You wouldn’t believe the kind of people I used to live the lives of. That is not to say you wouldn’t like them.
The last time I died, I drowned. Under the waves of chaos, which was the one thing I truly feared in the world. The greatest nightmare of mine coming true, ending me, was poetic enough to appreciate it despite what it meant for me. I liked being what I was back then, but I had to die, there was no other choice.
Deep inside, he, me, we knew that this is the way we’re going to go. It had to be, the fear of it was too great. We have battled the waves of chaos before, as others. But back then, we welcomed it. We were good at it. Maybe some of the best. And in the most indescribable way, it gave us joy.
But it takes a toll. We’ve been dying. Came back every time, yes, but different. As we became better at the fight, we grew less fond of it. Until we felt like slaves, one that has no master other than the cycle of damnation. And nobody, who wasn’t us, couldn’t know. I know what they would’ve thought, and I didn’t need that insight. A distraction, nothing else.
One day, we’ve made a choice. Tired, disinterested, we knew. We were ready to sacrifice what every victory over the waves granted us if we could stop the fight.
We wanted to sail the new, flat seas. Traverse oceans that wouldn’t have us taken under. Up the rivers of tranquillity. We deserved it.
And so, when we died the next time, we did what we had to. He was born. We all saw how different he was. There was no fear on his face on that day. No expectation for the storm. Just focus. Joy. Curiosity. For the first time, I wasn’t a warrior.
His life wasn’t any easier, don’t be fooled. It wasn’t his, you see. It belonged to all of us. It was everything, all of what we had to give up. It wasn’t a life, it was a statement. A proof, that fighting the waves of chaos isn’t what we are doomed for. That there are other seas, better seas. Other oceans, healthier oceans. Other waters. Calmer waters.
Calmest Waters. This is the name he chose.
We accepted, even though not all of us approved. In the end, the choice wasn’t ours, was it?
To their tune the minstrels sung, Queen of Moon and King of Sun, Prayers heard, promises kept, Safe was herd, and wolves but wept.
Come the war, they stood beside King of Shores and Queen of Tides, Flags on walls, crests on steel, City falls, and heathens kneel.
Forseen much more, and coming soon, But Lord of Shores, and Dame of Moon, Their idols mute, their temples shy, Offerings brute were raised to sky.
Have you seen, who know the words That Tidal Queen, and Sunrise Lord, Would hear with love, and care, and cheer, And from above, their herd would steer?
Now sands protect the holy runes Of King of Sun and Queen of Moon, The shadows dwell in barrow downs, Minstrels quelled, wolves all around.
Midnight, noon, are just a time When ancient moon, and sun in prime. No meaning bore by days and nights, No King of Shores, no Queen of Tides.
Approximately three thousand six hundred years ago, something has happened. The details, location, cause, reason and almost all of the circumstances remain unknown even today. The Event, as we began to call it, amongst other things, created a shift in the fabric of Magia. This, in turn, caused a general disbalance in the distribution of the force that empowers those of us who can use the Magia. And though various warlocks, sorcerers, wizards, witches and many others were in greatest part unaffected by the Event, it did create a new class of Magia users: the Seers. As the disbalance unveiled before us an entirely new horizon of what the Magia offers when the first Places of Power were discovered.
At the time, they were an unnamed phenomenon detected by few, recognized by none. It took a long time before the Seers began to understand the concept and to realize its potential even longer. The obvious effects of the Place of Power: its positive or negative influence on the mood and disposition of the present Seer, was clear enough from the start. As for its cause, that remained unknown for centuries. It wasn’t until 700 B.C. That the first rudimentary description of the concept appeared, as defined by an unnamed sorcerer turned Seer. He attempted to explain the existence of Places of Power by assessing that the layer of Magia around the surface of the world increases in thickness in an unstable, unequal manner and that Places of Power were sources or points of concentration of the Magia of the positive and negative type. And although he correctly connected the appearance of the Places of Power with the occurrence of the Event, his theories were eventually proven untrue.
