Telepathy
From Mizahar Lore
Telepathy is the ability to communicate across vast distances and speak directly into the minds of others granted by Leth.
Contents |
Leth and The Mark
Once a wild, voracious god, Leth underwent a significant alteration to his nature and personality to achieve the tenuous balance he now maintains. His story is one of redemption motivated by love, but accomplished through great reflection. His realm of influence is not limited to the moon, but stretches to the incorporeal elements of thought and change.
His marked followers are often those who sympathize with the journey of the soul from a shadowy, unsteady place to a calmer state. Leth's followers are frequently imperfect, like the god himself, and struggle against darker circumstances or natures. However, they share the goal of self-control motivated by love. Like the moon Leth governs, the god is a steady light in a dim place, never fully removed from the dark, but enduring as a beacon within it. Gnosis marked followers are frequently characterized by sacrifice for others, a kinship with the evening or a desire to change.
A cursed mark from Leth is rare, and usually bestowed on those who work against his followers, Ethaefal or those who seek to spitefully confound the redemption process of others.
When Leth awards a positive mark, he arrives in a semi-corporeal fashion and demonstrates the capabilities and mechanics of the mark by communicating with the follower using telepathy. With every level, the conversation grows more powerful and personal, as the god and the follower are able to share more of themselves. Leth is a complicated divinity with a dark past curved around power but a present mindset bent towards redemption and sacrifice. His conversations show a noble struggle to be the god Syna believes him to be without betraying who he is. He frequently sees his followers as being on the same journey and is interested in their path.
To receive a negative mark from Leth is to know why he once served alongside Dira. Arriving only in evening, the shape of a malevolent Leth is a denser shade of dark, voracious and monstrous. It has no more substance than moonlight. What weight it bears is numinous instead of physical. This Leth overcomes the victim in perfect dark and the cursed one feels his skin undergo a painful dissipation. After this small destruction, the cursed one is released with a new mark: the only evidence of the encounter.
Mechanics
Telepathy transcends language barriers as it is the communication of not just words, but thoughts (Leth's realm) and ideas. It is communication in its primal form before words have begun. When a mind receives a telepathic message, it is able to take the unfinished form and refine it with its own tools. Because of this joint process of expression and interpretation, there is an inherent intimacy in its use. Often, those who receive the message are able to make it more powerful or detailed as it is personalized to their method of understanding. The speaker's voice will phrase the thoughts, no matter the language, identifying the message as coming from an external source.
If the marked one has a very precise thought, and wants no dilution or interpretation, she can override this nascent form. This is accomplished simply by thinking the words "As I have made it." The creation of the thought or words to send are no different in either form, save the use of this phrase.
The messages sent are not restricted to words, but can encompass feelings and images. The higher the mark, the more layered the initial message, and the more people it can target.
When communicating with a fellow gnosis bearer, some of the barriers of levels are removed. One does not have to be familiar with the gnosis bearer to target them. The message can simply be addressed to any Leth marked within the range the level allows.
The positive gnosis is used only in the direct light of the moon and can only affect those who are also in the direct light of the moon. If either party is indoors, there must at least be windows where moonlight shines through for the mark to be useful.
A negative mark from Leth produces an intolerance for moonlight. When a cursed one steps into moonlight, they experience burns and blindness, the serverity of which is dictated by the depth of the curse. The effects can be avoided by completely covering oneself, and not allowing an iota of moonlight to touch the skin or eyes.
While not required, the Meditation skill can be of extreme benefit to those positively marked by Leth. Through meditation and concentration, the marked may be able to gain some idea of the target's physical location in the direct light of the moon. If someone marked with Telepathy uses it with one level of meditation, they will be able to determine their target's physical location within 500 yards of the actual location. L2 meditation will focus the distance to 250 yards, L3 meditation to a distance of 100 yards, L4 meditation down to 50 feet.
