Planar-Touched

Introduction

Throughout history, Rhystians have ambitiously chased avenues of spellcraft that pushed at the borders of discovery. When faced with the great dangers not only of the natural world, but of all threats from across the cosmos, there are many who believe that fighting fire with fire is the best course of action, and others who have simply found greater promises of power, wealth, and blessings by heeding the calls of entities that some would call dangerous. Those who dare to follow the unknown and to give themselves unto that which the natural world would otherwise reject have often found themselves capable of brilliant yet taboo forms of magic.

The Extraplanar

While Rhyst is filled with mana and elements that in combination form the widely accepted trees of magic, there are some forms of spellcraft that are only attainable in looking towards the elements and magical building blocks native to the Void or the Faewild proper. Being from a plane other than Rhyst, these sources of magic are thus dubbed ‘extraplanar’.

To utilize extraplanar magic is to put a label on oneself, as it sets the practitioner apart from the rest of Rhyst’s native people. It is commonly looked down upon by the spirits, many of which would see an extraplanar mage as an enemy depending on the circumstances. This is because being touched by the Void or the Fae means to carry their influence within and around yourself. Even the passive extraplanar mage still bleeds mana into the area around them through auras and presence alone.This effectively corrupts or infects the world that does not share the same planar signature as the touched, given the three planes do not mix well.

Despite the corruption, there is a debate on whether or not being extraplanar touched denotes immorality. While many that dabble with such magics are covens of witches, the brainwashed of Oberon, or those cursed with undeath, there are others who merely believe that these forms of magic lend themselves as greater weapons to use in the fight against planar invaders. That is to say that though they may be shunned by the spirits and civilizations wholly loyal to Rhyst, it may be claimed that extraplanar magic does not inherently force one into acts of servitude or evil. Still, it is a dangerous path to walk, as it often comes with pacts, promises, disease, or madness depending on how far one dives.

OOC Expectations

Touched are expected to in one way or another embody the ideals, traits, and goals of the extraplanar magic that they utilize. Below are more details about what this means, but if you feel your case is unique, prior to applying you may always message a staff member with questions Due to the nature of most touched acquiring their magic through a pact, promise, or bargain, betraying or going against the entity that has granted access to these spells will more than likely result in a loss of them Rhyst, the Void, and the Faewild are constantly fluctuating opposites of one another, and their mixtures cause things like the Convergence to occur. In living creatures, mutations, transformations, madness, and more are some common symptoms of extraplanar magic gone wrong. This is always possible with one touched alone, given most touched are Rhystian mortals with extraplanar magic, but if they mingle too often with others who embody opposing magics, it’s generally a recipe for disaster and may result in injury, corruption, or other ways detrimental to the people involved.

How it is Gained

Planar Touched individuals can usually gain their abilities one of two ways. The easier and more accessible way is usually making pacts or deals with beings of the Faewild or Void. A powerful servant of a High Faerlan might find that Faerlan giving them a greater connection to the Faewild. A Witch sells their soul to Paschia Fel in exchange for a temporary boost of power, to serve her after death in exchange.

The second way in which Planar Touched abilities typically manifest is much less direct. Indulging and surrounding one’s self in extraplanar magic often can lead to one eventually becoming touched, connected to that plane. This is not easy to accomplish, usually requiring both constant contact with extraplanar magical objects, and often serving their needs, though they may not be sentient. A tree from the Faewild being grown may produce fruits that cause those that eat it to become Planar Touched, or turning Felfire into a powerful candle that one then begins to use in rituals both are examples of how this type of Planar Touched manifest.

How Planar-Touched Affect Their Planes

Planar Touched are harmful to the planes they exist in if it is not the natural plane of that Touched. Similar to how using Fae magic or Void magic normally corrupts the surrounding environment, the Planar Touched do this to a lesser extent. While the results are not as obvious right away, a Planar Touched staying around an environment will slowly begin to corrupt it to resume it’s home plane. This means that rather then plants turning blue when used by wild magic, for instance, a wild magic plane touched may cause the plants to turn blue over a number of years, weakening the domains of the local entities, Spirits for Rhyst.

Rhystian Spirits who are around Plane Touched slowly find themselves gathering less mana to sustain themselves as their domains are slowly leached from. In the case of lesser spirits, this can make them begin to turn Elemental, losing sentience. On the hand of Greater spirits, a forest slowly turning can be like a slow poison, weakening them over time, which risks Demons, High Faerlan, or even other Spirits seeking their Domain, being able to overpower them if they become too weak.

