Vorilescence

From Mizahar Lore

"From the oldest weapon to the youngest, they sing to us... one and all. And whether we understand their song or just hear gibberish is up to us. The most beautiful of songs are the most deadly, however, for they capture us in thrall and we will stand there listening unto our own deaths." - Tamaras Rurosia, "Bladesong"

Vorilescence

Personal magic
Full name	Vorilesence
Availability	Throughout Mizahar
Learned from	Self Discovery & Taught By Family
Key concept	Forging Bonds between weapons and wielder
Uses	Claiming Weapons, Calling and Dismissing Weapons, Weapon Immunity
Risks	Thrall, Overgiving, Insanity

Vorilescence is a discipline of personal magic that grants its users a bond between themselves and their chosen weapons, giving these weapons a sentient quality. Voril Mages can manipulate their weapons in various ways and have a direct impact on their location at all times.

Contents 1 History 2 Overview 3 Notes 4 Learning Vorilescence 5 Thrall - A Voril Mage's Enemy 6 Voril Weapons 7 The Voice of Voril Weapons 8 Voril Mages, Weapons and Resolve 9 Skill Table

History

When Ruros was torn from the world at Myri’s hand, he did not vanish forever. No God dies upon Mizahar and exits the land quietly without leaving their accumulated power in some form or another – their essence. Just as in more recent times, Sylir’s death left Windreach and the binding powers of its walls as Ivak’s prison, so too did Ruros leave his own legacy; Vorilescence.

Ruros’ power was ancient, vast, overarching, and helped him hold his place as God of War for eons. And at his death, all that power was released. Myri, of course, was his biggest inheritor, being the taker of his life and ascending to divinity. But not all of his legacy went to the new Goddess of War. The oldest most subtle form of what made up Ruros’ divinity was passed on to his bloodline and followers. First among those receiving this released power was Ruros’ son, Uphis. Uphis was infused with a strong healthy measure of his father’s power as did all of Ruros’ and Uphis’s mortal children who carried in them the blood of his blood, no matter how diluted. His priests, those triple-marked, at the time of Ruros’ death also felt the ripple of his passing and were infused with a bit of his residual power that they too passed down to their own offspring until the ability of Vorilescence was scattered extensively through the population of Mizahar; especially among humans.

Overview

Named after the Nader-canoch word meaning weapon, this personal magic is almost always at the core of decent to extremely good fighters everywhere; whether actively acknowledged and developed or not. Vorilescence is a personal djed connection linking a person and their weapons. Once this magic helps form a powerful bond between a warrior and his or her weapons, those weapons become almost sentient in the hands of a Voril Mage. Ruros’ blood and those of his priests at the time of his death ensure that. Voril mages are the ultimate battlemages, those connected to their weapons and inherently linked to them in bonds that cannot be broken by mortal means.

To a Voril Mage, individual weapons have their own voice – sometimes gibberish as in the more modern mass-produced soul-less weapons and lesser creations such as table knives – to clear sentient voices that only they can hear in the most ancient and skillfully crafted pre-Valterrian artifact weapons. Vorilescence forges such strong bonds between mages and weapons that a Voril Mage possessing a weapon of a proper caliber and craftsmanship can claim a weapon, and thereafter call a weapon to them no matter what the distance. They can just as easily dismiss a claimed weapon from them, sending it back to safety or storage away from their person. As a consequence, these mages are incredibly hard to disarm and permanently part from their weapons unless the weapons themselves are destroyed or the mage injured in such a way to impair his or her magic.

Voril mages have a whole host of other abilities too. They can clean and hone a weapon with a simple touch. They can bring the edges of blades back to sharpness simply by drawing a forefinger and thumb up its length. They can sense weaknesses or wear on weapons such as when a bowstring needs replacing. They also can tell what sort of metal a weapon is composed of, inherently hearing the components as almost a type of music or resonance flowing from the weapon to a sensitivity where they can easily summarize the percentages of what ore and alloy are in individual items. At higher levels, this ability to sense components can be broken down to almost exact percentages allowing a Voril Mage to know the composition of rare and mysterious alloys. And if they know the components, they can either reproduce the alloys themselves or have someone skilled in the art of smithing do so.

