Shimmer

Shimmer is the Glamour of illusion– Sidhe and Pixies wield it naturally, capable of fooling the senses of others in small or grandiose ways. Shimmer requires a Minor Merit to pursue.

Shimmer

History

Shimmer is an Arcana as ancient as the Fae within whom it finds its origins; it is a curious thing, with its reputation painting it in colors both whimsical and pernicious. Rare as it is, those familiar with the Fae at all will know well the capabilities of the illusory creatures who wield it– and they know well to be wary of them. While some may only sprinkle just a bit of magic for all manner of practical jokes and vibrant pleasures, potent practitioners can conjure up entire false realities once the shimmering, coruscant dust of their spellcraft settles.

In places where Fae are more well known, some even carry charms and talismans meant to dispel these illusions.

Acquisition

As with all Glamours, Shimmer is sourced from one’s biology.

For Sidhe and Pixies, their Shimmer is granted to them from their wings. These wings resemble an insect's, anywhere from a dragonfly to a butterfly to a moth. They grow tiny, scale-like modified bristles, which the Shimmerling can feed Saol into and then release into the air as Faerie Dust– from a light dusting to veritable clouds thereof. That Dust carries whatever illusion they’ve infused into it, and inflicts said illusion upon the senses of any living thing it comes into contact with; at higher tiers, they may even cast their illusions to mask objects and distort reality.

For anyone not born with Shimmer, see Malediction under Creations at the bottom of this page for how these wings may be transplanted and further about the care thereof.

Living with Shimmer

Stigma

Bearing the wings of a Shimmerling is obvious to those who recognize such things. However, even if onlookers don’t recognize the purpose of their wings, they will often look bizarre and be stigmatized in societies where mortals with insect wings are not commonplace. As such, Shimmerlings take quite a few precautions when traveling about. Oftentimes, they will fold their wings beneath cloaks and other clothing to hide them when they do not feel safe.

Because of this, it is not uncommon for Shimmerlings to generate and then bottle Shimmer dust in advance for traveling, should they not be able to reveal their wings in time to cast.

Fragility

As with wings donned by actual insects, a Shimmerling’s are quite fragile. Many who have such wings take great care of them, oftentimes disallowing others to touch them at all.

If heavily damaged, casting costs half again the amount of Saol.

If amputated, a Pixie or Sidhe will slowly grow their wings back. It takes approximately a year for fully severed wings to regrow. Partially regrown wings will be able to generate dust, but they do so at twice the Saol cost.

Do note that those who naturally possess Shimmer's Wings may seek out the services of magical healers (Draoidh, Nimhea, Devorare, Malediction, etc.) to speed up this process.

Mirth

Shimmerlings gain an efficiency bonus (up to half) by consuming or performing the following:

Acts Under Mirth - (per spell)

The emotional state of euphoria confers the efficiency bonus. Mischief, fulfillment, debauchery, or a chemical high are common ways in which a Shimmerling may seek this euphoria.

Teeth - (1 week each)

Acquired from any kind of happy baby or person, usually shed naturally, by accident, or without notice. Murder or torture spoils the fun, and the original owner must still be alive when the tooth is consumed.

Consumption

A Shimmerling is capable of discerning the emotional state of their food, whether its source is living or dead.

• When consuming the flesh or other substance(s) of a dead creature, the emotion conferred is snapshotted at time of death.
• When consuming the flesh or other substance(s) of a living creature, the emotion conferred reflects the entity's current mood.

Each Shimmerling possesses a unique palate, though they tend to prefer food that is (or was) happy, or that which has been fermented in excessive amounts of agony.

Mageburn Symptoms

• Lesser: Minor Delusions, Minor Hallucinations, Dizziness, Confusion
• Moderate: Delusions, Hallucinations, Vertigo, Disassociation
• Greater: Major Delusions, Major Hallucinations, Permanent Mania, Developing Schizophrenia, Sticking
• Sticking: Whatever illusion the Shimmerling had ‘set’ onto the spell that pushed them into Greater Mageburn is now permanently perceived as part of their reality, whatever this may be.

Spells

Like all Glamours, Shimmer uses the Metaphor of Saol to cast.

Faerie Dust

By infusing their wings with Saol, Shimmerlings are capable of producing Faerie Dust, an illusory substance named after the Glamour's progenitors.

Volume

A Shimmerling may choose how much Faerie Dust to expel at once as they grow in skill, with novices only capable of expelling tiny amounts whilst masters may choose between expelling entire battlefields of Dust or just a pinch.

