The Psychic Realm

There exists within the folds of reality several layers of reality, most of which are hidden from the eye. The invisible realm of the the psychic is arguably the most poignant and unique among these, touching every other aspect of reality in some way or another. As the touch of the Void has crept through life on Cairne, tainting and changing all it touches, many strange and unique mutations have sprung up from its influence, altering those rare few that share the propensity for it. Unfortunately for many, such as the first recorded Mentalist, Mauve Einstrahum, if left unchecked these powers can range out of control, damaging those around them and even driving the individual mad. To combat this, the creation and use of the Peacebound Mask has been implemented across most civilized cultures, with Benevolents now trained on how to diagnose the signs and begin assisting the budding talents of the Mentalist to keep themselves and those around them safe. The added awareness of the Mentalist is said to be a vast ocean of noise before they learn how to shut out the unwanted voices and images that the rest of creatures of Cairne project into the Psychic Realm, unaware that they are doing so. Within this invisible place, time holds no scope or viable construct of any sort, existing as a constant singular moment, past, present, and future overlapping in one place containing every thought and fantasy, every dream and nightmare every imagined by the people of the world. The Mentalist is not only a master of tapping into this realm, but navigating it as well. For the untrained, the Psychic Realm is a place of sheer chaotic madness, a thrumming din of constant wavering noise that is ceaseless, filled with shimmering images and visions that are difficult to see and yet impossible to ignore, and despite the strange nature of the place, the Mentalists are not the only creatures that vie for dominance of this domain, further increasing the danger of it for the untrained and unfocused mind.
The Mentalist has a wide variety of abilities at their disposal due to their access and knowledge of the Psychic Realm, and as they grow stronger and more skilled, these abilities open up even more, granting them awareness of other times and places and the events that more those times, the ability to pull the thoughts and intentions from others, and the ability to not only read, but manipulate the emotions and perceptions of others too. As mentioned prior, the Realm touches all other aspects of reality in some way or another, and while each Mentalist is unique in how they opt to ply their abilities, there is no part of existence that is excluded from them. Through time and focus they learn to better harness and control the power they gain from their far reaching awareness and as that power grows and their ability to reach further and further follows, the dangers inherent in that realm take more and more notice as well. There are many things that call the Realm home, and they feed upon the energy that the Mentalist employs. Beyond the limitations of that danger, there is very little that the focused Mentalist cannot do however, and a wise one will excel at navigating these dangers, and in some cases even defeating them entirely.
Within the greatly varies aspects of ability that these individuals have access to, the majority of them can be grouped into the following categories, each one opening up to an ever greater and more focused level of interaction.

• Awareness is by far the most used and needed skill in the arsenal of the Mentalist. Their awareness of the unseen Realm allows them to be alert for dangers and threats, to see things and places beyond the physical senses abilities, and in even more extreme cases, be able to cycle through chronological events unbound by the uninitiated's linear perception of time. Through this ability they are able to read thoughts and emotions, and to sense residual psychic energy in a place as well.

• Domination remains one of the most universally feared abilities of the Mentalist, the ability to wrest control of an creature's mind from itself and control it like a puppet. These powers can be applied to varying degrees from subtle influence to all out oppression of the thoughts and feelings of the minds they touch.

• Kinesis is the ability by which the Mentalist directly influences the physical realm, their mental ability pushing into the the world and shaping the forces there. By this they can achieve truly wonderous effects, often confused with magic such as levitation and the ability to manipulate the elements in a physical way. In more focused and extreme cases, the Mentalist can even utilize these abilities as weapons, honing their focus to a literal razor's edge.

• Projection is the means by which the Mentalist moves their awareness from one point to another, traveling through the Psychic Realm itself disembodied and by doing so, gaining access to anyplace not closed to the Realm itself. Time and distance mean nothing here, so these journeys can be made in in no time at all, but they are not without their dangers. While immersed in the Realm, not only in the Mentalist's body venerable and helpless, they are subject to the creatures and powers that make their home in that place as well, and should a death occur at either end of that spectrum, the Mentalist will be lost forever.

• Transmutation is the final way by which the Mentalist may influence the world with their abilities, though this is difficult and rare. By focusing their will into the physical world on a minute level, the Mentalist, if able, can alter the very nature of a thing and bend it to their will, changing the shape, density, or even the base element of it to something else of the Mentalist's design. To do this takes a tremendous amount of energy and focus on the part of the Mentalist themselves, making it by far the most complex and difficult discipline of them all.