Cognatism
"Perhaps the biggest trade is not in sheer gold but in knowledge, which weighs the heaviest over any material.. Horrors, they seek this, and in return they give us the boons of Cognatism." - First Enchanter Sarrion of the Enchantry Guild
Cognatism, the voidal feat that came forth from a Voidal Horror invading one’s mind, is perhaps one of the rarest known magical arts. It causes the user to have a second mind invading their first, and with proper experience, one can learn to utilize this formed, chaotic second mind to work in tandem with the first, to enhance their mental capacity to a great extent.
Contents
Basics of Cognatism
Cognatism is, of course, the mental utilization of a Voidal Horror in the mind of a mage. This mage is of course usually a mental or an illusion mage as those are the two main subjects might partake in Cognatism with, of course. Cognatism is much broader than at first it might seem. In the grand view of things, the complications of having an alien and foreign being in the mind of one may lead to many consequences that prove either beneficial or negative to those that practice this feat, as it were. These go from using the Horror to store information, to use it to pull illusions and tricks upon your own mind for self-benefiting purposes. The benefits of this feat even extend to the fact that those who practice it learn magics half a month quicker because their Horror benefits their mind and helps them out.
As the host is also its home, a relationship will form between The Cognat and The Horror, this means that one will be susceptible to their negative influences as well. This being shared experiences of mania, a split between the bond in certain cases where trust be regained, and a number of other things that The Horror will put their host through. They might put them through trials, mania, constant sounds
The Horror
The Voidal Horror is not always communicating with you. This isn't like a Shade Parasite who constantly whispers in your ear. Instead, imagine it like an audio connection. The Horror has it's speakers on, but it's muted his Mic. The Horror will always be able to hear you, and you may speak with it, though it will not be constantly chatting in your ear. The Horror may occasionally speak up and request something of you, though most of the time it will remain silent and simply listen and note down the information you are taking in.
Learning Cognatism
The Horror at first must be able to enter the mind of one who is wishing to experience its depth and brevity in knowledge and shared experience. In wanting to learn this feat, one must find a Horror Stone. This Horror Stones location is usually at the discretion of the lore holder but should be going around constantly. After one is given this Horror Stone, they will have to meditate with it and allow a Voidal Horror to enter into their mind to take root. They connect to the void first, while still meditating with this Horror Stone, they will then at some point accidentally stumble across a Voidal Horror, this will cause the mind of the Cognat to connect to the Voidal Horror’s own mindscape.
At first, when one is learning Cognatism, they will have many difficulties in dealing with this horror inside of their mind. As it will be an incredibly exposing time periods where the minds will begin to form a bond by exchanging information between each other. Over time, it will become less abrasive towards The Cognat and become more comfortable inside the mind of them. Though, this, of course, does not mean the process is over. The Voidal Horror will begin to help their host, but this also means that they will begin to test their host as well. Putting them through trials and tests to observe and learn more about their host. They will analyze them and prod them. They will bring negative things upon their host, but these, if passed, will only strengthen the relationship. As they may take things wrong on purpose, or on accident. Leading to unexpected and unforeseen consequences.
Over time, the bond will strengthen, and the host will begin to execute more abilities of the Voidal Horror. The progression going as follows. The initial abilities one gains from Cognatism will be the ability to use symbiotic minds and storing information with their horror. A few days after the mind trial that the horror will put their host through, The Cognat will be able to use the Voidal Horror for Mental and Visual Aids. A week after this mind trial one will be able to use the ability known as Inducing. Three weeks after this mind trial, they will be able to practice Hyper-Thought, and a month after this mind trial they will be able to experience Revelations and do the Expanding Ritual.
The Abilities of Cognatism
As when you have something assisting you mentally, an outside force, you will have access to the an assortment of abilities that will benefit you. - These abilities have a large range and have many uses for The Congat. The Abilities will now be listed and detailed, nearly directly from the lore for complete accuracy and clarity.
Symbiotic Minds
Scrambling
Due to the simple fact of having two minds working in tandem with one another, there is a constant output of voices and factors which make the mind of a Cognat a difficult place to walk. Signals and thoughts are being sent back and forth at a constant rate through the connection to the Voidal Horror, which, should a Mental Mage attempt to penetrate the mind, will offer nothing but scrambled thoughts. A Master or Adept Mental Mage will be able to enter the mind with some difficulty, yet any unconscious Cognat can be entered through with ease by a novice.
Redirection
While a Cognat’s mind is not impossible to penetrate, thanks to the connection with the Horror they are able to hold a second layer of defense. Should a Mental Mage hiccup the process of invasion, their attempts will succeed in getting into the mind… Of the Horror. It is possible, should the Mental Mage incorrectly connect with the user, to accidentally slip into the mind of the Horror. This acts as a counter-attack to the Mental Mage, and can often lead to the Horror toying and attacking back at the Mental Mage.
Storing Information
Notes
Due to the nature of the curiosity of Voidal Horrors, the connection between the Horror’s mind and the mind of the Cognat is a near permanent feature, with the Horror listening and noting every piece of information that it is fed. The Horror maintains these “notes” and can offer them back to the user upon request.
