Crystaline Focus of Aesh

Spheres of glass and crystal are commonly associated with the power of divination.

Rules

Performing the Ritual

Performing this ritual takes at least 2 minutes of roleplaying. This ritual targets a character, who must be present throughout. The target character must possess the Day Lore skill.

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

Effects

The target gains one effective rank of the Day lore skill for purposes of performing rituals, subject to the normal rules for effective skill.

They gain two effective ranks (total) to the appropriate ritual lore if they are contributing to the performance of any ritual that divines information. The ritual does not need to be part of Day lore, but the normal rules for effective skill still apply.

While the enchantment lasts the target experiences a roleplaying effect: You feel incredibly focused, able to bring all your faculties to bear on a single topic. Distractions become irritating, however, and it can often prove difficult for you to shift your focus to another subject or think about more than one thing at a time.

If the target is a merrow, the roleplaying effect is especially pronounced. A merrow may also choose to temporarily add to or increase physical trappings of their lineage. These changes are temporary and do not last more than a few hours after the enchantment ends.

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

Additional Targets

This ritual can affect additional characters from the same coven. Each additional character increases the magnitude by 15. Additional characters must be present throughout.

Divination Rituals

For purposes of the additional bonus, rituals currently in Imperial lore that are considered divination effects include: An Echo of Life Remains, Bright Lantern of Ophis, Clear Lens of the Eternal River, Dreams in the Witch House, Eye of the High Places, Eyes of the Soul's Past, Eyes of the Sun and Moon, Gralka's Gift to the Lost Seeker, Hakima's Glass, Hand of the Maker, Netweaver's Eye, Secrets of the Soul's Desire, Shadowed Glass of Sung, Signs and Portents, Skein of Years, Ties that Bind, and Wisdom of the Balanced Blade.

Only rituals that directly provide information as their primary function are considered divination rituals. Rituals that gather information by communicating with an eternal (such as Swim Leviathan's Depth) are not considered divination effects. Likewise, a ritual whose effect is something other than providing information to the ritualists is not considered a divination ritual for purposes of Crystaline Focus of Aesh, even if its description talks about divination as the method employed. Spontaneous magic effects may gain the additional bonus; if in doubt consult a referee before performing them.

Description

This ritual creates a pact between the target and the eternal Kimus.

This potent enchantment strengthens the recipient's ability to wield Day magic.

While enchanted, the magician finds themselves strengthened - they are able to employ Day magic more effectively than normal. It may share a little power with a novice, or allow a master of Day lore to wield significant personal power. Those experiencing the enchantment find it easy to concentrate on a single task, applying their entire focus to the act of weaving magical energies. Some magicians using this enchantment speak of a greatly increased awareness of the flows of mana. Others report a form of synaesthesia, the act of performing Day magic being experienced as eerie colours, sounds, smells, and tastes.

The magician gains further prowess when working magic designed to divine information, and the enchantment provides its benefits regardless of the realm involved. While this allows a magician to perform more complex rituals than they might otherwise manage, it also provides them with additional strength to draw on should they need to penetrate a shroud of concealment or deception to gain the information they seek.

This ritual draws on the power of the eternal Kimus, and her well-known fascination with observing as many events as possible. According to some theoretical scholars, Kimus is automatically aware of any ritual performance that includes an individual bearing this enchantment - indeed some speculate that the eternal might be able to locate or perceive enchanted magicians more easily. A few paranoid scholars have suggested that the enchantment transforms every magician empowered into a metaphorical "eye" for Kimus - that the eternal can see experience whatever the bearer sees during the entire duration. There is absolutely no evidence to support this supposition, but that does not prevent (sometimes hysterical) conspiracy theories.

Kimus seems to have offered their power to several rituals currently lost to Imperial magicians. Scrolls at the Lyceum mention a more potent version of Crystalline Focus of Aesh called Mastery of the Unblinking Eye. The ritual allows a magician to further increase their ability to wield the lore of Day. According to some fragmentary notes, the ritual either requires or gains additional power from the inclusion of a specially formed sphere of tempest jade which becomes the focus for the magic. Such spheres are also mentioned as being a common form of boon offered by Kimus to empower ritual magicians. The crumbling parchment scrolls apparently formed part of the collection of magical papers donated by the Freeborn hakima of the line of Guerra and strongly imply that the founder of that tribe possessed a complete ritual text detailing this ritual.

Two other rituals are referenced in a partial tome held at the Halls of Magic, the journal of a second century stargazer named Mattia of Ankarien. In return for certain significant services performed for Kimus, she received access to something called The Book of Silver Leaves - a collection of ritual texts apparently collected in pre-Imperial times by a cabal of diviners and seers in a distant land dedicated to Kimus. The tome references two rituals that Mattia and her cabal apparently mastered, and used to great effect during the reign of Empress Brannan. The first is called Eternity in an Hour, which seems to combine elements of the Crystalline Focus with the effect of All the World in a Grain of Sand in that it grants a magician with the ability to focus completely on rote action and familiar magics. The enchantment allows the magician to greatly increasing their ability to perform rituals they have mastered at the expense of seriously curtailing their ability to contribute to any other ritual - even to one that is in Imperial lore. The other is referred to as Mirror of the Heavens, and apparently represents an even more profound connection to She Who Watches. While it does not provide much additional focus with magic beyond that granted by Crystalline Focus, it apparently greatly increases the ability of the one who bears the enchantment to perform divinations. There are few specifics in the text - which is believed to be a copy of an original tome kept at the Library of Ankarien. If the journal still exists, and should it contain any further information about these two rituals, it is most likely in the possession of the Grendel.

Common Elements

The ritual usually involves an invocation of the eternal Kimus, although different covens will phrase this invocation in different ways. As a ritual of the Day realm, and one that draws power from the Unblinking Eye, magicians may paint the symbol of an eye on the target, often on the forehead, as the ritual is performed. A blood magician will often use a little merrow blood to create this symbol. Spheres of crystal, glass, or tempest jade provide useful foci for the ritual, as do mirrors of polished silver or weltsilver - magicians of the League in particular favour using mirrors for this ritual, drawing on their well known hearth magic property for revealing the truth. Mystics, specially in Wintermark and Varushka tend prefer to eschew such showy props, and use a bowl of pure water as the focus, into which they will drop blood, ink, or candle wax and observe the shapes the substance forms on contact with the water.

The runes of discovery, revelation, Wisdom, and thought are all resonant with this ritual and often painted or traced as part of its performance. A theurge might evoke paragons and exemplars of Wisdom, but some such magicians prefer to call on inspirational figures associated with Vigilance or Ambition depending on the ends the additional power will be turned.