Sorcery/GoldenCatAdamant
Adamant Circle
Avatar of Dominion's Sacrifice
Cost: 40 motes
There is power in a Manse. Wellsprings of Essence, pouring forth wonders and allowing the wise Savant to hold the very fruits of magic. But there is more to a Manse than that. A Chosen builds a Manse as a home. A chosen connects to it in an intimate level to gather it resources... it is home, it is inviting and comforting in way few mortals could understand, in a way that makes the way mortals think of 'home' seem shallow, ephemeral. And through this connection, the right Sorcerer is able to draw upon a great power, in a time of great need, with great sorrow. This Spell may only be cast on a Manse the caster has been attunned to for a number of months equal to its rating - the lesser Manses take less time to build such great familiarity. This Spell requires a ritual wherein the Chosen walks the halls of the Manse from twilight to dawn, beholding its architecture, its corridors, its halls. He sees each for the last time. At the break of Dawn, he sheds three tears, splashing them on the air, creating circles of sorcerous power that touch the flows of the Manse, breaking them... and draining it all to the caster. The Manse is destroyed then, in a flare of great power that breaks it like wind against a castle of cards.
Until the next Dawn, the Solar is perpetually in the 11-15 level of anima banner display, a fount pouring essence. His shape changes in accordance to the Manse's former power, and a part of him - such as hair, eyes or caste mark - takes a crystalline aspect and functions as the stolen Hearthstone. All of the Solar's successful strikes deal the Manse's level in aggravated damage, which is soaked separately from the damage of the attack. The Solar adds the Manse's rating to his Essence(which counts for all purposes, including the calculations of Essence Pools) and to all his attributes. Finally, the Solar's wellspring of essence gives him back a number of motes equal to the Manse's rating at the beggining of every turn.
The Essence suffusing the Solar makes him aloof, twisting his mind - the Solar must choose a Virtue Flaw that activates during the remainder of this spell. This power is especially draining for the Solar, and at its end, he invariably falls unconscious, and becomes an Essence 1 Solar for the following day, unable to access any Charm of Essence 2 or above, and healing any injuries as a Mortal would(but as an Essence 1 Exalt for all other purposes).
The Solar draws all the Manse or Demesne's power, and it slowly regerates at the rate of one level per month, until it reaches it full power once again. However, the shape of the Manse is lost forever - that shape will wield no result to the Manse's new geomancy, and it requires a different design to create the same type of Hearthstone it once did - in some ways, the Solar may not go back on the sacrifice of this Spell.
Carmina Burana playing as the Solar marches to whatever battle merits the use of the Spell beforehand is strictly optional.
There is a lesser version of this spell, Blood of the Dragon, which costs only 20 motes, and allows the caster to drain the power in his Hearthstone. It lasts only one hour, giving the Solar most of the bonuses above, but without the Essence Regeneration and the Attribute bonuses. However, it also lacks the drawback of draining the Solar's Essence afterwards, or destroying his Manse. The Hearthstone thus drained loses its power for a full day afterwards.
Clarion of Legend (Replaces Incantation of the Invincible Army)
Cost: 50 motes
With this Spell, the Sorcerer infuses an army with Legend and Might! With this Spell, Mortals may hold back waves of Demons and Raksha! With this spell, the Sorcerer calls upon the Memory of Mankind, his Essence breaking open the books in the Forbidding Manse of Ivy, his Essence touching the 768,476,367 names of Heroes inscribed upon the Horn of the Unconquered Sun, calling upon the greatness Creation shall never forget, and infusing it on the souls of the Men and Women they died to protect! The Sorcerer, who must be part of the group he recognizes as his army and who recognize him as an ally or leader in return, must stand at the center of a Circle with five of this group, chosen to be as illustrative of the group's many facets as possible. As the Sorcerer finishes the incantation, the clarion call of the Sun's horn sounds on Heaven, and bright white light pours from the Sorcerer, a gateway to the memory of the Heroes of Man!
Those souls seek those humans in the group, touching their foreheads like shooting stars, realigning their destinies and casting a tapestry of new heroes in the sky! In the forehead of each and every one of the group shines the symbol of an ancient hero, from weapons to looms to hawayans, morning-bright and clear-white! Those touched by the Clarion of Legend become...
- ... Heroes. They are Heroic Characters, doubling their 10s, with full complement of Health Levels, and all other advantages inherent to Heroism.
- ... Receive extra Health Levels equal to their Conviction score.
- ... Have their bodies perfected by their own legend and that of those around them, receiving +2 to each of their Physical Attributes.
