Divergent Techniques

Divergent Techniques are a category of applications of Spirit in sorcery, the opposite of Convergent Techniques.

## Description

Divergent Techniques are formed from spirit molded for a specific purpose. It is described as divergence because the spirit's form and function are diverged from its base function, with a vast range of possibilities. On a fundamental level, all spellcasting is a low form of Divergent Technique, as it inscribes a spell's structure onto the caster's spirit, allowing for magic to be channelled in this specific way consistently. However, typically Divergent Technqiues refer to a more drastic transfiguration of the spirit that clearly modify the spirit's shape.

The strength behind Divergent Techniques lies in the unique property of spirit: Posession. Every living spirit has an organic body which is Posessed by its spirit. The main purpose behind Posession is preventing other spirits from claiming its body, like the spiritual equivalent of an immune system. With enough conditioning, this Posession can do more than simply serve as an immune system, as it can impose its rules on the territory it posesses. These conditioned rules to impose can generally only be applied with spirit extending *out* of the body, since it messes with the natural harmony spirit and body have and can be dangerous. In summary, Divergent Techniques as a rule consist of two factors - the spatial distortion of a part of one's spirit to extent out of the body, and a conditioned rule that spirit imposes on any territory it Possesses.

## Posession

Posession , or Territorial Claims, are the chief driving force behind Divergent Techniques. Through Posession, one's spirit claims the space it occupies , preventing other spirits to pass through or lay claim to the same territory. These rules must be conditioned into the technique with practice and extensive repetition, as it goes against the natural behaviour of spirit. The rules are almost always applied to areas outside of the body, since messing with the body's materials has the potential to be lethal very quickly, even simple alterations.

At the core of claiming territory lies the belief in legitimacy. One's belief of self-ownership is almost always vastly stronger than any other legitimacy, so posessing other pieces of space is difficult to get used to, especially for humble people. The rigid caste system of society can lead some people to undervalue their own self-ownership, leaving them vulnerable to be exploited in this manner by people 'above' them. Narcissists are especially well suited to posession.

### Imposing of Rules on unliving material

The rule imposed on a claimed territory can be a simple command that alters an aspect of how reality functions. The bigger the change this results in the more taxing this is on the person imposing the rule, and the more complex it is the more conditioning it takes to perform it. For efficient techniques, rules must be as simple and tiny as possible while creating the most effects downstream.

Affinity for imposing rules is determined by the natural frequency. Claiming matter that resonates with your own natural frequency is more efficient than matter that doesn't, and claiming the material that has an anti-resonant frequency to your own is impossible.

### Imposing of Rules on living material

Only one territorial claim can persist at a time\*, and all living beings are at all times claimed by their own spirit, making it very hard to directly influence a living being with Divergent Techniques. However, the weaknesses in the psyche of other organisms can be exploited to get past this natural psycho-immune system. Concentrating one's spirit intensely on one point allows for a more powerful claim, which can pierce through another's non-concentrated spirit. Typically, this will be countered automatically, but by tricking the other into concentrating far too much in another location the target location can be left underprotected. Battles between two Divergence users often end up being stationary fencing duels with sudden concentrated spikes of spirit to pierce the other's territory only to plant a tiny conjured mass inside a vital point in the body.

As stated before, belief of legitimacy is a core factor in posession, and few are crazy enough to feel entitled to other's beings, but in the rigid caste system such interactions are possible, granting sorcerers of high standing far greater power over those deemed less than them.

## Categorisation

There is vast diversity in applications of Divergent Techniques due to the inherent vagueness of their limitations. However, in the near-endless variation there are a few schools or families of techniques that are common and consistent enough to categorize. Keep in mind that outside these categories there is a wide range of techniques that don't fall under any of them.

### Heat Void

Heat Void are a family of techniques derived from the same base technique, which claims a large area at once and draws thermal energy to one point from all unliving matter. When performed completely, a Heat Void will leave the claimed area near absolute zero, instantly freezing or liquefying everything including the air, causing outside air to rush in to fill the pseudo-vacuum that arises. The concentrated thermal energy is then repurposed for a technique built on the Heat Void. Heat Void techniques are eloborated on in the Heat Void article.