Clarion
"The makeup of this world could be exactly what we need. I propose a research group to investigate the forces of collective belief, so that we may harness it as a tool and as a weapon." - Clarion, during the initial conversations which led to the Conquest of Ynys
Clarion was one of the Clarati sorcerers who left Sange and participated in conquering the Ynys Archipelago. He ruled over the northwestern quarter of the island of Ynys for a thousand years, using the population of the region to conduct his experiments into the nature and capabilities of the Egregoric Force. His particular areas of research revolved around Artifacts and the Eidolon, and his Petrified Eidolons remain as a resource to historians to this day.
Before the Conquest
According to the journals he left behind, Clarion spent years traveling and investigating the islands of the Great Ring before the invasion of Ynys was planned. This was unusual for one of the Clarati, who had moved en masse to the continent of Sange shortly after they destroyed the Nakaal and their empire, and were not given to traveling in more rustic regions. He took copious notes during his journeys, some of which have survived. These paint a picture of a man on a search for the answer to some desperate problem, one he would only refer to obliquely. Some scholars speculate that he foresaw the doom that would come for Sange, but if so he never did find a way to avert it.
The Conquest
At some point, Clarion decided that passive investigation of the Egregoric Force would not be sufficient, and that he must undertake active experimentation. Furthermore, he chose to recruit a handful of other Clarati to his plan. In order to experiment directly upon the forces of collective belief, they needed a large population of minds that could be induced to believe in one way or another. Clarion selected Ynys as the primary source for those minds, and together with his colleagues proceeded to acquire they island for their purposes. They divined the True Names of the most significant gods and spirits of the island, placing them under powerful bindings to keep them from interfering. Then they simply declared themselves rulers, using their incredible magical abilities to quell any resistance.
Artifacts and Eidolons
All of the Clarati who participated in the research within Ynys had their areas of particular interest. Illustrata studied the art of Godcrafting, while Celestina looked at the power of story and Invasive Narratives. Clarion studied the creation of Artifacts, and the nature of the Eidolon, that part of a person which is of the Dream. His lab journals talk about the need to stabilize the Eidolon against the power of the Egregoric Force, even when "the image of the world shifts", a phrase which scholars have never been able to satisfactorily explain. The rudimentary eidolons that inhabit Artifacts were a major focus of his research, and the creation of the Petrified Eidolon was his crowning achievement. A sizeable portion of the world's true Artifacts were originally created as a part of Clarion's experiments, and most of them still survive to this day.
The Fall of Sange
No one knows exactly what destroyed Sange, but the cataclysm had consequences across the Great Ring. Most historians believe The Becalming was caused by the destruction, leading to the death of thousands. For the Clarati themselves, the consequences seem to have been psychological. When Sange ceased to exist, the sorcerers on Ynys turned against each other, beginning a period of magical warfare that lasted for over three hundred years. Clarion was the first of the Clarati to fall during that period. Almost as soon as Sange was destroyed, he challenged Celestina to a wizard's duel, attempting to overthrow her and sieze control of her territory. However, he had underestimated the degree to which the laws of story and narrative had been amplified by Celestina's experiments, and she was able to trap him in a plot that led to his demise. The Egregoric Force pulled him into the role the story dictated, and Celestina made certain he had no path but to the inevitable conclusion of his tale.
Clarion's Legacy
In the centuries since Clarion died, he has not been forgotten. His Artifacts remain in the world, many collected by Guortepir ap Gruffudd who rules part of Clarion's own territory. Those of his journals that survive are studied, and historians interview the stones he used to capture the eidolons of the dead for clues about the past. In recent years, the Cult of the Clarati has sought to bring about the apotheosis of Clarion and the other Clarati, and it is possible that some version of his Eidolon may still persist and return as a god in the lands he ruled. If so, it is unknown what knowledge and motives of the original Clarion still remain after all this time, but the world may learn why he was so driven to understand the Egregoric Force, and what he intended to use it against.
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This article was originally written for Spooktober 2024. You can find all of my Spooktober Articles at Spooktober Central.
This article was originally written for Spooktober 2023. You can find all of my Spooktober Articles at Spooktober Central.
So many mysteries. I wonder why he was so driven in his desires to research. Let's hope his Eidolon doesn't manage to return in the form of a god, though. I don't really agree with his research methods.
Explore Etrea | March of 31 Tales
Clarion and his compatriots might not be the worst thing out there ;) They might come back via apotheosis, but it won’t really be themselves- it will be the aggregate idea of them, with some aspect of their identity serving as a core that all the other ideas about them accreted around. That’s probably worse for the world, in the long run.