The Veil Watchers

 

Art by chirun

The depiction of a Veil Watcher’s Eyes.

 

Background/Origin

 

As the world became plagued consistently by the so called Voidal Tears and Hollows, two brothers found it rather curious that no one was able to keep track of the Veil that separated realms from the ever expansive Void. The two, one an Eminent, and the other an Artificer worked on a new creation, one to help them do what none had been properly been doing, watch and keep track of the integrity of the Veil. With the creativity of the Artificer and the incomparable strength of the Eminent, together they turned themselves into the first Veil Watchers.

 

While they could see visions of the Veil splitting apart just the same as one another, they became more distant in their reason as to why they wanted this ability. It was the Eminent who’d grown hungry for power and for a want to seek out what could help him achieve such, this becoming apparent to his brother rather swiftly. Instead of wanting to find and repair the holes made in the Veil, the Eminent wanted to rip them open even further. Unlike his brother, the Artificer wished to ensure that the world wasn’t destroyed by an invasion of abhorrent Voidal Horrors and thus the two split apart. The Eminent searched for tears in the void to gather strength and the Artificer looked for holes to seal them.

 

 

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Magic Explanation

 

Veil Watching is an ability gained by Voidal Mages who wish to keep track of the Veil’s integrity, keeping an eye out for breaches through Voidal Tears, as well as being able to sense higher concentrations of mana. Such concentrations would be considered Voidal Hollows, Mana Obelisks, Voidal Nodes, etc. Like the other Voidal Feats, one must perform a ritual in order to gain access to this Feat. When making a connection, the ritual will involve one allowing their eyes to completely be infused with mana.

 

-Veil Watching requires 3 slots dedicated to Voidal Magic to learn. This Feat will go dormant if they lose knowledge or practice of Voidal Arts.

-Veil Watching is self-taught, initiated through ritual.

-Veil Watching is a Feat and one would make an app for so. This app requires the aiding-magi to place their approval on the FA.

-Veil Watching is not exclusive to other Voidal Feats. It may be paired with any of them.

-Veil Watching is an ability that allows for a mage to become more aware of the Veil as well as places of high Mana Concentration, like Voidal Tears, Hollows, Obelisks, Voidal Nodes, etc.

 

 

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Connection

 

Becoming a Veil Watcher requires a rather simple ritual that involves at least two people as well as a greater source of mana, the watcher-to-be, and one additional mage. Connection is gained and maintained through what is known as a Link, these Links always manifesting as a change to the new Veil Watcher's eyes. There is generally a lot of creativity that's seen when a Link is created.

 

With the mana from both the greater source as well as the additional mage, they will pour mana into the to-be watcher’s eyes, binding them together in a rather painful process. In fact, due to the process being so painful, the to-be mage must be immobilized and with their eyes held open. When complete, all participating mages will gain exhaustion similar to having created arcanium. This greater source may be three additional mages, a mana obelisk, a voidal tear, or one Voidstalker. 

 

Similar to other Voidal Feats, if the eyes of the new Veil Watcher are destroyed, the mage will be unable to utilize the abilities bestowed upon them. Over the course of two years (2 OOC weeks), mana will passively be lost from the eyes and they will eventually become normal once again. Should this happen, the mage will lose both their sight, should the damage have been severe enough to warrant such, as well as this feat.

 

Should one wish to rid themselves of this Feat, it would require them to rid themselves of the abundance of mana in their eyes. This involves the Veil Watcher allowing three mages to pull the mana out of their eyes, undoing the binding and breaking their Link. Due to how this is done, the Veil Watcher must be immobilized and have their eyes held open for the duration of the disconnection. With this, the Mental and Physical effects of the magic will vanish, but they will be left completely blind for Three Months (3 OOC days), and with nearsightedness for a further Two Months (2 OOC days).

 

-One must have organic eyes in order to be connected. Non-Organic eyes are unable to be affected, IE: Golem or Animii Eyes.

