Magic

From Osterin

Magic comes in two forms, one stemming from the Madness, and one from the Goddess. Users of the Madness' magic are called Madmen, and are split into several different types, each with different abilities. Users of the Goddess' magic are called various names in different places and what abilities they know. The ultimate class of the Goddess' followers is the Desuvir.

A note on the titles of Madmen: While most of the world has adopted the language that formed after the Collision (see Language), the separate languages of the East and West are still studied by some. Most people will refer to the Madmen by that name in the more recent tongue, but they also go by the name of Krin in the Western tongue. While this document will refer to Madmen by their more common names, it will also list beside them the name they are known by in the Western tongue.

Madmen draw their power from the Madness (In the Western tongue - Rist). Since the imprisonment of the Madness after the Collision (see Mythology), this knowledge faded. As of 2500 A.C., the Madness is simply thought of as a source of power for the Madmen. The different types of magic that the Madmen wield correspond to different types of corruption in the minds of the wielders. It is this corruption that gives them their connection to the power. Each type of corruption attacks a different part of the mind. However, this also adds an element of danger. When the Madness was imprisoned, he lost control of his power, and thus was unable to prevent Consumption. Consumption occurs when the Madman draws too much power, thereby increasing the amount of corruption in their mind to a point where the power floods their mind. This generally has destructive consequences, as the magic flows uninhibited and uncontrolled. This lasts only as long as the Madman has a mind to channel the power, usually between two and five minutes. When the mind is completely lost, the power ceases, and the Madman is left as merely a body without a mind. Victims of Consumption are known as Ratans.

Psychopath (Hakten)

Psychopaths wield powerful elemental magic. They can call on fire, earth, air and water to attack their enemies. Some of the more common attacks involve hurling fireballs, causing earthquakes, or focusing slices of air into razor sharp blades.
The corruption in their minds attacks the empathy in the mind of the Psychopath, causing them to distance themselves from their emotions and empathy, as well as removing a sense of the consequences of their actions.

Healer (Togin)

Healers accelerate and enhance specific natural processes of the body, to the point where they are able to heal most minor injuries in seconds. Broken bones, cuts and anything the body would normally be able to mend can be fixed, but things like lost limbs cannot be regrown. Some diseases and illnesses can be Healed, but others cannot, as the body's defenses can't fight it.
The corruption of Healers attacks the part of the mind that affects generosity and selflessness, often destroying it completely. As a result, this makes them selfish, and they often think highly of themselves. Usually, they'll place themselves above any other, even authority figures.

Necromancer (Outsen)

Necromancers talk to spirits and work with death. For more information on death and the afterlife, see Death. Necromancer abilities include speaking to the dead, returning spirits to their bodies (provided the body can support life), and even animating corpses without the spirit as undead servants. In addition, the Necromancer can bind a spirit to an inanimate object in the same way it would be bound to a body, thereby preventing the spirit from dissipating. This is the origin of ghosts.
With all of the abilities linked to death, it should be no surprise that the corruption in Necromancers causes suicidal tendencies. Their corruption attacks the self-preservation aspect of the mind.

Scout (Sakur)

Scouts possess the ability to turn invisible and remove all traces of their presence. This includes smell, sound, and even tracks in the softest mud or snow.
The corruption of Scouts takes the form of extreme paranoia. Most Scouts will only have one or two people that they trust, if that. Obviously, the corruption in this case attacks the trust portion of the mind.

Druid (Puretar)

Druids manipulate nature. This means that plants are completely under their control, and druids can make them grow faster and in any direction, or wither and die. Animals (here defined as any living creature other than humans, with some exceptions; see Genetics) cannot be directly controlled in this way, but the Druid can talk to them, and many animals have a great respect for Druids, and will obey commands.
Druids are often easily distracted, often to the point of wandering off in the middle of a battle. They tend to talk a lot, and prefer to be around people. The corruption destroys the part of the mind that allows the Druid to focus.

Illusionist (Meir)

Illusionists can create Illusions that appear extremely realistic. They can manage to fool three senses - sight, smell and sound - but they possess no physical form, and so cannot be touched (and therefore cannot be tasted either). The Illusions can be simple, such as a tree or wall, or as complex as a moving person. Multiple Illusions at once are possible, though they require a dangerous amount of power.
The corruption in the minds of the Illusionists affects their sensory perception. In other words, Illusionists hallucinate. Most often they will see and even interact with hallucinations of people who are not there. Fortunately, these hallucinations are generally static, and vary little with time, therefore once they have been identified, the Illusionist usually has little difficulty ignoring them.
Illusionists can also send their voices long distances to another person, provided they know that person. This is why they are sometimes called Communicators.

