Mysticism

A Mystic knows more than any other about the true nature of reality.

 Mystics study Welkin and divine Metaphor to infer more information about the world, infusing it into their weapons to harm the supernatural. They also summon Spirits to themselves, or engage in ritual. Mysticism does not require a Minor Merit to pursue.

Mysticism

History Far back within the annals of time and across the Godlands, those with souls have always possessed the potential for wielding its potential, for insight and for interacting with the supernatural. Metaphorics Metaphorics is the study of Metaphor, for gleaning and interpreting its presence. As a Mystic grows, so too does their knowledge of Welkin and Spirits, or the Undead. Divination A Mystic can divine the prevalence of Metaphor in a person or object. They may only detect the strongest Metaphor at first, eventually assessing 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 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 manage risk. 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 material or fauna without a soul 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 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 minds eye, and the most advanced among them may transmit these images reflected upon the surface to other Mystics doing the same provided they have seen the receiving object. Scrying is a very murky process and its clarity varies depending on the Mystic, and Scriers will be able to spy upon communications between other Mystics if they scry the receiving surface. Acclimation Mystics are sensitive to the presence of souls around them, and may feel the presence of a nearby soul but not where it is; they may instead use their senses to magically understand the true location of the invisible or camouflaged such as the Apparated. Mundane Stealth skill and the various methods of magical concealment or illusion may be used to obscure one’s soul and location from a Mystic provided these skills are of a higher tier. Animal Familiars and Automata are often utilized to hunt Mystics, as that which has a soul does not automatically alarm them, and they are also vulnerable in crowded areas teeming with souls. Soul Arts Soul Arts are the processes of using one’s own soul to interact with the supernatural. Athame By meditating upon a Metaphor with an object no bigger than they are, a Mystic can awaken it to supernatural Metaphor while they hold it within their hand, enabling them to touch any form of incorporeal Metaphor while dissolving an Apparator's control over it. This can be used together with Combat Skills to deny Metaphor the ability to move through it, or else pin, cut, and bludgeon it apart. Causing harm with an Athame will expel any being Possessing an individual or object. Immunity to a Metaphor will not make something incorporeal immune to the physical damage of an Athame. Fetters Athame do not remain so when they leave the hand; A Fetter is a projectile which extends the relationship between Mystic and Athame to any distance for a few minutes. They are created by igniting embedded Alkahest of the chosen Athame Metaphor of the same tier one wishes to harm. Exalted Conjuration dedicated to this purpose allows a Fetter to be recovered and reused. Thrown weapons, nets, explosives, arrows, bolts, and bullets may all be used as Fetters. Artificed devices may not activate Soul Arts unless they are made with a Soul Star. Binding Spirits may be Summoned and then Bound by a Mystic using an Athame attuned to the appropriate Metaphor and a ritual specific to that Spirit which is listed on their write-up, always burning a large sum of Alkahest to do so. This enslaves the Spirit to the will of the Mystic, and they may not knowingly bring harm upon their master nor disobey a command. If a Summoned Spirit is fatally harmed, they will be banished; their body will dissolve into Metaphor and seep back towards their home Plane where they will be physically reborn of any alterations made to them during their tenure beneath the Mystic. Faustians may waive the Alkahest cost of being Bound as part of an exchange. Cambion with Expertise or greater in an Arcana will need to be written up as NPCs and submitted for approval in the Support Forum. Cambion's Skills or Arcana may not be improved until they are banished. Player Characters are exempt from this restriction. Cambion may not be Sundered for Alkahest if Summoned. A Spirits Spell Reserves will be depleted upon their banishment. A Spirit the Mystic remembers may be Summoned. Alkahest Cost Summoning is exponentially cost-prohibitive for the eldest of Cambion, typically accomplished by nations rather than individuals. They will have any number of skills appropriate for the tier that was paid for them, and are treated similar to Hired Hands. 10 Grams of Dust for Novice Skills, per Novice Arcana, and for CR1 Lemures 10 Slivers per 3 Apprentice Skills, per Apprentice Arcana, and for CR2 Lemures 10 Shards per 3 Journeyman Skills, per Journeyman Arcana, and for CR3 Lemures 10 Crystals per 3 Expert Skills, per Expert Arcana, and for CR4 Demiurges 10 Spheres per 3 Master Skills, per Master Arcana, and for CR5 Demiurges 10 Globes per 3 Grandmaster Skills, per Ascendant Arcana, and for CR6 Demiurges Sundering By first immobilizing any being, a Mystic may plunge a held Athame into the heart, kidney, brain, or liver of a body and crystallize their soul into a geode of Alkahest equivalent to the maximum Spell Reserves they had. Doing so entails canting about how the sacrificial victim will embody that Metaphor for several minutes until the process is complete. As the process resolves, the affected organ may be dissected for the Alkahest sundered from their very soul. The Metaphor for that Athame must match the Metaphor crystallized, and anything else is lost. Sundered Alkahest must still be purchased with SP; refer to the Seasonal Points list for pricing. Arcane Potential and the Arcane Reserves of Fauna may not be harvested in this way. Sundering is seen as an abhorrent act by many cultures across the world, as it denies a soul reincarnation and any chance at an afterlife. This is referred to as a True Death, fragmenting the soul in such a way that it is slips between the Planes and into the void. Funerary 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. This is accomplished by touching someone who has died in the last day or so, accurately canting about their life as onlookers speak in remembrance, lessening the weight of every attachment they possess and thereby helping the soul to feel its natural pull towards Aarda and the Aetherium beyond. Equivalent skill in Meditation can be used to refuse Last Rites, while the Blighted are claimed by Nihilos as an Endless rather than becoming Ghosts. Rituaali Skilled Mystics may learn and possibly develop complex rituals which alter the soul in such a way that unique relationships with Metaphor and strange abilities may be fostered. See Gramarye for the rules surrounding Rituaali. Familiary Mystics may form a Spirit Familiar from a part of themselves. They are created by forming an Athame, and then undergoing a ritual to form one. For Animal Familiars, see Animism.

