Arcane Law ~ Chapter the Fifth
Ritual Circles
It behoves me now to write at some length on the High Magic and Lore composing places of power, commonly known as Ritual Circles. Whether one practices High Magic or Low Magic it is most important to understand the nature of the world in which we abide, the greatest philosopher is Atan al-Rashish and I chose his words to open this treatise for his understanding surpasses all.
To read his words The Cosmology of the World as he wrote them in his own tongue is to bring the most understanding, yet not all can learn the intricacies of philosophic Arataic and it is agreed that the truest translation of the Philosopher's words was submitted by Tolen Garanesh. I may condense much here yet be sure that true comprehension and understanding will not come to you in this wise.
The Universal Amalgam
As the Great Philosopher determined throughout, behind and intermingled all existence lies the Universal Amalgam which stems from the birth of all and is an admixture of order and chaos.
Yet the Universal Amalgam is not constant and it varies from place to place, and it is not stable, it fluctuates, ebbs and flows, strengthening and weakening as it goes. For the most pail it d" not alter with rapidity, in most cases its tides are so slow that in the life of one or many it will not change as may be noticed.
Nor can there be true prediction of how it will change. In the 237th year after the founding of the Great Library of Norhault. Grand Master Mage Thomas the Wise perceived a creeping wave of power flowing across the world it moved with speed, crossing Albion in less than a year and in that time many great feats of magic were performed. Following it was a great trough of power as if the Universal Amalgam had been withdrawn from the world and disease was rife through the land as healers lost their strength.
For the most part, however, the Universal Amalgam is quite stable though patterns may still flow through it. Part of that pattern is the strengthening and thickening of the Universal Amalgam in certain areas. These places of power are to all intents, concentrations of the Universal Amalgam that do not move they are Ritual Circles.
The Circles
Such is the greed for power of so-called rational creatures that one can imagine the response to discovering the power of the Ritual Circle. Such a Warlord would command his people to build a keep above the Ritual Circle so that he alone might control it.
The Universal Amalgam shifts and flows in patterns, and those patterns are more certain the stronger the concentration of power. Yet it has always been found that the concentrations of power grow and grow until they must release their energies upon the world in a most destructive and chaotic way. The more potent the Ritual Circle the more destructive the release.
The Wellspring of Life is a name given to the Ritual Circle near Norhault and it is perhaps the most potent Ritual Circle that is known. Yet with such a powerful Ritual Circle nearby one might wonder why the Guildhouse of Mages is not constructed right upon it? Every 47 years the Wellspring of Life erupts into the most dangerous explosion of power. Such that no living thing may stand to be within three leagues of it and in the three years of its activity the lands about it become distorted beyond recognition, as if a new place had been created. It is many years since anyone dared build a keep in a vain attempt to monopolise it for their own use.
Lesser Ritual Circles release their energies less harmfully and a keep may be built that will not be harmed, yet there are other difficulties in trying to hold a Ritual Circle for oneself
Paths of Light
It was in the I0Ist year after the founding of the Great Library at Norhault that the badly damaged fragment of manuscript named the Paths of Light written by Atan al-Rashish was finally deciphered:
... have walked the Paths of Light, across the seas of truth and chaos, through order ... place of cold and a place of heat ... stood beneath a starry sky while the sun was ... of Light stepped beyond the Eye of Power at Gizan...
It was determined that given sufficient power in a Mage of the High Magic could open a path from one Ritual Circle to another, these are the Paths of Light. The paths are generally fixed and may reach to a distance of perhaps one hundred leagues, though such limits are not certain and the fragment speaks of standing beneath a s" sky when the sun is what? Perhaps high? How far must one go for such a thing? The Eye of Power at Gizanara is reputed to be almost as powerful as the Wellspring of Life so perhaps it may be so.
With still greater power it is possible to open new paths and close those that stand open. The power to step from one place into another so easily? It is a dream, of course. The power required for such an act is great, the only individual known to be able to pass unhindered by his will alone is the Grand Master Mage Floris llias and he is beyond our knowledge, as have all Grand Master Mages been before him.
Thus it was that, as knowledge of the Paths of Light spread, those fools who had built their keeps upon a Ritual Circle, if they survived the eruptions, fell victim to invasions from within. It did not take long for them to learn that they must be fortified within as well as without.
