Editor: Wylsin Plindane, Abecedarian of Mystics

Letters to the editor may be sent c/o the Consortium

The first point, and one of the most dreaded ailments a psionicist can
afflict is the ability to implant visions in the mind of our intended
target. On its own, it does a number of things. First is hamper the
targets resistance to further mental ailments. The second thing, is when
the target attempts to use a targeted spell, skill or otherwise ability,
there is a chance they will hit a stray image instead of the psionicist.
The spell also allows various others to cause a secondary effect which is
nothing but a boon to the caster. Some other notable spells that play with
it are Clairvoyance and Heavy Metal.

A spell that fellow mages, not so much clerics, should be fearful of is
'brainwash'. This spell temporary blocks one's ability to access spells.
Quite dreadful I know, it also has some niche uses against the more martial
combatants, if luck favors you. As a side effect of the washing causes the
target to forget how to use a random weapon in their repertoire. On its
own, not nearly as fearful as the implanting of visions, but quite a
hindrance to be sure.

Having talked about two of our more offense aligned spells, I'll focus
instead now on a defensive one. The 'pyramid of force'. The pyramid offers
some protection, much like the aura of sanctuary, but not to the same
degree. But that said, it has a number of effects. When the pyramid is in
place, an aggressor who strikes at the psionicist will sometimes find their
attacks repelled, either at the aggressor or another body within the same
room. I have seen a knight attempt to strike at me instead lash out at
their steed in turn. The pyramid can also at times in combat randomly repel
a strike as well. But it can be forced as well. Telekinetic abilities, like
turning one's flesh into armor or using a ballistic attack will charge the
pyramid with a positive charge.. Using telepathic abilities, like implant
visions or mind thrust, will provide a negative charge. The charge can also
be shifted using either the 'blade slash' or 'ego whip' to suit the needs of
the battle.

Serin has always been a land of change, as evidenced by the change of the
name of the land from Thera in the distant past. In recent times, the gods
felt it necessary to alter and amend the elemental shields used by the mage
invokers of the land. By and large, the deficient, or lesser races, pounced
on this alteration and amendment and have changed their lifestyle
accordingly. My hypothesis is that all this maneuvering has been a ploy by
the Gods to distract Mage Invokers from using their most powerful barrier
and mana shield spells. The benefits of lightening shield, fire shield and
ice shield are many I do agree. However, unless a Mage Invoker is as dim as
a gnome, they would realize that the risks outweigh the benefits. Through
my testing, 100% of the time, a barrier or mana shield spell (depending on
the scenario) was the more effective shield.

I will not bore you, dear reader, with numbers. Take my word for it. Any
Mage Invoker that is using an elemental shield has a death wish and when
they die, will donate their brain of a stupid idiot to Theod the Butcher.

This experimentation was performed over a long period of time, in controlled
environments in Emerald Forest and the Faction of Steel.

- Pauwyr Rawyr the Sage of Arcane Power, Oracle of Arcane

Dereliction of Elemental Shield Use by Diminutive Species

If you wish your brain to be served as an hors d'oeuvre, take the advice of a
quasit. To say that there is no use for shields of any elemental flavor is a
of the study to Emerald Forest and Faction of Steel ignores the hostile heat
of battle, when weapons fly in and out of their sheaths faster than even a
pixie can blink. Once limited to shield or barrier, it is then that the
invoker has signed their death wish. Unless of course they have been brave
enough to bear through the oncoming assault and prevail. A fine line to
waltz.

To ensure that you dance on your side of victory, one must tune her shield
carefully to their opponent. Fire shields are reliable in nearly any
circumstance, unless one does battle against a firegiant or some vagabond
reeking of ginkgo. The ice shield is a valuable resource against those
fiendish fighters. Have your icicle ready for when you see their fingers
grow chilled and a free hand ready to grab their blade when it falls. The
lightning shield is useful when your foe is foolish enough to face you with
no protection from elemental magics. It also strikes true against those who
rely on purple potions for their protection, so it is another viable target
against enemies without cabal connections.

