[Magic][Pseudo-deity]The spellcasting of unsound minds

[youdude 104]

 

 

LM Note: This lore is hereby revoked by LT vote, each individual user of the magic has been notified. Henceforth, the magic can neither be practised, self-taught, or executed via events.

UNSOUND SPELLCASTING

./¨¨\_Tentacular _/¨¨\.

Foreword

This is a re-post, or a rewrite of a magic lore that’s been lingering in my mind for a while now. The original post was self-denied because it felt out of place, and enforced rolls into a roleplay environment where rolls are seen as optional, and in some cases detrimental to the progression of a battle, breaking logic and the power-balance.

While creating this, I had two things in mind; Give the void, something mages seem to take for granted some more prevalent danger and risky mystery, and to give players a darker alternative to voidal magics, something that’s been neglected and forgotten; Making the art feel nearly stagnant, save for a few shining gems of creativity.

Introduction

A mind is a frail and fickle thing. It is easily bent, easily burdened and driven into it’s low-points.

And mages, with each connection, each meditation, plunge this frail thing into the unknown plane we are void of a name. Our foolish bravery is sure to be noticed.

 

“That emptiness was serene… Its endless swirling energies calming. It was an escape for me, a place where the burdens of the earthly realm had no foothold..”

 

Voidal magic uses mana as the heated iron and one's mind as the anvil and hammer, forging spells with precision and grace. But if the tools are bent and distorted, an end result will still come, yet it's shape and utility would be questionable at best. Those magic users who've been pushed into madness, touched by the denizens of the void, given their blessing and knowledge would be familiar to this fact. And it takes an afflicted mind to see beauty in this chaos.

 

“..Yet, mayhap I indulged in its incomprehensibility too often. As my aimless presence attracted the attention of an o̶the҉r͟w͞orĺd̡ly onlooker…”

 

Unsound magic is the result of folk already capable of magical arts attracting the attention of greater voidal horrors, having their mind rended and attuned to the more primal workings of magic. By chance, or by fate, while their consciousness wandered the endless depths of the void in their state of meditation, it was noticed and approached by a voidal denizen. The whispers and touch of one of these beings within their home realm cracks the mages mind, rendering them trapped in a state of insanity, plagued by visions of their presence, their mind filled with whispers in an incomprehensible language. Still pushing their distorted minds into attempts of spell-craftery, they would find a strange attunement that distorted their previous magical connection, and allowed them to cast these curious magical anomalies . They would have to make due with this chaotic art, and make the best of it, as all hope of restoring their voidal connections is for naught.

 

“..Who could have imagined the knơw͞l̛edgę it held? It’s silent ẃh́i̷s͜p͝ers held a deep resonation that caused my very being to tr̢em̧b̕l̢e͢.. It reached out, t͞oưc̕ḩed ̨m̷y ̢mi͏nd.. Altered it..”

 

Unsound magic is  erratic and unstable at best, dangerous and unpredictable, giving the mage a pseudo-attunement, similar to that of those with divine faith, yet with toll to pay, and a duty to follow. Their bodies would suffer the effects of voidal fatigue, while craving for a connection with their voidal observer, often causing these mad magic users to recklessly push themselves to their limits over and over again wreaking havoc on musculature and physique. Frail in both mind and body; What’s the worst they could do?

 

“..And I am now it’s looking glass… For as curious as we are to look into their world.. They m͘i̕rror that ambition tenfold…”

The unpredictability of an unsound spell

 

Due to their shattered mind and ‘tainted’ connections to the void, the unsound mage casts something very similar to their intended spell, yet it’s distorted and empowered in a very unique way. As a rule of thumb, solids become volatile, and immaterial magic becomes material. It all edges towards the similar state, and it all bears the markings of the greater potential granted to them by their void-touched consciousnesses. They would be unable to cast their voidal magic in it’s original state, with these altered versions unfit for anything but being thrown at an opponent and hoping they cause harm. In fact, most magics conflict with this unstable and erratic alteration of the spellcraft, causing them to be only vaguely useful and clashing with their magic branch’s original use. An unsound mage can forget using his magic for anything but destruction and disruption.

