Apparation

Every soul that lacks a solid form must find its way to that Metaphor which sustains it, and acquire autonomy. This animation is necessary for it to navigate the Planes, or operate a body of unusual make using its Frequency. Apparation requires a Minor Merit to pursue unless you are a Ghost or a Wisp.

Apparation

History

Apparation has been used by the denizens of Avernus and the other Planes since pre-history, with such entities appearing to the living seemingly from a gaseous mass, bubbling into existence before melting and evaporating away. Sometime in the last twenty thousand years, Fae Galsterei later discovered their own ability to disperse their elemental forms was, in fact, Apparation.

Appearing from nowhere, breaking into homes and vaults as if they had no doors, Apparators have tossed the world of security on its head. Criminals have committed violent acts, disappeared into an alley, and then seemingly vanished without a trace. Burglars have burgled without ever being seen; such is the power of Apparation.

Only those with Upper-Class living standards can assume their home was built with the Aligned materials necessary to bar an Apprentice Apparator from entry.

Acquisition

As any Poetics, Apparation is something fostered once a state of being is achieved. It therefore uses that Metaphor for its Spell Reserves. Below are a few examples.

• Spirits use their specific Metaphor.
• Ghosts and Dracoliches use Miasmata to alter their Psychoplasm.
• Galsterei use Aether to manipulate their elemental forms.
• Three-tail Inari and Draoidh use Saol to transition themselves into Life Force.
• Nihilisks, Scourges, and Endless use Absentia.

Frequency

An Apparator's Frequency determines how diffuse or solid they are. Everything begins at a Baseline Frequency. Apparators are able to deviate this base frequency towards a low (solid) or diffuse (high) state. Apparating towards a high frequency gradually transitions someone solid into a gel, then a liquid, and finally a gas before becoming entirely diffuse and invisible. A lower Frequency will harden one's form towards something as hard as metal. To onlookers, it looks as if gases are congealing to a liquid that builds a solid form, or like perspiration for the solid, as they begin to melt and droop down into a gaseous apparition.

• For a Ghost, their baseline frequency is so high that they are invisible to all but a Mystic or other ghosts, and it is more difficult for them to achieve a solid state.
• For the initially corporeal, their baseline frequency is quite low, meaning it is more difficult for them to achieve a diffuse state.

Trauma

Being struck or dispersed while at least partly diffuse will lead to damage. An Apparator could have their head lopped off in this state, only facing the true consequences once they are solid enough to bleed. They must choose which parts of themselves they will not reform when they transition back to a solid state, or else spend enough time recovering their body through Syphoning the appropriate Metaphor to rebuild themselves.

Apparators are harmed by forces or objects operating at a Frequency close to what they themselves are operating at at; an air thrust by a Zephyr would knock a gaseous Apparator around much more violently than someone solid, hindering the ability of someone gaseous to Drift. If they are violently dispersed, the Apparator risks their very soul being eviscerated into a Whisper should they lack enough Metaphor to come back together.

Bridging

An Apparator may heighten their frequency to the point of incorporeality and then pass through a sensation of folding space to the other side. They might wander to and from Avernus this way, or cross through into Arcadia by entering a dream before escaping into any other Plane where someone is dreaming. While this seems simple, finding and pulling oneself through that space feels like squeezing through an imperceptibly small straw, straining and squeezing as they ooze into or out of a Plane.

As various beings traverse to and from a Plane with regularity, the point of entry will begin to widen, affording free travel for well-trafficked areas; these are usually the places where so-called hauntings are taking place. Someone with a haunted mind could store a retinue of ghosts within their dreamscape.

Tendril

Apparators grow individual Tendrils of the material they Apparate their body with as they progress, able to be shaped into other mundane objects together with what a Crafting skill allows. Unlike standard Frequency, a Tendril is a permanent thing extended and retracted as if it were their own limb. These can be slung outward, striking like a heavy mace or blade, or manipulated as winding tentacles coiling around prey. Spells can be woven through Tendrils as if they were a part of the body, creating weapons from elemental Galdr while fulfilling the requirement of touch for Syphon.

Changing the Frequency or shape of a number of Tendrils is considered a spell - manipulating, extending, retracting, or attacking with them is not. One's effectiveness with wielding Tendrils would depend on skill in Whips, or else any relevant Combat Skills and Fighting Styles should the Tendril be transformed into a weapon. Tendrils can be altered with Ensorcelling or Practices. For manipulating them independently from one-another, Meditation or Artificing is used.

