Heru/SolarSanctumSpell

Solar Sanctum Spell

• Heru
• Sorcery

Solar Sanctum

Circle: Solar Circle
Cost: 100m, 10 exp, 1 Permanent Willpower, 1 health level
Target: Person

With this Adamant Circle Spell, a Solar can perform a feat of Elsewhere manipulation normally out of reach to all but the Gods. Expending a tremendous amount of Essence, willpower and lifeforce, a Solar may use his superhuman understanding of metaphysics to carve out his own permanent realm within Elsewhere. The sanctuary will endure indefinitely, even surviving its creator’s death and causes no commitment of motes. A character may only create one Sanctum, though overtime he can anchor it to additional portals in Creation. Casting the spell Solar Sanctum more than once doesn’t do anything bad, it just doesn’t work.

Like all sanctums, the Solar version must contain at least one doorway by which the Essence of Creation can connect to the Elsewhere abode. The spirit entryway may consist of almost anything, be it tied to a particular location or be it moveable around Creation. If something happens to the physical entryway, the spiritual entryway remains intact. The Spirit Door is a necessary requirement for the Essence of Creation in an immaterial and undetectable state constantly flows through the gateway to empower the Sanctum and give it life. A Solar may enter his Sanctum at will (with no need to expend Essence), and bring in others that he is in physical contact with. Anyone else wishing to enter must have an alternate means, such as the spell Opening the Spirit Door. To cast the spell Opening the Spirit Door, or its like, a caster must know where the exact door is, otherwise the spell won’t take effect.

The Sanctum initially manifests in Elsewhere as a virtually featureless area with a size of (Solar’s Essence x 2) in locales (each locale is 20 square miles). The space can be in any dimensions within these limitations that the Solar desires, though all sections must touch. (There cannot be any free-floating sections.) If the Solar raises his Essence after the casting of this spell the area naturally expands. The border of the Sanctum is defined as the location where the visible land fades into mists, no construction or anything can occur in the mists. If one travels far enough into the mists they will make a complete circle and enter into the other side. When the Sanctum expands the mists part and new land appears.

• Essence 5: 10 locales
• Essence 6: +2 locales (total 12)
• Essence 7: +2 locales (total 14)
• Essence 8: +2 locales (total 16)
• Essence 9: +2 locales (total 18)
• Essence 10: +2 locales (total 20)

Due to the fundamental Primordial-created nature of Creation as an animistic place, untold little gods and elementals naturally exist here as well. These little gods and elementals are bound to the sorcerer’s will by permanent bonds of Essence (equivalent to Compulsions (an Intimacy of Loyalty), Emotions (Respect), and Servitude) which is his due as the master of the Sanctum. These gods would have little to no effect on Creation which is not their place. And while individuals cannot naturally create an Elsewhere place within the Solar Sanctum (though normal Elsewhere Charms still work) the gods and elementals that inhabit it can. What this does is just create an ephemeral connection to another Elsewhere location.

Everything within the Solar Sanctum is considered 'real' in terms of Creation. Because of the existence of a Creation gateway and two-way Essence flows all that is here is part of the Loom of Fate. Though, as with any place outside of Creation proper, Solar Sanctums in Elsewhere are naturally resistant to the deprivations of Sidereal Astrology. This has the effect of increasing the difficulty by ½ again to target anybody in the Sanctum. Even more, an increase of ¾ again exists when the sorcerer and up to (Essence) individuals are targeted by Astrology in the Sanctum.

It should be said that death does not cause permanent severing between the original sorcerer and his Exalted shard descendants. The mystical bond connecting Solar to Sanctum survives forevermore as an integral part of the particular Exaltation. A newly risen Solar Exalted of the same Shard lineage as the original caster may spend 50 non-committed motes, 5 experience points, 1 Permanent Willpower and 1 health level to fully awaken the nascent bond. Once paid for this provides the new sorcerer with all the powers that the originating Solar possessed.

The Elsewhere Sanctum that the Solar created is almost completely under his control. The sanctum possesses the following qualities:

• The entire Solar Sanctum is considered a single Dominion with the casting Solar as the chief Administrator. The Solar may use the normal Mandate of Heaven rules.
• The Solar Sanctum is considered an area of Creation in terms of regaining Essence, Willpower, Virtues and any other ability or effect.
• The sorcerer is considered the 'owner' of everything that exists within and is a part of the Sanctum. It also means that the sorcerer naturally has an arcane link with everything that exists within the Sanctum.
• At all times the sorcerer naturally possesses a distinct sense of when his Sanctum is threatened. He is also instantly aware when a person or thing enters into his Sanctum.
• The mote cost of every Charm and spell cast within the Sanctum by the sorcerer is reduced by ½. Beyond the reduction in cost, some normal Charms react a little bit differently, or with enhancement, when the sorcerer casts the Charm in the Sanctum.
• The sorcerer’s mystical connection to his Sanctum increases the character’s Peripheral Essence pool by 10 motes per Essence level. This Essence cannot be used outside the Sanctum and is only an internal-Sanctum pool. In addition, the Essence cannot be committed to an artifact that leaves the Sanctum. Due to this effect the sorcerer recharges Essence as if he is in a Level 5 Manse.
• Another effect of the bond the sorcerer has to his personal Sanctum is that he does not count time spent in the Sanctum as going against his natural lifespan. This means, theoretically, that a sorcerer who never leaves his Sanctum could live forever. The sorcerer may, if he chooses, expand this network of connectivity to (Essence) people.
• The sorcerer can shape and control that which exists in the Sanctum as if using Wyld-Shaping Technique (or Wyld Cauldron Technology if the sorcerer possesses it) in the Middlemarches of the Wyld (see Exalted, p. 216). If he actually invokes the Charm, treat the region as Pure Chaos. He may use this ability to create/shape a demesne, land, magical things, people and wealth. The sorcerer may also use this unequaled level of control over the Sanctum to control weather patterns and other such environmental issues at will. Any changes seem perfectly natural to all mortal inhabitants.
• A special modification of the sorcerer’s control over the Sanctum is that he may spend 10 non-committed motes of Essence and 1 Willpower to supercharge the Essence pattern of the Sanctum to prohibit or sanctify a certain activity chosen by the sorcerer. The prohibition operates by increasing the Difficulty of the task by one and reduces the amount of dice in the Dice Pool by 1. The sanctification of an act reduces the Difficulty by 1 and provides a free success on the sanctified action that corresponds. The prohibition/sanctification exists for as long as the sorcerer wishes it to last. Finally, the sorcerer may choose certain individuals or groups that do not get the benefit/flaw of the power, this always includes the sorcerer himself on bans.
• The sorcerer may shape into existence Demesnes (and the Manses that cap them). This may take the form of Earth, Air, Fire, Water, Wood, Solar, Lunar, Sidereal, and Abyssal. The sorcerer is always and permanently considered attuned to any DemesnesHeru/Manses in his Sanctum. It should be noted that through some unknown resonance effect, the existence of at least one Abyssal Demesnes (or a Manse that caps it) causes the existence of a self-contained Underworld to form. This Underworld has no connection to the Underworld of Creation.
• Those persons of less Essence then the sorcerer become susceptible to the sorcerer’s will. Reduce the MDVs of all such persons with respect to the sorcerer’s will by half as long as they are within the Sanctum. This includes animals, Mortals, Awakened Essence beings, Beastmen, God-Bloods, the Terrestrial Exalted, ghosts and native gods/elementals. Celestial Exalted of all types are immune to this unnatural mental effect.
• By spending motes of Essence the sorcerer may get a sense of how the Sanctum, and that which is inside, is doing. Spending 1 mote provides information on any immediate dangers facing the Sanctum or the sorcerer himself. By spending 1 mote, the sorcerer can automatically be aware, locate and see any place, object or creature (including people) within the Sanctum as long as he is also within its boundaries. Spending 2 motes provides knowledge of the influences and intentions that are at work in the Sanctum. Three motes spent provide the sorcerer with knowledge of know almost anything currently going on within the Sanctum.
• By spending one miscellaneous action disappearing and reappearing, the sorcerer may travel almost instantaneously within his sanctuary.

By spending 50 motes and 1 Willpower the sorcerer may increase the area of the Sanctum by (Essence) locales. This new area appears initially featureless like the sanctum originally was, though the sorcerer may reshape it as he desires. This boost may be used as many times as the sorcerer wants, it is the only way to increase it beyond the maximum normally allowed by the spell. Unlike the retroactive nature of the original casting, the use of this add-on does not apply to the past uses.

• Example: The first time the sorcerer did an add-on he was at Essence 5. Because of that he was able to add an extra 5 locales of space. The second time he cast the add-on feature the sorcerer was Essence 6, this gave him an additional 6 locales to his Sanctum. Presently, his Sanctum equals 11 add-on locales and 12 base locales (for a total size of 23 locales).
• Additional Casting
  • Essence 5 – 5 locales
  • Essence 6 – 6 locales
  • Essence 7 – 7 locales
  • Essence 8 – 8 locales
  • Essence 9 – 9 locales
  • Essence 10 – 10 locales

Any effect that changes a Sanctum remains in existence even past the life of the sorcerer who first utilized the ability. Small duration effects are gone and need to be retaken by the new sorcerer before he can use it. But something that permanently enhances or effects the Solar Sanctum (such as expanding it) still exists upon the death of the creating sorcerer. To be able to reuse the old effect the new sorcerer must pay a cost equal to ½ that of the original even if the minimums are not truly learned.

Like hideaways produced by Pressed Beyond the Veil of Time, the existence of Solar Sanctums did not save their Solars during the Usurpation. Access to these sanctums are achieved in the same way that access is achieved to a god’s sanctum – Open the Spirit Door. Because of this the Solar Sanctums were assaulted by Sidereals and their Terrestrial lackeys.