The Treatises Arcana
Written 350-332 BEC by Balthazier Voldr, The Treatises Arcana are a series of nine scholarly texts studying the nature of magic. They are considered a staple in any educated household, especially with regards to House Voldr.
The Treatises
- On Magic
- On Lifeforce
- On Elemental Magic
- On the Sentient Mind
- On Magical Theory
- On the Laws of Magic
- On Time and Prophecy
- On Ritual Magic
- On Godstone
On Magic
The basic theory of magic, talking about the main three known in the Shimmering Sea area and noting similarities. Balthazier states that he believes them to be connected.
On Lifeforce
Details Sheyla healing magic, and the idea of Lifeforce as “pure” magic.
Excerpts
Life is magic, in the most literal sense of the phrase.
Elemental Magic
Includes details on channeling, and goes into details on the similarities between the Mukala (now House Mekulet) and Wights.
Excerpts
Show Spoiler (Introduction)
Those of us who have lived our lives fully in the wake of the fall of the Dominion can never truly understand the horrific connotations that were once attached to elemental channeling. Yet the legends are rife with battles won and lost by this mysterious power of the desert tribes.
There still exist some long-lived individuals in Lumina who recall fantastical battles against the Dominion, during which the desert devils kicked up sand and dust storms for cover while preparing an ambush, or crossed rivers and lakes without the aid of a bridge. The Mukala/Mekulet people have never allowed outsiders to know the limitations of their abilities, but certainly even such an ancient warrior race has their weaknesses.
In this essay, I intend to explore the mechanics of elemental channeling, not with intention of destroying those scattered Mekulet nations that have taken hold after the collapse of the Dominion, but rather in hopes adding to the current body of knowledge regarding magic as a functioning element of our world.
There still exist some long-lived individuals in Lumina who recall fantastical battles against the Dominion, during which the desert devils kicked up sand and dust storms for cover while preparing an ambush, or crossed rivers and lakes without the aid of a bridge. The Mukala/Mekulet people have never allowed outsiders to know the limitations of their abilities, but certainly even such an ancient warrior race has their weaknesses.
In this essay, I intend to explore the mechanics of elemental channeling, not with intention of destroying those scattered Mekulet nations that have taken hold after the collapse of the Dominion, but rather in hopes adding to the current body of knowledge regarding magic as a functioning element of our world.
Show Spoiler
…While lacking the raw destructive power of fire and earth, air channeling is valued among the Mekulet people as the most versatile of the elements. A skilled air channeler of sufficient creativity and control is capable of using air pressure to create an impenetrable invisible shield, of throwing projectiles farther and with more force than any bow and most siege engines, or of lifting himself or allies off the ground to scale any barriers an enemy might devise. Such tactics were used commonly when more than direct force was necessary to overcome an opponent, and thus air channelers were considered ideal as a specialist force, and were kept as a secondary line during both land and sea campaigns…
Show Spoiler
...Fortunately for the people of historical Estana, the Mekulet people never completely mastered their elemental affinities.
While it is true that the Dominion armies were historically a terrifying force—known for chasing the Jachi’en Tribe off the mainland and razing the ruins of the Nebezni Empire to the ground, among other things—they have only used their channeling for matters of war.
There currently exist ruins within the Silent Mountains that tell of a people who had indeed mastered the art of channeling, and may have once taught such arts to their Nebezni neighbors, making them indirectly responsible for the Nebezni Empire’s inevitable fall. I write of the Wights, and their remains suggest that our secretive allies may be a great deal more dangerous than their cultural complacency has indicated.
Within the walls of the Wight hollows of Acre Sii, an intrepid explorer can find evidence of channeling being used to transfer heat throughout caverns that otherwise should have been too cold to be habitable. Further, the walls of their strongholds could not have been carved by human hands. Even to this day, Wight jewelry and tool smithing shows a mastery of metalworking that no man could hope to reach without the use of fire channeling.
Given the evidence left to us after their general exodus north, Obsidian scholars are forced to concede that ancient Wights had achieved (and likely continue to do so) a mastery of practical channeling that no member of the Mukala ever had.
