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AttilaSquare

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Because native spirits tend to remain upon their own planes, and principle spirits are unlikely to answer the summons - i.e. by taking on a temporary body - of a mortal from a realm of light, the new summoning drew into Gielinor those creatures which had already met us halfway, so to speak. The demons of Infernus, those living on Infernus and those exiled from it, had for ages projected their spiritual presences into the abyss, in order to scry and work other magics upon the realms of light (e.g. Agrith-Naar). When human oneiromancers, necromancers, and summoners encountered these demonic projections - if they were not consumed by them first - some humans would make a pact with them, granting them access to the world of Gielinor. This was the birth of demon-summoning.

What we call demon-summoning need not summon only demons. It simply summons creatures from the abyss beyond the shadow realm/spirit realm of Gielinor. In this way it differs from traditional druidic summoning. Therefore, the magics used and the means of exchange between the realms also differ.

The last conceptual change of this period concerns the elemental obelisks. Although the new elemental staves made little difference in the lives of humans, the construction of the obelisks sparked a new interest in the study and precise delineation of the magical elements. At the time, humans were familiar only with the elements commonly appearing in Gielinor and represented by their precious runestones. But in light of the newly discovered access to magics from the abyss and other worlds, they began to question how the elements might differ in other worlds and what a thorough knowledge of the elements might yield. (This brings to mind the division of elements into catalytic and elemental, as well as Rondstat's observation that the astral and cosmic elements may appear as one "nebulous" element when we abstract from the specific environments of Gielinor and Zanaris.)

24-Jul-2016 03:41:32

AttilaSquare

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All of these conceptual developments - the prominence of exchange, an expanded horizon which once again included the abyss, and the new interest in the magical elements - laid the foundations for modern runic magics. In light of this account, I am inclined to call the last centuries of the 4th age (or at least the time between the advent of summoning and the construction of the elemental obelisks) the Period of Obelisks - which is itself perhaps the last phase of the Age of Druidism (the 4th age), itself the end of the Era of Mysticism (mid-2nd to 4th).

A historian might also note that, had the School of Streit endured, many of these developments are unlikely to have occurred. Beyond the resistance to change which naturally attends a tradition of many millennia, the mystics of Streit would have been quick to curb the reconception of magic according to the concept of exchange - for the doctrine of "the ultimate darkness," which concerns the unknowable and immeasurable, undermines any such neat and organized conception of magic.

Likewise, they would have prevented the resurgence of necromancy and would have criticized the reasoning which led to the construction of the elemental obelisks. To them, such reasoning illustrates the danger of a simplistic philosophy of balance: without a thorough knowledge of the phenomena in question, one cannot know which factors need to be balanced, and instead one tends to find something to be in balance with whatever one imagines. The mystics would have dismissed the idea that there was need for obelisks aligned to the elements and would have cautioned against the interest in a precise delineation of the elements - for this too risks an excessively organized and systematic conception of magic.

24-Jul-2016 03:42:04

AttilaSquare

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The organized and systematic conception of magic was exactly what allowed for the rapid rise of Gielinor's humans upon the rediscovery of runecrafting. Of course, the art of runecrafting had never been lost among the Moon Clan and Fremennik School, but the other schools neither knew of nor asked about the source of their modest stock of runes.

Once the main rune essence mine was discovered and the art of runecrafting shared broadly, human communities across the world quickly brought the new influx of runes into the service of their traditional arts of war. The Bandosian races were pushed out, and the Mahjarrat rulers Hazeel and Khazard overthrown in Kandarin; human kingdoms expanded and fortified their borders.

The Academic School was one of the first to embrace the new runic magics, transforming its headquarters in Yanille into the modern mage guild. The Wizards' Tower was also built in southern Misthalin, where the study of magic flourished, alongside the related disciplines of runecrafting theory, planar theory, portal dynamics, teleportation theory, demonology, and summoning. Vitruvius advanced metallurgy in the region of the present-day Seers Village. The Imcando experimented with alchemy in the halls of Camdozaal. And the Kharidians erected the mage training arena in the northern desert.

With the success of modern runic magics, most traditional magical practices disappeared. Druidism has persisted, the traditions of mysticism and sorcery have been carried on by Thormac and others, and ancient necromantic practices have remained an interest among dark wizards, Zamorakians, and the chaos druids. Among Gielinor's humans, Fremennik seers, the Moon Clan, the Menaphites, and probably the people of Karamja have maintained their traditional magics, alongside of whatever other traditions remain among the citizens of Misthalin, Asgarnia, and Kandarin.

24-Jul-2016 03:43:09 - Last edited on 24-Jul-2016 04:39:07 by AttilaSquare

AttilaSquare

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Having described the rapid changes in human magic at the start of the 5th age, it is important now to describe what exactly modern runic magic is and the reactions to it. Modern magic, in general, is the direction of spiritual power. Modern runic magic, in particular, is the direction of spiritual power through the use of runestones. This differs from ancient runic magics in a few ways.

