Mysticism

Mysticism

  An overview of Mysticism. Mysticism does not require a Minor Merit to pursue.

History A history of Mysticism. Divination A Mystic can sense the prevalence of Metaphor in a person or object. Initially they can only detect the strongest Metaphor, but eventually they will be able to assess the strength of every Metaphor within that individual. This is rarely ever more than a gut feeling when attempting to assess which Arcana someone has, yielding a clue rather than a guarantee. By analyzing Metaphor within people and ruling out possible reasons for its prevalence, a Mystic can get closer to uncovering actual truths, or simply develop a habit of avoiding specific kinds of strong Metaphor in order to mitigate risk. Metaphorics In General The power of one's Arcana directly corresponds to the potency of its Metaphor. The presence of Arcana within objects is more cut and dry, but still not foolproof. The Arcane Potential of an individual not yet initiated will confer a sense for that Metaphor. Aether - Power, Possibility, Souls Respect by many for any reason confers a sense of Aether for the subject's Power. A soul strong in many Skills, Galsterei, and Dominion will also confer this sense. Some Mystics do not waste their time on those who rate poorly in Aether, and many Galsterei will only take on apprentices who rate highly. The Possibility of someone with ambitious goals. Whether or not something has a Soul may be deduced by a Mystic. Saol - Those who spend time steeped in some aspect of Nature. Savages who forage for their food would rate just as highly as wielders of Glamour. Those who are depressed. Higher Challenge Rating creatures and objects made from their remains. Whether or not something is alive may be deduced by a Mystic. This will take precedence over beings such as Devorare who are alive and dead. Immutabilities The Immutabilities are basic facts about an individual or object which a Mystic at Master may deduce through their Metaphorics. Whether or not something has a soul within it, and whether or not it is alive. These Immutabilities are used as cornerstones for law and safety - it is difficult for the undead to blend in with society without Spiritism The Afterlife Acclimation Ability to perceive the discorporated. Spirit Song Chanting a song which weakens spirits. Every order of canting will weaken nearby Poetics of that tier to the point of being harmless. Last Rites A ritual for assuring the dead pass on using the light of Luxium, allowing restrained Undead and Daemons to pass on and be reincarnated. Requires canting five orders of Luxium Sovereignty. Spirit Oil Any oil or grease ritually by canting an expression of Luxium with five orders of Sovereignty. The oil emits a faint yellow glow, causing anything coated in it to glow in the dark. The substance allows any weapon or even the bare hands to harm ghosts and weaken the bodies of undead or Blighted. Any vessel coated with it will trap apparations within. Spirit Blood Performed by infusing Spirit Oil with their own blood via IV drip, this is a temporary infusion that lasts for a week, making the body immune to Possession, and the blood immune and repulsive to the Blighted. Devorare cannot pop their veins with Hemomancy, and Rusalka will struggle to manipulate them. The Blighted who bite them will feel poisoned, gagging and retching from the Luxium burning at their senses. Those with Spirit Blood glow even under the darkness of Null. Attempting to perform this on oneself as the Blighted would be suicide. Over time repeated use of Spirit Blood will waste away the body of a Spiritist. Exorcism Removing a supernatural being from a victim of Possession. Involves ingesting spirit oil and canting an order of Luxium Sovereignty for each tier of Possession skill the spirit has. Daemonology Understanding the procession of a Ghost to a Daemon, and how Daemons differ from Ghosts. Bargaining Calling upon a Faustian to bargain with them. Requires being at a crossroads and canting an order of Anathema Sovereignty for each skill tier of Faustian desired.

Skill Tiers

Novice A Novice understands x and does y. Apprentice An Apprentice understands x and does y. Journeyman A Journeyman understands x and does y. Expert An Expert understands x and does y. Master A Master understands x and does y.

Variant - Illuminary Illimunaries are those enlightened to the study of Blighted, which are normally unknown the world over. These cursed souls obscure themselves from study, murdering, manipulating, and politicking their way out of discovery and policing their own to prevent information from getting out. To be discovered as an Illuminary is to live with a target on ones back by Alítheia, a deeply entrenched Blighted conspiracy of puppeteering an entire world from the shadows. The major change that a Mystic experiences upon fully believing the 'truth' is that they are exposed to Nihilos through Arcadia every night as they dream. It seeps into their madness, allowing seeds to grow and fester. Many Mystics at this stage simply step back and pretend to ignore a haunting truth that cows them into submission; they are the type to pull you aside, and tell you to stop talking about such fantasies... or they might end you. You may call yourself an Illuminary once you have discovered - and begun to believe - forbidden accounts of these monstrous creatures, or you have become one yourself. Even scholars of the Arcane will balk at their existence, dismissing such things as children's fable and hearsay; the very words Null, Devorare, Rusulka, Scourge, and Nightwalker are far removed from their sensationalized, mythological counterparts: the creature under your bed, the vampyre, the succubus, the evil wizard, and the werebeast. Such acts beyond the mundane are blamed instead on insanity, the Fae, mad wizards, beast races, and dragons. Those who go public with this information will may one day fall ill and perish, or they are murdered by a temptress, torn to bits by animals, or have their homes invaded; they are discovered stabbed, pale from stroke or heart attack, or mutilated. They are discredited at every turn, their reputation tarnished with scandal. They are accused with crimes falsified under complex narratives, planted evidence that sees them incarcerated, enslaved, or executed. Illuminaries with promise are abducted and forced to join the ranks of Alítheia, or perish. Blight Hunting Illuminaries begin to discover the weaknesses and exploitable needs of the Blighted, developing techniques for shielding themselves from them. They begin to transition from prey to predator.

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