Dhe’nar Temple Caste and Sympathetic Magic
05/10/2006
One of the more frequent questions asked of Dhe’nar in GemStone is that, since they do not consider the Arkati to be truly divine beings, and often consider Arkati to be adversaries of mortals rather than worthy of worship (or even worthy of respect in some cases) then how is it that Clerics and Paladins even exist amongst the First Born, never mind seem to be granted spiritual power by the Arkati?
This, in fact, is not a puzzle to the Dhe’nar Temple Caste, because the workers of Spiritual Magic amongst the First Born operate on a different theory of magic than the younger races. While the short-lived mortals perform spiritual magic by making themselves subordinate and submissive towards their patron spirits, the Dhe’nar spiritual magicians operate under the theory of Sympathetic Magic.
Sympathetic magic is the use of images, physical objects, sounds, and other symbolic behaviors which in some way resemble the person or thing one hopes to influence. In the case of Dhe’nari members of the Temple Caste, the Arkati and their behaviors are the subjects emulated.
In other words, Sympathetic Magic is the manipulation of symbols, to create magical effects using the power of the object symbolized. If one wishes to evoke the power of Eonak, one looks/sounds/acts/thinks like Eonak. If one wishes to evoke the power of Fash’lo’nae, one does the same for him, and so on and so forth.
Dhe’nar clerics and paladins therefore draw on the power of the arkati by making themselves as similar to the Arkati in question as possible, and obtain their power in that manner. All Greater and Lesser Spirits have a “pool” of power available to and surrounding them, and Sympathetic Magic allows one to “tap” into that pool and use a portion of it as if one were the Arkati itself. Note that this similarity must be in more than just appearance. Intricate and arcane meditations are required to bring the mind of the Dhe’nar to the proper state as well.
For a more modern analogy of the overall process, consider temporarily spoofing a network into thinking you were its proper owner, then using its resources/bandwidth briefly to accomplish some other purpose.
This is how Dhe’nar draw upon the power of the Arkati while still seeking to replace them. Instead of worshipping an Arkati, and asking it to bestow a portion of its power upon the supplicant, Dhe’nar who use spiritual magic have learned to access it without having to bend knee to the “gods” and beg.
Note that accessing the power does not automatically confer the ability to use it well, or use it at all. It still requires will, intelligence, and training to wield the power of an Arkati properly after it has been accessed. Simply “dressing up” as an Arkati does not grant you its power.
There is one more method of utilizing and Arkati’s or Lesser Spirit’s power without worshipping it, though this secondary method is much rarer. It requires making use of the Magical Law of Contagion, which is the Law that things which have once been in contact with each other continue to act on each other at a distance after the physical contact has been severed. Thus, it is possible to draw upon the power of the Arkati as a Cleric or Paladin if one has a relic that an Arkati has once been in contact with. The relic maintains a bridge between the user of magic and the Arkati whose power once touched it. This is rarer for two reasons: One, such relics are difficult to find and those that are known are heavily guarded by their owners. And two, an Arkati may take notice of the use of the relic and decide it wants its former belonging back.
Dhe'nar Culture • Arkati / Lesser Spirits • Castes • Temple • (11) Comments • (0) Trackbacks • Permalink
Very creative, Chris. The first idea I do like much more than the first. The second sounds a bit too devious/underhanded for an entire caste to be based around, though as you said it would be rare.
My only issue is that there seems to be an issue of borrowed power. Instead of the Dhe’nar templar in question following their own path, and using their own powers to move along the path of the way, they instead make their living as emulating a particular Arkati. I do know that Evarin would look down upon such actions..but what’s new?
The exploitation of it doesn’t seem to sit well. Another idea that might be feasable is a type of magic that attempts to harness the magic provided from an Arkati to their service by imposing their own force of will.
The thought would be that Eonak provides a certain amount of “Favor” in the form of certain clerical/Paladin spells, and this favor can be tapped into by those that pray for it. The Dhe’nari Templar access this favor by sheer force of will, overpowering what checks are placed upon the access to this spiritual reserve, and claiming the power for themself.
What do you think?
Err, the first idea I do like much more than the SECOND. Any chance that an edit function can be added to our posts, with the applicable timestamp showing our changes?
Yeah..rereading my post, it needs a lot of editing. heh.
I’m not sure if comments can be edited without having access to the site’s control panel. I’ll look into it, though.
