The Magic of Taren
This is where we cover the magic system used in the world of Taren. Many Tareners (especially the Eastern variety) possess a specialized psychic ability they call “psi-magic”. There are twelve schools of psi-magic and each one has a different focus and effect. Few Tareners are born with psi-magic ability strong enough in one school to earn the designation “high mage”, and those rare individuals who have mastered more than one school of psi-magic—they are called “master mages.” Coincidentally, the two main villains in the book, Aric and Nephredom are both master mages, while the Red Robes who serve them are high mages. According to legend, there is a thirteenth school of magic known as the Wild Magic Chaotic.
PSI-BOTANY
(The ultimate green thumb)
Imagine being able to revive a wilting squash plant with a mere thought, or causing a previously stunted tree to soar as tall as its tallest leafy neighbors. A skilled psi-botanist can do all of these things and more. The practical applications of this ability are obvious, though the very West Taren regions that would benefit most from this power shun psi-magic.
In fact, West Tareners not only prohibit the practice of psi-botany, they also refuse any goods they suspect were the beneficiaries of such practices. So pumpkin-sized tomatoes wouldn’t sell very well there. Nevertheless, psi-botanists can find work easily enough in East Taren, growing grapes for wine—quite a feat, considering East Taren’s frigid weather. In my book, The Beast at the Gate, some of the Soren monks use psi-botany to create beautiful flower gardens in the snow-covered Soren Woods.
PSI-KINETICS
(A forceful proposition)
In my novel, The Beast at the Gate, few psi-mages are as powerful as a master psi-kinetic. A psi-kinetic can move objects through space without touching them. With their minds alone, they can project a force that can push, shove and otherwise bully an opponent from afar. A few talented practitioners of this particular psi-magic can manipulate wind to surround them and lift themselves in the air for short periods of time.
They can create force shields, crush internal organs, topple trees—well, you get the idea. Psi-kinetics can pretty much do what they want. That’s why most Taren citizens give them plenty of respect, and a wide berth. One particularly dramatic scene in my book involves a powerful psi-kinetic warrior, some angry red-robed mages, a fire golem…and a well. The result is one heck of a battle! Why not pick up a copy of The Beast at the Gate and see for yourself?
PSI-AQUATICS
(Going with the flow)
Psi-Aquatics the ability to manipulate water (and liquids containing water) and control its motion and various states. This is a powerful and practical psi-magic, and Psi-aquatics in Taren can make a good deal of money freezing large blocks of water and selling the ice to the hot lands of Argat. The truly skilled psi-mages in this art are sometimes employed as assassins for their ability to harden blood still flowing in the veins of their victims.
PSI-CLAIRVOYANCE
(The gift of future-sight)
In The Beast at the Gate, those blessed (or cursed, depending on your perspective) with Psi-Clairvoyance can glimpse into the future and see events and occurrences before they actually happen. Depending on how talented the individual is, these glimpses may range from a brief, blurred premonition to a finely detailed showing of a scene. While this may seem like the perfect talent to have, the reality is that it can cause frustration at best, madness at worst.
PSI-ILLUSION
(Now you see me...)
Psi-illusion is the ability to affect what the eye can or cannot see. Psi-illusionists can play tricks on the mind—literally—by altering what the brain perceives as visual reality. The results can be anything from invisibility to camouflage, to psychically altering one’s appearance to look like someone (or something) else. Now, you can imagine the potential for enormous mischief here. Enormous and deadly mischief in some cases. Fortunately, Psi-illusion is a relatively rare talent in the world of Taren, and rarer still are those who are masters of this powerful school of psi-magic.
PSI-OLFACTICS
(What's that smell?)
As you may have guessed, psi-olfactics is the school of psi-magic that deals with smells. Those born with this ability have a much keener sense of smell than the average Taren citizen does. Furthermore, they are able to psychically create smells—ranging from the truly heavenly, to the utmost repulsive. While it may not be as flashy as psi-illusion, or as powerful as psi-kinetics, psi-olfactics is considered a very useful talent to have. Practitioners can easily find work tracking down escaped criminals, and the occasional wayward farm animal.
And if they choose to be left alone (or gain an edge in combat), a well-versed psi-olfactic can summon a stench so potent as to put a skunk to shame. In the book, The Beast at the Gate, a character named Levit is a psi-olfactic who is needless to say, very particular about smells. It is something the young boy character Quan finds out in short order.