Imagine, if you will, that the Dominion had followed their abilities to its logical conclusion and discovered the many practical applications of elemental channeling. Their earth channelers might have mined the nearby mountains nearly effortlessly, creating a nigh tireless stream of ores to supply their armies. They might have been better able to purify and redirect the natural elements of the body, stemming the devastating effects that the Great Plague wreaked on their people. Imagine that during the invasion of the Vale, the Dominion had used their air channelers to redirect seasonal weather patterns and close Valean supply routes, rather than simply flying their assassins over the natural barriers. If not for Mukala military elitism, we might all currently be worshiping elemental spirits and speaking the Desert Tongue.
While it is true that the Dominion armies were historically a terrifying force—known for chasing the Jachi’en Tribe off the mainland and razing the ruins of the Nebezni Empire to the ground, among other things—they have only used their channeling for matters of war.
There currently exist ruins within the Silent Mountains that tell of a people who had indeed mastered the art of channeling, and may have once taught such arts to their Nebezni neighbors, making them indirectly responsible for the Nebezni Empire’s inevitable fall. I write of the Wights, and their remains suggest that our secretive allies may be a great deal more dangerous than their cultural complacency has indicated.
Within the walls of the Wight hollows of Acre Sii, an intrepid explorer can find evidence of channeling being used to transfer heat throughout caverns that otherwise should have been too cold to be habitable. Further, the walls of their strongholds could not have been carved by human hands. Even to this day, Wight jewelry and tool smithing shows a mastery of metalworking that no man could hope to reach without the use of fire channeling.
Given the evidence left to us after their general exodus north, Obsidian scholars are forced to concede that ancient Wights had achieved (and likely continue to do so) a mastery of practical channeling that no member of the Mukala ever had.
Imagine, if you will, that the Dominion had followed their abilities to its logical conclusion and discovered the many practical applications of elemental channeling. Their earth channelers might have mined the nearby mountains nearly effortlessly, creating a nigh tireless stream of ores to supply their armies. They might have been better able to purify and redirect the natural elements of the body, stemming the devastating effects that the Great Plague wreaked on their people. Imagine that during the invasion of the Vale, the Dominion had used their air channelers to redirect seasonal weather patterns and close Valean supply routes, rather than simply flying their assassins over the natural barriers. If not for Mukala military elitism, we might all currently be worshiping elemental spirits and speaking the Desert Tongue.
On the Sentient Mind
The importance of sentience and willpower, as revealed by the Wights. Also, Voldr magic.
On Magical Theory
A more complex take on magic as a whole. Speaks about the source, variations, and Nebezni sorcery.
On the Laws of Magic
Follows Magical Theory to its logical conclusion. Expressly states certain laws.
On Time and Prophecy
Discounts time magic as violations of the Laws. Speaks of aftereffects and fallout.
On Ritual Magic
Talks about more complex types of magic, specifically rituals and sorcery.
On Godstone
The one that ties it all together. Includes history about Ayala Tat.
The Lost Treatise
Notes sent to the University of Obsidian indicate that Balthazier was working on a tenth book, On the Divines, at the time of his disappearance. Excerpts that claim to be from this treatise have sprung up over the years, but they are of course fakes, as On the Divines was lost at sea with Balthazier when he died.
Translations
There currently exist three major translations of the Treatises that are slightly disparate in content: the original manuscript in contemporary Valean (which is preserved in the University of Obsidian but not circulated), the Early Imperial Common translation through the Order of Knowledge Keepers that was heavily interpreted via a Kaelic lens, and the more modern Imperial Common version later published by Valean scholars once the Vale had been absorbed into the Empire and forced to speak the language. The original manuscript is still preserved in the Vale, but the language is so old as to be unreadable by anyone who speaks modern Valean. There have been multiple attempts to translate the work into Modern Valean, but none of them are recognized given the depreciating nature of the language.
Controversy
The Treatises Arcana have caused some controversy, particularly with regards to the Kaelic Temple, given that Balthazier's findings have occasionally contradicted the words of the gods themselves.
The largest schism is with regards to the Treatise on Time and Prophecy. The primary conclusion of this treatise was that "time magic," including prophecy, was impossible given the established laws of magic. He accused prophecy in particular of being cold reading and over-generalized guesswork, leading to the Kaelic Temple censoring and occasionally banning the Treatises.
On top of that, the religion of the Valeans had future-telling as well, via the reading of the stars and moons. His discoveries caused some initial upsets in the Vale as well, though they have since largely accepted the more rationalistic view.
Item type
Book / Document
Owning Organization
Rarity
Common
Comments