Force Power Tradition Treatise on the Arcane

[Phoenix]

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Treatise on the Arcane​

By: Darth Andruil​

OVERVIEW

Much has been said and written about the arcane techniques of the Force. As former High Arcanist, Nightsister Queen, and Empress I have no small amount of experience with many long forgotten techniques. It is my intent through this treatise to compile the truth of the arcane into a single place and to clear aside many of the misunderstandings that remain about the Force.

While I make no claim to have a complete understanding of the Force (indeed, who can claim this save perhaps the Twin Spirits) my knowledge extends far beyond that acquired by most throughout the careers.

In the coming chapters, I will detail many techniques and types of arcane power, but first I feel it necessary to detail terminologies that many fail to grasp. What is alchemy and how does it differ from sorcery? Is sorcery the same as magic? What is magick versus magic?

First it must be said that all of these things are simply extensions of the Force. The cosmic energy that flows through and connects all things - living, dead, and inanimate - and binds it all together. Each of these terms is merely a separate way of dealing with the Force, harnessing it, and focusing it.

The simple definitions are as follows:

• Magick is the power of the Shadow channeled from nature, ur-spirits, and the power of the dead. Put simply, it derives its power from the Spirits that empower nature.
• Sorcery is often colloquially referred to as magic. Sorcery is the use of the Dark Side of the Force for things that cannot be accomplished through sheer willpower alone. It invokes the power of Primal Spirits of predatory emotion in order to fuel its rituals and power.
• Alchemy is the study of infusing items with the energy of the Force. Whether crafting an item, altering a body, or changing an items nature, alchemy is concerned with things and their innate connection to the Force.

MAGICK

THE ESSENCE OF MAGICK

I will speak first on that with which I am most familiar. As with the other traditions, much has been said about the Shadow Magicks of Dathomir, but so much of it is wrong. To understand magick one must first understand the nature of life and death and Dathomir's role in that natural cycle.

The physical world of life that we inhabit is but a mirror of the truth that lies beyond. Just beyond what we experience with our five senses is the world of the Spirits. It is this world wherein our souls reside, where the power of the Force flows freely, and where the dead themselves reside: at one with the power of the Force itself. The two worlds are separated only by the Veil which keeps the living and the dead apart from one another.

Those of us born and raised on Dathomir know that there are certain focal points in the galaxy where this Veil is weaker and the living can see glimpses of the dead. It is in these places that the dead cross the bridge from life to death in their final moments. Sites of great battle, Force Nexuses, and planets like Dathomir or the Twin Worlds are such focal points. Places where the dead and the living can more easily interact, see one another, and even pass from one side of the Veil to the other. It is the duty and privilege of the Shaman of Dathomir to commune with the dead and dying; to perceive two worlds at once through Second Sight.

For many of our youngest Shaman and trainees, Second Sight is a curse. Hearing the song of the dead and dying at all times can be maddening and has driven more than one of our Sisters to insanity before they learned to temper it and create mental barriers with which to shut out the dead.

As we grow older, tempering Second Sight and protecting our own minds is a passive thing that we do without second thought. It is a great privilege to carry the words of the Spirits and our ancestors forward to the rest of our Clan. It is this relationship with the spirit world that provides the Nightsisters with our power. We call upon the essence and souls of those beyond to provide us with our strength.

The world of the Spirits is ruled by the Fanged Spirit and the Winged Spirit, but is inhabited by all manner of ur-spirits who are raw spiritual energy - often called Shadow or the Force - given form and purpose. Though the Twin Spirits have long been silent to us, the ur-spirits still represent to us the nature of all manner of living things while the spirits of our ancestors still speak to us of the past and future.

As with all things, we honor both life and death. The dualities that the Jedi and Sith embrace of Light and Dark are mere fictions. There is only nature: life and growth brought about by the Winged Spirit and hunting and predation brought about by the Fanged Spirit. To ignore either is to ignore the essence of the galaxy itself.