- ... Have their minds honed with centuries of history and legend, receiving +2 to each of their Mental Attributes.
- ... Become as Leaders of Man, as confident and beateous as their next, receiving +2 to each of their Social Attributes.
- ... fight with the aid of legend on their side, receiving 1 automatic success in all rolls related to conflict!
- ... fight with the aid of Creation's Memory, giving +1 difficulty to all actions of beings outside of Creation intended to bring them harm.
The Sorcerer, serving as a gateway to this power, receives one Unsoakable, Automatic level of Aggravated Damage per dot of Magnitude of the group. In addition, Celestial Exalted who happen to be part of this army feel the effects differently. The heroic souls are within them, and their echoes come to the fore! They become rallying points for the army, their Anima Banner perpetually burns at the 15-motes level, any expenditure making them iconic. The echoes overwhelm them, each of their movements trailed with afterimages not their own, their voices an unsettling mesh of a hundred different heroes speaking in unison.
This spell lasts until the Sun next looks upon the world, or when it leaves it. That being, the next twilight or dawn to come after the casting of the spell. All those who fall in battle while under the auspices of this spell will be remembered as heroes by man and god alike. All those who survive will always long for the greatness and camaraderie of that battle, some dying with their hearts burning for that moment, some seeking that greatness and becoming Chosen themselves.
This gives them the following powers...
- Solar
- Dawn Caste Solars burns with inspiring and awesome might. They and all allies within 50 yards of them receive one extra automatic success on all Dawn Caste abilities.
- Zenith Caste Solars burn with pure, sheltering holy light. All dead bodies within 10 yards of the Solar automatically burn in holy fire, and all allies within 50 yards of the Zenith subtract one success from all damage rolls applied to them.
- Twilight Caste Solars burn with the flames of thought, incinerating all barriers to Essence! All allies within 50 yards of the Twilight are able to complete tasks of thought, strategy or field engineering three times faster they otherwise would, and all Charms cost 1 mote less(minimum 0).
- Night Caste Solars burn with unseen flames of inverse light. Their anima is there, and is not. All foes must pass a reflexive Perception+Awareness roll to strike any ally of the Night Caste within 50 yards of him. If the Night Caste leads an ambush, the difficulty of the roll to perceive the ambush, and the roll to perceive the allies of the Night Caste(on the first turn of the ambush only) equals his Permanent Essence.
- Eclipse Caste Solars burn with the flames of Calibration, with domain over all that is not of Creation! All beings outside of Creation within 50 yards of the Eclipse have the difficulty to strike at any of his allies increased to half his Permanent Essence(rounded down).
- Lunar
- Full Moon Caste Lunars shape their comrades' forms to become as one with the might of their totems! All allies within 50 yards of the Full Moon change their shapes to become as Beastmen, receiving all enhancing, non-intrusive mutations as the Lunar wishes. Those disappear as they walk out of the Full Moon's light.
- Waxing Moon Caste Lunars perfect the shapes of their compatriots. All foes within 50 yards of the Waxing Moon receive a penalty to strike upon the Waxing Moon's allies equal to half their Appearance, rounded down. This penalty is doubled for denizens of the Wyld, who are made to appreciate the allure of Creation all the more.
- Half-Moon Caste Lunars break the flow of strategy of their enemies, creating chaos no tactic can survive! Within 50 yards of the Lunar, his foes cannot benefit from tactical or teamwork bonuses, be they from Merits, Artifacts or Charms, and no coordination is possible without the coordinator suceeding in a Intelligence+Presence roll with a difficulty equal to the Half-Moon's Essence.
- Waning Moon Caste Lunars trick their enemies into seeing what is not there! Enemies see multiple images of the Lunar and his aides, needing to roll more than the Waxing Moon's Essence on a single die roll, before every launched attack, to be able to strike at the true figure beneath the images!
- No Moon Caste Lunars obscure the world about them, turning it on a Moonless night on a desert, with a difficulty 1 on all attacks, and 2 on all attacks farther than 3 yards!
- Sidereal
- Chosen of Journeys bend distance and increase the journey their foes must make! Within 50 yards of the Chosen, the foes of the Chosen find the distance they and their weapons must journey two times greater (for movement and ranged attacks).
- Chosen of Serenity blur the lines between pleasure and suffering! Every time a foe within 50 yards of the Chosen suffers any health levels of damage, they must succeed on a Temperance roll or double their wound penalties due to such sublime joy.
