Contortion

## Introduction

Contortion is one of the inner three *Forms* of Necromancy. It is used to manipulate Spirits and the (...). Its masters are known as (...) and its tome is called *Book of Aberration*. (Aberrationist, Spiritualist,

## Known Powers

### Aspirant Powers

**Hands of the Weaver-** Allows the Aspirant to strengthen or weaken a connection to the (...).

**Voice in the Veil [Requires Hands of the Weaver]-** Allows the Aspirant to instantly strengthen or weaken the *Veil* at a specific area to temporarily disable a *Servant* or strengthen a ritual or Artifact.

**Claw of Dust-** Allows the Aspirant to physically interact with Spirits.

**Banishment-** Allows the Aspirant to damage or even destroy a Spirit with immaterial fire they may conjure from their Essence.

**Mask of Death**- The Aspirant may take the shape of a Shade they had contact with previously. In the (...) this succeeds automatically, while in the material world the projected form might flicker or dissolve should the Aspirant loose too much focus.

**Voice of Destiny**- Allows the Aspirant to take controll over a Shade. To do so they must spill some of their Essence and make sure it comes into contact with the desired Shade. Doing so grants the Aspirant full controll over the chosen Shade. Depending on the amount of invested focus the Shade might even gain the ability to physically interact with their surroundings. Should the Aspirant focus all of their thoughts on said controll the Shade becomes as substantial as its former physical counterpart although this renders the Aspirant unable to perform any action simultaneously similar to **Danse Macabre** (Resurrection).

### Master Powers

**Traveler of Eons**- The Undead may freely move between *Layers* of (...) and take others aswell as objects with them.

**Ashen Voice-** Allows the Undead the cast their powers and rituals upon Spirits aswell as objects in the (...).

**Void Visage**- Allows the Undead to change their appearance at will within the (...).

**Master of Shadows-** Allows the Undead to form the (...) at their free will. With this power they may for instance form walls into thin air, thin air into solid matter and solid matter into sharp blades. These vanish after a few minutes.

**Realm Walker [Requires Lift the Veil (Prospection)]-** Allows the Undead to cast powers or physically interact with the material world while standing in the (...) and vice versa. This will mean the Undead can not be harmed in one realm while harming others when doing so. Any action taking in the opposing realm will require the usage of Essence.

## Known Rituals

### Aspirant Powers

**Project Persona-** The Aspirant may conjure a projection of someone from the past. To do so they require an object associated with the chosen person and place in a bowl. Upon which a large insect must be sacrificed and the Aspirants Essence may be sprinkled upon it while reciting passages from the *Book of Aberration* and reciting the persons name three times. The nature of the projection is highly dependant on the Aspirant in question (some may project it into an *Ouija Board*). Note that the projection only has access to past memories and never the presence.

**The Beckoning:** Allows the Aspirant to summon the spirit of a deceised person. Spirits faded away or bound to a lich may not be summoned. To do so the Aspirant sacrifice an animal, gathering its blood and burning its corpse. The resulting ashes must be used to draw a circle and place nine candles at its edges. Then the Aspirant must place a bowl filled with the animals blood in the middle of the circle before adding an object associated with the chosen spirit in the bowl. When the object has soaked in blood the Aspirant may recite a passage from the *Book of Aberration* and speak the Spirits name three times. After that the bowl of blood will begin to boil and the arising fumes will be used to form a temporary body for the chosen Spirit. Should the ashen circle be damaged during the process or any of the candles go out, the Spirit will be free to leave and possibly attack the Aspirant. Otherwise it remains bound to the circle and may be questioned by the Aspirant.

**Ritual of Binding-** The Aspirant may choose an object and bind a summoned Spirit to its counterpart in the (...), turning it into a Spectre. To do so they must place the desired object between the Spirit and the Aspirant and dripple Essence on it while reciting a passage from the *Book of* *Aberration*. After that the object must be moved within the circle touching the bowl in its center without damaging it or have the Aspirant enter it. After that the Spirit is bound to the objects counterpart in the (...) and will perish from the circle. Note that the material object should not be moved too much as that may undo the ritual as its best left undisturbed afterwards or quickly burried.

**Imprison Soul [Requires alteast one Power of Creation]-** The Aspirant may bind a summoned Spirit to an object. The Spirit may take controll over any power bestowed upon the object and perform slight telepathic movements. To do so the chosen object must be drenched in the Aspriants Essence for a full night. Afterwards it must be bewritten with a *Passage of Binding* from the *Book of Aberration*. When summoning the Spirit using **The Beckoning**, the chosen object will replace the typical bowl of blood. Once the spirit is summoned it is directly bound to the object.

