Connection
Magic. Hmm. Indeed, to some, what we do might be called magic. But to the truly devoted, what we do is no different to any other natural occurrence. When your achievements become no more difficult than breathing, why call that magic? To call such a feat magic is to defy your belief in yourself to make your life your own!
Connection is the general term used within The Federation of Independent Realms to describe the phenomenon used by entities bearing a Soul. Many view it as a generalized framework for describing the relative reality warping that seems exceedingly common throughout the Realms. While the prevalence for being Attuned to a form of Connection is high within the Federation, there are still groups who find the practice highly unnatural and an affront to the Old Gods.
The two most common forms of Connection are through the use of Grafts, which are reminiscent of tattoos, and Spellcraft which exploits the core tenants of Connection, itself, in order to make repeatable commands that can affect reality itself.
Description
Connection is a link between a person’s soul and reality. This link can be between just about anything that exists, and is even how some things continue to exist that shouldn't. There are two main fields of thought regarding the the expression of Connection. One that posits that it is modulated through willpower and clarity of thought, while the other seeks to apply a more quantized approach involving various esoteric energies that propagate the effects of Connection. The fact that there are multiple cases that fall more in one camp than the other makes finding a unified theory difficult, if not exciting for leading scholars. Manipulation through this link is known as Imposition, which comes from using one’s soul to impose their will on someone or something else. In many places, Imposition is colloquially known as Silent or Nonverbal Spellcraft: it does not inherently rely on much other than one’s will and intent. Contrary to this is Invocation which is colloquially used to refer to Verbal Imposition.Capacity
Capacity refers to the number of discrete Connections a person can manifest and exert on reality themselves. The number of Connections that a person can maintain in total (including from outside sources) is an active area of research across the Federation. Thus reference to a person's Capacity only ever refers to their manifested Connection. It has been hypothesized that the initial Capacity someone is born with is largely affected by the Connection Capacity of their parents. Some studies have provided evidence that the relationship is largely proportional to the sum. This has sparked recent controversies in the Yawen Kingdom where particularly ambitious families will attempt to exploit this through arranged marriages and births. Increasing one's Capacity is not an endeavor for the faint of heart as it requires heavy and consistent use to avoid atrophy. It is generally accepted that pushing beyond one's limits is a major factor in increasing one's Capacity. If one is not careful or in a controlled environment, this can have potentially disastrous outcomes. The difficulty of increasing one's Capacity also seems to increase with age and existing Capacity amount, with a notable jump around the age of puberty. Scholars urge that more studies are necessary to find more data to explain the sudden increase in difficulty associated with puberty. Despite this, is not uncommon for children in renowned Houses, Clans, or Organizations to be pushed to their breaking points in an effort to strengthen the next generation of Connection Bearers.Breadth
Breadth, as a concept, acts more of a teaching tool to newer Connection Bearers than any sort of practical tool. While Connection, itself, can appear or be visualized in any number of ways, or not all, it often helps to visualize the process of forming a Connection as placing a string or drawing a line between two objects. Thus the Breadth of a single Connection is used to describe the relative strength of this drawn line, which is often shown visually as narrowing or widening the line. The lack of widely accepted practicality of Connection Breadth hasn't stopped scholars at Yawen Royal Institute of Spellcraft from trying to Breadth as a way to tie the ideas of the Cognitive Weight of Spells to the Collective Unconscious, that is thought to heavily effect higher World-level Connection, together. Or trying to find a numerical connection between one's Capacity and the Breadth they are able to exert. Scholars at The Lo Marr International Institute use the idea of Breadth as a means to explain the benefits of using external Foci. Namely that a focusing tool (wand, staff, etc.) can be used to improve the Breadth of a Connection. The idea is that the improvement from these tools is external to the Connection Bearer and so does not take away from the Capacity of the Bearer.Range
Connection Range is a hotly researched and debated topic throughout the Federation. Mostly due to its substantial variance and difficulty in establishing experimental control groups.Lo Marr scholars contend there are six main factors that establish the Range available to a Bearer:
Whereas Yawen Royal Institute scholars only recognize four main factors:
- Connection Hierarchy
- Soul Weight
- Spiritual Lensing
- Abyss Connection
Two Levels of Connection
