Amunic Magick
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Divine Magick |
On Amunic Magick
Magick of the Faithful
The magick practised on the isolated isle of Amun Rah is unlike most other forms of magick practised in Tazlure. Highly ritualistic and based in part on religious foundation, Amunic magick deals with spirits and thus is essentially a form of shamanism, although far more formalised than the shamanism practised elsewhere. It is practised almost exclusively by the sorcerer-priest caste of Amun Rah, and has little following outside the isle; indeed, most Tazlurian magick-users scoff at what they see as a restrictive method of practising magick. Yet, despite its trappings of formality and the need for specific physical components for each spellweaving, Amunic magick has a unique power of its own. Because of the focus on spirits of certain magickal aspects that Amunics prefer in their training, they gain a closer affinity with those spirits; because of the religious nature of their craft, the sorcerer-priests have a close rapport with Amun Rah's mysterious Ancestors, protective spirits of the dead that linger to protect the ancient nation and its people.
The order of sorcerer-priests divides their craft into seven Sacred Callings and one Unbandaged Calling which, officially, is not part of the sacred task and training of the caste. Each of the seven Sacred Callings resembles an aspect of magick as prescribed in ancient tomes and rites; the eighth, Unbandaged Calling ('unbandaged' because 'bandaged' refers to the strips in which a sorcerer-priest's lower arms are wrapped, which are considered a holy vestment), is more a by-product of the sorcerers' study of shamanic magic as opposed to the priests who utilise energy granted exclusively by their gods. Though still highly ritualistic, the eighth Calling is the one that truly sets these Amunics apart from priests.
The Ancestors
The mysterious ancestor spirits have been a part of Amun Rah culture for ages, and are one of the reasons why the isle has survived in its current fashion, even though it is technologically and culturally far behind the rest of Tazlure. Belief is a powerful force, and the inhabitants of Amun Rah believe that, upon dying, a portion of the soul remains behind to protect its descendants and those brought under the protection of those descendants. They call these beings the Ancestors, and revere them like lesser gods; each Amunnic family or organization has some of its own ancestors to worship, and even the whole nation has a few – for example the Rafao's, who each join the ranks of their predecessors to continue to watch over Amun Rah after their death. In essence, the ancestors are part memory of a deceased, part manifestation of the power of belief; the more people who believe in their presence and power, and the more important the ancestor was before his or her death, the more powerful it becomes when it takes up its vigilance. Not all of them are equally powerful; the sands of time erode memory, and most ancestors eventually wither away as they become forgotten.
The Sorcerer-Priest
The Amunic sorcerer-priest is neither a sorcerer nor a priest: Amunic magick is not a form of sorcery, and although it is a form of faith it is drawn from spirits rather than gods. As memory and ritual are so important to the ancestor spirits, the sorcerer-priest must gesture and incant, and these gestures are always a set pattern, which has been formalised through many centuries of practice. Wheremost forms of magick have some leeway in incantation and leave gesturing up to the individual user's intuition, Amunic Magick prescribes everything; the casting method defines basic 'components' of prayer-like incantation and gesturing that can be combined to form a specific weaving. Next to this, unlike sorcerers, but much like priests, the Amunics require a casting tool; often, this is a holy symbol of one of their gods, but several kinds of wands and staves are also quite possible. And, also unlike sorcery but like priestly magick, Amunnic spells require spell components. These can be sacrifices to the elementals or to the ancestors; some are consumed in powering the spell, others merely act as a catalyst, remaining unaffected in the process.
It must not be thought that the sorcerer-priests are the priests of Amun Rah. The isle has its fair share of priests, low to high. The important difference is that each priest devotes himself to a single god, and apart from that, a set of ancestors, while the sorcerer-priests serve the whole Amunic pantheon by communicating with the gods' "servants", the spirits. Additionally, while the normal priests' link to the ancestors is more one of reverence, the Amunnic Sorcerers have more of a working relationship with them: they make use of the ancestors' powers, sometimes even invoking one or borrowing one of their powers, making up for that later with rite and sacrifice.
Advanced: The Art in Detail
Now that a general introduction to the Amunic sorcerer-priest has been made, it is time to look at his capabilities in a little more detail. What follows is a description of each of the seven Sacred Callings, along with an explanation of sorcerer-priest philosophy.
The sorcerer-priest works on his bond with the Ancestors. He learns rites to honour them and the gain their trust, so that he may from time to time call upon their powers. These come down to three of the seven Sacred Callings: Memeno, Utmos and Bektet. Also, he learns to follow the ways of the servants of the gods in mirroring their land: the Amunnic Sorcerer learns to deal with spirits of fire, light, air and water in the Callings of Asenti and Ciranti. And finally, he may learn to mimic the powers the gods and their servants have in creation: they master medicinal healing and artifice in Esophis and Akemma.
Alongside the path of learning these seven Aspects, the sorcerer-priest's general ability at handling energy also increases, and he starts to see ways in which different spirits can be called upon and the ritualistic components of Amunic Magick can be applied to create new weavings. The caste does not forbid this unhallowed use of their craft, but also do not elevate this 'generic' shamanism to an official Calling next to the other seven. This is Sefek, the art of creative magick that all Amunics are capable of but see as the least valued tool in their box of tricks.
Memeno
Memeno is the most honoured Calling among the seven. It translates roughly as 'memory of the ancestors', and the Amunics use it to invoke visions and divinations. Because the ancestors are everywhere and the oldest of them have seen the beginning of the world, and because they are in essence infinitely wise and can gauge any chance or twist of fate correctly, their minds can be 'borrowed' to perform almost any kind of divination.
