Baptism

The Origins

In the wake of the Bleeding, the Gods that remained uncorrupted convened together in Muid and determined, after days and ceaseless nights of debate that they would no longer involve themselves in the affairs of Atharen, preferring the stability that their absence provided the planes. An event many consider to be the death knell of 'The Path' in their world, the Living Gods chose security over shepherding their creations in the wake of the Age's disastrous events.

It was not long after this decision that two in particular convened, meeting within Tenebrax's Domain of Sorrow, to determine how they might help guide Atharen back towards the right path from afar. The God of Chaos and her ally, Blevika, decided that they would leave a final imprint on the world for the purpose of reducing the harm the Bleeding left behind, and preventing something like it from ever occurring again.

It was from this that Baptism was created, and with it, a Holy Order known as the Twilight Fulcrum. This Order would serve, distantly, as an arm of Tenebrax's will, to guide Atharen to a state of balance, to prevent oppressive institutions like the Unbroken Empire from forming, and to restore the land.

In the centuries that came, members of the Twilight Fulcrum (known as Ordinators) would become lethal agents of Tenebrax's imperative, culling and interrogating threats to the world by slaying those of unshaking, dogmatic ideology, and in particular those who would seek to subdue or control. As they performed their duties, many left the Order, and in their wake Baptism spread. By the Age of Industry, the magic has entered into the hands of many magi, though with a majority still following the Fulcrum's commands.

Concepts

Greymage: Baptism's Mark of Control imbues the Risen with a particular interest towards nuance and balance; the ability to see and perceive things for what they are, versus what they are meant to be, and the way that good intentions can both appeal to others and sour into dogmatic ideology. While this does not make the Risen an oracle of understanding or wisdom, it does aide them in better dissecting the complexities of ideologies and their draw. This trait of Baptism's Mark is meant to allow the Risen to combat those ideologies through gauging their internal logic. Rather than necessarily imbuing the Risen with empathy, 'Greymage' as a concept is one that aides in their dissolution of strong ideology altogether. As a note, not all Risen must be ideologically neutral or necessarily balanced, as this innate concept interacts with the individual's pre-existing notions and beliefs.

The Doors: Tenebrax - like Saren - has a strong understanding of the pluripotential outcomes of reality. An action always has a consequence; a death always creates a ripple through the world or through time, and a Risen is capable of perceiving these consequences far better than most. This concept plays most often with the Moondial, a simple structure crafted by a Risen's ether. As an Expert Risen, the Moondial allows one to view briefly beyond 'The Doors' that may open through a change in present reality, in the form of chaos. The visions of these realities are generated within the Leviathan, and implanted into the mind of the Risen as they attempt to view their chosen outcome. This often literally appears in a Risen's mind as if they are stepping into a door, another reality perceivable within. While only a Chronomancer can truly understand and experience these complexities, Baptism allows the mage a step into the well of chaos of change.

Initiation

Initiation into Baptism is performed by literal baptism. The initiator will draw the Mark of Baptism onto the forehead of the initiate, with the Mark itself appearing as a small crescent moon (roughly the size of an eye) near the peak of the initiate's forehead, with the horns of the crescent peaking slightly below their hairline. Once the Mark is imbued by ether, it will begin to glow a faint, nearly transparent hue, as the magic begins to graft into the Risen's soul. The initiate will then submerge the head of the Risen beneath a body of water, keeping them steadily beneath the surface as the Mark 'takes' to their soul.

This process takes minutes to fully resolve, always resulting in the death of the initiate without fail, even in those capable of breathing underwater. The Mark itself forces the lungs and heart of the initiate to shut down as they struggle, killing them as it embeds within their soul. If at any point the initiator fails to prevent the initiate from lifting their head above the surface before the process is done, the initiate will instantaneously die with no chance of revival. If the process manages to complete, however, the Mark of Control will defibrillate the heart of the initiate and will expel the water from their lungs as they are pulled from the water as a new mage of Baptism. This is the source of the name 'Risen' for the magic's practitioners, as all Baptism mages at once rose from a state of death as a result of their initiation.

Overstepping

The drawbacks listed below do not always come in pairs, and certainly not simultaneously. Some may come and others may not.