Memory Conversion
Through a similar method, the Horror will assist the user in converting the short-term memories the Cognat has into long-term ones, and using the connection between the two minds to enhance the storage capacity of the user.
Visual Aid
3D Models
Through the use of the Horror, the user of Cognatism can call upon and utilise a visual aid through their own sight. Visible only to the user, a full, and complete three-dimensional model of an object can be constructed to aid the Cognat in his or her tasks.
Calculations
Due to the innate abilities the Horror possesses, the constant connection to the being will allow the mind to operate at a higher level, and calculate various operations in a much short time. This is done by creating a visualisation of the operations. This, however, will only aid someone who is able to work out calculation normally, as the connection does not increase your intelligence. Another use of this is the ability to project a visual aid such as a ruler to measure an object.
Data Projection
To aid the user, a complete projection of data is shown to the user through a visual rendition of a table. Much alike all visual aids, this process is only visible to the Cognat, and will simply offer a list of various properties and data that the Cognat, or Horror, already has available in regards to the objects. This can include numbers and other information regarding the object, such as weight, height and contents should the Cognat already know them.
Hyper-Thought
By the Horror and Cognat’s will, they will be able to actively think at the same time, and raise the curtain from one realm to another-- allowing the minds to be closer to one another. This state is known as Hyper-thought, when both minds are in complete synergy: This allows for incredibly powerful illusions on the self, as well as increase the processing of information and the potential of figuring out of said information. This ability is not usable in combat; however, in the research and problem solving spectrum, this is a boon. With this, the ability to have a revelation is possible.
Mental Aid/Inducing
Mental Aid
Due to the nature of the Horrors note taking, the constant connection between the user and the other mind allows for easy sharing of information between the user and it’s Horror. Being able to bring forth previously stored data on the fly, the Horror uses it’s connection to aid the memory of the user, and allow for the user to utilise previously forgotten information to adequately handle and or approach a situation.
Inducing
While connected, the user has the ability to call upon the assistance of the Horror, and request the creation of scents, sounds, feelings or any other sensory experience. Though largely used for intellectuals purposes, this serves as "self-illusion." This could be used to calm one down, or place someone in a focal trance/berserker’s rage.
Revelations
Following the stages of Hyper-Thought, an inducement of ‘Revelations’ are possible through prolonged and intense synergy with the Horror’s mind. A Revelation is a sudden realisation of imaginative proportions. The Revelation the Cognat can receive can be anything, from coming to the understanding that they left the Bread to go stale, or a solution to an engineering problem. The Revelations can even be so powerful as to analyse patterns and make predictions for Future World Events, or aid in the users understanding of the Void. There can, however, be horrible side effects or failures resulting from this attempted connection. Due to the nature of the process, one must bring the mind of the user and the Horror closer together in a state of hyper-flux, and should one make even the slightest mistake, the two minds may coincide with one another, which can cause the user to suffer prolonged fatigue, muscle and mental pain, and even short-to-long term mania.
Revelations must be pre-approved by the LT, and may even require Administrative approval. One may also use this in conjunction with the ET to aid in their plotline
Enchanting
Ability to imbue the Cognats abilities onto the object, as well as craft a 'spectator’ or artificial mind from synergy of Horror and caster, allowing the ability to make things like talking skulls that have intelligence. The artificial mind provides more potential in enchantment, not only in the joviality of a talking skull, but a mind to harness and calculate information, or even a mere weaved enchantment on a stave to give it minor power over another enchantment imbued in the staff. Mayhaps with connected enchantments, one could create a sentient tome, one that speaks in text to you. This ability is rather free-form (much like the magic itself), so long as what one wants to do is reasonable, and if one has a question whether it is or isn’t, ask the lore-writers or a MAT/LM!
To enchant, one must obviously have the knowledge of Enchanting. To do so, one must be a Transfigurationist, and must understand just how to Enchant an object before they attempt to do so.
Expanding Ritual
A magic ritual that employs arcane coupling/circles. The Cognat pulls upon mana from the participant(s) of the ritual, and feeds the horror, asking for it to reach into the minds of the others, allowing the Cognat to portray what they wish to the minds of others. This is mainly used for a teacher wishing to teach their student, beckoning their horror to make a pathway for another horror to enter the apprentice’s mind, however… a mass revelation is not unheard of.
Redlines of Cognatism
- One must always communicate with the appropriate team, be they ET, MAT or LT, when wishing to use Revelations.
- Cognatism does not make you smarter. It simply permits you to utilise more aspects to allow you more fluid self and mental RP.
- Having Cognatism does not make your connection to the Void suddenly stronger, and you do not have a constant connection. Instead, one has a constant mental connection to a Voidal Horror.
- The mental connection to the Voidal Horror can be disrupted, through warding or sudden disconnect in successful the event of a Mental Mages attack being successful.
- The Cognat’s mind is not impenetrable, there will always be leaks into their scattered mind, especially when they are unconscious.
- By no means is the horror your friend. Think of this like a mutual relationship between a knowledge leech and a human being (though the leech could be fond of you). By giving it knowledge, the leech spits out some knowledge to you. However, there is always the growing chance of mania from the horror. In fact, the first few trials are very much mania inducing.
- The Horror cannot have any physical manifestation on the world, it only remains with the person.
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