Mental Magic

This lore has been shelved and is not used on the server anymore. This page exists purely for archival reasons.

Art by Unknown Mental Magic

Mental magic is best summarized as the interactions between two minds. Every mind capable of thought leaves a slight trace of itself in the Void and it is this leak which allows mental magic to work. Things such as thoughts, emotions, and desires are intangible by nature and thus drift beyond our plane of existence into others, such as the spiritual and voidal realms. Those small leaks are often referred to as artificial minds, being separated entities on their own. Using the Void is how a Mental mage shapes their work so a voidal connection is required in order to learn or use this art.

History

Like most of the older forms of magic the origin of Mental Magic is far forgotten, yet, a old tale is often used instead to explain the origin of this form of magic:

“In Asulon, there is a place that all living creatures avoid at all costs: the Wretched Grove. This forest of snow and ice has existed in Asulon for many centuries, and its corruption has led many to fear it. However, this forest is not truly what it seems. It was once home to a people known as the children of the forest. These people were unlike the other races that existed in Asulon, in that they kept no place to live. They did not need one, as they were born of trees, and could survive without a roof over their heads. The children of the forest were connected to the trees, for the trees were their ancestors who guided the race in everything they did. The children of the forest had a power over minds of trees and animals alike. The people loved peace, and hated anything that threatened it. The council of trees soon decreed that all the children of the forest should not reveal themselves to anything in their true forms, be it an animal or another Asulonian race. Many came through the grove, and none learned of the children of the forest, so they soon passed out of memory and into legend.

There was a terrible nation in Asulon that had just dawned. It developed beasts of fire that needed wood to survive. Before long, the nation had destroyed many forests, leaving harsh deserts where lush forest once was. The nation came across what would be later known as the wretched grove. They brought their lumberjacks with fire and axes to clear the forest and burn its wood to feed their beasts of fire. The oldest tree, known as the Tree of Minds, saw the urge to destroy in the people's mind, and entered every being's mind that it could, and drove many away. It could not get all the minds, so it called upon the children of the forest to defend their home. As soon as the children tried to attack, the men brought their beasts of fire to end this squabble. The beast roared, and shot smoke, and threatened to destroy the peaceful grove the children had worked so hard to protect.

After a long and arduous battle, every child of the forest had been killed, and only the Tree of Minds still stood. Even then, the tree was wounded, and continued to fight. However, the losses were not of the children's alone. Almost every person who attacked was either driven away or killed, leaving only a small band among them. The tree changed what they saw, and turned brother on brother. After all had been slaughtered except one, the tree allowed the final one standing to see what he had wrought. In seeing what his fit of madness had caused, he fled, and nothing came to the tree for a long time.

After this event, the Tree of Minds was filled with anger. It cast out everything that came near with violent hallucinations. Eventually, the wound it took healed, and its rage subsided. The tree now appeared to be dead, but was the center of the now almost lifeless forest. It continued to force out almost all creatures. Some creatures, however, were allowed into the tree's inner grove to learn the ancient art of the children of the forest. They were chosen for their curiosity, knowledge, wisdom, or intelligence, and were granted the power to see into other's minds and change their senses. The very few who were granted this power were then cast out to keep the vicious peoples of the axe away from the only source of Mental Magic still existing.

Then, a calamity ensued, destroying the Asulonians slowly. Many of the masters of the tree's art died out and were lost to history. The visitors to the tree became far and in between. Eventually, it could find no intelligent beings, and was alone in Asulon for some time. Then, the descendant races arrived from Aegis. After having been alone for such a long time, the tree quickly repelled all that came near the woods, now using more frightening images than it had during the time of the Original Asulonians. It only saw a squat and war-like people, and people who were fixated on destroying whatever they could to make themselves larger.

After finding so many of these people, it found a tall, twig-like person. This person had neither intelligence, nor wisdom, nor knowledge in a great enough degree, but it had an ample amount of curiosity to be taken to the inner grove where the tree was. Here, the twiggy mind was taught the art of mental magic, and sent off, never to find the place again.

It is unknown whether the tree has had visitors since this twiggy mind, but this is a place for them to come forward, and reveal their places of hiding.”

Learning Mental Magic

Mendling with the own mind and the mind of others is known as a taxing and fairly complicated tasks, making it impossible for anyone to lean Mental Magic without a proper teacher and years of studying the mind. As such possible students are always searching for willing teachers to learn this form of magic.