Lesser: Nausea, fatigue, headaches, muscle spasms, dehydration

Moderate: Bleeding through the nose, eyes and ears, intense cramps, seizure-like shocks and spasms, internal bleeding, vomiting and weakness

Severe

Endless Hallway: A common Severe overstepping penalty of Baptism is the trapping of a Risen within the delusions and hallucinations caused by 'The Doors', causing them to endlessly peer into potential outcomes of their actions without any ability to interact with them. When one hallucination is experienced, they will be ushered through another Door, as if an intense gravitational force is pulling them. This process will loop infinitely until the Risen starves or dies due to sleep deprivation, or other similar physical factors which may be exacerbated by their Overstepping itself. A Druid may greatly extend the lifespan of someone suffering in this state, but only a Master Remnomancer or Mentalist can mend their mind.

Mutations

Risen mages tend to develop mutations, unsurprisingly, that involve water. This can psychologically result in a sudden love of water or the ocean, or an attraction to the vast depths of the sea; it can even result in those who fear water suddenly becoming enthralled by the deeper depths of said ocean, some Risen taking it upon themselves to explore the vast below. It can also, physically, result in the Risen more easily becoming dehydrated, or inversely, could result in the Risen becoming capable of absorbing water from the air around them to hydrate. Risen often also become better swimmers, and may - like Druskai - develop physical changes that can help them swim. After being initiated into Baptism, all Risen will find that they may now breathe underwater for up to thirty minutes at a time, and with mutations this duration can extend even longer. Druskai who have been initiated into Baptism can become capable of breathing underwater for several hours at a time, and may become truly exceptional swimmers.

Abilities

Realign: Acquired at Novice. Realign is most often the first ability a Risen will learn. It is the ability to transition water between its three states of matter: a solid, a liquid, and a gas. In other words, Realign allows a Risen to convert currently existing water between these states, such as converting a puddle of water into a surface of ice. In order to learn this ability, the Risen needs to understand how to affect the density or structure of the water itself, and must differentiate between each method of transition; all three methods must be learned from their two disparate states before the ability can be considered mastered. Realign serves as the basis of many other transitions and abilities within Baptism. A Risen may not move directly from solid to gas or vice-versa until they are an Expert in Baptism.

Ionize: Acquired at Novice. Ionize allows the Risen to change the acidity of water by producing a higher or lower state of ion density within the substance, introducing a chemical change to the substance through their ether. This ability is largely limited by one's control and precision over Baptism, and as a result cannot significantly change something far outside of its range of acidity at an early stage. In scientific terms, Ionize can only manipulate the pH of water by around one degree at Novice, two at Apprentice, four at Journeyman, six at Expert, and eight at Master. A Nautilus may change a completely basic substance to being completely acidic. The more dramatic a change in acidity, the less content of ionized solution can be produced for the Risen's ether. At higher levels, these changes do become more efficient, but a moderately skilled Risen attempting to turn pure water into a purely acidic substance - if overdone - can be detrimental to the Risen's ether. Additionally, the Risen can become susceptible to their own ionized substances, meaning generating them and spreading them around is something that must be done with caution.

Tendril: Acquired at Apprentice. The Risen creates a tendril out of water, and may transition it into another state of matter through Realign. The Risen is capable of finely controlling each Tendril they create, allowing them to act as an extension of one's limbs. Tendrils can grip and pull objects, inflict blunt trauma, latch onto surfaces to control momentum and traction, and can be manipulated between states near-instantaneously by the Risen, particularly as they progress in Baptism. Typically, an Apprentice Risen may only manifest and finely control up to two Tendrils at a given time, while an Expert may manipulate up to four, and a Master six. The Tendril can extend to around ten feet at Apprentice, up to around twenty five feet by Expert, and fifty at Master. The precision of the Tendril will decrease significantly after that point, without the Risen expending exponentially more ether to finely control it at a longer distance.

Sway: Acquired at Apprentice. Sway allows the Risen to manipulate water around an object, using the object's center as a crux or central axis upon which they can control water around it. At Apprentice, this might allow them to rock a boat, push it against the wind or keep it in place, while a Risen with more experience can form crashing tides against the hull of an entire ship, threatening its destruction. By Expert, Sway no longer requires a central axis, and can disconnect bodies of water (such as forming a gap in a river), generate waves or manipulate individual areas within waves and other collections of water for whatever purpose the Risen intends.