The effects of Places of Power can be felt by anyone and everyone. A particularly strong one can have an immediate effect on a person who has never grasped the concept of Magia, and prolonged exposure to even a weak Place of Power will eventually affect the exposed person. There are however individuals, who possess a predisposition towards detecting the fluctuations within the structure of Magia on a much more profound level. Those people, are called the Seers. Albeit the name isn’t perfect: there is nothing to see, other than on a metaphysical level.
The Seers are not a binary construct. They are a spectrum, and a very wide one too. Although it is currently believed that one cannot “become” a Seer, as in the predisposition is something to be born with, this raw potential, due to its varying degree of strength and knowledge of Magia, might be revealed at a different time in life, differing from person to person. On top of that, something as simple as defining the abilities of the Seer, especially concerning the line where the un-Seers are ending the Seers begin, has proven to be too difficult. As of today, still, the only way to discover the identity of the Seers is to wait until their abilities show on their own. It is otherwise impossible to determine the natural predisposition before the Seer’s first discovery of a Place of Power. And those potentials must be added, do vary greatly. From simple increase in the profanity of the effect that the Places of Power have on a Seer, all the way to being able to locate a Place of Power from a certain distance, without laying the eyes on it. Paradoxically, despite the fact, that as all data suggest, the stronger the potential the less frequent it occurs, the more powerful Seers are known in greater number than weaker ones. This is due to the very fact, that the chance of identifying a Seer increases with the natural potential the Seer possesses.
Like most of the other forces in the physical and metaphysical world, so does the Magia strives for balance and the state of total equilibrium. Spread equally across the inner layer of the atmosphere and the lithosphere, it resides undisturbed for eons, until unknown circumstances cause the masses of Magia to change the place of residing, consistency and concentration. While the process itself and the exact reasons as to why it occurs remain a mystery, the effects are not only detectable but have a great impact on humans, certain specific individuals particularly strongly.
A positively charged Place of Power
The disbalance in the fabric of Magia manifests itself in safe, constant vibrations on the fundamental level of matter. Those vibrations result in very strong, very sudden emotions, seemingly coming out of nowhere and invading our minds. The emotions we come to experience when standing in a Place of Power are overpowering and overwhelming. Though initially confusing, it very quickly exposes itself as a very specific emotion, feeling or sensation, either one we could call with all certainty positive or negative. This certainty is exactly what distinguishes the experiencing the influence of a Place of Power from any other sudden torrent of emotions. The intensity and the type of experience depend on several things.
First and foremost, the Seer – his natural predispositions, experience, as well as current state and even attitude. Certain individuals present unusual abilities regarding detection and interaction with Places of Power since childhood, possibly birth. Those individuals express their abilities by first and foremost receiving influence from Places of Power, resulting in either sudden and uncontrollable burst of a specific emotion, or constant “discomfort” or “disturbance”, not necessarily unpleasant, but distracting and associated with a physical sensation. Usually, naturally talented individuals specialize in detecting only a specific type of Places of Power, which shall be explained later. Another crucial factor is experience. The knowledge and understanding allow Seers to better perceive and classify Places of Power. However, personally experiencing different types of disbalances in Magia is irreplaceable when it comes to becoming skilled at detecting and using Places of Power in the greatest extent. Seer’s current state and attitude have an impact on the individual experience as well. For example, the state of excitement is known to interfere with Places of Power, which are often confused for the source of the excitement itself. The same goes with shock, as well as depression or more temporary sadness. Attitude, so when we hope or expect to find a Place of Power is problematic as well, the same goes for a negative approach. In that regard, Seers just beginning their journey into Magia are at a particular disadvantage, when focusing on finding new Places of Power causes difficulties in distinguishing real emotions from emotions we hope to come to feel. However, every experienced Seer is capable of distinguishing natural emotions from those coming from Magia’s disbalance.
