Introduction to Celandra

Celandra - the Unyielding Land - is situated in a cosmos the majority of which is formed of "the Dreaming". The Dreaming is a magic realm constantly shifting with the power and vision of its inhabitants: gods, demons, spirits, monsters and fairy. Some places are more "solid" than others, but the nature of the Dreaming is one of change. The Dreaming has no geography and no permanent physical laws.

Celandra is different from the Dreaming. It is a place where things are much more permanent. Mountains will stay mountains until erosion eats them away (or some wizard decides to level them), and if you drop something you can be sure it'll go downwards and hit the ground. Celandra is a place of high magic, but the magic is much harder to work than in the Dreaming. Magical beings that migrate there from the Dreaming gradually start to loose their magic and become binded to Celandra.

Celandra has many names among the peoples that inhabit it. "Celandra" itself is an avarean word meaning "island of rock" and as such reflects the ideas of ancient avareans of their home: a lonely island of solid rock in the shifting chaos of the Dreaming. Some other peoples in other places and times have viewed Celandra simply as a hard place; tyrean word "Selara" (a stable region) and avarean "Andrim" (the unyielding land). Some consider Celandra the center of the cosmos - the true heart of everything. And a few, blessed with a unique insight of the nature of reality, call it Home.

Reality concept

The universe has an eternal, archetypal aspect, called Spirit and a dynamic, physical aspect called Substance. The spiritual aspect may be seen variously as the Realm of Dream, Dreaming, Shadowland, Faerie and other metaphors. It is the domain of the Creator, of godlike beings and infernal powers, and is also the domain of the mind/soul of sentient creatures. The physical aspect is a subset of the spiritual aspect, and contains the totality of physical reality. The two aspects differ in that spirit is formless and abstract, while substance is structured and tangible.

Celandra "Proverbs":

• As the body is subject to the mind, so substance is subject to spirit.
• A man's actions reveal his heart. [ie. the unseen world of spirit is revealed in material reality]
• Truth is to the soul as food is to the body.

The Nature of Spirit

Spirit is an abstract, ethereal reality, almost a virtual world, the realm of will, thought, and awareness. It has no true aspect, but its representation changes with the perceptions of the viewer, and the nature of the thing being viewed. Thus, if you were to look upon a demon in the dream-world, you would see a representation of its true nature. Everything in the spirit realm is symbolic; Wisdom and Intuition are the keys to seeing truly. Perception and Logic can lead one to false understanding, grounded as they are in the tangible world of Substance. While the spirit realm may be perceived in a physical way, it has no true physical reality, and a given spiritual reality may have multiple, equally valid physical manifestations. The underlying Truth does not change, but different aspects may be considered.

The Nature of Substance

Substance is the physical reality. It derives its nature from the world of spirit, and is the stage upon which eternal drama is played out. The key aspect of Substance is its physical manifestation; it does not change arbitrarily, as does perception in the spirit world. Because of this, it is a limited and finite medium which is predictable and understandable. Spirit has these same qualities, but they apply to the higher abstract truths rather than their representation.

Sentient beings have minds which exist in the world of spirit. They can exist in the material world only if they also have material reality. Gods and demons are native to the world of spirit, having their primary existence as spirit; they can, by act of will, take on a physical form, but this form does not necessarily reflect their true nature (though it requires a greater exercise of will to take on a deceptive form than a "true" form). In any case, their form is only a representation of themselves.

Men and sentient races exist simultaneously on both the spiritual and physical level, and it is this which is their primary limitation. They are thus subject to both Spirit and Substance, and if their physical body dies, their spirit becomes sort of "undefined." However, since spirit is an eternal world, their existence continues, and it is believed that after death they exist in some other dimension or level of material reality. Some legends tell of heroes who have travelled to places of the dead. Gods and demons cannot be "killed," and may go where they please; if their physical form is killed, they are temporarily banished from the physical world, but may return in the future, once they have manage to obtain a new form. Freewilled animals and sentient "things" are something less than human but something more than mere matter. [I have no idea what they are. My concept is that free-will is a spiritual quality. Intelligence may or may not be a function of spirit.]

The Realms within: the Nature of Celandra

In the Dreaming there are a multitude of bubbles of physical realms. These bubbles are places where the Substance, governed by one or multiple Spirits, has taken a stable form. These worlds follow their own laws, according to the will of their shaper. Some of them are very stable, while others are more or less transitory.

