Aserra Wiki

Enchantment

Enchanters are rare form of magician, artisans who pour their souls (literally) into their arts, and who can create masterpieces like a hauntingly beautiful goddess statue, or a priceless enchanted sword. This doesn’t mean that normal artisans cannot create spectacular works of art, it merely means that despite all the effort that they put into the works, it doesn’t have the magical essence that an enchanter’s work does.

Originally, the class distinction between an artisan and an enchanter was very slim—at one time, they may have been even of the same cloth—but enchantment is a natural born gift that was discovered in time after humans began to craft items. While most enchanters are human, race is not a factor for the talent. The ability can appear in an individual of any race, but amongst elemental races, it can be neglected as they do not often craft with their own hands, but rather their element. Some who do find they have a talent for enchantment will take to handcrafting, but their works will often be infused with aspects of their element.

Without the ability of enchanting, the soul forging aspect of the enchanter, the artisan cannot create magical items. This doesn’t mean that normal artisans cannot create spectacular works of art, it merely means that despite all the effort that they put into their works, it doesn’t have the magical essence that an enchanter’s work does. The area of artisanship differs from enchanter to enchanter, and ranges from apothecary to weapon-smith, boat builder to architect. The greater of these craftsmen are a secretive lot, and while they may work for money, they are very select to whom they share their secrets and prized creations with. They will take apprentices, but rarely those who don’t naturally have the gift.

Rarely does an enchanter chose to affiliate with “good” or “evil”, their crafts, while they may contain holy or unholy techniques, are rarely placed in such a position to be considered either. There is an adage amongst enchanters; “Whether the blade be for good or evil depends not on the smith, but on the wielder”.

The pure spectrum of items that can be crafted by an enchanter, and the numerous techniques that could be applied make it hard to give a solid definition of how it works. In essence, what happens is that while the enchanter works on their creation, they are imbuing it with magical attributes. There are also rituals involved to achieve desired effects. Generally, enchanters do not enchant pre-existing items, unless they can repair or otherwise work on the item with their hands.

Soulburning

Soulburning is an application of magic using spiritual energy that is utilized by individuals in the outer fringes of society. There is no formal school of soulburning, as it is an entirely self-learned style of magic, practiced almost entirely by individuals considered to be outcasts and miscreants, and who are, often times desperate, if not insane. They use their own soul energy for the sake of performing magic and supernatural feats, which include increasing their own strength, agility, or stamina and to shrug off massive damage, heal themselves, or weave intricate “spells” that go off like wildfire and consume everything in their path.

Soulburners are masses of chaotic energy, which lulls and rises in no specific periods of their lives. Certain lunar peeks give them more power than others, while yet others reduce it to a point when even the simplest of tasks are out of reach. This doesn’t mean that they are without danger; soulburners can burn away all of their soul in one shot if they’re not careful, leaving nothing—no soul to pass on and reincarnate.

Spell casting is achieved through similar means as other forms of magic, but soulburners care more about achieving their desired effect than worrying about collateral damage and the damage to themselves (so long as they’re still alive at the end, at least... most of the time). Soulburners generally go through a process of Focus > Speaking > Visualization > Release. First, the soulburner must focus their energies (which usually just means setting up how “big” the spell is going to be). The second step requires a spoken incantation, which is generally in their native language and typically shorter and more straightforward that incantations in other magic systems, such as shouting “Fireball!”. The third step is the visualization of the effect, i.e.; a fireball. The fourth step is release. Some soulburners seem to disregard focus, speaking, and visualization steps, but they just work faster than others. Others neglect to speak the spell, and instead only focus, visualize and release. This magic is not a defined form, as it is generally self-taught, so soulburners tend to find the way to cast that is easiest for them.

The majority of soulburners are human, but they can be of any race. They are typically rare, as it takes a certain mindset to become a soulburner rather than seeking to learn other forms of magic, and they are often a risk to themselves and those around them.

Exorcists

While many churches of light have exorcism spells and rituals, the singular magic school of exorcism stands alone. This class is generally not affiliated with any gods, or even the aspects of light and darkness or good or evil, though they tend to lean towards light and good. Regardless of tactics employed, exorcists are a breed of spiritualist which believes that the living realm does not need to be affected by the dead, and more so, the evil influences of ill-meaning spirits.