-Should one only have one organic eye, then that one eye will be transformed. If the person has one organic and one non-organic eye, then the effects of Veil Watching will bleed into the non-organic eye, making its vision also worse.

-While a Seer may become a Veil Watcher, they must have their eyes intact.

-Connection and Disconnection from Veil Watching is a process that can only be done consensually. One may not force either upon a person as resistance from the party being Connected/Disconnected will stop the ritual. However, the to-be/current Veil Watcher must be immobilized and their eyes must be held open.

 

 

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Physical Effects

 

Becoming a Veil Watcher has one major physical attribute upon all who are practitioners of its art. This is the simple fact that their eyes will change to take on a rather peculiar look. For a generic Veil Watcher, their eyes will wholey become a dark purple, dark blue, or black, with accents of all those colors as well as white. Though, should other mages wish to help out in the creation ritual, they may wish to add a hint of their magic to the process, thus changing them.

 

-Fire Evocation will yield a fiery color, oranges, yellows, reds, and if two Fire Evocationists wanted, they may change it to be a bright blue or a smokey gray. The irises will generally be a lighter color than the rest of the eyes.

-Water Evocation causes the eyes to hold a shimmery, glossy look with ripples in it. These eyes will look more like water and can be anywhere from dark blue to a light blue, almost white. Should two Water Evocationists work together, they may make the eyes appear similar to that of Ice. Once again. The irises will generally be lighter than the rest of the eyes.

-Earth Evocation makes the eyes look rather strange as it will generally be stone gray without much light reflection. On the opposite side, should two Earth Evocatioists work together, they will be able to make the eyes a soft sandy color or become crystal the color of the Veil Watcher's aura. The irises will, yet again, generally be a lighter color.

-Air Evocation shifts the eyes to make them appear as constant shifting balls of air. Though, this air will match the color of whatever the Air Evocationist's aura is. Should more than one Air Evocationist help, the eyes will take on the color of all of their auras. The irises do not rotate around and will generally be darker than the rest.

-Sensory Illusion will let the illusionist shape how the eyes look in a more natural way. Though, they will never look quite right and will take on blue and purple hues. The pupils will also be completely black with white dots scattered in them. An Illusionist may even have the eyes look like animal eyes.

-Conjuration and Transfiguration both work similarly to Sensory Illusion.

-Translocation will make the eyes move in rapid ways. Should the mage look around, while to them their movement is smooth, their irises will seem to snap to different points. This will also give them irises the color of the Translocationists aura.

 

While they gain a strange look to their eyes, they also gain some unfortunate side effects. All Veil Watchers' eyes are sensitive to light for the duration of having this feat, making most want to stick to the shade. In addition to that, they are also afflicted by having spots in their vision, usually occurring when they are under stress or have cast a few spells. They are capable of being destroyed rather easily. Anything that would normally cause an eye to be destroyed can and will effect a Veil Watcher's eyes. This includes having permanent blindness placed upon them, due to the backs of their eyes being roasted, eyes being slashed open, or just general piercing through of the eye. However, any damage that is temporary, such as temporary blindness from an Enhanced Magelight, will not destroy the eyes.

 

-Veil Watcher eyes will act as normal eyes.

-Should mages help add aesthetics to the eyes. These aesthetics will provide no advantage. IE: Fire Evocation Eyes won't be hot nor provide light.

-The eyes may not have a mundane subtle look to them. No matter what, this tell will always be visible and should be emoted as such. Should a blindfind or other covering of the eyes be worn, a glow will be seen to show that they have Veil Watcher eyes. It's encouraged that creative freedom be taken with this, so long as it's obvious at all times. Not even Sensory Illusion Spells or Enchantments can hide these eyes.

-These eyes will always be shaped like normal eyes, though they may have perceived texture, like stone, sand, water, etc.

-One only gains irises if affected by another magic, otherwise they will have none.

