Mages of Monvesia - Malefactors

RETCON NOTE: This post replaces portions of "Mages of Monvesia;" see also "Mages of Monvesia - Scholars."

Mastery of the arcane arts can be achieved by strengthening one's connection to the Spheres of Power.  This can be approached through formal study (see scholars), or else through otherworldy pacts or natural power.  The latter typically exist outside of "accepted" society, and are therefore called malefactors--commonly understood as "evil-doers," though originally meant to mean "incorrect doers."  There is nothing inherently evil about the sorcerer or warlock.

Enhancements to the class features of both these classes can be found in Unearthed Arcana.

Sorcerer

Different races have their own traditions "explaining" the nature of sorcerers.  To an extent, each version of the sorcerer story is true.  That is, these different versions of what a sorcerer is represent the sorcerous origins common to that race's history.

According to the omnipresent Senarian churches of the humans in Prace, sorcerers are possessed of an inborn connection to one of the Spheres.  While all adherents of the elemental philosophies believe that every being has such a connection, it is the sorcerers who have accepted it and gained power from it.   A sorcerer's elemental connection may be tied to his or her race (or culture, if human), personal philosophy/temperament, season of birth, etc.--but it does not define every aspect of the character.  Two origins reflect this:  Shadow Magic (Xanathar's Guide) and Storm Sorcery (Sword Coast or Xanathar's Guide).

Until such time as other, official origins are introduced, these two can be used to mimick the other elements.  Use Shadow Magic for Light Magic: reversing references to necrotic and radiant damage as well as darkness and light.  Use Storm Sorcery for other primal elements, such as Flood, Quake, and Wildfire Sorcery:  use alternate damage types and movement speeds as appropriate.

Among the successors races of the Empire of the Morning and Evening Star, it is said that sorcery is the result of having had a Dragon Ancestor.  This connection is not necessarily one of direct ancestry, but could represent a bloodline having been favored by one of the dragon lords of old.

Remember, there are only six types of dragons in Monvesia--each associated with one of the elemental forces of one of the Spheres.  Therefore, this is one origin that also follows the Temperamental beliefs of the Senarian churches.  (An early version of 5th Edition Monvesia used a variation on the Dragon Ancestor to represent Elemental Magic).

In the land of Desolation in Raviq, the HMDJVNW have taken control and cursed the native races into submission with a psychosomatic ailment known as Taint.  This cure is so potent in Desolation, that even the land, the neighboring Frenetic Ocean, and magic itself have become warped.  Some who have been affected by the Taint have also gained a connection to the Wild Magic that was released into the world because of it.

Monvesian Culture: Cult of [Human] Perseverance

No discussion of human culture and history is complete without exploring the Cult of Human Perseverance (which would come to be adopted by non-humans as the Cult of Perseverance).

This religious tradition began as a reaction against the HMDJVNW, who once dominated and demanded the piety of the proto-human-goliath race.  Having found the "gods" to be terrifying beings from which emancipation was necessary for survival, both the humans and goliaths developed athiest religions during their respective exoduses.  For the goliaths, religion became the veneration of rudimentary (and highly superstitious) science and medicine.  For humans, it became an early codification of temperamental psychology and philosophy.  In its early stages, this temperamentalism was void of the canonization of sanctified beings.

Aeons, Things, & Horrors (SPORE)

Beyond the confines of Physical and Psychical Spaces of the SPORE TriCosm, there exist a host of ancient beings called aeons.  These are the eldest of a class of beings known for "meddling" in the affairs of psychical space.  Their Psychical and Psychical descendants include both the Elder and Younger Things.  While aeons and elder things are more clearly inspired by the Lovecraft Mythos, younger things are too.  Their ilk can be seen in the "Star-Spawn of Cthulhu."

These three classes of alien being are decribed below, with a handful of examples.

Aeons

Aeons are the most ancient beings, pre-dating the known universe—which, to them, is little more than the corpse of their beloved brother (see "The Beautiful Dead One," below). The Aeons are native to the proto-space of Ooloni, which predates the space-time of our Universe (and the SPORE TriCosm). Though there are hundreds of Aeons, though only a handful take part in the affairs of the SPORE setting.

