Theurgy

Theurgy is one of the three Supernatural Powers encountered in the Virasana Empire novels. It is the technical term for miracles worked intentionally by priests of any given deity, though all priests agree that there still are instances in which said deities intervene without the involvement of a mortal priest - proper miracles.

## Expressions

Expressions of theurgic powers differ from Psionics mostly in the fact that they are much more uniform. Priests of the same order are known to consistently being able to created identical effects, even though the magnitude can differ for each caster.

Theurgic powers are, in a way, both more and less restricted than psionic expression. While a practitioner of theurgy can learn a whole array of superficially inconsistent effects, they will always be an integral part of his set of beliefs and will form parts of a thematically coherent set of skills, with the skillset as a whole being the same among all practitioners of one religion / order / school.

Also in distinction to psionics, theurgic powers rarely come in trivial sizes. Even the smallest effects have some significant impact on the caster or his target. On the other hand, there seem to be no ‘demi-god’ level practitioners of theurgy, with the powercurve running relatively flat. Unlike psionics, though, theurgic practitioners can combine their effects relatively easily in rituals, enabling them to work way above their individual scale.

## Energy Use

Where exactly the energy for theurgic effects originates from is still widely debated. Theories range from the shared energy of all faithful to the actual intervention of benevolent super-powerful entities, and are a tricky topic to discuss without tripping into the realm of heresy. Unsurprisingly, the finer workings of theurgy are far less understood than those of psionics.

Some of the best known expressions of theurgic powers are: healing and communication (Temple Jansahar), shielding and smiting (Temple Belligra), divination and anti-’magic’ (Temple Verata), with completely different sets for other deities / religions.

## Training

Theurgic powers are learned during clerical training at any age. Common trait of all theurgic practitioners is that they are all deeply devout believers of their chosen religion, even though their individual beliefs in one and the same deity can contain diametrically opposed views. In other words, theurgic powers seem to be tied to the caster’s personal faith more than his adherence to any formal religion. So far, no genetic markers for theurgic capabilities have been found.

## Blessed Children, Shamans and Exemplars

Not to be confused with Theurgy are what is for lack of a better word gathered up under 'Blessed Children'. Particularly in N'Ptalini history, it is well documented that every few generations, their gods seem to bless a child with parts of their powers, in exchange for allowing them to experience the world through the eyes of a mortal. While often displaying a wide array of barely explicable abilities, these 'children' rarely play a role in politics.

Sometimes, a person's values align so closely with those of a spirit that they begin to express an echo of the spirit's powers. Those people are called 'Exemplars'. They differ from priests in so far as no sort of faith on the side of the exemplar is required.

Also, sometimes spirits can become strong enough so they can grant particular powers to their faithful. They usually barter with their followers to advance their agenda or remove threats to them in return for those powers. Supernaturally gifted people bartering with spirits this way are called Shamans.

## Notable Theurges

 Brother Chang Brother Riccardo Father Caradini Father Prajuman Karla of Tempest Mother Jadeeda N'gosi Saint Cornelius Saint Nicodemus Tagore Virasana