Duration

The Shimmerling may control how long their illusions last– from brief, fleeting pleasures to weeks long affairs. The maximum duration they are capable of infusing into their Faerie Dust increases in tandem with their mastery.

Permeability

As a Shimmerling grows in potency, so too does the difficulty of avoiding their whimsy! While a Novice’s Faerie Dust may only take effect if inhaled, the fine, microscopic scales of a master may pierce the skin and infect by simple contact.

Setting

As a Shimmerling suffuses their wings with Saol, they set their intended illusion before they eject their Faerie Dust. The complexity that can be set varies, with higher mastery tiers allowing for higher complexity.

Shifting Senses

Faerie Dust may be utilized to manipulate a living creature’s senses in all manner of ways. This includes the five standard senses, but also may include a target’s extrasensory abilities such as an Æld’Norai’s Lifesight or a Fulguri’s Infernosight.

To target any sense, the Shimmerling must have some understanding of how the sense functions and be aware that the target possesses such an ability. For example, if a Shimmerling doesn’t understand how an Æld’Norai’s Lifesight works or lacks the proper experience with Galdr to know the finer points of Infernosight, then they do not possess the knowledge required to impart manipulations upon these senses.

Masking Reality

Faerie Dust may be utilized at higher tiers to mask objects as well as living things. The effect will manifest by covering at least 75% of the surface of any given object with Dust. Changes made in this fashion may be as simple as hiding the cracks of a piece of pottery or as complex as masking an entire swamp, making it appear instead as an idyllic loch.

Instilling Permanence

The most potent Shimmerlings are capable of weaving illusions so potent that they begin to impact the world around them. This is available to a lesser extent at master, though only the (Ascendant) is capable of harnessing Permanence to its full extent.

Tiers of Mastery

Novice

A Novice finds themselves mostly contending with learning how to use their anatomy– any spellcast is an achievement, as properly setting and expelling the Faerie Dust can be a rather complicated affair.

• Faerie Dust:
  • Volume
    • They may only expel an amount of Dust equal to a teaspoon (5mL).
  • Duration
    • A Novice’s illusions may last up to 30 minutes.
  • Permeability
    • A Novice’s Faerie Dust may take effect when inhaled, capable of affecting mucous membranes and other, thinner tissues.
  • Setting
    • The Shimmerling may only set their Faerie Dust to affect a single sense at a time.
    • They may only affect the senses of living things at this stage.

Apprentice

Having learnt the tenets of setting and expelling their Faerie Dust, an Apprentice will shift their focus away from the physiological aspects of the Glamour and fully onto their spellwork.

• Faerie Dust:
  • Volume
    • They may only expel an amount of Dust equal to a tablespoon (15mL).
  • Duration
    • An Apprentice’s illusions may last up to an hour.
  • Permeability
    • An Apprentice’s Faerie Dust may take effect when inhaled, capable of affecting mucous membranes and other, thinner tissues.
  • Setting
    • The Shimmerling may only set their Faerie Dust to affect two senses at a time.
    • They may only affect the senses of living things at this stage.

Journeyman

By Journeyman, a Shimmerling may create entire wild flights of fancy within the five senses of another– or themselves.

• Faerie Dust:
  • Volume
    • They may only expel an amount of Dust equal to ½ cup (120 mL)
  • Duration
    • A Journeyman’s illusions may last up to 6 hours.
  • Permeability
    • A Journeyman’s Faerie Dust may take effect when inhaled, capable of affecting mucous membranes and other, thinner tissues.
  • Setting
    • The Shimmerling may set their Faerie Dust to affect all five senses at a time.
    • They may only affect the senses of living things at this stage.

Expert

Reaching Expert, the Shimmerling is now capable of grasping the concept of Masking and extending the potency of their spells to affect senses beyond the standard five.

• Faerie Dust:
  • Volume
    • They may only expel an amount of Dust equal to 1 cup (240 mL)
  • Duration
    • An Expert’s illusions may last up to 12 hours.
  • Permeability
    • An Expert’s Faerie Dust may take effect when inhaled, capable of affecting mucous membranes and other, thinner tissues, and will pierce through skin at a 30 second delay.
  • Setting
    • The Shimmerling may set their Faerie Dust to affect all five senses, as well as extrasensory abilities.
  • Masking
    • As an expert, the Shimmerling may now mask as many objects as their Dust is capable of covering per spellcast.

Master

The Master Shimmerling is a consummate illusionist, capable of weaving entire worlds into each cast of their Faerie Dust should they so choose– and now, they wield a lingering spell which follows them wherever they go.