Evocationists: Their evocation comes out, yet it’s shifted and unstable, destructive and volatile, bent to the will of their voidal observer.

Elemental evocationists find their elements to be nearly sentient, forming twisted and eldritch shapes, moving towards their intended target on their own volition, their existence requiring much less mana to sustain, and a lot more mana to create. Along with the strange behaviour, they come with cosmetic effects of instability. Either dark-purple and rippling for non-solids, or cracked and unnaturally shaped for more solid elements. These evocated materials are hardier and more persistent for non-solids (water, fire, electricity, etc..), and have that characteristic purple-colored implosion on contact with solids. (Ice, earth, etc..) An exception is air evocation, which is rendered visible with dark-purple swirling mist.

Conjurationists find their intended creation to be instead an imitation of the voidal horror that had afflicted their mind with it’s influence. Their touch would syphon mana from the intended target, devastating for non-mages and mages alike. Along with increased aggression, the blighted beings would seem to ignore their creator's commands, though they would avoid attacking the being responsible for keeping them anchored to the world. The conjurationist can dispel their creation at any time as per usual.

Arcanists find their manipulation of arcane energies drastically altered, the already unstable art rendered absolutely erratic. The energies crackle with potential, barely obeying the arcanists whims, imploding violently on every contact. If the arcanist attempts to bend them into shields, the energy would, after a brief delay seem to materialize into a dark, cracked and glowing material, similar to that created by alteration. Though being more solid and reliable, it implodes violently if it’s integrity is shattered, threatening harm to the arcanist himself.

 

 

Illusionists: Their illusions reflect their own distorted thoughts, rendered harrowingly physical.

Sensory illusionists find their illusions to come out bent, twisted in unrecognizable shapes, writhing with tentacular appendages, screeching out cries in gibberish, inducing the sensation of pain on all those around, not following the blueprints of their creator and seeming to resemble a living entity even if their original design was inanimate. If the illusion only attempted to simulate one sense, the sound created would be accompanied by whispers of distracting gibberish, the sensation would be accompanied by an odd induced confusion and the sight would be lined with pale white eyes and small wriggling tendrils.

Mental mages find that their targets feel more than a single presence, the penetrated mind filled with deafening whispers and headache inducing ringing. And with their targets mind so occupied and burdened, information extraction should be a bit easier, yet being subtle about it is imposible.

 

Users of Cognitism find their mental capabilities pushed beyond normal limits, yet their perception of the world becomes twisted for the duration of their hyper thought, beings seeming twisted and blighted with arcane malformations, the world spinning and darkening.

 

 

Alterationists: Their changes to already existing matter would riddle it with instability, cause it to become unpredictable and volatile.

 

Transfigurationists  find that the material they wished to change has been instead shifted into a very volatile and unstable imitation of what they wished to achieve. Cracks of instability would line the surface, and nearby beings would have their mana sapped in a slow but steady manner. If the material is disturbed too much, or if it has no more mana to sap, it would dissipate in a violent fashion; Imploding with a shock wave corresponding to it’s size.

 

Telekinetics find their object squeezed and twisted, contorted into meaningless symbols. Though while the shape and integrity is lost, they would find that the force with which they can manipulate the object is vastly increased.

 

Users of Voidal translocation find that they can retrieve volatile matter from their storage, it seemingly replacing whatever they stored into their personal storages. This matter would be highly mana-dependent, syphoning it from wherever it can, and once it’s unstable form is disturbed by either physical means, or by a deprivation of mana the material can syphon. These ‘void pebbles’ are too unstable to exist for a longer period of time, and therefore cannot be used as building material, nor  forged with. Attempts would surely lead to small but violent implosions.

 

Enchanting/Warding Created wards and enchantments are somewhat enhanced, yet at the cost of stability and longevity; Temporary and brief at best. The magic itself is rather difficult to ward against due to it's innate unpredictability and erratic fluctuations. The altered states of normal arcane spell-craft are affected by wards, while the swirling mass one conjures up within their observer-attuned state is not.