Signed,

Duchess Ilromie Illistarre, Arcane Archivist and Polymath of History

It is with great enthusiasm that I publicize this initial corpus of research
and invite any and all to join me in this exciting endeavor!

The subject of my inquiries, and the central inflection point of it if you
will, is the role of sound in magic. However, perhaps to the surprise of
none, I think of magic in the same manner as I think of a story. My drive
to discover the complete narrative lurking behind each scattered detail
leads my studies in a direction of greater breadth more akin to the study of
the nature of magic itself. As a fair warning, and also without surprise,
my work might more accurately be described as a collection of observations
and hypotheses rather than a truly solidified body of research. The Oracle
of the Stars told me that he expected my entrant to be full of conjecture
and you do all know how earnestly I aim to please. I do so hope to entice
the more scholastically minded amongst you to extend the work in whatever
diligent fashion you see fit! Note that these theories will deal heavily
with realms outside of Serin. For the sake of clarity, we shall set aside
the minutiae of terminology such as dimension, world, realm, etc, and simply
use the term "reality" to refer to all distinct locals, Serin or otherwise.

Despite my personal preferences, I acknowledge that this symposium is not a
grand venue for the telling of stories. So let us not bury the lede and
begin with the fundamental hypotheses which I hereby formally posit.
Supporting evidence shall then be offered for each if you are willing to
join me on a ramble. Brace yourself! For these theories are not for the
faint of heart and may make you question your very worldview if you've only
the fortitude and the mental agility to do so.

1. All magic is collaborative
2. Most magic is divine
3. Minor "magic" is actually not magic at all but rather the intermixing of
two realities
4. And Sound, specifically the language of magic, is the method by which
one pierces the veil between realities to commune with the Gods of another

So come with me on this pilgrimage, friends. For it seems we are all
clerics after all.

Our journey begins with a dearly departed friend who was taken from us
too soon. Ravia was a bard of the most unique composition in all of Serin.
She lacked a tongue. Yet, somehow, she still sang. Oh, she had various
replacements but it is hard to believe these trinkets had the delicacy to
sing the songs of a master bard. And, furthermore, she sang in a voice that
was not her own. She began a research group to study the nature of sound
magics and to her I owe this entire line of inquiry. She put forth that in
any musical scenario there are at least three persons involved in a
performance: The composer, the musician, and the listener. Then she posed
the question which of these is the source of the power of sound magic (as
well as several other intriguing queries)? Our esteemed colleague Pauwyr
then contributed that it may, in fact, be a collective force drawing from
the composer and the musician and that this made sound magic unique. At
this point, yours truly entered the discourse.

I proposed that perhaps Pauwyr was correct but too narrow in his assertion
and shared my contemplations on how illusions are also inherently
collaborative. It was a most stirring missive that I will not repeat in its
entirety but suffice to say that I made a compelling case that illusion
magic is dependent upon the contributions of the target both for assumptions
and details of function and for force of impact. The strongest evidence of
this is the illusory beasts, their order of strength, and that their
appearance varies from casting to casting. I further suggested that while
the target's mind lends details to the illusions the soul is what lends
force to make it real.

I now put forth that like Pauwyr, I too was overly narrow in my initial
assertions. Bardic and Illusion magic do appear more similar than other
types. Both are collaborative. And both are often grounded in this reality
in similar fashion. Stories that are known. Creatures that are feared.
And a force generated by both caster and target. But consider what other
magics are clearly collaborative? Once one widens their perspective the
answer is obvious. Divine magic. A collaboration between a priest and
their chosen God. And where else does one find sound in magic? Again, the
answer is obvious. In all magic. Illusionists, necromancers, invokers. We
all speak when we cast. In the tongue of magic. When struck silent, we
cannot cast. These are not arcane and mysterious words of ill understood
purpose taught to us by our respective guilds. There is one dominant
purpose to speech. To communicate. The appropriate question is not why we
speak when we cast. The question is, to whom do we speak?