 

 

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Mental Effects

 

Veil Watchers also suffer from a slew of mental ailments along with their physical attributes. First of all, Voidal Entities tend to toy with the Watcher, seemingly for their own entertainment, causing minor hallucinations to appear in their vision at varying levels of frequency. This is thought to be a sort of extension and unintended side effect of Communication, a rather unwelcomed one at that. These will vary in intensity, most being generally harmless, though they can easily make a mage distraught. Due to the mage being unable to disable their Communication, they are also unable to prevent these from occurring. These tend to manifest more when the Veil Watcher is alone, as though to remind them that they are and will never be (so long as they bear the burden of Veil Watching) truly alone. Many Veil Watchers try to lessen the personal nature of these visions by dissociating from loved ones which can, in turn, lead to severe bouts of depression and loneliness. 

 

And so, the Psyche of a Veil Watcher may be warped in the following ways:

-Hallucinations, primarily Visual and Auditory (Every Veil Watcher is subject to this).

-Delusions and general Psychosis

-Paranoia

-Sleep Paralysis

-Generalized Anxiety

-Self Destructive Behaviors as a result of the above.

 

A Veil Watcher might develop the following disorders on top of the hallucinations:

-Panic Disorder

-Specific and severe phobias

-Separation Anxiety

-Insomnia

-Narcolepsy

-Bipolar Disorder

 

When the eyes of one who watches over the veil’s integrity close, no respite is granted. As their mind opens as they drift off to sleep, voidal horrors find themselves able to infest the mind of a watcher with far more ease. Horrific dreams plague the mind of a Veil Watcher in their slumber at least once per two or three months. At first, these start off as visions of writhing tentacles and horrendous utterances of indecipherable moonspeech,  but as the Veil Watcher grows in power, so do the night terrors, as though specifically catered to meddle with the specific Watcher’s wellbeing. From tier two and onwards, a watcher may witness loved ones or images of themselves in their dreams falling victim to the void’s corruption.

 

 

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Abilities and Spells

 

[Active] [Noncombat] - Mana Sight

The first Veil Watchers together created the ability to see areas/things of High Mana Concentration. Using the Eminent’s ideas about Aura Sensory, he concentrated the mana in his eyes to the very front of his eyes, where his irises used to be. With that, he became more sensitive to the world around him and was able to see a black and white world where beings and structures of High Mana Concentration glowed brightly depending on their strength. Though, structures and people which/who act as true tears in the Veil will turn pure white in their new vision.

 

Veil Watchers are capable of concentrating mana in the front of their eyes in order to see mana concentrations. In order to activate this, one must do the emotes as follows - [Connection -> Activate]. All emotes after Activation will have the mage seeing with Mana Sight. To deactivate, one will only need one emote, though this will cause them to gain severe nearsightedness for three emotes. This causes the mage to see the world in Black and White, most of it appearing gray. The scale for what’s important goes as such: Light Gray = 5m-15m Obelisks, Bright Gray = 20m+ Obelisks, Voidal Hollows/Heaths/Nodes, Pure White = Voidal Tears. Due to the strain upon the eyes, this may only be utilized so long as the mage is standing still or moving slowly.

 

Redlines

-This will affect the mage is able to see and only things that they have direct line of sight to.

-There should be a very visible tell that this spell is being cast.

-This can NOT be used to metagame.

-Should combat start, this ability will be instantly disabled and the nearsightedness will start affecting them.

-Anything that would produce less mana than a 5m Mana Obelisk will not show up with Mana Sight. If questioning if something would/would not, ask ST.

-Spells will be viewed as gray with this activated, not Light Gray.

-When paired with other things, like Voidal Eminence's Aura Sensory, they will also be seen as Gray, not Light Gray.