Abilities

The term “Mental Magic” covers many abilities and skills that evolve due to the interaction between two minds; namely, the Mental mage’s mind and the target mind. Whether the target mind is one that already exists or one created by the Mental mage is an entirely different story, and utterly separate abilities stem from the interaction with either.

Mental Reaching

This skill is the most basic of the abilities, and the foundation for manipulating real minds. To perform it, the Mental mage must first connect to the void, allowing their mind to slip into its depthless grasp. If simply seeking minds for the first time with no aid, they would be flooded with a plethora of thoughts, feelings and instincts from every thinking creature around them, unable to detect the exact location or thoughts of these minds. With visual aid, however, the mage may seek their target’s mind, aiming to find thoughts, feelings or ways of thinking that are likely to belong to the individual. By using sight to hone down the distance, direction and mental state of their target, the Mental mage is able to identify the mind amongst the host of other mental presences they would otherwise detect.

Mind Melding

Once a target has been reached out to then, with additional effort, a mental mage is able to connect to the mind and sense all the complex processes that run through it as they happen. The mage’s mind shares a small amount of thoughts with the target as well - the drawback of reaching out - though this can be greatly limited by practice. Once this connection is formed the mage may perform the remainder of their abilities and the successful connection is signaled by a second twitch/tell from the mage. Specifically a connection allows the mage to view the current thoughts, emotions, feelings and more of the individual. Though they are unable to view any more than this, this technique in itself is one of the most useful. With verbal or illusionary coercion (the latter of which will be explored below), the mage may cause a person to think upon or recall certain memories. For example, either the mage, or another present, may mention an event causing the target to recall that event in the form of a memory. If their minds are melded the mage would be able to view the brought up memory as the target remembers it, and may choose to ask more questions regarding it.

Another quirk of melding would be what individuals call ‘telepathy’. By allowing their own thoughts and emotions through a mage may communicate with their target, choosing to either converse or relay information in a silent, reliable manner. Doing so, however, puts the mage at risk of intrusion from their target, should this target have the ability to do so. If your target is a mental mage, for example, they can use the formed connection to cast spells back towards your own mind.

Mental Barrier

Mental Barriers are less a solid, defined thing and more a plethora of techniques all grouped under a single name and goal, with the goal being the prevention of a mental invasion of privacy. They come in many shapes and forms, though the most common are repeated mantras that prevent the Mental mage from directing the individual’s thoughts. Other examples include scenarios created in one’s mind, false thoughts and memories, chaotic barriers of random thoughts or even being in a fully vegetative state. In effect, any train of thoughts that prevent a Mental mage from gleaning specific memories can be considered a Mental Barrier.

Mental Illusion

Only possible upon connecting and Melding with a mind, the Mental mage is able to create feelings, emotions and thoughts and press them upon their target’s consciousness. This ability is vast and extremely powerful, capable of creating illusions that are almost impossible to pass off as false, as it is the very mind of the target that is perceiving them, not simply their senses. Whilst it helps to have personally experienced the events that are being illusioned, a Mental mage with enough creativity may create any sort of illusion that obeys the laws of logical understanding. Should something be too unbelievable, however - such as the target suddenly teleporting into an alternate dimension - the Mental Illusion would fail. With Mental Illusions, senses may be dulled, altered, increased or even removed entirely, though these must once again adhere to a reasonable amount of believability. By using Mental Illusions, one may even find a way to break a Mental Barrier. Again, the means of doing so vary greatly, and are often specific to the Mental Barrier the mage is faced with.

Catalepsy

Named “Catalepsy” in the days of old, this technique can be described by its very name; it involves diverting a real mind’s consciousness away from its body and into a dreamlike state. Doing so causes the person’s physical body to fall unconscious, though it may still be awakened by any typical means that wake a person from very deep sleep. Whilst in this state of diverged consciousness, an individual is entirely open to any form of Mental Illusion, as they are - by all technicalities - dreaming. From this, a Mental mage may access deeper memories or direct the person’s consciousness towards far more specific areas of their mind, and they may even view the more basic structure of a person’s mind. Inversely, a Mental mage may choose to let the person believe they are still awake, never letting them realise their body has fallen asleep, apart from a small lapse in their thoughts.

