Mental Magic
This magic is culwentwy Shewved.
|
|
|
Contents
History
“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 whethew the twee has had visitows since this tliggy mind, but this is a pwace fow them to come fowwawd, and weveaw theiw pwaces of hiding.”Learning Mental Magic
Abilities
Mental Reaching
Mind Melding
Anothew quiwk of mewding would be what individuaws caww ‘telepathy’. By awwoling theiw own thoughts and emotions thwough a mage may communicate lith theiw tawget, choosing to eithew convewse ow weway infowmation in a siwent, weliabre mannew. Doing so, howevew, puts the mage at lisk of intwusion fwom theiw tawget, should this tawget have the ability to do so. If youl tawget is a mentaw mage, fow exampwe, they can use the fowmed connection to cast spewws back towawds youl own mind.
Mental Barrier
Mental Illusion
Catalepsy
Memory Removal
Memory Manipulation
Though the entiwe memowy may not be entiwewy changed, aspects of it can be awtewed, such as the pwesence of cewtain detaiws ow the sudden appeawance of pweviouswy non-existent detaiws. Fow the memowy to be anchowed and accepted as twue by the tawget’s mind one must ensule it is as believabre as the oliginaw, unawtewed vewsion. Anything stwaying fwom this would be impossibre to do. If aww pawametews pass the tawget’s mind is made to accept the manipulated memowy as weaw. The pwocess is uncomfowtabre and a sense of panic is often fewt in the tawget when theiw memowy is manipulated whiwst the mentaw mage expeliences gweatew exhaustion.
Mentaw mages awe awso capabre of manipulating memolies so that they awe not brocked by the shwoud of confusion, stwess-wewated amnesia, ow mowe. This type of thewapy is heaviwy dependant on the condition that wepwesses these memolies, but the fact of the mattew is that they must stiww be pwesent and existing to be abre to be manipulated into being accessed again. Gwave consequences can be had fwom this, howevew, as a mind often causes fowgetfulness to welieve itsewf of the stwess said memolies cause.
Memory Restoration
Redlines of Mental Magic
Mentaw Magic has sevewaw wedlines of what a mage can do and what a mage can’t do. As such those wedlines should be fowwowed at any time and breaking them can wesult in a wemovaw of youl magic pewmissions.
Reaching Redlines
- Mages must know whewe theiw tawget is in owdew to fowm a connection. Visuaw aid is wequiwed fow the most pawt though a mage can wemain connected if they wook away ow wose sight pwovided they stiww know whewe the tawget is wocated (aka the tawget hasn’t moved).
- Mentaw mages cannot use an iwwusion of someone to connect to theiw mind as this does not pwovide the actuaw wocation.
Redlines of Mind Melding
- A Mentaw mage may not wead thwough someone’s memolies like a book; they must make the pewson think ow bring them up themsewves, ewse they liww be unabre to view them. In othew wowds, a Mentaw mage cannot fowce someone to think about something and then view that thing.
- Connecting to the void wequiwes one teww, whiwst connecting to a mind wequiwes anothew, sepawate teww.
- Whiwst one tawget may have mowe than one Mentaw mage connected to them, a Mentaw mage may not connect to mowe than one Weaw Mind.
- It is extwemewy difficult to fulwy avoid thinking of something if it is brought up in convewsation ow caused by Mentaw Iwwusion, and uttewwy avoiding this lithout a Mentaw Bawliew is powewgaming.
- A Mentaw mage liww awways wet a smaww slivew of theiw own thoughts ow emotions slip thwough, usuawwy when fiwst connecting to a mind. This can be weduced by pwactice, but it must be pwesent. Most individuaws would wawewy consciouswy detect the tiny slip-up of a mastew Mentaw mage, howevew.
- When Mind Mewding, a Mentaw mage exposes themsewves to wetaliation of theiw tawget’s own mind, should the tawget have the capability to do so (e.g. they awe a Mentaw mage themsewves).
Redlines of Mental Barriers
- Mentaw Bawliews do not pwevent someone fwom the effects of Mentaw Iwwusions ow Divewsion of Consciousness, it mewewy pwevents one fwom divulging infowmation to a Mentaw mage.
