Gnosis

### **History**

The gnosis was first created in Year 380 by Baramitus through the use of the ambrosia. At that time, the potion was vastly different to the current version, due to decades of study and refinement, and such the success rate was much lower. The original 1000 members of Johan Corineus' group each took a measure whereupon 500 of them died, 100 went irrevocably insane, 100 became Souldrinkers, and the remaining 300 gained the gnosis. These original Ascendants used their new found strength to overthrow the Rimoni Empire and install the Rondian Empire in its place. After many years of study, the 16 studies of the gnosis were named and began being taught to the magi.

### **Physical Effects**

All magi suffered with differing levels of infertility due to having the gnosis, depending on their blood rank. The lowest, the one sixteenth bloods, were functionally human and suffered no discernible problems, but moving up the ranks, infertility rates increased. Pure bloods had great difficulty in producing children, even more so when mating with other magi, and Ascendants had even more difficulty, some being essential infertile.

Those with the gnosis were granted extended lifespans depending on their blood rank. Ascendants had immense lifespans, with Selene Corinea living from Y380 to Y930 and beyond, and appearing to be a woman just out of her prime. Justina Meiros was over 150 years old andlooked to be a woman in her late thirties. The Keepers, the magi gifted with Ascendancy by the Rondian Empire for years of loyalty and service, were granted roughly an extra 20 years from becoming Ascendants, which is made more impressive by them being so old as they could barely walk, proving the powerful vitality of Ascendant level gnosis.

### **Blood Ranks**

The gnosis is a hereditary ability that grows weaker through continued dilution of the original mage's blood. There are 6 blood ranks:

1. Pure Blood
2. Three-quarter blood
3. Half blood
4. Quarter blood
5. Eighth blood
6. Sixteenth blood

The final rank belongs to the Ascendants, those who have taken ambrosia, and they are the most powerful of magi.

The gnostic strength of a mage depends on what rank they are. The comparison is a simple process; a pure blood is stronger than a quarter blood due to having more mage blood in them. However, when dueling, skills and experience play a key role in duels.

The strength comparison in pure gnostic force can be discovered through mathematics. The appendix of Ascendant's Rite states that if a pure blood mates with a non-mage, they will produce a half blood which has a quarter of the gnostic strength of the mage parent. We can take this to mean that a pure blood is 4x and a half blood is x (where x is equal to gnosistic strength). By following the pattern,a quarter blood would be 0.25x, an eighth blood would be 0.0625x, and a sixteenth blood would be 0.015625x. The three quarter bloods would then be equivalent to 2x due to being halfway between a half blood and a pure blood. By setting the strength of a sixteenth blood as the standard unit of gnostic strength, this can be simplified as:

1. Pure bloods are equivalent as 256x of gnostic strength
2. Three quarter bloods are equivalent as 128x of gnostic strength
3. Half bloods are equivalent as 64x of gnostic strength
4. Quarter bloods are equivalent as 16x of gnostic force
5. Eigth bloods are equivalent as 4x of gnostic strength
6. Sixteenth bloods are equivalent as x gnostic strength

The Ascendant magi are even stronger than pure bloods, four times stronger than them, so they would be equivalent to 1024x of gnostic strength.

### **Pregnancy Manifestations**

When a male mage mates with a human female, there is a chance for what is known as 'pregnancy manifestation', a by product of the mother sharing genetic material with the mage child as it grows in her womb. This condition is where the mother is gifted with the gnosis. Normally this is mild and temporary and will fade after the child is born, however, that is only for fathers with a lower blood rank. If the father has a strong blood rank, likely a three quarter blood and higher, the mother will gain the gnosis permanently. An example is Portia Tolidi, who conceived a child with Francis Dorobon, a pure blood mage, which resulted in her permanently gaining the gnosis with the strength equivalent to a quarter blood mage.

While the mother always gains the gnosis at a weaker level than of the father, there exists a way the mother can gain the gnosis at a far stronger level, and that is through having twins. The compounding effect of sharing genetic material with two mage children causes the mother to gain gnosis at a vastly stronger level. This is a very rare occurence though, due to the problems with fertility that having the gnosis causes. Antonin Meiros was only able to find one instance of a human woman conceiving mage twins. In this instance the father was a quarter blood mage and the woman gained gnosis at the strength equivalent of a pure blood.

Ramita Ankesharan was the next documented case a human woman having mage twins, in this case they were the children of Antonin Meriros, the greatest of the Ascendants. He theorized that the gnostic strength Ramita would manifest would make her stronger than an Ascendant, which was proven true many times. The exact strength is unknown, but using the mathematics we used in calculating gnostic force, an estimation can be made.

With the first woman, the children were eighth blood strength (4x), and the mother gained pure blood strength (256x), which meant that she gained 64 times the gnostic strength of her children. By comparing this with Ramita, she gave birth to children with pure blood strength (256x) meaning she gained gnostic strength of 256 times 64 which is equal to 16384x. Comparing that the strength of an Ascendant (1024x), this means that Ramita is roughly 16 times stronger than an Ascendant. This estimate has supporting evidence of Ramita controlling the energy of the bridge at Southpoint by herself, a feat that took over a dozen Keepers to do.