 

[Active] [Noncombat] - Ritual of Mending

Destruction of one’s eyes is a painful, terrible experience for any Veil Watcher to deal with as it will not only make them blind, but also, eventually, cause them to lose their abilities as a Watcher. Through the study of one of the founders, the Artificer, a ritual was created where at least one mage and a greater mana source gather together to pour mana into the eyes of the Veil Watcher. The leader of the ritual will be a Conjuration Mage who will reshape the eyes while also binding the mana form the Greater Source to the eyes, re-establishing the Link. However, due to a simple spell being used to recreate the eyes, they will be lost should the Veil Watcher lose their connection to the magic.

 

There is no emote count defined for this ritual, though it is preferred that it takes 3 or more emotes. This ritual will effectively regenerate the mage’s eyes in order to ensure they don't lose their connection to the magic. It must be performed by one Conjuration Mage with knowledge of Disjointed Conjuration and a greater mana source, such being three additional mages, a mana obelisk, a voidal tear, or one Voidstalker. Once the ritual is complete, the mage will suffer from severe nearsightedness for Three Months (3 OOC days) and then from Astigmatism for Two Months (2 OOC days) after that.

 

Redlines

-This can not be used to change the aesthetics of the eyes the mage has and the physical properties go unchanged.

-This may only be performed out of combat and so long as mage still has access to the magic. Should the 2 weeks have expired already, this ritual is unable to be used.

-This may only be used on Veil Watchers.

-The Ritual Leader must have a valid MA in Conjuration as well as knowledge on how to cast Disjointed Conjuration.

-If this ritual is performed on a Watcher and the Watcher disconnects themselves from the magic, they will lose these new eyes.

 

[Passive] [Noncombat/Combat] - Communication

A Voidstalker had eventually gotten his hands on Veil Watching and it was he who unwillingly discovered Communication. Creatures born of the Void are capable of inducing illusions upon all Veil Watchers by targeting their beloved eyes. The more powerful of Voidal beings, like Greater Horrors, are capable of doing this at any distance from the Veil Watcher, for better, or for worse, while the more common creatures must be much closer, generally within range of being able to touch the Watcher’s forehead. Of course, this is never a great experience for the Watcher as it will place them in a seizure-like state in which they will see whatever the Voidal Creature wants them to see. While there is no inherent prophetic nature to these illusions, they are so intense and filled with the overpowering will of the Voidal Entity that the Watcher will be unable to control their body for its duration, thus the "seizures."

 

All Voidal Entities are able to induce illusions upon Veil Watchers, though they will not always do so. Anything above the strength of a common Voidal Horror will be able to induce visions upon any Veil Watcher while all others must be able to touch the Watcher’s head. Voidstalkers provide a window for Veil Watchers to also gain visions as they act as a link for the Horror to reach out to those near the Voidstalker. Of course, some Veil Watchers may attempt to gain contact with a Voidal Entity in order to gain what they may assume to be a vision, though no Voidal Entity is obligated to respond. Usually, these are simply just meaningless experiences, though it's up to the Watcher to develop their own thoughts on what they are forced to see.

 

Redlines

-This may only be done by ST. Player Voidstalkers are unable to convince their Horrors to perform this action.

-All specifics are to be defined by the ST who takes up placing someone under Communication.

-All Voidal Entities are capable of feeling who is a Veil Watcher and may use this knowledge to disable someone, for a temporary amount of time.

-The seizure-like state will not cause direct damage to the Veil Watcher as it’s only meant to disable them for the duration of the vision.

-While someone is able to attempt to gain a Communication, ST may deny this for any reason as no Voidal Entity is required to respond.

 

[Passive] [Noncombat] - Event Horizon

As their connection deepens with Veil Watching, they become passively aware of the Veil’s integrity and are able to detect when it’s breached in a rather painful process. Should the Veil become broken through the creation of a Voidal Tear, or even sealed, be it through destruction of the Tear or a proper closing, the Veil Watchers will know. This will cause them to suffer from a debilitating headache as they see a vision of what had happened.

 

Veil Watchers are capable of feeling and noticing drastic changes in the Veil’s integrity, be it through sealing or opening tears. On occasion, they will even see a vision brought unwillingly upon them. These visions will given out via Forum Posts made by either ST or the Player Group that has created the Tear.

