Magical Paths (Witchcraft)

## **Via Elementorum**

The classical magical paths associated with the Elements and the raw natural world

* **Weather-** The Warlock gains controll over the weather. This can be used for smaller and local effects like manifesting mist, frost or lighting. It is also used to create effects with an incredibly wide reach, covering an entire city in fog, rain or hail and even massive storms.
* **Fire-** The Warlock gains controll over fire. While most of its aspects are exclusivly destructive; which is why most magical communities consider it forbidden; it can also be used to create light, practice smithing, extinguish flame or simply project heat rather than direct fire.
* **Earth-** The Warlock gains controll over any type or stone, mineral or dirt (sometimes including sand). It can be shifted, moved around or alter its density; create storms of dirt; sense fine vibrations or the architecture of a stone building
* **Water-** The Warlock gains controll over water in all its forms; allowing them to change the flow of rivers, manipilate the tides or alter the humidity of the air. It is possible to alter water between its phases, or completlty drain objects and lifeforms of their water. Water magic is almost always bound to the moon, allowing the Warlock to switch between its enviromental and destructive aspects. Those bound to the seasons may controll and create ice in autumn/winter, and use flowing water and air humidity in spring and summer.
* **Air-** The Warlock gains controll over Air, by far the most diverse and adaptable of elements. This can be used to create winds and alter streams of air, use air suction, or change the temperature of the surrounding air. It has countless uses, which are usually bound to the seasons.
* **Metal-** The Warlock gains controll over metal, allowing them to shift and move it, give or remove the magnetic abilities of objects/lifeforms, spread or remove rust/corrosion, change its temperature or project their senses through it. The most skilled users of this path can transform ores into each other, which are commonly referred to as alchemists.
* **Light-** The path of light is a dual one. It is most commonly used to create lightsource or alter the intensity of existing ones. If light becomes bright enough it can even blind or burn its targets or create intense heat. The path can also be used to do the very opposite, taking away light and casting shadows, creating impenetrable darkness or sucking the warmth out of objects and lifeforms. While the former is much more common, those that practice both sides of Light magic usually bind it to the waxing and waning moon.

## **Via Ferox**

The classical magical paths associated with the natural world

* **Beasts-** Allows the Warlock to commune with animals, controll or possess the, call upon them and take over some of their attributes. Warlocks that rely on celestial or seasonal cycles usually gain power over a type of animal depending on the respective cycle.
* **Plants**- Allows the Warlock to manipulate the growth of plants, let them appear from mere soil, change their attributes or the substances the produce. Warlocks that rely on celestial or seasonal cycles usually osciliate between medical/helpful plants and toxic or deadly ones.
* **Plagues-** This dangerous path allows the Warlock to sense, manipulate, spread and create plagues, diseases, infections and parasites of any kind. The aspects that detect and cure infections are commonly practiced, but the creation and spreading of plagues is considered dark magic pretty much universally.
* **Corpus-** Allows the Warlock to controll, shift, rearrange or destroy skin, flesh, blood and bone. It has many healing applications which are commonly practiced; but it has a large forbidden branch that deals with shapeshifting, the creation of living monstrosities and the most vile forms of torture.

## **Via Mentis**

The classical magical paths associated with trickery and the manipulation of human minds.

* **Emotions-** The Warlock can influence and manipulate any kind of emtion. Usually this is used to alter the intensity of existing feelings but it can also be used to directly instill them; or change the way someone feels about another person, breaking hate or love; or the way they relate to a specific concept or idea. Warlocks that practice it usually bind it to some kind of celestial/seasonal cycle, either gaining controll over positive or negative emotions. Its harmless forms are somewhat accepted, but deep emotional manipulation is considered dark magic across the majority of the world.
* **Illusions-** The Warlock can manipulate the senses of their targets; allowing them to alter or revoke their percieved reality. These illusions can affect any number of targets and manipulate their sight, hearing, smell, taste and sense of touch. It is increadibly diverse and has countless applications, including invisibility. Skilled Illusionists can permanently bind an illusion to a location or change the way any individual percieves it. There are countless ways Illusionists draw power from their enviroment. For instance it is very common among political agents to cast positive illusions during the night and negative illusions during the night.
* **Mind-** The Warlock gains controll over the mind, its thoughts. memories, dreams and subconciousness. It is commonly used for telepathy, reading and altering anothers thoughts and memories or influencing dreams. It is also used to plant spells from other paths, mostly the Via Mentis, into a targets mind; so that it will come to effect when a specific condition is met.

## **Via Arcanum**

The classical magical paths associated with manipulating physical and magical reality

* **Teleportation-** Allows the Warlock to move objects/lifeforms across space or create portals. Its most simple and obvious use is to create and connect stationairy portals or directly travel to a chosen location. These portals can also be attached to objects, become flexible or only teleport parts of something.

* **Warding-** Allows the Warlock to create invisible walls only certain people, objects or beings can pass through. Its most common application is used to create an invisible wall around a chosen location and applying any condition to determine who can pass and who can´t. More advanced users can use this to create shields around themselves or chosen targets to block physical and magical attacks. Some even use this to create invisible obstacles or formless blades to cut chosen targets.

* **Counter Magic-** This fairly directed path is used to block or dispell magic aswell as making it easier detectable/tracable. It can be used fairly quickly to react to spells directed against one; or remove permanent effect placed upon a location or area. It can also be used to make objects either immune against spells or reflect them; and more advanced users may even grant lifeforms a temporary spell immunity or make them far more susceptible to magic. While it is an increadibly powerful path, most Warlocks only choose it as a secondary path or teach it to guardians.

## **Via Astralis**

The classical magical paths associated with influence the fabric of reality and the deeper universe.

* **Death-** The Warlock gains the ability to manipulate death. This can be used to directly kill a person or prevent someone from dying; gain access to the last memories of a corpse or sense the presence of death. There are also more advanced aspects like raising and controlling corpses or bringing someone back to life. It is among the most heavily discussed paths of magic and the one with the most arbitrary lines between light and dark magic across the entire world.
* **Umbral-** The Warlock gains controll over the Veil seperating the worlds and access to Umbra. It´s most common application is to in- or decrease the strength of the Veil or find natural umbral portals. It can also be used to open such portals, travel across Umbra or manifest and commune with the spirits of the dead. It´s most skilled users can shift umbral reality or summon spirits into the world of the living.
* **Fate-** The Warlock gains the ability to percieve, trace or interact with fate. As by far the most obscure and uncontrollable path; most Warlocks that follow it try to become a medium for destiny and its wicked paths; granting them random visions and insights. Such visions can also be forced through the right spells; allowing the Warlock to learn about specific events in the past or future concerning a location, object or person. It can also be used to influence the fate of any person, granting them good or bad luck; or even causing specific events to happen to them. Meddling in fate this way is extremly unreliable and usually goes a different way than expected. To this day Warlocks debate or real the manipulation of fate really is.
* **Summoning-** The Warlock gains the ability to summon and interact with Neverborn. It is most commonly used to summon and bind lesser Neverborn into animals to create familiars; but more advanced user can summon stronger entities from the Outer Realms. This path contains various ways to make pacts with these beings, detect them in their mundane hosts and exorcise them back into the void. Despite the creation of familiars Summoning is an increadibly rare and dangerous path that is rarely practiced.