Magic in Conliah

TIMORUS: Now you tell me, what kind of magic is rhetoric?

MEDIOCRATES: Honestly, Timorus, rhetoric is not any kind of magic.

TIMORUS: Then what, exactly, is rhetoric?

MEDIOCRATES: I would call it a tendency.

TIMORUS: A tendency for what, Mediocrates?

MEDIOCRATES: A tendency to create impressions in others, regardless of their truth.

-- The Twenty-First Cloudruled Dialogue: The Timorus

The Parthenon by Frederic Edwin Church

Overview of Magic

Soul material flows ambiently throughout all three realms, but it is inaccessible to the uninitiated. Those who can obtain access to large quantities of soul material gain the power to magically manipulate the world to their will. However, the powers of magic wielders differ based on the source of soul material. There are six categories of people who can achieve these results: Wildmages, Schoolmages, Wretches, Invokers, Ardents, and Devouts.

Spell Categories

  • Augmentation spells are aimed at enhancing one's own abilities.
  • Cthonic Warding spells are aimed at warding off Cthonians and the undead.
  • Curse spells are aimed at bringing misfortune to their targets.
  • Detection spells are aimed at perceiving otherwise unseen things.
  • Elemental Damage spells use raw elemental forces to inflict damage. The six categories of elemental damage are sunlight, moonlight, fire, water, air (including lightning), and earth.
  • Exorcism spells are aimed and purifying and banishing Cthonic taint.
  • Healing spells are aimed at restoring the health and wellness of their targets.
  • Illusion spells are aimed at creating false appearances to their targets.
  • Mental Influence spells are aimed at affecting a person's mental state.
  • Protection spells involve warding off physical and magical attacks.
  • Soul Binding spells involve infusing physical things with soul material.
  • Summoning spells temporarily phase in monsters from Cthonic or Ksylic spheres to help the caster.
  • Transmutation spells manipulate physical substances.
  • Utility spells are a catch-all category for non-combat spells that don't cleanly fit in other categories.

Magic Wielder Types

The below list of Magic Wielder Types includes a listing of what Spell Categories the Magic Wielder Type generally has access to. These are not absolute rules, but guidelines that instruct the tone of each category.

  • Always means the wielder type unequivocally has access to this kind of magic.
  • Sometimes means the wielder type may have access to variants of this magic which align thematically with the type.
  • Rarely means the wielder typically does not have access to this kind of magic.

Wildmage

Wildmages passively absorb high amounts of soul material from their surroundings, then unleash their built-up soul material in a burst.

  • Always: Elemental Damage, Illusion, Mental Influence, Utility
  • Sometimes: Curse, Detection, Protection, Augmentation, Transmutation
  • Rarely: Cthonic Warding, Healing, Exorcism, Soul Binding, Summoning

Schoolmage

Schoolmages in Conliah are educated by the Academy of Knowledge to understand the physical laws of Ksylia. This enables Schoolmages to cast spells by accessing the ambient soul material that flows through Ksylia. Low-level spells like elemental projectiles and defensive wards are commonplace, but knowledge of even these basic spells implies years of dedicated study at an Academy of Knowledge university. High-level spells like flight, teleportation, and weather manipulation are legendary powers not known to the Academy of Knowledge but learnable through re-discovery of ancient tomes.

Conlian Schoolmage spells are written in the Classical language. A single spell is so complicated that it may require several thick volumes just to convey one spell, when written in long-form Classical. Instead, each Schoolmage carries a personal spellbook which is written in Arcane Shorthand. This is a personalized script which is much denser than long-form Classical, and is illegible to anyone other than the owner of the spellbook.

Schoolmage spells require a great deal of precision to cast, and the experience is so mentally taxing that the spell is forgotten once performed. Consequently, Schoolmages must frequently re-read their personal notes when fully rested in order to continue casting the same spell.

Lodumpis has its own Schoolmages, who are present in the ranks of the Uzvu Confederation. Their power source draws on identical principles to Conlian Schoolmages, but their tomes are presently incomprehensible.

