Resonance and mitigation

Sabina balanced the spinning top on the marble bench, pinching it tightly between her fingers. With a flick she set the shimmering metal disc spinning. Her class watched in fascination as light cascaded off the mirrored surfaces of the disc, sending sharp flashes scattering in every direction.

It took a few moments, but eventually the top began to slow slightly, precessing as it did, the long central pin that ran through the wheel slowly describing a lazy cone as it circled round and round. "What would happen if we channelled Spring magic into the top?" she asked the class. Two hands shot up in the air and she invited Lidia to answer.

The girl stood up to answer. "It will speed up again. Vitality is a resonance of the realm, so it will gain life from the magic and spin faster."

"Good. Anything else?" she asked. The girl looked stumped, but she knew her teacher would expect an answer so she offered a guess. "It will break... because it will be ruined? It's man-made and vulnerable?" she tried.

Sabina shook her head. It was a good guess but not right. "There is little artifice in a spinning top. Perhaps the metal would corrode eventually, but this toy is far from being ruined. Think. What other resonances does the realm have?"

Lidia's face lit up as realisation dawned. "Chaos" she announced, certain she had the right resonance now. "It will spin out of control. It will speed up, but it will spin more and more wildly."

"Correct! Excellent work." Lidia gestured to her to sit down. "Now who else can tell me what we could do to correct that?" She cast round the room, but this time there were no hands up. "Octavion?" she enquired hopefully.

The young boy stood up at his teacher's request. "You could cast the magic... more carefully?" he tried hesitantly. He looked nervous and with good reason, he clearly didn't know the answer.

Sabina shook her head as she took pity on the boy and gestured for him to sit down. The lad was behind the class, so there was no point encouraging him to take another guess. "Remember that magic is a tool - a ritual will do exactly what it is designed to do, no more no less. You should always be careful when casting rituals - but don't imagine that that will make the outcome more careful! Even putting aside the fact that Spring magic is dissonant with control, chaos is resonant with Spring magic - things will always become more chaotic it to a greater or lesser extent when you employ Spring magic. There is no way to mitigate that. So what magic could we employ instead?"

"Day Magic" Lidia called out, excited that she knew the answer.

"Hands before voices in my class Lidia" Sabina responded, but she smiled at the girl to let her know the answer was right anyway. "Mastery and perfection are both resonances of the Day realm. We can use day magic to perfect the top's spin. So what realm would we use to make it stop spinning?

Lidia's hand shot back up, but Sabina expected that - she looked for another student to answer. Octavion had an uncertain look on his face, almost as if he was surprised by himself, as his hand slowly lifted into the air. Delighted to give the boy another chance she gestured for him to stand.

"Winter" he paused for a moment. "It's resonant with death and weakness and ending and hunger..." his voice trailed off as Sabina interrupted him before he tried to recite every single resonance of the Winter realm.

"I doubt the spinning top is hungry Octavion. Think carefully - which single resonance of Winter is most useful to us here?" The lad was so close...

Octavion stood in silence for a few moments pondering the question before replying "ending" in a voice almost too quiet to hear.

"Excellent Octavion! Yes - Winter magic is resonant with ending. Since the motion of the spinning top will naturally stop over time, the magic of the realm will hasten that end. Now, your assignment for next week is to write two sides of parchment explaining how these resonances affect the omnihedron!".

The class groaned in unison. No matter how much they wanted to become stargazers, none of them relished the prospect of writing an essay on the subject.

Serious questions have been raised about the Conclave's commitment to the omnihedron project, and their role in the Empire-wide crisis sparked by the arrival of murderous heralds of the Day realm.

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Conclave would see the magical effects being felt across the Empire by the Empire-wide rituals that have been cast, investigated. And investigation into how the detrimental results could be mitigated.

Declaration of Concord, Raised by Æsa Sigeling, Imperial Magus, Summer Solstice 385YE

That we should complete the omnihedron sequence of rituals.

Declaration of Concord, Raised by Ariadne of Auric Horizon on behalf of the Sevenfold Path, Summer Solstice 385YE

Overview

During the Summer Solstice the Imperial Conclave upheld two declarations of Concord that related to the use of Imperial enchantments. The Imperial Magus Æsa Sigeling called on magicians to investigate these awesome rituals, and see if there might be ways to mitigate their detrimental effects. Ariadne of Auric Horizon, on behalf of the Sevenfold Path, confirmed that the Conclave was committed to working to "complete the omnihedron sequence of rituals." The Civil Service has ensured that Imperial magicians across the Empire and beyond are made aware of the Conclave's decisions.

