[✗] [Magic] Fordmakers

[Birdman 285]

THE COMMUNION OF SOULS

 

 

Gone, but not forgotten. Far away, yet near at hand…

 

The dead are with us whether we acknowledge them or not. While it is the orcs and mali’ker who have perfected ancestor veneration into a spiritual science, there is another race who may be even closer to their fallen.  

 

Humans, more than all other descendants, are obsessed with the dead. Take a walk through the palaces of any living monarch- what will you find? Painting after painting of battles, ancient cities, scenes from legend or antiquity. The visages of old kings, preserved forever in marble, meet your gaze wherever you look. Step outside, and I promise you will be walking down a street named for a great hero. Follow it for long enough, and it will take you to a square dedicated to some long dead queen or saint. 
 

Many have gazed into the painted eyes of a relative and wondered: “What would you think of all this? What would you do in my shoes?” Little known the rest of their brethren, there have always been those who never had to wonder. They had only to ask. 

 

THE SECRET TEACHING OF GODWIN

 

Ever since it was first whispered into the ear of his disciple Ambrosius, the Teaching of Godwin has been among humanity’s most closely guarded secrets. The mythical King, or so the story goes, foresaw his early death in a dream. Fearing that his wisdom and arcane knowledge would be lost to future generations, Godwin set about finding a way to tether himself to the mortal realms. When he at last succeeded, and the secret workings of all things stood revealed before his mind, Godwin no longer feared the end. Even as his brother’s dread hammer fell, Godwin was at peace- secure in the knowledge of his immortal soul. 

 

Passed down through the centuries from teacher to student, master to apprentice, the Art has survived the ravages of time by remaining safely out of sight, and in the hands of only a select few. At which point in the process did practitioners of the Art begin calling themselves “Fordmakers,” none can say for certain. It is said that the name was adopted during a brief period when an enclave of students posed as river ferrymen to avoid detection, though this is a rumor at best. What is known beyond a doubt is that the name serves as a cryptic summary of a practitioner's abilities, instantly recognizable to those initiated:

 

In the folklore of humanity, the dead are imagined as crossing a great river when they leave this world-  a vast Rubicon, seemingly impassable to the living. A Fordmaker is one who can journey to the other side, creating a temporary bridge between the mortal realm and those beyond. By concentration of spirit and purity of mind, Fordmakers learn to accomplish what most think is impossible: speaking and consorting with the dead.

NOTE: It need not be true that Godwin, Ambrosius, or much in the way of specifics actually be true about the origins of Fordmaking. The gist is that it has been kept secret, and practiced by a long chain of teachers and students, thus explaining its absence from official records. 

 

VISITATION

 

Over the long centuries, Fordmakers have identified many techniques for establishing reliable contact with the departed souls, and a set of ideal conditions in which to do their work. 

 

 

FREEING THE MIND

 

SLEEP: THE “LITTLE DEATH”

 

Communion can only occur when the soul of a living person approaches the threshold that the dead have already crossed over. The most everyday example of one of these states is that of sleep, where the waking mind has detached from the mundane world and roams free until sunrise. It is in murky depths of dreams, and on the brink of death itself that those uninitiated into the Art have reported the most encounters with dead relatives, offering counsel or easing them gently into the next life.

 

Fordmakers discipline their minds with the aim of becoming lucid at will during dreams. Once lucid, they can proceed to use other techniques in order to establish contact.

MEDITATION

 

A secondary method of approaching death is that of deep focus and meditation. By emptying the mind of all of its contents, controlling the breath and stilling the spirit, more experienced Fordmakers can loosen the mortal coil and open up their soul for communion while remaining awake.

 

 

 

THE TIES THAT BIND

 

The dead require some anchor to the mortal realm in order to manifest themselves more completely to their solicitor. A number of objects and locations have been discovered that serve this purpose well: 

 

-Objects belonging to the deceased.
-Visual Depictions of the deceased: paintings, statues, etc.
-Written depictions of the deceased: histories, poems, etc.
-Vestiges of the deceased’s body, a skull for example. 
-Landmarks named after the deceased.
-The deceased’s place of birth, and the location of their death.

 

THE CALENDAR

 

It has been observed that it is easiest to contact a deceased soul on the day of their birth, or on the anniversary of their death. In addition, there are a number of astrological events during which it is easiest to contact all dead souls (or so it is believed.)