Skill Tiers

Novice Metaphorics: They know the names of each Metaphor if it makes sense for them to know this. The Novice may begin to Divine Novice-tier Metaphor, which has few applications. The Novice may not learn to Scry. Soul Arts: The Novice may conduct Funerary Rites. The Novice may not create an Athame. The Novice may not Summon Spirits. The Novice may not Sunder Alkahest. The Novice may not conduct rituals. Apprentice Metaphorics: They know roughly about the categories of Arcana - Galdr, Welkin, and Glamour. They know the names of each Metaphor. Someone without Mysticism could still know this much, if they had a reason to in their background. The Apprentice may begin to Divine Apprentice-tier Metaphor. The Apprentice may learn to receive the Scrying of others in a reflection. Soul Arts: The Apprentice may conduct Funerary Rites. The Apprentice may create up to an Apprentice-tier Athame. The Apprentice may Summon and then Bind Spirits with Apprentice-tier Skills, or up to CR2 Lemures. The Apprentice may not Sunder Alkahest. The Apprentice may not conduct rituals. Journeyman Metaphorics: They know roughly a summary of every form of Arcana except for Blights. They know roughly what each Metaphor represents. Someone without Mysticism could still know this much, if they had a reason to in their background. The Journeyman may begin to Divine Journeyman-tier Metaphor. The Journeyman may learn to send and receive the Scrying of others in a reflection. Soul Arts: The Journeyman may conduct Funerary Rites. The Journeyman may create up to a Journeyman-tier Athame. The Journeyman may Summon and then Bind Spirits with Journeyman-tier Skills, or up to CR3 Lemures. The Journeyman may Sunder Alkahest from up to Journeyman-level Arcana. The Journeyman may not conduct rituals. Expert Metaphorics: They know roughly what to expect from every form of Arcana and the types of spells they wield up to Expert, in a general sense. Except for Blights. They begin to understand the ways in which each Metaphor represents itself across the Planes. The Expert may begin to Divine Expert-tier Metaphor. The Expert may learn to send and receive the Scrying of others in a reflection. Soul Arts: The Expert may conduct Funerary Rites. The Expert may create up to an Expert-tier Athame. The Expert may Summon and then Bind Spirits with Expert-tier Skills, or up to CR4 Demiurges. The Expert may Sunder Alkahest from up to Expert-level Arcana. The Expert may conduct rituals. Master Metaphorics: They know roughly each individual spell but not its potency from every form of Arcana up to its Mastery. Except for Blights. They fully understand how Metaphor represents itself across the Planes, within the Psychoplasm of Ghosts, and so on. The Master may begin to Divine Master-tier Metaphor. The Master may learn to send and receive the Scrying of others in a reflection. Soul Arts: The Master may conduct Funerary Rites. The Master may create up to a Master-tier Athame. The Master may Summon and then Bind Spirits with Master-tier Skills, or up to CR5 Demiurges. The Master may Sunder Alkahest from up to Master-level Arcana. The Master may conduct rituals. Grandmaster The Grandmaster may develop a Dominion Arcana to further influence how their Mysticism functions. Metaphorics: There is very little a Grandmaster does not know about individual Arcana and the dangers their spells represent. Except for Blights. They fully understand what is known to the world about each Metaphor. The Grandmaster may begin to Divine Grandmaster or Ascendant-tier Metaphor. The Grandmaster may learn to send and receive the Scrying of others in a reflection. Soul Arts: The Grandmaster may conduct Funerary Rites. The Grandmaster may create up to a Grandmaster-tier Athame. The Grandmaster may Summon and then Bind Spirits with Grandmaster-tier Skills, or up to CR6 Demiurges. The Grandmaster may Sunder Alkahest from up to Ascended-level Arcana. The Grandmaster may conduct rituals. The Grandmaster may invent new rituals.

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 as they war with a secretive faction of equally unknown insurgents combating them, the Antidikos. 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 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. For additional faction-specific Illuminary abilities, see Antidikos and Alítheia.

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