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Wushanko Occult-Ritual Magic?

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AttilaSquare

AttilaSquare

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Hey, Rondstat,

This is neat. I've been meaning to comment. I was going to propose rituals as simply another way of focusing our attention, but you have already addressed it. While this doesn't contribute to our knowledge of the Ritual Magic of the Eastern Lands, maybe it can still be helpful later on: Original message details are unavailable.
Runes simply guide our attention according to certain patterns. That they are used up in each spell is probably due to the way we use them currently in our magic. Perhaps we could use runes in a way that didn't use them up.

Consider this example. Words, like runes, guide our attention. By speaking, we guide the attention of our interlocutor in order to express ourselves or to come to share in attention to the same topic. We don't always remember the words we say: we accomplish what we desire in the way of expression and communication, and then they are lost to oblivion. This is natural and useful. For from conversation to conversation, words take on slightly different meanings, with greater or lesser precision. By forgetting many of the individual uses of words, we are able to fall back to the dimly perceived, somewhat vague, broadly shared meaning of words.

If we should overuse words or begin to use words in idiosyncratic ways, then we are likely to lose a sense of their intersubjective meanings and fail to express ourselves adequately to others. Therefore, many prosaic words are used up, and pass from our memory. The stability of their meaning (and therefore power) depends upon it.

06-Jul-2016 21:37:30

AttilaSquare

AttilaSquare

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Original message details are unavailable.
But some words are used in such a way as not to fall away. These are important words, powerful words. Consider blessings, curses, decrees, vows, or promises - think of the power of the words "I do" as used traditionally in marriage in the West. The meaning of such powerful and binding words is often preserved by ritual; in fact, this is the function of ritual - it preserves meaning. Thus we can perform the home teleport spell without runes; instead we use a ritual.

Many staves and wands possess an unlimited capacity to guide our attention in certain manners. Perhaps this is because they have a particularly compelling story or history which regularly arrests our attention in the same ways. Although, I assume that all staves and wands eventually lose their power, for that is the way of things. But I would compare questions like yours and a discussion like this to the 'flattening magic' used by the Moon Clan to preserve the presence of the runecrafting altars within the plane of Gielinor - by attending to and uncovering and preserving the meaning of things, we sustain their magic and the power they grant us. Thus you and I, and the entire lore community, become part of the lore itself: by our love of lore we preserve the magics and the worlds we love.

06-Jul-2016 21:39:07

Zu Zu

Zu Zu

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We've also seen other ways magic can be practiced around the world too, aside from Occultism.


For example, the tribal karamjans and some of the feldip hill ogres deploy Shamanism, which involves connecting with spirits. Some Karamjans, like Papa Mimbo and Mama Rimbo, even use Voodooism, which involves invoking the powers of gods (presumably the Karamjan Gods) in a similar manner how the elves get their magic from Seren. Their way of magic may involve creepy dancing, singing around a fire pit, playing maracas, sweet smoke, charms, painting tattoos on their face, etc..

On the mainland, we've seen many witches from Swept Away, e.g. Ali the Hag, Old Crone, using Witchcraft, like the real life one. Witchcraft use words and incantations to use spells. Most witches we encounter in quest aid us by bewitching items, concocting magical potions with enchanting effects and stuff.

Finally there is Druidism used by the Taverley druids, which in real life draws its power on nature and animals.
I am a God-slaying Goddess! Worship me, the immortal Occultist! The new Khan of the Seas!
Muahahahahaahah!!!!

07-Jul-2016 03:12:50 - Last edited on 07-Jul-2016 03:20:33 by Zu Zu

Sepulchre
Dec Member 2020

Sepulchre

Posts: 3,525 Adamant Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
Zu Zu said :
We've also seen other ways magic can be practiced around the world too, aside from Occultism.


For example, the tribal karamjans and some of the feldip hill ogres deploy Shamanism, which involves connecting with spirits. Some Karamjans, like Papa Mimbo and Mama Rimbo, even use Voodooism, which involves invoking the powers of gods (presumably the Karamjan Gods) in a similar manner how the elves get their magic from Seren. Their way of magic may involve creepy dancing, singing around a fire pit, playing maracas, sweet smoke, charms, painting tattoos on their face, etc..

On the mainland, we've seen many witches from Swept Away, e.g. Ali the Hag, Old Crone, using Witchcraft, like the real life one. Witchcraft use words and incantations to use spells. Most witches we encounter in quest aid us by bewitching items, concocting magical potions with enchanting effects and stuff.

Finally there is Druidism used by the Taverley druids, which in real life draws its power on nature and animals. This is a good point, I admittedly had thought of this but didn't feel up to going into each one individually. Still; in a way, all of these support my theory that almost any use of magic by mortals involves something focusing their anima energy. A
World Guardian
must learn to find
Balance
in themselves.
Only then can they
Control
themselves and forge their own
Fate .

07-Jul-2016 05:53:50

Rondstat

Rondstat

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Arc 2 in a few hours.

Possible opportunity for lore on Haricanto.

Do I really expect to see any reference to Haricanto on the four new islands? No, not at all.

But if there is some oblique reference to this forgotten master of necromancy, oh man, I'll be like a chick who just saw greased lightning.

10-Oct-2016 08:02:00

Rondstat

Rondstat

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So, some interesting stuff in Arc 2.

The central story revolves around the Harbinger, and the mysterious curse of undeath it's spreading through the Arc. We eventually determine it's the product of a Jiangshi, a zombie-vampire thing, raised by a powerful necromancer. While we discover just how this Jiangshi came to be, and why the necromancer (Cora) raised her, the source of Cora's necromantic powers (stated several times to be immense) is glossed over pretty quickly.

There was, oddly, no direct mention of Occultism or soothsaying. Some folks (at least from the chats I'm in) interpreted it as some sort of gift of Xau-Tak. I'm still holding out hope that Cora may turn out to be a student of the ways of Haricanto.

Either way, it's clearly a very different sort of magic than we know, and its focus on anima-as-chi represents a different philosophical and mechanical understanding of phenomena as known in the west. Which could open up some interesting possibilities down the line.

12-Oct-2016 14:53:45

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