Skiff: Acquired at Apprentice. Skiff allows the Risen to move effectively on or beneath water, manipulating water around them to allow them to skate over it at speeds significantly superior to sail or steam vessels. Skiff also allows for high underwater mobility, the Risen forcing water around them to contract before propelling them forward in a loop. This ability expends very little ether to use, and only after hours of maintenance will it begin to threaten Overstepping for the Apprentice Risen.

Ensign: Acquired at Journeyman. The Ensign is a Water Elemental crafted of ether and directed by the Mark of Control, one that tends to appear as a robust humanoid entity rising over a spinning vortex of water. The Ensign typically radiates a twilight glow from its shoulders and around its face, which is largely undefined and expressionless. Ensign are useful tools for a Risen, as their water may be pulled from them and manipulated to use abilities, allowing them to act as a proxy or ranged conduit for one's spells. Additionally, they are capable of attacking enemies within ten feet of them with whips of water, which can be highly damaging due to the speed and density of their strikes. Ensigns may also be transitioned between water's three states, and can - like other abilities - have their acidity manipulated.

In addition, while an Ensign is in its state of liquid water, it has a secondary ability. The Ensign may reflect an individual within its frame, and serves as a tool of interrogation for the Risen. If the individual they are questioning lies, their reflection will begin to muddle or dissipate, depending on the severity or extent of the lie. If they tell the whole truth, their reflection will become completely clear. This ability allows the Risen to determine the relative degree to which one is speaking in honesty or fabrication, though not exactly which words or statements of theirs might be lies.

Submersion: Acquired at Journeyman. By immersing another in water, a Risen may learn a great deal of things about them. This ability is often performed after or during an interrogation facilitated by Ensign, though it can be performed separately or on a willing target. Submersion allows the Risen to extract information from a person's mind and even their soul. As they are immersed, water will seep into their body and cling to their brain and the outer layers of their soul, extracting information from either or both. Drawn from their body, the water may then be drunk by the Risen, who will receive an influx of visual information that can help them to determine aspects or facets of that individual. Certain, surface level aspects of their soul can easily be gleaned. You will know exactly which magics that individual has, and even their general level of expertise in them. You will also easily know the general state of their intentions; adversarial, compliant, fearful. You will even know whether they may conventionally be regarded as evil, good, or neutral. Deeper information can be gleaned only by the Moondial, which can allow the Risen to view - through The Doors - ways they might manipulate those emotions or intentions, aiding them in breaking the target of their interrogation.

Moondial: Acquired at Journeyman. Moondial turns a large basin of water into an object seemingly capable of predicting chaos, or change. The water imbued with this ether will glow as if reflecting moonlight, with the effects of Moondial's enchantment lasting for several hours. While the basin is lit, an object meant to signify the significance of an individual (not needing to be acquired from them or their belongings) may be dropped into the pool, which will then produce a rippling effect based on the degree of change that will occur if that person were to die, disappear, or perform an action of interest to the Risen. The death of an individual of great influence could produce a ripple massive enough to pour over the edges of the basin, while a secluded miller might produce a very small blip of movement. As one becomes an Expert in Baptism, they may enter the pool and immerse their face into the water to experience the potential changes of this effect directly, viewing beyond 'The Doors' in the form of a complex but vivid delusion, a hallucination of one of reality's many chaotic outcomes. While these results are not always accurate, this ability is often performed to help guide a Risen towards the 'right' outcome, minimizing the harm they leave upon the world before they commit to a dangerous choice.

At Master, the Moondial and its 'Doors' may be used as an augur: a method of finding people, illuminating things about people near and far, learning of their fears and things significant to them. The ways in which a Master Risen can utilize the Moondial are vast beyond what is written here, though these feats of augury are also often marred by missing details and the uncertainty that follows.

In order to perform this ability in regards to a PC or a prominent NPC, that player must be contacted first and must give consent and insight. In regards to said prominent NPC, the moderator of that region or plot involving them must give consent and insight.

