Adepts, A General Assay

Introduction

As promised elsewhere in These Chronicles, some entries will be devoted to recording what is known of Adepts- those among the Peoples of the World who wield magickal power. This entry will make an introduction to the subject, while other entries will address each type of adept separately- for the types of Adepts are as many and varied as the forms of magick they can maniulate.
Most adepts cannot manipulate all forms of natural magickal power, rather most adepts sense and manipulate only one form magickal power. There are some that can manipulate more than one form, albeit with varying degrees of skill for each form they can harness. The most powerful adepts can manipulate most or all forms of magicks- and are considered dangerous by their peers, regardless of any inclination they may have to either good works or evil.
This entry will not discuss the various and sundry magicks of the World. Such has been recorded in the entry: A Classification of the Divers Forms of Magicks and Magickal Powers, Known in the Present and of Antiquity

What Is and Is Not An Adept

An adept is a Being in possession of a natural sensitivity to, and sensibility of, the powers that naturally manifest in the World which we have deemed "magicks". The reader may perhaps observe that the preceding definition does not use the term "innate", but rather "natural". Here "natural" refers to some capacity within, an internal and inherent capability of the Being. This distinction is important, in the opinion of many scholars and adepts (and that of the Keeper of These Chronicles)- for there are extant in The World artefacts of great power that can give the user the appearance of magikal ability, or the apparent skill to manipulate magickal power. But, without the artifice of such external devices, that user who lacks the natural sensitivity cannot wield any magick.
The reader may also observe that the definition refers to a "Being" possessed of such ability. Adepts may be Man, Goblin, Elf, Fae, and the writings even refer to Dwarvish warlocks and sorceresses. Gods wield "God-magick" and Dragons have "Dragon-magick". It appears that among some Beings, such as Gods and Dragons, and possibly the Elven-folk, the magick and the ability to use their magickal power may be innate to all to some degree. But in others, such as Man and Goblin, the ability occurs naturally in only a small portion of the population.
Why do adepts exist? This is a question that occupies the scholarship and study of many learned persons. It is perhaps a philosophical question at its heart, and These Chronicles are more concerned with preserving practical and tangible knowledge for the benefit of any and all, rather that the esoteric and metaphysical. But it is worthwhile to acknowledge the question.
Many take for granted that magick exists and can be used. They may not consider what it would be like to live in a world without magicks, and indeed may not be capable of easily conjuring such a circumstance. But the ability to sense and manipulate magick is not a given. This is clearly evidenced in the fact that most people cannot. Suppose such people were the only ones in the world? No one would be aware of the existence of the powers we call magicks. Suppose another scenario: that there is the knowledge that magicks exist but the people do not know that it can be used. Suppose a third scenario: that there is the knowledge that magicks exist, and that it could be used but the people do not know how to use it.
In all these situations, fanciful and far-fetched as such imaginings may seem, that would be a world in which there is no magick at work.
Thus scholars investigate the whys and wherefores of the natural ability to use magick. There are several theories and perhaps it may useful to add an entry to These Chronicles that expounds on those theories at some length, but it is not a lively subject. Suffice to say that most scholars believe that the ability to sense and use magick is predicated by ancestry in large part. If one's mother is or was an adept, one has some chance of inheriting the ability. If both parents are adepts, there is a great possibility that more than one of their progeny will be adept. If there are many adepts in one's ancestry, there is always the chance of manifesting the ability, even if the ability has not appeared in the family bloodlines for several or many generations.
Other scholars have noted that the ability may also result from some alignment between the adept's aura and the magick they are best able to sense and manipulate. These scholars have been adepts themselves, and possessed the ability to use "mage-sight" which allows them to "see" the magick (and with the magick). In such a state, these scholar-adepts have observed relationships of colour, form and movement between the magickal power and the aura of the adept wielding said power.
From personal study, the Keeper of These Chronicles believes there is much credence to heredity as a prime determinant of whether a babe is likely to be born with the ability to sense magick. But it seems that more is required for that sensitivity to turn into "sensibility and capability".