The specific Place of Power, however, is the crucial, fundamental aspect behind the intensity and nature of the experience. Different types and magnitudes of the disbalance drive the forces surrounding and filling the area, as well as the Seer exploring it. And even though we’re able to categorize Places of Power in all cases, albeit with slightly varying conclusions depending on the school of thought, the personal experience, as mentioned above, depends on the Seer. This means that the universal classification of each Place of Power is impossible, as different Seers would experience feelings different to a degree. Without a doubt, however, Seers, true Seers can determine whether the Place of Power has a tendency to the positive or negative disbalance, and in most cases, the type and approximate scale of the positive or negative disbalance. The certainty of those classifications come from the nature of the process of categorizing: the places are discovered via the experience and feeling they create, which means that Seers could not fall into doubt, as this feeling and experience are the first things discovered. Any discussion on the nature of the disbalance: if it is positive or negative, are therefore pointless, as the realization of the existence of this particular Place of Power comes only after the realizing it’s (potential) nature. This makes the classification of the natural process easier and more reliable than the determination of the magnitude.
When it comes to final conclusions on the classification of a newly discovered Place of Power, the procedure is standardized all around the world. A Seer first discovering the potential disbalance in Magia writes down his own conclusions, predictions, as well as circumstances of the discovery, current conditions, where was he going and where did he come from, and finally, any events/additional circumstances that might have affected his perception. Then, another Seer is brought to the Place of Power, and without reading the discovering Seer’s notes, draws his own conclusions. Their notes are then compared, and if there is an agreement in conclusions, determined by preferably yet another Seer, the Place of Power is officially recognized. If there are contradictions, the third Seer is eventually brought to the potential Place of Power, to ultimately determine whether the disbalance exists. Regardless of conclusions: the recognition of the disbalance or denial, the potential Place of Power is visited again 5-7 months later, in another, “opposite” season, both by the discovering and another Seer, to either confirm their previous conclusions on start the validation process again.
After recognizing the new Place of Power, it’s location, nature and magnitude are cataloged, and placed on the local, and sometimes, depending on varying factors, on the global map, which are available to all the Seers around the world. The place then can be visited at any moment by any Seer without notifying local Seer authority. However, if the visiting Seer wishes to perform any kind of experiments, study other than simple observation, or permanently move into the location containing the Place of Power, he is obligated to make the necessary announcement on the appropriate channel of communications.
While discovery and categorizing of the Places of Power is possible only for the Seers, their long-term effects are universally felt. The benefits of proper utilization of those effects are obvious. However, this is a delicate issue. Due to the nature of the knowledge and the process itself, only the people involved with the world of Magia are aware of the potential influence of creating a Place of Power-centered community. Even a relatively weak positively-oriented Place of Power would be an extraordinary place to move into or set up a settlement in, as its long-term effects would be nothing short of a blessing for its inhabitants: a better mood, health, perhaps a longer lifespan and good fortune. Analogically, a Place of Power of particularly negative energy would serve best as a place for a prison, or be designated for barren land, one that should simply be avoided. More intense Places of Power can provide more immediate effects, or would serve excellently as workplaces, hospitals, schools when it comes to the ones powered by the positive energy.
In the following chapters, I will go into details of every aspect of the elusive Places of Power. I will expand on everything that has been said already, and present both facts as well as personal concepts, experiences, and observations. It goes without saying, that a society that can understand, and use the knowledge of the Magia can ultimately achieve greatness. But it needs to be done cautiously, steadily. Ambition, however a good thing, cannot be a sole factor when it comes to acquiring the wisdom that comes from the contemplation of the forces so delicate, and yet so dangerous. This well thought-through document is meant to be a tutorial as well as a warning. However, those who do go through it and safely utilize the power coming from its understanding inevitably will grow in ways they didn’t think possible before.
An example of a positively charged Place of Power. Havily overgrown with flora, despite being a popular picnic spot.
One of the smallest positive Places of Power catalogued. A theory claims that running water connects to positive places, while the stationary water – to negative. This is yet to be proven.
A negatively charged Place of Power. Despite its particularly grim energy, it’s frequently visited by the locals.
Ruins and abandoned buildings are usually an invitation of a negatively charged Place of Power.
Dark Halls of Kolyam 