Occultism

Occultism is the study of the Veil, its properties, and how to harness its power for use by Civilizational creatures; altough certain human cultures are the majority practioners. The Veil is a barrier between different planes of existence that exists across all of reality; it separates these realms so that they remain distinct places. In certain locations however, this barrier is thinned and semi permeable, allowing different laws of physics and even entire realities to coexist simultaneously; resulting in chaos, destruction, roaming Itenerants, and Veilstools; large colonies of different species of mycellium that act as one being, they feed off the bleeding realities and great outpourings of various energies in a process that produces a waste known as Tar). However the world of Kalam, the planet where the story takes place, has a thinned barrier just solid enough to allow a “stable” mixture of realities. Certain areas of the world have even thinner sections of the Veil called Tears, if enough of these Tears occur the place is called a Tornland. These phenomena allow entities called Itinerants to slip through into Kalam. These creatures are not native to Kalam’s plane of existence. Due to this they exhibit great powers, but also are in great pain and confusion. Humans utilize certain kinds of Itinerants in the production of advanced occult technology, namely Incandescents for power and weaponry, Marionettes for locomotion and automation, and even Thralls which are bound Iteneriants that can manifest physically. Humans control these powers in a variety of ways, most of the great powers utilize Tar and mechanical incorporation technology (called Alignment gear)  to allow humans to intake Tar and engage in Rituals to cast spells. This process creates Occultists who are physically different from normal humans. They have mechanical “enhancements” throughout their body. For example, an extensive heart apparatus resides on the chest with an open port that allows for Tar to be processed for human intake. Occultists utilize Tar to adapt their body to the Veil that surrounds them, they then can use Rituals to manipulate reality towards their desired goal. Rituals are a varied practice that typically include some form of Dance, Sign, and Exaltation, all of which channel the casters will into being. This process “burns” the Tar in the user's bloodstream and therefore Occultists require frequent refills of their Tar supply. They can do this either through a “tin”, a small canister that delivers a shot of Tar that can power up a dry Occultist, or through a larger “barrel” which can fill a Occultist's bloodstream to full. Another form is Calligraphy, which involves writing in Tar Ink, and requires a special enhancement called a Writer’s Glove, a series of metal shards atop a bendable, segmented metal plate are grafted on top of the hand. These shards extend out and can be used to hold a Stylus, an enchanted pen that writes with Tar Ink. A Calligrapher writes Veil Script, a certain written language that when paired with the Tar Ink can cast a spell. A Calligraphy spell, or scroll, can be made to act long term through a machine called a Cypher which can cast the scrolls spell onto a machine to produce the desired effect. When combined with Alchemy a scroll can have other uses, such as a grenade or an Elixir.