World Of CRUX
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The World


In Medias Res

 While you may just be starting out on your adventure, the setting and history that exists in our story have been building for ages.

The Human King, of the continent of Imperium, spent years at war with the other races of His land before their submission to his rule. Years of warring eventually gave way to political pursuits which finally resulted in a civil resolution. After years of bloodshed and loss, the current rulers of the other Races of Imperium, the Dwarves, Striders and Quicken, surrendered to the Human King's rule, conceding that defeat was merely a matter of time which would only result in further losses. Now that the war had been settled, trade among the Races slowly began to resume. Eventually, after a few progressive trade agreements, the King saw the need for a more universal form of trade. So, he decided to create coins of a specific weight and cast to use as currency. This was well received by the other Races, especially the Dwarves, whose smithing expertise he had to employ to have them fashioned. For about 16 years, this newfound peace and commerce was enjoyed and just as the Races were settling in to their respective roles under the newly formed Empire, the Gates began appearing....

The first gate appeared in the northeast near the foothills of the Gorntek Mountain range. These lands were populated by the Striders, who had previously been the least involved in the war as they tried their best to be a peaceful race. Before any real investigation into the gate itself could be attempted, hundreds of creatures began pouring out of it and attacking anything and everything. It was the Human King who came to the aid of the Striders and helped to drive back the invading force before the local lands were overrun with these spawn. This earned the King much favor among the other Races for coming to their aid and enforced his role as the sole ruler and protective force for the lands. His leadership and strategy, which he had previously enlisted to win the war, were now put to use against his new albatross, the defense of the realm.

Over the next decade, the King built a series of outposts and garrisons across the entire continent. He established engagement protocols for any instances of a gate. At first, no outside entities were allowed to pass through the gates, regardless of their apparent intent. A few years and many skirmishes later, some of the more civilized Races from other continents began sending emmisaries through the gates. Some merely wanted to be able to explore, others hoped to engage in commerce. It became evident that some of the lands where these various gates originated had vastly different agriculture and resources, including different weapons and various magics. While it was easy enough to force visitors to disarm themselves, it was impossible to stop them from using their magics. This resulted in the drafting and enforcement of the Imperium Laws of Casting (I-LOC). There are many stories which accompany the progress since the first enacting of the Laws, but it would suffice to say that the punishments and enforcement have relaxed a bit over the years. Another set of laws, which existed long before the gates began appearing, are the Honors and Reverence customs for Nobility and Rank. These laws are very much in force across Imperium and required of visitors and natives alike.

Crux

 CRUX is a world populated by dozens if not hundreds of continents, commonly called islands. Each island has it's own society made up of varying races and cultures. No two islands or races are the same. At first glance, it would appear that two races from the same island might have some commonalities between them. This isn't so in all cases though. Some islands have as many as five or six different races on them and seem to have nothing in common among them. The races may be at peace or at war, living in simbiotic harmony or in a state of constant strife, fighting for survival. The arrival of the Gates, however, is beginning to change all of that. There is little known about the Gates' origins or even their real use or function. Usually there may only be one or two of these portal-like Gates on any given island. What's more is races have found there are restrictions on which Gates they can pass through and some are only able to travel through Gates which originate on their island. Some have even reported using the same portal to arrive at different locations. As far as anyone knows, the only way to travel among the different islands has been via the portals which seem to appear at random and without cause. The one island which seems to be developing portals at a rapid rate is the Island of Imperium.

The Null

 Known by creatures as various things and sometimes referred to as Death’s Gate, the Plane of Death or the Negative Plane.
The Null is a very peculiar place. Once you think you understand how it exists or what you may be seeing in that place or plane, it changes or appears to become what you do not expect. The fastest way to enter the Null is to die. Your spirit travels through the Null in order to return to the world of the living. It is believed that when you die permanently, you spirit remains stuck in the Null. There are seven Aspects of the Null; The Mother, The Father, The Child, The Horror, The Inquisitor, The Conspirator, and the Embodiment. Our experience and perception of their personas are captured here as have been told by those who have witnessed them.

The Mother – Nurturing and sympathetic. She is always happy to have visitors to her realm and very judgmental of inappropriate behavior.

The Father – Old and set in his ways. He is not very concerned with others’ purpose. He often has an “I told you so,” or “I could’ve told you that was a bad idea” type of attitude. He has been around for ages and has seen it all so not many people surprise him.

