Summoning
Summoning is an ancient form of personal magic that has hints of its first beginnings reaching as far back as the Age of Wonders, if not longer. The power to form contracts with ethereal entities and summon them to do one’s bidding is a power well known among wizards. In most cases, the mage forms a symbiotic relationship with those that they recruit into their service however some entities can manage to gain the upper hand in the case of a hubristic conjurer ill-prepared to guard themselves against the machinations of spirits. Summoners have a storied history as individuals revered, feared, praised and reviled across the many cultures, sparking a form of magic that is mired in as much lore as it is controversy. There are regions of the world where summoners are able to practice their art unhindered and there are places where to be a summoner is to be a servant of the State who is closely monitored at all times.
Origins
Summoning has no definitive origins to speak of. Across most cultures, there are stories of people being capable of conjuring spirits from the aetherium to assist them in many forms. This has brought scholars to believe that summoning as a Rune of Magic is perhaps one of the more ancient forms, gifted in the early days of Ransera’s history. Among elven kind, the tradition of there being reputable summoners in their cultures is so ingrained that there is merit in this belief. In the early days of the Boundless Empire in ancient Sol’Valen, the elves mastered the art of Summoning to such a degree that particularly powerful entities were conjured and set to watch over the mystifying Rift Gates. These guardians were formidable and were permanently bound to the gates prior to their destruction. There are those who believe that some of them yet linger in those places where the Rift Gates once stood.
Initiation and Threshold Sickness
The initiation process for Summoning requires that the prospective initiate enter a place where the veil between the material realm and the aetherium is thin. Typically, the wizard doing the initiating is aware of such a place and brings their prospective initiate to the locale. Once in that place, the wizard in possession of the Rune of Summoning must conjure one of their aidolons. Through their aidolon, the Rune of Summoning is drawn upon the body of the prospective initiate. Once the rune is complete, the initiate will fall into a comatose state as their spirit is thrust across the veil between the material realm and into other planes of existence. Once there, the initiate will come face to face with four spirits. Exactly what form these spirits take is never clear but it is always in a form that will most intrigue the summoner combined with what sphere the spirit is based out of. At this point, the summoner must make a choice of which spirit to approach. They may choose only one.
Regardless of their choice, the prospective summoner must satisfy the demands of the spirit while retaining dominion of their own soul. Some spirits are more benevolent than others in this regard but a particularly righteous spirit may find a mortal wanting thus in need of purification of ideals they find repugnant. A nature spirit may attempt to bring the summoner closer to its way of thinking by coercing them to abandon all notion of civilization in favor of the life of a rabid wildling. An infernal spirit may attempt to outright possess the prospective summoner and so forth. It is entirely dependent on the disposition of the spirit in question. The key is to both assert oneself as the master of their own soul in a display of personal resolve while also gaining the respect and service of the spirit in question.
Once this hurdle has been overcome, the prospective summoner must form a bridge between their own soul and that spirit before them. This will bring the two together and once completed, the newly initiated summoner will awaken from their comatose state. This trial could last minutes, it could last hours, or it could last days. There are only one of two outcomes, success or failure. Success means the individual is now a summoner, capable of calling forth their first spirit. Failure means they are nothing more than a mere puppet vessel for the spirit they attempted to entice, their soul displaced and their body no longer their own.
Overstepping
Summoners who court the realm of overstepping find that the connection they share with their aidolon becomes fuzzy and difficult to feel. Headaches, dizziness, nausea and fatigue are early signs and easily recovered from. The deeper into overstepping one goes, the less stable a summoner’s abilities become to the point where they begin to lose control of their summoned creatures and unable to sustain them for long as their very life force is drained away. The most severe ends of overstepping in summoning sees the strength and vitality of the summoner used as fuel to sustain their summons resulting in organ failure, complete loss of motor control, and the unleashing of their aidolon leaving them vulnerable to being possessed and controlled by the very spirits they once commanded.