Purge: Acquired at Journeyman. Initially created for members of the Fulcrum to more easily cull morally aligned foes, Purge has become a tool of Risen hunters of all kinds, coating weapons and other objects with a gaseous layer of water that clings to their surface. When reacting to the body of an individual with a strong moral alignment, the gas will rapidly increase in acidity (to 0.1 pH) without additional expenditure of ether, allowing the weapon or object to act as a lethal tool against foes of these kinds, a melting effect surrounding the weapon for a few inches as an aura. Purge works well against any creature afflicted by a Blight (such as Dranoch or Corvo), or the members of any Corrupted God's orders. It also reacts with Dregs, Ghosts, and according to superstition, even the enigmatic Lich. While coating an object with Purge does consume ether, the gaseous layer tends to remain active for several hours to a full day, at Master.

Laceration: Acquired at Expert. Laceration allows the Risen to manipulate the sharpness of water and ice (and not gas), and does so in a rapid manner. Laceration is also known to be a cost-effective ability, allowing Risen to easily transition their water and ice between blunt and sharpened states. By thinning the water or ice and applying a thread-like layer of ether along its edges, the Risen is able to create a blade of water that can cut sharper than steel. This ability is often used in condition with Tendril, with the Risen capable of reshaping their Tendril into serrated weapons capable of dicing enemies in two.

Cascade: Acquired at Expert. Cascade allows the Risen to generate a very large amount of water, which they can keep in its pure form or transition into other states. Cascade is roughly equivalent to a large wave in terms of quantity, and is always pulled from either the air or plant life, though with the ether catalyzing these reactions rapidly enough to produce large quantities in mere seconds. This water can be manipulated by the Risen with a small, continuous degree of ether. Additionally, by expending additional ether, Cascade can be altered to become a high-pressure torrent, capable of demerging objects by the sheer pressure and force of the impact. Combined with the ability to transition Cascade into ice, this ability is known to be extremely lethal.

Pearl: Acquired at Expert. Pearl's name derives from the shape of the structure crafted by water. Similar to Cascade, a Risen will generate or pull water from the air or from the environment, before forming a pearl or spherical-shaped structure and immersing themselves within it. While the structure is malleable in scale, it tends to be around ten feet in height and width. The orb can be manipulated even through the air, allowing the Risen to effectively float within the Pearl, as it will pull them along with it as its own axis or core. Pearl can be manipulated as a conduit for other abilities, or pure manipulation of water. It can also be exchanged into other forms of water (such as a wave) before reforming, altering its shape only requiring a facile amount of ether.

Baptism: Acquired at Master. Baptism is the source of the magic's name, and for good reason. It is among the most consequential of magical abilities known to Atharen, as its innate function allows it to enact two different outcomes that can both greatly impact the Risen's surroundings. Baptism allows the Risen to dispel lingering isotopes that allow for the continuation of magical effects. Most commonly, this can be used to dissipate a magical effect, such as stopping the mental alteration of an individual performed through Mentalism, therefore resetting their Mosaic. Another example might be helping to cull lingering effects left by a Remnomancer. Baptism can also work to deactivate World Magic creations by saturating them with disruptive water, and can cure the diseases of Bane if circulated through someone's system. It can even work to shift a Malformer back to their default state, if a significant enough quantity of water relative to their mass can manage to attach to them, or temporarily immerse their control center (typically the head). Before actually 'Baptising' an effect from a target, the Risen will typically use Submersion on them, which can help the mage to understand the nature, complexity and difficulty of removal of that effect.

Baptism appears as a quantity of water imbued with a moonlit glow, placed over a given area before seeping into an object or surface. As a result of its ability to dissipate ethereal isotopes, Baptism can actually directly impact the Corruption of masses of land, specifically. It typically does so by seeping into soil, bark, plant-life or even other quantities of water and dispersing these radioactive traces, rapidly mending that land as a result. Because Baptism is a Master ability, it is costly to perform. It is more costly to perform it to dispel the effects of another powerful mage, particularly powerful abilities. Attempting to wrest someone from a a Voice's control may even lead to immediate Overstepping, depending on the intensity of their grip. Additionally, trying to clear wide swathes of land of Corruption can be equally so. Like any Master ability, it must be used in careful moderation.

