Ichthys

Coven: Shattered

The Characters

Character Sheet

Name:
Age:
Gender:

Appearance:

Role: (MUST BE WITHIN THE D'CERF COVEN; examples are: commoner, slave, servant, warrior/guard, member of the court, etc. - really anything that one could do/be while living in a castle system)

Interests:
Skills:

Personality:

Biography:

Jocasta Garnet, "The Bladesinger Mercenary" - Played by lydyn

Vexia Velis, "The Soul Trapper" - Played by Raptorman

Atlas, "The Blind Warrior" - Played by Milieu

Ivallyn Hasguard, "The Raven Huntress" - Played by Enix

Flowryde D'Cerf, "The Glyph Witch" - Played by Castor

Vincent D'Cerf, "The Scholarly Scrivener" - Played by Schradinger

Tanis Blackheart, "The Lonely Apparition" - Played by Reaper

Giovanni D'Ario, "The Biomancer Alchemist" - Played by Dead Cruiser

Coven: Shattered

The FAQ

{The FAQ, as it stands now, is rough; it is literally just a compilation of previous posts. I will be making it easier to read over time.}

The FAQ is the compendium wherein all questions, answers and discussions thus far have been recorded. It is highly encouraged that all players read the FAQ. I apologize for how difficult of a task this really is. I will be doing my best in subsequent days to organize the FAQ.

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On the topic of broad RP questions relating to the plot, character creation, the OOC and etc.

Are you going to be looking for Players to be signing up for Coven positions, or more of a foot soldier-esque kind of role?

In short, yes and yes. Now, let me explain, coven are much more structured and political in this realm. Attribute them more closely to a medieval, noble household/group of people (such as a duchy or some other thing); the people within may not be related and may have different roles, but they align under one name. In other words, all players will have their characters be in the coven (meaning a part of being a resident in the castle/household) but their actual role may be something else (such as a foot soldier or whatever else). In the OOC, I will add a little section of ideas and suggestions to the roles within the castle and coven, in light of this question.

As a side note: witch is a broad term for any person who is a part of a coven (which has been defined above). It's a state of affiliation more than a quantifiable position. You can be a witch and a servant, or a witch and a count, for instance.

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Will our characters have to be magic users?

First, see the answer above; using this answer, I can safely say that, in pure technicalities, EVERYONE will be a magic user, but it is on the use and volume of the magic that characters will differ. A witch devoted to battle with a sword (with perhaps magical augmentation) may use magically differently and maybe to a lesser extent, in comparison to one who avidly uses magic as a constant form of divination, consulting the occult for answers and guidance to everything.

On the topic of general magic, the nature of magic and the magic system in broad terms

Also, are you going to keep the Magic possibilities to a more narrow approach(Kind of like "Healing/Offensive/Defensive" varieties), or are you going to let the Players -kind of flesh out the options with a broad generalization with what would be acceptable without stepping out of bounds (More of like Elemental/Necromancy/Curses/etc)?

Within the IC, magic is being approached from a very ambiguous and natural way. It isn't a science in the slightest; it's not studied at all. Rather, it's very intuitive, so these classifications of "healing/offensive/defensive" and "elemental/necromancy/curses" are both too specific; they add too many constraints. That isn't to say there isn't a basic organizational system formulated by the people, within the IC, such as calling one set of spells 'charms' and the other 'curses'; but this is to say that magic and spells can work in a very broad, general way and a specific one. There may be instances where someone will do something akin to telekinesis, like that of a superpower and not pure magic, as well as instances of a traditional, elemental fireball.

The reason behind this madness is based on the premise that magic is very integral and present in most aspects of the realm. Although spells may be devastating, awe-inspiring and noticeable, magic in general is very common and regular, not given all that much attention by certain people. A very rough comparison would be to breathing in our world. Truthfully, it is one of the MOST important things we can do, allowing us to live, but because everyone does it, it isn't exactly spectacular. Still, there are situations when breathing is really noted and revered in our world (after holding your breath underwater for a long time, or when belting out a long note). In a similar way, this is how magic is.

Another rough illustration would be found in the Harry Potter universe (within the Wizard world specifically). Since everyone in the wizard world uses magic, there isn't much of a system to differentiating magic users (I mean there are basic ones and also very rare, specific ones [like an animage] but in general, there isn't). Voldemort isn't a necromancer, and he doesn't confine himself to only necromancy. To continue the example, the difference between a curse, a jinx and a hex can be pretty gray at times, and in essence they are the same thing; the only difference is to the damage it causes which can be an obscure thing to quantify.

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Are there people in this world that cannot use magic?

Regarding those without magic, there are none, in terms of not having the ability to use magic, but there are those who just don't use it or who use it minimally. These people are not really looked at any differently since, again, magic is a natural thing. Just as someone who has trouble breathing isn't really looked at differently, so to are those who don't use magic all too often. Still, one important distinction is that these people don't really have trouble using magic (as one may have trouble breathing), they just choose not to use it. Another thing to note is that in some way, shape or form, even these who don't use magic may still find themselves associating with some sort of magic, if following the premise that magic is a natural force, ever-present. See, in the realm, magic is persistent; one cannot really be non-magical in the realm, since non-magic isn't really a thing. Therefore, a coven would accept one who doesn't use magic just as they would one who does. But some people may question why someone would refrain from magic, and certain people would allow such a choice to affect their view on the person, but in general, its not that big of a deal—more of just a quirk.

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Is magical use along the lines of anything can use it, and some things just don't grasp that fact or have any need to?

Using my explanation and basic definition pertaining to the nature of magic, then hypothetically, yes, anything can use magic, although as mentioned some things don't use it in a civilized sense. Things without the capacity to reason or have complex, abstract thinking (which really means anything that is not a human) will be unable to conduct magic in any organized sense of the word. As said before, they wouldn't cast spells, but some things may be influenced by magic. I will explain this in more detail in the answer to the next question.

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Does magic come from within the individual or from the natural magically saturated environment?

Magic is not an element or energy in itself; it is a sort of presence, a catalyst, a phenomena, and thus it can't be decided if magic comes from the internal or external, whether it is created or merely manipulated. It is due to this reason that unintelligent things can't really use it like a witch can (and to this degree, why it isn't well-organized even among civilization), for magic is just too unknown in its underlying mechanisms. Those who have tried to understand it have hardly made steps in figuring it out; at this point, most have just given up. To give a real world example, in order to better understand the ambiguity of magic in the realm, magic is similar to dark energy and dark matter; we know that it can (and does exist, in terms of magic in the realm) but we know nothing about it. It is an invisible actor. Going on, it should be noticed that in organized magic (that is using spells, rituals and other structured methods to execute particular effect), spells produce an effect and this effect itself is not the magic. It is the cause of an effect that is magic, and this echoes my earlier statement that magic is technically everywhere but also completely natural and normal. A fireball itself is unusual, yes, but not magic; magic is what allows the existence of the fireball.

There is a distinction between magic and a spell. Magic, as explained many times, is natural, a sort of nigh-omnipresent phenomena. Spells, on the other hand, are deliberate applications of magic. Therefore, spells are magic, but magic is not necessarily a spell. And even more, the spell is the process, the magic is the force and the product of the spell is the actual effect. Thus, in pure technicalities, the product of a spell is not actually magical but a consequence of magic. To illustrate using the fireball again, a fireball is fire, the creation of the fireball is brought about by magic, while the activity (process) of utilizing magic to create the fireball is the spell.

An obscure reference would be to Aristotle's definitions of capacity, activity and product.
• Magic is a capacity of sorts, really nothing more than potential by itself. [possible, comparable physics term: potential energy as well as force]
• Spellcasting (spells) is the activity in the capacity of magic. [possible, comparable physics term: work]
• The product is the effect brought about as a consequence of the spell. [possible, comparable physics term: matter]

*Note: If any of these comparisons confuse you, just forget about them. They're not completely correct, but merely reference points to help understanding, so if they do the opposite, just try your best to ignore them.*

I do want to mention one final thing though, and hopefully this doesn't confuse anyone to much, but it is entirely possible for magic to bring about an effect without a spell. This is what is considered a natural phenomena, and this magic is usually rare, weak or vague because it isn't caused by a spell (it lacks intent/focus). It is this phenomena present in, say, a child's magical outburst, which is further described in a following question.

Anyways, this distinction is what allows magical entities that can't, in technical terms, cast spells, such as creatures.

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Does magic work like an energy or a process? Is a person's magical prowess limited by their individual innate magical reserve or their knowledge on how to perform the magic?