The Child – Playful and curious. He/She doesn’t really want to be here in the Null and would love to find out more about the world on the “outside.” Likely to ask questions about people’s powers and whether they have seen a real horse before.

The Horror – Preys on your fears and doubts. He is a beast of consumption and will do his best to convince you that you are not long for this world.

The Inquisitor – Analyzes your answers and poses riddles. He is likely to ask you what you think and force you to consider things you may or may not care about. “Why are you here?”

The Conspiritor – Looking to gain control of the Null and overtake the other six Aspects. He appears as a friend, but only to gain knowledge of the other Aspects and the outside world. He has no real use for those who are visiting the Null for the first time as they probably have no useful information for him, but he may be inclined to ask you to do him a favor in return for something.

The Embodiment – A spirit essence and protector. This creature seeks to keep the balance and maintain the Null as it presently exists. Obviously this is the opposite of the Conspirator, but it too may offer favors in return for tasks. Also asks what the other Aspects are up to so it may be difficult to decipher whether you are talking to the Embodiment or the Conspirator at times.

Cycles of the Null

 The Null and its Aspects are cyclical in their effects and phenomena. The pattern is said to relate to the familiar star pattern in the sky which resembles a ladle.


The cycles and their assumed relationships to the elements are as follows:
ORDER CYCLE NAME ELEMENT
ONE 48 Days Respite Water
TWO 48 Days Nadir Light
THREE 48 Days Origin Earth
FOUR 48 Days Crux Life
FIVE 48 Days Ascension Air
SIX 48 Days Apex Darkness
SEVEN 48 Days Bridge Fire
EIGHT 29-30 Days Null Death

The completion of all eight cycles is called a Milestone.
Often a person's age is tracked in Milestones or "Stones" and a person with little experience is said to have "no stones."

The calendar cycles of Milestones are also in groups of eight. So, eight milestones are called a Scale and eight Scales are a Lifetime. This means a Lifetime is 64 Milestones.
There are even appellations used to track the passing of Lifetimes. Eight Lifetimes are a Period and eight Periods are an Age.

The entire record of a day in a Cycle is listed as the Day, Cycle, Lifetime, Scale and Milestone. For example, "12th of Origin, 2~43" would denote the 12 day of the Third Cycle(Origin) of the second Milestone of the 4th Scale in 3 Lifetimes. This is also the same as the 108th day of Milestone 226. More recently, the aggregate Milestone is simply used, such as 2117. Many Races record their dates in various ways, but most all of them are characterized by the cycles of the Null. A new Milestone begins on the 1st of Respite. The last day of a Milestone would be the last day of the eighth cycle of the Null, 29th or 30th of Null. Every half-scale, or 4 Milestones, the Null appears to last an extra day. The reason for this is unknown.
Some scholars would argue whether there are zeros in this cycle and others say that the Null or 8's are the zeros. Either way, this is how dates have been decidedly recorded for over 30 Lifetimes now.

Today's Milestone is 2117, which is recorded as the 5~883 or the 5th Milestone, of the 8th Scale in 8 Lifetimes and 3 Periods.
While that may sound complicated, think about our real life calendar year, 2017.
It isn't written out as the 7th Year of the 2nd Decade of the 1st Century in 2 Milenia, but that is essentially what it means.
Here's a calculator to help you figure it all out!

Enter the number of CRUX years to see the value in cycles. Years: (real Calendar year: 2017)
Ages: 0      Periods: 0      Lifetimes: 0      Scales: 0      Milestones: 0

Select a date to see the corresponding Day of the Null cycles:
, the Day of .

As you may have guessed, the days of a cycle are also divided up into groups of 8 called Sets.
The days of a Set are: Newday, Nearday, Warday, Midday, Restday, Farday, Lastday and Nullday.
So, for all of the cycles, save the Null, there are 6 Sets in a cycle.
There is a calendar here.

Here are a few diagrams which scholars have put together over the milestones to show the relationships among the elements and cycles and even how the hours of the day can reflect the eight cycles.

