Thileg Damorzi (Code of Dreams)

The key text of the Delhizan tradition, the Thileg Damorzi (Code of Dreams), outlines the basic practices and methods for the mage who walks down this path. It is quite like a guide to psychoanalysis. Unlike the Berythian Tith Rehei, which outlines a moral philosophy and social order based on the Four Forces, the Damorzi is a highly personal book, written to the individual. Not only is it not meant to be interpreted on any broad social level, the Damorzi is said to contain unique secrets for each individual reader, as though Nurhasi herself were having a private conversation with them.
The tome was compiled roughly a century after the Khyr left Delhiza from the notes of generations of Nurhasi's Apprentices. It is written in Old Delhizan*, related only vaguely to modern spoken variants. Parts of the book contain undeciphered symbols, which some scholars hold to be meaningless, in a way consistent with Nurhasi's teaching philosophy of confounding the student.
The book's basic premise is “Life is but a dream”. It opens with a sustained attack on the principles of Solidity and Objectivity prized by Berythian mages, arguing that since the self is always at the centre of all magical operations, there can never be true objectivity. Neither can any object be truly “solid”, as it can only be known as a transitory thing, in relation to the transitory grasping mind. This section is meant to open the mage's mind to the great horizon of possibilities that comes from things not being set in stone (as it were).
The Damorzi's second section advances and elaborates on the concept of Aliaaphi, or Haze-Mind, an idealized state of consciousness where one is both dreaming and awake, perfectly aware of the indiscernible and inscrutable nature of both states. It is from this place that the mage creates, drawing from a place in the mind beneath either words or rationality, both of which the Damorzi describes as a kind of poison. Visual images are key to the Nurhetic method of shaping magic. Each mental image is said to possess three sides to it: Kaalioph, its literal being; Saardohes, its associative meaning; and Indeiruyu, its revealed esoteric meaning. For instance: the image of a dog is, in Kaalioph and for everyone, a dog, but may remind some mage in Saardohes of a beloved childhood pet, and for that same mage, in Indeiruyu, the image adequately investigated may be discovered to represent some unspoken fear.
The Nurhetic form of meditation in which such personal imagery is contemplated is termed Kabolar. The first part of Nurhetic Apprenticeship requires the candidate to become familiar with Kabolar through observing the contents and images their minds produce. The second part acquaints the Apprentice with the state of Haze-Mind, for the practical purpose of ceasing to discriminate between dream and waking: this paves the way for the manifestation of internal images. As their powers of Manifestation (Nabru) increase, the Master helps guide the student to develop their inner resources further, to safeguard against being overwhelmed by the darker aspects of their own consciousness. A Nurhetic who loses self-awareness may become consumed by their own dark thoughts and fears, or worse, make them real for others. Developing inner resources is not framed as mental “control” by Nurhetics, because of the dualism that control implies (A classic line in Nurhetic philosophy states: “Who” controls “What”. The Self knows no What). Awareness is the key paradigm.
Learning to manifest images is the first step in the process. The second step, which is not taught by all Guides ("Masters" of the Nurhetic tradition) is to learn how to access the minds of others (Uvamas), so as to implant images directly there, as opposed to outward "illusions". This is magically more taxing and also riskier, as content is often copied over from the mind of the other to the mage, calling for more intensive Kabolar to sort out afterwards. Through their powers, they can make someone hallucinate, either overlaying one element on the plane of reality, or, more challengingly, overlaying another reality entirely. Doing this requires intense concentration as the mage must also hover his own consciousness in whatever dream world he wishes to impose. Nurhetics are also able to affect the content of someone's dreams by inserting in specific images. The notorious Oluuvahan, or Red Eyes of Sau-Hezib are the practitioners best known for their use of the Uvamas technique, to instill deadly nightmares in their victims.
Uvamas is introduced in the third and final section of the Damorzi but detailed in a separate series of books, the Ellisansi Uvamas. Its treatment in the Damorzi outlines the practice and focuses on its dangers as they bear on the Haze-Mind state, which in turn effects the requirements of Kabolar. The Ellisansi, by contrast, elaborately describes the relationship between the mage's mental state and those of potential targets, and the myriad ways in which they can influence each other.
It also outlines the major sickness, Hedradec, which can befall a Nurhetic. Hedradec is most often the result of excessive use of Uvamas without adequate Kabolar technique and upkeep, but can happen for a variety of other reasons, too. Major stress or mental illness are significant precipitating factors. Nightmare content begins to bleed out from the mage's subconscious, infecting others. The mage loses a balanced Haze-Mind state and fails to be able to differentiate between inner and outer, ultimately falling prey to his own terrifying phantoms.