Personal Connection
Personal Connection consists of extending one’s soul to their surroundings. Personal Connection makes up the vast majority of what most people are capable of. The majority of people within the Federation (about 90%) are capable of forming some sort of recognizable Connection which is only at the personal level.World Connection
Of those capable of forming Personal Connection, less than 1 in 100,000* are capable of elevating their Connection to the Worldly scope. Although it has been exhibited that groups of lesser gifted Bearers acting in concert can overcome this limitation. In practice, those capable of World Connection are merely stronger Bearers than those capable of only Personal Connection. Much like Personal Connection, World Connection consists of extending one’s soul to the World Itself. Imposition at the World level leaves records of the user’s will and intent. Records consist of an Index and an Entry. An Index typically consists of a word or short phrase, with or without specific gestures. Indices are not inherently restricted to naming or language conventions. Whereas the Entry consists of the originally willed intent. Imposing new Records is incredibly difficult and often requires more Connection Capacity than a single person possesses. Accessing existent Records through an Index is relatively easy, but nearly always requires practice to perfect. While accessing existent Records through an Entry is very difficult and considered a rare talent. Aside from forming Records, World Connection is often seen as forming Connection to concepts or fundamental rules of reality itself. Even when an idividual is capable of elevating their Connection to the World level, a lack of information serves as a nigh-insurmountable obstacle. It is said the informational barrier associated with World Connection lessens the effective World Connection availability to less than 1 in 10,000,000 people. It is theorized that an ancient Bearer is responsible for writing a rule into reality that puposefully obfuscates information pertaining to World Connection.Practical Use
The practical use of Connection is as varied as the people and cultures that call the Federation home. Connection, itself, has developed into a number systems and disciplines across the Realms, though two are claimed to be the purist forms outside of basic technicniques: Grafts and Spellcraft by The Union and Yawen Kingdom respectively.Basic Techniques
Sensory Skills comprise the fundamental core of using Connection. While they may be referred to by different terms or prescribed as different techniques in various systems, every known Connection Discipline has exhibited these Sensory Skills in some fashion.- Field Connection: ability to sense the presence of living beings or objects in a broad area. Field Connection usually only forms a pseudo-Connection which tends to only allow presence detection. Collapsing one’s Field down to just the pseudo-Connections is the easiest way to form Network Connection and re-establishes access to the main sensory arts. Field Connection is the most common method used to scan for connections from other people.
- Relatively easy to hide from by those skilled in Connection Rejection
- Network Connection: ability to narrow Field Connection to forming individual Connections in an area. Requires the user to actively move their Connection in the area to search. The more concentrated Connection can allow successful Connections to extend the range of the Bearer. Connection extension is highly affected by Connection ability of the being or object the user Connects to.
- Relatively easy to break the propagation of Connection, but harder to prevent the initial Connection than Field Connection
- Marked Connection: ability to mark an individual or object. Once that individual or object is in range of the Bearer, a Connection automatically forms. The automatic Connection is weakened by pre-existing Connections of the user and may fail to form if it would over-Connect them.
- Hard for a marked individual to realize they have been marked. Once realized, the mark is usually the easiest Connection to reject.
- Connection Rejection: an ability that some consider unnatural, controversial, or even blashphemous. While others view it as purely fundamental and necessary to a well rounded and developed skillset. As its name implies, it involves the ability to break or reject Connection. Advanced use can break Connection doesn't already included the Bearer.
- Connection Tethering: extending one's own Connection onto an existing Connection. Its uses are wide spread and varied.
- Connection Bundling: an advanced use of Tethering that involves Tethering a single Connection to two or more existing Connections of the Bearer in order to make more effecient use of one's Capacity. The inner mechanics of this technique are still undergoing research.
Skills & Arts
Skills are the colloquial term for Sensory Skills at the Personal Connection level, whereas Arts are the colloquial term for them at the World Connection level. With the rarety of Bearers at the World Level, it is equally as rare for an individual Bearer to share a Sensory Art with another at the same time, although the precedent for such has been recorded. Recorded Sensory Arts include:- Telepathy
- Thought sharing/reading
- Sensory sharing
- Vision, hearing, touch, etc.