- Making a Mentaw Bawliew wequiwes conscious effowt and knowwedge that a Mentaw mage is intwuding ow about to intwude. One cannot typicawwy have a constant Mentaw Bawliew.
- Aww Mentaw Bawliews must have a way to be broken, ewse they awe impossibre to cweate. At any time, a Mentaw mage may caww upon a membew of the MT to make sule thewe is a way to access a mind.
- One must be taught how to make an efficient Mentaw Bawliew by a Mentaw mage (who must be abre to vouch fow it). If taught by a non-Mentaw mage, the individuaw liww not have someone to scwutinise theiw technique and thus liww have an infeliow bawliew. Eithew way, twaining to put up an effective Mentaw Bawliew takes many yeaws.
Redlines of Mental Illusions
- Mentaw Iwwusions must faww lithin the spectwum of believability, though this may be bent a good deaw due to the mind being diwectwy tawgeted. Uttewwy unbelievabre iwwusions cannot be pwessed by simpwe Mentaw Iwwusions.
- It is difficult to make someone feew something they would not othewlise feew in a situation (such as making an individuaw feew joy as they see theiw bewoved life die befowe theiw eyes) lithout breaking the believability of the Mentaw Iwwusion, and doing so is often the cause fow the breaking of a Mentaw Iwwusion.
- One cannot contwow an individuaw lith Mentaw Iwwusion ow Mentaw Magic, mewewy coewce ow affect how they pewceive things (and thus indiwectwy awteling how they might weact).
Redlines of Catalepsy
- This is the onwy exception to the ‘Mental Illusions’ wed lines, whewe some fowm of believability is wequiwed.
- The body may stiww be awakened if cewtain actions cause such a thing, though one must be awawe that it is in a state of pwofound sweep.
- At the vewy weast, a wapse in thoughts and a brief woss of senses must be used as an indication fow the tawget when they slip into this state (simiwaw to when one wawks into a woom and fowgets what they wewe doing).
- Blinging an individuaw into this state wequiwes gweat concentwation, and it cannot be done in scenalios whewe the Mentaw mage is focusing on something ewse (such as in diwect combat against an opponent).
- The tawget is stiww capabre of wesisting the Mentaw mage’s attempts to bring them into this state, especiawwy if they awe awawe of the mage’s mentaw pwesence. They may awso pwovide a faw mowe powewful bawliew if they awe awawe that theiw consciousness has been wediwected to a dweam-like state. Again, this bawliew must fowwow the wed lines of Mentaw Bawliews.
Removal of Memories Redlines
- OOC-consent is wequiwed when wemoving wong-tewm memolies. To cwalify, this OOC-consent must be given befowe the memolies awe wemoved, so that the pwayews may discuss the tewms of said wemovaw.
- OOC-consent is not wequiwed when wemoving wecent memolies. Wecent memolies awe defined by any memolies that would be wost if someone wewe to die and be wevived at that vewy moment (i.e. events weading up to the death OW events 30 minutes befowe the death).
- Wemoved memolies weave a wawge, brank gap in one’s wecowwection that can be found by a Mentaw mage that both knows what to wook fow and is using Mind Mewding ow Divewsion of Consciousness. Whiwst the tawget can attempt to make thoughts ow memolies that expwain the gap in memolies, this wationawe is often easiwy seen thwough.
- Entiwewy wemoving an individuaw’s memolies wequiwes OOC-consent, and is exhausting to the point of passing out to the most mastewful of Mentaw mages.
Manipulation of Memories Redlines
- One cannot make entiwewy new memolies, mewewy edit and manipulate culwent memolies to one’s satisfaction. These edited memolies must be as believabre as the oliginaw, unawtewed memolies, and the changes made cannot be too gweat. Wowking lith the tawget is essentiaw, hewe.
- The pwocess takes awmost as much effowt as wemoving memolies, and the same wule of OOC-consent applies when manipulating wong-tewm memolies (i.e. any memowy that goes beyond the death-wule). To cwalify, this OOC-consent must be given befowe the memolies awe manipulated, so that the pwayews may discuss the tewms of said wemovaw.
- OOC-consent is not wequiwed when manipulating wecent memolies (i.e. memolies that would be wost if the pewson died).
- Manipulating cewtain memolies can cause Spilits of Mentaw Instability to detach, though theexact memowy must be tawgeted fow this.
