Lithomancy

Lithomancy, sometimes known as the craft, the wax, the work, and the wrought. Lithomancy is a heavy variation of solomancy, that instead of temporarily turning light into energy turns reflected light (more commonly referred to as 'color') into solid matter permanently. Lithomancers are known for their avoidance of solstones, preferring polished stones or metals.

Using this new form of magic, a lithomancer can tap into the energy of the different wavelengths and energies that make light and color and turn it into matter. Taking in the reflected light through their vision, they channel it through their focus that is floats between their hands, allowing them to sculpt the raw matter they create.

To an observer it would almost look like a lithomancer was trying to contain a slow-flowing source of soft clay-like substance from between their hands. This substance would become known as loam. Surprisingly, this loam doesn't adhere to the lithomancer themselves, beyond being molded into the desired shape. It will however stick like tar to anyone other than its creator until it hardens. Using different types of focus items produces loam of different qualities, colors, forms, and abilities.

## Life from the Loam

Through the use of their focus, especially the reflective and powerful (albeit, toxic) twelve irons, a lithomancer absorbs the reflected light that gives an object its color, giving lithomancers a more tangible physical energy than solomancy to draw from and manipulate.

They are then able to manifest this energy into a physical substance called "loam", a material that takes various forms depending on caster skill including mist, mud, clay, glass, and even plasma. A lithomancer could then form this material into a variety of shapes or beings, eventually combining solstones to these creations to bring them to life as servants known as eidolons. Leading to an entire age of obsessed citizens and eidolon gladiatorial-style battles using constructed beings of loam and light. These techniques would also give birth to the lodestar.

Though the quality of the loam depends on several conditions, the focus, especially if using metal, plays a heavy part in the result. Below is a table regarding the effect of different solstones, with or without the metals of the third age. Though the loam quality is listed in three types, they should be viewed like a scale, low, middle, and high:

 ***Imbued by Iron*** | Hot magma, harmless to the wielder burst from their glove.
 **Poor** | A black sticky flammable liquid that resembles tar.

 ***Imbued by Iron*** | Creates a damp dark green lacquer that can either be used as a protective coating for wood or can add nutrients to ground soil.
 **Poor** | A dark green toxic sludge oozes from your finger tips, harmless at first it dries becoming toxic spores.

## A Magic Born out of War

During approx. the mid-to-late second age of the Sol Cycle, at a time when the human empire was just starting to rise to be the tyrannical dominant empire of the known world through the use and monopoly of solomancy, the desperate sol races began to experiment with the concepts and applications of light, most notably the hidden aspect of color. Turning their gloves around to keep the stone located in their palm, instead of floating just above the back of their hand as it naturally would for a solomancer, they try to evoke energy not just from the light around them, but from the color of the objects around them.

Early attempts must of been little more than an amusing way to past the time in refugee or war camps, as most early attempts at lithomancy would of been little more than the creation of tar, mud, vapor, or toxic muck and cobwebs. The sol races continued however, finding practical uses for even these substances using tar and mud in their great concrete constructions of the age. Like any mud puddle it can be deeper than one might expect and soon a few exceptionally gifted crafters began to experiment with the use of metals and began to create superior elements.

It is thought to be the Ironshine dwarves, escaping from the tyrannical regime of the human empire during the expansion conquests of the second ages, having to delve deep underground after recently losing their kingdom and their homes. The dwarves become the first sol race to discover rich veins of iron and sol iron (palladium), this is the first known resource of iron beyond the corroded geodes found in the toxic swamps. The dwarves, unknowingly becoming petulant and obsessed with the beautiful sol iron, they begin implementing the metal into all aspects of their lives, including their experiments with what they called "sludgeworks" otherwise known as early lithomancy.