- Emotion sharing and reading
- Sensory enhancement
- Astral projection
- Psychometry
- Scrying
- Connection Awareness
- Danger sense
- Connection Tether detection/awareness
- Direct observation awareness
Grafts
Grafts are the official Attunement of The Union and unofficial Attunement of The Yawen Kingdom. To many, Grafts appear as nothing more than regular tattoos. Grafts are formed with special ink that allows skilled Ink Masters to embed a form of Connection onto the bodies of properly Attuned Bearers. The specific form of a Graft doesn't matter as much as the intent of the Ink Master. Grafts allow for easily repeatable Connections for their Bearers but are typically more narrowly focused. Some Grafts appear to offer multiple, though related, forms of Connection at the cost of increased complexity and potential for error on the part of the Ink Master. Grafts also have the disadvantage of being immutable, and thus lacking some of the flexibility of other Disciplines. Though The Union has developed their own answers to this drawback. Another major drawback, as detractors of the Discipline like to point out, is that most Grafts tend to require vast amounts of a Bearer's Capacity, thus leaving them only room in their Soul to have one or two Grafts during their lifetimes. Those that manage to grow their Capactiy or elevate their Connection usually find more Capacity to devote toward more Grafts.Crests
Crests are a relatively recent innovation by a Joint Task Force between The Union and The Yawen Kingdom. These are specialized Grafts that are, in fact, closer to regular tattoos. They sacrifice some of the power inherent to standard Grafts for the advantage of being both temporary and generally more efficient. This allows properly Attuned Bearers to Bear more Crests than they would standard Grafts. Many Crests are used for simple things such as identification, association with a particular Family or other group, or cultural rites such as Marks of Marriage. Crests whose purposes are intended for more high-power uses typically only last one to three uses before fading. A Bearer can 'overcharge' a multi-use Crest in order to make use of all of its embedded power, which can often rival that of a standard Graft, at the expense of a single use. This is known as buring one's Crest.Arcanum
Arcanum were a surprising discovery in the Verdant Lands that were surprisingly similar to Grafts, despite a lack of any known history between the Verdant Lands and The Union. Arcanum are similar to Grafts in that they visually appear as tattoos, though Arcanum typically are several orders of magnitude more complex in their designs. However, instead of being applied to a Bearer's skin, or, in rare cases, to internal organs, Arcanum are applied directly to the Bearer's Soul. The technique and artistry that is required to embed such complicated forms of Connection directly on the Soul far outdoes anything that the finest Ink Master is capable of. This has left many to wonder who or what is capable of such Connection. The natives of the Verdant Lands are less than forthcoming in answering such questions, merely stating that it is their Faith in their Gods that awards them such markings, which conflicts with many of the secular teachings throughout the Federation.Spellcraft
Spellcraft is the official Attunement of the Yawen Kingdom and is the form of Connection whose use most closely resembles the cores concepts of Connection. For this reason, the Yawen Kingdom argues that Spellcraft is the purest expression of Connection. It is a common belief within the Yawen Royal Institute of Spellcraft that Spells are the ultimate result of Imposition. Spells, themselves, are built from Records using one's Personal Connection. The process to becoming a true Spellcaster is complicated and difficult, resulting in merely using Spells with Personal Connection being considered an intermediate skill. The first step in becoming a Spellcaster is practicing the Sensory Skills and reaching an adequate skill level with them. Once their educator is satisfied with their progress, they move to establishing a Connection to the World. Isn't uncommon for prospective Spellcasters to get discouraged, believing they need to achieve World Connection in order to be considered properly Attuned to Spellcraft. Expert Spellcrafters consider this a necessary beginning lesson that young Bearers must overcome: internalizing the difference between the concepts of Connecting to the World and being capable of World Connection, two closely related but clearly distinct concepts. By forming their Connection to the World, new Spellcrafters gain access to existing spells that have been Recorded. New Spellcrafters start with a simple Spell, usually the Flutter Spell, by accessing it through its Index: speaking Yosu combined with tapping the target. The intermediate ranked Spellcrafter will usually have a handful of Spells they are decently skilled with and one or two that they specialize in. This brings them to their next step: Spell Internalization. Spell Internalization results in removing the need for the Spellcrafter to Connect to the World in order to cast their Spell, relying solely on the power of their own Soul, itself, to affect reality. Mastery of Spell Internalization is the hallmark of the advance ranked Spellcrafter as it marks an immediate and vast improvement to their Spellcrafting. The process of Internalization often results Spellcrafter also personalizing the Index to cast the Spell; skilled Spellcrafters will usually remove the need to verbalize the Index, replacing it with thinking the verbal component, and removing most physical components altogether. The second large improvement comes from the removal of the first Connection that forms a beginners Spell (Connection to the World). This removal means that the Spellcrafter only needs to form a Connection to their target, which in many cases can speed up a Spellcrafters Spellcasting by a factor of two or more. While Spells do not require any particular naming conventions, various groups within the Yawen Kingdom have, over the years, undergone great lengths to codify a vast assortment of spells while also re-Indexing them to follow various naming conventions. These spells are collected in the Standard Book of Spells, Volumes 1-10. While many of these spells were re-Indexed, the original Indices still function normally. However, a side effect that is often overlooked or ignored is that during the re-Indexing process, some spells were misinterpreted to various degrees. This resulted in similar, but not duplicate Records to the originals.- Imposition