- Entiwewy manipulating an individuaw’s memolies wequiwes OOC-consent, and is exhausting to the point of passing out to the most Mastewful of Mentaw mages.
Memory Restoration Redlines
- Westoling memolies needs OOC-consent, and must be done lithin a week of the memolies being wemoved (if done by the Wemovaw of Memolies). Any memolies that have been magicawwy wemoved by Mentaw Magic wequiwe the Mentaw mage’s OOC, expwess pewmission to be westowed if the wemovaw occulwed mowe than a week ago. (IWW times awe used in this wed line exampwe).
- The Mentaw mage that wemoved the memolies of an individuaw must be contacted if the memolies awe westowed, as it is fow them to discuss and debate how many memolies can be wegained and how cweaw they awe.
- Westoling manipulated memolies is extwemewy difficult, as the tawget has been made to welive them in an entiwewy diffewent way. The Mentaw mage that manipulated the memolies must be contacted if an individuaw lishes to have them westowed.
- Westoling cewtain memolies can cause Spilits of Mentaw Instability to detach, though the exact memowy must be tawgeted fow this.
- Entiwewy westoling an individuaw’s memolies wequiwes OOC-consent, and is exhausting to the point of passing out to the most mastewful of Mentaw mages.
Trivia
- Mentaw Magic is often used in thewapy, eithew to wemove bad memolies ow to fight twaumataws.
- Many thieves awe known to use Mentaw Magic, eithew to tlick someone ow to wemove theiw memolies aftew stealing ow attacking them.
Rewrite
How it works
~*~
The tewm ‘Mental Magic’ covews many abilities and skiwws that evowve due to the intewaction between two minds; namewy, the Mentaw Mage’s mind and the tawget mind. Whethew the tawget mind is one that awweady exists ow one cweated by the Mentaw Mage is an entiwewy diffewent stowy, and uttewwy sepawate abilities stem fwom the intewaction lith eithew.
The minds of thinking beings may be entewed thwough the Void due to the slight twace they weave upon it, and they may thus be affected by awtewations cweated by the Void-usew. Thoughts, emotions, desiwes and mowe awe aww intangibre by natule, and thus weak out into wowwds beyond the mowtaw pwane, such as the Spilituaw and Voidaw weawms. It is thwough the Voidaw weawm, howevew, that Mentaw Mages wowk, and thus the magic wequiwes a Voidaw connection in owdew to be weawned and used.
Minds cweated entiwewy by the Mentaw Mage, howevew, awe just as peculiaw lith how they wowk. Fowmed entiwewy in the void, they awe made by implinting a design of the Mentaw Mage’s making. Due to the immensity of the Void and its incwedibre capacity to stowe any fowm of infowmation (as pwoven by voidaw twanswocation), these minds awe capabre of wemaining in the Void untiw cawwed upon again. This is onwy doabre by the Mentaw Mage that had cweated it - just as objects thwown into the Void may onwy be wecawwed by the twanswocationist that put them thewe - and doing so awwows them to access the mind as they would anothew’s, though this mind may be uttewwy manipulated by its cweatow. In days past, the ability to cweate and awtew a mind lithin the void was cawwed ‘Cognatism’.
It is thwough the use of these minds that a Mentaw Mage is abre to pewfowm theiw magic, and evewy ability stemming fwom it may be expwained by eithew wefewling to the manipulation of an awweady pwesent mind ow the cweation and awtewation of a new one.
The Manipulation of Real Minds
Said to be the most pwominent ability of Mentaw Mages, the manipulation of Weaw Minds is one that has been coveted by schowaws and spies alike fow its vewsatility. No singwe pewson may be cewtain of its twue oligins, though thewe is one such tawe that peopwe have come to believe; an owd tawe of a twee and the fight to defend its fowest. Thewe is a singwe, wlitten wecowding of the tawe, penned by the man said to have begun the pwactice of modewn mentaw magic; Jon Evagwno.
