Familiary

Familiarists, sometimes referred to as Tulpamancers, fashion a Spirit Familiar from their soul. Familiary requires 100 XP in Mysticism and does not require a Minor Merit to pursue.

Familiary

History

Like most Arcana, Familiary—or Tulpamancy—had been known to the Sidhe, though it was independently rediscovered by Humanity following an incident with a troubled young girl who painted a doll she made with her own blood. Ever since, Familiary has become a vital aspect of societies which value Mysticism, and the ritual has been written about in books and anecdotes on the subject by hundreds of scholars.

Beings of Egregore

Spirit Familiars, or Tulpa, are small Spirits of imagination hewn from the soul of a Mystic, no bigger two feet tall in the beginning. They are always made from mundane, organic materials; usually this is flesh, bone, and fur, but they may also be an animated plant made from cellulose and bark. Beings without eyes or a mouth may still conceptually see, smell, hear, feel, and project their voice with the same clarity as their master.

Familiary Ritual

The Ritual for creating a Spirit Familiar first begins with a Mystic deciding upon its Egregore within the mind, allowing it to exist within the Plane of Arcadia through their Dreamscape. They will take some manner of hallucinagenic, or else draw and paint the creature until it is every bit as real to them as any other creature. For some this can take a single evening, while others may spend weeks obsessing over their dear imaginary friend.

When they feel as though they can have a conversation with this figure in their minds, the Mystic will create an effigy of the creature, usually a carefully grown plant, doll, or carving made with an Athame. With their own blood, they will paint the name of their Spirit Familiar upon the effigy, and thus begins the phase of 'bonding' - by taking the effigy with them, speaking to it, sleeping with it, and generally anthropomorphizing the object until they are sure it is real to them, their soul will bleed into it and the mind of a Familiar will begin to take shape.

Once the effigy has a mind, the Familiarist need only sleep whilst clutching it, and invite it out of Arcadia through a dream to take possession of it. The object will glow softly through the night, and they will awake together forever divided, yet more whole together than any other can ever be.

Living with a Spirit Familiar

Mageburn Symptoms

Tyrant: A disloyal Familiar might attack its master and attempt to kill them should they enter Major Mageburn with any other Arcana; when this happens, they will be immune to Command. Rarely, the Familiar might usurp them when this happens, swapping physiologies and control over the soul they share.

Spells

Familiary yields no additional Spell Reserves as it is not a Merited Arcana.

Proxy

Spirit Familiars share the same knowledge and information as their master, and operate independently of them. They mirror the master's skills, and Arcana, drawing from their Spell Reserves. Using shared Spell Reserves requires subconscious permission, and the master may quash any attempt by their familiar to use them. Familiars will develop the same Glamour and Gramarye as their master.

Functionally, Familiars may aid their master as a second party in anything including casting spells at the same time as their master.

Arcana Interactions

• Ensorcelling: Familiars may dissolve into any tier of Exalted Conjuration, provided it was written for them, for storage or for manipulating the Conjuration; they follow the same rules as Djinn while doing so, and they may exit at any time.
• Mysticism: Scrying may be used to gather impressions through the eyes of one's own Familiar, and vice versa. They will possess the exact same Metaphor composition as their master when a Mystic attempts to read them.
  • Grandmaster Mystics may sense a Familiary bond and impose Scrying through it, sensing impressions through the eyes of either; they must be Blighted to do this with Blighted Familiarists.
• Animism: Familiars do not increase the limit of Animal Familiars, but may be used to communicate with them.
• Artifice: Familiars may pilot Automata connected to an Exalted Conjuration made for them, following rules similar to a Djinn.
• Malediction: Familiars may only use Malediction once they have access to Expert skills, and are commonly used to operate upon each other; a Spirit Familiar will lose its alterations upon destruction, and both will share any discomfort from their failures in these efforts.
• Exodus: Familiars may Teleport to the side of their Master, and vice versa; Familiars are often sent ahead to scout and establish relationships with locations.
• Seeming: Changelings will share a copy of their Imprints with their Familiar, and vice versa; in this way, they can have two of the same form active at the same time.
• Grist: Familiars working together with their Master can halve the time it takes to Cultivate Outer Alchemy cast at their tier.
• Draoidh: The Familiar will share bound plant species with their master, regardless of tier; only valid spells cast within the Grove will be discounted.
• Nekros: Familiars may be given Tethers appropriate to their skill, allowing the Nekron another degree of separation from their creations.
• Syphon: The Familiar may Syphon Metaphor from Alkahest to fuel the spells of its master, and vice versa. Only Spell Reserves are shared with regards to Syphon.
• Apparation: The Familiar will have its own set of Tendrils.
• Possession: The Familiar and its master may Shadow and Possess each other.
• Remnant: A Memorare may use their Familiar to gain additional perspectives and details for their Phantasms; only valid spells cast within the Memory Palace will be discounted.
• Null: The Familiar of a Null is usually used as a way to store or obtain additional mass, and will have their Metaphor similarly corrupted to Absentia.
• Scourge: The Familiar of a Scourge will suffer the same consequences as their master.
• Devorare: The Familiar of a Devorare will satisfy their master's needs and vice versa when feeding; this allows one of them to never be seen hunting.
• Rusalka: The Familiar of a Devorare will satisfy their master's needs and vice versa when feeding; this allows one of them to never be seen feeding.
• Nightwalker: The Spirit Familiar of a Nightwalker is a liability, entering a frenzy and shapeshifting exactly as they do.