The aeons are godlike in power and influence—but like the gods of Earth’s classical era are both fallible and vulnerable. They demonstrate very “human” emotions, motivations, and insecurities. They are often divided by their motivations into two classes: Sephiroth (or Empyreal/Heavenly Delights) and Qlippoth (or Infernal/Hellish Horrors).  The line between these two classes is quite blurry, howevever--and one aeon could be seen as both sephiroth and qlippoth, depending on the context used when discussing it.

Aeons and Elder Things (see below) use the pronoun It/Its, always capitalized. Younger Things may identify with a gender or not, and use whichever pronouns they choose.

Index of Higher Beings in Monvesia

Higher beings of Monvesia include:  ascended beings (saints, paragons, and patriarchs of the various races), archdaemons, aeons, and genie lords. Though described in more detail in other posts, there are listed here for quick reference.  All of the beings listed below share a particular trait:  they are available as patrons/sponsors for ascension.

The entries below follow the following format:

Name (T), Alias(es).  Description.  Epithet(s).  Planar home.

Names are listed with the oldest name first; alternate names include secondary entries referencing the main entry.  (T) is temperament, using their initials as an abbreviation:  Altruism, Materialism, Dynamism, Idealism, Vitalism, Nihulism, and even Universalism.

The "cannonical" order of temperement is therefore:  AMDIVNU.  That the Great Old Ones of Monvesia are called HMDJVNW ("Am-DIV-New") is no coincidence--for the Old Ones are a corruption of the temperamants, representing zealotry, obsession, and madness.

Monvesian Culture: Veldi Madjiq

The magic practiced in Veldistan is not the tower wizardry (ie. Schools of Magic) of other human cultures, but something more closely related to early human practices in Desolation.  It was the form of magic once taught by the HMDJVNW known as ENSHZRYD.  During the Exodus, humanity developed the Old Ones' arts into their own.  This was the form practiced by the saint Mohas--writer of the text that would form the basis of human religion in Monvesia. 

HMDJVNW, Monvesian Great Old Ones

The warlock entry in "Mages of Monvesia" offered the briefest look at the Great Old Ones of Monvesia--a class of beings called the HMDJVNW (pronounced "am-DIV-new"), which had once been worshiped by ancient humans and goliaths in their homeland of Desolation.  Seven HMDJVNW were named in that early post, but little else was offered beyond these names and an epithet each.

In this post, I will take some time to explore each of the HMDJVNW, including their individual roles in the world of Monvesia.  Though these beings came to overthrow the giants and take over Desolation, they are daemon lords of Limbo--and as such have dominion over aberrations.

Behind the Scenes:  The name HMDJVNW is an adaptation of the initialism AMDIVNU--the the seven Temperaments, including Universalism.  Originally, AMDIVNU (whose name is always capitalized, and never replaced with a pronoun) was only one Great Old One; and AMDIVNU was once considered was the "god" of mages (or at least the originator of magic, see ENSHZRYD).  As the history of goliaths and humans has evolved with the setting, so has AMDIVNU also evolved--into the HMDJVNW.

Taint in Monvesia

A major element that separates Monvesia from other fantasy settings is Taint--the transformation of some individuals and communities into monstrous reflections of themselves.  Since taint is responsible for the goblinoid and similar races, I first touched on it in "Other Non-Humans of Monvesia."  I didn't really explore the nature of the ailment, however.

Taint is adopted, in part, from Legend of the Five Rings.  However, unlike in that setting, Taint in Monvesia is not a result of personal choice or action--it is the result of public belief and perception.  Monvesian Taint is further inspired by the Taint from the Thaumcraft mod for Minecraft; as well as the Blight from Dragon Age.

Taint is a "psychosomatic" disorder--that is, it is a mental condition that alters the physical body.   From a metaphysical, cosmologial perspective, it originates in Limbo (the Plane of Subconscious Thought).  Here, the subconscious minds of all living creatures connect; and a collective unconscious "shadow" exists--an iridescent, black and purple storm-cloud dominating the horizon.