Maya

## Introduction to Magic

We love fiction because we love watching characters grow. Fantasy video games make this progress concrete and quantifiable. Experience points! New skill unlocked! New armor and dialogue options! But this linear and permanent view of progress is neither honest nor helpful for the viewer. How am I supposed to compare myself, a flawed human, to this level 16 half-elf sorceress?

Films are a little better. We don’t know what level Gandalf is when he faces the Balrog, and the challenges he must overcome are those of character development, something far less quantifiable.

Not all films need character arcs, but they are the currency of fantasy. The best arcs actually make me feel like I’m evolving with the character. It makes me feel like I’m getting experience points just by watching the characters learn.

But I never get that feeling when I’m watching characters learn magic. No, magic is rarely presented as something relevant to me: it’s only accessible to special people with special blood (Gandalf is simply born a wizard) or special tools (Harry’s got that phoenix wand) or special midichlorians (“Now this is pod-racing!”).

In this world, everyone can learn magic. No, let me rephrase that. Everyone *is always, already a magician*. We all perform magic constantly. Even you, o noble reader. By willing your eyes to skim o’er these fair words you perform a magical act. Cool, yeah?

Magic conceived thus is incredibly simple. It requires no special spells, wands, or bloodlines. Below is an introduction to the laws of Maya, written by the a'Qashtet scholar Quitsen in the library of Bevelle:

> Prayer: May you receive all you desire; and you shall.
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> Objection: But I desire good. Why do I receive bad?
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> Answer: We are imperfect beings, with contradictory desires. In other words, our desires are *dissonant*. We desire involuntarily, in multiple directions at once. Evolution is the process of simplifying our desires; purging them of dissonance. The role of the Maya is to evolve as individuals so we may help the evolution of others, so that, ultimately, the whole world may harmonize its desires. The coordinated desires of many, you see, is more powerful than the desire of one--even if that one is purged of all dissonance. The coordinated desire of the whole world is unthinkably seductive. Matter itself is seduced by this harmony, and cannot help but satisfy its desire.
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> Think: In dreams, when we desire something, it is immediately given. We can walk through walls, metaphorically speaking. If we desire a lover, we see a lover. But if we are dissonant, and cannot choose between two lovers, we will have neither. We might create a scene of conflict. And if we desire the end of desire, then our lovemaking will be interrupted. And if we are very dissonant and simultaneously desire the fear of desire, a monster may punish us for making love in the first place. But through all such scenes, these are all experiences we have desired. You have heard it said, “Ask, and ye shall receive.”
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> The same is true for waking life. When we think of something, we immediately call it into existence--as a thought.
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> Objection: Yes, but all thought exists only *inside the mind*.
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> First answer: All beings walk this earth with a cloud of thoughts over their heads. Thoughts exist. They are what I call *real* *incorporeal*. But such thoughts slip into the *corporeal real* in myriad ways. How? Examples: as justification for our actions, as demonization of another’s actions, as repulsion, as attraction, as cause of emotion, as inspiration, as a course of action. Thought directs attention; and controls the tongue. In short, thought is real, even *inside* the mind.
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> Second answer: You are but a thought in the mind of Etrisan, the Seventh. And thus, your thoughts are made of the same material as the physical world. All is made of such stuff as thought.
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> Think: In a world of pure mind--like a dream, say--we exist *within* a mind, rather than having a mind exist *within* us. There, on that mind-plane, whatever we think *becomes* reality, for *reality is made of thought*. This is what we call the dream principle.
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> Expansion: The art of Maya is the art of bringing the dream principle into our waking lives, by projecting our thoughts into material reality. When you succeed in this art, you will realize that indeed, as the Snolakthïr sages suggest, we *do* live within a dream. And Maya is the art of waking up while remaining within the dream.
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> Think: Maya is lucid dreaming.
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> Expansion: In dreams, everything you perceive is an emanation of yourself, and thus can be transformed in any manner you desire.
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> Objection: Elris Muhadim, blessed speaker of Etrisan the Seventh, has claimed that dreams are actual events that occur in a parallel reality, the dream world, or what the Snolakthïr call the Akastral-plane. Dreams are not, thus, our own private-fantasies, and so how can we say “everything in dreams is an emanation of oneself”?
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> Answer: true, dream-events really occur on other planes. But such events are inaccessible directly. They are enshrouded with a language of symbolism that only the individual dreamer can decode. Thus, the original claim still stands: everything you experience in a dream is an encounter with yourself. By contrast, what you experience on the material plane is an encounter with pure otherness.
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> Objection: To the mature Maya, everything we encounter in the external world is still an encounter with oneself. As the mystery schools of the west have long put it: the Seventh sees only itself. When the tyro begins his study, he will need to take this principle on faith. But when the tyro first begins to see the world around him as a foggy mirror, reflecting himself, miracles become easy.
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> Question: Why is this power not innate in all of us? Why can’t everyone materialize their desire at will?
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> Answer: This great power is not accessible to the waking world for a simple reason: most mortal souls have neither become aware of, nor begun to harmonize, their desires. Who knows what demons one might conjure, on purpose or by accident, if one had brooding deep inside them a silent and profound hatred for all of existence? Or all women? Or all children? Or oneself? The power of magic leaps from there: from those deep wells of desire. One cannot study Maya until one studies themselves, and purifies the water in the deepest wells within.
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> Question: If Maya is simple, then why is it difficult?
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> Answer: Our desires have dissonance from many sources.
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> Question: What are these many sources?
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> First: There is dissonance from within.
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> Expansion: Our minds are designed to do one thing: find patterns. We see patterns in chaos; this is what we do. The path of least resistance in the mind is to abstract these patterns into Law, and believe this Law is external to our mind, and thus immutable. And since the coordinated desire of the world is impossibly seductive, matter conforms to the most common of such Laws, and congeals in what we call the Laws of Nature. There is a feedback cycle, where we perceive what patterns have congealed by token of our thoughts, and thus reinforce our beliefs that such Laws of immutable. Thus, many believe that Maya is impossible. It is impossible to perform miracles if you think miracles are impossible. To transgress our own dissonance requires the harmonization of our desires to such an extent that we cease to believe in the Laws of Nature entirely.
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> Simplification: We must believe in the miracles we desire.
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> Second: there is interference from what we call nature.
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> Expansion: As already established, Nature has no steadfast laws. But nature does have its own habits, which are external to our minds’ perception of patterns. Example: gravity, continuity, contiguity. To transgress the dissonance of nature requires a great expenditure of mental energy, since nature has a powerful imagination, indeed!
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> Simplification: We must believe in the miracles we desire more than nature believes in her miracles.
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> Third: We must compensate for the dissonance of other minds.
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> Expansion: Even if you believe in your miracles more than nature believes in hers, there are always other minds who disbelieve in your abilities or even the possibility of miracles to begin with. This is a particularly dense form of dissonance which is difficult to overcome. The tyro who begins to perform miracles will find it simple to light fires with a snap of their fingers when alone, but before a crowd of onlookers will fail. This should follow from our previous principles, since our reality is One, and only what we *all imagine together* is bereft of any dissonance. To this extent, the greatest of all Maya do not simply wield a sharp mind, but also has a penchant for seducing others to believe in their miracles, too. Maya are in that sense actors, causing their audience to willingly or unwillingly suspend their disbelief. Enlisting other minds to invest their belief in you is the most difficult task of the Maya, and unfortunately it is this aspect of our order that carries the largest stigma. This is the source of all myths that the Maya control minds and manipulate laymen.
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> Simplification: We must believe in the miracles we desire more than nature believes in hers, and more than others disbelieve in us.
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In simple terms: magic is the power of imagination. If you can imagine something very clearly, and believe it’s real, then it will be actualized. But, you must imagine something all the clearer and believe in it all the stronger if your intention is to defy the laws of nature, and even more so if it’s to contradict the imaginations of other people. But, once something is actualized, it cannot be un-imagined. You can only imagine more.

## The Seven Ways

There are not one, but Seven systems of magic, known as the Seven Ways. They all share the same undergirding logic of Maya, as detailed above. However, different cultures have different imaginations, and since imagination is the root of everything, this results in different flavours of the same universal magic. Each Way was developed over time by different people with different moral philosophies, aesthetic tastes, and cultural rites.