  • Always: Detection, Elemental Damage, Illusion, Mental Influence, Soul Binding, Protection, Transmutation, Utility
  • Sometimes: Curse, Healing, Augmentation, Summoning
  • Rarely: Cthonic Warding, Exorcism

Wretch

Wretches are individuals directly touched by Cthonia, without having a deliberate pact with a specific Archon. As a result, Wretches have lingering Cthonic energy coursing through their bodies which they can use to cast powerful spells. Casting spells as a Wretch is forbidden in Conliah, but it is considered a legitimate form of magic in Lodumpis.

  • Always: Curse, Elemental Damage, Mental Influence
  • Sometimes: Detection, Illusion, Augmentation, Soul Binding, Summoning, Utility
  • Rarely: Cthonic Warding, Healing, Exorcism, Protection, Transmutation

Invoker

Invokers are members of Cthonic cults who have directly communed with the Archon to receive their power. They continue to receive the blessing of the Archon through obedience, enabling them to channel the Archon's power into magical spells.

Archons are generally chatty and generous with bestowing initial gifts. There is a unique ritual required to solicit each particular Archon. Archons do not speak any mortal language, and the first gift the solicitor must consent to is the acquisition of the Archon's Cthonic cult language. Whenever a mortal communes with an Archon, the mortal may communicate through speaking aloud or internally, and the Archon replies in the mind of the mortal.

  • Always: Curse, Mental Influence, Soul Binding, Summoning
  • Sometimes: Detection, Elemental Damage, Illusion, Protection, Augmentation, Utility
  • Rarely: Cthonic Warding, Healing, Exorcism, Transmutation

Ardent

Ardents are philosophers who have obtained enlightenment, flooding their bodies with blue soul material. They may channel this blue soul material into magical spells, as long as they remain in their elevated state. According to the Imperial Cult, Ardents achieve this enlightenment by means of recollecting their past experience of Asteria, although many Ardents do not self-conceive this way.

  • Always: Detection, Healing, Exorcism, Protection, Utility
  • Sometimes: Cthonic Warding, Illusion, Augmentation, Transmutation
  • Rarely: Curse, Elemental Damage, Mental Influence, Soul Binding, Summoning

Devout

Most Devouts are members of the Imperial Cult who obey the will of a specific Agathos. Through their obedience to the Agathos, they apparently receive a divine blessing which grants magical powers. The specific powers Devouts wield vary based on the specific Agathos they serve.

The relationship between the obedience of Devouts and the blessings they receive is complex. Devouts can behave in ways which appear misaligned with the will of their deities, or use their magical powers in a way that defies religious orthodoxy. As a result there are certain spells which Devouts hypothetically have access to, but which are considered unacceptable by the Imperial Cult authorities. Examples of such spells are reviving a recently deceased person, or speaking to the soul of a recently deceased person. However, a Devout cannot recklessly act in a self-serving way in the long term or carelessly shirk religious rites without cause. Such actions, when persistent, are outward manifestations of a loss of faith which eventually strips Devouts of their powers.

Cloud Devouts are cloud worshippers in the ranks of the Uzvu Confederation, who apparently draw power from the clouds. However, despite the ostensible difference in source, they function similarly to Imperial Cult Devouts.

Advanced Devouts of both the Imperial Cult and cloud worship have the ability to commune with their deity. They do so by giving a silent or spoken prayer in any language they can speak, but the deity only replies by silently impressing one or two concepts on their mind in the same manner as High Tongue is heard.

  • Always: Cthonic Warding, Detection, Healing, Exorcism, Protection
  • Sometimes: Elemental Damage, Mental Influence, Augmentation, Transmutation, Utility
  • Rarely: Curse, Illusion, Soul Binding, Summoning

Soul Color

The term "color" in reference to soul material is not literal, but refers to the magically detectable differences in signature based on where the soul material originated from. The color names are ancient conventions which have carried into the present, but it is only a feeling within the one probing magically infused substance. Remarkably, the soul color terminology was already used in exactly the same way in Lodumpis at the time contact was made with Conliah. Soul color applies to both ambient soul material and discrete souls, but not all colors exist in both forms.

