Magic and Spellcasting

Mysticism is the name given to spellcasting. Anyone is capable of casting spells, so long as they have the know-how. However, people are not naturally capable of manipulating Lustre, and this must use external tools to do so. Most often, this is done through the use of Rime.

Wrights are engineers with an expertise in Rime. They, along with Theurgs, are responsible for most of the study of mysticism. While wrights employ the use of science and experimentation to discover new ways to manipulate Lustre, such as enchanted weapons and tools, Theurgs divine the patterns of Lustre required to create desired effects through a number of prayers and rituals.

A "spell" refers to the specific formula of how to achieve a desired magical effect. Most spells have multiple paths that can be followed to get the same result. For example, a "light" spell, used to create a small, floating lantern-like light, may be cast by painting glyphs into Rime smeared over a surface, swiping a wand through visible Lustre in the same patterns, or praying over a Rime-vial loaded into an enchanted item, which when activated, triggers the spell's casting.

While a spell's formula is easily written down, storing the magic in such items is a lost art. Though Rime ink exists in the present, the creation of spell scrolls does not. These items can only be found in ruins of past echoes. They are papers (or parchment, or vellum, or other such writing surfaces) which use a series of mystical runes written in special ink that produce a spell's effect upon reading. Don't fret if you can't read it - which no one can - as the spell's words spill from your lips when you desire to cast, at the behest of the magic contained within. Anyone at all is able to use magic with a spell scroll in hand.

Beyond enchanted items or carved Rime crystals, another common, specialized form of mysticism is alchemy. This is the use of organic matter in salves, potions, tonics and tinctures to cause magical effects. Alchemical mixtures work thanks to the Light contained in all things. As such, alchemy is the only form of mysticism which does not require Lustre, specifically, to achieve its effects. However, it is also alchemists' work to wring Lustre from organic matter, bottling it in Rime-vials, or growing cultivated Rime crystals. 

There are two kinds of natural spellcasters in the Realm. The Starlings - those chosen by an Ember to wield Lustre - you may be familiar with already. However, there are those who choose to make deals with powerful Fleshless in exchange for a similar power. These we call Vassals, as they are servants to their patrons, and their power often comes with strings attached. Vassals are people who have made some kind of deal or pact with a Fleshless spirit in exchange for power. They channel a portion of their Patron’s connection to the ambient Light to manipulate Lustre.

The matter of becoming a vassal has two primary paths. The first, which is more common, is by choice. Individuals who seek greater power than their mortal flesh would otherwise allow, who have not been lucky enough to be chosen by an Ember, may instead seek out rumors of witches, hags and warlocks. Fleshless, who wield Light and Shade, manipulating the world to their whims. Not all fleshless are capable of sharing this power. It is only those of great metaphysical might. Entering into deals with a fleshless patron is a deadly game of articulation. 

Your words will be dissected and used against you, always twisting the deal in the favor of the fleshless. No deal comes with strings unattached. Even the kindhearted of patrons will not give up their power without something valuable in return. The nature of this exchange, however, is unique between each contract. And by the end, it is always sealed by a tethering of the fleshless and the vassal - binding the vassal's soullight to that of the fleshless, in a profane reflection of the relationship between starling and Ember.

A vassal becomes cursed by this tainting of their soullight. They become corrupted by Shade, and may display subtle signs of tarring. However, they also become significantly more resistant to the negative effects of Shade corruption.

Not all vassalage is done willingly, however. It is possible for certain fleshless to coerce or force the tethering of a vassal's soullight. This form of vassalage allows the patron a much larger potential to exert its influence on the vassal. Luckily, this occurrence is significantly more rare than contracts.

Vassals are commonly shunned, or outcasts - unless they hide their servitude. To become a vassal is considered a crime punishable by death in most territories.

Within the Realm, there exist folk who posses a special connection to the Firmament. These we call "starlings". Starlings are usually made - ones who prove themselves worthy of an Ember's interest. But at times, they are born with this connection. Those born starlings tend to possess greater Lustre, but a lack of control.

Starlings are recognizable for their distinctive markings, which match their Ember's "star" - an abstraction of their Light which manifests as a star-like symbol on their surface, serving as a "face." Starlings traditionally have this tattooed on their face or neck using special Rime-infused ink, though it may be placed elsewhere. Though their star is a man-made mark, Starlings possess another mark - an outlined shape of their tethered Ember somewhere on their body. This mark appears when an Ember first binds itself to one's Soullight, by melding into the Flesh. This appears as a living shape along the skin, alike in appearance to a light shining through thin hide.

An Ember can freely choose to lay within its tethered's skin, moving around the breadth of the body as it pleases to no discomfort of the Starling, or to peel itself out of the skin and roam about.

The relationship between a Starling and its tethered Ember is a curious and complex one. Though each possesses its own will, Embers seem to take on qualities of their tethered, matching their own Light to more closely align to the Starling's Soullight. Embers cannot speak, though they are capable of transmitting ideas, emotions and vague imagery. However, they also easily bend into simply extensions of their Starling. The nature of the bond seems to differ both between Starlings, and between moments for pairings. What this means is that there is no definitive "nature" of a Starling nor a tethered Ember. Starlings are not all noble heroes, nor all Embers child-like idealists. This stereotype exists for a reason, of course, but it is hardly the rule.

A Cinderling is a special kind of starling that appears to have curried favor with a particular Cinder and as such, possess vast powers beyond even Starlings, becoming demigods. There appears to only be one Cinderling in every Echo, though even their existence is still debated as a topic of myth. Perhaps because the Cinderling of the modern age has not yet come forward - though rumors persist of the occasional sighting.

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Starlings are people who have been chosen by an Ember - a remnant of the Bask’s limitless power - which has tethered to the soullight, and acts as the baton with which they can guide the Lustre around them.

Starlings use Embers as a tool to manipulate the surrounding Lustre. As such, Embers change their shape to allow this. Though it can be unique to every Starling, it usually involves the placement of the Star at the center of glyphs written into the Ember's manipulable particles.

The key difference between a Starling's magic, and that of the average mysticist - besides the ability to perform it without need of external Rime - is that a Starling can freely craft new magical effects.