Exorcists do not have no formal school to teach their arts, but there is a council of masters who regulate exorcists across the continent, and provide a network of support and information. In Kalesten, there is a humble temple in the foothills of the Perdraser range that exorcists consider a “home base”. Exorcists usually take students on the wing though; if they find someone who has the interest and potential to follow the craft. Individual exorcists are often either wanderers who travel the populated regions of the continent to help as many people as they can, or chasing after some spook (such as a vampire) that has eluded them. Otherwise, many exorcists chose to base themselves in or near a major population center so that they may help the locals deal with any renegade spirits.

Exorcists use sutras and steel to expel wicked spirits from the afflicted area. Some exercise breathing techniques and martial displays to “draw” spirits out of the area to vanquish them, while others utilize long, undulating vocal sutras and meditation. Tangible undead, such as vampires and animated corpses, are also an enemy of exorcists, which is where their martial skills come in handy. Practices of some exorcists have a rather forceful approach to things; they are heavy-handed and seek to rid the world of influence from the other world.

While not evil, they don’t appreciate the gods interfering in mortal affairs and will attempt to expel them if they dare cause too much influence. Gods can be exorcised, but it takes a tremendous amount of spiritual energy to do so. Once exorcised, a god cannot easily cross back over into the prime material plane without going through a birthing process (e.g.; being born on the plane of men).

Cursers

Cursers are the foulest of the foul in the world of magic in Aserra. Not even necromancers in their greatest and worst could compare to the foulness of the Curser line of magi. Curse magic is generally taboo in the magic circles of Aserra, due to the repercussions involved, though there are many forms of curses and their usage, from common curses uttered in anger by the common person to the carefully honed curses of the Priests of Darkness, the actual class of Cursers stands alone, both in style and vileness.

Many theories speculate on the Cursers’ origins. Some state that a fallen god or goddess became the first Curser, and their spite is what carried their foul art through ages of misery. Another thought is that the Cursers were born of a god-cursed woman, and the first generation born of that woman wanted reprieve from their curse, and thusly learned the most foul art to protect themselves from their original curse. Though either could be true, the origins of Cursers remains a mystery. Their origins, like their art, remains clouded in mystique, foul magics, and even fouler people.

The Cursers began at some point as a familial cabal, and after that, only the few who could dare become something quite so foul sought to join their ranks, which was rare. The Cursers were, and still are, an extremely cautious people. They obscure their movements, their arts, and their locations with foul magic that not even the gods dare pierce or face their curses themselves. Cursers can and will curse anything that dares impede on their privacy. Once every quarter of the year, the heads of the Curser cabals come together for a sort of mass where they compare their various “fortunes” that they have gained; it is a forum for bragging where the Cursers speak of their foulest deeds.

Cursers usually practice their craft by commission; meaning that if someone is desperate or despicable enough to require the services of a carefully honed curse, they can arrange it with a local cabal, often for a large sum of money. Cursers, of course, will readily curse in vengeance for any number of slights, but to hone their skills, they may simply look for a reason to curse someone. Someone bumping their shoulder on the street, a meal prepared not quite to their liking, a glance, or a misunderstood statement could all be considered curse-worthy by a Curser who is looking for a bit of practice.

A curse is cast by ritual, which involves an utterance of words, accompanied by sigils and icons and various paraphernalia, but most notably, a curse puppet. The curse puppet is a person—usually some unfortunate soul who has been snatched up or lured by the cabal, or provided by their patron—whose entire purpose is to absorb the rebounding curse and suffer the consequences of the rule of threefold which plagues Cursers of all forms. Curse puppets suffer horribly, especially considering how complex and vile the curses can be. Blood is also an important part of the ritual, and there is usually a bowl of blood from both the Cursers and the curse puppet, but predominantly from the latter. When the curse is cast, the puppet is either held above or laid under the sigil or icons. A curse also generally requires a component of the victim; a lock of hair or other body part, a familiar item, a bit of grass or soil from a region, or some important item to a bloodline.