Our journey now takes a slight tangent to a topic most familiar to
myself. That of belonging. It is the normal order for a creature to be
"of" a place. The person born and raised in Seringale who knows its alleys
and its stories as if it were a part of them. The predators of the jungle
who camouflage so perfectly that they are near invisible. And when you are
of a place, it is a part of you and you a part of it. So how is this
pertinent to our discourse? It is equally possible to be "of" a reality.

I began investigating this concept after watching Wylsin's demonstration of
Fire evocation during the launch party for the first issue of the 16th
volume of the Mystique. I confess now that I was unable to follow along.
But it did feel familiar. And what could be more familiar to me than
myself? For I am not "of" this reality. I, like my kind, am "of" Acadia as
you all call it. So let us set aside Fire for the moment and instead focus
on the Fae.

What of the abilities particular to Pixies? The ability to shrink. The
ability to fly. The thing about reality is that there are rules that govern
them. These rules are taken as fundamental by those "of" that reality. But
each reality is different. It is a common thing for a traveler of one
reality visiting another to perceive the differences in the inherent rules
between the two realities as magical. The prodigious writer Serra described
Acadia as atypically full of magic. Indeed, with Acadia being one of the
most accessible alternate realities, even creatures of Acadia have come to
adopt the term. But in truth, the rules are just different. One of the
major differences is that the physical is far less permanent in Acadia than
it is in Serin. It is far more malleable. Things can be changed with
relative ease. Objects can be altered, appearances shifted. But the
altered item remains the very same thing despite these alterations. Indeed,
the inability of visitors to discern that an object is still the same object
after permutation makes for a favored game of young pixes. It tickles them
proper.

So when a pixie, such as myself, comes to Serin how do they shrink items?
Objects and forms have far stronger permanence here. How do I do it? The
answer is straightforward. I do not shrink them in Serin. I shrink them in
Acadia. This is a key difference between enchanting as an invoker does and
shrinking. I cannot shrink an item upon the ground. I must hold it. I am
"of" Acadia. And I carry Acadia with me at all times. I can extend my
native reality to encompass the item I hold. There I alter it. Then I
release, the item returns to the reality of Serin, and it remains shrunken
for objects do not simply change willy-nilly here. Pixie dust works on the
same premise. The dust is of me. And I am of Acadia. This ability to mix
realities, to combine the properties of the two, is central to many minor
magics. Indeed, I would argue these are not actually magic at all.

So where does the evocation of Fire tie in? The thing about belonging is
that it is also not permanent. It holds great power. It is difficult to
alter. But it can shifted through time and decisions. A person who starts
of one place can eventually become of another. My kind again produce a fine
example of the concept. When a pixie comes to Serin and begins worshiping a
God of this reality they show their devotion as would any other native of
Serin. And this level of commitment and recurrence eventually changes them.
Eventually, they lose their Fae gifts. They can no longer shrink items.
Their dust no longer provides flight. For they are no longer "of" Acadia.
They have become "of" Serin. They can no longer call to Acadia and project
it about themselves for it is no longer home.

Now, we return to Fire. Why is it that only Wylsin and Valindra were able
to evoke Fire? Why was Wylsin's stronger? I believe these are the same
principles in practice. Invokers are learning to project other realities
through their meticulous studies and practices. Elemental realities. They
learn to attune themselves to them. And the more they study, the stronger
they become able to do so. This is evident in their specializations as
well. Wylsin did not create fire magically. He exposed the natural
properties of that reality for us all to see.

Thank you to all readers who have stuck with the journey thus far. We
now spiral towards the completion of our walkabout as we attempt to tie
together everything we have discovered up to now. We have seen how minor
magics are actually the blending of two realities that utilize the
properties of each to impart an effect. We have also observed that the
ability to project an alternate reality can be both acquired and lost. And
finally, we have seen limitations set upon this methodology. Most
specifically distance. My need to hold the item I shrink. The aura of
flame tightly encompassing Wylsin during his evocation of Fire.

