Exodus

Commanding the element of space, Exodus is a curious and powerful Arcana capable of distorting both space and time. Exodus requires a
Minor Merit to pursue.

Exodus

History

Galdr, and by extension Exodus, is one of the most ancient forms of Arcana; it has existed since before even the Faefolk, likely as far back as sapient beings were capable of wielding Arcana, even. As such, its true origins have been lost to the winds of time. Like the other Galdr, practitioners of Exodus can be found within any society that allows or puts value unto the arcane arts and many that don’t. Exodus is both highly coveted and highly feared; it is capable of incredible utility that makes life easier for the mages themselves along with their communities if utilized wisely, yet it is also immensely powerful on a battlefield for its destructive properties.

Acquisition

Mark of Exodus.

Like all forms of Galdr, Exodus is spread from one sorcerer unto another. Unfortunately, only about half of initiates survive.

In order to begin, the mark of Exodus is inscribed into the tissue (be it skin, muscle or bone) using the initiator's aether and then bodily fluids of the donor - most often blood - are offered to the initiate, forcing the student to undergo their spiritual trial forthwith. Exodus has an arguably more perilous trial than the elemental Galdr, with them having to survive a short sojourn into the Aetherium itself facilitated by their Other. It is for this reason that many do not advise taking Exodus as one’s first or only Galdr, as an Other that has previously been awakened is generally more competent at ferrying the initiate back and forth without harm. Still, it can be done either way.

Regardless, the trial is thus:

The initiate must first survive the journey. It is possible that they will die as their Other attempts to ferry them across planes. Second, the initiate and their Other has been separated from them though they are still inherently linked. Their task is to find the Other again, braving the Aetherium’s perils in its pursuit. Lastly, once reunited, the Other will facilitate returning the initiate back from whence they came, and like before, it is possible to die during this process, too. Upon their return, the initiate will have Greater Mageburn symptoms, though they will quickly level out and their symptoms will wane into Moderate Mageburn over the course of a few hours. Rarely, the initiation might last up to a day.

Mageburn Symptoms

• Lesser: Confusion, Dizziness, Lethargy
• Moderate: Strong Disorientation, Headache
• Greater: Aetheric Instability, Muscle Pain, Tachycardia, Panic
• Aetheric Instability: While unstable, every subsequent spell cast will as if the mage has overlain themselves with a Periphery. Casting spells with this symptom may have unexpected effects, from mild ones such as Blinking a few feet off to finding one's gravity slightly adjusted. Worst case scenario is that the Exodii in question destroys themselves in any of the many grotesque manners their Thaumaturgy is capable of.

Spells

Like all Galdr, Exodus uses the Metaphor of Aether to cast.

Thaumaturgy

Thaumaturgy allows an Exodii to manipulate physical reality by creating a 'Periphery', or a pocket of space suffused with their Aether that they may then manipulate in myriad fashions. The Periphery may be manually moved by the mind of the mage, though many find it most comfortable to add gesticulation to their casting. Visually, a Periphery appears as a multifaceted span of space bordered by reflective surfaces, often compared to something crystalline or composed of panes of glass. Though it varies by angle and lighting, these crystalline ‘facets’ may reflect chromatic, a feature which renders them visually distinct yet easy to miss if one is not paying attention.

All matter overlain by a Periphery is subject to the effects of an Exodii’s spellwork, but such manipulations may be resisted if the affected matter has qualifying protections. A Periphery may be pushed, pulled, suspended, expanded, or crushed. It may be modulated to overlay any given shape, ‘stuck’ upon moving things, and the possible proportions thereof are expanded upon each step of their journey toward Apotheosis. Sometimes, Thaumaturgy may be simplified down to the manipulation of kinetic force, but it is far more accurately described as spatial distortion, or control over the ‘element’ of space.

Basic Thaumaturgy

The following may be used at no additional Aether cost after creating a Periphery.