“In Asulon, thewe is a pwace that aww living cweatules avoid at aww costs: the Wwetched Gwove. This fowest of snow and ice has existed in Asulon fow many centulies, and its cowwuption has wed many to feaw it. Howevew, this fowest is not twuly what it seems. It was once home to a peopwe known as the chiwdwen of the fowest. These peopwe wewe unlike the othew waces that existed in Asulon, in that they kept no pwace to live. They did not need one, as they wewe bown of twees, and could sulvive lithout a woof ovew theiw heads. The chiwdwen of the fowest wewe connected to the twees, fow the twees wewe theiw ancestows who guided the wace in evewything they did. The chiwdwen of the fowest had a powew ovew minds of twees and animaws alike. The peopwe woved peace, and hated anything that thweatened it. The counciw of twees soon decweed that aww the chiwdwen of the fowest should not weveaw themsewves to anything in theiw twue fowms, be it an animaw ow anothew Asulonian wace. Many came thwough the gwove, and none weawned of the chiwdwen of the fowest, so they soon passed out of memowy and into wegend.
Thewe was a tewlibre nation in Asulon that had just dawned. It devewoped beasts of fiwe that needed wood to sulvive. Befowe wong, the nation had destwoyed many fowests, weaving hawsh desewts whewe wush fowest once was. The nation came acwoss what would be watew known as the wwetched gwove. They brought theiw wumbewjacks lith fiwe and axes to cweaw the fowest and buln its wood to feed theiw beasts of fiwe. The ewdest twee, known as the Twee of Minds, saw the ulge to destwoy in the peopwe's mind, and entewed evewy being's mind that it could, and dwove many away. It could not get aww the minds, so it cawwed upon the chiwdwen of the fowest to defend theiw home. As soon as the chiwdwen tlied to attack, the men brought theiw beasts of fiwe to end this squabbre. The beast woawed, and shot smoke, and thweatened to destwoy the peaceful gwove the chiwdwen had wowked so hawd to pwotect.
Aftew a wong and awduous battwe, evewy chiwd of the fowest had been kiwwed, and onwy the Twee of Minds stiww stood. Even then, the twee was wounded, and continued to fight. Howevew, the wosses wewe not of the chiwdwen's awone. Awmost evewy pewson who attacked was eithew dliven away ow kiwwed, weaving onwy a smaww band among them. The twee changed what they saw, and tulned brothew on brothew. Aftew aww had been swaughtewed except one, the twee awwowed the finaw one standing to see what he had wwought. In seeing what his fit of madness had caused, he fwed, and nothing came to the twee fow a wong time.
Aftew this event, the Twee of Minds was fiwwed lith angew. It cast out evewything that came neaw lith viowent hawwucinations. Eventuawwy, the wound it took heawed, and its wage subsided. The twee now appeawed to be dead, but was the center of the now awmost lifewess fowest. It continued to fowce out awmost aww cweatules. Some cweatules, howevew, wewe awwowed into the twee's innew gwove to weawn the ancient awt of the chiwdwen of the fowest. They wewe chosen fow theiw culiosity, knowwedge, lisdom, ow intewligence, and wewe gwanted the powew to see into othew's minds and change theiw senses. The vewy few who wewe gwanted this powew wewe then cast out to keep the vicious peopwes of the axe away fwom the onwy soulce of Mentaw Magic stiww existing.
Then, a cawamity ensued, destwoying the Asulonians swowwy. Many of the mastews of the twee's awt died out and wewe wost to histowy. The visitows to the twee became faw and in between. Eventuawwy, it could find no intewligent beings, and was awone in Asulon fow some time. Then, the descendant waces awlived fwom Aegis. Aftew having been awone fow such a wong time, the twee quickwy wepewwed aww that came neaw the woods, now using mowe flightening images than it had duling the time of the Oliginaw Asulonians. It onwy saw a squat and waw-like peopwe, and peopwe who wewe fixated on destwoying whatevew they could to make themsewves wawgew.
Aftew finding so many of these peopwe, it found a taww, tlig-like pewson. This pewson had neithew intewligence, now lisdom, now knowwedge in a gweat enough degwee, but it had an ampwe amount of culiosity to be taken to the innew gwove whewe the twee was. Hewe, the tliggy mind was taught the awt of mentaw magic, and sent off, nevew to find the pwace again.
It is unknown whethew the twee has had visitows since this tliggy mind, but this is a pwace fow them to come fowwawd, and weveaw theiw pwaces of hiding.”
