Horizon: City of Traitors

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Sorcery and the Arts It Steals From

Strange cults obey the whims of the malign Gods. Powerful shamen enact the will of the distant and inhuman Powers. And sorcerers usurp the rights of both for their own ends.

This page describes the three main means by which humans gain access to potent magic spells. You'll note a few things:

  • There's no spell list. Knowledge of what spells are out there and how they are cast is immensely valuable. Sorcerers would kill to get that kind of information. Cultists and shamen would kill to keep it quiet. A public spell list on the website would give away an inappropriate amount of IC secret knowledge.

  • The details are sketchy. There is much more rumour and hearsay about what magic actually does than genuine facts.

  • Magic is a suck-it-and-see thing. For the full skinny on how a particular approach works, you'll have to take the plunge and commit to playing that sort of character. Cultists and shamen do not advertise their activities, and sorcerers prefer not to flaunt their power lest those they stole it from take revenge.

Cults

Those who would worship the Gods tend to form small groups with powerful leaders. The leader of a cult is no mere figurehead: he or she is the conduit through which the commands, edicts, admonishments and declarations of the God are delivered to the faithful. However, it's said that revolts and coups within cults are common, and in some instances are encouraged by the God. The theme of the cult leader overthrown by a vicious maniac even more attuned to the God than has been popular in plays since the dawn of the Horizon theatre scene.

Cults pray to their gods communally, in ceremonies presided over by their leader, but silently; any cultist may say any prayer to the God they wish. The Gods bless their favoured followers with spells, that they may serve their masters better - although the more powerful spells may require complicated, involved, or dangerous processes to cast.

The Church of the Intercessor takes a hard line on cults: they're selling us out to those who would do us ill, they must not be tolerated. Every government in the True Lands backs them up on this, and severely punishes those cultists they manage to catch; whatever the private beliefs of national leaders may be, public outrage would make any legalisation of god-worship untenable.

Shamen

The Powers do not believe in cults. If you wish to serve them no human intermediary is required - one simply communes directly with one of their daimons, and are granted spells by them. "Shamen" of the Powers are a varied and diverse lot; the stereotype of a fur-clad wildman chewing roots and spewing prophecies is inaccurate (although many shamen of the Land end up like that). That bureaucrat at the tax office who just won't take a bribe - could he just be honest, or is he working for the Stars? That agitator in the street who keeps calling for democratic change, and always seems to slip away just a minute before the Watchdogs arrive - does he just have a few friends on lookout for him, or is he a shaman of the Sky?

Whilst serving the Powers is regarded as equally threatening by the Church of the Intercessor, people tend not to get as worked up about it as they do worship of the Gods. (The Ghouls are even allowed to practice shamanism within their strange enclave, since the Intercessor's message seems firmly aimed at human beings, although the Church is not happy about this state of affairs.) Whilst the Gods are clearly powerful and active threats to mankind, many people just can't get all that excited about the Powers - especially if they are city-dwellers, prone to forget the superstitions of simpler folk. Few who are not shamen themselves can sense the vast and slow life that resides in Sky or Stars or Land. Nonetheless, the authorities take a dim view of human beings practicing shamanism.

Sorcery

Sorcerers serve only themselves. They tend to be vain and proud, and prefer to work alone. They can conduct various rituals to exorcise, interrogate, or otherwise cajole unquiet spirits, or to steal spells from the Gods and Powers for their own use. This they regard as a victory for humanity over the esoteric forces who would mould us in their image. Cultists and shamen would regard it as looking for trouble, and will gladly provide sorcerers with all the trouble they could ever hope for.

Whilst Sorcerers can use a far wider range of spells, the process of stealing and casting them is often more difficult. First the sorcerer must learn of the spell in the first place - through scouring old grimoires, trading for knowledge with other sorcerers (though what sorcerer would make himself redundant by giving another wizard his entire repertoire?), spying on cults and shamen, and so forth. Next, the sorcerer must obtain certain artifacts to use in stealing the spell. Lastly, after the spell has been stolen, the sorcerer may have to cast the spell in a somewhat different (and quite possibly more dangerous) manner, in keeping in the manner in which it has been stolen.

The attitude of the authorities to sorcery is ambiguous. The Church of the Intercessor regards it as a tool, and in general approves of sorcerers usurping the powers of cultists and shamen, although not if this magic is used for wicked ends. Not too long ago there was an ill-fated attempt to produce Sorcerer's Certificates, along similar lines to the licences issued to alchemists. This ultimately proved much more difficult to enforce; alchemy, by its very nature, leaves behind physical evidence, but sorcery is a very different process.

Sample Spells

We've decided not to have public spell lists for this game - we feel that such information should be scarce and valuable. On the other hand, it's only appropriate to let you know what sort of effects you can achieve to help you decide whether to play a magic-user of any sort. In general, the Gods grant spells that are related to their activities, goals, and obsessions, whereas the Powers grant spells that are tied in with their essential nature (and frequently involve physical manifestations of the relevant element).

The below spells are the sort of thing that the God of Knowledge might grant to his followers if he weren't dead. They are now defunct, so you will not be able to attain these specific effects through worshipping him; however, they should hopefully give you an idea of the scale we're working on.