The effect of the Plane Touched grows stronger the more that they use their powers. A Plane Touched who constantly uses their powers will possibly be able to elementalize lesser spirits in months. A Plane Touched who refuses to use their abilities will corrupt the environment over a longer period of time. That said, even not using the abilities granted by being Planar Touched, the existence of that connection is still a pinhole, leaking the mana and presence of another plane through them, which is why being Planar Touched is negative for the plane that they are on.

How to Cleanse Planar-Touched

There are widely known methods to cleanse Planar Touched at this time, and most speculations on this topic are regarded only as legends. In addition, these legends mainly state that Planar Touched abilities become more difficult to remove with the passage of time, with effects growing more detrimental if removal is attempted later on, typically resulting in death or comatose-like states.

One rumored method of cleansing Planar Touched is the Chalice of Tranquility, stated to hold the capability of removing the impurity of the planar-touched from the drinker.

Mechanics

Fae-Touched and Void-Touched are actual player statuses, but they matter a lot and are a bit unique in how they function.

Planar-Touched works as a "skill" so to speak that is leveled up by roleplaying. This means a level 0 and level 100 character will both max out the tree at the same time if they're roleplaying at the same pace.

They consume your character's racial tree but preserve their racial cosmetics. In other words, regardless of your character's race, your racials are wiped.

The Fae and the Void sides have two separate trees that branch out in different directions. Each has four branches (one for each 'element' of that plane) and once a character buys into it, it locks one, permanently, out of the others. They are also nonrefundable, as they're considered world-changing abilities.

Void-Touched

Those who coil felfire through their fingertips or who swing heavy blades with the strength of demons are some of the more common practitioners of void magic. Void magic, moreso than fae magic, is often acquired through pacts or promises with demons, devils, phantoms and other creatures of the dark. Some see this as the order of the elder plane taking form, while others believe this is only because the powers of the Void are often more interested in the afterlife than those of the Fae.

Witches are all voidtouched, and any loyal to their coven are also loyal to Paschia Fel herself. They are definitively against the interests of Rhyst, though their goals are not always as destructive as those who follow Vul’karik. It is said that every step a witch takes is either in service to herself or to her coven and patron, be it the simple lie to mislead a listener, or the slow domination of an entire kingdom from within. Witches hold no love for this world, as they are promised even greater boons in the afterlife that awaits should they lay the foundations of the Witchqueen’s greater plans.

Those who work alongside demons are often loyal to these masters as well, though the promises and pacts are less binding in some sense. To be touched with demonic forms of magic often goes in line with a great desire to obliterate one’s enemies, to seek strength and might not available to most mortals, and the desire to fight until the end. Demons being direct enemies of Rhyst mean their touched are also often on the other side of the battlefields of the natural world. They hunt spirits, they care little for mercy, and often they find themselves becoming similar to the monsters they fight alongside.

Necromancers are one of the more prominent branches of the Voidtouched that boast high numbers of individual loyalty and ambitions. This means that though necromancy is a demonic art and inherently a vile, corrupting magic, it does not only come from pacting with the forces of Vul’karik. Rhyst has known countless necromancers, many of whom were stand-alone threats in their own right, sorcerers and mages that sought immortality, infamy, and more. Necromancers shun the Cycle of Souls itself, which paints them as an enemy to all save for the demons that work to upend it and the rest of reality.

There are dozens of other forms that a Voidtouched can take, from a cunning manipulator seeking to toy with souls via the arts of Nevanerro and his devils, or the felfire pyromancer who follows in the steps of Mavkoda’s immolation rather than sign their name in a Feltome. Voidtouched are commonly riddled with disease due to dabbling with undeath, poisons, or mutations. There are not many who can justify the lengths that void magic pushes them toward, though there are still those who will try.

OOC Expectations

Voidtouched are most notable in their portrayal of the effects that the Void causes within a host. Many are filled with rage and fury while others fall into apathy and selfishness in regards to the world they once called home and their neighbors within it. Voidtouched have little reason to align with the spirits and Rhyst due to the nature of their pacts or personal goals that should ultimately serve the interests of the Void.

Felfire

You're painted in lines of bright green and your eyes are overtaken by an emerald flame. Your abilities strike through armor and resilience to the core and you're empowered by scarring Felfire.

Undeath

You're becoming the living dead. While you do not hold command of necromancy, you yourself have become undying and use undeath to your advantage.