The denser and larger one's Tendrils are, the more strength they require to wield without being wielded by them in turn - an Apparator may find themselves being propelled and jerked around by their own, much heavier Tendrils, walking around on them like a shifting mass of tentacles.

Drift

To Drift is to move an Apparated body through the air, which may be done freely by the incorporeal Apparator - how fast and precise an Apparator might move their Psychoplasm is dictated by their ability to Apparate. Drifting only occurs once the body has lost enough of its consistency that it becomes at least like a liquid - one tenth the listed speed at about half solidarity - only adding a little bit of momentum by this point. Air could be apparated one fourth as quickly, whereas the entirely incorporeal Drift at full speed. Drifting back together after being violently dispersed is functionally an Expert-level spell cast.

Resonate

The most difficult ability for an Apparator is to impart resonance through touch, forcing an object or person to resonate at their own frequency - they already do this with their worn equipment and stowed objects, but this allows an Apparator to Drift with their companion or a larger object, depositing it somewhere more strategic or else taking it to Avernus. They might also grab someone and Resonate their own stiffness, becoming mutually frozen in place.

Apparators of the tier below can resist this ability, and those who disturb the Apparator attempting to do this will force them to start over or abandon the process.

Mageburn Symptoms

Apparating expends Miasmata; those who push this discipline experience the same Mageburn Symptoms as Nekros, and being damaged or shattered while Apparating will cause tremendous damage to one's Psychoplasm - and thus their own Miasmata reserves. If one is destroyed while their Frequency is too high, they risk becoming a Trace without much of a soul left to experience the afterlife with.

Tiers of Mastery

Novice

In the beginning, a Novice learns how to begin modulating their Frequency in order to adjust their solidarity. This is usually an instinctual process for the naturally incorporeal, with others needing to experiment or be instructed.

• Frequency:
  • A Novice may only Apparate halfway towards the opposite of their natural vibration - solid, versus transparent.
  • A Novice may not disperse themselves beyond gaseous mist unless incorporeality is their natural state, nor may they make themselves more durable than any other.
  • At this stage, Apparating takes 5 minutes, and normalizes to the baseline Frequency over the next minute.
• Recognition:
  • At this stage, an Apparator cannot conduct Recognition unless walking through a stretched memory.
• Tendril:
  • A Novice possesses 1 Tendril at a time up to the length of their arm, and it's about as hard as wood.
  • At this stage, a Tendril is merely a tentacle and its shape cannot be changed.
• Resonate:
  • Resonate is not yet available to the Novice.
• Drift:
  • Drift may be used to move up to 10 feet per second at Novice.

Apprentice

An Apprentice of Apparation begins to develop some familiarity with Apparating their body, and begins to experiment with shaping their Tendrils into implements.

• Frequency:
  • An Apprentice may Apparate towards the limit of gaseous mist, or make their natural Frequency as hard and dense as stone.
  • An Apprentice may not disperse themselves beyond gaseous mist unless this is already their natural state.
  • At this stage, Apparating takes 2 minutes, and normalizes to the baseline Frequency over the next 3 minutes.
• Recognition:
  • At Apprentice, an Apparator can barely conduct Recognition, and will be drained of Miasmata in doing so.
• Tendril:
  • An Apprentice possesses 2 Tendrils at a length of up to 10 feet, their Frequency up to as hard and dense as stone.
  • At this stage, a Tendril can be shaped into any one-handed weapon or simple tool the Apparator is familiar with.
• Resonate:
  • Resonate is not yet available to the Apprentice.
• Drift:
  • Drift may be used to move up to 20 feet per second at Novice.

Journeyman

By Journeyman, an Apparator begins to exhibit capabilities that some might consider unnerving - stronger Tendrils capable of taking on unusual shapes. Just as well, they are able to begin experimenting with Resonate, many of them entering Recognized Memories to enter Avernus in spite of its dangers.

• Frequency:
  • A Journeyman may Apparate their natural form towards the Frequency of iron.
  • A Journeyman may disperse themselves totally incorporeal.
  • At this stage, Apparating takes 30 seconds, and normalizes to the baseline Frequency over the next 10 minutes.
• Recognition:
  • A Journeyman, an Apparator can just about conduct Recognition at half the expense in Miasmata. This is still a slow process, taking about a minute to achieve.
• Tendril:
  • A Journeyman possesses 4 Tendrils at a length of up to 20 feet, up to the Frequency of iron.
  • At this stage, a Tendril can be shaped into any weapon, tool, shield, or piece of armor the Apparator is familiar with.
• Resonate:
  • Resonate is available at Journeyman, but this necessitates embracing the target closely and takes four times as long.
• Drift:
  • Drift may be used to move up to 35 feet per second at Journeyman.

