Hallow of the Green World

Rules

Performing the Ritual

Performing this ritual takes at least 10 minutes of roleplaying. Unlike many rituals, it is not possible to use the power of the Imperial regio to reduce the casting time of this enchantment.

This ritual targets the entire Empire. It must be performed at the Imperial regio at Anvil. The ritual requires a map of the entire Empire which is used to harness and focus its power.

This ritual is an enchantment. A target may only be under one enchantment effect at a time.

Effects

The ritual enchants the entire Empire flooding every Imperial territory with energy drawn from the Spring Realm. The precise effects of this flood of magic are unpredictable, but will always create certain effects.

Firstly, every herb garden in the Empire will produce three additional random herbs over the next season.

In addition, fertility increases across the Empire for animals, plants, and people. While this is not immediately noticeable, in coming seasons living creatures will produce many more healthy offspring.

Finally, while the enchantment persists encounters with the Spring realm will become more common. People are more likely to encounter Spring regio or finding existing Spring regio have increased in potency; heralds of Spring eternals and indeed the eternals of Spring themselves will become more active following the performance of this ritual, and become more interested in the activities of Imperial citizens.

In addition to these expected effects the enchantment may create any number of effects in keeping with the resonance and dissonance of Spring magic.

The effect lasts until the start of the next Profound Decisions Empire event.

This Imperial enchantment sees Spring magic spill out across the Empire, often with unpredictable results.

Description

This powerful ritual enchants the entire Empire for a short time causing the power of the Spring realm to flood uncontrollably throughout every Imperial territory. It affects every herb garden in every region within the Empire, giving them a significant boost to both the fertility and general health of plants and animals. It also causes the inhabitants of the Spring realm to become more active and more interested in the Empire, and adds potency to regio aligned with Spring. it may also have any number of other effects - although they will always be in keeping with the resonance and dissonance of Spring magic.

There is a superstitious belief that more of the children conceived or born during this period will express the briar lineage in later life, but the way the briar lineage develops has made a definitive study extremely difficult. There is some anecdotal evidence that some briars - especially those of notable high lineage - experience a heightened influence of the Spring magic in their blood - making them more primal, vital, restless and so on.

Along with Wondrous Forests of the Night and Bright Eyes Gleam in the Depths, Hallow of the Green World is an Imperial enchantment - it floods the entire Empire with powerful magic. The ritual was the second of the three existing Imperial enchantments to be codified. Following the success of Wondrous Forests of the Night, there was a groundswell of enthusiasm for more enchantments that could empower the entire Empire. The Imperial Military Council of the time was especially interested in a Spring magic ritual that would allow Imperial soldiers - and by extension Imperial armies - to heal and resupply more quickly. There were many spirited debates in the Imperial Conclave as to the wisdom of creating such an enchantment - and of tying up the resources of the Lyceum for four years working on a single project at a time when the Empire, under Empress Varkula, was engaged in a period of expansion and conquest. The proposed ritual encountered stiff opposition from a faction led by Highborn and Navarr magicians; in the end however the Varushkan Dean of the Lyceum, Magne Ursin Lossevich, committed the resources of the college to exploring the possibility of duplicating the effectiveness of Wondrous Forests of the Night with Spring magic. There is some speculation that Magne was emboldened to begin the project despite the concerns raised by his peers in the Conclave by tacit approval from the Throne herself. The ritual was codified more quickly than had been anticipated - taking only thirteen seasons rather than the expected sixteen - and while Magne claimed in the Conclave that this was due to the research following a path trailblazed by the earlier ritual the general consensus of arcane historians is that he received covert assistance from one or more eternals in speeding the work up.

Regardless of how the formulation was completed, Hallow of the Green World was performed for the first time in 154YE, immediately after the conquest of Skarsind, by a Varushkan coven called The cabal of the Green Forest. While potent and far-reaching, its effects were not what the Military Council might have wished. Whatever else the ritual did, it clearly did not provide the universal magical healing that the generals were hoping for. Magne Ursin Lossevich was called to inquisition by the Imperial Synod where he stated in no uncertain terms that the magic the generals wanted was impossible - although not all of his peers agreed. Either way, the ritual was completed and entered into Imperial lore in 155YE - despite a last ditch effort to have it instead interdicted.

Since its completion it has been cast only four more times - the first since the death of Empress Britta in Spring 380YE by the Sherard Hunters of Wintermark who took advantage of a powerful conjunction of the Fountain to enact the challenging ritual. Later that same year - during the Winter Solstice - the Imperial Conclave chose to interdict the ritual. The interdiction was reconciled during the Autumn Equinox 381YE. It was performed most recently during the Winter Solstice 384YE by the Freeborn of the Sails of the First Flame coven.

Following the Autumn Equinox 384YE, the magnitude of this ritual was discovered to have shifted upwards from 160 to 200. Magical theoreticians believe that this is a result of the growth of the Empire, and may have been heralded to some degree by a subtle conjunction of the esoteric constellations of the Key and the Lock during the Equinox. Shortly before the Autumn Equinox 385YE, the magnitude had againshifted, to 210. Scholars suggest this may have been a result of the Barrens becoming part of the Empire.

Common Elements

This is a powerful ritual, and few covens can perform it by themselves. When this ritual has been performed in the past, it has usually been achieved with the use of at least one Web of Celestial Attunement and with supplies of crystal mana from the Imperial Conclave. A coven that plans to perform it often spends several days in preparation, knowing that the eyes of the Empire are likely to be on them.

Ritual performances often include the evocation of the runes of Spring especially Bravash, and of the constellation of The Fountain. Hearth magics and symbols associated with health and Prosperity are also commonly evoked, such as shedding small amounts of blood or offering libations of wine or milk. The eternal Yaw'nagrah may be mentioned, but it is more likely that Imperial heroes and the names of paragons and exemplars will be called upon. The ritual often initiates, takes place during or culminates in a raucous feast or festival that can last long into the night,

Further Reading

• Children in bloom - 385YE Spring wind of fortune
• The prime colour of the world - 380YE Summer wind of fortune