Hollow Magic¶
"I will perform the Maldetinence and cleanse this area from the taint." — a Sancturi cleric's formula (S132, S325)
Hollow magic is the magic of the Hollowing Period that drew on tainted Mithis, the Malum of the Hollows, and the holy craft the Sancturi built to fight it. On one side stood the witches, the Devils who cast as Daemagus, the Hollowlocks and the Hollowsmiths; on the other the clergy's powders, rituals, runes and consecrated vaults, and the licensed and unlicensed hunters who went into the Hollows to destroy them. The Hollow as a demi-plane and the Hollowing as a force are told under Hollows; the age itself is History's. This page gathers the practitioners in overview, the countermeasures, exorcism, the anti-Hollow groups and the rare materials a Hollow yields.
A magic transformed¶
The 2018 campaign notes put it bluntly: Mithis magic, the old Arcane Magic, was "essentially lost. Mithis has been altered by Daemiveus and no longer functions as it once did. Even with a book on Arcane magic, it is now impossible to use it. It has been transformed into Hollow Magic" (S132). "All Mithis has been tainted by Daemiveus. The name 'Mithis' has been lost along with the death of Arcane Magic as it was once known. Now know as 'Malum' it taints anything it comes into contact with and spreads like a disease"; old magical objects are "Malum Daemdicta (Tainted Demonic Curse)" (S132). The particle and its corruption are Cosmology's.
Few understood it. "The effect of the Hollowing is not well understood by most. A few Witches and Witch hunters are the most reliable experts because of their first hand experiences. Hollowlocks can also be a good source, except that most of them have only been exposed to a single Hollow, so they tend to believe all Hollows behave like theirs" (S126). The practitioners also read a Hollow differently: witch hunters and witches "mistake the boundaries of Hollowing effects for the boundaries of the Hollow", while a Hollowlock attuned to a Hollow knows "when magical energy is available vs when it is not and often try to live in non-Hollowing areas of the Hollow, while Witches live well outside the Hollow, but close enough to gather reagents when they need them" (S126). An ascendant of Khardas warned, in the dreams of Inwe, that "these Hollows are destroying the creatures of the deep earth at a stunning rate, and whatever we do is probably already too late for the Elves" (S031).
The southwest Astian regional timeline gives the Hollowing as a named period running from roughly 420 to 600 AL, between the Fae Resurgence and the Rifts (S107).
Practitioners¶
The Hollow treatise names four kinds of Malum users, each with a common and a scholarly name (S325, S146, S132):
| Practitioner | Scholarly name | What they do |
|---|---|---|
| Witch | Malusimul | Harvests tainted materials and combines them into magical effects, "a Mithis/Taint alchemist"; often also bargains with devils or demons |
| Devil | Daemagus | Uses the power of Mithis "in the same way as Hollowlocks without the concern for taint" |
| Hollowlock | Malabere | Draws power from tainted Mithis objects and must spend it or be hollowed |
| Hollowsmith | Makes objects that bleed Malum away in a permanent effect |
Witchcraft has its own page: there were "2 kinds of witches: Daemiveus witches (these work with the Devils that control the Hollow). Abyssal witches (these kill the Devils and work with Demons)" (S325). Of Devils "technically not all devils are Daemagus, especially those with animal level intelligence" (S325); the Devils themselves are Creatures'. Hollowlocks, Hollowmages and Hollowsmiths are described under Hollowcasting.
In the Sancturi frontier the practitioners lived among ordinary people. The sawyer of Harwith was a witch who "trades minor things (info, some blood, reagents and the occasional traveller)" with the village's devil, and turned in a family that had hidden their grandmother, also a witch, from the Sancturi witch hunters (S138, S144, S145). In the Riven Kingdoms the Arkuun Hollow "attracts hollowlocks and witches from across the kingdoms to trade and share their crafts", the Rovers "rely on heavily on witches to deal with Hollowing", which "reinforces the idea among many that they are evil", and Miydal forbids "Witchcraft, Fae Magic and Hollowcasting" while permitting divine casting and runecasting (S319).