 

NOTE: I think it would cool to have certain times of year or celestial events that make it easier to perform Fordmaking, an All Souls Day or that sort of thing. This is not essential to the lore though, so I will leave this vague for now and include it as an expansion if this lore is accepted.

 

IN THE FAMILY

 

It is always far easier for one to establish contact with one’s own ancestors, as your own body is itself a powerful anchor for their soul. The more one advances as a Fordmaker, the easier it becomes to contact souls outside of your own bloodline. 

 

MECHANICS

 

ABILITIES

 

Contacting deceased souls in dreams.

 

Fordmakers can meet and converse with dead humans in their dreams. This requires some prior training: first, aspiring Fordmakers must begin to learn how to become lucid in their own dreams, accomplished by performing regular reality checks, keeping a dream journal, waking strategically before their REM cycle, etc. As anyone who has attempted this IRL will know, it takes some time to successfully internalize these habits; learning them will be a major component of T1 training. As a Fordmaker gains experience, it becomes progressively easier for them to slip into a lucid dream with little to no effort. 

 

Novice Fordmakers require more anchors to successfully reach a deceased soul. They often sleep beside an item belonging to their intended contact, or at some location that was meaningful to them during their lifetime (the classics being place of birth or death, but any location vested with significance to a certain soul has been found to work.) Once lucid, the novice Fordmaker must recreate within the dream whichever significant item they are sleeping next to, or the consequential location at which their resting body lays. From here, they cast out their probing mind in the “direction” of the soul they wish to contact.

 

More experienced Fordmakers shed steps of this process as they progress: ceasing to require the presence of actual objects/locations and relying entirely on their mental recreations, contacting souls further and further outside of their ancestral line, and sinking more effortlessly into lucid dreams. A master Fordmaker is so accustomed to casting her spirit towards a desired soul that she can enter this state of receptivity almost immediately after becoming lucid. 

 

Notably, the calendar must still be contended with by Fordmakers of all levels. It is difficult, if not impossible, for a Fordmaker lacking an artifact/depiction/noted site close at hand to reach a deceased soul outside the month of their birth or death, even for a master.

Contacting deceased souls in meditative states

 

With the proper training and concentration, Fordmakers can meet and converse with the souls of the dead while awake. This is accomplished by many hours of rigorous training at the feet of a master, working tirelessly to “tame the drunken monkey” in their heads. Entering a meditative trance is made easier by burning incense, chanting, and playing repetitive/dronelike music. 

The same rules for progression apply here- novices must be in close contact with artifacts, or be present at a location significant to the deceased. Progressing through the tiers removes the necessity for certain prerequisite conditions, namely artifacts, locations etc. Calendar events still play the same influence.

 

Receptivity to impromptu visits

 

More of a condition than an ability, the mind of a Fordmaker has an open backdoor for any souls who wish to make a sudden appearance. They may have dreams with visitors they did not intend to contact, or see visions of souls they did not wish to see.  

Binding together a layperson with their guardian ancestor 

 

Experienced Fordmakers [T3 or above] have the ability to create a permanent bond between a layperson and an ancestor from their bloodline. 

 

The ritual must take place on the anniversary of the deceased’s death. A significant number of anchors must be present: old possessions, artistic depictions, bones if you can get them. It is customary to assemble these items into a single location, most commonly a small altar. Next, the layperson and the Fordmaker must enter into a meditative trance. As the layperson clasps the necessary anchor objects, the Fordmaker reaches out to the soul who wishes to be bound to its descendant, while laying their hands on the layperson. The Fordmaker’s mind functions as a bridge between the two other souls, their empty consciousness serving as the medium for the first encounter between ancestor and descendant. When the two souls have established contact, the ritual is complete.

 

Once bound, the layperson has comparable access to this ancestor as a Fordmaker does to all dead. During sleep or meditative prayer, the layperson and the ancestor are visible to each other and can converse. As always, the ancestor must choose to appear to their charge; they can never be summoned. 

 

TIER PROGRESSION

 

TIER 1: The novice Fordmaker can contact members of her own ancestral line, but only while asleep in a lucid dream.