A glimpse into untold power

The poor void-touched mind loses his mind, has his magic twisted and his body turn frail. Compulsive actions drive his daily life, and a near addiction to feeling the rippling presence of their voidal observer. But, in exchange for this heavy toll, they obtain power. Power that seems to teeter on the very edge of comprehension, coming from null and vanishing into null; The helping hand of their great voidal denizen. To call for its help, to grasp a fraction of it’s terrible power, one must first connect to the void itself, in a way oh-so familiar to any user of voidal magic. And once that connection is felt, the mage must simply open their mind, allow the otherworldly presence to take root, and lend its power. To the mage, the sensation would feel ecstatic, wonderful, fulfilling; Allowing this creature to look through their eyes and experience the mortal plain. They would share in a rather parasitic manner; Attunement and power, in exchange for a glimpse into this world, and the shared knowledge it syphons from the mage’s mind, as well as any mana used by the mage.

This ‘attunement’ would allow for the mage to manipulate what we’ve come to call anomalies; Magic in it’s most unstable and primal form, crafted with mana fed to the voidal onlooker, who shifts it in it’s incomprehensible ways, and returns it to the mage to manipulate and control with noticeable loss. In appearance, this mass would be rather hard to look at, seeming like a nearly infinite swirling blackness, outlined and ribboned with a writing,dark-purple, fog-like and bulbous mass. Along with a terrifying and nearly maddening appearance, this mass would appear to possess unique properties of syphoning mana from it’s surroundings, making any spell and being in it’s vicinity struggle to remain as that vital energy is greedily absorbed and used to sustain it; That greedy voidal observer taking any stolen mana for itself, feeding its hunger. On touch, any matter would seem to disintegrate, vanishing into that swirling infinite blackness in a manner similar to voidal translocation; Mayhap being torn into it’s basest of parts and transferred. This theory would seem to hold some ground, as the process of disintegration would take a heavy toll on the stability of it, and the mana pool of it’s creator. Things that hold abuntant mana are easier to disintegrate, as the syphon of mana alleviates some of the costly toll, while solid walls and such are nearly impossible to ‘eat through’.

While a mage is acting as a host, their aura shifts colors, their eyes adapt a coloration nearly as discomforting to glance at as their casted anomalies, and to any nearby attuned mages, a ripple would shake (but not break) their existing connections, causing a minor disruption that can easily be overlooked, but would certainly be cause for worry. Physically, the mage remains unchanged, save for a deep rumbling echo to their voice, and the bulging and widening of veins, making the stress their bodies are going through rather abundant. Yet, the mage barely feels it while in this connection; Something they always regret once their voidal observer leaves them, abandoning them to the mind-numbing headaches and gut-wrenching fatigue. But while they don’t exactly feel this strain, their bodies to experience it; Their walks rather slow and stumbling, losses of balance and consciousness not uncommon for the possessed hosts.

 

The mechanics

Tier three:

Once someone ‘takes up’ unsound magic, they must leave behind their previous magical arts, though the remnants of the knowledge remains. The user of Unsound magic user must have at the very least reached tier three in their previous arcane art, as that is the point where connecting to the void becomes natural enough for them to be able to do it whilst in an altered state of mind. Yet, their capabilities as a mage is greatly reduced, taking the first infant steps into this chaotic art, barely able to summon their void-touched creations, similar to a novice. Yet, the adjustment period would be swift, and the unsound mage could return to his somewhat versed skill level within a week or so, and advance in the usual time-period.

Obtaining that ‘second connection’ that would allow them to cast anomalies would be obtainable, yet would present immense stress on one’s body, causing the connection to be rather short-lasting, and result in violent mental backlash that could easily knock the mage out, or at the very least leave him unable to concentrate, bear a pounding headache, and narrow his minds to the point of vulnerability.