So what of the more bombastic of magics that all here are capable of? The
magics which require us to speak as we cast? Consider what is known.
Divine magic is capable of such dramatic impacts. A divine caster communes,
telepathically, with a God of their own reality, and the God imparts great
feats beyond what any mortal could accomplish. And divine casters devote to
their God regularly. The more they devote, the more favor they obtain, the
stronger their bond, the more they advance in the guild, and the greater
effects they can request. We have also seen that Gods have unique
capabilities in the greater boons they offer their own.

Now compare this to what we "know" of arcane casters if we are accepting
this line of hypothesis. The veil between realities can be pierced. We
speak when we cast. A caster can become attuned to an alternate reality
such that they can project it as a native creature who is "of" it can. The
more we pursue a particular school of magic the stronger we become in it.
The projection and mixing of realities is constrained in its impact. The
spells we cast far outstrip these constraints. Now consider, what does all
this call to mind? And consider the question from earlier: To whom do we
speak?

Pixies become "of" Serin by devoting to Serin Gods. Divine casters gain
strength through increased devotion. We are doing the same thing. We are
speaking to the Gods of other realities. They are granting us power.
Invokers are "attuning" to an elemental reality through consistent and
repeated action. It is devotion. It is one and the same. The only reason
we cast instead of commune is because the language of magic is the pathway
to piercing the veil between realities to speak with these foreign Gods.
Call them what you want. Gods, forces, extradimensional entities. But they
can converse. And they can grant power on a level comparable to the Serin
Gods. I suspect the founders of our respective guilds were great explorers
and visited these realities in person to learn the secret building blocks of
the arcane tongue.

Still not convinced? Then one last piece of evidence. I can directly tie
one Illusionist spell to its granting deity: Terrain. When one is under the
blessed embrace of terrain they lose all sense of orientation and detail of
landscape. They simply find themselves Within the Heart of Losla. Many
think this to be a simple deception of the mind. An illusory landscape.
But who conceived of this place? Of this Losla? Nobody. For Losla is very
much real. And her heart is very much all encompassing. You can confirm
this for yourself as I did. Take a journey to the Ethereal Plane. There
you will find no illusion but a real place. Roughly every fifth location is
of this local: Within the Hearth of Losla. She is real and her heart has
room for us all. When an Illusionist casts terrain they make a request of
Losla and she welcomes our targets into her loving embrace.

- Trillian Triffle, Researcher Extraordinaire

I have never felt a call to supplicate myself before a god and ask for their
power to be channeled through me. When my sister stood in great need before
me, I gazed inward and conceived a great unbinding through my own power and
knowledge. Luck was by my side, for the one whom I had need to save had
unlocked such power in me before. It needed only to be guided to my goal.

In fact, every form of magic can be accelerated, charged, and conflated by
the manipulation of trines. Truthfully, one should aspire to a triad
of trines. This can be difficult, but ensures the strongest result.
Fear not, I will teach you the basics of a blessing.


I:
The largest of your bindings must call together the three connections of
intent. These will form the boundaries of the magic that you can channel.
Often, these strictures are set forth as part of a spoken ritual. Once they
are defined, you can further refine how they will eventually bend and twist
the blessing through the smaller triads that support them.

- the benefactor of the spell
- the power to be wielded
- your specific desire


II:
The next triad of your casting should be made trifold across the earlier
three. You must draw straight lines of connections between the three key
realms of existence. This ensures that the blessing will be granted to the
one whom you wish to honor and gives you great control over the immediate
affects. Once blessed, nothing can stop the loose power, so choose your
devices with care.

-- physical
-- mental
-- spiritual


III:
The final triad should be cast upon each of the nine items or aspects which
comprise the first two steps. Consider the meaning of each contrivance and
how they work in concert to conceive your blessing. During the speaking or
casting of the blessing, raw power must flow through three channels. If
your earlier preparations were completed, this will create a tapestry of
power and intent capable of intense change. For each relic, consider the
following trajectories:

--- weakness to allow a foothold
--- strength to grant firm ground upon which to grow
--- tenacity to ensure longevity


In every case I have seen, a blessing or curse is most effective when it is
granted by one who is already well acquainted with the target. The more
personal information one has, the stronger the final triad of bindings can
be made and the greater shall be the result.