By now the entire Empire is aware of the presence of invading entities from the Day realm, servants of the Cold Sun, and the connection to the Bright Eyes Gleam in the Depths ritual that has infused the entire Empire with Day magic. This raises significant debate about Imperial magicians as to whether the Conclave is right to continue to pursue this experiment. Do the benefits powerful resonances of the Day realm balance out the loss of life that has ensued with the arrival of the murderous heralds? Might they have appeared even without the performance of the ritual? Is this an isolated and unfortunate incident that could not have been avoided?

The Omnihedron

Not every Imperial magician is aware of the omnihedron, but the later declaration encourages many of them to look into the theory. Primarily associated with the stargazers of Urizen, the omnihedron relates to the idea of harnessing magical resonances to influence Imperial citizens. According to the stargazers, the handful of times that magicians have enchanted the entire Empire with a magical effect have all provided significant benefits to the Empire. "Shaping the omnihedron" - evoking magic on such a scale - is still a poorly explored art but the potential is massive.

Unfortunately resonance creates the potential for unexpected side effects which are not always positive. The more powerful the magic, the more likely this might prove troublesome. For example, Hallow of the Green World encourages the growth of plants, but at its core it is still a ritual of Spring magic - the life it encourages grows without concern for boundaries or respect for civilisation. The Empire saw this recently with the effect the recent enchantment had on Imperial roads, or the effects that "Bounty of the Brilliant Broker" had on Imperial farms and forests. There is no question that these rituals have some beneficial effects, and supporters of further exploration of the omnihedron argue that these gifts far outweigh the costs the magic imposes.

According to the stargazers, the solution is to cycle through these rituals, using each in turn in a specific order. Doing so could bring unprecedented benefits, depending on exactly what rituals were used and in what order. This "key to the omnihedron" is a topic of heated discussion among stargazers. Some argue that until Imperial lore contains one Empire-wide enchantment for each realm the omnihedron must remain theoretical; others point out that with three rituals already complete it is possible to test the hypothesis by performing them in order to see what happens.

Mitigation

• Imperial magicians are interested to know what steps the Conclave plans to take to mitigate the problems caused by Imperial enchantments

Rituals that exert influence over the entire Empire are few and far between. Barely a dozen have been performed in the whole of Imperial history, and only a handful in recent years. While some of the more subtle effects seem to have had uniformly positive effects - the focused Night magic ritual performed during Autumn 379YE that inspired Imperial artists for example - most have presented challenges to Imperial citizens, as well as opportunities. The Bounty of the Brilliant Broker offered significant boons to trade and mining, but also harmed farms and forests due to the dissonances of Autumn magic. The Hallow of the Green World that hung over the Empire at the start of the year helped farmers, but due to the Spring realm's resonance for ruination, seriously damaged the Empire's roads.

Urizen's stargazers are confident that the benefits provided by these enchantments far outweigh the problems they cause, especially when one takes the longer view. Some argue that the benefits provided by Hallow of the Green World far outweighed the problems caused by Bounty of the Brilliant Broker. Many of their peers in the League and Varushka broadly agree - both nations have experienced only minimal negative effects from the Imperial enchantments. But even here there are some who question whether all these rituals are a wise idea. Was the magical tempest of 384YE really worth the boons it provided?

Scholars in other nations are not so sure. Marcher landskeepers and threshers in particular are very concerned about damage inflicted on the Empire's farms by the catastrophic magical storms, then by the Brilliant Broker ritual. Highborn magicians query the wisdom of using rituals that all focus the attention of inhuman forces on the Empire, and make it significantly easier for them to influence Imperial citizens. It's almost impossible to maintain a Vigilant watch over the regio of the Empire when Imperial enchantments are regularly opening new ones. Those Navarr vates who maintain their own vigil, watching for signs that Imperial magicians have succumbed to the kind of hubris that destroyed Terunael have expressed significant concerns about what motivates the Conclave to take this stance. They trust their colleagues who attend the Anvil summits, but have cautiously suggested that now may not be the ideal time to throw the Empire into a state of constant, unpredictable, tumultuous change by casting rituals of this magnitude every season.