As they grow stronger in Vorilescence, these studies and actions grow increasingly easier and thus faster in any sort of analysis and repair. Voril mages are immune to the effects of their own weapons used against them. For example, an arrow shot from a Master Voril Mage’s personal weapon will not pierce their body and a personal blade used against them will not cut their skin. This is particularly useful since Voril Mages tend to have the best weapons available to mortals from their main blade or bow of choice down to their eating knives. Such Voril Mage possessions are sought after by others and fetch high prices at reselling.

Notes

• Voril Mages must have an 'awakening' to be considered a Voril Mage.
• Thrall is a very real and terrible danger to Voril Mages.
• There are no exclusions to who can learn this magic except those who follow or are marked by Myri. Ruros' bloodline was mostly human but he had a great many priests and priestesses of all ages and races at his time of death that have passed down the ability in their progeny.
• Unconventional weapons - such as a cast-iron frying pan - when used repeatedly in the capacity of a weapon, can form a bond to a Voril Mage.
• Only a Voril Mage can hear the voices of weapons and through handling create Voril Weapons.
• There is no limit on how many weapons a Voril Mage works with, though the mage must at least be competent in the weapon's skill to use it enough for it to be bonded and considered a Voril Weapon.
• Being a Voril Mage doesn't make the person better at wielding a weapon. That ability is still dependent upon the skill level of the actual weapon (type) listed in their CS. This magic just makes them better at tuning into their weapons - calling and recalling them - as well as repairing and maintaining them.
• Races that are created rather than born (i.e. Eth) cannot learn Vorilescence. There must be a blood tie through ancestry to Ruros or one of his priests/ess at the time of his death.
• The bonding process is different for each Voril Mage. There are no set steps though there should be thread work where a character can point to his or her individual bonding process to have the bond be valid.

Learning Vorilescence

Anyone who has blood passed down from Ruros, Uphis, or one of Ruros' priests at the time of his death can learn Vorilesence. Because Ruros was a lusty sort and had priests and priestesses from all races on Mizahar, it is likely almost anyone can find themselves in possession of the ability to learn this magic. Learning this magic simply comes about in an organic fashion when a person possessing Ruros' blood comes across a weapon of sufficient age and quality to trigger the person viewing or holding the weapon into 'hearing' the blade. Each Voril Mage will have an 'awakening' moment in their life. After this 'awakening', much like an induction, these individuals can then begin to actively learn the discipline. A person with the potential to be a Voril Mage may go their entire life not encountering a weapon worthy enough to trigger the power nestled in their blood and thus never become awakened. Surrounded, for example, by mundane tableware waiting tables in a tavern will not give a potential mage enough exposure.

However, a lifelong chef can suddenly encounter a chef's knife of almost mystical caliber and have Vorilescence triggered within him. Browsing a random weapons stand in a big city bizarre might have a potential Voril Mage suddenly awaken as they accidentally stumble upon a blade of sufficient power to trigger the Vorilescence in their blood. Such awakenings can be abrupt or gentle, depending upon the circumstance. Most people that awaken this magic within them are taken by surprise. Plenty of people learning Vorilesence have no idea they are learning a discipline of magic until after they have advanced quite far. Conversely, a Voril Mage may try to deliberately awaken the ability in another by simply exposing them to weapons of sufficient caliber to 'shock' the Voril in their blood awake. Whether or not this ability can rise is once more wholly dependent upon their bloodline and who they are related to back in their family trees. There are no active bloodline families of Voril Mages, though Voril Mages that are fully aware of the history of their magic often feel a kinship with other Voril Mages that is not unlike a familiarity that cousins or siblings might have.