Should a mage with Familiary die, then their Familiar will enter the afterlife or reincarnate with them; the Familiar has a very high chance of dominating the Ghost of its master and gaining control over their soul.

Command

Sometimes it is necessary to Command a Familiar to perform a task or cease with their language, to obey through an instinctive impulse. This is something most Familiarists are loathe to do, as they quickly learn that they will feel that loss of agency through their shared bond. Familiars who are overly Commanded tend to act neurotic and develop mental illness, often choosing to physically overpower their master should they enter Major Mageburn with any of their Arcana.

Giving a Command does not cost Spell Reserves.

Telepathy

Within a certain distance, a Spirit Familiar may communicate freely by speaking into the mind of its master. They will also share a sense for emotions and sensations at any distance, even if they cannot communicate.

Telepathy does not cost Spell Reserves.

Soulmarching

The death of a Familiar is an agonizing feeling for its master, as the senses of both are interlinked, and it will feel as if a piece of themselves is missing until they are reformed. Upon its destruction, the Familiar will disippate into a mist, and then naturally flow towards their master. In order to be reformed, the Familiarist must burn Alkahest or Spell Reserves equivalent to the skill tier of their Familiar through Rituaali where Metaphor is Canted through stories over the course of an hour.

 Dangers: A Mystic of equivalent skill who can match its speed may follow it to its master or attempt to catch it with an Athame; it is up to the owner of a Familiar to OOCly decide if they are still trapped after a certain day of the season. Should their Familiar remain permanently trapped, they may refund the Experience and Minor Merit of Familiary, though they will experience psychological anguish over this loss forevermore. They cannot be fully Sundered by a Mystic, and any attempt at such would merely result in Soulmarching.

Tiers of Mastery

Novice

Newborn Familiars begin with a sense of curiosity for the bond they share with their master. They are very weak, and dependent on their master to function where there is a clear disconnect between what they are capable of and what they know how to do; if the Familiar has a strong ego, then it will often look upon its master with envy.

• Proxy:
  • A Novice Familiar may derive Novice-tier Skills & Arcana from their Master.
  • A Novice Familiar may be up to two feet tall.
• Command:
  • A Novice may not yet Command their Familiar.
• Telepathy:
  • A Novice may use Telepathy to speak with their Familiar while touching or being touched by them, and this will work through one's attire.
  • A Novice will feel secondhand every emotion and sensation their Familiar feels.
• Soulmarching:
  • A Novice Familiar in Soulmarching will flow towards its master at a rate of 10 feet per second, bleeding between the Planes to do so.
  • A Novice Familiar will cost a Gram of Alkahest Dust, or Novice Spell Reserves to reform.

Apprentice

By Apprentice, the Familiarist begins to foster near-range communication with their Familiar, sharing useful skills and Arcana with them. They have grown more familiar with each other, by this point in their relationship.