Who is Most Likely to Be Adept?

In this section, it is hoped to dispel a persistent misconstrual: that women are more likely to be adept than men, or rather the female of a species is more sensitive to magicks than men.
It is true that in our time, there are far more sorceresses than sorcerers, and female mages outnumber males. But a deep study of the histories and the writings of scholars (such as The Keeper of These Chronicles has undertaken) show that there was no such unevenness in the distribution of magickal skill in time past. In fact, the histories record the deeds of sorcerers more than sorceresses. Among the Goblin, it is the male that is more likely to study and train in magick, for their women are much more given to treating with affairs of War and The State.
But there has arisen in our time a greater tendency for women and girls to follow the path of the adept.
One reason may be that our societies have the female in greater number than the male¹. Second, there may also be something of a self-fulfilling prophecy at work: in that because of this conventional wisdom, the male does not expect to be an adept and thus does not act on any evidence of inclination toward adeptness, either of their own will or at some pressure from others of their society. This has been noticed by the Keeper of These Chronicles in many societies, over many years of travel throughout The World. Here, the exception is the Kingdom of Acquillar on the Northern Continent, and particularly the far northern reaches of the Land where magick and pagan abide still. There, the use of magick is a domain of men. When magickal ability manifests in a lad, which is relatively rare, it is seen by most as a boon to the family bloodline (especially if noble) and quick provision is made for his removal to a place of seclusion and training among brethren of like ability. Conversely and curiously, the magic of women and girls is almost always called "witchery" and viewed with suspicion.

How Are Adepts Ascertained

Adepts usually manifest their abilities in early childhood, at perhaps two or three years of age. Some may even manifest adeptness as young as when they are just crawling babes.
Goblin children pass through a ritual of testing, conducted at various ages until they manifest adeptness or reach coming-of-age without manifesting adeptness, after which the testing ceases. Once it is determined that the Goblin-child is an adept, the child is taken from its family and sent to one of the Goblin Schools of Magickal Instruction and trained to become an Enchanter or a Shaman.
Among Men, in the southern and northern Lands, and The Kula Imperium in the east, it is a common practice to take a young child to the Temples, Lore-houses or Magickal Orders to be tested for their adeptness, particularly if there is a history of adepts in the ancestral line, regardless of whether or not the child has demonstrated any adeptness.
However, some will eschew the established institutions and consult with a local mage, warlock or witch who is not a member of such institutions. Most trained adepts, or those untrained but well-versed in their own magickal power, can determine adeptness in a child or adult. Powerful adepts can oft detect the presence of magickal capability particularly if the child or adult is in turn also a powerful adept.
However, many among the learned advocate that examination by the mages of Temples, Lore-houses and Orders is the best course of action. In the event that a child is tested and displays adeptness, the mages of these established institutions can do further tests. They have artefacts of power, and know special spells, incantations and rituals that can determine the form of magickal power for which the child has affinity. This further testing is in aid of identifying whether the child is a sorcerer or sorceress².
The adepts and learned ones with whom the Keeper of These Chronicles has communed over the years insist that it is necessary for Temples, Lore-houses and Magickal Orders to know of the presence of sorcery, because such a person must be trained in a special way to learn how to control the manifestly different powers that lie within their capability. But the Keeper of These Chronicles is not fully convinced that this is the only reason.
After many years of study and discourse, it is quite evident that the institutions of magick fear sorcerers and sorceresses. These institutions prefer to know who such persons are and where they are. Better yet to induct such persons into their fraternities and ensure that they are subject to the rules and command of their institutions. In this way, the institutions of magick believe they can exercise some measure of control and influence over these powerful adepts, not only through regulation and authority but also by fashioning their ideas and beliefs in ways that meet with the approval of the institutions.
This is not necessarily a sinister ulterior motive, for indeed powerful sorcery has the potential to cause great destruction and misery. And where the interests of the institutions of magick and the interests of Society and the Peoples align in the service goodness and light, there is much to be commended in pursuing the ulterior motive. But it would be amiss to ignore that the opposite is possible- that institutions of magick may have aims that are evil, and also have within their power and fealty adepts skilled in sorcery, and therefor would threaten the peace of Society and the lives of the Peoples of the Lands.
These are matters that cannot be fully treated in this section of These Chronicles, for that is not the aim of this entry. But such matters are noted for the reader's benefit- because the explicit and implicit consequences of sorcery (and attempting to control sorcery) are of universal import to all Peoples and thus these matters are worthy of contemplation and debate by all.