How It Works
Using their own personal reserves of aether and through the filter of the Rune of Summoning, summoners open doorways to different spheres of influence in the aetherium depending on which sphere they associate with. This is achieved by channeling their aether to open portals in a manner some deem similar to the process in Transposition. Following this they are able to call forth a spirit from one of the higher planes of existence to entice them into performing a task for them in exchange for their aether. The complexity of the task in relation to the spirit’s natural abilities, the power of the spirit in question, the summoner’s willpower and the summoner’s personal ability to negotiate with the spirit summoned, determines how taxing the exchange is. The aether from mortals can give increased power to spirits beyond their own limitations and thus is an excellent resource for putting toward their own agendas. As a note, summoned spirits are not thralls and are fully capable of exercising free will to pursue their own interests. As a result, they have a vested interest in gaining as much of a mortal’s aether as a resource as possible.
A summoner who conjures a spirit that is beyond them will quickly find themselves overwhelmed as vast swaths of their aether are consumed in exchange for the summoning. A spirit who is clever enough to persuade access to larger amounts of the wizard’s aether to put toward a task may not necessarily require that much power and are merely taking excess as a price for their services. Summoners can even offer dragonshards as alternative tribute to supplement the effort. This dynamic makes summoning a decidedly social magic that requires the wizard in question be well versed in the ability to negotiate as well as persuade.
The act of summoning a spirit requires that the summoner know the name of the spirit they wish to summon. Once, there were entire libraries dedicated to the study of Summoning and the spirits of the Aetherium that have been called upon throughout history. Many of these names have been learned of from spirits themselves either in gratitude, through coercion or through trickery. Much of this knowledge was lost following the Sundering as the art of Summoning became scarce and in some cases, outright banned. Once a summoner knows the name of the spirit they wish to summon, they can channel their aether and conduct the summoning ritual whereupon they can entreat it for its services. Again, summoners be warned. It is advised that a spirit is well researched before being called upon. Conjuring a spirit that is beyond one’s abilities can have terrible consequences.
The Spheres of Summoning
Beginning at the rank of Apprentice, every summoner can make a choice about what manner of creature they wish to engage with as they grow in power. It is not a choice that is made lightly but it can make growing in power much easier. This choice is spawned as a result of the summoner becoming a more noticeable player among the spiritual powers of Ransera. As the summoner grows in strength and notoriety, their ability to call upon and parlay with spirits becomes more limited due to the reputation they gain as they interact with them. A summoner who consorts with demons is unlikely to have an easy time calling upon celestials and vice versa. A summoner who frequently calls upon wild spirits might find the difficulties of navigating the nuances of dealing with Infernals, Celestials or Eldritch spirits too taxing just as much as the other spheres of spirits find wild spirits to be little more than mongrels and sometimes beneath them. The summoner who does not specialize faces a very steep climb as a generalist as it becomes more difficult to negotiate with spirits for their services.
The summoner who does choose to specialize gains the benefit of having a very easy time of calling upon the services of spirits in that sphere of influence. Additionally, summoners who choose to specialize gain the benefit of the Aidolon much sooner than a generalist. Once a summoner chooses to specialize, the decision is irreversible and they are barred from calling upon spirits of the other spheres without the intervention of a divine power.
Infernal- Demons are a very real and present force in Ransera. They are often the servants of more malevolent powers such as a darkly aligned Dragon God or a Mistlord. In other circumstances they serve particularly powerful greater demons such as Kahl. One thing that unites demons however is their universal tendency to be entities of a dark disposition. While certainly capable of experiencing the same range of emotions and behaviors as mortals, they are creatures of a decidedly self-serving nature. Demons are happy to entertain bargains with mortals provided the price is right for their services.
Celestial- Often called “Virtues”, the celestials are in many ways the opposite of demons. They tend to embody things along a more positive and benevolent spectrum. Spirits of the celestial host often serve the Dragon Gods and Mistlords of kinder and more virtuous disposition. The strongest of them are generals in divine legions. The thing that unites celestials is their tendency toward being entities of a more virtuous demeanor. This is not to say that all of them are what a mortal would consider “good” but rather, they strive to uphold the ideals they most closely resonate with. This can lead to a celestial being as wrathful as they are compassionate. Celestials are selective in whom they parlay their services to as they will often refuse to work with mortals who display behaviors they take issue with.