There is one exception to this 'everyone can learn' rule. Followers of Myri or those marked with her mark will not be able to learn Vorilescence. This magic hates those individuals and will not allow itself to manifest in anyone associated with Myri due to the fact she stole Ruros' life. Voril Mages who get marked by Myri later in life will immediately and permanently lose their Vorilescence.

Thrall - A Voril Mage's Enemy

As stated before, Voril Mages can 'hear' the voice of weapons. Each weapon gives off a unique sound or song, with the lowest of butter knives muttering incoherently in an almost background noise effect while pre-Valterrian artifact items can sing with a pure music and a clear voice that when bonded to a Voril Mage becomes a sentient presence in their mind. Because of so much background noise and song, Voril Mages are in terrible danger at any time of becoming enthralled. This 'thrall' as they call it, tends to mesmerize a Voril Mage much like sweet whispers will any other type of mage. This seductive sound can latch onto a Voril Mage's attention and hold them fixated for various lengths of time. In the extreme examples, they will stand in one place for days - neither hungering or thirsting - growing weaker and more exhausted until death takes them in one form or another.

Most Voril Mages fall victim to thrall at least once or twice in their lifetimes, especially during their first claiming when they truly lock in a bond with their first weapon.

Much like anything else, a Voril Mage needs to be able to tune out the incessant whispering of weapons around him or her or else run the risk of insanity. This ability to tune out such things is not unlike a tired parent who simply no longer hears the volume of the noise level in their rowdy children whereas anyone else around them finds the children highly disruptive and unruly.

Thrall can happen mid-battle when a mage has overextended himself or can happen in the quiet of an early morning when a mage isn't paying attention and lets a new powerful weapon's song get to him or her. Thrall can occur when a mage is terrified, overexcited, or distracted. In battle situations, thrall can be deadly since it can hold a mage unmoving and thus open as a target for his or her enemies. Thrall can also happen mildly, where a Voril Mage is tending his weapons and loses a few moments of time listening to the weapon's voice or song while say honing a blade's edge or oiling the wood of his or her bow. While thrall mostly manifests in the form of the mage becoming immobile, other symptoms can occur as well. Nose bleeds are common, cramping of muscles, stiffness of limbs, the experience of pins and needles much like limbs 'falling asleep'. And the symptoms can grow worse. A mage in deep thrall from a powerful artifact can actually have their hearts stopped and crumple in death afterward. Mages with higher Resolve can resist thrall to a certain extent, but they cannot become distracted or upset because both states of mind open them up to Thrall.

Thrall is a Voril Mage's form of overgiving.

Voril Weapons

Anything that can be used as a weapon can be considered a Voril Weapon.

Weapons that Voril Mages have carried and bonded to take on a whole new level of caliber. The effects a Voril Mage has on the weapon can last well past the mage's natural lifetime and can extend onward through time. Once a weapon has been with and bonded to a Voril Mage and been their main weapon, they are always 'awakened'. Other mages can feel magic about them and understand they are special... even recognize them for what they are if the mage in question has any knowledge of Vorilescence. Many Voril Mages collect Voril Weapons and will not leave one abandoned and alone if discovered somewhere such as a weapon's market or in a long-lost tomb.

Voril Weapons speak with a clear sentient voice and take on a mind of their own with thoughts and feelings that are independent of their wielder. Voril Weapons often identify with a specific gender as well, which the Voril Mages describe as a feminine or masculine vibe. These weapons tend to have a gleam that is considered unearthly and in battle tend to glow brightly with a magical light that is easily recognizable. Individual Voril Mages with their voril weapons all tend to have the same colored glow, though that color changes from mage to mage. One mage's weapons might glow with silvery light, while another's might glow red.

Mundane weapons, placed in use by a Voril Mage, will over time become a Voril Weapon. How? The mage's djed flows into the weapon during the handling of the weapon, thus infusing it over and over again with power until the blade's voice is clearer and it goes through a kind of inorganic awakening itself. Once a weapon becomes a Voril Weapon, it will not work on the mage that created it or the one that continues to use it. It simply owes loyalty and that mage becomes immune. Thus, a Voril Dagger in the hands of its Voril Mage will never cut the flesh of its mage, nor will a bow pierce its owners' flesh with an arrow or a blunt weapon land a blow on its maker.