Spellcasting is most definitely a process and requires some form of basic understanding of the man made methods to try and give a better structure to the ambiguity of magic. That said magic, in being completely natural, is also very intuitive and is an energy. Actually, a better thing to call it is a presence (as explained in another question), as it isn't quantifiable in the realm (at least not in the setting of this RP), rather than an energy which can usually be measured to some extent. Therefore, a person's magical prowess is not limited by an innate reserve, but rather by their knowledge on the execution. That said, it just so happens that because of the complexities, many don't reach a level where they can do very powerful spells (that is, things considered OP, OOCly).

Schradinger's Quote:
“I would liken it to the development of technology in the real world. Has technology made the harvesting of food easier, faster, and more productive? By leaps and bounds, I'd say. Has the increased availability of said food ended world hunger or achieved world peace? Not even remotely. If anything, the increased level of technological development has just made the power struggles less overt at times, due to both sides possessing the capability for mass destruction (cold war, anyone?).

It seems that magic in this universe would follow a similar path of development. It may be everywhere, but that doesn't mean anyone can do anything with it. We all have brains, but it took the team working on the Manhattan Project to successfully develop an atom bomb. We've had access to the raw materials since the dawn of man, but had to first learn how to utilize them before they could be turned into what we know today as nuclear weapons. A thousand years ago, a box the size of a coffin that could destroy an entire city in a wave of fire and force would have been the most laughable flight of fancy. If it had been demonstrated, it would have been sorcery. In this realm, the roles are just reversed.”

A good comparison that Schradinger actually made was in likening magic to a technological development. Sure, this was in talking on a different topic, but it can be used in the area too. In this way, magic is too 'underdeveloped' to produce things like a magical atom bomb, per say. Another illustration would again be that of cooking; anyone can theoretically cook to the same degree as anyone, or to put it better has the same potential, (considering the ingredient is available to all, which considering magic is the ingredient in this comparison, it is abundant), but some people just don't cook well, usually from a poor execution stemming from lack of knowledge, preparation and/or practice.

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Will children be magicking like in Harry Potter? Able to have emotional magical outbursts? Do adults naturally get better at focusing their magic or do they require training in a Hogwarts?

Children can use magic similar to the way in Harry Potter, yes, and it is entirely reasonable for them to have magical outbursts. But, as clarified, spells require understanding. Children's emotional, magical outbursts will be either very weak, not of the child's original intent or just not manifest at all because they lack some (or all) of the components that I described above for proper spellcasting. And as mentioned in a previous question, in pure technicalities, these outburst (and the effects following) is not a spell but just plain magic because it lacks the structure/organization to be considered an actual spell, even if the magic's effect is similar/identical to an actual spell.

To bring up Aristotle again, these sorts of uses of magic that aren't spells mirror the philosopher's distinction between a brave man and a man who does what a brave man does but is not actually brave.

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What dictates, or is presumed to dictate, the methods used in any specific spell? Can two witches use different steps and have their spell result in the same effect?

Yes, you are right in thinking that one could use a different set of steps to achieve the same effect. It's one of the most unique (and enjoyable, in my opinion) parts of this magic system. Still, for the sake of the OOC, a rule of thumb is that more 'powerful' spells should have more difficult and longer preparations/executions, just to stave off any godmodding and the like.

I recall alluding to this when speaking about a child's magical outburst.

This "different method, same product" factor only exists on certain spells though, particularly the very common and basic ones; Other spells have yet to be replicated by other steps (that doesn't mean that they can't be though), and in fact, figuring out the steps for any spells is a long process, involving a lot of experimentation, trial-and-error, practice and reasoning. This is why witches (especially those within the same coven) stick to the same way of casting a spell, for finding another way wouldn't be very pragmatic.

On the topic of specific uses of magic (spells, types of magic, etc.) and the extents of magic, technology and magitek

What would is the role of alchemy in this setting?

Answering the question on alchemy, it will play a role in the RP, but typical alchemy is considered to be related with normal cooking. In the same way a good meal makes one feel good, so to does that one relaxing elixir, to illustrate the point. Both affect subjects when ingested, what makes them different, besides the mere ingredients or the occasional spatter of incantations? Therefore, most witches disregard the magic of alchemical creations and treat them with relative normalcy.

That said, alchemy is still an area of skill and possible expertise, just as cookery. They aren't ignorant of it or its capabilities (similar to how no one eats poisonous mushrooms, no will will ingest a random poison willy-nilly; they understand), and in fact, some witches (especially those whose skills and interests are within the field of alchemy) still use the field to achieve various effects, but it's not seen as anything utterly spectacular in general. Now, specific elixirs and potions may be more greatly prized, but as with certain creatures, these are the exceptions and not the status quo. Thus, if you're planning an alchemical character, have at it, and don't let me change your mind on anything. A traditional alchemist, one who uses magic and concoctions to achieve effects is still viable and possible, just expect the character to be reacted to a bit differently. If you want to try something a bit different though, you could have an alchemist also have a role as a groundskeeper or cook, which both share certain areas with typical alchemy.

One thing to keep in mind though is the technological resources available (or should I say unavailable) in the realm. As detailed in the first post, the age is reminiscent of the dark ages/middle ages, things like automatons and alchemical/technological marvels and creations will be hardly existent. And those that are will be more-or-less simple and far from advanced automatons, although not technically useless. Technology, even with the help of magic, just isn't at the proper level to be sufficient for the more 'magitek' like creations.

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What is your stance on Phylacteries and life preservation magic of that sort?

Regarding phylacteries and life preservation, it is definitely plausible and theoretically possible, but OOCly, I don't think I'd want to allow a player and their character access to immortality. In practice, it just brings about the fear of over powered characters and et cetera. I don't even think that any of the enemies in this book will be using any techniques like this, candidly. Still, like some of the other specifics that have been discussed, I might be persuaded otherwise.

Since there's so many questions (which I am really content about; as I said, questions are only a boon), I'll answer them in the similar, list form that I did earlier.

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What's stopping a a witch from putting a magical aneurysm in another, the moment they see each other? Or what keeps someone from merely snapping someone's neck with, say, telekinesis?

The restrictions introduced in the prior question regarding magic as a process or energy apply in the case of limiting one's abilities with magic. To put it simply, in order to cast a spell, one needs a few things: the potential to do magic (which all have), the choice to use it (a spell is hardly done on accident, well a spell with the desired effect), some sort of intent (that is a desired effect), and the understanding/knowledge required to both prepare and execute the spell. Now, with that, I must also explain that (as mentioned before) magic itself is intuitive to an extent because of its natural state. Simple spells can usually be discerned and figured out with some thought (think level 0 spells from the D&D franchise), just through intuition. More powerful and/or complex spells are where a larger understanding begins to come into play.

To put it simply, a witch can't do that because no one can; it's too powerful/complex at this point, although theoretically it is entirely possible. This is the IC explanation for OOC bans/restrictions, which I alluded to in a previous post.

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Are there concrete magic types or magic schools?:

As extrapolated earlier, there is no real organization of magic into the types we're used to. The only big distinction is the difference between mere magic and actual spellcasting, which I clarified in prior answers. Spells can come in many forms, as long as they meet all the criteria mentioned above, so something like, say, singing magic is definitely possible.

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Is magic capable of creating a result purely from mere magic and the intent of a witch? For example, can one conjure and materialize a loaf of bread?

In regards to this question, yes, it is impossible to create something from what is basically nothing. Same basic laws of physics still apply in the realm (conservation in this case). That said, from the get go, I can see two possible ways for a loaf of bread to be 'conjured'. The first is in basic transmutation (equivalent exchange), as it is possible, although transmutation isn't the easiest effect to cast a spell for, as there are many variables involved in the shifting of matter's properties. Thus, although entirely possible, it isn't something to rely solely on, especially in regards to resources needed for basic living. The second way would be in conjuration, in terms of shifting the location of matter, that is: teleportation. Now, teleportation is also very difficult to do because of a different set of confounding factors that make the spell harder to execute but for the intent of summoning a loaf of bread, it is possible.

Your second assumption is also correct in that everyone has the potential, but potential is far from the actual ability. See my answer/discussion on the question: "Does magic come from within the individual or from the natural magically saturated environment?" which details this thing a bit more.

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What is the Realm's version of necromancy?

Necromancy can be considered a general term for any effect that causes a body that has lost (or didn't have) a soul/spirit to have one. Either the spirit, the soul or both can be fully returned to a being, meaning you can have all of your "zombies", "husk slaves" and "resurrected individuals".