Wild- Elementals, Flora spirits and animal spirits comprise the sphere of the Wilds. These are by far the most common form of spirit that summoners call upon as they are the easiest to deal with. The demeanor of wild spirits are much easier to interpret as they will most often act in the interest of the area of influence they represent. A spirit of fire is most interested in things dealing with that specific element, an animal spirit will behave largely in the interests its flesh and blood counterparts do albeit it is highly intelligent and possesses preternatural abilities. As a result of the relative ease with which summoners can call on wild spirits, the general populace often assume these are the spirits that summoners deal in exclusively.
Eldritch- The spirits of the Eldritch sphere are by far the most complicated and unusual to interact with. Their motives are unfathomable to most. They are as likely to appear and then ignore a summoner as they are to actively engage with them. The difficulty in understanding an eldritch spirit stems from the fact that they are entities that largely don’t concern themselves with mortal affairs thus enticing them is much more complex than other spirits. A summoner who does manage to grasp the eldritch sphere, in turn takes a touch of the weird with them.
Classifications of Spirits
Summoners deal in a variety of entities across the aetherium but generally speaking, spirits fall into several categories of power. Players are empowered to design and implement their own spirits for utilization. Due to the nature of a summoner having to know the name of the spirit they summon, players will be required to submit their specific spirits to the Support Forum for verification and approval. These approved spirits become the pool of spirits that each summoner is able to call upon.
Minor- Minor spirits are exactly that, very minor in scope and power. Regardless of the sphere from which they are derived, they are not very powerful and are capable of manifesting only a singular paranormal ability that is very limited in scope. These abilities tend to be very specific and are only useful in certain circumstances (i.e. a minor demon with the power to mimic a single voice or a will-o-wisp).
Lesser- Lesser spirits are stronger than minor spirits but not by much. They are typically entities with one to two paranormal abilities that are usually fairly generalized. (i.e. a celestial capable of levitating or a nature spirit capable of rousing their element to bothersome levels)
Moderate- Spirits with much more versatility and a larger amount of influence over the concepts they hold at their core or the elements they manifest. They typically possess two to three moderately powerful abilities that makes them stand out from the run of the mill rabble. (i.e. an incubus or succubus type demon, being able to shapeshift into one or two forms, moderately powerful elemental manifestations etc.)
Higher- Spirits of great prestige and renown. These entities are usually only encountered and summoned by Experts of the art of summoning. These beings typically possess at least four powerful abilities and are a cut far above the rabble of spirits from the aetherium. They are fearsome or breathtaking to behold.
Greater- The zenith of the types of spirits summoners deal with. Greater Spirits are powerful beyond compare but they also exercise the greatest amount of autonomy in comparison to other spirits. They typically possess five powerful abilities and are capable of truly incredible feats that makes other spirits lesser to them go out of their way to avoid incurring their wrath. Only a Master Summoner can hope to interact with a Greater Spirit.
The Aidolon
While most summoned spirits serve their summoner for a limited duration, usually to the completion of the requested task and then departing, the aidolon is different. The Aidolon is a spirit that has formed a permanent pact with their summoner. It is a spirit that has formed a bond between the core of their essence with the soul of the wizard who has summoned them. As a result of this pact, the aidolon is free to grow in ways that other spirits cannot just as the summoner gains the benefit of abilities that summoners without an aidolon do not have. This pact takes many forms in terms of a relationship. In some instances it is that of business associates entering into a mutually agreed upon goal that is long-term. In other instances it is that of a friendship with the wizard and the aidolon sharing close confidence with one another. All of these pacts start somewhere but the direction it goes is dependent upon how the wizard and their aidolon interact with one another. The wizard should be cautioned that aidolon’s are not thralls, bound completely to the will of their summoner. The bond between summoner and aidolon is such that the spirit is capable of influencing the wizard just as much as the wizard can influence them.
A summoner who makes the decision to specialize once they reach Apprentice, immediately gains the partnership of an aidolon. A generalist must wait until the rank of Expert.