First, ancient runic magic was seen as a technology set with the broader practice of sorcery, so the possibilities of runic magic were never studied on their own. This changed in the late 4th age when human mages took interest in the precise and systematic treatment of the magical elements. Second, the ancient traditions of magic all looked to spirits as the source of magic, but this also changed at the end of the 4th age. On the one hand, the doctrine of "the ultimate darkness" had severed the tight link between anima and the spirits to which it responded, so that spirits and anima became in popular consciousness - without the guidance of the mystics of Streit - vague forces underlying magic rather than the receptivity of the heart to definite feelings and desires which were clearly accessible through reflection. On the other hand, the concept of exchange had further strengthened a view of magic as lawfully regulated and as unrelated, or only loosely related, to spirits and anima .

These two points explain how a new concept of "spiritual power" emerged. Humans still recognized that magic came from within them, but this power was no longer associated with the spirits that prompted and guided them, the spirits in which they participated. The human capacity for magic was reconceived as a kind of brute or fundamental force - quantified anima - and human mages now sought to dispose of this force efficiently.

24-Jul-2016 03:43:39

AttilaSquare

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This conceptual development had transformed runic magics by the end of the 4th age, but it could not be said to have initiated a new era of human magics until the last difference between ancient runic magics and modern runic magics emerged: in the 5th age, humans found themselves with an unlimited supply of runestones. This meant that the view of magic as systematic and law-governed would not remain a vague and speculative view. Rather, hypotheses were testable; laws were discoverable. Humans were able to make an massive investment of runestones in verifying and developing entirely new disciplines of magic. The success of the new runic magics in both theoretical and practical pursuits ensured its cultural dominance among almost all the humans of Gielinor.

From a historical perspective then, modern runic magics might be described as the result of the following combination: a systemtic view of magic, based upon the concepts of law and exchange; an obscured concept of anima which transforms the relationship between spirits and the heart into a quantifiable "spiritual power" to be used efficiently; and an unlimited supply of runestones which could be employed in an experimental and methodical exploration of the laws governing the efficient use of spiritual power.

In reaction to these changes, some Fremennik came to reject the use of runic magics by humans entirely. The resulting conflict led to the expulsion of the Moon Clan, the collapse of the Fremennik School, and the beginning of the runecrafting crusades. Not many years later, the Wizards' Tower was burned to the ground, and a backlash against the Zamorakians and their mystical school ensued. This school was destroyed and replaced by the ZMI which was founded in secret. With the destruction of two of the four remaining schools and the abandonment of all but historical interest in the mystical tradition by the Academic School, the Era of Mysticism had clearly come to an end.

24-Jul-2016 03:44:31

AttilaSquare

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Although the Academic School had abandoned its mystical tradition, it is likely that mystical insights persisted among the some of the Saradominist clergy educated in the old traditions, for they should have been especially sensitive to the cultural disorder introduced by the revolution of runic magics. Likewise the ZMI took note of the environmental effects of excessive teleportation.

Had the ZMI access to the knowledge of the Zamorakian School, they might have understood the weakened barriers of Gielinor as resulting from the discontinuous and erratic manner of relating to spirits enabled by modern teleportation. No longer must one attune oneself to the spirits of a place along a journey, and so fewer spirits contribute to the constitution of the realm of light. In other words, if living things do not attend to the spirits of their world, it naturally begins to "thin." Spirits both constitute and act as barriers to the realms of light. So the thinning of the world means lowered barriers to entry - an opportunity the ZMI had sought to exploit in the 5th age.

Planar thinning has the following results: increased cases of naturally occurring portals to other realms, easier access to the shadow realm and abyss and the dangers attending thereto, and possibly the fracturing of the plane - should the spirits of one place become incompatible with the spirits of other (resulting in pocket dimensions) or should the native spirits give way entirely (resulting in the destruction of the place).

24-Jul-2016 03:45:06 - Last edited on 24-Jul-2016 04:42:36 by AttilaSquare

AttilaSquare

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Extreme manifestations of planar thinning may be found in the tunnels of Daemonheim. Unfortunately we do not know much of the rift which has causing them to occur. Remarkably, the story of Moia includes the account of a method for restoring the stability of the plane. She drained the naturally-occurring portals of their power. Spiritual power is consumed in the process of passing through a portal, but this same power may be redirected toward other ends without passing through the portal. Once fully drained of its power, a portal will collapse. Unfortunately it is likely that this method treats a symptom of planar thinning rather than its cause.

After the rise and immediate effects of runic magics, two further phenomena have impacted the magic and planar theory of the 5th age. First, there was the recession of the runecrafting altars. This too is a manifestation of planar thinning. In order to understand how and why it occurred, we must return to the original creation of the altars and critique the modern accounts of their creation from a historical perspective.

Today it is said that human mages brought large blocks of rune essence to locations especially strong in particular magical elements and there focused their thoughts on the elements until the blocks of rune essence also took on the magical elements and became the runecrafting altars we know today. This account is clearly modern: it treats the presence of spirits in terms of quantifiable forces, and it does not address at all the architecture of the altars.

