Illusionist

This circle is available to Arcanist Mechanists, Channelers, Illusionists, and Wizards.

The Arcane Prime spell circle encompasses all the basic precepts of the Arcane sphere. Generally prime lists have many simple spells that demonstrate the general rotes and rules of the sphere in question. Arcane Prime spells are divided up into two catagories: cantrips and rotes. Arcane Prime cantrips are smaller spells known particularly for flashier effects; while Arcane Prime rotes are simply minor spells which demonstrate Arcane concepts.

This circle is available to Bards, Empaths, and Illusionists.

This circle is available to Channelers, Illusionists, and Wizards.

One of the oldest circles of magic in the Arcane sphere, the road of Esu involves the basic magic of protection and shielding from both spells and physical attacks. There is also an element of evasion magic inherent in the spell list. Unlike Via Ars Av, this circle does not deal with meta-magic, but rather the raw contest of defensive and offensive energies.

This circle is available to Illusionists and Wizards.

One of the four standard elemental circles, fire magicks are considered some of the oldest known to mage-kind. It was a dedicated study of this circle that lead illusionists to the outgrowth of their specialized magic (and subsequent forsaking a sole dedication to the Arcane sphere). Many illusionists with a link to the past still study this magic circle.

This circle is available to Channelers, Illusionists, and Wizards.

This via is a study of pure displays of essence, and to a lesser extent, electricity. Extrovert spells, as is their nature, effect others and gather no small amount of interference from the caster's aura. The road of Ful Flux deals with electrical storms and gross displays of aether.

This circle is available to Illusionists.

This circle is available to Bards, Empaths, and Illusionists.

This circle is available to Illusionists.

This circle is available to Illusionists.

This circle is available to Illusionists.

Wishing to tamper with reality? Then being an illusionist is for you.

If you wish to meddle with the perceptional reality, the hypothetical reality and the ultimate reality, you will love being this profession, even though it is perhaps the toughest trade to master. In the end, it is one of the most beneficial, I will explain why as we go along.

Firstly, the illusionist spells are riddles of the mind, almost impossible to predict. We have a variety of spells to suffice for our personal pleasure, or self-protection. Many include manipulation of light; others, the bending of reality. The force of our will is our guide to coaxing these vast intricacies. We will get to the spell lists soon, but for now, allow me to say that the conditions surrounding being an illusionist can be very awkward for some, although a few might feel very comfortable with the secrecy we must endure.

Where did Illusionists come from, some may ask, as well as question why the bitterness between wizards and illusionists? Both deal in the arcane arts, both are scientific in their magiks as opposed to the astrals like channelers, yet the friction between the two is almost culpable.

One cannot mention the circumstances surrounding the foundation of the illusionist profession unless they speak of its figurehead, Master Zyzyl, a being as illusive as a spark of warmth over the Sea of the Frost Wyrm. Even the most general rendering of knowledge regarding the Illusionist Master varies greatly, depending on their interpreters chosen school of study. In light of the inconsistent nature of the information itself, many wise scholars choose to examine only the facts surrounding the elusive Master Zyzyl, ignoring the rumor, conjecture, and mystery of this nominal mystic.

Of his doings before the separation of Illusionists from the Wizards, only the following information endures: he was a top member of the Via Flam College of Arcane Arts and held the Flam Seat on the Council of Mages for several decades. Zyzyl was also a natural born Vedic of fantastic powers, lesser only to the great Qai Masters. It is generally assumed that he trained beneath these Masters during a long period of absence several years before the division. When he returned from his travels, he delved into the areas of Reality and The Metaphor. While it was unknown for wizards to study in this field, it was not until Zyzyls joining that it began to gain any real creditability as a true arcane science.

Zyzyl felt that Arcane Magic and its rules were causing essence, itself, to stagnate and stiffen and began experiments into a new magik form. Through various experiments and studies, Zyzyl found that new Reality Modification magik actually caused standardized Arcane Magic to decrease in power, and the newer form to gain power. This, of course, did not make him very popular with the Council when they learned of the school he formed with his apprentice, Trillian. This knowledge came to them from a jealous student named Brint, who came to be known as The Betrayer. Zyzyl and his students found they had to flee to avoid arrest or perhaps even extermination and rumor is that he took his school underground.

This brings us to the present. Only those who follow the Master know if the legends are true or not, but what we do know is we must learn to control the teachings of Zyzyl and Trillian, before they control us. The knowledge of illusion is very much like a double-edged sword that cuts two ways, it can be beneficent or it can turn to pure evil... it is all in the hands of the mage.

As for the spells that are available to the illusionist, they too are extremely involved and it will take weeks of explaining to clarify just one, so I will put what those of us have gathered through trial and error into a brief synopsis.

Via Nox Kol Mar, or Dark Paradigms, is a circle of spells that allows illusionists to intricately manipulate reality to do our deeds. Whether it be forcing reality to believe that magik does not exist, or simply ripping away someone's senses so they cannot tell what is real or not, these spells are very dangerous and highly effective. The road of Nox Kol Mar deals with some very destructive magics and shares some parallels with the void energy, a signature of channeler circles; this grouping is not to be tampered with by the foolhardy.

Via Lun Kol Mar, or Light Paradigms, is the dazzling design of light manipulations and deals with the hybrid Arcane/Vedic theory of light magic, in this case, white light. The circle represents the pinnacle of illusionist study in opticks, one of the gross and intra-convertible forces of the Weave. It involves an equal measure of offensive and defensive spell effects and is quite vulgar and showy. They are worthy in their cause to create a field of illusions, moreover to squeeze them out of a tight situation and ranges from throwing your voice elsewhere, to making it appear that a tree is talking, or blending into the surroundings to be unseen by those not watchful. It is perfect for controlling certain aspects of the balance between reality and illusion, and not quite a danger like Nox Kol Mar is.

The Via Miras circle of magic deals with the primary applications of illusions and illusionary constructs. Unlike many other spell lists, the road of Miras has a very large library of different effects and is quite powerful in some respects (although hampered by the normal belief-based issues common to most illusions). "Guises" is considered the primary field of study for any ascendant illusionist.

Via Ul Zyzyl is the class taught by Zyzyl himself, which is the most boding spell list for illusionists. It consists of masterful construction of manipulating the three realities to a great depth. From splitting yourself into two entities, to halting arcane magik from being used against you, even becoming the image of any creature you touch, within reason. It was this circle that many feel allowed the Master to escape the Council.

All of these spells need focal points in order to work. What is a focal point, you might still ask, being one who does not quite listen well enough or read between the lines? I will repeat; it is the source of energy extracted from the sun that we instill into an ordinary gem. That gem then metamorphoses into our very source of power. When the sun is bright, the prisms gathered in the gem creates the power of light for the Lun Kol Mar gathers, due to their bending of the brightness. On the other, more gloomy hand, null rings are pure obscurity, which is for the Nox Kol Mar mages, due to their powers to manipulate the darker aspects of the illusionary magik.

Other spell circles that illusionists may also study are Arcane Prime, Via Esu – Protection Magicks, Via Flam – Fire Magiks and Via Ful Flux – Flux Magicks; those that Zyzyl brought with him from the council. He also included in his new magik the teachings of his Qai Masters, the mind spells of Vedic Prime and Via Mar Sani Qel – Linkings.