Revelatory Light of the Empyrean Spheres

Rules

Performing the Ritual

Performing this ritual takes at least 2 minutes of roleplaying. The ritual targets a single mage implement which must be present during the ritual.

Effects

The power of the ritual is stored in the implement targeted by the ritual. Any one of the contributors can unleash the power of the ritual while holding the implement to allow them to call MASS PARALYSIS.

The character who unleashes the power of the ritual is struck with a potent curse, and may be blinded.

The power of the ritual can be invoked only once.

The power granted by this ritual lasts until it is used or for ten minutes, whichever comes first.

Additional Uses

The ritual can be used to place more than one use into the target implement. Each additional use increases the magnitude of the spell by 100. Any uses left over are lost at the end of the ten minutes. You cannot charge up more than one implement with this ritual.

Option

Any caster who has mastered the ritual may choose to substitute weltsilver for crystal mana when contributing to it. Every 2 ingots of weltsilver spent counts as 1 crystal mana when contributing to the ritual.

Description

This battlefield ritual allows a powerful magical attack to be unleashed against a group of enemies, freezing them in place for a dozen heartbeats allowing them to be easily butchered. Like similar rituals, the attack is temporarily stored in a rod, staff or wand, and then unleashed at the most tactical moment.

The ritualist who unleashes the power of this magnitude is usually stuck temporarily blind, and may suffer other side effects. For a few moments, they perceive a limitless expanse of knowledge and cosmic awareness. The experience rarely lasts more than a second or so, but it can leave them mentally scarred and unstable, their sanity blasted and their mental stability crumbing. Very rarely, if they survive this experience, they may recall a momentary fragment of useful information but usually they are simply blasted by the powers unleashed.

The ritual is rarely used in the Empire due to the difficulty of finding the best moment to unleash it, where it will provide sufficient tactical advantage to make up for the ruinous cost and the devastation it can wreak on the ritualist who unleashes it.

Common Elements

It is difficult to speak of common elements due to the comparatively small number of covens who have mastered this ritual. They would include mirrors; bright lights; geometric shapes (especially spheres, cones and pyramids) and mathematical formulae; tomes of lore; carefully scored music with stringed instruments such as harps; careful movement and invocations of raw knowledge and dangerous power. Completion of the ritual is usually signaled by a great cry of triumph or the sounding of many horns.

The focus of this ritual is an implement, and the role it plays in the ritual can be quite important. Some ritualists take it in turn to hold the implement, passing it back and forth in an inticate pattern as the strength of the ritual grows. Others place the implement in the middle of the ritual and move around it, touching it with their hands and magic as they increase the power of the ritual, focusing beams of light on it and touching ingots of weltsilver to it as they invoke their magic.

Other common elements in this ritual might include the rune of revelation, the rune of destruction or the rune of dominion. Mawrig is used when the ritualists seek to wreak devastation on the battlefield; some magicians believe that it is likely to leave the contributor who releases the effect more damaged than the use of Hirmok, which seeks to constrain and challenge the raw power of this spell.

Needless to say, the constellations are often evoked during this ritual, especially The Great Dragon, The Door, The Key and The Lock.

"Have you ever seen a man die of perfection? Have you ever experienced the light of a million dancing spheres as it seared your soul with beauty? Heard the laughter of dragons echoing in your skull like golden thunder, on and on, until insanity seemed like a blessing and death a sweet release? Have you ever tasted a truth so profound that it felt like a bucket of live coals rattling around inside your head? Ever felt yourself struck dumb with insights so terrible your tongue simply refuses to utter them?"

The old woman with glared down at the young boy, poking him with one bony finger to punctuate each question.

"Well, apprentice, have you?

"No, mistress", he kept his eyes downcast.

"No.", she said with finality, "Pray that you never do."

She took the book of rituals from his hands and placed it back in its place upon the high shelf by memory, for her milky eyes saw nothing, "Pray that you never do..."