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DISCOVERY OF GLARZDAN, LESSER SPIRIT '*~-.,¸¸.-~·*'¨¯ OF ¯¨'*·~-.¸¸,.-~*' AZTRAN, SPIRIT OF THE SUN, THE STARS AND THE ETHEREAL ✩｡:*•.──────────────────────── ❁ ❁ ────────────────────────.•*:｡✩ "BRING THE KAZOO LOVER AGAIN. SHE IS... FUN." ✩｡:*•.──────────────────────── ❁ ❁ ────────────────────────.•*:｡✩ Of all the unnatural pairings in this world, none seem to come close to the duo that went on a spirit walk late one evening. A trio of bards, one with shamanistic tendencies, arrived at the Amethyst Amphitheater in Kaethul at the behest of the Shaman-Bard. The purpose of this meeting was to make a connection with a lesser spirit of Aztran, and establish a burgeoning pact between the Shaman and the Lesser. A combination of rare pharmaceuticals was consumed, and a series of chants were called outward. With the party's pleas heard by the Lesser, they approached the Spirit Realm and entered the trance of the Spirit Walk. The duo left their bodies in gentle repose as the third member watched, for he held a fear of the unknown. Upon reaching that transcended state the duo walked into a plane of clouds, sunlight and hard light. They walked upon a great bridge crafted entirely of walkable light, confused and unsure of where they had ended up. Guided only by their understanding of needing to find the Lesser of this realm, they trudged forward. ✩｡:*•.──────────────────────── ❁ ❁ ────────────────────────.•*:｡✩ "ARE THERE ANY GIANT KAZOOS?" ✩｡:*•.──────────────────────── ❁ ❁ ────────────────────────.•*:｡✩ Wandering for what felt like hours, perhaps days, the pair stumbled upon an invisible building. Bumping their heads into the door to this great tower, the building took on a new look. Opalescent, like that of a building made entirely of oil spilt over a mirror. The duo watched in awe at this great building, and the non-shaman of the two opened the two gargantuan doors. Upon entering... what a sight! A room made entirely out of glass and clear materials. A physics defying place, where the darkest corners would instead be filled with the brightest of lights. It was breathtaking. "What... what is this...?" asked one of the two. ✩｡:*•.──────────────────────── ❁ ❁ ────────────────────────.•*:｡✩ "THIS IS EVERYTHING." ✩｡:*•.──────────────────────── ❁ ❁ ────────────────────────.•*:｡✩ A booming, crystal clear voice called through the building's great hall. Shaking the surrounding fixtures and touching the hearts of the present travelers. The being was of great size, with a body forged entirely of stagnant light that took the appearance of glass. His face was that of a solar flare, a torrent of light that was divine in its perfection. He was beautiful. He introduced himself as Glarzdan, the Chieflight of this realm. They knew they had found the lesser spirit of Aztran that they had been searching for. And upon finding him, one of the duo made a shockingly good impression on the Chieflight. The Shaman, however, was on a mission to earn a pact from this Lesser. And so it was forged. ✩｡:*•.──────────────────────── ❁ ❁ ────────────────────────.•*:｡✩ "YOU MUST FIRST BUILD A SHRINE TO AZTRAN." ✩｡:*•.──────────────────────── ❁ ❁ ────────────────────────.•*:｡✩ The instructions were clear. Crystal clear. The Shaman had to construct a shrine dedicated to Aztran and then he would begin the process of forging a pact. This was no easy, nor menial task, but it could be done. Excitedly, after concluding their Spirit Walk, the shaman began the construction of this shrine to Aztran in a secret location. The totem would show that of an eight-pointed star nestled in the clutches of a draconic claw. Symbolizing both Aztran and Glarzdan. With this pact forged, with the shrine completed, with the totem standing tall, the Bard-Shaman had declared his success. He sought out potential Champions who would uphold the light of Aztran through Glarzdan... and so it shall be. ✩｡:*•.──────────────────────── ❁ ❁ ────────────────────────.•*:｡✩ "IF DARKNESS IS NOTHING... LIGHT IS EVERYTHING." ✩｡:*•.──────────────────────── ❁ ❁ ────────────────────────.•*:｡✩ OOC Note: Thank you to @ShinyB and @PestyWarlock for staying up super late and helping me do this. Means the world!

The Spirits - Grand List For a long time have we used an existing list of spirits that gave little depth and but a short description about the spirit. This updated and more elaborate list is meant to bring more depth to shaman roleplay and define the outlines of spirits more. Furthermore I took the effort of linking some concept art and find you a basic representation of the spirit. Note that this is the spirits base form and at all times they can appear as their avatar form if they desire. Every spirit has 3 markers. These indicate the following: [Known by Many/Few/None] This indicates the availability of knowledge on this spirit. Many means one may know of the spirits existence without roleplay. Few means that only Shamans / Ex-Shamans or those that obtained knowledge on this spirit in roleplay know of the spirit and None implies that one can only know about this spirit through roleplay. [Commonly Praised/Taboo] This indicates how the spirit is looked at. Taboo means that one would rather not speak of them or exclaim enthousiasm in them, where commonly praised spirits make up names that occur in ones daily life. [Alignment: Neutral/Dark] The alignment of the spirit dictates its behaviour. Mostly if they are ill mannered, disrespectful or otherwise mischievous, or the contrary. Greater Elementals ‘The Known’ are the only great elemental spirits known of in character and the only ones that can be contacted/used. Existence of the others is yet to be proven or shall remain forever secret. The Elemental spirits govern over all that is material in the Realm. The Known Skathach - Spirit of Fire, depicted as a burning wolf [Known by Many] [Commonly Praised] [Alignment: Neutral] Akathro - Spirit of Water, depicted as a half woman half fish [Known by Many] [Commonly Praised] [Alignment: Neutral] Bregthar - Spirit of Earth, depicted as an aged stone behemoth [Known by Many] [Commonly Praised] [Alignment: Neutral] Fiarza - Spirit of Air, depicted as an agile woman adorned in feathers, able to shift shape into any flying animal. [Known by Many] [Commonly Praised] [Alignment: Neutral] Kulthark - Spirit of Metal, depicted as a hollow suit of armor that can shift shape into a variety of forms. [Known by Many] [Commonly Praised] [Alignment: Neutral] Neizdark - Spirit of Storm, depicted as a mass of thundering clouds that can take on any shape. [Known by Many] [Commonly Praised] [Alignment: Neutral] The Unknown Binazdar - Spirit of Light, depicted as bright white cat the brother of Radzanib [Known by None] [Not Praised] [Alignment: Unknown] Razlab - Spirit of Dark, depicted as a jet black cat, the brother of Binazdar [Known by None] [Not Praised] [Alignment: Unknown] Fanzra - Spirit of Chaos, depicted as a hydra that never ceases to move its heads, the brother of Andrif [Known by None] [Not Praised] [Alignment: Unknown] Andrif - Spirit of Order, depicted as an aged and calm dragon, the brother of Fanzra [Known by None] [Not Praised] [Alignment: Unknown] Rinsdat - Spirit of Life, depicted as a white wolf, brother of Tagnir, they are always seen chasing each others tails [Known by None] [Not Praised] [Alignment: Unknown] Tagnir - Spirit of Death, depicted as a black wolf, brother of Ringat, they are always seen chasing each others tails [Known by None] [Not Praised] [Alignment: Unknown] Omnizan - Spirit of Space, depicted as a red snake, intertwined with it’s partner Sandru. Also take the form of a colossus wielding a shield made of the universe [Known by None] [Not Praised] [Alignment: Unknown] Sandru - Spirit of Time, depicted as a blue snake, intertwined with it’s partner Omnizan. Also takes the form of a colossus wielding a staff made of all time [Known by None] [Not Praised] [Alignment: Unknown] Greater Immortal Spirits The immortal spirits stand for all that is not material in the Realm, and thus there is a plethora of Immortal spirits with another countless amount of lessers beneath them. Greaters Votar - Spirit of the Hunt Appearing as a giant half-wolf-half-stag with a bloodied snout. Governs the art of Hunting and is often praised by offering tribute in the form of Hunting Trophies. [Known by Many] [Commonly Praised] [Alignment: Neutral] Freygoth -Spirit of the wild, nature, and animals She takes any natural form she may desire and works in union with the Aspects. Her role takes on a motherly figure to most. [Known by Many] [Commonly Praised] [Alignment: Neutral] Enrohk - Spirit of Bloodlust, Savagery, and War Appearing as a berserker covered in blood [Known by Many] [Commonly Praised] [Alignment: Dark] Vulka - Spirit of Warfare, strategy, and siegecraft Appearing as a woman made of bronze that is always preparing for war [Known by Many] [Commonly Praised] [Alignment: Dark] Jevex - Spirit of Order, Hard Work, and Self-Sacrifice Appearing as a humanoid composed of interlocking gears. Enemy of Shezept. [Known by Many] [Commonly Praised] [Alignment: Neutral] Shezept - Spirit of Revenge, Plots, and Stealth Appearing as a woman with the lower body of a snake. She rewards those that tell her their darkest of plots and secrets. Has a fascination for personal Vendettas. [Known by Few] [Considered Taboo] [Alignment: Dark] Ixli - Spirit of Forbidden Knowledge, Truth, and Judgement Appearing as a giant staring eye. He provides knowledge at the cost of sanity. The Spirit knows All, but will only give away part of his knowledge upon request at the cost of a high price. Speaking with him often referred to as bargaining with a Demon. [Known by Few][Considered Taboo] [Alignment: Dark] Ogrol - Spirit of Despair, sapped strength, and entrapment Appearing as a thin man carrying a cage full of writhing bodies. He attempts to lock all who summon him away in his prison. [Known by Few] [Considered Taboo] [Alignment: Dark] Kor - Spirit of the dead. Appears as a cloaked man with a bony open hand and a lantern. Unique in that he has a method of being outside the Immortal Plane in order to guide the souls of the departed to the Ancestral Plane. He is the Gatekeeper of the Stargûsh’Stroh. [Known by Few] [Considered Taboo] [Alignment: Dark] Ankrus - Spirit of the sea, marine life, and sea-faring. Appears as a aquatic woman wielding a trident. Said to bless ships of honour in their oversea journey, where as she is without mercy for ships that dare defy her will. [Known by Many] [Commonly Praised] [Alignment: Neutral] Arwa- Spirit of fertility, harvest and farming. Appears as a plump female made of hay. A motherly figure that appears kind to all that praise her. [Known by Many] [Commonly Praised] [Alignment: Neutral] Anyhuluz - Spirit of destruction, malicious intent, and internal strife. Appears as a warrior covered in open wounds. [Known by Few] [Considered Taboo] [Alignment: Dark] Akezo - Spirit of Health, Vitality, and Healing. Appears as a woman constantly surrounded by a blue aura, comprised of small wisps [Known by Many] [Commonly Praised] [Alignment: Neutral] Paxahru - Spirit of arrogance and stupidity Appears as a jester [Known by Few] [Considered Taboo] [Alignment: Dark] Ublulhar - Spirit of hope and new beginnings Appearing as an entling bursting from the ground [Known by Many] [Commonly Praised] [Alignment: Neutral] Ghorza - Spirit of Travel, movement, and fortune both bad and good Appearing as an old traveller with a walking stick, with various fetishes attached [Known by Many] [Commonly Praised] [Alignment: Neutral] Rolfizh - Spirit of murder, the clandestine, and poison Appearing as a dagger-bearing figure made of shadow [Known by Few] [Considered Taboo] [Alignment: Dark] Trokorl - Spirit of engineering, machinery and construction Appearing as a pile of building materials and metal that can take any shape [Known by Many] [Commonly Praised] [Alignment: Neutral] Luara - Spirit of the moon Appearing as a pale white wolf [Known by Many] [Commonly Praised] [Alignment: Neutral] Kezt - Spirit of honour and bravery Appearing as a bright silver hoplite [Known by Many] [Commonly Praised] [Alignment: Neutral] Ramakhet - Spirit of the desert, barren lands, and sand. He is never seen and therefore is only represented by his name. Sworn to scour the world of all life at the end of time. [Known by None] [Considered Taboo] [Alignment: Dark] Krathol - Spirit of Pain, suffering and starvation. Appears as a skeletal man with the ability to shift shape into a Vulture at will. Shall try to physically hurt all that dare summon him. [Known by Few] [Considered Taboo] [Alignment: Dark] Veist - Spirit of Illusion, Tricks, and thievery. Appears as a faceless man with one thousand arms. [Known by Few] [Considered Taboo] [Alignment: Dark] Glutros - The spirit of greed, and obesity He appears as a big man covered in jewelry and shall attempt to take all that is of value and hoard it. [Known by Few] [Considered Taboo] [Alignment: Dark] Thulezia -Spirit of lust, pleasure and beauty Appearing as a succubus-like creature who shifts between male, female, or both. Will attempt to lure all whom summon it into temptation and seduction. If it succeeds it will entrap them. [Known by Few] [Considered Taboo] [Alignment: Dark] Isuz - Spirit of love, caring, and tranquility Appearing as an Aengul that brings warmth to every beating hearth. [Known by Many] [Commonly Praised] [Alignment: Neutral] Kinul - Spirit of Disease, Pestilence, and failure. Appears as a wailing man with limbs constantly growing then falling off due to necrosis. [Known by Few] [Considered Taboo] [Alignment: Dark] Urin - Spirit of weather, seasons, and climate Appearing as a raven that changes colour and temperament with the seasons. [Known by Few] [Commonly Praised] [Alignment: Neutral] Kesaroth - Spirit of envy, hatred and jealousy Appearing as a golden bull [Known by Few] [Considered Taboo] [Alignment: Dark] Leyd - Spirit of dominance and physical strength Appearing as a strong man with burned off skin. His flesh blackened. [Known by Many] [Commonly Praised] [Alignment: Neutral] Scorthuz - Spirit of cleansing, purity and purging Appearing as a watery mass that takes many forms [Known by Many] [Commonly Praised] [Alignment: Neutral] Aztran - Spirit of the Sun, Stars, and the Ethereal Appearing as a Qing Long [Known by Many] [Commonly Praised] [Alignment: Neutral] Theruz - Spirit of intelligence and learning Appearing as a wise old teacher. Brother of Betharuz. [Known by Many] [Commonly Praised] [Alignment: Neutral] Betharuz -Spirit of alcohol, cactus green and celebration Appearing as a jovial young man, in direct contrast to his brother, Theruz [Known by Many] [Commonly Praised] [Alignment: Neutral] Velkumezt - Spirit of cities, settlements, and the law Appearing as a giant carrying a hammer/sword. With a single smash he can erect a city around him. [Known by Many] [Commonly Praised] [Alignment: Neutral] Gentharuz - Spirit of smithing, smelting, industry and forging Appearing as a huge void of matter, hammering a cosmic anvil [Known by Many] [Commonly Praised] [Alignment: Neutral] Ikuras - Spirit of Fear and Insanity. Often likes to pretend it is a daemon. Appears as a dark void with tendrils creeping out. [Known by Few] [Considered Taboo] [Alignment: Dark] Wodanaz - Spirit of Magic, the Arcane, and Mystical energies Appearing as a swirling vortex of purple energy from which he takes any form [Known by Few] [Commonly Praised][Alignment: Neutral] Drelthok - Spirit of Sleeping and Dreams Appearing as a drowsy bear [Known by Many] [Commonly Praised] [Alignment: Neutral] Eathruz - Spirit of Dawn and Dusk Appearing as a red woman able to transform into a fury red hawk. [Known by Few] [Commonly Praised] [Alignment: Neutral] Kotrestruu - Spirit of Memory and the Recording of Knowledge Appearing as a wizened old man made up of scripture. Is known to carry a vial on him that acts as a cannister of memories taken from mortals. [Known by Many] [Commonly Praised] [Alignment: Neutral] Letrothak -Spirit of Hindsight, Warnings, and Excuses Appearing as small man with a head completely covered in eyes [Known by Few] [Considered Taboo] [Alignment: Dark] Xaakt - Immortal Spirit of Rebellion. Appears as a ghastly figure that can take on any form it wants. [Known by None] [Considered Taboo] [Alignment: Dark] Etna - Immortal Spirit of Melacholy and Depression. Appears as a blackened fog that takes the shape of a crying person. She will try to suck all emotion from those that summon her and only leave Sadness and Depression. [Known by Few] [Considered Taboo] [Alignment: Dark] âmul - Immortal Spirit of Wisdom and Foresight Spirit Appearance: A similar being to a Hou-Zi Dazkur - Greater Immortal Spirit Protection, and Loyalty Appearance: A great Paladin in steel armor, carrying nothing but a shield as protection/weapon Lessers Laklul - Spirit of Swamps and swamp life. Lesser under Freygoth. Appears as a large pale yellow toad-like creature [Known by Many] [Commonly Praised] [Alignment: Swamp] @Travista Jezdurka - Spirit of Lesser Dragonkin (dragons, drakes, wyverns, etc). Lesser under Freygoth. Appears as a red and white dragon. [Known by Few] [Considered Taboo] [Alignment: Dark] Levaz - Spirit of Slaves and Slavery. Lesser under Leyd. Appears as a man with robes made of chains with a train of slaves following. [Known by Few] [Considered Taboo] [Alignment: Dark] Zagbal - Spirit of Jungles and the wildlife native to it. Appears as a gorilla with a crocodile's head. [Known by Many] [Commonly Praised] [Alignment: Neutral] Smawton - Spirit of Lore and Tomes. Lesser under Theruz. Appearing as a Dark Figure emanating White Light whom spends his time reading various tomes of old lore, rather than sorting them. [Known by Few] [Commonly Praised] [Alignment: Reading] @Smaw Ekues/Eques - Lesser Immortal Spirit of Dignity and Gallantry under Kezt Appearance: A mysterious figure dressed in clad iron armor. Kaas - Lesser Immortal Spirit of Kaas is the spirit of reconaissance, stealth, and secrecy, under Vulka Kaa contrasts to Shezept, as the intentions of Shezept are for personal vengeance, whereas the actions that Kaa oversees are for the purposes of warfare and the taking of bad actions for the greater good. Appearance: A purple-scaled python Greater Ancestral Spirits The Greatest [Known by All] Krug - The first and greatest Shaman. Due to his greatness in life, he is an exceptonally powerful ancestral in death, and so summoning will require a convention of at least 5 T5 Lutaumans to even have a possibility of summoning him, though even then it’s likely that attempting to toy with such great power will result in failure, and potentially great harm or death. The Greater [Known by Many] Lur - Said to be the greatest hunter in history. Rax - Said to be the greatest warrior of all time. Gorkil - Known as a great military strategist and tactician. Braduk - Famed as a great Chieftain Dom - Said to be a exceptional shaman, second only to Krug. Ugluk - Third born kub of Gorkil, renowned as a great warrior. Azog - Said to be the greatest smith in history. Kurak - Also known as the wolf of Lur, when summoned causes the shaman to transform into a half orc, half wolf creature, losing their mind for the short while they are transformed. Tor - Also known as the Fist of Lur, renown for his calm, collective intellect and physical strength. Trickster - Trickster of Lur, he was renowned for his subterfuge. His skills at deception and diversion were so great his identity was unknown. Bralkor - The Axe of Lur, known for his great resistance to physical damage. Jarkun - The Sword of Lur, known for strength combined with dexterity and speed. Yar - Descended from Dom (though unknown to be so), known for his great wisdom and spirituality. Yaggo - Sometimes called the greatest rider of all time. Dregort - The greatest boat builder and captain to have ever lived, legend holds his mother was Ankrus herself Grumbag - Known in life as a great builder, he is the patron off all Yazgars Vargo - Known for being a great alchemist. The Known [Known by Few] (The Uruks and Mali‘Ker) Kharak [Smawton] - An exceptional Orcish Rex who created the world's greatest ever tribute to a Spirit in the form of the Orgonic plague. Known for his exceptional spirituality and leadership. Phaedrus [Cosmicwhaleshark] - Liberator of the Wood Elves, and first Elven Rex of the War Uzg as well as a great shaman. Renowned for his honour, wisdom, integrity and tenacity. Khel [Baconthief] - One of the greatest mali'ker to live, he uplifted his people out from the abyss. He is renowned for his frightful ferocity paired with a cunning mind Arganos [FactCore] - A superb party goer and thrower, and a maestro in the art of entertainment and celebration. Renowned for his skill in acrobatics and many musical instruments. Kaldo - A firm but fatherly figure among most living mali'ker, he guided his people through adversity. Renowned for his carefulness and authority. Jiub [Sky] - An immense figure who founded the Div'cruan. Known for his strength, honour, and bravery. Delilah [Decolamb] - A matriarchal figure to the dark elves during the time of Thales and early Athera, her love and care brought many dark elves into the fold and gave them purpose. Lenden [LinkKN2] - An outgoing member of the Div’cruan and a servant to the ‘Ker. Lenden’s happiness was infectious to those around him. Weather through kind words or a bright smile, Lenden lit up many ‘Ker’s lives and left a lasting impact after his passing. Grubgoth Wud [Grubgoth_Wud] - A notoriously savage olog of a tremendous height and weight, albeit uncannily adroit chef. Notably Grubgoth of the War Uzg under a myriad of Rexes, and Keshig under the plague-bringer Kharak’Raguk. For a brief period, he commanded his own clan of ologs. New Spirits New spirits are discovered every now and then by a wandering shaman. If he’d come across one of new species, mostly being a lesser, it is documented and thus added to this list. (( Out of Character )) If you have a suggestion for a new Greater / Lesser Spirit of Immortal or Ancestral heritage, please fill in the following format and tag me (@hedgehug) in it in order for the spirit to be reviewed and possibly added. Spirit Type: Greater / Lesser (and if Lesser name the Greater that stands superior over it) Spirit Name: Spirit Totem: Spirit Appearance: (You may include concept art) Alignment: Discovery: Found by a wandering shaman (though of) / On-Server Event