Demonology

Your physique is overbearing and your skin is tinted a deep purple-black. You are nearly unstoppable and look like more of a weapon than any blade could hope for.

Witchcraft

You invoke the patronage of Paschia Fel as a witch, capable of ritualistic feats of black magic that can extend one's lifespan abnormally or make pacts with the eldritch.

Fae-Touched

Fae magic differs from void magic as previously stated in that it often times lacks the binding pacts of the latter. This does not mean that High Fae, fairies, and other creatures of the Faewild don’t operate in similar fashion, however. On the contrary; many of the fae will offer exchanges not of the soul or the afterlife, but of information, of temporary servitude, or other sources of leverage that they might use to trick someone into becoming Faetouched. Outside of this, Faetouched may discover themselves specializing and succumbing to the influence of the Faewild by happenstance or by purposeful ambition where they come across a source or a method of using these magics in the way that suits them best in the moment.

One of the most common types of Faetouched are those who have opted to serve the High Faerlan, be it for self gain, promised romance, or false wishes, the High Faerlan are actively fighting a war across Rhyst in efforts to counter the Void and to spread the will of Oberon. Their power, the magic over Truth, is incredibly potent in that it affects the very nature of reality around the wielder and their foes. Because of this, Truth mages are seen as incredibly dangerous and unpredictable allies at best, and enemies to be excised quickly at worst.

Fairies, though not directly opposed to Rhyst, are still not fully welcome upon the plane due to their passive effect on even their own realm creating spontaneous and sometimes volatile mutations to the world around them. Their touched are no different. Occasionally owing allegiance to Titania, yet also manifesting as pyromancers seeking the knowledge of faefire or mages looking to generate lifegiving spells, those who utilize the magic of the fairies usually fall into the category of having good intentions while leaving a trail of troubles behind them.

Wild magic takes the shape of fae magic in its basest form while in the hands of mortals. It is the ability to hold chaos in the palm of ones hand, and is often found by those who accidentally stumble into the Faewild’s mysterious lands or who are affected by the plane through intentional tampering. Wild magic does not necessarily denote a loyalty to an Eidolon or even the Faewild, though it does mean less control and potentially more accidental damage to the world and the people around the user.

Other forms of fae magic are still being discovered, and some scholars believe that the Faewild houses nearly limitless possibilities in terms of how and why it manifests. There are whispers that Unseelie still seeks to spread its bloody influence in order to give rise to warriors that will rival the Void’s greatest soldiers, or that the Shimmer’s brilliance still shines through some that dare allow its horrifying light into their bodies. The primary consideration is that the Faewild is so much more unpredictable than the Void, and that the magic that some borrow from it could very easily and very quickly prove to be their undoing.

OOC Expectations

Faetouched are expected to significantly stand out from their peers in ways that are not always to their benefit. Though they occasionally lack the foundation of pacts that Voidtouched do, they are still often seen as individuals with their eyes set on a horizon as opposed to the road that they’re walking upon. This is to say that the means justify the ends, even if the end is unpredictable and strange. Though the Faetouched aren’t forced into aligning with the Faewild itself, the drive to progress beyond the borders of the familiar and the accepted is a must. Like the Fae Eidolons that caused the planes to shatter, Faetouched are one accident away from causing the worst day of anyone’s life to occur.

Truth

You're impossible to ignore and others cannot hide from you. Your attacks strike past defenses and fixate on knowing the unthinkable. You bear a signature that's worth hiding.

Wild

You're overtaken by the absurd wilderness of the Faewild. Butterflies swarm around you at all times and you yourself are warped to bear antlers, hooves, or other such features.

Sanguine

You are empowered by blood and gore, fueling yourself with the spillage of your opponent. You are propelled to bear blades and fang, like a whirling sawblade in human form.

Fairy

Your specialty is magic and magic alone. While frail and increasingly small, you are outstandingly good with all forms of magic and can cast an unprecedented number of spells.

List of Speculated touched types

• Paedion
• Naim
• Maelstrom
• Astratum
• Vitae
• Aurora
• Faefire
• Shade

Trivia

• One current theory is that every Eidolon is connected to at least 2 types of Planar Touched magic. This stems from Oberon being connected to both Vitae and Truth magic, while Vul'karik is connected to Paedion, Undeath, and Demonology.

• It is speculated that Draconians may be the Rhystian form of Planar-Touched.

Credit

Notyel https://forum.verdict.dev/showthread.php?tid=1687&pid=8902#pid8902 Tattles https://forum.verdict.dev/showthread.php?tid=2507