For this reason, we of Dathomir call on all the beings from beyond the Veil in our practices. The powers of the Spirits are nearly limitless as the Spirits themselves are nearly limitless. The spirits of the dead can be pulled back across the Veil and forced to serve as they did when I slew the Eternal, their claws ripping into physical flesh even from beyond the Veil.

But not all interactions are so violent. Through the summoning of ur-spirits we can commune with all manifestations of the world around us. Through summoning the red ur-spirits of the beasts we can learn the language of animals, imparting our wills upon them. The most gifted of our Sisters to do this become beastmasters and ride great creatures into battle and on hunts.

The green ur-spirits of the plants can be invoked, growing and shaping the plants to our wills. Even the weather itself has a blue-black spirit which can be called upon to shift the weather, calling down lightning or raising gusts of wind and rain.

THE PROCESS OF MAGICK

The process of performing magick is not a simple thing. It takes years of study and practice, and even explaining how to perform rituals can be difficult. At its starting point, Nightsister Magick requires fluency or near-fluency in the Dathomiri language. Dathomiri is the natural language of the Spirits and thus the one to which they will most readily heed. Imploring the Spirits for aid or commanding them to heed your will is ineffective if they do not comprehend your commands or supplications.

Even the ur-spirits seem to hold some innate understanding of the words spoken in Dathomiri, only further supporting the inherent and primordial power of our tongue. To commune with the spirits in such a manner is why not only our teachings but also our language is so zealously guarded.

Speaking the tongue of Dathomir alone is not enough to command the Spirits, however. Subjecting the Spirits requires great force of will. While some simple spells and incantations can be called upon by even those without a strong connection to the Shadow, to truly subject the Spirits to one's power requires not only a strong connection to the Force, but also a potent force of will. Many manifestations of our magick (and of the Jedi and Sith techniques) can be manifested through knowledge that a spell is possible, a connection to the Shadow, and a strong willpower. This is how we conjure concussive bolts or green lightning not unlike the blue lightning of our Sith allies.

Such willpower-driven abilities are just the tip of the iceberg for our people, however. Through the use of gesticulation and specific movements, we can reach across the Veil and pull across the Spirit ichor to empower our spells and rituals. In conjunction with incantation they can assist in pulling more power for us to accomplish our ends.

Perhaps the highest potential - and most difficult to learn - technique is the use of runic and geometric magick. Through years of study and practice, carving runes allows the storing of energy from beyond the Veil in even the earth itself, waiting to be released at our commands. It is in this way that we can harness power to make possible things that would normally tear the body apart.

Runic symbols can be carved into all manner of surfaces. Commonly carved into surfaces in order to fuel a ritual, they can be found on altars, thrones, talismans, or much more. More unique, however, is the application of runes to create Words of Power. Using particular parchments and Force-infused inks, Nightsisters can store the power of the Force in these scrolls and release them with the speech of a single word. This can assist Nightsisters in all manner of endeavor from crafting items to infusing additional power into difficult rituals.

As I have implied, Nightsisters are no foreigners to creating magick-infused weapons, tools, talismans, and other items for our day-to-day lives. Often crafted by combining forging with all of the above techniques, the Nightsisters have been known to craft some truly remarkable things.

Perhaps more important than anything, however, is the production of the Water of Life. At its core, it is Spirit Ichor molded and shaped by the Nightsisters in such a way to be useful for nearly-limitless things. It was once said that it could only be produced by using a piece of the Sleeper, this is, of course, untrue. In essence, the Water of Life is water that a Nightsister has infused with the Spirit Ichor from beyond the Veil. While parchment, ink, and metal can hold Spirit Ichor's power for longer, water holds it more vibrantly and, yes, allows a more "fluid" application of its touch.

SORCERY

THE ESSENCE OF SORCERY

Sorcery (often called Sith magic) and magick have much in common simply because all manifestations of the Shadow pull from the Spirit world beyond the Veil and both invoke Spirits and their ichor as the source of their power. The greatest difference between the two is the patrons they invoke and therefore the resultant powers they manifest.

