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whimsica · 1 month

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Fan Created Pathway: Muse (formerly Artist)

This is sort of an update and redux of my original fan pathway, the Artist pathway. Its been refined and made to fit better into the LotM universe and most of the Sequences have been changed somewhat, plus with CoI adding more outer god pathways that don't fit the tarot theme I don't have to worry about all that.

There are basically minor spoilers within in terms of some world building lore of LotM, but nothing particularly integral or revelatory.

Having said that, please enjoy my massive infodump.

Muse Pathway

Mystical Creature Form:

Countless illusory hands with mouths on their palms, all singing, whispering, or mimicking sounds. Everchanging trails of colour emit from the mouths as they move, drifting through the air and forming into various scenes before dispersing back into colour.

Neighbouring Pathways:

Savant (Paragon) and Mystery Pryer (Hermit), forming a trifecta of rational and scientific knowledge, mystical and hidden knowledge, and emotional and artistic knowledge.

Sequences

Sequence 9: Illustrator

Abilities:

High Spirituality: Beyonders of this pathway have much deeper reserves of spirituality. Can perform ritualistic magic but gain no knowledge of it from the potion.

Enhanced Eyesight & Observation: An Illustrator gains excellent vision and a sharp eye for details, as well as strong visual memory.

Enhanced Dexterity: An Illustrator's dexterity and coordination are increased sharply.

Inspiration: Illustrators will often receive knowledge, information, or perception in the form of sudden inspiration. This could be mystic knowledge, messages from a spirit world creature, or even revelations from their own spirituality about the future or their surroundings. The inspiration is not clear, requiring the Illustrator to draw it out in order to fully comprehend, but has greater range and possibilities than divination due to its uncontrolled nature.

Sequence 8: Singer

Abilities:

Enhanced Hearing: A Singer gains an extremely powerful sense of hearing, as well as the ability to accurately recall or differentiate sounds.

Sound Replication: Singers can accurately recreate sounds or voices after only hearing them once.

Throw Voice: Singers can use spirituality to make their voice appear to emanate from a distance, from multiple locations, or even from the mouth of another.

Beyonder Song: A Singer can create a number of weak mystical effects using music. They can mildly influence the emotions of living things via their music, either calming or provoking them with the appropriate tune. They can also bolster the movement and coordination of a creature, or disrupt its rhythm. Finally, they can create a horrible discordant screech which directly strikes at the spirit, dealing mental damage and breaking concentration.

Sequence 7: Tattoo Artist

Abilities:

Ritual Knowledge: The Tattoo Artist learns a large number of ritualistic magics.

Ritual Marking: A Tattoo Artist can simplify ritualistic magics into complex designs, which can be marked onto the skin of a living creature, themselves included. The ritual tattoo can then be activated with spirituality at a later time, producing the effects of the magic in an instant, which consumes the tattoo. In essence, a delayed ritual. Ritualistic magics targeted at higher beings can be used, but still require the being in question to respond in order to create an effect when activated. Has no effect if not on a living creature with spirituality.

Ritual Engraving: An advanced form of Ritual Marking, producing a permanent or semi-permanent tattoo of a stored ritual. Requires far greater time and effort to create as well as the relevant materials, and requires a slight but constant drain on the spirituality of the creature on which it is inscribed to maintain. More than a few permanent tattoos may lead to easier loss of control due to constant spiritual consumption.

Sequence 6: Sculptor

Abilities:

Enhanced Perception of Form: Greatly enhanced ability to perceive and recreate the specific physical parameters of things. Allows a Sculptor to directly project their mental image of something over their vision, forming 'guidelines' to follow and compare against.

Enhanced Body: Sculptors gain a significant boost to their strength and dexterity, in order to more easily handle large mediums such as stone blocks or wooden logs.

Living Statue: Sculptures produced by a Sculptor can be imbued with spirituality and temporarily gain the characteristics of their muse, retaining the characteristics of their initial material at the same time. Sculptures of living creatures will come to life but have no will of their own, and must be directed by their Sculptor. The more detailed and realistic the sculpture, the more powerful and accurate the effects.

Mystic Engraving: Ritual Tattoos can be placed onto sculptures and activated via them as a medium. If the sculpture is of a living thing, the Sculptor can control it to activate the tattoo.

Beyonder Sculpture: When Beyonder materials or characteristics are used in a sculpture, a Sculptor use them to cause the sculpture to become a mystical item, with a small degree of control regarding its effects.