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> * 1. The Way of Silence.
> 	+ The Zoraxil            [Thought-less]
> * 2. The Way of the Fist.
> 	+ The ye(Bochi           [Stone-eaters]
> * 3. The Way of the Will.
> 	+ The a’Qashtet          [Word-keepers]
> * 4. The Way of the Heart.
> 	+ The Kaikúsai           [Wind-bearers]
> * 5. The Way of Logos.
> 	+ The Auguroparsons      [Scholar-mages]
> 	+ The Telecogladios      [Mind-warriors]
> 	+ The Dominobestios      [Beast-masters]
> 	+ The Somniomedicos      [Dream-doctors]
> 	+ The Belatiosonias      [Blade-singers]
> * 6. The Way of Dreams.
> 	+ The Snolakthïr         [Star-gazers]
> * 7. The Way of Faith.
> 	+ sui’Etrisan            [Children of Etrisan]
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## Difficulty of Magic

This list indicates the range of miracles possible, organized by difficulty, with 1 being easiest, and 10 being nearly impossible:

1. Action.

Physical activities which do not compete with the laws of nature. Example: loosing an arrow from a bow.

2. Enhancement.

Doing regular activities with enhanced grace, precision, strength. Some gifted tyros might experience time slowing down. Artists and athletes often reach this level of magical ability. Example: hitting a bullseye.

3. Telekinesis.

This ranges greatly. For example, re-directing an arrow midair is rather easy (3), but lifting a sitting object is hard (5), while making oneself fly is extremely hard (9). Lifting an entire city into the air is nearly impossible if the people upon that city do not believe such things are possible. You will need help.

4. Telepathy.

Whispering thoughts into the minds of someone you are physically touching is very easy (3), but doing so at a distance can be more difficult (5), at a great distance is very hard (6), and doing so in such a way that the receiver of the thoughts confuses them for their own thoughts is extremely hard (7). Projecting images into the minds of others is easy if they are willing (3-5). But controlling their minds is entirely impossible unless you can convince the receiver to invite you into their mind--then it is possible, but very difficult (10).

5. Projection.

The projection of one’s consciousness out of body into the akastral plane. This allows magicians to visualize a spiritual version of a physical situation, which gives them deep insight. It also allows them to convene together at great distances, or consult their gods.

6. Time.

The ability to see into the distant past and potential future. Perceiving past or future with only one sense (hearing, for example) is easier (4) but to immerse in the future and return with prophecy, is hard (7).

7. Transformation.

The vast majority of Maya never achieve feats at this difficulty. Most do not go beyond 4. However, some adepts are able to transform their own facial features, or the size of their body, and some deeply gifted masters are able to transform themselves into a different species altogether, like a bear.

8. Creating.

Creating inanimate objects *ex nihilo*, e.g. producing a pen when needed, or shooting a fire ball, or creating astral weapons. The flipside is making objects vanish, e.g. making arrows disappear before they strike their target. Some acts of creation are easier than others: creating a fire on dry wood (6) versus pulling arrows from an empty quiver (8) versus pulling a sword out of thin air (9).

9. Summoning.

Conjuring independent creatures with minds of their own. Precious few Mortals have ever been able to summon. The Immortals, though, can summon physical creatures who have their own independent minds. These creations can take a long time to manifest, and are not very intelligent. They usually operate with a simple goal given to them by their creator.

10.    Mass influence.

This is the most difficult feat a Maya can perform. Even the immortals can scarcely reach mass influence. There are two forms of mass influence:

a. The first is direct control. It involves pushing one’s mind into the body of another, and no matter how powerful the Maya, it is impossible if the victim does not consent. The difficulty is twofold, then: the seductive powers required to convince someone to allow you into their bodies; and the power required to perform the act itself. Both are nearly impossible.

b. The second is direct communion. This is akin to mass telepathy, but there is a difference. Whereas mass telepathy is the voice of one Maya speaking to a massive number of minds simultaneously, direct communion on the other hand is when all the voices of the world speak as one. The Seventh alone can facilitate this. It only occurs at the Cycle’s End.