With the current freeze on shamanism as a whole. I thought it would be interesting to spark a simple debate on Elemental v Animist to try and better prepare future writers of the lore for if/when such freeze is thawed out. Either flushing out Animism in the future or reverting back to how Elementalism worked with fixes to prevent it's shelfing. Keep things civil, please.

A Promise to Akezo 20th of Sun's Smile, SA 167 These pages strongly smell of cactus green with a faint hint of sage and nutmeg. Today was a pretty important day for me, as I finally got to meet another great spirit: Akezo, the immortal spirit of healing and vitality. I always wanted to meet him, as I always tended to her shrine in the old Krugmar, and prayed to him many times in my medical career. Hera, my current teacher in the shamanic art of Farseeing, brought me in her realm through a spiritwalk, though it was a bit different than what I usually experienced from my more frequent spirit walks through the Stargush'stroh; The smoke that Hera conjured was warmer, and way calmer than the dead cold cyan mist I'm used to, and instead of being pulled down or feeling as if falling, i felt a pulling upwards. It was very refreshing, as I always wandered what it would feel like to fly, or levitate. I Woke up in a huge hall, surrounded by quartz pillars and marble arches above them. It was pretty dark, but fortunately the place seemed filled with a faint blue light, letting me see a throne at the end of the hall. Sat on the throne I finally saw her: a huge winged serppent with shiny diamond scales, her eyes pierced the darkness with their icy blue shim, and it was like they were looking through my very soul. Akezo firstly thought Hera brought there just another soul in need of purging, but i tried to erase her doubt by reeting her in Old Blah with: "Lup Akezo, za kulat zrii trafat lat". I studied it for a few years, but it wasn't easy to remember all the words, especially when time was not in my favour. She seemed to have liked it, and so we both started speaking in Old Blah (at least I did some good practice with a native speaker). She told me not many uruks came to his realm, but a lot of desendants did just to get rid of their curses: a shame I thought, our land has always been inflicted with great wounds, but there are not many that have the will or kindness to heal them, instead of making them deeper. She then asked me if I was to pact with her, and I accepted. She asked me who I was, what I wanted from her and what I was willing to give. I waanted the power to heal my people of every harm that could come to them, and in truth, I was willing to give everything for that chance but that would not be a wise answer to give to any spirit, so as an equivalent exange, I offered my worship, my medical skill at the service of others and, in the future, to be the teacher of many other medics to come. Then I woke up, with the command from Akezo to build a shrine for her, and a renewed hope that our horde would be more safe, thanks to her power. Lup Akezo!

Darkness… It is what all shamans, from elder to greenhorn… from centuries to their first step. When traversing the realms of the spirits it is what holds us in the ever falling expenses. Most find fear as their sense of self falls through the depths of the world to traverse in lands so few dream of comprehension, yet others find comfort in a strange way. The ever feeling of freedom, of worries washed away…… As Gusiam had once more traversed the spirit realms, he had one goal in mind. To seek out a new lesser to pact with in the realm of Luara. Yet his destination was adrift, he was curious of who he would encounter in such a way. Would it be a normal lesser? Of what moon do they serve? These questions raised his mind as he could only feel the fall.. And fall, which was…. Strange? He felt like falling more than usual, so he took a moment. The normally closed eyes of the shaman would peer open to see before him a lush night sky, a sky normally filled of stars that ever grew for miles on end. Yet all that fell short as the dividing cloud has split the vale between beauty and devastation. It felt too much like a vision, for as the clouds engulfed him, he felt the ground. Slow, but nonetheless there was only a singular thing as Gusiam looked up still, nowhere near the veil of clouds and on what felt like sand. He saw before him a beautiful eclipse. However as he stared for a moment, the overwhelming feeling of one looking back was almost choking at the lungs.. “It has been a long time since one entered my domain… how… Peculiar.” A voice echoed and etched itself to the back of Gusiams mind, immediately springing himself up from the soft, moonlight sand upon the ground he laid on. But he did not have time to gather such thoughts as those amber eyes looked to his left, his right. Yet all he could perceive was shadow. What rare trees or foliage a distance away was merely shadowed by what was before. Lively, but lacked color. “Where-”Is all the lone shaman could offer, yet the moment he looked anywhere from up. He would only feel the looming feeling of being watched approach more and more rapidly. Gusiam, who was usually very calm within the realm seemed almost confused as such feeling was unnerving to anyone. Yet that voice continued its speech in the ancient tongue of old blah. With each word that was ushered Gus had paused, it was a spirit he knew not their temper. So he could only gaze upwards. If only for a few moments. “You, a child born in Luara’s image. You look not of the others I've seen. Yet, your soul harbors a goal… A goal I too seek. A goal that few wish to ever act in the name of the moon…To you, little shaman. I offer my power, but such power comes with a price.” “To who do I speak of, who watches me and offers a price for power. Who claims I am worthy to bear such an opportunity for your offer.” Gusiam said, his tone and breathing stabilized oh so slowly as he could feel the air thicken from the pressure that the spirit radiated from their forms. Suddenly, The ker’s eyes slowly widened as he saw the spectacle before him. As the deafening cry of cracked stone seemed to form as the strange eclipse bored a red outline from its gentle white and yellow gaze. As one could see the cracks forming along what was the planet that shields the moon from the sunny background. Yet the light too followed and cracked. Splitting into what stoney tendrils that made their way right down to just a few feet. Before him. It was quick, and the touchdown of the stone meeting earth caused such grounds to rumble. Yet winds blowing in such high speeds that it even pushed the Shaman back a few feet. Causing a trail that expanded at least ten feet back. Gus used his arms to shield at his face. Yet upon the air becoming tighter he could also feel the oddest sensations of immense heat and chilling cold that followed soon after. That was when Gusiam moved his arms from his face... and before him was what he did not imagine to see so close to him. (Credit to wolf-minori) Before him was a Direwolf, yet almost looked twice or three times its size, bearing horns carved with runes along the wraps of them that even offered a soft heat when stared at for too long.. And along the back of its otherwise midnight cloak, were an array of sun-amber like designs. Sporting itself a pair of wings that could compete with any winged screamer, the dreaded old giant crows of Arcas. Donning the head of the creature were a pair of sun yellow eyes that at times shifted from such to a fiery red or a chilling white along its Iris with every blink. And only the spirits know the markings beared along the face of it. “I bear many names lost to the world of time, The Eclipse, The last member of the Council of Moons, The shadow of Luara, The guardian of her children within the dark expanse.. However you, little shaman shall call me Ran'bûrgulu. To you I offer this, Build me a shrine worthy to protect her children, become not just my pacted shaman, but my sword, my voice, my will… become her shadow for her people against the scrutiny of the world against her kin. And in return I offer you my wings, my power. And my support against the dark foes that lie in wait for her children to weaken further. Seek such allies against the unknown foes of the world…” Gusiam pondered this, before only offering the spirit such acknowledgement. Before long the eclipse behind the spirit crackled, as energy singled to the shamans soul’s flesh. Offering its mark upon one of many he had. The pack had been set, yet such pain that followed had been too intense.. And when the shaman awoke from such a state of unconsciousness, he was within his shamaic chamber.