Voril Weapons have the ability to 'claim' their wielders. Any Voril Mage can wield a Voril Weapon, but to form a true bond, the Mage and the Weapon must bond. The decision is not up to the mage, however, but rather up to the weapon. The Weapons always choose. Sometimes a Voril Mage will work with a weapon for years, infusing it with magic, strengthening it, awakening it only to have the weapon claim another Voril Mage, sometimes even awakening their chosen... though this happens only rarely. Once a mage is claimed by a weapon, the bond is solidified and the weapon becomes the mage's sole property. It is at this point the weapon will glow for the mage in battle or at the mage's request.

Voril Weapons are stronger than even Isurian Steel and stay sharp longer if in blade form or hold their strength but retain flexibility if they are spears or bows. They develop these qualities over years as the Voril Mage masters use them and infuse them with Vorilescence. A Voril Weapon can easily be the means of awakening another Voril Mage, especially if that weapon's mage is deceased or parted a long time from that weapon. A Voril Weapon that glows green for one certain mage in battle will be unlikely to glow that exact shade of green for another Voril Mage. Instead, it will glow with that mage's signature color. Voril Weapons are in high demand and are often kept in collections via the rich or curious. Voril Mages have been known to be slain for their weapons - namely by collectors or those who seek attempts to be awakened themselves. One mage will not attempt to awaken another person without a good reason or some sort of powerful incentives such as friendship, kinship, or blackmail. They do not like the competition and the potential for another mage to be as good of a battlemage as they are.

The value of a Voril Weapon is often ten times the value of a normal weapon if in good condition.

Voril Weapons that have been handled and tuned by a Master Voril Mage are always considered sentient. These weapons have a mind of their own and often have agendas that include their own personal drives and needs. These weapons aren't always sane, nor do they always have their wielder's best interests at heart. In general, most Voril Weapons are loyal to their wielders and creators. Voril Weapons of Master Quality have been known to try and force awakenings on unsuspecting young fighters and transform them into mages that are often left confused as to what happened to them. These weapons know instinctively that the more powerful their wielder, the more powerful they are.

The Voice of Voril Weapons

Voril Mages often describe the voices of weapons as a sort of music. They sing a song without lyrics at lower levels that often reflect the culture of those who made them or elevated them to Voril Weapons. A Voril Bow made by the Drykas might have a distinctive sound of drums that mirror the hoofbeats of Striders. A Warhammer made by the Isur might have a voice much like a hammer striking the metal of an anvil. Young weapons barely touched by Vorileseence might simply have a lovely murmur. A powerful Voril Weapon carried by a Master Voril Mage might have a voice that sounds almost human able to form words and sentences. These higher-level weapons will still have music, but it's the music of an orchestra, not that of say a singular piccolo flute.

Voril Mages, Weapons and Resolve

Voril Weapons always have the Resolve Score of the Mage they have claimed or are being currently carried by. If one Mages is trying to lure a Voril Weapon away from another Voril Mage, they must make a stat check like "Persuasion"... aka rolling over the set risk factor and then successfully making a Resolve Check on the opposing mage... meaning if the skill roll is won, the Resolve of the winning mage must be higher than the Resolve of those trying to retain the weapon for the act of luring the weapon away from its mage to be successful.