Rumination: Acquired at Master. The Risen will begin to meditate. As they do, they will slowly leak out ether into the atmosphere, manipulating the environmental conditions as they do so. Depending on current atmospheric conditions, the intended effects can be easier or more difficult to generate, but in any location, any of Rumination's three outcomes can occur. Rumination will begin to produce the state necessary to generate a blizzard, a hurricane, or a downfall of acidic (pH 1) rain. This can take anywhere from minutes to several hours depending on the starting conditions, but even in a desert, a Risen may produce a massive blizzard that can blanket cities in time, or a hurricane that could cause flooding and vast destruction of towns and crops. If at any point during meditation the Risen is disturbed, the effects of Rumination will rapidly begin to cease unless their absolute focus can be restored. Because of this, the Risen is highly vulnerable while performing Rumination, but can produce devastating environmental effects if they are left unchallenged.

Depending on necessary changes, Rumination can consume a moderately high amount of ether to a massive, Overstepping-inducing amount. Generating a large blizzard within a hot desert in the season of Searing may push one into Moderate Overstepping even from full reserves, while generating a hurricane during a brewing storm may leave the Risen far from any such consequences. The Nautilus can perform Rumination even while mid-combat, and for trivial amounts of ether.

Nautilus Abilities

The Abyssal Barge: The Abyssal Barge is the key ability of the Nautilus, a massive ship superior to even the Druskan Warbarge. It is often called a 'ghost vessel,' given that it is - quite literally - a Revenant, the most powerful classification of Ghost. The Abyssal Barge appears ghostly, having a faintly glowing, green appearance, mildly transparent with the surrounding world. It glows in the night, illuminating around it almost like a celestial entity. The Abyssal Barge is controlled entirely by the Nautilus, and is one of the most devastating weapons known to Atharen.

The Nautilus can keep the Abyssal Barge with them for as long as they like, even if another Nautilus has summoned the vessel; the Revenant acts more as an artifact or conduit than an individual ship. The Abyssal Barge is very quick, sailing at speeds well over 40 knots, at around 50 miles per hour. It is armed with several, massive wings of artillery, triple-headed "gun-cannons" that are known to be capable of firing Griscian Skyvessels out of the clouds. The hull of the Barge is unbelievably durable, and even if it is irreparably damage, its weapons tend to remain functional unless they are destroyed as well. Worst of all, even if destroyed it can simply be re-summoned, though summoning the Barge once is enough to push the Nautilus near the verge of Overstepping.

The Barge's cannons typically appear to fire actual artillery shells, though they can be modified to shoot watery blasts with high blunt force, destructive waves of ice, immolating steam or acidic bombs. The Nautilus can steer the Barge freely with their mind, turning it 360-degrees in mid air if they so desire. Because of this ability's immense utility and diversity of applications, it is perhaps the most icon and renowned of Ascended spells.

Riptide: Work in progress. Conjure a tsunami.

Novice

As a Novice, the Risen gains access to two abilities: Realign and Ionize. Realign is the first ability learned by a Risen, teaching them to manipulate the molecular structure and density of water in several different ways. This acts as the footing for the remainder of the magic, allowing the mage to get a feel for how groups or clusters of water can be finely manipulated. Ionize expands upon these ideas, allowing the Risen to manipulate the acidity of water, an ability that can be used in conjunction with any other ability of the practice.

Apprentice

Tendril focuses on larger-scale manipulation of water, teaching the Risen to form larger structures of water from smaller clusters, or to physically move water from one body to an external area through ether. These concepts manifest in Tendril, which allows the Risen to manipulate a tentacle-like appendage of water as if it were their very own limb, and Sway which grasps the concept of manipulating a certain area of water within a larger body, initially using an object as an axis through which to manipulate it, but expanding later into the magic.

Journeyman

Journeyman is a point of large progression for a Risen. They gain access to four new abilities: Ensign, Submersion, Moondial, and Purge. Ensign is the creation of a Water 'Elemental' or 'Guardian', a physically contiguous entity manifested by the Mark of Control. The Ensign itself introduces the beginning functions of one of the magic's central focuses, assisting in interrogation, the discerning of truth and lies, and the estimation of one's character. Submersion expands on this, allowing one to garner information on one's magics, their general 'alignment' and their overall intent, with this information becoming further explorable through Moondial, which allows the Risen to determine the outcome of a person's actions or intentions, or the death of said person. As Risen are meant to be the enforcers of Tenebrax's holy intentions, these abilities are key to their purpose. Purge acts as the lethal arm of that purpose: those aligned against Tenebrax's values are greatly susceptible to it, acting as a bane to any who would be exposed to an object enriched by that ability.