  • Green Souls: In the absence of other magical influences, mortals who are sentient have pure green souls. The Imperial Cult holds that green souls transmigrate to Asteria upon death. The Uzvu believe that green souls dissipate into Ksylia upon death, but separate into components that make it undetectable. Ambient green soul material apparently does not exist whatsoever.
  • Yellow Souls: Wildmages and Schoolmages have green souls, but also have a noticeable aura of concentrated yellow soul material. Animals besides the sentient mortal races have discrete yellow souls. Yellow souls certainly do not transmigrate, and their souls dissipate into Ksylia upon death. Ambient yellow soul material flows throughout Ksylia.
  • Blue Souls: Devouts and Ardents have green souls, but also emit faint traces of blue soul material. The Imperial Cult claims the Agathoi have discrete blue souls, and are immortal. The Imperial Cult also claims ambient blue soul material flows throughout Asteria.
  • Red Souls: Wretches and Invokers have green souls, but also emit faint traces of red soul material. Cthonians have discrete red souls, and red soul material flows throughout Cthonia. Upon death, Cthonian bodies disintegrate into dust. Their red souls return to their respective sphere of Cthonia, where their physical forms slowly reconstitute. If the specific Cthonian has mortal-like intelligence, it retains all of its memories upon reconstitution.

Soul Binding & Enchanting

Artifacts, locations, and other physical things may be infused with soul material. The effects of this infusion differ based on the nature of the soul material used and the techniques involved. The below list is not exhaustive, but provides an overview of common forms of soul infusion. Note the frequent use of the term "jar" as a non-living material which is used to house a soul. It can refer to a literal jar, but also frequently refers to other kinds of objects like gems and ornamental boxes. The term jar is used in the same manner in the Artificial Monsters and Undead sections of the sourcebook.

  • Yellow Soul Bound Artifacts: Requires a living creature. The most common way to enchant artifacts with powerful magical properties is through the sacrifice of a living thing. The Imperial Cult does not forbid the use of animals for this purpose. The process typically involves killing an animal and trapping its soul in a jar, which is affixed to the artifact the enchanter seeks to enhance.
  • Green Soul Bound Artifacts: Requires a living creature. Much more powerful enchantments are possible through the use of a green soul, instead of a yellow one. However, the transmigration cycle is sacred to the Imperial Cult, and using green souls for enchanting is strictly forbidden. The act of binding a green soul is considered an offense punishable by death, equal in gravity to Archon worship. By the same process as enchanting with yellow souls, a sentient mortal must typically be killed and the mortal's soul must be trapped in a jar. The Magellian Empire knew of how to harvest a green soul without killing the body, by immediately replacing it with a yellow soul. Either way, the jar then enhances the artifact the enchanter seeks to enhance. Furthermore, the artifact itself obtains the sentience of the green soul, although it may or may not be able to communicate with its wielder. Even if the ritual initially appears free of Cthonic corruption, souls bound in such a manner will inevitably become corrupted by the Archon Igedeng and take on Cthonic influence.
  • Yellow Soul Bound Locations: Requires a living creature. A location may be enchanted with various magical properties. Again, the animal is killed and its soul is trapped in a jar. The jar is affixed to the physical location the enchanter seeks to imbue with a magical property.
  • Blue Enchanted Artifacts & Locations: Does not require a living creature. Ardents and Devouts can imbue blue soul material into a physical object or location, granting it the power to repel Cthonians. This is a very difficult process for all mediums except silver, which readily absorbs blue soul material. The use of a jar is not required, and instead the silver directly absorbs blue soul material.
  • Red Enchanted Artifacts & Location: Does not require a living creature. Various forces of Cthonia can imbue red soul material into a physical object or location, granting it destructive and corrupting powers. The use of a jar is not required, and instead the medium directly absorbs red soul material.
  • Artifical Constructs and Undead: The nature of artifical constructs varies greatly based on their soul origin. These are elaborated upon in much greater detail in the Monsters section (see Artificial Monsters and Undead sections). The Magellian Empire experimented on the binding of green souls in various ways now considered heretical by the Imperial Cult, but the art was lost to time. In theory, the Imperial Cult also seeks to destroy these constructs to free their green souls, but it's a secondary concern as compared to eliminating Cthonic threats.