Malumarcs¶
The mortal worshippers of Daemiveus, the pantheon Asmodeus built with his two lieutenants, are "also known as Malumarcs, Devils or Devil worshippers" (S132). His adversaries called that pantheon "Daemiveus, Gods of the Hollow, Father of Demons, The Devil(s)"; its aims were to "consolidate power, spread the Hollow/Malum, unify the Demons", and Sancturi doctrine held that "Daemivus worshippers are devil worshippers and destroyed/hunted outright" (S132).
Countermeasures¶
The Sancturi met the taint with holy substances, rituals, runes and containment. The Imperium's own politics were shaped by it: the Crusade party holds that "Hollows represent an existential threat to the empire and should be dealt with immediately and proactively instead of reactively. They view the policy of containment as one that is doomed to fail", a young party "booming in recent years as the threat the Hollows pose has been slowly revealed", and the High Councillors of the houses carry a Hollow portfolio alongside war, trade and religion (S322). The parties are Factions'.
Praexic Powder¶
"A substance which produces a bright red glow in the presence of Mithis energy fields. While not rare, it is a controlled substance, harvested by Sancturi Monks. It's supply is closely controlled by Sancturi Clerics, who use it to root out Witches and those infected with the taint. Outside of the empire, this is very difficult to acquire/very expensive" (S325). It is burned as incense "in hand-held Thuribles or stationary Censers", heavily at gates and churches and by city patrols, and "will produce a light glow when inside a Hollow"; it is painted "as a chalk-like paint to exposed skin to reveal taint. Some areas require citizens and visitors to have faces painted with this"; and some witch hunters pack it into smoke grenades "to detect invisible enemies and quickly identify hostiles" (S325). The monks are the Penitus Monks and the clerics the Sancturi Clergy. The refactor notes call it Praestic Powder and have it glow "in the presence of Malum" (S132). The substance it is made from, and how, is told under Praestus.
Witchbane¶
"A extremely rare holy substance (formerly known as anti-Mithis), it has the ability to suppress the taint and harm Mithis based effects/objects ... This stuff is so rare that only the most powerful and wealthy possess it" (S325; "Malum based" in S132). The archive's metallurgy knows two "Anti-Mithis" isotopes, Koboltar and Nicktaranite, described with the Mithis metals; no source says whether Witchbane is made from them.
Maldetinence¶
"Holy Sancturi rituals which manipulate Arcane magic to render Mithis inert for a period of time. It will eventually 'break out' again" (S325). It "can also be performed on tainted individuals, but will not work on hollowed individuals. A hollow would need to be destroyed before being able to be cleansed via this ritual. A variation of this ritual is used to spellforge Sancturi artifacts" (S325). The refactor notes describe rune magic as "very similar to Maldetinence, but from a different Pantheon (Riven : Khardas)" (S132). The stronger Sancturi Spellforge, which with divine magic can "completely cleanse small amounts of Malum and turn it into Mithis again", only for it to be "effortlessly corrupted back into Malum" in the world, is told with the Artificers (S132).
Runes of warding and isolation¶
Runecasters empower the Praedaem rune, the Talisman of Warding, which absorbs Hollowing energies "by providing energy from the rune instead of the protected creature. Once the rune has given all of its power it no longer provides any protection", and recharging it "takes even a skilled Runecaster several days" (S325). The Clostroc rune, the Rune of Isolation, "isolates the effect of the Taint so that it cannot spread outside of its object"; while it lasts "the Mithis operates as normal Mithis energy without producing Taint or Hollowing effects". It was tried on Arcane casters, "but doesnt work well since it seals the Taint inside the object, leaving the caster still vulnerable" (S325). Both runes belong to Rune Magic. The party that went into the Arkuun Hollow carried a dozen Hollowing charms (S188).