## The Twelve Irons

It was recorded by the chief crank of the dwarven construction crew in the second age when at night his workers were drunkenly trying to mark their clan runes out of the new metal on the insides of the tunnels leading into the recently finished fighting pits near Ironshine:

*"There they stood, dumbfounded all, their hands still extended wearing a glove with a bit o' metal where it shouldna been, with a beautiful orange glowing marble rock coating their feet to the tunnel floor, harder than concrete. Try as we might we couldn't break those boys out before the empire showed up, poor lot. Silver lining however, those humans weren't able to recreate that glowing white stone themselves, metal or no, thank the gods."*

 *-Chief Crank of Slave Legion XIV, circa Second Sol Age.*

Word quickly spread following the execution that this could balance the scales against the humans and their natural abilities with solomancy, they were unable to produce the high quality substance the sol races began to call "loam" no matter what methods they used. The sol races however, found the creation of loam to almost be easy, and soon they were finding ways to take these strange creations of physical light to new heights. However, as this new magic and the discovery of iron mines sent these metals across the surface world, few noticed the effects these metals had on all who wielded them magically or not.

Though most of these metals are not actually iron, because they are always associated to the Iron Revolt against the human empire from the late second age through the fourth age, the common names of these metals are often some form of "X Iron" as to most common folk, iron is ubiquitous with the term metal.

Despite the information displayed here readily, do keep in mind that many of the afflictions these metals cause to their users weren't obvious to the public until the fifth and sixth age. Even then many of these metals had an addictive quality to them and most sol races never completely eliminated them from their day-to-day lives, ignorant to the consequences or not.

The master alloys (other than *bronze*, *pewter*, and *brass*) aren't discovered by the sol races until the late second age.

Listed above are the names and common names of both the twelve base metals (known as The Twelve Irons) and their twelve master alloys. Also listed is the mental affliction caused by the use, wield, and wear of Iron Age metals, as well as the dark races that are especially weak to weapons of their make.

Finally, listed are the comparative rankings of how they interact with light and color, specifically their refractive and absorptive rankings.

The refractive ranking indicates their output capabilities, determining the luminosity and overall strength when wielding the metal. *Example: if two lithomancers of equal skill were to create two golems out of the orange clay-like loam produced by iron imbued diamond lithomancy. If one of them instead used any of the top three refractive metals (silver, titan, or gold) their golem, though possibly looking very similar to the other, would be far superior in all aspects to the basic iron imbued golem, including inheriting some unique trait from the stronger metal used.*

Metals are addictive and eventually are discovered to cause severe mental anguish and affliction. The level of addiction of each metal is represented in the absorptive rankings. Certain metals, like blood iron (titan), are extremely powerful due to their high refraction, but are also extremely addictive. Leading high numbers of wielders to become addicted to blood iron furthering the masochistic affliction its use will bring them. Any metal lower than a ranking of 8 is easy to resist for most lithomancers. While the top 4 absorptive metals are highly addictive and should be used only under dire circumstances.

Eventually in the Iron Age master alloys are discovered and developed, many of these mix different base metals resulting in sometimes greater or lesser levels of power of likelihood of addiction. They also gain the possibility of inflicting multiple influences of afflictions, with the gold alloy known as crownrose having the capabilities of causing petulance, hopelessness, and fear. Coincidentally, crownrose was the metal used to make the Lunar Crown, the crown and symbol of the human High Emperor.

*However, though they can impact the affliction of several conditions at once, theses impacts are far smaller than the impact of a base metal to a single affliction. While some master alloys will add the equivalent of +1 to affliction A and B, a base metal would add +3 to its affliction. Pick your poison.*

## Iron Age

Though rumors spread that those who use too much metal went slowly mad, its many uses and the abilities it provided kept it strong in the public's perception for hundreds of years. As larger empires began to take hold during the second and third ages of the Sol Cycle, arenas, art, and recreation became parts of everyday life for the first time. Though solomancy was incredibly useful in warfare, dueling, and providing the tools to build civilization. It wasn't until the inherently theatrical lithomancy and the advent of goliaths that light wielding became a full blown industry. For the first time ever, people were using the magic of light to not just make war or survive, but to earn some coin.

