Illusionism

From Mizahar Lore

"Ionu's marked are notorious for having complex personalities - even multiple identities - some playful, some joyous, some deadly. The danger in knowing them and indeed being one of them is understanding which one is real. Even they themselves will reach a point where they cannot remember or they simply do not care. And unlike the leaves of the tree that change in response to the season, Illusionists change on a whim. It makes them some of the most unpredictable souls alive." - Akavinka Truvak - Pre-Valterrian Suvan Theologian

Illusionism

Gnosis
I can make you see, smell, hear, feel, and taste anything I want you to.
Granted by	Ionu
Positive marks	The ability to create Illusions
Negative marks	The inability to see Illusions
Pos. mark appearance	An elaborate inverted triangle
Neg. mark appearance	An elaborate triangle
Mark location	Any
First mark	Only after impressing Ionu.
Champion	None

Illusionism is the gnosis gifted to the followers of Ionu which grants the ability to alter the perception of reality for multiple reasons and in multiple ways. Sometimes illusions are simply for decoration or in the name of art and beauty, other times illusions are used for nefarious or security purposes. Regardless of their intentions, the reality of illusionism is that the gnosis allows those who have access to it to progressively layer false perceptions upon false perceptions creating successfully more complex and realistic deceptions. And while at the one or two mark level these illusions can be seemingly low impact, a highly intelligent person can do a considerable amount of damage in deceiving another's senses. Illusionists can easily conceal the smell of a poison or make someone think they are walking on a solid surface when in fact they are walking off the top of a cliff. At the higher levels these illusions can turn deadly - making someone think they are drowning in the middle of the desert or that they can fly when their feet never leave the ground. The mind is a tricky thing, relying on sensory input that isn't always accurate to make its decisions. Illusionists play up this weakness, often utilizing natural instincts and panic to achieve whatever results they are seeking..

Ionu is picky about his or her followers. Being something of a trickster God/dess (for no one truly knows Ion's sex), Ionu appreciates followers with at very least a sense of humor and a flare for the dramatic. It is highly unusual for someone to be allowed access to the Illusionism gnosis who has a sedate, boring or somewhat contemplative introverted personality. Ionu loves bargains as well, often trading favors for valuables or new insight into further honing its craft. It is said that Ionu is a creature in love with anything that alters a person's perception - drugs, scents, textures, tastes. And its followers - the Illusionists - and even The Inverted itself are the same way.