Sequence 5: Painter

New Abilities:

Master of Painting: A Painter gains mastery of techniques related to painting, and is capable of producing paintings so detailed they are nearly indistinguishable from reality. Ritual tattoos can be painted and activated on any surface.

Emotional Stirring: A Painter can infuse feelings into their work, allowing certain emotions or desires to be felt or amplified by those who see their art.

Still Life Manifestation: Painted effects, items, or creatures can be briefly brought to life by the Painter, such as a painted flame being plucked from the surface it is painted on and becoming real, or a painted bird peeling from a canvas to deliver a letter. The lifespan and power of these effects depends on the amount of spirituality inserted by the Painter. After the invested spirituality is consumed, the manifested painting will attempt to return to a surface, becoming capable of repeated manifestation. Failing that, it will collapse into paint. In essence an upgraded version of a Sculptor's Living Statues.

Vault of Colours: Can turn any painting made by them into a hidden subspace, which can be entered by any living or non-living thing while activated through the Painter's spirituality. The environment within the Vault depends on the content of the painting. Living things can be sealed inside paintings so long as the Painter closes the Vault of Colours while the target remains inside, and without any special circumstances most Beyonders will require demigod level strength to break out quickly. Things sealed within a painting will appear in the painting once it is 'closed' but can be concealed depending on the other contents of the painting. A Painter can manifest and control anything they have painted into the painting, as well as activating sculptures or ritual markings they have left inside without needing to enter themselves. A Painter can keep several Vaults of Colour active at any one time, but if one is left alone without any reinforcement of spirituality for too long it will cease, permanently turning everything inside it into mere brush strokes. If a Beyonder characteristic is within when the Vault ceases, the painting will become a mystical item.

Sequence 4: Dollmaker

Abilities:

Doll Creation: A Dollmaker can produce dolls which function autonomously, but which only obey preset instructions and cannot react to scenarios outside those instructions. Ritual tattoos may be placed on a doll, or even concealed within them, and activated without the Dollmaker's presence or spirituality. If the Dollmaker is nearby, dolls can be directly controlled by the Dollmaker with their spirituality instead of following their setting.

Blood from a Stone: A Dollmaker's creations can be made indistinguishable from true living things, seemingly possessing blood, heartbeats, digestion, and desire. However it is still only an imitation, not true life.

Miniature: Using related materials such as hair or blood, a Dollmaker can make a doll which has a spiritual connection to a specific target. Even without related materials, if the doll is accurate enough to the target it will still affect them, albeit at a much weaker level. The Miniature can be used to affect the target in a number of ways. It can manipulate the emotions of the target, either in a subtle and unnoticeable manner or in a direct and shocking manner. It can be used to locate the target or as a mystical link for curses. If close by, harming or destroying the doll will deal an immense amount of damage directly to the target's spirit. If belonging to a pathway with high spiritual perception, a target may sense the connection, but it is unlikely to be identified or broken without specifically targeted ritual magic or intervention by an angel or higher.

Sequence 3: Architect

Abilities:

Structural Analysis: An Architect can instantly grasp a perfect understanding of any structure and what it contains simply by making contact with their spirituality.

Spirit Blueprint: Architects can design and create structures which exist both in reality and in conceptual locations such as the spirit world or sea of collective unconscious, serving as connection points.

Spirit Structure: All of an Architect's previous Sequence abilities can be used at will within structures they have constructed or designed regardless of the Architect's proximity to the structure. Structures under an Architect's control can have the space within them twisted and connected by the Architect at will, creating infinite hallways and inescapable prisons or connecting multiple structures, allowing the Architect to move freely between them regardless of distance.

Divine Design: An Architect can outline blueprints in their mind and cause the according structures to assemble around them.

Master of the House: As living beings reside within or repeatedly interact with a structure created by an Architect, the Architect gains greater and greater influence over them, eventually being able to manipulate them as if they were one with the structure itself.

Sequence 2: Spirit of Theatre

Abilities:

Enhanced Physicality: A Spirit of Theatre gains superhuman strength and speed, perfect control over every aspect of their body, and the ability to produce and mimic sounds to an extraordinary level, capable of even mimicking a chaotic battle, a busy marketplace, or an entire opera by themselves.

Soul on Fire: Through their every action, a Spirit of Theatre can stir or manipulate the emotions of others to an extreme level, directly causing others to break down weeping, become consumed by euphoria, harm themselves in frustration, or to join them and follow along with the Spirit's direction of their performance.