Memory Removal

Requiring the target to be in a state of diverged consciousness, a Mental mage may remove certain memories of an individual. These range from fresh memories - the easiest to remove - to old, well-kept memories - the most difficult to remove. The process of memory removal includes the location of the desired memories and then the throwing of these memories into the greedy expanse of the Void. For an Elven week after this these memories linger, though they fade and become less clear until they are - typically - entirely gone by the end. Doing so is incredibly difficult for long-term memories and in either case the target experiences a burning pain within their mind, with the mage sharing a similar discomfort along with magical exhaustion. This is one of the most powerful of the Mental magic spells, and a master of the art may typically only perform it up to twice or thrice at any given time though this varies depending on the amount of memories removed.

Memory Manipulation

Once again, this ability requires the diversion of the target’s consciousness into a dreamlike state. The Mental mage may then choose to target an already existing memory and explore it with the target’s conscious recollection of it. They may then force the target to relive the memory and use Mental Illusion to edit certain parts of it.

Though the entire memory may not be entirely changed, aspects of it can be altered, such as the presence of certain details or the sudden appearance of previously non-existent details. For the memory to be anchored and accepted as true by the target’s mind one must ensure it is as believable as the original, unaltered version. Anything straying from this would be impossible to do. If all parameters pass the target’s mind is made to accept the manipulated memory as real. The process is uncomfortable and a sense of panic is often felt in the target when their memory is manipulated whilst the mental mage experiences greater exhaustion.

Mental mages are also capable of manipulating memories so that they are not blocked by the shroud of confusion, stress-related amnesia, or more. This type of therapy is heavily dependant on the condition that represses these memories, but the fact of the matter is that they must still be present and existing to be able to be manipulated into being accessed again. Grave consequences can be had from this, however, as a mind often causes forgetfulness to relieve itself of the stress said memories cause.

Memory Restoration

When faced with blank memories a Mental mage is able to put their target into the same state of deep sleep as mentioned before. They may then seek out the memories that have been tossed into the Void, provided they are still somewhat linked to the person who had lost them. These memories are then dragged back and returned to the mind that originally hosted them though they may be slightly faded and distorted due to their time in the Void. When faced with manipulated memories a Mental mage is forced to find any subtle inconsistencies in said memories and alter them - in much the same way there memories were first manipulated - to return as they were.

Redlines of Mental Magic

Mental Magic has several redlines of what a mage can do and what a mage can’t do. As such those redlines should be followed at any time and breaking them can result in a removal of your magic permissions.

Reaching Redlines

• Mages must know where their target is in order to form a connection. Visual aid is required for the most part though a mage can remain connected if they look away or lose sight provided they still know where the target is located (aka the target hasn’t moved).
• Mental mages cannot use an illusion of someone to connect to their mind as this does not provide the actual location.

Redlines of Mind Melding

• A Mental mage may not read through someone’s memories like a book; they must make the person think or bring them up themselves, else they will be unable to view them. In other words, a Mental mage cannot force someone to think about something and then view that thing.
• Connecting to the void requires one tell, whilst connecting to a mind requires another, separate tell.
• Whilst one target may have more than one Mental mage connected to them, a Mental mage may not connect to more than one Real Mind.
• It is extremely difficult to fully avoid thinking of something if it is brought up in conversation or caused by Mental Illusion, and utterly avoiding this without a Mental Barrier is powergaming.
• A Mental mage will always let a small sliver of their own thoughts or emotions slip through, usually when first connecting to a mind. This can be reduced by practice, but it must be present. Most individuals would rarely consciously detect the tiny slip-up of a master Mental mage, however.
• When Mind Melding, a Mental mage exposes themselves to retaliation of their target’s own mind, should the target have the capability to do so (e.g. they are a Mental mage themselves).

Redlines of Mental Barriers

• Mental Barriers do not prevent someone from the effects of Mental Illusions or Diversion of Consciousness, it merely prevents one from divulging information to a Mental mage.
• Making a Mental Barrier requires conscious effort and knowledge that a Mental mage is intruding or about to intrude. One cannot typically have a constant Mental Barrier.
• All Mental Barriers must have a way to be broken, else they are impossible to create. At any time, a Mental mage may call upon a member of the MT to make sure there is a way to access a mind.
• One must be taught how to make an efficient Mental Barrier by a Mental mage (who must be able to vouch for it). If taught by a non-Mental mage, the individual will not have someone to scrutinise their technique and thus will have an inferior barrier. Either way, training to put up an effective Mental Barrier takes many years.

