Esoteric Path

The Esoteric Paths of Magic are the roads walked by magi within the world.
Magic makes up one half of the
arts of the supernatural. Spirits make up the world and everything within it,
and their essences are bound together by the ineffable laws laid down by Tey’Kor-Akx. Most matter other than the base elements
of water, air, fire and earth is composed on the microscopic level of highly
complex arrangements of tiny spirits known as facets. The facets most commonly
found in living tissue are gaeas (facets of earth), undines (facets of water)
and slyphs (facets of air). Even the most basic of animal cells contains
countless daemons acting in conjunction with each other to generate life.
That which operates within the
sacred bounds defined by the Law is the natural. That which lies outside of
these bounds is unnatural – that which was not intended to be by Tey’Kor-Akx.
Most mortal creatures cannot surpass the Law of Time and alter the course of
interactions between matter and energy. Tey’Kor-Akx encoded within the Law the
ability of spirits of Air, Cold, Dream, Earth, Fire, Light, Time, Underworld
and Water to surpass natural processes should they desire it, but forbade
spirits of Darkness from doing the same, knowing that they are the antithesis
of existence. Such intervention by spirits as planned for within the Law is
termed the “supernatural” to reflect the spirit world’s predominance over the
world of Flesh, although the term is also used loosely to include demonolatry
and use of perverse magic, both of which fundamentally violate the Law. The
degree to which a spirit can exert its will over and above the tenets of the
Law is dependent on its level of power. Most spirits under spirit level 4
cannot significantly alter the course of nature outside of their current
locale, and those under spirit level 7 must expend great amounts of energy in
bringing permanent change to the world. The primordials and Tey’Kor-Akx
itself are generally acknowledged to be able to alter the world through their own
willpower as they please, so long as their influence does not break the
configurations laid down by Time.
The supernatural forces of the
primordials and their children, the gods, are the means through which
mysticism is granted and wielded by mortal worshippers – those sapient
individuals who devote their mortal days to the growth of a divinity’s power
are often rewarded with rituals that draw directly from the spiritual essence
of their deity. This form of supernatural power stemming from religion was
preceded by even older religions, however – the Esoteric Paths of Magic.
Unlike mysticism, the power of
magic does not stem directly from spirits themselves, but from the ability to
perceive and eventually manipulate the forces that bind spirits in the world
together – the Law of Tey’Kor-Akx itself. When the Law was created, Tey’Kor-Akx
knew that in order to stave off relentless hordes of demons, the scaffold of
the world must be flexible enough to tolerate various metaphysical stresses – a
structure that is too rigid can become brittle and shatter easily. In its
infinite wisdom, Time taught its children the limits to which the fabric of
reality could be stretched without breaking, and created the first Esoteric
Path of chronomancy as an example. The 44 trolls then went on to explore the
nature of the world’s scaffolding further, and through their unsurpassed
intellect devised four more Paths: necromancy, witchcraft, psychomancy and
evocation. The laws of magic were taught to the orcs as sacred oaths necessary
for the protection of creation from the wrath of Oblivion, and the Paths became
the world’s first religions, vastly more ancient than the churches of gods and
dragons that arose thousands of cycles later. The foremost law for the sacred use
of the five Esoteric Paths of the Magi was that the threads of reality must
never be stretched so far as to break, as this damages the fabric of the world
and makes it easier for demons to fray the spiritual tapestry. Those who
pervert the intended use of magic accrue malfeasance as a divine punishment
from Tey’Kor-Akx, and there are various dire consequences for such a
transgression against nature.
While the arts explored here
briefly cover the old religions of magic and the newer practices of mysticism, there
is a third art that will not be covered here – qlippoth, the very blackest
of arts perpetrated by the warlocks who have inverted their souls and turned
themselves over to Oblivion. These arts will be explored later, but for now all that shall be said is
that while the magi stubbornly maintain that qlippoth is a blasphemous
perversion of their sacred paths, warlocks claim that in fact their
manipulations of entropy are far older than the Esoteric Paths, having been
refined within worlds preceding Thaelis-Y'Arda.
History of Magic
For thousands of cycles before any other sapient species
were created, the orcs made use of the Esoteric Paths in even their oldest
agrarian societies. Domini were staples of their communities, using their
powers for the betterment of their societies by easing emotional suffering,
reforming criminals and tending the deranged and insane. Witch doctors also
aided in the pairing of mates, the raising of children and the maintenance of
good relations with the forests and the creatures contained within, and brewed healing salves for the injured.
The Esoteric Path of evocation was originally created for
the defence of the world at large. With the focus primarily upon
repelling demons which would break through the barriers between creation and
the Outer Darkness, later the growing tensions between the trolls and the gods
led to the rigorous training of evokers in the practice of banishing all
spirits which may come to serve the spawn of the primordials. During the
Great Divide, summoners bound many of the lesser gods within rocks, trees and
other objects.