 

Tier four:

The advancement and refinement of this chaos would only come to those who strive for mastery with their addled state of mind, as they become more familiar with the entropic patterns and the chaotic beauty. Their ‘normal’ spell casting would no longer take increased amounts of mana, and initiating their void-touched attunement would be less of a burden, capable of maintaining it for longer. Though, the longer they hold it, the more violent the toll it takes once it's ended; Almost as if the voidal observer yearns for the presence of its chosen host, throwing a fit whenever its new plaything leaves. But surely any gesture of a relationship is simply a figment of the mad mage's growing addiction..?

 

Tier five:

Mastering the art would be as far from true ‘mastery’ as mastery can get. It would resemble more to simply being used to the chaos, having experienced enough of it to have some sort of idea as to what could happen, and having some humble gesture of control. A master in unsound magic would be able to avoid the violent backlash of mana, lessen the headaches and be able to ‘skip’ the initial connection, capable of attuning oneself to it’s voidal observer at will, without the need of longer preparation.

 

 

The effects on one’s psyche

Surely having an altered, and almost eldritch connection to the void cannot do good to one’s mental health, can it? Short answer; No. Long answer;

As the voidal mage’s void-connected consciousness is ‘touched and altered’ by the denizens of that unnamable place, they are knocked out. They enter a state of coma that lasts a worryingly long while, and whilst in it, experience vivid visions of knowledge incomprehensible for minds of our plane, nightmare inducing horrors, and are exposed to the mind-cracking endlessness of the void. For in this coma, they maintain a constant connection to the void, trading the exploration of the voidal realm, for the voidal denizens exploration of one’s memories. Though those beings are volatile at best, and one’s mind is not without consequence after being exposed to such unnatural conditions. The unsound mage awakens burdened by whispers of gibberish, visions of horrors and a feeling of deep and utter horror. While it fades over time, it never quite ceases, and only re-emerges quite vividly if they dare to once again connect to the void. Now here’s where it gets tricky; With each connection, those whispers, those sights seem less alien, and more.. Alluring. More pleasant, calming, desirable. Mayhap it’s the curiosity, or mayhap it’s the beauty of seeing things one should never be able to see. The unsound mage begins to crave being connected to the void, often meditating just to get that rush and sensation of the presence of it’s voidal observer. The unsound mage may find him or herself compelled to draw what he saw, only to realize what come out are seemingly meaningless symbols of current unimportance. The worst cases even seem to have etched these symbols into their own flesh. Along with this near addiction to using magic, the natural disregard that dependency brings causes the natural physical degradation of being in touch with the void to amplify, making them frail both in body and mind.

Red lines

-While implosions and matter-eating blobs of energy can certainly be useful for destroying walls, one should keep MC mechanics in mind, and obtain ooc consent if destroying something major. If said consent is un-obtained, the magic would.. Er.. Fizzle.

-No instant casting.

-Line of sight must be kept.

-While your mage does not ‘feel’ the fatigue while fully attuned to their voidal observer, their body does. This means they are weakened physically, prone to pushing themselves over the edge and passing out, unable to truly perform any great feats of strength, (not that their excessively withered forms are capable of them) are are often rather sluggish.

-Not feeling fatigue does not mean they do not feel pain. Concentration can be lost, and that can prematurely toss you out of your connection, making you suffer the backlash right away.

-Up until tier five, two emotes should be spent “Connecting fully”. This can probably be skipped in scenarios where the passage of time isn’t such an issue.

 

Tl:dr Mages get touched by Orgalorg the tentacular, it messes with their connection. Their original magic is distorted, and they can cast a new thingy. But it's bad for them. And for everyone around them. Why would you want this?

 

Credits:

Idea and all the work and writing: Me.

Ideas on how to handle arcanism: BrandNewKitten

Helpful tips on how to write lore, plus brilliant ideas: Swgrclan

 

[youdude 104]

21/3/2016: Added a tl:dr

[𝙻𝚞𝚟 XO 3066]

Already given my praise and approval on this magic. 

[Wretched 2038]

Under review.

[Wretched 2038]

Lore accepted

 

Moved to implemented lore.

[Tsuyose 3283]

LM Note: This lore is hereby revoked by LT vote, each individual (that we know of) user of the magic has been notified. Henceforth, the magic can neither be practised, self-taught, or executed via events.