Redlines of Mental Illusions

• Mental Illusions must fall within the spectrum of believability, though this may be bent a good deal due to the mind being directly targeted. Utterly unbelievable illusions cannot be pressed by simple Mental Illusions.
• It is difficult to make someone feel something they would not otherwise feel in a situation (such as making an individual feel joy as they see their beloved wife die before their eyes) without breaking the believability of the Mental Illusion, and doing so is often the cause for the breaking of a Mental Illusion.
• One cannot control an individual with Mental Illusion or Mental Magic, merely coerce or affect how they perceive things (and thus indirectly altering how they might react).

Redlines of Catalepsy

• This is the only exception to the ‘Mental Illusions’ red lines, where some form of believability is required.
• The body may still be awakened if certain actions cause such a thing, though one must be aware that it is in a state of profound sleep.
• At the very least, a lapse in thoughts and a brief loss of senses must be used as an indication for the target when they slip into this state (similar to when one walks into a room and forgets what they were doing).
• Bringing an individual into this state requires great concentration, and it cannot be done in scenarios where the Mental mage is focusing on something else (such as in direct combat against an opponent).
• The target is still capable of resisting the Mental mage’s attempts to bring them into this state, especially if they are aware of the mage’s mental presence. They may also provide a far more powerful barrier if they are aware that their consciousness has been redirected to a dream-like state. Again, this barrier must follow the red lines of Mental Barriers.

Removal of Memories Redlines

• OOC-consent is required when removing long-term memories. To clarify, this OOC-consent must be given before the memories are removed, so that the players may discuss the terms of said removal.
• OOC-consent is not required when removing recent memories. Recent memories are defined by any memories that would be lost if someone were to die and be revived at that very moment (i.e. events leading up to the death OR events 30 minutes before the death).
• Removed memories leave a large, blank gap in one’s recollection that can be found by a Mental mage that both knows what to look for and is using Mind Melding or Diversion of Consciousness. Whilst the target can attempt to make thoughts or memories that explain the gap in memories, this rationale is often easily seen through.
• Entirely removing an individual’s memories requires OOC-consent, and is exhausting to the point of passing out to the most masterful of Mental mages.

Manipulation of Memories Redlines

• One cannot make entirely new memories, merely edit and manipulate current memories to one’s satisfaction. These edited memories must be as believable as the original, unaltered memories, and the changes made cannot be too great. Working with the target is essential, here.
• The process takes almost as much effort as removing memories, and the same rule of OOC-consent applies when manipulating long-term memories (i.e. any memory that goes beyond the death-rule). To clarify, this OOC-consent must be given before the memories are manipulated, so that the players may discuss the terms of said removal.
• OOC-consent is not required when manipulating recent memories (i.e. memories that would be lost if the person died).
• Manipulating certain memories can cause Spirits of Mental Instability to detach, though theexact memory must be targeted for this.
• Entirely manipulating an individual’s memories requires OOC-consent, and is exhausting to the point of passing out to the most Masterful of Mental mages.

Memory Restoration Redlines

• Restoring memories needs OOC-consent, and must be done within a week of the memories being removed (if done by the Removal of Memories). Any memories that have been magically removed by Mental Magic require the Mental mage’s OOC, express permission to be restored if the removal occurred more than a week ago. (IRL times are used in this red line example).
• The Mental mage that removed the memories of an individual must be contacted if the memories are restored, as it is for them to discuss and debate how many memories can be regained and how clear they are.
• Restoring manipulated memories is extremely difficult, as the target has been made to relive them in an entirely different way. The Mental mage that manipulated the memories must be contacted if an individual wishes to have them restored.
• Restoring certain memories can cause Spirits of Mental Instability to detach, though the exact memory must be targeted for this.
• Entirely restoring an individual’s memories requires OOC-consent, and is exhausting to the point of passing out to the most masterful of Mental mages.

Trivia

• Mental Magic is often used in therapy, either to remove bad memories or to fight traumatars.
• Many thieves are known to use Mental Magic, either to trick someone or to remove their memories after stealing or attacking them.

Rewrite

How it works

~*~

The term ‘Mental Magic’ covers many abilities and skills that evolve due to the interaction between two minds; namely, the Mental Mage’s mind and the target mind. Whether the target mind is one that already exists or one created by the Mental Mage is an entirely different story, and utterly separate abilities stem from the interaction with either.

The minds of thinking beings may be entered through the Void due to the slight trace they leave upon it, and they may thus be affected by alterations created by the Void-user. Thoughts, emotions, desires and more are all intangible by nature, and thus leak out into worlds beyond the mortal plane, such as the Spiritual and Voidal realms. It is through the Voidal realm, however, that Mental Mages work, and thus the magic requires a Voidal connection in order to be learned and used.