The Question of Adeptness and Innate Talent

Can anyone become an adept? This question is oft asked of scholars and adepts, for there are always those who yearn for the ability to use magick while having no such ability; their reasons are not always good ones. Such persons point to those who are pledged the Temples of the Gods, who appear to gain magickal abilities after they complete their Novitiature and Installation as priests or priestesses. Some of these priests and priestesses showed no sign of having such ability prior to join the Temples, claim the proponents of this idea. And indeed the Reverend Ones have shared many stories with The Keeper of These Chronicles, of novitiates who have joined not because of any sense of service or calling but simply because they believe that becoming a servant of the Gods will give them immense supernatural power. They are almost always disappointed by the drudgery and difficulties of attaining priesthood, and many do not make it to Novitiature³.
This may again be a myth that These Chronicles can aid in dispelling: that becoming a temple priest or priestess conveys magickal ability, even where none existed before. This is profoundly untrue.
Firstly, as has been explained by Reverend Ones, priests and priestesses who are adepts already had the ability of adeptness when they came to the Temples- they turned to the Temples to gain tutelage to hone their natural capabilities. Secondly, to seek the Temple as a source of tutelage in magick is often the result of some deeper belief and interest in the Gods and thus these persons are more likely to make it through Novitiature and Installation to become priests and priestesses. Thirdly, of those who come to the temples without natural adeptness, they almost never gain any such powers to any great extent. What is possible (and perhaps this what is mistaken by the uninitiated and ignorant as gaining the ability of the adept) is to absorb the "god-essence", a remnant of the God-Magick that exudes into the ambient from the God-plane. But those who have such ability are oft very old by the time they can wield the "god-essence" with skill and it is almost never used for kinetic acts, but more for heightened perception, instinct and subtle manipulation.

Where Adepts Flourish

"All Warlocks come from the North."
There may be found among the histories and scholarly writings many discourses, essays and treatises on whether various Lands and States show greater propensity to birth adepts, or adepts with affinities for certain magicks. An examination of these writings show much division on matters of fine detail and minutiae, but in general they lean towards no Land or State being naturally more likely to produce adepts. It is clear that some places have adepts in greater number than others, but again the writings are not convincing that there is any sound reason of nature for this, but rather of society and how much favour and esteem (or lack thereof) there is for adepts and magicks. Yet the one aspect where there is agreement in the writings is that among the Lands and States, there is variation in the abundance of adepts according to types of magicks.
Most people know the old saw: All Warlocks come from the North. This appears to be a truth, for The Keeper of These Chronicles can find no legends, myths, or histories in which a warlock does not not somehow originate in the northern Lands. The cause may be the distribution of the various magickal powers in the Worlds. In ancient times Olde Magick (rather than Elemental Magick) was the mainstay of the warlock orders. Now, the aetherium is particularly dense in the Southern continent and adepts who draw the aether abound in Sundia and the Goblin-lands. In the far eastern lands the aetherium is less dense and the practice of elemental magick instead is preeminent among the Peoples. But in these modern times Olde Magick is weakly perceived everywhere but in the North-lying continents. Thus it may be that Olde Magick was always stronger in the North-lands and hence Warlocks thrived in the North.

