Eyes of the Sun and Moon

Maps help to guide and focus divination magic.

Rules

Performing the Ritual

Performing this ritual takes at least 2 minutes of roleplaying. This ritual requires a map of the target territory.

Effects

At the completion of the ritual the contributors receive images that reveal information about military forces in that territory, including:

• the presence, name, and allegiance of a campaign army (or navy), along with an estimation of its current fighting strength.
• the presence, name, and current allegiance of any fortification, as well as an estimation of its current strength.
• the presence of any enchantment or curse on an army, navy, or fortification, along with realm and magnitude if appropriate

Strength is estimated in thousands using the terms low (between 0 and 333); mid (between 334 and 666); and high (between 667 and 999). Thus an army or fortification described as being in the "low four thousands" could mean it had between 4000 and 4,333 effective fighting strength.

Each contributor receives the same vision. These visions are not symbolic, but clearly detailed within the limitations of the spell.

If the territory is under an effect that obscures information such as Drawing the Penumbral Veil, the ritual can only penetrate it if it has been performed with a magnitude at least equal to that of the shroud. Otherwise only the presence, realm, and magnitude of the concealing effect are revealed. Likewise, if one or more military forces in the area are under an obscuring effect, the ritual will reveal the presence, realm, and magnitude of that effect, but no other information about that target - including whether it is a fortification or an army. The ritual reveals information about other forces in the area as normal.

Additional Magnitude

You may increase the magnitude of the ritual in order to pierce more powerful rituals of concealment.

OOC Elements

The result of this spell are delivered in the form of an out-of-character written vision. The player who receives it can reference it or make notes regarding it as they wish but should not show it to anyone else in-character. All information divined by this ritual is correct at the time of casting.

Description

This ritual is valuable for helping generals make decisions about the threats that face the Empire and how best to respond to them. It allows for a reasonably thorough evaluation of opponents and allied armies alike, and sometimes even spots special enemy forces that might otherwise escape detection - especially those under magical shrouds. It focuses only on armies, fortifications, and the enchantments, curses or shrouds on each. It does not detect the presence of larger-scale enchantments such as those used to call magical fortifications from the eternal realms, or the touch of magics such as Rivers of Life or Rivers Run Red.

The ritual takes its name from the way that the visions usually begin at a great height above the target territory and then quickly focus inwards. The casters have a sensation of incredibly fast movement, as if their viewpoint were roaming back and forth over the territory at blurring speeds, then suddenly halting to observe a specific force before moving on, again at a break-neck pace.

Many Suaq icewalkers call this ritual The Flight of Birds and claim that the mystic viewpoint it provides is much closer to that of a fast-flying bird than of any celestial body. In the Marches it is often called Beating the Bounds, and the landskeepers who perform it use imagery that includes both the idea of protecting their land from interlopers and intruders, and symbols that include knowing the nature and extent of one's territory. It is very common for them to include the senator for a particular territory as an additional focus, or to gather people with connections to the regions of the territory under observation.

Common Elements

This is a divination ritual, and often involves runestones or cards as well as the map which serves as the focus. Mirrors, crystals and other reflective surfaces are often involved, set up around the map to grant new perspectives on the information it contains. Symbols connected to the sun, moon or stars are common, as are bones or feathers of birds (especially for Winterfolk or Varushkan ritualists). Tokens representing known or recent information about the forces in a territory can also help when performing this ritual. Some ritualists carefully pore over the map as the visions unfold, while others focus on expanding their consciousness to gain a 'bird's-eye view' of the area under consideration. The ritual is often performed out-of-doors under the open sky, especially when the sun or moon are visible.

The magical Strigine Mask focus is sometimes used to empower this ritual - its magical powers can enhance the ability of a small coven to perform the ritual or provide additional power for overcoming a concealing shroud.

The rune Sular is often used with this ritual, as are scenes in which military strategy are discussed with characters such as the Captain or the Doctor; the evocation of the virtues of Wisdom or Vigilance; or of keen-sighted animals such as eagles or hawks; or creatures such as sphinxes.