Solaris “And from the sight of light, I saw it all, the start and the beyond. Stars and more. The world was revealed to me when I was born.” -Solaris 1:3 Genesis... When the world began, there was nothing. And so from nothing there was something, and that something was time. From the darkness came the creator, and his wisdom created our world and other beings and spirits. He was born from the Will of faith in the light above our skies, and the light was his wisdom and the skies beyond our blue is his domain. Solaris, or known to more common spiritualist as Aztran is a being of light, The father of stars, Suns and Galaxies, he was but one of many spirits that took form of a star, that had a conscious, a belief, a want to believe and to know. And so it was that around him were but stars, just like him, who did not share this desire to know more. Solaris did not feel alone, but he felt unique because he desired to be something more than just a thought, or a creation. In his path, he met other stars with a conscious, though no desire, however, he desired to be more than just what he already was, a being. He taught the other stars, all of which opened their desires and their identity. These stars saw him as a father, a mentor. The star children or Stellabri, as he called them, are but children of Solaris (Aztran), they are considered the lesser spirits and also take different forms but are presented in the mortal realm as stars with different color's and or constellations His Discovery.... Solaris then noticed our world, he knew that light shined on all land, but he did not know, that because of his light, life bloomed. This made but the Father of stars ever so prideful, joyous to see his shine bring prosperity to the land., His shine, brought prosperity, polarity, and truth, Solaris was healing the land, From it, he discovered a Mali’aheral by named Ed’kunril, who would always look to the sky, From such, he spoke to the elf and taught him the most secrets of constellations and stars, The elf with such knowledge and wisdom he discovered those same star children. Though many called the elf insane, a set of them who were cultured by the belief of the sun & stars, the Mali’Solarii- formed the first Spiritual following of Solaris, The following of Oriasm. Through time, the Father of stars blessed lands of the past, with his eternal sunlight, with his light he blessed the first land of the Mali’Solarii and ‘aherrals, by healing its land from a flood, drying the land and nourishing it with light and substance. From this, the Oraistic followers believed Solaris had created a miracle, this would be considered the first Miracle. Solaris would take a look at the land which he blessed and saw that he gained praise for his blessings, from it, he introduce the Stellabri to the world, and from it, the Stellabri grew in size, more stars became apparent to the original belief and logic of Solaris, joining his family of stars, as Descendant kind began to name the stars per their family ways of life. These families are well known as Sol'Talonii (Sun Bloodlines) His healing… Through his time, Solaris suffered a time of Silence, The second prophet, figured this, as he was called the speaker who was unspoken. Because Solaris lacked communication with his kin and followers when they needed him most. However due to this belief, the majority began to lose faith in Solaris, and his teachings, and so they began to give in to Human and or Mali beliefs of God and (or) aspects. Due to this, the moon overcame Solaris's light, causing the darkness to overcome the lands once blessed by the father of stars and his eternal shine. This would be known as healing. Whilst the Eclipse was happening, Luvari, The Star of Night, the mother, used her energy to heal Solaris, allowing him to be able to once more commune with his believers. During this time of the Eclipse, the Kin of Solaris had been cursed and or whitewashed, Solaris noticed this and became enraged by the first generation. He cursed the once blessed Land of Sol’Gunari, and the remnants of the Mali’Solarii were forced to find a new home in which the lesser star of Pil’ri had led them to. This event led them to another cursed land in which they once more begged Solaris, and he answered once more healing the land. Tales Of Solaris… 1:1- In the beginning, there was nothing, and that nothing became something, from gas and air, came forth his light, and his light was bright. Upon the emptiness of the void, the creator made him first, the light of the world. Solaris was then born. 1:2- And from the sight of light, He saw it all, the start and the beyond. Stars and more. The world was revealed to him when the father was born.” 1:3- And for it was so that in the second day, the Star known as Solaris became aware, and he too began to think. Looking and gazing at all the skies, he saw beings ofhis own. And from it, Solaris started to form thoughts, beliefs, and logic. 1:4-And from it, Solaris moved and began to share his thoughts. “O’ for how is yea not thinking, for we are but bright lights in a plane of thoughts as well?” 1:5- But for all he said, fell but silent, till he heard the first. “Whom art thou, yea speak, be Silent, life shall be but like air, shapeless and calm.” And Solaris spoke in return “For my words fell silent, you are but a rock with light, and so you shun me for speaking thought, why don't you try my way of living, and see?” 1:6- And for so the rock of light began to think, and thoughts and Ideas flowed through its being, for it too made its logic. And from it Solaris named her. 1:7- “For you will be the first, the First of my own, the star of tides and dreams, The Ocean, of the Night, the mother, and self-conscious, Luvari.” 1:8- And so it was the first of the Stellabri. It was named, and so Solaris moved further and beyond, Soon he met other stars and began to name them as well. Ritaa, the second, son of valor and glory, pride & order, The sword. Evris the third, daughter of love, life, and fertility, the Ruby heart. Kaira the fourth, first daughter of Guidance. of the Hunt, Mischeif & misfortune and her twin Pil’ri the Guidance of Unity and Luck, family and trust, The Nine tail Foxes. Mihayar the fifth, Son of war and flame, Lord of rage and strength, The eternal blaze. And my Sixth, Sorthos the holder of Star or bidden knowledge, the black heart of balance. 1:9- But it was not the end, for when he notice the world below him, the lands of the descendant kind, he saw but blight and curses destroy the creator's dreams, and creations. Then his light began to shine, the world soon healed, and he noticed. 1:10- “My gift to you, the kind in which shall inhabit this land, and the lands which they shall grow and prosper.” 1:11- During his time overlooking the descendants. A Mali'aheral named Ed’kunril one who followed the path of the Aspects and mani began to doubt his belief, he felt that the path had no base, no true worship, no physical Being asking for praise. He wished to be a conduit of the voices of the aspects, Solaris took pity and began to talk to this Mali’. The father of stars soon began to speak his wisdom and logic to the Elf. 1:12- And from it, a culture was born, these sets of Mali, by the first speaker of Solaris, soon began to look up to the night sky, where the fathers Stellabri were. Saying that our ancestors and spirits were all in the Astral plane, the sea of stars, and from it the first following began. 1:13-Then, the prophet Ed’kunril spoke “Listen here, my brothers and sisters, beckon unto me for I speak for the light. Why are we to praise nothing when the aspects & angles share the plane where the fouls soar? For we have shared our offerings and tithed, our hunts to them, and yet we are told to praise mere walls? I say ne for I am sent by my Malani, the Malsni of stars, Solaris…to tell you the spirits, aspects, saints and more, are but where you expect them to be, in the realm of Astral fouls” The prophet then pointed Upwards. 1:14- Then one night the prophet asked, “O’ maln of stars, for how is it you work your ways, if it is so you can speak such unto me… What is the meaning of life?” But then Solaris answered “Life is a spectacle of Perspectivity, one must look to new days, to know what life has in store for you as purpose.” 1:15- However the followers began to become unpure, elven kind and sought curses which the betrayer had placed upon the world, death, deceit, destruction. It was in this that Solaris grew impatient, and so it was that he told the speakers his his law of light. 1:16- But then time passed, and the lands became barren in the heart of Malins reign, so it was this set of Mali left those lands in search of new ones. From it a group prayed to Solaris Stellabri Kaira the Guide, SO it was that they followed, to a land cursed by darkness. 1:17 From it the land they saw was but uninhabitable. Then Solaris spoke “By my will, I heal, cleanse and purge this land anew” And so it was the land flourish, and the people praised the Father for his healing, and his blessing towards them. 1:18- But time passed, as the Land of the Mali’Solarii, as they called themselves- prospered. And time did age for the first speaker, the Prophet Edmun. So it was that Solaris gave his sons directions for his passing. 1:19 And when he passed, his sons took his body and burns it back to earth. Tears were shed, for the passing, as his only daughter then took the ashes and went forth into the fields. She gushed and threw the ashes into the air, as the embers began to burn and fly with the strong wind. 1:20 -And when his prophet died, so did many stars. A shower that was unseen ever before was blessed upon the fields of which his children watched. A star fall had occurred, and one which signaled a turning point in the eyes of the father of stars.

The Will of Stars… As the morning sun beamed in savoy, only soon becoming cloudy, The shaman and seeker would board the Ship of the Nor’ and together embark into the plane that was told to the Solarii as the Astral plane. As Ember felt the unnerving feeling of her soul being tugged out of her body she let go entering with Acria into the Plan of the spirits, the fields filled with small white glowing flowers, complementing the greenery and glassy lakes beyond, The Solarii she-elf looked up to the sky, seeing many Boriales and star trails it was almost as if gems lit the sky up. Upon the top of the hill, A azure star shined brightly, As The Shmaman and the ‘Solarii glanced at this being from the lower end of the hill as they approached so did the lead, as a glimmering blue trail was left behind the being took form as the guiding star, A twin of two, Pil’lir the Uniting spirit a lesser. The trio looked at each other as the princess spoke. “Pil’lir….oh wanderer….its me….I returned….” The spirit in return turned to the pair, as she saw not but the brown tusk or one of ashen skin and blue glint eyes, but one of ashen skin and purple glint eyes, blessed by the Moon. “Welcome back child, I have expected this visit, and it seems you brought someone new. (Broshan-kut dâg, Lat thrik ash ûn latz…) The spirit gave a bow of its head to the shaman. However, her words were a bit hesitant, yet were ones that felt as if she missed seeing the spirit. However, the shaman jumped right into the objective of their visit “I have brought a spiritualist, one cleansed by us from the void….I believe she will make a good follower.” The being moved inwards pouncing and leaving a trail behind as she lowered herself, the blah she spoke upon ember was one even the mali could not understand. “Once tainted by the Void and now cleansed, You wish to become a pillar hmm?” (Latz brus-dushatâr agh rad latz-dûth, lat nargazab a shatûl hmm?) The spirit looked down at the pare gazing with one eye to the shaman then fully returning back at the Solarii… “Most Curious…” (gûth-amat) The being now awaited the response from the princess as she looked at her hands, thinking back at her course of actions, and thinking of the talk her sister and the darkened ‘aherral spoke of. “I did not think she would do it, but the world has many surprises” As such, she looked back at the spirit a tear shedding as she spoke her reasons, these tears shed to waterfall “E’ was lost, and every time E' are lost my eyes looked up to the sky, to it!” Her hand turned to a fist as she raised it over her chest, looking upon the nine-tailed fox spirit. The girl screamed her heartache, as she looked at the spirit “E’ want to guide others back home, where its safe, where it's free. and to be guided myself- so that I am not lost any more.” The spirit slightly chuckled as it nodded down, a tail extended to her brushing her tears as she spoke now in common. “Then so be it, sun child, for you will build me a shrine and continue to work as you would. Perhaps in time, my vision will be realized, with you behind my banner, shaman.” By our will, the stars and light we shall guide those lost to found.

A Hint of Resistance Eccentric Visions A runty little goblin sits alone in his blarg, surrounded by complete silence, aside from slow, labored breaths. The shutters lie open, and a gust blows through the household. With it, the bones that adorn the goblin rattle and clank against one another; a soft noise, but in the quiet of the home, it sounds a mournful cacophony. Long has the goblin been haunted by visions, 'gifted' to him by an unknown benefactor. Never have they been comprehensible- painfully blinding lights in a sea of changing colors, encompassing dark with naught but wind, howling and screaming yet ever so quiet... It's enough to make an Uruk turn to Oracle Wood in favor of traditional cactus, and it seemed to be working for a while. That is, until this eve. The wind howls louder. The broiling cauldron before him is suddenly stilled, as if the temperature dropped to naught. A connection he had attempted to make is suddenly severed- No, not severed. Intercepted. He is drug into a sea of undulating dark, surrounded by a thrumming heartbeat and the sound of gentle breathing. It's almost soothing, at first. Then, a voice speaks, clearer than any of the visions he has attempted to evade. It rings out across this dark, even as the heartbeat yet thrums in his ears. "Nûl-ob tau! Shiik-ob bukul'nuun! Puzughl kulûk shiik agh zurm!" ["The pain of the forest! The cry of the river! Cease all the cries and clamor!"] He winces visibly, scrambling to place the dark tongue. His eyes would widen, had he a corporeal form in this place. The voice calls out again. "GHAASH-LAT! GHAASH-IZG! GHAASHUG KULÛK ZA UB'KUL!" ["BURN YOU! BURN WE! BURNING OF ALL THAT WILL BE!"] It's loud, so very loud. Painful, even. But his pain compares naught to the pure agony he feels coming from the speaker, every word is suffering. "Lat rok'unudh-matum mub. Frum'bur at fiith-lat." ["You, a death-haunted thing. The burden, to you it clings."] The one time that the visions are clear, intelligible... and it's an order, an irrefusible command. It would almost be funny, were it not so desperate. "Ukh-lat, darûkûrzal. Gaatublat fauthat, ghaash'Uruk-hai bûrgulu-ishi." ["Go now, weakling. Your punishment awaits, in the shadow of Orc flame."] The connection forcibly ends itself, not even bothering to return to it's original recipient... Perhaps that was intentional. The goblin falls backwards, off of the stool he had been meditating atop. He lets out a groan of pain, clutching his head as he staggers to his feet. It seems his plans have changed... radically. The thrumming of the heartbeat in his ears doesn't clear away, even after the vision has ended. Whatever spoke to him, commanded him... is still watching. Expecting. "Zorri, teechur. Guez wi muzt agri tu diazgri, juz' diz azhnz." Damn. He was kind of hoping for a big change, just... not from this side.

IZIG ANCESTRAL SMITHING ' An Izig smith restoring a weapon Bound in blood and rubble, the histories of orc oft go untold, less it be carried by verbal word or laid into story by Haruspex. The tales of orcish people rarely leave their desert homelands. The process of Ancestral smithing however has been - with the assimilation of Clan Izig, a more common sight amongst the uruk giving way to an influx of historical recollection. Ancestral smithing is used by smiths who seek to maintain their kin’s name, be it clan or bloodline.This is through the maintenance of things like hilts and pommels, guards and decor that once jotted a legendary zult, or orcish sword. Using these restored pieces is believed to carry the blessing of the ancestors who wielded it before them, bringing a Krughai warrior strength in battle, a hunter’s focus in the forest, or guiding a chef’s hand in the kitchen. RESTORATION An ancient Haruspex's mask. The restoration of old weapons is essential in an Izig’s repertoire. Even those who are not smiths are still taught to respect and revere the tools they use, for they bear the mark of the urukim who birthed it. Their essence is passed on in the tools they create, and allows for an Izig, or Ancestralist to physically pass on their wisdom and strength to future generations. As such, totems, carvings and observational trinkets are made so that the Ancestral Spirits can watch over the home or crafting place. They ward the place from spirits of negativity, mental instability, and the negative traits brought on by Krug’s Curse. Bloodlines of Izig often use this restoration to their founders, whether physically reendowing and utilizing these tools, or enshrining and consecrating them as powerful relics for centuries to come. To consecrate the relic, the Haruspex or smith burns incense and ingests cactus green whilst partaking in ceremonial rites to go along with the forging process, blessing the molten metals with the names of glorious smiths, channeling his ancestors before fitting on a guard, ensuring the presence of said ancestors during the making of the item.