Mark Progression

Marked [Cursed] - 1 Gnosis Mark
	Those so marked with one of Ionu's gnosis marks can create minor illusions involving a single sense (touch, taste, smell, sight, sound). The illusionist can easily change multiple aspects of themselves and their bodies. Hair color, eye color, the tone of their skin, the accent of their voice is all very reasonable for them. However, they cannot stack illusions, meaning if their chosen illusions involves sight, all their subsequent illusions at that particular time must include sight. They cannot, however, alter sight and sound at the same time. But they can, however, affect multiple sights and sounds with enough focus to maintain multiple illusions. Minor illusions last for only a single hour, and they can have up to ten illusions ongoing at a time. If they wish, they can trade multiple illusions for longer time periods. That means they can have up to one illusion for ten hours or ten illusions for one hour or any combination therein. Again, multiple illusions can only effect one type of perception at a time. If they have ten illusions ongoing, all ten illusions must affect the same sense, e.g. sight. Minor illusions can easily change numbers on playing cards, dice or the appearance of a street or shop sign. Minor illusions can affect multiple people at a time. Those cursed by Ionu perhaps do not fair as ill as those cursed by other Gods and Goddesses. Those bearing a single mark of Ionu's disfavor cannot see illusions at all. Ionu feels this is a punishment and a severe way to leach the joy out of the world. In addition, they cannot be affected by mood or perception altering substances such as dreamsmoke or even stimulants like alcohol.
Favored [Despised] - 2 Gnosis Marks
	Those favored by Ionu have their skills suddenly broadened. With two gnosis marks, illusionsists can affect more than one sense concurrently. So not only can they make a plain cobble look like a cinnamon roll, they can exactly mimic its smell, weight and the illusion of bread-like softness. It would only be when a person plucks one up and takes a bite would they realize it's stone as their teeth crunch into the rock unexpectedly. Illusionsists at this level, however, must be incredibly careful. It is quite difficult to mimic all aspects of something real so that it's good enough to fool a close inspection. Cursory inspections - casual glances - often overlook detail, but if someone is looking terribly closely, the illusionist should be taking care to think of every aspect of their illusion. For example, a jeweler skilled at telling the difference between cut glass and a real gemstone might not be fooled at all by an illusioist trying to sell them a small pebble from the street and pass it off as a ruby. The illusionist must be able to know every aspect of what a jeweler might look for in appraising a ruby in order to pass off a stone as the real thing. If they forget one tiny aspect - luster, refraction, color quality, weight - their illusions will not hold up. This means, the best illusionists create illusions in areas they know well. This is especially true of complex multiple layered illusions. Pulling off things like gilding plainly painted walls is a somewhat easier endeavor for them. Making a wall look, feel and smell like gilding is not nearly as difficult as making a pebble look like a real ruby. These illusionists can sustain complex illusions for a single day before they must relax, reconnect with Ionu, and recharge their creative batteries in order to be able to go out and work their gnosis more. Those receptive of a second negative gnosis mark tend to lose detail. Shades of color all seem monotone. They start hearing in monosyllables. Food tastes bland. Touch cannot differentiate textures. Ionu sees variety in life as joy, so those that overtly anger it will loose all variety.
Priest/Priestess [Adversary] - 3 Gnosis Marks
	The priests or priestesses of Ionu can create a new reality. They can paint the environment completely into anything they want it. The rainforest will suddenly become a desert at the Illusionists will using an illusion so real the person experiencing it can potentially get lost within it. This is a complete and utter reality. The person suddenly caught in the desert is so influenced by the illusion, their body convinces itself of being where they see themselves being that they can suddenly gain sunburns, heat stroke or drown if the area becomes overly watery. Should an illusionist create an illusionary horse, a person would be able to mount and ride it so long as the illusionist willed it and concentrated on keeping it a reality. There is no duration or number of illusions a priest or priestess can create. Complex illusions often require hundreds of individual illusions wrapped into more illusions. These illusions do, however, have a restriction on distance. All illusions must be maintained within a mile of the Illusionist and must be concentrated on at all times. A negatively marked person by Ionu loses one sense randomly. They will suddenly go blind (or loose their sense of taste, touch, smell, etc) with the gaining of a third negative mark.
Champion [Nemesis] - 4 Gnosis Marks
	Champions of Ionu can truly weave reality. Effortlessly they can step through the world shifting illusions as easily as breathing. There is no distance on their ability to weave illusions and the length of time and depth of those illusions depends exclusively on how long the champion lives. Because being a champion of Ionu demands so much of Ionu's power - almost a direct link - a champion might very well be able to harness all of Ionu's power and usurp the current deity and assume their position. The irony of this fact is no one would actually know if this happened or not. Ionu is incredibly secretive about his or her identity to the point that most of the rest of the gods assume the level three deity has forgotten its original form and personality. Currently there is no known Champion of Ionu. However, many scholars debate the fact that if a current champion did exist, the other followers as well as outsiders would not in fact be able to confirm or deny this fact - such would be the champions power. Regardless, speculation currently is that there are no active or past Champions. A despised of Ionu loses all senses completely. Death is a better state than what Ionu is prepared to render its enemies.

Note

Followers of Syna with their Inavalti powers can generally see straight through Ionu's Illusionists. Also, Eyris, with her followers gnosis gifts of Lykata generally have little or no trouble seeing through the web of illusions Ionu's followers can create. This means that perhaps only Syna and Eyris know the truth as to Ionu's true identity.

Mark acquisition threads

First mark
	Seasons of Change	First mark acquisition for Dhanya.
	Drowning the Will	First mark acquisition for Hadrian.

Second mark

Third mark

Fourth mark

Out of character note: Ionu rarely grants this gnosis at birth or without significant roleplay, so please be aware before you ask for this mark as part of a starting package.