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 space around an object.
• Teleport: Accomplished by using a Periphery to fold space around an object or area, allowing the teleportation of things between distances grander than Blink.
• Crushing: The Periphery will be afflicted by an omnidirectional external force.
• Expansion: The Periphery will be afflicted by an omnidirectional internal force expanding outward from its center.

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.

Travel to and from the Pocket Dimension is facilitated by creating a Periphery to overlay anything they wish to transport.

They may designate one location upon any Plane that they are always capable of teleporting to from within their Pocket Dimension.

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.

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.

Apprentice

Having stabilized their ability to Blink, an Apprentice Exodii may now figure out how to make their own Portals.

• Thaumaturgy:
  • WIP
• Pocket Dimension:
  • Unavailable at this tier.
• Sever:
  • Unavailable at this tier.

Journeyman

An Exodii at Journeyman may begin to length the distances of their Portals.

• Thaumaturgy:
  • WIP
• Pocket Dimension:
  • Unavailable at this tier.
• Sever:
  • Unavailable at this tier.

Expert

An expert Exodii may finally take advantage of a Nexus of their own.

• Thaumaturgy:
  • WIP
• Pocket Dimension:
  • Unavailable at this tier.
• Sever:
  • Unavailable at this tier.

Master

At master, an Exodii may conjure their very own pocket dimension as well as finally Portal between Planes.

• Thaumaturgy:
  • WIP
• Pocket Dimension:
  • Establishing a Pocket Dimension is a standard Master cast.
  • Travel to one's Pocket Dimension is the spell tier corresponding to the desired Periphery size.
  • 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.

Apotheosi

With uncapped distances on their ability to Portal and a much larger Pocket Dimension, finding a Warpweaver that doesn’t wish to be found is night impossible.

• 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.
  • Travel to one's Pocket Dimension is the spell tier corresponding to the desired Periphery size.
  • 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.

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 used an elaborate series of small portals to move things ‘round– it was a fascinating sight and, throughout my time there, such a setup gave us a major edge over other similar operations that insisted on doing things the mundane way..” - Retired Supervisor

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