There's also more than a little trepidation in many quarters about the fact that the next ritual in the "sequence" - assuming the Conclave is following the order suggested by Align the Celestial Net - is likely to see the Empire aligned with the Winter realm. Considering the resonances, and especially the dissonances, of Winter magic is there ever a time when it would be a good idea to weave such an enchantment?

The Conclave has said it plans to investigate and find ways to mitigate the problems caused by these rituals, and even critics of the omnihedron agree that this can only be a good thing. Yet the Imperial Magus' declaration gives no impression that they have the slightest idea how to achieve this, even though they are forging ahead with the ambitious magical project. Crucially most stargazers who study the omnihedron believe that the negative effects of these rituals can be prevented from growing steadily worse over time by careful choice of which ritual to use next... but there's no evidence to suggest that the downsides the Empire is currently experiencing can be easily avoided.

Questions

• The purpose of the Conclave is to ensure the fit and proper use of magic in the service of the Empire
• Magicians across the Empire question whether the Conclave's recent declarations have met this standard

In light of the widescale damage and loss of life the appearance of Cold Sun has caused, magicians across the Empire have serious questions about the Conclave's recent declarations. First of all, people are confused why the Conclave supported the casting of Bright Eyes Gleam in the Depths now instead of waiting a season. Why was it imperative to use such a potent ritual, known to enable eternals of the Day realm, while the obvious enemy of the Empire was not subject to the enmity that would have prevented it sending thousands of heralds into the Empire?

What steps did the Conclave take to mitigate the threat of the Cold Sun? While some assemblies of the Synod raised statements of principle, there was no suggestion from the Conclave that there might be any danger - no mention of Cold Sun at all in fact. The first many Imperial magicians heard of this eternal and its intention to destroy the Empire was after its heralds had begun to attack.

Who, ultimately, is responsible for the appearance of tens of thousands of heralds bent on destroying everything in their path?

The Conclave shall ensure the fit and proper use of magic in the service of the Empire. They will identify those arcane practitioners whose arts work against the Empire, so that they may be condemned. The Conclave will accord a voice to those citizens who demonstrate command of magic and demonstrate the necessary commitment to the authority of the Conclave. The Conclave will appoint leaders who will assist in the allocation of such resources as are needed to further its aims; it shall be guided by fraternities of magicians under the general aegis of the Senate, and without interference from the Synod

Imperial Constitution

The Matter of Cold Sun

• Cold Sun has attacked the Empire
• Estimates of the death toll suggest many hundreds of Imperial citizens have been slain and many more harmed
• There is no doubt that Bright Eyes Gleam in the Depths has played a part in this situation
• The magistrates have expressed their intention to pursue an investigation into possible treason

The servants of Cold Sun have spent the last three months launching raids across the Empire. Hundreds of Imperial citizens are recorded as having died defending against these attacks. Many more have been harmed, or displaced and forced to flee ahead of the heralds' attacks. Exact numbers are unclear, and the bulk of the deaths have been among the soldiers garrisoning the Empire's fortifications but it is undeniable that these people have died because the eternal was in a position to send large numbers of magical soldiers into the Empire. It was only able to do so due to the effect the Imperial enchantment had on the regio of the Empire; strengthening them and opening many that do not seem to have been aligned with a specific eternal.

Imperial magistrates intend to pursue an investigation into possible treason for "aiding eternals to act against the interests of the Empire." Yet the Imperial Constitution charges the Conclave with determining "the fit and proper use of magic in the service of the Empire." While they have not yet done so, the Conclave could use a declaration of Endorsement to make clear that they support the casting of Bright Eyes Gleam in the Depths. If an Endorsement is raised and passes, it instructs the Magistrates not to prosecute the named act of magic. The endorsed act is considered to be a fit and proper use of magic and thus prosecution cannot be in the best interests of the Empire. Those who carry out the act are legally protected and while militia may investigate to ensure everything is in order, those involved cannot be prosecuted or sued for an endorsed act. It is not impossible that the Constitutional Court might strike down a poorly-worded endorsement, but their criteria for doing so are very narrow.

