Arcanis Bonding

For each of the elemental forces a unique training regime, unique supervision, unique talents. For each Order a unique set of final tests, a unique examination for their unique license and registration. For each Order, one unique final test to determine their worthiness of existence. This was the final compromise reached in the Arcanis Accords, and one we keep to this day.

It is a well known statement of fact that each of the eight orders of the magisterium go through their own unique process to bond with the primordial force that they can wield and manipulate. This unique bond influences a great deal about a magister, altering personality, physical attributes, mentality, world views, and even base emotions. As such, this is a rather sacred thing to recognize, and each order has their own unique final tradition or test they put their apprentices through before officially registering their license documents with the Magisterium, Children of the Ascended and the various national governments. The politics of that process could be a subject of their own in depth discussion. However that is not what we are discussing here. The eight Orders of the Magisterium are varying levels of secretive, however one thing made clear in anything from the Arcanis Accords all the way to readily available documents between various Magisterium Collegiates and host nations, is the final testing process. None, not even the notoriously secretive Onyx Order, can keep this ritual out of the view of the wider world, if one wishes to look, because of the necessity of legal recognition required. Within these humble pages, one will find, in layman's terms, a brief description of what an apprentice of each Order must go through, their Arcanis Bonding, the final task, before becoming licensed. I would implore all those whom research such a topic to understand the heaviness of this topic. If an apprentice fails their Bonding, fails to make the necessary connection to the Primordial force their talent is tied to...they are executed. There are no second chances, by this point in their education, if they cannot establish that bond permanently now...they are too dangerous to let live.

by Keon Croucher (discord name, drizzt103) was the input operator, Midjourney AI took those inputs and put the image together.

The Ruby Order have perhaps the simplest tradition, yet a fitting one given how their bond and connection works. They must learn to be in complete control, yet able to just let go and tap into all their passion all at once at the drop of a pin, and then wrestle control right back just as fast. They must dance the edge of emotion, adrenaline and passion always. An apprentice of the Ruby Order, as their final test, will be sent to take part in a skirmish or battle. It may be in their home nation, against beastmen or orks or their ilk. It may be in some far flung conflict far from home as a mercenary. Regardless they will accompany their master and mentor, and fight side by side with them. The rules are simple. They cannot tap into their bond for any reason, not even to save their own lives, unless told to in the moment by their mentor. They must survive on their instincts, wits, speed and skill alone, armed with naught but their weapons of choice, most commonly a sabre or rapier and a revolver. They will be told to react, to tap in and defend themselves at random moments in the whirlwind of battle, or to utilize their fire magick in the simple but effective palm flare as well, but again with little to no notice and will be expected to perform. Not performing the task will not get you executed, it is a battle, things get loud, perhaps you didn't hear the instruction. However should you make the attempt and fail, your mentor will put two bullets in your chest and one in your head, without remorse and without doubt. Such are the rules of the Ruby Order. Should you succeed and survive this first conflict, you will be officially recognized as a magister of the Ruby Order.

by Keon Croucher (discord name, drizzt103) was the input operator, Midjourney AI took those inputs and put the image together.

Those of the Amethyst Order are up next, and in what I can only describe as the most horrifying bonding ritual I can imagine, they are entombed. A full funeral, complete with a sealed coffin carefully sized and chosen so that so long as they don't panick at any point, they will have enough air for exactly 16 hours. A full 1 hour funeral is held, complete with farewells, mourners, and speeches. The apprentice is then entombed overnight. Over the course of that fourteen hours, though they can breathe, it will get harder and harder, testing both their physical discipline, to not panick to not start breathing faster and therefore running out of air faster, as well as testing their mental discipline as the slow lack of proper breathing will inevitably give them....visions. They will inevitably tap into the Aether, into their talent, only to be rejected, for they do so out of subconscious fear. They will seek to slow their heart rate using the arts of Entropomancy only to be shown visions of their own death. Strangely most report this moment as a calming one, for no one whom has survived the ritual reports that they saw visions of themselves dying in the coffin that night. None will ever verbally confirm what they saw, for those whom survive understand that what they saw is part of the test. All things must die, death is a necessary part of life. To fear it, to live life in crippling fear of an inevitable end is folly. It is pointless and a waste of energy. Energy the mind and body can use to greater effect and benefit for you elsewhere. This is perhaps why Amethyst magisters seem to age slower and need less rest and less food compared to normal people. A few do end up writing down their visions in a sort of private journal, to be examined after they are deceased, more for posterity than anything else. What knowledge and reference I could find at least some of these end up being completely accurate reports of the magister's death.

by Keon Croucher (discord name, drizzt103) was the input operator, Midjourney AI took those inputs and put the image together.