Magic Wielders in Cthonia

When a Magic Wielder phases into a sphere of Cthonia, their powers dramatically change. Invokers and Wretches become much more powerful, due to their proximity to their own power source. Wildmages and Schoolmages retain some of their power, because their mortal souls are tethered to Ksylia in a way that is not fully interrupted by phasing. However, their power is significantly stunted such that a wisened Schoolmage feels like a novice again. Devouts and Ardents become magically powerless due to the spiritual pressure of the surrounding environment.

Phasing

Without elaborating on what phasing truly means, the apparent physics of phasing are highly regular.

  1. Phasing has an origin sphere and a destination sphere, which are different from each other. These spheres are three-dimensional manifolds. These spheres may be Cthonic spheres, Ksylic spheres, Asteric spheres, or "Ksylia proper". (This is only what is observed by phasing. There could plausibly be non-spherical sources and destinations which follow the same conservation laws. See the inter-sphere medium, below.)
  2. Phasing has origin coordinates and destination coordinates, in three dimensions. These coordinates are only local; that is, they are not embedded in any shared Euclidean space. (Again, this is only what is observed by phasing. See the inter-sphere medium, below.)
  3. Phasing has an object. This object may be one of three types: an inanimate object, an embodied living thing, or a projected soul.
  4. Phasing does not create or destroy matter (raw elemental or soul material) across all spheres.
  5. Phasing does not create or destroy mechanical energy across all spheres. When an object phases, ambient matter at both the origin and destination sphere/coordinates absorbs or releases the required energy to balance the total mechanical energy. This can also mean when an embodied living thing snaps back, it does not return to its precise home coordinates. This can also result in a mild but noticeable shockwave or temperature rise or fall across a large radius in both the source and destination. Phasing never causes a violent explosion due to energy differential, unless both the source and destination sphere are exceptionally small or devoid of matter and the mechanical energy released is tremendous.
  6. Inanimate objects may phase between spheres permanently. Inanimate objects may be composed of just raw elements, just soul material, or a combination such as an inanimate enchanted artifact. For the purposes of phasing, the boundary between inanimate object and embodied living thing is a quantitative value of soul material pressure which becomes qualitative. This is a property of living bodies, not minds. Small insects and ordinary plants are inanimate, as are inanimate but sentient enchanted artifacts. Decapitated Steelskull heads are inanimate, but embodied Steelskulls are animate. Inorganic constructs, large animated plants such as treants, and large animals such as bears are animate. If an embodied living thing's soul is projected (such as temporarily anchored to a jar, possessing another entity, or phased into another sphere) its body is still animate. For inanimate objects, home is wherever they currently reside, and they never snap back.
  7. Embodied living things who phase into another sphere track their home sphere and home coordinates. When the embodied living thing forcibly snaps back, it phases back to its home sphere and home coordinates. Even if the embodied living thing gracefully phases back to its home sphere, it still snaps back to its home coordinates. As mentioned in (5), these coordinates are only approximate and may be adjusted to smooth the energy difference. Any inanimate objects carried by the embodied living thing such as clothing, weapons, armor, accessories, bags, and held items phase with the embodied living thing as long as they are reasonably small and there is unbroken physical contact. As a rule of thumb, any single object that is too heavy for the living thing to lift may not phase with it.
  8. Projected souls who phase follow a different set of complex rules, as compared to inanimate objects and embodied living things (see the Soul Projection section). The general principle is that a projected soul does not track a home sphere or home coordinates. Instead, a projected soul tracks its body identity and a series of temporary anchors. When snapping back, the soul returns to either one of its anchors or its body identity, regardless of what sphere those are in.
  9. Death of a physical body or the binding of a soul are events which can disrupt (7) and (8), creating many exceptions to snapping back rules. For instance, when a Cthonian dies in Ksylia its body turns to dust which remains in Ksylia, but its soul snaps back to its home Cthonic sphere.

