Scars upon Reality/World-Wounds

The land lies scarred, our homes lie under threat, and our world lies poisoned. So few are brave enough, so few true of heart and soul enough now to stand against the poison, the taint, of magick. So many cowards, so many fallen, so many willing to accept the taint within themselves or their lives, all for sake of convienence. Damn the risks, they say, that is why we have the Magisterium. Bah!! Fools, our flock be full of fools, Sebastien. They do not understand the truth, the inevitable facts. No magister is safe, using any of the Arts of Arcanis, eventually, it will rupture the world. Magisters are a cancer upon our society's my boy. You would do well to understand this fact. Now let us ride, we will see battle this night. Dark things hide within the woods here. The land cries, the soil bleeds. There is a wound here, a scar upon reality.

Sky-rider Fiona Tel'invari, to her personal squire and knight apprentice, as they enter a small and formally peaceful valley, at behest of the local villages, to seek out monsters and strange sightings, and cleanse what evil may have come to life.

Contrary to the popular belief of the vocal minority from the various churches of the Ascended, or the prejudice folk whom they manage to stir up with such fiery accusinations and speeches, most such events are wholly natural, or set off by no one in particular or by someone with not an ounce of arcane talent or ability. Scars upon Reality are supernatural yes, but they are not new. Some lie dormant, but not healed, the land and Aether slowly scabbing, healing, but vulnerable if something were to rip the scab off. A few lie still bleeding a little bit, just waiting for someone fool enough to mess about with things they don't understand, or fumble foolish attempts to make things better, which almost inevitably make them worse. An even smaller percentage are smaller versions of the two Holes in Reality that are said to rest at the poles of the world. These are open active wounds, regions where Void wounds open and close somewhat regularly, mannastorms are common, and Horrors and Terrors are spawned through the Aether and into reality regularly, stalking the land for a short time before their natural instability forces them out of our reality, back to the Void, where they belong.

Manifestation

These regions, as dangerous as they are, are generally inhabited frontiers upon discovery. Normally such a region would only have slight to moderately noticeable effects. The occasionally mutated birth of livestock or sapient, both needing immediate purging of course. Maybe a higher rate of infectious disease than most. Perhaps a slightly elevated violent crime rate, or just a generally slightly lower life expectancy than nieghboring regions. When things are this way, this is a scar that is healing, and easy enough to deal with should one choose to. Oft however this is also beyond the sort of scope to be easily noticed. Where things become dangerous and far more immediately notable is when cultists, greenskins, beastmen, fell fae, or other such ilk, or a mighty void tainted beast, such as a Chimera or a Leshei move into an area, for they are inevitably drawn to such regions, or perhaps born of them as guardians, we know not. The foul rituals and dark sacrifices and offerings of the....sub-sapients, or the sheer presence and twisted essence of these monstrous tainted beasts will peel and pick at the scab of the scar forming. There will be a slow increase in phenomena, dark omens, events, monstrous creature attacks, all this will grow and spread over time, becoming more and more frequent slowly. It could take weeks or months or years. This will be less true if it is a species of sub-sapients that are causing the swelling of the Void's taint in the region, as they will seek to wield this power directly. Because of this, of the two, those sorts of incursions are generally considered far more dangerous. The ending stages, when things go from being a Scar upon Reality to an active World-Wound, is when the protective shroud of the Aether begins to fail and fray in areas to the point rifts can open. These tears in reality always go to the Void, and there is never any shortage of Horrors and Terrors clambering around such areas on their side in the Void, just waiting for their chance to come forth and reap havoc upon the mortal realms and material plane. Very rarely, a true Nightmare may even slip through, a devastating, almost quasi-apocolayptic event.