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Are runes and enchantments possible?

Inscribed forms of magic and the enchantment of objects are entirely possible. Like anything else, it's probably possible but not exactly to the same degree as first imagined. Enchantments, charms and runes are bit of obscure territory though because the question is still unanswered concerning if it is the spell that is most important, the ingredients/items/writing, or if both are equally necessary for a proper "magic item" or rune.

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What about wards, charms, protective magics and counterspells?

Yes, these are possible; these protective magics work on the basis of counterspells, meaning to cancel the magical effect that it protects from it enacts the opposite of effect. Of course, this means that only spells with an 'opposite' can be blocked, but that actually isn't the case. There are other ways to defend: such as through a physical barrier (which can be created with magic) to act as an wall between the magical effect and the defending witch, but this is only considering that the effect can be blocked by merely physical means. See, like anything else, magic is relatively imperfect when used at the current point in the realm, even in protection.

For example, in making a ward against something specific, only against what it protects coule the ward work, as a sort of 'nullifier'. Unfortunately, this imperfection would likely be characterized in the ward being unable to shield from anything else, having a short duration or only being able to ward off so much of what it was meant to (having a maximum capacity).

Plus, in terms of counterspells, spells that are the opposite quality of a counterspell would actually be augmented. To illustrate, a ward against a fireball would probably work though a magical ice effect, through cold. Thus, if someone were to throw a spike of ice at the ward, the ice spike would actually be empowered.

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Are airships a technologically possible thing in the realm?

Airships, in the way I think they're being imagined (that is, as flying motorships; technological marvels), can't really be done with the technology of the time period. I mean, in our world, motorboats (that is sailboats autonomously maneuvered by mechanisms) didn't really become possible until around the 18th century, with the invention of a screw propeller and steam engine and that proper gliders weren't invented until the 17-18th century either (with the very powered aircraft not created until the 19th century). Thus, the realm is still using glorified sailboats (and perhaps basic sailing ships) for mere water. Plus, they'd need understanding of advanced aeronautical physics, which I would assume is beyond their current level of understanding.

Still, with magic, I can see certain versions of 'airships', but they'd very primitive and would still be considered 'human-powered' because they would require a constant source of human(s) to use spellcasting in order to achieve the desired effect of lift (one would not be able to do this alone, depending on the size; as mentioned on the questions associated with telekinesis, alone telekinesis is basic). These airships would be like early sailboats probably, merely going to where the wind takes them. Still, with enough humans, some witches could spellcast lift while others could spellcast a specific wind-force to propel the levitating ship where they want. Again though, this is highly complicated and difficult (and for efficient and semi-reliable travel also involves multiple witches), so travel by air would definitely not be favored over the typical horse; it is too much difficulty for something that could be substituted by the easier-to-handle horse riding. Again though, there may be specific situations where it could work and be the better option, I guess.

One amendment to this though, after some discussion, is that I will allow a certain type of reliable airship, one similar to a Zeppelin, but it will not be available to the D'Cerf as of yet.

On the topic of beings, creatures and other aspects related to life and death in the realm

What is the stance on magical or mythical creatures in the RP? Both in a fantasy sense and in a more supernatural sense?

Since this RP is on the darker side and also heavily influenced by magic, the world does boast magical and mythical creatures, except most of them come in more unsavory variations. Also, bringing up a previous point, these creatures are completely normal, and thus are treated relatively normal to that of our animals—used for basic companionship or labor, not really especially prized or sought after. See, they aren't the usual unicorn and glittering fairy. For the most part, magical creatures are pretty savage and simple; there aren't many other intelligent beasts besides humans (which is what witches are, since as I already said, witch is a term for affiliation and not race or anything). Furthermore, magical creatures aren't superbly powerful. The more powerful and more intelligent ones are very uncommon. One is still more likely to see a normal deer (except maybe for contorted horns or something else that makes it unusual to us, but usual to them in their world) in the woods than a pack of talking, almighty white stags of magic (in fact, I don't plan talking creatures at all).

In a fantasy sense, all creatures are just that: creatures. Nothing fantastical about them. Yep, that bug may be able to spontaneously set its body on fire, but it's just like any other bug. Yep, that's a lion-eagle (Griffin), so what? They fly around occasionally.

In a supernatural sense, some creatures do have a closer connect to magic and the occult, but not in any civilized sense. They don't practice any formal magic or spells. Some of the stranger creatures are just a little more magical, in comparison to our world, but again, it's natural and normal in their realm. That said, some animals are symbols for magic because of their nature. The white stag for instance is more a symbol of magic because of its odd color, and that fact that they are only seen on full-mooned nights. They aren't super powerful or anything though.

What I'm basically requiring of you for this RP, in terms of animals/creatures, is to get rid of the notions and stereotypes that we have in the real world. Things work differently. Magic isn't really magical, in terms of it being fantastical and splendid and irregular. It's normal, a tool and a force, like gravity or wind.

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Are there such intelligent entities as faeries, demons, etc? What about cursed or transformed humans like vampires or werewolves?

I've pondered this question and for now: it's a no, on the existence of intelligent, mythical creatures. No fae, and the fae-like creatures that do exist are barbaric, with little intelligence (as mentioned in my previous post on creatures). On the topic of cursed creatures, though, I might allow it, but in the realm, they are VERY rare and, the cursed creatures are more cursed then empowered. Vampires aren't entirely immortal and are disfigured in some way, more cursed than super. In terms of 'transformed' characters, there really isn't going to be much of that; transformations are limited, as in say, the Harry Potter world. It's not a race or type of person that allows them to change; it's the magic.

Now, that isn't to say that I might not change my mind; if given proper reasoning or something, I may change my stance on creatures. They really have no use or place in the universe, and summoning and dealing with otherworldly beings isn't really gonna be allowed to much, OOCly. I just don't want to mess with that for now. :p Occult beings will really only be an abstract thing; they don't take a direct approach in the realm. They are more spectators and unknown forces to commune with, than actual entities..

Ultimately, things involving transformations or summoning and stuff, isn't really allowed all too much for the players and their characters. Again though, this is something I may change my stance on. Right now though, its just that I see no use for them, and if anything, they'll make things more difficult in a very bad way. And suffice to say, no characters are expected to be transformed or cursed as of this moment.

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Is it an evolutionary adaptation for a tree to have thorns that can put someone to sleep forever, or a hare to be able to jink a little farther than physically possibly when trying to evade a hunting dog? Or do these things need to be added through human interference? Or is it nothing more than an occasional awkward flub, courtesy of the magic itself?

Considering magic is so integral, it would not be surprising if magic would be factored in to certain evolutionary adaptations. Still, as explained in the following question on the origins of magic (internal or external), the product of magic is not inherently magical, so it would not really be possible for something to adapt to the actual magic but rather to certain products/effects of spells.

To explain, a hare may jink better than normal ones, but only if something had caused this adaptation to be necessary; and whether its caused by magic is debatable. A tree may become immune to fire (like redwood) if it needs to, and the cause may be completely non-magical or magical. Maybe generations of pyromanic witches who launched fireballs and fires every which way caused this, or maybe it was just a naturally flammable area that would burn in the summers. Again, because of the nature of magic, for something to become immune to magic is hypothetically improbable, but in the adaptation to products of magic, it is reasonable.

To put it clearly, evolution doesn't work any different than the way it does now. Adaptation and mutations are still usual to how they are in our world.

I must admit though, that there are anomalies and exceptions to the rule (as there always are). By chance or misfortune or even magical interactions, some things develop a better attunement to magic (which is what I previously described in my post on creatures). Perhaps a witch was somehow able to augment the speed of the hare's jink (maybe causing growth in the hare's leg muscles or something; I confess I'm not an anatomist on rabbits), and somehow this trait become genetic (rather than merely a mutation to that individual). From this, perhaps this trait passed on. Or perhaps the hare just randomly mutated in such a way that, for unexplained reasons (remember, magic is largely unknown and mysterious), it allowed the hare to jink faster. Or maybe it was completely normal.

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In the realm, what is life and death? Is there a soul? Do spirits exist?

To begin, a fundamental premise for the realm, which is that all living, human beings are composed of three parts: the physical, the spiritual and the soul.

The physical is the irrational part (meaning incapable of thought; the body is autonomous and not dynamic), the quantifiable part; it is the organs, the skin and etc. In a connection to sensation perception, the physical is what receives a given sensation, although it doesn't necessarily perceive (that is to understand or actually feel) it. All matter has a a physical part, from metals to creatures to humanity.