• Proxy:
  • An Apprentice Familiar may derive Apprentice-tier Skills & Arcana from their Master.
  • An Apprentice Familiar may be up to three feet tall.
• Command:
  • An Apprentice may not yet Command their Familiar.
• Telepathy:
  • An Apprentice may use Telepathy to speak with their Familiar if they are in the same room as them.
  • An Apprentice will feel secondhand every emotion and sensation their Familiar feels.
• Soulmarching:
  • An Apprentice Familiar in Soulmarching will flow towards its master at a rate of 20 feet per second, bleeding between the Planes to do so.
  • An Apprentice Familiar will cost a Sliver worth of Alkahest or an equivalent cast of Spell Reserves to reform.

Journeyman

Journeymen experience a vast increase in the range they may engage in Telepathy with their familiar from. By now they are usually rather comfortable or at odds with each other, lensed by the fact that a Journeyman can now Command their Familiar through the relationship they share.

• Proxy:
  • The Journeyman Familiar may derive Apprentice-tier Skills & Arcana from their Master.
  • A Journeyman Familiar may be up to four feet tall.
• Command:
  • The Journeyman may Command their Familiar.
• Telepathy:
  • The Journeyman may use Telepathy to speak with their Familiar, if they are within about 20 miles of them.
  • The Journeyman will feel secondhand every emotion and sensation their Familiar feels.
• Soulmarching:
  • The Journeyman Familiar in Soulmarching will flow towards its master at a rate of 35 feet per second, bleeding between the Planes to do so.
  • The Journeyman Familiar will cost a Shard worth of Alkahest or an equivalent cast of Spell Reserves to reform.

Expert

Once at Expert, the Familiar and Familiarist have developed a deep enough bond that they are wont to act out the other's will on instinct.

• Proxy:
  • The Expert Familiar may derive Expert-tier Skills & Arcana from their master.
  • An Expert Familiar may grow to up to five feet tall.
• Command:
  • The Expert may Command their Familiar.
• Telepathy:
  • The Expert may use Telepathy to speak with their Familiar, if they are in the same region as them.
  • The Expert will feel secondhand every emotion and sensation their Familiar feels.
• Soulmarching:
  • The Expert Familiar in Soulmarching will flow towards its master at a rate of 50 feet per second, bleeding between the Planes to do so.
  • The Expert Familiar will cost a Crystal worth of Alkahest or an equivalent cast of Spell Reserves to reform.

Master

With Mastery comes a seamless sort of symbiosis; the dynamic duo work together as one, wholly incapable of imagining a life parted.

• Proxy:
  • The Master Familiar may derive Master-tier Skills & Arcana from their master.
  • The Master Familiar may grow to up to seven feet tall.
• Command:
  • The Master may Command their Familiar.
• Telepathy:
  • The Master may use Telepathy to speak mutually with their Familiar, if they are on the same Plane as them.
  • The Master will feel secondhand every emotion and sensation their Familiar feels.
• Soulmarching:
  • The Master Familiar in Soulmarching will flow towards its master at a rate of 80 feet per second, bleeding between the Planes to do so.
  • The Master Familiar will cost a Sphere worth of Alkahest or an equivalent cast of Spell Reserves to reform.

Grandmaster

The Grandmaster Familiarist and their Familiar are equally capable of anything they set their collective minds on.

• Proxy:
  • The Grandmaster Familiar may derive Grandmaster-tier Skills & Ascended Arcana from their master.
  • The Grandmaster Familiar may grow to the same size as their master.
• Command:
  • The Grandmaster may Command their Familiar.
• Telepathy:
  • The Grandmaster may use Telepathy to speak mutually with their Familiar wherever they may be, even if they are on another Plane.
  • The Grandmaster will feel secondhand every emotion and sensation their Familiar feels.
• Soulmarching:
  • The Grandmaster Familiar in Soulmarching will flow towards its master at a rate of 120 feet per second, bleeding between the Planes to do so.
  • The Grandmaster Familiar will cost a Globe worth of Alkahest or an equivalent cast of Spell Reserves to reform.

”He had this ...creature with him. It finished its master's words, and sometimes it even interrupted to argue. A rude thing, but the mage didn't seem to mind. When I had envisioned a negotiation with a mage, I had not expected to have to persuade two minds that seemed to agree and yet disagree, bickering in that confusing way like a married couple." - Junior Merchant Vince Dunn

Articles on Welkin

Main Page