• Faerie Dust:
  • Volume
    • They may only expel an amount of Dust to 4.2 cups (1 litre).
  • Duration
    • A Master’s illusions may last up to 1 day.
  • Permeability
    • A Master’s Faerie Dust easily permeates skin.
  • Setting
    • The Shimmerling may set their Faerie Dust to affect all five senses, as well as extrasensory abilities.
  • Masking
    • The Shimmerling may mask as many objects as their Dust is capable of covering per spellcast.
  • Permanence
    • As a Master, the Shimmerling may to some degree bend reality to the will of their illusions.
      • They may create Unspoken Water by suffusing water with a master’s cast of Faerie Dust.
      • A master may conjure one Illusion of Permanence at a time. From one cast of Spell Reserves, the illusion’s duration is indefinite and lingers around the caster unless switched off.
      • The illusion may encompass one or many senses; examples include, but are not limited to: disguises, weather auras, mirror images, displacement, blurring of the caster’s figure, invisibility, etc.

Mesmer

Ascendant of Shimmer, the Mesmer may entrap others, or indeed entire swathes of land, in their grandly designed false realities for extended periods of time.

• Faerie Dust:
  • Volume
    • They may only expel an amount of Dust equal to a gallon.
  • Duration
    • A Mesmer’s illusions may last up to 7 days.
  • Permeability
    • A Mesmer’s Faerie Dust easily permeates skin.
  • Setting
    • The Shimmerling may set their Faerie Dust to affect all five senses, as well as extrasensory abilities.
  • Masking
    • The Shimmerling may mask as many objects as their Dust is capable of covering per spellcast.
  • Permanence
    • As a Mesmer, the Shimmerling may bend reality to the will of their illusions.
      • They may create Unspoken Water by suffusing water with a master’s cast of Faerie Dust.
      • A Mesmer may conjure one Illusion of Permanence at a time. From one cast of Spell Reserves, the illusion’s duration is indefinite and lingers around the caster unless switched off.
      • The illusion may encompass one or many senses; examples include, but are not limited to: disguises, weather auras, mirror images, displacement, blurring of the caster’s figure, invisibility, etc.
      • Further, the Mesmer’s Illusion of Permanence may interact with the real world, should they choose to cast it with an Ascendant’s Spell Reserves. Weather illusions will impact the world around them, they may conjure a Simulacrum that mirrors their spells (each mirrored spell would be half again the cost), and so on.

Contrivances

Some more industrious Shimmerlings will trade their own bottled Shimmer for whatever suits their fancy. When trading with fae, however, caveat emptor– that bottle of Shimmer may not contain what you expect.

Ensorcelling

Talismans designed to dispel Shimmer’s illusions may be crafted.

Malediction

Standard Transplant

Shimmer’s Wings may be excised and then surgically attached, but the surgeon must meet or exceed:

• Malediction of Expert skill or Devorare of Journeyman skill.
• Medical skill of Journeyman.

Somebody with transplanted wings will not regenerate them if amputated, but they will heal from significant damage. If transplanted wings are lost, the creature will retain all of their skill with Shimmer, they simply will not be able to utilize it until they obtain a new transplant.

Sculpted Transplant

The wings may be repurposed into other body parts, but some requirements must be met for the re-shaped implant to be both compatible and functional when nestled into other parts of the body. If these requirements are not met, the patient will likely experience rejection and all the woes that come with it– or a botched surgery outright.

The surgeon must meet or exceed:

• Malediction skill at Master or Devorare of Expert skill.
• Medical skill at Expert.
• There must be a sizeable “vent” of some sort for the Shimmerling’s dust to be expelled.
  • This is most commonly crafted in a manner that resembles the gills of a fish, and is most commonly placed on both sides of the chest, along the rib cage. Other options may be chosen, but if the vents are smaller than the donor wings, then spellcasting will be inefficient.

Follicle Transplant

Individual bristle follicles from Shimmer's Wings may be transplanted into the flesh; this option is the most advanced and time consuming, as the extraction and integration of the follicles is a complicated process, and if sufficient quantity aren't transplanted, then the patient's casting will be inefficient. Still, this operation is favored by discerning patients that value discretion.

The surgeon must meet or exceed:

• Malediction skill at Master or Devorare of Master skill.
• Medical skill at Master.

”In myriad parts of the world, though particularly those favored by traveling Fae, there are customs surrounding the idea of ‘tooth faeries.’ Many mistakenly believe these to be unique types of Faefolk; but I know they are not! Whilst most sightings of these so-called ‘tooth faeries’ are Pixies, there is evidence that the creatures perpetuating these traditions may be of any origin– just what is it that unites them? And why do they treasure teeth so? ” - A Mystified Man 

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