robertos-notes

[robertos-notes]

pg. 323 - The Properties of Influence

Influence is the means by which all things interact with the Aether.

Think of the Aether surrounding us as fluid. Your Influence spreads through it like waves from a pebble thrown into a lake.

As stated before, ALL THINGS have some influence on the Aether surrounding it. This includes any collection of things, and the Influence of such a collection is the sum of the the Influence of everything in it.

The strength of the Influence of these connections varies wildly from the objects within it, and is most affected by their distance from each other.

This implies that there exists some Influence greater than all; such that it is the collective Influence of everything that exists and that can interact with Aether. This collective Influence is known as The Will of All Things - more often referred to as The Will.

It is this Influence that The Church of All Things reveres. The fact that Ansa Steel is a force apart from The Will really pisses them off, and they refer to it as they refer to Magecraft - "a vile thing".

Influence travels along the Aether in all directions, but can be concentrated in a cone or line by, a skilled mage. Influence traversing the Aether behaves like waves on the surface of water. They will mostly not interact with each other and can become a chaotic system if not controlled.

Much like the waves in the lake, Influence can persist long after its source no longer exists. This is why curses and hexes happen, and one of the reason great care is taken with the elder and those near death; their (often bad) Influence can linger long after they're gone.

Aether can "remember" Influences it received, specially when it is in solid form. This property is exploited by Artificers to make their Influence linger on whatever they craft; Runes and Patterns inscribed with Aether do the trick.

Alchemists use their Influence to change the properties of mixtures and concoctions that involve Aether. They also use the properties of liquid Aether itself in their potions. However, non-solid Aether does not have the "remembering" properties of solid Aether.

Proper, fully realized mages can use their Influence on any form of Aether, including non-solid, non-liquid forms. That is, the Aether that surrounds us all.

This means that we can heat or cool air on command, move objects from afar, cast and heal curses, or even command the wind. So, as is to be expected, mages often kill themselves with their magecraft, otherwise cause terrible things to occur. Much like waves in an ocean, a single splash can become a chaotic, destructive thing, that sweeps all under its wake.

[robertos-notes]

pg. 322 - The Properties of Aether

The Aether has three key properties, that are always true, with one exception:

1. Its natural state is like an invisible, pinkish fog. It can turn to liquid or solid depending on circumstance.

2. All things exert an Influence on the surrounding Aether, and the Aether can exert its influence on all things.

3. A thing cannot exert its Influence upon itself.

The exception lies on The Second Property of Aether: Material taken from meteorites, when refined, cannot interact with Aether in any form. Thus, it also cannot suffer or exert any sort of Influence.

This is refined material is most often found in Meteorite Steel - what is known more commonly as Ansa Steel or Bilunar Steel. Meteorite Glass and Meteorite Powder are also used, but less often. Other forms exist.

As is known by all, the Aether is found everywhere around us. It comes from the Great Beyond to our skies, and from the skies to the mountains, and from the mountains to the land, rivers and seas. And from our land, rivers and seas, it rises again to the great Beyond.

This is the Aether Cycle, and it dictates the places in the Sphere where it can prospected, mined or otherwise harvested.

The most concentrated form of Aether is the mist it forms in the skies, as it first comes to the our sphere from the Great Beyond. It is clearly visible from the top of mountains, and also on clear nights as a pink streak of old paint - the latter referred often as The Great River, The River of Souls, The River of Life or the Lukê River.

From the River, it either falls to the earth directly or collects atop of mountains, when in contact with the snow of their peaks. Aether as a mist can react with snow or ice to crystallize into a material akin to fine sand. It then mixes with the snow and follows its path down the mountain.

Aether that falls from the sky is absorbed most often by trees. Aether that came from the mountains goes into rivers and lakes, being absorbed the local fauna. Here the Aether joins the Cycle of Life.

Aether absorbed by trees often stays in the earth, and does not return to the sky. Aether in the Cycle of Life often seeps into the dirt. Here it flows back to rivers and lakes, or becomes a low fog. In such cases, it is too dispersed to the absorbed by trees.

Aether in low concentrations tends to follow the Cycle of Water and return to the skies, much like the water of lakes, rivers and seas. Here, it does not fall back to the earth, but rather rejoins the River, so the Cycle can begin anew.

Aether in the mountains is rich and found in many forms: as a sand mixed with snow, in the air from the River, in the water that comes from the snow and in large crystals formed by the accumulation of Aether Sand.

Aether in the land is poor, and found scarcely in animals and the soil. Trees harbor some, specially along their leaves. It can also be found as Aether Fog, near areas rich with Aether.

Aether in the waters is between rich and poor. It is found in high concentrations in rivers that come from mountains and their lakes. Near to nothing of it is found the seas. A small sheet of Aether Fog can sometimes be observed atop lakes.

[robertos-notes]

pg. 321 - A brief introduction to Magecraft.

Note to self: Make this more accessible to peasants and thick-headed nobles. They're as smart as each other, and neither can understand a lick of the subject, although nobles are more willing to accept the basic concepts of alchemy and artificery; Probably due to more frequent interaction with their practitioners.

The first thing to note on this topic is the important distinction between Magecraft and Sorcery. The latter pertains to that which is unexplained; the work of gods, chance, mother nature, or evil sorcerers and witches. As heralds of the Will of All Things would proclaim: "a vile thing not to be trifled with".

Magecraft, however, is the work of mages. It is (mostly) perfectly explained and (roughly) internally consistent. All phenomena that are attributed to Sorcery are, as a matter of fact, merely facets Magecraft, able to be reproduced by any capable mage.

However, we are first to discuss the nature of Magecraft, and later the history, culture and societal impact of said "sorcery".

Thus,

Magecraft pertains to the study of the properties of Aether, how to manipulate it to our advantage, and how that pursuit often leads to disaster.

[robertos-notes]

pg. 1

This text is not for your prying eyes! This is a fact, as I, Roberto, would never read the lines you gaze upon right now. I wrote them, after all.

If you somehow took this from my dead body, leave the journal there; I will come later to take it back. Hopefully not from you.

More likely, you came upon this by random chance; It was lying around near a tree, drenched in river water or in the belly of a giant crystal salamander. In such cases, do with it as you must, as the occurrence means my teleportation experiments failed, and I have no way of tracking it down through time and space.

These are my notes for a book commissioned by a friend, the great King Tolen the Seventh. It is to be the greatest collection of general knowledge mankind has ever seen. This includes topics like history, arithmetic, medicine, thaumaturgy (and all of its fields, such as alchemy and artificery) and astronomy.

So as to be accessible, the book is enchanted with a special spell of my very own authority, automatically translating its meaning to your native language, so as anyone that finds it can read it. I make no promises about your understanding of its contents.

Then, if you would be so kind, please return this volume to the court of Tolen in Vatania, where I may find it in a later occasion. If the king is dead, his dynasty extinguished or the glorious city halfway up a mountain somehow razed to ashes and dust, then leave the book where you found it. I may or may not find it later.

Should you take the book for yourself, then you are clearly not smart enough to understand its contents or importance. That, or you are either blind or illiterate. In any case, know that if I do find you, you will not get off with backhanded insults written on parchment.