• Modulate: Moves or otherwise modulates the Periphery itself without affecting anything within it or increasing the scale of the Periphery beyond its current Spell Tier.
• Stick/Unstick: ‘Sticks’ the Periphery to a given object, entity, or location.
• Push/Pull: External forces are exerted upon the Periphery to move it with a specific amount of force in any direction or to a specific location.
• Suspension: Objects within a Periphery will travel through or float in the air obeying the laws of physics as if it were flying on its own accord.

Thaumaturgic Distortions

Below are different distortions a sorcerer may impose on matter affected by their Peripheries, sorted by Aether cost.

Standard Cast:

• Gravity Alteration: Gravity may be intensified, lessened or entirely reversed within a Periphery.
  • Examples: objects ‘falling’ upwards, loss of equilibrium, alterations in weight, gravity wells, etc.
• Blink: A form of short range teleportation accomplished by using a Periphery to fold the space between an object and its intended destination.
• Shrink: The Periphery folds space to make the dimensions contained therein smaller.
• Expand: The Periphery stretches space to make the dimensions contained therein larger.

Inefficient Cast:

• Spatial Compression: Space may be compressed akin to a shield to deflect attacks.
• Time Dilation: The flow of time within may be altered.
• Planar Division: Tears, or ‘divides’ in space may be rent open by the Exodii that lead to any one of the metaphysical Planes; Aetherium, Arcadia, Avernus, and for Nihilisks only, Nihilos.

Pocket Dimension

At Master and above, the Exodii may create a small space borne from the Aetherium itself yet anchored between it and Antarok that belongs solely to the Galsterei in question. They may utilize other personal magics to ‘customize’ such a place, and time flows normally within it unless modulated by their own Time Dilation.

Traveling to one's Pocket Dimension is facilitated by rending a division in space that one may travel and transport items through.

Peripheral Mirrors

An Exodii may crystallize a Periphery into a pair of mirrors as elaborate or as simple as they wish, for no matter how it appears, the pair may only serve one purpose: static, physical doorways to their Pocket Dimension, one side within it and the other may be left wherever they wish. If the mirrors are broken, they may be remade.

Creation of Peripheral Mirrors & activation thereof is an efficient Master cast per mirror.

• Only the corresponding sorcerer may activate their own mirrors under any circumstance.
• They may only have one mirror pair at once and the mechanism by which they function renders any attempts at Exaltation replicas inert.

Sever

Available to a lesser extent at master, Sever is primarily an Ascendant spell. It is an insidious technique an Exodii may use to stifle other mages. Utilizing their Other as a conduit, they may reach into the soul of another mage and sever their ability to access spell reserves of a particular Metaphor. This process takes an hour, cannot be interrupted and is inefficient, draining the caster of two times the amount of Aether as a standard spellcast.

It may be undone in a few ways, the easiest being Exodii with sufficient skill. Specially tuned artifacts designed for this purpose may also undo it, and further, sufficient skill in meditation will eventually allow for the severance to wane.

Liminality

With Liminality, the Exodii gains otherworldly perception– they may modulate, or zoom, their vision. Further, they gain the ability to see space beyond space– in other words, the sorcerer gains the ability to instinctively sense shortcuts through space, such as knowing the fastest way through a maze without thinking. While this sense is active, objects appear to vibrate in and out of their positions, as if their locations are constantly in flux, sometimes obscuring their ‘true’ location.

Veilweaver’s Embrace

Through Veilweaver’s Embrace, the Exodii may release themselves from their corporeal shackles and turn their flesh to Periphery. In this state, they may impose any of their Thaumaturgic spellweaving upon anything their Peripheral form overlaps.

Tiers of Mastery

Novice

As a novice, Exodus is extremely limited and fairly unstable.

• Thaumaturgy:
  • WIP
• Pocket Dimension:
  • Unavailable at this tier.
• Sever:
  • Unavailable at this tier.
• Liminality:
  • Unavailable at this tier.
• Veilweaver’s Embrace:
  • Unavailable at this tier.

Apprentice

Given the dangers of Thaumaturgy, the Apprentice will still be spending most of their time playing with Peripheries, though they may now begin experimentation with Liminality.

