Soulforging

Where personal mages expand the limits of their souls by introducing the window of a Cardinal Rune of Magic, the work of the Soulforger is that of breaking those limits entirely. Even in its prime, Soulforging was considered a magic undertaken only by those who have forsaken the sanctity of their own souls, are willing to incur the wrath of many gods, and be followed by whispers wherever they go. Of all the magics ever practiced in Ransera, it is considered one of the darkest to have ever existed.

The Raela'vhanan

The Lifegivers, they called themselves. A sect of ancient Hytori in days of the Boundless Empire that saw the work of Mother Raella and believed they could perfect it. What began as a quest to explore the mysteries and beauty of the soul, quickly became something that made a mockery of the goddess’s work. The Raela’vhanan developed the practice known as the Walk of the Dolls, wherein slaves or even free individuals would live out a set of predetermined experiences only to have their souls harvested so that those experiences could be studied, manipulated, and eventually incorporated into the soul of a noble or some other societal elite. The results of these dark rituals and practices produced prodigal children, bloodlines with a stronger propensity to be masters of certain crafts or even magic, and a whole host of other benefits previously unknown to the ancient elves.

And then came the Reaping.

Perhaps Raella had finally had enough. Perhaps Wraedan witnessed his beloved’s horror and chose to intervene of his own accord. Regardless, the Gold Dragonflight turned its back on the ancient elves, vanishing to parts unknown. Then came the Black Dragonflight, with the Grimlord himself astride the most fierce of their kind. He professed his disgust. He proclaimed Raella’s horror.

He condemned the Raela’vhanan not simply to Death…but to Oblivion.

Thousands, tens of thousands, fell before Wraedan’s scythe and the rage of the Black Dragonflight. When it was over, few Soulforgers were left. Those that remained were hunted.

Soulforging was outlawed by the Court of Princes and for the next several centuries, the elves of Sol’Valen endeavored to regain the favor of their beloved Mother. At the time, some came to believe that it was the use of Soulforging that eventually led Raella to allow the Hytori to lose their immortality. Whether or not this is true, only the Life-Mother herself knows.

Learning Soulforging in the Present Day

Soulforging is a World Magic and thus is accomplished through the utilization of tools. The process of creating these tools often incorporates things from other World Magic while introducing tools unique to Soulforging itself. With that being said, even finding a record of Soulforging, let alone a practitioner, is a feat in and of itself.

 NOTE: Requests to learn Soulforging must be submitted to the Support Forum. It will be given to an individual to learn via moderated thread only.

Tools of the Soulsmith

Aura Glass – Used to study the aetheric information of the soul, specifically to observe the information recorded by the Sigil of Chronicling.

Soul Totem – As described in the Necromancy article.

Ichor – As described in the Necromancy article.

Soul Gem – As described in the Necromancy article.

Soulforge Gem – A gemstone created by combining mnemonosyte, somnosyte and sanguinyte dragonshards, typically through runeforging. It must then go through the process of becoming a soul gem as described in the Necromancy article. This gemstone must then be inscribed with the Sigil of Soliloquy, Sigil of Echoes, Sigil of Songs. The soulforge gem houses the soul(s) or soul fragment(s) that are going through the process of refinement. Souls or fragments must remain within the soulforge gem throughout the entire refinement process. If removed prior to the application of the Sigil of Synthesis, refinement will have to be started from the beginning all over again.

Soul Quill – Unique to every soulforger, the Soul Quill must be made specifically from a bone taken from the soulforger themselves. Creation of the Soul Quill is a lengthy process requiring the use of Necromancy. Upon extracting the desired bone one end should be sharpened to a fine point, it must be carefully inscribed with each of the soulforging sigils on both ends and connected with necromancy pictographs devoted to the creation of a soul totem. The bone must be affixed with a soul gem containing a fragment of the soulforger’s soul. The final step is to submerge the bone into necromancy ichor for not less than a period of 24 hours. After this period of time, the bone will absorb the ichor and become usable as a fully functional Soul Quill.

Soulsmith’s Ink – Spellwright’s Ink created from sanguinyte and mnemonosyte dragonshards. It must then be infused with the soulforger’s own blood.