In one end of this scale is the Void. In the Void, all Substance is only transitory. It is a place of utter chaos. In the other end of the scale is Celandra. Celandra (the Unyielding Land) is a very special case in that it is a very stable realm. Some even argue that it was shaped by the Creator himself, while others maintain that Celandra itself is the Spirit which governs its existence and laws.

Time

At any given moment in time, reality is a constant and truth is static and absolute. Given an absolute time-point, one could know with certainty the location or status of any aspect of reality, and this knowledge would always holds true for that given time-point. However, while it is possible to know and understand the physical world in a static state, it is not possible to understand intangible concepts. These concepts are by nature dynamic and are the defining quality of life: love, hate, free-will, fear, law. It is over time that these concepts have their being, and in the world of substance that they become reality. Because time is essential to this, it is immutable (except perhaps to the Creator) and cannot be affected by magic or otherwise.

Notes on Magic

The fundamental author is the Creator. He is a spirit, and his power is simply equivalent to his will: whatever he wills, is. All other power is derived from this simple fact.

It was the Creator's will that other sentient beings should exist, less powerful than himself. These beings are freewilled and have a certain ability to exercise their will (otherwise what's the point of having a will?) Each such being has a certain Authority to exercise its will, and all such Authority is derived ultimately from the Creator. It is not known why he gives evil beings the Authority to act; he could revoke it if he so chose. But, for his own reasons, he allows all beings a limited authority to do what they will. In their actions, they show their true natures. [That said, it should not be assumed that the Creator is aloof, uncaring, or inactive. It is probably best to assume nothing about him at all, except that he exists. He may have intervened in history, and may do so again...]

Origin of Magic

The ultimate origin is the creator-god. All other gods (and mind-wizards) derive their authority directly or indirectly from him (in a complicated, tree-like chain of authority). This results in the following properties:

• Every sentient being is an "origin" of magic
• Sentients may grant others the authority to use their power, and may place arbitrary restrictions on how it is to be used
• Sentients' power is limited by the authority granted by other sentients
• A grantee's power may be revoked at any time by a grantor
• The creator by definition controls all power in the universe
• All sentient origins use the same mechanics, though they may manifest their power in different ways

This structure allows for unlimited origins, but they all use the same mechanics to obtain/provide/use power, so it is kept simple.

Magic in Celandra

In Celandra there are two styles of magic, which are very different. One is authority-based, and is the province of the gods, demons, or whatever you want to call the beings of the dream-world: it lends itself to mind/spirit effects, illusions, etc. Authority can be delegated to other beings by the act of will. The other style of magic is materially-based, sort of like physics, and lends itself to elemental effects and construction of permanent real-world effects (ie. magic items). Ultimately, ALL magic is authority magic. Material essence is just a way to misuse it in a complicated way that is independent of the authority hierarchy.

In Celandra, there are basically three scenarios as to how things work:

1. By the will of the Creator, material in Celandra follows its own set of laws (just like - or even exactly like - in our universe). Every natural, material, intelligent creature in Celandra has Authority over physical matter. Any idiot can chop down a tree with an axe. This is an exercise of authority and power over the tree and the axe blade. You can also view these as a sort of authority that each particle has over all other particles. This is physics. Few creatures have the authority to transcend these laws.
2. However, with study, one can find loop-holes in the system, to effectively manipulate reality in unusual ways without actually gaining special authority to do so. Kind of like cheating on your taxes... Anyway, this is the realm of wizardry. A wizard could cast a spell to cut down the tree because he knows how to manipulate the meta-physics (and maybe physics) behind it all.
3. The elemental form of magic is the direct grant of authority: some being grants you power over something. A priest could simply tell the tree to fall down, and it would. He doesn't understand it, and doesn't need to. He just wills it to happen. Of course, few beings just directly grant such power, but usually require the "user" to make a petition or perform some ritual -- it keeps them in their place...

Magic in the Dreaming

The world of Celandra is kept consistent by the material laws set by the Creator, and nobody has authority to overrule the creator in this matter. In the Dream Realm this is not the case. This has two consequences:

1. Since the creator did not impose any rules in the Dreaming, the beings who live there can make up their own rules -- so you find "pocket dimensions" with strange laws, often illogical laws. But then, dreams never do make sense... Most Elyrians are much happier in their nice predictable little world, and would prefer never to encounter the insanity of the Greater Reality.
2. Material essence doesn't work in the Dreaming, nor can it affect spirit-beings. However, the spirit-beings can affect it (within limits established by the creator).

