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 alignment of one's personality or past correlates to the potency of related Metaphor concepts. 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. Absentia cannot be divined except by the Blighted as it feels like 'nothing' and one must be 'nothing' to then divine it. Unlike standard Divination, the Blighted can use this to non-verbally identify their own kind, as Absentia is only present in sources affiliated with Nihilos. Scrying The art of Scrying entails applying Divination to targets remotely, usually through a reflective surface such as a crystal ball, a mirror, or a reflective pool of water. It may also be used to eventually 'see' through these reflective surfaces, bridging them together in the mind of a Mystic, and the most advanced among them may transmit images reflected upon the surface provided they have seen the receiving object. This is a very murky process and its clarity varies depending on the Mystic. Experienced Scriers are vital for communication across long distances. Acclimation Ability to perceive the discorporated. Rituaali Athame By ritually meditating with a weapon, a Mystic can awaken it to supernatural Metaphor, enabling them to damage even incorporeal Metaphor by dissolving an Apparator's control over it. Bludgeoning or stabbing with an Athame will expel any being Possessing them. Sundering By binding any being, a Mystic may plunge an Athame into their body and crystallize their soul into a geode of Alkahest equivalent to the maximum Spell Reserves they had. The Metaphor for that Athame must match the Metaphor crystallized, and anything else is lost. Referred to as a True Death, this sunders the soul, fragmenting it in such a way that it is lost to the void. Even people who are not magi occasionally possess Arcane Potential which may be harvested in this way. Sundered Alkahest must be purchased; refer to the Seasonal Points list for pricing. 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. Familiary Mystics can form a Spirit Familiar from a part of themselves, developing a bond over time with that Familiar. Summoning Cambion may be Summoned by a Mystic using an Athame attuned to the appropriate Metaphor, using a ritual specific to that Cambion which is listed on their page together with an offering of Alkahest equivalent to their total amount of skill. Specific Cambion the Mystic knows can be summoned from their home Plane, but Summoning will not work upon a being which has already been Summoned unless the bond is broken. When they are destroyed after being Summoned, the Cambion will be reincorporated upon their home Plane, able to recover by consuming the Alkahest offered to them; their Spell Reserves will be depleted and they will lose any changes to their being. If destroyed upon their home Plane or when travelling without being Summoned, then they will be fragmented as if their soul was Sundered.

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 souls mired in Absentia 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 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 may learn from Blight Hunters- the Antidikos- the exploitable weaknesses and needs of the Blighted, developing techniques for shielding themselves from them. They begin to transition from prey to predator, often at a great cost to their humanity. See Antidikos for techniques and inventions known only by its members. Rituals Detachment Detachment refers to those who undergo the ritual of subduing ones emotions through an ascetic banishment of all wants and desires, further excising all Saol from the body to the point that they are considered temporarily Undead akin to Draugr; while they are like this, Rusalka cannot influence them, read their emotions, or siphon Saol from them. The Ritual of Detachment may only be performed by oneself at Expert Mysticism once taught by a Blight Hunter, and entails at least a month of isolation to either enter or leave this detached period. Gestalt An invasive procedure possible with Mastery-tier Malediction, Capellation involves segmenting the blood or ichor of ones body with multiple hearts and brains operating closed systems which limit the amount of damage Devorare and Aquari can deal in a single spell cast, their bodies now segmented and disposable. Illuminaries who have this done can sometimes survive as a living head with its own closed circulatory system provided they receive regular blood transfusions to make up for the caveat that their blood no longer circulates nutrients throughout their asynchronously throbbing body. Memories are reflected across each brain seamlessly through a self-performed Mastery-tier ritual, although losing a brain is a traumatizing feeling synonymous with dying; as the brains are perfectly synchronized, they cannot be used for split-casting spells. Cost: 500 SP per Heart or Brain. Inventions Nihilam Manufactured from the shorn flesh of Nihil, Nihilam is an addition to any metal which when wielded by a Mystic incurs irreversible damage to equivalent-tier Nihil no matter their Frequency. When these weapons bludgeon, cut, or pierce their flesh- if they are strong enough to cause harm- Nihil lose their ability to sculpt themselves or Apparate that section of their body for several hours, and such weapons can still cause harm to a Nihil should they consume a Mystic wielding one. The process for crafting Nihilam is known only to a select few master-tier Mystics within Antidikos, and these weapons are occasionally given to Mystics in the crosshairs of Alítheia without knowledge of either party. Cost: 1,350 SP Nightbane Nightbane refers to any tool, concoction or device which infuses raw emotion or painful memory into the mind of a potential Nightwalker, forcing them to transform while potentially delivering other debilitating effects that might reduce their lethality. Nightwalkers must otherwise be tracked like animals, as if one were a hunter. The price of these varies incredibly, and they must still match the Meditation, Resistance, or Rusalka skills of the Nightwalker they are seeking to unbalance. Generally consumable versions of Nightbane are preferred. Vizard Antidikos understand the extreme lethality of Scourge, and many of them wear masks charged with the heat of Luxiite to burn Pathos out of the air they breathe, the rest of the garb non-porous and fully closed off. Unless pierced or slashed, this renders them entirely immune to the Pathos of Scourge. Cost: 900 SP. Smiler Orb The Smiler Orb is usually a steel-encased and Miasmite-Aligned sphere surrounding the flesh of a Blighted which has been carved down by a Maltrician to the point they are naught but an orb of suffering only able to 'see' a mirror against an internal eyeball, allowing them to Scry after they learn how during their confinement. They will sometimes unwittingly chirp at nearby Blighted when they inevitably turn to Mysticism in order to sense the world around them and beg for aid, unable to transmit images but able to 'see' through reflections. These orbs are incredibly dangerous and built with countless safeguards while still necessitating that the Smiler Orb is fed. Possessing one paints a target on the back of its owner by Master and Ascended-level Blighted, and many have given their lives to draw out Alítheia this way.

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