While magick calls on the ur-spirits of nature, sorcery calls on the Primal Spirits as the source of its power. Thus, to understand sorcery, one must understand what a Primal Spirit is. At their core, Primal Spirits are fragments of the Force's energy given sentience, Force-entities, if you will. They most often come to embody emotions - rage, lust, fear, and more - and work tirelessly to spread their chosen emotion throughout the galaxy. While not all embody "negative" emotion, those that do are what is tapped by Sith sorcery.

Invoking Primal Spirits is a means of accomplishing much that stretches beyond the abilities of the average Sith practitioner to accomplish. These Spirits can amplify the powers of the practitioner and provide access to abilities that are otherwise beyond the scope of a mortal to perform.

As they are drawing from Spirits beyond the Veil as well, it is also most valuable for sorcerers to practice their craft at points where the Veil is weakened, which leads to not only practice at the sites of Force Nexuses but also has lead to many committing murder and sacrifices of individuals to weaken the Veil enough for the Spirits to pass through.

This, combined with the fact that the power of life is in the blood, means that sorcery has a much greater focus on the spilling of blood to achieve the most difficult of rituals. Often, practitioners will drain their own blood as a source of power in place of their own willpower. While spilling blood is not always necessary, particularly for simple incantations, it is a common component in the most advanced or potent of spells. Much has been written regarding the reason for malignant Primal Spirit's interest in blood, but even to this day, scholars are uncertain as to the definitive reason. What is known is that they respond to it as currency better than nearly anything else.

The true power of sorcery is in ritual. The things that the Primal Spirits can be called on to do is virtually limitless, but such pursuits always come at a cost. Often in the price of blood and death, more of each of these currencies can be used to summon more power from the other side - often either in the form of more Spirits or Spirits of greater power - and with this increased power comes increased potential. With this greater power, however, also comes a greater risk of losing control, and thus sorcerers are always walking a fine balance between gaining more for themselves and losing everything.

In truth, some sorcerers never even understand what they are actually doing. They simply learn the invocations and gesticulations, flailing around blindly in the dark and toying with power they do not understand. I have been shocked many times to find how many Sith use these abilities without ever truly comprehending the power they trifle with.

THE PROCESS OF SORCERY

As with magick, the study of sorcery is an academic pursuit that requires years of dedication, study, and practice. As magick requires fluency in Dathomiri, sorcery requires fluency in ur-Kittât. Though there are no records from the most ancient days of the Sith, it is speculated that ur-Kittât is a critical piece of the summonings because in the ancient days, malignant primal spirits were conditioned to respond to this tongue or perhaps the language itself was taught and molded by these Primal Spirits. Whatever the reason, it seems impossible to invoke and bind these Spirits without its use. Even Dathomiri does not seem to wield the same effect - though, it admittedly does hold some effect - that ur-Kittât carries when dealing with the Primal Spirits.

As with magick, sorcery requires incredible strength of will. The risk of losing control of the Spirits you summon is real and incredibly dangerous. It was one of the reasons that many choose never to pursue these arcane practices: sheer self-preservation.

Gesticulation plays a critical role in sorcery with speculation that certain movements may draw letters or symbols in the air that can be seen and carried through beyond the Veil. The Spirits then respond to these movements, and their power can be bound or channeled. Channeling this power requires "simply" the willpower to focus that energy, but binding it can be far more difficult.

Binding Primal power requires the use of runic magic. As in Shadow Magick, runes can hold the power of the Force. This power can either come from the Primal Spirits or it can come from the practitioner, amplifying their power in order to bind the Spirits to their will.

ALCHEMY

THE ESSENCE OF ALCHEMY

At its core, alchemy is simply the art and science of infusing objects with the power and energy of the Force. Although it is distinct from sorcery and magick, there is often an overlap in the disciplines. Few who practice sorcery or magick never dip into alchemy as well.