Book of the Dead – A product of Scrivening, Runeforging and Soulforging itself, the Book of the Dead is an essential tool for the soulforger. Each page of the book must be fashioned from skin taken from a living person or animal. The more intelligent the individual whom the skin is taken from, the better. The skin must then be combined with sanguinyte and mnemonosyte dragonshards through runeforging to create pages from both. The pages must be bound in the skin of the soulforger. The soulforger’s flesh must have been refined through runeforging to be combined with somnosyte dragonshards. The front and back covers of the book should be inscribed with the Sigils of the Scribe and Transcription. Along the bindings of the book, the Sigil of Echoes should be inscribed. Glyphs devoted to transference, transformation, translation, understanding, and binding should line the pages of the book. Each Sigil and every pictograph inscribed upon the book and within its pages will only be effective if written using the Soul Quill.

How It Works

While no amount of mastery in Soulforging can enable the wizard to create a soul entirely from nothing, the levels to which Soulforging allows the wizard to manipulate existing souls or fragments of them, is such that it is largely inconsequential. The many complex glyphs used in Soulforging create Sigils that enable the soulsmith to manipulate souls in ways that boggle the minds of most.

Except when inscribing them onto the Soul Quill, every Soulforging Sigil must be created using the Soul Quill.

The Sigils of the Promised

Collectively referred to as the "Promised Sigils" or "Sigils of the Promised" these complex glyphs are drawn upon the individual from who the soul or fragments of their soul, are to be extracted.

Sigil of Chronicling – Placed upon the subject well before separation of a soul piece, the Sigil of Chronicling is a means of recording the information, aspects, and aether desired from the subject. The sigil captures and concentrates into a focused area, aether that contains the specific property or properties desired by the soulforger. For instance, a swordsman’s particular skill and movements with a blade, the techniques used by a Sembler to study aether, or even how an engineer perceives and plans the construction of a skyship. The Sigil of Chronicling should be put in place long enough to isolate and collect information for long enough to gain a complete record of the information desired. It can be keyed to record specific experiences.

Sigil of Castigation – The means by which the soulforger edits and refines the aetheric information recorded by the Sigil of Chronicling. The Sigil of Castigation is introduced to the Sigil of Chronicling as a means of pruning, redirecting, or completely erasing the information concentrated and contained by the Sigl of Chronicling. The nature of souls is such that no matter how precise the manner of isolation, more information or irrelevant information will be absorbed by all parts of the soul. Using this sigil, the soulforger can ensure that the aether collected by the Sigil of Chronicling contains only the precise properties desired. The Sigil of Castigation can be preemptively introduced if the soulforger already knows what properties they wish to prune from the aether recorded by the Sigil of Chronicling.

Sigil of Maturation – Used to isolate the portion of the soul that has been primed for collection, typically the area of the body that also bears the Sigil of Chronicling, the Sigl of Maturation freezes in place the aether of the soul in the area it is drawn. This is then left to mature for a predetermined period of time. While uncomfortable for the subject, as it essentially cuts off this portion of the soul from the rest of the subject, producing a sense of numbness and detachment, this primes the soul piece for removal as the rest of the soul builds up a reserve of aether attempting to reconnect to the blocked portion.

Sigil of Cleaving – The final pictograph formation used in the collection of the soul piece, the Sigil of Cleaving severs the prepared portion of the desired soul from the rest of its main body. If properly introduced, while uncomfortable, it can be a largely harmless severance. The Sigil of Cleaving completely cuts away the aetheric bonds of the soul from its main body, allowing it to be removed.

The Sigils of Enlightenment

Collectively referred to as the "Enlightened Sigils" or the "Sigils of Enlightenment", these glyphs are used to refine, manipulate, and rewrite the aether of souls on a profound level. These sigils should be used only after the soul or soul fragment has been extracted from the subject.