PSI-PORTATION
(Hey, where did she go?)
Psi-Portation is the ultimate way to get around. Just concentrate, focus on where you want to go, and—voilà! Not so fast. Maybe it’s not as simple as it seems. A good Psi-Porter has to be mindful of the exact landing destination or risk reappearing in solid rock, underground, under an ocean, hundreds of feet in mid-air, or any number of equally unpleasant (and often fatal locations).
The longer the distance, the greater the risk. That usually limits the individual to nearby places they have already been and are quite familiar with. Also, those who practice this psi-magic need a strongly focused mind, for the easily distracted may very well re materialize with body parts in the wrong place. Other than that, Psi-Portation is quite fun!
PSI-SOMATICS
(That healing touch)
The healers of the psi-magic world, psi-somatic mages are the rarest and most precious mages of all. Blessed with the ability to accelerate a body’s ability to heal itself, a good psi-somatic healer can mend a broken bone in minutes, a deep cut in seconds. In other words, this psi-magic draws from a person’s own constitution and strength and magnifies it many fold. Thus, a strong warrior wounded in battle would be far easier to heal than a sickly patient wasting away in bed.
Needless to say, psi-somatic experts are invaluable on both the battlefield and the sickroom. On a cautionary note, psi-somatic healing is a draining process, especially when healing physically weak patients—so much so, that mages often risk their own lives trying to save the lives of others
PSI-SONIC
(Playing it by ear)
Psi-sonic mages can manipulate existing sounds and create new ones from silence. Put simply, this power allows one to shape and alter sounds. For example, a man’s words could be changed into a tigers’ roar, or even into different words. A good psi-sonic mage could make the sound of ten men marching to sound like a thousand—or disguise the din of great battle to sound like an approaching storm.
This talent could prove invaluable in war, for these mages could use sound to fool the enemy into following a false path, or to lure them into a trap. Other uses for this psi-magic include increasing sound loud enough to shatter glass or dampen sound, as to not alert an enemy of their presence. It is said that a few gifted Psi-sonics can psychically tap into the auditory system of another person or creature. Then he is able to hear whatever his link hears, making such a person the ultimate eavesdropping tool.
PSI-PYRICS
(Burn him!)
Few psi-mages are feared more than the psy-pyric. With the ability to heat air so hot as to ignite, these fire wizards literally leave a trail of flame in their wake. Beyond molecular agitation, psi-pryics can control existing flames by making a fire bigger, smaller, hotter or colder. He or she can even make flames move around as if it were a living creature, thus taking the idea of playing with fire to a whole new level.
PSI-SENSATION
(Sensational!)
Tareners gifted with the power of psi-sensation can gain knowledge of a person or event through touch alone. They have the ability to detect psychic impressions left on an object by its previous owner. Through the object, they can summon a vision that plays out an event involving that object—especially if that event is associated with strong emotion, violence or death. This kind of object reading can also be used to find more information about its previous owner, including sex, age and how he came to possess (and eventually lose) the item.
As one of the more mysterious psi-magics, psi-sensation is certainly more subtle than say, the fiery practice of psi-pyrics. However, in the right hands, this power has the potential to change the course of history. Speaking of history, enforcers of law often ask psi-sensation trained mages to help with older, unsolved crimes. A good psi-sensationalist can recall all manner of past events—from a lover’s quarrel gone bad, to a fatal duel, to a tragic accident—with the same accuracy as if he had been there in the flesh. All the mage needs is an object the person in question made contact with or used. Through the object, they can summon a vision that plays out an event involving that object—especially if that event is associated with strong emotion, violence or death.
PSI-TELEPATHY
(Giving you a piece of my mind)
Psi-telepathy is perhaps the greatest of all the psi-magics, for it grants the psi-mage the ability to control the thoughts of another. Put simply, it allows one to practice mind control. Psi-telepathy is actually several talents in one. A good psi-telepath can “mind speak”—which is the ability to have a conversation completely via thought, all without the need for physical speech. Psi-telepaths can also put thoughts in another’s head and make a person think those thoughts are his own. They can wear away at a person’s inhibitions, making them susceptible to impulse and suggestion. They can even place images in a victim’s mind, indistinguishable from reality.
The Twelve Schools of Psi-magic