The spirit can be compared to the energy of the human being, the 'lifeforce'. To draw a connection, it is the similar to the lifeforce in early Daoist belief. This is what gives any living being the capacity called 'life'. The spirit is largely impossible to quantify or behold in any way though, but it is figured to exist because the realm deduced that their must be a difference between living and nonliving beings. What is the difference between metal and creatures, if not for one is living and the other not? And it is this that the term spirit has been used for. The spirit by itself is primal and this is the aspect of a being that causes desires and wants, in charge of feelings and emotion. In the connection to perception, the spirit is what allows a sensation to have a feeling (that is, the spirit is what makes some sensations positive or negative, harmful or not). Unlike the physical aspect, only living matter/beings have this: creatures, humans, plants, etc, while not nonliving things like metals.

Finally, there it the soul. This is the unique aspect only present in humans. It is comprised of the consciousness and the mind. This is where personality and reason and the like are found. The soul is also what allows human beings to spellcast, the distinct activity unavailable to other things. In the sensation/perception comparison, the soul is what processes the sensation (that is, the soul is what actually recognizes the sensation).

To oversimplify this a bit too much, the physical is the body. The spirit is the heart. And the soul is the brain.
To try and put it in other terms, the spirit is the "Id", the soul is the "ego", and the physical is really none of it at all, since it has no higher function than to be a quantifiable, physical state of matter—a vessel. In this Freudian relation, the "superego" would be found between the spirit and the soul, as the conscience requires emotion as well as reason/understanding to work.

One other thing is know is that the spirit and soul are eternal in the sense that they don't die, though I can feasibly see moments where it can just be plain destroyed and wiped from existence. The body, on the other hand, is temporary and temporal, subject to the rules of matter, atrophying away after so much time.

When any living being dies, the spirit is lost and the soul as well, while the physical body is left to begin to decay. It is unknown if death causes the departure of the soul and spirit, or whether the two aspects are removed first causing a subsequent death. Moreover, the spirit is what remains active in any form of the afterlife; the soul usually becomes inactive. Now, this isn't to say that the dead are without knowledge, they just are less prone to critical thinking and all that, being above mortal concerns, they have no need of the nutrition necessary for the body or the problem-solving of the soul, merely the feelings of the spirit. Still, as always, there are exceptions and these exceptions are the dead who still actively use the soul; it is usually these beings (we'll call them ghosts, as to not confuse terms of spirits and souls, which are distinct and already defined) who interact with the mortal, physical realm for whatever reason.

Please understand that the soul and spirit, though distinct, are one entity in the sense that the soul is never without the spirit and vice-versa. Still, with that said, and as alluded to above (and will be alluded to below), one aspect can be 'inactive' even though it is still inherently present. It's like putting that aspect to sleep or turning it off; it's not merely destroyed. Only the physical aspect can be removed from the spirit/soul combo. And again, these soul/spirits without a body will be given the general term of ghost, just to keep anyone confused form calling the ethereal being a spirit and stuff.

Anyways, there are certain scenarios where the soul or spirit can still be left inside the body without the other.

In the case of a body and an active soul (and inactive spirit), the being is considered amoral. In function, they are like robots, a rational being lacking a heart, able to think and act but having no source for emotion or feeling. These beings also have no 'reason' to exist, as the spirit is where desires/wants/dreams/aspirations/etc. stem from. They just follow directions and do what is smartest, considering their objective and situation. These are your undead husks and vessels. Due to the active soul, they can have the mental capacity for speech and etc.

On the other hand, in the case of a body with an active spirit (and inactive soul), the being is similar to an animal, primal and savage, an irrational being of emotion, only doing what they feel they need to do, which is usually along the lines of surviving, keeping the physical intact. These are your brainless undead creatures, like zombies, just waiting to do whatever their whim or natural instinct causes them to do. Considering the inactive soul, this is why zombies and related creatures are incapable of speech, because they lack the mental capacities.

A body without either spirit or soul is just a lump of bones (and maybe flesh), a sack of potatoes. They could theoretically be manipulated with magic, similar to a puppet, but they are not autonomous or alive at all.

On the topic of politics, belief systems, the D

What makes these covens special? How do they retain their political/occult power? If magic is something that is relatively common (akin to a natural force) how do they stay on top? What is their power structure like?

I must admit that coven, in the simplest form, have no 'right' to governance or really anything special about them. They have no reason to be a political entity or anything when merely considering magic, but you must remember that it is still humanity and human civilization. Relying on only magic, there is no reason, but then when you take in mind all the other aspects of human life, you can see the necessity for some sort of organized civilization. I mean, why are we, in our world, in systems of governance? Because, frankly, it was (to some extent) required; civilization of some sort is a natural consequence of existence, as even exhibited by animals. Magic is just another thing in the world among a variety of so many other things that result in the need for politics.

And in the same way, they is nothing special about coven either if you want to get so deep and philosophical and hypothetical. But then again, in actuality, coven are special because they provide government and politics. They just developed a little differently because of the added variable of magic. But in the realm, they are very similar to structure of government present in the middle/dark ages. Coven is just what I decided to call them. Easily, I could have just easily called them provinces or whatever else. Don't let that term define everything, when the name is just a sort of coincidence, when there is so much more involved.

Regarding how they keep power, coven are considered more powerful based on the usual factors: wealth, size, population, etc. Why? Because ultimately, the most important resource is humanity. What is a coven with no one in it? Who is there to use magic and cast spells, if not the only beings with the capacities of the soul that provide that opportunity? Plus, despite the optimistic futures that are possible with magic, alone, magic isn't enough because of the restrictions I explained earlier; in terms of humans and spellcasting, magic isn't powerful enough to solve every problem. It is just another variable.

Therefore, in regards to a traditional political system, the game of kings and of thrones is still the same. Power is distributed unevenly. There is inequality among coven, both in regards to each other and within themselves. The D'Cerf, in particular, does have a sort of caste system because of the hierarchical roles that people hold. Some are servants, others are nobles, as magic is more than the only thing in deciding power.

Finally, to conclude, every individual is unique and do have their own motivations. Some may not even want to pursue a path to power, in the sense of the word as we have been using it. But then others will. The Vilicus have their reasons and your characters will their own. And as will be stated in the OOC, such is one of the focuses on this RP: the path of power and the whys and hows involved.

Magic is amoral, beyond definition as neutral, good, evil or otherwise; the people are not.

---

How does a coven, particularly the D'Cerf, gather resources and maintain them?

Beginning on the topic of resources and sustenance, remember that other than magic (which is really quite normal in society and culture), coven work exactly like any other human form of organized civilization. Thus, to illustrate, the ones who bring the food are the ones whose duties involve the gathering or development of good. That is, farmer (those who deal with flora), as well as hunters and ranchers (those who deal with fauna). Nothing really unusual here. Sure, maybe they utilize spellcasting to some effect, but again (as mentioned previously), magic isn't going to solve any problems related to resource harnessing and gathering.

See, just like in our world, in the realm, humans still need the same basic, fundamental necessities to live, and so the progression and development of civilization is identical, originating from the creation of sustained agriculture and moving on from there.

---

What makes the D'Cerf better than the other coven? How do they apply and keep their power and public opinion?

Speaking on dominance and the question on what makes the D'Cerf better, I reiterate the importance of the resource called humanity, which I argued was the most important resource in a previous post. The D'Cerf is the most powerful, in short, because of their number. The D'Cerf range in the upper 100s, which is higher than the other coven that only boast population sizes in the middle 100's (at maximum). Now, you may ask what got them to this point, and honestly, I can't tell you that exactly. Perhaps it was good agriculture and a boom in childrearing, but regardless, the D'Cerf grew above the others and came to the point where because of their number, they began to progress socially, technologically and magically. With more people to farm, more agriculture was made. With more thinkers, other spells were properly discovered. Et cetera. Et cetera. Now, I do realize how idealistic this sounds, but really this is how things are. And remember to keep the perspective that this is merely in comparison to the other coven; keeping a global perspective (and comparing them to our world), they are still far, far, FAR more underdeveloped than we. Again, their time is of roughly the middle and dark ages (more towards the dark ages); they haven't even reached their renaissance.

To clarify, a coven is merely the word used to describe these bodies of people. As I mentioned in an earlier post on the definition of a coven, it is literally just the word I liked to use in this realm. Really, a coven is entirely synonymous with the world civilization. It doesn't really indicate size or power or resources, it just means a group of people who live in a community. I originally decided to use this word based on the existence of magic in realm. Don't let it confuse you.