- Chosen of Battles create a perfect phalanx! Whenever an ally within 50 yards of the Chosen is attacked, a single nearby combatant within range of the attacker - including himself - may launch an instant attack on the attacker! Since this other attack is not considered to have come from the ally they can not counter it in any manner.
- Chosen of Secrets reveal all secrets of the battlefield. Every turn, the Chosen can choose any single foe within 50 yards, and reveal his secret actions and intentions to all allies within this area. This foe's actions can be named by the Chosen or his allies(as long as it is reasonable to do). The foe either does this action, or can act as they wish, but at a penalty of half the Chosen's Permanent Essence(rounded up) for that turn.
- Chosen of Endings challenge the very ideals of his enemies! All foes within 50 yards of the Chosen must succeed at a Conviction roll every turn or lose a temporary willpower. Should they botch the Conviction roll, they leave the battle in the safest manner possible, defending only, if possible. This compulsion can be ignored by spending 1 extra willpower.
Summon the Elemental Army
This version of Clarion of Legend does not call upon the souls of legendary heroes, but upon Elementals that fall upon the army, making them a perfect army of elementals to fight on any terrain! When this is cast, the Sorcerer brings forth the Elemental Spirits of Creation and infuses them upon the humans in his army, who one and all receive an elemental symbol burning upon their foreheads(akin to that in page 29 of the 1st Edition Exalted Corebook)! The soldiers of the Elemental Army are...
- ... Heroes. They are Heroic Characters, doubling their 10s, with full complement of Health Levels, and all other advantages inherent to Heroism.
- ... Essence-users with an Essence of 1 and a Spirit's Essence Pool.
- ... Possessing Landscape Travel of the surrounding elements, and Principle of Motion.
- ... Possessing the effect of activated Dragon-Blooded animas of the appropriate aspect.
Dragon-Blooded on this army all receive Legendary Breeding for the duration of the spell, receiving the brilliant features of their aspect, more elemental than man! Even more impressively, Dragon-Blooded of the appropriate aspect receive a number of automatic successes in all their Aspect Abilities equal to their Essence, their elemental nature so sublimated that their animas burn continually at the 15-motes level, the elemental symbol mentioned above shining on their forehead or above their heart.
Invocation of Hope
Cost: 66 motes
All concepts have their Gods. Cities and Kingdoms and Tribes possess them as well, but although their fortune rises and falls with this group or place, they do not embody them. Not wholly. A myriad of gods form the identity of a place and people, a self-image that absorbs, molds and is molded by their hopes and dreams. A self-image that can feels changes in the air, and can feel a threat crushing it. A Solar Sorceror is able to touch this invisible force. To command it to rise, in response of a threat, to come forth to fulfill the hopes of its people!
To cast this Spell the Sorcerer must come to the spiritual center of the Kingdom, City or Region. For some, this is the ruling house, but others have it in monuments or geographical features. It may be used on great, old enough tribes, but for this the Sorcerer must stand exactly in the midst of their greatest settlement. It must have a defined, powerful self-image, and be under a threat felt by most of its people. In a hour-long ritual, the Sorceror closes his eyes and feel its beating... feel the dreams and whispers, slowly pouring earth on one hand, and blood from one of its citzens on the other(the Sorcerer himself may be one of its citzens)... the Chosen's anima burns brightly during it, reaching to the sky... and changing. Changing its color first to an undifferentiated white, and then to the colors of the Kingdom, its banner, its people, its dreams. Slowly, the form of its Spirit begins to form... high and mighty as the Kingdom itself, a giant the size of mountains. As the incantation finishes, this giant solidifies, and all the Kingdom's Godlings bow, recognizing the spirit of all they are, all they strive for.
The Kingdom's Spirit is tall as a mountain, and powerful as a Third Circle Demon. Thus, only beings in the level of Fetich Demons are its clear superiors in might. Its appearance is based on the Kingdom's self-image, and its powers match its dreams. Thus the Spirit of Varang's Hope would be a creature of Clockwork and astrological charts, clad in a Mantle of Night, with Charms reminiscent of Sidereal Powers. The Spirit of Hanslanti's Hope is a creature of Ice and Gears, a walking war machine of sheer mechanical and human power that asks a man to be its pilot, and whose Charms are reminiscent of Alchemical Powers. The Spirit of Coral's Hope is a brutal creature, like a Shark covered in bones, leather and blades, many arms wielding multiple curved, bloodthirsty swords, whose Charms echo Lunar powers. The Spirit of the Realm's Hope is a Dragon That is Five and at the very least knows all Five Immaculate Styles. It is not, however, undefeatable - although powerful, the likes of the armies led by Circles of Lunar or Abyssal Exalted, or legions of Lookshy have a chance of destroying it if it fights alone... but likely with heavy casualties.