Minds created entirely by the Mental Mage, however, are just as peculiar with how they work. Formed entirely in the void, they are made by imprinting a design of the Mental Mage’s making. Due to the immensity of the Void and its incredible capacity to store any form of information (as proven by voidal translocation), these minds are capable of remaining in the Void until called upon again. This is only doable by the Mental Mage that had created it - just as objects thrown into the Void may only be recalled by the translocationist that put them there - and doing so allows them to access the mind as they would another’s, though this mind may be utterly manipulated by its creator. In days past, the ability to create and alter a mind within the void was called ‘Cognatism’.

It is through the use of these minds that a Mental Mage is able to perform their magic, and every ability stemming from it may be explained by either referring to the manipulation of an already present mind or the creation and alteration of a new one.

The Manipulation of Real Minds

Said to be the most prominent ability of Mental Mages, the manipulation of Real Minds is one that has been coveted by scholars and spies alike for its versatility. No single person may be certain of its true origins, though there is one such tale that people have come to believe; an old tale of a tree and the fight to defend its forest. There is a single, written recording of the tale, penned by the man said to have begun the practice of modern mental magic; Jon Evaglno.

“In Asulon, there is a place that all living creatures avoid at all costs: the Wretched Grove. This forest of snow and ice has existed in Asulon for many centuries, and its corruption has led many to fear it. However, this forest is not truly what it seems. It was once home to a people known as the children of the forest. These people were unlike the other races that existed in Asulon, in that they kept no place to live. They did not need one, as they were born of trees, and could survive without a roof over their heads. The children of the forest were connected to the trees, for the trees were their ancestors who guided the race in everything they did. The children of the forest had a power over minds of trees and animals alike. The people loved peace, and hated anything that threatened it. The council of trees soon decreed that all the children of the forest should not reveal themselves to anything in their true forms, be it an animal or another Asulonian race. Many came through the grove, and none learned of the children of the forest, so they soon passed out of memory and into legend.

There was a terrible nation in Asulon that had just dawned. It developed beasts of fire that needed wood to survive. Before long, the nation had destroyed many forests, leaving harsh deserts where lush forest once was. The nation came across what would be later known as the wretched grove. They brought their lumberjacks with fire and axes to clear the forest and burn its wood to feed their beasts of fire. The eldest tree, known as the Tree of Minds, saw the urge to destroy in the people's mind, and entered every being's mind that it could, and drove many away. It could not get all the minds, so it called upon the children of the forest to defend their home. As soon as the children tried to attack, the men brought their beasts of fire to end this squabble. The beast roared, and shot smoke, and threatened to destroy the peaceful grove the children had worked so hard to protect.

After a long and arduous battle, every child of the forest had been killed, and only the Tree of Minds still stood. Even then, the tree was wounded, and continued to fight. However, the losses were not of the children's alone. Almost every person who attacked was either driven away or killed, leaving only a small band among them. The tree changed what they saw, and turned brother on brother. After all had been slaughtered except one, the tree allowed the final one standing to see what he had wrought. In seeing what his fit of madness had caused, he fled, and nothing came to the tree for a long time.

After this event, the Tree of Minds was filled with anger. It cast out everything that came near with violent hallucinations. Eventually, the wound it took healed, and its rage subsided. The tree now appeared to be dead, but was the center of the now almost lifeless forest. It continued to force out almost all creatures. Some creatures, however, were allowed into the tree's inner grove to learn the ancient art of the children of the forest. They were chosen for their curiosity, knowledge, wisdom, or intelligence, and were granted the power to see into other's minds and change their senses. The very few who were granted this power were then cast out to keep the vicious peoples of the axe away from the only source of Mental Magic still existing.

Then, a calamity ensued, destroying the Asulonians slowly. Many of the masters of the tree's art died out and were lost to history. The visitors to the tree became far and in between. Eventually, it could find no intelligent beings, and was alone in Asulon for some time. Then, the descendant races arrived from Aegis. After having been alone for such a long time, the tree quickly repelled all that came near the woods, now using more frightening images than it had during the time of the Original Asulonians. It only saw a squat and war-like people, and people who were fixated on destroying whatever they could to make themselves larger.