Also, recall that all of the covens in this RP (the ones that will actually be RP'd and involved) are all relatively small. All of them are confined within their own set of walls, being similar to castles and holds, than whole kingdoms or provinces. Smaller than even city-states. The reason coven developed separately from one another and not combining into one government (besides the obvious reason of ancient, small communities having been found independent of one another) will actually be explained in the RP, during one of the later chapters, since it becomes pivotal to the a portion of the plot.

Going on, it is through their power in number that the D'Cerf retain their rule over the other coven, because with their number they have both the benefits of leading in force and industry. And yes, the D'Cerf do require "security payments" from some (not all) of the other coven, threatening to kill all inhabitants if they don't. Again, this is a darker RP, things like this are bound to happen; the political leader of the D'Cerf was a bit greedy, although a tremendously good leader for his coven, if not entirely a good person to those outside the coven. Regarding industry, the D'Cerf leads in most areas, particularly in magic. Having a larger number of occultists and scholars has given them the upper hand in general, compared to other coven, so the D'Cerf often wave and trade their intellectual superiority around to get what they want.

Concerning public opinion, since the coven, albeit larger than others, is still relatively small, and because of that a sense of community and "family" (a better word is nationalism) is evident. Coven are not highly developed political structures; again, they are not kingdoms. So being in a coven is still a lot like being in a group or team or order, there is a sense of belonging within the group, being in the inside. This is one of the underlying reasons between the current competition (and sometimes animosity) between coven, among many other things.

---

What is this mysterious thing called the Occult?

The Occult is just the unknown thing that most people commune with to a spiritual degree. It's just a part of their belief system and faith. The actually occult is mysterious and just as unknown as magic though, so whether it plays a part in anything (or not at all) and how it does is not known.

Coven: Shattered

Coven
Book One: Shattered

"I remember when times were different. Times when we were one, united. When the D'Cerf were of one house, one coven, one family. In our communion with the occult, regardless of the form and expression, all spirits were in harmony. We lived alone and together, finding company in our isolation. Times now are not the same. The D'Cerf stands in pieces, separate, in civil war, disfigured. Each poor, incomplete sliver vies to become victorious over the other, have power over its own, lost in thinking that a house divided can stand, against itself and against the others."

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
The Introduction

Homed in Castle Moonshearth, the coven of witches known as the D'Cerf was once well-reputed, known for their magic, resources, wealth, prestige and kinship. In their power, they ruled among the other covens, acting as the informal, political leader; they were the kings of the occult, ambassadors to magic, nobles of the witches. Exclusive yet still rather large in number—in comparison to the other covens—, diversity and conflict was to be expected among them, but they always stayed true to themselves and one another. However, the community began to drift apart when they were challenged by another coven, aligned under the family name of Vilicus.

Under the pressure of being usurped of their power, the mighty house began to crumble. The veil beginning to tear, many voiced their convictions and advice, some even suggesting to voluntarily give up their position to the Vilicus in order to stave off a detrimental war. However, before the two heads of the coven—a political leader and an occult leader—could arrive to a course of action, the very foundation of the coven was shaken!

In an event some considered impossible, the two leaders of the coven, High Priestess Olwyn and her husband Lord Bayard were found dead in their bedroom, faces unusually expressionless and hands clasped together in what otherwise would've been a sign of affection. Some speculated it was suicide caused by the sudden stress brought by the presence of the Vilicus, other speculated murder, but all were flooded with shock and made distraught.

Moreover, a power vacuum was created; the death of the two had been untimely, and the lovers had yet to make children for heirs. Suddenly, friend turned against friend, family against family, witch against witch. A coven once known for its solidarity and close community was split, as many fought their way up to claim the position as leader of the D'Cerf, each for their own reason. Deceit became as common as magic; traitors and alliances were both many; friends were no longer trusted, family no longer together. Even the common laborers and servants had their hand at moving up the ladder. It seemed as if, in one fell swoop, the D'Cerf had been all but destroyed by its own people. That is, until the Vilicus made their appearance at the door of Moonshearth.

It was a small battalion of warriors, witches from the Vilicus—the emblazoned, crimson 'v' was unmistakable. Their presence was a herald, an omen. Armed with weapons, they did not fight. Their appearance was a an act of offence enough, in itself. Marching into the throne room, all of the D'Cerf following them in, the captain of the battalion addressed the majority of the coven.

The general talked of a revolution in the world of the witches. Pointing to the empty thrones, he voiced how the old ways were no longer. How the times were progressing, and no longer could each separate coven continue on its own. He talked of a new system of politics, of government, of witchcraft and coven life. Yet for all this supposed talk of unification and peace, his eyes were red with fire, his tongue blazing with destruction. Despite his words, what he spoke was a threat, obvious to all. His message was hollow; his face bore no care for the world or the good of the witches. No, this was a warning against the D'Cerf, the ones who long had been those seated on the thrones, above the others, holding sway over all; but it seemed like this time would be no longer. Slithering snakes and crouched lions were waiting to strike and remove the D'Cerf from power. And with that, the Vilicus marched out, faces stoic like stone but a smug aura pervading still.

The people of the D'Cerf were pale, their faces drained of color, their eyes flung wide like open doors. Not a breath made its way into the open space as they all pondered. Was it a joke? A foolish move? A lie? The truth?

Whispers began, faint voices watering the seed of doubt, of defeat, of discord, of destruction. Something would have to be done, but none were courageous or wise or kind enough to give up their chance at the D'Cerf throne, to mold the coven into what they deemed best, to write the future. It seemed now more than ever, the fate of the D'Cerf and of all the witches rested among the D'Cerf coven themselves. What was needed was for decisions to be made, for the restoration of the shattered coven to begin, but a midst selfish hearts, pointed tongues and honeyed words, it would seem the D'Cerf were doomed to shatter, fall to pieces as a mirror, no longer reflecting itself, no longer true, no longer whole.

The Overview

Welcome to Coven: Shattered, the first book in this RP series. I'm overjoyed that you are reading this right now and are interested in the RP. Below, I've provided a basic overview of what to expect. I hope you find this RP to be something that you can find yourself involved and immersed in. In the RP, magic may by a persistent element, but together, it is the writing and the roleplaying that really make the magic.

Anyways, to begin, this RP is one of politics, war, magic, ambition and the unknown. Expect to see times of battle and adventure, versus sinister moments of deceit and the game of kings. Overall, this RP is planned to allow the players to experience a fantastical plot wherein their characters choices shape the development of not only themselves, but of a political system and ultimately the whole realm. Regarding the nature of the RP, it is too be a darker one, nearing gothic, although probably not crossing the line into it for the most part. It will definitely have twisted moments though that will hopefully challenge the morals (or goals) of the character as well as the ingenuity of the player. On a related note, it is expected for 'mature' themes to make their occasional appearances in the RP, if the players allow and steer the RP in that direction. Don't worry about anything overly sensual or overwhelming however, it won't ever get too terrible; I'll make sure of it, but considering how the RP is planned to go, it had to be mentioned that some dark themes were expected.

Well, going on, major conflicts in the main plot will involve various dilemmas involving: the importance of the few or the many, personal morality versus personal goals, and obviously, the D'Cerf versus the Vilicus. Various minor and major conflicts and plot points have been planned in advance, but considering this RP is a collaborative effort, things may change as we work together and find ourselves immersed in the world.

Ultimately, this RP will give the player a chance to collaboratively write a story about a broken coven, in a fantasy land, that is under siege, and its path to redemption or destruction.

The Magic

So my original intention was to explain how I originally envisioned magic, but if you've seen the Interest Check (see here), debate took off in the most wondrous way, which is something that as a GM and for an RP is nothing short of the best thing I could ever want. Thus, I've decided to change course a bit. Rather than explain magic in such a concrete, structured way, I encourage all people to look through the FAQ that follows this post. In it, you can see how magic has developed and collaboratively become complex and alive. I hope you don't find it too overwhelming (candidly, it's a bit intimidating), but reading it will really help you out, although one could feasibly RP with a very basic understanding of magic. Still, if you have questions, ask them. I would rather have you understand the system (as best as it could be understood), then not. As a GM, I am here to help.

The Rules

• Usual Guild Rules apply; to put it bluntly, don't be stupid, foolish or overly rebellious.

• Be kind, courteous and respectable, in all things, even in debate. If you are unsure if something is 'crossing the line', a good rule of thumb is to just not say it.