Cantrips

A Cantrip is a minor magic. It requires little of the caster, and gives little in return, but since it is decidedly low-key Cantrips are often more useful than, say, Grand Rituals.

Example: Truth's Straight Path
This spell allows the caster to swiftly and easily find a particular scrap of information when he or she has mountains of material to sift through. Perhaps you want to find a particular book in a library, or perhaps you've broken into Colonel Zero's office and you need to find a particular secret document as swiftly as possible before the guards come. A cultist of Knowledge simply recites a short, two-line rubric that is given to them when they are granted the use of the spell, and they will then know precisely where to find the information if it is present in their location.

To gain and cast this spell, a sorcerer must steal a strip of cloth from the ritual garb of a Knowledge-cultists, or from the academic robes of an aged scholar. The strip must be embroidered with three runes during the ritual to steal the spell; to cast the spell, the sorcerer then wears the cloth as a blindfold - the first book or document he or she picks up when blindfolded will contain the information.

Enchantments

Enchantments are more major acts of magic. Their effects tend to be broader and more impressive then cantrips; often, they will ask more of the caster.

Example: Free the Truth
Interrogating a prisoner? Want to get the truth out of them quickly? This spell will liberate it, but your prisoner will be... damaged goods afterwards. A cultist of Knowledge simply shaves the head of the individual in question and tattoos the Mark of Thezir on their scalp. The mark will glow briefly, and the knowledge will shine through. Do not look in their eyes as this is happening; the presence of the God is within them. Once it leaves, their mind will be burned out - they will still be able to speak and look after themselves, but their memory will be gone. Perhaps now is the time to give them informative tracts about how Knowledge is the only route to salvation.

To gain and use this spell, sorcerers must construct a hammer and anoint it with the blood of a cultist of Knowledge during the ritual to steal the spell. They again draw the Mark of Thezir on the scalp of their prisoner - but they must then immediately smash the prisoner's skull open with the hammer. They must not hesitate; should they fail to kill the prisoner before the presence of Thezir turns up, there will be consequences.

Grand Rituals

Grand Rituals are world-shaking acts of magic. Their scope is still limited (there's no rituals which will destroy the world, or topple the Wall, or consume all Horizon in flame, for example) but they can still have a world-changing effect.

Example: Common Knowledge
This ritual will ensure that every individual within a town or city will become aware of a particular truth. The truth in question must actually be true, and peoples' interpretations of it may well differ wildly from the caster's; the spell merely ensures that they are presented with the facts and are able to make up their own minds.

Cultists must obtain a library's worth of books, and make a mobile bonfire on some sort of trolley or conveyance. They must burn the books on the bonfire, one by one, whilst pushing the fire all the way around the city walls (if the spell is cast on Horizon they needn't push the cart along the base of the Wall). The smoke must encircle the city, and runes must be traced in the ash left behind as the cart moves along. Once the spell is complete, the truth will be exposed to all within the city within a day; the proof will be incontrovertible and undeniable.

Sorcerers must inscribe the truth to be told in blood, on vellum made from the flayed skin of a great scholar, with a writing implement fashioned from the bones of an avatar of Knowledge (the implement must be used to inscribe the magic circle during the ritual to steal the spell). The truth must be burned before the books go into the fire.

Rumours

Once upon a time, all sorcerers were women and worked in harmony with the Great Ones, the Gods and Powers. Then the men came along, kicked put the wisewomen, and began take, take, taking from the Great Ones. That's why they seem so malevolent - the Great Ones hate us because we betrayed them, and they are changed by that hating, but if enough of us prove that we love them they will be soothed and become themselves again. Come with me and I'll show you how...

The Emperor started out as the first sorcerer. If you ever needed proof it was an unhealthy practice, there you have it...

If you break into a sorcerer's place, take everything that's not nailed down. Any object of theirs could be a disguised item of power. They can put magic in turnips or chairlegs if they wanted to.

"Magic" is the sixth Power that permeates everything. The other five Powers are mere reflections of it, and the Gods are ancient savants who have learned how to manipulate it the same way we manipulate steam or clockwork. If you could distil raw mana you would be the greatest alchemist who ever lived.

There are no such things as "Gods" or "Powers", and you're a primitive fool if you cling to such superstitions. The "Gods" are master sorcerers who have reached the peak of their art, the "Powers" are gestalts of those who have melded with one of the five primal elements.

"Magic" isn't anything you can put in a bucket, you simpleton. It's not something which is, it's something you do. Whenever one reaches out and uses powers reserved by the Gods and Powers for their faithful, you're performing an act of magic. Every freedom you enjoy today, you can thank sorcerers like me for: without us, humans wouldn't even have thought or speech...

You want to keep away from wonderworkers. Sorcerers, cultists, shamen... they all come to bad ends eventually. They go funny in the head, and then they grow ugly, and eventually they're not even human anymore.

I hear that to do the greatest acts of magic wizards must shut their eyes really tight, grit their teeth, strain as hard as they can and concentrate... really... hard...

You shouldn't count on magic. At the end of a day, it's much easier just to shoot your enemies than it is to curse them.