Sigil of Soliloquy – The pictographs used to index the information of a soul. Used to organize the information contained within the extracted soul or soul fragment into a clearly discernible record, the Sigil of Soliloquy is inscribed upon the surface of a soulforge gem that will serve as the receptacle for the prepared soul or soul fragment. It should be inscribed upon the soulforge gem prior to the gem receiving the soul or soul fragment. The Sigil of Soliloquy absorbs the information within the soul and reflects it back allowing it to be properly transcribed. The Sigil of Soliloquy must be written using either the soulforger’s own blood or soulsmith’s ink.

Sigil of Transcription – Prepared in advance, the Sigil of Transcription is written in a large circle on a stable surface that the soulforger intends to use for a long length of time. It must be written in the soulforger’s own blood or with soulsmith’s ink, with the pictographs tied to concepts of translation, understanding, knowledge and insight. It should be large enough to create a space wherein the soulforger can work comfortably. The Sigil of Transcription, when properly prepared and applied, creates a space wherein the aetheric information contained within the soul or soul fragment is translated into pictographs readable and understandable by the soulforger.

Sigil of Echoes – The Sigil of Echoes is always written in pairs and is used to connect the Soulforge Gem to the Book of the Dead. The sigil is tied to concepts of communication, the mind, insight, and description. The Sigil of Echoes funnels the information indexed by the Sigil of Soliloquy into the pages of the Book of the Dead when activated within the Sigil of Transcription. The Sigil of Echoes is used in conjunction with the Sigil of the Scribe.

Sigil of Songs – The Sigil of Songs is always written in pairs. It is used to connect the Soulforge Gem to the Book of the Dead. The sigil is tied to concepts of revelation, exaltation, completion, the mind, reflection, and most importantly, life and growth. The Sigil of Songs funnels the information that has been edited in the Book of the Dead back into the soul or soul fragments contained within the Soulforge Gem. The Sigil of Songs is used in conjunction with the Sigil of the Singer.

Sigil of the Scribe – Drawn upon the palms of the soulforger, the Sigil of the Scribe is tied to concepts of understanding, awakening, refinement, time, and transformation. The Sigil of the Scribe, when activated, places the soulforger into a trance state wherein they receive the information recorded in the prepared soulforge gem containing the desired soul or soul fragment. The soulforger then transcribes the information within the soulforge gem into their Book of the Dead in their own unique brand of pictography. The Sigil of the Scribe must be written in the soulforger’s own blood or with soulsmith’s ink. The Sigil of the Scribe can only be effectively used when activated while within the Sigil of Transcription.

Sigil of the Singer – Drawn upon the palms of the soulforger, the Sigil of the Singer is tied to concepts of affirmation, ascension, the mind, the soul, reflection, and most importantly life and growth. When the soulforger has finished editing the text transcribed into their Book of the Dead after using the Sigil of the Scribe, they then use the Sigil of the Singer to transmit those edits back to the soul within the soulforge gem, overwriting the aetheric information of the soul within the soulforge gem. The Sigil of the Singer can only be effectively used when activated within the Sigil of Transcription.

Sigil of Synthesis – Incorporating concepts of integration, unification, harmony and evolution, the Sigil of Synthesis is only ever introduced when the soulforger has concluded editing and refining the information desired to become permanent aspects of the soul contained within the soulforge gem. It is drawn exclusively upon the soulforge gem and once introduced, it completes the soul refinement process.

Sigil of Unity – Drawn upon an intended recipient of the completed soul or soul fragment, the Sigil of Unity is permanent and serves as the pictograph that is used to seamlessly bind the soul or fragment to the host body. Much like the Sigil of Synthesis, it incorporates concepts of harmony, integration and unification with the distinction that it must also incorporate concepts of growth, change, and dynamic adaptation so as not to conflict with the living hosts growth, maturation, and changes they experience throughout their lives.

Sigil of Absolution – Only used for whole soulforged souls, not fragments. Drawn upon an intended recipient of the completed soul, the Sigil of Absolution is permanent and serves as the pictograph that enables the soulforged soul to completely dominate, absorb, or destroy the existing soul of its host. Unlike the Sigils of Unity and Synthesis, the Sigil of Absolution is tied to concepts of expulsion, domination, destruction, and eradication, followed by concepts of binding, balance, growth and adaptation. This sigil’s only purpose is to allow for the soulforged soul to completely occupy its host making the intended body completely its own to grow and adapt from there.

