Five Postulates

Artwork by Massimiliano Haematinon Nigro

The Five Postulates are a supernatural construct that surround the True Names of the five fundamental questions recognized by mortals -- Who, What, Where, When, and Why. While phrased as questions, the intent and effect of invoking the Postulates are closer to its namesake. The invoker hurls an assumption out into the universe along with the question itself, often in direct contradiction to what could possibly be true, and the universe responds violently against the suggestion, with the effect based directly on the Postulate invoked. Of course, if the assumption is actually true the Postulate has no effect, but most invokers follow paradigms that mitigate such outcomes.
It is worth noting that the Postulates are some of the most difficult True Names to learn, and few mortals ever master more than one in a single lifetime. How is included with the Postulates in certain scholarly circles, but given that the expected results are achievable with the mainstream Postulates, its addendum is not widely accepted. Unbeknowst to all but the most esoteric planar scholars, the Five Postulates are native to Tyrnog, and are effectively regarded as wild magic on the Other Side, where the energies of the universe are not fundamentally tied to logic.

Manifestation

While the efficiency of an invoked Postulate is a direct result of the invoker's proficiency, the following examples roughly correspond to the expected manifestation.

Who?

Considered the simplest Postulate, Who often accompanies a vague assumption that no such person exists, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary. For example, the invoker could stand at the site of a recent murder, and use this Postulate to imply that there is no murderer at all. This void of logic disrupts the lawful nature of the universe, and floods the falsehood with truth, returning a name or face to the mind of the invoker.

What?

An upgrade in difficulty from Who, What acts in a similar manner, but involves a broader search. The invoker implies that nothing can help them succeed at their goal, or that there is nothing in their target's pocket, and so on. The universe typically responds with information about the object or effect in question, although skilled invokers can actually summon the item to them, assuming no great magics prevent its traversal.

Where?

Slightly more complex than the previous two Postulates, Where can target a variety of things -- including people, objects, effects, and events. The popular implication is that the target is in the Void, which is generally true, but otherworldly invokers may pick a different assumption contrary to their knowledge of the subject. At worst, the invoker receives a vision of the target's location, but with expertise an invoker can produce detailed coordinates, or a mental map of the swiftest route to their destination. Baba Yaga was infamous among invokers for distilling the latter effect into potions that effected the imbiber, which she seldom traded with other scholars for rare knowledge.

When?

While not innately difficult relative to Where, the Gap and the presence of the Monad make the use of When a challenge. The invoker implies that the event in question never happened, or that a past event actually occurs in the future, and is provided with a range that increases in precision with efficiency. While questions about the future can be targeted by When, it is considered no better than classical divination since the death of Aroden. Theorists believe that this Postulate could be used to travel through time, similar to how What can bring an object to the invoker, but the proficiency of the invoker would have to be legendary, and thus has never been observed in a scientific setting.

Why?

By far and large the most dangerous Postulate, Why is unique in that there is always a reason for the invoker's target, but the complexity of the explanation might be so cosmically incomprehensible that it drives the invoker mad. The scope of this Postulate's effect is directly related to the mastery of the invoker, and thus no invoker still sane and/or living has ever attempted to utilize Why without learning several other Postulates first. Even grandmasters of the craft hesitate to invoke Why, and often know the basic answer to their question beforehand, making the process closer to a ritual than an invocation.