Thessaly Notes

The Sidhe: "The Realm Behind the Hills"

A plane of the spirit world, in which spirits called Aos Si are born and dwell. The Sidhe and the mortal world are flipsides of one another, dependent on one another for form. Energies from the Sidhe permeate into the mortal world at various places, creating phenomena historically associated with myths and folklore, such as fairy rings, holy wells, magic lakes, enchanted forests, the ends of rainbows, the witching hour, and the like. Aos Si are able to enter the mortal world at any place, but mortals must enter by treading into one of the aforementioned spots. Countless tales caution mortals against entering the Sidhe, as it is believed that if one dies there, their soul will be transformed into an Aos Si, doomed never to obtain their eternal rest.

The Sidhe is a subject of much fascination for those who dabble in the occult, and their research has produced various findings on its nature, physical laws, dimensions, properties, and sub-realms. Thinkers disagree on where the Sidhe actually is; the two most popular theories suggest that the Sidhe exists either at the bottom of the ocean, or in an invisible, parallel plane overlaid on the mortal world, like the other side of a coin.

The most enthusiastic reports describe it as a fantastic plane of riches, rare and extinct monsters, pure forms, minerals and elements undiscovered to mortals, abundant natural resources, and paradisical realms where immortality, infinite knowledge and even godhood can be obtained. Unfortunately, much of this research has been hunted down and burned by witch-hunting religious cults, which consider their branch of magic extremely dangerous because it tampers with spirits beyond mortalkind's understanding, and tempts foolish people to enter the Sidhe, where they are likely to die or bring something dangerous into the mortal world.

Aos Si: "New Life from the Other Side"

The term Aos Si describes a broad class of spirits. The most common ones are embodiments of various aspects of nature, like rain, soil, mushrooms, herbs, and so on. Others may be embodiments of the five classical elements -- fire, water, earth, air and ether -- as well as those made from their combination. There are also Aos Si of objects that have strong feelings, memories and history associated with them -- a farmer's tools may develop their own Aos Si, and a home which has housed many generations may develop one too. The rarest kind of Aos Si are embodiments of concepts and processes, such as the concept of life, of decomposition, of valor, of thievery, of misfortune, of wisdom, and so on. Some revere these Aos Si as gods.

The Aos Si generally leave the mortal world alone, except under a few circumstances. A few Aos Si are tricksters and like to mess with mortals for their own entertainment, but they are generally not malicious and can be sent away with simple offerings. Others may haunt or even attack mortals who abuse nature or are wasteful and destructive, and cannot be driven away unless the target of their ire dies or repents and fixes what they have done. Other reasons are believed to exist, but haven't yet been uncovered, as there are still other unexplained phenomena caused by Aos Si.

In any case, people who give credence to their existence usually appease them with simple rites, like taking care of gardens and leaving out offerings on doorsteps, usually candied fruits, coins, salt, toys and trinkets. There is a branch of spellcasters who conjure and tame Aos Si to do their bidding. Like with demon summoning, this is considered a dangerous and taboo practice by most, though it is not punished as severely as demon summoning.

Heichalot: "The Occultic Script"

"The occult" is an ambiguous term, defined always in the negative; anything that falls outside the purview of religion, the sciences and of mainstream, "acceptable" magic is considered occultic, negative, taboo. Nowadays, this includes ancient practices which first inspired the development of magic: conjuring angels and demons, raising servitors and egregores, transmuting materials, placing curses, binding and loosing familiars, manipulating souls, and ultimately, playing with reality however you willed.

Those who dabble in the occult are spurned both by the devout practicioners of modern cults and by mainstream spellcasters, who consider the fascinations of the occult too dangerous to pursue, and contrary to natural law. As a result, it is common in some places, even within the Ribcage, to hunt down and persecute all manner of occult practicioners, who are broadly referred to as witches and warlocks. However, one needs a strong will to survive in occult circles, and so the threat of persecution was not enough to stop them. Instead, they merely went underground, and practice their craft in secret to this day.

These circles developed the Occultic Script, a system of runes, to allow them to discreetly communicate with one another and with independent pracitioners. This system is used to mark places where one may or may not practice their craft safely, get supplies, meet like-minded thinkers or seek instruction.

The Script uses a "big to small" system for indicating where a rune's meaning applies. If a rune is placed on a city's wall or entryway, its meaning applies to the entire city. If a rune is placed on a building within the city, its meaning applies only to that building and all the rooms inside it. If a rune is placed on a door within a building, its meaning applies only to that room. These runes are usually disguised as graffitti or are made with decorations and designs in architecture. Some even make them out of Aura using the "Mark" skill, but this is dangerous to do in places where Aura use is common, as it risks discovery. If there are no runes placed anywhere in a city, it is considered "neutral," but this doesn't imply "safe." In this context, "neutral" means that a pracitioner will probably not be questioned on their craft, but shouldn't practice it openly, as they will be driven out, though probably not killed.

The runes of the Script are as follows:

Name: Ede
Appearance: A ring of flowers, often roses
Meaning: "You can practice and speak of occult magic openly here."

Name: Cha
Appearance: Two vertical lines and a small, upward-pointing arrow between them; vaguely resembles a cat
Meaning: "You can adopt a familiar here."

Name: Dew
Appearance: A diamond with two lines extending downward from the left and right, making the diamond an upward-pointing arrow
Meaning: "You can purchase or borrow supplies here (depending on the rune's color)."
-Red: Enchanting supplies
-Blue: Summoning supplies
-Yellow: Necromancy supplies
-Black: Alchemy supplies
-White: All of the above

Name: Gro
Appearance: Three vertical and three horizontal lines, overlaid
Meaning: "An occultist offers their services here (depending on the rune's color)."
-Red: Enchanter
-Blue: Summoner
-Yellow: Necromancer
-Black: Alchemist
-White: All of the above

Name: Tzim
Appearance: Two concentric circles, with four straight lines extending outward in the cardinal directions
Meaning: "You can receive tutelage here (depending on the rune's color)."
-Red: Enchanting
-Blue: Summoning
-Yellow: Necromancy
-Black: Alchemy
-White: All of the above

Name: Nish
Appearance: A downward-pointing spearhead
Meaning: "There are witch-hunters around, be on guard."

Name: Hel
Appearance: A ring of flowers broken by a downward-pointing spearhead (Nish + Ede)
Meaning: "This place was safe, but witch-hunters have invaded."

Name: Vley
Appearance: Three arrows, pointing to the left, right and downward
Meaning: "An inquisition is taking place, leave while you can."

Name: Alt
Appearance: A circle fractured by a zig-zag
Meaning: "The Script has been compromised, don't trust any runes you see."