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Topics - Clairvoyance

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Characters / Clairvoyance (WIP)
« on: April 10, 2016, 01:26:41 am »
Name: Clairvoyance Mirror
Gender: Male
Race: Unicorn
Age: Young Adult
Coat: Neutral Grey
Mane: Snow White
Eye: White
Cute Mark: Light purple crystal ball with rainbow mist
Hobbies: Painting, Napping
Abilities/Skills: Future Sight; Vital Vision

Physical appearance:
With a neutral grey coat and white mane, whether or not Clair stands out visually depends on where he is.  Once he does have attention, though, his eyes are usually what catch others.  If the way he walks isn't enough of an indication, the milky white orbs he has in his head reveal that you can see much more of him than he can see of anything.  He's short, slight of build, and basically looks small in every sense of the word, and even the way he walks looks like it's practically designed to let him take up as little space as possible, his legs passing close to the center of his mass and crowding together when he stands still, always making him look a bit off-balance.

Personality:
Clair is a calm, slow pony.  He doesn't do much, and wouldn't even really leave his home without Clarity's urging, which is probably for the best given his talent and his lack of control over it.  His default mood is content, and flapping him from it is somewhat difficult.  He prefers to spend time with his sister, though not necessarily doing anything with her, just being with her.  The only hobby he's ever really picked up is painting, though being blind his pictures are largely unimpressive.  Most of his days are spent at home while she's working, then with her if she goes on an excursion away from the house or if she stays home.  He gets plenty of sleep.

He's not anti-social, but his talent and lack of control keep him from really making any real connections with anypony.  He doesn't really mind, but neither does he object when his sister brings him places with the express purpose of trying to get him to make friends.

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Canterlot / And the Dead Take it (April Fools' Day Post)
« on: April 01, 2016, 01:54:03 pm »
The guards at the entrance gate of Canterlot Castle crossed their spears to block the grey Unicorn's way as he advanced on them.  "Halt!" they exclaimed, clanking their spears to reinforce the idea that he shouldn't be crossing them.  "What business have you in the castle?"  He ignores them and keeps walking.  "Answer!" they shout at him, the Unicorn guard calling up a wall of magic, which the advancing Unicorn calmly passes through.  The guards gasp and lunge at him, attempting to restrain him.  Somehow their attempt falls short and they fall to the ground.  How could they miss such a slow moving pony?

"Secure the gate!!" they call through, trying again and failing to restrain the advancing Unicorn.  Another pair of guards arrive as the portcullis closes behind them, brandishing their spears.  The advancing Unicorn ignores them, too, and the four jump at him, somehow completely missing him entirely and colliding with each other in midair.  They fall into a tangled heap on the ground, getting back up just in time to see him pass straight through the portcullis and be accosted again by the guards behind, with the same basic results.  The alarm is sounded and more of the guard mustered, a full panic taking the castle and the seemingly unstoppable pony making his way through.

All their efforts are for naught, as he keeps advancing inexorably around or through every barrier in his way until he reaches the balcony from which the princesses customarily address their subjects.  He clears his throat, the sound magnified throughout the city, and a great hush falls over it as they wait for whatever was coming.  After a long moment of silence, he speaks in a low rumble.

"Please be quiet.  I've been trying to sleep."

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Book of Ideas / Death and the Dead: A Brief Guide (Headcanon)
« on: November 17, 2015, 08:06:56 pm »
What happens to one's self when one dies?  First, a summary of terms for the uninitiated.

Glossary (Non-alphabetized)

--Body
A Body is a physical form inhabited by a Spirit.  It is the vessel by which a Being physically interacts with the world.  A Body is near-ubiquitously biological in nature and there exist schools of thought that any structure not biological is not truly a Body.

--Spirit
A Spirit/psyche, commonly mistakenly called a soul, can be called truly the essence of a Being, the controlling force or the Being itself.  A Body without a Spirit is inert, though not necessarily dead, and a Spirit not inhabiting a Body is largely impotent, unable to properly act on the world.

--Soul
A Soul is the term ascribed to the proper union between a Spirit and its Body.  When separate, the Body and Spirit are powerless.  When together, the whole is greater than the sum of their parts.

--Death
The breaking of a Soul by splitting the Spirit from the Body.
----Natural Death
The occurrence of a Soul splitting when the Spirit becomes too weak to inhabit the body or the Body becomes unable to host a Spirit.  For purposes of this explanation, this includes even unnatural causes, as the result is largely the same.  Going through Natural Death is very taxing on the Body or Spirit when the other fails to maintain the Soul.
----Artificial Death
The occurrence of a Soul splitting when the Spirit becomes separated from the Body when both are still viable.