There are methods to heal and care for such places. As much as the church would never like to admit it, a magister of the Emerald Order, so long as they are not actively attempting to wield their power, will have a beneficial effect if living in the region, speeding the lands healing process notably by their mere presence. Enough Emerald Magisters in one area can turn what might still be years into months or even weeks. This is not feasible in most cases however. The other option is a more direct approach, the realm of the religious. The powers of the divine, especially of the followers of Talia or Boran, can cleanse the region, should the will, discipline and faith of the priest(s) attempting it be strong enough. This only works when the scar is in a passive state however, and as discussed, they generally are not really addressed or noticed until far beyond that realm.

Within the region of a Scar on Reality, one must also be aware that Arts of the Arcanis can and will malfunction and the results can oft be detrimental, if not catastrophic. On this, the Children of the Ascended are actually correct. Weaving arcane magick in such an area is detrimental to the recovery process of the region. An active World-Wound can be closed, but doing so requires powerful magick only possessed by highly skilled Diamond Magisters, or by followers of Feyheart or Boran in very high standing with their deities, and even then only with great effort and great risk.

Thank-fully it is exceedingly rare that things become so dire in or near civilized regions, even those on frontiers, to see things get as bad as a World-Wound in modern times. The last recorded instance of such an event was nearly 120 years ago, in an area now known as the Forgotten Moors, though that World-Wound is becoming a problem again, as it seems to be slowly growing, the northern most regions of it now not more than two or three days from Kelethan's outskirts. As one might imagine, this has become something of a talking point, and has drawn all kinds. For such world-wounds are highly dangerous places to adventure and travel, but they are also oft rife with treasure and wealth, forgotten and abandoned. One does need be wary however, for there are some folk whom do not choose to flee and the stories of the Fel folk, those sapients like you and me who choose not to flee...well the Void takes them. They'll seem as you and me, but make no mistake of it. They will be of a twisted and dark mind and heart with pure heretical intentions.

Show spoiler

I think Summercamp has given me the focus of my next campaign in Valerick. The siren call of the Exemplari, and wanna be groups whom wish to prove themselves. Dangerous lands, forgotten loot, and an opportunity to be remembered for implausible deeds.

Localization

These regions do not generally cover too large an area directly, but as they advance, if something interrupts or begins to reverse the healing process, than they will create outer layers of expansion like an onion. A world-wound may only directly influence 40 or 50 square kilometers (20-30 square miles). However the taint will radiate further, at a lesser volume, showing irritaiton and twisting of plants, aggression, unnatural aggression in wildlife, fouling of shallow water sources and more. This irritated area generally extends a further 50-100 kms from the edges of the World-Wound (so 25-50 miles). Further from that outer edge will be the base symptoms discussed of a Scar on Reality, for these lands are attempting to heal, and push back inwards. This region is generally a further 100-150 kms from the edges of the irritated area in all directions. They can be bigger of course, though if they are that may also suggest that it is not one World-Wound but more than one in close proximity so their zones overlap with each other.

Show spoiler

Mechanically in a ttrpg sense for Adventures in Valerick, this automatically shifts the goalpost for safe spell casting for any arcane caster by one step. So though this won't effect a magister's ability to use their magick, they will see a very notable spike in...unintended side effects, as they should more often than not triggering at least a minor miscast, even whilst successfully weaving a spell. This is true for the passive and not active levels of a Scar. If it is active, being fed by a terrible presence or the work of a cult or some ilk, then they will also be casting against the momentum. If it is a full blown World-Wound, then they no longer roll to cast, their magick is easy to wield, but always flys out of control. They roll 1d4 every time they weave a spell, and trigger that many minor miscasts. If they roll a 4, they instead trigger a major miscast. Religous powers also become harder to access, though with no risks of unintended side effects, as your voice alone is not what carries to the divine realms, but the gibbering of the voices in the Aether do as well, to the detriment of your clarity. For a calm Scar, this is barely noticeable, increasing the Target Number to call upon all Prayers by 2. However in an irritated scar, one with a great beast or cultists or their ilk operating and irritating the energies, this increases to 4. If the area is an active World-Wound, this increases to 6.

Type: Metaphysical Arcane and Supernatural