Aidolons grow in power as the summoner whom they are bonded to grow. The union between the two is such that each benefits from and is influenced in some ways by the other. By the time a summoner reaches the rank of Master, their aidolons are powerful enough to be considered Greater spirits who are forces to be reckoned with.
Powers and Abilities
Summon
Acquired at Novice. The fundamental power of a summoner’s abilities and the power that the entirety of the magic is based on. The act of summoning requires that the wizard open their mind and senses to the presence of the aetherium. They must contemplate on the sphere of spirits they wish to engage with and then channel their aether creating a space wherein the spirit they are seeking can enter into the material realm. The wizard must speak the name of the spirit they wish to summon and in doing so, invite them into the material realm in order to converse with them. The summoner expends their aether to both maintain the space wherein the spirit is conjured and to allow them to manifest. Summoners be warned, conjuring a spirit that is beyond one’s abilities opens oneself up to being overwhelmed by the spirit and turned into a puppet for their interests.
Concordant
Acquired at Novice. The concordant is an official binding between the summoner and the spirit they have summoned wherein a temporary bridge is formed between the two. The concordant forms the terms by which the spirit serves the summoner. It is done by conjuring one’s aether and within it infusing the demands and limitations by which the spirit is bound. Negotiation is key in this matter as spirits will often bargain to better the terms of their service. Once an agreement is made, the spirit absorbs the aether offered by the wizard and bridge of service is formed until the completion of the agreed upon task.
Interdiction
Acquired at Novice. A tool utilized by the summoner to exert control over the spirits they summon. The concordant is not usually so binding that spirits cannot find ways to circumvent its terms if they are particularly clever. To combat this, summoners utilize the Interdiction ability to extract a toll from the spirit for violating the terms of their concordant. How the interdiction manifests is dependent upon the will of the summoner but it could be as simple as pain, or stunning them, the tool is versatile but it can only be used if a clear violation of the concordant has occurred. Upon enacting the Interdiction, the summoner can extract a penalty from the spirit demanding from them an immediate service as recompense for going against the concordant.
Awakening
Acquired at Apprentice. Summoners can awaken in the spirits they summon to an elevated level of power, enabling them to perform feats they would not normally be able to do. By pooling their aether and funneling it into the spirits at their command, the wizard sacrifices their stamina in exchange for empowering their spirits' natural abilities.
Spherebind
Acquired at Apprentice. This power is invoked only once and it is at the apprentice level that a summoner can choose to do so. The summoner invokes the name of a spirit who dwells within the desired sphere of specialization. They declare their intent and upon doing so, allow the spirit to touch their rune of summoning. The spirit infuses a sliver of the essence associated with the desired sphere, saturating the rune of summoning with that power until it locks in place. Once performed, the process is irreversible except through the intervention of a deific power.
Intercession
Acquire at Apprentice. Spirits in the service of the summoner can supply their strength, aether and vitality to the wizard who has summoned them. By invoking intercession, the wizard can siphon the aether, strength and vitality from the spirit they have summoned in order to bolster their own reserves. Summoners be warned, utilizing this power too heavily can dissolve the concordant that binds the spirit to the summoner or severely weaken its hold.
Gilded Summon
Acquired at Apprentice. Normally, a summoner must summon a spirit and then enact the concordant that binds them to their service. With a gilded summon, that is not the case. The summoner is now able to conjure a spirit with loose terms already in place, the spirit that answers is immediately bound by those loose terms, eliminating some of the need to negotiate with them. This type of summon can be particularly useful when a quick, short-term summon is needed by the summoner.
Coalescence
Acquired at Journeyman. The summoner opens up the bridge between themselves and the summoned spirit, joining their consciousness for a brief duration. This can enable the summoner to communicate knowledge directly into the mind of the spirit they have summoned and vice versa.
Hook Summon
Acquired at Journeyman. At the cost of being highly taxing upon the aether of the summoner, the wizard is able to cast the tendrils of their power out into the aetherium and pull a moderately powerful spirit into the material realm and bind them to their service for a short duration. The summoned spirit is immediately released from the hook summon and returned to the aetherium upon completing the designated task.