All the World's a Stage: A Spirit of Theatre can turn a simple performed action of theirs into the real thing, directly summoning a barrage of cannons by calling out to fire, turning day to night with the swish of a cloth, a splash of red paint into a grievous wound. Similarly, they can turn real things into a mere performance, making an exploding bomb into a simple firecracker, an impassable barrier into a painted curtain, a decapitated head into a paper mache prop. Other living things can be affected as well, making a simple rope into a striking serpent or an enemy Beyonder into a harmless cardboard prop. This ability can be set to activate even after the Spirit of Theatre dies, allowing a Spirit to turn their own death into a performance so long as they can accurately predict the timing of their demise.

Sequence 1: Inspired

Abilities:

Soul of Creation: An Inspired has no need of tools to create, instead interacting with the world directly through their Mythical Creature form and shaping the world into great works of art purely through their will. As the Inspired creates, they fuse part of themselves into their art, allowing them to influence the world around their art as if they were there in person. Even if their main body is destroyed and Beyonder characteristics taken, so long as enough of their art remains, an Inspired will not truly die.

Fanatic Devotion: Through their art, an Inspired can in turn inspire, causing powerful emotions and ideals to sprout. This ranges from harmless inspiration to zealous worship to directly mutating into a monster.

Eye of the Beholder: An Inspired can appear as the most radiantly beautiful and perfect being ever witnessed, perfectly harmonized with heaven and earth or the most twisted and disturbing sight imaginable, their very presence distorting and destroying the world. They appear differently to every individual depending on that individual's sensibilities and can use either beauty or disgust to drive people to both madness or serenity. Other things can also be changed to varying levels of beauty or disgust, with the pinnacle of beauty beginning to destroy the world around it as nothing can match its perfection and the depths of disgust being destroyed by the world around it as nothing can tolerate its existence.

Sequence 0: Muse

Abilities:

Authority of 'Art', which has its foundations in creating the real from the false, the mystical from the ordinary, into drawing genuine emotion from practiced performance, in igniting true heat from painted flame, carving real life from dead stone.

Authority of 'Inspiration', which allows ideas and emotions to sprout from otherwise meaningless sources. So long as a Muse's works exist and inspire, the Muse will eventually be reborn from the works of those that they inspire.

Authority of 'Fascination', which contains both the pinnacle of beauty and love as well as the depths of hatred and disgust, able to move even the most stalwart of hearts.

Advancement Rituals

Painter Ritual: Seal yourself within a completely blank and empty space, utterly isolated from outside interference. Without interruption, completely fill every inch of the space including yourself with paintings and then consume the potion.

Dollmaker Ritual: Create a piece of art which stirs powerful emotions. While 10,000 or more people still have a deep impression of your masterpiece, consume the potion.

Architect Ritual: Construct an area with your creations which people continuously interact with and pass through. Once your created area has seamlessly blended into reality without being discovered as an artwork by anyone and formed a corresponding region of the spirit world, consume the potion.

Spirit of Theatre Ritual: Craft an intricate and thrilling performance with your creations which draws the attention of an audience across the world who believe your performance to be real. At the climax of the performance, suddenly reveal that it was a performance the entire time and that none of the participants are real, and amidst the reveal, consume the potion.

Inspired Ritual: Spread works of art, allowing them to inspire and influence without the use of Beyonder powers. Once your personal style has given rise to its own sweeping artistic movement, leading countless beings to create their own art in your style, consume the potion.

Muse Ritual: Produce a masterpiece at the level of a true deity.

Additional Notes:

Some of the core tenets of 'acting' across the entire pathway are the creation of your own works of art and the art evoking a response from the viewer, be it positive or negative.

A Sequence 0 Muse can resurrect from their own art or the art of those inspired by their style so long as enough of it remains, creating a new body for themselves, but the resurrection is not as perfect as the Black Emperor, as it only restores life and not Sequence level or Uniqueness. However, it is superior to the Black Emperor in the aspect that a former Muse can still resurrect even if the current Sequence 0 Muse is occupied.

From Spirit of Theatre onward, most other Beyonder powers can be mimicked or reproduced via the creation of art or performance. These powers are naturally weaker than the originals due to stemming from the authority of 'Art' rather than their own relevant authorities.

High Sequence Beyonders of this pathway can influence Low Sequence Beyonders via the Inspiration ability, transmitting information or influence in the form of sudden inspiration, similarly to the Hidden Sage.

A possible honorific name for a Muse of this pathway could be

'Lady of Myriad Colours ,

the Source from which all Inspiration flows,

Mistress of the Scorned and Adored,

the Goddess of Art and Emotion'

The relevant metal to the Muse pathway is pyrite/fool's gold.

#lord of the mysteries #lotm #circle of inevitability #coi

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