Haruspices The Martial Shamans Origin “...TO KRUG, SHE GIFTED HIM A BONE KNIFE MADE FROM A MILLENNIUM OLD DRÛTH SKHELL TO CARVE TOTEMS WITH, SO THAT HIS STORIES WOULD COME TO LIVE WHEN REMINISCED BY THE FIRE…” Within the ancient orcish lands of Mor’Ghuun, shamanism was in its infancy. The early children of Krug did not understand the Elemental and Immortal Spirits, nor had the power to walk their planes. In the war against Iblees, many of the orcish people were lost to the undead, empty souls wrenched from the Soul Stream to fight against the living. War horns blared distant, sonorous booms into the fields of battle. The armies of the Four Brothers clashed with Iblees’ undead legions. With each fallen descendant, a novel undead soldier shambled forth in their place, using their weapons to carve their past kinsmen asunder. Yet the Urukin held steadfast against the Fallen One’s onslaught - so too, did the other descendants stand strong in the face of the undead. For decades the battles raged on, and when the dust had settled, and the soulless battalions were driven off, all that remained were the tarnished breastplates and weapons once wielded by warriors of legend. But these were not simple weapons, nor were their blunt edges devoid of use. Once Apohet saw the might of Krug, he created the Spiritual Realms; Immortal, Elemental, and Ancestral. The weaker spirits gushed into the Mortal realm to embody aspects of the world, in hopes of pursuing greater powers within the Spiritual Realm. Dlimbok the Wise, the most intelligent of Krug’s four early children, was the lead strategist in the war against the undying. He watched as his people were slaughtered in battle, and their lives lost. It brought him an indescribable anguish, and a rage that nearly matched his father’s. In this age, there was no Ancestral Realm, no grave tenders, and no records to preserve those who had fallen. To mourn for the lives of his fallen, he took forth the storied knife of Krug, and drew forth a tale that no orc would forget. He collected their weapons, armor and tomes and restored them to their original form, drawing their energies into him. He offered himself up, etching his skin, flesh and bone with the dagger gifted by the Daemon Ydea. The orc had hoped his offering would please the spirits, but instead they granted him a power even greater. His flesh became tapestry. In rending the flesh, his blood, bone, and body became an ink that preserved what was made dead. A finger, a hand, an arm. Dlimblok carved away and with it, those who had been lost became as clear as the night sky. The ink stoked the minds of the orcish people. They could see their battles, their losses, their mistakes, and their culture deep within the magic of Dlimbok’s storied flesh. Much of recorded history had been cast into the horrid fires of Iblees, and with it had gone the proficiency of veterans long dead, but this newly-restored knowledge would help to reshape the ragtag bands of amateur fighters into elite squadrons of feared combatants. Under the same banner, and led into battle by Azgal the Titan, the orcish war machine began once more churning and pushing back against the forces of Iblees, now able to outmaneuver and preserve the lives of the living. They matched the once seemingly endless ranks of undead in fierce combat - and as they spread their knowledge to the other descendant races, Iblees’ lines and formations grew thin across the many fronts. And so, with its aid in Iblees’ defeat, the orcish people learned and grew reverent of this primitive form of shamanism, and many of the former soldiers learned among the greenskins sought out Dlimbok, so that he could teach them in his ways. Explanation Dlimbok was a great orator and strategist, and taught his future students how to use this art in providing knowledge to his people, allowing them to gain insight via the spirits and how to extract insight from the world around them. When the great orc had died, his body was blessed, torn, and scattered across the world as a testament to the profoundness of stories and their tellers. He would become an eternal tale, one that orcs could draw upon at any time to preserve their history. Haruspicy is a non-combative magic dedicated to story-telling and preservation of stories. Haruspex draw upon the torn body of Dlimbok. Rather than connecting to the spiritual realm akin to other types of shamanism, haruspicy calls upon an extremely powerful Ancestral, one who’s blessed body remains within the mortal realm akin to the Muyakelgs of the past. These spells do not grant the user any abilities featured in shamanism, nor allow the user to speak Old Tongue without having knowledge of it. To become a haruspex, one must have studied and devoted themselves to the spirits for at least one IRL month, as Dlimbok would be unlikely to lend his power to one that he believes would be unworthy of it. This feat does not teach any form of shamanism or any aspects about it, though many of the more devout followers of the spirits may know of it and spread the knowledge, orally or through books they may have written on the matter. These could help a prospective haruspex begin on their journey, after which they would continue to forge their own path toward mastery of the feat. Someone experienced in the cultural practices of haruspicy could write a book describing and depicting the processes of these feats and work as a means of spreading the practice. To draw upon Dlimbok’s power, one must create a Threshing Inkwell. This device, powered through various different offerings acts as a catalyst that interacts with the many scattered pieces of Dlimbok. A haruspex calls upon the power of the ancestor Dlimbok for their powers. While his powers extend so far as to allow the user’s memories or stories to come to life, it comes with the caveat that these memories are just as susceptible to degradation as any other memory before they are recorded - that is, haruspicy does not provide perfect memory, and memories from longer ago may therefore be inconsistent with the actual events. Threshing Inkwell The Threshing inkwell is simply a place of offering that threshes all of Dlimbok’s scattered pieces from around the world, and draws power from them. Traditionally, they may be placed in homes or places of gathering, where they are readily available for use. To function, they require an idol, some sort of ceremonial arrangement specific to the haruspex, and a bowl to collect the spiritual ink. To charge the bowl with spiritual ink, the user makes an offering, whether blood, gift, but the most potent-- literature and other storied artifacts. Any thoughtful prose suffices, with the varied offerings empowering the ink in different ways. In the case of physical offerings, these can be burned or otherwise destroyed in proximity of the Threshing Inkwell, which will fill with ink on its own. The Threshing Inkwell only produces ink and exists as a way for the haruspex to channel their powers towards Dlimbok. Destroying the inkwell would simply cause the ink stored within to spill and revert to regular, black ink. Mechanically, the Threshing Inkwells are a communal structure which simply hold a large, but still limited amount of ink charges (up to 60 maximum). Exceeding 55 charges causes the inkwell to begin overflowing. There is no limit on the number of extant threshing inkwells, beyond the fact that any haruspex may only create and ‘own’ one at any given time, despite their communal nature. Upon being created, the inkwell should be reported to any ST members (though they need not be signed, and can be used even if an ST member isn’t immediately available). Any RP to refill the inkwell should be screenshotted and saved. As ink drips down the inkwell’s sides, it has a tendency to transform into small animated figures, perhaps simply out of boredom on Dlimbok’s side. Nevertheless, these figures scurry about the area for a short while before disappearing entirely. The amount of ink that drips from the inkwell is insignificantly small - it does not reduce the amount of ink in any way, and simply exists for roleplay taste. Ink Tiers Tier 1 - 1 Charge - Gifts and Basic Offerings (Prayer, Meditation, etc) Forming a black and basic ink, this form of ink serves as a general base or go-to option when other materials aren’t available. It is also often mixed or added as a filler to other inks. Tier 2 - 5 Charges - Blood and Bone (Descendant/Animal Sacrifices) All viscera, whether animal or Descendant can serve as a more powerful offering to the Threshing Inkwell. Once the ceremony is complete, the bowl fills with a pungent, dark red ink. It smells somewhat like blood, although much more aromatic. At this level, the imagery is extremely striking, though still appears as paints and colors that dance and move. Tier 3 - 15 Charges - Literature, Books, Artifacts Important literature, large books, and powerful artifacts can be offered to the Threshing Inkwell. The ink shifts colors between many deep and bright colors, but will serve to paint in the haruspex’s desired color. At this level, the paint may draw upon the user’s senses, though only briefly and in the more striking parts of the work. Ink Red Lines - Only descendant or normal animal viscera will serve as a tier two offering. - A haruspex cannot use their own blood to fill the Threshing Inkwell. - Stronger inks (Tiers 3+) or more particular effects require a MArt and more significant offerings. - Offerings to the Threshing Inkwell are destroyed in the process of offering Spells Pages Alive [Non-Combat; 2 charges] Description: The caster is able to utilise their Threshing Inkwell’s ink to write onto a book or other such item with a small surface area, no bigger than that of a banner. This ink comes to life when the page is turned, causing it to play out the scene imagined when the ink was first put down, as opposed to having the reader read it. This can also be used to make two-page spreads, though the ink never comes off of the surface of the page itself. Mechanics: To enact this spell, the haruspex first creates the type of ink they wish to use for the pages. Once the haruspex has chosen said ink, they draw symbols, characters, or etchings in whatever language or artstyle they’re most familiar with in the palm of their hand, or another tool like a quill or paintbrush. Once they do so, the ink resonates with their hand, and the whispers of storytellers are faintly present. Then, the haruspex simply touches the material, and the ink transfers. A haruspex may follow this process to fill books without needing to restart the entire process, but requires additional ink for every page. The process is done in four emotes, but can be shortened to two with tools like quills, paintbrushes, and so on. 1) The haruspex readies the ink, meditating on the story or picture they wish to tell. 2) The haruspex draws on their hand, or simply soaks it within the ink. 3) The haruspex touches the paper, smearing the ink on to canvas. 4) The ink transfers from their hand onto the paper, shifting and twisting into the desired image. Pages Alive - Redlines: - Characters in the story who are not known to the haruspex simply appear as faceless visages with no discernible features (horns, tusks, hair etc.) and cannot be used to discern any information about them whatsoever. - A haruspex is only able to put their own memories into the book/banner, and these memories cannot be used to teach magics or other complex skills that need to be taught in person. - A written book or banner is no stronger or weaker than the original product, and the memories written to it are not updated in any way unless updated by another haruspex. - If the surface on which the ink lies is cut in half, or similarly seriously damaged, the ink simply acts as normal ink and dries up. WRITING: 1 EMOTE MEDITATION, 1 EMOTE WRITING EXAMPLE WRITING: [Emote 1] Tulgarok opens his book, as often he had before. He dips his quill into his Threshing Inkwell, as images of what he is to write begin already to form in his mind. Taking a deep breath in, then out, he imagines the way these thoughts will flow on the page. [Emote 2] The orc now puts quill to paper, and begins scribbling down crude forms of people, among other integral parts of his story. Even as he writes, the ink begins to swirl and move just as he had envisioned it. A Storied Artifact [Non-Combat; 20 charges] Description: The caster is able to impart spiritual ink on an object, allowing them to portray a tale stored within the weapon - this may be done through fire, water, paper, or for more experienced practitioners, the events may be played through the very mind of another. To tell the story, the haruspex must spill their blood onto the object, and onto the canvas (or person) they wish to tell the story. In meditating, they connect to the scarred body of Dlimbok, and utilize the power within Ydea’s dagger to bury a powerful memory within an artifact. Once the haruspex grows more proficient (2 weeks IRL), they are also able to preserve stories within the object of its wielder through ritual. The haruspex must have the memories so vivid that they are able to describe and feel the sensations the memory’s owner experienced. By engaging the senses with stimuli relevant to the story (the smell of burning flesh, the sounds of war drums), the user is able to fully immerse himself, the tether between Dlimbok and the haruspex strengthens. The more objects and information they have relating to the event and its characters, the more vivid and detailed the story becomes. Mechanics: Essentially allows for a storytelling aid, where whatever selected medium comes to life to show the story stored in the item. In the case of the initial writing of the item, only the memory holder’s items may be used, under the idea that the item itself has ‘memories’ of its own.When the story is replayed in someone’s mind, they must be in physical contact with the item. The memories within Ydea’s artifacts are just that, memories. Prone to incorrect detail, or pieces missing, a memory only holds small pieces of reality. Often intense experiences and emotions cloud the transferring of the memory, and the haruspex’s own mind may warp the overall message(i.e an arachnophobe depicting a spider as three times its actual size). These memories are not permanent, and just as quickly, if not more prone to error or forgetfulness. A user may remind themselves of the vision by looking through the artifact, but overuse (more than 3 times per IRL week), leads to severe headaches, memory loss, and mood swings. The items themselves, upon creation, are signed by ST. In the description of said item, beyond any text describing the item’s appearance, it must include the ingame username (or other form of contact, eg. discord tag) of its creator, whose responsibility it is to record the stories within however they see fit. A Storied Artifact - Redlines - The object must be signed or have some roleplay significance. A normal sword or object is too nondescript to base memories off of. - The haruspex must already have extensive knowledge about the wielder, usually by having known them personally for at least an IRP year (one IRL week), or being told of them by someone who has known them personally for at least two IRP years (two IRL weeks). - Characters in the story who are not known to the haruspex (including if someone who does know of them is being shown the vision) simply appear as faceless visages with no discernible features (horns, tusks, hair etc.) and cannot be used to discern any information about them whatsoever. - A haruspex is only able to put the memories of the owner into their own tools. Memories cannot be put into items that belong to other people, and these memories cannot be used to teach magics or other complex skills that need to be taught in person. - A written weapon is no stronger or weaker than the original product, and the memories written to it are not updated in any way unless further updated by another haruspex. - If the written weapon is seriously damaged (i.e, the head of an axe is separated from its handle) it becomes unreadable, though if repaired further memories may be written to it. - A vision cannot be forced on another player. Their characters must fully consent to seeing the vision before they are able to see it. - Only one scene/vision may be recorded in any one item, as any given item may become ‘saturated’ with the haruspex’s ink. - Constantly living the memories of others has a severe impact on mental wellbeing, causing headaches and even memory loss. - The memories themselves are just memories. There is no way to permanently retain this information, and it would be lost within 2 IRL weeks. READING: 1 EMOTE MEDITATION, 1 EMOTE SLIGHT MOVEMENT The scene that plays out is then emoted by the haruspex EXAMPLE READING: [Emote 1] Tulgarok seats himself in front of a nearby campfire, a dulled war axe in his lap. He closes his eyes, and emits a low drone from deep in his throat as he lays his hands over its handle. His fingers press into each of its grooves as the weapon’s story makes itself clear to him. [Emote 2] Now the aged orc lifts his hand over the weapon. He slices into his palm with a bone dagger, before tightening his grip such as to make blood drip from it onto the weapon, then into the centre of the fire. He takes another deep breath, and begins to speak as the flames come to life. [Storytelling/Emote 3] “It waz during our latest war with da pinkzkinz…” The fire splits, showing two clear sides. Each lick of flame lashes out toward the opposite side, as if it were one soldier mocking another with a war chant… (etc.) WRITING: 1 EMOTE MEDITATION, 1 EMOTE RECALLING, 1 EMOTE WRITING EXAMPLE WRITING: [Emote 1] Tulgarok seats himself before the Threshing Inkwell, dipping his fingers briefly into its bowl of ink, and a short spear in his lap. His eyes shut, and as they do, Grommok, his apprentice, lights a number of items aflame - wood and pig’s flesh - and slops a handful of thick mud right below Tulgarok’s nose. All scents from the hunt before. [Emote 2] Grommok soon leans into Tulgarok’s ear, describing to him the events of the hunt. How they’d tracked the beast for days, and finally cornered it in some deep cave. The animal’s bellows, as it realised it had been beaten and stood upon its hind legs and swiped at its hunters… (etc.) [Emote 3] Tulgarok breathes deeply, as he finally lifts his hand from the bowl of ink and begins scrawling symbols on the blade and shaft of the spear, eyes darting from side to side beneath their lids as the story unfolds in his mind. The ink quickly squirms on the weapon’s long handle, before seeping into it, leaving only a faded, dark trace that it had ever been there. Finally, Tulgarok rises from the ground, spear in hand. His job was finished. Cave Painting [Non-Combat; Charges vary] Description: Haruspex are able to paint with spiritual ink, invoking life into a stony canvas. Through this, they are able to paint their tales and those of written items onto walls so that others might see them. The figures painted move, twist and dance as if they lived. Each character within the painting requires 10 ink charges, while larger set pieces (large boulders, buildings, etc) and environments (grass, lakes, etc) take 5. Mechanics: As shown below, the player is able to build a mural roughly describing the story (though this is not necessarily required). More importantly, the player is then able to author a book describing the events taking place in the mural, which RPly would be in constant motion (though this is obviously impossible in minecraft). To create these paintings, the haruspex would begin a similar process to Pages Alive. Readying the ink, through the tool used would be the haruspex’s hand, clay, a chisel, or some other etching instrument. Once the tool was soaked in the ink, the haruspex’s mind would begin to clear, and they’d draw upon the power of the Threshing Inkwell, invoking the ink to mold into and twist what the haruspex had worked with into story. Cave Paintings - Redlines: - Haruspex pieces are displayed within minecraft as murals (whether through clay, banners, roleplay materials, blocks, ink, etc), and the story/moving figures are described within the book. - Characters in the story who are not known to the haruspex (including if someone who does know of them is observing the mural) simply appear as faceless visages with no discernible features (horns, tusks, hair etc.) and cannot be used to discern any information about them whatsoever. - The scenes cannot be used to teach magics or other complex skills that need to be taught in person. - A written wall is no stronger or weaker than the original product, and the memories written to it are not updated in any way unless further updated by another haruspex. - The person whose memories are being written on the wall needs no prior connection with the building etc of said wall. - If the wall is significantly damaged (i.e, up to one third of it is broken by an explosion or construction work), the ink simply acts as normal ink and dries up. WRITING: 1 EMOTE MEDITATION, 1 EMOTE RECALLING, 1 EMOTE WRITING [Emote 1] Tulgarok stands before a large, flat sandstone wall - a clean canvas upon which to make art. His eyes shut, as he dips each of his hands into a bowl of ink. Already, somewhere behind his eyes dance the silhouettes of soldiers, fire and great cities. Silhouettes that will soon dance on the walls of his home city instead. [Emote 2] Charred wood is strewn about the place, and several orc kubs are told to jingle chainmail, bang sticks against helmets and snap twigs loudly. All this aids in Tulgarok’s mental recreation of the raid, how his ears rang with the terrified screams of women and children as they evacuated, leaving their homes behind. [Emote 3] Pleased enough with his mental recreation of the raid, the orc begins slapping his palms against the stone wall, dragging them to make crude shapes which soon swirl and correct themselves into what he had envisioned minutes before. As he steps back from his masterpiece, the ink begins to churn into the image of an orc impaling some human halfway down the haft of his own spear. General Redlines - A haruspex needs to be able to interact with spirits and thus other non-spiritual magics interfere with this practice, this also includes creatures that are unable to cast deific magics. - A haruspex cannot identify anyone in their visions unless they have extensive knowledge about the person within the story already, or have interacted with their tools or weapons via ritual. - “Extensive knowledge” implies knowing the person personally for at least one full IRP year (one IRL week), or being told about them in detail by someone who has known them personally for at least two full IRP years (two IRL weeks). - Memories written to objects or murals cannot be used to learn magic, or other such supernatural tasks. - Dlimbok is dead and his body is physically scattered across the world. His pieces could be hypothetically found through ET or dredged forth in a MArt, but he is otherwise uncontactable, being very much dead. - A haruspex’s memory is not perfect. Details can be misremembered, especially in older memories. This feat is primarily for storytelling, not perfect renditions of past events. - Either memories or stories/fictional events may be recorded in any given medium, though fictional events cannot be recorded for malicious or seriously deceptive reasons(i.e a fake war with real memorized characters), as these would go against Dlimbok’s personal views on honour, and he would simply not allow his power to be utilised. - Real world stories and memories would possess more sensory detail (although not entirely accurate) while fictional stories would have more visual creativity and detail. - Overuse of haruspicy leads to issues like headaches, memory loss, and mood swings. Tier Progression Tier 1: The haruspex reaches this tier immediately upon learning the feat. Haruspices are able to transform a little of their ink through prayer and meditation. They also have access to the Pages Alive spell. Tier 2: Two weeks after learning the feat, and through regular practice, the haruspex is now able to better transform the lifeblood of sacrifices into more powerful ink, and gain access to the Storied Artifact spell. Tier 3: At this tier, six weeks into their journey, the haruspex is able to take their final step into the art, gaining access to the Cave Painting spell and being able to sacrifice more powerful artifacts and literature into even larger amounts of ink. Greater tiers may be achieved through MArts or Events by staff, though the capabilities of the artifact or action (holograms, living stories, ancient messages from the past, etc) should be discussed with lore holders, older haruspex, or ST. Ultimately, the decision falls to the staff on a case-by-case basis. OOC: This is a feat accessible to anyone with knowledge of the spirits and a desire to learn the histories of weapons and wounds alike. In doing so, I hope haruspex gives more flavor to post combat, in being able to regale tales of battle, as well as making RP items more valuable and useful to the people who have them, rather than sitting on the shelf till the next map. I realise that some objects cannot be 'written' as such - that is, their stories can't be described as their owners may not use the server anymore, which is the sole caveat of the feat itself. Maybe it gives them a reason to come back, or gives characters more of a reason to create powerful stories. Thanks for reading! Inspired by: https://www.lordofthecraft.net/forums/topic/151780-%E2%9C%93-origins-of-the-orcs-and-morghuun-the-land-of-warfare/?tab=comments#comment-1433374