Ritual Magic
The performance of Ritual Magic is a personal thing, it is monitored by the three C's: Conjuring, Concentration and Control of sufficient power to evoke the desired effect.
The Conjuring involves the gathering of the power from all about the Ritual Circle, for this the largest number of members in the Ritual Group is advantageous. Each member is able, within the limits of his or her capacity, to gather up a certain amount of the Universal Amalgam to be used to carry out the effect.
It is in the nature of the Universal Amalgam that it resists the influence of conscious thought and thus to bring it together may take time, the more potent the desired effect the longer must the gathering be. While powerful minds may force the Universal Amalgam to be subordinate, it is very tiring to do so.
Clearly the time spent in the performance of this stage is a delicate bAtance between the gentle gathering of the Universal Amalgam and speed with which the members of the Ritual Group will become tired.
The Concentration is simply bringing together the Universal Amalgam that has been conjured and delivering it to the Ritualist for his use. It is most important that the Ritual Group is very close and in harmony one with the other, and most particularly with the Ritualist himself. Discord within the group will most certainly reduce the effectiveness and potency of the gathered amalgam.
You must imagine there to be a delicate conduit from each member to their Ritualist which May disrupted by any form Of disagreement, it is for this reason that Ritual Groups fare best when its members are well-known to each other and of most similar views and opinions. Even a differing Opinion on what constitutes beauty may be sufficient discord to nullify all efforts.
A Ritual Group must have a strong Ritualist who is admired by his group and who takes pleasure with his group as friends. It may also he postulated that a Ritual Group that works well at all times may fail if a Ritual is attempted on one subject wherein there is disagreement. But be warned that one failure will sow the seeds of future discord and failure, and is the beginning of a dangerous downward path.
There is a fundamental opposition between the requirements of Conjuration and the needs of Concentration: For the former the more within the group the better, more of the Universal Amalgam can be gathered in a shorter time. But within a large group there is more room for disagreement hence Concentration may be degraded severely.
Finally comes the Control, this is the sole province of the Ritualist himself for he is the one who weaves the final pattern and sets the energy free to perform its task. But as has been stated he cannot deceive his Ritual Group for such deception will of itself introduce discord that will force failure.
Control is a matter of skill, experience and confidence. The adept will find it easier to render any specific result using a smaller concentration of the Universal Amalgam than would a neophyte whom often substitutes subtlety with mere quantity.
A Ritualist must see in his mind the effect that he chooses to render, and must see it rendered before it happens. He must be positive, any lack of clarity will at best diminish the result, at worst he may create a pattern that will destroy himself and those about him, or worse. There are uncounted ways of incorrectly performing a Ritual.
Performing a Ritual
Music is an element of most rituals, from the foregoing it is clear to see why. Music is able to concentrate the mind most effectively and, it is said wisely, music is the closest to being the Universal Amalgam comprising as it does order and chaos.
The words of the Ritual are best done with rhythm though rhyme, if poor, may be quite distracting.
The members of the Ritual Group must be well fed and rested for the task will drain one's energies quite completely and it can be dangerous to lose one's strength. Meditation upon the nature of the World and the Universal Amalgam has been found to be beneficial as it aids one's visualisations.
It is the opinion of the ignorant that intoxication releases one's mind. This may he so but concentration is not aided one iota by any form of intoxication, quite the con", one tends to wander most terribly. From the above it is clear that such a state is not conducive to the successful performance of a Ritual.
One would he quite ill advised to attempt it for it counters all three C's: Conjuring requires positive concentration to gather the Universal Amalgam to the Ritual Member, intoxication interferes with this. Concentration has already been spoken of, and Control is not a thing that those who are influenced by intoxicating liquors are noted for.
A Word to the Wise
Within these pages I have attempted to bring some understanding to the strangeness and charm of our world. But as a wielder of magic you, as I, are under obligation to keep secret much, if not all, of what is contained herein.
It has been said that a little knowledge is a dangerous thing, and it is so. A partial understanding of the nature of our world, such as would be imparted by perusal of these words would bring ordinary folk to their knees, and would give those with the ability to tap into the Universal Amalgam uncontrolled access to power. They could wreak great harm before they were destroyed - by their own uncontrolled and untrained actions.
I trust your judgement in these matters, go in peace and understanding.
Grand Master Toolcrafter Michael of Norhault
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