While such a declaration might provide retroactive protection to those who performed the ritual, however, there is a limit to that protection. Endorsement does nothing to prevent or suppress any civil unrest that an act of magic may trigger - especially if large numbers of lives are lost as a result of an act of magic as they have been here. It does not preclude prosecution for religious crimes. Those involved might still be condemned by judgement of the Synod or even subject to excommunication. The Imperial Senate may also choose to take action regardless of Endorsement - the Conclave orders operate "under the general aegis of the Senate" after all.

Thresh the Fields

• The people of the Marches are particularly enraged
• The Marcher National Assembly urged the Marchers to trust the Conclave and Imperial law; many now feel betrayed

The people of the Marches in particular are incensed by the arrival of Cold Sun, especially after the damage done to their farms by Bounty of the Brilliant Broker. During the Spring Equinox last year, the Marcher National Assembly assured them that "if a sorcerer curses the Empire again then Imperial justice will be swift and final." This mandate temporarily put an end to the fears of many Marchers with regard to matters such as the interdiction of Rivers Run Red. It also had the potential to store up trouble for the Assembly. If any Imperial lands were hit with territory-wide curses and nothing was done, then those who had been promised such things would not happen again would become very angry indeed. If such magic caused Marchers to die due to curses cast on their lands, it is well known who did it, and Imperial law does nothing... then the best word to describe the resulting mood would be "apoplectic".

While Bright Eyes Gleam in the Depths is not a curse, it is a large-scale magical effect that has brought forth murderous heralds who have categorically slain Marcher citizens across all four territories. It's also killed people in every Imperial nation save one. It looks an awful lot like the Synod's reassurances about trusting the Empire aren't worth the price of the shovel it would take to spread them across a turnip field. It's not obvious to outsiders, perhaps, but people across the entire nation are holding their breath waiting to see what happens. Nobody is taking any precipitous action right now, because they're waiting to see what happens as a consequence of this devastating magic. But if nothing is done the results are going to be far reaching. Maybe, some of them whisper, Bushell Sykes was right to say the Empire doesn't respect the Marches.

Right now, the Marchers are waiting to see what happens during the Autumn Equinox. In the event that the Empire does nothing, however, the situation is going to deteriorate very quickly indeed. The prevailing opinion is that if the Empire will not prevent incautious magicians killing their people and blighting their crops whenever the mood takes them, and if the National Assembly is just so much hot air and Imperial apologism, then they need to take matters into their own hands. If the Imperial Senate won't listen to their legitimate concerns about unbridled magic, maybe it's time to make them listen to the one thing they care about - money. There is a quiet upswelling of support for the idea that if the Senate won't or can't prevent sorcerers doing whatever they want, then what do they pay their taxes for?

It's not clear exactly what the Marchers want here, but the threat to withhold their taxes is a serious one. Not everyone would participate of course, but the Marcher territories are reasonably rich despite their recent troubles, and if the situation dragged on it is entirely possible their example would begin to spread to other lands - potentially crippling the Imperial Treasury.

The Marcher National Assembly is the best option for communicating with these disgruntled folk, but one thing that is definitely not going to be effective is any kind of statement of principle that urges them to be patient, or to trust that the folk at Anvil have the matter in hand. Indeed, if someone, somewhere does not take responsibility for the rampaging heralds of Cold Sun, then it is possible that the folk of the Marches might stop listening to their assembly altogether.

Bryn Netherwatch, Witness of Conclave

All Eyes On The Conclave

Cassandra i Periera i Erigo, Imperial Censor

• The Witness of Conclave is being watched to see what happens
• The Imperial Censor could interdict the practice of Imperial enchantments

The Marchers are the foremost example of the frustration and anger being directed toward the Conclave across the Empire, but they are not the only ones. There are a number of Imperial positions whose powers and responsibilities relate directly to the situation at hand, and for the first time in some cases, a great deal of attention is being directed towards those positions by both magicians and non-magicians alike..

Last Winter, the Senate created the title of Witness of Conclave. The title has responsibility for identifying sorcerers; for investigating those with an Imperial Conclave title, to ensure they are not becoming corrupt with power; and to find those who use magic to the detriment of the Empire or treat with eternals to the detriment of fellow Imperial citizens. The title is currently held by Bryn Netherwatch of Urizen. While a few bitter voices suggest this represents a conflict of interests - given that most people believe the enchantment was raised by an Urizen coven - the majority have the good sense to assume good faith and give the benefit of the doubt at least for the time being. Yet the Witness must be aware that their actions during the Autumn Equinox will be being watched by magicians across the Empire, especially those groups responsible for providing their regalia who have strong views about reckless magic, hubris, and the eternals.