A note upfront: Hello there! Yes, it is I, Hedgehug. I'm not dead, not yet. Over the course of the last month or so me and others have occupied ourselves with the task of clarifying shamanism as a whole to both the LT, MT and community. The following product is given: 74 pages of written shaman lore, divided by some google documents and this general codex. Upon acceptance this very thread will serve as a guideline for future shamans. The holy ooc book for shamanism within LotC. Please treat this work, that has taken a large quantity of time and effort, with the respect it deserves. As well as its authors. I shall personally open up a second thread that will serve as a shaman q&a where questions regarding shamanism, spirituality and this newly made codex will be answered by both me and the shaman playerbase. Edit registor: 15-7-2017 ~ Removed google doc links, replaced with referal link to newly made forum post + added farssing in the codex instead of a seperate doc. 7-9-2017 ~ Removed the odd links and added actual link lines referring to other threads With pride I present to you: The Shamanic Codex The capabilities and limitations of Shamans and the Spirits Executive compiler: Hedgehug Contributors (according to relevancy): Smawton, Divinejustice, Pandasan, KBR, Lhindir, Ilikefooddude, Catarrh Table of contents Introduction The Spirit Realms & The Spirits Spiritual Psychology Spiritual Influence Blackspeech Totems Subtypes Elementalism Lutaumancy Farseer Witch Doctor Spirit Smithing Other Shamanic Abilities Voodoo Dolls Muyakelg Introduction Schematic representation of what shamanism entails: http://imgur.com/QufWmgq To begin, it is important to note that all Shamans utilise the energies of the Spirits in order to influence the world, and work directly with them in order to allow the Spirits to enforce their will. A Shaman allows the Spirit to use his or her mana pool, and from this the extent of the Spirit’s influence is put into constraint; as the mana pool of any Mortal has a limitation. The way in which the Shaman interacts with the Spirits, and how he or she uses his or her powers varies from person to person. For this reason, sub-types of Shamanism were made where Shaman focus on a specific way in which to reach out to the Spirits. Spirits vary from each other in their power by how prevalent the thing they reign over is. For instance, the Spirits of Time and Space are the most powerful Spirits in existence, because Time and Space extends to the furthest reaches of the Universe, and the way in which they can use time and space also allows them to gain a significant advantage. The Spirit Realms & The Spirits A listing of all current existing spirits: https://www.lordofthecraft.net/forums/topic/153791-the-spirits-grand-list/ Typically, Spirits are split into three categories because their powers are so drastic as to warrant differing realms within which to contain them. All Spirits exist in these Spiritual Planes, created by the Daemon, Apohet. These are as follows: The Elemental Realm - Housing all Elemental Spirits; these are the most powerful of all Spirits. These spirits represent material elements of various kinds, and only touch on that what is material in the Mortal Realm. The Immortal Realm - This realm houses the Spirits that reign over concepts, ideas, emotions and more specific things spread across the Universe. For instance, a house may be made of stone, and as such tied to the Elemental of Stone, yet an Immortal Spirits will exist to reign over the concept of what a house is, and can influence it in such a way as to improve or weaken the structure. The Ancestral Realm || Stargush’Stroh - This is where those devoted to the Spirits go when they have died on the Mortal Realm. Therein exist two types of Ancestors; Lesser and Greater. In order to become a Greater Ancestral, a player must have achieved an exceptional feat within their lifetime. For more information heed to the following post: https://www.lordofthecraft.net/forums/topic/152380-the-stargûshstroh-apohets-realm-of-ancestors The Mortal Realm - While this is not a Spiritual realm, everything that exists across the Universe contains smaller portions of Spiritual energy, entities that are referred to as stagnant Spirits. These smaller Spirits are directly tied to the Spiritual Realms, and are how a more powerful Spirit in the Spirit Realms may influence the Mortal realm. They use the mana of the Shaman in question in order to infuse their own energy into the Stagnant Spirit, awakening it for the Shaman to them control or otherwise allow to take action of its own will. All Immortal Spirits can materialise within the Mortal Realm when they have accumulated enough power and influence, but if they were to die it would be a permanent death. For this reason, Greater Immortals do not usually summon themselves into the Mortal Realm and instead allow their Lesser Immortals, their servants, to act on their behalf: ET Only: https://www.lordofthecraft.net/forums/topic/147946-the-avatars-of-the-spirits Spiritual Psychology As formations of a Daemon, the overarching design behind each Spirit is their desire and need for worship and control, because being revered, and having the thing they represent be more prevalent across the Universe allows them to grow more powerful and gain further control in the Spirit Realm. Each Spirit tries to overpower one another, which is a scenario we saw very clearly with the Orgonic Plague. Despite the Orcs assisting in the summoning of Orgon, the Spirit decided to attack them when he considered himself powerful enough to do so, as plaguing the Orcs would have empowered him further than allowing them to live healthily on a landmass that could no further be corrupted. Spiritual Influence Regardless of the shamans specific subtype and business, they all share one key ability: that of communion with the spirits. A shaman can go to the Spirit's realm and converge with it in the old tongue. Here the Shaman can bargain and trade. The boons that can be granted by the Spirits have long been unclear and without boundary. It is therefore that the following is stated: In the event of a shaman contacting a spirit in order to converge, bargain, or trade for material boons, immaterial boons, or knowledge, a dedicated ET, MT, LM, or approved Shaman player must represent the spirit. As for the obtainable: this is strictly limited to what is directly affiliated to the spirit in question. The tradeoffs are mostly unfair, as they must be both within the spirits better interest as follow their instinct to obtain power and significance. Old Blah/Blackspeech Additionally, in order to call upon and communicate with the Spirits, Shamans must learn the Ancient Tongue which is passed down from teacher to teacher; which must be a lore-approved item given to the prospective teacher when their application is accepted. This item is a so called codex or tome and contains the teacher's established knowledge on the language. Totems Totems are akin to shrines to specific Spirits that have been blessed by the shaman. By ‘upgrading’ a shrine to a totem it makes for a stronger tether to the spirit it is dedicated to. This makes for easier contacting of the spirit. However, the totem also makes it so that contacting other spirits within its vicinity is more complicated to do. More details below: https://www.lordofthecraft.net/forums/topic/145253-totems/ Subtypes Elementalism Arguably the oldest of all Shaman sub-types, it is also one of the more basic in concept; yet takes incredible patience and endurance to achieve in reality. An Elementalist cannot conjure an Element, and must instead work with existing material. Currently, Elementalists may only use the following Elements: Electricity and Metal require more complex understandings, and I suggest making these available when a Shaman has mastered an Element at T3. When a Shaman makes a pact with a Lesser Spirit of an Element, they may begin to influence the world around them in one of two ways.The first is more fast-paced, and typically these stages of progression correlate almost entirely with those of Evocation, and the progression of tier allows an Elementalism to control more of the Element they are using. The difference with Shamanism lies in a slower approach, in which an Elementalist may continuously re-visit a region in order to influence it further over time; in this instance, it is determined by the region owner or moderator what may be achieved, as theoretically an Earth Elementalism may open up a ravine after many rituals. https://www.lordofthecraft.net/forums/topic/134759-elementalist-clarifications-and-spirits/ To begin a pact with a Spirit, an elementalist must abandon their mortal,physical self and ascend into the Elemental Realm. At first, this travel is taken through intense psychedelics, or a copious amount of drugs, often damaging the elementalist’s mind and causing them to have horrific visions that corrupt and sway their mind. Due to the powerful nature of their magics, spirits of mental instability seek to attack them as they try to connect to the Realm. Once there, the shaman again is bombarded by the nexus of the Elemental Realm, a nexus of twisting and ever-changing elements crafted by Elemental spirits. Lightning flickers throughout the sky, fire dances about the air like dragons, and mountains rise and fall to the whim of the beings within it. To a new shaman, the experience would be mind-shattering, and usually the teacher accompanies them. Once here, they must venture around the nexus, following paths and calling out to the seek out the elemental spirit of choice. When the Spirit itself can be roleplayed by the following: The Teacher, the MT, or an ET knowledgeable in the Spirits. Once arriving upon the spirit, the pact is given by the spirit which essentially boils down to a quest relating to the element of choice. A fire elemental may ask for lava placed upon the highest part of a mountain, climbed by hand and still hot as daybreak approaches, or the death of a dragon or some fiery beast. A storm elemental may want the shaman to climb to the highest peaks and shock themselves in a test of durability and strength. The quests to the discretion of those giving the test, and they do not need to be feasible. A shaman may fail their test, and potentially seek out another spirit. If not completed in 2 irl weeks, it is assumed that the pact has failed, and that the shaman may seek out another pact for a simpler test. Once the pact has been made, the work of an elementalist is not finished. Far from. Once a month, the pact must be renewed through a similar quest. Though not as great as the original pact, a shaman must go out and commit works in the name of the spirit they worship. This may be converting others to the faith, erecting shrines and totems, or performing great sacrifices akin to the original pact. These acts are preserved through screenshots or OOC confirmation by those present, before being sent to the teacher,MT, or ET. If a shaman does not commit these tasks for a whole month, their tier, regardless of placement goes down by one. EVENT TEAM NOTES If any Event Team is bored/seeking new roleplay or things to interact within the realm of spirits, I would suggest a Spirit War or struggle of power. Within both the Elemental and Immortal realms, spirits wage war on each other-- for power is all they seek. Some may seek alliances and work together, while others may exist as puppetmasters to push greater means. The politics of the Spiritual Realms work nearly identical to those of the Mortal Realm. These battles are heard and felt by all shamans, and can involve orcs via the manifestation of these battles upon the Mortal Realm, or by shamans and various groups worshiping spirits to empower them. It is quite obvious that this grants ET a lot of space to work on events and ideas; however, there things to take account for. Battles upon elemental spirits are often the most common, as their various forms act as anathema to each other (water to fire, air to earth, etc), and so elementalists may find themselves at war battling each other. If a Spirit Manifests in the Mortal Realm and is killed, they are dead for good. Do not touch any of the Greater Elemental, Immortal, or even Ancestral Spirits without MT supervision. Avoid giving Spiritual Items/Tools, for the various forms of shamanism do this. DivineJustice’s little blurb about Elementalist Changes: “With great power comes great responsibility”. Previous elementalists got the perks of a magic stronger than evocation at the cost of literally nothing. The pact was almost immediately, and the work done for it was banged out in a matter of days. I loathed the fact that an elementalist basically served as an rp combat magic with little purpose behind it save for squishing people with the elements. Moreover, elementalists hold in little in means of roleplay save for the combat they serve in, so I hope with these interactions, elementalists have a greater purpose within the shamanistic community. I will explain how the Shamans may utilise Elementalism using the… household appliance scaling system. Tier 1 - Minor Influence - Cannot control Shape Fire - May influence a Flame no larger than that produced by a torch. Earth - May influence crumbled earth (gravel, sand, et cetera) to the extent of that which could be contained within a bucket. Water - May influence pure water to the extent of that which could be contained within a bucket. Air - May influence standard Air to the extent of that which could be contained within a… bucket. Tier 2 - Considerable Influence - Can Alter Shape Slightly Fire - May influence a Flame no larger than that of a camp fire. Earth - May influence both crumbled and solid material to the extent of that which could be contained within a bath. Water - May influence both normal water and swampy/murky water to the extent of that which could be contained within a bath. Air - May influence both normal air and smoke to the extent of that which could be contained within a… bath. Tier 3 - Basic Mastery of the Element - Can Alter Shape Completely This Tier follows the same retrains to size as Tier 2, but with complete mastery over the shape and direction it takes. Metal - Can influence Metal to move but cannot alter the shape; limited to that which could be contained in a bucket. Electricity - Can influence Electricity and Static Energy to move but cannot alter the shape or direction in which shoots along its journey; limited to that which could be contained within a… bucket. Tier 4 - Complete Mastery of the Basic Elements Fire - May now influence flames to the extent of a funeral pyre, and can shape it or snuff it out entirely. Earth - May now influence Earth to the extent of being able to shape completely; to the extent of that which could be contained within a van. Water - May influence Water to such extremes that they may now influence Ice and Steam, as well as all forms; swamp, bog, beer, et cetera; to the extent of that which could be contained within a van. Air - May influence Air to such extremes that they may now influence temperature, as well as poisonous air, smoke and may carry air into regions where it does otherwise not exist. Metal - May slightly influence the shape of Metal; to the extent of that which can be contained within a bath. Electricity - May influence Electricity and Static Energy to the degree of being able to completely direct it and keep it on course; to the extent of that which could be contained within a… bath. Tier 5 - Complete Mastery of All Elements and their States All may be shaped, directed and altered completely at this stage; to the extent of that which may be contained within a living room. Creation of Elemental Muyakelgs are also possible at this stage. Red Lines A connection is VITAL to be role-played before manipulating any element of choice. A T5 Elementalist in 2 varieties of Elements may manipulate them at the same time, but will be done at the rate of a T3 Shaman for both elements by either combining the elements or using them separately. A Shaman must role-play any interference of concentration as well as fatigue from connecting to the Spirit Realm. The Elementalist will find that the opposite Elements becomes harder to control, as the Elemental Spirit is displeased with the shaman for choosing it’s rival. (Fire-Water, Earth-Air, Metal-Water, Lightning-Earth) Elementalism is purely altering said element, you can neither add or subtract that of a substance, only alter what is present. Lutaumancy Clarification of Lutaumancy for each existing spirit https://www.lordofthecraft.net/forums/topic/163363-✓-an-addition-to-the-shaman-codex-limitations-and-capabilities/ The Lutaumen are shamans capable of communing with the long past ancestors of the Uruk race. They do this by connecting to the ancestral realm, using the ancestor on which they focus on as a tether. Objects in the Mortal Realm may contribute if they bear significance to the ancestral spirit in question. This communion is what makes most of their roleplay: contacting ancestors of either the long past, or even closer past. They have the ability of taking up to two other individuals with them on these so called ‘spirit walks’ to the Stargush’Stroh. Aside from communion they are, similar to Elementalists, able to summon the power of Greater Ancestral spirits within themselves. These powers often granted by Spirits that the Lutauman has bonded with, similar to Elementalism. Tier 1 - Minor Influence - The Lutauman learns the old tongue and the basic principle of entering and exiting the Stargush’Stroh. Here they can encounter ancestral spirits but remain unable to directly contact a specific one. Even with a tether in the mortal realm. Tier 2 - Considerable Influence - The Lutauman enters and exits the Stargush’Stroh with less and less trouble and can stay longer in said realm. Upon attempting to contact a specific ancestor they shall see improvement to locating and contacting them. The usage of a tether greatly improves this. Tier 3 - Basic Mastery of the Ancestral Communion - The Lutauman has mastered the art of Communion with ancestors and can travel to any ancestor at will with little effort. The usage of tethers is still preferred but no longer a necessity. Two other individuals may be brought into the spirit realm. It is at around this tier that the Lutauman is taught how to summon the powers of an ancestor within them and may experiment with self-blessing. Tier 4 - Basic Mastery of Self-Blessing - The Lutauman Masters the summoning of blessings upon themselves. The bonds between Shaman and spirit improve leading to the experimentation of stronger blessings such as Power (Rax) or maybe even the Kurak blessing. Tier 5 - Complete Mastery of Ancestral Communion & Self-Blessing - The Lutauman has mastered and perfected the arts of Ancestral Communion and Self-Blessing. They can call upon the strength of a large variety of Greater Ancestrals. On top of this they can, with relative ease, take up to five other individuals with them on spirit walks to the Stargush’Stroh. Additionally, the Lutauman may create a Muyakelg with the help of a T5 Witch Doctor. Regarding ghosts and other ghostly / spectral creatures the Lutauman has the following ability: As is established: Kor, spirit of the dead is a Greater Immortal spirit with the slight bonus that he is capable of traveling between the Stargush’Stroh and the Immortal Realm. He is perceived the ‘Gatekeeper’ of the Stargush’Stroh. Therefore the Lutauman, upon encountering the creature in question, can summon within him: Kor. This is done in a similar fashion as obtaining a self-blessing from a Greater Ancestral. Upon successfully summoning Kor the Shaman can then begin to ‘consume’ the Ghost until it is fully purged. The soul then travels back with Kor and is left in the Soulstream. This event may be considered a suggested PK for ghosts and similar spectral creatures. Red Lines A tier 5 lutauman can take up to 5 others at maximum with them to the stargush’stroh. The self-blessings, though made to empower the shaman, do have their limits. Namely the Strength and Kurak blessings are to be undergamed at all times to prevent powergaming. The power does not reach above that of a matured olog, the kurak blessing, including it’s drawback of potential friendly-fire, is limited to the physical power of an actual lur-wolf. A shaman cannot spend too long a time in the stargush’stroh. Length is dependant on tier. Tier 1 would make for about a half hour visit where a tier 5 can reach up to about 24 hours (as in-realm time). If the body of a spirit-walking shaman or traveler is killed during their walk, the shaman and or travelers spirit shall remain locked in the stargush’stroh. Though not enforced, this would make for a convincing PK. Should the player not wish to PK after this, it can be assumed that Kor bails them out and sends their spirits back to the soulstream after they’ve spoken to him. (which can actually be roleplayed out should one wish so). This could, if roleplayed properly, end up in a bargain. One with a cost. Farseer Clarification of Farseeing for each existing spirit https://www.lordofthecraft.net/forums/topic/163363-✓-an-addition-to-the-shaman-codex-limitations-and-capabilities/ Overview Farseers are spiritual seers of nations and clans. Farseers are gifted individuals that can travel into the plane of spirits and speak with spirits invisible to the eyes of normal descendants. Farseers are troubled by visions of the future and use their insight to guide their people through troubled times. Although Farseers may seem wise and peaceful at first, they are formidable foes; when angered, their wrath is fierce. Immortal Spirits Immortal Spirits began long ago as the creations of Elementals; Deemed to watch over specific aspects or domains of the world, and empowered only by the increase of worship or said domain; Such as how the Spirit of the Hunt is empowered for every kill a Predatory being makes. Cast into their own planes, and considered lesser, by the Elementals, Immortal Spirits seek constantly to gain power, ruling over vast domains featuring prominent features of their Aspects, such as the Spirit of the Sea having a vast watery section of the Realm, with Lesser Spirits of these constantly moving about their planes, all the while plotting and seeking to gain their own powers as well, with the eventual hopes to become Greater themselves. All the Greater Immortal Spirits began possessing only a single aspect, for example Enrohk has three aspects- Bloodlust, Savagery, and War; Enrohk started as the Greater Spirit of Bloodlust and the rest he gained, by either consuming other spirits entirely or by subjugating another spirit that has more than one aspect. When a Greater Spirit is consumed it does not die, the spirit is forced to join in a Union with the other Spirit, much like the union a Spirit is forced into when consumed by a Dark Shaman, meaning it can regain its freedom through the defeat of its overlord; However, due to the nature of Spirits seeking more power, a Spirits freeing one another would be unheard of. Greater Spirits weaken when they gain many aspects because even though they hold many aspects that are powerful, they may weaken because the others are on the same level: In this, one Spirit will never be allowed to gain to many, as other spirits will combine efforts to release and spread aspects from that spirit elsewhere, as there is a delicate balance. Due to the weakness of Spirits holding many aspects, Lesser Spirits are formed to hold superior strength in these fields - Such as Orgon. Greater Spirits in the Spirit World rule vast domains and have countless minor spirits under their