Types of Adepts

(That are known of in the World)
Before describing the various types of adepts, let it be here said that it is a false apprehension that certain types of adepts are "good" and others are "evil". For example, many believe that a warlock or a witch is always evil while Mages and Sorcerers do only good deeds. And worse yet, there are some among those particularly uneducated in the ways of magick who believe that some magicks are good and others are evil, that there is "white magick" and "black magick".
Only a fool believes this, and at their own peril. The matter of good or bad is determined by the individual adept's mind and inclinations, and not by their affinity for one type of magick or another.
It is true that there are some aspects of magick which adepts in general agree are unwholesome or dangerous and should not be trifled with, but oft the danger is foremost to the adept who chooses to walk that such dark paths. The various Orders, Fraternities and Lore-houses all have their own rules and while there is no universally agreed code of practice among adepts of all the Lands of the World, many of the institutions' codicils are in fact the same with small variations. Daemonmancy, for example, must be practiced with great care and most Orders prefer that it not be practiced at all, such that the art of Daemonmancy has waned to almost nothing in these modern times. Also, entering another's mind is frowned upon- especially if done against the person's will. And plucking a Being back into the World of the Living, when they have firmly passed through the Gates of Death, is universally censured.
But otherwise, whether the deeds of adepts are good or bad is determined by the same rules as any other person in a given society.

Mages

Mages are adepts who are sensitive to, and sensible of, the power of the aether. These should not be confused with "Magicians" who rely on sleight of hand and distraction to perform tricks.
Among the Goblin, mages are called Enchanters and Shaman. The difference appears to be that a Shaman must have the "gift of foresight" and may rely on other knowledge such as herblore.
Mages vary in their power and ability, power being how deeply they can draw on the aether to execute and ability being the degree of skill with which they can use the power of the aether. Power is an innate property but skill is honed through years of study and practice. Thus there is much variation- some adepts never bother to be tutored and simply use the power as best they can. Other engage in deep and lifelong study and can accomplish amazing feats. Others become specialist in certain skills such as travel by gateways and magick tunnels, the making of potions or in crafting wards of protection.

Warlocks

Warlocks are adepts with an affinity for Elemental Magick (though once they manipulated Olde Magick). They are always of Man and male, with a few exceptions of Elves and women observed in the ancient writings. In particular, the histories speak of Goodwoman Failde of Bleakstone, the bastard daughter of a Laird of the North-lands, who trained with an order of warlocks and became one of the most powerful of that Order.
As noted above, Warlocks always come from the North-lands. Even where The Keeper of These Chronicles has seen references to Dwarven magic, which are exceedingly rare, dwarvish adepts are called Warlocks.

Witches

Witches are a disputed matter among the scholars with some believing that most of these are not truly adepts but rather in possession of a deep knowledge of herblore and artefacts that can channel forces and energies that may or may not be true "magick". However, the Keeper of These Chronicles believes that many of these are true adepts, a belief that is well-buttressed by a careful study of some ten years of many writings by and of witches.
They are held to be always female but there are many who have been male, though they are always of Man. The writings make clear that they can sense and manipulate the magickal power, and there appears to be an affinity for either Olde Magick or Elemental Magick among these adepts. Rarely do they speak of drawing the aetherium and some writings have even been found to suggest that witches harbour a suspicion of aetherium power and believe it should not be used for magick.
But they also possess a much larger knowledge than many other adepts, in herblore, earthlore, daemonancy and even necromancy- usually gained from the witch under which they learnt their craft.

Sorcerers and Sorceresses

Most adepts cannot manipulate all forms of natural magickal power, rather most adepts sense and manipulate only one form magickal power.
But there are a few rare beings, who can manipulate more than one form of magick, albeit with varying degrees of skill for each form they can harness. The most powerful adepts can manipulate most or all forms of magicks- and are considered dangerous by their peers, regardless of any inclination they may have to either good works or evil.
This does not mean that they are shunned by their peers in anyway (though some might be for varied reasons), only that most among the adept understand potential power of sorcerers and sorceresses, and the need for a degree of wary caution.
It is here that this entry must mention Gaia of Sundia, second daughter of the High-Prince of Sundia and a Princess of Sundia. She is held by all her peers and all of the fraternity of adepts to be among the most powerful sorceresses ever born. She is certainly the most powerful one born in these modern times. Simply her ability to draw the ancient power of the White Stone of Aiza (which is believed to be "God-magick " of some form) and single-handedly perform the Sundian Ritual of Blessing over a crowd of immense size is proof enough, something she could do even as a very small child⁴. We are perhaps fortunate that the Princess is inclined to the ways of light and not of darkness.