--Coma
The state a Body is left in when it is still viable when the Spirit leaves it.  Without a spirit, the Body will usually become unviable shortly.

--Revenance
The state a Spirit is left in when it is still viable when separated from its Body.

--Ascension
The term used to describe when a Spirit leaves the world.  It's commonly believed that good, virtuous Spirits have a paradise awaiting them in Heaven while the evil, malicious ones have an eternity of torment awaiting them in Hell.  The truth of it is completely unknown, though, as no Spirit has ever returned from Ascension.

--Possession
A Possession is what happens when a spirit inhabits a body it is not native to.  This can happen for a myriad of reasons, the most common form being post-mortem.

--Corpomancy
Used by Necromancers and Vitamancers alike, Corpomancy is magic pertaining to the Body.  It consists of magic that affects or detects the physical forms of Beings without affecting the Spirit.

--Phasmancy
Mainly the realm of Shamans and Mediums, Phasmancy is magic of the Spirit.  Very few are able to use it and fewer still are able to understand it. 

--Animancy
Likely the rarest and least understood form of Magic, Animancy is the intersectional magic of the Body, Spirit, and Soul.  An Animancer is able to affect Bodies' bonds with Spirits and vice versa.  Most master-level Unicorns are able to attain only a minimal grasp of Animancy over the course of their lives and there is no record of any true masters of the craft.  In theory, a master Animancer would be able to attain immortality and facilitate true Resurrection, circumventing death altogether.


So, now that we have some common terms, we can begin the lesson.

In natural reproduction, at some point between conception and birth a Spirit is joined with a Body to form a new Soul.  This Soul is what is recognized as being the Being which inhabits the body.  However, as we all know, nobody lives forever.  Eventually, the Body breaks down until it is no longer habitable by the Spirit.  Oftentimes, the Spirit also weakens during its tenure in the body.  At any point that either becomes too weak to maintain the union, Natural Death occurs.  It's common knowledge what happens to the Body at this point.  Less-commonly known is what becomes of the Spirit.

Death and the Fate of the Spirit

The biggest contributing factor to the immediate fate of the Spirit is the relative strength of it when it separates from the body.  If Natural Death occurs when the Spirit becomes too weak, most of the time it will immediately Ascend, moving on to whatever lies after this world.  Oftentimes the Spirit will also Ascend if the Body is the failing member of the Soul, as Natural Death is very taxing on the Spirit.

However, it's not entirely uncommon for a Natural Death to occur when the Spirit is more than strong enough to maintain itself even through the traumatic experience of separating from its Body.    When this happens, the Spirit enters a state of Revenance, where it will remain in the world on something of a separate plane of existence from what most know.  While in this state, the Spirit is fully able to observe the world but, with a few exceptions, unable to act upon it.  Most Revenants use this time to reflect on their lives and attempt to prepare for Ascension.

When separated from their bodies through Natural Death, Spirits decay until they are no longer capable of staying in the world.  In most cases, this decay is much faster after Death than before, with roughly 20 years of decay per year they spend as Revenants.  When their strength is run out, they leave the world and move on to whatever is next.

Circumstances of Revenance

As stated, Revenance is the state that falls on a Spirit when the Soul is broken but it remains viable itself.  However, what happens to a Spirit during its stage of Revenance is quite variable.  Physical barriers mean very little to a Revenant, but not all can travel at will.

Sometimes the bond of a Spirit isn't completely broken from its Body.  In cases like this, the Revenant is unable to stray too far from its Body.  It's because of this possibility that graveyards are the most common gathering places for Spirits who have not yet Ascended.
At other times, a particularly strong emotional bond may exist between a Spirit and a loved one, perhaps a significant other or family member.  In such cases, the Revenant may be bound to the other, forced to stay close to them throughout its Revenance.  On the other end of the spectrum, a bond of malice or hate toward another can stop a Revenant from approaching too close to a certain Being, place, or object.
At other times, Spirits have been known to, after Death, inhabit objects.  Sometimes completely random, but more commonly an object of significance to the Being or, in the cases of violent deaths, occasionally the object used to end their union with their Body.
In extremely rare cases, Spirits have entered another Body after Death.  Results of this union are a form of Possession, though the extent of each Possession varies.
If not one of these kinds of Revenance, a Spirit is able to roam the world at will until they Ascend.