Appearance
The positive mark of Leth rest in the center of the wrist above the carpals. It is slightly luminous with a violet or blue sheen. When in use, it glows slightly. The first mark manifests as a crescent moon, the second a quarter moon, the third a gibbous moon, and the final is a full moon.
A cursed mark follows a similar transformation, but instead of a bright emblem, it is a corrupt harvest moon: fiendishly red with sooty smears.
Mark Progression
| Marked [Cursed] - 1 Gnosis Mark | |
| Marked: When using Telepathy (while in contact with moonlight), a marked person is able to communicate words or their equivalent through thought to those also touched by the direct light of the moon. The marked can communicate with others within a one mile radius centered on marked. The marked can communicate with only one person at a time through words and then only if the receiving person is someone the marked is familiar with (has met them before in person and they both would recognize each other upon meeting again). Others who have been marked by Leth can be communicated with regardless of being known. A single feeling can accompany the words and wash over the receiving party. This feeling however doesn't influence the person or cause them to do anything against their will; it simply adds emphasis to the communicated words. The marked can send one-way communications to the intended target and receive only single word responses unless the target is also marked by Leth. The marked cannot see who they are communicating with although they are aware of the person's presence in the light of the moon and can recognize the person as the the one they are trying to communicate with.
Cursed: A harsh "moonburn" develops when the cursed one wanders into Leth's rays, and the eyes are sensitive to moonlight. The moon becomes the equivalent of a bare noonday sun in a cloudless sky. It is uncomfortable, but possible to venture out in the evening. | |
| Favored [Despised] - 2 Gnosis Marks | |
| Favored: One favored by Leth finds their ability to communicate through Telepathy enhanced. The distance they are able to communicate is within a ten mile radius centered on them. The favored can communicate with up to five other people through words and images as long as the receiving people are those the marked is familiar with (has met them before in person and they both would recognize each other upon meeting again) and are in the direct light of the moon. As with the first mark, the second mark allows the favored to speak with other Leth-marked individuals without knowing them first. The favored can send and also receive mental communications with another. This is nothing like mind-reading however as the target chooses what they say in response. The target can only communicate back with words and nothing else. The favored can also add a stronger feeling to the words and images that are communicated that, while not capable of influencing the target, will be felt rather strongly. Again, this is meant to further enhance the nature of the communication. The favored cannot see who they are communicating with although they aware of the people's presence in the light of the moon and can recognize them as the ones they are trying to communicate with.
Despised: The despised, when touched by the direct light of the moon, is burned as if experiencing a severe sunburn. They must cover every part of their body when venturing out under a moonlit sky else get burned. They also find it difficult to see as the moonlight is too bright. | |
| Priest/Priestess [Adversary] - 3 Gnosis Marks | |
| Priest or Priestess: A priest or priestess of Leth experiences a dramatic increase in their Telepathy. The distance they are able to communicate is within a 100 mile radius centered on the priest. They can communicate with up to 20 people at once through words, images and feelings. The priest need not have met the people they are trying to communicate with although the targets must also be touched by the direct light of the moon. Other Leth-marked individuals can be communicated with and the priest will know the name of the person even if they have never met them. Targets can respond mentally to the priest through words and images. While the priest still cannot see who they are communicating with, they are aware of the persons presence in the light of the moon. If the priest has met the person before, the target can be recognized as the one the priest is trying to communicate with.
Adversary: An adversary of Leth is unable to step into the light of the moon even if fully covered. The moonlight will burn the adversary through cloths as if the person had jumped into the heart of a fire. | |
| Champion [Nemesis] - 4 Gnosis Marks | |
| Champion: Leth's Champion is able to communicate with any individual touched by direct moonlight, known or not, within a radius of 1,000 miles centered on the champion. They can communicate with words, images and feelings and their targets can respond with words, images and feelings. The champion will know the names of anyone they are trying to communicate with and while they cannot see who they are communicating with, they know the target's general location within a hundred feet or so in relation to the champion.
Nemesis: Leth does not have a nemesis. | |