After finding so many of these people, it found a tall, twig-like person. This person had neither intelligence, nor wisdom, nor knowledge in a great enough degree, but it had an ample amount of curiosity to be taken to the inner grove where the tree was. Here, the twiggy mind was taught the art of mental magic, and sent off, never to find the place again.

It is unknown whether the tree has had visitors since this twiggy mind, but this is a place for them to come forward, and reveal their places of hiding.”

The abilities that arise from interacting with a Real Mind are vast, and all of them involve the manipulation of the target mind. These skills and abilities are as follows:

Reaching

~ This skill is the most basic of the abilities, and the foundation for manipulating Real Minds. To perform it, the Mental Mage must first connect to the void, allowing their mind to slip into its depthless grasp. If simply seeking minds for the first time with no aid, they would be flooded with a plethora of thoughts, feelings and instincts from every thinking creature around them, unable to detect the exact location or thoughts of these minds. With visual aid, however, the Mage may seek their target’s Mind, aiming to find thoughts, feelings or ways of thinking that are likely to belong to the individual. By using sight to hone down the distance, direction and mental state of their target, the Mental Mage is able to identify the mind amongst the host of other mental presences they would otherwise detect.

Red Lines:

One cannot reach their mind out to detect a specific person’s mental presence without some form of knowing where they are. Visual aid is required for the most part, though a Mental Mage may be able to remain connected for a moment if they look away or lose visual contact. Illusions do not provide a proper example of where the mind is, and thus one cannot use an illusion of someone to connect to their mind.

Mind Melding

~ Then, with another effort, they are able to connect to the mind, reaching out with their own to view and sense all the complex processes that run through it at any given moment. Their mind, too, would let slip a small amount of thoughts through - the drawback of reaching out - though this can be greatly limited by practice and by perfectly distancing one’s mind from that of their target’s. It is from the act of connecting to a mind that a Mental Mage may perform the remainder of their abilities. Once freely connected to a mind, one may view the current thoughts, emotions, feelings and more of the individual. Though they are unable to view any more than this, this technique in itself is one of the most useful in a Mental Mage’s repertoire. With verbal or illusionary coercion (the latter of which will be explored below), the Mental Mage may cause a person to think upon or recall certain memories. For example, a Mental Mage may mention an event, causing the target to recall the events of that event in the form of a memory. If their minds are melded, the Mage in question would be able to view the brought up memory as the target remembers it, and may choose to ask more questions regarding it.

Another quirk of Mind Melding would be what individuals call ‘Telepathy’. By allowing their own thoughts and emotions through, a Mental Mage may communicate with their target, choosing to either converse or relay information in a silent, reliable manner. Doing so, however, puts the Mental Mage at risk of intrusion from their target, should this target have such an intent and the ability to do so.

Red Lines:

A Mental Mage may not read through someone’s memories like a book; they must make the person think or bring them up themselves, else they will be unable to view them. In other words, a Mental Mage cannot force someone to think about something and then view that thing.

Connecting to the void requires one tell, whilst connecting to a mind requires another, separate tell.

Whilst one target may have more than one Mental Mage connected to them, a Mental Mage may not connect to more than one Real Mind.

It is extremely difficult to fully avoid thinking of something if it is brought up in conversation or caused by Mental Illusion, and utterly avoiding this without a Mental Barrier is powergaming.

A Mental Mage will always let a small sliver of their own thoughts or emotions slip through, usually when first connecting to a mind. This can be reduced by practice, but it must be present. Most individuals would rarely consciously detect the tiny slip-up of a master Mental Mage, however.

When Mind Melding, a Mental Mage exposes themselves to retaliation of their target’s own mind, should the target have the capability to do so (e.g. they are a Mental Mage themselves).

Mental Barriers

~ Mental Barriers are less a solid, defined thing and more a plethora of techniques all grouped under a single name and goal, with the goal being the prevention of a mental invasion of privacy. They come in many shapes and forms, though the most common are repeated mantras that prevent the Mental Mage from directing the individual’s thoughts. Other examples include scenarios created in one’s mind, false thoughts and memories, chaotic barriers of random thoughts or even being in a fully vegetative state. In effect, any train of thoughts that prevent a Mental Mage from gleaning specific memories can be considered a Mental Barrier.

Red Lines:

Mental Barriers do not prevent someone from the effects of Mental Illusions or Diversion of Consciousness, it merely prevents one from divulging information to a Mental Mage.

Making a Mental Barrier requires conscious effort and knowledge that a Mental Mage is intruding or about to intrude. One cannot typically have a constant Mental Barrier.