A consequence of these physics is that literal two-way spatial portals between spheres do not exist whatsoever. Additionally, two spheres never have any apparent hierarchy of spatial or gravitational influence, such as turning a bag upside-down and pouring out the contents from another sphere. Instead, there are two-way "interfaces" which are keyed to alternate spheres. But entering an interface at one sphere does not guarantee the destination coordinates of the alternate sphere, especially due to snap back physics. This fact is less obvious for inanimate objects, which do not snap back and may tend to appear at the coordinates of the alternate interface.

While sentient mortals have never observed a shared Euclidean space between spheres, the Imperial Cult and Cthonic cults infer that there is a substantive inter-sphere medium. The Uzvu cloud worshippers, on the other hand, reject that there is an inter-sphere medium and holds that spheres are not embedded in a shared space. The Archons notice that small but real quantities of matter predictably yet spontaneously enter and leave the boundary of their Cthonic spheres. According to this view, the inter-sphere medium holds matter and its interactive forces but does not have absolute gravity. Instead, gravity is only a force experienced within a sphere and the exact details of gravity can vary by sphere. Crossing the boundary into and out of a sphere counts as a phasing event, where all regular laws of phasing apply. For the Imperial Cult specifically, crossing the Firmament is a phasing event that travels to the inter-sphere medium of Asteria, and crossing the Hade is a phasing event that travels to the inter-sphere medium of Cthonia.

Spells may remotely affect other spheres by means of phasing soul material itself. One example is that it is possible to magically communicate between Ksylia proper and spherical subrealms. This is common for Devouts who apparently commune with the Agathoi, and Invokers who commune with the Archons. As another example, there are also immortal Steelskulls who solitarily inhabit remote Ksylic spheres silently contemplating the nature of reality. If a mortal in Ksylia attempted to magically communicate with such a Steelskull, it is plausible that the Steelskull would reply. According to the cosmology of the Imperial Cult, magic wielders who manipulate blue and red soul material access these by attracting soul material from other spheres.

Soul Projection

While soul binding may permanently re-anchor a soul, there are magical effects that temporarily project a soul without erasing its permanent anchor. This act is called soul projection. There are consistent physics for how a projected soul behaves.

  1. A projected soul retains its body identity, unless an effect reassigns it. If all else fails, the projected soul seeks to return to its body identity. Body identities may be jars, living organic bodies, or non-living organic bodies.
  2. A projected soul may have zero or more temporary anchors. These temporary anchors may be jars, living organic bodies, or non-living organic bodies.
  3. A projected soul always has exactly one residence. Simply put, residence is the current location of the soul. This residence may be its body identity, a temporary anchor, or no anchor at all. If the soul's residence is not an anchor, then the soul is called a free projection. The soul may wander, or may seek an anchor.
  4. Projected souls have a hierarchy of tension for a given residence. The most tense is free projection. Then, the next most tense is the temporary anchor farthest jumps from its body identity. Each jump closer to its body identity reduces the tension. Then, the least tense is residing in its body identity.
  5. Death of a physical body, soul binding, phasing, dispel effects, and destruction of the temporary anchor are all events which may disrupt soul projection. The consequence varies by magic effect, but the universal outcome is a decrease in the absolute amount of tension as described in (4).
  6. If the outcome is not clarified by the specific magic effect, then disruption removes all temporary anchors and snaps the soul back to its body identity.
  7. If (6) occurs but the soul cannot successfully snap back to its body identity, the physical body dies and the soul departs as expected by ordinary death.
  8. A vessel (jar, living organic body, non-living organic body) cannot contain more than one resident soul. However, they may share anchors if they are not simultaneous residents of that anchor. (This only applies to soul projections possessing a hostile body. It is possible to permanently bind multiple souls to a single jar, as the Magellians did to hybrid Mikton souls.)
  9. During possession, the host soul is evicted from its body while retaining its body identity, and its residence is displaced to a new vessel. The specific rules regarding the host's new resident vessel vary according to the magical effect.