• Thaumaturgy:
  • WIP
• Pocket Dimension:
  • Unavailable at this tier.
• Sever:
  • Unavailable at this tier.
• Liminality:
  • WIP
• Veilweaver’s Embrace:
  • Unavailable at this tier.

Journeyman

With enough experience now in Thaumaturgy, the Journeyman gains the ability to begin making use of Veilweaver’s Embrace.

• Thaumaturgy:
  • WIP
• Pocket Dimension:
  • Unavailable at this tier.
• Sever:
  • Unavailable at this tier.
• Liminality:
  • WIP
• Veilweaver’s Embrace:
  • WIP

Expert

Comfortable with the core of their casting, Expert is where an Exodii may truly begin to play with the fabric of the world around them.

• Thaumaturgy:
  • WIP
• Pocket Dimension:
  • Unavailable at this tier.
• Sever:
  • Unavailable at this tier.
• Liminality:
  • WIP
• Veilweaver’s Embrace:
  • WIP

Master

At Master, an Exodii has made the very laws of physics a mere tool for their use, and they may finally conjure up their very own pocket dimension.

• Thaumaturgy:
  • WIP
• Pocket Dimension:
  • Establishing a Pocket Dimension is a standard Master cast.
  • A division to one's Pocket Dimension is a Journeyman cast.
  • The space is approximately 150 sq. ft. per obtained Master Aether Spell Reserve with sturdy walls, ceiling and floor that may or may not be translucent.
  • The default appearance of the interior depends on myriad factors, including what other Arcana the mage possesses as well as their interests, life experiences, etc; many describe it initially as being a common setting found from their dreams.
  • One may customize the appearance of the Pocket Dimension using personal Arcana or by bringing in external items, furniture, etc.

You may use your imagination to design an interior that suits your PC Nexus and Pocket Dimension.

• Sever:
  • As a master, the Exodii's Sever is devastating, but not permanent. It will wane after a week at most, scaling down to a day if the victim has master meditation.
  • At this tier, it may only be used to Sever another from Aether, thereby disabling Galdr.
• Liminality:
  • WIP
• Veilweaver’s Embrace:
  • WIP

Apotheosi

The elusive Warpweaver is an entity of raw mystery and wonder, and one of the rarest of Ascendant Galsterei.

• Thaumaturgy:
  • WIP
• Pocket Dimension:
  • The space is approximately 500 sq. ft. per obtained Master Aether Spell Reserve (1,500 with Ascended Exodus alone) with sturdy walls, ceiling and floor that may or may not be translucent.
  • Establishing a Pocket Dimension is a standard Master cast.
  • A division to one's Pocket Dimension is a Journeyman cast.
  • The default appearance of the interior depends on myriad factors, including what other Arcana the mage possesses as well as their interests, life experiences, etc; many describe it initially as being a common setting found from their dreams.
  • One may customize the appearance of the Pocket Dimension using personal Arcana or by bringing in external items, furniture, etc.
  • Exalts by Ensorcelling may expand the radius of a Pocket Dimension by 500 Sq. Ft per Sphere, and 1,500 Sq. Ft. per Globe.

You may use your imagination to design an interior that suits your PC for both Nexus and Pocket Dimension.

• Sever:
  • The Warpweaver's Sever is devastating and nigh permanent. Those with grandmaster meditation will recover after a season by maintaining contact with a Globe of Alkahest representing that severed Metaphor.
  • At this tier, the Warpweaver may choose to target any particular Metaphor to block their victim's access to.
• Liminality:
  • WIP
• Veilweaver’s Embrace:
  • WIP

Contrivances

Contrivances may be crafted with Aetherite sourced elsewhere or from the Galsterei's Sundered Alkahest directly.

Examples WIP

”I used to work in a factory that employed an Exodii; they used their 'Peripheries' or...whatever they were called...to float things
‘round– it was a fascinating sight and, throughout my time there, such a sorcerer gave us a major edge over other similar operations
that lacked somebody with his repetoire of spells...” - Retired Supervisor

Articles on Galdr