At first these servants were little more than wire framed bodyguards standing watch over entrance gates for sneaks, upon the development of the irons after the discovery of sol iron in the Ironshine Peaks, these new kind of metal allowed the sol races to further explore the depths of the earth. Soon twelve types of metals known as the Twelve Irons are discovered, along with several master alloys. Using these new metals allowed for better color absorption and light refraction, and combing it with the right solstones with enough practice could turn the loam of the lithomancers from muck to plasma.

Suddenly, the servants went from flimsy wires of dim light or blobs of tar too beings of sculpted glowing plasma or nearly indestructible like the white marblevale goliaths. Almost overnight lithomancy went from an obscure byproduct of solomancy to a full fledged school of magic and even art form. Every creation was different and a reflection of their creator.

Because the use of solomancy was required as well as lithomancy, not only were these crafters sometimes hard to find, but they also were subject to the type of creation they could make by the combination of the metal and whatever their birthlight (and therefore solstone) happened to be. Because of this a natural rock-paper-scissors environment rose between solstone wielders leading to the formation of teams. Soon rather connected to the human empire or not, these arenas and this form of entertainment captured the world's attention. Lithomancers become celebrity artists and their creations became recognizable personas. Though early in their use of metals, already the seeds of affliction took root in the minds of these suddenly influential lithomancers.

Over the course of several centuries, countless crafters would snap to the mindwrought. Refusing any sort of connection the casters themselves and the public at large remained largely in denial despite the more and more frequent moments of goliaths destroying a city square or burning alive half of the audience, finally as leaders with their crowns of gold and commoners with their iron sickles began to show signs of mindwrought did people start to blame the games and the crafters.

## The Ferromancers

Though lithomancers were falling into the madness of the mindwrought in droves by the fifth age, shortly before the Reforging, when the civilized races would ban the use of all Iron Age metals due to the heavy evidence of the dangers of iron use. Several subgroups of lithomancers formed in the fighting pits and isolated existence of the fourth age, who were tired of being disarmed by the humans who constantly felt threatened by metal wielding that they themselves could not perform, imbued or implanted their bodies with their metal of choice. Usually in their arms, heads, or chest with massive works of metal plates or gauntlets grafted into their flesh.

By this time period the effects of iron use was known to any veteran lithomancer, yet still these radical lithomancers chose the path of metal and therefore different realms of insanity, knowingly. To these people, especially under the thumb of the brutal human empires of the third and fourth ages. These metals were all that separated them from their oppressors, it gave them the power to resist they otherwise would not of had, and more than anything it represented freedom.

Forsaking their old ways of life together in unison on the same day, becoming known as the Iron Exile, they left the cities of the empire in droves. Returning years later, more powerful but barbaric and wild, both from the harsh world conditions outside the empire and mind altering metals. Calling themselves Ferro, they would become the ferromancers, masters and wielders of the irons. In the isolation of the wilds they claimed to have found the voice of iron and had formed magnetic bonds to metallic weapons, developing a throwing weapon style based around the ability to recall these weapons to their hands on command. They formed several clans along the outskirts of the empire, their endless pillaging and marauding would provide enough distraction for the main sol races to prepare a revolution.

After the fall of the human empire and the new laws and ideals of The Reforging, the ferromancers continued their nomadic isolation. Unlike other forms of magic, the influences of metal over generations begins to form a genetic and heretical effect. Born with hyperpigmentations such as brown grey-ish splotches and iron crusted ribs, elbows, knees or shins, the children of the ferromancers were born with their parents madness flowing through the iron rich blood in their veins.

Known as the ferrorust, or the corroded, these new generations of ferromancers lived short and brutal lives. The largest populations of these metallic savages following the forming of the new continents was along the Ironshine Islands or deep within the Ironoaks, their ancestral homelands.

They have also been seen drawn to the islands of Bronzeforge, Hardspirit Isle, and in the frozen corners of Stillfallow Island. Overtime, the ferromancers would become the last remaining "barbaric" tribe, even during a time of sol powered technology before the Gargoliths Rise, the ferromancers continue to live isolated on their islands. Treated as infectious by other sol races, they are claimed to be infected with "The Rust" yet in the end they were simply crazy metal worshipers who had polluted their bloodline too deeply with the influences of irons and inbreeding.