Crest

By shedding the physical and metaphorical shackles imposed by others, one may finally achieve true freedom and the purest expression of self imaginable. Crest requires a Minor Merit to pursue.

Crest

History

Aolu is the Godhead of Céleste, oftentimes associated with air, beauty and freedom– Crest is Their Pact, and has consequently existed for nigh as long as the Godhead themselves, if not coming into existence simultaneously. Aolu values freedom, ambition, and self expression and wishes to spread such values unto those that live and breathe. Through so doing, they may shape their lives as they see fit; as boldly, unfettered, and unapologetic as the denizens of Céleste itself.

Acquisition

To become Crested is to go beyond the boundaries that society has set. Sometimes that’s achieved by an artist who’s learned to stop caring what critics think about their work. Other times it’s a socialite who’s finally accepted that they are hideous. Rarely, a prisoner might toil away until they convince themselves that they were truly in the right. There are various ways to form the Pact with Aolu, but they all require the initiate to unapologetically embrace one’s inner self - only then can they truly be free. This sense of freedom welcomes Aolu’s blessing and the initiate is filled with a sense of confidence and self-assuredness until it becomes a permanent part of their identity.

Living As Crested

Crested tend to be incredibly confident, as their magic reinforces their biases. The issue is always that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. For example, an artist may be able to magically beautify their works, but they cannot force others to appreciate said beauty. For this reason, the most famous Crested are those who have become so obsessed with their own definition of perfection that their magic comes off as strange, even off-putting. Those infatuated with their image might have hideously unrealistic features and those who are so convinced in their own sense of justice that their sense of morality becomes twisted beyond reason.

The most successful Crested are those who are proud of their work but with the added quality of yearning to improve. This does not mean they care what others think – no, but they take inspiration from the world around them in order to be somewhat realistic and grounded. There’s a difference between seeking others’ approval and wanting to create something that others will enjoy.

Mageburn Symptoms

It is rare for a crested to experience over lesser mageburn as most spells are used slowly over time.

• Lesser: Headaches, Blurry Vision
• Moderate: Apathy About Aesthetics, Inadvertent Spell Misfires, Inability to Revert Changes (all persist for weeks)
• Greater: Dysphoria, Permanent Apathy, Death
• Dysphoria: The Crested develops an immediate and permanent disgust for their current appearance and they yearn for a drastic change. This almost always ends in the Crested turning into something horrendous and preferring their new appearance.

Spells

As a pact forged with the Godhead Aolu, Crest utilizes the Metaphor of Aeris for casting.

Aesthete's Embrace

Crested can change features about themselves in order to beautify, or more creatively express themselves in each of the senses. That is to say that the major changes they make are limited to being aesthetically pleasing to their eyes and other senses. They are allowed to make minor alterations at will, however. All changes that are made are permanent in the sense that they do not require the Crested to spend Metaphor to maintain the change.

Changes do not confer an advantage, except that they might hide a scent, denser musculature, tough scales, or body fat. In this way, the Crested could be difficult or invariably easy to track, while being incredibly fit - or weak in spite of an impressive physique - and heavy with thick scales, and yet one could not tell the truth. The svelt ones with muscle wouldn't look it in a fight, and three hundred pounds could look like ninety. You could take a blade to their skin, but it wouldn't cut unless you gave it enough force to pierce the scales. This is the most powerful 'lie' of an Aesthete.

If a Crested changed how their touch felt, then they would feel exactly that way in an appropriate context, meaning they alone would be able to touch the Seeming form of another and have it be felt as they would like to be felt without subjecting them to overstimulation. Alternatively, they might enjoy the aesthetic of pain or pleasurable stimulation, and confer a sensation of harmless yet distracting sensation to those who touch them. This never extends to emotions, however.

Artisan's Touch

Crested can imbue things they create with an artistic flair associated with the senses. This has a wide range of applications from making a sword glow or making a sculpture move through a series of predetermined movements, and may even apply a general set of changes to an entire performance such as song and dance. All changes that are made to an object are permanent in the sense that they do not require the Crested to spend Metaphor to maintain the change. Changes do not confer an advantage; if you made a sword feel sharp, it would not cut any better than another, only threaten such.

A note on art – many things can be considered art including a meal, a smithed weapon, even an arrangement or a display of magic. This magic focuses on changing visuals and Crested have a lot of freedom to express how this magic adds flair to their other skills.