### **Classes**

The gnosis was divided into 4 intellectual classes, dealing with either the animate or tangible.

Thaumaturgy: the manipulation of the prime elemental forces: Air and Earth are held as antithetical, as are Water and Fire. This is the simplest class and deals with the animate and the intangible.

Hermetic: use of gnosis on living organisms, divided into Healing (restoring an organism to normal), Morphic (altering 'normal' forms), Animism (emulating and controlling creatures) and Sylvanism (manipulating plant-matter). This class deals with the animate and tangible.

Theugry: use of the gnosis to affect the mind; divided into Mesmerism (influencing other minds), Illusion (deceiving the senses), Mysticism (communion of minds), and Spiritualism (projecting of the spirit). This class deals with the inanimate and tangible.

Sorcery: dealing with other spirits; divided into Clairvoyance (using the 'eyes' of the spirits to observe other places), Divination (using the 'eyes' and knowledge of spirits to predict the future), Wizardry (control and use of spirits), and Necromancy (communion with the recently dead). This class deals with the inanimate and the intangible.

A mage will normally find they have more affinity to one of the four Classes, and therefore be considerably weaker towards the opposing Class; for example, Thaumaturgy is the antithesis of Theurgy, and Hermetic is the antithesis of Sorcery.

### **Studies**

These are the most sophisticated applications of gnosis, and even the best and most talented magi are usually only capable of using two-thirds of them, as their minds are conditioned to perform some tasks better than others.The combination of Studies that a mage finds himself able to use is determined largely by personality (or 'affinity').

Each mage will also have an affinity to an element that will shape how they operate. This combined with their Class-affinity will determine the abilities that mage will excel at, those they will merely be functional at, and those that they cannot perform at all. An example would Ramita: she had an prime elemental affinity towards Earth with Fire as her secondary, and her intellectual affinity was towards Hermetic gnosis.

A mage could however, have an 'absolute affinity' towards a study. This means that they have supreme mastery over that study due to single-minded devotion to it along with a strong affinity towards that study. A good example would be Jelaska Lyndrethuse, an Argundian battlemage who had incredible skill with Necromancy. The downside to having absolute affinity is that the mage would have a much narrower selection of Studies that they are proficient at.

A mage could also have the opposite of absolute affinity, and instead have multiple weak affinities. A prime example of this is Elena Anborn. She was able to use almost all studies of the gnosis at respectable levels.

Each of the 16 studies of the gnosis are linked toward one of the elements. They are:

* Fire: the ability to produce flames. Blood rank depends on the strength of these flames (Ascendants can produce flames hot enough to melt stone). This study also provides resistance to fire and the ability to douse flames. A favored elemental affinity of the military to to offensive capabilities, and also in industry, specifically metal-working.
* Water: the ability to shape water, conjure water and use water as a weapon. Skilled magi can summon drown people on dry land. Can also be used to purify existing water which makes it incredibly useful.
* Air: a very versatile study as it allows the mage to be supportive and offensive. Used to fly (both personally and through windskiffs), manipulate weather, strike with lightning and summon huge blasts of wind. A favored affinity of those in the commercial industry and military.
* Earth: the ability to shape stone. Used in tracking, smiting and construction. Can also be used to anchor ones body to the ground and empower ones strikes.
* Healing (water-linked): the ability to heal living organisms back to normal. Can heal almost anything but depends on gnostic strength and affinity (Ascendants can regrow limbs with an affinity). Regarded by most as a 'girls study' due to its obvious lack of combat capabilities.
* Morphic (fire-linked): the manipulation of the human form. Can be used to enhance/deplete musculature, change physical features, and can even change a mage to look like someone else, though that requires a strong affinity. Often used to ease a physical task, such as strengthening leg muscles when walking up stairs. It is illegal to masquerade as another.
* Animism (air-linked): the ability to enhance human senses and manipulate the behavior of other creatures. Can also be used to take on a beast-form as seen with many Dokken in Antiopia.
* Sylvanism (earth-linked): the ability to control plant material. Can increase/decrease the quantity and enhance the natural qualities. Popular with construction. Can also be used alongside poisons and ungents to provide temporary gnostic affects.
* Mesmerism (fire-linked): the ability to link minds with another. Unlike Mysticism which is the communication of minds, Mesmerism is the control of minds. Commonly used to manipulate others or to provide support in a goal
* Illusion (air-linked): the ability to fool the senses of others. Commonly used to entertain others and to aid in physical presentations of information. Useful in combat by making the opponent see multiple copies of the mage so as to slip in an unexpected attack.
* Mysticism (water-linked): the ability to communicate with another's mind. Allows rapid teaching of large quantities of information, probing of minds to heal it and retrieve hidden memories. Useful in that it can heal mental disorders such as anxiety and depression. Used to link minds with other magi to share gnostic energy and skill.
* Spiritualism (earth-linked): the ability to send one's spirit out of the body.