• Write at the standard expected of an Advanced Roleplay.

• Enjoy yourself, the others and the RP. Involve yourself, and let this become an immersive, collaborative, living experience.

Questions and Debate

Have questions or want to discuss something? First, check the FAQ below, it may be the case that the question has already been answered or the debate discussed. If you still desire to pose the question or discussion though, feel free to and I'll do my best to keep everything going.

Magic-Centered, GOT-like Cool RP idea

Now, to actually finish the OOC. :p

Magic-Centered, GOT-like Cool RP idea

On Souls, Spirits, Life, Death, Necromancy and the Occult:

- To begin, a fundamental premise for the realm, which is that all living, human beings are composed of three parts: the physical, the spiritual and the soul.

The physical is the irrational part (meaning incapable of thought; the body is autonomous and not dynamic), the quantifiable part; it is the organs, the skin and etc. In a connection to sensation perception, the physical is what receives a given sensation, although it doesn't necessarily perceive (that is to understand or actually feel) it. All matter has a a physical part, from metals to creatures to humanity.

The spirit can be compared to the energy of the human being, the 'lifeforce'. To draw a connection, it is the similar to the lifeforce in early Daoist belief. This is what gives any living being the capacity called 'life'. The spirit is largely impossible to quantify or behold in any way though, but it is figured to exist because the realm deduced that their must be a difference between living and nonliving beings. What is the difference between metal and creatures, if not for one is living and the other not? And it is this that the term spirit has been used for. The spirit by itself is primal and this is the aspect of a being that causes desires and wants, in charge of feelings and emotion. In the connection to perception, the spirit is what allows a sensation to have a feeling (that is, the spirit is what makes some sensations positive or negative, harmful or not). Unlike the physical aspect, only living matter/beings have this: creatures, humans, plants, etc, while not nonliving things like metals.

Finally, there it the soul. This is the unique aspect only present in humans. It is comprised of the consciousness and the mind. This is where personality and reason and the like are found. The soul is also what allows human beings to spellcast, the distinct activity unavailable to other things. In the sensation/perception comparison, the soul is what processes the sensation (that is, the soul is what actually recognizes the sensation).

To oversimplify this a bit too much, the physical is the body. The spirit is the heart. And the soul is the brain.
To try and put it in other terms, the spirit is the "Id", the soul is the "ego", and the physical is really none of it at all, since it has no higher function than to be a quantifiable, physical state of matter - a vessel. In this Freudian relation, the "superego" would be found between the spirit and the soul, as the conscience requires emotion as well as reason/understanding to work.

One other thing is know is that the spirit and soul are eternal in the sense that they don't die, though I can feasibly see moments where it can just be plain destroyed and wiped from existence. The body, on the other hand, is temporary and temporal, subject to the rules of matter, atrophying away after so much time.

When any living being dies, the spirit is lost and the soul as well, while the physical body is left to begin to decay. It is unknown if death causes the departure of the soul and spirit, or whether the two aspects are removed first causing a subsequent death. Moreover, the spirit is what remains active in any form of the afterlife; the soul usually becomes inactive. Now, this isn't to say that the dead are without knowledge, they just are less prone to critical thinking and all that, being above mortal concerns, they have no need of the nutrition necessary for the body or the problem-solving of the soul, merely the feelings of the spirit. Still, as always, there are exceptions and these exceptions are the dead who still actively use the soul; it is usually these beings (we'll call them ghosts, as to not confuse terms of spirits and souls, which are distinct and already defined) who interact with the mortal, physical realm for whatever reason.

Please understand that the soul and spirit, though distinct, are one entity in the sense that the soul is never without the spirit and vice-versa. Still, with that said, and as alluded to above (and will be alluded to below), one aspect can be 'inactive' even though it is still inherently present. It's like putting that aspect to sleep or turning it off; it's not merely destroyed. Only the physical aspect can be removed from the spirit/soul combo. And again, these soul/spirits without a body will be given the general term of ghost, just to keep anyone confused form calling the ethereal being a spirit and stuff.

Anyways, there are certain scenarios where the soul or spirit can still be left inside the body without the other.

In the case of a body and an active soul (and inactive spirit), the being is considered amoral. In function, they are like robots, a rational being lacking a heart, able to think and act but having no source for emotion or feeling. These beings also have no 'reason' to exist, as the spirit is where desires/wants/dreams/aspirations/etc. stem from. They just follow directions and do what is smartest, considering their objective and situation. These are your undead husks and vessels. Due to the active soul, they can have the mental capacity for speech and etc.

On the other hand, in the case of a body with an active spirit (and inactive soul), the being is similar to an animal, primal and savage, an irrational being of emotion, only doing what they feel they need to do, which is usually along the lines of surviving, keeping the physical intact. These are your brainless undead creatures, like zombies, just waiting to do whatever their whim or natural instinct causes them to do. Considering the inactive soul, this is why zombies and related creatures are incapable of speech, because they lack the mental capacities.

A body without either spirit or soul is just a lump of bones (and maybe flesh), a sack of potatoes. They could theoretically be manipulated with magic, similar to a puppet, but they are not autonomous or alive at all.

Necromancy can be considered a general term for any effect that causes a body that has lost (or didn't have) a soul/spirit to have one. Either the spirit, the soul or both can be fully returned to a being, meaning you can have all of your "zombies", "husk slaves" and "resurrected individuals"

-

The Occult is just the unknown thing that most people commune with to a spiritual degree. It's just a part of their belief system and faith. The actually occult is mysterious and just as unknown as magic though, so whether it plays a part in anything (or not at all) and how it does is not known.

---

To DeadCruiser:

- With all that I've said so far, especially concerning the above answer on soul and spirit (and my prior posts on automatons and technology), I can say that you can have little minions to an extent, as I am enacting some limitations just for the sake of power-balancing, OOCly. First, you have to realize they'd be incapable of magic themselves since they aren't human beings. Second, they'd be considered automatons, since they would theoretically lack both a soul and spirit, although they are capable of action because in pure technicalities, they do have what one could cal a "basic soul". Therefore, they can only follow the directives given to them; they never do anything else beyond their objective, although they do attempt to do their objective in the most efficient way possible. Once a mission is complete (if it isn't a repetitive task), they'd be in a sort of hibernation, waiting the next order. Also, realize that just to refrain from having the minions being overpowered, the minions will be relatively weak physically, in terms that they can be destroyed and broken to an easier extent (though, their sharp weapons and experimented bodies can still cause damage; it's not that their power is weaker but that their constitution/durability is). And the final restriction would be that you can only have a few haemonculi to call your minions, again for the sake of power-balancing. Three seems like a good number, I think, maybe.

Other than that you basically are allowed the "horrid little minions made of various scraps of flesh scuttling about [the] evil laboratory, completing menial tasks and gurgling, "Yes, master" to [melodramatic orders]?".

---

On the topic of means of transportation:

- Airships, in the way I think they're being imagined, can't really be done with the technology of the time period. I mean, in our world, motorboats (that is sailboats autonomously maneuvered by mechanisms) didn't really become possible until around the 18th century, with the invention of a screw propeller and steam engine and that proper gliders weren't invented until the 17-18th century either (with the very powered aircraft not created until the 19th century). Thus, the realm is still using glorified sailboats (and perhaps basic sailing ships) for mere water. Plus, they'd need understanding of advanced aeronautical physics, which I would assume is beyond their current level of understanding.

Still, with magic, I can see certain versions of 'airships', but they'd very primitive and would still be considered 'human-powered' because they would require a constant human(s) to use spellcasting in order to achieve the desired effect of lift. These airships would be like early sailboats probably, merely going to where the wind takes them. Still, with enough humans, some witches could spellcast lift while others could spellcast a specific wind-force to propel the levitating ship where they want. Again though, this is highly complicated and difficult (and for efficient and semi-reliable travel also involves multiple witches), so travel by air would definitely not be favored over the typical horse; it is too much difficulty for something that could be substituted by the easier-to-handle horse riding. Again though, there may be specific situations where it could work and be the better option, I guess.

---

Regarding coven politics, sustenance, power and the D'Cerf's system of government:

- Beginning on the topic of resources and sustenance, remember that other than magic (which is really quite normal in society and culture), coven work exactly like any other human form of organized civilization. Thus, to illustrate, the ones who bring the food are the ones whose duties involve the gathering or development of good. That is, farmer (those who deal with flora), as well as hunters and ranchers (those who deal with fauna). Nothing really unusual here. Sure, maybe they utilize spellcasting to some effect, but again (as mentioned previously), magic isn't going to solve any problems related to resource harnessing and gathering.