Authority and Will

In the realm of spirit, Authority is the right to exercise one's will. It can do anything, but you must obtain it somewhere. The Creator has an unlimited Authority, and can revoke everybody else's right to use it. Godlike beings have a certain (very large) Authority from the Creator. The amount of Authority decreases as one moves down the authority chain to less powerful beings. Men have only enough authority to control their physical bodies and manipulate substance.

As the creator has delegated Authority to his creatures, so may his creatures in turn delegate Authority to others by an act of Will. A creature may only delegate such Authority as it may possess; if a creature has no Authority over fire, for example, it cannot delegate that Authority. Authority assumes a relationship between the grantor and the grantee, and there is an implicit consent. Certain beings may specify ways in which one can access their authority, such as invoking a name or performing some ritual. It is entirely up to a given being whether he allows this, but it is certain he will notice if someone makes use of his personal authority. Once authority is granted, no further consent or communication is required; the grantee may freely use the grantor's authority and act in his name, even without his knowledge. Of course, it is not good to tarnish the name of one more powerful than yourself! The grantor may at any time terminate the agreement, unless there is a binding "contract." Such things are beyond the scope of this essay...

The Authorities thus granted can be arbitrarily complex, so long as they fall within the power of the grantor. For example, a shaman has traded with a Spirit of Fire a temporary Authority over Fire, with the restriction that it expires when the original fire is gone. The shaman then lights his warrior's arrows with the fire and orders the fire destroy and kill everything outlandish, but leave everything else safe, in the village they are about to attack. The warriors shoot the arrows, and the fire starts to consume all buildings, tools, etc. which are "outlandish" (subjective meaning given by the shaman). The fire leaves everything else in place. Soon, the original fire burns out, the compact is at end, and then the fire starts to spread to everything else, too, according to its own nature.

You can gain authority over something, but you have to get it from someone. Usually that "someone" wants something in return, and puts all sorts of restrictions on how you can use it. Furthermore, that someone will always keep an eye on you, since you are now its representative and throwing around its power. And it can revoke authority at the drop of a hat. So while authority can be a short road to immense power, it is a road fraught with peril and intrigue. Authority is all about politics, and nothing about knowledge.

Material Essence

Essence is an almost scientific study of the workings of the material world. It is very predictable, and you don't have to ask anybody's permission to use it. It takes a long time to gain mastery, and is more limited in scope than direct authority, but offers autonomy and reliability.

To an extent essence magic doesn't require much true understanding, but being able to go through the motions won't do you much good in calculus, as most problems are not simple "plug in the numbers" type things. And it is MUCH easier to pledge one's soul to the Lord of Darkness in return for limitless power, than to study for ten years to learn how to create and control fire. A good analogy might be:

1. Plugging in the numbers in an equation is equivalent to hitting someone over the head with a rock.
2. Understanding calculus is equivalent to inventing a spell to adjust body chemistry in such a way as as to induce Sleep (though they may resist it anyway).
3. Authority is more like going to the professor and convicing him to do the problem for you...

Essence has no meaning in the spirit realm, since that place has no physical reality, and it outside the realm of Substance. Essence cannot affect the spirit aspect, though in the spirit realm one could conceivably create new types of Origins (or even whole "worlds") as an act of will, assuming that one's will is sufficient for the task. The only governing law in spirit is Will (and the Authority to exercise it). Utilizing both styles

Since Authority may be derived down multiple branches of the tree, it is possible for a wizard to invoke authority from two or more sources. Similarly, different wizards are likely to obtain their authority through different masters. Each master (and each wizard) has a unique will, and these may often conflict. What this means is that each sentient being is in effect an Origin with its own unique sphere of influence; a wizard may himself be an Origin for a lesser wizard or pupil. Even a lowly peasant may be an Origin for whatever authority he possesses.

All physical things have a measure of authority in the physical realm (even if only to exist). Sentient beings have authority in the spiritual realm (to freely act). Supernatural beings may or may not have authority in the physical realm; those that do have varying Dominions (ie. some can control energy, others can control organics).

Many wizards do practice both authority and essence. Most folks are religious, and invoking the name of a god is usually good for at least a minor favor; a truly devout servant may even be able to heal or pronounce a curse. But far different is the infernal sorcerer who studies forbidden writings and makes pacts with demonic beings, in a quest for great power. Such persons often rise to frightening heights or power before they are destroyed by their own folly.

-- Juuso Vesanto - 06 Sep 2003