Sacrament
Acquired at Expert. This power is used in place of the concordant after a normal summons. The summoner offers up not just their aether but a portion of their own soul to the spirit they conjure. In exchange, the spirit is bound to terms that cannot be broken except through the willful dismissal of the summoner or through the intervention of a deific power. The terms are absolute on both the summoner and the summoned spirit. In exchange, the summoner forms a permanent bridge between themselves and the spirit summoned and vice versa. This bridge will persist beyond even the death of the wizard, holding the spirit to a sacred oath that is virtually unbreakable. Sacrament is an exceptionally draining power to use and should be carefully implemented. Through the sacrament is how unspecialized summoners can gain the service of an aidolon.
Cleave
Acquired at Expert. Normally a summoner can only influence the spirits that they personally summon. Through the power of cleave however, a summoner can attempt to sever the bond between spirits and other summoners. This power does not work on aidolons and is incrementally successful based on the power of the opposing summoner. An expert attempting to cleave the bonds of a fellow expert will find themselves largely unsuccessful unless their opponent is considerably weakened. An expert working to cleave the bonds between a novice and their spirits is almost guaranteed to be successful in their attempt.
Grand Summons
Acquired at Master. Through the grand summons, a summoner essentially sends out a call across the aetherium sending for spirits willing and able to answer. Those spirits that do are called forth to the material realm empowered, fully awakened to abilities befitting the empowerment from a master level summoner. Spirits called forth through a grand summons are completely bound to the will of the summoner and will execute their demands regardless of their personal disposition. This comes at a steep price however and once the summons is ended, the summoner will almost always fall into overstepping.
Aidolon Specific Abilities
Unity
Acquired at Apprentice. The beginnings of a conversation and a true bonding between the summoner and their aidolon, this is what Unity begins as. The power of unity allows the summoner to open themselves up to being fully possessed by their spirit. This possession is a symbiotic one that grows over time. At first, it is clumsy, inefficient and quickly taxing upon the summoner and the spirit as both work toward finding a balance between themselves and acting in a united manner toward whatever goal prompted the unity. As the summoner and aidolon grow in their dynamic however, unity is a powerful tool wherein the summoner and the aidolon can occupy the wizard’s body simultaneously thus allowing the spirit to empower the summoner with their abilities directly for a short time.
Investiture
Acquired at Apprentice. Spirits are bound to the dominion of their nature. A spirit of fire can only manifest powers and abilities related to that element. A demon is bound to manifesting powers tied deeply to the concepts at the core of their identity just as a celestial is bound to the same. Through Investiture, a summoner can loosen these restrictions. If the wizard is in possession of other runes of magic, they can perform an investiture of the power of that rune into their aidolon. While at first this is limited to giving them singular abilities, it can grow exponentially as the summoner and aidolon grow in their dynamic. Conversely, if the summoner is not in possession of other runes of magic, they can perform an investiture of other magical sources. Gifting an aidolon with the powers of a dragonshard or even imbuing them with the abilities of an artifact.
Myrmidon
Acquired at Journeyman. The summoner empowers their aidolon and through this empowerment the aidolon can call forth others from the same sphere of influence which they are derived. These spirits are lesser in power than the aidolon but through the empowerment of the summoner, obey them without question for a short duration. This ability is taxing upon the summoner but can prove invaluable in certain situations.
Reminiscence
Acquired at Expert. The summoner opens a bridge between themselves and their aidolon and for a moment there is little distinction between the aether of either. In that moment, the summoner uses that bridge to copy the abilities of their aidolon and empower themselves with them. This comes at the cost of the summoner and the aidolon being forced to pool their aether together, with each use of abilities draining both equally. However, it is distinct from Unity in that the summoner gains the benefit of working side by side with their aidolon instead of having to have them occupy their body.