See, just like in our world, in the realm, humans still need the same basic, fundamental necessities to live, and so the progression and development of civilization is identical, originating from the creation of sustained agriculture and moving on from there.

Speaking on dominance and the question on what makes the D'Cerf better, I reiterate the importance of the resource called humanity, which I argued was the most important resource in a previous post. The D'Cerf is the most powerful, in short, because of their number. The D'Cerf range in the upper 100s, which is higher than the other coven that only boast population sizes in the middle 100's (at maximum). Now, you may ask what got them to this point, and honestly, I can't tell you that exactly. Perhaps it was good agriculture and a boom in childrearing, but regardless, the D'Cerf grew above the others and came to the point where because of their number, they began to progress socially, technologically and magically. With more people to farm, more agriculture was made. With more thinkers, other spells were properly discovered. Et cetera. Et cetera. Now, I do realize how idealistic this sounds, but really this is how things are. And remember to keep the perspective that this is merely in comparison to the other coven; keeping a global perspective (and comparing them to our world), they are still far, far, FAR more underdeveloped than we. Again, their time is of roughly the middle and dark ages (more towards the dark ages); they haven't even reached their renaissance.

To clarify, a coven is merely the word used to describe these bodies of people. As I mentioned in an earlier post on the definition of a coven, it is literally just the word I liked to use in this realm. Really, a coven is entirely synonymous with the world civilization. It doesn't really indicate size or power or resources, it just means a group of people who live in a community. I originally decided to use this word based on the existence of magic in realm. Don't let it confuse you.

Also, recall that all of the covens in this RP (the ones that will actually be RP'd and involved) are all relatively small. All of them are confined within their own set of walls, being similar to castles and holds, than whole kingdoms or provinces. Smaller than even city-states. The reason coven developed separately from one another and not combining into one government (besides the obvious reason of ancient, small communities having been found independent of one another) will actually be explained in the RP, during one of the later chapters, since it becomes pivotal to the a portion of the plot.

Going on, it is through their power in number that the D'Cerf retain their rule over the other coven, because with their number they have both the benefits of leading in force and industry. And yes, the D'Cerf do require "security payments" from some (not all) of the other coven, threatening to kill all inhabitants if they don't. Again, this is a darker RP, things like this are bound to happen; the political leader of the D'Cerf was a bit greedy, although a tremendously good leader for his coven, if not entirely a good person to those outside the coven. Regarding industry, the D'Cerf leads in most areas, particularly in magic. Having a larger number of occultists and scholars has given them the upper hand in general, compared to other coven, so the D'Cerf often wave and trade their intellectual superiority around to get what they want.

Concerning public opinion, since the coven, albeit larger than others, is still relatively small, and because of that a sense of community and "family" (a better word is nationalism) is evident. Coven are not highly developed political structures; again, they are kingdoms. So being in a coven is still a lot like being in a group or team or order, there is a sense of belonging within the group, being in the inside. This is one of the underlying reasons between the current competition (and sometimes animosity) between coven, among many other things.

Magic-Centered, GOT-like Cool RP idea

Sorry for the belated OOC, all and thanks for the patience. I started having some late night computer issues, so I took that as a sign to go to sleep (since I had work in the morning anyways). Well, I just got back home; I will answer these recent, unanswered questions, and then post up the OOC.

Magic-Centered, GOT-like Cool RP idea

Post to mention that my previous post has been edited for you, Nemaisare. This is now a bit ironic though, since I'm posting to let you know I edited.

Magic-Centered, GOT-like Cool RP idea

In regards to your questions, Schradinger, yes, it is impossible to create something from what is basically nothing. Same basic laws of physics still apply in the realm (conservation in this case). That said, from the get go, I can see two possible ways for a loaf of bread to be 'conjured'. The first is in basic transmutation (equivalent exchange), as it is possible, although transmutation isn't the easiest effect to cast a spell for, as there are many variables involved in the shifting of matter's properties. Thus, although entirely possible, it isn't something to rely solely on, especially in regards to resources needed for basic living. The second way would be in conjuration, in terms of shifting the location of matter, that is: teleportation. Now, teleportation is also very difficult to do because of a different set of confounding factors that make the spell harder to execute but for the intent of summoning a loaf of bread, it is possible.

Your second assumption is also correct in that everyone has the potential, but potential is far from the actual ability. See my answer/discussion on the question: "Does magic come from within the individual or from the natural magically saturated environment?" which details this thing a bit more.

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Yes, you are right in thinking that one could use a different set of steps to achieve the same affect. It's one of the most unique (and enjoyable, in my opinion) parts of this magic system. Still, for the sake of the OOC, a rule of thumb is that more 'powerful' spells should have more difficult and longer preparations/executions, just to stave off any metagaming godmodding and the like.

I recall alluding to this when speaking about a child's magical outburst.

This "different method, same product" factor only exists on certain spells though, particularly the very common and basic ones; Other spells have yet to be replicated by other steps (that doesn't mean that they can't be though), and in fact, figuring out the steps for any spells is a long process, involving a lot of experimentation, trial-and-error, practice and reasoning. This is why witches (especially those within the same coven) stick to the same way of casting a spell, for finding another way wouldn't be very pragmatic.

Magic-Centered, GOT-like Cool RP idea

Your original assumption was correct.Coven do live in within a smaller area confined within one set of walls, like a keep or castle or hold, albeit with a few buildings, more than just one. I used those other terms to get my point across on the political standpoint of coven. Sorry if it confused you.

Magic-Centered, GOT-like Cool RP idea

Since there's so many questions (which I am really content about; as I said, questions are only a boon), I'll answer them in the similar, list form that I did earlier. :)

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Is magical use along the lines of anything can use it, and some things just don't grasp that fact or have any need to?

- Using my explanation and basic definition pertaining to the nature of magic, then hypothetically, yes, anything can use magic, although as mentioned some things don't use it in a civilized sense. Things without the capacity to reason or have complex, abstract thinking (which really means anything that is not a human) will be unable to conduct magic in any organized sense of the word. As said before, they wouldn't cast spells, but some things may be influenced by magic. I will explain this in more detail in the answer to the next question.

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Is it an evolutionary adaptation for a tree to have thorns that can put someone to sleep forever, or a hare to be able to jink a little farther than physically possibly when trying to evade a hunting dog? Or do these things need to be added through human interference? Or is it nothing more than an occasional awkward flub, courtesy of the magic itself?

- Considering magic is so integral, it would not be surprising if magic would be factored in to certain evolutionary adaptions. Still, as explained in the following question on the origins of magic (internal or external), the product of magic is not inherently magical, so it would not really be possible for something to adapt to the actual magic but rather to certain products/effects of spells.

To explain, a hare may jink better than normal ones, but only if something had caused this adaptation to be necessary; and whether its caused by magic is debatable. A tree may become immune to fire (like redwood) if it needs to, and the cause may be completely non-magical or magical. Maybe generations of pyromanic witches who launched fireballs and fires every which way caused this, or maybe it was just a naturally flammable area that would burn in the summers. Again, because of the nature of magic, for something to become immune to magic is hypothetically improbable, but in the adaptation to products of magic, it is reasonable.

To put it clearly, evolution doesn't work any different than the way it does now. Adaptation and mutations are still usual to how they are in our world.

I must admit though, that there are anomalies and exceptions to the rule (as there always are). By chance or misfortune or even magical interactions, some things develop a better attunement to magic (which is what I previously described in my post on creatures). Perhaps a witch was somehow able to augment the speed of the hare's jink (maybe causing growth in the hare's leg muscles or something; I confess I'm not an anatomist on rabbits), and somehow this trait become genetic (rather than merely a mutation to that individual). From this, perhaps this trait passed on. Or perhaps the hare just randomly mutated in such a way that, for unexplained reasons (remember, magic is largely unknown and mysterious), it allowed the hare to jink faster. Or maybe it was completely normal.

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Does magic come from within the individual or from the natural magically saturated environment?