Vigils and vaults¶
"Sancturi dispose of Mithis by melting it down and combining it into a single Mithis Obelisk carved with many Clostroc Runes. These obelisks are located across the empire, often in Sancturi public spaces" (S325). These are the Vigils, Artifacts'. A campaign hook turns on "a clearly magical object that can't be melded into a Vigil" (S202). The older resource adds consecrated vaults "designed to contain Malum. They have a pretty low limit of how much Malum they can contain before they will be able to taint and eventually Hollow the vault. They must also be maintained constantly", and in the Hellgate War they were "often a target of demonic forces when they are capable of leaving the Hollow" (S146, S132).
Exorcism¶
Inside a Hollow, demons "are able to attempt to possess individuals entering the Hollow" (S126). Possession deepens by stages, from a person merely "touched by a demon", who "can feel a dark presence and weight", through a constant struggle "for who is in control", to full possession and at last transformation, when "there is no trace of the original spirit (they are now being consumed for their energy)" (S126). "Clerics and some Runecaster are capable of performing exorcisms", and each attempt harms the subject and leaves them Accursed for a day. Early on exorcism "has a high chance of success"; once the demon is wrestling for control it is "difficult and dangerous"; once the subject is possessed it is "very hard without killing the subject"; and a transformed subject cannot be exorcised, "as there is nothing left to go back to" (S126). In Harwith the Sancturi left a hanged family on the gallows "to makes sure their spirits pass on. If they decide to remain and haunt the place, then we will have to bring in some Runebinders or Priests to deal with it" (S144).
Anti-Hollow groups¶
The Sancturi Imperium made it "a capitol offense for individuals not in possession of a seeking license to knowingly enter a Hollow" (S325). Licensed Seekers worked in groups that "must consist of at least one Sancturi Cleric and one accredited Runecaster"; Witch Slayers is "a general term used to describe those who kill Witches and Devils and destroy Hollows", and unlicensed ones "are frequently used due to price, availability and discretion" (S325). Seekers were "(usually licensed) mercenaries that deal with minor Hollows", and a frontier priest who hired unlicensed ones to hide his mismanagement watched a Hollow swallow one who was secretly a Hollowlock, absorb his magic and expand (S202). The Dae'Venari, "an order of Sancturi Clerics devoted to Devil & Hollow destruction", were the last resort (S325). The Knights of the Broken Star were "an apolitical Hollow Crusader group" disgraced by their retreat from Acadia (S132).
Beyond the Imperium, the Keepers of Abaddon are "a non-denominational group of witch and demon slayers", banned in the Imperium and "very professional, but pricey"; the Knights of Ex-Malefica, the Shrine Knights, "offer witch and hollow removal services at very discounted prices" with the backing of the Kalari and Rakkari priesthoods; and the mercenaries of Ozaustein hire out against "Hollows, Bandits, other Kingdoms and the Imperium" (S319). The orders are Factions'.
Rare Hollow materials¶
A Hollow takes its character from the Abyssal biome and Fae domain it is tied to, and the design table of Hollow types names a rare material for some pairings (S156, repeated in S132):
| Material | Fae realm | Hollow |
|---|---|---|
| Stardust | Light | Deathly (Pale Night) |
| Shardsteel | Forge | Shattering |
| Mirrorwater | Pool | Marshy (Xanthous Morass) |
| Silvercap | Rot | Fungal (Creeping Fungus) |
| Eternal Ice | Ice | Frozen |
| Darkstone, Night's Eye, Ebonwood | Night | Dark (Pale Night) |
| Cinderwood | Flame | Burning |
Glassteel, from Forge Hollows of the Crystal Bog, is described with the metals of trade.
Gap
The sources name the rare Hollow materials and nothing more: no appearance, use or value is given for any of them. The "N varieties" of Witchbane are never listed, and no source says how it is made. The consecrated vaults are left unnamed ("?? Vaults").
After the Redemption¶
The Redemption "destroyed all Hollows and removed Mithis from the world" (S112). Among its consequences, "Mages, Wizards and Hollowlocks -- have lost their power source", and the commons are "encouraged by the Divine Authority to blame Warlocks/Witches, Infidels and their own unworthiness (roughly in that order)" for the monsters that now spawn around Rift anomalies (S112).
Rules for Hollowing and Hollowcasting from the archive: Hollowcasting and Hollowing Rules.