Temple Priests and Priestesses

As said above, when Temples see that a Novice is an adept, care is taken to instruct the Novice in the ways of magick. Priests and priestesses may also over time gain some ability to draw on the "God-essence". Thus the priests and priestesses who may not be true adepts- yet who are most advanced in years, learning and practical experience- possess a kind of supernatural power that many view as magickal.

Druid

Druids draw on the Elemental Magick for their power. They are the lore-keepers of pagan and lead the practice of the rituals of the pagan-way. Like warlocks, it is best to travel to the North-land and hunt about the northern wastes of that land for a true Druid. Some care must be taken outside the North, to ensure that one is not fleeced by imposters, for to dress as a druid and play to the pre-existing hopes and fears of People is a great past-time among confidence artists and tricksters.

Spell-Singers

There is a curious and rare branch of magick called "spell-song". The adepts who practice it are called "spell-singers". It does not appear⁵ to be a form of magickal power but rather a way of drawing and manipulating magickal power. It is an archaic magickal practice, and one must seek some of the oldest codices and scrolls to study the form.
The Keeper of These Chronicles- over many, many, years of travel and study- has not found "spell-song" taught or practiced in any of the premier and most venerated Temples, Lore-houses and Magickal Orders of the Lands, nor in the smaller or less venerable institutions of magick. Enquiries about "spell-song" are oft met with perplexity, if the answerer is entirely unaware it, or disdain, mockery and even contempt, where they do know of it.
Spell-song is generally held to be a rustic and unsophisticated means of manipulating magickal power to cast spells by singing words of magick. Spell-song is held in so little esteem, or is so unknown to the fraternity of adepts, that it is difficult to even elucidate which of the magickal powers it draws on or if it draws on some entirely different form of magickal power not found in the writings and histories.
Yet it is clear that "spell-song" that has existed from antiquity. The Keeper of These Chronicles has ascertained that in these modern times, "spell-song" is practiced by the Peoples of certain villages in the Yorba forest of the southern continent. "Spell-singers" can also be found in other places on that continent and were even encountered (by The Keeper of These Chronicles) in the eastern lands, but curiously, on examination it is always found that the spell-singer's roots can be traced to one of the "spell-song" villages in the Yorba forest.
Correcting this significant gap in the body of knowledge about magick is one of the personal pursuits of the Keeper of These Chronicles. Much knowledge has been gleaned in this pursuit, sufficient to fill a section of These Chronicles with what is written in the histories and chronicles. But The Keeper of These Chronicles has also been fortunate to converse with rare persons who knew of spell-song (including one who was versed in the art) and later to travel to the Yorba forest and commune with the Peoples there. The knowledge gained from these travels and discourses will also be recorded in entries in These Chronicles.

---

¹ The Lords of the Census in many Lands record this imbalance in proportion and attribute it down to:

• Wars and Skirmises,

• Seafaring

• Brawls, Insobrieties and Laying of Odds

² In fact the dreary rituals have been refined and honed over centuries to weed out just such as these, for they can be quite dangerous.
³ Princess Gaia of Sundia is notable in that she passed tests of affinity for aether, elemental and olde magick at the age of two (and those who were present attest that during her tests the magick of the God-plane became disturbed, while the Guardians of the White Stone of Aiza assert that the Stone began to glow and whisper in a thousand voices).
⁴ At least three Temple Priests/Preistesses are required to perform the same ritual for a group of five and twenty. For a crowd numbering thousands all the Priests and Priestesses of several Temples might be necessary to draw the power of the Stone and execute the Ritual!
⁵ The Keeper of These Chronicles hesitates to declare categorically that "spell-song" is not a form of magickal power. So little is known of it, and there is such a dearth of proper study among the histories and scholarly writings that nowhere records which magickal power- aether, elemental or olde- is drawn a spell-singer cast a spell-song.