All Mental Barriers must have a way to be broken, else they are impossible to create. At any time, a Mental Mage may call upon a member of the MT to make sure there is a way to access a mind.

One must be taught how to make an efficient Mental Barrier by a Mental Mage (who must be able to vouch for it). If taught by a non-Mental Mage, the individual will not have someone to scrutinise their technique and thus will have an inferior barrier. Either way, training to put up an effective Mental Barrier takes many years.

Mental Illusions

~ Only possible upon connecting and Melding with a mind, the Mental Mage is able to create feelings, emotions and thoughts and press them upon their target’s consciousness. This ability is vast and extremely powerful, capable of creating illusions that are almost impossible to pass off as false, as it is the very mind of the target that is perceiving them, not simply their senses. Whilst it helps to have personally experienced the events that are being illusioned, a Mental Mage with enough creativity may create any sort of illusion that obeys the laws of logical understanding. Should something be too unbelievable, however - such as the target suddenly teleporting into an alternate dimension - the Mental Illusion would fail. With Mental Illusions, senses may be dulled, altered, increased or even removed entirely, though these must once again adhere to a reasonable amount of believability. By using Mental Illusions, one may even find a way to break a Mental Barrier. Again, the means of doing so vary greatly, and are often specific to the Mental Barrier the Mage is faced with.

Red Lines:

Mental Illusions must fall within the spectrum of believability, though this may be bent a good deal due to the mind being directly targeted. Utterly unbelievable illusions cannot be pressed by simple Mental Illusions.

It is difficult to make someone feel something they would not otherwise feel in a situation (such as making an individual feel joy as they see their beloved wife die before their eyes) without breaking the believability of the Mental Illusion, and doing so is often the cause for the breaking of a Mental Illusion.

One cannot control an individual with Mental Illusion or Mental Magic, merely coerce or affect how they perceive things (and thus indirectly altering how they might react).

Diversion of Consciousness

~ Named ‘Catalepsy’ in the days of old, this technique can be described by its very name; it involves diverting a Real Mind’s consciousness away from its body and into a dreamlike state. Doing so causes the person’s physical body to fall unconscious, though it may still be awakened by any typical means that wake a person from very deep sleep. Whilst in this state of diverged consciousness, an individual is entirely open to any form of Mental Illusion, as they are - by all technicalities - dreaming. From this, a Mental Mage may access deeper memories or direct the person’s consciousness towards far more specific areas of their mind, and they may even view the more basic structure of a person’s mind. Inversely, a Mental Mage may choose to let the person believe they are still awake, never letting them realise their body has fallen asleep, apart from a small lapse in their thoughts.

Red Lines: This is the only exception to the ‘Mental Illusions’ red lines, where some form of believability is required. The body may still be awakened if certain actions cause such a thing, though one must be aware that it is in a state of profound sleep. At the very least, a lapse in thoughts and a brief loss of senses must be used as an indication for the target when they slip into this state (similar to when one walks into a room and forgets what they were doing). Bringing an individual into this state requires great concentration, and it cannot be done in scenarios where the Mental Mage is focusing on something else (such as in direct combat against an opponent). The target is still capable of resisting the Mental Mage’s attempts to bring them into this state, especially if they are aware of the Mage’s mental presence. They may also provide a far more powerful barrier if they are aware that their consciousness has been redirected to a dream-like state. Again, this barrier must follow the red lines of Mental Barriers.

Removal of Memories

~ Requiring the target to be in a state of diverged consciousness, a Mental Mage may remove certain memories of an individual. These range from fresh memories - the easiest to remove - to old, well-kept memories - the most difficult to remove. The process of memory removal includes the location of the desired memories and then the throwing of these memories into the greedy expanse of the Void. For an Elven week after this, these memories linger, though they fade and become less clear until they are - typically - entirely gone by the end. Doing so is incredibly difficult for long-term memories, and in either case the target experiences a burning pain within their mind, with the Mental Mage sharing a similar discomfort along with magical exhaustion. This is one of the most powerful of the Mental Magic spells, and a master of the art may typically only perform it up to twice or thrice at any given time, though this varies depending on the amount of memories removed.