It is more likely that the early human sorcerers did not begin with a complete list of magical elements. Instead, as they journeyed throughout the world, following the promptings of spirits, they came upon places where they enjoyed clear insights concerning the spirits guiding them. In those places they constructed altars. These were meant to invite others to appreciate the guidance of the spirits invisibly dwelling there.

24-Jul-2016 03:45:53 - Last edited on 24-Jul-2016 04:44:03 by AttilaSquare

AttilaSquare

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These altars would have become sites of pilgrimage, and the runestones which sorcerers crafted there served as powerful and useful reminders of the pilgrims' journeys. Just as we are taught today, runestones serve to focus the attention of the mage - but for the ancient sorcerers this focusing happened because of the memories associated with the runestones. Today human mages achieve this focus not through recollected memories of spirits but through training in magical techniques and through repeated exposure to magical phenomena.

Therefore, in modern times the history and meaning of the runecrafting altars has been misunderstood. They have been conceived without reference to the spirits embodied in them, as mere technologies. Yet simply because they were embodied in altars and because humans still associate altars with spirits, the spirits animating the altars hung onto the realm of light.

But this changed once the widespread misunderstanding of the altars reached its completion. When the Fremennik School failed and when Gunnar and his warriors presumed that, as the mages were teaching, the altars were no more than rune factories which could be destroyed with picks and hammers and that they had nothing to do with the realm of spirits; the spirits abandoned them. Today the spirits embody themselves in the altars only in pocket dimensions, hidden from the technological spirit which drove them from the realm of light. After the recession of the altars, those mages knowledgeable in the mystical tradition crafted talismans attuned to the spirits of the altars so that access to them would not be lost forever.

24-Jul-2016 03:46:26 - Last edited on 24-Jul-2016 04:45:31 by AttilaSquare

AttilaSquare

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Yet, if Finix is correct, the altars are threatened yet again. A mystic might interpret the situation thus: the talismans themselves have come to be treated as tools for the mass production of runestones and not as aids for attuning oneself to the spirits of the altars. The same technological spirit which gave rise to modern runic magics again threatens to destroy itself by driving forth from Gielinor's shadow the native spirits on which the practice of runecrafting depends. Should the pocket dimensions collapse and the ability to craft runestones be lost again, perhaps some mystics will discover new ways to craft runestones by resummoning the native spirits of Gielinor back from the abyss or by communing with the principle spirits beyond the world.

The modern thinking which led to the loss of the altars' presence in Gielinor has likewise affected the thinking of the Moon Clan. For now they speak of "flattening magic" which holds the astral altar in the realm of light; they make no reference to the relevant spirit. Yet the altar remains because their ritual magic reminds them constantly that they depend upon the altar for their way of life, just as their ancestors depended upon the same spirits of old. This, as well as the fact that they are ruled now by an oneiromancer rather than a mystic, indicates just how much was lost when the Fremennik School failed.

Next, in the 149th year of the 5th age, several islands of the southern sea came under attack from creatures from another world through a series of portals. These portals differ from others because they do not carve paths through the abyss - i.e. they do not make use of known principle spirits. Instead it is said that they enter Gielinor via the "void."

24-Jul-2016 03:48:09 - Last edited on 24-Jul-2016 04:48:45 by AttilaSquare

AttilaSquare

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This was a concept largely unknown to traditional planar theory. It featured only in a legend handed down among the druids. The legend claims Guthix used the sword of Skargaroth to travel to new worlds. A mystic might understand this phenomenon as follows: the sword divides out the spirits at work wherever it is swept, so that its user might survey clearly the spirits and choose the one by which he wishes to travel. In modern parlance, the sword divides out the various mystical resonances wherever the sword is swept, so that one may choose one, see if a naturally occurring portal will allow one to travel by it, or construct a portal structure so that one may travel by it.

According to the legend, Guthix once cut too deeply and created a portal to the void - i.e. a wholly empty place, a place of nothing. The schools of mysticism had taught that we experience realms of light, realms of shadow, and the abyss. The realms of light were inhabited by visible individuals. The realms of shadow and the abyss were inhabited by spirits. And few had ever seen a need to posit an additional realm.

But such a need did emerge in the late 4th age. As mages developed ever more systematic accounts of magic and more and more treated the various spirits of Gielinor as a general, quantifiable force, they found themselves talking of abstract laws and structures. They borrowed mathematical concepts and no longer sounded like mystics or sorcerers of old. These mages had begun to deal in concepts devoid of experienced content. They went as far as to propose that perhaps all of reality - light, shadow, and abyss - could be described in the terms of a wholly abstract language, and that in this language they might describe the ultimate laws of exchange that govern all of the multiverse.

24-Jul-2016 03:48:58 - Last edited on 24-Jul-2016 04:51:16 by AttilaSquare

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