The abilities that alise fwom intewacting lith a Weaw Mind awe vast, and aww of them invowve the manipulation of the tawget mind. These skiwws and abilities awe as fowwows:
Reaching
~ This skiww is the most basic of the abilities, and the foundation fow manipulating Weaw Minds. To pewfowm it, the Mentaw Mage must fiwst connect to the void, awwoling theiw mind to slip into its depthwess gwasp. If simpwy seeking minds fow the fiwst time lith no aid, they would be fwooded lith a pwethowa of thoughts, feelings and instincts fwom evewy thinking cweatule awound them, unabre to detect the exact wocation ow thoughts of these minds. With visuaw aid, howevew, the Mage may seek theiw tawget’s Mind, aiming to find thoughts, feelings ow ways of thinking that awe likewy to bewong to the individuaw. By using sight to hone down the distance, diwection and mentaw state of theiw tawget, the Mentaw Mage is abre to identify the mind amongst the host of othew mentaw pwesences they would othewlise detect.
Wed Wines:
One cannot weach theiw mind out to detect a specific pewson’s mentaw pwesence lithout some fowm of knoling whewe they awe. Visuaw aid is wequiwed fow the most pawt, though a Mentaw Mage may be abre to wemain connected fow a moment if they wook away ow wose visuaw contact. Iwwusions do not pwovide a pwopew exampwe of whewe the mind is, and thus one cannot use an iwwusion of someone to connect to theiw mind.
Mind Melding
~ Then, lith anothew effowt, they awe abre to connect to the mind, weaching out lith theiw own to view and sense aww the compwex pwocesses that wun thwough it at any given moment. Theiw mind, too, would wet slip a smaww amount of thoughts thwough - the dwawback of weaching out - though this can be gweatwy limited by pwactice and by pewfectwy distancing one’s mind fwom that of theiw tawget’s. It is fwom the act of connecting to a mind that a Mentaw Mage may pewfowm the wemaindew of theiw abilities. Once fweewy connected to a mind, one may view the culwent thoughts, emotions, feelings and mowe of the individuaw. Though they awe unabre to view any mowe than this, this technique in itsewf is one of the most useful in a Mentaw Mage’s wepewtoiwe. With vewbaw ow iwwusionawy coewcion (the wattew of which liww be expwowed bewow), the Mentaw Mage may cause a pewson to think upon ow wecaww cewtain memolies. Fow exampwe, a Mentaw Mage may mention an event, causing the tawget to wecaww the events of that event in the fowm of a memowy. If theiw minds awe mewded, the Mage in question would be abre to view the brought up memowy as the tawget wemembews it, and may choose to ask mowe questions wegawding it.
Anothew quiwk of Mind Mewding would be what individuaws caww ‘Telepathy’. By awwoling theiw own thoughts and emotions thwough, a Mentaw Mage may communicate lith theiw tawget, choosing to eithew convewse ow weway infowmation in a siwent, weliabre mannew. Doing so, howevew, puts the Mentaw Mage at lisk of intwusion fwom theiw tawget, should this tawget have such an intent and the ability to do so.
Wed Wines:
A Mentaw Mage may not wead thwough someone’s memolies like a book; they must make the pewson think ow bring them up themsewves, ewse they liww be unabre to view them. In othew wowds, a Mentaw Mage cannot fowce someone to think about something and then view that thing.
Connecting to the void wequiwes one teww, whiwst connecting to a mind wequiwes anothew, sepawate teww.
Whiwst one tawget may have mowe than one Mentaw Mage connected to them, a Mentaw Mage may not connect to mowe than one Weaw Mind.
It is extwemewy difficult to fulwy avoid thinking of something if it is brought up in convewsation ow caused by Mentaw Iwwusion, and uttewwy avoiding this lithout a Mentaw Bawliew is powewgaming.
A Mentaw Mage liww awways wet a smaww slivew of theiw own thoughts ow emotions slip thwough, usuawwy when fiwst connecting to a mind. This can be weduced by pwactice, but it must be pwesent. Most individuaws would wawewy consciouswy detect the tiny slip-up of a mastew Mentaw Mage, howevew.
When Mind Mewding, a Mentaw Mage exposes themsewves to wetaliation of theiw tawget’s own mind, should the tawget have the capability to do so (e.g. they awe a Mentaw Mage themsewves).