Warder (Kulen)

Warders can create Wards - bubbles which can prevent a thing from passing through. These bubbles are transparent, and if they aren't meant to affect you, you'll never know they are there. The things they block are generally simplistic, such as weapons or projectiles, even magic, but can also block people. They can be virtually any size, though the larger they are, the more power they require the Warder to draw.
The corruption that allows the Warder to create his Wards attacks the social parts of the mind, leaving the Warder incapable, and often unwilling to engage in social activities, even those as simple as talking to others.

Shifter (Shouker)

Shifters can change their shape, within limits. They cannot change their mass, so if a skinny Shifter tried to add weight, they would become shorter as the mass was redistributed.
The corruption in the mind of a Shifter is somewhat unique. Rather than destroying a section of the mind, it fractures the Shifter's sense of self. Shifters house additional personalities within their mind. Often these multiple personalities will correspond to particular forms of different people. Often the separate personalities will be unaware of each other.

Mentalist (Nairen)

Mentalists can affect the minds of humans. This gives them a limited version of mind control, truth detection, and mind reading.
Mentalists suffer from a corruption of the mind that causes the Madman to believe things which are clearly and demonstrably untrue. The corruption attacks the portion of the brain that allows the Mentalist to look at something objectively and critically. As a result, they tend to be rather gullible.

Assistant (Jerin)

Assistants have the ability to affect the abilities of others. They can lend strength, stamina, and even intelligence to others, as well as having the capability to drain the same abilities from their victims. Unknown to most, Assistants also have the ability to siphon the powers of other Madmen and use them themselves. This gives them the unique ability of being able to combine the abilities of more than one Madman, giving them new powers temporarily. This can usually only be done with the willing participation of the other Madmen, though occasionally the Assistant can pull others in without their consent. This technique also proves physically draining to the participating Madmen. If one of them should manage to pull himself out of the circle, or should collapse from exhaustion or death, the results are unpredictable and usually catastrophic.
However, Assistants tend to have odd obsessions and compulsions that go along with them. The corruption in the minds of Assistants is one of the most peculiar. Instead of attacking a particular region of the mind, it instead links together parts which don't normally go together. For example, if it's raining, the Assistant may be overcome with the irrational urge to dig a hole. This can develop to the point of a complete obsession, where the Assistant will suffer from a complete breakdown if he is not allowed to follow through with his compulsion.

Magic of the Goddess

The Symbol of the Goddess

Users of the magic of the Goddess are split into four main categories, according to which path of the Goddess they follow. The three paths are: Truth, Honor, and Justice. The fourth category can only be composed of those individuals who are entirely free of corruption, and encompasses all of the paths. These are called the Desuvirs. Unlike the Madmen, the followers of the Goddess kept their names in the Eastern tongue.

Truth - Vers

The Vers have the ability to delve into the mind of the Goddess and see what she sees for but a brief moment. Because the Goddess sees all, this allows the Ver to see what may happen if things continue along their current path. Because the knowledge of the Goddess cannot be easily compressed and comprehended by a human mind, this knowledge is presented to the Ver as a vision. Much of a Ver's training goes towards learning how to interpret these visions. This ability is useful to the Ver in combat, as he can see slightly into the future.
In addition, the Vers have the ability to create magical items by fusing spirits into physical objects. This is similar to a Necromancer's ability to bind a spirit to an object, except that this ability gives the object new properties. Most commonly, the bracers that Vers wear on their forearms are enchanted to be stronger than regular steel and deflect blades without damage.
The Vers are bound to tell the truth. If they deviate from this path, they will lose their ability to divine the future. This isn't an all-or-nothing deal, though. It's a gradual slope, where the more a Ver lies, the fewer visions he will have, and the less reliable they will be.

Honor - Resses

Resses are given the ability to Heal. This is different from the abilities of Healers (see above). This Healing allows the Ress to Heal injuries significantly faster than the Healers, and also allows the regrowth of lost limbs and the curing of some diseases. In theory it is possible for the Ress to reconstruct an entire body based on the presence of a single cell.
Resses must always act honorably, or they lose their Healing ability. The more a Ress acts with honor, the stronger his Healing ability will be.

Justice - Quis

The abilities of the Quis are devoted towards defending themselves from Madmen. Their main ability is the one used most often in Attarnon - they can block the Madness from granting power to Madmen, leaving them virtually defenseless. In addition, they also possess the capability of Joining, which allows them to merge their mind with another's.
Quis also possess almost supernatural combat ability, with improved reflexes and impressive strength. Much of this comes with training, but a Qui will always be stronger and faster than another man with similar training.
Again, these abilities scale with the Qui's pursuit of justice.

Desuvirs

This name means "Servant of the Goddess" in the Eastern Dialect. As mentioned earlier, only the pure and free of corruption qualify to become Desuvirs. They follow all three paths of the Goddess and are granted the abilities of all three as well, though they have the same limitations.