Clad in Golden Raiment

Rules

Performing the Ritual

Performing this ritual takes at least 2 minutes of roleplaying. This ritual targets a Military unit. The character who controls the target personal resource must be present throughout.

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

Effects

The target military unit gains a bonus to both its effectiveness when it is assigned to support a campaign army or fortification, and when it raids enemy territory. This temporary bonus increases the effective fighting force of the unit by 20, the equivalent of 1 normal upgrades.

The character who controls the military unit experiences a short-lived roleplaying effect:They greatly desire recognition and approval for themselves and their military unit; they want to ensure people know that they are the leader of a powerful force of fighters. Anyone who belittles or disparages them or their soldiers is likely to be met with anger and perhaps even physical violence. The effect persists for at least ten minutes after the ritual is complete.

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

If the owner of the resource does not attend the next event, then the additional production provided by the resource is still added to that character's inventory.

Additional Targets

This ritual can affect additional military units controlled by members of the same banner. Each additional military unit increases the magnitude by 3. The character who controls each unit must be present throughout the ritual.

Option

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

Description

This ritual was developed under the guidance of the Varushkan Simargl, the Empty One of the Circle of Zulgan-Tash during his tenure as Dean of the Lyceum. It grants great strength of will and fighting spirit to a military unit for the coming season. The soldiers in that unit are proud of their identity as part of a fighting group, and prepared to defend their name and honour against anyone who mocks, disrespects or disparages them or their fellow soldiers. They stand up taller, take great pains to ensure their weapons and armour are maintained, and bear symbols of their military identity prominently and passionately. They are driven to demonstrate their martial prowess to their fellow soldiers, and the camaraderie they feel at being part of a military force is greatly enhanced.

Unlike the more powerful Raise the Standard of War, the ritual rarely causes discipline problems. The pride the soldiers feel in their military unit, and the camaraderie the ritual engenders towards their fellow soldiers, reduce the likelihood of clashing with other soldiers - as long as they receive the respect they feel they deserve. It is rarely wise to assign a band of fighting men and women enchanted with this ritual to an Imperial army containing soldiers from rival units or associated with factions who are traditional enemies - even worse, two unfriendly bands both enchanted with this ritual are likely to come to blows in short order.

While the ritual lacks the raw power of Raise the Standard of War and similar ritual enchantments, it's advantages are twofold. First, it is quite effective at enchanting a number of military commanders and their warrior bands in one go. Second, the enchantment can be easily performed by any relatively competent Summer ritualist without drawing on their coven bond. It is also cheap enough in terms of crystal mana (and versatile enough that orichalcum can be used to spread the cost) that even the poorest military commander should be able to afford the initial outlay, and provide their forces with a small but still militarily relevant bonus.

Common Elements

This ritual enhances a small military force, using a connection to its leader to spread magic through the entire unit. It should be quite common to include a banner or standard bearing the sigil, heraldry, livery or colours of the target unit. The researchers suggest that evocation of Paragons and Exemplars of Pride and Courage would be appropriate to the performance of this ritual, as might dramaturgical workings that employ the Prince, the Captain and possibly even the Bishop or constellations such as the Chain or the Stork.

The hearth magic of girding the military leader is especially appropriate to this ritual, especially in rich cloth the colour of gold, the sound of martial horns or drums, and the presence of warriors from the same nation as the target as witnesses, especially if they engage in spirited cheering or support.

The eagle-rune of majesty is very appropriate to the performance of this ritual.