## Against Magic

Aside from the fact that they are dangerous warriors when fully trained, Maya can be even more dangerous when they are not trained, and not in control of their impulses. If someone has a willpower strong enough to perform a miracle, but possesses no control over their desires, all aspects of their imagination will be realized.

They may conjure pain for people they love, or glory for their enemies if they entertain such thoughts for a moment too long.

An untrained Maya is quite literally a nightmare. Untrained Maya with more power than discipline will often retreat into what we call a Trance; a sort of coma, banishing their minds to the astral realm, where they can cause no lasting harm. So, if they can imagine anything, how do you stop a fully trained Maya?

1. Exhaust them.

Maya are powerful but they are not invincible. They are human, and even the immortals cannot channel infinite energy. Maya often retreat to rest and meditate--restoring their harmony, as it were. If one Maya were to fight a whole army, they would almost certainly lose, unless it was an extremely powerful Maya who was fully rested. But still, it only takes one unseen arrow to strike true.

2. Enlist other Maya.

Having a Maya on a battlefield is a major asset. However, two equally skilled Maya engaged in battle will occupy each other’s entire attention, sometimes for hours and hours until one of them loses concentration for a moment. Equally powerful Maya neutralize each other until one of them is victorious and the other is dead, retreats, or is otherwise incapacitated [Maya can be expelled out of body to the astral plane; can be put in a trance; can be exhausted of energy; or can be knocked unconscious traditionally].

3. Train a Lektha.

The Lektha are the white wolves native to Mekthnel. They are not the only beasts with Maya proclivities, but they are the most powerful. Their abilities in the wild are fully intuitive, and typically they excel with telepathy and precognition. But Lektha also possess a curious ability to “swarm” enemies with a flurry of confusion. Lektha have been trained by the Dominobestias of the Fifth Way, and this “swarming” has been weaponized. The experience of being “swarmed” is said to be agonizing, and some of the more vicious Lektha are able to shoot a beam of dense static noise towards their enemies, causing permanent damage to a Maya. There is nothing more frightening to a Maya than a trained Lektha.

## Magical Symptoms

No soul, mortal or immortal, has perfectly clean chakras. Everyone has blockages, repression, and tension. Maya who perform difficult tasks must channel lot of energy through their chakras, and it’s thus inevitable that some amount of energy will get stuck at each station, causing physical symptoms. The more energy required for the task, the greater the chance of there being consequences.

Symptoms include irritability, difficulty speaking, distorted perceptions, sensory hallucinations, slipping into trance, extreme exhaustion, spontaneous dehydration, delirium, nausea, migraines, bleeding from the nose and ears, and in severe cases sudden death.

These symptoms manifest when there is a lack of discipline in the will. If you focus your mind’s eye upon a single outcome, then these symptoms will be minimal. But if your mind wanders there will be wasted energy. So, the untrained Maya who accidentally performs a miracle will definitely experience symptoms. Even the most disciplined Maya, however, will experience these symptoms if they perform massive miracles without stopping to meditate.

A common technique to help a Maya perform difficult tasks without symptoms is for other Maya to invest belief in them. While one Maya imagines the act, others can sit in meditation and imbue the first Maya with their belief. This has the effect of enlarging their chakras, so their blockages have a smaller chance of trapping energy, and the exhaustion is shared between many.

## A Word on Healing

There is no magical ‘laying of hands’ to heal all wounds in this world. Healing is magical, but cannot be imposed from without.

The human body is the most direct manifestation of an individual’s imagination. It is the imagination enfleshed.

And as we’ve established, one cannot un-imagine what has been imagined. So, one cannot undo a wound or a disease once created. One can only help the victim imagine their own recovery. But the swiftness of this recovery is entirely determined by the victim.

Some strategies for helping victims imagine their own healing:

1. Give them an elixir of healing.
2. Massage certain nodes in the body.
3. Draw geometry around their wounds.
4. Rub herbal ointments on their wounds.
5. Soothe them with sacred harmonies.
6. Confront the illness in a dream.
7. Should it be time, accept death.