 

Redlines

-All visions with Event Horizon must be done via Forum Post made by either ST, should the abnormality be event related, or by a Player Group that has created a Tear.

-Should a Player Group be the ones to create the most, it may NOT include information that would regarding either Location or Individuals that were involved.

-While a Player Group never has to create a Forum Post, it is encouraged for them to do so.

 

[Active] [Noncombat] - Veil View

While one is able to passively view the Veil in their sleep, the sight is generally lost by the time they wake up in the morning. But, through meditation, a Veil Watcher learned to trick their bodies into seeing these visions whilst being awake. With this, they are also able to project these visions upon two people who join them in meditation by temporarily flooding their eyes with mana. Not only may they show their passive viewings, but by delving deeper into their mind, they may project old visions as well.

 

A Veil Watcher may allow themselves, and up to two others, to view their passive Veil Watching or to see old visions, including ones brought forth by Event Horizon and Communication. This takes three emotes to perform: [Connection -> Flooding Mana to everyone involved -> Start Veil Viewing]. Once exiting the Veil Viewing session, all participants will suffer from minor sensitivity to light for 1 OOC Hour no matter the circumstances of their removal from the session.

 

Redlines

-This is used to simply look at sections of the Veil or old visions brought to them.

-This may, at a maximum, only affect 3 people, the Veil Watcher and 2 others.

-One may not force a Veil View upon someone in any way. This may be performed on Mages and Non-Mages alike.

-Visions should be exactly as they had previously been displayed to the Veil Watcher, though small changes can be made as information is possibly lost. To ensure such, it’s recommended that all RP of visions with Communication or that the Event Horizon Forum Post be open by the Watcher.

 

General Redlines

-Performing the connection of Veil Watching does not give any indication, idea, or process of how to make Arcanium.

-One must emote their eyes looking different as well as having them look different upon their skin. While coverings can help hide the fact, there will ALWAYS be an obvious tell as to the nature of the eyes.

-Should one lose their eyes and not perform the Ritual of Mending, then after 2 OOC Weeks, they must contact ST to drop Veil Watchers. During the duration of their eyes not being mended, all of their abilities, including passives, will go dormant.

-In order to be connected, one must have at least one organic eye.

-Their eyes act as normal eyes and provide no advantage whatsoever.

-This may never be used for metagame information and visions will only ever be bestowed by ST. Though, once a vision is given, it may be shown to others through use of Veil View.

-In order to utilize this magic, one must have a valid FA and have all participants who helped respond on the FA. A Veil Watcher must respond with their FA, though they do not need a TA in order to connect someone.

 

 

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Tier Progression

 

Tier One

Magi all will start in this tier by gaining a connection through getting a Link. They will start to feel the Physical and Mental Effects hit them. They will also gain access to Mana Sight and the Ritual of Mending. This Tier will last for Two OOC Weeks.

 

Tier Two

Their connection to seeing the Veil is stronger than in Tier One, but still not as strong as it could be. Hallucinations will truly start to be seen along with their progression as the full range of Physical and Mental Effects sinks in fully. They gain access to Veil View as well as Communication. This Tier lasts for a further Two OOC Weeks.

 

Tier Three

At this point, Veil Watcher is at their most potent stage, gaining access to their final ability. Due to this connection, they gain access to Event Horizon and are finally finished with their progression.

 

 

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Purpose

 

Veil Watchers was made to be a magic about aesthetics and allowing for ST to be able to spread information should they want to. It’s also meant to be so Veil Watchers and those seeking to be them will get a little closer to one another, thus why the requirement for another Veil Watcher is requested. Also, due to its aesthetic nature, there isn’t much of a reason to want to drop it, especially since it’s not exclusive, like the other feats. 

 

Credits

 

Meteor Dragon - Writer

Moribundity - Co-Writer and Consultant

SquakHawk & Company - Previous Voidal Feat Lores