Archemy
(Archemy originally appeared in the French fanzine Vision-Ka #2–3)Archemy, not to be confused with Alchemy, is a recently discovered occult science. It was discovered in the mid 20th century by a fraternity of Ar-Ka’im named the Sons if Astraea, who were studying telluric energy.
Telluric energy is the energy of the Earth, of the magic fields. It is to some extent alive and contains archetypes and symbols (“Archemy” being derived etymologically from “archetype”). The Nephilim have known for millennia that the magic fields are alive and receptive to emotions and archetypes, as shown by the generation and emotional natures of elemental beasts and metamorphosis archetypes, but the Sons of Astraea and their students refined this facet into its own occult science.
By performing simple rituals using the magical principles of resemblance and sympathy, an archemist can cast spells granting benefits based the sympathy tapped. However, archemy spells must be cast in places with conducive telluric energy (i.e. the more “archetypal” or “mythical” a place feels, the more powerful spells may be cast) and using an appropriate catalyzer (i.e. a ritual component).
Ar-Ka’im can potentially practice any of the occult sciences of the Nephilim and Selenim, provided they have the requisite Ka. Conversely, Archemy may only be cast by Ar-Ka’im, as it relies on the functional resemblance between the Earth’s Graal and the Ar-Ka’im’s Heart. Indeed, Archemists find that their House modifies their ability to cast spells based on the spells’ correspondences, similarly to Talents. As Archemy propagates its effects through the magic fields to cast spells, it doesn't require the Archemist to spend Essence points. However, unlike Talents it requires Ka-element rolls: thus, the Archemist may only cast spells if he has the associated Ka in his Heart.
Some have noted the resemblance between Archemy and Qiyas. Both rely on archetypal symbols (animals, plants, minerals, maiden, mother, crone, etc) and both propagate their effects through specific receptors (spectators in the case of Qiyas, telluric outpourings in the case of Archemy). A key difference is that Archemy is an occult science of the twelve zodiacal signs and the eight Ka, whereas Qiyas is an occult science of the Solar-Ka and the Platonic noösphere.
As with other occult sciences, Archemy is divided into three circles. The first circle is the Living World, the second is the Fairytale World, and the third is the Divine World. As with Qiyas, the third circle has yet to be discovered…
From a gameplay perspective, Archemy provides Ar-Ka’im PCs with an occult science that is specifically suited to their role. While they might practice the occult sciences of the Nephilim, Selenim, or even the Saturnian spells of the Fraternitas Saturni, none of these make use of all the Essences available to Ar-Ka’im.
More information will be provided in future posts...
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