**Rewrite the Book of Time**- Allows the Aspirant to change specific events displayed in a specific layer of the (...) regarding the Shades and their actions. To do so they must create a circle using ashes from the (...) mixed with *Necrotic Salts* from the material world while burning immaterial candles and the circles corners. The Aspirant must recite passages from the Book of Aberrations. Anything happening in said circle will overwrite the previous memory of said place and will be displayed until the chosen *Layer* fades into nothingness. After the candles have gone out or the circle was disturbed the recording will end.

**The Haunting**- Allows the Aspirant to establish a permanent connection between the material world and the (...). Depending on the surroundings and the skill, this connection crumblse fast or remains open for a long time. Its presence will taint the surrounding space, creating a *Haunted Region*. In an open plane, the connection will dissolve within minutes. To do so the Aspirant must sacrifice a lifeform and recite a passage from the *Book of Aberration*. After it has passed away, its corpse must be burned to ashes. These must be drenched in the Aspirants Essence and mixed with either alcohol, sulfur or natron. The resulting powder must be spread out until it coveres the bottom of a passage and be burned. Anyone walking through it will find themselves in the (...) instead of the material world. This ritual may also be used to to create portals to other Layers of the (...) instead.

### Master Rituals

**Weaver of the Shroud-** The Undead may perform a ritual weakening or strengthening the Veil locally. To do so they must spill their Essence and recite three passages from the *Book of Aberration*. As long as the Undead does so, the Veil will be weakend or strengthen constantly depending on the ritualists skill. Once the ritual ends, the Veil will slowly turn back to its original state.

**Command the Past [Requires Voice of Destiny]-** Allows the Undead to use **Voice of the Destiny** on all Shades within an area of effect. To do so the Undead must spill larger quantities of their Essence within the (...) white reciting three passages from the *Book of Aberration*. Depending on the ritualists skill the range of this ritual increases from a few meters to up to a square kilometer. Using the Undeads full focus will grant each of Shades full physical abilites, yet once they move out of the area of effect they will subsume their old form and the connection will break.

**Shelter of Eons [Requires Banishment]**- Allows the Undead to project a specific location in the (...) upon every Layer that will be created in the future. It will replace newer forms of the chosen location and all inhabitants will be moved to a more recent Layer every day. To do so they must draw a circle made from coal, dust and salt from the (...) aswell as Necrotic Salts and sulfur from the material world. The circle must be drenched in the Undeads Essence and ignited using **Banisment** while reciting a passage from the *Book of Aberration*. After the circle has burned out the projection is complete. The resulting ash must be gathered and placed into five objects which function as anchors. As long as they remain unharmed the projection will continue.

   **Master of the Land-** Allows the Undead to sacrifice an animal in the heart of a small region specified in the ritual. All animals of the same sort will be turned into Spectres bound to the location when they die within reach. During the sacrifice the animals blood must be collected and its corpse must be rupped in atleast two types of *Necrotic Salts* or *False Essence* before being burned. The resulting ashes must be spread across the entire area of effect while reciting passages from the *Book of Aberration*.

**Revise Reality-** Allows the Undead to perform a ritual of binding on a small object within the (...). It may be taken to the material world without falling apart. To do so they must wash the chosen object in a mixture of water, ash and dust from the (...) mixed with the Undeads Essence and two types of Necrotic Salts. While it dries a passage from the *Book of Aberration* must be recited. Afterwards the object may be carried into the material world. However it still may interact with Spirits which would normally remain unharmed.

**Exorcism-** Allows the Undead to close a connection between the material world and the (...). This may take several hours and is most commonly used to restore haunted areas into their old self once the central connection is found. It may however also be used to dispower artifacts or destroy undead as they will simply crumble without their connection to the Underworld. Depending on the strength of the connection, this increases the difficulty significantly. To do so they must burn an organic object which imprisoned a spirit. The Ashes must be mixed with *Essence* and *Necrotic Salts* and used to form a circle around the chosen target. Inside this mixture nine candles must be placed and burned while the Undead recites passages from the *Book of Aberration* until each of them burned down. Then the exorcism is complete.

**Sinister Architect [Requires Master of Shadows]-** Allows the Undead to create permanent manipulations of the (...) with the power **Master of Shadows.** To do so a circle of *Necrotic Salts*, ash and *False Essence* all created in the (...) must be drawn around the chosen manipulation while reciting a passage from the *Book of Aberration*.