RESONANCE

Resonance (the effect) is known to all mages who possess a single Mentalist talent. It is, quite simply, the effect a mind has on the physical world.

But as with all simple things, it has enormous power. Minds--even non-magical ones--have a greater impression on the world than they realize. A dagger used to murder will have an impression of the hate and fear involved imprinted in it; a simple charm given to a loved one will radiate warmth, love and protective feelings. Resonance is that impression; its source is the action that caused the feelings, and the intensity of those feelings affect the power of those emotions.

Most mages, when teaching about resonance, use the following analogy: A flame is like the source of resonance. Flame radiates heat and light--which is 'resonance.' The more intense the flame, the greater the heat and brighter the light.

Resonance is always caused by something with a consciousness--person, spirit, animal, whatever--and imprinted onto non-living objects. Some resonances can encompass huge areas as all the objects within it are imprinted and form a sort of 'aura.'

Some mages can manipulate resonance, increasing or decreasing it or changing it into something else. To continue the above analogy, that would be like changing the heat into wind and the light into shadow. But wait...the flame is still there, creating more heat and light....now what?

It is the same with resonance; if the source is still creating resonance, then you can change it all you want but the source will still create more; thus many mages are compelled to find the 'root' of the 'problem' and eliminate it. This could be anything from exorcising a ghost to consoling a widow and anything in between.

Resonance lives on without its source, but it gradually dies away if it is not maintained. If the fire were snuffed out, the light would vanish and the heat would gradually dissipate. Until the heat dissipates, though, you can still feel it. So it is with resonance.

One can often guess what kind of resonance is within an object; wood, for instance, was once living, and resonantes a stately, ponderous patience...weapons tend to radiate anger, impatience, or deadly intent. Mages who have the Transferance talent are able to discern more than these simple feelings, however; they can get details such as targets, or memories, things that were also imprinted into the object but which takes the skill of a Transferance mage to unlock.

Effect of Resonance on mages: Resonance has two main effects on magic and mages. First: if a mentalist spell is cast that is sympathetic to resonance in the area, the effect of the spell is increased; if cast in conflict with resonance in the area, the effects of the spell will be lessened or changed.

Second: a mentalist is susceptible to resonance. They build shields to protect against mental energies, but sometimes these are often not enough to protect against resonance. If their shields are breached, the mentalist will experience the resonance exactly as if he were what were causing it...which can be unsettling at best, or drive you mad at worst. If the resonance is caused by a spirit, succumbing to the resonance will also leave the mage open to possession by the spirit if the spirit is so inclined.

Unfortunately, resonance is not measureable, and it is never certain what effect resonance will have on magic, though one can make educated guesses.

SURGES

Everything that exists is formed of energy. The energy that exists in everything is unique to that thing alone. Sorcerors, being unable to tap their own energies to power their spells, must tap outside energy; and here lies the problem.

Sorcerors are never able to completely match the flow of energy in an object, because they are all different. Thus, when tapping into an object for power, the sorceror tries to force the energy to do his bidding; the conflict between his flows of energy and the energy of the target will spark, and the spark causes a surge of energy that is almost completely uncontrollable by a mage. That energy goes right to the nearest ground...and the sorceror, who is trying so hard to gather all that energy, gets it right in the teeth...with drastic side effects.

That side effect is called Scarring. Scars can be visible or invisible, and always depend on the type of spell the mage was trying to cast. Some example Scars are defined in the descriptions of the Talents, but aren't limited to those at all, and may become something completely different, but almost always very bad. However, if you're Scarred, you should be thankful...the other side effect of a surge is death. The more powerful a spell, the more powerful the resulting surge...and the more hideous the scars and more likely the chance of death.

Fortunately, there is an easy way around it, known to those mages who have access to the knowledge of a Guild...surges can be grounded into a focus instead of into the mage himself. The higher-quality a focus is, the more energy it will absorb. In addition, a focus that is related to your Paradigm, to the type of energies being tapped, or the type of spell being cast, will either cause less of a surge due to synergy, or will better absorb the surge, possibly serving as a focus for several hundred spells. A wild mage--that is, a mage without a guild--does not know about foci, and so wild mages with sorcerous talents often have short lifespans.

Every act of sorcerous magic causes a surge, no matter how minor. Some mages may risk the most minor magics without a focus because the Scarring will be minute, but most mages consider even that a high risk.

Mages with both mentalist and sorcerous energies.

These mages have the best--and the worst--of both worlds. Every spell they cast, whether mentalist or not, is affected by resonance. And every spell they cast, whether sorcerous or not, is subject to a surge. Thus such a mage is always at risk from resonance, and must use a focus for every act of magic. Surges from mentalist spells generally result in afflictions of the mind or permanent twists of the spirit.

On the other hand, such a mage gains not only access to more widely-varied talents, but has access to more power. Summoning a spirit as a pure mentalist can be dangerous...a mentalist has only so much energy to use. However, a mixed mage can use outside energies to power the summoning, causing a spell of greater power.

In addition, a mage need never worry about running out of energy, as he can use his own personal energies to fuel any of his spells, even sorcerous ones.

A mage with both talents needs to use a focus as soon as his sorcery talents awaken. If he is using mentalist magic and his sorcery magic is unawakened, he's treated as a mentalist mage and only subject to resonance. Once his sorcery is awakened, however, he becomes subject to both resonance and surges, and must begin to use a focus. Similarly, a mage who awakens sorcery first need not worry about resonance until his mentalism talents awaken.