The Soulforging Process

While no amount of mastery in Soulforging can enable the wizard to create a soul entirely from nothing, the levels to which Soulforging allows the wizard to manipulate existing souls or fragments of them, is such that it is largely inconsequential.

Every wizard, when they begin the soulforging process, must make a choice. It is the single most important choice that defines how they practice the craft as a whole: soul or soul fragments?

As the soulforger contemplates the properties they wish to refine within the soul they are intending to create, they must go through the process of identifying those who either already possess those properties or are in the process of developing them. Once these existing souls are identified, the soulforger must choose: do they harvest the entirety of that individual’s soul or merely a fragment of it? The harvesting of a complete soul has the benefit of eliminating the need for the soulforger to use the Sigil of Chronicling. This method has the drawback of lengthening the amount of refinement the soul must go through as all properties and experiences not desired by the wizard must be edited and removed. This can be a considerably lengthy process depending on the age and overall life experiences of the individual who was harvested. It goes without saying that the individual who was fully harvested will, in essence, be destroyed as bits of them are torn away until the soulforger has only those things that they desire from them.

The choice to harvest only a fragment of the individual’s soul means that the Sigil of Chronicling must be applied and keyed to specifically concentrate and record the desired experiences and properties. This will require that the individual to bear the Sigil of Chronicling must undergo said application and will have to be allowed to bear it for a length of time reasonable enough for the Sigil to concentrate aether effectively. The process is a back and forth one requiring the soulforger to periodically examine the Sigil of Chronicling, introduce the Sigil of Castigation as necessary, until such time as the subject is ready to receive the Sigil of Maturation and eventually the Sigil of Cleaving. This process, while at times uncomfortable for the subject, is ultimately harmless for the one subjected to it. Souls can repair themselves if not horrifically damaged, such as what happens when a Personal Mage experiences Overstepping and is allowed time to recover from it. Permanent damage only occurs in the most dire of circumstances, as is the same when Personal Mages experience the absolute worst forms of Overstepping.

Once the soulforger has either the soul or soulfragment they desire, it can be housed in a soul gem. It is only when the wizard is ready to begin the refinement process that they must transfer the soul to the Soulforge Gem.

Refining a Soul

When the soulforger is ready to begin the process of editing and refining a soul, it can only be done within the soulforge gem. The soulforger begins by creating the Sigil of Transcription in a large enough space wherein they can comfortably work. In most instances, this is created in a large circle on a slab of mnemonosyte dragonshard big enough to place a writing desk or workstation. The soul refinement process can only effectively take place when conducted within the Sigil of Transcription. The soulforger then transfers, either from soul gems or from the subject directly, into the soulforge gem the prepared soul fragments or the desired whole soul. Once souls have been placed within the soulforge gem, they should only be removed when the entire process has been completed. The soulforge gem is then placed within the Sigil of Transcription. In most cases, the soulforger prepares a workstation with a stand to hold the gem where they can be seated comfortably and perform the refining process.

Once the soulforge gem is within the Sigil of Transcription, the soulforger can then open their Book of the Dead, ready their soulsmith’s ink, and inscribe the Sigil of the Scribe upon both of their palms. The soulforger will then enter a trance state wherein the information contained within the soulforge gem is transferred through the Sigil of the Scribe via the link established through the Sigil of Echoes. While in this trance, the soulforger’s hands will be guided to write within the pages of their Book of the Dead those pictographs that symbolize the information indexed by the Sigil of Soliloquy. The trance is a lucid state and can be ended by the soulforger at any time. Once the desired information has been written within the Book of the Dead, the soulforger leaves the trance state at which point in time they can take the soulforge gem and their Book of the Dead out of the Sigil of Transcription.

Within the pages of the Book of the Dead is written the aetheric information of the soul that has been transcribed. The soulforger can read this pictography and by editing it, in turn will rewrite the aetheric information of the soul much like an author edits stories. It is important to note that the soulforger cannot introduce things that are not present in the aether that has been transcribed. A soul that has no knowledge of mathematics cannot suddenly be transformed into a masterful mathematician. However, if the soulforger takes a soul that does have knowledge of mathematics and a soul that does not, the wizard can edit the aetheric information of the soul so that the two become one with a singular understanding of the concepts. In this way, the soulforger stiches together various souls or soul fragments into one viable soul that is not constantly at odds with itself.

