut them out. Only experienced mentalists are able to communicate telepathically with other Ashir, or other living beings for that matter.
    • Mind reading - the next step up from telepathy is the ability to read another’s mind. This never translates into being able to deduce literal thoughts but rather gives the mentalist an impression of the target’s primary thoughts and mood in that moment.
    • Mind manipulation - even when used in a friendly healing manner, mind manipulation requires overcoming the target’s defenses. The easiest form of mind manipulation is where the mentalist suppresses or amplifies existing thoughts and feelings in the target’s mind. Forcing a (new) thought on a target to make them perform a desired action is much harder and planting a novel idea that the victim ends up believing to be their own is the hardest possible feat for a mentalist to achieve as it requires them to cover their tracks.

    A beginning student will have to physically touch their subject in order to achieve any degree of success. Any kind of resistance from the subject will be near impossible for the beginner to overcome. As a student advances, some distance can be maintained and an intermediate mentalist may be able to probe another mind through mere eye contact. Only an advanced mentalist can probe another’s mind at distance through some personal belonging of their target, like a piece of clothing or a strand of hair, but such connections are difficult to maintain for long.

    Willing subjects are much easier to probe than ones that resist. All living beings, regardless of their (in)ability to do magic, are able to sense when a mentalist probes their mind and it is for this reason that a mentalist must be able to take out a target’s defenses quickly when assaulting another mind. Weak-willed, distracted or emotional targets make for much easier prey than focused, calm, strong-willed individuals. Maintaining any level of control however requires a constant, persistent effort on the part of the caster unless special care is taken to carefully plant ideas that the victim believes to be their own.

    Probing another mind for mind reading or manipulation purposes is often described like navigating a layered maze. Each maze that is beat by the mentalist allows them to dig deeper into the target’s consciousness and exercise greater control over their victim. Another reason mentalists must act quickly when dealing with a hostile person is that their own mental defenses will be much lower so long as they’re engaged with their target.

    Starting mentalists are often surprised to learn that their engagements lasted much shorter than they thought. The sense of time of both the mentalist and the target is severely diluted and what feels like a long period of mental grappling may in reality have occurred in mere seconds.
  • An attuner is not unlike a mentalist except their spells are focused on non-living, inanimate things. Attuners are the most in touch with their surroundings out of any spellcaster since their abilities focus on communicating with the natural world.
    • Treespeaking - this ability comes most naturally to any Ashir who pursues attunement. By touching the bark of a tree an attuner can utilize the system of roots and the mycelium in the soil to expand their consciousness. This allows information to be sent or received across vast distances, though any communication done this way presents itself as flashes of imagery, sounds, and vague impressions. Treespeaking does not have to be used for communication however. An attuner can use treespeaking to ‘put out feelers’ in the natural world for tracking purposes and getting a sense of direction when chasing wild game or foes.
    • Alignment - as the attuner grows in their ability they become capable of interacting with soil, rock, water, fire, or even wind in the same vein as with Treespeaking except they can only ‘listen in’ and are unable to send information across these mediums. An attuner capable of alignment can for example touch soil and determine with reasonable certainty if someone or something passed there recently. In water an attuner may be able to tell if there are fish nearby, and if so, in which direction. A skilled attuner may even be able to tell the exact species of fish.
    • Defiance - an expert attuner becomes capable of setting the natural world against their foes. Depending on their active surroundings, the attuner could cause a storm to rise, bring about an earthquake, or cause high waves at sea. This does not break the third law of magic because the attuner does not spend their energy on directly causing these things, but rather on persuading the elements to turn violent. Nevertheless, performing an act of defiance is extremely taxing on any attuner and may incapacitate them for days on end.

    Since attuners essentially expand their awareness through the natural world they are at risk of becoming overwhelmed with information. The further out an attuner reaches, the more likely it is that the attuner becomes overwhelmed. When an attuner becomes overwhelmed they simply become sickly and dysphoric in the best case. In more serious cases they may lose consciousness for an extended period of time, and in the most extreme cases an overwhelmed attuner may become long subjected to unending, unbearable barrages of sounds and images as they’ve become incapable of separating their own consciousness from that of their surroundings.
  • Muification is the art of physical, elemental transformation that concerns itself with manipulating earth, fire, wind, water, and flesh though it is not necessarily limited to those realms. A good deal of Muifiers are healers who dedicate their studies to manipulating flesh and bone in order to heal though they certainly can use their abilities for harm too.

    Note: A Muifier is different from an Attuner in that a Muifier deals with the physical manifestation of the elements whereas an Attuner deals with the mental aspect of those elements and uses them as a medium to expand/extend their own consciousness.