Those of the Opal Order have perhaps the simplest test, yet one that still manages to catch apprentices off guard in the moment. They will be taken out to climb a tall structure or perhaps a cliff, free climb it, no ropes or anything. They will have to keep up with their master and mentor, being pushed to the limit of their capabilities. Once at the top, they will share a meal, and the mentor will tell the apprentice, as they've perhaps done on many such climbs (as free climbing to higher and higher places is part of the methodology for the training of Opal Magisters, apparently), to get close to the edge and plan their route down. They will have perhaps five minutes normally to study the wall or cliff face, before they will be told to begin descending, all trust in them now to lead. However this time, the master will simply and suddenly...push the apprentice over the edge. Simply put if the apprentice manages to figure out how to control, slow, or otherwise even halt their descent magickally in that moment of panick and do so with control, they pass. Otherwise they fail and are killed, or just fail to even cast a spell at all and die on impact.

by Keon Croucher (discord name, drizzt103) was the input operator, Midjourney AI took those inputs and put the image together.

Those of the Onyx Order have the most difficult test to understand and for good reason, because of its delicate nature. I cannot in good faith give to many details about the methods or expectations, however what I can say is that any apprentice of the Onyx Order whom is to pass their Bonding, this means that they have actively duped a Magister of another Order into sharing their grimoire with them. This can be accomplished only through non-violent and known thieving means, it must be an active dupe, a misdirection and mislead, it must be direct. They must willingly give it to you. Even bribery, if you are fool enough to attempt it and somehow make it work, is acceptable. The key thing is you have 7 days to do this, and to then master using your own shadow magick to imitate the effects of one spell-form from that grimoire. If on the morning of that eighth day you do not return the grimoire and cannot show your Handler (the term they use to refer to the mentor or teacher of an apprentice) that you have accomplished learning this, wielding shadow in this way, your life is forfeit.

by Keon Croucher (discord name, drizzt103) was the input operator, Midjourney AI took those inputs and put the image together.

The Sapphire Order hold their final bonding in a unique way. Swimming is of course a key part of the training regime for an apprentice of the Sapphire Order, and as such is a normal and regular activity. However on the day of their potential licensing, their daily swim will take on a hell of a twist. Their master will join them, still a rather regular occurance, however once they are a ways from shore, their master will utilize some powerful magick to entrap them in a sphere or the like of water, basically holding them hostage. From there, much in a vein like those of the Opal Order, this is a test of the mind and body, to not panick to not suck in water, but to connect with Uisce, with the Sapphire manna all about them, and manipulate the essence of it within their own bodies to allow them to subsist, to breathe when under water, at least temporarily. To pass this test they must successfully establish a normal breathing rhythm, visibly, for 30 seconds. Otherwise their master will hold them within the sphere until they drown.

by Keon Croucher (discord name, drizzt103) was the input operator, Midjourney AI took those inputs and put the image together.

The Emerald Order takes a rather indirect approach to their final bonding test, and yet it seems to work well enough. When the time comes to see if an apprentice is truly ready to be a licensed Magister, on their next excursion into the wilderness, once they are suitably far from any civilization of any kind, in the midst of the night their mentor will seemingly abandon them. The apprentice will awaken to a note left, along with food and water but for one day. The note will contain very simple instructions, explaining that this is their test to be recognized as a Licensed Emerald Magister. They must survive 7 days alone, finding food, figuring out shelter, finding water. They cannot ask for or seek help, are forbidden form entering any hub of civilization or their mentor will kill them (it is implied they are still around, choosing to not be seen or heard from, but to merely observe). In truth, however, whilst surviving is one way to pass this test, so to is noticing, tracking, locating and ultimately getting the jump on their mentor, if they can manage it. Such a direct attempt has consequences though, for if they fail to catch their mentor off guard, the apprentice has forfeited their life, for they made contact with another sapient being. If after the seventh day and night, the apprentice has survived and honored the rules, their mentor will be in camp the next morning, cooking a fine breakfast, the paperwork already signed and ready to be made official, with the copy for the apprentice to carry on them forever already full filled out and ready.

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The Emerald Order have a bit of a open secret about their test however. They do allow second chances. If an apprentice decides to simply surrender, verbally and audibly, their mentor will return to camp the next morning, and the test will be failed. However the magister will not execute their apprentice for this, because it shows good instincts, being able to admit when you cannot accomplish a task, and so they will be subjected to another three years of training and education. After that time is up, the test shall be attempted again, though this time there is no path for a safe failure of the Bonding. This second attempt is the final one for those whom need it. They either succeed or die.

by Keon Croucher (discord name, drizzt103) was the input operator, Midjourney AI took those inputs and put the image together.

The Test of the Topaz Order is a deceptively simple one, but one well worth noting for its importance, given the way handling Earth Manna is described as a mental and physical workout. Your body, not just your mind, must be able to take abuse and punishment. To this end the way an apprentice of the Topaz Order is tested, they are buried alive. Not like how their fellow magisters experienced it, with a coffin and a funeral, no. Those of the Topaz Order will be subjected to a controlled cave-in of sorts, and they will have 84 hours to dig their way out, or find some other way to escape and return to the cavern or cave entrance where their mentor will be patiently waiting. If by the end of that third day you have not escaped and arrived, your mentor will utilize whatever methods of Earth Magick are swiftest to get into the cavern, find and kill them.

by Keon Croucher (discord name, drizzt103) was the input operator, Midjourney AI took those inputs and put the image together.