control, they wage war, make peace and plot against and with each other. An example of how Greater spirits interact with Descendants, mainly Orcs, is seen before the great revival of the Orcish race by Rex Mogroka. Mogroka was contacted by Enrohk, at the time a weak spirit that only held domain over bloodlust. The former Orcish government suppressed bloodlust and tried to control it. It is said that Enrohk gave Mogroka powers, a mighty blessing to enrage the Berserker-Shaman fit for the Champion of Enrohk, and with Mogroka’s ascent to power bloodlust was made free and with it, Enrohk gained power. Elemental Spirits The Elementals interact directly with the physical, mortal plane. They live in the Elemental Plane, and here, they view our world as the pure elements it is made up of. The most common (and primary) elements are Water, Fire, Earth, and Wind. Other elements, like Space and Time, are more complex to understand, and are ultimately more powerful than those before them. For ease, The elemental spirits are separated into four different categories: Primary, Secondary, Advanced, and Master spirits. Primary: Earth, Air, Fire, Water Secondary: Light, Dark, Storm, Metal Advanced: Life, Death, Order, Chaos Master: Space, Time The elements mentioned above are the ones understood and recognized by the Shamanic culture, but it is entirely possible that there are dozens (if not hundreds) of other elements that haven’t been discovered. Spirit-Walking A journey by ritualistic actions and behaviours hidden and protected by Farseers throughout the ages, experienced Farseers hold the innate ability to travel in a manner in which their Soul breaks from their physical form, able to travel directly to the Immortal and Elemental planes; However, this ritual is different from that to travel to Kor’s dominion and speak to the Ancestrals. Whilst the origins of the rituals are as mysterious as the Spirits themselves, Farseers have a strong tradition of secrecy in their teachings, acting as elders in their communities and passing down their trade by word of mouth, with the only known writings to be the Or’Gok Scrolls, lost with Mogroka’Gorkil. While in these planes, the Farseer is most vulnerable, his mortal self idle in his own realm, whilst his soul traverses the realm of the Spirits, in which fatal wounds in either would result in death. Due to this, Spirit Guides are often employed, being that of Lesser Spirits that have a direct pact with a Farseer, much like Elementalists have with their elemental lessers, or that of other Farseers who have incredible knowledge on the domains; However, pacted Lesser Spirits are only able to guide the Farseer through the domain of his own aspect, the guides most commonly seeking something in return for their assistance and appearing like that of their domain, most commonly in an animal-like form. Ultimately, the purpose of Spirit Walking is that of conversing directly with the Spirits themselves. Due to this, and the dangers of traveling about the Elemental or Immortal planes without a guide, inexperienced Farseers find themselves unable to find and converse with the most powerful of the Spirits, the Greaters, by disheartening, getting lost, or threat of death by Lesser Spirits protecting the domain. Far Sight Granting these wise Shamans their names, the purpose of a Farseer, while to act as a mediator between the Mortal Realm and Spirit Realms, is primarily their gift to receive visions of the future itself, the wisest of Farseers commonly coming together to discuss and plan the best course of action to heed warning or take action to fulfil or prevent these prophecies. Far Sight, while being the most basic level of Farseeing, is the most difficult to master, with visions often including vague messages and half-truths that are unclear to even the most experienced Shamans. Far Sight is used mainly for providing hints and information in eventlines, though a Farseer with permission from MT could use it to ‘read’ the future of other characters. Visions Once a Farseer reaches T3, they are able to strike someone with visions, allowing them to infect someone’s mind with any sort of imagery the shaman wishes to evoke. This begins with first an emote of focus, and then an emote of striking the targets mind before the vision commences. Akin to illusory magic, eye contact must be made. However, once a farseer reaches T5, they are granted the ability of long-range visions, however require things such as blood and hair to maintain the connection akin to a Soul Puppeteer or Witchdoctor Blessings Taking upon the successes of rituals leading to Spirit Walking, Farseers can seek blessings of the Spirits in a multitude of ways; With the most successful blessings being that of Spirits the Farseer has actually spoken to, or their lessers, to get a full grasp of rituals and tasks needed to prove oneself worthy. An example being that a Farseer attempting to bless a hunt would require previous successful hunts and ritualistic sacrifices to be made by the Farseer in order to allow such blessings to persist. While the blessings of a Farseer occur most often in that of Immortal Spirits, the most experienced Farseers have been rumored to not only converse with Elementals to gain knowledge, but to be blessed by them, receiving imbuements to Artifacts or totems that allow the Farseer to Champion the elemental, unlike that of an elementalists bond with such. These blessings are extremely rare, often leading to that of great fame for the Farseer, with the most notable being that of the Farseer Mogroka’Gorkil and his ability to call down Lightning from the sky in the name of Neizdark. Other capabilities include that of an imbued weapon by the the Elemental of Fire, Skathach, allowing the weapon to shimmer in flames that burn until sheathed. While these powerful blessings may border on Elementalism, it is notable that Farseers do not have the bond as they do, and such, the blessing only being granted when the Farseer has the favor of the Spirit, as well as the energy to do such. Ritual-Blessings Farseers seeking the blessings of certain Spirits may require more suitable preparations, often requiring more than a single Farseer. While these blessings persist over a period of time, or a large area, they are mostly RP-only by nature. Some of these rituals include things such as Rain Dances, or things as complicated as attempts to draw out and combat spirits tainting body, mind, or land. Rain Dances are conducted by three of more Farseers in order to attempt to seek the blessings of both Arwa and Urin, often used in times of drought or famine in order to prevent further spread of such. This ritual normally lasts over a period of an entire day (30 minutes), and includes chanting and calling to the Spirits, as well as the use of different Farseer tools. Land Healing Rituals are the most complex ritual a Farseer can undergo. These rituals require three Farseers, with at least one of them having journeyed through the domain of Akezo, the Spirit of Health, Vitality, and Healing. This ritual requires multiple complex steps in order to draw out the corrupting Spirit. Beginning with a form of sacrifice, involving chanting to Akezo in the form of mending that which is broken, often a totem or trinket to represent the Spirit from which the Shamans are seeking aid. Following this, totems and incense must be burned around the area in order to draw the corrupted Spirit out with the assistance of the blessing. Following this, the Spirit will either flee or attempt to fight the Farseer, most commonly ending with the Farseers having to quite-literally beat the Spirit out of the lands. (ET required; Event-based Blight Healing) Rituals involving healing of the Mind and Body often act much as those of healing the land; However, due to the scale and weakness of the corrupting Spirits, only a single, experienced Farseer is required; However, while the corruption is removed, it often comes at the price of physical pain brought to release such. This is not always the case, as certain Farseers can, with the favor of the Spirit, convince it to leave by its own will, often by sacrifice, deals, or worship of the Spirit, much like that seen in the early stages of Orgon Worship. Tools of a Farseer Blessings granted onto that of a material object are common, yet highly protected. While not like that of so-called “Spirit Smithing”, blessed objects include that of ritualistic purpose, such as drums and weapons of sacrifice. Drum – The drum is often used by Farseers as the beating of the drum assists the Farseer to achieve an altered state of consciousness, aiding them in their travel to pass on their journey between the physical and spiritual worlds. Farseer drums are generally constructed of an animal-skin stretched over a bent wooden hoop, with a handle across the hoop. Feathers – Feathers are often used in ceremonies and in individual healing rituals. Rattle – Rattles are used in ceremonies in traditional ways, often included to help invoke a specific Spirit in the Farseers ceremonies. These rattles are typically made with things representing the Spirit in question. Smoking Pipe – Used for smoking various tobaccos and psychoactive herbs. Below I will detail a couple of these examples, along with their standard tier progression system: Tier 1 - Small Scale, Slow Acting Influence Healing Corruption - To the extent of healing 5 blocks of corruption, which will take an entire IRL day to effect the land entirely;requires ward. Bestowing Strength - May impart strength in someone to give them slightly above average ability, but will not last any longer than 15 IRL minutes. Tier 2 - Larger Scale, Slow Acting Influence Healing Corruption - To the extent of healing 10 blocks of corruption, which will take half an IRL day to effect the land entirely; requires ward. Bestowing Strength - May impart strength in someone to give them significantly above average strength, but will not last any longer than 20 IRL minutes. Tier 3 - Larger Scale, Faster Acting Influence Healing Corruption - To the extent of healing 15 blocks of corruption, which will take 2 IRL hours in order to effect the land entirely; requires ward. Bestowing Strength - May impart strength in someone to give them super-human qualities, which will not last any longer than 45 IRL minutes. Tier 4 - Large Scale, Fast Acting Influence Healing Corruption - To the extent of healing 25 blocks of corruption, which will take 30 minutes in order to effect the land entirely; requires ward. Bestowing Strength - May impart strength in someone to give them super-human qualities, which will not last any longer than an hour IRL. Tier 5 - Mastery of Healing and Booning Healing Corruption - To the extent of healing 40 blocks of corruption, which can be done instantly without the use of a ward; however there will be a cooldown period of one IRL day. Warded - To the extent of healing 40 blocks of corruption, which will take 30 IRL minutes and can be done twice a day in different regions. Red Lines Blessing are only applied on three people, until an increase to 5 once reaching T5. Repeated blessing of one’s self causes degradation of the mind. More powerful spirits such as elemental spirits may goad farseers into spreading their aspect. Wodanaz, Spirit of Purity, one of farseer’s most useful spirits only works against dark shaman and general undead till T4, able to deal significant damage to aberrant/unholy beings. A farseer must make offerings and tidings to the spirits they request power from as an elementalist would. When imbuing a weapon with memories, a player’s own death cannot be viewed, for if one were to witness such, they would only see darkness. Moreover, the blessing does not act as a camera. It is only able to take bits and pieces Witch Doctor Clarification of Witchdoctory for each existing spirit https://www.lordofthecraft.net/forums/topic/163363-✓-an-addition-to-the-shaman-codex-limitations-and-capabilities/ The Witch Doctor, essentially the Antithesis of the Farseer, focuses his or her intent on causing misery and damage through the Curses of the more corruptive of the Spirits. Witch Doctors may use Immortal and Elemental Spirits.. In order for the Witch Doctor to call upon the Spirits, they must perform a ritual to express the domain the Spirits represent. For instance, if a Witch Doctor wanted to call upon the Spirit of Disease, he would hunch over and dance (or other such movements/postures which may please a disease spirit) in such a way as to look tired, while chanting in a weakened voice. He would also incorporate items or ingredients which a disease spirit would find attractive, such as rotten flesh or a jar of vomit. For example, we'll say a witch doctor wishes to brew a bottled fire hex. This would be a potion imbued with the power of a fire spirit, and intended to place a curse upon the imbiber. In order to create this concoction, the shaman would first need to gather the appropriate ingredients. As the witch doctor is attempting to gain the attention of a fire spirit, he needs to make use of ingredients which are reminiscent of fire. Usually, red flowers are a good start. Maybe he could grind up some smoldering coals. In witch doctory, it's less about whatever alchemical properties the ingredient may or may not possess (as witch doctory is NOT alchemy), and more about the symbolic nature of the ingredients. The shaman would begin mixing the ingredients in boiling water, whilst chanting in such a way as to attract a fire spirit. The chant is in Old Blah or True Blah as some prefer to say, and must (in both word and tone) reflect the nature of fire. The chant I would use in such a situation typically goes along the lines of "Ilszgûlu ghaashob, dushnûl ghaashugob!" meaning, "Spirits of fire, cast pain of burning!" Maybe I'd throw in a few more words regarding fire, but the point is the same. Furthermore, the tone would need to be correct. In the case of a fire hex, a harsh, guttural, perhaps even angry tone would be recommended. The same curse could be cast directly on a target (which may include any living organism) without the use of a potion through means of a ritual. In this case, the witch doctor would also gather items to represent fire. He may even choose to perform the ritual near a fire or surrounded by fire. As in the brewing process, the shaman must chant in such a way which would be pleasing to a fire spirit (or whatever kind of spirit he wishes to attract for whichever ritual). His movements play an even larger role in this sort of ritual, since he is not required to stir a pot. For a fire ritual, barbaric, chaotic dancing is usually preferred, often around a bonfire. Not all rituals call for dancing necessarily, of course. Some spirits, such as certain earth spirits, may prefer stability or even a stone-like stillness. Should the ritual attract the desired type of spirit, the curse will take effect on the intended target, causing said target (in the case of a fire ritual) to feel as though he is on fire. Witchdoctors do possess the ability to bless as well, the downside to this is that any positive effect or influence must be countered by an (often funny/ridiculous) counter. For example if one's legs are numbed by injury they can be healed and the person can feel again, the ironic backlash being that the legs then appear immovable. These side-effects will be balanced out and will be better controlled throughout the tiers. Small edit because Hedge does not let me do anything (smh): These applies for all blessings of a Witch Doctor. There will still be unintended ironic side effects or no blessings at all and completely a curse. Of course, all blessings must be in form of a potion/elixir/hex. It is important to note at this point that a Hex of fire cannot be used to directly set someone alight, but instead causes a psychological state in which they believe (and feel) they are on fire, without having the actual, physical repercussions; this applies to all Elemental Spirits. In terms of the Immortal Spirits, it can be a more direct result, and Witch Doctors can cause curses at higher tiers without the use of bottled curses. Tier 1 - Small Scale Hexes Able to produce Hexes that can cause small scale damage to regions, such as corrupting a 5 block radius, which will take the same duration as a Farseer; an entire IRL day to set in. This time too applies when used on Mortals, and will last for one IRL day; The player being cursed may choose to extend this for as long as they wish, which applies to all tiers. Tier 2 - Larger Scale Hexes Able to produce Hexes that can cause larger scale damage to region, such as taining a 10 block radius at half a day’s duration. When using a Hex to curse a mortal, it will last one full IRL day. Tier 3 - Direct Cursing Aside from the more powerful Hexes and their corruption being set to 15 blocks at two IRL hours; (when the Hex is used to curse a mortal, this will last for one day IRL. The Witch Doctors at this tier can also more directly curse individuals which will last one full IRL day. Tier 4 Potent Curses At this stage, Hexes can influence 25 blocks at 30 minutes; when a Hex is used on a Mortal, it will last for one and a half IRL days. Curses will be more potent and will last no longer than an hour IRL. Tier 5 - Strongest Version of Hexing and Cursing, as well as the Creation of Muyakelg At this level, Hexes and Curses are at the heights of what can be accomplished, with hexing being more potent and instantaneous, following the same progression of the Farseer at this stage. Hexing a Mortal will cause the curse to last for two IRL days, or even longer with the OOC consent of another player (maximum of 7 IRL days) Since all witch doctors face a chance at spell failure, all witch doctors are to roll to determine success. The window of success varies depending on the tier of the witch doctor in question. A /roll 6 is recommended, and is typically what witch doctors are taught to use. At T1 (apprentice level) a witch doctor must roll a perfect 6 for success, and even then the curse will be weak. 1-5 are failures for a T1. A T2 (Journeyman level) must roll a 5 or a 6 for success. Anything less is a failure. At T3, the witch doctor is considered a full-fledged, independent shaman. A T3 is still, however, not a master, and must roll a 4, 5, or 6 for success. A T4 (Elder shaman) must roll a 3 or higher; 1 or 2 are failures. Finally, a T5 (Master of the magic) must roll a 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6 to succeed. A roll of 1 is the only failure for a master witch doctor. Additionally, the Witch Doctor may create a Muyakelg with the help of a T5 Lutauman. Red Lines Curses have their respective times connected to the tier of the shaman. Should a Tier 5 shaman wish to curse another for LONGER than this given time: OOC consent of the victim player is required. As well as MT permission or supervision. Curses are mostly mental and not physical. An elemental curse of fire cannot set one aflame. Though it can bring about the mental pain of a burning body upon the victim. There is a strict prohibition on LOVE and LUST curses. As is seen in the spirit-to-spirit clarification document. This all in connection to the non-rape ruling on the lotc server. A curse is the temporary corruption of the soul and can be healed by magics that affect such. Usage of hexes, bottled curses, is permitted once the creation of such is to be roleplayed out. Seeing the creation roleplay itself is quite significant to the shaman, it is recommended to involve others in such during dancing and chanting - create rp for not yourself, but others too. (hedgehugs note) To make a Muyakelg you must be taught how to. Spirit Smithing Clarification of Spirit Smithing for each existing spirit https://www.lordofthecraft.net/forums/topic/163363-✓-an-addition-to-the-shaman-codex-limitations-and-capabilities/ No further amend is to be given to Spirit Smithing || Ilzgul Udalgum https://www.lordofthecraft.net/forums/topic/150019-ilzgûl-udalgum-~-the-spirit-connection-reworking-propositionnew-sub-type-proposal/ Red Lines Each and every item a smith with an MA wishes to create must go through proper authentication/verification via either a designated MT or LT. The following players will also suffice as viable sources of confirmation: Hedgehug, Smawton, Divinejustice, MobyHug. Can never be more powerful that the Blessings or Curses the other sub-types can provide. The Mortal Stone can be destroyed. The Stone has a cooldown of an hour for any activation. Activations can only be used once in combat, regardless of duration. Can only be activated with Old Blah speech. Once used, must be recharged by Smith. Other shamanic Abilities Voodoo Dolls The creation of Voodoo dolls for the use of long range cursing is considered a more taboo quirk that the Witch Doctor has. The creation involves obtaining dna that’s linked to the soul of the victim. Suggested are things as blood, urine, or even tears. Hair and nails can be considered, but will make for a weaker connection. After the creation, through ritual, the doll shall act as a tether. The spirit that’s summoned when cursing this doll shall then use this as a tether to direct the curse to the victim. However, the strength of the curse depends on two factors: The quality of the doll The quality of the connection The quality of the doll matters in regards to how strong a tether it can be. A well-made representation of the victim paired with plenty of knowledge on his/her looks, voice and further appearance matters greatly in the strength of the doll. As mentioned earlier the strength of the different obtainable pieces of DNA matter. The quality of the connection is influenced by the bond the shaman has with the victim. If this is a strong one the curse is more potent. If the victim is a random, however, it can be safely said the curse shall be considerably less potent and shall not last long. Soul Puppetry vs. Shamanic Dolls There seems to be quite the controversy that Shamans also have a similar ability that SP’s have. The following explanation is given: Where soul puppeteering requires a voidal connection from doll to victim, the shamanic doll merely acts as a tether for the spirit. Instead of a direct curse that lasts for as long the anchor is connected to the victim, the shamanic doll allows for the summoned spiritual energy to corrupt the victim's soul as a Witchdoctors curse does - and shall remain for a slightly lesser time than an equal yet direct curse from the same Witchdoctor. Therefore a curse inflicted by a Soul Puppeteer can be revoked by use of Fi, whereas a shamanic curse shall have to be purged by soul-cleansing magics such as Xanism. The main difference to a shamanic curse and a Soul Puppeter type curses are not only the methods they can be done but soul puppetry can be quite limited by comparison. A shaman has a possibility to have lasting curses on an individual without them knowing whereas a SP'er has a direct influence on the person making them aware they are being cursed. Curses from a WD might be similar to a Sp'er but they won't have a lasting effect. Another notable difference is the degree of cursing. Both magics have their unique curses but it would seem that those of the SP can be quite more effective or rather more ‘extravagant’ whereas the WD is limited to the spirits and their effective curses. An example: An SP may curse a victim in a manner where they shall completely turn into cake and can be consumed until they are no more and thusly die. A WD may curse a victim in a manner where they shall consume cake until their stomach rips and they die. (Spirit: Glutroz) Muyakelg Lore: https://www.lordofthecraft.net/forums/topic/164401-additionamendmentmuyakelgs/