TIER 2: The middling Fordmaker can enter a meditative trance and contact members of his ancestral line while awake, provided he has an artifact, depiction, or some binding agent on hand.

TIER 3: The adept Fordmaker is now capable of binding a layperson’s soul with an ancestor from their line. She can contact souls outside of her own ancestry with greater ease.

TIER 4: The experienced Fordmaker can contact any soul, regardless of any blood relation, but still requires some binding artifact/location to make it work. They can make a visiting soul visible to up to 3 other mortals, who must be related to the deceased but do not have to be Fordmakers.

TIER 5: The master Fordmaker can contact any soul, regardless of blood relation, and does not need any binding agents to do so. However, they can still only contact souls from beyond their bloodline on key dates in the deceased’s life, namely those of their birth and death. They can make a visiting soul visible to up to 5 other mortals, who do not have to be related to the deceased or be Fordmakers. 

 

 

RED LINES

-Deceased souls are contacted, not summoned. Nobody can appear against their will.

-Deceased souls can only be roleplayed by the player who roleplayed as the character when they were alive, and can only be contacted with OOC consent from said player. 
-Deceased souls cannot causally influence the world in any way, save by manifesting their image on the mortal plane, and creating faint sensory data of touch. 
-Deceased souls have no new knowledge to offer, save that of their own afterlife in the Seven Skies (see the lore linked below for details.)
-When appearing to a waking Fordmaker on the mortal plane, deceased souls are only visible to other Fordmakers or to their immediate relatives (siblings, parents, children.) T4 Fordmakers can make the visiting soul visible to up to 5 other mortals, who must be of the same bloodline as the deceased. T5 Fordmakers can make a visiting soul visible to 5 mortals, who do not have to be related to the deceased. 
-As per the Seven Skies lore, Fordmakers cannot practice voidal magic, as it interferes with the souls they are attempting to contact.

-Fordmakers can only contact souls who have ascended to the Seven Skies, not souls trapped in the Elysian Wastes or elsewhere in the metaphysical realms. 

 

 

FORDMAKERS TODAY 

 

A small enclave of Fordmakers has persisted to this day. Shrouded in mystery, and hidden behind a complex web of codes, secret names, and hidden doors, their antique art remains a secure secret. But perhaps, the cabal will break the long silence of their tradition, and share their arcane skill with the wider world...

 

 

 

 

 

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OOC:

 

PURPOSE

 

I wrote this lore simply because it has the power to create roleplay. It is a magic that puts power into the hands of players, that doesn’t require special builds, particle effects, or event creatures in order to do its thing. All you need are willing participants- old players to hop on long-dead characters for an appearance in a fateful dream.

 

Fitting snugly into approved lore as it stands, it is a bridge between Seven Skies lore and Lautamancy. It does not introduce any novel abilities or powers into the LOTC world, only extends and refines existing ones. According to this post on the Seven Skies, [link] souls in the Skies can work minor influences upon the mortal world, though it is intentionally vague as to how. All that this lore asks is that one of these minor influences be the power to manifest their likeness in the mortal realm, and make conversation with a few folks there. 

 

Thematically, it fits perfectly into the LOTC human ethos. Humans are extremely attentive to their history and lineage, documenting the life and works of practically every character to come from an established bloodline. Some wonderful folks actively maintain a sprawling familyecho page that links together 10 years’ worth of human families and intermarriages, which the playerbase makes active reference to. This magic does not grant its users any special abilities, save the opportunity to get closer with that heritage. 

 

The existing counterpart for this lore, Lautamancy, grants its users a couple of abilities beyond contact with ancestors, but I am not interested in anything beyond the basic capacity to talk with the dead for the Fordmakers. This will leave Fordmaking open to appropriation by a wider variety of human cultures and groups; the concept itself is so basic that it can be interpreted many different ways by practitioners and onlookers alike. A clan of viking-inspired characters may use the magic to commune with past chieftains, a queen might speak with her dead grandmother in a dream, while a holy knight of the canonist church might hunt down Fordmakers for heresy- just to give a few examples. 

 

In short, by making only a small expansion of existing lore, Fordmaking has the capability to become a powerful tool for roleplay. Thank you.

 

 

If there are any aspects that need clarification, or if you have any suggestions to improve this lore, please let me know down below!