Utmos
Utmos is achieved only when a sorcerer-priest has performed enough rites and sacrifices to appease a particular ancestor, or, at most, a few of them. By creating links between the ancestor and himself or another, the Amunnite can empower himself (or the target) with traits of the ancestor, and even increase them as the ancestor increases in power - something easily achieved by a smart caste member, who can strengthen his ancestor with sacrifices and promote him among the people.
Bektet
Bektet is the ultimate art of ancestral bonding. The Ancestors are, in a way, spirits of the dead; without blasphemous necromancy, they shall never again enter the world. Not so for a sorcerer-priest who has learned the Calling of Bektet: he may offer his body for temporary housing or, at higher levels of proficiency, prepare the body of an animal so that a half-man half-beast avatar is created. These avatars, called Bektet-Ka, are one of the main reasons why no-one has tried to invade Amun Rah more than once.
Asenti
Asenti mimics the most pervasive thing in the whole of Amun Rah: the sun. Be it light, radiance, heat or even devastating fire, the Calling of Asenti teaches Amunics to obtain this energy from elementals of fire and light and to channel it into weavings; the craftiest among them have even found a way to use it for illusion spells.
Ciranti
Ciranti, roughly translated as Weathercraft, gives the sorcerer control over the weather of Amun Rah. As Asenti mimics Uphuron, Ciranti mimics Anasis, mistress of the lake. Practitioners learn to commune with and appease her handmaidens, elementals of air and water. Sandstorms, fog, lightning; even the rare rain can be controlled by a sorcerer-priest who has mastered Ciranti.
Esophis
Esophis is the Amunics' translation of the gods' creative gift to mankind: medicine. With this Calling, the sorcerer-priest can create salves and powders (but never potions) and can create preservative substances and tools. The mightiest of Esophis have even been able to create salves that resurrect the dead, although such an act can offend various spirits and gods and so the practitioner must be aware of the implications of what he does. Drawing its power from communion with the spirits of nature, this Calling also includes elements of alchemy and conventional medicine.
Akemma
Akemma is the pinnacle of mimicry of the gods’ creative powers. With this Sacred Calling of artifice, the sorcerer can create protective amulets; additionally, he can create talismans, which are gem-imbedded pieces of large jewelry, statuettes, rods or staves usually imbued with an ancestor’s powers. The power for this Calling is drawn from willing spirits of earth, fire and metal, and its methods are similar to those of runecraft.
Sefek
Sefek, the Unbandaged Calling, is best defined as 'generic' shamanic magic. Sefek allows the caster a lot more freedom, and its scope is theoretically as unlimited as that of other forms of shamanism: the sorcerer-priest can contact any spirit, use the energy received for any weaving. However, practitioners of Amunic magick will never become as adept or natural at this as other users of shamanic magick, due to the ritualistic way in which they have been taught and the preference for certain types of spirit and certain types of application that is hammered into Amunics at an early age.
Skills Involved
The following three skills are indispensable for any user of Amunic magick, and will all be acquired early on in training.
- Manipulation of Energy: Faith: Unlike a true sorcerer, sorcerer-priests do not have to perform any grounding, centering or shielding; they can cast with only this skill. The priest simply makes the request of the relevant spirit, receives the granted energy, and weaves the energy into the desired effect through ritual and components.
- Communicating with Spirits: This is the skill that allows the sorcerer-priest to make contact with the spirit in the first place in order to make the request. This skill can of course be used without requesting energy at all. Higher levels of the skill represent an improved facility for communication across the gap between the Tether and the Aether and greater experience of dealing with spirits, including Ancestors. In brief, it means that you can contact Ancestors and elementals more easily and they will respond better.
- Ancestral Rites: This skill allows the sorcerer-priest to make use of the relevant rites and rituals to curry favour with the traditionalistic Ancestors and to focus weavings into tried-and-tested forms.
The following two skills are not essential, but are handy to have.
- Lore of Ancestors: It stands to reason that the more you know about Ancestors and who they are the more effectively you will be able to deal with them.
- Blood Magick: Sure, it's a bit icky, but it has many applications, and blood sacrifice is highly respected by the Ancestors.
Tools and Components
What does the caster require as tools and components? First of all, the tools of casting are rather simple. The Amunic requires one of three casting tools, depending on what sort of effect he wants to create. If the effect falls under the umbrella of one of the three ancestor Callings, he must carry a Talisman with inscriptions of ancestor worship. For one of the four elemental-based Callings, they require a wand or staff in which a holy symbol or relic is incorporated. For Unbandaged casting, any kind of Talisman will do.
As for components, this is rather simple: each weaving requires one or two components which are usually consumed by the casting process. These can be sacrifices to gods, elementals or ancestors, or they can be items related to the casting. For example, for a casting from the sun-Calling of Asenti, the caster might burn a small piece of cloth in offering to Uphuron or to one of his fire elemental servants. Examples of components that would not be consumed in the casting (but simply need to be present and incorporated into the ritualistic casting) are a sharp dagger for a warrior-ancestor or a pouch of desert sand for a sandstorm spell.
Finally, a word on the way that ritual and prayer increase casting time. It stands to reason that an Amunic magick user has increased casting time, simply because he has more to do during the casting process. Contacting the spirits and requesting energy takes more time than it does for most shamanic magic users, since it must be done in a more formal, ritualistic manner. The weaving phase also takes longer. Sorcerer-priests often draw out this phase to maximise the ritual's effect (and for more impressive effect). However, in the case of a normal weaving, Amunic magick never takes more than three times as long as any other type of casting.