The leaders of orcish society, even to this day, have always
been the chronomancers and the necromancers, who serve as philosophers and
judges respectively.
Sacred necromancers practised their arts through the use of
mirrors, which were created by Nogus. The mirrors used in the practice of
necromancy are precisely constructed objects which can be of any size, but must
always have a surface of pure, unalloyed silver. The potency of a mirror
increases with the consistency of its surface – the more flawless the
reflection, the greater the amount of concentrated necromantic energy. The size
of the mirror does not matter, although should a necromancer wish to enter the
Other Side of the Mirror or call forth hollow trolls, the mirror must be of
sufficient size for them to step through. The most reliable way to identify a
magus who has violated the morality of Tey’Kor-Akx is to observe their
reflection. Malfeasance presents itself as a crackling black aura that grows
brighter with the magnitude of a mage’s transgressions against the Law. All
warlocks without exception emanate malfeasance due to their inverted souls, and
powerful anti-magi are not tolerated within Nogus’s realm, possessing no
reflections at all.
Most malfeasant magi who are repentant are passed over to
the domini for rehabilitation. However, serial offenders who repeatedly
transgress against the Law which protects the very integrity of the world,
usually profane necromancers, who are known to consort with demons, are given
much harsher sentences. The worst offenders are condemned to have their souls carved
out and transferred to either the mirror (magi) or a shard of glass (warlocks).
The dividing of the evil soul into its seven portions prevents it from being
reincarnated, essentially removing the threatening stain of chaos and
annihilation from the cycle of life and death.
Chronomancy
Chronomancy is the oldest magical discipline in the world.
Oracles strive to become in tune with the flow of time itself, heightening
their awareness of it and learning to manipulate their own flow within it. It
is important to note that chronomancy does not allow one to control time
itself, but rather to control the passage of objects and people through it. Chronomancy is the guardianship of Time and Order itself - that which keeps reality insulated from Oblivion's Annihilating wrath.
Animancy
Animancy, or psychomancy, is the discipline of imposing one’s will over the
will of another. This is done through vigorous study of the nature of the soul
and of the mind, which are fundamentally linked. The sacred laws surrounding the responsible use of this Path are known to be especially strict. Animancy is the guardianship of the mind - that which arises from a soul's mortality - and the staving off of insanity and demonic corruption.
Evocation
Evocation, or
summoning, is the art of manipulating the Lawful threads of the barriers that
hold and compartmentalise the world. This allows the magus to call forth
spirits from other realms and even to tread into these realms themselves. Evocation is the guardianship of the ancient Pact Primordus made between the spirits and the fleshbound near the dawn of Time.
Summoning spells
involve the drawing of a summoning circle, which incorporates mathematical
symbols written in korakx, the purpose of which is to open the portal to
another realm through which the conjured spirit enters the Fleshlands. In
addition to the magical symbols, characters inscribed in the language of the
appropriate primordial for the type of spirit to be called upon must spell
out the primordial’s name as well as the true name of the spirit to be
summoned. Most spirits demand tribute for their summoning, the form of which is
typically is as follows:
Sylphs – specific
sonic resonances must be played around the summoning circle, be they musical
chords, harmonised chants, the sounds of chimes tinkling in the wind, etc.
Other objects such as feathers, the claws and bones of birds, blue diamonds and
insect wings are also used to compliment the evocation.
Undines – a body of
water should be provided for the spirit, be it a well, a large bowl, a pond or
lake, etc. In addition, the scales and bones of fish, crab claws, coral, seashells,
aquamarine diamonds, sapphires and other objects tied to the oceans are often
used to empower the summoning spell.
Efreets – a source of
intense heat should be provided for the spirit, be it a brazier, torch, lava
pool etc. Volcanic rocks, glass objects, red diamonds and smoky incenses are
often used as physical components to compliment the summoning ritual. Of all
summoning circles, those created to summon efreets are the most likely to
incorporate burning candles.
Boreas – a source of
intense cold should be provided for the spirit. This is usually achieved by
freezing water using the Fingertips of Frost ritual. Ice, white diamonds and the
bones of tundra creatures are often complimentary to such summoning rituals. It
is common practice for the circle to be drawn directly in the snow.
Demons – a blood
sacrifice should be offered up to the demon, often in a large vessel. More
powerful demons require greater and more terrible sacrifices. Black diamonds,
obsidian, moonstones and bodily organs are often also used to make the ritual
more attractive to the spirits of the Outer Darkness.
Angels – A bright
light should be provided for the angel. This is often achieved through
refracting light through crystals or glass. If the circle is drawn in direct,
strong sunlight, that is sufficient for the ritual’s success. Trapping of gold,
yellow diamonds and geometric sculptures are often used to compliment the
summoning of heaven’s spirits.