- Magic is not an element or energy in itself; it is a sort of presence, a catalyst, a phenomena, and thus it can't be decided if magic comes from the internal or external, whether it is created or merely manipulated. It is due to this reason that unintelligent things can't really use it like a witch can (and to this degree, why it isn't well-organized even among civilization), for magic is just too unknown in its underlying mechanisms. Those who have tried to understand it have hardly made steps in figuring it out; at this point, most have just given up. To give a real world example, in order to better understand the ambiguity of magic in the realm, magic is similar to dark energy and dark matter; we know that it can (and does exist, in terms of magic in the realm) but we know nothing about it. It is an invisible actor. Going on, it should be noticed that in organized magic (that is using spells, rituals and other structured methods to execute particular effect), spells produce an effect and this effect itself is not the magic. It is the cause of an effect that is magic, and this echoes my earlier statement that magic is technically everywhere but also completely natural and normal. A fireball itself is unusual, yes, but not magic; magic is what allows the existence of the fireball.

There is a distinction between magic and a spell. Magic, as explained many times, is natural, a sort of nigh-omnipresent phenomena. Spells, on the other hand, are deliberate applications of magic. Therefore, spells are magic, but magic is not necessarily a spell. And even more, the spell is the process, the magic is the force and the product of the spell is the actual effect. Thus, in pure technicalities, the product of a spell is not actually magical but a consequence of magic. To illustrate using the fireball again, a fireball is fire, the creation of the fireball is brought about by magic, while the activity (process) of utilizing magic to create the fireball is the spell.

An obscure reference would be to Aristotle's definitions of capacity, activity and product.
• Magic is a capacity of sorts, really nothing more than potential by itself. [possible, comparable physics term: potential energy as well as force]
• Spellcasting (spells) is the activity in the capacity of magic. [possible, comparable physics term: work]
• The product is the effect brought about as a consequence of the spell. [possible, comparable physics term: matter]

*Note: If any of these comparisons confuse you, just forget about them. They're not completely correct, but merely reference points to help understanding, so if they do the opposite, just try your best to ignore them.*

I do want to mention one final thing though, and hopefully this doesn't confuse anyone to much, but it is entirely possible for magic to bring about an effect without a spell. This is what is considered a natural phenomena, and this magic is usually rare, weak or vague because it isn't caused by a spell (it lacks intent/focus). It is this phenomena present in, say, a child's magical outburst, which is further described in a following question.

Anyways, this distinction is what allows magical entities that can't, in technical terms, cast spells, such as creatures.

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Does magic work like an energy or a process? Is a person's magical prowess limited by their individual innate magical reserve or their knowledge on how to perform the magic?

- Spellcasting is most definitely a process and requires some form of basic understanding of the man made methods to try and give a better structure to the ambiguity of magic. That said magic, in being completely natural, is also very intuitive and is an energy. Actually, a better thing to call it is a presence (as explained in another question), as it isn't quantifiable in the realm (at least not in the setting of this RP), rather than an energy which can usually be measured to some extent. Therefore, a person's magical prowess is not limited by an innate reserve, but rather by their knowledge on the execution. That said, it just so happens that because of the complexities, many don't reach a level where they can do very powerful spells (that is, things considered OP, OOCly).

A good comparison that Schradinger actually made was in likening magic to a technological development. Sure, this was in talking on a different topic, but it can be used in the area too. In this way, magic is too 'underdeveloped' to produce things like a magical atom bomb, per say. Another illustration would again be that of cooking; anyone can theoretically cook to the same degree as anyone, or to put it better has the same potential, (considering the ingredient is available to all, which considering magic is the ingredient in this comparison, it is abundant), but some people just don't cook well, usually from a poor execution stemming from lack of knowledge, preparation and/or practice.

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What's stopping a Theon Vilicus from putting a magical aneurysm in Ned D'Cerf's brain the minute they see each other?

- The restrictions introduced in the prior question regarding magic as a process or energy apply in the case of limiting one's abilities with magic. To put it simply, in order to cast a spell, one needs a few things: the potential to do magic (which all have), the choice to use it (a spell is hardly done on accident, well a spell with the desired effect), some sort of intent (that is a desired effect), and the understanding/knowledge required to both prepare and execute the spell. Now, with that, I must also explain that (as mentioned before) magic itself is intuitive to an extent because of its natural state. Simple spells can usually be discerned and figured out with some thought (think level 0 spells from the D&D franchise), just through intuition. More powerful and/or complex spells are where a larger understanding begins to come into play.

To put it simply, Theon Vilicus can't do that because no one can; it's too powerful/complex at this point, although theoretically it is entirely possible. This is the IC explanation for OOC bans/restrictions, which I alluded to in a previous post.

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Will children be magicking like in Harry Potter? Able to have emotional magical outbursts? Do adults naturally get better at focusing their magic or do they require training in a Hogwarts?

- Children can use magic similar to the way in Harry Potter, yes, and it is entirely reasonable for them to have magical outbursts. But, as clarified, spells require understanding. Children's emotional, magical outbursts will be either very weak, not of the child's original intent or just not manifest at all because they lack some (or all) of the components that I described above for proper spellcasting. And as mentioned in a previous question, in pure technicalities, these outburst (and the effects following) is not a spell but just plain magic because it lacks the structure/organization to be considered an actual spell, even if the magic's effect is similar/identical to an actual spell.

To bring up Aristotle again, these sorts of uses of magic that aren't spells mirror the philosopher's distinction between a brave man and a man who does what a brave man does but is not actually brave.

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What makes these covens special? How do they retain their political/occult power? If magic is something that is relatively common (akin to a natural force) how do they stay on top? What is their power structure like?

- I must admit that coven, in the simplest form, have no 'right' to governance or really anything special about them. They have no reason to be a political entity or anything when merely considering magic, but you must remember that it is still humanity and human civilization. Relying on only magic, there is no reason, but then when you take in mind all the other aspects of human life, you can see the necessity for some sort of organized civilization. I mean, why are we, in our world, in systems of governance? Because, frankly, it was (to some extent) required; civilization of some sort is a natural consequence of existence, as even exhibited by animals. Magic is just another thing in the world among a variety of so many other things that result in the need for politics.

And in the same way, they is nothing special about coven either if you want to get so deep and philosophical and hypothetical. But then again, in actuality, coven are special because they provide government and politics. They just developed a little differently because of the added variable of magic. But in the realm, they are very similar to structure of government present in the middle/dark ages. Coven is just what I decided to call them. Easily, I could have just easily called them provinces or whatever else. Don't let that term define everything, when the name is just a sort of coincidence, when there is so much more involved.

Regarding how they keep power, coven are considered more powerful based on the usual factors: wealth, size, population, etc. Why? Because ultimately, the most important resource is humanity. What is a coven with no one in it? Who is there to use magic and cast spells, if not the only beings with the capacities of the soul that provide that opportunity? Plus, despite the optimistic futures that are possible with magic, alone, magic isn't enough because of the restrictions I explained earlier; in terms of humans and spellcasting, magic isn't powerful enough to solve every problem. It is just another variable.

Therefore, in regards to a traditional political system, the game of kings and of thrones is still the same. Power is distributed unevenly. There is inequality among coven, both in regards to each other and within themselves. The D'Cerf, in particular, does have a sort of caste system because of the hierarchical roles that people hold. Some are servants, others are nobles, as magic is more than the only thing in deciding power.

Finally, to conclude, every individual is unique and do have their own motivations. Some may not even want to pursue a path to power, in the sense of the word as we have been using it. But then others will. The Vilicus have their reasons and your characters will their own. And as will be stated in the OOC, such is one of the focuses on this RP: the path of power and the whys and hows involved.

Magic is amoral, beyond definition as neutral, good, evil or otherwise; the people are not.

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On the topic of the haemonculi:

- Compiling all the information I've given, regarding magic, spells and technology, I can safely say that haemonculi will be basic in their functions, limited. I would say that they are 'simple' automatons, as they should be incapable of any sort of thought or reasoning (which is what defines a human and gives them the ability to cast spells). They will also be incapable of using magic in the way of casting spells because of this. I hope you understand all the reasoning why, which is concluded from all of the other things that have been discussed thus far.

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On the topic of magic schools and types:

- As extrapolated earlier, there is no real organization of magic into the types we're used to. The only big distinction is the difference between mere magic and actual spellcasting, which I clarified in prior answers. Spells can come in many forms, as long as they meet all the criteria mentioned above, so singing magic is definitely possible. ;)

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And to refer to Schradinger again, as Nemaisare pointed out, I'm sure we all realize how magic, when compared to technology, can cause just as many problems as it solves. Thank you for that, by the way, Schradinger. Although you didn't know my vision, you were able to articulate it quite well in your comparison.

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If you have any questions or arguments, again, I encourage it!

Also, the OOC will be arriving within a matter of hours; I will posting a FAQ section that has a record of all the questions and answers we have discussed so far.