The most accomplished Animancers are able to start their cycle anew through reincarnation, though most of them are unable to retain their memories from previous lives.

Revenance and Actions After Death

Most Revenants are completely powerless to affect the world around them, but there are circumstances where a Revenant can have profound effects.

All Revenants have slight ability to influence feelings and emotions of those around them.  This is most evident for Revenants near their anchor points if they have one.  It's only enough to shift mood, though, never enough to change emotion completely.

If a Revenant is restrained to a certain area, around their body or loved one, they have limited ability to affect events and objects.  The closer they are to their anchor point, the greater influence they have, though it's still usually severely limited.  The most ability they have in most cases is to flap cloth, lift extremely light objects, or shift very light objects.

If a Revenant inhabits an object, they have a limited form of communication with any Being in direct physical or magical contact with their habitation.  In some cases they can use actual words, other times they can only communicate with raw emotion.  Some Revenants that inhabit objects also have greater power to move the object they inhabit, able to alter the course/momentum of a weapon or tool for example.

In the case of Possession, the amount of power the Revenant holds is highly variable.  Some have only the power to observe through their host Body's senses.  Others are able to communicate with their host or influence the functioning of their Body.  The most powerful are even occasionally known to take partial or complete control of the body.

In all cases of Revenance, there are circumstances that can enhance their power and ability to act.  The more Revenants in a location, the greater each one's power becomes.  There is some magic that can empower them as well.  However, the best known (though still not very known) contributing factor in Revenants' power levels is time.  Nightmare Night's date isn't entirely coincidental, as it was placed on an annual date of importance.  On Nightmare Night, all Revenants experience an increase in their ability to influence the world for unknown reasons.  There are other times that affect their power, but Nightmare Night is the most important.

Interactions with Spirits

Most of the Living go about their business with no idea of the Spirits in the world around them.  There is, however, magic that can be used to see and communicate with them.  This is the realm of Mediums and Shamans through the use of Phasmancy.  Medium is used to refer to any Being who can communicate with Revenants, and most are unable to do any more than that.  Shamans, though, are able to empower and direct Revenants to do their bidding, oftentimes fueling their magic with the power of the Revenants themselves.

Any variety of Revenants' bonds are able to be molded or muted by trained Phasmancers.  They can capture Spirits, put them into objects or other Bodies, feed off of their energy, exorcise them from possessed Bodies or cause one to possess a Body, or any number of other things.  They can ward against them, empower them, or some of them can even force Ascension.  However, most forms of Phasmancy are considered one of the blackest kinds of magic and frowned upon greatly.

Any Phasmancy that would put a Spirit into another body or remove one also requires there to be a Corpomancer present as well, though not always.  Most Corpomancers who would do this are Necromancers, another quite reviled branch of magic.  For this reason, Phasmancy is one of the most secretive and regulated schools of magic.

Animancers, however, are able to combine Corpomancy and Phasmancy to produce different power entirely.  Though there are no records of any truly skilled practitioners of Animancy, theoretically a master Animancer would be able to manipulate life and death to a great degree, to the point where, if they chose, they could exist outside the cycle entirely, becoming immortal, or even enact True Resurrection, reforming Souls from their component parts of Body and Spirit.  It's likely for the best that nobody has ever become truly skilled in it.

4
Canterlot / Remembrance
« on: October 24, 2015, 09:06:00 pm »
The air is especially chill this Autumn day, the wind more biting than usual despite the brightness of the sun.  An early and stiff reminder of what the next season would bring, it's enough to keep some ponies inside and encourage others to wear at least one layer more than usual for extended outings.  Not that most would need a reason to stay away from this place at most times.  A cemetery isn't most ponies' idea of a place to go voluntarily anyway.  Not that this stops all of them, of course.  Even today there is the occasional mourner, bringing bouquets, individual flowers, or nothing but their tears to the final resting place of a loved one come and passed away.  Today even the trees weep leaves for the ended lives they preside over, a more or less constant cascade of oranges, reds, yellows, and browns as the season progresses towards a time when the bark will be completely bare, lifeless husks until Spring comes to breathe green into the world again.