Gaeas – An offering
of fertile soil should be provided for the spirit, be it from a forest floor, a
tilled field, or any other natural source. It is often the case that
gaea-summoning circles are drawn upon soil itself to fulfil this need. Leaves,
animal bones, bark, honey, milk, earthworms, green diamonds and other physical components can
aid in the strength of the summoning spell.
Inferi – an offering
of bone or cremated ash should be provided for the spirit. Such offerings are
frequently incorporated into the circle itself. Although difficult, a circle
inscribed in iron, silver or carved in stone is pleasing to the inferi as an
alternative, and raw metal ore and grey diamonds lend strength to the ritual.
Lacuna – No special
offering appears to be necessary to summon these spirits, although the
mathematics required to draw them forth from the Void are incredibly complex. Spirit Line Time cannot be chosen by an evoker who has an INT score less than 11.
Temporal – No special
offering is required to summon these time spirits, but each phase of the ritual
must take a precise length of time.
Ephemeral – A
specially created dream-catcher must be fashioned in order to anchor the
dreamland spirits to the Fleshlands. and the greatest of these catchers often incorporate purple diamonds.
The summoning spells cast by evokers incorporate both the
language of korakx (mathematical symbols to open a gateway to another world) and
the language of the relevant elder creator of the spirit type to be summoned (the
true name of the spirit itself, or the name of the spirit’s elder creator,
which summons facets or a random spirit of that type).
The summoning rituals cast by the clergy of the divinities
use only the language of the relevant elder creator. Again, the name of the
elder creator and the true name of the summoned spirit are written within the
circle. However, where a magus would write Korakxan symbols to open a portal to
another realm, a mystic instead writes the name of his divinity, channelling
their power to open the portal.
Necromancy
Necromancy was the
second magical discipline to be perfected into an Esoteric Path and focuses
around the energies and Laws surrounding the soul. This allows necromancers to
interact with ghosts, and a number of perversions of the art of Nogus have
emerged, created by arrogant necromancers seeking immortality. Sacred necromancy is the guardianship of life, death and the mortality of the flesh, that which allows consciousness to persist.
Witchery
Witchcraft is the
most diverse of the Esoteric Paths, dealing broadly with all the natural forces
that secretly govern the material world, such as emotions, wildlife and fate.
Enlightened witches were originally tasked with preserving the ordered state of
nature, but over thousands of cycles many witches have grown bitter and
selfish, using their powers to inflict their hatred upon others. Amaranthy is the guardianship of nature - the countless plants and animals that house the innumerable tiniest fragments of the Over-Soul.
Profane Magic
While any manipulation of the Law can be used in a manner
which breaks the code of Tey’Kor-Akx (aiding the followers of the gods, harming
temporals, summoning demons etc.), the most deviant and fiendish of rogue magi
not only misuse the sacred arts but pervert their very nature, bending reality
past its breaking point.
The forbidden methods through which the Law may be broken
are taught by demons of the Outer Darkness, and these beings are constantly on
the lookout for mortals seeking shortcuts to arcane power. Indeed, the now
common spells of profane necromancy were developed by arrogant magi under the
instruction of warlocks of Oblivion. Every profane spell invoked weakens the
bounds of reality, inviting horrid things from the Outer Darkness to encroach
upon creation. For this reason, sacred magi will not tolerate those who tread
the perverted paths, for it is the defining duty of those who practise the
esoteric paths to safeguard reality, not to give the world over to the minions
of primordial darkness and entropy that seek to destroy it.
The perverse paths of magic fundamentally revert the
principles that the sacred paths were designed around. Where the sacred path of
animancy was created to heal the mentally ill and soften the blows of intense
grief and suffering, profane domination solely works to break the sanity and
mental faculties of others, sowing torment, enslavement and social dysfunction. Where the
sacred path of necromancy was intended as an art through which the sanctity of
death and the soul would be protected, profane necromancy violates the rest of
the deceased and forces them to dance to the will of amoral masters. Where the
sacred path of evocation was intended as an art through which malign spirits
could be banished from Creation, profane evocation grants demons and other
horrid things from the Outer Darkness access to the world they were barred from
entering. Finally, where the sacred path of witchcraft was meant to facilitate
an existence in harmony with nature’s laws, the profane path of thorns allows a
magus to harness natural forces and turn them against themselves.
Profane chronomancy has never been successfully practised,
but the priests of Tey’Kor-Akx consider this to be the grossest violation of
the Law that could conceivably be inflicted. The passage of mortals forwards
through time requires no trespass upon the turning of the cycles, but to
re-live the past would require for the rules of time themselves to be rent
asunder. The process by which a window of the past might be wrenched with
infinite violence into the present is nigh-unfathomable, as are the dire consequences
such a perversion of nature would necessarily entail.