Tag: protection

#Lore24 – Entry #73 – Fantasy Month #13 – Saressh, Fallen Goddess of the Kerryns

 

From the journal of Angeliqua “Goldeneyes” Cartacustos:

Though hard for your average person to comprehend, the idea of something more powerful than a god is rather sobering and indeed frightening, but the example of the fallen Saressh is one that more people should be aware of, were it not for the standing decree by the first Emperor that her name shall not be spoken, lest another calamity be put in motion.  Can dead gods hear their names when spoken by mere mortals?  Do gods truly die when the faith of their followers is lost, or do they simply take on other forms and evolve into other deities?  Does the mere speaking of their name hold power, even if they no longer exist?  I’m hardly a theologian and certainly not a priestess of any sort, but I can still discuss the topic somewhat, from a historical perspective, at least.

Historically speaking, gods and goddesses come and go.  Historical records are replete with examples of such vanished deities, though usually not such recent examples as in the case of Saressh, mother of the Kerryns, goddess of protection, good health and procreation, pleasure, prophecy, and cats.  Most often, we’ve found remnants of lost civilizations and along with them, at best, scattered carvings alluding to the existence of the lost deity, vague hints of their nature, little in the way of daily practices or rituals.  This is especially true in the case of those lesser deities worshipped by the monstrous races, though some conjectures exist that lean toward the idea that the same deities simply take on different names through the ages, given the similar natures and domains shared by many deities we have recorded.

Such is not the case with Saressh, however.  Though mostly seen as a dark goddess who guided her people into demon worship, and was later consumed by said demons, records would, in my opinion, indicate something far more insidious at work behind the scenes.  As the Deep Archives are filled with preserved examples of Saressh’s teachings, priestly paraphernalia, and records of many of her followers, I have had some chance to study her ways, and without dedicating myself to diving deeper, Saressh absolutely does not seem the type to have her children turn to worshipping demonic forces.  Quite the opposite, really.

It is my opinion that Saressh was defamed during the period preceding the Great Cataclysm, when tensions between nations were high and wars were common, likely by agents of the Elvish Dominion, known for their extensive and masterful use of propaganda, lessons the current Empire still makes use of.  The Elvish Dominion was far more powerful than it is today, at least on this side of the world, and had great influence over many of the human-led nations, for humanity still saw them as mostly a benevolent force, wisest amongst the long-lived races of the world.  During this period of great unrest, it came to be that the Aerians were on the verge of extinction through the combined efforts of the Elvish Dominion and the growing human nations, and when things were at their darkest, the Kerryns stepped in as a neutral group, brokering a peace that would give the war-hungry Aerians a chance to recover and try to change their ways; kerryns of the day were certainly optimistic.  This alliance, born of compassion from the Kerryn people, would perhaps ultimately lead to their downfall and the destruction of the Aerians who had dedicated themselves to the defense of the Kerryn people for their act of kindness.

Circling back to the topic of Saressh, it is known that during the years preceding the Great Cataclysm, when the wars had somewhat settled and tensions were beginning to cool, something happened to her faithful clergy.  Madness began to spread throughout their ranks, and the power of their magic began to wane.  Some theorize that Saressh had been slain in the divine realm already, and it simply took time for her death to be felt within the realm of mortals, while other theories indicate that perhaps she was beset on all sides by her enemies, chiefly among them the demonic forces of the Demon Lord Suzu’Reitani, whose power served to corrupt the very flow of power from Saressh to her people, before she was ultimately slain.  Regardless, it was soon after the madness began to spread through her clergy and the faith of her people began to wane that war once again broke out when the Aerians led an offensive against the lost desert nation of Al Sisamanah when they had enslaved a kerryn princess that would eventually marry the Aerian prince who led the campaign (this is entirely a topic unto itself, and I shall not delve into it further here).

It was during this time that demons began to travel more freely between their realm and our own, and the records of other churches of prominence during the era, namely those of Lashanna, goddess of Justice, and the twin goddesses of desire, Erisaya and Yurisaya, and the god of death, Mausolus, confirm this with the sharp increase in reported cases of demonic possession and outright manifestation of them within our world.  Though, curiously enough, records on the subject from the Elvish Dominion are entirely lacking in detail, there is more than enough evidence from other sources during this time to at least create a plausible case that the elves were responsible for allowing demonkind into our world, and simply shifted the blame to the kerryns and the aerians, as they were their primary enemies at time (the might of the Aerians, reinforcing the more peaceful kerryns, with their formidable diplomatic talents, may well have led to a new age of peace, though with the Elvish Dominion in a much smaller and less influential role as nations were slowly but inevitably turned against them as their underhanded methods were repeatedly exposed).  Curiously enough, such conjectures are as forbidden to discuss aloud as that of the topic of Saressh herself; some may call this mere coincidence, but I am not among their ranks.

I could continue for some time further about Saressh and the many topics surrounding her mysterious death (is she even dead?  Perhaps she still exists in some form or another, her power dispersed amongst the demonic forces of Suzu’Reitani?), but my duties must take precedent.  I am to assist General Loukas Kormides with a study of historic battles in the northern regions on the morrow, and have much study and preparation to perform today.

 

LORE24 ENTRY #23 – Warding Magic

Category – Spell / Magic

One of the most studied forms of magic for its protective benefits, warding magic is a often a much deeper topic than one may initially surmise, and is prevalent in all modern branches of mysticism.  Primarily, warding magic is meant to protect either a location or object, or living beings, from some form of harm or other magic.  This is usually in the form of magically charged symbols, or wards, that are placed upon the target.  Wards can have a range of effects, from a constant protective ward that mitigates some form of damage, a ward shielding something from detection (typically via scrying), or a triggered trap that can cause harm.

Some example warding spells include:

Ward of Protection – This is a broader range of spells, depending on one’s mystic path, which is most often used to protect the caster or others around them from harm in some way.  This could take the form of a protective barrier that mitigates damage from typical sources (melee weapons, projectile weapons), the environment (extreme heat and cold, high pressure environments, or even vacuum), or other sources of a magical nature (elemental attack spells, etc).  These often take the form of an intangible aura around the subject, or a more focused, but smaller, visible shield of force, depending on application.  Some more powerful variations of these wards can even reflect the damaging source back toward the one who used it.

Ward of Concealment – These types of wards are meant to hide an object or person from detection, typically through magical scrying, though can also negate detection from mundane vision and other senses in some variations.  There may be no visual clue that such a ward is in place, without using arcane sight, but these wards can either completely hide a subject, or make their detection extremely difficult for an unskilled mystic.  Some wards only affect single senses, such as smell or hearing, while more advanced versions affect all senses, even those magical in nature.  A variation of this ward is the Ward of Tracking, which, when placed upon a target, will allow the caster to magically track the target over vast distances.

Ward of Destruction – These are often called offensive or combat wards, and are triggered to explode when the set triggering condition is met, dealing some form of damage to the ones triggering them, or releasing another spell on the target.  The most typical form of this ward is not unlike a landmine, causing an explosion of magical or elemental energy when someone steps within its area; some casters have been known to use multiple such wards to entrap a target during the course of a battle, and this variation of the spell has been refined to be easily used without much preparation or time, and are often called ‘landmine spells,’ even if they can be attached to any surface.  More advanced forms interweave additional spells within them, or increase the range or effect of the explosive effect.