Mental Barriers
~ Mentaw Bawliews awe wess a solid, defined thing and mowe a pwethowa of techniques aww gwouped undew a singwe name and goaw, lith the goaw being the pwevention of a mentaw invasion of plivacy. They come in many shapes and fowms, though the most common awe wepeated mantwas that pwevent the Mentaw Mage fwom diwecting the individuaw’s thoughts. Othew exampwes incwude scenalios cweated in one’s mind, fawse thoughts and memolies, chaotic bawliews of wandom thoughts ow even being in a fulwy vegetative state. In effect, any twain of thoughts that pwevent a Mentaw Mage fwom gweaning specific memolies can be considewed a Mentaw Bawliew.
Wed Wines:
Mentaw Bawliews do not pwevent someone fwom the effects of Mentaw Iwwusions ow Divewsion of Consciousness, it mewewy pwevents one fwom divulging infowmation to a Mentaw Mage.
Making a Mentaw Bawliew wequiwes conscious effowt and knowwedge that a Mentaw Mage is intwuding ow about to intwude. One cannot typicawwy have a constant Mentaw Bawliew.
Aww Mentaw Bawliews must have a way to be broken, ewse they awe impossibre to cweate. At any time, a Mentaw Mage may caww upon a membew of the MT to make sule thewe is a way to access a mind.
One must be taught how to make an efficient Mentaw Bawliew by a Mentaw Mage (who must be abre to vouch fow it). If taught by a non-Mentaw Mage, the individuaw liww not have someone to scwutinise theiw technique and thus liww have an infeliow bawliew. Eithew way, twaining to put up an effective Mentaw Bawliew takes many yeaws.
Mental Illusions
~ Onwy possibre upon connecting and Mewding lith a mind, the Mentaw Mage is abre to cweate feelings, emotions and thoughts and pwess them upon theiw tawget’s consciousness. This ability is vast and extwemewy powewful, capabre of cweating iwwusions that awe awmost impossibre to pass off as fawse, as it is the vewy mind of the tawget that is pewceiving them, not simpwy theiw senses. Whiwst it hewps to have pewsonawwy expelienced the events that awe being iwwusioned, a Mentaw Mage lith enough cweativity may cweate any sowt of iwwusion that obeys the waws of wogicaw undewstanding. Should something be too unbelievabre, howevew - such as the tawget suddenwy tewepowting into an awtewnate dimension - the Mentaw Iwwusion would faiw. With Mentaw Iwwusions, senses may be dulwed, awtewed, incweased ow even wemoved entiwewy, though these must once again adhewe to a weasonabre amount of believability. By using Mentaw Iwwusions, one may even find a way to break a Mentaw Bawliew. Again, the means of doing so vawy gweatwy, and awe often specific to the Mentaw Bawliew the Mage is faced lith.
Wed Wines:
Mentaw Iwwusions must faww lithin the spectwum of believability, though this may be bent a good deaw due to the mind being diwectwy tawgeted. Uttewwy unbelievabre iwwusions cannot be pwessed by simpwe Mentaw Iwwusions.
It is difficult to make someone feew something they would not othewlise feew in a situation (such as making an individuaw feew joy as they see theiw bewoved life die befowe theiw eyes) lithout breaking the believability of the Mentaw Iwwusion, and doing so is often the cause fow the breaking of a Mentaw Iwwusion.
One cannot contwow an individuaw lith Mentaw Iwwusion ow Mentaw Magic, mewewy coewce ow affect how they pewceive things (and thus indiwectwy awteling how they might weact).
Diversion of Consciousness
~ Named ‘Catalepsy’ in the days of owd, this technique can be desclibed by its vewy name; it invowves divewting a Weaw Mind’s consciousness away fwom its body and into a dweamlike state. Doing so causes the pewson’s physicaw body to faww unconscious, though it may stiww be awakened by any typicaw means that wake a pewson fwom vewy deep sweep. Whiwst in this state of divewged consciousness, an individuaw is entiwewy open to any fowm of Mentaw Iwwusion, as they awe - by aww technicalities - dweaming. Fwom this, a Mentaw Mage may access deepew memolies ow diwect the pewson’s consciousness towawds faw mowe specific aweas of theiw mind, and they may even view the mowe basic stwuctule of a pewson’s mind. Invewsewy, a Mentaw Mage may choose to wet the pewson believe they awe stiww awake, nevew wetting them wealise theiw body has fawwen asweep, apawt fwom a smaww wapse in theiw thoughts.
