Hollowcasting¶
"Oversleeping and unconsciousness can be fatal for a hollowcaster." — from The Hollows (S325)
Hollowcasting is "the practice of using Hollowed Mithis as an energy source for creating magical effects" (S292). It was the arcane craft that survived the corruption of Mithis by accepting the corruption: its casters drew on the Malum of a Hollow or of a tainted object, and lived with the constant danger that unspent power would hollow them. The Hollowlock, the Hollowmage and the Hollowsmith are its three kinds. All of them lost their power at the Redemption. The wider family of Hollow-derived magic, and the Sancturi measures against it, are on Hollow Magic.
The Hollowlock¶
The Hollowlock, Malabere to scholars, "is a raw, primal spellcaster that has no understanding of the arcane nature of magic. Instead they understand and feel the energies of the Hollow and learn how to twist and shape them" (S292). "There are no spellbooks or formulas, casting forms are learned and developed independently, or passed using rare manuals or word of mouth", and though their spells "are raw and few, the simplicity enables them to spend more time optimizing the spell's output and mastering their forms" (S292).
The price is the taint. Hollowlocks "possess tainted Mithis objects from which they draw energy. They receive some amount of power over time which must be dispersed/used or they become tainted and eventually hollowed. The power that must be expended is dependent upon the Mithis content in the object. A common mistake is to acquire/accumulate objects of great power and be unable to disperse the energy quickly enough. Oversleeping and unconsciousness can be fatal for a hollowcaster. This is why they rarely sleep for longer than a couple of hours at at time. Many Hollowcasters initially train inside a hollow until they learn to control the magic (where their name comes from)" (S325; the same text, with Malum for Mithis, in S132).
A Hollowlock attuned to a Hollow "know[s] when magical energy is available vs when it is not and often try to live in non-Hollowing areas of the Hollow" (S126). Their knowledge is narrow: "most of them have only been exposed to a single Hollow, so they tend to believe all Hollows behave like theirs" (S126).
The Hollowmage¶
"The Hollowmage is an evolution of the Arcane Magi of old. They use forbidden Arcane formulae to tap into a Hollow's Mithis magic. Their spells are more refined and precise than that of the Hollowlock. However, the spells are also much more laborious to learn and master" (S292). The overview speaks of the Hollowmage's spellbook and of specialising by college, as the casters of Arcane Magic did (S292), and a campaign hook sends a party in search of "a cooperative Hollowlock or Devil that practices the Arcane College of Arcane Magic" (S145).
Mithis Channeling¶
Without help, a Hollowlock's or Hollowmage's "magic is only available inside a Hollow" (S292). Mithis Channeling lets either "draw Mithis energy from a Mithis object. This allows them to cast their spells anywhere they want as long as they bring the object along with them. Like Hollows, the object will likely only provide a certain kind of Mithis magic", and the caster must keep it spent: "It is also important that the mithis object remain depleted of available Mithis energy. If it is ever allowed to regenerate up to 25% of its total energy it will start creating a Hollow and will be detectable to most methods of Hollow detection" (S292). The detection is the Sancturi's Praexic Powder.
The Hollowsmith¶
"Objects can be created with active magical effects which do essentially what the Hollowlock does. These objects release a constant magical effect keeping the energy from building up within the Mithis" (S325). The limitation is severe: "a flaming sword that can never be sheathed/turned off is difficult to use and carry. A ring of invisibility that must always be making something invisible is also not that useful. Also, these types of objects are rare since Mithis is so mistrusted" (S325). The craft survived where the Sancturi answer was not available: "Some societies which don't/can't rely on divine magic to deal with Mithis take this approach instead. Creating permanent fountains of water, fire or other things to manage the Mithis. Only a handful of such groups exist" (S325, S146, S132).
Hollowlocks and the Hollows¶
Hollowlocks served, traded with and betrayed the Devils of the Hollows. A Hollow that "just keep[s] coming back after being destroyed" is usually so "due to an unusually clever Devil and/or assistance from a Hollowlock" (S325). In one frontier tale a "somewhat insane Hollowlock" uses a weak Fire Hollow as his source, guides the licensed Seekers sent to destroy it toward "a false Mithis object while he makes sure to keep the actual source depleted", and is "responsible for the Hollow's resurgence after the Seekers came and destroyed it" (S202). In another, a frontier priest hires unlicensed Seekers, "one of which turned out to be a powerful Hollowlock, and when fell to the Hollow, it absorbed his magic and expanded rapidly" (S202).
At Harwith, Gofrei Varley, a "Spirit & Death Magic Hollowlock" (S144, S145) or "Hollowlock Necromancer" (S138), was "responsible for the Hollow's sudden expansion to cover the village" by building an Umbralar, a "Dark Spirit Idol" or "enchanted effigy/statue/construct containing spiritual energy that can extend the hollow" (S138); with the devil he made a spirit totem, "a blood filled vial with a corrupted mithis coin inside", to spy on and bind the spirits of others (S145). The renegade Thorstein (S138) and Olivand, who "had a kind of partnership" with a devil "where he would kidnap some people for me and I would give him refuge and power" (S145), are Figures'. One such Hollowlock held, without knowing it, a piece of the Mithis Heartstone: "this piece of rock here generates magic … an uncorrupted non-hollowing magic like what used to exist back in the days of wizards and magi" (S145).
In the Riven Kingdoms the Arkuun Hollow "attracts hollowlocks and witches from across the kingdoms to trade and share their crafts" (S319). Its covens included the Heart of the Pheonix, the "most numerous coven and Hollowlocks", whose council counted the Hollowlock pyromancer Zander, noted in the session as possessed (S188). The covens are told with Witchcraft.
Law¶
The Riven kingdom of Miydal forbids it by law: "Witchcraft, Fae Magic and Hollowcasting is forbidden. Divine casting, including Runecasting is permitted" (S319).
The end of Hollowcasting¶
The Redemption "destroyed all Hollows and removed Mithis from the world" (S112). Among the powers it destroyed: "Mages, Wizards and Hollowlocks -- have lost their power source" (S112). Mithis that survives must now be "transplanted from (and energized on) the Mithis Plane" (S112), the Rift.
Gap
No source says whether any Hollowlock found a new source of power after the Redemption, how many practised in the Imperium or the kingdoms, or what Sancturi law said of them specifically; the Imperium's hostility is shown in its witch hunts and its ban on entering a Hollow without a seeking licence (S325), not in a law against Hollowcasting.
Rules for Hollowcasting from the archive: Hollowcasting and Hollowing Rules.1
-
Corruption in the ARCS rules: Spellcasting Stats ↩