Skill Table

Novice (1-25)
	A novice Voril Mage has been exposed to a Voril Weapon and has been 'awakened'. They can start to hear the voice of each individual weapon and begin to judge quality just by looking at a weapon and listening to its voice. Voril Mages at this stage begin to identify the components in a weapon - species of wood, pure metal types, etc and initiate bonds with said weapons. They will understand a metal weapon is made of alloys but not know more than basic knowledge of the alloy. At this level, novice Voril Mages can identify flaws in weapons and see weakness in them as well. Novice Voril Mages can sense Voril Weapons in close proximity to them, within a hundred feet. Once awakened, a Voril Mage gains immunity from damage via his or her own weapons for all time. Novice mages hear the murmurs and faint echos of the voices of Voril Weapons. The purer the tone and sound, the better the weapon. If the music is murky, muddled, and off-key, the weapon is always flawed or has something seriously wrong with it. The novice mage must touch the weapon to hear it. Novice Voril Mages rarely have Voril Weapons claim them.
Competent (26-50)
	A competent Voril Mage can determine exact components and percentages in alloys of metals. They begin to form a tight bond with weapons they've held for more than a season and can call a singular primary weapon them to them as well as dismiss it. Voril Mages have no problem assessing the value of a weapon and hearing individual weapon voices clearly. The more masterfully crafted the weapon, the more easily the Voril Mage can hear the weapon's voice and through using it infuse it with Vorilescence and elevate the weapon. Competent Voril Mages can sense Voril Weapons within a mile of themselves. At the Competent level, a Voril Mage's primary weapon is the only weapon that will glow when in use if a weapon that has claimed them. Competent mages start to hear the voices of individual weapons at a short distance - perhaps 50 feet. Often, Voril Mages experience their first claiming at this level and can only bond with one Voril Weapon at a time. The weapon they bond with will glow in battle or at the mages will to provide a light source.
Expert (51-75)
	At the expert level, a Voril Mage can call and dismiss any weapon they own at will. Just by owning weapons, they can infuse and elevate these weapons in quality and consistency thus strengthening the weapon's voice. At the expert level, the Voril Mage can repair flaws in weapons by infusing those weapons with their djed and willing away the flaws. They can hone the edges on blades and adjust the sharpness of spears or the tautness of bows, often just by running their djed infused fingers down the edge of the blade. Expert Voril Mages can sense Voril Weapons within ten miles of themselves. At Expert level, any Voril Weapon that has claimed the Voril Mage will glow with that mage's signature color. The Voril Mages can hear the Voril Weapon's music, interact with them, and start hearing soft voices and the general idea of a weapon's wants and needs without hearing the weapon's voice clearly. Expert Voril Mages can easily get Voril weapons to 'claim' them. They often bond to blades, bows, and more formidable weapons. There is no limit to the amount of Voril Weapons a Voril Mage of this level can own, call, and dismiss.
Master (76-100)
	The Voril Mage that has hit Master level is the pinnacle of a Battlemage. This is especially true if their weapons skill level equals their Vorilescence Magic level. In the hands of these Masters, weapons gain full sentience and a personality to accompany the sentience. Just being in the presence of one of these mages can infuse weapons with souls and elevate even the most rudimentary craftsmanship to Mastery. The personality and temperament of the Voril Mage have a lasting impact on the personality and temperament of the Voril Weapon. Well adjusted stable Mages will produce weapons that are even-tempered and sane. Unstable, angry or insane Master Voril Mages will produce weapons of nightmare quality that if released into the general population will wreak havok on the lives of any who touch them. Master Voril Mages have the ability not only to repair flaws in weapons as an expert can, but they can completely repair broken weapons bringing them back to the weapon's former condition prior to the destruction. Master Voril Mages can sense Voril Weapons within a hundred miles of themselves. At Master Level, Voril Weapons have a clear voice - especially those that are sentient. They can sense Voril Weapons for miles around them. Voril Weapons are eager to claim Master Mages and Master Mages are often claimed by multiple Voril Weapons. These claimed Voril Weapons are often ancient and powerful creations. Voril Weapons have been known to switch allegiances, rejecting a Voril Mage they have already claimed suddenly in favor of a stronger more suitable Voril Mage of Master level. Master Voril Mages can often coax or seduce Voril Weapons away from those they've claimed in favor of the coaxer. Resolve checks must be made.