Clairvoyance takes no notice of any of it as he walks the cobbled walk along the aisles.  The cold of the air matters to him naught on his ponderous trek to his destination, his hooves making no sound to mark his progress.  A mourner, having delivered her burden already, nods to him as she passes him going the other way, a tear falling from her face to make a soft plip where it lands.  He takes no note of it either, nor the contrast of her black garb versus the pristine whiteness of his robe.  His pace is slow but constant as it draws him inexorably farther and farther from his house.

After the better part of an hour from when he began, he turns down the last turning in the last lot and walks down it to the very end.  At the terminus of that walkway is a single headstone.  It's possible that it was once elaborately carved and might have even been larger, but the years have worn it down, smoothing the stone until it looks rather unremarkable, the letters that once marred its surface indecipherable.  The earth in front of the headstone is so long settled that if it wasn't for the grave marker there would be no way to tell it had ever been disturbed.  It's in front of this grave that Clairvoyance turns, lays his rump down on the cold cobbles, and sits silently, motionless aside from the sway of his mane in the chill wind.

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Characters / Groundskeeper Clairvoyance
« on: October 22, 2015, 01:35:04 am »
Name: Clairvoyance Mirror
Race: Unicorn
Gender: Stallion
Age: Indeterminate

Description:
Smooth is the word that comes to mind when looking at Clairvoyance.  Smooth.  He sports a smooth slate-grey coat with smooth, unshorn fetlocks falling over his smooth hooves.  Climb up from his hind hooves to his smooth flank and you'll see his cutie mark of a violet crystal ball shrouded in rainbow mist, the only color anywhere on his body.  Above that, his tail is mid-length, a white mass that teardrops downward smoothly, and his mane is a matching white that smoothly cascades down, crowning his head and usually covering some of his smooth face.  Under his mane, his eyes are a smooth white that betrays his blindness.  A smooth horn sprouts from his forehead, its clockwise spiral long and - you guessed it - smooth.

He stands a hair shorter than the average fully grown stallion, but the smoothness of his features, which you're likely tired of hearing about, makes it difficult to pinpoint his age without asking.  If you do ask, the voice he uses to reply is a smooth, deep, and soothing bass with the consistency of molten chocolate.

Not that you'll see most of him a majority of the time.  At nearly all times, he clothes himself in a loose white robe or a thick white cloak, depending on who knows what.


Personality:
There are two words that would most well describe Clairvoyance's personality.  The first is patient, though most would likely use the word slow.  Everything he does is done with a measured pace, from walking to talking.  Doing things quickly never seems to occur to him, and being in a hurry is the furthest thing from his mind.  Nothing fazes his constant but inchworm pace in whatever he does.  This is not to say he is unable to move quickly, and he does indeed seem to get around without appearing to go slowly, but his natural inclination is to a tortoise pace.
The second would be quiet.  His rich voice carries well, but isn't loud, and even his hooves almost seem hesitant to even make a sound when he walks.  He tends toward silence when not directly spoken to and even in conversation he often abstains from responses to anything aside from direct inquiry.  In word and mannerism, it's almost like he tries to make as little ripple in the world around him as possible.


Bio:
Clairvoyance is the groundskeeper of Canterlot's Requiem Perpetua Cemetery, one of the nicer but more obscure graveyards.  Nopony is exactly certain where he came from or when, but he's been there longer than the current owner and there is no record of when his employment commenced.  He lives on the edge of the grounds in a small house likewise without public record of his occupancy.

He is seldom seen anywhere off of the grounds.  He receives a monthly delivery of food and other necessities delivered to his door and has very little inclination to engage in any social events whatsoever.  It's not known if he receives any invitations.  The only time he's known to leave the cemetery is when something breaks and needs replaced.

As would be expected, his job often has him trimming hedges, mowing grass, and any number of other maintenance tasks on the grounds, where he spends a good portion of his time.  He apparently does an immaculate job at it, too, every blade of grass cut to the same length and every bush shaped without a single leaf out of place approximately every day.  This is despite his apparent blindness, which most would believe would keep him from optimally performing his duties.

When not working, Clairvoyance also spends a fair amount of time walking the paths in the cemetery.  Often when he does, he can be heard talking, seemingly to himself.  He does not mumble when he speaks, in fact speaking quite clearly, but if he speaks to anypony else at these times it's nopony that anypony else can see.  To himself or not, this speaking is largely the extent of his social life as he rarely leaves and has few to no visitors.


Extra Details:

When standing still, Clairvoyance tends to place his hooves all close together beneath him, causing his back to arch and looking somewhat precariously balanced.

At times, his eyes seem to glow a dim white.

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