Cyclic Memories

Written by UmbralGoat

The Spiral of Time...It is a symbol of the inevitable. It does not necessarily tell of the end of time itself, rather it implies that no matter how long time trudges forward, it will always hint at what is to come.

— Saturn

A long-standing belief on Vernelis has been that time flows in a very literal cycle. In other words, just as mortality is an eternal dance between Death and Life, time itself may march in a similar way; the "end" of time simply wraps around to the beginning, starting anew.

Because of this, some believe that memories can persist across the "temporal reset", between iterations of worlds. The brief moments of familiarity, when an event feels as if it has already occured, do happen naturally, although rarely in most people. To intentionally draw upon these memories is thought to extend what is "remembered" a greater distance, to predict the future. These persistent memories are called Cyclic Memories.

History

Although these very specific occurances have only recently been labeled due to the current beliefs of this vein of divination, records of these memories date to ancient times. The common folk may have paid them no mind and simply shrugged them off as their minds playing tricks on them, but those that were especially afflicted with these glimpses into what was to be commonly pursued an explanation, the first of which being that these memories were that of past lives, in which events similar to a current one had happened, triggering that "memory". This was quickly refuted, as some claimed that their memories were very much not of this world; they included indescribable details that would make no sense taking place in the past.

A particular theory of the function of time itself quickly became popular with those seeking answers; specifically, the idea that time flowed not in a straight line, but along a curve, wrapping back around itself and creating a new Universe on each turn. With this, it's believed that each Universe generally follows the same path on macro, and even some microcosmic scales, with particular details being subject to significant change.

As the theory of the soul developed, alongside the exploration of mortal magic, these accounts were linked to the very personal, unique nature of souls, and the official conclusion for a long time was that these occurances were merely quirks of the soul, with particular magic abilities manifesting without their knowing that allowed these memories to persist. Ultimately, the current belief is that a cyclic memory typically occurs when events similar to a past Universe's take place, or are about to take place, and that the memory itself was held by the same soul that was once in the same situation.

Channeling a Cyclic Memory

The idea of purposefully triggering a cyclic memory is not a modern one, though past methods rarely caught on and were quickly lost to time. One of the most popular methods that has lasted into the Okkt Grövur is that of channeling.

Channeling is an exceptionally rare magic ability, typically seen in those who have proficiency in magic surrounding the mind and Aura. It allows a user greater insight into the soul of another, and especially powerful users can even read specific memories that have left a significant impact on that person's soul, as not every memory is kept in a soul.

Channelers who believe in Cyclic Memories claim that significant memories can last across life-cycles into the new Universe, and that they can read them as any other. From reading these memories, and their results in an old Universe, a similar future can be assumed to occur as a result of that event in the new, current Universe.

Other Channelers claim this is simply untrue, and that for one reason or another, those that believe in these divinations are merely lying to gain attention or a reputation of interest among others.

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