Elder Magic¶
"Practitioners of this form of Ethereal Magic often consider this the only true magic and that all other magic is a weak derivative of it." — The Nature of Magic (S208)
Elder magic is the direct command of Ether, the stuff of which everything is made. It is the magic of the gods, of the greater demons, and once of the Eldritch, who were its masters before the gods put them down. In the Fifth Age few mortals wield it: some psions, a handful of magi, the hosts of Eldritch soul-fragments, and the Eldritch who have escaped their prisons. What Ether is, and why it is the root of every other magic, is told under Nature of Magic; divine and demonic magic, its derivatives, have their own pages, Divine Magic and Demonic Magic.
The science of the universe¶
"The few writings that have been found have described the understanding of Elder Magic to be the science of the universe, that its equations can be found in the very fabric of space, time and matter. The ability to practice this magic does not appear to have any inherent requirement or limitations. However, certain races are predisposed to naturally discovering its use and having a talent for it" (S208). "Intelligence is the highest energy state of Ether, heat and simple matter are the lowest energy states. The beings which can command Elder Magic can use this Ether to form and create whatever they wish" (S208). "A being's ability to wield Elder Magic is directly dependent on it's intelligence, willpower and the amount of ethereal energy available to it" (S208).
Ethereal magic, the broader name, "can vary in form, from Demonic Incantations, Psionic Projections to Divine Magic and the power of the Immortals themselves" (S208). The newest notes call it "Ethereal Magic (Eldritch Magic, Elder Magic)", "possessed by everyone and everything", and "available in any Plane" (S205). In the Fifth Age notes, "as the ultimate source of all magic, Ethereal magic remains unchanged, but rarely held or used" (S014).
Who wields it¶
"Gods, Demigods and other extraterrestrial beings such as Greater Demons are the most common practitioners of Elder Magic" (S208). Its power comes to them in three ways: by an Elder Covenant, "a being granted power through the ownership/dominion of an Astral Shard. A God, Ascendant or Eldritch"; by Sorcery, "a being which gets its power from consuming its own lifeforce (and sometimes others over which it has Dominion)"; or by Soul Pact, "a being which gets its power from a pact with an extra-planar being such as a Angel, Demon, Cthul, Void-Beast, etc." (S208).
The Eldritch were its great practitioners. In the Age of Titans, "Ethereal Magic became a prevalent form of magic during this age and its most prolific practitioners were the Eldritch, who were the chosen of the High God Tamariel" (S208). Their ruling body was the ArchConclave, "the Eldritch ruling body of Magi", and their castes were named for their magic: "Vaj - means a battle magi or renown magi", "Ral - means a builder, creator or worker", and those with no prefix are "casteless (either a child, low-magic commoner, outcast or infirm/retired)" (S147). One of the Three Grand Sages of the ArchConclave, Phaendar Nar'Vizerai, is said to have a command of Elder Magic "peerless, particularly in the realm of Mystic energies" (S147); Allannia Vaj'zaelin is "a powerful Eldritch Battle Magi that specializes in frost magic" (S147, S141). The Eldritch were also the Keepers of the Elder Gods, "tasked with subjugating the Dwarrow under the same law as the other elementals", which led to "genocidal wars that raged for 1000s of years between the highly magical Eldritch and the technological Dwarrow" (S529; see Eldritch-Dwarrow Wars).
Its suppression¶
"The Gods stamped out the widespread use of this magic on the material plane when they allowed their foremost servants, the Eldritch, to be replaced by the Elves, with their affinity to the more limited, and more controllable Divine and Arcane Magics" (S208). The younger gods "now wished to replace the Eldritch (still aligned with the Elder Gods and too powerful for the Younger God's liking) with the more easily managed Elves" (S529). By the end of the Age of Demons, "practitioners of Ethereal Magic outside of those under the direct influence of the Gods (Divine Magic) and Dragons were scarce" (S208). The Eldritch were not killed but imprisoned, their spirits "shattered and split into pieces which where then forged into holy Kalari Relics" (S141); the prisons are described under Eldritch Soulcruxes.
In the Sancturi age the art was nearly forgotten: "Already rare and almost always confused with arcana and hollow casters, they have been swept up in the great purging over the past 500 years" (S132). After the Redemption the Eldritch are back: "several competing Eldritch kingdoms ruled by Witch-Kings and Witch-Queens (as called by outsiders)", and "a handful of Eldritch have set themselves up as gods, complete with a functional priesthood" (S112, S014).