    • Transmutation - A spell of transmutation allows the Muifier to impose a rapid state change in fire, wind, water, earth, or flesh. For example: cool water may be turned to steam or ice, the cinders in a fire may swell into a raging flame, or the seed of a plant may shoot up and sprout its flowers in a matter of seconds. The level of control a Muifier is able to exert over the results depends on their skill. For example: a Muifier may be able to cause cinders to turn into a steady flame but may lack the control to shape that flame to their will. A highly skilled Muifier may be able to shape fire into a ball and sling it at their enemies but can never conjure up a fireball out of thin air. The fire has to be already present. The same goes for creating balls of water or concentrated blasts of wind.
    • Healing - A Muifier, through the manipulation of flesh and bone, can heal broken bones or make flesh put itself back together. Technically the art of healing is the same as casting a spell of transmutation with an exclusive focus on flesh and bone, but it is often taught as a separate discipline since the healer needs to have an understanding of anatomy in order to be able to put things back together the right way. Whilst healing spells can deal with broken bones and deep flesh wounds, it is not equipped to deal with poison or natural (infectious) disease. Natural (herbal) remedies must be applied to deal with those and Muifiers who focus on healing are often also taught about medicine and anatomy for this exact reason.
    • Hardening - Hardening can be thought of as a protective or defensive kind of magic. Hardening is the act of "locking" fire, wind, water, earth, or flesh into into its current state, essentially making it more difficult for a change in state to occur. For example: a bit of freshly fallen snow could be "hardened" which would make that snow much more difficult to melt. Similarly, a Muifier could cast a spell of hardening on their own bones to make them less prone to breaking. Hardening should not be confused with making something phsyically more solid but should rather be thought of as locking or freezing something into its current state, making it more difficult to change. For example: a Muifier could "harden" a flame, making that flame more difficult to douse.

    A particularly gruesome application of Muification would be to make blood freeze or boil, effectively turning Muification into an exceptionally deadly form of magic.

    Because of obvious moral objections, this particular application of Muification is a well-guarded secret that only trusted Ashir would ever be allowed to learn about. Even then, the emphasis would be on shielding against this so-called blood transmutation through hardening. By hardening one's own blood a Muifier can 'lock' their blood in its normal, liquid state and make it much harder for any opposing Muifier to kill them through blood transmutation. A Muifier can also protect others in a similar fashion.

    Please note that because of the third law of magic, killing someone through blood transmutation is a very taxing affair and cannot be used to kill people en masse.
  • Voyering deals with seeing into and traveling toward faraway places through reflective surfaces.
    • Mirroring - Through the application of Mirroring a Voyer can look into a mirror of their choosing and see in it what's on the other end of another, faraway, mirror. Sound does not travel through this medium and the clarity of the image is both dependent on the skill of the Voyer and the distance of the target mirror from the caster.

      Furthermore, the Voyer must have an internalized understanding of where their target mirror is located in order to be able to see through it (like a mental map). Typically this means that the Voyer needs to have been physically near the target mirror at least once in their life before they can access it through mirroring. Just like how a Mentalist needs eye contact or some kind of personal belonging to connect with their target, a Voyer needs to have a memory of the mirror they're trying to look through. This also means that a connection may be lost or hampered if the target mirror is (deliberately) moved out of place.

      Fortunately, through Mentalism, Voyers can share memories of mirrors therefore allowing them to access mirrors that they themselves have never been near to, but the memory of which has been granted to them. This allows Voyers to shortcut having to travel to each and every possible mirror they might want to access.

      As a student advances in Mirroring the clarity and stability of the image they're able to see, as well as the distance they're able to see across, increases. Furthermore, an advanced student is not solely dependent on mirrors but may begin to be able to see through other reflective surfaces (like water or ice) as well. Images seen through this method will always be inferior to actual mirrors, but come with the benefit of stability since ponds, lakes, or rivers are much less likely to move or change in such a way that it would become difficult for a Voyer to see through them.
    • Voyering - Voyering is a significantly more advanced application of mirroring that is subject to the same limitations and is altogether a more risky endeavor. Instead of seeing through another mirror, the Voyer travels through them. This is not necessarily a shortcut from one location to another since the third law of magic still applies here. In other words: travelling from one location to another through the use of Voyering is exactly as tiresome as travelling through mundane means. However, Voyering still brings distinct advantages with it.

      For one, it is a much more stealthy means of travel, unhindered by wild animals, bandits on the road or other such nuisances. Secondly, the time it takes to reach the desired location may be shorter since travelling through this method is similar to travelling to the destination in an optimal straight line.

      There are however risks associated with Voyering. When a Voyer steps into a mirror they enter a mirror realm which must be carefully navigated. The mirror realm has no single, distinct, stable appearance but rather takes on the appearance that reflects inner mental landscape of the Voyer. It could look like a forest one moment, then seem like a maze-like ruin the next, right before it changes into appearing like a desert. The look, shape and cohesion of the environment is entirely dependent on the mental stability of the Voyer. The more skilled a Voyer is, the better they are able to keep their surroundings stable as they travel across the mirror realm. It is a real risk for the Voyer to get lost in this mirror realm or to encounter representations of their own inner mental turbulence that hinder them from moving forward. It is not known what becomes of a Voyer that ends up trapped in the mirror realm.