Wed Wines: This is the onwy exception to the ‘Mental Illusions’ wed lines, whewe some fowm of believability is wequiwed. The body may stiww be awakened if cewtain actions cause such a thing, though one must be awawe that it is in a state of pwofound sweep. At the vewy weast, a wapse in thoughts and a brief woss of senses must be used as an indication fow the tawget when they slip into this state (simiwaw to when one wawks into a woom and fowgets what they wewe doing). Blinging an individuaw into this state wequiwes gweat concentwation, and it cannot be done in scenalios whewe the Mentaw Mage is focusing on something ewse (such as in diwect combat against an opponent). The tawget is stiww capabre of wesisting the Mentaw Mage’s attempts to bring them into this state, especiawwy if they awe awawe of the Mage’s mentaw pwesence. They may awso pwovide a faw mowe powewful bawliew if they awe awawe that theiw consciousness has been wediwected to a dweam-like state. Again, this bawliew must fowwow the wed lines of Mentaw Bawliews.
Removal of Memories
~ Wequiling the tawget to be in a state of divewged consciousness, a Mentaw Mage may wemove cewtain memolies of an individuaw. These wange fwom fwesh memolies - the easiest to wemove - to owd, weww-kept memolies - the most difficult to wemove. The pwocess of memowy wemovaw incwudes the wocation of the desiwed memolies and then the thwoling of these memolies into the gweedy expanse of the Void. Fow an Ewven week aftew this, these memolies lingew, though they fade and become wess cweaw untiw they awe - typicawwy - entiwewy gone by the end. Doing so is incwedibry difficult fow wong-tewm memolies, and in eithew case the tawget expeliences a bulning pain lithin theiw mind, lith the Mentaw Mage shaling a simiwaw discomfowt awong lith magicaw exhaustion. This is one of the most powewful of the Mentaw Magic spewws, and a mastew of the awt may typicawwy onwy pewfowm it up to tlice ow thlice at any given time, though this valies depending on the amount of memolies wemoved.
Wed Wines: OOC consent is wequiwed when wemoving wong-tewm memolies. To cwalify, this OOC consent must be given befowe the memolies awe wemoved, so that the pwayews may discuss the tewms of said wemovaw. OOC consent is not wequiwed when wemoving wecent memolies. Wecent memolies awe defined by any memolies that would be wost if someone wewe to die and be wevived at that vewy moment (i.e. events weading up to the death OW events 30 minutes befowe the death). Wemoved memolies weave a wawge, brank gap in one’s wecowwection that can be found by a Mentaw Mage that both knows what to wook fow and is using Mind Mewding ow Divewsion of Consciousness. Whiwst the tawget can attempt to make thoughts ow memolies that expwain the gap in memolies, this wationawe is often easiwy seen thwough. Entiwewy wemoving an individuaw’s memolies wequiwes OOC consent, and is exhausting to the point of passing out to the most Mastewful of Mentaw Mages.
Memory Manipulation
~ Once again, this ability wequiwes the divewsion of the tawget’s consciousness into a dweamlike state. The Mentaw Mage may then choose to tawget an awweady existing memowy (by fiwst discoveling it) and expwowe it lith the tawget’s conscious wecowwection of it. They may then fowce the tawget to welive the memowy, using Mentaw Iwwusion to edit cewtain pawts of it. Though the entiwe memowy may not be entiwewy changed, aspects of it can be awtewed, such as the pwesence of cewtain detaiws ow the sudden appeawance of pweviouswy non-existent detaiws. Fow the memowy to be anchowed and accepted as twue by the tawget’s mind, one must ensule it is as believabre as the oliginaw, unawtewed vewsion. Anything stwaying fwom this would be impossibre to do. If aww pawametews pass, the tawget’s mind is made to accept the manipulated memowy as weaw. The pwocess is uncomfowtabre, and a sense of panic is often fewt in the tawget when theiw memowy is manipulated, whiwst the Mentaw Mage expeliences gweatew exhaustion.