 

MAGIC

       You may find some import in the existing knowledge of Magic may of some use to you. Of Magic there are three groups; Living Magic, Magic of the Elements and The Primordial. Each of these can be viewed as a sort of channel by which magic is created. Within each channel lie four subsets or derivatives of that channel, which are often learned as Schools of Magic.
     Living Magic consists of the Body, Mind, Essence and Nature. As there are many different races and languages as well as discussions on the origins of particular magics, there are multiple different names used to describe many of these Schools. Since Magic is no longer universal among the Races, I will do my best only to describe its application. Magic of the Body is relative to healing and disease. Both of which can be used in a reverse flow of magic by means to cause disease rather than cure it. Some would know this magic as Clerical, or sometimes referred to as Vivemancy, and the alternate use would be known as the “dark arts” or Necromancy. Mental Magic, or magic of the mind, has obviously more to do with the arts of charm and beguiling. These magics are often used to control creatures of lesser intelligence as well as some forms usable on those of the Races. It is also said that there are telekinetic uses for this magic. Another form is used by bards in storytelling to help paint a picture in one’s imagination of the events being recaptured in song or ballad. Essence of magic is exactly that, the force by which magic is created. Some call this pure magic or energy magic. It is used mostly in forms of meditation either to achieve a transcendental state or help the body to stave off illness. There are many other applicable uses of this magic as well, such as creating invisible barriers to close off a cave or to magically lock and unlock a door. Natural magic is the form of Living Magic that relates specifically to plant life, animals and things found in nature. Naturalists have been known to be great farmers, carpenters and masons for their abilities to shape their projects or increase their harvest through magic. The shaping of clay to be turned later into stone, the moving of clouds for a stronger rainfall and the bending of wood rather than the chipping and carving are all well known uses of Nature’s Magic. These are the ways of industrious folk to find such uses for a seemingly useless School to remain as a study.
     Magic of the Elements is quite simply that. Each Element comprises its own form of magic. Earth magic, known to have focused on strength and fortification, is used in many forms. The melding of stone and wood for building as well as blessings of strength for warriors before a battle is usually what one thinks of. Air Magic deals in weather as well but from a different perspective than Nature’s Magic. Air is the force by which things are moved. It would be difficult to describe this magic other than tactically useful in battle. Gusts of wind and bolts of lightning are their most frequent forms. Though there are other non-offensive uses for this magic as well, it is simply most relative to war. Enhancing the speed of a horse or slowing the rate at which something falls to the ground are other practical uses. Fire Magic, mostly driven by consumption, deals with combustible elements found in nature as well as control of existing flame. Again there are tactical uses for this magic, which are usually countered by Air Magic if it is available. Water Magic is frequently mistaken for Fire’s counterpart, though not only by the nature of their names. Water Magic abuts the other magics and tends to lean toward the actually flow of magic rather than being known for its tactical and practical uses or as any equal counter of another magic. Though, there is much derived knowledge of the flow of magic that is used in the dispelling or nullifying of other magical effects.
      Further down the path of magic knowledge lies the Magic of the Cosmos, or Primordial Magic. There are few teachers and even fewer students of these types of magics. Much of what is known has been passed down through books and stories, which are not always easily read nor understood in their entirety. Understanding magic is imperative when attempting to cast it. This is true for all magics, but most harmful when dealing with Magic of the Cosmos. As with the other forms, there are four Major circles or paths of Magic of the Cosmos. Magic of the Cosmos deals with the isolation of specific planes of existence. Thus the four planes have each their own magic, Material, Ethereal, Temporal and Negative. The Material plane deals in all things that we can witness through normal mediums like touch, taste, sight and sound. There is also a very intricate table used in researching and developing powders, elixirs and other alchemical substances, which play a large role in the Material Magic arts. Many of their spells require a multitude of components that sometimes need to be brewed or cooked or mixed or crushed before a spell can actually work. The magic is of such a specific nature that one never “dabbles” in Material Magic. It is quite an encompassing research. Ethereal Magic deals with things average people cannot see or hear or find tangible. It is said to summon spirits and retrieve messages lost to the dead. Only the Shaman of the Gru’ken professes this extreme utility of the art that was originally used in ascertaining the cause or events leading up to one’s death. This magic began as a certain science of the dead but has been told to have evolved into something much more illusive. The Plane of Time is another arguable existence and is what Temporal Magic is based upon. There is much theory and little proof to the sometimes-outlandish testimony of Temporal Magic uses. This magic was first a primary form of divination and used to foretell the future or discover the past or even determine what could be happening elsewhere. This science also evolved into a theory that goes way beyond prophetics. Much like Temporal in its theory versus its practice are the studies and hypothesis on Negative Magic. Many professors have argued at length that there must be an opposite to the magics that we know. This conjecture has lead to many different approaches to magic but there is yet little fact to uphold this seemingly indulgent course of study.