References:

Spoiler

https://www.lordofthecraft.net/forums/topic/151676-✓-seven-skies-lore-addition/

https://www.lordofthecraft.net/forums/topic/192910-✓-magic-lore-lutauman/

 

 

 

Response to Feedback (LT please read.) 

Spoiler

After discussing the merits of this piece with some players better versed in LOTC lore, I have a few responses for potential objections: 

 

There are two common themes in my negative feedback so far- redundancy with existing magic , and a potential "race locking" of this lore.
 

 Vivification's seance feature is cited as being highly redundant with a Fordmaker's abilities, because both allow for conversation with the dead. I have to ask- Lutaumancy also allows for conversation with the dead- why isn't Vivification cited as being redundant with Lutaumancy? Nowhere in either the original nor the updated thread for Vivification do people raise this objection. I do see people calling it redundant with Mysticism, specifically Mysticism's occupation of the "medium/exorcist" roleplay niche. And yet it still passed the first time. 

 

Two things here. First- Fordmaking does not occupy the "medium/exorcist" niche whatsoever. It is not a spooky or dark magic in any way, there are no sinister undertones to anything I have written. Thematically, I would classify it in the same aesthetic wheelhouse as Western Esotericism, Hermeticism and that sort of thing. 

 

Second- if the magic is to be scrapped because contacting the dead is an "established niche" within a prior magic, than either Vivification or that aspect of Lutaumancy must be scrapped as well. If all the flavor, history, and context for a lore piece is to be stripped away and we are left simply with what it enables characters to do in the barest sense, then yes, I suppose that Fordmakers, Lutaumans, Mystics, and those with the True Sight are doing "the same thing" by contacting the dead.

 

But roleplay would suffer for it. You know why nobody compared Lutaumancy and Vivification when the latter was first posted? Because they fill completely different thematic spaces, and perform vastly different functions in boots on the ground roleplay. Lutaumancy is tied up with orcish religion, which is heavily inspired by indigenous polytheism and ancestor veneration, whereas Vivification seances are meant to hit the 18th century-Fox Sisters-Ouija board aesthetic. 

 

Think of Fordmaking as Lutaumancy magic for humans. Yes, despite being roleplayed entirely by orcs and dark elves, Lutaumancy isn't technically "race locked" because if a human or dwarf really wanted to waste their magic slots, they could learn it. But why would they? Humans don't go to the orcish afterlife, as per their blessing, they go to the Seven Skies. They would want to contact their own ancestors, not old Rexes and shamans. 

 

Just as it would be utterly useless for a human or dwarf to learn Lutaumancy, so it would be useless for other races to learn Fordmaking; let the relationship run both ways. Fordmaking is intended to fill a similar niche in human roleplay to the one that Lutaumancy fills for orcs- encounters with dead characters in the afterlife, a touchstone of religion and culture as opposed to spooky gypsy roleplay. 

 

 

Thank you to all the folks in the Lore discord who gave me feedback and helped me to prepare these responses. 

 

Edited February 4, 2021 by Birdman

[ScreamingDingo 16798]

There's already this niche tbf in Vivification
 

 

[Birdman 285]

10 minutes ago, ScreamingDingo said:

There's already this niche tbf in Vivification
 

 

Similar, but with some key differences.

 

Those cursed with true sight see souls caught in the Elysium Wastes, whether they want to or not. Fordmakers can contact souls from the Seven Skies, and it is a choice. I will gladly emphasize this distinction in the post though, thank you for pointing this out to me! 

Edited February 1, 2021 by Birdman

[Glade 521]

Well I can not see the harm in it, it does feel very similar to vivification and mystics a bit though.

 

[Birdman 285]

-snip- 

Edited February 1, 2021 by Birdman

[AstienGreenhart 77]

Has anyone acted on this yet?

[AstienGreenhart 77]

Was godwin's "immortality" from him finding out about future fordmakers and/or telling his descendants/disciples how to contact him? Or was it a different process?

[AstienGreenhart 77]

And would a Fordmaker be able to find out a person's ancestry by connecting with that person somehow, not being able to contact the dead ancestor since there is no significant object, but to find out who the person might have been?

[Yaldabaoth 743]

[Lhindir_ 3436]

[squakhawk 7303]

This lore has been denied. You will be sent a forum PM regarding the reasons for denial within the next 24 hours.