When the soulforger has finished reviewing and editing the information within their Book of the Dead, they must then return to the Sigil of Transcription with the soulforge gem and their book. They then inscribe the Sigil of the Singer upon their palms and transmit their edits into the soulforge gem. This is the stage that becomes the most time consuming for the soulforger and it is where the wizard’s choices to harvest either a whole soul or soul fragments comes into play.

A complete soul, with full awareness and sense of self will not be easily overwritten. This becomes a process of slowly chipping away at the core identity of the complete soul that was harvested and combatting their willpower, sense of self, and steering them away from utter madness to create something viable. Whereas soul fragments, while taking much longer to collect, can more easily be woven together to create a complete one as they lack the core sense of self that must be overwritten. In either case, the soulforger’s time will be spent largely on one process or the other.

At the conclusion of the refinement process, the soulforger introduces the Sigil of Synthesis to solidify the many parts into one complete soul that can then be safely removed from the soulforge gem. The refined soul can then be stored in a regular soul gem or implanted into a host body using the Sigil of Unity.

A Soulforged Life

In the question of what to do with a soulforged soul, there are only two options: find a host or create one.

The definition of “host” for a soulforged soul is a very broad one. It can be an artifact, a soul gem, or even another person’s body or a body created using necromancy. Regardless, if the soulforged soul is introduced to a body already containing a soul, the fate of the original soul depends on whether the Sigil of Unity or Sigil of Absolution is applied. Unity will produce a seamless integration, wherein the experiences and aetheric information of the soulforged soul become part of the existing person. Absolution will result in largely the opposite, wherein the existing soul is replaced with the soulforged one, erasing the existing person and replacing them with the newly created one.

Knowledge vs. Experience

Soulforged souls might contain any combination of knowledge, experiences, or aptitude for abilities that the soulforger imbues them with. However, for a soulforged to actually manifest any of those things requires that they actually put such things into practice. The soulforged might have the knowledge of a masterful navigator, capable of charting the stars at sea, but they will have to get familiar with being at sea and actually seeing such things for that knowledge to begin being useful. In this instance, it will be akin to an exceptionally gifted novice who picks up a skill rapidly and displays insight on an uncanny level. In the case of magic, a soulforged cannot inherently use a Rune of Magic unless they receive the rune. However, if knowledge and experience of that magic has been forged into their soul, they will show a marked aptitude for it and progress at a remarkable rate.

Game Mechanics for the Soulforged Character

Progression in any skill for the Soulforged Soul accelerates in multiples proportional to the tier of mastery incorporated in their creation. This is not the skill of the Soulforger but that of the skill level of the soul(s) or soul fragment(s) used in the soulforging process that then becomes part of the recipient's existing soul or becomes an entirely new person of their own.

Novice – No multiplier.

Apprentice – x1.5

Journeyman – x2

Expert – x2.5

Master – x3

Skills identified as part of the Soulforge process will be multiplied accordingly. Whenever a soulforged character is awarded experience points, they may automatically apply their multiplier to experience placed in their soulforged skills.

Tiers of Mastery

Novice (1-24)

The novice soulsmith is only just beginning their journey into the practice of forging souls. In many ways, they struggle with making the distinction between soulforging and basic necromancy. The efforts of the novice soulsmith more frequently result in failure more than success but it is from these failures that they gain the knowledge and expertise necessary to master the nuances of reading, transcribing, and translating souls effectively. Much of their time is spent perfecting the drawing of the many complex sigils involved in soulforging. Upon successfully becoming comfortable with these sigils, putting them into practice can be difficult. Novice soulforgers are only capable of comfortably working with (4) soul fragments within the soulforge gem at any given time. The novice soulsmith is only capable of transcribing into the Book of the Dead, novice level skills, experiences, or equivalent abilities. If more powerful skills and experiences are present, the information pertaining to them transcribed into the soulforger’s Book of the Dead will present as complete incomprehensible gibberish. The novice soulsmith cannot incorporate properties from aether that is not directly from a soul (i.e. a dragonshard). The novice is incapable of working with or producing a fully viable soul that can be considered a whole person, only fragments that could be integrated into existing souls.