The means by which alchemy functions is diverse. From the totems and talismans of the Nightsisters to the weapons and armor forged by the Sith. Through use of Words of Power, sheer willpower, and runic inscriptions, alchemists are capable of infusing the energies of the Force directly into an item.

Not all spells and abilities in the Force can be maintained or used by an individual. These things are either stored or channeled into objects, allowing them to be released by the user with simple gestures, incantations, or sometimes even triggers in the Force.

Alchemy is not limited only to objects, however. Masters of the Force are capable of twisting creatures themselves. Most often, these take the form of abominations, but can be used to create beasts of war as well. Because the cells and Force-essence in these creatures resist the warping of their bodies, application in this form is difficult and can only be mastered by those who have great skill in the Force.

Contrary to popular belief, alchemy is not exclusively a Dark Side practice. While it is most commonly used by Dark Side sects, the early days of the Jedi Order forged swords infused with the Force and the Jedi have produced many craftsmen down through the millennia. Although they eschew the term "alchemist" for its connotation to the Sith, the function of what they do is not so dissimilar to that of alchemists. It is, however, forbidden to practice any such craft on the living as this is deemed as a "defilement of the will of the Force" but the Jedi Masters.

THE PROCESS OF ALCHEMY

As I have already mentioned, alchemy typically involves the inscription of runes onto the objects themselves, the instruments used in their crafting, or both. This power is then stored and directed into the item itself, enabling the alchemist to serve as both the well of the energy and its director at once. Without runes or Words of Power (runes inscribed with Force-infused inks on specialized parchment), the creation of any advanced items would be all but impossible.

Certain items - particularly crude ones - can be infused with the energy of the Force through sheer willpower, but their potential is severely limited and in the alchemical field would be more comparable to an infantile finger painting than an artistic masterpiece.

The transformation of warbeasts can be done through sheer willpower. While nonsentient creatures still have the strength to resist the changes, they are far less resistant than those of a sentient mind, and new and astounding creatures can often be produced.

The twisting of sentient creatures into abominations, however, is far more difficult. It was said that Darth Kravos and Darth Evandrus accomplished this through sheer willpower, but I have found that the use of an artifact is far more effective. The exact details of how to channel this power I will not share here as it is knowledge to be earned.

JEDI MAGIC

I'll be frank in that I do not feel fully qualified to speak on this subject, but from the cursory studies I have made, I felt it would be negligent to neglect it from my discussion on the arcane. It is popularly said that the Jedi do not ever use magic or alchemy, but this is not wholly true.

While both have gone out of favor with the Jedi Order in the last several thousand years, there are definitive records of the Jedi dealing in alchemy that they call "craftsmanship" for generations. I have already briefly discussed this in the chapter on alchemy, so I will not discuss this further now.

As I understand it, certain sects of Jedi Seer and Consular have tapped into the power of Primal Spirits in the past. In contrast to the sorcery of the Sith, Jedi Magic calls upon Spirits that embody the aspects of the Force to which they cling: compassion, courage, knowledge, and more. As I understand they call on these Spirits in the Zeffonian tongue, allowing them greater skills in healing and driving back sorceries likely among other things.

It is thought that the ability Force Light may have first had its origin in Jedi Magic, summoning the Spirits of Light to aid them in combating sorcery, but that is also unconfirmed.

INTENT

There's bits of lore articles here and there, but I wanted to extend the information about arcane stuff. I will be continuing to flesh this out here and there over time. For reference points large amounts of this information came from "The Book of the Sith" with sprinklings from Wookieepedia, fanon, site canon, and more.

This write-up is largely banking on goodwill and common sense. Do not abuse the things in here. Not everything in this article is automatically PvP worthy.

Please also note that this is written from the perspective of Darth Andruil, and therefore may not all be 100% in-universe accurate. It is a good guideline for those interested in tackling some of these topics, but is subject to change, expansion, or disagreement. The Force is mysterious and complicated. Not an actual artifact that can be acquired at this time.

 

[Logan]

Approved.

Will keep an eye on this and its applications in RP for potential shenanigans.