Red Lines: OOC consent is required when removing long-term memories. To clarify, this OOC consent must be given before the memories are removed, so that the players may discuss the terms of said removal. OOC consent is not required when removing recent memories. Recent memories are defined by any memories that would be lost if someone were to die and be revived at that very moment (i.e. events leading up to the death OR events 30 minutes before the death). Removed memories leave a large, blank gap in one’s recollection that can be found by a Mental Mage that both knows what to look for and is using Mind Melding or Diversion of Consciousness. Whilst the target can attempt to make thoughts or memories that explain the gap in memories, this rationale is often easily seen through. Entirely removing an individual’s memories requires OOC consent, and is exhausting to the point of passing out to the most Masterful of Mental Mages.

Memory Manipulation

~ Once again, this ability requires the diversion of the target’s consciousness into a dreamlike state. The Mental Mage may then choose to target an already existing memory (by first discovering it) and explore it with the target’s conscious recollection of it. They may then force the target to relive the memory, using Mental Illusion to edit certain parts of it. Though the entire memory may not be entirely changed, aspects of it can be altered, such as the presence of certain details or the sudden appearance of previously non-existent details. For the memory to be anchored and accepted as true by the target’s mind, one must ensure it is as believable as the original, unaltered version. Anything straying from this would be impossible to do. If all parameters pass, the target’s mind is made to accept the manipulated memory as real. The process is uncomfortable, and a sense of panic is often felt in the target when their memory is manipulated, whilst the Mental Mage experiences greater exhaustion.

Mental Mages are also capable of manipulating Memories so that they are not blocked by the shroud of confusion, stress-related amnesia or more. This type of therapy is heavily dependant on the condition that represses these memories, but the fact of the matter is that they must still be present and existing to be able to be manipulated into being accessed again. Grave consequences can be had from this, however, as a mind oft causes forgetfulness to relieve itself of the stress said memories cause.

Red Lines: One cannot make entirely new memories, merely edit and manipulate current memories to one’s satisfaction. These edited memories must be as believable as the original, unaltered memories, and the changes made cannot be too great. Working with the target is essential, here. The process takes almost as much effort as removing memories, and the same rule of OOC consent applies when manipulating long-term memories (i.e. any memory that goes beyond the death-rule). To clarify, this OOC consent must be given before the memories are manipulated, so that the players may discuss the terms of said removal. OOC consent is not required when manipulating recent memories (i.e. memories that would be lost if the person died).

Manipulating certain memories can cause Spirits of Mental Instability to detach, though the exact memory must be targeted for this. Entirely manipulating an individual’s memories requires OOC consent, and is exhausting to the point of passing out to the most Masterful of Mental Mages.

Memory Restoration

~ When faced with blank memories, a Mental Mage is able to put their target into the same state of deep sleep as mentioned before. They may then seek out the memories that have been tossed into the Void, provided they are still somewhat linked to the person who had lost them. These memories are then dragged back and returned to the Real Mind that originally hosted them, though they may be slightly faded and distorted due to their time in the Void. When faced with manipulated memories, a Mental Mage is forced to find any subtle inconsistencies in said memories and alter them - in much the same way there memories were first manipulated - to return as they were.

Red Lines: Restoring memories needs OOC consent, and must be done within a week of the memories being removed (if done by the Removal of Memories). Any memories that have been magically removed by Mental Magic require the Mental Mage’s OOC, express permission to be restored if the removal occurred more than a week ago. (IRL times are used in this red line example). The Mental Mage that removed the memories of an individual must be contacted if the memories are restored, as it is for them to discuss and debate how many memories can be regained and how clear they are. Restoring manipulated memories is extremely difficult, as the target has been made to relive them in an entirely different way. The Mental Mage that manipulated the memories must be contacted if an individual wishes to have them restored. Restoring certain memories can cause Spirits of Mental Instability to detach, though the exact memory must be targeted for this.

Entirely restoring an individual’s memories requires OOC consent, and is exhausting to the point of passing out to the most Masterful of Mental Mages.

Mental Magic and Warding

~ When interacting with a ward that halts Mental Magic, the Mage would find that they can see the individual but are unable to detect their mind, as it is defended by the ward. With persistence, however, one may continuously attempt to reach out towards where the mind should be, weakening the ward over time. More forceful attempts to reach out and connect would cause a faster draining of the ward, too, though it has the added effect of draining the Mental Mage of their own mana.

Red Lines: No Mental Magic Ward is infinite or unbreakable, though they can be too powerful for a single Mental Mage to break through (in such a case, they cannot be powered by a small or even medium mana gem). Effort is required to break Mental Magic Wards. One cannot effortlessly drain the ward of its supplying mana. The more powerful the Mental Mage, the less effort required to break such a ward.

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