Peregrine and Ichimos

This ritual is part of Urizen lore rather than Imperial lore.

Rules

Urizen Lore

This ritual is part of Urizen lore rather than Imperial Lore. Any Urizen character with the appropriate lore can master or perform this ritual. A character from another nation who mastered the ritual before it became part of Urizen lore may still perform it, but does so under the usual rules for performing a ritual learned from a ritual text.

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 military unit gains a significant bonus to its effectiveness when it takes a guarding action (such as supporting a fortification or undertaking mercenary work). This temporary bonus increases the effective fighting force of the unit by 40, the equivalent of 2 normal upgrades.

When the military unit is enchanted the character who controls it experiences a short lived roleplaying effect that persists for at least ten minutes: you are always looking for opportunities to cooperate with others; the success of a group you belong to becomes more important to you than your own success.

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 6. The character who controls each unit must be present throughout the ritual.

Description

This ritual was one of the earliest to become part of Urizen lore, alongside the similarly martially inclined Guardian Gate, Irresistible Stance of Force and Focus and Arete and the Fields of War. The four rituals were included in a grimoire named for the first of those rituals - The Guardian Gate. The rituals were submitted to the Celestial Library, and added to the store of wisdom collected at Canterspire in 383YE.

In the wake of the peace treaty that ceded Ankra, Cinion and Ateri to the Grendel, several arbiters of citadels in various parts of Urizen met at the Court of the White Fountain in Redoubt to discuss the challenges of protecting their nation. They made a decision to offer The Guardian Gate for inclusion in Urizen lore. The meeting appointed arbiter Lutia of Willstone was responsible for overseeing this process, not least because they were a descendant of the original author. Lutia and her fellow sentinels wanted no particular payment, offering their rituals freely and without any strings attached because, as the gathering at the Citadel of the White Flame ultimately agreed, it was the correct thing to do.

Anyone who forgets what history teaches will keep making the same mistakes over and over. Peregrine teaches us not only the importance of cutting the head from the beast if you wish to defeat it but that victory always comes at a price. Ichimos taught us that even when we are not at war we should be preparing for war; you can never be too well defended. Historical examples both; I fear that whenever you are reading this there have been many more excellent lessons bought and paid for in the blood of sentinels.

Atallanna of Willstone, The Guardian Gate

The source of the ritual, the Guardian Gate was written during the reign of Empress Varkula by Atallanna of Willstone. An experienced battle mage, Atallanna was a proud sentinel for much of her life before eventually retiring to expand her arete through the study of ritual magic. A self-confessed middling-magician she nonetheless rose to become one of the first Provosts of the Halls of Knowledge. During her tenure she worked almost exclusively on rituals with military applications; her experience as a sentinel and events during the assimilation of Zenith established a life-long commitment to using magic to support the defenders of Urizen. The Guardian Gate is a short book of advice for magicians who support sentinels that also contains four of the rituals she devised as Provost.

The ritual takes its name from two key historical battles where the sentinels of Urizen learnt important strategic and tactical lessons. Some magicians have compared it to Clarity of the Master Strategist, as it fosters cooperation between soldiers, hones strategic and tactical awareness, and helps warriors remain calm and focused even when surrounded by violent chaos. It has practical, direct effects as well; those enchanted with Peregrine and Ichimos become keenly attuned to the right moment to act, gaining access to reservoirs of patience coupled with the ability to strike with deadly force comparable to that granted by the more personal enchantment of Horizon's Razor Edge.

While the ritual empowers soldiers to defend, guard, and protect, it does not encourage them to remain passive. Rather it helps them to determine the best way to apply their strength and training to ensure the best outcome - cutting the head from the snake with a single stroke rather than fighting an exhausting battle that sees them crushed in the beast's coils, to use one sentinel's metaphor.

Common Elements

This ritual enhances a small military force, using a connection to its leader to spread magic through the entire unit. It was designed to be used to enchant units of sentinels, but is equally effecive on warriors of all nations and all walks of life. It is common to include a banner or standard that represents the essence of the warband, and serves as a focus for the power of the ritual. The target is expected to be armed and armoured, as if for war, and may be called on to offer an assurance of their willingness to commit themselves to victory in a chosen endeavour. The ritual is commonly performed outside, during daylight hours. If it must be used at night or indoors, it is common to ensure that the casting is as brightly lit as possible - illumination dispels darkness and drives way confusion and mystery. For a similar reason, having several witnesses who are not participants themselves is considered valuable to the working - especially if they are people who have fought alongside the target or their warband before.

Other common elements include the invocation of paragons and exemplars of Vigilance and Wisdom, as well as calling on the name of the Master Strategist. Other elements might include girding the military leader, recounting their heroic deeds or prior campaigns where they and their soldiers have fought, or evoking the constellation of the Mountain or the Oak. The Rune of Victory and the Rune of Thought are especially resonant with this ritual, as are the dramaturgical personae of the Bishop and the Captain.