The Elder domains¶
"Elder Magic is divided into 4 domains which overlap with the Terrestrial and Celestial Realms of Arcane Magic + the Creation Domain which is unique to Elder" (S208):
| Domain | Takes in |
|---|---|
| Planar | Nether, Astral, Earth |
| Kinetic | Fire, Water, Air |
| Mystic | Shadow, Spirit, Darkness |
| Somatic | Animus, Decay, Light |
| Creation | unique to Elder Magic |
The arcane domains named here are described under Arcane Colleges. The Sancturi magus drafts use another set of Elder Demesnes drawn from "Planes (Shadow, Ethereal, Astral, Air, Earth, Fire, Water, Light, Darkness, Void), Aspects (Order, Chaos, Balance) or Manifestations (Mind, Body, Spirit)" (S275, S276).
The Elder spellcrafts¶
"Magus - Magi, Magus, Spellweaver. Manipulates ethereal magic through preparation, discipline and patience. All of their magics must be prepared beforehand using elaborate constructions. These spells excel in degrees of complexity beyond the imagination of many other types of Spellcraft. This was the most popular form of spellcraft for the Eldritch before their fall. It is one of a very few types of Elder Spellcraft to survive" (S208). The Druid's "ancient incantations and mystic rituals" are the other survivor (S208; see Druids), and the Immortal "manipulates ethereal magic through one-ness with it" (S208).
The Sancturi drafts know two paths of the Elder Magus. The Blade magus bonds a weapon, "a single bladed weapon" that can be summoned or dismissed at will, and works its rituals on blades (S275). The Blood magus works through wounds and drained lifeforce, "Bloodletting" and "Bloodseeking" (S276).
Confessor¶
The Confessor is an Elder caster whose art is the mind's surrender. Its workings are psychic invocations of confession: in the lightest, "the target becomes unable to lie to the caster and is compelled to provide at least basic short answers to questions"; in the deeper, the target "becomes Charmed and will follow simple commands", and at last becomes "completely subservient to the will of the caster" (S274). A Mass Confession "potentially affects all who can hear the command" (S274).
Gap
No source says who Confessors are, who trains them or whom they serve.
Psions¶
"Some creatures minds are fashioned in such a way that they can naturally perform Ethereal Magic without really understanding how they do it. These creatures are Psions and with training and experience, they can become powerful Ethereal spellcasters" (S208). "It is believed that every race capable of being a Psion was engineered that way. For example, Cthuls were clearly engineered by their creator with this ability" (S208). Their disciplines are telepathy, "mind to mind interactions" with "no sway on the physical world"; kinetics, "mind over matter interactions"; and metaphysics, "Seers and Augurs", "extraplanar and spiritual interactions" (S208).
In the Sancturi age "Psions are the most prevalent Elder Magic users and they are roughty 1 : 100,000. The vast majority of people don't know or believe that they still exist. Most conjoin them with Arcane Magic users" (S132). The Cthul are psions by nature: they hold their spellcasting "to be more primitive and less powerful than their psionics" (S517).
The four eldritch schools¶
A Sancturi session note names four schools of eldritch power: "Cthulic, Tyraxian, Abolean, Umbric" (S174). They take their names from the four races of the Dread, the Cthuls, Tyrax, Abols and Umbars.
Gap
The four schools are named only; no source describes their magic or who practises them.
What Elder power does to a mortal host¶
Elder power seeks bodies. A mercenary who broke an Eldritch soulcrux with a stolen witch talisman released "its soul fragment … which immediately latched onto him. It was slowly able to possess and control him. He is now a driven Eldritch Warrior. He possesses minor eldritch magic, but he keeps it concealed" (S148; see Athu Marised).
A fragment of an Elder God works the same way. In the Proturan campaign a curse proved to be "a fragment of Teneb'Urat (Goruspex)" (S040). It grew with use: it let its bearer deal necrotic harm at will, then grew scales, snake-like eyes and venomous fangs on him, and was to end with a potion that "transforms him completely into a Tenebrian", "under the full control of the Goruspex" (S041). "To REMOVE the curse, he needs to get rid of the Goruspex (a fragment of an Elder God). This is not easy: Kill the host. Find a Dedicated Temple to the Elder God AND an attuned vessel to transfer the Goruspex into. Then perform an EXORCISM rite" (S041). The Goruspex as a being is described under Ascendants.
Earlier accounts¶
The Sancturi witchcraft overview of 2018 classes witchcraft as "a branch of Elder Magic as it relies on Divine Magic, Abyssal Magic and Ethereal Magic to function" (S213); the newer treatise files it under Alchemy (see Witchcraft). The Sancturi sessions met an Eldritch pyromancer, Quorvain, "rogue Eldritch, left the council. Felt that the rabble of the world were capable of self-governance", in the city of Miralt (S174, S170).
Legacy rules for Elder casters are kept under Mechanics: Elder Magus and Confessor.