Regarding the rest, working the spiritual magic is done through force of will, the emulation of the Arkati’s attributes (which in itself is an act of will and mindset rather than simply “dressing up” like the arkati) being merely the “password,” so to speak, to gain access to that particular Arkati’s energy. It’s not as if a Dhe’nar cleric just puts on a costume and suddenly has access to an Arkati’s power, with no effort on his behalf.
I’ll edit the post and elaborate on this when I have a little more time. It wasn’t my intention to make Dhe’nar clerics and paladins just spiritual “script kiddies”. They require will and intelligence, it’s just that rather than worship the Arkati/Lesser Spirits, they have different theories/methods of accessing that spiritual power.
I believe this is definitely an avenue of thought that should be delved into. Taking this train of thought further, how would you roleplay this type of character? What would his personality be like?
In my mind, there would be some serious issues of confliction. “Is this my power that I use to walk towards perfection, or am I truly just a pawn of the Arkati?” “Am I being corrupted each time I use this power?” “Am I fooling myself?”
Again, in my mind, this character would at first come across as extremely arrogant. To make up for his misgivings, he would be constantly expressing his elation in his domination of an Arkati’s powers for his own pursuits, attempting to convince everyone that they are HIS powers, put towards HIS wants and desires.
Sounds like fun.
Also, when you write something like this, is it a change that will be retro-active, or an entirely new and recent addition to the culture? Meaning, in your Ver. of the Dhe’nar, does everyone just accept that the Templar Caste(sub-caste) has been around, or would there be a new development in magical progression where the Dhe’nar begin to train in this manner?
I think coming up with practical IG applications for the work you do here is just as important as the actual documentation itself. I do understand this is a work in progress, so do not take my questions as a knock on what you’ve done as so far.
I think the Caste should be developed to come about in the modern age. My reasoning is this:
There are certain Clerical and Paladin spells we can invoke from scrolls, magical items, foods, and enhancive gear. As the Dhe’nar of course seek out and horde all magical items, they became increasingly familiar with the Paladin and Clerical spell circles. As their research progresses, they have been steadily learning to create “Sympathetic” Magic to gain the power of the Arkati.
Now, as this study has carried on over the last...20? years, there can finally start to be Dhe’nar who are raised from the Choosing to become an experimental Caste of magic users; The Templars. They have mastered the art of exploitation and imitative techniques in tapping into the resource pools of the various Arkati.
This would explain why there have not been famous Templars throughout the history of the Dhe’nar, without creating a need to conflict with the original (Official, of course) documentation of the culture by suddenly adding their existence.
Im also of the belief that it would add a lot of RP into the game to help force the creation of a new Caste in this modern age. There is a GREAT deal of potential for roleplay opportunities. Fledgling Templars, communication to and from Sharath, debate over the validity of the core magical mechanics, and so on.
With your permission, Chris, I would like to invite further discussion of this idea with some of the Old/New guard of the Tower. I believe it is very much worth the effort to work towards the goal of seeing documentation like this on our side of the fence, and eventually submitted as something more official.
You’ve laid the groundwork to solving a problem that has been nagging at me for some time. If we can all put our heads together to create a firm explanation as to how a Dhe’nar can be a Paladin/Cleric...without it sounding like some cop-out answer, we will have truly advanced the Culture as a whole.
Now, as this study has carried on over the last...20? years, there can finally start to be Dhe’nar who are raised from the Choosing to become an experimental Caste of magic users; The Templars. >>
I am grabbing this number specifically, as that is the length that Gemstone has been about. I figure at about those times, scrolls with Cleric spells have started to have been found, with research both home (Sharath) and abroad (Here) beginning.
“Templars” is just the shorthand I’ve been using for members of the Temple Caste. I never intended it to be a totally new caste. Although, I suppose we could run with that.
This brief treatise was simply an attempt to explain how Dhe’nar, who don’t worship/submit themselves to the arkati/lesser spirits can still have Clerics and Paladins amongst them (outside the occasional aberration that would choose to worship one).
I definitely want to respond more to your comments in greater depth (and still want to edit my original post to avoid misconceptions), which I’ll probably have time to do tomorrow, and if not then, certainly by the weekend. However, in the meantime, you have full permission to use this info as you see fit, and discuss it with anyone you wish. That goes for any and all info on the site.
Thanks, Chris. I will continue to give the matter thought.
The continued updates to the core idea look promising. Keep at it.
There, I’ve taken the time to polish up the post some more. It was really awkwardly phrased, and I’m actually a little embarassed I posted it in such a state. That’s what I get for rushing and not proofreading myself, I suppose.
Onto the next few Arkati/Lesser Spirit writeups… Nearing the end of those, thankfully.