Worldbuilding | Magic in Amashik and Beyond
Part 2: Glamours and Transcendeds
Who’s Who in Edhel
In part 1, I went into detail about two of the branches of magic, and their most well known users, and the positions of relative power they hold within The Kingdom of Edhel. Both Aurors and Dreadfuls have taken turns at ruling the magical kingdom and they’ve managed not to completely wipe each other off the map… for now. While tracking the monarchs of Edhel would almost completely leave out the other two branches of magic users, a closer look at the history of the 2nd most powerful empire in Amashik P.S. (post-separation), would reveal that they’ve played pivotal roles in keeping the peace and prosperity in the Empire in the East.
Glamours and Transcendeds are not nearly as imposing as Aurors and Dreadfuls, but they are not to be taken lightly either. Users of these two branches of magic tend to be some of the most cunning, beguiling, and intelligent users of magic in all of Amashik. It is their softer touch and the inherent secrecy in which they operate that allows them to flourish within Edhel and beyond.
Magic in Amashik is derivative of an ancient source.
Before diving into Glamours and Transcendeds it’s important to note that magic isn’t necessarily bound to The Kingdom of Edhel. It does however, happen to be the place where the highest concentration of magic users can be found. And the Golo1 of the Mogian Empire have written extensively on the matter:
Our mystical neighbors to the north have never been much of a bother to us. Their queer ways of being aside, they have never seen cause to seek dominion over us despite our menial status in the region. While they are undoubtedly erring and blasphemous individually, collectively they are to be trusted. My time among them led to the unearthing of more secrets than answers, but their libraries are some of the richest I’ve ever laid eyes upon and are full of enough knowledge to satisfy any scholar.
One such library found in the city of Umar, had much to say of an “ancient source” or a “wellspring” as they call it, from which all they had had “sprung forth.” They believe all life and existence itself are but a “trickle” of the wellspring’s bounty. While I take issue with the theology I cannot discount that all of Edhel is magnificently beautiful. Its architecture, its city planning, its women, and Magi forgive me, even the men are absolutely gorgeous.
Their arcane practices surrounding the sun, meditation, and beauty are equally as mesmerizing. If you are ever given the chance, leap at the opportunity to travel to Edhel. Though I would advise you make sure all matters of heart and soul are in order first.
- From the journal of Peleus “the Pious” Panagos
When viewed in conjunction with this excerpt from a widely known, yet unnamed, T’sin text we start to get a picture of this “source,” what is known as the wellspring:
We honor all that flows from The Wellspring. That which we can perceive through the senses as well as what we cannot. It is in what we cannot comprehend that The Wellspring speaks to us. When we hear the stillness that is its voice we are moved to a place where comprehension is no longer necessary. It is there, in that place beyond, where we and The Wellspring are one.
-From translated T’sin teachings
Outside of Edhel rumors of Glamours and Transcendeds aren’t unheard of. Close readings of the smattering of T’sin texts that remain available to us reveal that the T’sin themselves were likely, or were descendants of, powerful Transcendeds. Glamour magic is often blamed for any conniving anywhere in Amashik so those tales are harder to parse out. Whether we can point them out when we see them is another matter entirely, but what Glamours are capable of is pretty clear.
Glamours
Going against my beliefs about powers having direct consequences Glamours actually don’t have any. Yup. You read that correctly. There are no consequences to using Glamour magic. But other than changing one’s appearance, they can’t really do much else. No super human strength. No regenerative properties. Nothing.
Other than the ability to disguise themselves as any humanoid they can see or have seen a Glamour is just like you and me. Well, except that they are believed to be vampiristic at best or cannibalistic at worst… and that they age much slower than we do as a result. Glamours could exist all across Amashik for all we know. Masking their lack of aging with shapeshifting and hiding their vices by only feasting in private.
Transcendeds
While the Glamours avoid drawbacks by being the meekest of the magic users in Amashik, the Transcendeds have some of the harshest. The ability to astrally project oneself anywhere in the physical realm is nothing to take lightly. A powerful Transcended can be anywhere they want to, so long as their body remains unharmed or unmoved. That said, they can’t choose when they are in the location they want to be in unless they are extremely powerful.
For example, if I wanted to watch the events of the next Superbowl without buying tickets and I had the abilities of a master Transcended I could find a seat just above the field of play. If I were a novice? I could make it above the field, but I am no more likely to see the Superbowl than I am the stadium itself being built. Everything about a Transcended’s abilities is temporal, as in relating to time. While the best of the best can go where they want, when they want, they cannot control how long they are there.
Nothing can be altered in the physical realm during a projection. At least not by any Transcendeds living today in Amashik. It is believed that the Hlavin all operated at a much higher skill level with their Transcended abilities. The events of the Separation likely occurred because of the great powers concentrated in Rhitia that day, that’s also exactly why so many of the Hlavin were lost. As the ground beneath their bodies shattered and fell into the sea, so did their chances of returning to them. Stories of what happened to all of those lost souls are for another day.
Hlavin Magic
When we look at these two systems in particular, Glamour and Transcended, what we are likely seeing is a watered down version of the physical properties and abilities of the Hlavin. It is written that they lived for centuries if they were left in peace, aging so slowly that any who didn’t lose their lives during the Separation could feasibly still be alive today. If and/ or how those properties were passed off to other humanoid species is unknown. Could it also be that they were able to alter their appearance? It’s possible. Though we will likely never know for certain.
As for their ability to transcend? If you believe the ancient texts of the T’sin there are two ways to astrally project, one being far more powerful than the other. Each is dependent on the practice of meditation and one can safely assume that by deepening this practice one can go further, be away longer, and remain under better control of their temporal setting while projecting.
Hlavin tales of the afterlife taught of “the in between” as the ultimate resting place for all of their kind. A place between the physical realm, the realms of men, and the ethereal realm, the realms of magic. According to what the T’sin would have you believe the Hlavin would regularly take visits here to watch over, and possibly commune with, their dead ancestors. No one can confirm any of these tales considering there have been no recorded sightings of Hlavin in nearly 100 years.
Sages, teachers of lore in the Mogian Empire. As a fan of fantasy it is only right that I make as many nods to my predecessors. Golo is a term I’m using to play homage to Sindarin, one of the elvish languages created by Tolkein. Pengolodh is Sindarin for teaching sage or lore master. I’ve also been openly paying homage to another Sindarin word for a while now. No one has seemed to notice. Have you? Let me know in the comments!