Expert

An Expert of Apparation is by now something rather dangerous. They can disappear into an alleyway, never to be followed by perpetrators, ooze themselves into anything that hasn't been reinforced against them, abduct people, or manifest entire sets of large weapons that might overwhelm the common swordsman.

• Frequency:
  • An Expert may Apparate their Frequency towards that of steel.
  • An Expert may disperse themselves totally incorporeal.
  • At this stage, Apparating takes 10 seconds, and normalizes to the baseline Frequency over the next day.
• Recognition:
  • At Expert, an Apparator can conduct Recognition with around 10 seconds of effort.
• Tendril:
  • An Expert possesses 6 Tendrils at a length of up to 35 feet. When corporeal, they have a Frequency as hard as steel.
  • At this stage, a Tendril can be shaped into any weapon the Apparator is familiar with, including other small objects like lockpicks or instruments.
• Resonate:
  • Resonate is available to the Expert, but takes twice as long to achieve.
• Drift:
  • Drift may be used to move up to 50 feet per second at Expert.

Master

Masters of Apparation are hauntingly potent and terrifying to those that cannot make sense of them. They are powerful beings that can manifest wherever they like, exploding outward in a frightening display of violence which then retracts to the imposing form of a knight in blackened armor slowly melting away into a mist before the witness can fully process what just happened.

• Frequency:
  • A Master may Apparate their Frequency towards half again the hardness of steel.
  • A Master may disperse themselves totally incorporeal, beyond the sight of even supernatural senses unless they are of an equivalent tier.
  • At this stage, Apparating takes 3 seconds, and normalizes to the baseline Frequency over the next three days.
• Recognition:
  • A Master may conduct Recognition in a few short seconds.
• Tendril:
  • A Master possesses 8 Tendrils at a length of up to 50 feet, their Frequency up to half again as hard as steel.
  • At this stage, a Tendril can be shaped into any object the Apparator is familiar with, including a shield or a light raiment of armor. Multiple Tendrils can be combined to create a full set of plate armor, one section at a time, or a tangle of Tendrils comprising a facsimile of themselves that they puppeteer from a safe distance.
• Resonate:
  • Resonate is fully available to the Master, but takes half again as long to achieve compared to Apparating their own Frequency.
• Drift:
  • Drift may be used to move up to 80 feet per second at Expert.

Ascension

Upon Ascension, the Wraithplasm is perhaps one of the most feared entities on Antarok. They are seemingly unassailable, with so many Tendrils of hardened steel, and the ability to melt away - or reform anywhere - and they are incredibly fast, able to follow their prey anywhere they might flee.

• Frequency:
  • A Wraithplasm may Apparate their Frequency to be twice as hard as steel.
  • A Wraithplasm may disperse themselves totally incorporeal, beyond the sight of even supernatural senses unless they are of an equivalent tier.
  • For a Wraithplasm, Frequency may be adjusted in the blink of an eye when cast at this tier, and they may no longer have a baseline - they go to whichever Frequency they wish.
• Recognition:
  • A Wraithplasm can instantly move to and from Avernus through any being's Recognized Memory, but must expend an Ascended cast of Miasmata to do so.
• Tendril:
  • A Wraithplasm possesses 10 Tendrils with a length of up to 100 feet, and a Frequency twice as hard and heavy as steel.
  • At this stage, a Tendril can be shaped into any object the Apparator is familiar with. One Tendril can be shaped into a full suit of armor, a siege weapon, an eight foot tall golem to puppeteer, or a tower shield. Multiple Tendrils can be combined together, forming any mundane thing the Wraithplasm intuitively understands - up to the size of a large vehicle like a galleon.
• Resonate:
  • Resonate is fully available to the Wraithplasm, and only takes a second.
• Drift:
  • Drift may be used to move up to 120 feet per second as a Wraithplasm.

Artifacts

Sundering

Adjusting a person or object's Frequency, or filling an object like a whip or extendable limb with a permanent Tendril are all within the capability of a Sunderer. Some items may even pierce into a Recognized Memory of Avernus, stretching it open until one's adjusted Frequency allows them to pass through.

Alchemy

Apparation may be used to fill Alkemicals with a certain grade of Psychoplasm, altering its Frequency to create incorporeal, jelly-like, liquid, or extra durable objects. It might also be used to create potions with similar effects to what a Sunderer could.

“Someone was robbing me! I lit a candle, but he was gone. Like a fart in the wind!” - A Traveling Merchant

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