Liberation's Grace

Crested are free in both body and mind. When they find themselves physically restrained, they have a way of magically escaping. The Crested is never in control over how the magic works. They merely yearn to be free and things tend to happen to their advantage. Perhaps a guard drops his keys, or handcuff links snap apart, or a jail cell’s bars may become inexplicably rusted, a ligament in a wrestler's arm might sprain at just the wrong moment that they can slip away. It is incredibly difficult to keep a Crested imprisoned, even with magic of a lesser tier.

Enactment

Advanced Crested can lace an area around them with a stipulation that any actions taken must be play-acted in order to be successful. For example, a musician might require that all words must be sung in order to be audible. Similarly, a dancer might require that everyone walking down a street had to prance in order to move. The affected area is a radius around the Crested that moves with them.

This ability is not meant to confer an advantage and is purely for flair. Those within the area would have an innate feeling for what they had to do in order to take action.

Tiers of Mastery

Novice

At novice, the Crested is only beginning to explore their new repertoire of tools to play with.

• Aesthete's Embrace:
  • A novice may conceal minor imperfections and enhance own aesthetics.
  • A novice may alter the aesthetic of how they look.
  • They may smooth out blemishes and adjust facial features slightly.
• Artisan's Touch:
  • A novice may add minor artistic flair, enough to make their work of art stand out, but no obvious magical properties.
  • A novice may alter only the aesthetic of how their creation looks.
• Liberation's Grace:
  • A novice may escape from simple restraints such as ropes and handcuffs
• Enactment:
  • Unavailable at this tier.

Apprentice

Though still inexperienced, the apprentice will likely have found ways they enjoy incorporating their newfound talents into their work.

• Aesthete's Embrace:
  • An apprentice may conceal minor imperfections and enhance own aesthetics.
  • They may smooth out blemishes and adjust facial features slightly.
  • An apprentice may alter the aesthetic of how they look or smell.
  • They may make minor alterations to their overall silhouette.
• Artisan's Touch:
  • An apprentice may add minor artistic flair, enough to make their work of art stand out, but no obvious magical properties.
  • An apprentice may alter the aesthetic of how their creation looks or smells.
  • They may add details to artwork that is physically impossible to achieve with one’s tools normally.
• Liberation's Grace:
  • An apprentice may escape from simple restraints such as ropes and handcuffs
• Enactment:
  • Unavailable at this tier.

Journeyman

By journeyman, the Crested will likely not know the act of creation without imbuing it with their magic.

• Aesthete's Embrace:
  • A journeyman may conceal major imperfections and enhance own aesthetics.
  • They may smooth out blemishes, adjust facial features at will, change hair color/length/style.
  • A journeyman may alter the aesthetic of how they look, smell, or taste.
  • They may make alterations to their overall silhouette within the purview of their race.
• Artisan's Touch:
  • A journeyman may add moderate artistic flair, enough to make their work of art stand out with obvious magical properties.
  • A journeyman may alter the aesthetic of how a creation looks, smells, or tastes.
  • They may add details to artwork that is physically impossible to achieve with one’s tools normally.
  • The materials used in the art can appear to be of any quality the artist wishes.
• Liberation's Grace:
  • A journeyman may escape any non-magical restraint given enough time.
  • Mundane prisons will slowly become incapable of housing the Crested over the course of a month.
• Enactment:
  • Unavailable at this tier.

Expert

An expert Crested’s works of art are truly dazzling sights to behold.

• Aesthete's Embrace:
  • An expert may conceal major imperfections and enhance own aesthetics.
  • An expert may alter the aesthetic of how they look, smell, taste, or feel.
  • They may smooth out blemishes, adjust facial features at will, change hair color/length/style.
  • They may make alterations to their overall silhouette within the purview of their race, including size at this point.
  • They may now begin to borrow aesthetic features from other races.
• Artisan's Touch:
  • An expert may add major artistic flair, enough to make their work of art stand out with obvious magical properties.
  • An expert may alter the aesthetic of how a creation looks, smells, tastes, or feels.
  • They may add details to artwork that is physically impossible to achieve with one’s tools normally.
  • The materials used in the art can appear to be of any quality the artist wishes.
  • Materials themselves can appear to be whatever the Crested desires.
• Liberation's Grace:
  • Non-magical restraints are meaningless against an expert Crested who wishes to be free.
  • Mundane prisons are escapable, though it can take days to weeks depending on the complexity of the Crested’s situation.
• Enactment:
  • An expert may cast a radius of 25 feet and have it last 5 minutes.