Revelation
Acquired at Master. The height of what any summoner is capable of. Revelation is the joining of a summoner and their aidolon into a singular being united in soul and aether. There is little distinction between one or the other. While each retains their own mind and personality, the two become joined on a primal level. The powers of the spirit become the powers of the summoner and if the summoner possesses other magic, the spirit now can manifest that magic at will, tapping into the abilities of their summoner. This comes at the cost of the two drawing from the same pool of aether though it grows exponentially due to the joining of the two. Additionally, what one suffers so too does the other. A wound, an affliction, and more. The two share thoughts, feelings and experiences without reservation. Revelation is a great boon but it is also dangerous for both summoner and spirit if not approached wisely. While it can be severed at any time, most find that once the Revelation is performed, there is no going back. Many have described that coming back from a Revelation is to feel incomplete. Finally, the aidolon and the summoner can join bodies at will when Revealed to one another, creating a new being entirely if the need arises.
Tiers of Play
Novice (1-24)
Beginners in the art of Summoning, the novice must be cautious in their dealings with spirits. Their ability to command and coerce the entities of the Aetherium is largely based on their own personal charisma and capacity to persuade. They are capable of safely summoning Minor and Lesser spirits and are able to maintain only a solitary summons at a time.
Apprentice (25-49)
Having grown in their ability to engage with and interact with spirits, the Apprentice summoner has become more familiar with navigating the nuances of aethereal bargaining. At this stage the summoner has the choice to specialize in a distinct sphere of influence. Choosing to specialize reduces the strain of conjuring spirits from that sphere by half. Upon specializing, the summoner can gain the companionship of an aidolon. The aidolon is considered a Lesser spirit at this stage. The apprentice summoner is still only capable of safely interacting with Minor or Lesser spirits but their ability to command grows. They can maintain up to (3) concordants simultaneously in addition to their aidolon if they have one. They gain the Intercession, Awakening, Spherebind, Unity, Gilded Summon, and Investiture abilities respectively.
Journeyman (50-74)
Considered a decidedly competent summoner at large, the wizard finds that their ability to call forth spirits comes much easier. If they are in possession of an aidolon, it advances to the state of a moderately powerful spirit. Their ability to communicate with and assert control over spirits grows to the point where they can safely maintain up to (3) moderately powerful concordants simultaneously or up to a combination of (6) Minor or Lesser spirits. They gain the Coalescence, Hook Summon and Myrmidon abilities respectively.
Expert (75-99)
A premiere summoner with few equals, the expert in the art of summoning is a figure of notoriety among the aethereal circles with whom they communicate. They have grown wise to the bargains and exchanges demanded of mortals as payment for their services. At this level, the bond between a summoner and their aidolon is such that the spirit can be considered a Higher spirit in power and scope of abilities. Summoners who refrained from specializing in a chosen sphere gain the ability to form bonds strong enough to gain an aidolon of their own, through Sacrament. They gain the Cleave and Reminiscence abilities respectively. At this stage an expert summoner can comfortably form a concordant with (2) Higher spirits, (4) Moderate ranked spirits, and up to a combination of (8) Lesser and Minor spirits. This is in addition to their aidolon.
Master (100)
Peerless in their ability to parlay and retain the services of spiritborn entities, the master summoner can push the boundaries of the discipline in ways lesser practitioners can’t even fathom. The master summoner gains the ability to utilize the Grand Summons, wherein they are able to call forth up to (6) Higher ranked spirits who will serve them without question or restraint for up to 12 hours. The longer the master retains the bindings of a Grand Summons, the heavier the toll it takes upon them. The aidolon of a master summoner can be considered a Greater ranked spirit in terms of scope of power and abilities. Master summoners additionally gain the power of the Revelation. The Revelation, once performed, draws together the soul and essence of the summoner and aidolon in a way that some would consider irreversible. They can choose to share a single body at will, joining together in a single form. The pools of aether, stamina and strength of a master summoner and their aidolon are combined into a single resource. This comes at the cost of both sharing equal burdens and equal joys. A wound suffered by one is in turn suffered by the other and so forth. While the Revelation can be severed at will...most find it impossible to do so. A master summoner can comfortably summon up to (1) Greater ranked spirit, (2) Higher spirits, (5) Moderate spirits and up to a combined total of (10) Lesser and Minor spirits.