Shamanism Explained In a dimension as vast and unpredictable as the Spirit Realm, it can be difficult at times to understand how the smaller aspects of Shamanism work, what the limitations are, and how to apply what you can work with. It is my intention in this post to detail everything I currently understand about Shamanism, my interpretation of it and what I have come to clarify from my previous experience as the Shaman Lore Master; of which I believe there has been no replacement. If there is one, I apologise for not seeking you out in advance. I asked only on one occasion. So, before we get into the nitty-gritty details of how Shamanism as a Magic works, and what the limitations contained within are, let's explore how the Spirit realm came to be. The Birth of the Spirit Realm The Daemon, Apohet created the Spirit Realm after observing the realm of Mortals, and in his jealousy, attempted to create a dimension of his own which would come to rival the Realms of the Descendants. This became the space that would soon house the Spirits; the entities he created to inhabit this vast dimension. Yet in his blind arrogance and passion, he wanted each of the Spirits to come to control and represent something in the Mortal Realm, so that his creations would always have a hold and a sway over the Realm of Mortals. He started with the most prominent aspects of existence, and created two Spirits that were aligned to the concepts of Time and Space. These two Spirits would materialise in an explosive burst of energy and potential, and in an instant foresaw all of time and creation. Just as soon as they were birthed into existence they experienced time eternal, and came to understand and explore the unlimited expanse of the Universe. They foresaw all events and all possibilities, and instantly became more powerful than their creator. They became known as Sandru, the Spirit of Time, who often takes the form of an ice blue snake, and Omnizan, the Spirit of Space, who most often appears as a crimson serpent. The pair are invariably intertwined in this state, and are said to be in and out of reality as they continue to experience endless time. For this reason, it is impossible to contact them. Apohet continued with his voracious appetite for glory, and created the Elemental Spirits, who would collectively reign over the second most prevalent things in all of creation; matter. In their Elemental Realms they are unimaginably powerful, and dwarf their lesser cousins, who exist in a realm outside of their own. These Spirits are known as the Immortal Spirits, and represent many of the more specific things of the world, and they are the last of the creations of Apohet. Lastly, there are Spirits that reside in Star'Gush Stroh, which is the after-life that worshipers of the Spirits may enter. These "Spirits" are Mortal Souls, who were blessed with the ability to enter this afterlife due to Apohet's admiration of Krug; which caused his last influence in his dimension to be a pocket of the Spirit Realm in which Mortal Souls could reside for eternity. Based on this, we can come to understand there there are various levels or dimensions to the Spirit Realm. - For a detailed list of all of the current Spirits, refer to: https://www.lordofthecraft.net/forums/topic/153791-the-spirits-grand-list/#comment-1453308 I imagine it would look something like this: Time & Space ---------------------------- Elemental ------------------- Immortal ---------- Ancestor ---- The Birth of Shamanism In isolation and rage, Krug called out for an answer to the Curse set upon him and his people by Iblees. For it was one of a deep Blood Lust, and had caused unimaginable harm to his people. For decades they had lashed out in barbaric fury, slaughtering one another in the streets for the momentary release it would offer them. Yet as Krug called out, all was silent. However, unbeknownst to him, his incomparable power had brought his message to the Spirit Realm, and he then received a response. The Elemental Spirit of Air came forth, and offered to work with Krug in order to achieve a goal. You see, the deep desire for recognition and advancement that fueled Apohet's ambitions had been instilled in his children, and in the interaction with Krug they saw a means of attaining more power, and more influence. Thus, from this encounter and subsequent co-operation, Shamanism was born. But how does Shamanism work, you might ask? Good question. How Does a Shaman Connect? Over time, the act of Shamanism began to branch into different specialisations. This occurred because no Orcs were as powerful as Krug, and could not reach the Spirit Realm in the same manner as him. For this reason, a method of connecting to the different Spirit Realms was imparted into the children of Krug, so that they could reach out of the Spirits in order to receive wisdom, advice, or even something more tangible. This is achieved through meditation of some form, and currently there are only two ways in which a Shaman may interact with the Spirit Realm. 1) Transferal of Consciousness One method is to transfer consciousness into the Spirit Realm, which is done through deep meditation, focusing on the realm and even the Spirit the Shaman wishes to visit. The Shaman's mana is used to transfer his consciousness into the Dimension, and his body is left behind in the Mortal Realm, where it is susceptible to damage due to being paralysed. If a Shaman were to be killed within the Spirit Realm, his physical body would also die, due to the connection of his soul/consciousness being torn. Typically, a Shaman would only visit the Spirit Realm in order to seek advice, to create a pact with an Elemental Spirit, or to visit Star'Gush Stroh, where he or she may speak with the deceased. 2) Connection through Ceremony In terms of tangible work, a Shaman will choose to instead connect with the Realm of the Spirits, as opposed to visiting it on more of a literal level. All acts upon the Mortal Realm are achieved through this second method. This is done by calling out for their attention, so that they may work through the Shaman's mana in order to influence the Mortal Realm. The Shaman must adopt and embrace the energies that the Spirit or the Realm represents. For instance, if a Shaman wanted to connect to Enrohk, the Spirit of Bloodlust, they might start by sacrificing a Goat. Then they would begin chanting in an aggressive and furious tone, finishing by dancing in a manner that also mimics a fit of rage. A Spirit will rarely manifest in the Mortal Realm of their own will, for if they were to be killed, their energy would shatter and they would ultimately die. Typically, it is only the Immortal Spirits who summon their energies into the realm of the Descendants, and do this by transporting one of their Lesser Servants into the Realm to act on their behalf. The Sub-Types of Shamanism Farseer Class: Healing/Enhancement Realms: Immortal & Ancestral A Farseer devoted his energy to heaing or enhancing someone by working with the Spirits of the Immortal of Ancestral Realm. To do this, he must connect with the Spirits through Ceremony, and once connected, may impart their influence into the chosen person. Currently, Farseers are unable to heal or enhance themselves. Latauman Class: Healing/Enhancement Realms: Immortal & Ancestral Latauman work in much the same way as Farseers, and devote their energies to healing or enchancement. Expect, in the case of the Latauman, he may only bring positive influence upon himself, to a greater degree than the Farseer. Latauman are unable to heal or enhance others. Spirit Smith Class: Enhancement Realms: Immortal and Elemental A Spirit Smith must connect to Gentharuz initially, in order to crate an item known as a Mortal Stone. This is used to contain a Minor Spirit, who uses it's energies to influence the world. Once this initial process has been achieved, anyone in possession of the item may call upon the Spirit inside the stone to utilise the energy it represents. Elementalist Class: Damaging Realms: Elemental An Elementalist must first take his consciousness into the Elemental Realm in order to make a pact with an Elemental Spirit. Once this pact has been made, the Shaman may call upon that Spirit to assist them in influencing the mortal world. Elementalists can only work with existing elements, which means they vary from Evocation in this regard. Apart from this, the mechanism of influencing said elements works in very much the same way. However, it takes considerably less effort to harness existing material. Witch Doctor Class: Damaging Realms: Elemental/Immortal Witch Doctors connect with the Spirit Realm through chanting, and attempt to imbue the Spirits energy into a concoction known as a Hex. This liquid may be used to invoke a feeling or illness upon the victim, which is known as a curse. There are not often physical influences (though they do exist), but instead mental ones. For instance, a Hex of Fire will not explode into flame, but will instead give the sensation of being on fire. With great effort, a Witch Doctor may cause this same process without the brew, but it takes a considerable amount of time, and will often be stopped by the victim before it can be caused. Witch Doctors may Curse both forms of life: Plants and Animals. Dark Shamanism Class: Damaging Realms: All Dark Shamans devour Spirits in order to influence the world around them, by forcefully utilise their energies. Once they have control over something, it begins to contort and twist into a corrupted form, as the act is being done against the will of the Spirit. For more information on Dark Shamans, refer to: https://www.lordofthecraft.net/forums/topic/150801-lore-trial-2m-from-290916-ishurkal-dark-shamans/?page=1 How do Spirits Influence the World/How Does it Work? In order to have dominion over the Mortal Realm, Apohet had to bestow small parts of his energy into the world. He did this by creating Dormant Spirits, entities that are directly tied to what they are imbued within and indeed, the Realm they represent. When an Earth Elementalist calls to the Elemental he has a pact with, that Spirit will harness the mana of the Shaman to awaken the Dormant Spirits within the earth, thus allowing manipulation to occur. The Spirit awakening the energy has no real influence over the decisions of the Dormant Spirits, and so the Shaman must focus on controlling it with his mana in order to keep the Spirit in line, and is how he may direct where the earth moves to. This concept applies to all influence in the world, including physical and emotional, and it is the act of awakening these Dormant Spirits that gives rise to the subsequent control. I'll be adding more to this once I see what may be missing. I intend to start an F.A.Q at the end of this post so that I can answer questions I might not have thought of, and so I can implement them afterwards. So, fire away.