The Spirit of Hope is single-minded in the threat to its Kingdom, and will not rest until it is properly addressed. However, different spirits will have different priorities. The Spirit of Coral's Hope would go straight to destroying the threat, while the Spirit of the Realm's Hope will put precedence in the protection of the people and the city, and the the Spirit of Hanslanti's Hope will likely lead an evacuation before adressing the threat. It will not stray far from its charges, however - it will, at most, destroy armies massing on its fringes. The Sorcerer will be able to whisper to it as it manifests, but his words are never taken as anything more than friendly advice. The Spirit lasts until its inhabitants are safe or it is vanquished. If it suceeds in the task of vanquishing the threat, it will fade away, and the essence that fills it will spread around the Kingdom, leaving gifts to its people. From monuments to items of power given to an entire army or a single heroic individual...
If the Spirit of Hope is destroyed, it takes a full year, or more, until it can be made flesh again.
The Mansion Behind the Glass
Cost: 65 motes
The Gods possess Sanctums, places where they can rest, places of their own souls. With sufficient understanding of Essence, a being mighty enough may create something similar - a secret place ripped out of their own heart afloat in a sea of dreams, connected to the angles of Creation, away from touch and sight, reachable only by those who know. To use this Charm, the Solar must go to a secluded place, and spend the nessessary time to plan a Manse's construction. He then waits for the Calibration, and spends a full day under a Calibration's Eclipse, from Dawn to Midnight, meditating in one place. He then casts this spell, his hand burning with silver essence, becoming like claws as he spends essence and reaches within his chest... over his heart, touching a piece of his soul and his design for his soul's home, and taking it out. He then plungs it on a reflexive surface large enough for a man to step through - such as a large mirror or a lake - and it pulses with the beating of his heart, the light of his anima pouring from it. Stepping into the surface, the caster comes to a place of dreams, where, tugging in the substance of dreamstuff around him like a weaver does its strings, like a musician an instruments cords, the Manse he had imagined appears in the span of one hour. The caster loses one dot of Permanent Essence to enact this Spell, which can be raised again in the usual way.
The Manse is nowhere - it may not be seen, and those within are not considered to be in any part of Creation, although they may respite essence as if they were. The character may come in and go out of Manse by coming closer to the reflexive surface he first did so, spending 5 motes and realising ritual that lasts a few minutes, and one which he must specify when the spell is cast - Dawn, Twilight, Zenith, Night or Eclipse. That leads to one of the Five Gates of the Manse. Anywhere else on Creation, he may open another Gate. Gates, including the initial one, open in reflective surfaces. He can make a different Gate with a different time of the sun(the rituals may or may not be the same) until all five are done. Different versions of this spell use different things instead of reflective surfaces - fire, mist, wyld... always things of haze, of dreams. Thaumathurges usually need to make even more elaborate rituals to create the nessessary motes, with things such as small sacrifices.
The Manse is a level 4 or less Manse of an Aspect that resonates with the character's personality and motivations. It has a number of features usually gleamed by 'excess essence' on a partially capped Manse equal to the character's Essence, and its hearthstone appears on the character's forehead, not coming off, but making his caste mark crystalline... and changing its shape to that of a kanji that fits the character. He can shift his caste mark back by spending 1 mote and losing the hearthstone's benefit. If Adamant Countermagic is used or the Manse is destroyed, it fades into the dream, leaving those within less than ten minutes to get out before all is lost. Lost people and things within might appear in a person's dreams or in the borders of the wyld throughout next few centuries. If the caster user a Charm or Spell that absorbs the power of a Manse, he receives back the lost Permanent Essence, or at least a comparable ammount of Experience. The death of the character destroys the Manse the same way.
Most such Manses on Creation were destroyed during the Usurpation, but a couple remained. Wether that is due to the rumored rare artifact that allows Celestial Exalts to use this particular Spell, or due to the rumor that exists a spell to bind this Heart's Place to a person other than its Creator, usually a great friend or lover, or even due to the fact the Manse may absord dreams and become a living and sentient being on its own... is unknown.