Master

The master Crested are considered unique, visionary individuals…though some may say that by master, many Crested take their vision a wee bit too far. But whether one regards them as brilliant or strange, they are sure to stand out.

• Aesthete's Embrace:
  • A master may conceal major imperfections and enhance own aesthetics.
  • They may smooth out blemishes, adjust facial features at will, change hair color/length/style.
  • A master may alter the aesthetic of how they look, smell, taste, feel, or even how their body sounds as it moves.
  • They may make alterations to their overall silhouette within the purview of their race, including size.
  • They may borrow aesthetic features from other races.
  • They may even change their gender presentation.
• Artisan's Touch:
  • A master may add major artistic flair, enough to make their work of art stand out with obvious magical properties.
  • A master may alter the aesthetic of how their creation looks, smells, tastes, feels, or even how it sounds.
  • They may add details to artwork that is physically impossible to achieve with one’s tools normally.
  • The materials used in the art can appear to be of any quality the artist wishes.
  • Materials themselves can appear to be whatever the Crested desires.
  • The master’s work can include movement – such as a moving statue or a pattern that dances along a blade.
• Liberation's Grace:
  • Non-magical restraints are meaningless against a master Crested who wishes to be free.
  • Mundane prisons are escapable, though it can take days to weeks depending on the complexity of the Crested’s situation.
  • Magical restraints and prisons including esoteric bonds like that of an Inari's Ball can be escaped from given enough time to allow the Crested’s magic to work.
• Enactment:
  • An expert may cast a radius of 100 feet and have it last 1 hour.

Maestro

The Maestro are truly each one of a kind.

• Aesthete's Embrace:
  • A Maestro may conceal major imperfections and enhance own aesthetics.
  • They may smooth out blemishes, adjust facial features at will, change hair color/length/style.
  • They may make alterations to their overall silhouette within the purview of their race, including size.
  • An Ascended may alter how the look, smell, taste, feel, or even how their body sounds as it moves.
  • They may borrow aesthetic features from other races.
  • They may even change their gender presentation.
  • They may now add fantastical qualities borne from their own imaginations.
  • They may alter how forms of magical divination might sense them or their abilities, including unusual senses like Lifesight.
  • They may alter how their other Personal Magic appears to others with all the power of their Aesthete's Embrace.
• Artisan's Touch:
  • A Maestro may add major artistic flair, enough to make their work of art stand out with obvious magical properties.
  • An Ascended may alter how a creation looks, smells, tastes, feels, or even how it sounds, as well as its weight.
  • They may add details to artwork that is physically impossible to achieve with one’s tools normally.
  • The materials used in the art can appear to be of any quality the artist wishes.
  • Materials themselves can appear to be whatever the Crested desires.
  • The master’s work can include movement – such as a moving statue or a pattern that dances along a blade.
  • Their work can include features that interact with magical senses.
• Liberation's Grace:
  • No prison or freedom-impugning compulsion that is not specifically reinforced with Ascendant-tier magic may hold a Maestro for long.
  • They may return to the Plane they consider home if they are on another Plane.
  • They may now break Ascendant-tier prisons and bonds of others, even esoteric ones like an Inari's Ball, or other such contractual bindings so long as the recipient feels their freedom is restricted by the arrangement.

• Enactment:
  • A Maestro may cast a radius of 1 mile and have it last 1 hour.

Contrivances

Crest may apply any manner of aesthetic changes to items crafted by Practices as the Crested may wish, limited only by their imagination and skill. Otherwise, Contrivances may be crafted from the Crested's Sundered Aerisite directly.

Ensorcelling

Aesthete's Embrace may be applied to to others permanently by way of Ensorcelling should they feel content with the changes, else they will quickly evaporate within minutes under a will opposed to them. They can create Conjurations that trigger Liberation's Grace when the recipient is bound or restrained. The Crested might also expand the radius of their Enactment, if Glyphics for it is woven into the architecture around them.

”I once knew a man whose prolific artworks were always made with a message– and that message was always loud. The local officials were sort of adversarial with him, and when the day came where they finally fabricated a reason to come collect him...well, they failed. Miraculously, he escaped the prison and wriggled away; he is still outspoken, but he keeps himself well protected, now.” - A Dullahan Citizen 

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