It is noted by the author that once a blessing is granted, it may grow and
change without further influence by the blessor. Such powerful magics are
inherently chaotic and even with a perfect binding, may have unintended
consequences. Bless at your own risk.

For ages past, the Mystics of Arcana have sought to understand the fundamental
nature of Magic. Where does it derive its power from? What is the source of
the energies that fuel its effects? Questions such as these continue ad
infinitum.

The term given to the searched for source is given as 'The Ether' by many magi.
Others may have another name for it, but a similar concept. Though this term
has been coined, a firm understanding of the phenomenon to which it refers has
yet eluded even the most dedicated researchers in the history of Serin. I
have dedicated myself to furthering this understanding, but certainly I would
not be so arrogant as to assume that I would be able to quickly solve what
generations before me yet have not.

However, being a specialist of Fire, and having mastered all such spells, I
set myself to understanding evoking the Ether to manifest as Flame. By gaining
insight in this regard, a path to further understanding of the Ether may be
forged.

The first experiment, was a mental one. In order to investigate the possible
manifestations of Fire from the Ether, I needed to eliminate possible dead-ends.
I considered the hypothesis that the manipulation and manifestation of magical
effects from the Ether requires a conscious mind. This can be discounted by
the observation that there are entirely natural magical manifestations that
are not the product of any creature's will. Simply a crossing of strong
magical leylines can produce magical effects at that intersection.

My next experiment was to be physical. I went to an area of strong magical
forces, the Elemental Canyon. Therein resides the Blue Flame elemental. This
creature is intensely magical, composed of fire, and coalesces into the magical
fire amulet upon extinguishment. As with most creatures in Serin, this will
remanifest itself after a time, so it presented a readily repeatable
experimental foundation. I placed many mundane objects in close proximity to
observe possible physical interactions which may give clues to more fundamental
forces at work. For example, I procured a lodestone (no, not a Toadstone, Ms.
Illistarre, calm yourself) which, though magical in nature, has also a strong
internal magnetism. The hypothesis being that if the Ether interacts with
magnetic things there may be some connection there. However, it transpired
that there was no reaction from the lodestone, or in fact any other mundane
object I attempted to force an interaction with.

I repeated these experiments with the other elemental manifestations in the
Canyon, but found no conflicting results. I will make the caveat here that I
am not specialized in these other elements, though I have mastered in personally
manifesting them in accordance with my guild's teachings. It is therefore a
possibility that there is some subtle effect that I have overlooked. I would
invite the specialists of these other elements to replicate my experiments to
confirm my conclusions. That conclusion is, based upon this experimental data,
the magical forces manifested from the Ether are entirely independent from
the more mundane forces in the world.

My next set of experiments shall attempt to detect the fluctuations from the
Ethereal dimensions that manifest themselves as Magic in our reality. I believe
that locating one of the aforementioned leyline intersections will be the most
effective place to begin these experiments. I have a few ideas for such
locations, but would warmly welcome suggestions from those whom participate in
the upcoming Symposium of Magical Thought.

(sealed by the sigil of the Abecedarian)

Wylsin Plindane
- Abecedarian of the Mystics of Arcana

I have taken it upon myself to research the benefits of slowing oneself
while engaged in battle. I seek to answer the question, "is the diminished
dexterity worth the enhanced mind recovery while maintaining a barrier or
mana shield?"

While slowed, I had an average mind recovery of 5.8% per Serin hour. This
was more than twice the rate of my mind's normal recovery, estimated at 2.4%
per Serin hour. These estimates were measured across 10 Serin hours each
while slowed and not slowed. This was controlled with no additional mind
recovery at play. A larger sample size may shift these average recovery
rates slightly, but not substantially.

My diminished dexterity translated to an increase in impact from a foe's
blows by 2.5%.

Based on my cursory research, I conclude that the diminished dexterity is
indeed worth the additional mind recovery while in battle. Furthermore, the
diminished dexterity can be offset by carefully selected armor and trinkets.

Fastidiously,
Foggledonk