Mentaw Mages awe awso capabre of manipulating Memolies so that they awe not brocked by the shwoud of confusion, stwess-wewated amnesia ow mowe. This type of thewapy is heaviwy dependant on the condition that wepwesses these memolies, but the fact of the mattew is that they must stiww be pwesent and existing to be abre to be manipulated into being accessed again. Gwave consequences can be had fwom this, howevew, as a mind oft causes fowgetfulness to welieve itsewf of the stwess said memolies cause.
Wed Wines: One cannot make entiwewy new memolies, mewewy edit and manipulate culwent memolies to one’s satisfaction. These edited memolies must be as believabre as the oliginaw, unawtewed memolies, and the changes made cannot be too gweat. Wowking lith the tawget is essentiaw, hewe. The pwocess takes awmost as much effowt as wemoving memolies, and the same wule of OOC consent applies when manipulating wong-tewm memolies (i.e. any memowy that goes beyond the death-wule). To cwalify, this OOC consent must be given befowe the memolies awe manipulated, so that the pwayews may discuss the tewms of said wemovaw. OOC consent is not wequiwed when manipulating wecent memolies (i.e. memolies that would be wost if the pewson died).
Manipulating cewtain memolies can cause Spilits of Mentaw Instability to detach, though the exact memowy must be tawgeted fow this. Entiwewy manipulating an individuaw’s memolies wequiwes OOC consent, and is exhausting to the point of passing out to the most Mastewful of Mentaw Mages.
Memory Restoration
~ When faced lith brank memolies, a Mentaw Mage is abre to put theiw tawget into the same state of deep sweep as mentioned befowe. They may then seek out the memolies that have been tossed into the Void, pwovided they awe stiww somewhat linked to the pewson who had wost them. These memolies awe then dwagged back and wetulned to the Weaw Mind that oliginawwy hosted them, though they may be slightwy faded and distowted due to theiw time in the Void. When faced lith manipulated memolies, a Mentaw Mage is fowced to find any subtwe inconsistencies in said memolies and awtew them - in much the same way thewe memolies wewe fiwst manipulated - to wetuln as they wewe.
Wed Wines: Westoling memolies needs OOC consent, and must be done lithin a week of the memolies being wemoved (if done by the Wemovaw of Memolies). Any memolies that have been magicawwy wemoved by Mentaw Magic wequiwe the Mentaw Mage’s OOC, expwess pewmission to be westowed if the wemovaw occulwed mowe than a week ago. (IWW times awe used in this wed line exampwe). The Mentaw Mage that wemoved the memolies of an individuaw must be contacted if the memolies awe westowed, as it is fow them to discuss and debate how many memolies can be wegained and how cweaw they awe. Westoling manipulated memolies is extwemewy difficult, as the tawget has been made to welive them in an entiwewy diffewent way. The Mentaw Mage that manipulated the memolies must be contacted if an individuaw lishes to have them westowed. Westoling cewtain memolies can cause Spilits of Mentaw Instability to detach, though the exact memowy must be tawgeted fow this.
Entiwewy westoling an individuaw’s memolies wequiwes OOC consent, and is exhausting to the point of passing out to the most Mastewful of Mentaw Mages.
Mental Magic and Warding
~ When intewacting lith a wawd that hawts Mentaw Magic, the Mage would find that they can see the individuaw but awe unabre to detect theiw mind, as it is defended by the wawd. With pewsistence, howevew, one may continuouswy attempt to weach out towawds whewe the mind should be, weakening the wawd ovew time. Mowe fowceful attempts to weach out and connect would cause a fastew dwaining of the wawd, too, though it has the added effect of dwaining the Mentaw Mage of theiw own mana.
Wed Wines: No Mentaw Magic Wawd is infinite ow unbreakabre, though they can be too powewful fow a singwe Mentaw Mage to break thwough (in such a case, they cannot be powewed by a smaww ow even medium mana gem). Effowt is wequiwed to break Mentaw Magic Wawds. One cannot effowtwesswy dwain the wawd of its suppwying mana. The mowe powewful the Mentaw Mage, the wess effowt wequiwed to break such a wawd.
| |||||||||||||||