- Invocation
- Magic
- Witchcraft
- Sorcery
- Divine Commandments
- Warping
- The Arcane
- Mystical Mumbo Jumbo
- Bearers
- Mages
- Sorcerers
- Witches
- Wizards
- Spellcrafters
- Spell Slingers
- Artificers
Attunement
Attunement is the term that describes the type of Connection a person is most suited to. Despite the precedence for the Soul reflecting internal changes and views onto the body, one's Attunement is largely believed to be immutable. The term is also used in a demographical sense to describe the amount of Bearers of each type within a Realm or other designated region.Hierarchy of Connection
The Hierarchy of Connection describes the fundamental types of Connection seen in its purer forms. An individual Bearer often finds themselves Attuned to one or two Places within the Hierarchy. It is rare for a Bearer to be Attuned to more than 3 Places within the Hierarchy. The Hierarchy in order* of absolute strength, although each has its own strengths and advantages, for most Humanoids within the Federation:- Internal
- Touch
- Taste
- Sight
- Hearing
- Smell
- Mental
- Ideological/Conceptual
Regional Disciplines
Law Binding
Law Binding is a, currently, purely academic form of Connection under research by The Mage's Alliance. It is an attempt to recreate the Arcanum observed in the Verdant Lands by engraving Connections directly on a Bearer's Soul.Runes and and Symbology
The use of Runes and other Symbols are widely used throughout Tresk and various States within The Democratic States of Halaycia. Their use is primarily used in various forms of engineering, even leading to supplanting other forms of technology throughout the Federation.Energetic Flow
Energetic Flow is the official Attunement in The Unified Zinthoran Chiefdoms. The spread of understanding various energies associated with Connection to the Federation led to a massive technological revolution.Familial Linkages
Familial Linkages are a Spiritual practice of Connection used by the Auskurr. It largely makes use of forming Connection to the Bearer's ancestors in order to affect the world in various ways. The Auskurr are very secretive over the methods to perform this type of Connection due to the ease that comes with forming Connections with the dead.Summoning
The A'Rija are related to the Auskurr and practice a similar form of Connection by Summoning Spiritual Beings to affect the world for them. There are ongoing and recurring alegations from the Auskurr that the A'Rija use their Summoning to interact with the dead. This often leads to armed conflicts.Widespread Disciplines
Martial and and Physical Somatics
Martial arts are an extremely common practice in nearly every Realm, and suitable makes up a type of Connection that Bearer's can be Attuned to. Much the same with other forms of Connection that make heavy use of physical somatics such Hand of the Witch, a sign language used by Witches and one of the first forms of Connection practiced by a non-human species discovered.Contracts
Contracts are one of the only known Hybrid Attunements as it often appears to draw from either Rune Connection or Spellcrafting. It often involves enforces agreements between two or more parties and is one of the few ways in which someone who is ungifted in Connection can make use of Connection outside of special tools or prosthetics. Contract Connection is frequently used to protect state secrets throughout the Federation.Enchantments and Embedding
Enchantments and Embedding are two ways to refer to the same type of Connection, namely binding any sort of Connection to an inanimate object. It is one of the most common sub-Attunements or Specializations that a Bearer can learn to use. This has led to it being widespread throughout the Federation.Charms and Curses
Charms and Curses are two sides of the same coin and to living beings that Enchantments are to inanimate objects. Both Charms and Curses can both be short lived or long-lived, some even permanent. These are also two of the most common sub-Attunements, though they tend to be most largely associated as specialties of Spellcrafting.Elementalism
Connection to the Elements is perhaps one of the oldest Attunements, some believe that it might be one of the two original Attunements next to Martial Connection. While it has been discovered since the development of Elementalism that the world is not made up of these Elements, the traditions and well established social structures around the Elements kept them alive across all of the Realms. As they originate from a more primal time in history where the disjointed Realms made attempts at describing the World around them, the various Elements often come in discrete sets. While their original associations have faded over time, their techniques stand strong. Three of the most common sets seen through the Federation are:- Fire, water, earth, and wind
- Plants, metal, light, and shadow/darkness
- Storm, life and death, space and time
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