      Voyering does allow for other people other than the Voyer themselves to travel alongside them though this obviously requires a great deal of trust on the part of the non-Voyers. Futhermore, Voyering (just like mirroring) is also possible through water in which case a Voyer could dive into an ocean, traverse the mirror realm, and emerge in a lake on the other end.
    • Procurement When a Voyer has developed a particularly deep mental map of a destination mirror and has Voyered to-and-from this destination frequently, a Voyer may become able to send objects across the mirror realm without needing to make the journey themselves. Instead, the knowledge of how to cross correctly is imparted on the object so that when the object is pushed into the mirror realm, it travels to its destination without further guidance. This is an effective means to send goods or messages across relatively short distances. Please note that the third law of magic is still in full effect here, so this cannot be used to send mountains of supplies across vast distances. Furthermore, objects sent across through Procurement will still take time to reach their destination.

    A particularly clever Voyer may come to realize that it's possible to hide things in the mirror realm. Just sayin'.... ;)
  • Proferement is sometimes called the Tinkerer's Magic for good reason; Proferement is a magic whose exact limits are still being explored through experimentation. It is through Proferement that inanimate objects become enchanted and enhanced. There are no distinct Proferement spells so much as there is a guiding law under which the discipline operates: Proferement is the craft of bringing out or emphasizing a property or properties already inherent in the object. It is not the imposing of new, alien properties on an inanimate object.

    For example, a sword can be Proferred to be sharper and more durable. Since a sword is already sharp and solid by its nature, these properties can be enhanced through Proferement. However, a sword cannot be made into a flaming sword through Proferement since there is no inherent property of fire present in a sword. That said, there are workarounds possible: something close to a flaming sword could be achieved if Proferement is applied while the sword is being forged since, at that point in time, there is heat and fire present in the sword. A sword exposed to Proferement in this way could be made to turn hot like it was during forging at the wielder's will. However, doing so would also temporarily render the metal softer.

    A more peculiar and advanced application of Proferement is the crafting of Anykeys. An Anykey is a key that fits and unlocks (almost) any door. The thing to understand here is that unlocking can be considered an inherent property of a key, therefore it can be enhanced through Proferement and thus a regular key (through Proferement) can be made to fit many more locks. On the flipside, a proferred lock could have its locking property enhanced to the point of becoming invulnerable to an Anykey.

    The above are just some examples of what may be possible through Proferement. Once again, the guiding principle here is that Proferement can only enhance properties that are already inherent in the subject.
    As hinted at in the opening description, the combination of Proferement and Muification could allow for Necromancy. A body on the verge of death could, through the application of Proferement be made "bring out"/enhance whatever life remains in it, enough to maintain motor function, but too little to speak of conscious life. Through the principle of Hardening in Muification, this state of life could then be locked into place and whatever wounds were inflicted on the body to cause it to come close to death could be healed up.
  • Lumillation deals with manipulating light and shadow for the purposes of concealment and illusion. In the most simple application a Lumifier can bend light and shadow across a small object to conceal it from view. Lumillation never results in invisibility but rather in manipulating light and shadow in such a way that the target becomes perfectly camouflaged. Similarly Lumillation cannot prevent something from being picked up or stumbled across, thereby breaking the illusion.

    The more skilled a Lumifier gets, the more stable and complex their illusions can become. For example: an experienced Lumifier could use their skill to mask their own appearance. They could change the color of their eyes or hair, make wrinkles appear or vanish and otherwise alter their appearance to their desire. While it is possible to, for example, hide a beard through Lumillation, it is much easier to work with what's already there. So while an advanced Lumifier could make themselves appear much taller than they are, the illusion would be much more convincing and stable if they stayed closer to their true height.

    Likewise it would be much easier to hide a pot of gold in a bush by making it blend in with the surrounding vegetation rather than trying to make it appear like a puddle of water, or something similarly out of place.

    Lumifiers cannot make things appear that aren't present. They can only alter the appearance of things or people that are already there.

 
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Ashir.




The Ashir are a human-like race blessed with long lives and special gifts. The gift the Ashir are best known for are their spirit companions who accompany, guide, and protect them from birth. These spirits always assume an animal form that ages right alongside the Ashir, regardless of how such an animal might age in nature. These so-called animae (singular: animus) grant Ashir the unique ability to perform shortform magic through their Teler, an intricate, scar-like mark on the Ashir's hand that emerges when the Ashir and their animus bond together.

Because of their special gifts, Ashir are employed as special agents in the Empire, serving as advisors, diplomats, assassins and enforcers to maintain order and peace across the Empire.
  • The Ashir have a long and proud history of being the elite military force of the Empire and though they've long since diversified from their primary military role, this history can still be observed in their uniformed style of dress. All Ashir dress in the same basic fashion with only a little room for adjustment depending on the climate of where they are stationed. The standard attire in Cardhaen is a cream-colored lace up shirt covered by a woolen, waist-tied navy-blue coat and like-colored trousers tucked into high black boots.



  • Lifecycle & the mustering
  • The Animus
  • The Bond
  • Playing an Ashir

 
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