Expert

An Expert Risen returns to focusing on manipulating bodies of water, introducing the abilities of Laceration, Cascade and Pearl. All three of these abilities are lethal and versatile, the nature of water's malleable shape greatly expanding their versatility. Laceration allows the Risen to sharpen the edges of a thin ribbon or blade of water to become terrifyingly sharp. Conversely, Cascade allows a Risen to produce an abundance of high pressure water that can break apart objects in torrent-like blasts, or to create malleable structures or fog-like fields by transitioning the body produced into a solid or gaseous state. Pearl acts as a movable fortress for the Risen, who may manipulate the spherical structure to move and to expel water or form it as an appendage, all of which can be finely manipulated.

Master

A Master practitioner of Baptism learns the two final abilities of the magic, Baptism and Rumination. Unsurprisingly given its name, Baptism is a consequential ability to the magic, allowing the Risen to physically disperse certain after-effects or prolonged effects of magic, working to remove certain magical effects from a person or area. This ability equally works to disperse Corruption in a given area, its structure becoming dissipated enough to grow effectively harmless over time. In addition to Baptism, the Risen learns Rumination, a meditative ability that can affect atmospherical conditions enough to induce severe weather effects, including blizzards, high-acid rain downpour, and hurricanes. A Master Risen can leave a large impact on the world, though best does so with patience and contemplation, as their Master abilities are easily lethal to themselves if performed without caution.

Ascension: The Nautilus

The Nautilus is a legendary Ascension, one with a storied history. While many Ascensions retain some philosophical or aesthetic connection to their progenitor, the Adac who created the magic, the Nautilus has always gone a different path, forging a bond with the sea itself as if one disconnected entity. In order to ascend, a Master Risen must go deep into the lowest trenches of the ocean floor, subjecting themselves to the crushing density of the water that surrounds them. They risk death a second time, another Baptism where they'll be left mangled and replete, choked up and swallowed by the sea's lightless depths.

To succeed, the Risen must force their own body to mutate to the crushing weight, all while manipulating the density around them to a fine point. They will draw themselves into severe overstepping, slowly holding back the ocean's crunching maw, hoping desperately that their Mark will abide that they ascend. If they survive, they will emerge from the sea what the Druskai call a 'Deep One,' able to survive with ease at any depth, adapting their body rapidly to any density and becoming able to sense all movement within water through an instinctive, vibrational pulse.

The Nautilus acquires thin gills along their obliques, and a series of fins on the back of their heels, behind their tail vertebrae, and sometimes in their hair and along their arms. They become incredible swimmers, water around them flowing into their every movement; they can exceed a hundred miles an hour of speed within their first few strokes, ripping through the waters flawlessly.

The Nautilus gains the ability to interact with a specific region of the Dead Realm, one that only exists at the very bottom of the ocean floor. There, they may bond with a Revenant who takes the form of a ship, known as the Abyssal Barge. This vessel is - without a doubt - the most powerful ship on Atharen, and a Nautilus may conjure it to their side at any time. It is capable of inflicting mass devastation, superior to even a Druskan Warbarge in weaponry, able to lay waste to small cities. The Abyssal Barge can sail through air moisture, making it a vessel of limitless mobility; a Nautilus' magnum opus.

Aside from this, the Nautilus becomes a force of nature. They act like a gravitational body, shifting and swaying the ocean around them akin to a Moon. Manipulating water becomes natural to them, and easy; all of their Baptism abilities become more powerful and mildly less exhausting to perform, and they can expand beyond the normal boundaries of what many of those abilities entail. Sway, for example, may produce massive geysers or vortexes of water, whirlpools that twist hundreds of feet above the ocean surface like a blunt tornado of crushing aqua. The Nautilus gains deep blue eyes, often with a teal sclera, and their skin tends to become slightly bluer or greyer. Additionally, some Nautilus also develop bioluminescence across parts of their body.

The Nautilus may also learn to adopt one of the most unique and useful of tools common to some aquatic beasts: ocean sonar, which they can use to scout their watery domain.