Terramancy

**Terramancy** is the name given to a type of sorcery exclusively inherited by members of the House of Blackthorne. Its practitioners, given the name Terramancers, have an ability to interface with, manipulate and distort the natural world of the planet Terros and the dimension it is contained within. This grants the power to alter biological life as well as nature itself to one's will. It has a wide range of applications; terramancers can shoot lightning from their hands, cause localized earthquakes and storms, cause plant life to bloom or wither, even mutate the physical makeup of a target's body.

The ability is very rare, and cannot be learned by wizards, though some of its simpler applications can be simulated through other schools of magic. For most of its existence it appeared to pass down exclusively through the main male line of Balthazar's descendants, though occasional exceptions would occur. Forcible repression of the power in the bloodline caused mutations, seen in scions such as Dominic and Aron Blackthorne. When Queen Talia I ascended to the throne, her experimentation with the ability allowed varying degrees of its power to be passed down to her own descendants in the Blackthorne Royal Family.

Terramancy is technically classified as a demonic power and therefore can be stymied by the presence of Drow blood, as that species has a resistance to the Void. This is not always true, as all living Blackthonres are descendant from the Drow Mikasa Iro-Paras, and the master terramancer known as the Dark Prince is a descendant of the Drow House Arkon. As it is linked the Void, all terramancers have become gradually less powerful following the closing of the Void in 1015AE; the Dark Prince is seemingly the lone exception.

Notably, Terramancy is distinct from Druidism; the latter draws its power from communion & harmony with nature, while the former represents mastery over it and wields it as a weapon.

## Origins

Terramancy is one of the most ancient forms of magic and its roots stretch back farther than most known historical records. It is known that the ancient Stormborn were the first to use the ability, with their home state of the Thunderlands being heavily shaped by its practition. The weather of the region is highly unusual and changeable, there is an impossibly large whirlpool called the Storm's Eye at the islands' center, and the capital city of Darkharbour boasts the formidable castle known as the Eyrie Peak which was terramantically force-grown from a mountainside. It is believed the Peak grows taller with every passing year, like a living thing as opposed to mere stone.

The Order of the Seven Suns posit that the first terramancer was Balthazar of the Black Thorn, an evil warlock who inherited his power in a pact with the demon king Vermithrax and allowed the ability to be passed down to his descendants. The Order posits that Vermithrax was the original creator of Terros and the Isles of Aradia, and that Terramancy was the "god-magic" he used to do so. This would explain Terramancers' abilty to distort and change the planet to their will; however, it is contradicted by the fact that no known terramancer has displayed this level of power as of 1086AE, as not even the most powerful of their number has ever been able to simply create intelligent life out of thin air. There is a possibility, however, that some part of Balthazar's pact inhibits the upper levels of power that his mortal descendants have access to, and that a true breach into the upper levels of its power has yet to be seen.

## Spells & Applications

Lightning Conjuration is considered the signature ability of a Terramancer. Among the most dangerous naturally-occuring effects of weather, lightning is used as a weapon in combat; the power to conjure a simple lightning-bolt is considered the most base form of terramantic practice and even in 1086AE, where the closure of the Void has severely stunted mana pools, most living Blackthornes can still strike enemies with their signature lightning cantrip.

Experienced Terramancers can warp and reknit the flesh of animals, or bond them together to create entirely new creatures that are called Chimeras. This was often used for military application such as the creation of Griffins. However, upon gaining this ability, Queen Talia I used it to create a friendly pet named Lyric for her friend Claire.

~tbc~

## Anti-Magic

Warranting a category unto itself is Anti-Magic, one of the most esoteric applications of terramantic practice. The ability to simply negate the effects of magic, cancelling it, forcing it to take mundane shape, is wielded only by the most powerful terramancers and is considered indicative of mastery.

The exact thaumaturgical calculus required to invoke this power is seemingly inexplicable and is the subject of much speculation. Some scholars theorize that magic itself works by a caster drawing upon the power of the Void to bring the immatereum's "illogic" into our world, imposing its inversion of natural laws upon the world around them-allowing them to conjure fire from thin air, walk on water, etc. It is theorized that this is the root of anti-magic; the terramancer using their mastery of Terros itself as a "counterspell" to force this realm's logic to re-assert itself at the root of the magic in question, simply cancelling it out, and effectively using mundanity itself as a weapon.

Wielded effectively, anti-magic has devastating effects. It is extremely fatal to demons, who are reliant on magic in order for their "illogical" corporeal bodies to function; being struck with anti-magic completely destroys their physical makeup. Imbued in the blade Zerstodhia, anti-magic was said to have been used to slay the gods Vermithrax and Aradia herself. Most Stormborn weapons have some kind of anti-magic capability. It is theorized that this was a solution to keep the use of such tools relevant in magically-based warfare, as there would be little application is the use of a sword against a fellow terramancer without it.

## Known Practitioners

As of 1086AE, the known living Terramancers are;

* Edmund Blackthorne (the only living Master Terramancer)
* Valoria Blackthorne
* Theodor Blackthorne
* Ethan Blackthorne (has forcibly repressed his own abilities and is therefore technically inactive)
* Gwenavere Blackthorne
* Damon West (suffers from inborn stunted mana pool common to his generation)
* Iris Storm (has unusual magickal ability related to terramancy)