Ecliptic Evocation
Background[edit]
There are three fundamentals associated with drawing upon Evocation, and these fundamentals will never change. Faith, Emotion, Rhyst. These pillars of Evocation stand tall and invincible; the practitioners of the magic know this well. Clerics draw from holiness, using it to bless their magic with purity. Monks draw from their chi, using it to sharpen their focus to impossible heights. These are part of the same whole, 'elements' in the same way that fire and water are. Idealized and pure, these sects of evocation represent one's devotion to their ideals. And in truth, they represent hope and inspire confidence. One who is wholly and utterly devoted to Rhyst and finds burning, overwhelming faith in their ideals can draw upon Evocation. The purest of holy magic, or most zealous of chi.
And in truth, for the longest time, that's all there was. No one could deny the pillars of Evocation, as diverging from them would incur the loss of the users magic. Even so, there were those who found faith in beings, people, or places on Rhyst that no sane person would. There were those who believed they were dedicated utterly and wholly to making Rhyst a better place. There were those whose emotion has compounded after endless rejection, endless pain, and endless suffering until their magic were an umbral hurricane of undeniable might.
These users were still Evokers. These users still fight for Rhyst. These users have unbreakable faith in their mission and ideals. These users, so steeped in anguish, brought their pain to life. The darkness and misery in their hearts had eclipsed the light of their Evocation, and their magic grew hungry for more. These magi became known as Ecliptics and their magic was monstrous, living, and black as night.
The Beginning[edit]
Like a black hole consumes and continues to condense- Impossible to escape- Ecliptic Evocation works in much the same way. Once a magi has made the turn into this rare and profane magic, there is absolutely no escape. The first signs begin as an Evoker's magic finds itself turning darker in color. Perhaps it might blend with the shadows, or grow steeped in a dull gold, it is clear that the magic lacks its luster during these first few moments. Many magi believe it a trick of the eyes, but once this has happened there is no true way to turn back. A gradual descent has begun and it can only be slowed and stopped, never truly reversed.
In truth, the Evoker's magic has acquired a taste for suffering. Emotion is no one-sided coin, and the Rhystian magic can make no true distinction based on what is inevitably used as fuel to power the furious and blazing arts. The second stage of development in an Ecliptics journey is signified by the magic itself turning into sharp, crackling lightning which is darkened and black in nature. A slow condensation of magic has begun where once the user was manifesting Evocation in the form of light, now it has come to life as a plasma. When even further progress is made, the users magic manifests tainted smoke, smog, or a black mist which roils with their essence. Aphotic Light is the term formally given to this smoke, mist, or any other form the Evocation takes on from this point forward.
Combatants who come in contact with Ecliptic Evocation find that their will to fight or their confidence feels sapped. Where bravery and hope kept them strong before, it has been replaced with a tangible sorrow or longing. The world feels heavier and their day to day disappointments grow almost unbearable. A curse of misery has taken root, though it should fade in time and with treatment. This is an effect of the magic which has been born of suffering, designed and curated to hurt those who mount arms against its user. Clerics and healers may find themselves shocked as this magic is no more than simple Evocation at its core, and these curses reflects that.
The Midpoint[edit]
As Ecliptic Evocation begins to condense, adept users and those who continue to languish against the world's churning and tumultuous waves will find themselves no longer manifesting simple sparks of lightning or gales of blackened smoke. Ichorous liquid, similar in viscosity to tar or oil begins to take root in place of the magi's once Evocation. By this point, no flicker or shimmer of gold remains in the Ecliptic's magic. It has become jet black in color, grown durable in nature, and nigh impossible to stow away or simply disperse for another moment in time like traditional magic. It isn't uncommon for this magic to be stored or even worn on the user, acting as a badge of status among some Ecliptics.
In this stage of the magic's development, it continues to take on traits and finds itself accelerated and frenzied in the face of compounded agony. Where once the Ecliptic Evocation grew stronger only in the face of emotional or mental suffering, the ichorous state of this magic has grown capable of consuming physical suffering too. It isn't rare for attacks both magical and physical to be partly absorbed and redistributed back at the assailant. The more pain a user comes in contact with, the more dangerous the aphotic light becomes as it begins to sharpen itself like liquid armor, lash back at an opponent, or often times both.
Passively, this is the final state that this magic will remain in. The tar-like ichor, now almost impossible to summon away, remains on a person as their magic never truly reverts back to the smoke or lightning of an older state. It is only when an Ecliptic finds themselves pushed to the brink of what they can endure, quickly approaching a break in their mental, emotional or physical state in so doing, that the ecplitic evocation morphs and evolves one last time.
The End[edit]
When an Ecliptic has let their suffering all but consume them, their Evocation rapidly hardens and fully condenses into a physical solid. The aphotic light completely and utterly crystallizes under the duress, and in this state remains almost wholly unbreakable. The more pain the user feels, the faster this growth is accelerated and it isn't rare for this magic to engulf an entire battlefield in clusters of midnight gemstones. This is considered a point of no return for most Ecliptics, as they rapidly spiral out of control. The compounded negativity which the magic feeds off of becomes a veritable font of power, one which allows the Evocation to continue crystallizing until the source of their pain has been all but vanquished.
At this stage, touching the crystals is ill-advised for one more attuned to feeling emotion. Where a normal person might feel themselves buckle under the weight of sheer emotional force which the solidified Ecliptic Evocation exudes, someone more magically sensitive to the ebb and flow of a person's ardor may find themselves completely and utterly overwhelmed. In the most dire of cases, an Ecliptic who has let themselves all but be consumed by this magic endangers their physical bodies as the user themselves become a target for their ecliptic evocation's own growth. The further this magic is progressed, the more emotional force is required to keep it running. For many Ecliptics who reach this stage, they often burn out like a candle. Their bodies turned to aphotic crystal by the end of their turmoil, lost in the whirlpool of overwhelmingly zealous faith and blistering, passionate emotion.
This magic is by no means a path for the weak-hearted. Those who continue to show an unbreakable heart in the face of overwhelming odds, obstructions to their faith, and the sorrows of life may find themselves walking the path of an Ecliptic before long. Just as one might lose the golden luster of innocence whilst living in the cruel reality of Rhyst, so too might their Evocation acquire a taste for suffering and lose its shine as well. Those who walk this path and their enemies know well - This magic was developed to suit a need. A need to defend oneself from the pain of life, or a need to retaliate at assailants who never cease. The reason matters little why an Evoker becomes an Ecliptic, but it matters less what kind of challenges they will face.
To rise above and beyond and become invincible against the opposition which you face; That is the true meaning of Ecliptic Evocation.