Unfettered Primordial Champion
Cost: 40 motes
The Champions of the Primordials have been many. Created by many of the Creators in tandem, receiving multiple blessings from each and every one, those great beings, the noblest of Behemoths, were as the Exalted in their greatness. Few remain, destroyed by their Creators, by the Chosen, by their enemies from beyond the world. But each and every one has left its mark on the tapestry of Creation, their Primordial Blessings too great to be gone. A Sorceror with this Spell knows how to harness those blessings adopting the face of a Primordial Champion for no more than an hour at a time. As the spell finishes, the caster is surrounded by the blessings in a cocoon of Primordial power where his essence is melded with them, covering him in a shell that evokes the appearance of the Champion they draw power from. Bursting out of this cocoon deals his Essence in Enviromental Lethal Damage to all within 20 yards, and the caster is surrounded by the shell, and by motes of burning essence trailing behind his every move, creating strange mirages which depend on the Champion, for some wings, for other afterimages, and still others posses great cloaks of power. Ability bonuses gained in those forms count as natural, expanding dice-adding limits.
The spell breaks after one hour has gone by, or when the caster is knocked unconscious – he reverts to his normal form then, and all lethal damage on him becomes bashing. This can reverse an otherwise certain death, but enough bashing damage may still leave him on the verge of death. As it breaks, the shell splinters around the caster, forming a pattern of burning material that can be read as the poems to the greatness of the Champion and the one who wears its face...
- The Face of Aurakles
Aurakles, the Spear of Reason, Face of Order, was a man created before men. Created as a Champion in the purest sense of the world - blessed by Five Primordials to bring Creation their Majesty and their power, to inspire awe, love, and fear in the hate of their enemies. A being of power and simplicity. As his incantation finishes, the caster spreads his hands, and the Sky above him twists. Everything goes silent for a moment, and somewhere, green fire burns a palace of brass and wonders to provide the material for this spell, which comes pouring through the cracks in the sky in a silent cascade, wrapping around the caster like the arms of a mother, as crystal pours from the circle beneath him. Both surround the caster, who goes into fetal position inside a sphere of crystal and brass... and his essence explodes with soul-fire, filling the sphere, blurring his body as his essence can be seen, stark and burning... and changing, as the blessings of the Primordials become one with his body and essence. As it does, it breaks spetacularly, dealing damage as normal for the spell. Stepping out, the caster is surrounded by a majestic, sleek shell of shining brass with large shoulders, bound to his body and soul, covered in sapphires and emeralds, with large, slightly insectoid opalescent eyes. Excess essence pours out of him with every movement, as motes of essence and primordial sand, forming a majestic cape on his back. The character receives the gifts bestowed upon Aurakles, which are...- Malfeas, Lord of Primordials, blessed Aurakles with power and greatness, to be untouchable by his lessers, and to crush them under his feet. From this blessing comes the shell, made of brass and the most precious gemstones. The shell gives the caster 13L/13B soak, which counts as Natural for all purposes, allows the caster to survive without breathing, and adds 5 to his Strength and Stamina, and 4 to his Presence and Performance. Those he strikes find it hard to defend, compelled to react by kneeling, and receive a penalty of 4 dice on their defenses.
- Adjordan, the Silent Wind, once gave another gift to Aurakles when it was Adrian... but now it can only be the Touch of Silence - the caster's strikes are silent, and he deals one automatic level of aggravated damage dealt in his strikes for every four damage dice rolled(barehanded or with any weapons).
- Cytherea, Mother of Creation, granted him a smile, and his every action was grand, epic, like that of a child in its mother's eyes – double all the bonus dice awarded for stunts, as well as their mote and willpower reward. Her compassion allows the caster to always deal bashing damage with his attacks, if he so wishes.
- She Who Lives In Her Name, the Yozi of Order, granted him an internal order to his every movement, making them all ordered, purposeful, crystal shining on his body, flame on his eyes – the caster receives one success for every four dice rolled on all of his physical actions, including combat actions, and in all social deals with his lessers.
- Finally, Cecelyne, the Endless Desert, the Yozi of Space gave him mastery of it, flickering in the air amidst the grains of burning sand and appearing next to an enemy to strike - the character may make strikes up to 20 yards away, and those who face him must subtract 4 dice from their attacks against the chosen, as he simply steps aside from any strikes.
There are many Primordials Champions, with different gifts brought by different creators, or different gifts by the same Creators. Variations of this spell exist to Wear the Face of different Champions, each with their own specialties, of which Aurakles is one of the most direct and combative ones, but by no means the standard(many may possess greater abilities that require rolls or payments - in general, about a similar power level of Sidereal Martial Arts Forms). Another Face, however, must be bought as another Spell. Clearly, one may only don one Champion's Face at a time.