Due to the nature of Soul Magick, and how strong of a draw it is to the terrifying entities of the Void, the final test for a Diamond Magister to be is perhaps the most intensive and dangerous of them all. Up until now every test had merely just been about life and death, which whilst high stakes, are mundane in nature. This is because direct possession is a relatively uncommon event, and the least likely thing to occur for other Orders within the Magisterium. That truth however, does not extend to those of the Diamond Order. Their magick is the direct counterance, but also the most potent draw, to the beasts from the Void. Think of it like moths to a flame. A Diamond Magister always hears the demonic whispers, always has the offers from the gibbering hosts muttering in their mind, every moment of every day, though they learn to ignore it. When they wield their power, those voices get much louder, much harder to ignore. Part of this is also because by the nature of the magick they wield, the strength of their souls itself is a benefit, as a possession is not an eviction, as they explained it to me. The soul inherently is needed to keep the body alive. What possession instead is, it is holding a soul prisoner, using its 'meat suit' and feeding off the soul til it ceases to be, and then the body will fail soon after. So naturally, a Diamond Magister, their souls are inherently just more energized, more stable, are larger and a last longer in this process. Significantly longer, and so possessing a Diamond Magister is an exquisite priviledge to the beasts of the Void.

This is all necessary information to understand why their test is so very harsh. A Diamond Magister will be subjected, as their final bonding, to possession by a encaptured low tier Void entity, a Horror of some kind. They will be forced into this thing taking up residence within them, and their test is to vanquish it, is to overcome the possession through their own arcane ability and sheer stubborn resolve and spiritual fortitude. They will be chained and bound in a containment glyph during this process, and watched by no less than three sages of the Order. Should they fail, that Horror, despite the power of the new body and soul, will never leave the chamber that this test takes place in. Neither will that apprentice. Even those whom succeed are changed for the experience, mentally pushed, their resolve becoming second to none, for this conflict can take mere moments, or hours, or even days. So long as you are still in there, still fighting, still able to fight for control and show resistance, they will not execute you. That is why there are three magisters in the chamber for one apprentice during this bonding test. To insure they can afford to leave such leeway. To contain the beast, but not have to kill it and you before they are sure you have failed. This test alters a Diamond Magister's own perception of time in the Material Realm as well, for even if they succeed in minutes, to their own soul and mind, it will feel like weeks. Hours feel as months, days feel as if years. It is a terrifying concept to try and visualize, and I for one wish to discuss it no further.

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It is worth noting for GM purposes and player purposes, this is what is written in the ancient treaty. In modern days, the Magisterium and its Orders, and the Magisters themselves, quietly and 'openly' in a fashion do get away with altering this facet of the education in a particular matter. The lethality, whilst in some of these tests, is an unavoidable risk, is lessened as in most cases executing an apprentice for failure is not the norm, at least not after one attempt anymore. Magisters are understood, even begrudgingly by the churches, to be to important, to rare and have to much of a time and effort investment to just so easily waste their lives. So this final test, which is the final test in a series of tests, whilst retaining its potential lethalities in the direct tests, such as exists, do not necessarily end in only success or death. Failure is an option, all it means is your education, and the time until you are legally allowed to exist and operate in society without the presence of your master, is increased. Generally to the tune of 5 years. Should you fail three times however, your options are but two. Death, or the Stilling. Also it is worth noting the task of the Onyx Order seems written in such a way as to make little actual sense, and this is likely on purpose, because it is probably far more nuanced and subtle than the way it is written suggests. After all, they are meant to be the subtle internal secret police Order.

The Stilling

Those whom fail their test too many times have but two options. Death or the Stilling. The Stilling, whilst the methods and rituals of the process are a well guarded secret, is understood to be a process by which a person whom is Arcanis-Touched, that is someone capable of becoming a magister/apostate, can be cut off rom the Aether entirely. They can essentially be removed from the flow of raw creation. What is noteworthy about this process is that this does not just turn you into a normal person, for in truth almost every person has some small connection to the Aether and inherently, because they are but two parts of the same realm, also the Void. No what Stilling does is sever your connection entirely to creation. To dreaming. You become without the ability to dream, to have nightmares, but also to have real goals or growth. You become stagnate, you become at rest for life. No longer able to be motivated by self set goals and dreams, no longer capable of imaginative creativity. In many ways you are best compared to an intelligent automaton, you still possess intellect, and can respond in a quasi emotional manner to stimuli, but gone forever is your ability to think creatively, to invent, to wonder, to dream. Gone forever is direct curiousity, the motivation to learn by ones self. You simply exist, with no real concern with ever doing more than you already know how to do. You also cannot wield magick, cannot by possessed, and are immune to Fear based effects.

Whilst this may sound less than terrible on its face, one should note this means you also lose the ability to enjoy the arts, to enjoy pass times like games, you lose passion. So no ability to hate, and feel fear, but no ability to truly fall in love. Your 'emotions' such as any are, they are but reactions to directly applied stimuli. It is a sort of rending of your soul.

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Unknown even to the Magisters whom came up with this process, this process shreds the soul itself, doing so much damage that when such an indivdual dies, their essence does not renew, does not rejoin the cycle, but is pulled through the Aether and directly into the Void, used merely as sustinence for that foul realm.