Remnant

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The Origins

Remnant was, originally, created by Kyrikain. Not intended at first for mortal hands, it was his method of understanding his own capabilities; the powers lodged within his Domains. Through Remnant, the fledgling God helped craft some of the intricacies of the human mind, and how it interacted with dreams and memories. While these ideas were prototypal, the God now interacting with mortal cognition in much more complex ways, the... remnant left behind remains the way in which mortal magi continue to interact with dreams and memories, even now.

Concepts

Engrams: The first concept a Remnomancer - a practitioner of Remnant - interacts with is called The Engram, or Engrams. Before anything else can be learned, one must understand the physical and arcane significance of the Engram, and its relationship with the brain. In Neuropsychology, an Engram is a permanent change left upon the brain due to the existence of a memory, or, more succinctly: a memory trace. While this definition is accurate, a Remnomancer views an Engram as a visual structure. Using ether, the magi is capable of distinguishing Engrams from within the tangle of the mind, acting as a beacon within the otherwise complex structure. Engrams act as focal points within dreams and memories; formed by significant events, thoughts or experiences, they serve as hubs of recognition. While over time they fade if not activated, a Remnomancer can discover even the most latent Engrams within the mind.

Visually, a Remnomancer enters the tangle of the brain through a complex structure known as the Mindscape. Depending on their state - waking or sleeping - the elements of the Mindscape may be more permanent and visual, or may occur to them more as flashes of imagery, disjointed. Whatever the case, as they tread through the Mindscape, Engrams will appear to them as glowing red centers: often a sphere or a globe, they exist as complex jungles of thought and recognition, each tied - typically - to either a certain and significant event, or a period in one's life. Through the magic, the Remnomancer may activate and restore the contents of an Engram, through a process known as Reclamation.

Reclamation: An Engram will appear more or less vibrant depending on its remaining significance to the brain. Dormant Engrams, such as those which have long since been utilized and may have occurred long ago, are 'forgotten' - a process effectively irreversible, as the Engram enters a sleep that cannot be physically recovered from. Remnomancers are capable of undoing this dormancy, reactivating old Engrams, their vibrancy returning as old memories return to the weave of the mind. Reclamation can do this, and more; it can move certain thoughts and memories to the forefront, perhaps making a man's most vivid memories those he had as a young child. It can also, paradoxically, be used to make memories dormant, even very recent ones. What Reclamation effectively is, is the ability to rekindle or dim Engrams within the Mindscape, changing the landscape of it around them, and adjusting the Mindscape's more visual surface: the Memory Palace.

The Memory Palace: Dreams and memories are, in many ways, one and the same. WIP.

Initiation

WIP.

Threshold Sickness

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

WIP: X

Severe

WIP: X

Mutations

X

Abilities

Voyage: The ability to enter one's Palace. Your own at Novice, others at Apprentice. WIP.

Guidance: The ability to locate Engrams. Novice. WIP.

Junction: Rekindle memories through Engrams. Apprentice. WIP.

Pervade: Suffuse an object or place with an idea, concept or thought, often around an Engram, or from a concept related to one's Palace. Apprentice. WIP.

Phantasm: Memorize aspects, particularly visual or physical experiences, apparitions or entities from another's Palace into your own. Journeyman. WIP.

Falsification: Adjust existing memories in subtle ways, affects Palace. Must be reasonably in line with target individual's reality/experiences. Journeyman. WIP.

Phantasmal Reckoning: Project Phantasms onto visual reality in the form of tangible illusions. Consumes exponentially more ether based on the complexity of the Phantasm, especially if trying to induce other magical effects. Expert. WIP.

The Mask: Masks present self with projected self from the past, altering appearance and even rekindling past physicality and health. Can mask mutations. As one oversteps, the mask begins to dwindle and eventually fully recede, marginally losing effect from Light to Severe overstepping. Expert. WIP.

Astralization: Project aspects of an entire Palace onto the world. Master. WIP.

Trial: Pulls the target individual and the Remnomancer, physically, into the Remnomancer's Palace or the target's Palace. Master. WIP.

Abyssal Abilities

Mind Leech: Inserts a 'Mind Leech' into target's Mindscape, rapidly consuming their memories, the integrity of their dreamscape and their cognitive capabilities. WIP.

The Bridge: Links the Abyssal's Palace to the target's. WIP.

Novice

X

Apprentice

X

Journeyman

X

Expert

X

Master

X

Ascension: The Abyssal

X

Notes

  • The Remnomancer cannot determine facts about another individual's Memory Palace without their consent. This magic is meant to be collaborative and must be played as such.