Andronikos of the Lighthouse at Nikephoros, Warmage

Then there is the matter of the omnihedron itself and the Conclave's stated goal of continuing to build it, presumably by performing the next ritual in sequence at the Autumn Equinox. The same people angry about recent large-scale magic look to the Imperial Censor. The Censor technically only has a responsibility "for safeguarding the Empire from malign magical items." The position was created before the recent changes to the Conclave made it clear that the Declaration of Interdiction, and the remit of the Conclave as a whole, was as much about the wider question of wicked magic as it was about questionable magic items. There's some support for the Imperial Senate amending the responsibilities of the Censor to also safeguard against malign magic of all kinds. Regardless, the fact the Censor has the power of Interdiction makes them another obvious candidate for leading an investigation into the use of Imperial enchantments. If there are questions about these rituals, or any suspicion that they might be dangerous, the "magical practice" of covering the entire Empire with unpredictable ritual magic could be interdicted with a single declaration by the Imperial Censor - currently Cassandra i Periera i Erigo of the Brass Coast - or by any Grandmaster, or by employing the Rogue Declaration.

Aulus of Zenith Ascendant, Imperial Warcaster.

What about the Warmage and the Imperial Warcaster? Cold Sun categorically represents a military threat to the Empire, one that is magical in origin. There are now actual armies of warlike heralds in eight Imperial territories (Kallavesa, Hahnmark, Hercynia, Miaren, Volodmartz, Karov, Segura, and Bastion). From everything that has been seen so far, these heralds will kill anyone they encounter and destroy everything that offends their twisted sensibilities. How does the Military Council intend to deal with them, especially given that the Empire's armies are deeply engaged against the Jotun and the Druj, and the peace treaty with the Grendel is about to end? What is the Conclave going to do to help them?

The Imperial Magus has reassured the magicians of the Empire that investigations are underway to find ways of mitigating the negative effects of Imperial enchantments. How do they intend to do that? Many magicians' reading of the declaration assumed that would mean an appraisal brought before the Senate, but recent events seem to have made that an even more pressing concern. The Conclave operates under the general aegis of the Senate, and the Imperial Magus has a responsibility for providing the Senate with advice on magical matters. There is a great deal of interest in what advice they intend to provide on the matter of Cold Sun, and of the omnihedron rituals.

Gralka, Archmage of Day

Finally, there is the Archmage of Day herself. Both the eternals of the Day Realm, and Day magic of such significant power, are part of the Archmage's remit. What role did the archmage play in these events? What guidance can she provide now that Cold Sun's armies are in the Empire? Now that Cold Sun is here, what does she intend to do about it?

OOC Note

Obviously, the appearance of Cold Sun and the questions raised by Imperial enchantments represent complicated situations. Everyone involved in the decisions related to this situation is a player character, however, and while a response to the situation is full of opportunity for character-versus-character political roleplay it's important to remember that there are actual people involved, all of whom are players and not NPCs. It's a good idea for everyone with an interest in these events refreshing their memory of our rules around roleplaying conflict.

When the actions of player-characters have dramatic impacts on the story, it is vital to appreciate that it is choices like these that make the game more interesting for everyone to play. Individual characters may have lost out because Cold Sun has been able to attack the Empire, but everyone who plays Empire benefits when player-characters have this kind of dramatic impact on the setting. It may be appropriate for a character to be angry at the in-character decisions and actions of another player-character, but it's against the spirit of the game for a player to be annoyed because their character has lost out due to the actions of others. Empire was explicitly designed to enable player-characters to act in ways that are to the detriment of other characters because we believe that makes for a more compelling game. We can all suffer from bleed occasionally, but if you want to play Empire, then you must make sure you engage with the game in good faith and avoid being out-of-character upset with other players because their character did something that impacts your character.

Further Reading

• Shining like fire - 385YE Autumn Wind of Fortune about the effects of Bright Eyes Gleam in the Depths.
• To the last syllable - 385YE Wind of War detailing the attacks of Cold Sun on the Empire.