Apprentice (25-49)

Having grown in their understanding of how to manipulate souls, the apprentice soulsmith can more effectively utilize the many sigils of soulforging. They see nominally more success than what a mere novice would but failure is still more common than not. The apprentice has become more comfortable deciphering the pictographs transcribed into their Book of the Dead but still struggles to create edits that would seamlessly produce their desired results when introduced to the soul or soul fragments. Apprentice soulsmiths can comfortably work with (6) soul fragments within the soulforge gem at any given time. The apprentice soulforger is only capable of transcribing into the Book of the Dead, apprentice level skills, experiences, or equivalent abilities. If more powerful skills and experiences are present, the information pertaining to them transcribed into the soulsmith’s Book of the Dead will present as complete incomprehensible gibberish. The apprentice soulforger cannot incorporate properties from aether that is not directly from a soul (i.e. a dragonshard). The apprentice is incapable of working with or producing a fully viable soul that can be considered a whole person, only fragments that could be integrated into existing souls. An apprentice soulforger can pull forth (2) skills and designate them as Soulforged for the purposes of progression.

Journeyman (50-74)

The journeyman soulforger is now comfortable with applying the many complex sigils of soulforging. They have become skilled enough to identify methods of rewriting the pictographs that manifest within their Book of the Dead that more commonly result in success as opposed to failure. Journeyman soulforgers can comfortably work with one complete souls or up to (8) soul fragments within the soulforge gem at any given time. The journeyman soulforger can transcribe skills, experiences and abilities up to the journeyman level into the Book of the Dead, anything higher will still present as incomprehensible gibberish. The journeyman soulforger can now incorporate aether from things that are not directly souls (i.e. dragonshard) that can reasonably be considered something that manifests at journeyman level. The journeyman is capable of working with or producing a fully viable soul that can be considered a whole person however the task is an arduous one, even for them. A journeyman can pull forth (3) skills and designate them as Soulforged for the purposes of progression.

Expert (75-99)

The few soulforgers who survive, for whatever reason, to even reach this level understanding are mistakenly considered masters of their craft, with only true masters standing above them. An expert soulsmith is skilled enough to not only identify methods of seamlessly editing the information in the Book of the Dead, but are practiced enough to string together concepts, experiences, and skills that might otherwise elude lesser practitioners. The expert soulsmith can comfortably work with (3) complete souls and up to (10) soul fragments within the soulforge gem at any given time. The expert soulforger can transcribe skills, experiences and abilities up to the expert level into the Book of the Dead, anything higher will present as mostly gibberish. What sets the expert apart however, is that they have become skilled enough to be able to glean an idea of what those skills, abilities and experiences might be based on the context of what readable concepts they are tied to. While they still cannot work with those things, this gives them the ability to decide whether continuing to work on these souls and fragments should be done now or might be better used when they themselves are more skilled. The expert can incorporate aether from things that are not directly tied to souls. The expert soulforger is capable of working with or producing a fully viable soul that can be considered a whole person with only mild difficulty. The expert soulsmith can pull forth (4) skills and designate them as Soulforged for the purposes of progression.

Master (100)

Few mortals comprehend the majesty of a soul than a master soulforger. They know the boundaries of a soul…and exactly how to break them. The master soulsmith weaves together the experiences of souls to create new one with such skill that it is mind boggling to even contemplate. They can connect, rewrite, and weave together things that are seemingly unrelated on the surface but to them form the story of a life completely subject to their whims with but a flick of their soul quill. The master soulforger can work with (5) complete souls and as many fragments as they desire within the soulforge gem at any given time. There exists very little that would be incomprehensible to them once transcribed into their Book of the Dead. They can effortlessly incorporate aether from sources other than souls. The master soulforger is capable of producing a fully viable soul that can be considered a whole person with such ease that it is almost frightening to behold. The master can pull forth (6) skills and designate them as Soulforged for the purposes of progression.