A crude parchment hung on a wooden post, which seemed to be an advertisement. ~Gukdan's Spirit shop~ I am here to offer my skills as a smith, and a shaman. I have decided to use my shamanism to create items of great proportion that only the worthy men and women can buy from me. The sorts of things you could ask for all depend on the spirit you wish to use in the item, if you are in the dark about Spirits, then here's the list. A list of names and their meanings were scribbled underneath: https://www.lordofthecraft.net/forums/topic/112681-the-spirits/ Where you can find me I will more often than not, be roaming around Sutica, if you wish to ask of my services then you should attempt to find me there. The price you should expect Most items will cost about 600-1000 minas, with some possibly going to 300, depending on it's 'enchantment' What I look like A less than perfect drawing was scribbled on the page, but it wasn't half bad. P.S, Don't get too crazy with the 'enchantment' requests.

Ilzgûl Udalgum - The Spirit Connection There where tool and spirit become one, to empower the Shaman. He shall act in honour and compensate the given powers well, for that… is the orc way. The concept of the Ilzgûl Udalgum is that of the connection a shaman can make between a spirit and a tool. The process itself is a ritual unique for each type of spirit and thus, for each sub-type of the shamanic arts with an exception for Lutaumancy. The ritual is performed during the forging of the weapon and goes on for a few days after the material weapon is done. Though different the ritual always consists of the following steps: ~ The creation The process where the tool of choice is crafted out of any material. The type of material chosen does not affect the result of the connection, though Aurum keeps its abilities against Undead. As do other materials, that have their abilities. The inscribing Here the Shaman inscribes the tool with lines of the old speech. The language is written onto the weapon, marking it and forming the framework for the connection. This is an essential part of the connection, for if the old speech is in any way damaged from its original form, the connection will fail to succeed. Atop of the shamanic scripture written on the tool, instrument or weapon, a part is to be copied on a part of the body of the shaman himself, or the future user/owner of the tool, instrument or weapon created. This way the tool is bonded and can only be used by the one that has this similar scripture. The sacrifice After the framework for the connection is made, a sacrifice is to be made to the spirit the shaman wishes to make the connection with. The type of sacrifice must be one that has any relation to the spirit, it must be one that is logical. It must be a fresh sacrifice, which is performed together with the last step of the process. The chant As the sacrificial ritual progresses and the tool is brought in with this sacrifice the Shaman has to audibly seal the connection made between spirit and tool, by ways of a chant. The chant itself consists of Four parts. The first part is evoking the spirit, the second one specifying the augmentation that the connection will bring, and the third is the command that is to be spoken for its activation. The last chant will be the assignment of the tool to its owner(s). By this is implied that only those who are named in this chant, can use the tool created, or rather more: can activate it. ~ During the last phase of this ritual, and the creation of the tool, the spirit is channeled. If the sacrifice made is deemed honorable and worthy, the spirit shall allow a connection to be made. This way the Shaman may utilize the tool to honor the spirit in the future. The bond between user and tool, instrument or weapon sealed by the similar old blah that is written not only on the tool, instrument or weapon, but also the user himself. The workings of this craft will then offer an augmentation upon command. This way only the creator and owner of this tool have the ability to activate and use the spirit’s power. Upon activation the inscribed text will emit a soft hue, in the color that is most likely to appear with the spirit connected. Next to the scripture on the tool, instrument or weapon: the old blah on the users body (where ever they were inscribed into the flesh during the sealing of this bond) will emit the same colored hue of dim light. ~ Elemental connections: Can be created by either a Witchdoctor or an Elementalist, and allows the Shaman to connect a tool to a lesser or greater Elemental Spirit. ~ Witchdoctor: Curses, therefore activation of a connection will cause drawbacks to the Shaman itself. Aside from which, the augmentation the connection brings is one related to cursing and the spirit chosen. Elementalist: Pacts, therefore an elementalist can only create a connection with an elemental spirit that they have a pact with. The augmentation the connection brings is one related to this spirit and can reach beyond the applications that a witchdoctor variant of an elemental connection can bring. Examples for Elemental connections could be: The creation of an orcish cleaver, smithed through roleplay. Then a sacrifice to a lesser spirit under Skathach (Spirit of Fire) must be made paired with the needed chants in order to create a cleaver that, when activated, heats up and glows a red hue. (or at least the inscribed text will emit a red hue) The creation of a steel rod. Within this rod is room for a small reservoir of water. Then a sacrifice to a lesser spirit under Akathro (Spirit of Water), or more specific: Ice paired with the needed chants will create a rod, that upon activation: will grow a pike-like ice shard on the top. (Using the water in the reservoir as 'fuel') Immortal connections: Can be created by either a Witchdoctor or a Farseer and allows the Shaman to connect a tool to a lesser or greater Immortal Spirit. ~ Witchdoctor: Curses, therefore activation of a connection will cause drawbacks to the Shaman itself. Aside from which, the augmentation the connection brings is one related to cursing and the spirit chosen. Farseer: Blessings, therefore activation of a connection will not cause any drawbacks and the augmentation of the connection is one related to blessing and the spirit chosen. Examples for Immortal connections could be: The creation of an orcish Lumber Axe, smithed through roleplay. Then with inscriptions, a sacrifice and chants to a lesser spirit under Jevax (Spirit of hard work) will create an axe that, upon activation, will cut lumber faster and with more ease. The creation of an orcish spear, smithed through roleplay. Then with inscriptions, a sacrifice and chants to Votar (Spirit of Hunting) will create a tool that, upon activation, will gift the hunter improved scent and ability to track animals. Red Lines: This is all up to change for it is but a concept. Your feedback is very welcome!

This will prove I am either entirely inept, or not as inept as you think I am. Likely the latter. Excuse any awful spelling or grammatical dipshittery as it is 2 in the morning and I've been up since 5 the day before. A bedraggled sage-esque Orcish woman would saunter into any city or town with a large populus, clearly dazed and emaciated. She’d creep to the largest group she could find, regaling her tale of the spirits informing her of a grand catastrophe that’d lead to a great finding. Later she would tell the group who accepted the task that she is a shaman, despite how obvious she may have made that fact. They would trek deep into the spookiest bit of whatever the new map is called, as we will switch to it in less than a week, and eventually come across a frightfully deep chasm in a massive basin, which would later be found to be a drained lake.. The shaman would warn the group of the perils beneath, and I’d [!] to make it seem as lackluster and typical as possible to breed suspicion about the group. After some time, the shaman would shout at the group, continuing to warn them. Either after some time still, or after someone would inquire how dangerous, the shaman would tell them She’d show them, and ask for the party to stand back. She’d rip a dried and marred skull, whose openings would be sealed with fat and sand, from her bandolier of many shaman-y things, and toss it in the hole. A fiery heat and light would wash out of the hole, provided with a noise similar to a flood. The shaman would shriek to the group to run up to the shore of the basin as an awful sludge would spring from the chasm. The shaman would make it out in time. The goop fills the majority of the once-lake’s basin, sloshing up in a slight wave that’d pool at the slight of the shore, before reeling back into its mass. In the puddles’ pseudo-nucleus, deduced by its darker colouration, would be a blackish boulder, quite hefty in size. The sludge would quiver and quake, shifting about to eventually come alive. I’d [!] something pertaining to the fact that the lake was filled with a puddle of death, just so everyone was clear on that. The shaman would stutter, stepping back aways in disbelief and mumbling something about the spirits because shaman. She’d shout at the party to keep the beast away from her as she’d do her work, being as vague as possible, to aid with the suspense. She’d request the group to allow her back into the trees or some equal convenient vision-obscuring device for long enough for her to call for a favor. If arguing would ensue, I’d bolster the severity of the situation via the blob slamming wads of itself into the ground or something similar. If still the group would deny the Shaman the clearance to hide behind something, I’d have the blob do something rather distracting so everyone wouldn’t focus on the Shaman for a moment. Once she is obscured, I will interact with the party as the slime for an amount of time deemed fitting, at which point the bit of obscuring nature the shaman hid behind would cough an animal of fire, which would sprint into the jiggling mass of blob. The canid engulfed in flame would charge through the goo, entirely unimpeded, as its heat is enough to dissipate the slime into a foul smog, which too would dissipate into basically nothing. From the three other cardinal directions would charge similar beasts of flame, that’d cut into the thing that consumed the lake. The creatures would pool in the centre of the slime, chasing each other in a seemingly-choreographed circle, slinging whips of heat through the basin of sentient sludge. The ropes of expanding heat would sling further and further, ending the bizarre ceremony with the tendrils of fire scraping at the basins shoreline. The blob is entirely evaporated, along with the wolves, whom sizzle out into a quaint nothing after their deed is complete. The group would likely not understand at first, and should they not deduce that the random flame-wolves weren't conjured by nothing, I’d emote the shaman groaning or somesuch. Upon the hopeful locating by the group, the shaman would be in deep concentration, mumbling words unknown to any lest they understand the True Blah. They would be visibly shaken, and likely looking as though on the verge of death, as her disheveled state mentioned at the beginning of this awful spiel was not remedied. Should she be disturbed in any way during this bout of gibbering, her mental connection to the spirit realm would quickly severe, shattering her fragile psyche, whereupon she’d bury the smaller end of her staff into her eye, pressing it further until her demise. Should her True Blah requests be allowed to finish by the party, She’d end her connection, and peer to the group with a frightened, thousand-metre stare. If anyone would touch her, she’d collapse as though dead. Should anyone continue to try and tug her back to some form of safety, she’d flip a **** and begin smashing and clawing at the party. Around the beginning of the party’s interactions with the gibbering shaman, a peaceful storm would be forming, with lazy clouds bobbing about to assimilate into larger versions on themselves. The only gesture the shaman would offer, is propping a palm facing the lake on her knee, with a finger stretching towards the basin should the party still now understand what she was asking of them. Upon the party’s hopeful inspection of the lake, which would be caked in foul ash, they would come across a meteorite, entirely whole, laying near the chasm the sludge creeped out of. It is likely a large slime lived about the lake, and the meteorite slammed into the centre of such a lake, causing the lake’s water and any slime dwelling within it to sink into the massive chasm caused by the falling rock, in turn causing the slime to assimilate into one massive slime, which would swell to even larger size via absorbing the water drawn into the chasm. The shaman would not interact with the group apart from the ways mentioned above, she’s asked too much of the spirits and in return they’ve stolen her sanity with the aid of Ixli. Should anyone who speaks True Blah wish to study her babblings before her inevitable starvation, they would learn much, as Ixli’s mind-tearing inducts the knowledge of several well-learned scholars within oneself. The meteorite is enough of a size to lug back to a village with the aid of the party, though carrying would likely be much easier if broken in chunks. The shaman perishes, and will perish no matter what any would do. Weird-ass idea conjured from nothing, sorry if its shite. Sorta not, because creativity, but sorta am at the same time. Please, tell me how awful I am in the comments, It makes me feel as though I lack a skeleton. Sorry about the textwall too Sleepy

Lutauman Clarification by Havel (Suiko) Being the only accepted Lutauman on the server, and upon hearing the different ideas about what a Lutauman actually was, I have decided to clarify, for the sake of lore, who a Lutauman is, what a Lutauman does, and how a Lutauman does it. Definitions: Ancestral Spirit: A dead person; a spirit that has severed connection with it’s mortal body and transcended to the ancestral plane. Ancestral Plane: A place wherein ancestral spirits reside. Not to be confused with the Immortal Spirit plane which is a completely different place for a different type of spirit. Lutauman: A person who is able to contact ancestral spirits (dead people). Blessing: A spirit may bestow a blessing upon a Lutauman. The most common blessing is that of strength, which allows a Lutauman to be temporarily stronger than normal. Blessings can bestow strength, agility, dexterity, etcetera. What does a Lutauman do? A Lutauman can contact ancestral spirits (dead people) How does a Lutauman do that? A Lutauman can contact ancestral spirits by doing ritualistic and/or traditional practices and movements such as burning incense, cactus green, or other plants and objects. The reason for burning is that it helps disconnect the Lutauman’s mind from the world around him and allows him to easier propel his mind into the ancestral plan. The use of objects that were familiar to the ancestral spirit before it was an ancestral spirit can be helpful. Some Lutauman find that going to the place of the mortal death of the spirit, or to the body’s grave can also assist. It varies for each spirit. The Lutauman expends mana to project his mind unto the ancestral plane. If the Lutauman is bound by rope or any other type of restricting binding, he will not be able to expend this mana. Great focus on releasing one’s conscious from the mortal plane is necessary. What might a Lutauman find in the ancestral plane? The ancestral plane is not a plane in which one is either inside of completely, or not in at all. It is rather a plane that one propels his consciousness deeper and deeper, while still maintaining somewhat of a connection to the mortal plane. However, the consciousness is bound to the mortal plane, so staying in the ancestral plane for excessive periods of time is difficult and thus requires excessive levels of mana to be expended. At lower levels of Lutaumanship, a novice might not even be aware that his or her mind had transcended into the ancestral plane, but he or she may be aware, if a spirit was contacted, of extra and foreign information received. The Lutauman might also notice that mana was used. The Lutauman may be able to contact spirits while in the ancestral plane, but only if the spirit chooses to be contacted. The spirits are a fickle bunch. They may not choose to be contacted at first, but then be contacted later; they may also choose to be contacted at first but then not be contacted later. The clarity of information received from a spirit is on a spectrum. The more recent a spirit transcended into the ancestral plane (if its body died recently), the easier and more clear the information a spirit may choose to divulge is. If the spirit’s body died a long time ago, it may be increasingly difficult to contact the spirit, and may take more amounts of mana to propel the Lutauman’s mind deeper into the ancestral plane to find it. Furthermore, due to being so deep in the ancestral plane, messages may be foggier, sound muffled, and be, in general, esoteric and hard to understand. The spirit may no longer communicate in ways that are understandable. Blessings: A Lutauman may ask a spirit for a blessing in times of combat. Novice Lutauman generally have little to no chance of receiving a blessing, unless the spirit greatly desires such blessing to occur and the novice has a good sized mana pool to spend. Blessings bestowed upon the Lutauman have, in the past, aided Lutauman in combat, but such blessings only last for a limited amount of time. A Lutauman may choose to keep his blessing for as long as his mana will permit. Upon his blessing ending, he is as weak as any other, perhaps weaker due to his mana drainage and toll on his mind. While a spirit is being contacted and mana is being expended, the air around the Lutauman may slightly deaden and chill. Depending on the spirit being contacted, the air may even take on a strange taste. As a blessing is bestowed, the Lutauman may faintly show, for example, a red aura, signifying the bestowal of strength. As the blessing is received, the air may heat up if the blessing is of strength. History: According to what is known, the Orcs claim this magic to be a part of Orc Shamanism. The Orcish ancestral spirits have thus defended this tradition by notifying Orc Lutauman of the existence of non-orc Lutauman so that the non-orc Lutauman could be either accepted into Orc society or destroyed, more commonly destroyed than accepted. Lutauman that were not above novice level, however, were usually left undetected/considered not important enough to seek out. OOC Suggestions: It is proposed that, OOCly, all Lutauman record a description of what they find in an OOC book so that all Lutauman are on the same page as to what they found in the ancestral plane...